*Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does*

Mockingjay by: Suzanne Collins pg. 346

"Yes, I can see the rebel army pouring into the Circle, driving the refuges back onto the avenues."

I look around and see pods detonating and hear the resounding gunfire. Over all the turmoil, I hear two words come over the loud speakers of the president's mansion: "I surrender." Pandemonium breaks out. Peacekeepers are dropping their weapons. The rebels are streaming into the mansion to find Snow. The fighting outside has basically stopped when a new voice comes over the loud speakers. Coin. She introduces herself as leader of the rebels and the new president of Panem. She says that the war is over. All capitol citizens are to return home, and all rebels will go back to camp or be staying in the president's mansion. She orders us to report to our commanders.

Lost in the shock of everything, I eventually find myself in a room in the mansion. My mother and Prim are helping the wounded. I have been treated as well but had no substantial injuries. I learn that both Gale and Peeta were rescued and are receiving medical treatment but will be fine. I realize that I have to make a choice. I remember what Gale said about me choosing whoever I can't survive without, and I don't want that to be me. As I contemplate whom I really love, I realize something. Peeta was never my choice. He was the Capitol's choice from the beginning. The Capitol put us both in the Hunger Games. And, no matter what he said about wanting to show them he isn't just a piece in their games, he is. He has been since the moment he announced to the country that he loves me. They used him against me from that point on. He was always just a piece in their games to take out me, Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire.

Without the Capitol's interference, I would have been with Gale. He is my best friend, and he understands me completely. Well, apart from some changes that the Capitol forced on me. If I had never been in the Hunger Games, or if it hadn't even existed in the first place, Gale and I would have ended up together eventually. I never intended to see Peeta again after they failed to save him from the arena. I had made a choice before they took him anyways: Gale and the rebellion. I see that it is Gale whom I want and need, my best friend who has always been there for me and knows everything about who I am and how I lived. Peeta would never totally understand hunting or the Seam. Gale knows me because he is just like me and I love him for it. I suppose I'll have to tell them eventually, but not now.

I spend my days wandering around the mansion. I have been informed that I will execute Snow after his trial as the Mockingjay's final deed in the war. During my wandering, I hear many things including the talk of another Hunger Games with the Capitol children. This is terrible. I thought the games were over. I thought at the killing of children and the oppression of citizens was what we were fighting against. I can't stand it. I'm tired of everything including this cyclical, hypocritical government. I'm tired of people. Maybe I should have run off with Gale when he suggested it in the first place. That's it! I'll have to tell him soon. He'll agree when I explain what I need along with escaping this sadistic government. Our families can take care of themselves now. We really could do it. I'm going to go tell him.

I check the hospital wing first, and they inform me that Gale has just been released. They tell me where his room is. After I find it, I pull open the door and walk in without knocking. Good, he's alone. He's sitting in bed and smiles when he sees me.

"Hey Catnip." I smile at the old nickname. Things can definitely go back to the way they were. The comfortable friendship turning into something more.

"Hey Gale," I say as I sit on the edge of his bed. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, but they won't let me do anything but sit in bed," he said frowning slightly. "Any news?"

"Well, they haven't le t me do much either. I was informed that the Mockingjay will execute Snow after his trial." I barely see myself as the Mockingjay anymore. I'm gradually slipping back into the old me. Of course, I'll never be able to let go of all the deaths, but otherwise, I'm slowly losing the Capitol-made version of myself. "I wander around a lot, and I've heard things. Gale, there's talk of another Hunger Games with the Capitol children." I pause to let him take it in.

"Serves them right," he states defiantly like I knew he would.

"Gale, I'm tired of all the killing. I thought we were fighting against the Games, not just taking control and inflicting them on others. If we do that, we're as bad as the government we fought to overthrow." He looks at me a while as what I've said sinks in. "We could do it you know," I say reminding him of his own idea, "run off, and live in the woods, just you and me." A small smile crosses his face when he realizes what this means, that I've chosen him.

"Just you and me? Katniss, what about our families?" he says reminding me of my original argument. "What about Peeta?" I hold my ground.

"Our families will be fine. My mother and Prim have obligations as doctors, and Hazel, Rick, Rory, and Posy will be fine. Hazel will have a job. She can take care of them. None of them will ever have to take tesserae ever again because the games are over. Well, at least for them. I'm tired of people. I want it to be just you and me in the woods. I want it to be like it was before all this happened. And Peeta, he was never my choice, he was the Capitol's," I exclaimed telling him how much I've thought this though. Gale contemplates it as a nurse comes in to check his wounds. I am told to leave. As I walk out the door, Gale gives me an answer.

"Catnip, I'm in," he says grinning.

I knew he would be. I return his smile and walk out the door, fine tuning plans. I decide we should go before Snow's execution. Afterwards, Coin will probably have me under constant supervision, unsure of what to do with her little Mockingjay once the war is done. When Gale is taken off bed rest, the two of us begin planning. We start to gather the supplies we will need. I have my things from thirteen sent in. Out of it, I take my father's hunting jacket, the game back, the two bows, and the sheath of arrows. The rest I leave for my mother and Prim. We take other supplies like rope and wire for snares, first aid supplies, sleeping bags, packs, water bottles and iodine for purification, fishing hooks, knives for cleaning game, some bread and other food we won't find in the wild, and anything else we deem necessary for survival.

Once we have all our supplies gathered and plans made, Gale and I decide to write letters to leave for our families to find after we're gone. I tell my mother not to worry and Prim to study hard to become a doctor. We leave the letters in their rooms early one morning. The clothes we've managed to take are as close as what we wore at home as we could get with a few additions such as scarves and gloves for when it gets cold. These clothes, unlike the ones issued in thirteen actually fit. We pack our knapsacks and set off. Neither of us feels the need to say goodbye to the Capitol or anyone here besides my mother and Prim. Gale's family is still in thirteen. In the early dawn, we creep silently through the streets for hours, watching each other's back as always, until we reach the edge of the city. Ironically enough, there's an electric fence with no power going to it. We both slip through. Gale pulls out the map he managed to find and points us toward twelve, towards home. We set off through the mountains on our new and final mission: get home, to our woods. It will take quite some time to travel by foot, but neither of us minds. I kiss Gale on the cheek, and as we're about to take our first big steps into our new life, I spot a blackberry bush.

I pluck one, and as tradition goes, I say still mocking the Capitol accent, "And may the odds," as I toss the berry towards Gale. He catches it in his mouth, swallows, and responds like nothing has happened since that fateful day in the woods.

"Be ever in your favor."