A/N: Feels. Starts with Cato's POV.

Oh god. He's dead. Or unconscious. He's slipping away. "You're killing him! This isn't right...have a goddamn fucking heart!"

I must've provoked them, because now, they're turning the knobs on the electrical box all the way up to ten. They don't soak him this time, since that would kill him for sure, but they give him an electric shock that brightens up the room. If making the room brighter was already possible.

And I wonder how much pain a human can handle before going insane. I know Peeta's strong, so I'm hoping he can outlast it and stay sane through to the end. "Peeta! Hang in longer...don't leave me." ~

I can't stop screaming.

My body is working a million times more than it should to be able to keep my heart going at a normal pace. And I don't know or think anything. I can't see anything but light, hear anything but my own screams, and feel nothing but pain And the desire to die. I don't want this hellish excuse for life. I want the numb feeling back. I do know that this must have been brought on by my need for sleep...so that's officially out of the question. How long do I have left? Six hours at least. Twelve at most. I could be insane and no time has passed at all. ~

"No sleeping, you." My father says from behind me. "You'll have plenty of time to rest after tomorrow."

Three or four hours had to have passed already. God, I hope so. I don't want him to go through this anymore. I wish for the next session, they would just torture me instead. Peeta's screams of agony are too much to handle. Peeta...he was right. I'm not a bad guy. The Capitol is the bad guy. Every single one of those assholes in the Capitol is a bad guy.

Coming from a boy who has been on the Capitol's lap his entire life. But not anymore.

This entire time I've been screaming when I should have been thinking of a way to get him out. I have to get him out. I don't care what he wants or doesn't want-we're running the second we escape.

They finally decide to give him a one minute break from the pain so that they could decide what to do next. ~

Is it over? Did I die and I'm just dreaming that the pain has finally ceased?

No, death would be a blessing at this point. A sweet relief.

I don't know why there aren't a million Peacekeepers around me, or why the electricity is gone... But I take the time to breathe. My eyes wander over to Cato, who isn't looking at me at this point. He's staring off into space, in some other world. Some place where neither of us are in pain, I bet. I wish we could be there rather than here.

I want to say something, but I don't know what. "...Are you okay?"

Coming from the kid whose body was just racked with volts and volts of electricity, that sounds really stupid. ~

I shake my head. "If you're not, then I'm not."

He's definitely not. His face is swollen with cuts, every inch of his body is burned a deep red, and there are parts of him with peeled skin hanging off. At this point, I just want him to be dead.

Once again, I try to remove my limbs from the restraints, but I'd have to at least break a few bones, if not completely cut them off. But if I did that, I wouldn't be able to save him. I can't run without feet.

All I'm able to do is spit at the Peacekeeper next to me. He doesn't seem amused at my action, though. How I wish my dad was within spitting distance.

Then I see a Peacekeeper on the other end of the room pull out another syringe. Not that shit again! ~

I shake my head. "I suppose you're not, then." I try not to let tears fall from my face...my entire body feels like it's on fire. I see Cato's eyes look behind me, and I realize they're coming back. So much for the break. ~

The one with the needle stands next to Peeta and says, "Mr. Mellark, we haven't really heard much from you this entire time."

"You're not allowed to talk to him!" I shout. "Not someone like you!"

Ignored. "Care to talk to us?" He holds up the item in his hand as a warning. ~

"Well," I laugh quietly. "You haven't spoken to me much either-or given me time to talk." I can't see what he has in his hand yet, but I figure I'll get as many little quips out as I can. Especially since I have only about 24 hours left. ~

Goddamn it, Peeta.

The Peacekeeper waves the needle in front of his face and slaps him. "One more comment like that, and you'll get a little taste of your favorite medicine." I have to say, Peeta still manages to be sweet and adorable even as he's being tortured to death. "Now, what was your answer?" ~

Well, that was stupid. My eyes widen at the sight of the needle. I don't remember that.. But I have to reason that it's what made Cato disappear before. I can't deal with that again. "I-I... What do you want me to say?" I manage to get out. ~

"We're just going to ask you a few questions, that's all...and if you cooperate, you may never get this again." May never get it again. "Got it?" ~

I nod rapidly. Any chance of never living that hell again was worth it, no matter how slim. ~

"First...would you like to tell all of our lovely viewers out there why you're here? I know we've already said it, but I think it'd be nice to hear your side of the story." ~

"I...thought I was dead in the Games. But...I made it out. Without winning." I say. "And...I knew the Capitol would kill me if they knew I lived, so...so I ran. By my own choice. But they found me anyway..." I relived the horrific moment when Cato's father pointed out where I was hiding. "And now..." I was saying this to try and convince myself, not only to add to the story. "I'm going to die. Like I should have months ago." ~

"By your own choice..." the interrogator repeats, "and you thought you'd be able to escape the Capitol?"

