AN: Hello everyone! Looks like Camp Nano is really paying off this year!

This chapter introduces a new character's POV. Hope you like it.

Chapter 18. Allies.

Katniss hid her face underneath her scarf and picked up her pace. Temperatures were dropping fast.

Her little trek through the woods had taken longer than she'd anticipated, and the sun was about to set.

She still had at least an hour before curfew, but she didn't like the idea of being alone in the woods after dark.

After stashing her weapons in the hollow log, Katniss headed for the fence. She was crouched on one knee, prepared to enter the Meadow when she heard it again.

The low hum of electricity —as dangerous as the buzz of a tree full of tracker jacker nests— indicated the fence was alive.

In an instant, her feet backed up until she blended into the trees. What now? She fretted, already feeling the shot of adrenaline coursing through her, setting her senses on high alert.

Katniss looked around and tried to determine whether there was anything amiss on the other side of the fence. She saw nothing. The wire hadn't been disturbed, and there were no footprints on the snow. Everything was just as she'd left it.

The lack of movement around the Meadow eased her worries. This wasn't the first time she'd been caught outside of the district by an electrified fence. As long as the Peacekeepers didn't see her, she'd be OK.

I've never been alone, though, a scared inner voice reminded her.

It was true. Gale had always been with her. Together, they would just pick a comfortable tree to hang out in until the power shut off. It never took more than a couple of hours for the hum to stop and, once it did, the hunters climbed down from their hiding places and went back home.

Sometimes, when Katniss was running late, Prim went to the Meadow to check if the fence was charged -to spare Mrs. Everdeen, and herself, the worry. But that wasn't going to happen today.

Because Prim doesn't know where I am. Katniss tightened her fists, wanting to slap herself for her carelessness. Nobody does.

She had told Prim and Gale she'd be in Victors' Village, and Peeta probably thought she was back home in the Seam.

What would happen once the curfew alarm rang, and she was nowhere to be found? Would Prim come looking for her? She hoped not. She couldn't bear the thought of Prim risking curfew because of her.

Her most immediate worry was that Thread and his men had kept the fence on for days. They had probably just powered it off for repairs, there was no reason for them to disconnect it if it was working again.

So that was it. Katniss was stuck. Trapped in the forest and looking for a way in. After spending the last few days longing to escape, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Straightening up, Katniss peered through the trees, past the fence, into the Meadow. All she could see was the wet snow illuminated here and there by the light from the windows on the edge of the Seam. There were no Peacekeepers in sight, no signs of a patrol or surveillance team.

A faint flicker of hope sparked in her chest. She could still get back inside the fence unseen. But how?

Any contact with the chain link or the coils of barbed wire that guarded the top would mean instant electrocution. And burrowing under the fence wasn't an option either, not with the ground frozen hard underneath it.

Katniss looked up. That was her only choice. Somehow, she was going to have to go over it.

Under cover of darkness, she skirted along the tree line, searching for a tree with a branch high and long enough to fit her needs.

After about a mile, she came upon an old maple that looked just about right. But the tree's trunk was much too wide and icy to shinny up —and there were no low branches for her to hold on to. So, she turned to look at the neighboring trees.

She was trying to figure out how she could climb onto one of those trees and then leap into the maple when the distinctive sound of snow being crushed under someone's feet made her freeze.

A stocky figure, bundled against the wind and snow, went barreling down the deserted street headed straight to her.

Panicked, Katniss jumped behind the tree and hoped, with every frantic heartbeat, that the thick trunk would conceal her.

The figure reached the fence and, leaning as close as they dared, hissed, "Katniss!"

Even in its urgent, angry tone, the familiar voice was like music to Katniss's ears. Smiling in relief, she stepped away from the tree. "Peeta? How… What are you doing here?"

Peeta crossed his arms over his chest. Part of his face was covered by a scarf, but there was no mistaking the fire in his eyes. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

Ignoring the bite in his tone, Katniss walked towards him —stopping so close to the gate separating them that she could almost feel the electricity vibrating off the chain link. "The fence was off."

