We travel for miles along the river without stopping. I want to put as much distance between us and the other peacekeepers as possible. If they catch us, that's it. No trial; no escaping with our lives. We will be killed for sure. After all, I wounded several of them, and Haymitch killed the head peacekeeper. President Snow will show us no mercy for our crimes. We are fugitives now.

As night falls, I decide it's safe for us to set up camp. I unpack my sleeping bag and spread it out; Prim sets hers next to mine, guides our mother into it, and then crawls in herself; Peeta gives Lavash his blanket; and Haymitch sets his backpack down and sits beside it.

"I'll take the first watch," he says, grabbing a bottle of white liquor.

I roll my eyes but make no attempt to take it from him. I doubt the peacekeepers will find us now. As I get settled into my sleeping bag I notice Peeta lying down on the floor, shivering. "Doesn't Lavash have his own blanket?"

"No. I brought that blanket from my house, but I should have grabbed two of them. Our mother wouldn't let Lavash take one with him." He closed his eyes. "It's not that cold out, anyway."

That is a lie. The temperature is dropping fast now that the sun has set, and I notice that Peeta isn't wearing thick clothing. Of course he wouldn't know what to wear in the wilderness. I should have told him to pack something warm. "Come here."

Peeta hesitently crawls over to me. "Are you sure?"

I wordlessly open the sleeping bag and motion for him to get in. He carefully slides into it and wraps his arms around me. It doesn't take me long to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

I wake up at dawn the next morning, feeling rested and ready to go. I notice that Peeta and Haymitch are still sleeping. Prim is up giving Buttercup some water, and my mother is checking Lavash's broken arm.

"How bad is it?" I ask her.

She doesn't look up at me. "Not too bad. It'll heal in about three weeks."

Three weeks is a long time to have a broken arm in the wilderness. That means he can't hunt, or fish, or fight if need be. We'll have to find something else for him to do. "Prim, can you teach Lavash about edible plants?"

She stands up. "Sure."

"Don't eat anything unless you are one hundred percent sure it's safe," I tell her. I've been the one collecting edible plants since I was eleven, not Prim, but she has been eating what I've gathered for years. She knows what is safe to eat.

Lavash looks a little worried. "What if I accidently bring back something poisonous?"

"You won't," Prim assures him. "I'll be there to help you."

Now I just need to figure out what everyone else can do. "Everyone needs to play a part if we are going to survive. My mother will be the doctor; Prim and Lavash will be gatherers; I will be the hunter; and Haymitch will be the town drunk." Everyone laughs.

Haymitch opens his eyes at the sound of our laughter. "No. Haymitch will be the scout. You know, the one who checks the area for dangerous animals or peacekeepers. I'll kill them if I find them."

"What about me?" Peeta pipes up, startling me. I thought he was asleep.

"Well," I say, searching my brain for a suitable task. Peeta can do many small things like starting fires, but I want him to feel important. "You can be our strategist, the person who decides what we should do next."

Peeta considers this for a moment. "Alright. I'll do it."

We decide to have breakfast first and travel later. Haymitch does a quick patrol of the area while the rest of us get ready to eat. Prim and Lavash set out to collect berries; Peeta is making a fire; and I head into the woods to hunt.

I've never been this far into the forest before, so the animals aren't expecting me to hunt them. I see a rabbit is nibbling on some grass a few feet in front of me, indifferent to my presence. I quickly shoot it through the eye and go to collect my kill. I'll need more than that to feed all of us. I tread lightly across the fallen leaves and pine needles as I search for more prey. I spot two turkeys and kill them instantly. That should be enough for now.

Back at the river, Prim and Lavash are dividing up a huge pile of blackberries between the six of us. Haymitch and my mother are talking in hushed voices by the fire. I briefly wonder what they are discussing before returning my attention to my prey. I skin the rabbit and turkeys, and Peeta cooks them over the fire.

As we begin eating, Haymitch asks the question that is on everyone's mind. "Where are we going to go?" A long silence follows. No one has an answer to his question.

Peeta pops a blackberry into his mouth and chews it slowly. "Well," he says, swallowing the berry. "They will find us if we stay too close to District 12. I think we should head north."

"North?" I repeat. "We don't know what it's like up north."

"That's exactly the point, Katniss," he says. "If we don't know, then I doubt the peacekeepers do either. They won't be expecting us to travel so far from home."

Everyone agrees to head north. As we pack our supplies, I can't help feeling a bit worried about our situation. Lavash broke his arm, which prevents him from performing certain tasks; Peeta doesn't have anything to keep him warm; and Prim has Buttercup. All of these things can prove fatal if we're not careful.

Prim's voice brings me out of my thoughts. "He likes you."

Lavash is holding Buttercup with his good arm, and the stupid cat is actually purring. "Such a good kitty," he says, kissing the cat on the head. "You're so lucky, Prim. I've always wanted a pet."

I return my attention to my backpack in time to see Peeta slinging it over his shoulder. "As thanks for sharing your sleeping bag with me, I'll carry your backpack."

"Peeta..." If the nights continue to be so cold, I'll lose him to hypothermia for sure. It was my decision to take the others away from District 12, and I refuse to let any of them die as long as I can prevent it. And the thought of losing him hurts more than I care to admit. "Will you share it with me again tonight?"

Peeta doesn't hesitate to agree. "Of course."

I take the lead as we walk away from our camp and into unfamiliar territory. The forest gets more and more ominous the farther we travel, and I ready my bow to defend us from any dangers that lie ahead. Thorn bushes scratch our legs, and low hanging tree branches threaten to poke out our eyes. I am managing just fine, but Prim is constantly tripping over rocks and fallen branches. I notice that everyone except Haymitch is also having trouble navigating through the underbrush.

Prim shrieks as she falls into the dirt. Lavash sets Buttercup down and kneels beside her, helping her into a sitting position. He cleans the blood from her skinned knees. "It's alright," he whispers soothingly. "You're just a little scraped up. Nothing to worry about." His words seem to calm her down.

I quickly realize how much Prim and Lavash rely on each other out here. They are both frighten children who know very little of the world outside District 12. Haymitch, Peeta, and I were forced to leave our naivete behind when we entered the Games as tributes. We know what to expect from the wilderness, but they have no clue of the dangers the forest can hold.

We continue on for another few hours before stopping to rest in a clearing. Prim picks wild flowers and makes them into a small bouquet. She sees a butterfly, and Lavash catches it for her. They watch as it opens and closes its wings, blissfully unaware that Buttercup is stalking it. The cat leaps into the air and swipes at it, but the butterfly flies away before he can kill it. Prim laughs and hugs her cat. "Don't be jealous, Buttercup. We weren't trying to replace you."

Haymitch and Peeta are talking among themselves. "What should we do, boy? We've fled District 12, resisted arrest, and murdered a peacekeeper. You can't talk your way out of this mess."

"And I'm not going to try," Peeta replies. "All we can do is keep moving forward."