He's not going to die. He shouldn't have died months ago. I really did want him to win the Games. He's the only pure person in this world, and they can't take that away. I can't let them do that. "You Capitol people are like broken records. Say something new for once!" I, on the other hand, can make as many witty comments as I'd like, since my punishment is to live. I can only imagine what my future will end up like. Maybe I'll be locked in a room and be forced to watch replays of the 74th Annual Hunger Games and the Victory Tour and Peeta's torture and death for the rest of my life.

"You thought you'd be safe...where were you again?" ~

"For three months, I traveled from District to District... I've seen all of them, except for One." I continue on. "District One, that is. Then..." I look to Cato. "I stayed at a home in Victor's Village in District Two." ~

All, or most, of the cameras are on me now. The only thing I do is nod-they didn't ask for my opinion on anything yet, so I might as well keep my mouth shut.

"You two lived together?" They all raise their eyebrows and laugh at us. "And how did living there make you feel? Did you finally feel like you had a purpose in life?" ~

Well, they'd definitely done their research.. That hit a sore spot. I avoid eye contact. "We...did." I admit. "It made me feel happy..Probably the happiest two months of my life." I say. "I don't know if there's much more to it." ~

"And mine." I say casually. "Best sleep I've had my entire life, with him there. Also, the best non-sleep, if you know what I mean." I'm forced to shut up when my guard kicks me in the shins. "Fine, I'll stay quiet."

"How sickeningly sweet." My father interjects. Just leave, I think to myself. "Now, Peeta, would you like to tell us how exactly you didn't die in the arena? So that nobody makes the same mistake next time." ~

I laugh at first at what Cato says, before realizing we'll never actually have that. I stop smiling then. "Berries." I respond. "They looked like nightlock, but..they weren't. More ovular. I ate one, and...well, everything went black. I discovered later that it stopped my heart, and reduced my body temperature to the point where the sensors thought I was dead." I say flatly. ~

They stare at him for a few seconds before they start laughing their asses off. "Berries. That the Capitol didn't know about? Tell the truth!" ~

"I'm serious!" I insist. "I thought I was dead...then I woke up in a coffin moments before my own wake in District 12!" I sigh. "Do you really think I'm capable of finding a way out of there on purpose?" ~

"No." One of them says, and the others agree and call Peeta too dumb to figure a way out. Too dumb to figure anything out. "And what would you like to say to your boyfriend?"

My head turns to Peeta at the same time he turns to me. I look at him and frown. ~

"...That I don't regret anything." I lock eyes with him. "That, no matter what happens, I'll love you. Unconditionally." With every sentence, it gets harder to speak, for I feel as if this is the last chance I'll get this much time to speak to him. "That you're really not a bad guy." I crack a smile. "That, when you get home, you'd better eat that goddamn cake I slaved for hours over." I blink once to prevent the tears from falling that live in my eyes. "That I'm glad we met." Oh god, they're coming. "That I'll miss you more than anything...And.." The tears fall. "That I'll see you soon, love." ~

"Peeta, don't cry," I say, forever holding back my own tears. As they stick the long needle into his arm and begin injecting the liquid again, I go on. "I told you I liked your face when you smile. I know you said other people didn't, but please...stop giving them what they want and give me what I want. What you want." He bites his bottom lip from the sudden pain of the syringe poking through his skin. "I'll miss you too. It won't be long for you...not much longer..." I wish we had longer. "You're not so bad yourself." ~

I don't know if he says anything after that.. Because all that fills my ears is a high pitched screech. I try to cover my ears, but realize that I had forgotten about the metal, and yell out as it cuts open my wrists. "O...oh." I look down at my hands and back to Cato. "Do you hear that?" I still haven't quite figured out what they're putting in me...but I know that it is responsible for this. "Does anyone hear that?" ~

"No, Peeta...it's just you. Can you hear me?" I'm getting worried now. Unlike before, they're injecting this shit non-stop. I see the blood coming out of his wrists as he tries to move them, and then I start wondering how much blood he's lost already. The Peacekeepers don't say anything-they just smile and continue putting him through hell. At this point, I think it's only an hour or so to go until he gets to take a break...then he endures another six hours of god knows what. "Peeta, you're out of it. Can you hear me?" ~

I don't know what he's saying. "It's...it's so loud. High pitched...I can't even hear my own voice. I can't hear anything." Then, black starts to fade into my eyes. "I can't see." I try to stay calm. ~

They empty the tube faster and faster until the one who stuck him says, "Sweet dreams."

