About a month after our surprise visit from Bonnie and Twill, Peeta and I are walking through town after a long morning hunt when we begin to notice the abundance of white uniforms surrounding us. Everywhere we look, there are Peacekeepers. I turn to see what Peeta makes of all this, and I can tell by the furrow in his brow that he does not like it at all.

"It seems that Bonnie and Twill must've been telling the truth about Eight," whispers Peeta as we continue walking along. "The Capitol must be slowly dispersing Peacekeepers all across Panem. I guess it just took them longer to reach us since we are farther away."

"Yeah, but why? What's all the fuss about?" I wonder.

An increase in security from the Capitol is never a good sign. It simply means that they have a need to impose more oppression and control on the districts. Something is about to happen, and it doesn't look good.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. Let's just hope it's not as bad as Bonnie and Twill said," he replies.

We decide to finish delivering our goods from this morning separately. That way it won't take us as long, and we can get rid of all the incriminating evidence in our game bags before some novice Peacekeeper, who doesn't know how things run around here, tries to turn us in.

"Be careful," Peeta says as he plants a kiss on my forehead before heading to drop off some goods at the mayor's house.

I head off toward the opposite side of town to drop off some game at Cray's house; he's the head Peacekeeper of Twelve, but he is a faithful trader. Even with all the new Peacekeepers, Cray will still want his meat for the week. Cautiously, I approach the front door and knock three times while simultaneously unzipping my game bag so as to quickly transport the game from the bag to the crack in the door unseen. A few moments later, I hear the lock being clicked loose on the other side of the door. As soon as the crack forms, I lift the squirrels from the bag and slide them through the door.

"Here's your meat for the week," I say in a lowered voice, but in that moment, I realize that I have made a huge mistake. The man at the door is most definitely not Cray. This man has gray hair and cruel dark eyes.

"What's this about?" he growls.

I don't know what to say or do. I'm frozen. Where is Cray? Who is this man?

"Where'd ya get these squirrels, huh?" He begins to understand the situation, and I watch as a twisted smirk forms at his lips.

"I—I found them running around the Seam and caught them for Cray. Where's Cray?" I ask, trying to keep the fear from affecting my voice.

"You won't be seeing Cray around these parts anymore, Miss. I'm the new head Peacekeeper here. The name's Romulus, Romulus Thread," he says with an evil grin that is even worse than his previous smirk. "You got anything else hiding in your bag there? You know, it's illegal to kill animals for food no matter where you find it," he explains, enjoying my predicament.

"It's just a couple of pesky squirrels. I'm sure no one will miss them," I reply stubbornly. If he's going to play dirty, I'm not going to give in so easily. "And no, to answer your question, I don't have anything else hiding in my bag, just some things I purchased in town today."

I am lucky that we hadn't caught much today; otherwise, I have a feeling I would be in a much worse position. I can only pray that Peeta is having an easier time than I am.

"I see. Well, to tell ya the truth, I've been expecting you to drop by, but I had no idea it would be so soon," Thread says as he looks me up and down. At first, I don't know what to make of his comment, but a few seconds later, it hits me. Mrs. Mellark. "You're gonna have to come with me, Miss," he says, clearly amused, as he grabs my arm below the shoulder and begins hauling me to the center of town.

"Hey! What are you—let go of me!" I exclaim.

I don't know what to do. I begin to consider my options: I could try to overpower him, but it is unlikely that I will succeed; I could call for Peeta, but who knows what he would do in this situation—probably something crazy; I could…

I could…

I am out of ideas. I don't have another option. Immediately, I begin to think of Avoxes and how Bonnie's family was taken to the Capitol for their punishment. At this thought, I begin to make things a little more difficult for Thread. I try to break my arm from his grip.

Maybe I can survive this.

I can run and grab Peeta and Gale and Prim and my mother, and we can escape into the woods.

Maybe District 13 does exist after all.

I begin to recognize these thoughts for what they are: false hope. I am not going to escape. Just like a tribute in the Hunger Games, I am at the will of the Capitol, and I hate it.

"You better settle down," he says with a sickening laugh. "You're only making things harder on yourself."

