As Katniss sat in her cell, stripped of her weapons and armor, she wondered if any of the others had escaped, or maybe even completed the mission. Katniss had insisted on being part of the mission to rescue Peeta, and now was rethinking that decision. Of course, Haymitch had begged her not to go, but she wouldn't have any of it. "Getting captured would be worth it," she thought, "if Peeta made it out alive." Of course, she also knew there was a good chance she would never know if he had or not.

As Katniss sat on the cold, hard floor of her cell, contemplating her fate, she heard the lock being opened from the other side of the door. It swung open, and two peacekeepers entered, each carrying an assault rifle, clad from head to toe in white body armor. Then, President Snow, in an opulent ruby read jacket and white shirt, confidently strolled into the room, giant smirk plastered across his face.

"Well hello, Ms. Everdeen," he began, "who posibally could have predicted we would end up here?"

Katniss simply glared up at him from the floor. When she was captured, she had been stripped of her armor, but the gaurds hadn't given her any new clothes, so she was sitting there in nothing but her bra and panties. "I know you must be cold in this room, and I am truly sorry about the rustic accomodations, but as you can imagine, in wartime we are forced to focus our resources on defense." Snow explained.

"Really, you couldn't even give me a shirt?" Katniss asked, still glaring at Snow.

"Well, let's just say your wardrobe was not a high priority" Snow said, arrogent smile still stretching from ear to ear.

The two sat there staring at each other in silence for a moment. Katniss was so angry she contemplated attacking Snow then and there, with her bare hands, but she knew she wouldn't be able to lay a finger on him before the peace keepers shot her. As she examined Snow's face, she saw conflicting emotions. On the surface, she saw his obvious pleasure at gloating over her capture, but behind his eyes she saw something else. Fear. Even at this moment, looking at his stripped and throughly defeated enemy, the revolution had Snow scared. Taking pleasure in this, Katniss shot her own self-satisfied grin back at Snow.

As Snow saw this, he grew angry, and the smile disapeared from his face. "Well, no need to worry, this room is just a temporary holding cell. You will be moved to some more...uppscale, accomodations very soon." He said.

"You might as well kill me now, I won't tell you anything." Katniss responded. Snow laughed softly.

"Oh don't worry Ms. Everdeen, I am well aware that you have nothing to say to me or any of my interogators, and you will die soon enough." Snow said. Katniss' heartbeat spead up as he said this. Snow turned and began to walk out, when Katniss' curiosity got the best of her. "Where is Peeta?" Katniss asked. Snow stopped, turned back to Katniss, and grinned.

"I promise, Ms. Everdeen, all your questions will be answered soon enough." he said, the he turned and left.

Katniss was left alone in the cell for a few more hours, staring up at the fluorescent light on the ceiling. Then, a pair of peacekeepers entered her cell. "Stand up and turn around" one of them said. Katniss glaired angrilly at them for a moment, then, not wanting to incur their wrath, did as she was told. "Put your hands behind your back" the peacekeeper instructed. Katniss did, and the peacekeeper handcuffed her hands behind her. The peacekeeper then put a thick, black bag over her head, and lead her out of the cell. Katniss couldn't see anything but light and dark on the other side of the bag, but she could tell she was being lead down a long, narrow hallway by the echo of the peacekeepers footsteps. Then, she heard the sound of a heavy metal door opening in front of her.

Suddenly, Katniss could see a bright light ahead of her, as she was pushed outside the building. Then, she heard the shouting of angry capitol citizens. "Traitor!" one of them yelled, then chucking an apple at her. Katniss tried her best not to flinch as she was hit with more fruit. Then, she was loaded into the back of a truck. As the truck took a very long drive, Katniss sat in the back, bag still on her head, thinking about where she was being taken. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the back door of the truck opened, and Katniss was yanked out of it.

Startled and unable to see, Katniss fell to the ground, to the laughter and applause of a crowd of capitol citizens. A peacekeeper yanked Katniss to her feet. Katniss felt a tomato strike her head. Then, the peacekeeper pulled the bag off her head, to reveal that she was outside the main gate of the presidential pallace. As Katniss looked around, she also saw an angry mob of capitol citizens, many of whom were chucking fruit at her. "In district 12 we would never waste that much food" Katniss thought. A team of peacekeepers held back the crowd, and lead Katniss inside. There, she was lead in to President Snow's office.

As Katniss was lead through the enormous oak doors of Snow's office, she saw a large, red leather chair with it's back turned to her, sitting behind a grandiose wooden desk. "Thank you gentleman, I think Ms. Everdeen and I have some matters to discuss alone" Snow's voice called from behind the tall chair. The two peacekeepers left the room and closed the door, leaving Katniss standing there, half naked and handcuffed, in the middle of the room.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Snow said, spinning his chair around, with a glass of dark liquor in his left hand, "I hope you will find the accomodations here more appropriate." The two adversaries staired at each other for a moment longer.

"Why am I here?" Katniss asked.

"In a word, spectacle" Snow replied. Katniss looked confused.

