Catching Fire (Peeta's P.O.V.)

Chapter Seven

(Ive got this commitment problem, huh? Let me try this again. You might have all lost interest by now. I'm sorry. My writing style is a lot different. Sorry again. If I keep on like this I'll problably end up branding the word sorry into your brain. But I do have to say... I'm doing this on my Kindle so everything the world could go wrong. Sorry.)

Chapter Seven-

"No!" she lunges forward as a human wall between the blazing whip and Gale.

She takes the full blow with her arms outspread, nothing to protect her own person. Her knees buckle as an affect and she crumples to the cold ground, where Gale's warm blood pools.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" she pleads holding her wound.

This time the peacekeeper is aiming relentlessly for her and I'm still trapped in the petrified crowd. I still cannot reach her.

"Hold it!" a voice calls out, stern enough to stop the peacekeeper.

Its Haymitch, stumbling over a body I hadn't noticed, collasped on the side of the scene. I don't try and identify him, my eyes are back to Katniss as I push through the crowd to get to her.

Haymitch yanks Katniss up off the ground, examining her face, he moans, "Oh excellent. Shes got a photoshoot next week middling wedding dresses. What am I supposed to tell her stylist?"

I cant see well enough, but the silence would imply the peacekeeper trying to place why a district 12 girl would have a photoshoot modeling wedding dresses.

The silence breaks, "She interrupted the punishment of a confessed criminal,"

"I don't care if she blew up the blasted Justice Building!" he sounded a little ridiculous.

Anyone else in this crowd is buying Haymitch's act, I know that he doesn't care about her wedding shoot. In fact, its almost humorous that he sounds so much like Effie.

"Look at her cheek! Think that will be camera ready in a week?" he sounds vicious.

"That's not my problem," his voice is shaky.

"No? Well its about to be, my friend. The first call I make when I get home is to the Capitol. Find out who authorized you to mess up my victor's pretty face!"

Most of the crowd had placed Katniss, I would assume, but now, everyone had to.

I'm to the scene now, Gale's unconscious, Haymitch boiling,and Katniss quivering with her injury. I don't see how I fit in here. I almost trip too, like Haymitch, over who I can now see is friendly Darius, with a lump on his head.

"He was poaching? What buisness is it of hers anyways?" the peacekeeper snarls.

I take her arm, carefully, there's only one way I truly could hope to fit in. Even if its false.

"Hes her cousin. And shes my fiancée. So if you want to get to him, expect to go through both of us,"

Hopefully my status as a Hunger Games victor overrides my status as a baker, because unarmed, he could easily go through us with the nerve to.

The three of us standing here, unarmed, hardly a challenge. I imagine, this is exactly what a rebellion would look like. A helplessly incompetent crowd standing in front of someone who could easily pole them over, complete with a crowd of bystanders that would do absolutely not-

"I believe, for a first offense, the required number of lashes has been dispensed, sir," says a shaking woman.

That shes shaking does not make her look weak, shes the bravest one in the whole crowd, including the three of us who did not tell the peacekeeper he was out of line with Gale. Katniss pleaded for his life, Haymitch defended Katniss, and I only put myself as a barrier.

"Unless your sentence is death, which we would carry out by firing squads,"

I know well that a quick gun shot is a better way to die.

"Is that the standard protocol here?" he asks, considering the idea.

"Yes, sir,"

Other brave members of the crowd nod. Are they making this up to save Gale? Does District 12 even have a standard set protocol?

"Very well. Get your cousin out of here, then, girl. And if he comes to, remind him that the next time he poached off the Capitol's land, I'll assemble that firing squad personally,"

The peacekeers all retire after her flicks blood onto us before coiling his whip. Katniss makes contact with the woman who spoke up as a knife is passed up.

Unnerved by the comment the peacekeeper made "if he comes to" I cut the ropes binding Gale with shandy hands while Katniss uselessly fumbles at the knots.

Before we can so much as load Gale onto a makeshift stretcher to take to Katniss's mother, the crowd has melted away into the snow. Receeding away with fear. And these people want a rebellion?

A girl talks to Katniss under her breath before hurrying off back towards the Seam as we lift Gale and head towards Victors Village.

Two of Gale's friends help us carry his bloody body down the path and piece together the story.

"Probably gone to Cray's. He pays nice for a good turkey,"

"That's why Thread caught him red handed like that,"

I know enough to know that the Head Peacekeeper, Cray was known for hosting various illegal activities in his house.

"What happened to Cray?" I ask.

Surprisingly, they don't give me the cold treatment I get from Gale.

"I saw him this morning. But no ones seen him since,"

They go on to put the rest together for us, what happened to Darius and how many lashes it took for Gale to fade away.

None of it looks good.

We get to Katniss's house and as we carry Gale in the only explanation given to her mother is "New Head," before she transfroms the kitchen into an infirmary.

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Okay! Don't hate me! I need to stop here but I wanted to get something up tonight! Part 2 hopefully by tomorrow night, yeah?