He has a point, but still, I don't want to make this too easy. He needs to know that I hate him and everything he stands for, so before I stop struggling, I turn, look him in the eyes, and spit right at him.

He doesn't like that at all.

"That does it!" he growls angrily. His grip tightens painfully on my arm, and I let out a small yelp of pain as he rushes me forward.

As we approach the center of town, I notice a few new features: a gallows, wooden stocks, and a whipping post. Bile rises in my throat, but I manage to push it back down. I don't like any of the options before me, but I soon learn that I don't have much of a say in the matter.

Thread pulls out his radio and calls several other Peacekeepers to the town center for a hearing. I recognize a few of the faces looking back at me, but most of them are new. Most of them have no idea who I am.

"This young lady here thought it would be a good idea to hunt animals in the Seam. I caught her red-handed. Here's the evidence," he says as he throws my game bag and the squirrels on the ground in front of me. "Not only that, but she refused to come peacefully and then disrespected me by spitting in my face," He grabs my face and forces me to turn toward him. "Didn't you,dear?" he asks viciously. I don't answer him; instead, I glare at him, trying to express the loathing I feel for him in my eyes. "I'll ask you again. Didn't you? Answer me! 'Yes' or 'no'?"

"Yes," I say quietly through gritted teeth.

"What's that darlin'? I don't think they heard you," he says in a mock-innocent voice.

"Yes!" I say again, louder this time.

"That's better," he says as he releases my face to await my verdict. "So, clearly, this girl—what's your name, honey?" he asks quickly, interrupting his previous statement.

"Katniss Everdeen," I say, still clenching my teeth.

"Clearly, Miss Everdeen here has broken the law and is in need of punishment. Are we in agreement?" he asks, searching the crowd of Peacekeepers before him.

"Aye!" I hear coming from every direction.

"Alrighty then, let's see how she likes a little whippin'," Thread says, relishing every moment of my humiliation. "39 lashes should do the trick."

He pulls my hunting jacket off and throws it on the ground next to my game bag and the dead squirrels. Then, he drags me over to the wooden post and binds both of my hands together so tightly that even the slightest movement is painful. Next thing I know, he pushes my braid over my shoulder and rips the back of my shirt open so that my bare skin is visible and easier to puncture. Before he leaves, he leans in close to my ear—his closeness makes my stomach turn—and he whispers, "I bet you wish you were a little nicer to Ol' Thread now, huh? Well, we'll see how you feel by the end of all this."

I look around and notice that a crowd has gathered in the distance. I'm sure they are just as confused about this new change in security as I am, but at least they aren't tied to a whipping post about to get the living daylights beat out of them by Thread. I can only hope Peeta doesn't realize what's going on. He should be finishing up any minute now.

"You ready, darlin'?" Thread asks mockingly.

In a moment of pure defiance, I reply, "Bring it on." I immediately regret it, though.

The first lash brings me to my knees. I cry out in pain, but attempt to stifle my cry before it reaches its peak. I don't want to give Thread any satisfaction. The second and third and fourth lashes bring flashes of light across my vision as well as tears to my eyes. I don't think I will make it to 39. Thread is putting every ounce of strength behind each blow, and by lash number 12, I'm pretty sure that I will pass out at any moment…

15. My hands are shaking violently, and I feel like I'm about to throw up from the pain.

16. All of my weight is resting on the wooden post before me, and I realize the warmth trickling down my back is blood.

17. My vision is fading to black, and the world around me is fuzzy and distant.

"Stop! STOP!" I am able to decipher a familiar voice shouting from somewhere behind me, but I don't have the strength to turn around. It doesn't matter, though. I know that voice. It's Peeta.

"Stop! What's going on here?!" he yells.

"Shut up and clear out, boy, or you'll be gettin' the same treatment!" Thread yells back.

"Wait! Please! Please! Let me take her punishment! Just leave her alone!" he says.

No, Peeta, I think to myself. Go home.

"There'll be no exchanging of punishment here, boy. She broke the law, so she's gonna pay the consequences. Now, back off!"

18. The contents of my stomach—which isn't much—are released onto the ground in front of me.

"NO! You have to stop this! Stop, now!" Peeta cries. I can hear the emotion in his voice. He is about to break. The last thing I need is for Peeta to end up in this same predicament.

