A/N: This was supposed to only be three chapters, but I always underestimate how long scenes will end up. There's one more chapter after this one. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate the feedback and encouragement.

Peeta doesn't sleep that night. It's nearly four in the morning when he decides there's only one option. He has to help Katniss escape. While it's not the riot or army that Thorne wants, it might be enough to appease him and keep him from hurting Peeta's family.

And Katniss would be free.

Peeta knows that Katniss doesn't want to escape, and if he gives her any advance warning, she'll resist. His best option is to spring it on her when he takes her dinner, just unlock the door, grab her hand, and go.

Could he make it look like a prisoner transfer? Pretend he's taking her to the Visitor Center or to exercise in the yard? It'd be easier if Finnick would help, but that's out of the question. Peeta will have to figure it out himself.

That evening, exhausted and unsteady on his feet, Peeta brings Katniss her dinner tray. When he slides open the top slot, she's sitting on her bed, back against the wall, staring straight ahead.

"Everdeen," he calls.

She doesn't move.

"Time for dinner."

When she still shows no sign of having heard him, he sighs. "Come on, Katniss. Take your tray."

"You didn't come last night," she says. "That dickhead Gloss delivered it."

"I'm sorry. It was a rough night."

She stares at him from the bed, her mouth twisted into a scowl. Maybe if he tells her what happened with Finnick, she'll suggest the escape herself. She might even have an idea.

But something else comes out instead. "I used to think about what would have happened if you hadn't left too."

She shakes her head, but he continues. "An apartment in Twelve Oakes. Movie nights on the couch. Hikes on the weekends."

She stands and pulls her tray through the bottom slot. "You'd probably be dead too," she says. "That's what I think would have happened."

"You really think you'd hurt me?"

She left town, left him and Prim, the only two people in the world she loved, because she was afraid of what she was capable of. But he never believed that she'd hurt either of them.

She eyes the piece of freshly baked bread on her tray before setting it down.

"No," she says. "But this all feels inevitable, doesn't it? Prim, Seneca, Gale. I can't let you die because of me."

"That's bullshit," he says. "I know what kind of person you are. You would be living a completely different life if you had stayed."

"You can't rewrite history. You know what kind of person I am because you saw it yourself."

He knows she's thinking of that night seven years ago, the last time he saw her before she left town. He tried to calm her down, reassure her, but she wouldn't listen.

"You know why I pulled you off my mother, don't you?" he asks.

"I was going to kill her," Katniss says flatly.

"Yes," he says. "Then you'd be arrested. They'd take you away from me. In that moment, the only person I was afraid for was you. I only stopped you because I didn't want you to end up here."

"Well," she says, waving an arm around her cell. "Sorry to disappoint."

Peeta had a plan. He had kept it to himself for almost a year, but on the Saturday before Thanksgiving during their senior year of high school, he couldn't stay quiet any longer. After he finished closing up the bakery, Katniss at his side, he suggested they hang out in the apartment upstairs. Occasionally someone rented it, but when it was unoccupied like it was now, his older brothers often snuck their girlfriends up there.

Tonight though, the apartment was theirs. He texted his father that he would be hanging out at Katniss's. His mother was out of town for the night, celebrating a friend's birthday at a spa, probably complaining about prices and driving everyone crazy. Katniss's mother was at work. Or she wasn't. It didn't matter. Prim was safe, sleeping over a friend's. Tonight was the rare night where Katniss was free to do as she pleased.

It was freezing upstairs. Mrs. Mellark kept the heat turned as low as possible when there were no tenants. There was no cable, but electricity meant access to Netflix.

Despite his sweater, a chill crept over Peeta. He wrapped himself in a throw blanket before sitting on the couch. He clicked through the Romantic Comedy category, and Katniss groaned.

"Why do you subject me to these movies?"

Despite her protests, he knew she actually loved them. For a little while, she could pretend the world was pretty and predictable and full of happy endings. He selected a new release, then handed the remote to Katniss. He buried his hands beneath the blanket and wedged them between his thighs.

