Always

Chapter 12

Katniss P.O.V.

After over an hour of waiting, I start to get worried about Peeta. I get dressed and head outside. Just as I'm shutting the door behind me, I hear a gun go off in one of the nine empty houses. "Peeta!" I scream as I take off running. The second I step in the door, a bag of some kind is thrown over my head.

I thrash around trying to hit or kick something. I suddenly feel a gun poking my back. I quit thrashing and start cooperating. The next thing I know is I'm being pushed to the ground and the breath is knocked out of me. I feel my hands and feet being tied together, and a string on the bag over my head is pulled tight. I hear a door slam and feet running,

The first thing I think of is the baby. I hope it's okay from the fall. In a few minutes I start running out of air. I hear someone come in the door and start yelling my name. I can't tell immediately who it is until they get closer.

"Gale!" I scream, but it's muffled from the bag. Still, he must have heard me because the door opens and the bag is immediately taken off my head.

"Katniss! Are you okay?" He asks as he unties my feet and hands.

"Yeah," I reply as he helps me "Where's Peeta?" I ask. I'm curious why Gale's here, but that's not important right now.

"I don't know," he says. Tears start rolling down my cheeks. "We were both attacked and knocked out on the train. I was on my way to District Eight because my job might be relocating there. Peeta got on to get your stuff and that's when it happened. When I came to, Peeta was gone," Gale explains. "I'm sorry," he says.

"It's okay," I say. "Let's just get out of here." Gale nods his head and we step out of the little closet that I was hostage to. We head out the back door but are immediately stopped by a demanding voice.

"Put your hands up and turn around!" So we do exactly that. Me eyes widen in horror as to who it is. Snow's son.

"Why are you doing this?" Gale asks.

"You really thought you could keep us from doing what we want?" Snow asks.

"Where's Paylor?" I ask demandingly.

"Paylor had a little... accident this morning," he says mischievously.

"She's dead?" Gale asks.

"Precisely," Snow replies. We all three stand there in silence for a few seconds. I can tell that Snow is working out a plan as quickly as possible. The second Snow opens his mouth to speak, I feel a pain shoot across my abdomen.

I fall sideways into Gale's arms. "Are you okay?" He asks worriedly as he holds me up.

"I think something's wrong with the baby," I say through tears.

"Maybe from now on you'll finally know not to mess with my family," Snow says as he points the gun straight at me. "Any last words?" He asks. I shake my head. Before Snow has time to pull the trigger, another gun goes off and Snow falls to the ground.

I look up and am happy by who Snow's killer is. "Peeta!" I yell.

He runs over to me and Gale and gently moves me to his arms. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"Something's wrong with the baby," I say as I feel another pain shoot across my stomach. Peeta hands Gale his gun.

"I'll take her to her mom's. Will you follow us and hold anybody who's a threat off?" Peeta asks Gale.

"Yeah," Gale says as he runs to check the side of the house. "Go!" He says. Peeta picks me up and carries me safely across to my mother's house. Gale catches up to us, opens the door, and we all three make it in safely. Gale shuts and locks the door as Mom comes down the steps.

"What's wrong?" She asks when she sees the I'm clearly in pain.

"Something's wrong with the baby," Peeta says.

"I was pushed hard to the ground. I hit my stomach and it knocked the breath out of me," I explain.

"The impact probably either killed the baby or made you go into premature labor," Mom says as she gestures Peeta upstairs. We get to a bedroom and he gently lays me down on a bed.

"I'll stay downstairs and stand guard," Gale says.

"Are there any other possible outcomes?" Peeta asks.

"The only other one that I can think of right now is both of those combined," Mom says.

I look up to Peeta who's eyes are just as big as mine.