Transcript for:
Hunger Games Summary

[Music] Scholastic audio presents The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins read by Tatiana masani [Music] part one the tributes chapter 1 when I wake up the other side of the bed is cold my fingers stretch out seeking prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress she must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother of course she did this is the day of the reaping I Pro myself up on one elbow there's enough light in the bedroom to see them my little sister Prim curled up on her side cocooned in my mother's body their cheeks pressed together in sleep my mother looks younger still worn but not so beaten down prim's face is as fresh as a raindrop as lovely as the prim Rose for which she was named my mother was very beautiful once too or so they tell me sitting at prim's knees guarding her is the world's ugliest cat mashed in nose half of one ear missing eyes the color of rotting squash Prim named him Buttercup insisting that his muddy yellow coat matched the bright flower he hat me or at least distrust me even though it was years ago I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home scrawny kitten belly swollen with worms crawling with fleas the last thing I needed was another mouth to feed but Prim begged so hard cried even I had to let him stay it turned out okay my mother got rid of the Vermin and he's aorn Mouser even catches the occasional rat sometimes when I clean a kill I feed Buttercup the entrails he has stopped hissing at me entrails no hissing this is the closest we will ever come to love I swing my legs off the bed and slide into my hunting boots Supple leather that has molded to my feet I pull on trousers a shirt tuck my long dark braid up into a cap and grabb my forage bag on the table under a wooden Bowl to protect it from Hungry rats and cats alike sits a perfect little goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves prim's gift to me on reaping day I put the cheese carefully in my pocket as I slip outside our part of District 12 nicknamed the seam is usually crawling with coal miners heading out to the morning shift at this hour men and women with hunched shoulders swollen knuckles many who have long since stopped trying to scrub the cold dust out of their broken Nails the lines of their sunken faces but today the black Cinder streets are empty Shutters on the squat gray houses are closed the reaping isn't until 2 may as well sleep in if you can our house is almost at the edge of the seam I only have to pass a few gates to reach the scruffy field called the meadow separating the meadow from the woods in fact enclosing all of District 12 is a high chainlink fence topped with barbed wire Loops in theory it's supposed to be electrified 24 hours a day as a deterrent to the Predators that live in the woods packs of wild dogs lone cougars bears that used to threaten our streets but since we're lucky to get two or 3 hours of electricity in the evenings it's usually safe to touch even so I always take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live right now it's silent as a stone concealed by a clump of bushes I flatten out on my belly and slide under a twoot stretch that's been loose for years there are several other weak spots in the fence but this one is so close to home I almost always enter the woods here as soon as I'm in the trees I retrieve a bow and sheath of arrows from a hollow log electrified or not the fence has been successful at keeping the flesh eaters out of District 12 inside the woods they roam freely and there are added concerns like venomous snakes rabid animals and no real paths to follow but there's also food if you know how to find it my father knew and he taught me some before he was blown to bits in a mine Explosion there was nothing even to bury I was 11 then 5 years later I still wake up screaming for him to run even though trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching carries the severest of penalties more people would risk it if they had weapons but most are not bold enough to venture out with just a knife my bow is a rarity crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods carefully wrapped in waterproof covers my father could have made good money selling them but if the officials found out he would have been publicly EX executed for inciting a rebellion most of the peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the few of us who hunt because they're as hungry for fresh meat as anybody is in fact they're among our best customers but the idea that someone might be arming the seam would never have been allowed in the fall a few brave souls sneak into the woods to harvest apples but always inside of the meadow always close enough to run back to the safety of District 12 if trouble arises District 12 where you can starve to death in safety I mutter then a glance quickly over my shoulder even here even in the middle of nowhere you worry someone might overhear you when I was younger I scared my mother to death the things I would blurt out about District 12 about the people who rule our country panm from the far off city called the capital eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble so I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts do my work quietly in school make only polite small talk in the public market discuss little more than trades in the hob which is the black market where I make most of my money even at home where I am Less Pleasant I avoid discussing tricky topics like the reaping or food shortages or The Hunger Games Prim might begin to repeat my words and then where would we be in the woods Waits the only person with whom I can be myself Gail I can feel the muscles in my face relaxing my Pace quickening as I climb the hills to our place a rock ledge overlooking a valley a Thicket of berry bushes protects it from unwanted eyes the sight of him waiting there brings on a smile Gail says I never smile except in the woods hey catnip says Gail my real name is Katniss but when I first told him I had barely whispered it so he thought I'd said catnip then when this crazy link started following me around the woods looking for handouts it became His official nickname for me I finally had to kill the links because he scared off game I almost regretted it because he wasn't bad company but I got a decent price for his pelt look what I shot Gail holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it and I laugh it's real Bakery bread not the flat dense loaves we make from our grain rations I take it in my hands pull out the arrow and hold the puncture in the crust to my nose inhaling the fragrance that makes my mouth flood with saliva fine bread like this is for special occasions m still warm I say he must have been at the bakery at the crack of dawn to trade for it what did it cost you just a squirrel think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning says Gail even wish me luck well we all feel a little closer today don't we I say not even bothering to roll my eyes Prim left us a cheese I pull it out his expression brightens at the treat thank you Prim we'll have a real Feast suddenly he falls into a capital accent as he mimics Effie Trinket the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives once a year to read out the names at the reaping I almost forgot happy Hunger Games he plucks a few blackberries from the bushes around us and May the odds he tosses a Barry in a high arc toward me I catch it in my mouth and break the delicate skin with my tee the sweet tartness explodes across my tongue be ever in your favor I finish with equal Verve we have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared out of your wits besides the capital accent is so affected almost anything sounds funny in it I watch as Gail pulls out his knife and slices the bread he could be my brother straight black hair olive skin we even have the same gray eyes but we're not related at least not closely most of the families who work the mines resemble one another this way that's why my mother and Prim with their light hair and blue eyes always look out of place they are my mother's parents were part of the small Merchant class that caters to officials peacekeepers and the occasional seam customer they ran an apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12 since almost no one can afford doctors apothecaries are our healers my father got to know my mother because on his hunts he would sometimes collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop to be brewed into remedies she must have really loved him to leave her home for the seam I try to remember that when all I can see is the woman who sat by blank and unreachable while her children turn to Skin and Bones I try to forgive her for my father's sake but to be honest I'm not the forgiving type Gail spreads the bread slices with the soft go cheese carefully placing a basil leaf on each while I strip the bushes of their berries we settle back in a Nook in the rocks from this place we are invisible but have a clear view of the valley which is teeming with Summer life greens to gather roots to dig fish iridescent in the sunlight the day is is glorious with a blue sky and soft Breeze the food's wonderful with the cheese seeping into the warm bread and the berries bursting in our mouths everything would be perfect if this really was a holiday if all the day off meant was roaming the mountains with Gail hunting for tonight's supper but instead we have to be standing in the Square at 2:00 waiting for the names to be called out we could do it you know Gail says quietly what I ask leave the district run off live in the woods you and I we could make it says Gail I don't know how to respond the idea is so Preposterous if we didn't have so many kids he adds quickly they're not our kids of course but they might as well be Gail's two little brothers and a sister Prim and you may as well throw in our mothers too because how would they live without us who would fill those mouths that are always asking for more with both of us hunting daily there are still nights when game has to be swapped for lard or shoelaces or wool still nights when we go to bed with our stomachs growling I never want to have kids I say I might if I didn't live here says Gail but you do I say irritated forget it he snaps back the conversation feels all wrong leave how could I leave Prim who is the only person in the world I'm certain I love and Gail is devoted to his family we can't leave so why bother talking about it and even if we did even if we did where did this stuff about having kids come from there's never been anything romantic between Gail and me when we met I was a skinny 12-year-old and although he was only 2 years older he already looked like a man it took a long time for us to even become friends to stop haggling over every trade and begin helping each other out besides if he wants kids Gil won't have any trouble finding a wife he's good-look he's strong enough to handle the work in the minds and he can hunt you can tell by the way the girls whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want him it makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think good hunting partners are hard to find what do you want to do I ask we can hunt fish or gather let's fish at the lake we can leave our poles and gather in the woods get something nice for tonight he says tonight after the reaping everyone is supposed to celebrate and a lot of people do out of relief that they're children have been spared for another year but at least two families will pull their shutters lock their doors and try to figure out how they will survive the painful weeks to come we make out well the Predators ignore us on a day when easier tastier prey abounds by late morning we have a dozen fish a bag of greens and best of all a gallon of strawberries I found the patch a few years ago but Gail had the idea to string mesh net around it to keep out the animals on the way home we swing by the hob the black market that operates in an abandoned warehouse that once held coal when they came up with a more efficient system that transported the coal directly from the mines to the trains the hob gradually took over the space most businesses are closed by this time on reaping day but the black Market's still fairly busy we easily trade six of the fish for good bread the other two for salt greasy say the Bony old woman who sells bowls of hot soup from a large kettle takes half the greens off her hands in exchange for a couple of chunks of paraffin we might do a tad better elsewhere but we make an effort to keep on good terms with greasy SE she's the only one who can consistently be counted on to buy wild dog we don't hunt them on purpose but if you're attacked and you take out a dog or two well meat is meat once it's in the soup I'll call it beef greasy say says with a wink no one in the scene would turn up their nose at a good leg of wild dog but the peacekeepers who come to the hob can afford to be a little Chooser when we finish our business at the market we go to the back door of the mayor's house to sell half the strawberries knowing he has a particular fondness for them and can afford our price the mayor's daughter M opens the door she's in my year at school being the mayor's daughter you'd expect her to be a snob but she's all right she just keeps to herself like me since neither of us really has a group of friends we seem to end up together a lot at school eating lunch sitting next to each other at assemblies partnering for sports activities we rarely talk which suits us both just fine today her drab school outfit has been replaced by an expensive white dress and her blonde hair is done up with a pink ribbon reaping clothes pretty dress says Gail mad shoots him a look trying to see if it's a genuine compliment or if he's just being ironic it is a pretty dress but she would never be wearing it ordinarily she presses her lips together and then Smiles well if I end up going to the capital I want to look nice don't I now it scils turn to be confused does she mean it or is she messing with him I'm guessing the second you won't be going to the capital says Gail coolly his eyes land on a small circular pin that adorns her dress real gold beautifully crafted it could keep a family in breed for months what can you have five entries I had six when I was just 12 years old that's not her fault I say no it's no one's fault just the way it is says Gail mag's face has become closed off she puts the money for the berries in my hand good luck Katniss you too I say and the door closes we walked toward the seam in silence I don't like that Gail took a dig at MCH but he's right of course the reaping system is unfair with the poor getting the worst of it you become eligible for the reaping the day you turn 12 that year your name is entered once at 13 twice and so on and so on until you reach the age of 18 the final year of Eligibility when your name goes into the pool seven times that's true for every citizen in all 12 districts in the entire country of panm but here's the catch say you are poor and starving as we were you can op to add your name more times in exchange for tesser each tessora is worth a meager year supply of grain and oil for one person you may do this for each of your family members as well so at the age of 12 I had my name entered four times once because I had to and three times for tesser for grain and oil for myself Prim and my mother in fact every year I have needed to do this and the entries are cumulative so now at the age of 16 my name will be in the reaping 20 times Gail who is 18 and has been either helping or single-handedly feeding a family of five for seven years will have his name in 42 times you can see why someone like M who has never been at risk of needing a tessora can set him off the chance of her name being drawn is very slim compared to those of us who live in the seam not impossible but slim and even though the rules were set up by the capital not the districts certainly not mag's family it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for tesser Gail knows his anger at mag's misdirected on other days deep in the woods I've listened to him rant about how the tesser are just another tool to cause misery in our district a way to plant hatred between the starving workers at the seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another it's to the capital's advantage to have us divided among ourselves he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine if it wasn't reaping day if a girl with a gold pin and no tesser had not made what I'm sure she thought was a harmless comment as we walk I glanc over at Gail's face still smoldering underneath his Stony expression his rages seem pointless to me although I never say so it's not that I don't agree with him I do but what good is yelling about the capital in the middle of the woods it doesn't change anything it doesn't make things Fair it doesn't fill our stomachs in fact it scares off the nearby game I let him yell though better he does it in the woods than in the district Gail and I divide our spoils leaving two fish a couple of loaves of good bread greens a quart of strawberries salt paraffin and a bit of money for each see you in the Square I say wear something pretty he says flatly at home I find my mother and sister are ready to go my mother wears a fine dress from her Apothecary days Prim is in my first reaping outfit a skirt and ruffled blouse it's a bit big on her but my mother has made it stay with pin even so she's having trouble keeping the blouse tucked in at the back a tub of warm water waits for me I scrub off the dirt and sweat from the woods and even wash my hair to my surprise my mother has laid out one of her own lovely dresses for me a soft blue thing with matching shoes are you sure I asked I'm trying to get past rejecting offers of help from her for a while I was so angry I wouldn't allow her to do anything for me and this is something special her clothes from her past are very precious to her of course let's put your hair up too she says I let her towel dry it and braid it up on my head I can hardly recognize myself in the cracked mirror that leans against the wall you look beautiful says Prim in a hushed voice and nothing like myself I say I hug her because I know these next few hours will be terrible for her her first reaping she's about as safe as you can get since she's only entered once I wouldn't let her take out any tesser but she's worried about me that the unthinkable might happen I protect Prim in every way I can but I'm powerless against the reaping the anguish I always feel when she's in pain Wells up in my chest test and threatens to register on my face I notice her blouse has pulled out of her skirt in the back again and forc myself to stay calm tuck your tail in little duck I say smoothing the blouse back in place Prim giggles and gives me a small quack quack yourself I say with a light laugh the kind only Prim can draw out of me come on let's eat I say and I plant a quick kiss on the top of her head the fish and greens are already cooking in a stew but that will be for supper we decide to save the strawberries and bakery bread for this evening's meal to make it special we say instead we drink milk from prim's goat lady and eat the rough bread made from the tessora grain although no one has much appetite anyway at 1:00 we head for the square attendance is mandatory unless you are on death's door this evening officials will come around and check to see if this is the case if not you'll be imprisoned it's too bad really that they hold the reaping in the square one of the few places in district 12 that can be pleasant the square surrounded by shops and on Public Market Days especially if there's good weather it has a holiday feel to it but today despite the bright banners hanging on the buildings there's an air of grimness the camera Crews perched like buzzards on rooftops only add to the effect people file in silently and sign in the reaping is a good opportunity for the capital to keep tabs on the population as well 12 through 18-year-olds are herded into roped areas marked off by ages the oldest in the front the young ones like Prim toward the back family members line up around the perimeter holding tightly to one another's hands but there are others too who have no one they love at stake or who no longer care who slip among the crowd taking bets on the two kids whose names will be drawn odds are given on their ages whether their seam or Merchant if they will break down and weep most refuse dealing with the racketeers but carefully carefully these same people tend to be informers and who hasn't broken the law I could be shot on a daily basis for hunting but the appetites of those in charge protect me not everyone can claim the same anyway Gail and I agree that if we have to choose between dying of hunger and a bullet in the head the bullet would be much quicker the space gets tighter more cluster phobic as people arrive the square is quite large but not enough to hold District 12's population of about 8,000 late comers are directed to the adjacent streets where they can watch the event on screens as it's televised live by the state I find myself standing in a clump of 16s from the seam we all exchange tur nods then focus our attention on the temporary stage that is set up before the Justice building it holds three chairs a Podium and two large glass balls one for the boys and one for the girls I stare at the paper slips in the girls ball 20 of them have Katniss everine written on them in careful handwriting two of the three chairs fill with Ma's father mayor uny who's a tall balding man and Effie Trinket District 12's escort fresh from the capital with her scary white grin pinkish hair and spring green suit they murmur to each other and then look with concern at the empty seat just as the town clock strikes two the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read it's the same story every year he tells of the history of panm the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America he lists the disasters the droughts the storms the fires the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land the brutal War for What Little sustenance remained the result was panm a shining Capital ringed by 13 districts which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens then came the dark days the uprising of the districts against the capital 12 were defeated the 13th obliterated the Treaty of treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and as our yearly reminder that the dark days must never be repeated it gave us the Hunger Games the rules of The Hunger Games are simple in punishment for the uprising each of the 12 districts must provide one girl and one boy called tributes to participate the 24 tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor Arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen Wasteland over a period of several weeks the competitors must fight to the death the last tribute standing wins taking the kids from our districts forcing them to kill one another while we watch this is the capital's way of reminding us how totally we are at their Mercy how little chance we would stand of surviving another Rebellion whatever words they use the real message is clear look how we we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do if you lift a finger we will destroy every last one of you just as we did in District 13 to make it humiliating as well as torturous the capital requires us to treat The Hunger Games as a festivity a sporting event pitting every District against the others the last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home and their district will be showered with prizes largely consisting of food all year the capital will show the winning District Gifts of grain and oil and even Delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation it is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks in tones the mayor then he reads the list of past District 12 Victors in 74 years we have had exactly two only one is still alive hch abery a ponchy middle-aged man who at this moment appears hollering something unintelligible staggers onto the stage and falls into the third chair he's drunk very the crowd responds with its token Applause but he's confused and tries to give Effie Trinket a big hug which she barely manages to pend off the mayor looks distressed since all of this is being televised right now District 12 is the laughing stock of panm and he knows it he quickly tries to pull the attention back to the reaping by introducing Effie Trinket bright and bubbly as ever Effie Trinket trots to the podium and gives her signature happy Hunger Games and May the odds be ever in your favor her pink hair must be a wig because her curls have shifted slightly off center since her encounter with hitch she goes on a bit about what an honor it is to be here although everyone knows she's just aching to get bumped up to a better District where they have proper Victors not drunks who molest you in front of the entire nation through the crowd I spot Gail looking back at me with a ghost of A Smile as reapings go is one at least has a slight entertainment Factor but suddenly I am thinking of Gail and his 42 names in that big glass ball and how the odds are not in his favor not compared to a lot of the boys and maybe he's thinking the same thing about me because his face darkens and he turns away but there are still thousands of slips I wish I could whispered to him it's time for the drawing Effie Trinket says as she always does ladies first and Crosses to the glass ball with the girls names she reaches in digs her hand deep into the ball and pulls out a slip of paper the crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop and I'm feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it's not me that it's not me that it's not me Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium Smooths the slip of paper and reads out the name in a clear voice and it's not me it's Primrose everine chapter 2 one time when I was in a blind in a tree waiting motionless for game to wander by I dozed off and fell 10 ft to the ground landing on my back it was as if the impact had knocked every wisp of air from my lungs and I lay there struggling to inhale to Exhale to do anything that's how I feel now trying to remember how to breathe unable to speak totally stunned as the name bounces around the inside of my skull someone is gripping my arm a boy from the seam and I think maybe I started to fall and he caught me there must have been some mistake this can't be happening Prim was one slip of paper in thousands her chances of being chosen so remote that I'd not even bothered to worry about her hadn't I done everything taken the tesser refused to let her do the same one slip one slip in thousands the odds had been entirely in her favor but it hadn't mattered somewhere far away I can hear the crowd murmuring un happily as they always do when a 12-year-old gets chosen because no one thinks this is fair and then I see her the blood drained from her face hands clenched in fists at her sides walking with stiff small steps up toward the stage passing me and I see the back of her blouse has become untucked and hangs out over her skirt it's this detail the untucked blouse forming a duct tail that brings me back to myself Prim the strangled cry comes out of my throat and my muscles begin to move again Prim I don't need to shove through the crowd the other kids make way immediately allowing me a straight path to the stage I reach her just as she is about to mount the steps with One Sweep of my arm I push her behind me I volunteer I gasp I volunteer his tribute there's some confusion on the stage District 12 hasn't had a volunteer in decades and the protocol has become Rusty the rule is that once a tribute name has been pulled from the ball another eligible boy if a boy's name has been read or girl if a girl's name has been read can step forward to take his or her place in some districts in which winning the reaping is such a great honor people are eager to risk their lives the volunteering is complicated but in district 12 where the word tribute is pretty much synonymous with the word corpse volunteers are all but extinct lovely says Effie Trinket but I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers and if one does come forth then we um she Trails off unsure herself what does it matter says the mayor he's looking at me with a pained expression on his face he doesn't know me really but there's a faint recognition there I am the girl who brings the strawberries the girl his daughter might have spoken of on occasion the girl who 5 years ago stood huddled with her mother and sister as he presented her the oldest child with a medal of valor a medal for her father vaporized in the mines does he remember that what does it matter he repeats gruffly let her come forward Prim is screaming hysterically behind me she's wrapped her skinny arms around me like a vice no catniss no you can't go Prim let go I say harshly because this is upsetting me and I don't want to cry when they televis the replay of the Rings tonight everyone will make note of my tears and I'll be marked as an easy target a weakling I will give no one that satisfaction let go I can feel someone pulling her from my back I turn and see Gail Has Lifted Prim off the ground and she's thrashing in his arms up you go catnip he says in a voice he's fighting to keep steady and then he carries Prim off toward my mother I steal myself and climb the steps well Bravo gushes Effy trinket that's the spirit of the games she's pleased to finally have a district with a little action going on in it what's your name I swallow hard Katniss everine I say I bet my buttons that was your sister don't want her to steal all the glory do we come on everybody let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute trills Effie Trinket to the Everlasting credit of the people of District 12 not one person claps not even the ones holding bedding slips the ones who are usually Beyond caring possibly because they know me from The Hub or knew my father or having enountered Prim who no one can help loving so instead of acknowledging Applause I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage silence which says we do not agree we do not condone all of this is wrong then something unexpected happens at least I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about but a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take prim's place and now it seems I have become someone precious at first one then another then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me it is an old and rarely used gesture of our district occasionally seen at funerals it means thanks it means admiration it means goodbye to someone you love now I am truly in danger of crying but fortunately hitch chooses this time to come staggering across the stage to congratulate me look at her look at this one he hollers throwing an arm around my shoulders he's surprisingly strong for such a wreck I like her his breath w of liquor and it's been a long time since he's bathed lots of he can't think of the word for a while spunk he says triumphantly more than you he releases me and starts for the front of the stage more than you he shouts pointing directly into a camera is he addressing the audience or is he so drunk he might actually be taunting the capital I'll never know because just as he's opening his mouth to continue hitch plummets off the stage and knocks himself unconscious he's disgusting but I'm grateful with every camera gleefully trained on him I have just enough time to release the small choked sound in my throat and compose myself I put my hands behind my back and stare into the distance I can see the hills I climbed this morning with Gail for a moment I yearn for something the idea of us leaving the district making our way in the woods but I know I was right about not running off because who else would have volunteered for Prim hey Mitch's whisked away on a stretcher and Effie Trinket is trying to get the ball rolling again what an exciting day she warbles as she attempts to straighten her wig which has listed severely to the right but more excitement to come it's it's time to choose our boy tribute clearly hoping to contain her tenuous hair situation she plants one hand on her head as she crosses to the ball that contains the boys names and grabs the first slip she encounters she Zips back to the podium and I don't even have time to wish for Gail's safety when she's reading the name Peter malar Peter malar oh no I think not him because I recognize this name although I have never spoken directly to its owner Peta malar no the odds are not in my favor today I watch him as he makes his way toward the stage medium height stocky build ashy blonde hair that falls in waves over his forehead the shock of the moment is registering on his face you can see his struggle to remain emotionless but his blue eyes show the alarm I've seen so often in prey yet he climbs steadily onto the stage and takes his place Effie Trinket asks for volunteers but no one steps forward he has two older brothers I know I've seen them in the bakery but one is probably too old now to volunteer and the other won't this is standard family devotion only goes so far for most people on reaping day what I did was the radical thing the mayor begins to read the long dull Treaty of treason as he does every year at this point it's required but I'm not listening to a word why him I think then I try to convince myself it doesn't matter Peter malar and I are not friends not even neighbors we don't speak our only real interaction happened years ago he's probably forgotten it but I haven't and I know I never will it was during the worst time my father had been killed in the mine accident 3 months earlier in the bitterest January anyone could remember the numbness of his loss had passed and the pain would hit me out of nowhere doubling me over racking my body with sobs where are you I would cry out in my mind where have you gone of course there was never any answer the district had given us a small amount of money as compensation for his death enough to cover one month of grieving at which time my mother would be expected to get a job only she didn't she didn't do anything but sit propped up in a chair or more often huddled under the blankets on her bed eyes fixed on some point in the distance once in a while she'd stir get up as if moved by some urgent purpose only to then collapse back into Stillness no amount of pleading from Prim seemed to affect her I was terrified I suppose now that my mother was locked in some Dark World of sadness but at the time all I knew was that I had lost not only a father but a mother as well at 11 years old with Prim just seven I took over as head of the family there was no choice I bought our food at the market and cooked it as best I could and tried to keep Prim and myself looking presentable because if it had become known that my mother could no longer care for us the district would have taken us away from her and placed Us in the community home I grown up seeing those home kids at school the sadness the marks of angry hands on their faces the hopelessness that curled their shoulders forward I could never let that happen to Prim sweet tiny Prim who cried when I cried before she even knew the reason who brushed and plated my mother's hair before we left for school who still polished my father's shape mirror each night because he'd hated the layer of cold dust that settled on everything in the seam the community home would crush her like a bug so I kept our predicament a secret but the money ran out and we were slowly starving to death there's no other way to put it I kept telling myself if I could only hold out until May just May 8th I would turn 12 and be able to sign up for the tesser and get that precious grain and oil to feed us only there were still several weeks to go we could well be dead by then starvation's not an uncommon fate in district 12 who hasn't seen the victims older people who can't work children from a family with too many to feed those injured in the mines straggling through the streets and one day you come upon them sitting motionless against a wall or lying in the meadow you hear the whales from a house and the peacekeepers are called in to retrieve the body starvation is never the cause of death officially it's always the flu or exposure or pneumonia but that fools no one on the afternoon of my encounter with Peter malar the rain was falling in Relentless icy sheets I'd been in town trying to trade some threadbear old baby clothes of prims in the public market but there were no takers although I had been to the hob on several occasions with my father I was too frightened to venture into that rough gritty Place alone the rain had soaked through my father's hunting jacket leaving me chilled to the Bone for 3 days we'd had nothing but boiled water with some old dried mint leaves I'd found in the back of a cupboard by the time the market closed I was shaking so hard I dropped my bundle of baby clothes in a mud puddle I didn't pick it up for fear I would Keel over and be unable to regain my feet besides no one wanted those clothes I couldn't go home because at home was my mother with her dead eyes and my little sister with her Hollow cheeks and cracked lips I couldn't walk into that room with the Smoky fire from The Damp branches I had scavenged at the edge of the woods after the coal had run out my hands empty of any hope I found myself stumbling along a muddy lane behind the shops that serve the wealthiest Town's people the merchants live above their businesses so I was essentially in their backyards I remember the outlines of garden beds not yet planted for the spring a goat or two in a pen one Soden dog tied to a post hunch defeated in the muck all forms of ceiling are forbidden in district 12 punishable by death but it crossed my mind that there might be something in the trash bins and those were fair game perhaps a bone at The Butchers or rotted vegetables at the Grocers something no one but my family was desperate enough to eat unfortunately the bins had just been emptied when I passed the Bakers the smell of fresh bread was so overwhelming I felt busy the ovens were in the back and a Golden Glow Spilled Out the open kitchen door I stood mesmerized by the Heat and the Luscious scent until the rain interfered running its icy fingers down my back forcing me back to life I lifted the lid to the baker's trash bin and found it SP spotlessly heartlessly bare suddenly a voice was screaming at me and I looked up to see the baker's wife telling me to move on and did I want her to call the peacekeepers and how sick she was of having those brats from the seam pawing through her trash the words were ugly and I had no defense as I carefully replaced the lid and backed away I noticed him a boy with blonde hair peering out from behind his mother's back I'd seen him at school he was in my year but I didn't know his name he stuck with the town kids so how would I his mother went back into the bakery grumbling but he must have been watching me as I made my way behind the pen that held their Pig and leaned Against The Far Side of an old Apple Tree the realization that I'd have nothing to take home had finally sunk in my knees buckled and I slid down the tree trunk to its roots it was too much I was too sick and weak and tired so tired let them call the peacekeepers and take us to the community home I thought or better yet let me die right here in the rain there's a clatter in the bakery and I heard the woman screaming again and the sound of a blow and I vaguely wondered what was going on feet slashed toward me through the mud and I thought it's her she she's going to drive me away with a stick but it wasn't her it was the boy in his arms he carried two large loaves of bread that must have fallen into the fire because the crusts were scorched black his mother was yelling feed it to the pig you stupid creature why not no one decent will buy burnt bread he began to tear off chunks from the burn parts and toss them into the trough and the front Bakery bell rang and the mother disappeared to help a customer the boy never even glanced my way but I was watching him because of the bread because of the red wheel that stood out on his cheekbone what did she hit him with my parents never hit us I couldn't even imagine it the boy took one look back to the bakery as if checking that the coast was clear then his attention back on the pig he threw a loaf of bread in my direction the second quickly followed and he sosed back to the bakery closing the kitchen door tightly behind him I stared at the loaves in disbelief they were fine perfect really except for the burned areas did he mean for me to have them he must have because there they were at my feet before anyone could witness what had happened I shoved the loaves up under my shirt wrapped the hunting jacket tightly about me and walked swiftly away the heat of the bread burned into my skin but I clutched it tighter clinging to Life by the time I reached home the loaves had cooled somewhat but the insides were still warm when I dropped them on the table prim's hands reached to tear off a chunk but I made her sit forced my mother to join us at the table and poured warm tea I scraped off the black stuff and sliced the bread we ate an entire loaf slice by slice it was good hearty bread filled with raisins and nuts I put my clothes to dry at the fire crawled into bed and fell into a dreamless sleep it didn't occur to me until the next morning that the boy might have burned the bread on purpose might have dropped the loaves into the Flames knowing it meant being punished and then and delivered them to me but I dismissed this it must have been an accident why would he have done it he didn't even know me still just throwing me the bread was an enormous kindness that would have surely resulted in a beating if discovered I couldn't explain his actions we ate slices of bread for breakfast and headed to school it was as if spring had come overnight warms Sweet Air fluffy clouds at school I passed the boy in the hall his cheek had swelled up and his eye had blackened he was with his friends and didn't acknowledge me in any way but as I collected Prim and started for home that afternoon I found him staring at me from across the schoolyard our eyes met for only a second then he turned his head away I dropped my gaze embarrassed and that's when I saw it the first Dand line of the year a bell went off in my head I thought of the hour spent in the woods with my father and I knew how we were going to survive to this day I can never shake the connection between this boy Peter malar and the bread that gave me hope and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed and more than once I have turned in the school hallway and caught his eyes trained on me only to quickly flit away I feel like I owe him something and I hate owing people maybe if I had thanked him at some point I'd be feeling less conflicted now I thought about it a couple of times but the opportunity never seemed to present itself and now it never will because we're going to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death exactly how am I supposed to work in a thank you in there somehow it just won't seem sincere if I'm trying to slit his throat the mayor finishes the dreary Treaty of treason and motions for PETA and me to shake hands his are as solid and warm as those loaves of bread Peta looks me right in the eye and gives my hand what I think is meant to be a reassuring squeeze maybe it's just a nervous spasm we turn back to face the crowd as the anthem of panm plays oh well I think there will be 24 of us odds are someone else will kill him before I do of course the odds have not been very dependable of late Chapter 3 The Moment The Anthem ends we are taken into custody I don't mean we're handcuffed or anything but a group of peacekeepers marches us through the front door of the J this building maybe tributes have tried to escape in the past I've never seen that happen though once inside I'm conducted to a room and left alone it's the richest place I've ever been in with thick deep carpets and a velvet couch and chairs I know velvet because my mother has a dress with a collar made of the stuff when I sit on the couch I can't help running my fingers over the fabric repeatedly it helps to calm me as I try to prepare for the next hour the time allotted for the tributes to say goodbye to their loved ones I cannot afford to get upset to leave this room with puffy eyes and a red nose crying is not an option there will be more cameras at the train station my sister and my mother come first I reach out to Prim and she climbs on my lap her arms around my neck head on my shoulder just like she did when she was a toddler my mother sits beside me and wraps her arms around us for a few minutes we say nothing then I start telling them all the things they must remember to do now that I will not be there to do them for them Prim is not to take any Tessy they can get by if they're careful on selling prim's goat milk and cheese and the small Apothecary business my mother now runs for the people in the seam Gail will get her the herbs she doesn't grow herself but she must be very careful to describe them because he's not as familiar with them as I am he'll also bring them game he and I made a packed about this a year or so ago and will probably not ask for compensation but they should thank him with some kind of trade like milk or medicine I don't bother suggesting Prim learn to hunt I tried to teach her a couple of times and it was disastrous the woods terrified her and whenever I shot something she'd get teary and talk about how we might be able to heal it if we got it home soon enough but she makes out well with her goat so I concentrate on that when I am done with instructions about Fuel and trading and staying in school I turn to my mother and grip her arm hard listen to me are you listening to me she nods alarmed by my intensity she must know what's coming you can't leave again I say My Mother's Eyes find the floor I know I won't I couldn't help what well you have to help it this time you can't clock out and leave Prim on her own there's no me now to keep you both alive it doesn't matter what happens whatever you see on the screen you have to promise me you'll fight through it my voice has risen to a shout in it is all the anger all the fear I felt at her abandonment she pulls her arm from my grasp moved to anger herself now I was ill I could have treated myself if I'd had the medicine I have now that part about her being ill might be true I've seen her bring back people suffering from immobilizing sadness since Perhaps it is a sickness but it's one we can't afford then take it and take care of her I say I'll be all right Katniss says Prim clasping my face in her hands but you have to take care too you're so fast and brave maybe you can win I can't win Prim must know that in her heart the competition will be far beyond my abilities kids from wealthier districts where winning is a huge honor who've been trained their whole lives for this boys who are two to three times my size girls who know different ways to kill you with a knife oh there'll be people like me too people to weed out before the real fun begins maybe I say because I can hardly tell my mother to carry on if I've already given up myself besides it isn't in my nature to go down without a fight even when things seem insurmountable and we'd be as rich as hitch I don't care if we're rich I just want you to come home you will try won't you really really try asks Prim really really try I swear it I say and I know because of Prim I'll have to and then the Peacekeeper is at the door signaling our time is up and we're all hugging one another so hard it hurts and all I'm saying is I love you I love you both and they're saying it back and then the Peacekeeper orders them out and the door closes I bury my head in in one of the velvet pillows as if this can block the whole thing out someone else enters the room and when I look up I'm surprised to see it's the baker Peter malar's father I can't believe he's come to visit me after all I'll be trying to kill his son soon but we do know each other a bit and he knows Prim even better when she sells her goat cheeses at the Hub she puts two of them aside for him and he gives her a generous amount of bread in return we always wait to trade with him when his Witch of a wife isn't around because he's so much nicer I feel certain he would never have hit his son the way she did over the burn bread