"Cold?" she asked with a smug smile.

He eyed her bare arms, empty of goosebumps. He narrowed his eyes. "A bit."

She inched closer and nudged him. When he lifted the blanket, she burrowed into his side, wrapping an arm around his stomach. The heat of her hand seeped through the fabric of his sweater. Desire stirred within him, and he shifted in his seat.

This was all he wanted. The two of them, entwined on a couch, watching a movie she wouldn't admit to enjoying, for the rest of his life. His mother would call him foolish, remind him that he was seventeen and didn't know a thing about the real world. But he knew enough. He knew he was in love with Katniss, and even if she never loved him in the same way, he wanted her by his side. Always.

"What are you going to do after graduation?" he asked.

She stiffened in his arms, but didn't pull away. She didn't want to have this conversation. While they never discussed Peeta's college plans, she knew he had applied to Panem State. His mother brought it up at every opportunity, eager to see him gone.

"I don't know. Find a job that pays more than minimum wage. Work while Prim is in school," she said.

Katniss hated that she couldn't work. She knew it would be foolish to drop out of school, and working evenings and weekends was impossible. At eight, Prim was too young to be home alone. Putting her in an afterschool program or hiring a sitter would cost whatever Katniss made at work. It wasn't logical. Mrs. Everdeen was employed sporadically, working a few months before getting fired for some drug- or behavior-related problem. There was always just enough money in the bank account though. Enough for rent and utilities at least. Some months, Katniss couldn't make it stretch, and their water would be shut off, or she wouldn't have lunch for a couple of weeks. But it could have been worse.

"Aren't you going to ask me my plan?" Peeta said.

She lifted up her head, but continued to stare straight ahead at the television. A pretty blue-eyed blonde tripped on screen, spilling coffee all over a handsome, bearded stranger. They would obviously be in love by the end of the movie.

"I know your plan," Katniss said.

"I want to leave town with you. Right after graduation."

She whipped her head around, but he continued before she could speak. "We'll both be eighteen. They can't stop us. We'll find jobs, something to support ourselves. We'll go to school part-time. We'll take turns if we have to."

"Peeta…"

"Prim will come too, of course. I doubt your mom will fight you on that."

He placed a hand over hers and squeezed.

"I don't have any money," Katniss said. "How could we-"

"I do," he interrupted, excited that she had not immediately dismissed the idea. He had been saving his money for years, but it wasn't until last year that he realized what he wanted to use it for. Already he had looked up apartments several towns away and calculated the cost of rent, utilities, and food. "I've been saving. I've got enough for a security deposit and a couple of months rent. If we find jobs right away, if we live carefully, we'll be fine."

She bit her lip. "I thought you wanted to go to Panem State."

"I want to go where you're going," he said. "Wherever that is."

"But Peeta… it could take years for you to get your degree if we don't have any money. And we'll have Prim. We'll be raising her together. Are you really ready to give up your whole life for us?"

His heart hammered in his chest, but he had to say it. He had to make her understand. "You are my whole life. I thought you knew that."

She kissed him, her mouth a delicious heat that melted the last of his fears. She pulled him closer until she was horizontal on the couch, and he hovered over her.

"Is this okay?" he asked, even though she had moved first. They had never kissed before, and he worried he'd do something wrong and break the spell.

"I want us to leave together. You, me, and Prim. I want to be happy," she said.

He kissed her, his fingers curling into her hair, and the moment was so achingly perfect, he wanted to freeze it and live inside it. If only life could feel like this all the time.

"You make me happy, Peeta," she whispered.

The rest of the world disappeared as they kissed. Katniss pulled off her t-shirt and Peeta stared until she finally covered herself with her arms. He had seen her in her one piece bathing suit plenty of times, but this was different. There was so much more to see, to touch. He wanted to trace every new inch of her.

"You're so beautiful," he said, amazed that this was finally happening. He pushed her bra strap down her shoulder and kissed the skin he found beneath.

"Don't do that," she whispered. "Don't lie."