I know all too well that they wouldn't just...put him to sleep like that. There's something funky in that poison that's screwing up reality for him. They want me to watch Peeta scream through his nightmares. "Peeta, try harder to stay awake!" ~

The whining continues until everything goes black. Then, there's nothing. No noise, no room, no Cato. Only darkness. I'm...conscious in my sleep? Conscious in unconsciousness? I can move... But I'm definitely not awake. ~

"No!" I lunge forward, creating deep cuts in my wrists. Fuck. "What are you doing to him?" I look at his bruised, bloody, burned, and shredded body for signs of movement, but it's hard to tell. "Did you just kill him?"

"Peeta Mellark won't die until sundown tomorrow." They say to me. "We're just...numbing his pain." This thing is giving him hallucinations...that's what he was saying before! He kept saying some nonsense about me not being here, but I was. They're trying to make it happen again.

"Wake up!" I plead. "Don't sleep!" ~

Then, I'm in the room again. But there's no one there but Cato. But he won't even look at me. "Cato?" I say aloud. "Why won't you look at me?" I try to grab at his braces. "We have to go. They're not here." ~

I'm screaming at him but nothing's happening. He can't hear me. "PEETA!"

"He can't hear you!" My father's voice says as he smacks the back of my head. "You see what you two have done? You brought this upon yourself! And there's more to come, so don't you worry."

"No!" I turn my head in both directions to try to find him, but he's directly behind me. "You guys are just pissed off because Peeta discovered a fault in your perfect Capitol!"

Suddenly, I feel a searing pain on my back. And I know for sure it wasn't another slap of the hand. It was hot and quick and it made me scream in agony. Of course, they said they wouldn't kill me. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't be tortured!

"You said you'd rather yourself get it than him." I look back at Peeta, who's lying there helpless and barely moving. "So we compromised." ~

"Cato? I know you can hear me...this must be them again." I push his shoulder. "Come on, wake up! We can get out of here! You and me!" ~

"Ow!" I scream. I've been whacked about five times with the hot iron but it feels like I've been thrown into the sun. "How about another compromise?"

My father, who has taken the opportunity to abuse me himself, walks in front of me. I hadn't seen him in hours, so I forgot how scary he looked when he was angry. "What kind of compromise?"

"You torture me, and kill me, and you let Peeta live his life back in District Twelve as if this never happened." I think for a moment. "If you don't kill me, you'll have to live with my sorry ass around the house for the rest of forever. Wouldn't you rather just kill me?"

"You know your lover wouldn't stand for that, Cato." He lashes out on me again, across my face this time. "He's a rebel and that's how rebels are punished."

"And I noticed there's a fine line between rebels and traitors. So what would be the difference?" I clench my teeth to hold back the pain. "They're the same thing. Just like me and Peeta are the same. Really, it would be better if you did away with me instead." ~

All I hope is that he can hear me. "Cato...Cato, you have to come with me. We have to go. We can't stay here. They'll kill me...and if I leave you, they'll probably kill you, or hurt you, I just... I could never live with myself if anything were to happen to you. My time was up months ago. You have plenty of time to spare. Come with me.." I beg. But he does nothing. ~

He finally stops abusing me long enough for my screams to die down, and I can hear Peeta mumbling something. "You can hear me? What are you saying?" I ask him.

"He isn't talking to you!" Then I'm hit on the other side of my face to mirror the first burn. "Now, you listen to me. You won't be dying. There is no other compromise. This is as much as you'll get."