but why has he come to see me the baker sits awkwardly on the edge of one of the plush chairs he's a big broad shouldered man with burn scars from years at the ovens he must have just said goodbye to his son he pulls a white paper package from his jacket pocket and holds it out to me I open it and find cookies these are a luxury we can never afford thank you I say the baker's not a very talkative man in the best of times and today he has no words at all I had some of your bread this morning my friend Gail gave you a squirrel for it he nods as if remembering the squirrel not your best trade I say he shrugs as if it couldn't possibly matter then I can't think of anything else so we sit in silence until a peacemaker summons him he rises and coughs to clear his throat I'll keep an eye on the little girl make sure she's eating I feel some of the pressure in my chest lightened at his words people deal with me but they are genuinely fond of Prim maybe there will be enough fondness to keep her alive my next guest is also unexpected M walks straight to me she is not weepy or evasive instead there's an urgency about her tone that surprises me they let you wear one thing from your District in the arena one thing to remind you of home will you wear this she holds out the circular gold pin that was on her dress earlier I hadn't paid much attention to it before but now I see it's a small bird in Flight your PIN I say wearing a token from my district is about the last thing on my mind here I'll put it on your dress all right match doesn't wait for an answer she just leans in and fixes the bird to my dress promise you'll wear it into the arena Katniss she asks promise yes I say cookies a pin I'm getting all kinds of gifts today M gives me one more a kiss on the cheek then she's gone and I'm left thinking that maybe M really has been my friend all along finally Gail is here and maybe there is nothing romantic between us but when he opens his arms I don't hesitate to go into them his body is familiar to me the way it moves the smell of wood smoke even the sound of his heart beating I know from Quiet Moments on a hunt but this is the first time I really feel it lean and hard muscled against my own listen he says getting a knife should be pretty easy but you've got to get your hands on a bow that's your best chance they don't always have bows I say thinking of the Year there were only horrible spiked maces that the tributes had to bludgeon one another to death with then make one says Gail even a weak bow is better than no bow at all I've tried copying my father's bows with poor results it's not that easy even he had to scrap his own work sometimes I don't even know if there'll be wood I say another year they tossed everybody into a landscape of nothing but Boulders and sand and Scruffy bushes I particularly hated that year many contestants were bitten by venomous snakes or went insane from thirst there's almost always some wood Gail says since that year half of them died of cold not much entertainment in that it's true we spent one Hunger Games watching The Players freeze to death at night you could hardly see them because they were just huddled in balls and had no wood for fires or torches or anything it was considered very anticlimactic in the capital all those quiet bloodless deaths since then there's usually been wood to make fires yes there's usually some I say Katniss it's just hunting you're the best hunter I know says Gail it's not just hunting they're armed they think I say so do you and you've had more practice real practice he says you know how to kill not people I say how different can it be really says Gail grimly the awful thing is that if I can forget their people it will be no different at all the peacekeepers are back too soon and Gail asks for more time but they're taking him away and I start to panic don't let them starve I cry out clinging to his hand I won't you know I won't Katniss remember I he says and they yank us apart and slam the door and I'll never know what it was he wanted me to remember it's a short ride from the Justice building to the train station I've never been in a car before rarely even ridden in wagons in the seam we travel on foot I've been right not to cry the station is swarming with reporters with their insect-like cameras trained directly on my face but I've had a lot of practice at wiping my face clean of emotions and I do this now I catch a glimpse of myself on the television screen on the wall That's airing my arrival live and feel gratified that I appear almost bored Peter malar on the other hand has obviously been crying and interestingly enough does not seem to be trying to cover it up I immediately wonder if this will be his strategy in the games to appear weak and frightened to reassure the other tributes that he is no competition at all and then come out fighting this worked very well for a girl Johanna Mason from district 7 a few years back she seemed like such a sniveling cowardly fool that no one bothered about her until there were only a handful of contestants left it turned out she could kill viciously pretty clever the way she played it but this seems an odd strategy for PETA malar because he's a Baker's son all those years of having enough to eat and Hauling bread trays around have made him Broad shouldered and strong it will take an awful lot of weeping to convince anyone to overlook him we have to stand for a few minutes in the doorway of the train while the cameras gobble up our images then we're allowed inside and the doors close mercifully behind us the train begins to move at once the speed initially takes my breath away of course I've never been on a train as travel between the districts is forbidden except for officially sanctioned duties for us that's mainly transporting coal but this is no ordinary coal train it's one of the highed capital models that average 250 mph our journey to the capital will take less than a day in school they tell us the capital was built in a place once called the Rockies District 12 was in a region known as Appalachia even hundreds of years ago they mined coal here which which is why our miners have to dig so deep somehow it all comes back to Coal at school besides basic reading and math most of our instruction is coal related except for the weekly lecture on the history of panm it's mostly a lot of bla about what we owe the capital I know there must be more than they're telling us an actual account of what happened during the Rebellion but I don't spend much time thinking about it whatever the truth is I don't see how it will help me get food on the table the tribute train is fancier than even the room in the Justice building we are each given our own chambers that have a bedroom a dressing area and a private bathroom with hot and cold running water we don't have hot water at home unless we boil it there are drawers filled with fine clothes and Effie Trinket tells me to do anything I want wear anything I want everything is at my disposal just be ready for supper in an hour I peel off my mother's blue dress and take a hot shower I've never had a shower before it's like being in a summer rain only warmer I dress in a dark green shirt and pants at the last minute I remember Ma's little gold pin for the first time I get a good look at it it's as if someone fashioned a small Golden Bird and then attached a ring around it the bird is connected to the ring only by its wing tips I suddenly recognize it a Mocking Jay they're funny birds and something of a slap in the face to the capital during the Rebellion the capital bred a series of genetically altered Animals As Weapons the common term for them was mutations or sometimes muts for short one was a special bird called a jabber J that had the ability to memorize and repeat whole human conversations they were homing Birds exclusively male that were released into regions where the capital's enemies were known to be hiding after the birds gathered words they'd fly back to centers to be recorded it took people a while to realize what was going on in the district how private conversations were being transmitted then of course the rebels fed the capital Endless Lies and the joke was on it so the center were shut down and the birds were abandoned to die off in the wild only they didn't die off instead the jabber Jays made it with female mocking birds creating a whole new species that could replicate both bird whistles and human Melodies they had lost the ability to enunciate words but could still mimic a range of human vocal sounds from a child's high pitched warble to a man's deep tones and they could recreate songs not just a few notes but whole songs with multiple verses if you had the patience to sing them and if they liked your voice my father was particularly fond of Mocking Jays when we went hunting he would whistle or sing complicated songs to them and after a polite pause they'd always sing back not everyone is treated with such respect but whenever my father sang all the birds in the area would fall silent and listen his voice was that beautiful high and clear and so filled with life it made you want to laugh and cry at the same time I could never bring myself to continue the practice after he was gone still there's something comforting about the little bird it's like having a piece of my father with me protecting me I fastened the pin onto my shirt and with the dark green fabric as a background I can almost imagine the mocking J flying through the trees Effie Trinket comes to collect me for supper I follow her through the narrow rocking Corridor into a dining room with polished panel walls there's a table where all the dishes are highly breakable Peta malark sits waiting for us the chair next to him empty where's hitch asks Effie Trinket brightly last time I saw him he said he was going to take a nap says Peta well it's been an exhausting day says Effie Trinket I think she's relieved by hamish's absence and who can blame her the supper comes in courses thick carrot soup green salad lamb chops and mashed potatoes cheese and fruit a chocolate cake throughout the meal Effie Trinket keeps reminding us to Safe space because there's more to come but I'm stuffing myself because I've never had food like this so good and so much and because probably the best thing I can do between now and the games is put on a few pounds at least you two have decent manners says Effie as we're finishing the main course the pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages it completely upset my digestion the pair last year were two kids from the seam who'd never not one day of their lives had enough to eat and when they did have food table manners were surely the last thing on their minds pet is a baker's son my mother taught Prim and me to eat properly so yes I can handle a fork and knife but I hate Effie trinkets comments so much I make a point of eating the rest of my meal with my fingers then I wipe my hands on the tablecloth this makes her purse her lips tightly together now that the meal's over I'm fighting to keep the food down I can see peta's looking a little green too neither of our stomachs is used to such Rich fair but if I can hold down greasy say's concoction of mice meat Pig entrails and tree bark a winter specialty I'm determined to hang onto this we go to another compartment to watch the recap of the reapings across panm they try to stagger them throughout the day so a person could conceivably watch the whole thing live but only people in the capital could really do that that since none of them have to attend reapings themselves one by one we see the other reapings the names called the volunteers stepping forward or more often not we examine the faces of the kids who will be our competition a few stand out in my mind a monstrous boy who lunges forward to volunteer from District 2 a foxfed girl with Sleek red hair from District 5 a boy with a crippled foot from District 10 and most hauntingly a 12-year-old girl from District 11 she has dark brown skin and eyes but other than that she's very like Prim in size and demeanor only when she mounts the stage and they ask for volunteers all you can hear is the wind whistling through the decrepit buildings around her there's no one willing to take her place last of all they show District 12 Prim being called me running forward to volunteer you can't miss the desperation in my voice as I shove Prim behind me as if I'm afraid no one will hear and they'll take Prim away but of course they do hear I see Gail pulling her off me and watch myself Mount the stage the commentators are not sure what to say about the crowd's refusal to applaud the silent salute one says that District 12 12 has always been a bit backward but that local Customs can be Charming as if on Q hitch falls off the stage and they groan comically peta's name is drawn and he quietly takes his place we shake hands they cut to the anthem again and the program ends Effie Trinket is disgruntled about the state her wig was in your Mentor has a lot to learn about presentation a lot about televised Behavior P unexpectedly laughs he was drunk says Peta he's drunk every year every day I add I can't help smirking a little Effie Trinket makes it sound like hitch just has somewhat rough manners that could be corrected with a few tips from her yes hisses Effie Trinket how odd you two find it amusing you know your Mentor is your lifeline to the world in these games the one who advises you lines up your sponsors and dictates the presentation of any gifts hitch can well be the difference between your life and your death just then hitch staggers into the compartment I miss supper he says in a slurred voice then he vomits all over the expensive carpet and falls in the mess so laugh away says Effie Trinket she hops in her pointy shoes around the pool of vomit and fleas the room chapter 4 for a few moments Peta and I take in the scene of our Mentor trying to rise out of the slippery vile stuff from his stomach the wkak of vomit and raw Spirits almost brings my dinner up we exchange a glance obviously hitch isn't much but Effie Trinket is right about one thing once we're in the arena he's all we've got as if by some unspoken agreement Peta and I each take one of hitch's arms and help him to his feet I tripped he Mitch asks smells bad he wipes his hand on his nose smearing his face with vomit let's get you back to your room says Peta clean you up a bit we half lead half carry hitch back to his compartment since we can't exactly set him down on the embroidered bedspread we Haul him into the bathtub and turn the shower on him he hardly notices it's okay Peter says to me I'll take it from here I can't help feeling a little grateful since the last thing I want to do is strip down hitch wash the vomit out of his chest hair and Tuck him into bed possibly Peta is trying to make a good impression on him to be his favorite once the games begin but judging by the state he's in hch will have no memory of this tomorrow all right right I say I can send one of the capital people to help you there's any number on the train cooking for us waiting on us guarding us taking care of us is their job no I don't want them says Peta I nod and head to my own room I understand how Peta feels I can't stand the sight of the capital people myself but making them deal with hitch might be a small form of Revenge so I'm pondering ing the reason why he insists on taking care of hitch and all of a sudden I think it's because he's being kind just as he was kind to give me the bread the idea pulls me up short a kind Peta malar is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there and I can't let Peta do this not where we're going so I decide from this moment on to have as little as possible to do with the baker son when I get back to my room the train is pausing at a platform to refuel I quickly opened the window tossed the cookies peta's father gave me out of the train and slammed the glass shut no more no more of either of them unfortunately the packet of cookies hits the ground and bursts open in a patch of Dand Lines by the track I only see the image for a moment because the train is off again but it's enough enough to to remind me of that other dandelion in the schoolyard years ago I had just turned away from Peta malar's Bru face when I saw the dandelion and I knew hope wasn't lost I plucked it carefully and hurried home I grabbed a bucket and prim's hand and headed to the meadow and yes it was dotted with the golden headed weeds after we'd harvested those we sced along inside the fence for probably a mile until we'd filled the bucket with the dandelion greens stems and flowers that night we gorged ourselves on dandelion salad and the rest of the bakery bread what else Prim asked me what other food can we find all kinds of things I promised her I just have to remember them my mother had a book she brought with her from the Apothecary shop the pages were made of old parchment and covered in ink drawings of plants neat handwritten blocks told their names where to gather them when they came in bloom their medical uses but my father added other entries to the book plants for eating not healing dandelions poke weed wild onions Pines Prim and I spent the rest of the night pouring over those pages the next day we were off school for a while I hung around the edges of the meadow but finally I worked up the courage to go under the fence it was the first time I'd been there alone without my father's weapons to protect me but I retrieved the small bow and arrows he'd made me from a hollow tree I probably didn't go more than 20 yards into the woods that day most of the time I perched up in the branches of an old oak hoping for game to come by after several hours I had the good luck to kill a rabbit I'd shot a few rabbits before with my father's guidance but this I'd done on my own we hadn't had meat in months the sight of the rabbit seemed to stir something in my mother she roused herself skinned the carcass and made a stew with the meat and some more greens Prim had gathered then she acted confused and went back to bed but when the stew was done we made her eat aable the woods became Our Savior and each day I went a bit farther into its arms it was slow goinging at first but I was determined to feed us I stole eggs from nests caught fish in nuts sometimes managed to shoot a squirrel or rabbit for stew and gathered the various plants that sprung up beneath my feet plants are tricky many are edible but one false mouthful and you're dead I checked and double check the plants I harvested with my father's pictures I kept us alive any sign of danger a distant howl the inexplicable break of a branch sent me flying back to the fence at first then I began to risk climbing trees to escape the wild dogs that quickly got bored and moved on bears and cats Liv deeper in perhaps disliking the city reek of our district on May 8th I went to the Justice building signed up for my tesser and pulled home my first batch of grain and oil in prim's toy Wagon on the eth of every month I was entitled to do the same I couldn't stop hunting and Gathering of course the grain was not enough to live on and were other things to buy soap and milk and thread what we didn't absolutely have to eat I began to trade at the hob it was frightening to enter that place without my father at my side but people had respect in him and they accepted me game was game after all no matter who'd shot it I also sold at the back doors of the wealthier clients in town trying to remember what my father had told me and learning a few new tricks as well the butcher would buy my rabbits but not squirrels the baker enjoyed squirrel but would only trade for one if his wife wasn't around the head Peacekeeper loved wild turkey the mayor had a passion for strawberries in late summer I was washing up in a pond when I noticed the plants growing around me tall with leaves like arroe heads blossoms with three white petals I knelt down in the water my fingers digging into the soft mud and I pulled up handful of the roots small bluish tubers that don't look like much but boiled or baked are as good as any potato Katniss I said aloud it's the plant I was named for and I heard my father's voice joking as long as you can find yourself you'll never starve I spent hours stirring up the pond bed with my toes and a stick Gathering the tubers that floated to the top that night we feasted on fish and catness Roots until we were all for the first time in months full slowly my mother returned to us she began to clean and cook and preserve some of the food I brought in for winter people traded us or paid money for her medical remedies one day I heard her singing Prim was thrilled to have her back but I kept watching waiting for her to disappear on us again I didn't trust her and some small Gnar old place inside me hated her for her weakness for her neglect for the months she had put us through Prim forgave her but I had taken a step back from my mother put up a wall to protect myself from needing her and nothing was ever the same between us again now I was going to die without that ever being set right I thought of how IID yelled at her today in the Justice building I had told her I loved her too though so maybe it would all balance out for a while I stand staring out the train window wishing I could open it again but unsure of what would happen at such high speed in the distance I see the lights of another district 7 10 I don't know I think about the people in their houses settling in for bed I imagine my home with its shutters drawn tight what are they doing now my mother and Prim were they able to eat supper the fish in the strawberries or did it lie untouched on their plates did they watch the recap of the day's events on The Battered old TV that sits on the table against the wall surely there were more tears is my mother holding up being strong for Prim or has she already started to slip away leaving the weight of the world on my sister's fragile shoulders Prim will undoubtedly sleep with my mother tonight the thought of that scruffy old Buttercup posting himself on the bed to watch over Prim comforts me if she cries he will knows his way into her arms and curl up there until she calms down and falls asleep I'm so glad I didn't drown him imagining my home makes me ache with loneliness this day has been endless could Gail and I have been eating blackberries only this morning it seems like a lifetime ago like a long dream that deteriorated into a nightmare maybe if I go to sleep I will wake up back in district 12 where I belong probably the drawers hold any number of night gowns but I just strip off my shirt and pants and climb into bed in my underwear the sheets are made of soft silky fabric a thick fluffy comforter gives immediate warmth if I'm going to cry now is the time to do it by morning I'll be able to wash the Damage Done by the tears from my face but no tears come I'm too tired or too numb to cry the only thing I feel is a desire to be somewhere else so I let the train rock me into Oblivion Gray light is leaking through the curtains when the wrapping Rouses me I hear Effie trinkets voice calling me to rise up up up it's going to be a big big big day I try and imagine for a moment what it must be like inside that woman's head what thoughts fill her waking hours what dreams come to her at night I have no idea I put the green outfit back on since it's not really dirty just slightly crumpled from spending the night on the floor my fingers traced the circle around the little gold mocking jay and I think of the woods and of my father and of my mother and Prim waking up having to get on with things I slept in the elaborate braided hair my mother did for the reaping and it doesn't look too bad so I just leave it up it doesn't matter we can't be far from the capital now and once we reach the city my stylist will dictate my look for the opening ceremonies tonight anyway I just hope I get one who doesn't think nudity is the last word in fashion as I enter the dining car Effie Trinket brushes past me with a cup of black coffee she's muttering obscenities under her breath hitch his face puffy and red from the previous day's indulgences is chuckling Peta holds a role in looks somewhat embarrassed sit down sit down says hitch waving me over the moment I slide into my chair I'm served an enormous platter of food eggs ham piles of fried potatoes a Terin of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled the basket of rolls they set before me would keep my family going for a week There's an elegant glass of orange juice at least I think it's orange juice I've only even tasted an orange once at New Year's when my father bought one as a special treat a cup of coffee my mother adores coffee which we could almost never afford but it only tastes bitter and thin to me a rich brown cup of something I've never seen they call it hot chocolate says Peta it's good I take a sip of the hot sweet creamy liquid and a shudder runs through me even even though the rest of the meal beckons I ignore it until I've drained my cup then I stuff down every mouthful I can hold which is a substantial amount being careful not to overdo it on the richest stuff one time my mother told me that I always eat like I'll Never See food again and I said I won't unless I bring it home that shut her up when my stomach feels like it's about to split open I lean back and take in my breakfast companions Peta is still eating breaking off bits of roll and dipping them in hot chocolate hitch hasn't paid much attention to his platter but he's knocking back a glass of red juice that he keeps thinning with a clear liquid from a bottle judging by the fumes it's some kind of spirit I don't know hitch but I've seen him often enough in the hob tossing handfuls of money on the counter of the woman who sells white liquor he'll be incoherent by the time we reach the capital I realize I detest hitch no wonder the District 12 tributes never stand a chance it isn't just that we've been underfed and lack training some of our tributes have still been strong enough to make a go of it but we rarely get sponsors and he's a big part of the reason why the rich people who back tributes either because they're betting on them or simply for the bragging rights of picking a winner expect someone classier than hitch to deal with so you're supposed to get give us advice I say to Hitch here's some advice stay alive says hitch and then bursts out laughing I exchange a look with Peta before I remember I'm having nothing more to do with him I'm surprised to see the hardness in his eyes he generally seems so mild that's very funny says Peta suddenly he lashes out at the glass in hit's hand it shatters on the floor sending the blood red liquid running toward the back of the train only not to us hitch considers this a moment then punches Peta in the jaw knocking him from his chair when he turns back to reach for the spirits I drive my knife into the table between his hand and the bottle barely missing his fingers I brace myself to deflect his hit but it doesn't come instead he sits back and Squints at us well what's this says hitch did I actually get a pair of Fighters This Year Peter rises from the floor and scoops a handful of ice from under the fruit Terin he starts to raise it to the red mark on his jaw no says hitch stopping him let the bruise show the audience will think you've mixed it up with another tribute before you've even made it to the arena that's against the rules says Peta only if they catch you that bruise will say you fought you weren't caught even better says hitch he turns to me can you hit anything with that knife besides a table the bow and arrow is my weapon but I've spent a fair amount of time throwing knives as well sometimes if I wounded an animal with an arrow it's better to get a knife into it too before I approach it I realized that if I want hitch's attention this is my moment to make an impression I yank the knife out of the table get a grip on the blade and then throw it into the wall across the room I was actually just hoping to get a good solid stick but it lodges in the seam between two panels making me look a lot better than I am stand over here both of you says hitch nodding to the middle of the room we obey and he circles us prodding us like animals at times checking our muscles examining our faces well you're not entirely hopeless seem fit and once the stylists get hold of you you'll be attractive enough Peta and I don't question this The Hunger Games aren't a beauty contest but the best looking tributes always seem to pull more sponsors all right I'll make a deal with you you don't interfere with my drinking and I'll stay sober enough to help you says hitch but you have to do exactly what I say it's not much of a deal but still a giant step forward from 10 minutes ago when we had no guide at all fun says Peta so help us I say when we get to the arena what's the best Strate stry at the cornicopia for someone one thing at a time in a few minutes we'll be pulling into the station you'll be putting the hands of your stylist you're not going to like what they do to you but no matter what it is don't resist says hitch but I begin no butts don't resist says hitch he takes a bottle of spirits from the table and leaves the car as the door swings shut behind him the car goes dark there are still a few lights inside but outside it's as if night has fallen again I realize we must be in the tunnel that runs up through the mountains into the capital the mountains form a natural barrier between the capital and the Eastern districts it is almost impossible to enter from the East except through the tunnels this geographical advantage was a major factor in the districts losing the war that led to my being a tribute today since the rebels had to scale the mountains they were easy targets for the Capal Air Forces Peter malar and I stand in silence as the train speeds along the tunnel goes on and on and I think of the tons of rock separating me from the sky and my chest tightens I hate being encased in stone this way it reminds me of the mindes and my father trapped unable to reach sunlight buried forever in the darkness the train finally begins to slow and suddenly bright light floods the compartment we can't help it both Peta and I run to the window to see what we've only seen on television the capital the ruling city of panm the cameras haven't lied about its Grandeur if anything they have not quite captured the magnificence of the glistening buildings in a rainbow of Hues that Tower into the air the shiny cars that roll down the wide paved streets the oddly dressed people with bizarre hair and painted faces who have never missed a meal all the colors seem artificial the pinks Too Deep the greens too bright the yellows painful to the eyes like the flat round discs of hard candy we can never afford to buy at the tiny sweet shop in district 12 the people begin to point at us eagerly as they recognize a tribute train rolling into the city I step away from the window sickened by their excitement knowing they can't wait to watch us die buta holds his ground actually waving and smiling at the gawking crowd he only stops when the train pulls into the station blocking us from their view he sees me staring at him and shrugs who knows he says one of them may be rich I have misjudged him I think of his actions since the reaping began the friendly squeeze of my hand his father showing up with the cookies and promising to feed Prim did Peta put him up to that his tears at the St St volunteering to wash hitch but then challenging him this morning when apparently the nice guy approach had failed and now the waving at the window already trying to win the crowd all of the pieces are still fitting together but I sense he has a plan foring he hasn't accepted his death he is already fighting hard to stay alive which also means that kind Peta malar the boy who gave me the bread is fighting hard to kill me chapter 5 rip I grip my teeth as Vena a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows Yanks a strip of fabric from my leg tearing out the hair beneath it sorry she pipes in her silly Capital accent you're just so hairy why do these people speak in such a high pitch why do they Jaws barely open when they talk why do the ends of their sentences go up as if they're asking a question odd vowels clipped words and always a hiss on the letter S no wonder it's impossible not to mimic them Venia makes what's supposed to be a sympathetic face good news though this is the last one ready I get a grip on the edges of the table I'm seated on and Nod the final swath of my leg hair is uprooted in a painful jerk I've been in the remake Center for more than 3 hours and I still haven't met my stylist apparently he has no interest in seeing me until Vena and the other members of my prep team have addressed some obvious problems this is included scrubbing down my body with a gritty foam that has removed not only dirt but at least three layers of skin turning my nails into uniform shapes and primarily ridding my body of hair my legs arms torso underarms and parts of my eyebrows have been stripped of the stuff leaving me like a plucked bird ready for roasting I don't like it my skin feels sore and tingling and intensely vulnerable but I have kept my side of the bargain with hch and no objection has crossed my lips you're doing very well says some guy named flavus he gives his orange Corkscrew locks a shake and applies a fresh coat of purple lipstick to his mouth if there's one thing we can't stand it's a Wier grease her down Zenia and Octavia a plump woman whose entire body has been dyed a pale shade of pea green rub me down with a lotion that first stings but then soothes my raw skin then they pull me from the table removing the thin robe I've been allowed to wear off and on I stand there completely naked as the three Circle me wheel building tweezers to remove any last bits of hair I know I should be embarrassed but they're so unlike people that I'm no more self-conscious than if a trio of oddly colored birds were pecking around my feet the three step back and admire their work excellent you almost look like a human being now says flavus and they all laugh I force my lips up into a smile to show how grateful I am thank you I say sweetly we don't have much cause to look nice in district 12 this wins them over completely of course you don't you poor darling says Octavia clasping her hands together in distress for me but don't worry says Venia by the time CNA is through with you you're going to be absolutely gorgeous we promise you know now that we've gotten rid of all the hair and filth you're not horrible at all says flavus encouragingly let's call Sin they dart out of the room it's hard to hate my prep team there're such total idiots and yet in an odd way I know they're sincerely trying to help me I look at the cold White Walls and floor and resist the impulse to retrieve my robe but this C my stylist will surely make me remove it at once instead my hands go to my haird the one area of my body my prep team had been told to leave alone my fingers stroke the silky braids my mother so carefully arranged my mother I left her blue dress and shoes on the floor of my train car never thinking about retrieving them of trying to hold on to a piece of her of home now I wish I had the door opens and a young man who must be C enters I'm taken aback by how normal he looks most of the stylists they interview on television are so dyed stencl and surgically altered their grotesque but sin's close cropped hair appears to be its natural shade of brown he's in a simple black shirt and pants the only concession to self- alteration seems to be metallic gold eyeliner that has been applied with a light hand it brings out the flex of gold in his green eyes and despite my disgust with the capital and their hideous f questions I can't help thinking how attractive it looks Hello Katniss I'm sin your stylist he says in a quiet voice somewhat lacking in the capital's affectations hello I Venture cautiously just give me a moment all right he asks he walks around my naked body not touching me but taking in every inch of it with his eyes I resist the impulse to cross my arms over over my chest who did your hair my mother I say it's beautiful classic really and in almost perfect balance with your profile she has very clever fingers he says I had expected someone flamboyant someone older trying desperately to look young someone who viewed me as a piece of meat to be prepared for a platter CNA has met none of these expectations you're new aren't you I don't think I've seen you before I say most of the stylists are familiar constants in the ever changing pool of tributes some have been around my whole life yes this is my first year in the games says sin so they gave you District 12 I say newcomers generally end up with us the least desirable District I asked for District 12 he says without further explanation why don't you put on your robe and we'll have a chat pulling on my robe I follow him through a door into a sitting room two red couches face off over a low table three walls are blank the fourth is entirely glass providing a window to the city I can see by the light that it must be around noon although the sunny Sky Has Turned overcast sin invites me to sit on one of the couches and takes his place across from me he presses a button on the side of the table the top splits and From Below Rises a second tabletop that holds our lunch chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain tiny green peas and onions rolls shaped like flowers and for dessert a pudding the color of honey I try to imagine assembling this meal myself back home chickens are too expensive but I could make do with a wild turkey I'd need to shoot a second turkey to trade for an orange goats milk would have to substitute for cream we can grow peas in the garden I'd have to get wild onions from the woods I don't recognize the grain our own tesser ration Cooks down to an unattractive Brown mush fancy rolls would mean another trade with the baker perhaps for two or three squirrels as for the pudding I can't even guess what's in it days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the capital version what must it be like I wonder to live in a world where food appears at the Press of a button how would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by what do they do all day these people in the capital besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment I look up and find sin's eyes trained on mine how Despicable we must seem to you he says has he seen this in my face or somehow read my thoughts he's right though the whole rotten lot of them is Despicable no matter says C so Katniss about your costume for the opening ceremonies my partner Porche is the stylist for your fellow tribute Peta and our current thought is to dress you in complimentary costumes says c as you know it's customary to reflect the flavor of the district for the opening ceremonies you're supposed to wear something that suggests your District's principal industry District 11 agriculture District 4 Fishing District 3 factories this means that coming from District 12 Peta and I will be in some kind of coal miners get up since the baggy miners jumpsuits are not particularly becoming our tributes usually end up in skimpy outfits and hats with headlamps one year our tributes were Stark naked and covered in black powder to represent cold dust it's always Dreadful and does nothing to win favor with the crowd I prepare myself for the worst so I'll be in a coal miner outfit I ask hoping it won't be indecent not exactly you see portion and I think that coal miner thing's very overdone no one will remember you in that and we both see it as our job to make the District 12 tributes Unforgettable says sin I'll be naked for sure I think so rather than focus on the coal mining itself we're going to focus on the coal says C naked and covered in black dust I think and what do we do with coal we burn it says sinna you're not afraid of fire are you Katniss he sees my expression and grins a few hours later I am dressed in what will either be the most Sensational or the deadliest costume in the opening ceremonies I'm in a simple black unitard that covers me from ankle to neck shiny leather boots lace up to my knees but it's the fluttering cape made of streams of orange yellow yellow and red and the matching headpiece that Define this costume C plans to light them on fire just before our Chariot rolls into the street it's not real flame of course just a little synthetic fire portion I came up with you'll be perfectly safe he says but I'm not convinced I won't be perfectly barbecued by the time we reach the city center my face is relatively clear of makeup just a bit of highlighting here and there my hair has been brushed out and then braided down my back in my usual Style I want the audience to recognize you when you're in the arena said sinna dreamily Katniss the girl who was on fire it crosses my mind that sin's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman despite this morning's Revelation about peta's char I'm actually relieved when he shows up dressed in an identical costume you should know about fire being a baker son and all his stylist Porsche and her team accompany him and everyone is absolutely giddy with excitement over what a splash will'll make except sinna he just seems a bit weary as he accepts congratulations we're whisked down to the bottom level of the Remake Center which is essentially a gigantic stable the opening ceremonies are about to start pairs of tributes are being loaded into chariots pulled by teams of four horses ours are Cal black the animals are so well trained no one even needs to guide their Reigns CNA and Porsche direct us into the Chariot and carefully arrange our body positions the drape of our capes before moving off to consult with each other what do you think I whispered to Peeta about the fire all rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine he says through gritted teeth deal I say maybe if we can get them off soon enough we'll avoid the worst Burns it's bad though they'll throw us into the arena no matter what condition we're in I know we promised hey Mitch we' do exactly what they said but I don't think he considered this angle where is hey Mitch anyway isn't he supposed to protect us from this sort of thing says TAA with all that alcohol in him it's probably not advisable to have him around an open flame I say and suddenly we're both laughing I guess we're both so nervous about the games and more pressingly petrified of being turned into human torches were not acting sensibly the opening music begins it's easy to hear blasted around the Capal massive doors slide open revealing the crowd line streets the ride lasts about 20 minutes and ends up at the city Circle where they will welcome us play the anthem and escort us into the training center which will be our home/ prison until the games begin the tributes from District 1 ride out in a chariot pulled by Snow White Horses they look so beautiful spray painted silver in tasteful tunics glittering with jewels District 1 makes luxury items for the capital you can hear the Roar of the crowd they are always favorites District 2 gets into position to follow them in no time at all we are approaching the door and I can see that between the overcast sky and evening hour the light is turning gray the tributes from District 11 are just rolling out when C appears with a lighted torch here we go then he says and before we can react he sets our capes on fire I gasp waiting for the Heat but there's only a faint tickling sensation C climbs up before us and ignites our headdresses he lets out a sigh of relief it works then he gently tucks a hand under my chin remember heads High Smiles they're going to love you CNA jumps off The Chariot and has one last idea he shouts something up at us but the music drowns him out he shouts again in gestures what's he saying I asked Peta for the first time I look at him and realize that Ablaze with the fake Flames he is dazzling and I must be too I think he said for us to hold hands says Peta he grabs my right hand in his left and we look to sinna for confirmation he nods and gives a thumbs up and that's the last thing I see before we enter the city the crowd's initial alarm at our appearance quickly changes to cheers and shouts of District 12 every head is turned our way pulling the focus from the three chariots ahead of us at first I'm frozen but then I catch sight of us on a large television screen and am floored by how breathtaking we look in the deepening Twilight the Fire Light illuminates our faces we seem to be leaving a trail of fire off the floor flowing capes sinna was right about the minimal makeup we both look more attractive but utterly recognizable remember Head's High Smiles they're going to love you I hear cna's voice in my head I lift my chin a bit higher put on my most winning smile and wave with my free hand I'm glad now I have Peta to clutch for balance he is so steady solid as a rock as I gain confidence I actually blow a few kisses to the crowd the people of the capital are going nuts showering us with flowers shouting our names our first names which they have bothered to find on the program the pounding music the cheers the admiration work their way into my blood and I can't suppress my excitement sinna has given me a great Advantage no one will forget me not my look not my name Katniss the girl who was on fire for the first time I feel a flicker of Hope Rising up in me surely there must be one sponsor willing to take me on and with a little extra help some food the right weapon why should I count myself out of the games someone throws me a red rose I catch it give it a delicate Sniff and blow a kiss back in the general direction of The Giver a 100 hand hands reach up to catch my kiss as if it were a real and tangible thing godness godness I can hear my name being called from all sides everyone wants my kisses it's not until we enter the city Circle that I realize I must have completely stopped the circulation in peta's hand that's how tightly I've been holding it I look down at our linked fingers as I loosen my grasp but he regains his grip on me no don't let go of me he says the Fire Light flickers off his blue eyes please I might fall out of this thing okay I say so I keep holding on but I can't help feeling strange about the way sinna has linked us together it's not really fair to present us as a team and then lock us into the arena to kill each other the 12 chariots fill the loop of the city circle on the buildings that surround the circle every window is packed with the most prestigious citizens of the capital our horses pull our Chariot right up to President Snow's mansion and we come to a halt the music ends with a flourish the president a small thin man with paper white hair gives the official welcome From A Balcony above us it is traditional to cut away to the faces of the tributes during the speech but I can see on the screen that we are getting way more than our share of air time the darker it becomes the more difficult it is to take your eyes off our flickering when the national anthem plays they do make an effort to do a quick cut around to each pair of tributes but the camera holds on the District 12 Chariot as it parades around the circle one final time and disappears into the training center the doors have only just shut behind us when we're engulfed by the prep teams who are nearly unintelligible as they Babble out praise as I glance around I notice a lot of the other tributes are shooting us dirty looks which confirms what I've suspected we've literally outshone them all then CNA and porsa are there helping us down from The Chariot carefully removing our flaming capes and headdresses Porsche extinguishes them with some kind of spray from a canister I realize I'm still glued to pea and force my stiff fingers to open we both massage our hand hands thanks for keeping hold of me I was getting a little shaky there says Peta it didn't show I tell him I'm sure no one noticed I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you you should wear Flames more often he says they suit you and then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the Right Touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me a warning Bell goes off in my head don't be so stupid Peta is planning how to kill you I remind myself he is luring you in to make you easy prey the more likable he is the more deadly he is but because two can play at this game I stand on tiptoe and kiss his cheek right on his bruise chapter 6 The Training Center has a tower designed exclusively for the tributes and their teams this will be our home until the actual games begin each district has