With a shake of his head, Peeta looked behind his back. As if out of thin air, Gale Hawthorne's tall frame materialized by his side.

Startled, Katniss jerked back.

Gale chuckled; the sound softer than the flutter of wings. "Hey, Catnip!"

Wide-eyed, Katniss watched as Gale unzipped his coat and, with Peeta's help, began untying a length of rope which had been coiled around his torso.

With quick fingers, Peeta curled the rope into a ball and gave it back to Gale.

"Step back a little," Gale instructed.

Katniss did as she was told.

Gale took a couple of steps back, took aim, and with one graceful pitch threw the ball over the fence.

Katniss picked up the ball. "What now?"

"Untie the rope, swing it over the branch, and use it to shinny up." Using his finger, Gale indicated her movement along the branch and over the fence. "Once you're inside, drop the rope again, and slide down."

"Alright." Katniss walked up to the tree. The branch was high, but it only took her a couple of throws to swing the rope over it.

Moving quickly, she climbed up the rope and reached the branch. The slippery bark almost made her lose her grip, but she managed to get a hold on the limb. After twisting the rope back into a ball, she inched her way over the barbed wire.

Once she was safely inside the district, Katniss looked down. There was a reason why she and Gale waited in the woods rather than try to tackle the fence. Being high enough to avoid getting fried meant being at least twenty feet in the air. Her branch was more like twenty-five.

It was a long way to drop, even with a snowbank to cushion her landing. Luckily, she had her rope.

Working as fast as she could, Katniss untangled her rope and looped it around the branch.

Below her, Peeta grabbed the two ends of the rope and pulled at them until they were even. He looked up. "It's a bit short, but I can catch you."

Hoping her hands wouldn't slip, Katniss held on tight. Pushing her hips forward, she slid off the branch, reached for the rope, and used it to slide down.

She hadn't reached the end of the rope yet when she felt Peeta's arms reaching for her.

As Peeta's hands tightened around her hips, Katniss let go of the rope; allowing him to bring her down the rest of the way.

Her feet had barely touched the ground when Peeta's arms enveloped her in a fierce embrace.

Katniss wasn't used to being touched. Other than Prim, no one ever hugged her. Gale and his family gave her affectionate pats on the back on her birthday and New Year's, but this was different.

Being in Peeta's arms was like being wrapped in a warm blanket after spending a lifetime out in the cold.

She couldn't remember the last time anyone had held her like that. Not once, since her father died, and she stopped trusting her mother, had someone else's arms made her feel so safe.

Instead of pushing him away, -like she normally would have- Katniss threw her arms around Peeta's neck.

The spicy-sweet scent she recognized as his, filled her lungs, invading her senses. She closed her eyes, blocking the world away, and surrendering to the peace and tenderness of the moment.

Feeling Katniss's body relaxing against his, Peeta pulled her in closer and buried his face in her hair. His anger was gone, but she could still hear the worry in his voice. "You promised, Katniss. You said you'd stay safe."

"I know, I'm sorry," she whispered as she tightened her hold on him. "I didn't think I'd be gone that long."

Peeta nodded. His lips brushed over a spot on Katniss's neck where her scarf had gotten loose. Exquisite, comforting warmth radiated from his touch. Light-headed with a sudden, ravenous need, Katniss stretched her neck to let the feeling spread through the rest of her.

Lost to time and logic, Katniss held on to Peeta -basking in his steady embrace as if it were a joyous summer day- and refused to let go.

In the cold winter night, the sound of Gale clearing his throat broke them apart.

Peeta pulled back first. With a hint of mischief in his smile, he reached for Katniss's scarf and wrapped it snugly around her throat. "We should get going."

Fighting the blush creeping up her cheeks, Katniss faced Gale. "Got everything?"

"Yup." Gale patted his coat. He had wrapped the rope around his body once more to conceal it from curious eyes.

