Catching Fire: Peeta's POV

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

It was inevitable. The District has gotten worse. Worse than I ever thought possible. People all keep their heads down when walking in the streets. No one tries to make eye contact. The Seam is starving worse than ever before even with the mines back open. The shops aren't doing so good; people can't afford to buy their products when everyone's business is struggling.

The bakery sales are going down, but at least my family has food to eat. They won't accept any money from me to help them though. My father doesn't believe in borrowing money if he doesn't know if he can pay it back. It's not a big deal to me if he pays me back. I don't want him to pay me back. I have more than enough money from the Games. The least I can do is help my family, but no matter what my dad refuses to take any money from me.

Meanwhile, Katniss had been going into the woods more, too. I wish she wouldn't with Thread in charge. He won't tolerate it; he'll whip her for going outside the District limits. If he catches her, he would do worse than what happened with Gale. He would know that Gale and everyone else was lying about Gale going on the other side of the District fence. Thread would surely shoot or hang her for hunting and have no remorse. I hope she's not out there now. But she probably is and nothing I say or do will stop her. It will only push her farther from me, if that's even possible with our current distance. It's like we're on opposite sides of Panem.

I heard Thread had the electric fence surrounding the District rewired and fixed so there were no holes and actually working. I heard earlier in the square from the muttered whispers that the fence was back up and running. It has enough voltage to knock you out or worse, depending on where you touch the fence. It's the only time in my life that the fence is actually working. I don't know how many years the fence hasn't been working. Maybe as long as Cray was Head Peacekeeper?

To make matters even worse in the District, the reaping is coming up soon. At least Katniss and I are no longer entered, but that doesn't make Prim exempt . . . or any of Gale's younger siblings. As if that's not bad enough, every Quarter Quell has a special circumstance. The last one, the one Haymitch won, had twice as many constants. I don't know how he did it. Especially with those kind of odds: 1 of 48. He never told Katniss and I how he did it, and he seems to like to keep it a secret. I don't blame him for that. I don't want to relive or share how Katniss and I won the Games, and I hope I never have to tell anyone. The Games is the whole reason he started drinking, to ease the memories. I wish I could ease my own memories. Just not all of them. Just the ones where I'm with the Career Tributes, fighting Cato, and when I'm in pain before Katniss found me. To think about it the only thing worth remembering from the Games is when Katniss and I were secluded in our cave without having to worry about anything else.

However, I still worry about Katniss. Is she out in the woods now? My mind always go back to my worry for Katniss. I'll always worry about Katniss for as long as I live.

As I'm deep in my thoughts about Katniss, the TV changes stations to remind everyone in Panem to watch the District Thirteen results and to remind us not to uprise against the Capitol. But it's too late for that. The uprising has already begun, and this time it's not only just one District. Now others will stand-by to rebel against the Capitol until all of Panem catches fire.

Edited