an entire floor you simply step onto an elevator and press the number of your District easy enough to remember I've ridden the elevator a couple of times in the Justice building back in district 12 once to receive the medal for my father's death and then yesterday to say my final goodbyes to my friends and family but that's a dark and creaky thing that moves like a snail and smells of sour milk the walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air it's accelerating and I'm tempted to ask Effie Trinket if we can ride it again but somehow that seems childish apparently Effie trinkets duties did not conclude at the station she and hitch will overseeing us right into the arena in a way that's a plus because at least she can be counted on to Corral us around to places on time whereas we haven't seen hitch since he agreed to help us on the train probably passed out somewhere Effie Trinket on the other hand seems to be flying high we're the first team she's ever chaperoned that made a splash at the opening ceremonies she's complimentary about not just our costumes but how we conducted ourselves and to hear her tell it Effie knows everyone who's anyone in the capital and has been talking us up all day trying to win us sponsors I've been very mysterious though she says her eyes squint half shut because of course haitch hasn't bothered to tell me your strategies but I've done my best with what I had to work with how Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister how you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your your District barbarism that's ironic coming from a woman helping to prepare us for Slaughter and what's she basing her success on our table manners everyone has their reservations naturally you being from the coal District but I said and this was very clever of me I said well if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls Effie beams at us so brilliantly that we have no choice but to respond enthusiastically to her cleverness even though it's wrong Cole doesn't turn to pearls they grow in shellfish possibly she meant coal turns to Diamonds but that's untrue too I've heard they have some sort of machine in District 1 that can turn graphite into diamonds but we don't mind graphite in district 12 that was part of District 13's job until they were destroyed I wonder if the people she's been plugging us to all day either know or care unfortunately I can't seal the sponsor deals for you only hitch can do that says Effie grimly but don't worry I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary although lacking in many departments Effie Trinket has a certain determination I have to admire my quarters are larger than our entire house back home they are plush like the train car but also have so many automatic gadgets that I'm sure I won't have time to press all the buttons the shower alone has a panel with more than a 100 options you can choose regulating water temperature pressure soaps shampoos scents oils and massaging sponges when you step out on a mat heaters come on that blow dry your body instead of struggling with the knots in my wet hair I merely place my hand on a box that sends a current through my scalp untangling parting and drying my hair almost instantly it floats down around my shoulders in a glossy curtain I programmed the closet for an outfit to my taste the windows zoom in and out on parts of the city at my command you need only whisper a type of food from a gigantic menu into a mouthpiece and it appears hot and steamy before you in less than a minute I walk around the room eating goose sliver and puffy bread until there's a knock on the door Effie's calling me to dinner good I'm starving Peta sin and Porsha are standing out on a balcony that overlooks the capital when we enter the dining room I'm glad to see the stylists particularly after I hear that hitch will be joining us a meal presided over by just Effie and hitch is bound to be a disaster besides dinner isn't really about food it's about planning out our strategies and sin and Porsche have already proven how valuable they are a silent young man dressed in a white tunic offers us all stemmed glasses of wine I think about turning it down but I've never had wine except the homemade stuff my mother uses for coughs and when will I get a chance to try it again I take a sip of the tart dry liquid and secretly think it could be improved by a few spoonfuls of Honey hit shows up just as dinner is being served it looks as if he's had his own stylus because he's clean and groomed and about as sober as I've ever seen him he doesn't refuse the offer of wine but when he starts in on his soup I realize it's the first time I've ever seen him eat maybe he really will pull himself together long enough to help us sinna and porsa seem to have a civilizing effect on hech and Effie at least they're addressing each other decently and they both have nothing but praise for our stylus's opening act while they make small talk I concentrate on the meal mushroom soup bitter greens with tomatoes the size of peas rare roast beef sliced as thin as paper noodles in a green sauce cheese that melts on your tongue served with sweet blue grapes the servers all young people dressed in white tunics like the one who gave us wine move wordlessly to and from the table keeping the platters and glasses full about halfway through my glass of wine my head starts feeling foggy so I change to water instead I don't like the feeling and hope it wears off soon how hch can stand walking around like this full time is a mystery I try to focus on the talk which has turned to our interview costumes when a girl sets a gorgeous looking cake on the table and deftly lights it it blazes up and then the Flames flicker around the edges a while and until it finally goes out I have a moment of Doubt what makes it burn is it alcohol I say looking up at the girl that's the last thing I want oh I know you I can't place a name or time to the girl's face but I'm certain of it the dark red hair the Striking features the porcelain white skin but even as I utter the words I feel my insides Contracting with anxiety and guilt at the sight of her and while I can't pull it up I know some bad memory is associated with her the expression of Terror that crosses her face only adds to my confusion and unease she shakes her head in denial quickly and hurries away from the table when I look back the four adults are watching me like Hawks don't be ridiculous katness how could you possibly know an avox snaps Effie the very thought what's an avox I asked stupidly someone who committed a crime they cut her tongue so she can't speak says hitch she's probably a traitor of some sort not likely you'd know her and even if you did you're not to speak to one of them unless it's to give an order says Effie of course you don't really know her but I do know her and now that hch has mentioned the word traitor I remember from where the disapproval is so high I could never admit it no I guess not I just I stammer and the wine is not helping Peta snaps his fingers Deli cartright that's who it is I kept thinking she looked familiar as well then I realized she's a dead ringer for Deli Deli cartrite is a pasty-faced lumpy girl with yellowish hair who looks about as much like our server as a beetle does a butterfly she may also be the friendliest person on the planet she smiles constantly at everybody in school even me I've have never seen the girl with a red hair smile but I jump on peta's suggestion gratefully of course that's who I was thinking of it must be the hair I say something about the eyes too says Peta the energy at the table relaxes oh well if that's all it is says C and yes the kid cake has spirits but all the alcohol is burned off I ordered it specially in honor of your fiery debut we eat the cake and move into a sitting room to watch the replay of the opening ceremonies that's being broadcast a few of the other couples make a nice impression but none of them can hold a candle to us even our own party lets out an ah as they show us coming out of the Remake Center whose idea was the handholding asks hit sinas says Porsche just the perfect Touch of rebellion says hch very nice Rebellion I had to think about that one a moment but when I remember the other couples standing stiffly apart never touching or acknowledging each other as if their fellow tribute did not exist as if the games had already begun I know what hitch means presenting ourselves not as adversar but as friends has distinguished us as much as the fiery costumes tomorrow morning is the first training session meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how I want you to play it says hitch to Pete and me now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk Peta and I walk together down the corridor to our rooms when we get to my door he leans against the frame not blocking my entrance exactly but insisting I pay attention to him so Deli cartright imagine finding her look alike here he's asking for an explanation and I'm tempted to give him one we both know he covered for me so here I am in his debt again if I tell him the truth about the girl somehow that might even things up how can it hurt really even if he repeated the story it couldn't do me much harm it was just something I witnessed and he lied as much as I did about Deli cartright I realize I do want to talk to someone about the girl someone who might be able to help me figure out her story Gail would be my first choice but it's unlikely I'll ever see Gail again I try to think if telling Peta could give him any possible advantage over me but I don't see how maybe sharing a confidence will actually make him believe I see him as a friend besides the idea of the girl with her maimed tongue frightens me she has reminded me why I'm here not to model flashy costumes and eat Delicacies but to die a bloody death while the crowds urge on my killer to tell or not to tell my brain still feels slow from the wine I stare down the empty Corridor as if the decision lies there he picks up on my hesitation have you been on the roof yet I shake my head sin showed me you can practically see the whole city the wind's a bit loud though I translate this into no one will overhear us talking in my head you do have the sense that we might be under surveillance here can we just go up sure come on says Peta I follow him to a flight of stairs that lead to the roof there's a small dome-shaped room with a door to the outside as we step into the cool windy evening air I catch my breath at the view the capital twinkles like a vast field of fireflies electricity in district 12 comes and goes usually we only have it a few hours a day often the evenings are spent in candl light the only time you can count on it is when they're airing the games or some important government message on television that it's mandatory to watch but here there would be no shortage ever Peta and I walked to a railing at the edge of the roof I looked straight down the side of the building to the street which is buzzing with people you can hear their cars an occasional shout and a strange metallic tinkling in district 12 we'd all be thinking about bad right now I asked in why they let us up here weren't they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side says Peta what' he say I ask you can't says Peta he holds out his hand into seemingly empty space there's a sharp zap and he jerks it back some kind of electric field throws you back on the roof always worried about our safety I say even though CNA has shown Peta the roof I wonder if we're supposed to be up here now so late and alone I've never seen tributes on the training center roof before but that doesn't mean we're not being taped do you think they're watching us now maybe he admits come see the Garden on the other side of the Dome they've built a garden with flower beds and potted trees from the branches hang hundreds of Windchimes which account for the tinkling I heard here in the garden on this windy night it's enough to drown out two people who are trying not to be heard Peta looks at me expectantly I pretend to examine a blossom we were hunting in the woods one day hidden waiting for game I whisper you and your father he whispers back no my friend Gail suddenly all the birds stopped singing at once except one as if it were giving a warning call and then we saw her I'm sure it was the same girl a boy was with her their clothes were tattered they had dark circles under to their eyes from no sleep they were running as if their lives depended on it I say for a moment I'm silent as I remember how the sight of this strange pair clearly not from District 12 fleeing through the woods immobilized us later we wondered if we could have helped them Escape perhaps we might have concealed them if we'd moved quickly Gail and I were taken by surprise yes but we're both Hunters we know how animals look at baay we knew the pair was in trouble as soon as we saw them but we only watched the hovercraft appeared out of nowhere I continued AA I mean one moment the sky was empty and the next it was there it didn't make a sound but they saw it a net dropped down on the girl and carried her up fast so fast like the elevator they shot some sort of spear through the boy it was attached to a table and they hauled him up as well but I'm certain he was dead we heard the girl scream once the boy's name I think then it was gone the hovercraft vanished Into Thin Air and the birds began to sing again as if nothing had happened did they see you Peter asked I don't know we were under a shelf of rock I reply but I do know there was a moment after the bird call but before the hovercraft where the girl had seen us she locked eyes with me and called out for help but neither Gail or I had responded you're shivering says Peta the wind and the story have blown all the warmth from my body the girls scream had it been her last Peta takes off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders I start to take a step back but then I let him deciding for a moment to accept both his jacket and his kindness a friend would do that right they were from here he asks and he secures a button at my neck I nod they'd had that Capital look about them the boy and the girl where do you suppose they were going he asks I don't know that I say District 12 is pretty much the end of the line Beyond us there's only Wilderness if you don't count the ruins of District 13 that still smolder from the toxic bombs they show it on television occasionally just to remind us or why they would leave here haitch had called the avoxes traitors against what it could only be the capital but they had everything here no cause to Rebel I'd leave here Peta blurts out then he looks around nervously it was loud enough to hear above the Chimes he laughs I'd go home now if they let me but you have to admit the food's Prime he's covered again if that's all you'd heard it would just sound like the words of a scared tribute not someone contemplating the unquestionable goodness at the capital it's getting chilly we better go in he says in inside the Dome it's warm and bright his tone is conversational your friend Gail he's the one who took your sister away at the reaping yes do you know him I asked not really I hear the girls talk about him a lot I thought he was your cousin or something you favor each other he says no we're not related I say Peta nods unreadable did he come to say goodbye to you yes I say observing him carefully so did your father he brought me cookies Peta raises his eyebrows as if this is news but after watching him lie so smoothly I don't give this much weight really well he likes you and your sister I think he wishes he had a daughter instead of a house full of boys the idea that I might ever have been discussed around the dinner table at the bakery fire just in passing in peta's house gives me a start it must have been when the mother was out of the room he knew your mother when they were kids says Peta another surprise but probably true oh yes she grew up in town I say it seems impolite to say she never mentioned the baker except to compliment his bread we're at my door I give back his jacket see you in the morning then see you he says and walks off down the hall when I open my door the redheaded girl is collecting my unitard and boots from where I left them on the floor before my shower I want to apologize for possibly getting her in trouble earlier but I remember I'm not supposed to speak to her unless I'm giving her an order oh sorry I say I was supposed to get those back to sin I'm sorry can you take them to him she avoids my gaze gives a small nod and heads out the door I'd set out to tell her I was sorry about dinner but I know that my apology runs much deeper that I'm ashamed I never tried to help her in the woods that I let the capital kill the boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger just like I was watching the games I kick off my shoes and climb under the covers in my clothes the Shivering hasn't stopped perhaps the girl doesn't even remember me but but I know she does you don't forget the face of the person who is your last hope I pull the covers up over my head as if this will protect me from the redheaded girl who can't speak but I can feel her eyes staring at me piercing through walls and doors and bedding I wonder if she'll enjoy watching me die chapter 7 my slumber numers are filled with disturbing dreams the face of the redheaded girl intertwines with gory images from earlier Hunger Games with my mother withdrawn and unreachable with Prim emaciated and terrified I bolt up screaming for my father to run as the mine explodes into a million deadly bits of light Dawn is Breaking Through the Windows the capital has a misty haunted air my head aches and I must have bitten into the side of my cheek in the night my tongue probes the Ragged flesh and I taste blood slowly I drag myself out of bed and into the shower I arbitrarily punch buttons on the control board and end up hopping from foot to foot as alternating Jets of icy cold and steaming hot water assault me then I'm deluged in Lemony foam that I have to scrape off with a heavy bristled brush oh well at least my blood is flowing when I'm dried and moisturized with lotion I find an outfit has been left for me at the front of the closet tight black pants a long- sleeved burgundy tunic and leather shoes I put my hair in the single braid down my back this is the first time since the morning of the raping that I resemble myself no fancy hair and clothes no flaming capes just me looking like I could be headed for the woods it calms me hitch didn't give us an exact time to meet for breakfast and no one has contacted me this morning but I'm hungry so I head down to the dining room hoping there will be food I'm not disappointed while the table is empty a long board off to the side has been laid with at least 20 dishes a young man an avox stands at attention by the spread when I ask if I can serve myself he nod add a scent I load a plate with eggs sausages batter cakes covered in thick orange preserves slices of pale purple melon as I Gorge myself I watch the sun rise over the capital I have a second plate of hot grains smothered in beef stew finally I fill a plate with rolls and sit at the table breaking off bits and dipping them into hot chocolate the way Peta did on the train my mind wanders to my mother and Prim they must be up my mother getting their breakfast of mush Prim milking her goat before school just two mornings ago I was home can that be right yes just two and now how empty the house feels even from a distance what did they say last night about my fiery debut at the games did it give them hope or simply add to their Terror when they saw the reality of 24 tributes circled together knowing only one could live he Mitch and Peta come in bid me good morning fill their plates it makes me irritated that Peta is wearing exactly the same outfit I am I need to say something to sinna this twins Act is going to blow up in our faces once the games begin surely they must know this then I remember hitch tell telling me to do exactly what the stylists tell me to do if it was anyone but sinna I might be tempted to ignore him but after last night's Triumph I don't have a lot of room to criticize his choices I'm nervous about the training there will be three days in which all the tributes practice together on the last afternoon we'll each get a chance to perform in private before the game makers the thought of meeting the other tributes face to face face makes me queasy I turn the roll I have just taken from the basket over and over in my hands but my appetite is gone when hch has finished several platters of Stew he pushes back his plate with a sigh he takes a flask from his pocket and takes a long pull on it and leans his elbows on the table so let's get down to business training first off if you like I'll coach you separately decide now why would you coach us separately I asked say if you had a secret skill you might not want the other to know about says hitch I exchange a look with Peta I don't have any secret skills he says and I already know what yours is right I mean I've eaten enough of your squirrels I never thought about Peta eating the squirrels I shot somehow I always pictured the baker quietly going off and frying them up for himself not out of greed but because Town families usually eat expensive butcher meat beef and chicken and horse you can coach us together I tell hitch Peta nods all right so give me some idea of what you can do says hitch I can't do anything says Peta unless you count baking bread sorry I don't Katniss I already know you're handy with a knife says hitch not not really but I can hunt I say with a bow and arrow and you're good asks hitch I have to think about it I've been putting food on the table for 4 years that's no small task I'm not as good as my father was but he'd had more practice I've better aim than Gail but I've had more practice he's a genius with traps and snares I'm all right I say she's excellent says PETA my father buys her squirrels he always comments on how the arrows never pierce the body she hits everyone in the eye it's the same with the rabbit she sells the butcher she can even bring down deer this assessment of my skills from Peta takes me totally by surprise first that he ever noticed second that he's talking me up what are you doing I asked him suspiciously what are you doing if he's going to help you you he has to know what you're capable of don't underrate yourself says Peta I don't know why but this rubs me the wrong way what about you I've seen you in the market you can lift 100b bags of flour I snap at him tell him that that's not nothing yes and I'm sure the arena will be full of bags of flour for me to Chuck at people it's not like being able to use a weapon you know it isn't he shoots back he can wrestle I tell hitch he came came in second in our school competition last year only after his brother what use is that how many times have you seen someone wrestle someone to death says Peta in disgust there's always hand toand combat all you need is to come up with a knife and you'll at least stand a chance if I get jumped I'm dead I can hear my voice rising in anger but you won't you'll be living up in some tree eating raw squirrels and picking off people with arrows you know what my mother said to me when she came to say goodbye as if to cheer me up she says maybe District 12 will finally have a winner then I realized she didn't mean me she meant you bursts out Peta oh she meant you I say with a wave of dismissal she said she's a Survivor that one she is says Peta that pulls me up short did his mother really say that about me did she rap me over her son I see the pain in peta's eyes and know he isn't lying suddenly I'm behind the bakery and I can feel the chill of the rain running down my back the hollow in my belly I sound 11 years old when I speak but only because someone helped me peta's eyes flicker down to the roll in my hands and I know he remembers that day too but he just shrugs people will help you in the arena they'll be tripping over each other to sponsor you no more than you I say Peter rolls his eyes at hch she has no idea the effect she can have he runs his fingernail along the wood grain in the table refusing to look at me what on Earth does he mean people help me when we were dying of starvation no one helped me no one except Peta once I had something to barter with things changed I'm a traiter or am I what effect do I have that I'm weak and needy is he suggesting that I got good deals because people pied me I try to think if this is true perhaps some of the merchants were a little generous in their trades but I always attributed that to their long-standing relationship with my father besides my game is first class no one pied me I glow at the role sure he meant to insult me after about a minute of this heit says well then well well well catness there's no guarantee there will be bows and arrows in the arena but during your private session with the game makers show them what you can do until then stay clear of archery are you any good at trapping I know a few basic snares I mutter that may be significant in terms of food says hch and Peter she's right never underestimate strength in the arena very often physical power tilts the advantage to a player in the training center they will have weights but don't reveal how much you can lift in front of the other tributes the plan's the same for both of you you go to Group Training spend the time trying to learn something you don't know throw a spear swing a mace learn to tie a decent knot save showing what you're best at until your private sessions are we clear says hitch Peta and I nod one last thing in public I want you by each other's side every minute says hitch we both start to object but hitch slams his hand on the table every minute it's not open for discussion you agreed to do as I said you will be together you will appear amiable to each other now get out meet Effie at the elevator at 10: for training I bite my lip and stalk back to my room making sure Peta can hear the door slam I sit on the bed hating hitch hating Peta hating myself for mentioning that day long ago in the rain it's such a joke Peta and I going along pretending to be friends talking up each other's strengths insisting the other take credit for their abilities because in fact at some point we're going to have to knock it off and accept we're bitter adversaries which I'd be prepared to do right now if it wasn't for hitch's stupid instruction that we stick together in training it's my own fault I guess for telling him he didn't have to coach us separately but that didn't mean I wanted to do everything with Peta who by the way clearly doesn't want to be partnering up with me either I hear peta's voice in my head she has no idea the effect she can have obviously meant to demean me right but at tiny part of me wonders if this was a compliment that he meant I was appealing in some way it's weird how much he's noticed me like the attention he's paid to my hunting and apparently I have not been as oblivious to him as I imagined either the flower the wrestling I have kept track of the boy with the bread it's almost 10 I clean my teeth and smooth back my hair again anger temporarily blocked out my nervousness about meeting the other tributes but now I can feel my anxiety Rising Again by the time I meet Effie and Peta at the elevator I catch myself biting my nails I stop at once the actual training rooms are below ground level of our building with these elevators the ride is less than a minute the doors open into an enormous gymnasium filled with various weapons and obstacle courses although it's not yet 10 were the last ones to arrive the other tributes are gathered in a tense Circle they each have a cloth square with their District number on it pinned to their shirts while someone pins the number 12 on my back I do a quick assessment Peta and I are the only two dressed alike as soon as we joined the circle the head trainer a tall athletic woman named Calla steps up and begins to explain the training schedule experts in each skill will remain at their stations we will be free to travel from area to area as we choose per our mentors instructions some of the stations teach survival skills others fighting techniques we are forbidden to engage in any combative exercise with another tribute there are assistant on hand if we want to practice with a partner when aalo begins to read down the list of the skill stations my eyes can't help flitting around to the other tributes it's the first time we've been assembled on level ground in simple clothes my heart sinks almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls are bigger than I am even though many of the tributes have never been fed properly you can see it in their bones their skin the hollow look in their eyes I may be smaller naturally but but overall my family's resourcefulness has given me an edge in that area I stand straight and while I'm thin I'm strong the meat and plants from the woods combined with the exertion it took to get them have given me a healthier body than most of those I see around me the exceptions are the kids from The wealthier Districts The Volunteers the ones who have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment the tributes from one 1 2 and four traditionally have this look about them it's technically against the rules to train tributes before they reach the capital but it happens every year in district 12 we call them the career tributes or just the careers and like as not the winner will be one of them the slight Advantage I held coming into the training center my fiery entrance last night seems to vanish in the presence of my competition the other tributes were jealous of us but not because we were amazing because our stylists were now I see nothing but contempt in the glances of the career tributes each must have 50 to 100 pounds on me they project arrogance and brutality when aala releases us they head straight for the deadliest looking weapons in the gym and handle them with ease I'm thinking that it's lucky I'm a fast runner when PETA nudges my arm and I jump he is still beside me per hitch's instructions his expression is sober where would you like to start I look around at the career tributes who are showing off clearly trying to intimidate the field then at the others the underfed the incompetent shakily having their first lessons with a knife or an axe suppose we tie some knots I say right you are says PETA we cross to an empty station where the trainer seems pleased to have students you get the feeling that the not tying class is not the Hunger Games hotspot when he realizes I know something about snares he shows us a simple excellent trap that will leave a human competitor dangling by a leg from a tree we concentrate on this one skill for an hour until both of us have mastered it then we move on to camouflage Peta genuinely seems to enjoy this station swirling a combination of mud and clay and Berry juices around on his pale skin weaving disguises from Vines and leaves the trainer who runs the camouflage station is full of enthusiasm at his work I do the cakes he admits to me the cakes I asked I've been preoccupied with watching the boy from District 2 send a spear through a dummy's heart from 15 yards what cakes at home the iced ones for the bakery he says he means the ones they display in the windows fancy cakes with flowers and pretty things painted and frosting they're for birthdays and New Year's Day when we're in the Square Prim always drags me over to admire them although we'd never be able to afford one there's little enough Beauty in district 12 though so I can hardly deny her this I look more critically at the design on peta's arm the alternating pattern of light and dark suggests sunlight falling through the leaves in the woods I wonder how he knows this since I doubt he's ever been beyond the fence has he been able to pick this up from just that scraggly old Apple Tree in his backyard somehow the whole thing his skill those inaccessible cakes the praise of the camouflage expert annoys me it's lovely if only you could Frost someone to death I say don't be so Superior you can never tell what you'll find in the arena say it's actually a gigantic cake begins Peta say we move on I break in so the next 3 days pass with Peta and me going quietly from Station to Station we do pick up some valuable skills from starting fires to knife throwing to making shelter despite hach's order to appear mediocre Peta excels in in hand-to-hand combat and I sweep the edible plants test without blinking an eye we steer clear of archery and weightlifting though wanting to save those for our private sessions the game makers appeared early on the first day 20 or so men and women dressed in Deep Purple robes they sit in the elevated stands that surround the gymnasium sometimes wandering about to watch us jotting down notes other times eating at the endless banquet that has been set for them ignoring the lot of us but they do seem to be keeping their eye on the District 12 tributes several times I've looked up to find one fixated on me they consult with the trainers during our meals as well we see them all gathered together when we come back breakfast and dinner are served on our floor but at lunch the 24 of us eat in a dining room off the gymnasium food is arranged on carts around the room and you serve yourself the career tributes tend to gather rowdily around one table as if to prove their superiority that they have no fear of one another and consider the rest of us beneath notice most of the other tributes sit alone like lost sheep no one says a word to us Peta and I eat together and since hch keeps dogging us about it try to keep up a friendly conversation during the meals it's not easy to find a talk topic talking of home is painful talking of the present unbearable one day Peta empties our bread basket and points out how they have been careful to include types from the districts along with the refined bread of the capital the fish-shaped loaf tinted green with seaweed from District 4 the Crescent Moon roll dotted with seeds from District 11 somehow although it's made from the same stuff it looks a lot more appetizing than the ug drop biscuits that are the standard fair at home and there you have it says Peta scooping the breads back in the basket you certainly know a lot I say only about bread he says okay now laugh as if I've said something funny we both give a somewhat convincing laugh and ignore the stairs from around the room all right I'll keep smiling pleasantly and you talk says Peta it's wearing us both out H's direction to be friendly because ever since I slammed my door there's been a chill in the air between us but we have our orders did I ever tell you about the time I was chased by a bear I asked no but it sounds fascinating says Peta I try to animate my face as I recall the event a true story in which I'd foolishly challenged a black bear over the rights to a beehive Peta laughs and asks question questions right on Q he's much better at this than I am on the second day while we're taking a shot at spear throwing he whispers to me I think we have a shadow I throw my spear which I'm not too bad at actually if I don't have to throw too far and see the little girl from District 11 standing back a bit watching us she's the 12-year-old the one who reminded me so of Prim in stature up close she looks about 10 she has bright dark eyes and satiny brown skin and stands tilted up on her toes with her arms slightly extended to her sides as if ready to take Wing at the slightest sound it's impossible not to think of a bird I pick up another spear while Peta throws I think her name's Rue he says softly I bite my lip Rue is a small yellow flower that grows in the meadow Rue Primrose neither of them could tip the scale at 70 lb soaking wet what can we do about it I asked him more harshly than I intended nothing to do he says back just making conversation now that I know she's there it's hard to ignore the child she slips up and joins us at different stations like me she's clever with plants climbs swiftly and has good aim she can hit the target every time with the slingshot but what is a slingshot against a 220 lb male with the sword back on the District 12 floor hey Mitch and Effie Grill us throughout breakfast and dinner about every moment of the day what we did who watched us how the other tribute size up CNA and Porsche aren't around so there's no one to add any sanity to the meals not that hech and Effie are fighting anymore instead they seem to be of one mind determined to whip us into shape full of endless directions about what we should do and not do in training Peta is more patient but I become Fed Up and Surly when we finally escape to bed on the second night Peta mumbles someone ought to get hon a drink I make a sound that is somewhere between a snow nort and a laugh then catch myself it's messing with my mind too much trying to keep straight when we're supposedly friends and when we're not at least when we get into the arena I'll know where we stand don't don't Let's Pretend when there's no one around all right Katniss he says tiredly after that we only talk in front of people on the third day of training they start to call us out of lunch for our private sessions with the game makers District by District first the boy then the girl tribute as usual District 12 is slated to go last we linger in the dining room unsure where else to go no one comes back once they have left as the room empties the pressure to appear friendly lightens by the time they call Rue we are left alone we sit in silence until they summon Peta he rises remember what hmage said about being sure to throw the weights the words come out of my mouth without permission thanks I will he says you shoot straight I nod I don't know why I said anything at all although if I'm going to lose I'd rather P to win than the others better for our district for my mother and Prim after about 15 minutes they call my name I smooth my hair set my shoulders back and walk into the gymnasium instantly I know I'm in trouble they've been here too long the game makers sat through 23 other demonstrations had too much wine most of them want more than anything to go home there's nothing I can do but continue with the plan I walked to the archery station oh the weapons I've been itching to get my hands on them for days bows made of wood and plastic and metal and materials I can't even name Arrows with feathers cut in Flawless uniform lines I choose a bow string it and sling the matching quiver of arrows over my shoulder there's a shooting range but it's much too limited standard Bull's eyes and human Silhouettes I walked to the center of the gymnasium and pick my first Target the dummy used for knife practice even as I pull back on the bow I know something is wrong the String's tighter than the one I use at home the arrows more rigid I missed the dummy by a couple of inches and lose what little attention I had been commanding for a moment I'm humiliated then I head back to the bullseye I shoot again and again until I get the feel of these new weapons back in the center of the gymnasium I take my initial position and skewer the dummy right through the heart then I sever the rope that holds the sandbag for boxing and the bag splits open as it slams to the ground without pausing I shoulder roll forward come up on one knee and send an arrow into one of the hanging lights high above the gymnasium floor a shower of Sparks bursts from the fixture it's excellent shooting I turned to the game makers a few are nodding approval but the majority of them are fixated on a roast pig that has just arrived at their banquet table suddenly I am furious that with my life on the line they don't even have the decency to pay attention to me that I'm being upstaged by a dead pig my heart starts to pound I can feel my face burning without thinking I pull an arrow from my quiver and send it straight at the game Maker's table I hear shouts of alarm as people stumble back the arrow skewers the Apple in the pig's mouth and pins it to the wall behind it everyone stares at me in disbelief thank thank you for your consideration I say then I give a slight bow and walk straight toward the exit without being dismissed chapter 8 as I stride toward the elevator I fling my bow to one side and my quiver to the other I brush past the gaping avoxes who guard the elevators and hit the number 12 button with my fist the doors slide together and I zip upward I actually make it back to my floor before the tears start running down my cheeks I can hear the others calling me from the sitting room but I fly down the hall into my room Bolt the door and fling myself onto my bed and I really begin to sob now I've done it now I've ruined everything if I stood even a ghost of a chance it vanished when I sent that Arrow flying at the game makers what will they do to me now arrest me execute me cut my tongue and turn me into an avox so I can wait on the future tributes of panm what was I thinking shooting at the game makers of course I wasn't I was shooting at that Apple because I was so angry at being ignored I wasn't trying to kill one of them if I were they'd be dead oh what does it matter it's not like I was going to win the games anyway who cares what they do to me what really scares me is what they might do to my mother and Prim how my family might suffer now because of my impulsiveness will they take their few belongings or send my mother to prison and Prim to the community home or kill them they wouldn't kill them would they why not what do they care I should have stayed and apologized or laughed like it was a big joke then maybe I would have found some leniency but instead I staled out of the place in the most disrespectful manner possible hitch and Effie are knocking on my door I shout for them to go away and eventually they do it takes at least an hour for me to cry myself out and I just lie curled up on the bed stroking the silk and sheets watching the sunset over the artificial candy Capital At first I expect guards to come for me but as time passes it seems less likely I calm down they still need a girl tribute from District 12 don't they if the game makers want to punish me they can do it publicly wait until I'm in the arena and sick starving wild animals on me you can bet they'll make sure I don't have a bow an arrow to defend myself before that though they'll give me a score so low no one in their right mind would sponsor me that's what will happen tonight since the training isn't open to viewers the game makers announce a score for each player it gives the audience a starting place for the betting that will continue throughout the games the number which is between 1 and 12 one being irredeemably bad and 12 being unattainably high signifies the promise of the tribute the Mark is not a guarantee of which person will win it's only an indication of the potential a tribute showed in training often because of the variables in the actual Arena high-scoring tributes go down almost immediately and a few years ago the boy who won the games only received a three still the scores can help or hurt an individual tribute in terms of sponsorship I had been hoping my shooting skills might get me a six or seven even if I'm not particularly powerful now I'm sure I'll I'll have the lowest score of the 24 if no one sponsors me my odds of staying alive decrease to almost zero when Effie Taps on the door to call me to dinner I decide I may as well go the scores will be televised tonight it's not like I can hide what happened forever I go to the bathroom and wash my face but it's still red and splotchy everyone's waiting at the table even CNA and Porsha I wish the stylists hadn't shown up because for some reason I don't like the idea of disappointing them it's as if I've thrown away all the good work they did on the opening ceremonies without a thought I avoid looking at anyone as I take tiny spoonfuls of fish soup saltiness reminds me of my Tears the adults begin some chitchat about the weather forecast and I let my eyes meet petas he raises his eyebrows a question what happened I just gave my head a small Shake then as they're serving the main course I hear hamage say okay enough small talk just how bad were you today Peta jumps in I don't know that it mattered by the time I showed up no one even bothered to look at me they were singing some kind of drinking song I think so I threw around some heavy objects until they told me I could go that makes me feel a bit bit better it's not like Peta attacked the game makers but at least he was provoked too and you sweetheart says hitch somehow hitch calling me sweetheart ticks me off enough that I'm at least able to speak I shot an arrow at the game makers everyone stops eating you what the horror in Effie's voice confirms my worst suspicions I shot an arrow at them not exactly at them in their Direction it's like Peta said I was shooting and they were ignoring me and I just I just lost my head so I shot an apple out of their stupid roast Pig's mouth I say defiantly and what did they say says sinna carefully nothing or I don't know I walked out after that I say without being dismissed gasps Effie I dismissed my myself I said I remember how I promised Prim that I really would try to win and I feel like a ton of coal has dropped on me well that's that says hitch then he Butters a roll do you think they'll arrest me I asked doubt it be a pain to replace you at this stage says hitch what about my family I say will they punish them don't think so wouldn't make much sense see they'd have to reveal what happened in the training center for it to have any worthwhile effect on the population people would need to know what you did but they can't since it's a secret so it'd be a waste of effort says he Mitch more likely they'll make your life hell in the arena well they've already promised to do that to us anyway says Peta very true says hitch and I realized The Impossible has happened they have actually cheered me up hitch picks up a pork chop with his fingers which makes Effie frown and dunks it in his wine he rips off a hunk of meat and starts to chuckle what were their faces like I can feel the edges of my mouth tilting up shocked terrified uh ridiculous some of them an image pops into my mind one man tripped backward into a bowl of punch hey MIT gfas and we all start laughing except Effie although even she is suppressing a smile well it serves them right it's their job to pay attention to you and just because you come from District 12 is no excuse to ignore you then her eyes Dart around as if she said something totally outrageous I'm sorry but that's what I think she says to no one in particular I'll get a very bad score I say scores only matter if they're very good no one pays much attention to the bad or mediocre ones for all they know you could be hiding your talents to get a low score on purpose people use that strategy said Porsche I hope that's how people interpret the four I'll probably get says Peta if that really is anything less impressive than watching a person pick up a heavy ball and throw it a couple yards one almost landed on my foot I grin at him and realize that I'm starving I cut off a piece of pork dunk it in mashed potatoes and start eating it's okay my family is safe and if they are safe no real harm has been done after dinner we go to the sitting room to watch the scores announced on television first they show a photo of the tribute then flash their score below it the career tributes naturally get in the 8 to 10 range most of the other players average a five surprisingly little Rue comes up with a seven I don't know what she showed the judges but she's so tiny it must have been impressive District 12 comes up last as usual Peta pulls an eight so at least a couple of the game makers must have been watching him I dig my fingernails into my Palms as my face comes up expecting the worst then they're flashing the number 11 on the screen 11 Effie Trinket lets out a squeal and everybody's slapping me on the back and cheering and congratulating me but it doesn't seem real there must be a mistake how how could that happen I asked kitch guess they liked your temper he says they've got a show to put on they need some players with some heat Katniss the girl who is on fire says sin and gives me a hug oh wait until you see your interview dress more Flames I asked of A Sort he says mischievously Peta and I congratulate each other another Awkward Moment we've both done well but what does that mean for the other I escaped to my room as quickly as possible and burrow down under the covers the stress of the day particularly the crying has worn me out I drift