"PEETA! What are you saying?" I call to the other side of the room, ignoring the man towering in front of me. ~

"Why do you have that blank look on your face? You...you have to help me get these braces off of you! Mine are gone, see?" I feel jolts of pain in my wrists when I lift my arms to show him my freed hands, but can't tell why. My whole body is unscathed. "Come on, love...! Please, I can't let them hurt you! Let's go!" ~

"Peeta, your braces are still on..." The braces that are digging into his skin more and more. He's going insane. "Stop moving! You're hurting yourself!" After this, I get the iron flat to the face. It burns my lips and my nose, the latter of which I can't move without it hurting and I'm debating whether it's broken or not. I can taste the blood from it on my tongue as it trickles out of my nose and into my mouth. I can't tell if what he's dreaming is worse than what I'm experiencing or not, but I really hope it isn't. "Peeta," I spew blood out of my mouth, "you're not thinking straight." ~

"Stop giving me that apathetic look!" I cry out to him. "You can't just stay here! Say something to me!" I begin crying. I tug at his shirt, but I don't get anything from him. "Why? Why won't you even talk to me?" ~

"I'm talking to you now!" Anger takes over my voice. "Wake up!"

"He's not waking up. But the time will come soon." Everything's coming soon. The end of the first six hours of torture. The next six hours. His final sleep. And then he dies. "Only another...thirty or so minutes."

I can definitely endure thirty minutes more of the beating. But I can't keep going on with hearing Peeta talk to no one. "I'm here for you, Peeta! Just fucking wake up!" ~

"I'm sorry if I did or said something wrong...!" I say to him. "Please, just..just acknowledge me!" I know I'm in some hellish state of mind when his braces brake open and it is Cato who's putting the match to me. Wake up. This is a horrible dream. I shout in anguish, because as fake as the flames are, they feel so real. Especially on this clean, new, healthy skin. ~

"You could never do anything wrong...Please wake up!" I continue screaming for him as the clear spots on my skin are branded by an iron. "Goddamnit Peeta you need to hear me now! I'm here! And I love you..." ~

Suddenly, everything is quiet. I thought I'd heard something. The dream room around me begin to fade as I tried to fight through it. "W..what?" I call out to anyone. I want to be back in reality. No matter how much it hurt. ~

"Peeta!" I'm sure my body doesn't look as bad as his, but I know he's still in for a shock when he wakes up. If he wakes up. "A-are you awake? Please tell me you can hear me..." ~

I hear a voice...But it's fuzzy. The words are clear, but my head is pounding and the voice becomes unrecognizable. "I can hear." That's all I get out. ~

"You can?" When I look up from my feet, the whole room is spinning. I hadn't realized that the blood was still pouring out of my nose, so I catch some in my mouth again. And I finally get my wish. I spit the blood out onto my dad's white uniform and brace myself for another attack. He won't even talk to me anymore-the hot iron must be satisfying enough. "Peeta...I'm here. I love you..." ~

"Cato? ..Please, please tell me that's you." My hearing has come back to a somewhat normal state, but my vision has not changed from the blackness that I see. "I love you, too!" I say, hoping more than anything that's him. ~

From what I'm able to see, a Peacekeeper punches him in the stomach. Well, that was a rude awakening. "Yes, Peeta, it's me. It wouldn't be anyone but me." I tell him. "Don't look at me..." He can't see what happened while he was out. ~

My eyes snap open, and the first thing I do-out of instinct-is look towards Cato.

But once more, all I see is darkness.

"D...Did someone turn out the lights?" I stammer out. Because I know my eyes are open. But I can't see a thing. ~

I sigh. "No, the lights are on. The cameras need the light." It's still incredibly bright in here and I'm glad I was finally able to adjust to the light. Seeing Peeta in front of me, no matter how grotesque his burns and cuts are, is the only thing keeping me sane right now. But apparently, he can't see me. "You'll be fine soon." ~

The darkness is terrifying. I don't know who's near me, or what's going on around me at all. I can hear little things, and I can hear Cato's voice. "H..how much longer?" ~

"Until what?" I ask, with the tears finally coming out. It's been long enough. "Twenty more minutes of this...only a little less than a day until...you're gone." ~

Twenty minutes to stay sane through before I can get a break and...I want to ask if I see Cato on my break, but I know it could get me seriously hurt. Less than a day until I'm dead. At least the pain's stopped for now.

"Don't you dare cry.." I whisper. "You've got to be strong." ~

"I can't help it!" I've reached my pain threshold so I'm pretty sure I can't be strong anymore. I still have trouble trying to figure out how Peeta made it through the fire, the burns, the water, the shocks...and I remind myself that he was stronger than he ever thought he was. And he still is. "Everything hurts..." He can't see it all and it's likely that he didn't hear what was happening. ~

"What do you mean...?" I say to him. How long was I out? What happened while I was out? "Cato..." ~

"I mean that I can't stand seeing you like this." Another quick iron to the arm. I bite my bottom lip as hard as I can as to not let the pain make me yelp. "Don't worry about me." ~

"I'll always worry.." I say. Only twenty minutes. Then they release the braces and open a door, and I can sit for ten minutes without fear..and then back here for another six hours. "Hey, it could have been worse." I try to sound optimistic. "This could've happened during the Games. Then the torture would've been a lot longer." ~

The pain would've been less concentrated in the Games, but I won't tell him that. He seems slightly hopeful and I don't want to ruin it.

