For this fic to be plausible, we need to assume:
Katniss is 'selfish' enough to choose her own safety over that of other people (which she isn't because she's awesome).
Gale doesn't know about the uprising in 8.
Peeta tried to get his family to come too but only got his brother to agree, and he is okay with this.
Haymitch doesn't do anything to stop them.
President Snow has not electrified the fence (but let's assume he did electrify it that one time) and has no cameras in the woods.
So if we can accept all of this, let's do it!
They leave under the cover of darkness. The Victor's Village group includes her mother, her sister, Peeta and Peeta's middle brother. Despite her best efforts, Haymitch would not agree to leave but swore not to turn them in. Her heart aches for her mentor as she runs past his house, dark, gloomy, and alone.
They're prepared. Her, Peeta and Gale had been slowly collecting supplies. Her and Gale have already taken them to a pre-approved meeting spot, deep in the woods. All they carry in their backpacks now are immediate necessities. Water, blanket, food, matches, that sort of thing.
They exit the district through a loose part of the fence near the Village. Everyone makes it under alright, although Peeta's leg gets momentarily caught in the wire, causing her to panic for the seconds it takes him to free himself.
The hike is silent. Katniss is surrounded by inexperienced footsteps and grows worried about potentially leaving obvious tracks for Peacekeepers. She keeps her sister at her side and she's glad to see she walks with a light tread. She doesn't have to worry too much about her in that department.
An hour later they reach the meeting spot. Gale is there with his family and they're all glad to see each other. Gale even smiles. She can't find it in her to smile back yet, her mind obsessing over every way this plan could go wrong. What if they're pursued by hovercraft? What if they're taken and befall the same fate as the redheaded avox girl?
Everyone adds to their load as they divide the supplies among them, everything from sleeping bags to their meager first aid supplies.
They continue their hike, continuing beyond her typical hunting grounds. Their aspiration is to eventually exit Panem all together and to find a way to survive there, wherever that may be.
Prim's feet begin to drag, and she sees Gale's siblings and the Mellark's begin to hunch their shoulders forward. They must be exhausted, she thinks, with as little experience as they have in the woods it's to be expected.
"Let's find somewhere to camp for the night," she suggests, and the majority of the group agrees.
"Now? I think we should keep going. We could put another hour between us and the District," Gale counters with a serious expression. She can see where he's coming from but they're already far, they've hiked for the majority of the night and she's worried about how this will affect the others in the long run. They need to stay in the best health they can.
"We should stay," she insists, looking around at the rest of the group for someone to back her up. "We need to keep our strengths up and stay away from potential injuries."
Her mother nods along but doesn't speak up. She looks at the others and is glad not to be on her own.
"Katniss is right, Gale" Hazelle steps forward with an approving look in her direction.
"I agree," Peeta says at virtually the same time and she's eternally grateful to still have her district partner.
"Makes sense," Peeta's brother, Rye, smiles at her and she sees she has another ally in him.
"Alright," Gale concedes shortly. "We should probably look for somewhere with lots of tree cover. Maybe we could even climb up into the trees."
She finds that unlikely, considering the how many children they have, and both Gale's and her own mother's lack of climbing ability.
Peeta, Rye and Prim end up finding the perfect solution. They've formed a trio off to her right where she's able to still keep an eye on Prim as they walk. They're walking along a rocky wall. Prim must have said something funny, because both brothers chuckle right before Prim gasps.
"A cave!" she exclaims, pointing.
Peeta and Rye are the nearest so they attempt to investigate, but they don't have any flashlights, none of them do, and there could be anything inside that cave.
"Peeta!" she hisses, instinctually. He stops short and turns his head to look at her. Between their gazes she can see the memory of him picking poisonous berries and he appears apologetic about that. Rye doesn't stop and walks into the dark space with a small lighter in his hand.
"Rye," it's Peeta's turn to hiss. He reaches out after his brother, but in three quick strides, she beats him into the cave and is after his brother herself.
"What are you doing?" she yanks the older boy backward by the collar of his shirt. "There could be bears!"