off reprieved relieved and with the number 11 still flashing behind my eyelids at dawn I lie in bed for a while watching the sun come up on a beautiful morning it's Sunday a day off at home I wonder if Gail is in the woods yet usually we devote all of Sunday to stocking up for the week Rising early hunting and Gathering than trading at the hob I think of Gail without me both of us can hunt alone but we're better as a pair particularly if we're trying for bigger game but also in the little things having a partner lighten the load could even make the arduous task of filling my family's table enjoyable I'd been struggling along on my own for about 6 months when I first ran into Gale in the woods it was a Sunday in October the air cool and pungent with dying things I'd spent the morning competing with the squirrels for nuts and the slightly warmer afternoon waiting in Shallow ponds harvesting cat the only meat I'd shot was a squirrel that had practically run over my toes in its quest for acorns but the animals would still be a foot when the snow buried my other food sources having strayed farther a field than usual I was hurrying back home lugging my burlap sacks when I came across a dead rabbit it was hanging by its neck in a thin wire a foot above my head about 15 yards away was another I recognize the twitch up snares because my father had used them when the prey is caught it's yanked into the air out of the reach of other hungry animals I've been trying to use snares all summer with no success so I couldn't help dropping my sacks to examine this one my fingers were just on the wire above one of the rabbits when a voice rang out that's dangerous I jumped back several feet as Gail materialized from behind a tree he must have been watching ing me the whole time he was only 14 but he cleared 6 feet and was as good as an adult to me I'd seen him around the seam and at school and one other time he lost his father in the same blast that killed mine in January I'd stood by while he received his medal of valor in the Justice building another oldest child with no father I remembered his two little brothers clutching his mother a woman whose swollen belly announced she was just days away from giving birth what's your name he said coming over and disengaging the rabbit From The Snare he had another three hanging from his belt Katniss I said barely audible well catnip stealing's punishable by death or hadn't you heard he said Katniss I said louder and I wasn't stealing it I just wanted to look at your snare mine never catch anything he scalled at me not convinced so where'd you get the squirrel I shot it I pulled my bow off my shoulder I was still using the small version my father had made me but I'd been practicing with the full-size one when I could I was hoping that by Spring I might be able to bring down some bigger game Gail's eyes fastened on the bow can I see that I handed it over just remember stealing's punishable by death that was the first time I ever saw him smile it transformed him from someone menacing to someone you wished you knew but it took several months before I returned that smile we talked hunting then I told him I might be able to get him a bow if he had something to trade not food I wanted knowledge I wanted to set my own snares that caught a belt of fat rabbits in one day he agreed something might be worked out as the seasons went by we grudgingly began to share our knowledge our weapons our secret places that were thick with wild plums or turkeys he taught me snares and fishing I showed him what plans to eat and eventually gave him one of our precious bows and then one day without either of us saying it we became a team dividing the work in the spoils making sure that both our families had food Gail gave me a sense of security I'd lacked since my father's death his companionship replaced the long solitary hours in the woods I became a much better Hunter when I didn't have to look over my shoulder constantly when someone was watching my back but he turned into so much more than a hunting partner he became my Confidant someone with whom I could share thoughts I could never voice inside the fence in exchange he trusted me with his being out in the woods with Gail sometimes I was actually happy I call him my friend but in the last year it seemed too casual a word for what Gail is to me a Pang of longing shoots through my chest if only he was with me now but of course I don't want that I don't want him in the arena where he'd be dead in a few days I just I just miss him and I hate being so alone does he miss me he must I think of the 11 flashing under my name last night I know exactly what he'd say to me well there's some room for improvement there and then he give me a smile and I'd return it without hesitating now I can't help comparing what I have with Gail to what I'm pretending to have with Peta how I never question Gail's motives while I do nothing but doubt the ls it's not a fair comparison really Gail and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive Peta and I know the other survival means our own death how do you sidestep that Effie's knocking at the door reminding me there's another big big big day ahead tomorrow night will be our t vised interviews I guess the whole team will have their hands full readying us for that I get up and take a quick shower being a bit more careful about the buttons I hit and head down to the dining room Peta Effie and ha Mitch are huddled around the table talking in hushed voices that seems odd but hunger wins out over curiosity and I load up my plate with breakfast before I join them the stew is made with tender chunks of lamb and dried plums today perfect on the bed of wild rice I've shoveled about halfway through the mound when I realize no one's talking I take a Big Gulp of orange juice and wipe my mouth so what's going on you're coaching us on interviews today right that's right says hitch you don't have to wait until I'm done I can listen and eat at the same time I say well there's been a change of plans about our current approach says hch what's that I ask I'm not sure what our current approach is trying to appear mediocre in front of the other tributes is the last bit of strategy I remember he it shrugs Peta has asked to be coached separately chapter nine betrayal that's the first thing I feel which is lud for there to be betrayal there would have to have been trust first between PETA and me and Trust has not been part of the agreement were tributes with a boy who risked a beating to give me bread the one who studied me in the Chariot who covered for me with the redheaded avox girl who insisted hitch know my hunting skills was there some part of me that couldn't help trusting him on the other hand I'm relieved that we can stop the pretense of being friends obviously whatever thin connection we'd foolishly formed has been severed and high time too the games begin in 2 days and Trust will only be a weakness whatever triggered peta's decision and I suspect it had to do with my outperforming him in training I should be nothing but grateful for it maybe he's finally accepted the fact that the sooner we openly acknowledge that we are enemies the better good I said okay so what's the schedule you'll each have four hours with Effie for presentation and four with me for Content says hch you start with Effie Katniss I can't imagine what Effie will have to teach me that could take four hours but she's got me working down to the last minute we go to my room and she puts me in a full length gown and high heeled shoes not the ones I'll be wearing for the actual interview and instructs me on walking the shoes are the worst part I've never worn high heels and can't get used to essentially wobbling around on the balls of my feet but Effie runs around in them full time and I'm determined that if she can do it so can I the dress poses another problem it keeps tangling around my shoes so of course I hitch it up and then Effie swoops down on me like a hawk smacking my hands and yelling not about the ankle when I find L conquer walking they're still sitting posture apparently I have a tendency to duck my head eye contact hand gestures and smiling smiling is mostly about smiling more Effie makes me say a 100 banel phrases starting with a smile while smiling or ending with a smile by lunch the muscles in my cheeks are twitching from overuse well that's the best I can do Effie says with a sigh just remember Katniss you want the audience to like you and you don't think they will I asked not if you glare at them the entire time why don't you save that for the arena instead think of yourself among friends says Effie they're betting on how long I'll live I burst out they're not my friends well try and pretend snaps Effie then she composes herself and beams at me see like this I'm smiling at you even though you're aggravating me yes it feels very convincing I say I'm going to eat I kick off my heels and stomp down to the dining room hiking my skirt up to my thighs Peta and hitch seem to be in pretty good moods so I'm thinking the content session should be an improvement over the morning I couldn't be more wrong after lunch hitch takes me into the sitting room directs me to the couch and then just frowns at me for a while what I finally asked I'm trying to figure out what to do with you he says now we're going to present you are you going to be Charming aloof Fierce so far you're shining like a star you volunteered to save your sister C made you look Unforgettable you got the top training score people are intrigued but no one knows who you are the impression you make tomorrow will decide exactly what I can get you in terms of sponsors says hitch having watched the tribun interviews all my life I know there's truth to what he's saying if you appeal to the crowd either by being humorous or brutal or eccentric you gain favor what's peta's approach or am I not allowed to ask I say likable he has a sort of self-deprecating humor naturally says hch whereas when you open your mouth you come across more as Sullen and hostile I do not I say please I don't know where you pulled that cheery wavy girl on The Chariot from but I haven't seen her before or since says hitch and you've given me so many reasons to be cheery I counter but you don't have to please me I'm not going to sponsor you so pretend I'm the audience says hitch Delight me fine I snarl haitch takes the role of the interviewer and I try to answer his questions in a winning fashion but I can't I'm too angry with hch for what he said and that I even have to answer the questions all I can think is how unjust the whole thing is The Hunger Games why am I hopping around like like some trained dog trying to please people I hate the longer the interview goes on the more my Fury seems to rise to the surface until I'm literally spitting out answers at him all right enough he says we got to find another angle not only are you hostile I don't know anything about you I've asked you 50 questions and still have no sense of your life your family what you care about they want to know about you Katniss but I don't want them to they're already taking my future they can't have the things that mattered to me in the past I say then lie make something up says hitch I'm not good at lying I say well you better learn fast you've got about as much charm as a dead slug says hitch ouch that hurts even hch must know he's been too harsh because his voice voice softens here's an idea try acting humble humble I Echo that you can't believe a little girl from District 12 has done this well the whole thing's been more than you ever could have dreamed of talk about sin's clothes how nice the people are how the city amazes you if you won't talk about yourself at least compliment the audience just keep turning it back around all right gush the next hours are agonizing at once it's clear I cannot gush we try me playing cocky but I just don't have the arrogance apparently I'm too vulnerable for ferocity I'm not witty funny sexy or mysterious by the end of the session I am no one at all hit started drinking somewhere around wity and a nasty Edge has crept into his voice I give up sweetheart just answer the questions and try not to let the audience see how openly you despise them I have dinner that night in my room ordering an outrageous number of Delicacies eating myself sick and then taking out my anger at hitch at The Hunger Games at every living being in the capital by Smashing dishes around my room when the girl with the red hair comes in to turn down my bed her eyes widen at the mess just leave it I yell at her just leave it alone I hate her too with her knowing reproachful eyes that call me a coward a monster a puppet of the capital both now and then for her justice must finally be happening at least my death will help pay for the life of the boy in the woods but instead of fleeing the room the girl closes the door behind her and goes to the bathroom she comes back with a damp cloth and wipes my face gently then cleans the blood from a broken plate off my hands why is she doing this why am I letting her I should have tried to save you I whisper she shakes her head does this mean we were right to stand by that she has forgiven me no it was wrong I say she TT her lips with her fingers then points to my chest I think she means that I would just have ended up in avox too probably would have an avox or dead I spend the next hour helping the redheaded girl clean the room when all the garbage has been dropped down at disposal and the food cleaned away she turns down my bed I crawl in Between the Sheets like a 5-year-old and let her tuck me in then she goes I want her to stay St until I fall asleep to be there when I wake up I want the protection of this girl even though she never had mine in the morning it's not the girl but my prep team who are hanging over me my lessons with Effie and hach are over this day belongs to sinna he's my last hope maybe he can make me look so wonderful no one will care what comes out of my mouth the team works on me until late after afternoon turning my skin to glowing satin stenciling patterns on my arms painting flame designs on my 20 Perfect Nails then Venia goes to work on my hair weaving strands of red into a pattern that begins at my left ear wraps around my head and then Falls in one braid down my right shoulder they erase my face with a layer of pale makeup and draw my features back out huge dark eyes full red lips lashes that throw off bits of light when I blink finally they cover my entire body in a powder that makes me Shimmer in Gold Dust then C enters with what I assume is my dress but I can't really see it because it's covered close your eyes he orders I can feel the silken inside as they slip it down over my naked body then the weight it must be 40 lb I clutch up av's hand as I blindly step into my shoes glad to find they're at least 2 in lower than the pair F he had me practic in there's some adjusting and fidgeting then silence can I open my eyes I asked yes says sinna open them the creature standing before me in the full length Mirror Has Come From Another World where skin shimmers and eyes eyes Flash and apparently they make their clothes from Jewels because my dress oh my dress is entirely covered in reflective precious gems red and yellow and white with bits of blue that accent the tips of the flame design the slightest movement gives the impression I am engulfed in tongues of fire I am not pretty I am not beautiful I I am as radiant as the sun for a while we all just stare at me oh sin I finally whisper thank you twirl for me he says I hold out my arms and spin in a circle the prep team screams in admiration CNA dismisses the team and has me move around in the dress and shoes which are infinitely more manageable than eff's the dress hangs in such a way that I don't have to lift the skirt when I walk leaving me with one less thing to worry about so all ready for the interview then ask CNA I can see by his expression that he's been talking to Hitch that he knows how Dreadful I am I'm awful hitch called me a dead slug no matter what we tried I couldn't do it I just can't be one of those people he wants me to be I say CNA thinks about this a moment why don't you just be yourself myself that's no good either haitch says I'm sullen and hostile I say well you are around haitch says C with a grin I don't find you so the prep team adores you you even won over the game makers and as for the citizens of the capital well they can't stop talking about you no one can help but admire your spirit my spirit this is a new thought not sure exactly what it means but it suggests I'm a fighter in a sort of Brave way it's not as if I'm never friendly okay maybe I don't go around loving everybody I meet maybe my Smiles are hard to come by but I do care for some people Senna takes my icy hands in his warm ones suppose when you answer the questions you think you're addressing a friend back home who would your best friend be asks sinna Gail I say instantly only it doesn't make sense sin I would never be telling Gail those things about me he already knows them what about me could you think of me as a friend asked sinna of all the people I've met since I left home sinna is by by far my favorite I liked him right off and he hasn't disappointed me yet I think so but I'll be sitting on the main platform with the other stylists you'll be able to look right at me when you're asked a question find me and answer it as honestly as possible says sin even if what I think is horrible I ask because it might be really especially if what you think is horrible says sinna you'll try it I nod it's a plan or at least a straw to grasp at too soon it's time to go the interviews take place on a stage constructed in front of the training center once I leave my room it will be only minutes until I'm in front of the crowd the cameras all of panm as C turns the door kn I stop his hand sin I'm completely overcome with Stage Fright remember they already love you he says gently just be yourself we meet up with the rest of the District 12 crowd at the elevator Porsche and her gang have been hard at work Peta looks striking in a black suit with flame accents while we look well together it's a relief not to be dressed identically hitch and Effie are all fancied up for the occasion I avoid hitch but accept Effie's compliments Effie can be tiresome and clueless but she's not destructive like hitch when the elevator opens the other tributes are being lined up to take the stage all 24 of us did in a Big Arc throughout the interviews I'll be last or second to last since the girl tribute precedes the boy from each district how I wish I could be first and get the whole thing out of the way now I have to listen to How witty funny humble Fierce and Charming everybody else is before I go up plus the audience will start to get bored just as the game makers did and I can't exactly shoot an arrow into the crowd to get their attention right before we parade onto the stage he Mitch comes up behind Peta and me and growls remember you're still a happy pair so act like it what I thought we abandoned that when Peta asked for separate coaching but I guess that was a private not a public thing anyway there's not much chance for interaction now as we walk single file to our seats and take our places just stepping on the stage makes my breathing rapid and shallow I can feel my pulse pounding in my temples it's a relief to get to my chair because between the heels and my leg shaking I'm afraid I'll trip although though evening is falling the city's circle is brighter than a summer's day an elevated seating unit has been set up for prestigious guests with a stylus commanding the front row the cameras will turn to them when the crowd is reacting to their handiwork a large balcony off a building to the right has been reserved for the game makers television Crews have claimed most of the other balconies but the city Circle and the Avenues that feed into it are completely packed with people standing room only at homes and Community halls around the country every television set is turned on every citizen of panm is tuned in there will be no blackouts tonight Caesar flickerman the man who has hosted the interviews for more than 40 years bounces onto the stage it's a little scary because his appearance has been virtually unchanged during all that time same face under a coating of pure white makeup same hairstyle that he dyes a different color for each Hunger Games same ceremonial suit midnight blue dotted with a thousand tiny electric bulbs that twinkle like stars they do surgery in the capital to make people appear younger and thinner in district 12 looking old is something of an achievement since so many people die early you see an elderly person you want to congratulate them on their longevity ask the secret of survival a plump person is envied because they aren't scraping by like the majority of us but here it is different wrinkles aren't desirable a round belly isn't a sign of success this year Caesar's hair is powder blue and his eyelids and lips are coated in the same Hue he looks freakish but less frightening than he did last year when his color was crimson and he seemed to be bleeding Caesar tells a few jokes to warm up the audience but then gets down to business the girl tribute from District 1 looking provocative in a see-through gold gown steps up to the center of the stage to join Caesar for her interview you can tell her Mentor didn't have any trouble coming up with an angle for her with that flowing blonde hair emerald green eyes her body tall and Lush she's sexy all the way each interview only lasts 3 minutes then a buzzer goes off and the next tribute is up I'll say this for Caesar he really does his best to make the tributes shine he's friendly tries to set the nervous ones at ease laughs at lame jokes and can turn a weak response into a memorable one by the way he reacts I sit like a lady the way Effie showed me as the districts slip by 2 3 4 everyone seems to be playing up some angle the Monstrous boy from District 2 is a ruthless killing machine the fox face girl from District 5 Sly and Elusive I spotted CNA as soon as he took his place but even his presence cannot relax me 8 9 10 the crippled boy from 10 is very quiet my Palms are sweating like crazy but the jeweled dress isn't absorbent and they skid right off if I try to dry them 11 Rue who is dressed in a gossamer gown complete with wings flutters her way to Caesar a hush Falls over the crowd at the sight of this magical wisp of a tribute Caesar is very sweet with her complimenting her seven in training an excellent score for one so small when he asks her what her greatest strength in the arena will be she doesn't hesitate I'm very hard to catch she says in a tremulous voice and if they can't catch me they can't kill me so don't count me out I wouldn't in a million years says Caesar encouragingly the boy tribute from District 11 thresh has the same dark skin as Ru but the resemblance stops there he's one of the Giants probably six and a half ft tall and built like an ox but I noticed he rejected the invitations from the career tribute to join their crowd instead he's been very solitary speaking to no one showing little interest in training even so he scored a 10 and it's not hard to imagine he impressed the game makers he ignores Caesar's attempts at banter and answers with a yes or no or just remain silent if only I was his size I could get away with Sullen and hostile and it would be just fine I bet half the sponsors are at least considering him if I had any money I bet on him myself and then they're calling Katniss everine and I feel myself as if in a dream standing and making my way Center Stage I shake Caesar's outstretched hand and he has the good grace not to immediately wipe his off on his suit so Katniss the capital must be quite a change from District 12 what's impressed you you most since you arrived here asks Caesar what what did he say it's as if the words make no sense my mouth has gone as dry as sawdust I desperately find sinna in the crowd and lock eyes with him I imagine the words coming from his lips what's impressed you most since you arrived here I rack my brain for something that made me happy here be honest I think be honest the lamb stew I get out Caesar laughs and vaguely I realize some of the audience has joined in the one with the dried plums asked Caesar I nod oh I eat it by the bucketful he turns sideways to the audience in horror hand on his stomach it doesn't show does it they shout reassurances to him and applaud this is what I mean about Caesar he tries to help you out now Katniss he says confidentially when you came out in the opening ceremonies my heart actually stopped what did you think of that costume CNA raises one eyebrow at me be honest you mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive I asked big laugh a real one from the audience yes start then says Caesar sinna my friend I should tell him anyway I thought CNA was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it I can't believe I'm wearing this either I lift up my skirt to spread it out I mean look at it as the audience ooze and Oz I see sinna make the tiniest circular motion with his finger but I know what he's saying twirl for me I spin in a circle once and the reaction is immediate oh do that again says Caesar and so I lift up my arms and spin around and around letting the skirt fly out letting the dress engulf Me In Flames the audience breaks into cheers when I stop I clutch Caesar's arm don't stop he says I have to I'm dizzy I'm also giggling which I think I've done maybe never in my lifetime but the nerves and the spinning have gotten to me caesar wraps a protective arm around me don't worry I've got you can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps everyone's hooting as the cameras find haitch who is by now famous for his head dive at the reaping and he waves them away good-naturedly and points back to me it's all right Caesar reassures the crowd she's safe with me so how about that training score 11 give us a hint what happened in there I glanced at the game makers on the balcony and bite my lip um all I can say is I think it was a first the cameras are right on the game makers who are chuckling and nodding you're killing us says Caesar as if in actual pain details details I address the balcony I'm not supposed to talk about it right the game maker who fell in the punch bowl shouts out she's not thank you I say sorry my lips are sealed let's go back then to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping says Caesar his mood is quieter now and you volunteered can you tell us about her no no not all of you but maybe sinna I don't think I'm imagining the sadness on his face her name is Prim she's just 12 and I love her more than anything you could hear a pin drop in the city Circle now what did she say to you after the reaping Caesar asks be honest be honest I swallow hard she asked me to try really hard to win the audience is frozen hanging on my every word and what did you say prompt Caesar gently but instead of warmth I feel an icy rigidity take over my body my muscles tense as they do before a kill when I speak my voice seems to have dropped an octave I swore I would I bet you did says Caesar giving me a squeeze the buzzer goes off sorry we're out of time best of luck Katniss everine tribute from District 12 the Applause continues long after I'm seated I Look to sin for reassurance he gives me a subtle thumbs up I'm still in a days for the first part of peta's interview he has the audience from the get-go though I can hear them laughing shouting out he plays up the baker son thing comparing the tributes to the breads from their districts then has a funny anecdote about the Perils of the capital showers tell me do I still smell like roses he asks Caesar and then there's a whole run where they take turns sniffing each other that brings down the house I'm coming back into focus when Caesar asks him if he has a girlfriend back home Peta hesitates and gives an unconvincing Shake of his head handsome lad like you there must be some special girl come on what's her name says Caesar Peta sigh well there is this one girl I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember but I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping sounds of sympathy from the crowd unrequited love they can relate to she have another fellow asks Caesar I don't know but a lot of boys like her says Peta so here's what you do you win you go home she can't turn you down then eh says Caesar encouragingly I don't think it's going to work out winning won't help in my case says Peta why ever not says Caesar mystified Peta blushes beet red and stammers out because because she came here with me part two The Games chapter 10 for a moment the cameras hold on peta's downcast eyes as what he says sinks in then I can see my face mouth half open in a mix of surprise and protest magnified on every screen as I realize me he means me I press my lips together and stare at the floor hoping in this will conceal the emotion starting to boil up inside of me oh that is a piece of bad luck says Caesar and there's a real edge of pain in his voice the crowd is murmuring in agreement a few have even given agonized cries it's not good agrees Peta well I don't think any of us can blame you it'd be hard not to fall for that young lady says Caesar she didn't know Peta shakes his head not until now I allow my eyes to flicker up to the screen long enough to see that the blush on my cheeks is unmistakable wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and get a response Caesar asks the audience the crowd screams Ascent sadly rules are rules and Katniss everdine's time has been spent well best of luck to you Peter malar and I think I speak for all of PanAm when I say our hearts go with yours the Roar of the crowd is deafening Peta has absolutely wiped the rest of us off the map with his Declaration of love for me when the audience finally settles down he chokes out a quiet thank you and returns to his seat we stand for the anthem I have to raise my head out of the required respect and cannot avoid seeing that every screen is now dominated by a shot of PETA and me separated by a few feet that in the viewers heads can never be breached poor tragic us but I know better after the anthem the tributes file back into the training center Lobby and onto the elevators I make sure to Veer into a car that does not contain paa the crowd slows are entourages of stylists and mentors and chaperons so we have only each other for company no one speaks my elevator stops to deposit four tributes before I am alone and then find the doors opening on the 12th floor Peta has only just stepped from his car when I slam my Palms into his chest he loses his balance and crashes into an ugly n filled with fake flowers the ear tips and shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces Peta lands in the shards and blood immediately flows from his hands what was that for he says a gas you had no right no right to go saying those things about me I shouted him now the elevator's open and the whole crew is there Effie hitch CNA and Porsha what's going on says Effie a note of Hysteria in her voice did you fall after she shoved me says Peta as Effie and sna help him up hitch turns on me shoved him this was your idea wasn't it turning me into some kind of fool in front of the entire country I answer it was my idea says Peta wincing as he pulls spikes of pottery from his palms hitch just helped me with it yes haitch is very helpful to you I say you are a fool hitch says in disgust do you think he hurt you that boy just gave you something you could never achieve on your own he made me look weak I say he made you look desirable and let's face it you can use all the help you can get in that department you were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you now they all do you're all they're talking about the Star Cross lovers from District 12 says hitch but we're not starcross lovers I say hitch grabs my shoulders and pins me against the wall who cares it's all a big show it's all how you're perceived the most I could say about you after your interview was that you were nice enough although that in itself was a small miracle now I can say you're a heartbreaker oh oh oh how the boys back home fall longingly at your feet which do you think will get you more sponsors the smell of wine on his breath makes me sick I shove his hands off my shoulders and step away trying to clear my head sinna comes over and puts his arm around me he's right Katniss I don't know what to think I should have been told so I didn't look so stupid no your reaction was perfect if you'd known it wouldn't have read as real says Porsche she's just worried about her boyfriend says Peta gruffly tossing away a bloody piece of the ear my cheeks burn again at the thought of Gail I don't have a boyfriend whatever says Peta but I bet he's smart enough to know a bluff when he sees it besides you didn't say you Lov me so what does it matter the words are sinking in my anger fading I'm torn now between thinking I've been used and thinking I've been given an edge haitch is right I survived my interview but what was I really a silly girl spinning in a sparkling dress giggling the only moment of any substance I had was when I talked about Prim compare that with thresh his silent deadly power and I'm forgettable silly and sparkly and forgettable no not entirely forgettable I have my 11 in training but now Peta has made me an object of love not just his to hear him tell it I have many admirers and if the audience really thinks we're in love I remember how strongly they responded to his confession starcross lovers hitch is right they eat that stuff up in the capital suddenly I'm worried that I didn't react properly after he said he loved me did you think I could be in love with him too I asked I did says Porsche the way you avoided looking at the cameras the blush the others chime in agreeing you're golden sweetheart you're going to have sponsors lined up around the block says hitch I'm embarrassed about my reaction I forced myself to acknowledge Peta I'm sorry I shoved you doesn't matter he shrugs although it's technically illegal are your hands okay I asked they'll be all right he says in the silence that follows delicious smells of our dinner wafted in from the dining room come on let's eat says heon Mitch we all follow him to the table and take our places but then Peta is bleeding too heavily and Porsha leads him off for medical treatment we start the cream and rose petal soup without them by the time we finished they're back peta's hands are wrapped in bandages I can't help feeling guilty tomorrow we will be in the arena he has done me a favor and I have answered with an injury will I never stop o him after dinner we watched the replay in the sitting room I seem frilly and shallow twirling and giggling in my dress although the others assure me I am Charming Peta actually is charming and then utterly winning as the boy in love and there I am blushing and Confused Made Beautiful by sin's hands desirable by peta's confession tragic by circumstance and by all accounts Unforgettable when the anthem finishes and the screen goes dark a hush falls on the room tomorrow at dawn we will be roused and prepared for the arena the actual games don't start until 10:00 because so many of the capital residents rise late but Peta and I must make an early start there is no telling how far we will travel to the arena that has been prepared for this year's games I know hech and Effie will not be going going with us as soon as they leave here they'll be at the game's headquarters hopefully madly signing up our sponsors working out a strategy on how and when to deliver the gifts to us sinna and Porsche will travel with us to the very spot from which we will be launched into the arena still final goodbyes must be said here Effie takes both of us by the hand and with actual Tears In Her Eyes wishes us well thanks us for being the best tributes it has ever been her privilege to sponsor and then because it's Effie and she's apparently required by law to say something awful she adds I wouldn't be at all surprised if I finally get promoted to a decent District next year then she kisses us each on the cheek and hurries out overcome with either the emotional parting or the possible Improvement of her fortunes haitch crosses his arm and looks us both over any final words of advice asks Peta when the gong sound get the hell out of there you're neither of you up to the blood bath at the Cornucopia just clear out put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others and find a source of water he says got it and after that I asked stay alive says he Mitch it's the same advice he gave us on the train but he's not drunk and laughing this time and we only nod what else is there to say when I head to my room Peta lingers to talk to Porsha I'm glad whatever strange words of parting we exchange can wait until tomorrow my covers are drawn back but there is no sign of the redheaded avox girl I wish I knew her name I should have asked it she could write it down maybe or act it out but perhaps that would only result in punishment for her I take a shower and scrub the gold paint the makeup the scent of Beauty from my body All That Remains of the design team's efforts are the flames on my nails I decide to keep them as a reminder of who I am to the audience Katniss the girl who was on fire perhaps it will give me something to hold on to in the days to come I pull on a thick fleecy night gown and climb into bed it takes me about 5 Seconds to realize I'll never fall asleep and I need sleep desperately because in the arena every moment I give into fatigue will be an invitation to death it's no good 1 hour two three pass and my eyelids refuse to get heavy I can't stop trying to imagine exactly what terrain I'll be thrown into desert swamp a frigid Wasteland above all I am hoping for trees which may afford me some means of concealment and food and shelter often there are trees because Barren Landscapes are dull and the games resolve too quickly without them but what will the climate be like what traps have the game makers hidden to liven up the slower moments and then there are my fellow tributes the more anxious I am to find sleep the more it eludes me finally I am too Restless to even stay in bed I pce the floor heart beating too fast breathing Too Short my room feels like a prison cell if I don't get air soon I'm going to start to throw things again I run down the hall to the door to the roof it's not only unlocked but a jar perhaps someone forgot to close it but it doesn't matter the energy field in closing the roof prevents any death desate form of escape and I'm not looking to escape only to fill my lungs with air I want to see the sky and the moon on the last night that no one will be hunting me the roof is not lit at night but as soon as my bare feet reach its tiled surface I see his silhouette black against the lights that shine endlessly in the capital there's quite a commotion going on down in the streets music and singing and car horns none of which I could hear through through the thick glass window panels in my room I could slip away now without him noticing me he wouldn't hear me over the den but the night air is so sweet I can't bear returning to that stuffy cage of a room and what difference does it make whether we speak or not my feet move soundlessly across the tiles I'm only a yard behind him when I say you should be getting some sleep he starts but doesn't turn I can see him give his head a slight Shake I didn't want to miss the party it's for us after all I come up beside him and lean over the edge of the rail the wide streets are full of dancing people I squint to make out their tiny figures in more detail are they in costumes who could tell Peta answers was all the crazy clothes they wear here couldn't sleep either I couldn't turn my mind off I say thinking about your family he asks no I admit a bit guiltily all I can do is wonder about tomorrow which is pointless of course in the light from below I can see his face now the awkward way he holds his bandaged hands I really am sorry about your hands it doesn't matter Katniss he says I've never been a contender in these games anyway that's no way to be thinking I say why not it's true my best hope is to not disgrace myself and he hesitates and what I say I don't know how to say it exactly only I want to die as myself does that make any sense he asks I shake my head how could he die as anyone but himself I don't want them to change me in there turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not I bite my lip feeling inferior while I've been ruminating on the availability of trees Peta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity his purity of self do you mean you won't kill anyone I ask no when the time comes I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else I can't go down without a fight only I keep wishing I could think of a way to to show the capital they don't own me that I'm more than just a piece in their games says Peta but you're not I say none of us are that's how the games work okay but within that framework there's still you there's still me he insists don't you see a little only no offense but who cares Peta I say I do I mean what else am I allowed to care about at this point he asks angrily he's locked those blue eyes on mine now demanding an answer I take a step back care about what hitch said about staying alive Peta Smiles at me sad and mocking okay thanks for the tip sweetheart it's like a slap in the face his use of hitch's patronizing endearment look if you want to spend the last hours of your life planning some Noble death in the arena that's your choice I want to spend mine in district 12 wouldn't surprise me if you do says Peta give my mother my best when you make it back will you count on it I say then I turn and leave the roof I spend the rest of the night slipping in and out of a doze imagining The Cutting remarks I will make to Peta malar in the morning Peter malar we will see how high and mighty he is when he's with life and death he'll probably turn into one of those raging Beast tributes the kind who tries to eat someone's heart after they've killed them there was a guy like that a few years ago from district 6 called Titus he went completely Savage and the game makers had to have him stunned with electric guns to collect the bodies of the players he' killed before he ate them there are no rules in the arena but cannibalism doesn't play well with the capital audience so they tried to head It Off there was some speculation that the Avalanche that finally took Titus out was specifically engineered to ensure the Victor was not a lunatic I don't see Peta in the morning CNA comes to me before Dawn gives me a simple shift to wear and guides me to the roof my final dressing and preparations will be done in the catacombs under the arena itself a hovercraft appears out of thin air just like the one did in the woods the I saw the redheaded avox girl captured and the ladder drops down I place my hands and feet on the lower rungs and instantly it's as if I'm frozen some sort of current glues me to the ladder while I'm lifted safely inside I expect the ladder to release me then but I'm still stuck when a woman in a white coat approaches me carrying a syringe this is just your tracker Katniss the Stiller you are the more efficiently I can place it she says still I'm a statue but that doesn't prevent me from feeling the sharp stab of pain as the needle inserts the metal tracking device deep under the skin on the inside of my forearm now the game makers will always be able to trace my whereabouts in the arena wouldn't want to lose a tribute as soon as the tracker in place the ladder releases me the woman disappears and sinna is retrieved from the room roof an avox Boy comes in and directs us to a room where breakfast has been laid out despite the tension in my stomach I eat as much as I can although none of The Delectable food makes any impression on me I'm so nervous I could be eating cold dust the one thing that distracts me at all is the view from the windows as we sail over the city and then to the Wilderness Beyond this is what birds see only they're free and safe the very opposite of me the ride lasts about half an hour before the windows black out suggesting that we're nearing the arena the hovercraft lands and c and I go back to the ladder only this time it leads down into a tube underground into the catacombs that lie beneath the arena we follow instructions to my destination a chamber for my preparation in the capital they call it the launch room in the districts it's referred to as the stockyard the place animals go before Slaughter everything is brand new I will be the first and only tribute to use this launch room the Arenas are historic sites preserved after the games popular destinations for Capital residents to visit to Vacation go for a month rewatch The Games tour the catacombs visit the sites where the deaths took place you can can even take part in reenactments they say the food is excellent I struggle to keep my breakfast down as I shower and clean my teeth CNA does my hair in my simple trademark braid down my back then the clothes arrive the same for every tribute CNA has had no say in my outfit does not even know what will be in the package but he helps me dress in the undergarments simple Tawny pants light green blouse sturdy brown belt and thin hooded black jacket that falls to my thighs the material in the jacket's designed to reflect body heat expect some cool nights he says the boots worn over skin tight socks are better than I could have hoped for soft leather not unlike my ones at home these have a narrow flexible Rubber Sole with Treads though good for running I think I'm finished when CNA pulls the gold mocking J pin from his pocket I had completely forgotten about it where did you get that I asked off the green outfit you were on the train he says I remember now taking it off my mother's dress pinning it to the shirt it's your District token right I nod and he fastens it on my shirt it barely cleared the review board some thought the pin could be used as a weapon giving you an un Fair Advantage but eventually they let it through saids sin they eliminated a ring from that district one girl though if you twisted the gemstone a spike popped out poisoned one she claimed she had no knowledge the ring transformed and there was no way to prove she did but she lost her token there you're all set move around make sure everything feels comfortable I walk run in a circle swing my arms about yes it's fine fits perfectly then there's nothing to do but wait for the call says sinna unless you think you could eat anymore I turn down food but accept a glass of water that I take tiny sips of as we wait on a couch I don't want to chew on my nails or lips so I find myself gnawing on the inside of my cheek it still hasn't fully healed from a few days days ago soon the taste of blood fills my mouth nervousness seeps into Terror as I anticipate what is to come I could be dead flat out dead in an hour not even my fingers obsessively traced the hard little lump on my forearm where the woman injected the tracking device I press on it even though it hurts I press on it so hard a small bruise begins to form do you want to talk Katniss sin asks I shake my head but after a moment hold out my hand to him C encloses it in both of his and this is how we sit until a pleasant female voice announces it's time to prepare for lunch still clenching one of C's hands I walk over and stand on the circular metal plate remember what haage said run find water the rest will follow he says I nod and remember this I'm not allowed to bet but if I could my money would be on you truly I whisper truly says CNA he leans down and kisses me on the forehead good luck Girl on Fire and then a glass cylinder is lowering around me breaking our hand hold cutting him off from me he Taps his fingers under his chin head high I lift my chin and stand as straight as I can the cylinder begins to rise for maybe 15 seconds I'm in darkness and then I can feel the metal plate pushing me out of the cylinder into the open air for a moment my eyes are dazzled by the bright sunlight and I'm conscious only of a strong wind with the hopeful smell of pine trees then I hear the legendary announcer Claudius templesmith as his voice booms all around me ladies and gentlemen let the 74th Hunger Games begin chapter 11 60 seconds that's how long we're required to stand on our metal circles before the sound of a gone releases us step off before the minute is up and landmines blow your legs off 60 seconds to Tak