This chapter is in Peeta's point of view.

We sneak off in the dead of night, while the others are asleep. I feel guilty about leaving Katniss without saying goodbye, but she will try and stop me if I wake her. I have to find some medicine for her and for Prim, who now sleeps in the infirmary with the same illness as her sister.

Haymitch has an idea of what the illness might be. The Capitol created a virus during the first rebellion that drastically reduced the population in all the districts. It was called the 'Fury', and it would attack the mind. It caused strange hallucinations that would eventually drive its victims mad with rage. Those who caught it would fight each other to the death, hence the reason it was called the Fury.

It was created using tracker jacker venom and some unknown chemicals. We can use the leaves that draw out tracker jacker poison to cure it, but the leaves don't grow around here. We also need some type of anti-inflammatory medicine to bring down the swelling of the brain that is caused by the disease.

Haymitch seems to think that the Capitol released the disease into the forest in order to kill us off. That's a good way to do it too, because then they don't have to search for us. Unfortunately for them, we won't give up so easily.

It takes us four days to reach District 12. Once we get there, Haymitch informs me that the fence is alive with electricity. We throw stones at it, hoping to short-circuit it. It doesn't work. We end up having to climb a nearby tree and jump over the fence. Haymitch lands on his feet, but I fall flat on my back.

"You okay, boy?" he asks, helping me up.

"Yeah."

We stare at the state of our home district in utter horror. It's the middle of the day, but the streets are empty. Windows are either boarded up or barred. Dried blood stains the pavement, making the streets look like a battlefield. I can hear screams of pain coming from within the maze of houses.

"What happened?" I ask in shock.

Haymitch's voice is cold. "We happened. Let's get the medicine and go."

We make our way to a well-known doctor's office and sneak inside. I grab a bottle filled with anti-inflammatory medicine, and Haymitch quickly finds the leaves. We hurry out of the building before anyone notices us.

That's when I catch a glimpse of the bakery and my mother. There is a strange look on her face that I can't place. Our eyes meet. "We need to go. Now!"

"I found them!" she shouts. "Over here! The runaways!"

Haymitch grabs my arm and drags me into an alley as peacekeepers storm the area. "That was your mother, wasn't it, boy?"

A sense of betrayal and shame overcomes me. "Yes."

Just when I think we've been spotted, the mayor's daughter crawls over to us. "This way," she says softly.

She leads us down the alley and toward her house. When the coast is clear, Madge opens the door and ushers us inside. There are two other people in her house: Delly and Gale.

"What are you doing back here?" Gale asks coldly. "Where's Katniss?"

Before I can respond, Delly runs over to me and gives me a big hug. "Peeta! It's good to see you again."

"Good to see you, Delly," I say.

Gale crosses his arms. "Well?"

"We had to come back," I tell him. "Katniss and Prim needed medicine."

"I hope they are alright," Delly says to me.

Haymitch peeks out the window and instantly ducks down, motioning for us to do the same. "What's happened since we left?"

Madge and Gale exchange a look. "They've tightened security," she says grimly.

Delly clasps her hands together, tears streaming down her face. "It's awful! They interrogated everyone who knew you guys. Peeta, I'm so sorry about your older brother. He... he didn't survive the interrogation."

Now I understand the strange look in my mother's eyes. It was a mixture of rage, hatred, and disbelief. I hang my head, grief-stricken. I should have convinced him to come with us, but instead I left him behind to die. "And my father?"

She places a hand on my shoulder. "He shared the same fate as your brother. I'm sorry. They left your mother alone once they realized how little she knew."

"Didn't stop them from killing my whole family," Gale responds angrily. "I should have gotten them out when I had the chance!"

"Or mine," Madge adds.

I look up at Delly, wondering if her family suffered a similar fate. She drops to her knees and nods. "Yes, they're gone. All three of us were orphaned overnight. Don't blame yourself, Peeta. It isn't your fault."

"It's ours," Gale agrees. "Katniss asked me to come with her, but I refused. I refused so that I could rebel against the Capitol! My family... I should have sent them with her."

Madge brings us some canned beans. "We want to come with you."

"All of you?" Haymitch asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Delly says, looking down at her can of food. "I want to go with you. I can't stay here any longer. It's horrible."

Madge nods in agreement. "I'm going as well."

Everybody turns to look at Gale, who immediately averts his gaze. "You can't leave right away. The peacekeepers will catch you. I'll think it over while we wait until nightfall."

Delly brings her backpack over to me. It's stuffed with clothes, blankets, and books. "I didn't know what to bring. This was all I had left."

Madge hands her a flashlight. "Don't forget this."

"We could use some food for the road," Haymitch tells them. "It will take us four days to get back, maybe more with the new additions to our group."

Delly and Madge collect food and pile it up in the living room. I begin packing cans of beans, fruit, and soup into a spare backpack. This should last us for at least a week.

Once the sun sets, we head out into the streets and make our way to the fence. It's still active, preventing us from touching it. We find a tree branch that hangs over the fence and into the district. Gale ties a rock to a rope and tosses it up into the tree, where it wraps around the branch. He tugs on it to make sure it's sturdy.

"Okay. Up you go." He hands the rope to Madge. "Don't accidentally touch the fence with your feet."

It takes her several agonizing minutes to make it into the tree. She drops to the ground and turns to face us. "It isn't too hard," she assures Delly.

Delly climbs up even slower than Madge had. She nearly falls when the branch bends under her weight. "Um, so I just jump?" With an encouraging word from Madge, Delly leaps to the ground.

I hand Haymitch the medicine, and he easily climbs the rope and jumps down beside the girls. "Are you coming?" I ask Gale.

Before he can answer, gunshots ring out through the night. Peacekeeper after peacekeeper run toward us, forming a line in front of us. A firing squad.

"Come on, boy!" Haymitch shouts as he leads the girls away.

I focus my attention on Gale. He is Katniss' best friend, and I can't leave him to die. "Let's go! They're going to kill us."

"We'll never make it," he argues. "Not both of us. You go. She needs you."

Does he mean Katniss? She will never forgive me if I let Gale die, and I will never forgive myself for saving my life at the cost of his. I shake my head and grab his arm. "I'm not leaving you behind. Now get up there!"

A bullet grazes my cheek as the peacekeepers fire at us from a distance. I shove Gale toward the rope, and he climbs up it without hesitating. He waits for me in the tree. "Hurry!"

I grab the rope and begin pulling myself up. The peacekeepers shoot at my hands, successfully injuring both of them, but I don't let go of the rope. Gale reaches down to grab my hand and help me into the tree.

"We can't lead them back to the others," I say.

Gale gives me a look before jumping out of the tree. "Then we'll distract them. Come on!"

I follow him into the woods.

Even though Gale is now in the story, there isn't going to be a love-triangle between him, Katniss, and Peeta. I never saw Gale as anything more than Katniss' close friend.