How It All Goes Down
- Although she's too late, Katniss jumps in to try to protect Gale. She gets slashed brutally across the face for her pains.
- She calls out to the man who's beating Gale to stop, but he's about to whip her again. The man, who she doesn't know, is strong and vicious.
- Haymitch arrives in the nick of time to rescue her and threatens the man, saying that if he doesn't stop hitting Katniss, he'll call the Capitol.
- While this is happening, Katniss notices her friend Darius has been beaten and is knocked out.
- The strange man says Gale was hunting illegally and must be punished.
- Peeta and other townsfolk back Katniss and Haymitch up, lying about how they usually punish poachers.
- The man, who's the new Head Peacekeeper, leaves after making other threats, and the crowd disperses. Katniss can't help Darius, who's taken away with the other Peacekeepers.
- She and the few people left help Gale, who's in really bad shape, by taking him to her mother's for medical care.
- On the way there, Katniss learns what happened. Gale usually sold his hunting finds to the Head Peacekeeper, Cray. But today Cray wasn't there, so Gale got caught with contraband by the new Head Peacekeeper, who punished him. When Darius tried to intervene, the new Head Peacekeeper bashed him in the head.
- They get to Katniss' house, and her mother and Prim immediately get to work trying to fix Gale.
- It takes a long time, as he has been so badly beaten. Katniss is in pain too, and they don't have nearly enough medication.
- Katniss freaks out and starts yelling. While she calms down, Peeta tells Haymitch about the plan to run away.
- There's a sound at the door. Everyone cowers, expecting the worst, but it's just Katniss' friend Madge with some pain medicine that belongs to her mother.
- It's powerful medicine made in the Capitol, and it seems to help Gale feel better.
- Everyone else leaves and Katniss sits with Gale. She kisses him again.
- Katniss criticizes herself and the kind of person she is. She doesn't know who she is any more.
- She thinks about how, even though she's left the arena, the Games are still going on. She's still fighting to survive.