in the ring of tributes all equidistant from the Cornucopia a giant golden horn shaped like a cone with a curved tail the mouth of which is at least 20 ft High spilling over with the things that will give us life here in the arena food containers of water weapons medicine garments fire starters strewn around the Cornucopia are other supplies their value decreasing the farther they are from the horn for instance only a few steps from my feet lies a 3T square of plastic certainly it could be of some use in a downpour but there in the mouth I can see a tent pack that would protect from almost any sort of weather if I had the guts to go in and fight for it against the other 23 tributes which I have been and instructed not to do we're on a flat open stretch of ground a plane of hardpacked dirt behind the tributes across from me I can see nothing indicating either a steep downward slope or even a cliff to my right lies a lake to my left and back sparse piny Woods this is where hitch would want me to go immediately I hear his instructions in my head just clear out put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others and find a source of water but it's tempting so tempting when I see the Bounty waiting there before me and I know that if I don't get it someone else will that the career tributes who survived the blood bath will divide up most of these life sustaining spoils something catches my eye there resting on a mound of blanket rolls is a silver sheath of arrows and a bow already strung just waiting to be engaged that's mine I think it's meant for me I'm fast I can Sprint faster than any of the girls in our school although a couple can beat me in distance races but this 40 yard length this is what I am built for I know I can get it I know I can reach it first but then the question is how quickly can I get out of there by the time I've scrambled up the packs and grabbed the weapons others will have reached the horn and one or two I might be able to pick off but say there's a dozen at that close range they could take me down with the Spears in the clubs or their own powerful fists still I won't be the only target I'm betting many of the other tributes would pass up a smaller girl even one who scored an 11 in training to take out their more Fierce adversaries hitch has never seen me run maybe if he had he'd tell me to go for it get the weapon since that's the very weapon that might be my salvation and I only see one bow in that whole pile I know the minute must be almost up and we'll have to decide what my strategy will be and I find myself positioning my feet to run not away into the surrounding Forest but toward the pile toward the bow when suddenly I noticed Peta he's about five tributes to my right quite a fair distance still I can tell he's looking at me and I think he might be shaking his head but the sun's in my eyes and while I'm puzzling over it the gong rings out and I've missed it I've missed my chance because those extra couple of seconds I've lost by not being ready are enough to change my mind about going in my feet shuffle for a moment confused at the direction my brain wants to take and then I lunge forward scoop up the sheet of plastic and a loaf of bread the pickings are so small and I'm so angry with Peta for distracting me that I Sprint in 20 yards to retrieve a bright orange backpack that could hold anything because I can't stand leaving with virtually nothing a boy I think from District 9 reaches the pack at the same time I do and for a brief time we grapple for it and then he coughs splattering my face with blood I stagger back repulsed by the warm sticky spray then the boy slips to the ground that's when I see the knife in his back already other tributes have reached the Cornucopia and are spreading out to attack yes the girl from District 2 10 yard away running toward me one hand clutching a half dozen knives I've seen her throw in training she never misses and I'm her next Target all the general fear I've been feeling condenses into an immediate fear of this girl this Predator who might kill me in seconds adrenaline shoots through me and I sling the pack over one shoulder and run full speed for the woods I can hear the blade whistling toward me and reflexively Hike the pack up to protect my head the blade lodges in the pack both straps on my shoulders now I make for the trees somehow I know the girl will not pursue me that she'll be drawn back into the Cornucopia before all the good stuff is gone a grin crosses my face thanks for the knife I think at the edge of the woods I turned for one instant to survey the field about a dozen or so tributes are hacking away at one another at the horn several lie dead already on the ground those who have taken flight are disappearing into the trees or into the void opposite me I continue running until the woods have hidden me from the other tributes then slow into a steady jog that I think I can maintain for a while for the next few hours I alternate between jogging and walking putting as much distance as I can between myself and my competitors I lost my bread during the struggle with the boy from District 9 but managed to stuff my plastic in my sleeve so as I walk I fold it neatly and tuck it into a pocket I also free the knife it's a fine one with a long sharp blade serrated near the handle which will make it handy for sawing through things and slide it into my belt I don't dare stop to examine the contents of the pack yet I just keep moving pausing only to check for pursuers I can go a long time I know that from my days in the woods but I will need water that was hitch's second instruction and since I sort of botch the first I keep a sharp eye out for any sign of it no luck the woods begin to evolve and the Pines are intermixed with a variety of trees some I recognize some completely foreign to me at one point I hear a noise and pull my knife thinking I may have to defend myself but I've only startled a rabbit good to see you I whisper if there's one rabbit there could be hundreds just waiting to be snared the ground slopes down I don't particularly like this valleys make me feel trapped I want to be high like in the hills around District 12 where I can see my enemies approaching but I have no choice but to keep going funny though I don't feel too bad the days of gorging myself have paid off I've got staying power even though I'm short on sleep being in the woods is rejuvenating I'm glad for the Solitude even though it's an illusion because I'm probably on screen right now not consistently but off and on there are so many deaths to show the first day that a tribute trekking through the woods isn't much to look at but they'll show me enough to let people know I'm alive uninjured and on the move one of the heaviest days of bedding is the opening when the initial casualties come in but that can't compare to what happens as the field shrinks to a handful of players it's late afternoon when I begin to hear here the Cannons each shot represents a dead tribute the fighting must have finally stopped at the cornicopia they never collect the blood bath bodies until the killers have dispersed on the opening day they don't even fire the Cannons until the initial fighting's over because it's too hard to keep track of the fatalities I allow myself to pause panting as I count the shots one 2 3 on and on until they reach 11 11 dead in all 13 left to play my fingernails scrape at the dried blood the boy from District 9 coughed into my face he's gone certainly I wonder about Peta has he lasted through the day I'll know in a few hours when they project the Dead's images into the sky for the rest of us to see all of a sudden I'm overwhelmed by the thought that Peta may be already lost bled white collected and in the process of being transported back to the capital to be cleaned up redressed and shipped in a simple wooden box back to District 12 no longer here heading home I try hard to remember if I saw him once the action started but the last image I can conjure up is PETA shaking his head as the gong rang out maybe it's better if he's gone already he had no confidence he could win and I will not end up with the unpleasant task of killing him maybe it's better if he's out of this for good I slumped down next to my pack exhausted I need to go through it anyway before nightfalls see what I have to work with as I unhook the straps I can feel it St L made although a rather unfortunate color this orange will practically glow in the dark I make a mental note to camouflage it first thing tomorrow I flip open the flap what I want most right at this moment is water hitch's directive to immediately find water was not arbitrary I won't last long without it for a few days I'll be able to function with unpleasant symptoms of dehydration but after that I'll deteriorate into helplessness and be dead in a week tops I carefully lay out the provisions one Thin black sleeping bag that reflects body heat a pack of crackers a pack of dried beef strips a bottle of iodine a box of wooden matches a small coil of wire a pair of sunglasses and a half gallon plastic bottle with a cap for carrying water that's bone dry no water how hard would it have been for them to fill up the bottle I become aware of the dryness in my throat and mouth the cracks in my lips I've been moving all day long it's been hot and I've sweat a lot I do this at home but there are always streams to drink from or snow to melt if it should come to it as I refill my pack I have an awful thought the lake the one I saw while I was waiting for the gong to sound what if that's the only water source in the arena that way they'll guarantee drawing us into fight the lake is a full day's Journey from where I sit now a much harder Journey with nothing to drink and then even if I reach it it's sure to be heavily guarded by some of the career tributes I'm about to panic when I remember the rabbit I startled earlier today it has to drink too I just have to find out where Twilight is closing in and I am ill at ease the trees are too thin to offer much concealment the layer of pine needles that muffles my footsteps also makes tracking animals harder when I need their trails to find water and I'm still heading downhill deeper and deeper into a valley that seems endless I'm hungry too but I don't dare break into my precious store of crackers and beef yet instead I take my knife and go to work on a pine tree cutting away the outer bark and scraping off a large handful of the softer inner bark I slowly chew the stuff as I walk along after a week of the finest food in the world it's a little hard to choke down but I've eaten plenty of pine in my life I'll adjust quickly in another hour it's clear I've got to find a place to Camp night creatures are coming out I can hear the occasional hoot or howl my first clue that I'll be competing with natural Predators for the rabbits as to whether I'll be viewed as a source of food it's too soon to tell there could be any number of animals stalking me at this moment but right now I decide to make my fellow tributes a priority I'm sure many will continue hunting through the night those who fought it out at the Cornucopia will have food and a bance of water from the lake torches or flashlights and weapons they're itching to use I can only hope I've traveled far and fast enough to be out of range before settling down I take my wire and set two twitch up snares in the brush I know it's risky to be setting traps but food will go so fast out here and I can't set snares on the Run still I walk another 5 minutes before making Camp I pick my tree carefully a willow not terribly tall but set in a clump of other Willows offering concealment in those long flowing trusses I climb up sticking to the stronger branches close to the trunk and find a sturdy fork for my bed it takes some doing but I arrang the sleeping bag in a relatively comfortable manner I place my backpack in the foot of the bag then slide in after it as a precaution I remove my belt loop it all the way around the branch and my sleeping bag and refasten it at my waist now if I roll over in my sleep I won't go crashing to the ground I'm small enough to tuck the top of the bag over my head but I put on my hood as well as nightfalls the air is cooling quickly despite the risk I took in getting the backpack I know now it was the right choice this sleeping bag radiating back and preserving my body heat will be invaluable I'm sure there are several other tributes whose biggest concern right now is how to stay warm whereas I may actually be able to get a few hours of sleep if only I wasn't so thirsty night has just come when I hear the anthem that precedes the death recap through the branches I can see the Seal of the capital which appears to be floating in the sky I'm actually viewing another screen an enormous one that's transported by one of their disappearing hovercraft The Anthem Fades out and the sky goes dark for a moment at home we would be watching full coverage of each and every killing but that's thought to give an unfair advantage to the living tributes for instance if I got my hands on the bow and shot someone my secret would be revealed to all no here in the arena all we see are the same photographs they showed when they televised our training scores simple head shots but now instead of scores they post only District numbers I take a deep breath as the faces of the 11 dead tributes begin and tick them off one by one on my fingers the first to appear is the girl from District 3 that means that the career tributes from one and two have all survived no surprise there then the boy from four I didn't expect that one usually all the careers make it through the first day the boy from District 5 I guess the foxf faced girl made it both tributes from 6 and seven the boy from8 both from nine yes there's the boy who I fought for the backpack I've run through my fingers only one more dead tribute to go is it Peta no there's a girl from District 10 that's it the capital seal is back with a final music musical flourish then darkness and the sounds of the forest resume I'm relieved peta's alive I tell myself again that if I get killed his winning will benefit my mother and Prim the most this is what I tell myself to explain the conflicting emotions that arise when I think of PETA the gratitude that he gave me an edge by professing his love for me in the interview the anger at his superiority on the roof The Dread that we may come face to face at any moment in this Arena 11 dead but none from District 12 I try to work out who is left five career tributes fox face thresh and Rue R so she made it through the first day after all I can't help feeling glad that makes 10 of us the other three I'll figure out tomorrow now when it is dark dark and I have traveled far and I nestled high in this tree now I must try to rest I haven't really slept in 2 days and then there's been the Long Day's Journey Into The Arena slowly I allow my muscles to relax my eyes to close the last thing I think is it's lucky I don't snore zap the sound of a breaking Branch wakes me how long have I been asleep 4 hours five the tip of my nose is icy cold snap snap what's going on this is not the sound of a branch under someone's foot but the sharp crack of one coming from a tree snap snap I judge it to be several hundred yards to my right slowly noiselessly I turned myself in that direction for a few minutes there's nothing but Blackness and some scuffling then I see a spark and a small fire begins to bloom a pair of hands warms over Flames but I can't make out more than that I have to bite my lip not to scream every foul name I know at the fire starter what are they thinking a fire lit just at nightfall would have been one thing those who battled at the Cornucopia with their Superior strength and surplus of supplies they couldn't possibly have been near enough to spot the Flames then but now when they've probably been combing the woods for hours looking for victims you might as well be waving a flag and shouting come and get me and here I am a Stones Throw from the biggest idiot in the games strapped in a tree not daring to flee since my general location has just been broadcast to any killer who cares I mean I know it's cold out here and not everybody has a sleeping bag but then you grit your teeth and stick it out until Dawn I lie smoldering in my bag for the next couple of hours really thinking that if I can get out of this tree I won't have the least problem taking out my new neighbor my instinct has been to flee not fight but obviously this person's a hazard stupid people are dangerous and this one probably doesn't have much in the way of weapons while I've got this excellent knife the sky is still dark but I can feel the first signs of dawn approaching I'm beginning to think we meaning the person whose death I'm now devising and I we might actually have gone unnoticed then I hear it several pairs of feet breaking into a run the fire starter must have dozed off they're on her before she can escape I know it's a girl now I can tell by the pleading the agonized scream that follows then there's laughter and congratulations from several voices someone Cries Out 12 down and 11 to go which gets a round of appreciative Hoots so they're fighting in a pack I'm not really surprised often alliances are formed in the early stages of the games the strong band together to hunt down the weak then when the tension becomes too great begin to turn on one another I don't have to wonder too hard who has made this Alliance it'll be the remaining career tributes from districts 1 2 and four two boys and three girls the ones who lunch together for a moment I hear them checking the girl for supplies I can tell by their comments they found nothing good I wonder if the victim is Rue but quickly dismissed the thought she's much too bright to be building a fire like that better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking I'm I'm almost certain that's the British boy from District 2 there are murmurs of ascent and then to my horror I hear the pack heading toward me they do not know I'm here how could they and I'm well concealed in the clump of trees at least while the Sun stays down then my black sleeping bag will turn from camouflage to trouble if they just keep moving they will pass me and be gone in a minute but the career stopped stop in the clearing about 10 yard from my tree they have flashlights torches I can see an arm here a boot there through the brakes in the branches I turned to stone not even daring to breathe have they spotted me no not yet I can tell from their words their minds are elsewhere shouldn't we have heard of Cannon by now I'd say yes nothing to prevent them from going in immediately unless she isn't dead she's dead I stuck her myself then where's the Canon someone should go back make sure the job's done yeah we don't want to have to track her down twice I said she's dead an argument breaks out until one tribute silences the others we're wasting time I'll go finish her and let's move on I almost fall out of the tree The Voice belongs to Peta chapter 12 thank goodness I had the foresight to Belt myself in I've rolled sideways off the fork and I'm facing the ground held in place by the belt one hand and my feet straddling the pack inside my sleeping bag braced against the trunk there must have been some rustling when I tipped sideways but the careers have been too caught up in their own argument to catch it go on then lover boy says the boy from District 2 see for yourself I just get a glimpse of PETA lit by a torch heading back to the Girl by the fire his face is swollen with bruises there's a bloody bandage on one arm and from the sound of his gate he's limping somewhat I remember him shaking his head telling me not to go into the fight for the supplies when all along all along he planned to throw himself into to the thick of things just the opposite of what hch had told him to do okay I can stomach that seeing all those supplies was tempting but this this other thing this teaming up with the career wolf pack to hunt down the rest of us no one from District 12 would think of doing such a thing career tributes are overly vicious arrogant better fed but only because they're the capital's lap dog universally solidly hated by all but those from their own District I can imagine the things they're saying about him back home now and Peta had the G to talk to me about disgrace obviously the noble boy on the rooftop was playing just one more game with me but this will be his last I will eagerly watch the night skies for signs of his death if I don't kill him first myself the career tributes are silent until he gets out of earshot then use hushed voices why don't we just kill him now and get it over with let him tag along what's the harm and he's handy with that knife is he that's news what a lot of interesting things I'm learning about my friend Peta today besides he's our best chance of finding her takes me a moment to register that the her they're referring to is me what why you think she bought into that sappy romance stuff she might have seemed pretty simple-minded to me every time I think about her spinning around in that dress I want to puke wish we knew how she got that 11 bet you love boy knows the sound of PETA returning silences them was she dead asks the boy from District 2 no but she is now says PETA just then the cannon fires ready to move on the career pack sets off at a run just as Dawn begins to break and bird song fills the air I remain in my awkward position muscles trembling with exertion for a while longer then hoist myself back onto my Branch I need to get down to get going but for a moment I lie there digesting what I've heard not only is PETA with the careers he's helping them find me the simple-minded girl who has to be taken seriously because of her 11 because she can use a bow and arrow which Peta knows better than anyone but he hasn't told them yet is he saving that information because he knows it's all that keeps him alive is he still pretending to love me for the audience what is going on in his head suddenly the birds fall silent then one gives a high-pitched warning call a single note just like the one Galen I heard when the redheaded avox girl was caught high above the dying campfire a hovercraft materializes a set of large metal teeth drops down slowly gently the dead tribute girl is lifted into the hovercraft then it vanishes the birds resume their song move I whispered to myself I wriggle out of my sleeping bag roll it up and place it in the pack I take a deep breath while I've been concealed by darkness and the sleeping bag and The Willow branches it is probably been difficult for the cameras to get a good shot of me I know they must be tracking me now though the minute I hit the ground I'm guaranteed a closeup the audience will have been beside themselves knowing I was in the tree that I overheard the careers talking that I discovered Peta was with them until I work out exactly how I want to play that I better at least act on top of things not perplexed certainly not confused or frightened no I need to look one step ahead of the game so as I slide out of the foliage and into the dawn light I pause a second giving the cameras time to lock on me then I C walk my head slightly to the side and give a knowing smile there let them figure out what that means I'm about to take off when I think of my snares maybe it's imprudent to check them with the others so close but I have to too many years of hunting I guess and The Lure of possible meat I'm rewarded with one fine rabbit in no time I've cleaned and gutted the animal leaving the head feet tail skin and innards under a pile of leaves I'm wishing for a fire eating raw rabbit can give you rabbit fever a lesson I learned the hard way when I think of the Dead tribute I hurry back to her Camp sure enough the coals of her dying fire are still hot I cut up the rabbit fashen a spit out of branches and set it over the coals I'm glad for the cameras now I want sponsors to see I can hunt that I'm a good bet because I won't be lured into traps as easily as the others will by hunger while the rabbit Cooks I grind up part of a charred branch and set about camouflaging my orange pack the black tones it down but I feel a layer of mud would definitely help of course to have mud I'd need water I pull on my gear grab my spit kick some dirt over the coals and take off in the opposite direction the careers went I eat half the rabbit as I go then wrap up the leftovers in my plastic for later the meat stops the grumbling in my stomach but does little to quench my thirst water is my top priority now as I hike along I feel certain I'm still holding the screen in the capital so I'm careful to continue to hide my emotions but what a good time Claudius templesmith must be having with his guest commentators dissecting peta's behavior my reaction what what to make of it all has Peta revealed his true colors how does this affect the betting odds will we lose sponsors do we even have sponsors yes I feel certain we do or at least did certainly Peta has thrown a wrench into our Star Cross lover dynamic or has he maybe since he hasn't spoken much about me we can still get some mileage out of it maybe people will think it's something we Ed together if I seem like it amuses me now the sun rises in the sky and even through the canopy it seems overly bright I coat my lips in some grease from the rabbit and try to keep from panting but it's no use it's only been a day and I'm dehydrating fast I try to think of everything I know about finding water it runs down hill so in fact continuing down into this Valley isn't a bad thing if I could could just locate a game Trail or spot a particularly green patch of vegetation these might help me along but nothing seems to change there's just the slight gradual slope the birds the sameness to the trees as the day wears on I know I'm headed for trouble what little urine I've been able to pass is a dark brown my head is aching and there's a dry patch on my tongue that refuses to moisten the Sun hurts my eyes so I dig out my sunglasses but when I put them on they do something funny to my vision so I just stuff them back in my pack it's late afternoon when I think I found help I spot a cluster of berry bushes and hurry to strip the fruit to suck the sweet juices from the Skins but just as I'm holding them to my lips I get a hard look at them what I thought were blueberries have a slightly different shape and when I break One open the insides are blood red I don't recognize these berries perhaps they are edible but I'm guessing this is some evil trick on the part of the game makers even the plant instructor in the training center made a point of telling us to avoid berries unless you were 100% sure they weren't toxic something I already knew but I'm so thirsty it takes her reminder to give me the strength to fling them away fatigue is beginning to settle on me but it's not the usual tiredness that follows a long hike I have to stop and rest frequently although I know the only cure for what ails me requires continued searching I try a new tactic climbing a tree as high as I dare in my shaky state to look for any signs of water but as far as I can see in any direction there's the same unrelenting stretch of forest determined to go on until night fall I walk until I'm stumbling over my own feet exhausted I haul myself up into a tree and belt myself in I've no appetite but I suck on a rabbit bone just to give my mouth something to do night falls the anthem plays and high in the sky I see the picture of the girl who was apparently from District 8 the one Peta went back to finish off my fear of the career back is minor compared to my burning thirst besides they were heading away from me and by now they too will have to rest with the scarcity of water they may even have had to return to the lake for refills maybe that is the only course for me as well mourning brings distress my head throbs With Every Beat of My Heart simple movements s stabs of pain through my joints I fall rather than jump jump from the tree it takes several minutes for me to assemble my gear somewhere inside me I know this is wrong I should be acting with more caution moving with more urgency but my mind seems foggy and forming a plan is hard I lean back against the trunk of my tree one finger gingerly stroking the Sandpaper surface of my tongue as I assess my options how can I get water return to the lake no good I'd never make it hope for rain there's not a cloud in the sky keep looking yes this is my only chance but then another thought hits me and The Surge of anger that follows brings me to my senses hey Mitch he could send me water press a button and have it delivered to me in a silver parachute in minutes I know I must have sponsors at least one or two who could afford a pint of liquid for me yes it's pricey but these people they're made of money and they'll be betting on me as well perhaps hitch doesn't realize how deep my need is I say in a voice as loud as I dare water I wait hopefully for a parachute to descend from the sky but but nothing is forthcoming something is wrong am I deluded about having sponsors or has peta's Behavior made them all hang back no I don't believe it there's someone out there who wants to buy me water only haitch is refusing to let it go through as my mentor he gets to control the flow of gifts from the sponsors I know he hates me he's made that clear enough but enough to let me die from this he can't do that can he if a mentor mistreats his tributes he'll be held accountable by the viewers by the people back in district 12 even hitch wouldn't risk that would he say what you will about my fellow traders in the hob but I don't think they'd welcome him back there if he let me die this way and then where would he get his liquor so what is he trying to make me suffer for defying him is he directing all the sponsors toward PETA is he just too drunk to even notice what's going on at the moment somehow I don't believe that and I don't believe he's trying to kill me off by neglect either he has in fact in his own unpleasant way genuinely been trying to prepare me for this then what is going on I bury my face in my hands there's no danger of Tears now I couldn't produce one to save my life what is hch doing despite my anger hatred and suspicions a small voice in the back of my head Whispers an answer maybe he's sending you a message it says a message saying what then I know there's only one good reason hitch could be withholding water from me because he knows I've almost found it I grit my teeth and pull myself to my feet my backpack seems to have tripled in weight I find a broken branch that will do for a walking stick and I start off the sun's beating down even more searing than the first two days I feel like an old piece of leather drying and cracking in the heat every step is an effort but I refuse to stop I refuse to sit down if I sit there's a good chance I won't be able to get up again then I won't even remember my task what easy prey I am any tribute even tiny Rue could take me right now merely shove me over and kill me with my own knife and I'd have little strength to resist but if anyone is in my part of the woods they ignore me the truth is I feel a million miles from another living Soul not alone though no they've surely got a camera tracking me now I think back to the years of watching tributes starve freeze bleed and dehydrate to death unless there's a really good fight going on somewhere I'm being featured my thoughts turned to Prim it's likely she won't be watching me live but they'll show updates at the school during lunch for her sake I try to look as least desperate as I can but by afternoon I know the end is coming my legs are shaking in my heart is too quick I keep forgetting exactly what I'm doing I stumbled repeatedly and managed to regain my feet but when the stick slides out from under me I finally tumble to the ground unable to get up I let my eyes close I have misjudged hitch he has no intention of helping me at all this is all right I think this is not so bad here the air is less hot signifying evening's approach there's a slight sweet scent that reminds me of Lily's my fingers stroke the smooth ground sliding easily across the top this is an okay place to die I think my fingertips make small swirling patterns in the cool slippery Earth I love mud I think how many times I've tracked game with the help of its soft readable surface good for beas thingss too mud mud mud my eyes fly open and I dig my fingers into the Earth it is mud my nose lifts in the air and those are lies Pond lies I crawl now through the mud dragging myself toward the scent five yards from where I fell I crawl through a tangle of plants into a pond floating on the top yellow flowers in bloom are my beautiful lies it's all I can do not to plunge my face into the water and gulp down as much as I can hold but I have just enough sense left to abstain with trembling hands I get out my flask and fill it with water I add what I remember to be the right number of drops of iodine for purifying it the half an hour of waiting is Agony but I do it at least I think it's a half an hour but it certainly is as long as I can stand slowly easy now I tell myself I take one swallow and make myself wait then another over the next couple of hours I drink the entire half gallon then a second I prepare another before I retire to a tree where I continue sipping eating rabbit and even indulge in one of my precious crackers by the time the anthem plays I feel remarkably better there are no Faces tonight no tributes died today tomorrow I'll stay here resting camouflaging my backpack with mud catching some of those little fish I saw as I sipped digging up the roots of the pond lies to make a nice meal I snuggle down in my sleeping bag hanging onto my water bottle for dear life which of course it is a few hours later the Stampede of feet shakes me from Slumber I look around in bewilderment it's not yet Dawn but my stinging eyes can see it it would be hard to miss the wall of fire descending on me chapter 13 my first impulse is to scramble from the tree but I'm belted in somehow my fumbling fingers release the Buckle and I fall to the ground in a heap still snarled in my sleeping bag there's no time for any kind of packing fortunately my backpack and water bottle are already in the bag I shove in the belt Hoist the bag over my shoulder and flee the world has transformed to Flame and smoke burning branches crack from trees and fall in showers of Sparks at my feet all I can do is follow the others the rabbits and deer and I even spot a wild dog pack shooting through the woods I trust their sense of direction because their instincts are sharper than mine but they are much faster flying through the underbrush so gracefully as my boots catch on roots and fallen tree limbs that there's no way I can keep a pace with them the heat is horrible but worse than the heat is the smoke which threatens to suffocate me at any moment I pull the top of my shirt up over my nose grateful to find it soaked in sweat and it offers a thin veil of protection and I run choking my bag banging against my back my face cut with branches that materialize from the gray Haze without warning because I know I am supposed to run this was no tributes campfire gone out of control no accidental occurrence the Flames that bear down on me have an unnatural height a uniformity that marks them as human made machine made game maker made things have been too quiet today no deaths perhaps no fights at all the audience in the capital will be getting bored claiming that these games are verging on dullness this is the one thing the games must not do it's not hard to follow the game Maker's motivation there is the career pack and then there are the rest of us probably spread far and thin across the arena this fire is designed to flush us out to drive us together it may not be the most original device I've seen but it's very very effective I heard hurdle over a burning log not high enough the tail end of my jacket catches on fire and I have to stop to rip it from my body and Stamp Out the Flames but I don't dare leave the jacket scorched and smoldering as it is I take the risk of shoving it in my sleeping bag hoping the lack of air will quell what I haven't extinguished this is all I have what I carry on my back and it's little enough to survive with in a matter of minutes my throat and nose are burning the coughing begins soon after and my lungs begin to feel as if they are actually being cooked discomfort turns to distress until each breath sends a searing pain through my chest I managed to take cover under a stone outcropping just as the vomiting begins and I lose my meager supper and whatever water has remained in my stomach crouching on my hands and knees I wretch until there's nothing left to come up I know I need to keep moving but I'm trembling and Light headed now gasping for air I allow myself about a spoonful of water to rinse my mouth and spit then take a few swallows from my bottle you get one minute I tell myself one minute to rest I take the time to reorder my supplies wad up the sleeping bag and messily stuff everything into the backpack my minute's up I know it's time to move on but the smoke has clouded my thoughts the Swift footed animals that were my compass have left me behind I know I haven't been in this part of the woods before there were no sizable rocks like the one I'm sheltered against on my earlier travels where are the game makers driving me back to the lake to a whole new terrain filled with new dangers I had just found a few hours of Peace at the pond when this attack began would there be any way I could travel parallel to the fire and work my way back there to a source of water at least the wall of Fire must have an end and it won't burn indefinitely not because the game makers couldn't keep it fueled but because again that would invite accusations of boredom from the audience if I could get back behind the fire line I could avoid meeting up with the careers I've just decided to try to loop back around although it will require miles of travel away from The Inferno and then a very circuitous route back when the first Fireball blast into the Rock about two feet from my head I spring out from under my ledge energized by renewed fear the game has taken a Twist the fire was just to get us moving now the audience will get to see some real fun when I hear the next hiss I flatten on the ground not taking time to look the fireball hits a tree off to my left engulfing it in Flames to remain still is death I'm barely on my feet before the third ball hits the ground where I was lying sending a pillar of fire up behind me time loses meaning now as I frantically try to dodge the attacks I can't see where they're being launched from but it's not a hovercraft the angles are not extreme enough probably this whole segment of the Woods has been armed with Precision launchers that are concealed in trees or rocks somewhere in a cool and spotless room a game maker sits at a set of controls fingers on the triggers that could end my life in a second all that is needed is a direct hit whatever vague plan I had conceived regarding returning to my pond is wiped from my mind as I zigzag and dive and leap to avoid the Fireballs each one is only the size of an apple but packs tremendous power on contact every sense I have goes into overdrive as the need to survive takes over there's no time to judge if a move is the correct one when there's a hiss I act or die something keeps me moving forward though a lifetime of watching The Hunger Game lets me know that certain areas of the Arena are rigged for certain attacks and that if I can just get away from this section I might be able to move out of reach of the launchers I might also then fall straight into a pit of vipers but I can't worry about that now how long I scramble along dodging the Fireballs I can't say but the attacks finally begin to Abate which is good because I'm wretching again this time it's an acidic substance that scalds my throat and makes its way into my nose as well I'm forced to stop as my body convulses trying desperately to rid itself of the poisons I've been sucking in during the attack I wait for the next hiss the next signal to bolt it doesn't come the force of the wretching has squeezed tears out of my stinging eyes my clothes are drenched in sweat somehow through the smoke and vomit I pick up the scent of singed hair my hand fumbles to my braid and finds a fireball has seared off at least 6 in of it strands of blackened hair crumble in my fingers I stare at them fascinated by the transformation when the hissing registers my muscles react only not fast enough this time the fireball crashes into the ground at my side but not before it skids across my right calf seeing my pants leg on fire sends me over the edge I twist and Scuttle backward on my hands and feet freaking trying to remove myself from the horror when I finally regain enough sense I roll the leg back and forth on the ground which stifles the worst of it but then without thinking I rip away the remaining fabric with my bare hands I sit on the ground a few yards from The Blaze set off by the fireball my calf is screaming my hands covered in red welts I'm shaking too hard to move if the game makers want to finish me off now is the time I hear sin's voice carrying images of Rich Fabric and sparkling gems Katniss the girl who was on fire what a good laugh the game makers must be having over that one perhaps sin's beautiful costumes have even brought on this particular torture for me I know he couldn't have foreseen this must be hurting for me because in fact I believe he cares about me but all in all maybe showing up Stark naked in that Chariot would have been safer for me the attack is now over the game makers don't want me dead not yet anyway everyone knows they could destroy us all within seconds of the opening gong the real sport of The Hunger Games is watching the tributes kill one another every so often they do kill a tribute just to remind the players they can but mostly they manipulate us into confronting one another face to face which means if I no longer being f ired at there is at least one other tribute close at hand I would drag myself into a tree and take cover now if I could but the smoke is still thick enough to kill me I make myself stand and begin to limp away from the wall of flames that lights up the sky it does not seem to be pursuing me any longer except with its stinking black clouds another light daylight begins to softly emerge swirls of smoke C catch the sunbeams my visibility is poor I can see maybe 15 yards in any direction a tribute could easily be concealed from me here I should draw my knife as a precaution but I doubt my ability to hold it for long the pain in my hands can in no way compete with that in my calf I hate Burns I've always hated them even a small one gotten from pulling a pan of bread from the oven it is the worst kind of pain to me but I have never experienced anything like this I'm so weary I don't even notice I'm in the pool until I'm ankle deep it's Springfed bubbling up out of a crevice in some rocks and blissfully cool I plunge my hands into the shallow water and feel instant relief isn't that what my mother always says the first treatment for a burn is cold water that it draws out the heat but she means minor burns probably she'd recommend it for my hands but what of my calf although I have not yet had the courage to examine it I'm guessing that it's an injury in a whole different class I lie on my stomach at the edge of the pool for a while dangling my hands in the water examining the little flames on my fingernails that are beginning to chip off good I've had enough fire for a lifetime I bathe the blood and Ash from my face I try to recall all I know about Burns they are common injuries in the seam where we cook and heat our homes with coal then there are the mine accidents a family once brought in an unconscious young man pleading with my mother to help him the district Doctor Who's responsible for treating the miners had written him off told the family to take him home to die but they wouldn't accept this he lay on our kitchen table senseless to the world I got a glimpse of the wound on his thigh gaping charred flesh burned clear down to the bone before I ran from the house I went to the woods and hunted the entire day haunted by the gruesome leg memories of my father's death what's funny was Prim who scared of her own shadow stayed and helped my mother says healers are born not made they did their best but the man died just like the doctor said he would my leg is in need of attention but I still can't look at it what if it's as bad as the man's and I can see my bone then I remember my mother saying that if a burn severe the victim might not even feel pain because the nerves would be destroyed encouraged by this I sit up and swing my leg in front of me I almost faint at the sight of my calf the flesh is a brilliant red covered with blisters I forc myself to take deep slow breaths feeling quite quite certain the cameras are on my face I can't show weakness at this injury not if I want help pity does not get you Aid admiration at your refusal to give in does I cut the remains of the pant leg off at the knee and examine the injury more closely the burned area is about the size of my hand none of the skin is blackened I think it's not too bad to soak gingerly I stretch out my leg into the pool propping the heel of my boot on a rock so the leather doesn't get too Soden and sigh because this does offer some relief I know there are herbs if I could find them that would speed the healing but I can't quite call them to mind water and time will probably be all I have to work with should I be moving on the smoke is slowly clearing but still too heavy to be healthy if I do continue away from the Fire won't I be walking straight into the weapon of the careers besides every time I lift my leg from the water the pain rebounds so intensely I have to slide it back in my hands are slightly less demanding they can handle small breaks from the pool so I slowly put my gear back in order first I fill my bottle with the pool water treat it and when enough time has passed begin to rehydrate my body after a time I forc myself to nibble on a cracker which helps settle my stomach I roll up my sleeping bag except for a few black marks It's relatively unscathed my jacket's another matter stinking and scorched at least a foot of the back Beyond repair I cut off the damaged area leaving me with a garment that comes just to the bottom of my ribs but the Hood's intact and it's far better than nothing despite the pain drowsiness begins to take over I take to a tree and try to rest except I'd be too easy to spot besides abandoning my pool seems impossible I neatly arrange my supplies even settle my pack on my shoulders but I can't seem to leave I spot some water plants with edible roots and make a small meal with my last piece of rabbit sip water watch the Sun make its slow Arc across the sky where would I go any way that is any safer than here I lean back on my pack overcome by drowsy if the careers want me let them find me I think before drifting into a stuper let them find me and find me they do it's lucky I'm ready to move on because when I hear the feet I have less than a minute Head Start evening has begun to fall the moment I awake I'm up and running splashing across the pool flying into the underbrush my leg slows me down but I sense my pursuers are not as Speedy as they were before the fire either I hear their coughs their raspy voices calling to one another still they are closing in just like a pack of wild dogs and so I do what I have done my whole life in such circumstances I pick a high tree and begin to climb if running hurt climbing is agonizing because it requires not only exertion but direct contact of my hands on the tree bark I'm fast though and by the time they've reached the base of my trunk I'm 20 ft up for a moment we stop and Survey one another I hope they can't hear the pounding of my heart this could be it I think what chance do I have against them all six are there the five careers and Peta and my only consolation is they're pretty beat up too even so look at their weapons look at their faces grinning and snarling at me a sure kill above them it's seems pretty hopeless but then something else registers they're bigger and stronger than I am no doubt but they're also heavier there's a reason it's me and not Gail who Ventures up to pluck the highest fruit or Rob the most remote bird nests I must weigh at least 50 or 60 lbs less than the smallest career now I smile how's everything with you I called down cheerfully the state takes him a back but I know the