"You're not still doing the games are you?" Katniss asked. Snow Smirked again.

"No, Ms. Everdeen," Snow responded, "your terrorist friends in the districts have made gathering tributes quite impossible...for now. But I intend to use the spectacle of your death to rectify that situation." Again, Katniss just staired. "You see, tomorrow morning, you will be executed, publicly" Snow explained.

"Right, cause that's worked out really well so far" Katniss sneared.

"It's true," Snow conceded, "public shootings have only made your terrorist friends more determined, but this will be different. You see Katniss, tomorrow morning, you will be hanged right out there." Snow pointed to the pallace lawn. "Right out there, a crowd will gather, and a film crew will transmit it all across Panem. And so, all the citizens of this nation, all the capitol cvitizens, all the peacekeepers, all my soldiers and every one of the terrorists that hold you in such high regard, will watch, as the mockingjay, dressed in her combat armor, chokes to death at the end of a rope. You'll moan like a cheap whore, and then you'll die, and everyone will watch."

Katniss did her best to hide her fear at this thought, but her eyes betreyed her. Seeing her fear, Snow grinned again. He pushed a button on his desk, "Gentleman, Ms. Everdeen and I are quite done. Would you mind showing her to her accomodations?"

Just then, the door opened, and the peacekeepers returned. They placed the black bag back on Katniss' head and lead her back out of Snow's office. Then, they lead her down a set of stairs, and into a small concrete room in the basement. The removed the bag from her head and took off her handcuffs, then left the room and locked the door. Katniss looked around. In one corner of the room, a camera was attached to the ceiling. In the opposite corner sat a cot with no blankets or pillow, pushed against the wall. A fluorescent light shined down from the ceiling. There was no lightswitch in the room.

Katniss collapsed into the fetal position on the cot, with her back to the Camera. Totally alone, a million thoughts ran through Katniss' mind. "Where is Peeta? Did the others on the rescue team make it out? What will Prim do without me? Is district 13 sending someone to save me? What will Plutarch do to keep up morale if the video of me dying reaches the districts?" As these thoughts ran through her mind, Katniss began to cry. She desperately wanted to make sure the camera didn't see her crying, sure that the video would be used for propoganda. So Katniss laid there, facing the wall and crying in silence, until she fell asleep.

The next morning, Katniss was awoken by the sound of the heavy metal door to her cell opening. Two peacekeepers entered the room, one carying her suit of armor. "Put this on" the peacekeeper instructed, dropping the uniform on the floor in a heap. "What are you going to do if I refuse, kill me?" Katniss asked, only half jokingly.

"President Snow instructed us to inform you that if you don't cooperate, he will begin a carpet bombing campaign in districts three through eleven, and won't stop until at least ten-thousand have died" the other peacekeeper said. Unwilling to sacrifice thousands of lives simply for her own vanity, Katniss donned her suit of armor. As she expected, her bow and quiver of arrows were not there. The peacekeepers then lead her to a bathroom on the first floor of the palace. In the bathroom, there was a barber's chair in front of the mirror.

"Sit here" one of the peacekeepers instructed. Katniss did as she was told, and the peacekeepers cuffed each of her wrists to the arms of the chair. Then, a stylist came in and went to work on Katniss' hair and makeup. "I will never understand the fashion sense of you district citizens" the stylists said, as she made Katniss look exactly as she did in all of Plutarch's "propos."

"Ya know, you WERE my favorite tribute," the stylist said, "till all this revolution nonsense. Now, I can't wait to watch you die." Katniss looked at the stylist, caked in thick makeup and wearing her hair in a ridiculous stack, as was the style in the capitol. Finally, when the stylist was done doing Katniss' hair, she left the room, and the peacekeepers reentered. They uncuffed her, and she stood up.

"Put your hands behind your back" one of the peacekeepers said. Again, Katniss did as she was told, and the peacekeeper handcuffed her hands behind her back. Then, they each grabbed one of her arms, and lead her to the massive, wooden front door of the palace, where the three of them stood for a moment, motionless. Katniss realized that when the door opened, she would be lead out to her execution. There would be no rescue, she was going to die, today. Katniss resolved to go to the noose with dignity.

Then, the door opened. There was a red carpet leading from the front steps of the palace, to a stage erected on the palace lawn. On either side of the stage was a row of seets, in which sat various military generals, celebrities and government officials. On the far left, sat president snow. Then, Katniss' heart nearly stopped as she saw it. Between the two sets of chairs stood the gallows, noose already dangling from it. A small milking stool stood just beneath it. The two peacekeepers, still holding Katniss' arms, began leading her to the stage.

As she got closer, Katniss realized her bow was leaning against a transparent podium just a few feet forward and to the left of the noose. Katniss began to think of how much she wished to use the bow on Snow, but she knew she would never get the chance.

As the two peacekeepers lead Katniss slowly to the stage, a million things ran through her mind. First, she thought about Prim, in district 13, watching her hang on the capitol's broadcast. Then she thought about Plutarch, inevitably turning her into a martyr for the revolution. Of course, most of her thoughts were about Peeta. Where the hell was Peeta? Did the rescue mission get to him in time, or would he eventually be executed too?