"You have no idea how gorgeous you are."

"Just kiss me," she said.

Soon, his sweater was gone, and her hands roamed the planes of his chest, down his stomach, until she reached his belt. When they were both down to their underwear, Peeta pulled the blanket off the ground and covered them once more.

"I've never done this before," she said quietly.

He knew this. He knew everything about her, including the three guys she had fooled around with. Occasionally, when he and Katniss went to a party, she would drink enough to get a buzz and disappear with some guy who wouldn't give her the time of day at school. While every moment she was gone felt like a blade to his gut, none of those guys really mattered. She left every party tucked into Peeta's side.

"We don't have to do anything else," he said.

"Can we go into the bedroom?"

She followed him down the hallway. She went straight for the bed, but he caught her hand before she could lay down.

"I'm in love with you," he said. "That's...that's what this is for me. I don't want to do this if you don't feel the same way."

She stared at him, her expression unreadable. Fear coursed through him, his throat suddenly dry. "I don't mean I don't want to leave with you," he said. "I still want everything I said. I just meant...this part."

"If I told you I didn't love you, we'd still leave together? You, me, and Prim?"

"Of course," he said, even as his heart sank.

"Why?"

He blinked, thrown off by the question. It had been years since she had done this. In the early days of their friendship, she often questioned his motives as if she expected his kindness was actually a cruel trick.

"You're my best friend," he said. "Nothing's going to change that."

"Nothing?" she asked.

"Nothing."

Their next kiss was soft and sweet. She wove her fingers into his hair, her short nails scratching his scalp.

"I love you," she said. "I have for a really long time."

Her words were magic. They left him breathless.

"I didn't think...I never thought…" She took a step backward and rubbed the top of her chest, right over her heart. "I'm so angry, Peeta. I feel it. All the time. But sometimes when I'm with you, it's like it's not there."

He placed his hand over hers as if he could feel the anger buzzing underneath her skin.

"I never thought you'd feel the same way. I don't think I wanted you to," she said.

"Why?"

"Because you're a good person. The best I know. I'll never be what you deserve."

He swept her into a hug. Despite her size, she always seemed so strong, but tonight she felt flimsy and brittle in his arms. He forgot sometimes that she was as breakable as anyone else.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said into her hair. "I know you don't believe me, but it's true. You're everything to me."

She pulled him into bed, beneath the comforter. They took their time kissing, exploring, discovering. He found the condoms his brothers had hidden underneath the dresser. She helped roll one on him with trembling hands, and he asked, once more, if she was sure.

She was.

After, she told him she loved him again, and he promised her that they'd escape, that together they'd make a better life. Wrapped around each other, they fell asleep.

A couple of hours later, Peeta woke up to the thwack of his belt buckle hitting him in the forehead and his mother's screeching voice.

"Get up! Get up right now!"

Peeta sat up, rubbing his forehead, his heart beating wildly. He could have dealt with literally any other person discovering him and Katniss like this. They were fucked.

"I want her out of here right his second!"

Peeta scooped his underwear off the ground and yanked it on beneath the comforter. Katniss was on the other side of the bed, pulling on her bra and panties.

Meanwhile, his mother wouldn't shut up. "I should have put an end to this years ago. You're not to see her again, do you understand me, Peeta?"

He was on his feet, hoping that if he remained calm, his mother would eventually stop yelling. This tactic never worked, but it was the only one he had.

"Just let us get dressed," he said in a placating tone. "Then we'll talk about this."

"Don't order me around," Mrs. Mellark warned. "I'm the parent here."

He placed a hand on his mother's arm to guide her out of the doorway, but she recoiled. "Don't touch me!"

"Can you please just let us get dressed?" he asked.

Mrs. Mellark stomped down the hallway. Peeta reached out behind him, and Katniss grabbed his hand. The moment they left the bedroom, their clothes smacked into them. Anger burned in Peeta's chest as they pulled on their jeans. He so desperately wanted to scream back at his mother, but he kept quiet. The words wouldn't come.