"Look," Rye insists, lifting the lighter up high. She can barely see anything. "It's empty. No bones or anything. Nothing lives here. We should stay."
He has a point. After closer inspection, there doesn't appear to be any sign of recent animal occupation, although she's worried about the possibility of bats. She turns to look out the mouth of the cave. Peeta shrugs at her, leaving her with the choice. Gale looks to be considering it.
"Fine," she accepts with a nod. "Everyone, come. We'll stay here for the night."
As their families set up she and Gale argue over the first watch, Peeta offers to stay up himself, but Gale refuses him. Gale wins the argument in the end, but neither she nor Peeta believes that they'll be able to sleep anyways.
She sits up in her sleeping bag with her sister curled around her, already asleep in her own cocoon. Her mother is merely a breath away, on Prim's other side. Gently, Katniss runs her hand over her sister's pale cheek. She hopes she hasn't made an enormous mistake by choosing to run.
She looks up as Peeta comes to her other side, sleeping bag in hand, and lays it down. Their eyes meet.
"You're not going to even try to sleep?" she asks.
"What's the point?" He slips his legs into the bag. "Anything could happen tonight. It's too much."
"Hm," she agrees, looking away. Her own worries fill her mind. Haymitch, Peeta's family, the people of Twelve… All day, her mind has haunted her with images of Haymitch getting beaten to death, hung, or shot because of her.
It's quiet, save for the breathing of those around them. Peeta leans back against the rock behind him and looks troubled. He must be worried about the rest of his family. She can't imagine what it would be like, to leave, without knowing for certain where her family would be.
"Did your mother- did you ask her?" She's curious, can't imagine the woman ever even considering going into the woods.
He shakes his head. "She would have turned us in. I asked my dad, though, but he wouldn't leave her. Same for my older brother. He couldn't leave without his wife, she's pregnant."
"Not a good idea to risk it," she guesses, and he nods. She can see why someone would prefer to stay under those circumstances.
He sighs, "Yeah. But I don't think they're safe there either."
Their gazes meet and she knows he means to tell her that they'll be killed because of what they've done because they've left.
She gulps.
"You really think so?" Her voice is small, but because this is Peeta she doesn't feel the need to be embarrassed.
"What would you do if you were President Snow?"
She looks away, her stomach clenching with fear for Haymitch, who they left behind. Haymitch who saved them both.
Blindly she snatches up Peeta's hand and she knows he understands her.
They don't sleep that night.
The next day they're tense and terrified, worried that peacekeepers will find them. They're far from the district, but that doesn't mean anything if the peacekeepers have access to cars and hovercrafts. Gale thinks they'll be safe once they make it out of the valley, but she doubts it, even then.
She's walking near the rear of the group, keeping pace with her sister and Rye Mellark. Peeta is a little way ahead of her, walking carefully on his prosthetic. She doesn't want to think it, but sometimes it feels like they're in the games again and the Everdeens and the Mellarks have formed an alliance.
She keeps her bow in her hands, strung and ready to shoot. Gale holds his the same at the front of the group. It's laughable to think that between the two of them they could hold off a group of peacekeepers, but they should be able to face off against an animal if necessary.
Rye is playing a game with her sister where he calls out a color and she attempts to guess what he's looking at. She's surprised he's able to keep the game going, especially among the general uniformity in colors of the forest that surrounds them, but she's also grateful to him for keeping her sister occupied.
"I spy with my little eye…" he starts looking about, "something… silver!"
"Silver?" Katniss can't help but question aloud, her incredulity coloring her tone. "Where did you see something silver?"
"Oh! Katniss! Her eyes!" Prim tries, but Rye laughs and shakes his head.
"Nah, Katniss has grey eyes. They're not cool enough to be silver."
Katniss rolls her non-silver eyes but turns back to scanning the terrain, looking for game and subconsciously wondering what the silver thing could possibly be.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I got it!" Prim claps her hands together once, and Katniss flinches at the unnecessary noise. "Peeta's leg!"