Finally, they reached the stage. It was only at this moment that Katniss noticed the dozens of cameras pointed at her all over the palace lawn. She tried desperately to maintain her composure as she thought about her mother and sister inevitably seeing the footage of what was about to happen. "Stand on the stool" one of the peacekeepers ordered. Katniss stepped up onto the stool, and looked out over a crowd of capitol citizens, gathered to witness her demise. The peacekeeper then slipped the noose over Katniss' head, and stuck her ponytail through it to make sure it wouldn't get in the way. He yanked the noose snug around her neck, making Katniss gulp nervously. Then, the two peacekeepers stepped back and stood behind her. Katniss stood, trying desperately not to tremble, staring resolutely at the horizon.

Then, the dignitary in the seet to the far right got up, and walked to the podium. It took all Katniss' will not to break down crying when she realized, it was Peeta. "What the hell is Peeta doing here!?" Katniss thought. Then, he took the podium.

"Behind me, stands a traitor to the nation and people of Panem," Peeta said, "awaiting the only fate befitting such a traitor." His words cut through Katniss like a knife. She knew, from watching Peeta on the capitol broadcasts that the had coerced him into saying terrible things, but how did they get him to say that?

"To the terrorists, and their sympathisors," Peeta continued, "this woman does not represent your best interests, I promise you. She and her co-conspiritors have lied to you, and they have used you to attack the innocent citizens of the capitol, the people on which all of Panem depends to exist!" Peeta paused as the crowd erupted in applause. "So, to the citizens of this nation, I say no more!" Peeta shouted, lifting Katniss' bow. He held an end of the bow in each hand, then snapped it in two with his foot, and held it high above his head. "Those who conspire with the terrorists will be brought to justice!" Peeta screamed. Katniss nearly broke down crying at this point, but managed to maintain her composure. She turned her head, to see Snow smiling. Not his usual smirk, but a genuine smile. Snow was enjoying watching Katniss be mentally tortured this way.

Peeta tossed the split bow to the crowd, and continued. "Katniss Everdeen, you have been found guilty of treason, sedition, murder and aiding the enemy, and have been sentanced to hang by the neck until you are dead. Do you have any final words?" he asked, turning to look Katniss in the eyes. Katniss gave him a look of true desperation. "You loved me once, how could you do this?" she thought, hoping Peeta would somehow read her mind. Peeta simply staired back. Then, Katniss looked back to the crowd.

"Citizens of Panem," she opened, "don't let the capitol's intimidation keep you from what is rightfully yours. I stand here today, waiting to die," Katniss paused, and faced President Snow, "but tomorrow, President Snow will take my place." The crowd booed and hissed in disapproval. Snow's face betrayed him for a moment, as he showed a look of genuine fear, realising she might be right. Then, remembering he was on camera, Snow did his signature smirk.

"Once I have returned to my seet, the peacekeepers will carry out your sentance" Peeta said, then turning and leaving the podium.

"Oh god, this is it" thought Katniss, as Peeta slowly crossed the stage. She watched him as he returned to his seat, sat down, and turned to look at her. It was at this moment that Katniss realized district 13 wasn't sending anyone for her. Then, a peacekeeper kicked the stool out from under Katniss' legs.

Immediately, the noose constricted so tight that Katniss could just barely get air into her lungs. She began to squirm and kick, trying desperately to relieve the tension of the rope, to no avail. With every desperate kick of her feet, the rope only got tighter. Katniss had hoped desperately to remain dignified even in her death, but fighting against the noose was a reflex she couldn't overcome.

As the noose restricted around Katniss' neck, her coughing and sputtering became
quieter and quieter, until finally she squirmed at the end of the noose in complete silence. Once her airway was completely shut, Katniss' panic grew more severe. With all her might she kicked and flailed her legs, trying desperately to get some air. Her arms were fighting and pulling against her handcuffs, trying to grip the noose. All she succeeded in doing was skinning her wrists raw.

The edges of Katniss vision began to grow dark and blurry, and all she could see was what was directly in front of her. Her legs began to feel heavier, and her kicking and suqirming began to slow. Death was closing in, and Katniss knew it. This gave her a sudden jolt of adrenaline, and her legs were able to make one last feeble attempt, before falling still.

Then, an overwhelming calm overcame Katniss. She accepted that it was over for her, that this is where she would die. Her eyes were still open and her head still up, but she hung there motionless for a moment, as an intense cold feeling began in her extremities and spread inward. "This is it," she thought, "I hope Plutarch can make a good story out of this." Then, her eyes closed, her head slumped, and she was gone.

Back in district 13, Prim sat in the commesary, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen as the capitol's broadcast was playing. As she watched her sister's lifeless corpse sway slowly back and fourth, Primm's horror turned to overwhelming rage. Then, she and everyone else in the commesary began to sing, low and soft at first, "are you, are you, coming to the tree..."