crowd will love it well enough says the boy from District 2 yourself it's been a bit warm for my taste I say I can almost hear the laughter from the capital the Air's better up here why don't you come on up think I will says the same boy here take this KO says the girl from District 1 and she offers him the Silver Bow and sheath of arrows my bow my arrows just the sight of them makes me so angry I want to scream at myself at that Traer Peta for distracting me from having them I try to make eye contact with him now but he seems to be intentionally avoiding my gaze as he polishes his knife with the edge of his shirt no says KO pushing away the bow I'll do better with my sword I can see the weapon a short heavy blade at his belt I give KO time to hoist himself into the tree before I begin to climb again Gail always says I remind him of a squirrel the way I can Scurry up even the slenderest limbs part of it my weight but part of it's practice you have to know where to place your hands and feet I'm another 30 ft in the air when I hear the crack and look down to see KO flailing as he and a branch go down he hits the ground hard and I'm hoping he possibly broke his neck when he gets back to his feet swearing like a fiend the girl with the arrows glimmer I hear someone call her the names the people in District 1 give their children are so ridiculous anyway glimmer scales the tree until the branches begin to crack under her feet and then has the good sense to stop I'm at least 80 ft high now she tries to shoot me and it's immediately evident that she's incompetent with a bow one of the arrows gets lodged in the Tree near me though and I'm able to sees it I wave it teasingly above her head as if this was the sole purpose of retrieving it when actually I mean to use it if I ever get the chance I could kill them every one of them if those silver weapons were in my hands the careers regroup on the ground and I can hear them growling conspiratorially among themselves Furious I have made them look foolish but Twilight has arrived and their window of attack on me is closing finally I I hear Peta say harshly oh let her stay up there it's not like she's going anywhere we'll deal with her in the morning well he's right about one thing I'm going nowhere all the relief from the pool water has gone leaving me to feel the full potency of my Burns I scoot down to a fork in the tree and clumsily prepare for bed put on my jacket lay out my sleeping bed belt myself in and try to keep from moaning heat of the bag's too much for my leg I cut a slash in the fabric and hang my calf out in the open air I drizzle water on the wound my hands all my bravado is gone I'm weak from Pain and hunger but can't bring myself to eat even if I can last the night what will the morning bring I stare into the foliage trying to will myself to rest but the burns forbid it birds are settling down for the night night singing lullabies to their young night creatures emerge an owl Hoots the faint Scent of a skunk cuts through the smoke the eyes of some animal peer at me from the neighboring tree a possum maybe catching the Fire Light from the career's Torches suddenly I'm up on one elbow those are no possums eyes I know their glassy reflection too well in fact those are not animal eyes at all in the last dimm rays of light I make her out watching me silently from between the branches Ru how long has she been here the whole time probably still and unobserved as the action unfolded beneath her perhaps she headed up her tree shortly before I did hearing the pack was so close for a while we hold each other's gaze then with without even rustling a leaf her little hand slides into the open and points to something above my head chapter 14 my eyes follow the line of her finger up into the foliage above me at first I have no idea what she's pointing to but then about 15 ft up I make out the vague shape in the dimming light but of of what some sort of animal it looks about the size of a raccoon but it hangs from the bottom of a branch swaying ever so slightly there's something else Among The Familiar evening sounds of the woods my ears register a low hum then I know it's a wasp nest fear shoots through me but I have enough sense to keep still after all I don't know what kind of wasp lives there it could be the ordinary leave us alone and we'll leave you alone type but these are the Hunger Games and ordinary isn't the norm more likely they will be one of the capital's mations tracker jackers like the jabber Jays these killer wasps were spawned in a lab and strategically placed like landmines around the districts during the war larger than regular wasps they have a distinctive Solid Gold Body and a sting that raises a lump the size of a plum on contact most people can't tolerate more than a few stings some die at once if you live the hallucinations brought on by the Venom have actually driven people to Madness and there's another thing these wasps will hunt down anyone who disturbs their nest and attempt to kill them that's where the tracker part of the name comes from after the war the capital destroyed all the nests surrounding their city but the ones near the districts were left untouched another reminder of our weakness I suppose just like the Hunger Games another reason to keep inside the fence of District 12 when Gail and I come across a Tracker Jacker Nest we immediately head in the opposite direction so is that what hangs above me I look back to Ru for help but she's melted into her tree given my circumstances I guess it doesn't matter what type of wasp nest it is I'm wounded and trapped Darkness has given me a brief reprieve but by the time the sun rises the careers will have formulated a plan to kill me there's no way they could do otherwise after I've made them look so stupid that Nest may be the sole option I have left if I can drop it down on them I may be able to escape but I'll risk my life in the process of course I'll never be able to get in close enough to the ACT ual Nest to cut it free I'll have to saw off the branch at the trunk and send the whole thing down the serrated portion of my knife should be able to manage that but can my hands and will the vibration from the sawing raise the Swarm and what if the careers figure out what I'm doing and move their camp that would defeat the whole purpose I realized that the best chance I'll have to do the sawing without drawing notice will be during the anthem that could begin anytime I drag myself out of my bed make sure my knife is secured in my belt and begin to make my way up the tree this in itself is dangerous since the branches are becoming precariously thin even for me but I persevere when I reach the limb that supports the nest the humming becomes more distinctive but it's still oddly subdued if these are tracker jackers it's the smoke I think it sedated them this was the one defense the rebels found to battle the wasps the Seal of the capital shines above me and the anthem blares out it's now or never I think and begin to saw blisters burst on my right hand as I awkwardly drag the knife back and forth once I've got a Groove the work requires less effort but is almost more than I can handle I grit my teeth and saw away occasionally glancing at the sky to register that there were no deaths today that's all right the audience will be stated seeing me injured and treed and the pack below me but the anthem's running out and I'm only 3/4 of the way through the wood when the music ends the sky goes dark and I'm forced to stop now what I could probably finish off the job by sense of feel but that may not be the smartest plan if the Wasps are too groggy if the nest catches on its way down if I try to escape this could all be a deadly waste of time better I think to sneak up here at dawn and send them Nest into my enemies in the faint light of the career's Torches I inch back down to my Fork to find the best surprise I've ever had sitting on my sleeping bag is a small plastic pot attached to a silver parachute my first gift from a sponsor hey Mitch must have had it sent in during the anthem the pot easily fits in the palm of my hand what can it be not food surely I un screw the lid and I know by the scent that it's medicine cautiously I probe the surface of the ointment the throbbing in my fingertip vanishes oh hey Mitch I whisper thank you he has not abandon me not left me to fend entirely for myself the cost of this medicine must be astronomical probably not one but many sponsors have contributed to buy this one tiny pot to me it is priceless I dipped two fingers in the jar and gently spread the bomb over my calf the effect is almost magical erasing the pain on contact leaving a pleasant cooling sensation behind this is no herbal concoction that my mother grinds up out of woodland plants it's high tech medicine brewed up in the capitals labs when my calf is treated I rub a thin layer into my hands after wrapping the pot in the parachute I Nestle it safely away in my pack now that the pain has eased it's all I can do to reposition myself in my bag before I plunge into sleep a bird perched just a few feet from me alerts me that a new day is Dawning in the gray Morning Light I examin my hands the medicine has transformed all the angry red patches to a soft baby skin pink my leg still feels inflamed but that burn was Far deeper I apply another coat of medicine and quietly pack up my gear whatever happens I'm going to have to move and move fast I also make myself eat a cracker and a strip of beef and drink a few cups of water almost nothing stayed in my stomach yesterday and I'm already starting to feel the effects of hunger below me I can see the career pack and Peta asleep on the ground by her position leaning up against the trunk of the tree I guessed glimmer was supposed to be on guard but fatigue overcame her my eyes squint as they try to penetrate the tree next to me but I can't make out Ru since she tipped me off it only seems fair to warn her besides if I'm going to die today it's Rue I want to win even if it means a little extra food for my family the idea of PETA being crowned Victor is unbearable I call Rue's name in a hushed whisper and the eyes appear wide and alert at once she points up to the nest again I hold up my knife and make a sawing motion she nods and disappears there's a wrestling in a nearby tree then the same noise again a bit farther off I realize she's leaping from tree to tree it's all I can do not to laugh out loud is this what she showed the game makers I imagine her flying around the training equipment never touching the floor she should have gotten at least a 10 Rosy streaks are breaking through in the East I can't afford to wait any longer compared to the agony of last night's climb this one is a cinch at the tree limb that holds the nest I position the knife in the groove and I'm about to draw the teeth across the wood when I see something moving there on the nest the bright gold gleam of a Tracker Jacker lazily making its way across the papery gray surface no question it's acting a little subdued but the WASP is up and moving and that means the others will be out soon as well sweat breaks out on the palms of my hands beating up through the ointment and I do my best to Pat them dry on my shirt if I don't get through this branch in a matter of seconds the entire swarm could emerge and attack me there's no sense in putting it off I take a deep breath grip the knife handle and bear down as hard as I can back forth back forth the tracker jackers begin to buzz and I hear them coming out back forth back forth a stabbing pain shoots through my knee and I know one has found me and the others will be honing in back forth back forth and just as the knife cuts through I shove the end of the branch as far away from me as I can it crashes down through the lower branches snagging temporarily on a few but then twisting free until it smashes with a thud on the ground The Nest bursts open like an egg and a furious swarm of tracker jackers takes to the air I feel a second sting on the cheek a third on my neck and their venom almost immediately makes me woozy I cling to the tree with one arm while I rip the barbed stingers out of My Flesh fortunately only these three tracker jackers had identified me before the nest went down the rest of the insects have targeted their enemies on the ground it's Mayhem the careers have woke into a full-scale Tracker Jacker attack Peta and a few others have the sense to drop everything in bolts I can hear cries of to the lake to the lake and no they hope to evade the Wasps by taking to the water it must be close if they think they can outdistance the Furious insects glimmer and another girl the one from District 4 are not so lucky they receive multiple stings before they're even out of my view glimmer appears to go completely mad shrieking and trying to bat the Wasps off with her bow which is pointless she calls to the others for help but of course no one Returns the girl from District 4 staggers out of sight although I wouldn't bet on her making it to the lake I watch glimmer fall fall twitch hysterically around on the ground for a few minutes and then go still The Nest is nothing but an empty shell the wasps have vanished in pursuit of the others I don't think they'll return but I don't want to risk it I scampered down the tree and hit the ground running in the opposite direction of the lake the poison from The Stingers makes me wobbly but I find my way back to my own little pool and submerge myself in the water just in case any wasps are still on my trail after about 5 minutes I drag myself onto the Rocks people have not exaggerated the effects of the tracker Jacker stings actually the one on my knee is closer to an orange than a plum in size a foul smelling green liquid oozes from the places where I pulled out the stingers the swelling the pain the Ooze watching glimmer twitching to death on the ground it's a lot to handle before the sun has even cleared the Horizon I don't want to think about what glimmer must look like now her body disfigured her swollen fingers stiffening around the bow the bow somewhere in my befuddled mind one thought connects to another and I'm on my feet teetering through the Tre back to glimmer the bow the arrows I must get them I haven't heard the cannon fire yet so perhaps glimmer is in some sort of coma her heart still struggling against the WASP Venom but once it stops and the cannon signals her death a hovercraft will move in and retrieve her body taking the only bow and sheath of arrows I've seen out of the games for good and I refuse to let them slip through my fingers again I reach glimmer just as the cannon fires the tracker jackers have vanished this girl so breathtakingly beautiful in her golden dress the night of the interviews is unrecognizable her features eradicated her limbs three times their normal size the Stinger lumps have begun to explode spewing putrid green liquid around her I have to break several of what used to be her fingers with a stone to free the bow the sheath of arrows is pinned under her back I try to roll over her body by pulling on one arm but the flesh disintegrates in my hands and I fall back on the ground is this real or have the hallucinations begun I squeezed my eyes tight and tried to breathe through my mouth ordering myself not to become sick breakfast must stay down it might be days before I can hunt again a second Cannon fires and I'm guessing the girl from District 4 has just died I hear the birds fall silent and then one give the warning call which means a hovercraft is about to appear confused I think it's for glimmer although this doesn't quite make sense because I'm still in the picture still fighting for the arrows I Lurch back onto my knees and the trees around me begin to spin in circles in the middle of the sky I spot the hovercraft I throw myself over glammer's body as if to protect it but then I see the girl from District 4 being lifted into the air and Vanishing do this I command myself clenching my jaw I dig my hands under glammer's body get a hold of what must be her rib cage and force her onto her stomach I can't help it I'm hyperventilating now the whole thing is so nightmarish and I'm losing my grasp on what's real I tug on the silver sheath of arrows but it's caught on something her shoulder blade something and finally Yank It free I've just encircled the sheath with my arms when I hear the footsteps several pairs coming through the underbrush and I realize the careers have come back they've come back to kill me or get their weapons or both but it's too late to run I pull a slimy Arrow from the sheath and try to position it on the bow string but instead of one string I see three and the stench from the stings is so repulsive I can't do it I can't do it I can't do it I'm helpless as the first Hunter crashes through the trees spear lifted poised to throw the shock on peta's face makes no sense to me I wait for the Blow instead his arm drops to his side what are you still doing here he hisses at me I stare uncomprehendingly as a trickle of water drips off a sting under his ear his whole body starts sparkling as if he's been dipped in Dew are you mad he's prodding me with the shaft of the spear now get up get up I Rise but he's still pushing at me what what is going on he shoves me away from him hard run he screams run behind him KO slashes his way through the brush he's sparkling wet too and badly stung under one eye I catch The Gleam of sunlight on his sword and do as Peta says holding tightly to my bow and arrows banging into trees that appear out of nowhere tripping and falling as I try to keep my balance back past my pool and into unfamiliar Woods the world begins to bend in alarming ways a butterfly balloons to the size of a house and shatters into a million stars trees transform to blood and splash down over my boots ants begin to crawl out of the blisters on my hands and I can't shake them free they're climbing up my arms my neck someone screaming a long high pitch scream that never breaks for breath I have a vague idea it might be me I trip and fall into a small pit lined with tiny orange bubbles that hum like the tracker Jacker Nest tucking my knees up to my chin I wait for death sick and disoriented I'm able to form only one thought Peta malar just saved my life then the ants bore into my eyes and I black out chapter 15 I enter a nightmare from which I wake repeatedly only to find a greater Terror awaiting me all the things I dread most all the things I dread for others manifest in such vivid detail I can't help but believe they're real each time I wake I think at last this is over but it isn't it's only the beginning of a new chapter of torture how many ways do I watch Prim die relive my father's last moments feel my own body ripped apart this is the nature nature of the tracker Jacker Venom so carefully created to Target the place where fear lives in your brain when I finally do come to my senses I lie still waiting for the next onslaught of imagery but eventually I accept that the poison must have finally worked its way out of my system leaving my body racked and feeble I'm still lying on my side locked in the fetal position I lift a hand to my eyes to find the sound Untouched by ants that never existed simply stretching out my limbs requires an enormous effort so many parts of me hurt it doesn't seem worthwhile taking inventory of them very very slowly I managed to sit up I'm in a shallow hole not filled with the humming orange bubbles of my hallucination but with old Dead Leaves my clothing's damped but I don't know whether pond water Dew rain or sweat is the cause for a long time all I can do is take tiny sips from my bottle and watch a beetle crawl up the side of a honeysuckle bush how long have I been out it was morning when I lost reason now it's afternoon but the stiffness in my joint suggests more than a day has passed even two possibly if so I'll have no way of knowing which tributes survived that tracker jaer attack not glimmer or the girl from District 4 but there was the boy from District 1 both tributes from District 2 and Peta did they die from the stings certainly if they lived their last days must have been as horrid as my own and what about Rue she's so small it wouldn't take much venom to do her in but then again the tracker jackers would have had to catch her and she had a good head start a foul rotten taste pervades my mouth and the water has a little effect on it I drag myself over to the honeysuckle bush and pluck a flower I gently pulled the stam through the Blossom and set the drop of nectar on my tongue the sweetness spreads through my mouth down my throat warming my veins with memories of Summer and my home woods and Gail's presence beside me for some reason our discussion from that last morning comes back to me we could do it you know what leave the district run off live in the woods you and I we could make it and suddenly I'm not thinking of Gail but of Peter and Peter he saved my life I think because by the time we met up I couldn't tell what was real and what the tracker Jacker Venom had caused me to imagine but if he did and my instincts tell me he did what for is he simply working the lover boy angle he initiated at the interview or was he actually trying to protect me and if he was what was he doing with those careers in the first place none of it makes sense I wonder what Gail made of the incident for a moment and then I pushed the whole thing out of my mind because for some reason Gail and Peta do not coexist well together in my thoughts so I focus on the one really good thing that's happened since I landed in the arena I have a bow and arrows a full dozen arrows if you count the one I retrieved in the tree they bear no trace of the noxious green slime that came from glimmer body which leads me to believe that might not have been wholly real but they have a fair amount of dried blood on them I can clean them later but I do take a minute to shoot a few into a nearby tree they are more like the weapons in the training center than my On's at home but who cares that I can work with the weapons give me an entirely New Perspective on the games I know I have tough opponents left to face but I'm no longer merely prey that runs and hides or takes Desperate Measures if KO broke through the trees right now I wouldn't flee I'd shoot I find I'm actually anticipating the moment with pleasure but first I have to get some strength back in my body I'm very dehydrated again and my water supply is dangerously low the little padding I was able to put on by gorging myself during prep time in the capital is gone plus several more pounds as well my hip bones and ribs are more prominent than I remember them being since those awful months after my father's death and then there are my wounds to contend with Burns cuts and bruises from smashing into the trees and three tracker Jacker stings which are as sore and swollen as ever treat my burns with the ointment and try dabbing a bit on my stings as well but it has no effect on them my mother knew a treatment for them some type of leaf that could draw out the poison but she seldom had caused to use it and I don't even remember its name let alone its appearance water first I think you can hunt along the way now it's easy to see the direction I came from by the path of Destruction my craze body made through the foliage so I walk off in the other direction hoping my enemies still lie Locked In The Surreal world of tracker Jacker Venom I can't move too quickly my joints reject any abrupt motions but I established the slow Hunter tread I use when tracking game within a few minutes I spot a rabbit and make my first kill with the bow and arrow it's not my usual clean shot through the eye but I'll take it after about an hour I find a stream shallow but wide and more than sufficient for my needs the sun's hot and severe so while I wait for my water to purify I strip down to my underclothes and weigh into the mild current I'm filthy from head to toe I try splashing myself but eventually just lie down in the water for a few minutes letting it wash off the soot and blood and skin that has started to peel off my burns after rinsing out my clothes and hanging them on bushes to dry I sit on the bank in the Sun for a bit untangling my hair with my fingers my appetite returns and I eat a cracker and a strip of beef with a handful of moss I polish the blood from my silver weapons refreshed I treat my Burns again braid back my hair and dress in the damp clothes knowing the sun will dry them soon enough following the stream against its current seems the smartest course of action I'm traveling uphill now which I prefer with a source of fresh water not only for myself but possible G I easily take out a strange bird that must be some form of wild turkey anyway it looks plenty edible to me by late afternoon I decide to build a small fire to cook the meat betting that dusk will help conceal the smoke and I can quench the fire by Nightfall I clean the game taking extra care with the bird but there's nothing alarming about it once the feathers are plucked it's no bigger than a chicken but it's plump and firm I've just placed the first lot over the HS when I hear The Twig snap in one motion I turned to the sound bringing the bow and arrow to my shoulder there's no one there no one I can see anyway then I spot the tip of a child's boot just peeking out from behind the trunk of a tree my shoulders relax and I grin she can move through the woods like a shadow you have to give her that how else could she have followed me the words come out of my mouth before I can stop them you know they're not the only ones who can form alliances I say for a moment no response then one of ru's eyes edges around the trunk you want me for an ally why not you saved me with those tracker jackers you're smart enough to still be alive and I can't seem to shake you anyway I say she blinks at me trying to decide you hungry I can see her swallow hard her eyes flickering to the meat come on then I've had two kills today Ru tentatively steps out into the open I can fix your stings can you I ask how she digs in the pack she carries and pulls out a handful of leaves I'm almost certain they're the ones my mother uses where'd you find those just around we all carry them when we work in the Orchards they left a lot of nests there says Rue there a lot here too that's right your District 11 agriculture I say Orchards huh that must be how you can fly around the trees like you've got Wings Ru Smiles I've landed on one of the few things she'll admit pride in well come on then fix me up I plunk down by the fire and roll up my pant leg to reveal the sting on my knee to my surprise Ru places the handful of leaves into her mouth and begins to chew them my mother would use other methods but it's not like we have a lot of options after a minute or so Rue presses a Gloppy green wad of chewed leaves and spit on my knee oh the sound comes out of my mouth before I can stop it it's as if the leaves are actually leeching the pain right out of the sting Ru gives a giggle lucky you had the sense to pull the stingers out or you'd be a lot worse do my neck do my cheek I almost beg Ru stuffs another handful of leaves in her mouth and soon I'm laughing because the relief is so sweet I noticed a long burn on ruse's forearm I've got something for that I set aside my weapons and anoint her arm with the burn medicine you have good sponsors she says longingly have you gotten anything yet I ask she shakes her head you will though watch the closer we get to the end the more people will realize how clever you are I turned the meat over you weren't joking about wanting me for an ally she asks no I meant it I say I can almost hear hch groaning as I team up with this wispy child but I want her because she's a Survivor and I trust her and why not admit it she reminds me of Prim okay she says and holds out her hand we shake it's a deal of course this kind of deal can only be temporary but neither of us mentions that Rue contributes a big handful of some sort of starchy root to the meal roasted over the fire they have the sharp Sweet Taste of a parsnip she recognizes the bird too some wild thing they call a grueling in her District she says sometimes A Flock will wander into the Orchard and they get a decent lunch that day for a while all conversation stops as we fill our stomachs the grueling has delicious meat that's so fatty the grease drips down your face when you bite into it oh says Rue with a sigh I've never had a whole leg to myself before I'll bet she hasn't I'll bet meat hardly ever comes her way take the other I say really she asked take whatever you want now that I've got a bow and arrows I can get more plus I've got snares I can show you how to set them I say Ru still looks uncertainly at the leg oh take it I say putting the drumstick in her hands it will only keep a few days anyway and we've got the whole Bird plus the rabbit once she's got hold of it her appetite wins out and she takes a huge mouthful i' have thought in District 11 you'd have a bit more to eat than us you know since you grow the food I say ru's eyes widen oh no we're not allowed to eat the crops they arrest you or something I asked they whip you and make everyone else watch says Rue the mayor's very strict about it I can tell by her expression that it's not that uncommon un urrent a public whipping is a rare thing in district 12 although occasionally one occurs technically Gail and I could be whipped on a daily basis for poaching in the woods well technically we could get a whole lot worse except all the officials buy our meat besides our mayor mag's father doesn't seem to have much taste for such events maybe being the least prestigious poorest most ridiculed District in the country has its advantages such as being largely ignored by the capital as long as we produce our coal quotas do you get all the coal you want Ru asks no I answer just what we buy and whatever we track in on our boots they feed us a bit extra during Harvest so that people can keep going longer says Rue don't you have to be in school I ask not during Harvest everyone works then says Rue it's interesting hearing about her life we have so little communication with anyone outside our district in fact I wonder if the game makers are blocking out our conversation because even though the information seems harmless they don't want people in different districts to know about one another at Ru suggestion we lay out all our food to plan ahead she's seen most of mine but I add the last couple of crackers and beef strips to the pile she's gathered quite a collection of roots nuts greens and even some berries I roll an unfamiliar Berry in my fingers you sure this is safe oh yes we have them back home I've been eating them for days she says popping a handful in her mouth I tentatively bite into one and it's as good as our blackberries taking Ru on as an ally seems a better choice all the time we divide up our food supplies so in case we're separated we'll both be set for a few days apart from the food Rue has a small water skin a homemade slingshot and an extra pair of socks she also has a sharp Shard of rock she uses as a knife I know it's not much she says as if embarrassed but I had to get away from the Cornucopia fast you did just right I say when I spread out my gear she gasps a little when she sees the sunglasses how did you get those she asks in my pack they've been useless so far they don't block the Sun and they make it harder to see I say with a shrug these aren't for sun they're for Darkness exclaims Ru sometimes when we Harvest through the night they'll pass out a few pairs to those of us highest in the trees where the torch light doesn't reach one time this boy Martin he tried to keep his pair hid it in his pants they killed him on the spot they killed a boy for taking these I say yes and everyone knew he was no danger Martin wasn't right in the head I mean he still acted like a three-year-old he just wanted the glasses to play with says Rue hearing this makes me feel like District 12 is some sort of Safe Haven of course people kill over from starvation all the time but I can't imagine the peacekeepers murdering a simp simple-minded child there's a little girl one of greasy se's grandkids who wanders around the Hub she's not quite right but she's treated as a sort of pet people toss her scraps and things so what do these do I ask Ru taking the glasses they let you see in complete darkness says Ru try them tonight when the Sun goes down I give R some matches and she makes sure I have plenty of leaves in case my stings flare up again we extinguish our fire and head Upstream until it's almost Nightfall where do you sleep I asked her in the trees she nods in just your jacket Rue holds up her extra pair of socks I had these for my hands I think of how cold the nights have been you can share my sleeping bag if you want we'll both easily fit her face lights up I can tell this is more than she dared hope for we pick a fork high in a tree and settle in for the night just as the anthem begins to play there were no deaths today Rue I only woke up today how many nights did I miss the anthem should block out our words but still I whisper I even take the precaution of covering my lips with my hand I don't want the audience to know what I'm planning to tell her about Peta taking a queue from me she does the same to she says the girls from this districts one and four are dead there's 10 of us left something strange happened at least I think it did it might have been the tracker Jacker Venom making me imagine things I say you know the boy from my district Peta I think he saved my life but he was with the careers he's not with them now she says I spied on their base camp by the lake they made it back before they collapsed from the Stingers but he's not there maybe he did save you and had to run I don't answer if in fact Peta did save me I'm in his debt again and this can't be paid back if he did it was all probably just part of his act you know to make people think he's in love with me oh says Ruth thoughtfully I didn't think that was an act of course it is I say he worked it out with our Mentor The Anthem ends and the sky goes dark let's try out these glasses I pull out the glasses and slip them on Rue wasn't kidding I can see everything from the leaves on the trees to a skunk strolling through the bushes a good 50 ft away I could kill it from here if I had a mind to I could kill anyone I wonder who else got a pair of these I say the careers have two pairs but they've got everything down by the lake Rue says and they're so strong we're strong too I say just in a different way you are you can shoot she says what can I do you can feed yourself can they I ask they don't need to they have all the supplies Ru says say they didn't say the supplies were gone how long would they last I say I mean it's the Hunger Games right but Katniss they're not hungry says Rue no they're not that's the problem I agree and for the first time I have a plan a plan that isn't motivated by the need for flight and evasion an offensive plan I think we're going to have to fix that R chapter 16 Ru has decided to trust me wholeheartedly I know this because as soon as the anthem finishes she snuggles up against me and falls asleep nor do I have any misgivings about her as I take no particular precautions if she'd wanted me dead all she would have had to do was disappear from that tree without pointing out the tracker Jacker Nest needling me at the very back of my mind is the obvious both of us can't win these games but since the odds are still against either of us surviving I managed to ignore the thought besides I'm distracted by my latest idea about the careers and their supplies somehow Ru and I must find a way to destroy their food I'm pretty sure feeding themselves will be a tremendous struggle traditionally the career tribute strategy is to get hold of all the food early on and work from there the years when they have not protected it well one year a pack of hideous reptiles destroyed it another a game Maker's flood washed it away those are usually the years that tributes from other districts have won that the careers have been better fed growing up is actually to their disadvantage because they don't know how to be hungry not the way Ru and I do but I'm too exhausted to begin any detailed plan tonight my wounds recovering my mind's still a bit foggy from the Venom and the warmth of Rue at my side her head cradled on my shoulder have given me a sense of security I realize for the first time how very lonely I've been in the arena how comforting the presence of another human being can be I give into my drowsiness resolving that tomorrow the tables will turn tomorrow it's the careers who will have to watch their backs the boom of the cannon jolts me awake the sky stre with light the birds already chattering Ru perches in a branch across from me her hands cupping something we wait listening for more shots but there aren't any who do you think that was I can't help thinking of PETA I don't know it could have been any of the others says Ru I guess we'll know tonight who's left again I asked the boy from District 1 both trib from two the boy from three thresh and me and you and Peta says Rue that's eight wait and the boy from 10 the one with the bad leg he makes nine there's someone else but neither of us can remember who it is I wonder how that last one died says Rue no telling but it's good for us a death should hold the crowd for a bit maybe we'll have time to do something before the game makers decide things have been moving too slowly I say what's in your hands breakfast says Rue she holds them out revealing two big eggs what kind are those I ask not sure there's a marshy area over that way some kind of water bird she says it'd be nice to cook them but neither of us wants to risk a fire my guest is the tribute who died today was a victim of the careers which means they've recovered enough to be be back in the games we each suck out the insides of an egg eat a rabbit leg and some berries it's a good breakfast anywhere ready to do it I say pulling on my pack do what says Rue but by the way she bounces up you can tell she's up for whatever I propose today we take out the career's food I say really how you can see the glint of excitement in her eyes in this way she's exactly the opposite of Prim for whom Adventures are an ordeal no idea come on we'll figure out a plan while we hunt I say we don't get much hunting done though because I'm too busy getting every scrap of information I can out of R about the career's base she's only been in to spy on them briefly but she's observant they have set up their Camp beside the lake their supply stash is about 30 yards away during the day they've been leaving another tribute the boy from District 3 to watch over the supplies the boy from District 3 I asked he's working with them yes he stays at the camp full time he got stung too when they drew the tracker jackers in by the lake says Ru I guess they agreed to let him live if he acted as their guard but he's not very big What weapons does he have I asked not much that I could see a spear he might be able to hold a few of us off with that but thres could kill him easily says R and the foods just out in the open I say she nods something's not quite right about that whole setup I know but I couldn't tell what exactly says Rue Katniss even if you could get to the food how would you get rid of it burn it dump it in the lake soak it in fuel I poke ruin the belly just like I would Prim eat it she giggles don't worry I'll think of something destroying things is much easier than making them for a while we dig Roots We Gather berries and greens we devise a strategy in hushed voices and I come to know Ru the oldest of six kids fiercely protective of her siblings who gives her rations to the younger ones who forages in The Meadows in a district where the peacekeepers are far less obliging than ours Rue who when you ask her what she loves most in the world replies of All Things music music I say in our world I rank music somewhere between hair ribbons and Rainbows in terms of usefulness at least a rainbow gives you a tip about the weather you have a lot of time for that we sing at home at work too that's why I love your PIN she says pointing to the mocking jay that I've again forgotten about you have Mocking Jays I asked oh yes I have a few that are my special friends we can sing back and forth for hours they carry messages for me she says what do you mean I say I'm usually up highest so I'm the first to see the flag that signals quitting time there's a special little song I do says Rue she opens her mouth and sings a little poor note run in a sweet clear voice and the mocking JS spread it around the orchard that's how everyone knows to knock off she continues they can be dangerous though if you get too near their nest but you can't blame them for that I unclasp the pin and hold it out to her here you take it it has more meaning for you than me oh no says Rue closing my fingers back over the pin I like to see it on you that's how I decided I could trust you besides I have this she pulls a necklace woven out of some kind of grass from her shirt on it hangs a roughly carved wooden star or maybe it's a flower it's a good luck charm well it's worked so far I say pinning the mocking jay back on my shirt maybe you should just stick with that by lunch we have a plan by early afternoon we are poised to carry it out I help Rue collect and place the wood for the first two campfires the third she'll have time for on her own we decide to meet afterward at the site where we ate our first meal together the stream should help guide me back to it before I leave I make sure R's well stocked with food and matches I even insist she take my sleeping bag in case it's not possible to rendevu by Nightfall what about you won't you be cold she asks not if I pick up another bag down by the lake I say you know stealing isn't illegal here I say with a grin at the last minute Rue decides to teach me her mocking J signal the one she gives to indicate the day's work is done it might not work but if you hear the mocking J singing it you'll know I'm okay only I can't get back right away are there many Mocking Jays here I asked haven't you seen them they' got nests everywhere she says I have to admit I haven't noticed Okay then if all goes according to plan I'll see you for dinner I say unexpectedly Ruth throws her arms around me I only hesitate a moment before I hug her back you be careful she says to me you too I say I turn and head back to the stream feeling somehow worried about Ru being killed about Rue not being killed and the two of us being left for last about leaving Ru alone about leaving Prim alone back home no Prim has my mother and Gail and a baker who has promised she won't go hungry Ru has only me once I reach the stream I have only to follow it down to the place I initially picked it up after the tracker jaer attack I have to be cautious as I move along the water though because I find my thoughts preoccupied with unanswered questions most of which concern Peta the cannon that fired early this morning did that signify his death if so how did he die at the hand of a career and was that in Revenge for letting me live I struggle again to remember that moment over glimmer body when he burst through the trees but just the fact that he was sparkling leads me to doubt everything that happened I must have been moving very slowly yesterday because I reached the shallow stretch where I took my bath in just a few hours I stopped to replenish my water and add a layer of mud to my backpack it seems bent on reverting to Orange no matter how many times I cover it my proximity to the career's camp sharpens my senses and the closer I get to them the more guarded I am pausing frequently to listen for unnatural sounds an arrow already fitted into the string of my bow I don't see any other tributes but I do notice some of the things Rue has mentioned patches of the sweet berries a bush with the leaves that healed my stings clusters of tracker Jacker nests in the vicinity of the tree I was trapped in and here and there the black and white flash of a mocking jwing in the branches High over my head when I reached the tree with the abandoned Nest at the foot I pause a moment to gather my courage Rue has given specific instructions on how to reach the best spying place near the lake from this point remember I tell myself you're the hunter now not them I get a firmer grasp on my bow and go on I make it to the cops Rue has told me about and again have to admire her cleverness it's right at the edge of the wood but the bushy foliage is so thick down low I can easily observe the career Camp without being spotted between us lies the flat expanse where the games began there are four tributes the boy from District 1 KO and the girl from District 2 and a scrawny Ashen skinned boy who must be from District 3 he made almost no impression on me at all during our time in the capital I can remember almost nothing about him not his costume not his training score not his interview even now as he sits there fiddling with some kind of plastic box he's easily ignored in the presence of his large and domineering companions but he must be of some value or they wouldn't have bothered to let Him Live still seeing him only adds to my sense of unease over why the careers would possibly leave him as a guard why they have allowed him to live at all all four tributes seem to still be recovering from the tracker Jacker attack even from here I can see the large swollen lumps on their body they must not have had the sense to remove The Stingers or if they did not known about the leaves that healed them apparently whatever medicines they found in the cornicopia have been ineffective the cornicopia sits in its original position but its insides have been picked clean most of the supplies held in crates burlap sacks and plastic bins are piled neatly in a pyramid in what seems a questionable distance from the camp others are sprinkled around the perimeter of the pyramid almost mimicking the layout of supplies around the cornicopia at the onset of the games a canopy of netting that aside from discouraging Birds seems to be useless shelters the pyramid itself the whole setup is completely perplexing the distance The netting and the presence of the boy from District 3 one thing's for sure destroying those supplies is not going to be as simple as it looks some other factor is at play here and I better stay put until until I figure out what it is my guess is the pyramid is booby trapped in some manner I think of concealed pits descending Nets a thread that when broken sends a poisonous dart into your heart really the possibilities are endless while I am mulling over my options I hear KO shout out he's pointing up to the woods far beyond me and without turning I know that Rue must have set the first campfire we'd made sure to gather enough green W to make the smoke noticeable the careers begin to arm themselves at once an argument breaks out it's low enough for me to hear that it concerns whether or not the boy from District 3 should stay or accompany them he's coming we need him in the woods and his job's done here anyway no one can touch those supplies says KO what about lover boy says the boy from District 1 I keep telling you forget about him I know where I cut him it's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet at any rate he's in no shape to raid us says KO so Peta is out there in the woods wounded badly but I am still in the dark on what motivated him to betray the careers come on says KO he thrust the spear into the hands of the boy from District 3 and they head off in the direction of the fire the last thing I hear as they enter the woods is KO saying when we find her I kill her in my own way and no one interferes somehow I don't think he's talking about Ru she didn't drop a nest of tracker jackers on him I stay put for a half an hour or so trying to figure out what to do about the supplies the one advantage I have with the bone arrow is distance I could send a flaming arrow into the pyramid easily enough I'm a good enough shot to get it through those openings in the net but there's no guarantee it would catch more likely it'd just burn itself out and then what I'd have achieved nothing and given them far too much information about myself that I was here that I have an accomplice that I can use the bow and arrow with accuracy there's no alternative I'm going to have to get in closer and see if I can't discover what exactly protects the supplies in fact I'm just about to reveal myself when a movement catches my eye s hundred yard to my right I see someone emerge from the woods for a second I think it's Rue but then I