Slipping her hands into her pockets, Katniss began to walk. Gale and Peeta flanked her on either side.

Once the group had left the Meadow behind, Katniss leaned closer to Peeta. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I asked around."

Not satisfied with his answer, Katniss scowled.

The gesture almost made Peeta laugh. If they had been back in his house, he would have teased her about it, making her suffer a bit for the way she'd made him worry earlier, but they were in the middle of the street, and they weren't alone. Gale had been pleasant enough, but they had just met, and Peeta had more sense than to get on the wrong side of Katniss's hunting partner.

"I got worried when you didn't show up this afternoon," Peeta explained, "So, I went over to your place, and Prim told me the fence was off. We came out here to check and, when we saw that the fence was on, again, she took me over to Gale's."

"Prim knew the fence was off?"

"Yeah, I told her," Gale said.

Katniss glared at Gale, irritated by the fact that he hadn't mentioned anything when she'd seen him earlier. "How did you know?"

"What, you think you're the only one who goes past it every day?" Gale huffed. "I thought about going under myself, but school was almost out, and Peacekeeper patrols were going on their rounds. I guess I figured it would hold until tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, …surprise!" Katniss grumbled.

Gale shook his head, he knew his friend had taken an unnecessary risk, and he was dying to call her on it, but he wasn't about to do that with Peeta Mellark in tow. Besides, deep down, he understood the need which had driven Katniss to escape into the woods. "Did you catch anything, at least?"

Looking almost embarrassed, Katniss placed a hand over her empty hunting bag. "I did but…."

It was Peeta's turn to be curious. "But what?"

Katniss stopped walking. Her hands flew to the strap of her hunting bag, and she began twisting it in her hands. Her little adventure in the woods had been nothing like what she imagined when she sneaked under the fence, and she was dying to talk to Peeta about it.

Telling Gale won't hurt either, she thought.

Her two companions stood in front of her. Curiosity shone in their eyes as they waited for her to speak.

"I need to tell you something but…" Katniss looked up to the low hanging roof of the nearest building. As far as she could tell, there were no cameras or surveillance equipment on that street, but this was Panem. Someone was always watching.

Understanding Katniss's trepidation, Peeta slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the small signal scrambler Portia had given him. At first, he had thought it only worked to distort telephone conversations, but Cinna had explained that the little device created a white noise screen which interfered with any microphones within listening range.

Peeta pressed his thumb to the small disc and waited until it vibrated in his palm. "You can talk now, no one will hear us."

"Those are real?" Gale asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"They are." Peeta flipped the disc in his hand to show it to Gale. "I got it from my stylist." Before Gale could ask any more questions, Peeta slipped the activated scrambler back in his pocket. "Katniss, what happened out there?"

Interlude. Gale's POV

Gale sat on his father's old recliner. A cup of weak mint tea grew cold in his hands as he listened to the peaceful cadence of his siblings' snores filling the living room.

Outside, the world was in turmoil, but peace still reigned in the Hawthorne home. At least for now.

He had tried going to bed, but he couldn't sleep —not after everything he'd heard.

The shock of finding Peeta Mellark at his doorstep had quickly morphed into worry when the victor had explained the reason for his visit.

According to Prim, —who was also there— Katniss was out in the woods and was going to need help getting back in.

The group had snapped into action.

After getting a rope from his crewmate, Thom, —and leaving word of his whereabouts with Rory— Gale had taken Prim and Peeta to the spot where Katniss usually slipped under the fence.

His hunting partner wasn't there, but Gale recognized the pattern of flattened snow near the tear in the wire.

Prim was right, her sister had slipped under the fence and concealed her exit.

"I guess we'll just have to wait her out." Peeta walked over to the closest building and leaned against the wall. The shadow from the low roof hanging off the facade hid him from view.

Gale wrapped an arm over Prim's shoulders. "You should probably go home. We can take it from here." Hoping to reassure her, he squeezed her shoulder. "We'll have her back in no time."