"How could you be so stupid?" Mrs. Mellark asked as Peeta tugged his sweater on over his head. "Girls like her do this on purpose. She wants you to knock her up, so you'll take care of her for the rest of her life."

"Don't talk about Katniss like that," Peeta snapped, surprising everyone in the room. He never talked back to his mother, but she had also never badmouthed Katniss to his face before. She made comments here and there, but this was something else.

"She'll turn out just like her mother," Mrs. Mellark said. "Strung up on drugs while you're stuck with a baby. Is that what you want? Your whole life ruined?"

"I said stop!" Peeta shouted. "Katniss isn't like that."

"Don't talk back to me," Mrs. Mellark warned. "I am your mother."

"Yeah, such a great mother. Don't act like you suddenly care about my future or my-"

A smack to his face cut him off. He couldn't breathe, he was so angry, so humiliated. Even now, at seventeen, his mother terrified him, and he hated it.

He thought he hated her too.

"I put a roof over your head, food in your stomach, clothes on your back! Are you grateful? No, you talk back and sneak around."

She hit him again, and he desperately wanted to fight back. He knew he was stronger. He could just push her away, grab Katniss, and leave. He didn't have to stand there and listen, but he couldn't make himself move.

"This ends tonight," Mrs. Mellark said. "You're not to see Katniss again. Not at school, not at the bakery, and certainly not in our house."

"I won't," Peeta said. "You can't stop me."

She managed to hit him once more before Katniss grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall.

"Are you insane?" Mrs. Mellark demanded, her voice shaking.

"You think it's okay to hurt him?" Katniss grabbed Mrs. Mellark's arm and squeezed. "You think I'd just let you?"

"Let go of me!"

Fire burst out of Katniss's hand and crawled up Mrs. Mellark's skin. Mrs. Mellark screamed as the flames turned from orange to blue and enveloped her arm. Her knees gave out, and she slid down the wall, but Katniss didn't let go.

The stench of burning flesh filled Peeta's nostrils, but the screams were worse. They crawled into his skull and took root there, promising to never leave his memory, but he didn't move. This time it wasn't from terror but from a sick curiosity. He wanted to see her suffer.

Mrs. Mellark swung her free arm around until Katniss pinned it to the ground with her knee.

"Please," Mrs. Mellark begged. "Please."

Katniss's other hand lit up. When she wrapped it around Mrs. Mellark's neck, Peeta's paralysis disappeared. Katniss had attacked his mother to protect him, and she would suffer the consequences if he didn't make her stop.

"Katniss, don't!"

She didn't seem to hear him. He grabbed her around her waist and tugged her away. The fire in her hands disappeared. He didn't look at the mess of his mother on the ground, coughing and crying as she cradled her ruined hand to her chest, the flesh still burning. He saw only Katniss and her wide eyes and open mouth.

"Wait," he said, knowing what would happen next. "It's okay. Katniss-"

She ran. He followed her down the stairs and out the back door. He caught her before she reached the street.

"Wait!"

"I'm sorry." Tears streamed down her face. Her hands shook. He tried to hug her, but she jerked away. "I shouldn't have, I shouldn't-" She covered her face.

"Katniss..."

She rubbed the spot above her heart again, as if she could rub out the rage that burned there. "I told you. I told you there's something wrong with me."

He grasped her upper arms and forced her to look him in the face. "There is nothing wrong with you. It's going to be okay."

She shook her head. "It's not. Nothing is okay."

"I love you, Katniss. Nothing is going to change that."

"Let go of me."

"Please don't go. Please."

She smacked his wrists. It wouldn't have deterred him if she hadn't carried a small flame in each palm. It was quick and painless, like an accidental graze from a lighter, but the surprise made him jump back.

Once more, she ran, this time disappearing down the street. He wanted to go after her, but he was barefoot, and it was the middle of the night, and he couldn't leave his mother on the apartment floor no matter how much he wanted to.

He'd see Katniss tomorrow, or the day after. He'd give her time to calm down, and everything would be okay. He'd make sure the police weren't involved.