recognize fox face she's the one we couldn't remember this morning creeping out onto the plane when she decides it's safe she runs for the pyramid with quick small steps just before she reaches the circle of supplies that have been littered around the pyramid she stops searches the ground and carefully places her feet on a spot then she begins to approach the pyramid with strange little hops sometimes landing on one foot teetering slightly sometimes risking a few steps at one point she launches up in the air over a small barrel and lands poised on her tiptoes but she overshot slightly and her momentum throws her forward I hear her give a sharp squeal as her hands hit the ground but nothing happens in a moment she's regained her feet and continues until she has reached the bulk of the supplies so I'm right about the booby trap but it's clearly more complex than I had imagined I was right about the girl too how Wily is she to have discovered this path into the food and to be able to replicate it so neatly she fills her pack taking a few items from a variety of containers crackers from a crate a handful of apples from a burlap sack that hangs suspended from a rope off the side of a bin but only handful from each not enough to tip off that the food is missing not enough to cause suspicion and then she's doing her odd little dance back out of the circle and scampering into the woods again safe and sound I realize I'm grinding my teeth in frustration fox face has confirmed what I'd already guessed but what sort of trap have they laid that requires such dexterity has so many trigger points why did she squeal so as her hands made contact with the Earth you'd have thought and slowly it begins to dawn on me you'd have thought the very ground was going to explode it's mind I whisper that explains everything the career's willingness to leave their supplies Fox Face's reaction the involvement of the boy from District 3 where they have the factories where they make televisions and Automobiles and explosives but where did he get them in the supplies that's not the sort of weapon the game makers usually provide given that they like to see the tributes draw blood personally I slip out of the bushes and crossed to one of the round metal plates that lifted the tributes into the arena the ground around it has been dug up and padded back down the landmines were disabled after the 60 seconds we stood on the plates but the boy from District 3 must have managed to reactivate them I've never seen anyone in the games do that I bet it came as a shock even to the game makers well hoay for the boy from District 3 for putting one over on them but what am I supposed to do now obviously I can't go strolling into that mess without blowing myself Skyhigh as for sending in a burning Arrow that's more laughable than ever the mines are set off by pressure it doesn't have to be a lot either one year a girl dropped her token a small wooden ball while she was at her plate and they literally had to scrape bits of her off the ground my arms pretty good I might be able to chuck some rocks in there and set off what maybe one mine that could start a chain reaction or could it would the boy from District 3 have placed the mines in such a way that a single mine would not disturb the others thereby protecting the supplies but ensuring the death of the Invader even if I only blew up one mine I draw the careers back down on me for sure and anyway what am I thinking there's that net clearly strung to deflect any such attack besides what I'd really need is to throw about 30 rocks in there at once setting off a big Chain Reaction demolishing the whole lot I glanced back up at the woods the smoke from R's second fire is wafting toward the Sky by now the careers have probably begun to suspect some sort of trick time is running out there is a solution to this I know there is if I can only focus hard enough stare the pyramid the bins the crates too heavy to topple over with an arrow maybe one contains cooking oil and the burning Arrow idea is Reviving when I realize I could end up losing all 12 of my arrows and not get a direct hit on an oil bin since I'd just be guessing I'm genuinely thinking of trying to recreate Fox Face's trip up to the pyramid in hopes of finding a new means of Destruction when my eyes light on the burlap bag of apples I could sever the rope in one shot didn't I do as much in the training center it's a big bag but it still might only be good for one explosion if only I could free the apples themselves I know what to do I move into range and give myself three arrows to get the job done I place my feet carefully block out the rest of the world as I take meticulous aim the first Arrow tears through the side of the bag near the top leaving a split in the burlap the second widens it to a gaping hole I can see the first Apple teetering when I let the third Arrow go catching the torn flap of burlap and ripping it from the bag for a moment everything seems Frozen in time then the apples spill to the ground and I'm blown backward into the air chapter 17 the impact with the hard-packed Earth of the plane knocks the wind out of me my backpack does little to soften the blow fortunately my quiver has caught in the crook of my elbow sparing both itself and my shoulder and my bow is locked in my grasp the ground still shakes with explosions I can't hear them I can't hear anything at the moment but the apples must have set off enough mines causing debris to activate the others I managed to Shield my face with my arms as shattered bits of matter some of it burning rain down around me an acrid smoke fills the air which is not the best remedy for someone trying to regain the ability to breathe after about a minute the ground stops vibrating I roll on my side and allow myself a moment of satisfaction at the sight of the smoldering wreckage that that was recently the pyramid the careers aren't likely to salvage anything out of that I better get out of here I think they'll be making a be line for the place but once I'm on my feet I realize Escape may not be so simple I'm dizzy not the slightly wobbly kind but the kind that sends the trees swooping around you and causes the Earth to move in waves under your feet I take a few steps and somehow wind up on my hands and knees I wait a few minutes to let it pass but it doesn't panic begins to set in I can't stay here flight is essential but I can neither walk nor hear I place a hand to my left ear the one that was turned toward the blast and it comes away bloody have I gone Deaf from the explosion the idea frightens me I Rely as much on my ears as my eyes as a hunter maybe more at times but I can't let my fear show absolutely positively I am live on every screen in panm no blood Trails I tell myself and managed to pull my hood up over my head tie the cord under my chin with uncooperative fingers that should help soak up the blood I can't walk but can I crawl I move forward tentatively yes if I go very slowly I can crawl most of the woods will offer insufficient cover my only hope is to make it back to ruse cops and conceal myself in Greenery I can't get caught out here on my hands and knees in the open not only will I face death it's sure to be a long and painful one at Ko's hand the thought of Prim having to watch that keeps me doggedly inching my way toward The Hideout another blast knocks me flat on my face a stray mind set off by some collapsing crate this happens twice more I'm reminded of those last few kernels that burst when Prim and I pop corn over the fire at home to say I make it in the nick of time is an understatement I have literally just dragged myself into the tangle of bushes at the base of the trees when there's KO barreling onto the plains soon followed by his companions his rage is so extreme it might be comical so people really do tear out their hair and beat the ground with their fists if I didn't know that it was aimed at me at what I have done to him add to that my proximity my inability to run or defend myself and in fact the whole thing has me terrified I'm glad my Hiding Place makes it impossible for the cameras to get a close shot of me because I'm biting my nails like there's no tomorrow gnawing off the last bits of nail polish trying to keep my teeth from chattering the boy from District 3 throws stones into the ruins and must have declared all the minds activated because the careers are approaching the wreckage k has finished the first phase of his tantrum and takes out his anger on the smoking Remains by kicking open various containers the other tributes are poking around in the mess looking for anything to salvage but there's nothing the boy from District 3 has done his job too well this idea must occur to KO too because he turns on the boy and appears to be shouting at him the boy from District 3 only has time to turn and run before Kato catches him in a headlock from behind I can see the muscles Ripple in K's arms as he sharply jerks the boy's head to the side it's that quick the death of the boy from District 3 the other two careers seem to be trying to calm KO down I can tell he wants to return to the woods but they keep pointing at the sky which puzzles me until I realize of course they think whoever set off the explosions is dead they don't know about the arrows and the apples they assumed the booby trap was faulty but that the tribute who blew up the supplies was killed doing it if there was a cannon shot it could have been easily lost in the subsequent explosions the shattered remains of the thief removed by hovercraft they retired to the far side of the lake to allow the game makers to retrieve the body of the boy from District 3 and they wait I suppose a cannon goes off a hovercraft appears and takes the dead boy the sun dips below the horizon nightfalls up in the sky I see the seal and know the anthem must have begun a moment of darkness they show the boy from District 3 they show the boy from District 10 who must have died this morning then the seal reappears so now they know the bomber survived in the Seal's light I can see KO and the girl from District 2 put on their night vision glasses the boy from district one ignites a tree branch for a torch Illuminating the Grim determination on all their faces the career stride back into the woods to hunt the dizziness has subsided and while my left ear is still deafened I can hear a ringing in my right which seems a good sign there's no point in leaving my Hiding Place though I'm about as safe as I can be here at the crime scene they probably think the bomber has a two or three-hour lead on them still it's a long time before I risk moving the first thing I do is dig out my own glasses and put them on which relaxes me a little to have at least one of my hunter senses working I drink some water and wash the blood from my ear fearing the smell of meat will draw unwanted Predators fresh blood is bad enough I make a good meal out of the greens and roots and berries Ru and I gathered today where is my little Ally did she make it back to the rendevu point is she worried about me at least the sky has shown we're both alive I run through the surviving tributes on my fingers the boy from one both from two Fox phas both from 11 and 12 just eight of us the bedding must be getting really hot in the capital they'll be doing special features on each of us now probably interviewing our friends and families it's been a long time since a tribute from District 12 made it into the top eight and now there are two of us although from what KO said peta's on his way out not that KO is the final word on anything didn't he just lose his entire stash of supplies let the 74th Hunger Games begin KO I think let them begin for real a cold breeze has sprung up I reached from my sleeping bag before I remember I left it with Ru I was supposed to pick up another one but what with the minds and all I forgot I begin to shiver since roosting overnight in a tree isn't sensible anyway I scoop out a hollow under the bushes and cover myself with leaves and pine needles I'm still freezing I lay my sheet of plastic over my upper body and position my backpack to block the wind it's a little better I begin to have more Sympathy for the girl from District 8 that Lit the fire that first night but now it's me who needs to grp my teeth and tough it down until morning more leaves more pine needles I pull my arms inside my jacket and tuck my knees up to my chest somehow I drift off to sleep when I open my eyes the world looks slightly fractured and it takes a minute to realize that the sun must be well up and the glasses fragmenting my vision as I sit up and remove them I hear a laugh somewhere near the lake and freeze the laughs distorted but the fact that it registered at all means I must be regaining my hearing yes my right ear can hear again although it's still ringing as for my left ear well at least the bleeding has stopped I peer through the bushes afraid the careers have returned trapping me here for an indefinite time no it's fox face standing in the rubble of the pyramid and laughing she's smarter than the careers actually finding a few useful items in the ashes a metal pot a knife blade I'm perplexed by her Amusement until I realized that with the career stores eliminated she might actually stand a chance just like the rest of us it crosses my mind to reveal myself and enlist her as a second Ally against that pack but I rule it out there's something about that slide grin that makes me sure that befriending fox face would ultimately get me a knife in the back with that in mind this might be an excellent time to shoot her but she's heard something not me because her head turns away toward the drop off and she's Sprints for the woods I wait no one nothing shows up still if Foxface thought it was dangerous maybe it's time for me to get out of here too besides I'm eager to tell Ru about the pyramid since I've no idea where the careers are the route back by the stream seems as good as any I hurry loaded boat in one hand a hunk of cold grueling in the other because I'm famished now and not just for leaves and berries but for the fat and protein in the meat the trip to the stream is uneventful once there I refill my water and wash taking particular care with my injured ear then I travel uphill using the stream as a guide at one point I find bootprints in the mud along the bank the careers have been here but not for a while the prints are deep because they were made in soft mud but now they're they're nearly dry in the hot sun I haven't been careful enough about my own tracks counting on a light tread and the pine needles to conceal my prints now I strip off my boots and socks and go barefoot up the bed of the stream the cool water has an invigorating effect on my body my spirits I shoot two fish easy pickings in this slow moving stream and go ahead and eat one raw even though I've just had the grueling the second I'll save for Ru gradually subtly the ringing in my right ear diminishes until it's gone entirely I find myself pawing at my left ear periodically trying to clean away whatever deadens its ability to collect sounds if there's Improvement it's undetectable I can't adjust to deafness in the ear it makes me feel off-balanced and defenseless to my left blind even my head keeps turning to the injured side as my right ear tries to compensate for the wall of nothingness where yesterday there was a constant flow of information the more time that passes the less hopeful I am that this is an injury that will heal when I reached the sight of our first meeting I feel certain it's been undisturbed there's no sign of Rue not in the ground or in the trees this is odd by now she should have returned as it's midday undoubtedly she spent the night in a tree somewhere what else could she do with no light and the careers with their night vision glasses tromping around the woods and the third fight she was supposed to set although I forgot to check for it last night was the farthest from our sight of all she's probably just being cautious about making her way back I wish she'd hurry because I don't want to hang around here too long I want to spend the afternoon traveling to Higher Ground hunting as we go but there's nothing really for me to do but wait I wash the blood out of my jacket and hair and clean my ever growing list of wounds the burns are much better but I use a bit of Medicine on them anyway the main thing to worry about now is keeping out infection I go ahead and eat the second fish it isn't going to last long in this hot sun but it should be easy enough to spear a few more for R if she would just show up feeling too vulnerable on the ground with my lopsided hearing I scale a tree to wait if the careers show up this will be a Fine Place to Shoot them from the sun moves slowly I do things to pass the time chew leaves and apply them to my stand that are deflated but still tender comb through my damp hair with my fingers and braid it lace my boots back up check over my bow and remaining nine arrows test my left ear repeatedly for signs of Life by rustling a leaf near it but without good results despite the grueling in the fish my stomach's growling and I know I'm going to have what we call a hollow day back in district 12 that's a day where no matter what you put in your belly It's never enough having nothing nothing to do but sit in a tree makes it worse so I decide to give into it after all I've lost a lot of weight in the arena I need some extra calories and having the bow and arrows makes me far more confident about my future prospects I slowly peel and eat a handful of nuts my last cracker the grueling neck that's good because it takes time to pick clean finally a grueling wing and the bird is history but it's a Hol day and even with all that I start daydreaming about food particularly the decadent dishes served in the capital the chicken and creamy orange sauce the cakes and pudding bread with butter noodles and green sauce the lamb and dried plum stew I suck on a few mint leaves and tell myself to get over it mint is good because we drink mint tea after supper often so it tricks my stomach into thinking eating time is over sort of dangling up in the tree with the sun warming me a mouthful of mint my bow and arrows at hand this is the most relaxed I've been since I've entered the arena if only Rue would show up and we could clear out as the Shadows grow so does my restlessness by late afternoon I've resolved to go looking for her I can at least visit the spot where she set the third fire and see if there are any clues to her whereabouts before I go I scatter a few mint leaves around our old campfire fire since we gathered these some distance away Rue will understand I've been here while they'll mean nothing to the careers in less than an hour I'm at the place where we agreed to have the third fire and I know something has gone a miss the wood has been neatly arranged expertly interspersed with Tinder but it has never been lit Ru set up the fire but never made it back here somewhere between the second column of smoke I spied before I blew up the supplies and this point she ran into trouble I have to remind myself she's still alive or is she could the cannon shot announcing her death have come in the wee hours of the morning when even my good ear was too broken to pick it up will she appear in the sky tonight no I refuse to believe it there could be a hundred other explanations she could have lost her way run into a pack of predators or another tribute like thresh and had to hide whatever happened I'm almost certain she's stuck out there somewhere between the second fire and the unlit one at my feet something is keeping her up a tree I think I'll go hunt it down it's a relief to be doing something after sitting around all afternoon I creep silently through the Shadows letting them conceal me but nothing seems suspicious there's no sign of any kind of struggle no disruption of the needles on the ground I've stopped for just a moment when I hear it I have to my head around to the side to be sure but there it is again ruse's four note tune coming out of a mocking Jay's mouth the one that means she's all right I grin and move in the direction of the bird another just a short distance ahead picks up on the handful of notes Ru has been singing to them and recently otherwise they'd have taken up some other song My Eyes lift up into the trees searching for a sign of her I swallow and sing softly back hoping she'll know it's safe to join me a Mocking Jay repeats the melody to me and that's when I hear the Scream It's a child's scream a young girl's scream there's no one in the arena capable of making that sound except Rue and now I'm running knowing this may be a trap knowing the three careers may be poised to attack me but I can't help myself there's another high-pitched cry this time my name catniss catniss Rue I shout back so she knows I'm near so they know I'm near and hopefully the girl who has attacked them with tracker jackers and gotten an 11 they still can't explain will be enough to pull their attention away from her Ru I'm coming when I break into the clearing she's on the ground hopelessly entangled in a net she just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body chapter 18 the boy from district one dies before he can pull out the spear my arrow drives deeply into the center of his neck he falls to his knees and Hales the brief remainder of his life by yanking out the arrow and drowning in his own blood I'm reloaded shifting my aim from side to side while I shout at Ru are there more are there more she has to say no several times before I hear it Rue has rolled to her side her body curved in and around the spear a shove the boy away from her and pull out my knife freeing her from the net one look at the wound and I know it's far beyond my capacity to heal Beyond anyone's probably the spearhead is buried up to the shaft in her stomach I crouch before her staring helplessly at the embedded weapon there's no point in comforting words in telling her she'll be all right she's no fool her hand reaches out and I clutch it like a lifeline as if it's me who's dying instead of Ru you blew up the food she Whispers every last bit I say you have to win she says I'm going to going to win for both of us now I promise I hear a Canon and look up it must be for the boy from district one don't go Ru tightens her grip on my hand of course not staying right here I say I'm moving closer to her pulling her head onto my lap I gently brushed the dark thick hair back behind her ear sing she says but I barely catch the word sing I think sing what I do know a few songs believe it or not there was once music in my house too music I helped make my father pulled me in with that remarkable voice but I haven't sung much since he died except when Prim is very sick then I sing her the same songs she liked as a baby sing my throat is tight with tears horse from smoke and fatigue but if this is prim's I mean ruse's last request I have to at least try the song that comes to me is a simple lullabi one we sing fretful hungry babies to sleep with it's old very old I think made up long ago in our Hills what my music teacher calls a mountain air but the words are easy and soothing promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today I give a small cough swallow hard and begin deep in the [Music] meadow Under The Willow a bed of [Music] grass a soft green pillow lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes and when again they open the sun will rise here it's safe here it's warm here the daisies guard you from every [Music] harm here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true here is the place where I love you ru's eyes have fluttered shut her chest moves but only slightly my throat releases the tears and they slide down my cheeks but I have to finish the song for her deep in the meadow hidden far away a cloak of leaves a Moonbeam Ray forget your woes and let your troubles [Music] lay and when again it's morning they'll wash away here it's safe here it's warm here the daisies guard you from every heart the final lines are barely audible your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them [Music] true here is the place where I love you you everything's still and quiet then almost eerily the Mocking Jays take up my song for a moment I sit there watching my tears drip down on her face ruse Cannon fires I lean forward and press my lips against her Temple slowly as if not to wake her I lay her head back on the ground and release her hand they'll want me to clear out now so they can collect the bodies and there's nothing to stay for I roll the boy from district one onto his face and take his pack retrieve the arrow that ended his life I cut ruse's pack from her back as well knowing she'd want me to have it but leave the spear in her stomach weapons and bodies will be transported to the hovercraft I've have no use for a spear so the sooner it's gone from the arena the better I can't stop looking at Ru smaller than ever a baby animal curled up in a nest of netting I can't bring myself to leave her like this past harm but seeming utterly defenseless to hate the boy from District 1 who also appears so vulnerable in death seem inadequate it's the capital I hate for doing this to all of us Gail's voice is in my head his ravings against the capital no longer pointless no longer to be ignored ru's death has forced me to confront my own Fury against the cruelty the Injustice they inflict upon us but here even more strongly than at home I feel my impotence there's no way to take revenge on the capital is there then I remember peta's words on the roof only I keep wishing I could think of a way to to show the capital they don't own me that I'm more than just a piece in their games and for the first time I understand what he means I want to do something right here right now to shame them to make them accountable to show the capital that whatever they do or Force us to do there is a part of every tribute they can't own that Ru is more than a piece in their games and so am I a few steps into the woods grows a bank of wild flowers perhaps they are really weeds of some sort but they have blossoms in beautiful shades of violet and yellow and white I gather up an armful and come back to Rus side slowly one stem at a time I decorate her body in the flowers covering the ugly wound breathing her face weaving her hair with bright colors they'll have to show it or even if they choose to turn the cameras elsewhere at this moment they'll have to bring them back when they collect the bodies and everyone will see her then and know I did it I step back and take a last look at Rue she could really be asleep in that Meadow after all bye Ru I whisper I press the three middle fingers of my left hand against my lips and hold them out in her Direction then I walk away without looking back the birds fall silent somewhere a Mocking Jay gives the warning whistle that precedes the hovercraft I don't know how it knows it must hear things that human can't I pause my eyes focused on what's ahead not what's happening behind me it doesn't take long then the general bird song begins again and I know she's gone another mocking jay a young one by the look of it lands on a branch before me and bursts out ruse Melody my song the hovercraft were too unfamiliar for this novice to pick up but it has mastered her handful of notes the ones that mean she's safe good and safe I say as I pass under its Branch we don't have to worry about her now good and safe I've have no idea where to go the brief sense of home I had that one night with Ru has vanished my feet wander this way and that until sunset I'm Not Afraid not even watchful which makes me an easy target except I'd kill anyone I met on site without emotion or the slightest Tremor in my hands my hatred of the capital has not lessened my hatred of my competitors in the least especially the careers they at least can be made to pay for ruse's death no one materializes though there aren't many of us left and it's a big arena soon they'll be pulling out some other device to force us together but there's been enough Gore today perhaps we'll even get to sleep I'm about to haul my packs into a tree to make Camp when a silver parachute floats down and lands in front of me a gift from a sponsor but why now I've been in Fairly good shape with supplies maybe hch has noticed my despondency and is trying to cheer me up a bit or could it be something to help my ear I open the parachute and find a small loaf of bread it's not the fine white Capital stuff it's made of dark ration grain and shaped in a crescent sprinkled with seeds I flash back to peta's lesson on the various District Breads in the training center this bread came from District 11 I cautiously lift the still war loaf what must it have cost the people of District 11 who can't even feed themselves how many would have had to do without to scrape up a coin to put in the collection for this one loaf it had been meant for Rue surely but instead of pulling the gift when she died they'd authorized hitch to give it to me as a thank you or because like me they don't like to let debts go unpaid for whatever reason this is a first a district gift to a tribute who's not your own I lift my face and step into the last falling rays of sunlight my thanks to the people of District 11 I say I want them to know I know where it came from that the full value of their gift has been recognized I climbed dangerously High into a tree not for safety but to get as far away from today as I can my sleeping bag is rolled neatly in ruse's pack tomorrow I'll sort through the supplies tomorrow I'll make a new plan but tonight all I can do is strap myself in and take tiny bites of the bread it's good it tastes of home soon the seals in the sky The Anthem plays in my right ear I see the boy from District 1 Rue that's all for tonight six of us left I think only six with the bread still locked in my hands I fall asleep at once sometimes when things are particularly bad my brain will give me a happy dream a visit with my father in the woods an hour of sunlight and cake with Prim tonight it sends me Rue still decked in her flowers perched in a high sea of trees trying to teach me to talk to the Mocking Jays I see no sign of her wounds no blood just a bright laughing girl she sings songs I've never heard in a clear melodic voice On and On Through the Night there's a drowsy in between period when I can hear the last few strains of her music although she's lost in the leaves when I fully awaken I'm momentarily comforted I try to hold on to the peaceful feeling of the dream but it quickly Slips Away leaving me sadder and lonelier than ever heaviness infuses my whole body as if there's liquid lead in my veins I've lost the will to do the simplest tasks to do anything but lie here staring unblinkingly through the canopy of leaves for several hours I remain motionless as usual it's the thought of prim's anxious face as she watches me on the screens back home that breaks me from my lethargy I give myself a series of simple commands to follow like now you have to sit up Katniss now you have to drink water Katniss I act on the orders with slow robotic motions now you have to sort the packs Katniss ruse pack holds my sleeping bag her nearly empty water skin a handful of nuts and Roots a bit of rabbit her extra socks and her slingshot the boy from District 1 has several knives two spare spearheads a flashlight a small Leather Pouch a first aid kit a full bottle of water and a pack of dried fruit a pack of dried fruit out of all he might have chosen from to me this is a sign of extreme arrogance why bother to carry food when you have such a Bounty back at Camp when you will kill your enemies so quickly you'll be home before you're hungry I can only hope the other careers traveled so lightly when it came to food and now find themselves with nothing speaking of which my own Supply is running low I finish off the Loaf from District 11 and the last of the rabbit how quickly the food disappears all I have left are ruse's roots and nuts and the boys dried fruit and one strip of beef now you have to hunt Katniss I tell myself I obediently consolidate the supplies I want into my pack after I climb down the tree I conceal the boy knives and spearheads in a pile of rocks so that no one else can use them I've lost my bearings what with all the wanding around I did yesterday evening but I try to head back in the general direction of the stream I know I'm on course when I come across ruse third unlit fire shortly thereafter I discover a flock of grings perched in the trees and and take out three before they know what hit them I returned to R's signal fire and started up not caring about the excessive smoke where are you KO I think as I roast the birds and ruse Roots I'm waiting right here who knows where the careers are now either too far to reach me or too sure this is a trick or is it possible too scared of me they know I have the bow and arrows of course KO saw me take them from glimmer body but have they put two and two together yet figured out I blew up the supplies and killed their fellow career possibly they think thresh did this wouldn't he be more likely to avenge ru's death than I would being from the same district not that he ever took any interest in her and what about fox face did she hang around to watch me blow up the supplies no when I caught her laughing in the ashes the next morning it was as if someone had given her a lovely surprise I doubt they think Peta has lit this signal fire Ko's sure he's as good as dead I find myself wishing I could tell Peta about the flowers I put on Rue that I now understand what he was trying to say on the roof perhaps if he wins the games he'll see me on Victor's night when they replay the highlights of the games on the screen over the stage where we did our interviews the winner sits in a place of honor on the platform surrounded by their support crew but I told Rue I'd be there for both of us and somehow that seems even more important than the vow I gave Prim I really think I stand a chance of doing it now winning it's not just having the arrows or outsmarting the careers a few times although those things help something happened when I was holding ru's hand watching the life drain out of her now I am determined to avenge her to make her loss Unforgettable and I can only do that by winning and thereby making myself Unforgettable I overcook the birds hoping someone will show up to shoot but no one does maybe the other tributes are out there beating one another senseless which would be fine ever since the blood bath I've been featured on screens more than I care eventually I wrap up my food and go back to the stream to replenish my water and gather some but the heaviness from the morning drapes back over me and even though it's only early evening I climb a tree and settle in for the night my brain begins to replay the events from yesterday I keep seeing Ru speared my arrow piercing the boy's neck I don't know why I should even care about the boy then I realize he was my first kill along with other statistics they report to help people place their bets every tribute has a list of kills I guess technically I get credited for glimmer and the girl from District 4 to for dumping that Nest on them but the boy from District 1 was the first person I knew would die because of my actions numerous animals have lost their lives at my hands but only one human I hear Gail saying how different can it be really amazingly similar in the execution a bow pulled an arrow shot entirely different in the aftermath I killed a boy whose name I don't even know somewhere his family is weeping for him his friends call for my blood maybe he had a girlfriend who really believed he would come back but then I think of ruse's still body and I'm able to banish the boy from my mind at least for now it's been an uneventful day according to the sky no deaths I wonder how long we'll get until the next catastrophe drives us back together if it's going to be tonight I want to get some sleep first I cover my good ear to block out the strains of the anthem but then I hear the trumpets and sit straight up in anticipation for the most part the only communication the tributes get from outside the arena is the nightly death toll but occasionally there will be trumpets followed by an announcement usually this will be a call to a feast when food is scarce the game makers will invite the players to a banquet somewhere known to all like the cornicopia as an inducement to gather and fight sometimes there's a feast and sometimes there's nothing but a loaf of stale bread for the tributes to compete for I wouldn't go in for the food this could be an ideal time to take out a few competitors Claudius temples Smith's voice booms down from overhead congratulating the six of us who remain but he is not inviting us to a feast he's saying something very confusing there's been a rule change in the games a rule change that in itself is mind-bending since we don't really have any rules to speak of except don't step off your circle for 60 seconds and the unspoken rule about not eating one another under the new rule both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive Claudius pauses as if he knows we're not getting it and repeats the change again the news sinks in two tributes can win this year if they're from the same district both can live both of us can live before I can stop myself I call out peta's name part three the Victor chapter 19 I clap my hands over my mouth but the sound has already escaped the sky goes black and I hear a COR Horus of frogs begin to sing stupid I tell myself what a stupid thing to do I wait Frozen for the woods to come alive with the salant then I remember there's almost no one left Peta who's been wounded is now my Ally whatever doubts I've had about him dissipate because if either of us took the other's life now we'd be Paras when we returned to District 12 in fact I know if I was watching I'd loath any tribute who didn't immediately Ally with their District partner besides it just makes sense to protect each other and in my case being one of the starcross lovers from District 12 it's an absolute requirement if I want any more help from sympathetic sponsors the Star Cross lovers Peta must have been playing that angle all along why else would the game makers have made this unprecedented change in the rules for Two tributes to have a shot at winning our romance must be so popular with the audience that condemning it would jeopardize the success of the games no thanks to me all I've done is manag not to kill Peta but whatever he's done in the arena he must have the audience convinced it was to keep me alive shaking his head to keep me from running to the Cornucopia fighting KO to let me escape even hooking up with the careers must have been a move to protect me PETA it turns out has never been a danger to me the thought makes me smile I drop my hands and hold my face up to the moonlight so the cameras can be sure to catch it so who is there left to be afraid of fox face the boy tribute from her district is dead she's operating alone at night and her strategy has been to evade not attack I don't really think that even if she heard my voice she do anything but hope someone else would kill me then there's thresh all right he's a distinct threat but I haven't seen him not once since the games began I think about how fox face grew alarmed when she heard a sound at the sight of the explosion but she didn't turn to the woods she turned to whatever lies across from it to that area of the Arena that drops off into I don't know what I feel almost certain that the person she ran from was thresh and that is his door main he'd never have heard me from there and even if he did I'm up too high for someone his size to reach so that leaves KO and the girl from District 2 who are now surely celebrating the new rule they're the only ones left who benefit from it besides Peta and myself do I run from them now on the chance they heard me call peta's name no I think let them come let them come with their night vision glasses and their heavy Branch breaking bodies right into the range of my arrows but I know they won't if they didn't come in daylight to my fire they won't risk what could be another trap at night when they come it will be on their own terms not because I've let them know my whereabouts stay put and get some sleep Katniss I instruct myself although I wish I could start tracking Peta now tomorrow you'll find him I do sleep but in the morning I'm extra cautious thinking that while the careers might hesitate to attack me in a tree they're completely capable of setting an ambush for me I make sure to fully prepare myself for the day eating a big breakfast securing my pack readying my weapons before I descend but all seems peaceful and undisturbed on the ground today I'll have to be scrupulously careful the careers will know I'm trying to locate Peta they may well want to wait until I do before they move in if he's as badly wounded as KO thinks I'd be in the position of having to defend us both without any assistance but if he's that incapacitated how has he managed to stay alive and how on Earth will I find him I try to think of anything Peta ever said that might give me an indication as to where he's hiding out but nothing rings a bell so I go back to the last moment I saw him sparkling in the the sunlight yelling at me to run then KO appeared his sword drawn and after I was gone he wounded Peta but how did Peta get away maybe he'd held out better against the tracker Jacker poison than KO maybe that was the variable that allowed him to escape but he'd been stung too so how far could he have gotten stabbed and filled with Venom and how has he stayed alive all these days since if the wound and the fingers haven't killed him surely thirst would have taken him by now and that's when I get my first clue to his whereabouts he couldn't have survived without water I know that from my first few days here he must be hidden somewhere near a source there's the lake but I find that an unlikely option since it's so close to the career's base camp a few Springfed pools but you really be a Sitting Duck at one of those and the stream the one that leads from the camp Ru and I made all the way down near the lake and Beyond if he stuck to the stream he could change his location and always be near water he could walk in the current and race any tracks he might even be able to get a fish or two well it's a place to start anyway to confuse my enemy Minds I start a fire with plenty of Greenwood even if they think it's a ruse I hope they'll decide I'm hidden somewhere near it while in reality I'll be tracking PETA The Sun Burns off the morning Haze almost immediately and I can tell the day will be hotter than usual the water's cool and pleasant on my bare feet as I head Downstream I'm tempted to call out peta's name as I go but decide against it I will have to find him with my eyes and one good ear or he will have to find me but he'll know I'll be looking right he won't have so low of an opinion of me as to think I'd ignore the new rule and keep to myself would he it's very hard to predict which might be interesting under different circumstances but at the moment only provides an extra obstacle it doesn't take long to reach the spot where I peeled off to go to the careers Camp there's been no sign of PETA but this doesn't surprise me I've been up and down this stretch three times since the tracker Jacker incident if he were nearby surely I'd have had some suspicion of it the stream begins to curve to the left into a part of the woods that's new to me muddy Bang covered in Tangled water plants lead to large rocks that increase in size until I begin to feel somewhat trapped it would be no small matter to escape the stream now fighting off KO or thresh as I climbed over this Rocky Terrain in fact I've just about decided I'm on the wrong track entirely that a wounded boy would be unable to navigate getting to and from this water source when I see the bloody streak going down the curve of a boulder it's long dried now but the smear lines running side to side side suggest someone who perhaps was not fully in control of his mental faculties tried to wipe it away hugging the Rocks I move slowly in the direction of the blood searching for him I find a few more blood stains one with a few threads of fabric glued to it but no sign of life I break down and say his name in a hushed voice Peter Peta then a Mocking Jay lands on a scruffy tree and begins to mimic my tone so I stop I give up and climb back down to the stream thinking he must have moved on somewhere farther down my foot has just broken the surface of the water when I hear a voice you here to finish me off sweetheart I whip around it's come from the left so I can't pick it up very well and the voice was horar and weak still it must have been Peta who else in the arena would call me sweetheart my my eyes peruse the bank but there's nothing just mud the plants the base of the Rocks Peta I whisper where are you there's no answer could I just have imagined it no I'm certain it was real and very close at hand too Peter I creep along the bank well don't step on me I jumped back his voice was right under my feet still there's nothing then his eyes open unmistakably blue in the brown mud and green leaves I gasp and am rewarded with a hint of white teeth as he laughs It's the final word in camouflage forget chucking weights around Peter should have gone into his private session with the game makers and painted himself into a tree or a boulder or a muddy Bank full of weeds close your eyes again I order he does and his mouth too and completely disappears most of what I judge to be his body is actually under a layer of mud and plants his face and arms are so artfully disguised as to be invisible I kneel beside him I guess all those hours decorating cakes paid off Peta Smiles yes frosting the final defense of the dying you're not going to die I tell him firmly says who his voice is so ragged says me we're on the same team now you know I tell him his eyes open so I heard nice of you to find what's left of me I pull out my water bottle and give him a drink did KO cut you I asked left leg a high he answers let's get you in the Stream wash you off so I can see what kind of wounds you've got I say lean down a minute first he says need to tell you something I lean over and put my good ear to his lips which tickle as he whispers remember we're madly in love so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it I jerk my head back but end up laughing thanks I'll keep it in mind at least he's still able to joke around but when I start to help him to the stream all the levity disappears it's only 2 ft away how hard can it be very hard when I realize he's unable to move an inch on his own he's so weak that the best he can do is not to resist I try to drag him but despite the fact that I know he's doing all he can to keep quiet sharp cries of pain Escape him the mud and plants seem to have imprisoned him and I finally have to give a gigantic tug to break him from their clutches he's still 2T from the water lying there teeth GR Ed tears cutting trails in the dirt on his face look Peta I'm going to roll you into the stream it's very shallow here okay I say excellent he says I crouch down beside him no matter what happens I tell myself don't stop until he's in the water on three I say 1 2 3 I can only manage one full roll before I have to stop because of the horrible sound he's making now he's on the edge of the Stream maybe this is better anyway okay change of plans I'm not going to put you all the way in I tell him besides if I get him in who knows if I'd ever be able to get him out no more rolling he asks that's all done let's get you cleaned up keep an eye on the woods for me okay I say it's hard to know where to start he's so caked with mud and matted leaves I can't even see his clothes if he's wearing clothes the thought makes me hesitate a moment but then I Plunge in naked bodies are no big deal in the arena right I've got two water bottles and ruse water skin I prop them against rocks in the Stream So that two are always filling while I pour the third over peta's body it takes a while but I finally get rid of enough mud to find his clothes I gently unzip his jacket unbutton his shirt and ease them off him his undershirt is so plastered into his wounds I have to cut it away with my knife and Drench him again to work it Loose he's badly bruised with a long burn across his chest and four tracker Jacker stings if you count the one under his ear but I feel a bit better this much I can fix I decide to take care of his upper body first to alleviate some pain before I tackle whatever damage KO did to his