Prim's eyes clouded over with worry, but she didn't put up a fight. "You'll let me know if you need anything else."

Gale knew it wasn't a question, but he still confirmed, "I will."

"OK." Moving away from Gale's embrace, Prim walked over to the building. Her slumped shoulders betrayed her frustration. But she was smart enough to know that there was nothing left for her to do there.

By the time Gale caught up with her, Prim was already saying goodbye. Much to his surprise, the 12-year-old stood on the tips of her toes and left a quick peck on Peeta's cheek.

Gale's eyes popped open. Prim had always been friendly, —and he knew she'd been to Victors' Village several times; Rory said she went there almost every week now— but he was still surprised by the familiarity of her exchanges with the victor.

Is Katniss this affectionate towards him, he wondered.

Before walking away, Prim waved a mittened hand in the air. "See you later, boys!"

"Bye, Prim," Peeta and Gale answered in unison.

With the sound of Prim's footfalls fading in the distance, Gale moved to stand next to Peeta.

Peeta tilted his head to look at the sky. There wasn't much daylight left. "So… What happens now?"

"We wait."

Peeta crossed his feet at the ankles, stretching his back as he relaxed against the wall. "That rope you brought, what's it for?"

Gale crossed his arms, sticking his hands under his armpits. "Right now, it's to keep me warm." Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the tree line behind the fence. He had never been stuck outside for long, but he had always imagined there would be some branch he could use to go over if he ever needed to. "But it might come in handy if she has to climb up a tree."

He was about to tell his companion to wait there while he searched for a branch to serve their purpose when he heard Peeta's sharp gasp.

Gale knew without looking, Katniss was back.

XXXXX

Gale wrapped the rope back around his torso and tried to blend into the background.

It was odd. He had spent months thinking he and Katniss were as good as a couple. Yes, he knew how she felt about love and marriage, but he had foolishly believed that the bond they shared would be enough to convince her to give him a try. Now —watching her melt into Peeta Mellark's arms— he saw how wrong he had been.

Gratitude and admiration might have been at the root of Katniss's relationship with the victor, but what was happening between them ran a lot deeper. And there was no doubt it was mutual.

He almost felt sorry to break them apart when they seemed so elated, but the side of the fence wasn't the best place for their reunion.

And now… back to our story…

Katniss stepped closer to the building to escape the stretch of street lit by the lampposts.

Peeta and Gale followed. Once they were huddled around her, she began, "I found someone."

"You—," Startled by the fact that they had spoken in unison, Peeta and Gale turned to look at each other.

Under different circumstances, the boys' surprise would have made Katniss laugh, but there was no time for that. "I ran into two women. Refuges, from District 8."

Peeta straightened up. "Eight? How did they get here?"

"They walked."

"All the way from Eight?" Gale asked.

"We've seen people from farther away." Katniss locked eyes with Gale. "Remember?"

Gale nodded; his mind trapped in the memory of the two runaways they had seen in the woods once —a red-headed girl and a boy with tattered clothes who were running as if their lives depended on it.

"You've seen others?" Peeta's eyes were wide with wonder.

"It was a while back," Gale explained, "We saw a woman and a boy —probably her little brother. But we only saw them from a distance. We were hidden under a shelf of rock at the time, waiting for game. I don't think they saw us and, before we could do anything, a hovercraft appeared."

Katniss shivered —the chill in the air, and the story were blowing all the warmth from her body. "It was terrifying. One moment the sky was empty, and the next it was there. It didn't make a sound. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up fast, then they shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable, and they hauled him up as well. He was dead."

"We heard the girl scream once. The boy's name, I think. And then it was gone, the hovercraft. Disappeared into thin air. And the birds began to sing again as if nothing had happened." Gale looked down at his feet. He hadn't thought about the couple in a long time. But that part of the woods had never felt the same after that day. He hardly went by there anymore.

Peeta looked at the two hunters in front of him. He remembered watching them from afar and thinking they were a couple but —listening to them talk— he saw their real bond. You can't survive the dangers that lie beyond the fence without a partner you trust to watch your back.

