Katniss P.O.V.
When we walk close enough to see the destruction from the blast we heard, my heart sinks. A huge building has collapsed in on itself, and the fire is bellowing up from the top.
I start coughing, so Peeta quickly guides me away from the flames and over to a half-standing concrete structure.
"Stay here," Peeta tells me quietly as he makes me crouch down a little bit. "Stay low. You holler for me if you see any trouble at all."
I nod my head, and Peeta gives me a quick kiss before walking over to the soldiers.
Another small pain runs through my stomach again, and I rest a hand over the spot where our baby lies.
"Alirght, little one," I whisper. "You've got to stop that. You've got your Daddy worried about both of us, and you're not helping to calm my nerves any."
After a few minutes, I see Peeta walking towards me again with an expression on his face that I've never seen before.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
Peeta kneels down beside of me and takes a deep breath before quietly replying.
"The majority of the victims were innocent children," Peeta says as if he's a million miles away at the moment. "There were a few adults, but most of them…" He shakes his head.
"Children, Katniss," Peeta says as he looks down at my stomach. Peeta's eyes fill with tears as he begins to shake his head again. "Can you imagine…"
I can tell that Peeta is at a rare lost for words at the moment.
"I can't imagine it," I tell Peeta softly. "And I don't want to."
"Who could bomb a building knowing that there's kids in there?"
"You know who, Peeta. The same man who could bomb an entire District and feel no remorse. The same man who sent twenty four kids to the arena every year to fight to the death…"
Another explosion just a few feet away from us knocks us both off our feet, sending me crashing into Peeta.
"Are you alright?" Peeta asks me anxiously as he helps to get me back to my crouched position once more.
"I'm fine," I tell Peeta as I nod my head quickly at him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Don't worry about me," he says sincerely. "I'll be just fine as long as you are."
Gunfire rings out, and the other soldiers quickly take shelter in an old abandoned building.
"We're not safe here," Peeta tells me worriedly. He looks over at the building across from us and nods his head towards it. "Run."
"What?" I ask as I turn to face Peeta. I see him take his gun and make sure that it's loaded.
"Run," he repeats.
"Peeta, they're shooting at us."
"I know," he says. "But I've got you covered."
"Peeta, I… I don't know Wh-What if you…" Peeta wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him before pressing his lips to mine. He pulls back and looks intensely into my eyes.
"Go."
"What if you're hit?"
"That's what I've got the bullet proof vest on for so I'll be protected."
"But that vest does not protect your arms or your head or…"
"Katniss," Peeta says fiercely. "Just go. I'll be fine."
I take a deep breath before I take off running towards the building. I hear the gunfire, but it's Peeta's voice behind me that scares me.
"Run, Katniss! Don't look back! Keep going! Keep going!"
When I finally reach the buildng and I think that I am safe, I turn to see Peeta firing as fast as he can as he makes his way towards the building. I can see that they're closing in on him, and my heart drops.
White uniforms. Peacekeepers.
Before my mind has time to process much, I'm thrown back and pinned up against the wall with a knife pressed to my throat. I gasp and fear shoots through every single inch of me.
There must have been a Peacekeeper hiding in the building and waiting for an opportunity to strike. I look down at his white uniform and close my eyes.
"Go ahead and kill me," I say weakly. I don't really mean it because I know that if I die, so does the baby. "Then Snow wins."
"Snow doesn't want you dead," a deep voice replies. He takes me and spins me around before pressing me back up against the wall. He presses the top of the knife into my stomach and I let out a whimper.
"Please. No. Don't hurt her."
I know if he pressed that knife any further, he'd surely cut me.
"I'd better get full cooperation from you or there will be consequences. Is that understood?"
I nod my head, and the knife disappears to be quickly replaced by a gun to my head.
"Move."
I take a deep breath before I begin to start walking, but I don't get very far before a gun goes off nearby.
I flinch, but the pressure of the gun pressed to my head quickly goes away. I relax and immediately feel strong arms wrap around my waist and hold me close so I feel safe.
Peeta's here.
He's okay.
I immediately burst into tears, and Peeta turns me around so he can look me in the eyes.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No," I say as I shake my head and try to regain control of my breathing.
"I was trying to hurry and get to you but I apparently wasn't fast enough."
"It's okay," I say sincerely. Peeta takes my face in his hands and kisses my forehead. He pulls me close to him so I can heavily hear his heart pounding in his chest.
"We've got to go," he tells me suddenly. "We have to find the others before they get to us again." I nod my head, and Peeta and I take off walking as fast as we can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I take a deep breath as Peeta tries to keep me calm. It didn't take us long to catch up with the other soldiers, and I somehow got talked into doing some filming for Coin even though that's the last thing I want to do right now.
"You good?" Peeta asks me.
"No," I say as I shake my head at him and take another deep breath. "I'm feeling uneasy about this." I don't know why, but I feel like something is definitely not right.
"You'll do fine," Peeta says. "You just have to talk into the camera. I won't leave your side if you want me to stay here by you."
"No," I say again. "I'm fine." Peeta kisses my forehead before going over to stand off to the side of me. I sigh and look straight ahead into the camera.
I'm given instructions on what to say before the cameras are turned on. I go over the words in my head and open my mouth to speak and…
"Get on your knees!"
I hear a few surprised gasps and look around to see that the Peacekeepers have finally caught up to us. One stands a few yards away from us on a balcony about ten feet up in the air.
He has his gun pointed at us, or- more specifically- at me.
What is it with being held at gunpoint today?
"Get on your knees!" he yells at us again. He walks down the steps on the side of the balcony and starts towards us. I watch out of the corner of my eye as a few of the soldiers draw their guns and get ready to shoot. I drop to my knees out of fear.
"Drop 'em!" The Peacekeepr yells. "Drop 'em now!"
It all happens so fast, yet it seems like it all lasts for minutes.
I hear the pop of the gun and I know I'm already dead. But as soon as the gun goes off, something else happens.
I hear Peeta yell my name right before he runs out in front of me.