Hey guys, it's Mari! I apologize for not writing for a super long time. Every day I would get somewhat mad at myself for not writing. Ok, so, this series is about to blow up and I am ridiculously excited about it! I already have the next 2-3 chapters played out in my mind. I AM SO PUMPED! It's gonna be great. Anyone see the Catching Fire trailer? PM or Review your thoughts. Here is the next chapter of The District Chronicles

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO ANY OF THE HUNGER GAMES CHARACTERS OR STORY LINES

Revenge (Peeta's POV)

I woke up inside the forests of what I believed was District 12 with a few ropes tied around my ankles and wrists. This is when you know something bad happened. I blame Gale 120% for everything.

Who provoked me? Gale.

Who knew that he could kick my butt? Gale.

Who hates my freakin' guts? Um, I don't know. Wait... Gale.

Who tied me up and put me in a forest? Wow, that's so har- Gale.

I pulled myself into a sitting position on the weed infested ground. There was a bow, three arrows, and a note that read: 'I saw your attempt to shoot arrows in the games and thought that you needed some private practice. Happy Hunting, Gale.' Man, this guy sure had a large sense of humor. There was no way that I could hit a moving target with my hands tied up or even a tree with my hands open.

I still ached from all the punches that I had received the day before. I could feel bruises forming, cuts infecting, and pain throbbing from everywhere on my body, but mostly on my face and the area of my amputated leg.

In an attempt to free myself, I wriggled on the ground while rubbing the cords together as fast as possible, creating enough friction to possibly start a fire. It sounded crazy and painful, but my life is already crazy and I have definitely felt worse.

I continued scraping the ropes together and braced myself for the burst of white hot flame, but felt nothing. My hands broke free anyway.

It appeared that there were 2 tiny hooks on the end of my bindings that came free after I had made lots of movement. Well, at least Gale had made life for me slightly easier. Maybe a sense of humor comes with a forgiving nature. Who knew, but at last I was free.

I jumped up, put the bow in one hand, and began to look for berries on the surrounding bushes. Lord only knows how long it would take for me to find a couple lazy birds that were just asking to be shot at. I would probably miss them easily no matter what though. I had never been any good with arrows.

Why couldn't my challenge be baking a cake or something? I was really good at that. Baking Games winner: Peeta Mellark. It could happen.

I told myself to wake the heck up and focus. This was the wild. Not Hunger Games wild, but lets just say that there are no rose smelling showers in the outdoors. And definitely no fire spewing costumes either. This was what life was like for people before Panem was formed, or so I have been told. At least there were no hidden cameras inside trees or tracker-jacker nests lurking on high branches. That would suck. It would be almost as bad as getting my leg half ripped off by Cato. Note the word 'almost'.

Ok, Peeta, seriously! FOCUS. Speed. Agility. Strength. Swiftness. Berries. I need some berries.

Mission 1, Day 1: Berry hunting

I walked through bushes and ducked under branches in search of the perfect health food. Finally I made it to a small patch of assorted shrubbery. Viciously, I dove for the dark blue circular berries.

I know what you're thinking,'score! Blueberries,' and believe me, I thought the exact same thing for a few seconds.

Triumphantly, I lifted the fruit up to my mouth and prepared for it's sweet goodness to make contact with my tongue. 5,4,3,2- STOP

Nightlock. Why is it always nightlock? I am so dumb sometimes. Katniss would have second-guessed-it right from the start.

I wished she were here, but having her save my butt twice would be just flat out embarrassing. I needed to show her the side of me that does not bake cakes for a living! The side that did not just get his ass kicked by her older-kind-of-boyfriend-person. The side that actually knows how to survive in the wilderness.

It's a darn shame that that side actually does not exist inside me.

Mission 1, Day 1: FAILED

No berries and a near death experience.

Mission 2, Day 1: Getting the hell out of here

I walk near a tree and think about sitting down or aborting the mission when I hear a low buzzing sound.

I run in the direction of the noise and realize what I had come upon. It was the electric fence that 'protected' District 12. Maybe I could save myself if I actually found it. Maybe I could be self-reliant for once! That would be amazing, for once.

After a few minutes of wandering near the sound, I finally came face to face with the glowing fence that was aligned with forest.

I walked toward it hesitantly, making sure to not brush my skin up against its sharp and electric cord. Soon I saw no other choice but to try my luck and jump over it, possibly using a tree branch to lift myself higher.

I climbed a nearby thick tree that could undoubtedly support my weight. It was a bit hard with my fake leg, but I tried because this was between life and death. Ready to jump, I closed my eyes and focused on what I had to do. The harsh buzzing still encompassed the area around me. One, two, three... JUMP! That was what I was going to think when I was about to jump.

Ok, here we go. One, two, three... Wait, the buzzing noise suddenly stopped. Oh thank god! I would have been fried in less than a minute. The peacekeepers had turned off the electric part of the fence.

I jumped down from the tree and felt a burst of pain in my leg, but I had to keep moving. One of the ten cords on the fence was loose, so I pulled it free and slipped through the space between. Bye bye forest. Good riddance!

As I was walking into Victors Village to find Katniss, I was stopped by a group of peacekeepers who I had never seen before.

"Hey kid, why are you making your way into a restricted area? Read much?"

"Excuse me, my name is Peeta Mellark and I just won the Hunger Games, so if you would please let me in, that would be great."

"Have an ID Victor?"

"They haven't given me one yet."

"Interesting. Why are you so scruffed up kid?"

"Got beat up by an older guy from this district."

The three men began to laugh, "You got beaten up by a kid from your own district? And you won the games?" They looked dumb struck, "Don't tell my that your girlfriend did this too you?"

"Are you kidding? This was an 18 year old, 150 pound guy who had a severe vengeance against me. I was unarmed. He could have killed me."

"So you were bet up by a regular townsperson?"

"A little past regular, but if we weren't talking specifics, than yes."

"Being a Victor, you could file an arrest warrant for the guy who hurt you. The charges all depend on what he did."

"First he cornered and tackled me, pinned me to the street, punched me in my amputated leg, and broke multiple bones in my body. After that I was knocked out. That was yesterday. Today I found myself tied up in the forests of District 12. I managed to break my bonds and find my way home."

"He must really hate you. Anyway, with all these offenses, he could be publicly abused or even killed."

I thought for a moment. I wanted that guy to burn in hell so much, but Katniss would be really upset if her friend died. Also, Gale had decided not to kill me when I was down, so I guessed that I owed it to him. He still needed to feel pain though, "Not killed, but publicly abused sounds like a good enough punishment. First arrest him though."

"Of course, sir. Should we alert you when he is in captivity?"

"No, I don't care much about that. Just injure him enough and let him go. I don't want too much trouble."

"Mercy from a Victor?"

"Shut up."

"Fine. What's his name then?"

"Gale Hawthorne."

"Oh, he has been suspected for previous crimes around the district. Did you know that?"

"Yes, I did know."