"Look at him." One Peacekeeper says to Peeta, nudging him to get his attention. ~

I would be if I could! "I'm trying.." I insist. "But all I see is darkness." ~

"Try harder, you piece of shit!" He yells, giving Peeta a sharp slap to the face. "How about now?"

"Don't." I tell him. Just after I say this, the hot metal collides with the back of my head. "Ow!" ~

"What're you doing to him?" I try as best I can, but everything is just black. Completely dark. "I'm trying!" ~

My head is throbbing and I can smell singed hair on the back. "Nothing." I know they wanted him to wake up to this. "I'm fine, really. Just rest-" Quicker than I can ever imagine, the Peacekeeper next to me bends my right index finger back until it cracks. "Oh god!" The pain is unbearable at this point. ~

"Stop!" It's much worse not knowing what they're doing to him. "Please stop!" I cry out, pulling painfully against my restraints. ~

"Stop moving! You're hurting yourself!" Ten more minutes of hell. About twenty minutes until part two of hell. I'm wondering if they changed their minds about killing him tomorrow. Maybe they'll just kill him today. "Peeta, calm down." ~

"I can't!" I'm beginning to get frantic. "I'm in so much pain, I don't know anything that's happening, I have hours more of hell, and then I'm going to die!" I shout out. "It's hard to be calm...!" I start to cry, but it becomes too painful on the burns and my eyes stop leaking. ~

"Please, listen to me! Don't think that way. Don't-" Suddenly, a large piece of tape is covering my mouth. Then, I feel my index finger on my other hand crack the same way. I scream as much as I can through the tape. ~

"Cato!" I shout. "Please stop hurting him! He did nothing wrong! He didn't ask me to hide at his home, he didn't ask for any of this!" I plead to the darkness. "This isn't his fault, it's mine!" ~

No it isn't! It's not your fault! I try yelling to him. All I can get out are muffled screams and cries as I'm struck again on the face.

"If I'm not mistaken," my father says to him, "he invited you to stay at our house. Which qualifies as asking you to hide there, does it not?" ~

"No! Because it was stay there or get killed! It was fear... I didn't want to die then. I didn't realize the consequences all this would have over some silly mistake!" ~

I begged you to stay! Don't blame yourself!

"You can't escape the Capitol, Mr. Mellark."

But we can...if we had time, we could've went. If he wasn't tired of running, we could've been in the next District by now. Peeta, stop blaming yourself! ~

"Well...I get that now." I say sadly. "But I wasn't trying to escape, or rebel or defy or anything..I was just afraid to die." ~

"You should've been prepared to die in the arena." My father says. "Five minutes. Can you see yet?"

Please don't look at me, I mumble. I'm probably horrendous now. ~

"...No." I whisper. Is this what they put in me? Am I blind? Oh god. "Nothing." ~

They take out another bucket of boiling water and pour it over his head. "Speak louder." ~

"I can't see!" I scream. Oh god, that hurts. ~

Peeta! I start licking at the tape to loosen it.

"Apologize to the Capitol for your wrongdoing." ~

"I'm sorry!" I sob. "I am!" ~

"Apologize to my son."

By this point, the tape is a little bit looser but I have to push it with my tongue to rip it off the bottom lip. "Peeta!" ~

"I'm...I'm sorry, Cato." I whisper. I'm sorry for bringing this on him. For ruining our last hours together with a fight. For starting this by falling for him, and making him fall back. ~

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong." I think it must be a minute or two left until we can finally leave, but I don't know what happens after that.

"Try harder to see." ~

"How am I supposed to try to see?" My eyes are open. It's not my fault everything is dark. "I just..woke up like this." ~

Just as my dad is about to say something else, a buzzer sounds and Peacekeepers come and unlock the braces on my wrists and ankles. Does this mean it's halfway through? Some of them start to leave, so does this mean I get Peeta to myself? ~

A/N: Long chapter is long. Please review. I really do like hearing what you all have to say.