He spent the rest of the night at the hospital with his mother. She was delirious with pain, and it disturbed him how little it bothered him. In the end, the damage was so severe, they amputated her arm from the elbow down. It was a small, strange victory. She lost the hand she used to hit him.

While it was obvious Mrs. Mellark hadn't been burned by one of the industrial ovens in the bakery, the police didn't push an investigation after she corroborated Peeta's story. While she never told him why she lied, he was sure she was scared of Katniss.

Everyone gossiped about Mrs. Mellark's injury and Katniss's disappearance, but they never put the two together. No one was surprised Katniss had skipped town.

For years Peeta had cursed the adults in his life for looking the other way when his mother abused him, but now it paid off. Everyone thought Peeta had burned her, and everyone agreed that Mrs. Mellark had had it coming.

Peeta never corrected them. Mostly because he wanted to protect Katniss's secret, but a part of him liked that people were wary of him now.

He preferred being left alone.

"It's Day Two, and as far as I know, you haven't requested a transfer," Finnick said when Peeta showed up for his shift.

"I'll talk to Boggs before he leaves today. I just wanted a little more time."

Once again, he barely slept. He spent hours agonizing over his plan, and all the ways it could fail. While he isn't lying about his intention to talk to Boggs, he knows he'll probably have another week here. The prison is short-staffed, and it'll be difficult to replace him on such short notice.

But if he's wrong, if Boggs wishes him good luck and declares today his last shift, he'll have to grab Katniss at dinner.

"Did you tell Everdeen yet?"

"That's none of your business." Peeta checks the schedule posted on the wall and frowns at the hastily scrawled words next to Katniss's name. "Visitor Center? She just had therapy."

"She's got a different kind of visitor."

Dread washes over Peeta. The prisoners here rarely get visitors. Most aren't allowed to receive them, and those who can have to make the request weeks in advance.

"Coriolanus Snow," Finnick said. "Guess Dr. Coin delivered Everdeen's message."

Is this really what Katniss wanted? Or was she just mouthing off, saying whatever she could think of to end those pointless sessions?

He follows Finnick to Katniss's cell. Finnick knocks twice and shouts, "Up against the wall!"

Katniss stands in the middle of her cell when the door opens.

"Did you not hear me?" Finnick asks, his hand on his baton.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"Nothing is-"

Peeta cuts him off. She deserves a warning. "Snow is here."

There's a moment where she doesn't move, her gaze far away, as she thinks something over. Before Finnick can issue another order, she backs up into the wall and raises her hands.

As soon as Finnick grabs her wrists, she slams her knee into his face, and he stumbles backward. His hands instinctively cover his face, so he doesn't see the kick coming. She connects with his stomach, and he hits the ground.

This is it. Time for the escape. She's definitely going about it the wrong way as the rest of the prison will be alerted to her violence in seconds, but at least he doesn't have to drag her.

She grabs Finnick's baton from his belt and surges forward. Before Peeta can say a word, she slams the baton into his side. He hits the wall but manages to stay upright.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," she says.

Finnick is back on his feet. He tries to grab her, but she spins around and knocks the baton into his head. This time when he hits the ground, he's out cold.

There are shouts from the corridor. Katniss glances over her shoulder.

"Get on the ground," she says.

"What?"

She charges him. He grabs her wrists and yanks them up, squeezing until her grip around the baton loosens, and it slips from her hand.

She knees him in the stomach. As soon as he lets her go, she kicks him in the face, and his vision disappears.

The next second, his cheek is pressed against the cold concrete floor, and Katniss is yelling at the other guards to let her go. Peeta wants to tell them not to hurt her, that there's been a mistake, but his mouth feels stuffed with cotton.

He blinks, and he's on a bed in the infirmary, Dr. Abernathy shining a light in his eyes.

"She did a real number on you," Dr. Abernathy says. "I think. I can't tell. Your face is already pretty fucked up."

Peeta groans and sits up. "How long have I been out?"