Rye laughs and high-fives her, Peeta shoots them an exasperated look over his shoulder. His pant leg is slightly rolled up on the left and she can see a flash of metal there.
"Seriously?" she scoffs, with a superior tone. "This game is ridiculous, and loud."
"Katniss, Katniss, Katniss," Rye chides her. "If you're so much better at it, let's see you do one."
"Okay, fine." She squares her shoulders, her eyes scanning the horizon. "I spy… with my little eye a … something the color, blue."
Rye scoffs, "the sky."
She shakes her head with a smirk.
"Any of our eyeballs," Rye makes a circular motion with his hand to encompass her sister, his brother, and her mother, who pays them no mind.
She shakes her head.
Rye appears interested, "Blue you say… blue."
"She means Rory's shirt, moron." Peeta comments with a laugh without looking behind him, Katniss smiles sweetly at Rye, and Prim bursts into laughter.
"I would have got it," Rye dismisses.
"Sure, you would," Katniss replies, her eyes already back in the trees. There's no point. Their group is too loud. She might be able to catch a squirrel if she's lucky, but she doubts it.
She's going to have to separate from the group to hunt.
They stop again, making camp several miles upstream from her fathers' lake. Gale sets his mother up with a fishing pole, just in case there are any fish in these unfamiliar waters. She looks around, making sure everyone appears to be settling in alright before checking in with her sister.
Prim is rolling out her sleeping bag underneath a massive oak. She smiles at the sight of her older sister.
"Hunting?" she asks, eyeing Katniss' bow.
"Yeah, Gale and I will head that way," she points to the east. "I don't think we'll have any trouble so we might finish quickly."
"Alright," Prim accepts, her eyes on her pack as she pulls out a knit cap. She tosses it at Katniss. "It looks like it'll be cold later."
"No, Prim-"
"Please," her sister pouts and she resigns herself to wearing the hat.
"Alright," she pulls on the red wool. "Please watch everyone for me."
Prim chuckles, as if she knows something her sister doesn't. "Don't worry, I'll watch your boyfriend."
Katniss rolls her eyes but walks away anyways.
It's not the haul she was hoping for, but it'll do. Gale appears distracted during the entire experience, even fails to shoot a perfectly clueless groosling just five paces to his left at one point. Katniss shoots it down instead.
It's safe to say, she isn't in a jolly mood when they make it back to camp. Gale attempted to initiate conversation with her on the walk back, but she's still tense from before and angry at him now, so he stops.
All she has to show for the trip is the groosling, two skinny rabbits and a squirrel. Most shot by her, except for the one rabbit Gale managed to focus enough on to shoot by himself. Every animal fits easily in her game bag. Katniss doubts this will be enough food for ten people and feels shame at her failure.
Just as she's making her way past the last of the trees between herself and camp, Katniss catches sight of a long blonde braid with a pink ribbon tied at its end. Instantly, Katniss recognizes her sister and turns towards her, angered that she'd disobey her and leave the safety of the camp.
"Prim? What are you doing here?" she says as she comes closer to where her sister is crouched on the ground. "I thought I told you to watch the others."
Prim looks up with a smile, her hands covered in dirt. "Hey Katniss! It's alright, look" her sister turns to her left and grabs a handful of morel mushrooms she's already collected. "We can eat these."
Katniss is still a little angry, but she knows it's only because she's always concerned for her sister's safety. Of course, Prim's right, these could be a useful addition to her meager haul and no one, other than Katniss' mother, has studied the family plant book as diligently as Prim herself.
"Still, you shouldn't be here alone-" but she's cut off by the familiar sound of Peeta crashing through the forest.
She looks up at him and he waves at her, "check it out, chicken of the woods!"
Now him she doesn't trust not to poison himself, so she takes a closer look, but he's right. Behind her Gale scoffs as if the pair before them aren't helping make up for his terrible hunting.
"Nice," she grins. "Is that all you've found?"
Peeta motions with his head for her to follow him and she does. A few paces away from her sister, he's laid his raincoat out flat and there she sees more mushrooms, blue berries, blackberries, and a handful of wild leeks. She sighs in relief.