"Ahhhh, I see. You like Miss Everdeen, eh? Well, you best make yourself comfortable cuz we're just gettin' to the good part," say Thread.

A rush of stomping feet and muffled cries reach my ears, and I realize that they have Peeta bound, and from the immediate silence that ensues, I guess that they have him gagged as well. A deep ache settles in my heart as I realize that he will not be able to leave. He will have to stay for the whole thing. Tears begin to fall.

19. I cannot hold myself up any longer. I think of Peeta. I try to comfort him with my thoughts.

It's okay.

I love you.

Be strong.

20.

Hold on.

I love you.

21. The world is drifting farther away.

22. I can't feel anything. My body is numb.

23. I can't see anything.

24, 25, 26. I'm almost there. Only a few more and this will all be over.

I love you.

27. I'm so tired.

28, 29, 30.

It's okay; it's almost over.

31.

….

I wake up shaking violently. It takes my brain several seconds to register the reason that my hands are shaking, but once it clicks, the pain sears relentlessly through my body, provoking the juices in my stomach to rush out of me. After several moments of blinding pain and uncontrollable retching, I register a voice speaking to me.

"It's okay, Katniss. I'm about to put a snow coat on your back. It's going to help with the pain," my mother says soothingly.

A moment or two later, I let out a sigh of relief as the medicated snow coat is spread across my back. The effects are almost immediate. The pain subsides, and my senses seem to be able to function more affectively. I begin to piece together the scene before my eyes.

I am lying on the kitchen table in my house. My mother and Prim are tending to my back because I was caught for hunting. Cray is gone. Peeta was forced to watch. Peeta.

Frantically, I begin searching the room with my eyes until I spot him. He is sitting in a chair a few yards away; his elbows resting on his knees, and his fingers tangled in his hair.

"Peeta," I croak in a hoarse whisper.

I watch as he lifts his head and meets my eyes.

"Katniss!" he exclaims as he rushes over to kneel at my side and cups his hands around my face. "Katniss, I am so sorry… I am so sorry…" he says, tears dripping down from the corners of his eyes. "I tried to stop them! But they wouldn't listen! It's my fault. I—I should've been the one to go to Cray. It was so stupid of me… I'm sorry." He's still crying, and my heart is breaking.

"Peeta, stop," I say as firmly as I can. "It was not your fault. No one knew," I say, refusing to reveal the fact that someone did indeed know about this. But I know that nothing good will come out of accusing his mother of planning the whole thing. We will just have to be extra careful. No more hunting, unless it's an emergency. It's going to be okay.

"I can't believe this happened. It was like watching my worst nightmare happening right in front of me, but I couldn't do anything!" he explains.

"I'm sorry you had to see it. You helped me hold on," I say, remembering how my thoughts of Peeta kept me conscious longer than I could have done on my own. "I love you."

He gently lifts one of my hands to his lips and kisses it softly. "I love you forever. I will stay right here the whole time, okay?"

"Okay," I say. "What happened after I—after it finished?" I ask.

"Nothing really. The crowd cleared out. The Peacekeepers agreed that your punishment was sufficient, and they just left you... So I came over and untied you, and a few people who were brave enough to help came to carry you here on a piece of plywood. You were so pale, and you were shaking…" Peeta tries to explain.

"Yeah, and we practically had a heart attack when we opened the door and saw the state you were in," adds Prim concernedly.

"I'm sorry," I say apologetically.

"Don't be. I don't think it was fair. Any of it," she says.

"It's not, Little Duck, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's over."

"Since then, we've been waiting for you to wake up," continues Peeta.

"Wait, how long was I out?" I inquire.

"A little over a day," my Prim says.

"Oh," I say. "Peeta, you should go home. Get some sleep."

"It's okay, love. I'll be here," he says, trying to smile encouragingly.

"No, Peet—"

"Shhh…" he says. "It's okay. I promise."

"Katniss, I need you to drink this. It will help you go to sleep so your body can heal faster," my mother says.

I swallow the cup of liquid, and within a few minutes, my eyelids begin to feel heavy. Before I realize what's going on, I drift into unconsciousness.