"Just a few minutes. Enough time to sedate Everdeen and chain her to the table in the Visitor Center."

The pounding in Peeta's head fades until there's only the pulse of fear. "She's still meeting with Snow?"

"Apparently, Mr. Snow is an important man who came a very long way. He doesn't give a shit about what she did to you and Odair. He wants to talk to her."

"I want to see."

"Yeah, I don't think they're going to let you join their chat."

"I'm going to the command center." It's where the guards monitor the entire prison. He can watch from there. Listen, too. The Visitor Center is the only place in the prison that captures audio.

"Boggs wants to speak with you as soon as he's done taking care of the situation," Dr. Abernathy says. "I'm supposed to keep you here."

"Are you?" Peeta demands, eyeing the exit.

Dr. Abernathy throws up his hands and backs away. "I doubt I could if I tried."

Peeta races to the command center where he finds Homes and Mitchell watching the monitors. Neither guard says a word when Peeta plants himself in front of the Visitor Center screen. Katniss's back is to the camera, but she sits up straight, her shoulders rigid. Whatever sedative they gave her must have been mild. Enough to calm her down but not knock her out.

"Can you turn up the audio on this?" he asks.

Mitchell nods. A moment later, an unfamiliar voice floods the room.

"-doesn't appear you wanted to meet me. I heard you attacked two guards when you learned I was here."

"Sometimes I lash out," Katniss says. "Did Dr. Coin not tell you? I'm violent and highly unstable."

Snow chuckles and folds his hands together, resting them on the table. "Well, Miss Everdeen, I'm here. I'd love to hear what you have to say."

Peeta startles when Finnick appears behind him. Finnick's face is a mask of bruises and anger.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight until I hand you over to Boggs," Finnick says. He doesn't drag him back to the infirmary though. He appears just as interested in Katniss's conversation with Snow as Peeta is.

"Right." Katniss nods. "I did promise to reveal a few details about your son's brutal murder if you showed up."

Snow doesn't flinch. He cocks his head to the side and smiles. "Yes, I'm particularly curious about the whereabouts of my grandchildren."

"You mean you want to know where Crane's wife is. Delia, right?"

"So she's alive?"

"Of course. We both know no one hired me to take out your son."

"So you admit to his murder."

"Is this how we're going to do it? I tell the truth while you pretend to be surprised? I guess you can't admit any of your own misdeeds in here." She lifts her hands as high as they'll go and gestures behind her. "Not with the camera."

"I apologize, Miss Everdeen, but I have no idea what you mean. If we could-"

"You know I killed Seneca, and you know why I did it. There was no reason to harm his wife or children."

Snow leans forward. "Then where are they? Where have they been for the past five years?"

Katniss shrugs. "I have no idea. Somewhere safe, I hope."

"You expect me to believe that the three of them disappeared the same night you murdered my son? How convenient for you."

"You know they're alive. That's why you hired Dr. Coin, and that's why you're here," Katniss says. "You're terrified Delia will resurface and spill all the family secrets."

"That's quite the tale you've spun." His mouth twists upward in an ugly approximation of a smile. "Will you plead insanity at your trial?"

"You can discredit me all you want. I don't care if anyone believes me. The only justice in this world is the kind we take for ourselves."

"I think the word you're looking for is revenge."

"I don't see why it can't be a little bit of both."

There's a long moment of silence as the two stare at each other. Finally, Snow sighs and pushes his chair back. "I came an awfully long way for the truth, and I'm afraid you're not going to give it to me."

"You had my mother and sister killed. How's that for truth?"

Peeta's jaw drops. In all the media coverage of the Crane murders, not once did the police mention a personal connection between Katniss and Seneca. When she later became an assassin-for-hire, the police determined it had been her first job. It was the only thing that made sense. Otherwise, it was too random. The Cranes didn't even live in the same state as the Everdeens.

"That's quite the accusation," Snow says.

"When your former lawyer found me and told me what you'd done, I went after Seneca first. It was his fault Prim was dead. Now he's dead too. You killed her for nothing."

