I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update! . I got glandular fever and missed a lot of school so they sent me work for the summer which I've been trying to do amongst various bloodtests and stuff, ew.

Chapter 18

I wake slowly from a deep sleep, and stretch slowly before opening my eyes, which squint against the sunlight which streams in from the window. I silently curse myself for forgetting to close the curtains last night, and allow myself a few luxurious minutes of lying in bed before I got up.

After I had spoken with my father, Gale had left shortly after, once I had explained what had happened. He seemed relieved, although Toby had been put into an unusually quiet mood. I had dismissed this and gone to bed straight away, exhausted by the day's events. Despite my tiredness, I had lain awake for a long time, mulling over Katniss and Peeta's victory, the nightlock, and how the Capitol would react.

I turned over and buried my face in my pillow, not allowing myself to think about the

Capitol, and who would be punished for what the two victors did. Instead I let my mind wander to breakfast, and realise how hungry I am. With a sigh, I shove the covers off me and wander downstairs, to find Toby in the kitchen as usual. Normally I like to help him with breakfast preparations, but today I felt especially lazy, and left him to it as he cooked my requested bacon.

I settle myself onto the sofa in front of the TV. As soon as I switch it on, I see Katniss and Peeta's faces, and a banner at the bottom of the screen announcing that the interviews would be held as soon as Peeta's leg was fixed. Normally the interviews were the next day, unless the victor was injured and needed to be treated.

I relax slowly, my eyes glazing over, not really watching the TV, but I at least knew vaguely what was going on. After a while Toby comes in with my breakfast, and he senses that I am not in a talkative mood, and leaves me to it.

When I've finished, I move sluggishly upstairs to the bathroom, where I have an extremely long shower. Despite my long sleep last night, I still feel tired. I greet my father on the way to my bedroom, who has emerged from his study to get breakfast. I wasn't sure whether it would be awkward between us, and it wasn't that bad.

Instead of getting dressed, I get back into bed with the towel wrapped round me. I lie there for a while until I find the motivation to get up and get dressed, deciding that I've been lazy enough today. As I get dressed, I wonder what I'm going to do that day. Katniss and Peeta wouldn't be home for a while, and the only person I wanted to see was Gale, but I had no idea if he was busy today. We would have no school this week, because of the results of the Games, which left me nothing to do for seven days.

I eventually decided to go round to his house, hoping I remembered the way correctly. A lot of the Seam looked the same, but it hadn't seemed to far away from the Town when Gale and I had gone there.

I let Toby know where I'm going, and he waggles his eyebrows at me as I tell him.

"Going to see the boyfriend, Madge?" He says, grinning. I can't help but smile before shaking my head and walking out the door - although before I shut it I hear him say "You're not denying that he's your boyfriend!".

It's a hot day, and soon enough I've taken off my jacket. The sky is a light blue with only the occasional cloud crossing it, and as it nears midday the air begins to shimmer with the heat.

When I reach the square, I stop and get some water before continuing on. I settle into a reasonably quick pace, and reach the Seam in a few minutes. The buildings become more and more broken as I twist and turn through the streets, the road gone, only dirt beneath my feet.

Suddenly, I stop in my tracks, frozen. A figure stands in front of me, his arms folded and his cold eyes bearing down on me. It's Zach.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Madge." He says slowly. I shiver, despite the heat. He takes a step forwards to me, and I instinctively take a step back. He frowns when I do this, and moves quicker until we're only a few inches apart, my back against building. He grabs my arm with one hand, his grip far tighter than I'm comfortable with. He shoves his face into mine, and I can feel his hot breath wash across my face. I want to pull away, I want to get away from him but I can't, his grip on my arm is tightening even more.

"Are you scared, Madge?" He whispers. "Does this hurt?" He twists my arm slightly, and I let out a gasp.

"Perhaps I should make you more comfortable." He hisses, moving his head to my neck, breathing slowly. I look around me franticly, but the street is empty of people. Zach had chosen a one of the smaller, quiet streets of the Seam. He had planned this, and with each breath I feel on my neck I become more and more panicked.

