My take on the destruction of District 12, with a little bit of Madge and Gale. A present for those of you waiting for the next chapter of 'A Quell To Remember'. Hope you like it!

It was chaos in 12; the moment Katniss shot the force field, everything went black. The TVs turned off automatically and silence engulfed the District. Gale stood in his front room, eyes narrowed in the dim light, wearily eyeing the TV. He looked to his family, who were too shocked to move from their seats. And that's when it hit hi.

He moved swiftly, dragging his mother to her feet and ordering her to grab the kids and run for the meadow. He left no room for discussion as he pushed them out of the house. There were others on the street, confused and afraid, like prey in a trap. And that's exactly what it was, a trap. Simple yet effective. Gale knew that once the sent in the hovercrafts it would all be over.

He didn't know how he knew, he just did. It was the same thing that he and Katniss would do on a few occasions to catch game. Make the animal scared or confused and use this to lure them into a trap. Once they were in, kill them. Years of hunting had prepared Gale for this moment and even if he didn't know how bad the punishment would be, he knew he wouldn't stick around to find out.

But the odds were not in his favour. By the time he reached Katniss' house, the hovercrafts had arrived. "Go!" He shouted to Prim as panic rose in the District. "Take her and leave!" He shouted to Mrs Everdeen. It took a few seconds, but they began to move eventually. "Get as many as you can to head to the meadow! Take down the fence!"

There wasn't any power, so the fence wouldn't be electrified. That gave the people a means of escape. But Gale couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his stomach. He shouted to more people, but he doubted they heard him over the spreading chaos. Some people moved, others kept running in circles, unsure of what was to come. Fortunately, word started to spread quicker and quicker, until almost everyone in 12 was heading to the meadow.

There was someone Gale needed to find. Not his family, he knew they'd be at the meadow by now. The same went for Prim and her mother. No, Gale was looking for a girl who, merely a year ago, he never would have cared about. He shouted her name out to the crowd, hoping for an answer. When he didn't receive one, he turned to head to the meadow only to run into the very person he was searching for.

"Madge!" He called over the roaring fear from fleeing civilians. They embraced each other, but their happiness was shorted lived. At that moment, the hovercrafts opened fire on 12, dropping the fire bombs that would lead to the Districts destruction.

They started off in the square, the Justice Building instantly igniting. Gale watched as the mighty blaze spread from building to building, engulfing the fleeing population who were too slow to escape. The heat rose drastically, the smoke and ash suffocating all who tried to escape.

Gale grabbed Madge by the arm, forcing her to move towards the meadow. She resisted, trying so hard to pull away from him. "Come on Madge! We have to get to the meadow, it's our only hope!" The flames were gaining on them; the hovercrafts continued dropping bombs relentlessly. Gale knew they were running out of time.

"We can't leave Gale! My Dad! He's out there somewhere!" Madge cried, clawing at Gales arm. He hissed, the scratch marks deep enough to draw blood. He forced Madge to look him in the eye. The tears poured down her face.

"Listen. We either leave now, or stay here and die. That's the choice we've been given Madge. Your dad… he's probably long gone. Don't waste your own life to try and find a dead man." His last comment earned him a hard slap, his cheek stinging as her hand made contact. The tears did nothing to dull the ferocity in her eyes.

"How could you say such a thing? What if he's out there Gale, bleeding, wounded or dying? I can't leave knowing that he still has a chance!" She shouted at him over the raging flames and rushing people. He ran a hand through his black hair, brushing off some of the ash as he did.

"If he is still alive, he'll be heading to the meadow. If he's smart, that's where he will be. Now let's go!" They started moving again, managing to keep ahead of the flames. But the heat stung just as much as the actual fire and as more and more ash and smoke fell over District 12, breathing became immensely difficult.

"I can't Gale. Not if he could be trapped. I can't leave him. I-" she choked on the last part, whether it was because of the smoke or the emotional pain Gale didn't know. He felt her grip loosen. He turned to face her, trying to pull her back, but by that time she h already let go and stopped. They were a metre apart, but Gale could've sworn the distance felt so much greater.

"Madge, you can't go back. You don't stand a chance!" He tried to reason with her. He pleaded with all his heart. The boy was on the verge of tears, and the guilt of causing Gale pain almost made Madge change her mind. Almost. With one last resolved sigh, she looked Gale in the eye, determination written in her features. "Don't…" Gale whispered as a last ditch effort to convince her to keep running. "Please. We need you. I need you…"

Madge shook her head and wiped away the tears from her puffy red eyes. "I know you do Gale. But my dad could need me right now." She swallowed hard, her throat tightening with each passing second. "Don't follow me Gale. Please." And Gale knew, right there and then, that he would never have been able to change her mind.

Before she turned away, she uttered three final words to Gale which shocked him to the core.

"I love you…"

He stood, frozen on the spot as the flames came near. They seemed to thaw him out. He turned on the spot and ran. And to this day, he wished he hadn't. Madge loves me… he thought to himself as he manoeuvred through the crowd, years of hunting in the woods allowed him to be swift and move with ease.

Once he reached the meadow, he dared to turn around again. The destruction that lay before him made his stomach turn. Burning bodies littered the streets. Houses and shops were burning brightly, the flames dancing around them. With one sweeping look of the Seam, Gale was at a loss for words. His home, his childhood, his life was completely gone. Ruined by the Capitol. Destroyed by President Snow. He clenched his fists as he watched the chaos continue to unfold around him.

His eyes caught sight of the Justice Building. What was left of it, anyway. He sent a silent prayer to Madge, who overtime had become his friend. As he stood there, remembering the last words she spoke to him, he could help but crack a small smile.

Here I am, watching my District burn, and I'm thinking of you. Madge Undersee, the Mayor's precious daughter. I've hated you for years, but when I finally got to know you, you became one of my closest friends. You helped me when Katniss was in the arena. You bought me morphling to ease the pain of my whipping. You came to secretly visit me on Sundays, to ask me how the week had been. And in the time we became friends, I never once thanked you for the things you did.

Finally, Gale turned away from the burning buildings and the cloud of smoke. He turned his back on his District, with one last, silent and remorseful goodbye. But it wasn't to his home. It was to the girl that he had, in fact, fallen in love with. To girl he would've never expected to be friends with. And he would never admit this fact to anyone. Not even Katniss.

He ran from his District, through the meadow and past the broken fence. He followed the others until there was no where left to go. He led them to the lake. And as he did, he left Madge with one final, unspoken thought.

Thank you, Madge Undersee, for everything. If this had never happened, then maybe… Maybe I could've loved you too…