Before his mind could take him back to the arena —and the bond he had forged there— Peeta went back to the story. "Where do you think they were from?"

"The Capitol," Gale said.

"Yeah," Katniss confirmed, "they had that look about them."

Gale looked up to the dusting of snow still clinging to the rooftops. "That was summertime, Catnip. How can anyone survive in this weather?"

Letting go of the past, Katniss focused back on her more recent adventure. "They have protection. They're wearing Peacekeeper uniforms."

Peeta's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Uniforms? Are they deserters?"

"No. One of them was a school teacher, and the other was one of her students." Katniss smiled at the thought of the young girl who was roughly about her age.

Gale stomped his feet a couple of times to get the blood flowing to his limbs. "So, how did they get the uniforms?"

"They used to work at the factory where they made them. The younger one, her name's Bonnie, she stole them. They also had a gun, but that came from a dead Peacekeeper."

"They killed a Peacekeeper?" Gale's eyes shone as bright as the moon rising above them.

Katniss shook her head. "No, I don't… He was probably killed during the uprising."

Taking advantage of Gale's stunned silence, Peeta spoke. "The uprising in the square?"

Katniss jerked her head back. "You know about that?"

"I don't know much," Peeta admitted, "but I saw a report when I was at the mayor's mansion at the end of my Victory Tour. I saw people fighting in the town square. Peacekeepers tried to contain them, but the crowd fought back."

A shiver ran down Katniss's back. She didn't even want to imagine what Peeta had seen. "Twill, the teacher, told me that everything happened during your tour. They had been planning it for months. The day of your visit to the district was like a rehearsal.

"She said that people in the crowd positioned themselves according to their teams, next to the buildings they would target when the rebellion broke out. That was the plan: to take over the centers of power in the city like the Justice Building, the Peacekeepers' headquarters, and the Communication Center in the square."

Peeta took a step back and covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes turned glassy as he tried to remember his presentation in District 8. "I was standing right there! How could I not notice?"

"You weren't meant to, Peeta," Katniss soothed. "If you —or anyone else— had figured out what was happening, the plan would have been a bust."

Impatient to know how the story ended, Gale asked, "So, what happened?"

"Everything went according to plan," Katniss said. "The night of Peeta's last interview in the Capitol was when the uprising began. The interview was mandatory viewing, so people had an excuse to be out on the streets after dark. At the appointed hour, the masks went on, and all hell broke loose."

Gale turned to Peeta. "Was that what you saw?"

"Sounds like it, yeah." Peeta stepped closer to Katniss, with a nod he encouraged her to continue.

"Twill said the Peacekeepers were initially overcome by the crowd. After losing control of the government facilities, they had no choice but to relinquish their weapons."

Katniss crossed her arms as if to shield herself from what she was about to say. "The rebels thought they had won, but then the ax fell. Peacekeepers arrived by the thousands. Their hovercraft bombed the rebel strongholds into ashes. Those who survived ran home and hid. And then, there was a lockdown. There was no food, and people were forbidden to leave their homes for days. Until, one night, came the order to return to business as usual.

"Bonnie and Twill were trying to make their way to the factory the next day when it exploded, killing everyone inside —including Twill's husband and Bonnie's entire family."

Peeta blinked a few times, his eyes shone with unshed tears. "How did they escape?"

"They fled back to Twill's —the Peacekeeper suits were there. After gathering what provisions they could find, they made it to the railroad station. They left the district inside a boxcar full of fabric destined for District 6; got off the train at a fuel stop along the way and continued their travel through the woods on foot —using the train tracks for guidance. They reached the outskirts of Twelve a couple of days ago."

Gale bit his lip, chewing on it as he considered what he had just heard. Everything seemed clear, except for one point. "Where are they going?"

Katniss looked from Gale to Peeta, and then back at Gale as she tried to guess which of the two was going to be the most shocked by her answer. "District 13."

