CATO POV

I couldn't believe that Coin had exempted me from Phase Two. I was furious, beyond measure. How could she do this to me? I thought angrily. In the morning, they were going to carry out the first part of the mission: getting the captives out of the Capitol.

I lay next to Glimmer, who was still awake. I ran my fingers through her hair as we lay together in the dark room. "Cato," she said. "Do you think that Phase Two will work?"

"It may," I said, "or it may not. Either way, it won't be easy. I'm going to try to be on my best behavior so that I can be a part of it. It's just that Miles is so… I don't know. I think I might hate him."

"You don't mean that," she said.

"Maybe not," I said, turning to face her. Her emerald eyes sparkled, even in the dark. I didn't say anything for a long time. "As soon as Snow's dead, I'm gonna marry you. I'm gonna marry you and then I'll finally be happy."

She smiled. "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

"Well, I hope it's a girl."

"Why?"

"So she can be as beautiful as you," I said. "But if it's a boy, I hope he has my good looks."

Glimmer laughed, then her smile faded. "We'll see," she said. "Maybe one day we'll be able to go back to District 1."

"Maybe," I said, "one day, there won't be any districts… Maybe we'll be able to live wherever we want without a transfer."

"I'd like that," she said. "Then you can be closer to your friends. I want to meet them."

"What about your friends?"

"I didn't have many friends. After Gleam and I started dating, I started losing friends until I had no one left. When Gleam and I broke up, it was kind of like I'd lost my only friend."

RORY POV

The next morning, Prim didn't eat much of her breakfast. I insisted, being that the food portions were ridiculously small. We were from District 12, where being hungry was a common feeling, but still…

"Come on, Prim," I said, pointing at the oatmeal in her bowl. "I know you're nervous about Katniss going on the mission, but you have to eat something. Please."

"Okay," she said and finished up her oatmeal with a few spoonfuls. I smiled and my eyes fell upon her braid, obviously done by her sister.

"Now let's go," Rory said, standing up. "We have classes soon." Living in District 13 wasn't terrible, aside from the ugly clothes and the bite sized food portions. We'd been here almost two weeks and it already felt like home, to me—more than District 12 had ever been.

I learned a lot in my classes. I was able to concentrate on school here, unlike back in District 12. There, it was always a struggle to keep ourselves alive. I never had time to read books and study anything. Not with other siblings around, keeping me busy.

That was one thing I missed most: my family. When Gale died, a part of me died. I was always close to Gale. I wanted to be like him. Brave. I supposed I was brave in my own way, after all I'd been through. I missed my mother too. She'd taken care of us after my father died, even though we'd barely been able to get by.

I hoped that this "plan" that the adults had would work. I hoped it would put an end to the Hunger Games once and for all. My name was in there enough times. I could've been reaped instead of Peeta. Imagine if Katniss hadn't volunteered for Prim. Me and Prim? Tributes? I wouldn't have been able to stand it. I probably would've tried to find a way to kill myself. I'd rather that than have to kill my best friend myself.

I wanted to kiss her again. We hadn't kissed since that day near the Hanging Tree. We hadn't talked about it either. Did she like me? Did she regret the kiss? I could ask her, but I was terrified that I'd be rejected. Rejection was one thing that I couldn't bear. Maybe I'd talk to her about it, someday. But certainly not now.

JOHANNA POV

"This way," said Miles, leading our group onto the hovercraft. I was a little nervous about this part of Phase Two. We were going to rescue captives but, to me, it was risky. Snow wouldn't let us have them back so easily. It would be tricky, but that wasn't going to stop us.

Everyone boarded the hovercraft and we waited for it to take off. When it did, Miles announced that it would be about three hours before we got to the Capitol. He explained the mission again, answering any last minute questions, and finally sat down next to me. "Nervous?" he asked. I nodded. It was sort of true.

"Don't be," he said. "We'll get them out alive. We have some guys in the mansion who are going to get the captives. Then we're going to snatch them up before Snow can wipe his worthless ass."