"Stop, Zach." I try to sound like I'm not scared, but my voice comes out small and high-pitched. As I say it I feel his lips curl into a smirk against my neck, and my eyes begin to water in frustration. This wasn't fair. He twists my arm further and I start to cry.

"Gale," I croak. "Gale!" I say again, my voice stronger this time. "Gale!" I try again, my voice a scream this time. Zach snarls and presses his hand to my mouth, slamming my head against the wall behind me at the same time. I try and speak again but Zach twists my arm again and hisses for me to be quiet.

Suddenly I hear quiet, running footsteps, ones that could only belong to a child. My eyes search the street frantically, desperately hoping that they would appear and help me.

Then, on the left end of the street, I see a girl appear, in a white dress that stands out against the browns and greys of her surroundings. Blonde hair frames her face and falls to her shoulders, and her wide brown eyes stare at me. It takes me a second to realise who this girl is - it's Prim.

I jerk my head to the side and Zach's hand momentarily slips away from my mouth, giving me just enough time to shout,

"Get Gale!" And then my mouth is covered again, my head smacked against the wall. Zach is furious, and I can't see whether Prim has gone or not. Zach stares into my eyes for a few moments, and a silence follows. Then, out of nowhere, he slaps me, hard. My head whips to the side and fresh tears sting my eyes, my breath coming short and in gasps.

"No-one's coming to help you, Mayor's daughter." He hisses, twisting one hand in my hair, pulling my head back so that I'm forced to look at him. "Nobody cares about you, Madge." He keeps one hand in my hair and trails the other down the side of my body. I want to push him away, to fight back, but I can't. I don't want him to hurt me again.

Suddenly his body is wrenched away from mine, and Zach is thrown onto the ground. I scream in pain because when he was pulled away from me as his hand had still been tangled in my hair, and I can see a small amount of it still in Zach's clenched fist. After that everything got blurry because I started to cry. I fell to the ground and curled up in a ball, shaking and crying, trying to block out the sounds of someone being hit repeatedly.

Eventually it becomes quiet, and someone softly touches my shoulder. I flinch and move away from them, refusing to look and see who it is. I don't care. I don't want anyone to touch me.

"Madge." They whisper. Their voice sounds broken. "Madge, look at me." They sound... familiar. My body reacts to this voice. I move my head slightly to the side and peek through my hair at this person. It's Gale.

I don't know why, but the sight of him makes me start crying again. His arms wrap round me and this time, I don't shy away from his touch, I savour it. I push myself closer into him, and he rests his cheek on the top of my head.

"Madge, Madge, Madge," He whispers my name over and over, his voice tense and sad, like he's trying to hold back tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know he would be here, I didn't know..." I let him keep talking. I didn't want to accept his apologies, simply because he had nothing to be sorry for. But I need his voice, I need his comfort, I need his arms around me. I need to be told that everything's going to be okay.

Eventually I stop crying, and start to shake slightly. I realise that I'm going into shock.

After I've been silent for a while, Gale picks me up. He's incredibly gentle in the way he handles me, like I could break any second if he didn't hold me in exactly the right way. He starts to walk slowly, my head against his chest, my eyes open and staring into the space in front of me. I can hear his heart; it's beating quickly. I wonder what my heartbeat sounds like right now.

After a while Gale stops walking, and shifts his weight around underneath me. Then we're surrounded by a warm darkness, and it is much quieter here. Gale carries me through this darkness till he stops again, and then I feel myself being lowered. I realise that he is putting me on a bed - we're in his house.

Without another word, Gale lays down next to me and pulls a blanket over us. I feel his arms wrap round my waist and we both pretend that I'm not shaking.

I hate to cut this chapter off here, but it's getting late and yeah. Also I'm sorry for it being a bit of a depressing chapter but I promise it will get happier as Gale helps Madge recover.

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