"Thirteen?" Gale repeated in disbelief. "There is no District 13! Everybody knows that!"

"Well," Katniss pulled her shoulders back. "These two think otherwise. They have this theory that the people of Thirteen moved underground when everything was destroyed, and that the Capitol leaves them alone because —before the dark days— their principal industry was nuclear development."

Gale furrowed his brow. "Wasn't it graphite?"

Katniss smiled, much like Gale, she had been reluctant to believe the women's theories but, now that she'd had some time to think about them, she realized they weren't as farfetched.

After all, everything she knew about Thirteen came from once source: the Capitol. Everybody knew President Snow wasn't above lying -especially if it meant keeping his the country under his thumb. "I don't know, Gale, I asked them the same thing. They don't know what they were going to find once they get there, but they're pretty certain about that part."

"They must have some evidence, right?" Gale turned to Peeta. The victor was surprisingly quiet, and he was curious to know what he thought of all this. "They can't be traveling across Panem in the dead of winter on a hunch."

"They do have something," Katniss said, "But it's not much; just a mockingjay."

Snapping out of his stupor, Peeta joined the conversation. "What?"

Katniss smiled, glad to have Peeta's attention back, the next part of the conversation was mostly meant for him. "They say that the Capitol always shows the same footage when they report on District 13. They discovered this because you can catch a glimpse of a mockingjay flying by in the corner of the screen. According to them, the bird is there every single time."

"That doesn't really mean anything, Catnip!" Gale grumbled, "There are hundreds of reasons why the Capitol would do that."

Before Gale could expand more on his complaints, Katniss slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small white circle of flat bread. "They gave me this." Reaching for Peeta's hand, she placed it on his open palm.

Peeta inspected the bread. It was more of a cracker, really. Gray and soggy around the edges, with an image clearly stamped in the center of it.

"That's your mockingjay," Gale blurted.

Peeta's eyes grew intense under the pale moonlight. "Why?"

Katniss shrugged. Bonnie and Twill had told her plenty about the situation in their district and had been quick to absorb everything she had told them about Twelve. But she had been in a rush to get back, and much too overwhelmed to ask many questions.

They had only given her the round bread because she had been so surprised to see Peeta's token on it that she had mentioned knowing him, but she had no clue as to why the rebels were using that particular image as a symbol; although she suspected it was connected to the things Gale had told her on New Years'.

Katniss reached for Peeta's arm and gave it a little squeeze. "They said they were on your side."

"My side?" A sad chuckle escaped Peeta's lips. "What does that even mean?"

Gale's words were surprisingly gentle. "You really don't know?"

Peeta looked up to find the hunter's gray eyes looking straight at him. A baffling mix of respect and fire shone in their depths.

Yes, the victor knew about the unrest. He knew that things were getting harder for the Capitol every day, and he knew a few of the key players in some of the districts —Haymitch was finally starting to share information with him. But he still didn't know any specifics, and —as far as he knew— he hadn't done anything openly rebellious yet.

As much as Peeta Mellark agreed with the rebels, he wasn't a part of the fight.

Peeta closed his hand over the cracker and slipped it in his pocket. "All I know is that my side doesn't seem to be doing too well."

A few streets down, the bells in the Justice Building rang. Time was up.

Peeta placed his hand on Katniss's shoulder. "We better get going. Prim is waiting for you." Without waiting for an answer, he asked, "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Peeta's pointed look made her blush. "I'll be there, Peeta. I promise."

Seemingly satisfied, Peeta took a step back. "Nice to meet you, Gale," he said with a slight dip of his head.

Still stunned by the day's events, Gale nodded. "Yeah, you too."

"You should drop by sometime." Peeta pointed back with his thumb, indicating someplace behind him. "I'm in Victors' Village, right on the main road. Mine's the only house with plants on the porch. You can't miss it."

Gale stood up straighter and smiled. "Thank you. I will." Cocking his head towards the Seam, he added, "Come on, Catnip, let's go home."