I laughed, mostly because I could picture Snow wiping his "worthless" ass. It was a strange thought, but I pushed it out of my mind. "Do you usually take charge on missions like this?" I asked.

"No. We've never really had missions until now. There's never been any danger," he said. "But Coin trusts me—more than she trusts the native Thirteeners, so I'm in charge here."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why were you such an ass to Glimmer yesterday?"

"I don't know. It's Cato that bothers me. I feel like he doesn't deserve her. I feel like he's going to break her heart. Glimmer and I got kind of close, as friends, until Cato got here. We haven't spoken much since. I guess I just kind of lashed out at her. I'll apologize when we get back. But I'm not apologizing to Cato!"

"Fine," I said. "Suit yourself." Then I mumbled under my breath, "I don't understand why they can't get along."

A little over three hours later, I heard Miles barking orders at someone on a phone. He clicked it shut and said, "We're beginning descent into the Capitol. Everyone, take your stations and get ready for part one of Phase Two."

I took the gun out of the belt around my hips and held it in my hands. I checked to see that it had plenty of pullets and cocked it. Katniss appeared next to me, holding a bowstring with a sheath of arrows strapped across her back. "I guess you're not good with guns, huh?" I asked, looking at her weapon of choice.

She shook her head. "No," she said, "Peeta's better with guns than I am. For some reason, he can fire a gun but he can't shoot an arrow to save his life, or anyone else's."

I laughed as I looked behind me to find Peeta running his fingers across his own gun. The hovercraft came to a stop and the doors opened. "Go!" shouted Miles. Everyone in our group raced out of the hovercraft and into the mansion. I heard citizens of the Capitol screaming from all over. We hadn't done anything—yet—but I assumed that they were afraid of the weapons that everyone was clutching ever so tightly.

A guard appeared from inside, followed by a few others. Before I could aim and fire the enemies hit the ground, already dead from the bullets of my companions. We charged into the mansion, with Miles leading the way. He'd spent most of last night looking the map of President Snow's mansion, analyzing until he knew every turn. It paid off because without him, we'd all be hopelessly lost. We stopped, more guards appearing at the end of the hall. I aimed and shot, sending one of the guards to his grave. "Nice shot," I heard Finnick say from behind me. I grinned as we turned the corner. The captives were there, surrounded by three guards.

"Hold your fire," said Miles, rushing over to them. He whispered a few things to them and then signaled for everyone to come over. The captives all appeared to be unharmed. I couldn't say the same about their mental states though. "Johanna and Finnick, protect Beetee. Get him to the hovercraft."

I nodded and Finnick and I rushed over to grab Finnick. "Are you okay on your feet?" Finnick asked. Beetee nodded. I heard Miles yelling more names and giving more orders, but we had to go before anything terrible happened.

We walked quickly. I wasn't sure if Beetee was capable of running. We made it out of the mansion without any trouble and made it safely onto the hovercraft. The medics took Beetee out of our care and into a room at the back of the hovercraft.

Ten minutes later, everyone was on the hovercraft, except for Miles. "Where's Miles?" I asked Katniss, who was resting her head against the window.

"He was with Peeta," she replied. "Peeta's not back yet either. As she said that, Peeta boarded the hovercraft, dragging a bloody Miles behind him. I rushed over to him and demanded to know what the hell happened.

"There were guards," said Peeta panting, "that attacked us on our way out. They were aiming for me, but I ducked. And it hit Miles in the shoulder."

"Damn it," I said. "Someone get the medics!" I helped Peeta get him onto his feet. He grabbed his shoulder, wincing in pain. He clenched his teeth together and then smiled.

"Everyone did a great job," he said. Then the medics rushed in and took him to the back, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Poor Miles. How much blood has he lost? Will he survive? Will Cato and Miles put their differences aside? Will Cato find out about Glim's friendship with Miles? And more importantly, will Cato remain exempted from Phase Two, or was it only temporary? Cliffhanger questions! And they'll be answered by next chapter.