"I understand it's hard to deal with the death of loved ones, but concocting a story like this, taking out your anger on an innocent man...you are a deeply disturbed young woman."

"Prim was nine when you killed her. She was sweet and smart and selfless. She wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She wanted to help people."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Snow says.

"That's funny. Seneca apologized right before I killed him too."

Fire bursts from Katniss's hands and engulfs Snow and the two guards behind him. Snow hits the ground, writhing as the flames peel back his skin. All three men disappear from view as the flames fill the room, but their tortured screams linger in the air.

The sound transports Peeta back to the night Katniss attacked his mother. This time there is no sick curiosity or pleasure in observing. There is only horror. Despite being on the other side of the prison, Peeta swears he can smell them burn.

Finnick grabs Peeta and shakes him. "Did you know about this?"

Peeta isn't sure if Finnick means Katniss's plan to kill Snow, her fire ability, or both, but it doesn't matter. He can't find his voice. He looks over Finnick's shoulder, back to the screen, and watches Katniss pull a set of keys out from the inside of her shirt.

Finnick looks back. As Katniss unlocks her chains, he digs his nails into Peeta's arms. "You gave her your keys?"

Numb, Peeta barely manages to shake his head.

Finnick pats his pockets. "She took mine. Of course she took mine. Can't implicate her fucking boyfriend!"

As Homes and Mitchell race out of the Command Center, Peeta looks back at the screen. The Visitor Center is nothing but flames and agony and an empty chair. A siren blares through the prison as the guards prepare for a lockdown. Katniss appears on another screen and opens the first cell she comes to. She sends another wave of fire down the hall before shouting directions to the inmate she just freed.

She moves to the next cell.

Peeta has to stop this. He can't let her free these people, but if she gets captured now, she's dead. There will never be another chance to escape. They'll lock her up in a special cell like they do for other dangerous meta-humans. They'll strip her of her remaining privileges and leave her somewhere damp and dark. She won't be allowed around others. She'll never see the outdoors again.

Before he can make up his mind, a ring of cold metal closes around his wrist. Finnick yanks him to the ground and locks the other side of the handcuffs around the leg of the table.

"What are you doing?" Peeta demands.

"You're staying here." Finnick races into the hall, slamming the door shut behind him.

Peeta pushes against the table, but it's bolted to the ground. Pressing his foot against the table leg for leverage, he tugs on the chain of the handcuffs. Something pops in his wrist, and he curses at the pain. He pulls himself up as high as the table will allow and studies the screens.

Chaos. Guards and inmates clash on one monitor while inmates unlock cells on another. A handful of meta-humans tear through the prison, destroying everything in their path. Peeta hits the keyboard, and the screens change over and over until he finds her.

She no longer carries keys or stops to free inmates. She jogs down the hallway, ignoring the destruction behind her. Every few seconds she shoots a fireball to clear her path of guards.

Peeta glances back at the Visitor Center. While the room is no longer on fire, the bodies still burn, clogging the air with smoke. The damage is so severe he can no longer tell who is who. No wonder Katniss attacked him. Her plan was to kill Snow, even if it cost the two guards in the room their lives.

She didn't care who those guards were as long as Peeta wasn't one of them.

The back of his head prickles. Lightheadedness sends him back to the ground as he realizes all this chaos is his fault. Katniss was adamant about remaining in prison, but Thorne demanded a riot. She thought she could refuse, but then Peeta showed up with bruises. She knew if she didn't take action, Thorne would kill him.

This riot, her escape, is to save him.

He looks back at the screens. There is still fighting, but there are bodies now too. Bullet wounds, broken necks, burned skin.

He finds Katniss just in time to see her burst out the front door of the prison. She sends a wall of fire toward the guards that await her as prisoners rush out around her. Some stop to fight with the guards while others run toward the fence. A few try to scale it until a meta-human rips off the gate. Prisoners pour into the street and disappear down the road.

Katniss pauses in the midst of the chaos, closes her eyes, and tilts her head up toward the sun.