"Thank you, guys. We didn't get as much game as we wanted, so this will help."
Peeta gives her a playful shoulder bump and Prim grins at her, joyous under her sister's praise.
Back at camp, the odds are once again in her favor, because Gale's mother managed to catch a fish. The fish is very small, just enough for two people, but Katniss is glad. With their combined efforts, everyone should be able to eat tonight.
Rye starts a fire, and Katniss' mother makes a makeshift spit for them to roast the meat on. The mushrooms get roasted on a small cast iron pan Peeta had the foresight to bring having remembered how useful the stew's dish had been in the arena. The leeks and berries get handed out equally to be eaten raw.
Katniss leans against a tree wide enough for both Prim and herself, hot rabbit meat clutched to her fingers. Prim suckles on what's left of her groosling and tosses the bones over her shoulder.
"We need to build some kind of shelter; in case it rains." Prim nods towards the campfire, where most of their party remains gathered.
"You're right," Katniss agrees, feeling strange hearing Prim talk about building shelters. It isn't her responsibility to worry.
Prim sighs, "if only we had a tent."
She can't disagree there. Katniss wishes she could have ordered a tent from the Capitol. But even if she had done so, not only would ordering it look suspicious, but it wouldn't have arrived on time for their escape. They were lucky Haymitch was able to secure all their sleeping bags for them though whomever his 'supplier' was.
But she has a solution. She stands up and motions for Prim to follow her. Among their supplies is a large black tarp. The type typically used at the train station to protect the open-top train compartments and keep the coal from flying out during the journey. Gale had 'acquired' it which she's pretty sure is his code word for stealing. But it's something.
With the help of Gale, Rye and Peeta they tie the ends to the tarp to two trees, creating a roof and 'walls' for them to pile all their sleeping bags under. Katniss looks anxiously at the tree cover, hoping that it is enough to hide the tarp from any aerial view.
It's not much, in terms of shelter, as they're still somewhat exposed to the elements. Rye and Gale staked the edges of the tarp into the ground with some rocks so the thing wouldn't fly away in the middle of the night, but Katniss isn't convinced.
As the sun starts setting, Posy grows sleepy. Hazelle takes the little girl and gets her ready for sleep. Braiding her hair and changing her clothes. Katniss watches with a smile as Hazelle wraps her daughter up in a sleeping bag and settles in next to her.
It's hard for her not to compare the woman to her own mother. She can't remember the last time her mother tucked her into bed. It must have been years ago, many years ago.
Katniss looks away when she realizes her eyes have fallen on her own mother, who sits at the edge of the group packing up one of their bags.
Everyone around her has broken off into smaller groups. Gale's brothers are playing some sort of chasing game, Peeta and Rye are playing an aggressive game of cards that involves slapping their hands down to yank cards away from each other and laughing about it, Prim is by Katniss' side, her nose in the plant book, and Gale is walking their way.
"Hey," she nods in greeting when he sits next to her.
"Hey, Gale," Prim mumbles absent-mindedly without looking away from the book.
"Hey," Gale returns, stretching out his long legs. Katniss remains cross-legged.
"We're going to need better shelter tomorrow; this is too exposed." He scratches his chin his expression of deep thought.
"Good thing it isn't too cold, no snow on the ground," Katniss murmurs, her mind working, thinking of possible solutions. "We can't have a fire going at night, it might give away our position."
Gale agrees with a nod. "We're exposed to predators too, so we'll have to take turns keeping watch. The others won't be able to shoot down anything."
She shuts her eyes and rubs her hands over her face. She's already exhausted but knows she won't be able to sleep. Can't do it really, especially here, with all these people within earshot. She should take the first watch, but then what? And even if she takes it, she's so tired… she can't risk that, she can't put them in danger. They can't depend entirely on her, and she can't ask Gale to shoulder all the responsibility either, she would never do that.
"We have to teach the others to shoot," she suggests. "The more of us that can defend the camp, the better."
"That's true," Gale agrees, then stands up abruptly. "Tomorrow. I'll take first watch."
She nods.