leg since treating his wounds seems pointless when he's lying in what's become a mud puddle I managed to prop him up against a boulder he sits there uncomplaining while I wash away all the traces of dirt from his hair and skin his flesh is very pale in the sunlight and he no longer looks strong and stocky I have to dig the stingers out of his tracker Jacker lumps which causes him to winse but the minute I apply the leaves he sigh in relief while he dries in the sun I wash his filthy shirt and jacket and spread them over Boulders then I apply the burn cream to his chest this is when I notice how hot his skin is becoming the layer of mud and the bottles of water have disguised the fact that he's burning with fever I dig through the first aid kit I got from the boy from District 1 and find pills that reduce your temperature my mother actually breaks down and buys these on occasion when her home remedies fail swallow these I tell him and he obediently takes the medicine you must be hungry not really it's funny I haven't been hungry for days says Peta in fact when I offer him grueling he wrinkles his nose at it and turns away that's when I know how sick he is PETA we need to get some food in you I insist it'll just come right back up he says the best I can do is to get him to eat a few bits of dried Apple thanks I'm much better really can I sleep now Katniss he asks soon I promise I need to look at your leg first first trying to be as gentle as I can I remove his boots his socks and then very slowly inch his pants off of him I can see the tear K sword made in the fabric over his thigh but it in no way prepares me for what lies underneath the Deep inflamed gash oozing both blood and pus the swelling of the leg and worst of all a smell of festering Flesh I want to run away disappear into the woods like I did that day they brought the burn victim to our house go and Hunt while my mother and Prim attend to what I have neither the skill nor the courage to face but there's no one here but me I try to capture the calm demeanor my mother assumes when handling particularly bad cases pretty awful huh says Peta he's watching me closely so so I shrug like it's no big deal you should see some of the people they bring my mother from the mines I refrain from saying how I usually clear out of the house whenever she's treating anything worse than a cold come to think of it I don't even much like to be around coughing first thing is to clean it well I've left on peta's undershorts because they're not in bad shape and I don't want to pull them over the swollen thigh and all right maybe the idea of him being naked makes me uncomfortable that's another thing about my mother and Prim nakedness has no effect on them gives them no cause for embarrassment ironically at this point in the games my little sister would be of far more use to Peta than I am I scoop my square of plastic under him so I can wash down the rest of him with each bottle I pour over him the worse the wound looks the rest of his lower body has fared pretty well just one tracker Jacker sting and a few small Burns that I treat quickly with a gash on his leg what on Earth can I do for that why don't we give it some air and then I Trail off and then you'll Patch It Up says Peta he looks almost sorry for me as if he knows how lost I am that's right I say in the meantime you eat these I put a few dried pear halves in his hand and go back in the Stream to wash the rest of his clothes when they're flattened out and drying I examine the contents of the first aid kit it's pretty basic stuff bandages fever pills medicine to calm stomachs nothing of the caliber I'll need to treat Peta we're going to have to experiment some I admit I know the tracker Jacker leaves drw infection so I start with those within minutes of pressing the handful of chewed up green stuff into the wound pus begins running down the side of his leg I tell myself this is a good thing and bite the inside of my cheek hard because my breakfast is threatening to make a reappearance catness Peta says I meet his eyes knowing my face must be some shade of green he moused the words how about that kiss I burst out laughing because the whole thing is so revolting I can't stand it something wrong he asks a little too innocently I I'm no good at this I'm not my mother I have no idea what I'm doing and I hate puss I say G I allow myself to let out a groan as I rinse away the first round of leaves and apply the second how do you h he asks trust me killing things is much easier than this I say although for all I know I am killing you can you speed it up a little he asks no shut up and eat your pears I say after three applications and what seems like a bucket of pus the wound does look better now that the swelling has gone down I can see how deep K's sword cut right down to the bone what next Dr ever he asks maybe I'll put some of the burn ointment on it I think it helps with infection anyway and wrap it up I say I do and the whole thing seems a lot more manageable covered in clean white cotton although against the sterile bandage the Hem of His undershorts looks filthy and teeming with contagion I pull out ruse's backpack here cover yourself with this and I'll wash your shorts oh I don't care if you see me says Peta you're just like the rest of my family I say I care all right I turn my back and look at the stream until the undershorts splash into the current he must be feeling a bit better if he can throw you know you're kind of squeamish for such a lethal person says Peta as I beat the shorts clean between two rocks I wish I'd let you give hamage a shower after all I wrinkle my nose at the memory what's he sent you so far not a thing says Peta then there's a pause as it hits him why did you get something burn medicine I say almost sheepishly oh and some bread I always knew you were his favorite says Peta please he can't stand being in the same room with me I say CU you're just alike mutters Peta I ignore it though because this really isn't the time for me to be insulting hitch which is my first impulse I let Peta do off while his clothes dry out but by late afternoon I don't dare wait any longer I gently shake his shoulder Peta we've got to go now go he seems confused go where away from here Downstream maybe somewhere we can hide you until you're stronger I say I help him dress leaving his feet bare so we can walk in the water and pull him upright his face drains of color the moment he puts weight on his leg come on you can do this but he can't not for long anyway we make it about 50 yard Downstream with him propped up by my shoulder and I can tell he's going to black out I sit him on the bank push his head between his knees and Pat his back awkwardly as I survey the area of course I'd love to get him up in a tree but that's not going to happen could be worse though some of the rocks form small cavik structures I set my sights on one about 20 yard above the stream when pet is able to stand I half guide half carry him up to the cave really I'd like to look around for a better place but this one will have to do because my Ally is shot paper white panting and even though it's only just cooling off he's shivering I cover the floor of the cave with a layer of pine needles unroll my sleeping bag and Tuck him into it I get a couple of pills and some water into him when he's not noticing but he refuses es to eat even the fruit then he just lies there his eyes trained on my face as I build a sort of blind out of vines to conceal the mouth of the Cave the result is unsatisfactory an animal might not question it but a human would see Hands had manufactured it quickly enough I tear it down in frustration Katniss he says I go over to him and brush the hair back from his eyes thanks for finding me you would have found me if you could I say his forehead's burning up like the medicine's having no effect at all suddenly out of nowhere I'm scared he's going to die yes look if I don't make it back he begins don't talk like that I didn't drain all that pus for nothing I say I know but just in case I don't he tries to continue no Peta I don't even want to discuss it I say placing my fingers on his lips to quiet him but I he insists impulsively I lean forward and kiss him stopping his words this is probably overdue anyway since he's right we are supposed to be madly in love it's the first time I've ever kissed a boy which should make some sort of impression I guess but all I can register is how unnaturally hot his lips are from the fever I break away and pull the edge of the sleeping bag up around him you're not going to die I forbid it all right all right he whispers I step out in the cool evening air just as the parachute floats down from the sky my fingers quickly undo the tie hoping for some real medicine to treat peta's leg instead I find a pot of hot broth hitch couldn't be sending me a clearer message one kiss equals one pot of broth I can almost hear his snarl you're supposed to be in love sweetheart the boy's dying give me something I can work with and he's right if I want to keep Peta alive I've got to give the audience something more to care about starcross lovers desperate to get home together two hearts beating as one romance never having been in love this is going to be a real trick I think of my parents the way my father never failed to bring her gifts from the woods the way my mother's face would light up at the sound of his boots at the door the way she almost stopped living when he died Peta I say trying for the special tone that my mother used only with my father he's doed off again but I kiss him awake which seems to startle him then he smiles as if he'd be happy to lie there gazing at me forever he's great at this stuff I hold up the pot Peter look what hitch has sent you chapter 20 getting the broth into pea takes an hour of coaxing begging threatening and yes kissing but finally sip by sip he empties the pot I let him drift off to sleep then and attend to my own needs wolfing down a supper of grueling and Roots while I watch The Daily report in the sky no new casualties still Peta and I have given the audience a fairly interesting day hopefully the game makers will allow us a peaceful night I automatically look around for a good tree to nest in before I realize that's over at least for a while I can't very well leave Peta unguarded on the ground I left the scene of his last hiding place on the bank of the stream untouched how could I conceal it and we're a scant 50 yards Downstream I put on my glasses place my weapons in Readiness and settle down to keep watch the temperature drops rapidly and and soon I'm chilled to the Bone eventually I give in and slide into the sleeping bag with Peta it's toasty warm and I snuggle down gratefully until I realize it's more than warm it's overly hot because the bag is reflecting back his fever I check his forehead and find it burning and dry I don't know what to do leave him in the bag and hope the excessive heat breaks the fever take him out and hope the night air cools him off I end up just dampening a strip of bandage and placing it on his forehead it seems weak but I'm afraid to do anything too drastic spend the night half sitting half lying next to Peta refreshing the bandage and trying not to dwell on the fact that by teaming up with him I've made myself far more vulnerable than when I was alone Tethered to the ground on guard with a very sick person to take care of but I knew he was injured and still I came after him I'm just going to have to trust that whatever Instinct sent me to find him was a good one when the sky turns Rosy I notice the sheen of sweat on peta's lip and discover the fever has broken he's not back to normal but it's come down a few degrees last night when I was gathering Vines I Came Upon a bush of Rose berries I strip off the fruit and mash it up in the broth pot with cold water pet is struggling to get up when I reached the cave I woke up you were gone he says I was worried about you I have to laugh as I ease him back down you were worried about me have you taken a look at yourself lately I thought KO and clove might have found you they like to hunt at night he says still serious clove which one is that I asked the girl from District 2 she's still alive right he says yes there's just them and us and thresh and Foxface I say that's what I nicknamed the girl from five how do you feel better than yesterday this is an enormous improvement over the mud he says clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag and you oh right the whole romance thing I reach out to touch his cheek and he catches my hand and presses it against his lips I remember my father doing this very thing to my mother and I wonder where Peta picked picked it up surely not from his father and the witch no more kisses for you until you've eaten I say we get him propped up against the wall and he obediently swallows the spoonfuls of the berry mush I feed him he refuses the grueling again though you didn't sleep Peta says I'm all right I say but the truth is I'm exhausted sleep now I'll keep watch I'll wake you if anything happens he says I hesitate Katniss you can't stay up forever he's got a point there I'll have to sleep eventually and probably better to do it now when he seems relatively alert and we have daylight on our side all right I say but just for a few hours then you wake me it's too warm for the sleeping bag now I smooth it out on the cave floor and lie down one hand on my loaded bow in case I have to shoot at a moment's notice Peta sits beside me leaning against the wall his bad leg stretched out before him his eyes trained on the world outside go to sleep he says softly his hand brushes the loose strands of my hair off my forehead unlike the staged kisses and caresses so far this gesture seems natural and comforting I don't want him to stop and he doesn't he's still stroking my hair when I fall asleep sleep too long I sleep too long I know from the moment I open my eyes that were into the afternoon peta's right beside me his position unchanged I sit up feeling somehow defensive but better rested than I've been in days Peter you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours I say for what nothing's going on here he says besides I like watching you sleep you don't scowl improves your looks a lot this of course brings on a scowl that makes him grin that's when I notice how dry his lips are I test his cheek hot as a coal stove he claims he's been drinking but the containers still feel full to me I give him more fever pills and stand over him while he drinks first one then a second quart of water then I tend to his minor wounds the burns the stings which are showing Improvement I steal my self and unwrap the leg my heart drops into my stomach it's worse much worse there's no more pus in evidence but the swelling has increased and the tight shiny skin is inflamed then I see the red streak starting to crawl up his leg blood poisoning unchecked it will kill him for sure my chewed up leaves and ointment won't make a dent in it we'll need strong anti-infection drugs from the capital I can't imagine the cost of such potent medicine if hch pulled every donation from every sponsor would he have enough I doubt it gifts go up in price the longer the games continue what buys a full meal on day one buys a cracker on day 12 and the kind of medicine Peta needs would have been at a premium from the beginning well there's more swelling but the puss is gone I say in an unsteady voice I know what blood poisoning is Katniss says Peta even if my mother isn't a Healer you're just going to have to Outlast the others Peta they'll cure it back at the capital when we win I say yes that's a good plan he says but I feel this is mostly for my benefit you have to eat keep your strength up I'm going to make you soup I say don't light a fire he says it's not worth it we'll see I say as I take the pot down to the stream I'm struck by how brutally hot it is I swear the game makers are progressively ratcheting up the temperature in the daytime and sending it plummeting at night the heat of the sunbaked Stones by the stream gives me an idea though maybe I won't need to light a fire I settled down on a big Flat Rock halfway between the stream and the cave after purifying half a pot of water I place it into direct sunlight and add several egg-sized hot stones to the water I'm the first to admit I'm not much of a cook but since soup mainly involves tossing everything in a pot and waiting it's one of my better dishes I'm in grueling until it's practically mush and mash some of R's Roots fortunately they've both been roasted already so they mostly need to be heated up already between the sunlight and the Rocks the water's warm I put in the meat and Roots swap in fresh rocks and go find something green to spice it up a little before long I discover a tuft of chives growing at the base of some rocks perfect I chopped them very fine and add them to the pot switch out the Rocks again put on the lid and let the whole thing stew I've seen very few signs of game around but I don't feel comfortable leaving Peto alone while I hunt so I rig half a dozen snares and hope I get lucky I wonder about the other tributes how they're managing now that their main source of food has been blown up at least three of them KO clove and fox face had been relying on it probably not thresh though I've got a feeling he must share some of ru's knowledge on how to feed yourself from the Earth are they fighting each other looking for us maybe one of them has located us and is just waiting for the right moment to attack the idea sends me back to the cave Peta stretched out on top of the sleeping bag in the shade of the Rocks although he brightens a bit when I come in it's clear he feels miserable I put cool cloths on his head but they warm up almost as soon as they touch his skin do you want anything I ask no he says thank you wait yes tell me a story a story what about I said say I'm not much for storytelling it's kind of like singing But once in a while Prim weedles went out of me something happy tell me about the happiest day you can remember says Peta something between a sigh and a huff of exasperation leaves my mouth a happy story this will require a lot more effort than the soup I rack my brains for good memories most of them involve Gail and me out hunting and somehow I don't think these will play well with either Peta or the audience that leaves Prim did I ever tell you about how I got prim's goat I asked Peta shakes his head and looks at me expectantly so I begin but carefully because my words are going out all over penm and while people have no doubt put two and two together that I hunt illegally I don't want to hurt Gail or G Rey say or the butcher or even the peacekeepers back home who are my customers by publicly announcing they're breaking the law too here's the real story of how I got the money for prim's goat lady it was a Friday evening the day before prim's 10th birthday in late may as soon as school ended Gail and I hit the woods because I wanted to get enough to trade for a present for Prim maybe some new cloth for a dress or a hairbrush our snares had done well enough and the woods were flushed with greens but this was really no more than our average Friday night haul I was disappointed as we headed back even though Gail said we'd be sure to do better tomorrow we were resting a moment by a stream when we saw him a young buck probably a yearling by his size his antlers were just growing in still small and coated in velvet poised to run but unsure of us unfamiliar with humans beautiful less beautiful perhaps when the two arrows caught him one in the neck the other in the chest Gail and I had shot at the same time the buck tried to run but stumbled and Gail's knife slit his throat before he knew what had happened momentarily I felt a Pang at killing something so fresh and innocent and then my stomach rumbled at the thought of all that fresh and innocent meat a deer Gail and I have only brought down three in all the first one a dough that had injured her leg somehow almost didn't count but we knew from that experience not to go dragging the carcass into the hob it had caused chaos with people bidding on parts and actually trying to hack off pieces themselves greasy SE had intervened and sent us with our deer to the butcher but not before it had been badly damaged hunks of meat taken the hide riddled with holes although everybody paid up fairly it had low the value of the kill this time we waited until dark fell and slipped under a hole in the fence close to the butcher even though we were known Hunters it wouldn't have been good to go carrying a 150lb deer through the streets of District 12 in daylight like we were rubbing it in the officials faces the butcher a short chunky woman named Ruba came to the back door when we knocked you don't haggle with Ruba she gives you one price which you can take or leave but it's a fair price we took her offer on the deer and she threw in a couple of venison steaks we could pick up after the butchering even with the money divided in two neither Gail nor I had held so much at one time in our lives we decided to keep it a secret and surprise our families with the meat and money at the end of the next day this is where I really got the money for the goat but I tell Peta I sold an old silver locket of my mother's that can't hurt anyone then I pick up the story in the late afternoon of prim's birthday Gail and I went to the market on the Square so that I could buy dress materials as I was running my fingers over a length of thick blue cotton cloth something caught my eye there's an old man who keeps a small herd of goats on the other side of the seam I don't know his real name everyone just calls him the goat man his joints are swollen and twisted and painful angles and he's got a hacking cough that proves he spent years in the mines but he's lucky somewhere along the way he saved up enough for these goats and now has something to do in his old age besides slowly starve to death he's filthy and impatient but the goats are clean and their milk is Rich if you can afford it one of the goats a white one with black patches was lying down in a cart it was easy to see why something probably a dog had mauled her shoulder an infection had set in it was bad the Goatman had to hold her up to milk her but I thought I knew someone who could fix it Gail I whispered I want that goat for Prim owning a nanny goat can change your life in district 12 the animals can live off almost anything the meadow is a perfect feeding place and they can give four quarts of milk a day to drink to make into cheesee to sell it's not even against the law she's hurt pretty bad said Gail we better take a closer look we went over and bought a cup of milk to share then stood over the goat as if idly curious let her be said the man just looking said Gail well look fast she goes to the butcher soon hardly anyone will buy her milk and then they only pay half price said the man what's the butcher giving for her I asked the man Shrugged hang around and see I turned and saw Ruba coming across the square toward us lucky thing you showed up said the goat man when she arrived girls got her eye on your goat not if she's spoken for I said carelessly Rupa looked me up and down then frowned at the goat she's not look at that shoulder bet you half the carcass will be too rotten for even sausage what said the Goatman we had a deal we had a deal on an animal with a few teeth marks not that thing sell her to the girl if she's stupid enough to take her said Ruba as she marched off I caught her wink the Goatman was mad but he still wanted that goat off his hands it took us half an hour to agree on the price quite a crowd had gathered by then to hand out opinions it was an excellent deal if the goat lived I'd been robbed if she died people took sides in the argument but I took the goat Gail offered to carry her I think he wanted to see the look on prim's face as much as I did in a moment of complete giddiness I bought a pink ribbon and tied it around her neck then we hurried back to my house you should have seen prim's reaction when we walked in with that goat remember this is a girl who wept to save that awful old cat Buttercup she was so excited she started crying and laughing all at once my mother was less sure seeing the injury but the pair of them went to work on it grinding up herbs and coaxing bruise down the animals throat they sound like you says Peta I had almost forgotten he was there oh no Peta they work Magic that thing couldn't have died if it tried I say but then I bite my tongue realizing what that must sound like to Peta who is dying in my incompetent hands don't worry I'm not trying he jokes finish the story well that's it only I remember that night Prim insisted on sleeping with lady on a blanket next to the fire and just before they drifted off the goat licked her cheek like it was giving her a good night kiss or something I say he was already mad about her was it still wearing the pink ribbon he asks I think so I say why just trying to get a picture he says thoughtfully I can see why that day made you happy well I knew that goat would be a little gold mine I say yes of course I was referring to that not the lasting Joy you gave the sister you love so much you took her place in the reaping says Peta dryly the goat has paid for itself several times over I say in a superior tone well it wouldn't dare do anything else after you saved its life says Peta I intend to do the same thing really what did you cost me again I asked a lot of trouble don't worry you'll get it all back he says you're not making sense I say I test his forehead the fever's going nowhere but up you're a little cooler though the sound of trumpets startles me I'm on my feet and at the mouth of the Cave In A Flash not wanting to miss a syllable it's my new best friend Claudius templesmith and as I expected he's inviting us to a feast well we're not that hungry and I actually wave his offer away in indifference when he says now hold on some of you may already be declining my invit invitation but this is no ordinary Feast each of you need something desperately I do need something desperately something to heal peta's leg each of you will find that something in a backpack marked with your District number at the cornicopia at dawn think hard about refusing to show up for some of you this will be your last chance says Claudius there's nothing else just his words hanging in the air I jump as Peta grips my shoulder from behind no he says you're not risking your life for me who said I was I say so you're not going he asks of course I'm not going give me some credit do you think I'm running straight into some free-for-all against KO and clove and thresh don't be stupid I say helping him back to bed I'll let fight it out we'll see who's in the sky tomorrow night and work out a plan from there you're such a bad liar Katniss I don't know how you've survived this long he begins to mimic me I knew that goat would be a little gold mine you're a little cooler though oh of course I'm not going he shakes his head never gamble at cards you'll lose your last coin he says anger flushes my face all right I am going and you can't stop me I can follow you at least partway I may not make it to the Cornucopia but if I'm yelling your name I bet someone can find me and then I'll be dead for sure he says you won't get 100 yards from here on that leg I say then I'll drag myself says Peta you go and I'm going too he's just stubborn enough and maybe just strong enough to do it come howling after me in the woods even if a tribute doesn't find him something else might he can't defend himself I probably have to wall him up in the cave just to go myself and who knows what the exertion will do to him what am I supposed to do sit here and watch you die I say he must know that's not an option that the audience would hate me and frankly I would hate myself too if I didn't even try I won't die I promise if you promise not to go he says we're at something of a stalemate I know I can't argue him out of this one so I don't try I pretend reluctantly to go along then you have to do what I say drink your water wake me when I tell you and eat every bite of the soup no matter how disgusting it is I snap at him agreed is it ready he asks wait here I say the Air's gone cold even though the sun's still up I'm right about the game makers messing with the temperature I wonder if the thing someone needs desperately is a good blanket the soup is still nice and warm in its iron pot and actually doesn't taste too bad Peta eats without complaint even scraping out the pot to show his enthusiasm he Rambles on about how delicious it is which should be encouraging if you don't know what fever does to people he's like listening to hch before the alcohol has soaked him into incoherence I give him another dose of fever medicine before he goes off his head completely as I go down to the stream to wash up all I can think is that he's going to die if I don't get to that Feast I'll keep him going for a day or two and then the infection will reach his heart or his brain or his lungs and he'll be gone and I'll be here all alone again waiting for the others I'm so l lost in thought that I almost missed the parachute even though it floats right by me then I spring after it yanking it from the water tearing off the silver fabric to retrieve the vial hitch has done it he's gotten the medicine I don't know how persuaded some gaggle of romantic fools to sell their jewels and I can save Peta it's such a tiny vial though it must be very strong to cure someone as ill as PETA a ripple of Doubt runs through me I encor the vial and take a deep sniff my spirits fall at the sickly sweet scent just to be sure I place a drop on the tip of my tongue there's no question it's sleep syrup it's a common medicine in district 12 cheap as medicine goes but very addictive almost everyone's had a dose at one time or another we have some in a bottle at home my mother gives it to hysterical patients to knock them out to stitch up a bad wound or quiet their minds or just to help someone in pain get through the night it only takes a little a vial this size could knock Peta out for a full day but what good is that I'm so Furious I'm about to throw hitch's last offering into the stream when it hits me a full day that's more than I need I mash up a handful of berries so the taste won't be as noticeable and add some mint leaves for good measure then I head back up to the cave I brought you a treat I found a new patch of berries a little farther Downstream Peta opens his mouth for the first bite without hesitation he swallows then frowns slightly they very sweet yes they're sugar berries my mother makes Jam from them haven't you ever had them before I say poking the next Spoonful in his mouth no he says almost puzzled but they taste familiar sugar berries well you can't get them in the market much they only grow wild I say another mouthful goes down just one more to go they're sweet as syrup he says taking the last Spoonful syrup his eyes widen as he realizes the truth I clamp my hand over his mouth and nose hard forcing him to swallow instead of spit he tries to make himself vomit the stuff up but it's too late he's already losing Consciousness even as he Fades away I can see in his eyes what I've done is unforgivable I sit back on my heels and look at him with a mixture of sadness and satisfaction a stray Berry stains his chin and I wipe it away who can't lie Peta I say even though he can't hear me it doesn't matter the rest of pan can chapter 21 in the remaining hours before nightfall I gather rocks and do my best to camouflage the opening of The Cave it's a slow and uous process but after a lot of sweating and shifting things around I'm pretty pleased with my work the cave now appears to be part of a larger pile of rocks like so many in the vicinity I can still crawl in to pea through a small opening but it's undetectable from the outside that's good because I'll need to share that sleeping bag again tonight also if I don't make it back from the feast Peta will be hidden but not entirely imprisoned although I doubt he can hang on much longer without medicine if I die at the feast District 12 isn't likely to have a Victor I make a meal out of the smaller bonier fish that inhabit the stream down here fill every water contain coner and purify it and clean my weapons I've have nine arrows left in all I debate leaving the knife with Peta so he'll have some protection while I'm gone but there's really no point he was right about camouflage being his final defense but I still might have use for the knife who knows what I'll encounter here are some things I'm fairly certain of that at least KO clove and thresh will be on hand when the feast starts I'm not sure about fox face since direct confrontation isn't her style or her forte she's even smaller than I am and unarmed unless she's picked up some weapons recently she'll probably be hanging somewhere nearby seeing what she can scavenge but the other three I'm going to have my hands full my ability to kill at a distance is my greatest asset but I know I'll have to go right into the thick of things to get that backpack the one with the number 12 on it that claudus templesmith mentioned I I watched the sky hoping for one less opponent at dawn but nobody appears tonight tomorrow there will be faces up there feasts always result in fatalities I crawl into the cave secure my glasses and curl up next to Peta luckily I had that good long sleep today I have to stay awake I don't really think anyone will attack our cave tonight but I can't risk missing the dawn so cold so bitterly cold tonight as if the game makers have sent an infusion of frozen air across the arena which may be exactly what they've done I lie next to Peta in the B trying to absorb every bit of his fever heat it's strange to be so physically close to someone who's so distant Peta might as well be back in the capital or in district 12 or on the moon right now he'd be no harder to reach I've never felt lonier since the games began just accept it will be a bad night I tell myself I try not to but I can't help thinking of my mother and Prim wondering if they'll sleep a wink tonight at this late stage in the games with an important event like the feast school will probably be cancelled my family can either watch on that static filled old clunker of a television at home or join the crowds in the Square to watch on the big clear screens they'll have privacy at home but support in the Square people will give them a kind word a bit of food if they can spare it I wonder if the baker has s them out especially now that Peta and I are a team and made good on his promise to keep my sister's belly full Spirits must be running high in district 12 we so rarely have anyone to root for at this point in the games surely people are excited about Peta and me especially now that we're together if I close my eyes I can imagine their shouts at the screens urging us on I see their faces greasy SE and M and even the peacekeepers who buy my meat cheering for us and Gail I know him he won't be shouting and cheering but he'll be watching every moment every twist and turn and willing me to come home I wonder if he's hoping that Peta makes it as well Gail's not my boyfriend but would he be if I opened that door he talked about us running away together was that just a practical calculation of our chances of survival away from the district or something more I wonder what he makes of all this kissing through a crack in the Rocks I watched the moon cross the sky at what I judged to be about 3 hours before Dawn I begin final preparations I'm careful to leave Peta with water and the medical kit right beside him nothing else will be of much use if I don't return and even these would only prolong his life a short time after some debate I strip him of his jacket and zip it on over my own he doesn't need it not now in the sleeping bag with his fever and during the day if I'm not there to remove it he'll be roasting in it my hands are already stiff from cold so I take ruse's spare pair of socks cut holes for my fingers and thumbs and pull them on it helps anyway I fill her small pack with some food a water bottle and bandages tuck the knife in my belt get my bow and arrows I'm about to leave when I remember the importance of sustaining the starcross lever routine and I lean over and give Peta a long lingering kiss I imagine the teary size emanating from the capital and pretend to brush away a tear of my own then I squeeze through the opening in the rocks out into the night my breath makes small white clouds as it hits the air it's as cold as a November night at home one where I've slipped into the woods Lantern in hand to join Gail at some pre-arranged place where we'll sit bundled together sipping herb tea from metal flasks wrapped in quilting hoping game will pass our way as the morning comes on oh Gail I think if only you had my back now I move as fast as I dare the glasses are quite remarkable but I still sorely miss having the use of my left ear I don't know what the explosion did but it damaged something deep and irreparable never mind if I get home I'll be so stinking Rich I'll be able to pay someone to do my hearing the woods always look different at night even with the glasses everything has an unfamiliar slant to it as if the daytime trees and flowers and Stones had gone to bed and sent slightly more ominous versions of themselves to take their places I don't try anything tricky like taking a new route I make my way back up the stream and follow the same path back to ruse's hiding place near the lake along the way I see no sign of another tribute not a puff of breath not a quiver of a branch either I'm the first to arrive or the others positioned themselves last night there's still more than an hour maybe two when I wriggle into the underbrush and wait for the blood to begin to flow I chew a few mint leaves my stomach isn't up for much more thank goodness I have peta's jacket as well as my own if not I'd be forced to move around to stay warm the sky turns a misty morning gray and still there's no sign of the other tributes it's not surprising really everyone has distinguished them themselves either by strength or deadliness or cunning do they suppose I wonder that I have Peta with me I doubt fox face and thresh even know he was wounded all the better if they think he's covering me when I go in for the backpack but where is it the arena has lightened enough for me to remove my glasses I can hear the mning birds singing isn't it time for a second I'm panicked that I'm at the wrong location but no I'm certain I remember Claudius templesmith specifying the Cornucopia and there it is and here I am so where's my Feast just as the first Ray of sun glints off the gold Cornucopia there's a disturbance on the plane the ground before the mouth of the horn splits in two and a round table with a snowy white cloth Rises into the arena on the table sit four back packs two large black ones with the numbers 2 and 11 a mediumsized green one with the number five and a tiny orange one really I could carry it around my wrist that must be marked with a 12 the table has just clicked into place when a figure darts out of the Cornucopia snags the green backpack and speeds off fox face leave it to her to come up with such a clever and risky idea the rest of us are still poised around the plane sizing up the situation and she's got hers she's got us trapped too because no one wants to chase her down not while their own packs sit so vulnerable on the table fox face must have purposefully left the other packs alone knowing that to steal one without her number would definitely bring on a pursuer that should have been my strategy by the time I've worked through the emotions of surprise admiration anger jealousy and frustration I'm watching that reddish man of hair disappear into the trees well out of shooting range huh I'm always dreading the others but maybe fox face is the real opponent here she's cost me time too because by now it's clear that I must get to the table next anyone who beats me to it will easily scoop up my pack and be gone without hesitation I Sprint for the table I can sense the emergence of danger before I see it fortunately the first knife comes whizzing in on my right side so I can hear it and I'm able to deflect it with my bow I turn drawing back the bow string and send an arrow straight at cl's heart she turns just enough to avoid a fatal hit but the point punctures her upper left arm unfortunately she throws with her right but it's enough to slow her down a few moments having to pull the arrow from her arm take in the severity of the wound I keep moving positioning the next Arrow automatically as only someone who has hunted for years can do I'm at the table now my fingers closing over the with a tiny orange backpack my hand slips between the straps and I yank it up on my arm it's really too small to fit on any other part of my anatomy and I'm turning to fire again when the second knife catches me in the forehead it slices above my right eyebrow opening a gash that sends a gush running down my face blinding my eye filling my mouth with the sharp metallic taste of my own blood I stagger backward but still managed to send my readied arrow in the general direction of my as salent I know as it leaves my hands it will miss and then clove slams Into Me Knocking me flat on my back pinning my shoulders to the ground with her knees this is it I think and hope for prim's sake it will be fast but clove means to save her the moment even feels she has time no doubt KO is somewhere nearby guarding her waiting for thresh and possibly Peta where's your boyfriend District 12 still hanging on she asked asks well as long as we're talking I'm alive he's out there now hunting KO I snarl at her then I scream at the top of my lungs Peter clove jams her fist into my windpipe very effectively cutting off my voice but her head's whipping from side to side and I know for a moment she's at least considering I'm telling the truth since no pea appears to save me she turns back to me liar she says with a grin he's nearly dead KO knows where he cut him you've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going what's in the pretty little backpack that medicine for lover boy too bad he'll never get it clove opens her jacket it's lined with an impressive array of knives she carefully selects an almost dainty looking number with a cruel curved blade I promise KO if he let me have you i' give the audience a good show I'm struggling now in an effort to unseat her but it's no use she's too heavy and her lock on me too tight forget it District 12 we're going to kill you just like we did your pathetic little Ally what was her name the one who hopped around in the trees Rue well first Rue then you and then I think we'll just let nature take care of lover boy how does that sound clove asks now where to start she carelessly wipes away the blood from my wound with her jacket sleeve for a moment she surveys my face tilting it from side to side as if it's a block of wood and she's deciding exactly what pattern to carve on it I attempt to bite her hand but she grabs the hair on the top of my head forcing me back to the ground I think she almost purs I think we'll start with your mouth I clamp my teeth together as she teasingly traces the outline of my lips with the tip of the blade I won't close my eyes the comment about Ru has filled me with Fury enough Fury I think to die with some dignity as my last Act of defiance I will stare her down as long as I can see which will probably not be an extended period of time but I will stare her down I will not cry out I will die in my own small way undefeated yes I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore want to blow lever boy one last kiss she asks I work up a mouthful of blood and saliva and spit it in her face she flushes with rage all right then let's get started I brace myself for the agony that's sure to follow but as I feel the tip open the first cut at my lip some great force Yanks Clove from my body and then she's screaming I'm too stunned at first too unable to process what has happened has Peta somehow come to my rescue have the game makers sent in some wild animal to add to the fun as a hovercraft inexplicably plucked her into the air but when I push myself up on my numb arms I see it's none of the above clove is dangling a foot off the ground imprisoned in thresh's arms I let out a gasp seeing him like that towering over me holding clove like a rag doll I remember him as big but he seems more massive more powerful than I even recall if anything he seems to have gained weight in the arena he flips clove around and flings her onto the ground when he shouts I jump never having heard him speak above a mutter what did you do to that little girl you kill her clove is scrambling backward on all fours like a frantic insect too shocked to even call for KO no no it wasn't me you said her name I heard you you kill her another thought brings a fresh wave of Rage to his features you cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here no no I clove sees the stone about the size of a small loaf of bread in thresh's hand and loses it KO she screeches KO clove I hear Ko's answer but he's too far away I can tell that much to do her any good what was he doing trying to get fox face or Peta or had he been lying in wait for thresh and just badly misjudged his location thresh brings the rock down hard against cl's Temple it's not bleeding but I can see the dent in her skull and I know that she's a goner there's still life in her now though in the rapid rise and fall of her chest the low moan escaping her lips when thresh swirls around on me The Rock raised I know it's no good to run and my bow is empty the last loaded Arrow having gone in Clos Direction I'm trapped in the glare of his strange golden brown eyes what she mean about R being your ally I I we teamed up blew up the supplies I tried to save her I did but he got there first district one I say maybe he knows I helped R he won't choose some slow sadistic end for me and you killed him he demands yes I killed him and buried her in flowers I say and I sang her to sleep tears spring in my eyes the tension the fight goes out of me at the memory and I'm overwhelmed by Ru and the pain in my head and my fear of thresh and the moaning of the dying girl a few feet away to sleep thresh says gruffly to death I sang until she died I say your District they sent me bread my hand reaches up but not for an arrow that I know I'll never reach just to wipe my nose do it fast okay thresh conflicting emotions cross thresh's face he lowers the Rock and points at me almost almost accusingly just this one time I let you go for the little girl you and me were even then no more ow you understand I nod because I do understand about owing about hating it I understand that if thresh wins he'll have to go back and face a district that has already broken all the rules to thank me and he is breaking the rules to thank me too and I understand that for the moment thresh is not going to smash in my skull clove Ko's voice is much nearer now I can tell by the pain in it that he sees her on the ground you better run now fire girl says thresh I don't need to be told twice I flip over and my feet dig into the hardpacked Earth as I run away from thresh and clove and the sound of Ko's voice only when I reach the woods do I turn back for an instant thresh and both large backpacks are Vanishing over the edge of the plane and to the area I've never seen KO kneels beside clove spear in hand begging her to stay with him in a moment he will realize it's feudal she can't be saved I crash into the trees repeatedly swiping away the blood that's pouring into my eye fleeing like the wild wounded creature I am after a few minutes I hear the cannon and I know the clove has died the KO will be on one of our Trails either threshes or M M I'm seized with Terror weak from my head wound shaking I load an arrow but KO can throw that spear almost as far as I can shoot only one thing calms me down thresh has K's backpack containing the thing he needs desperately if I had to bet KO headed out after thresh not me still I don't slow down when I reach the water I plunge right in Boots still on and Flounder Downstream I pull off ruse socks that I've been using for gloves and press them into my forehead trying to staunch the flow of blood but they're soaked in minutes somehow I make it back to the cave I squeeze through the rocks in the dappled light I pull the little orange backpack from my arm cut open the clasp and dump the contents on the ground One slim box containing one hypodermic needle without hesitating I jammed the needle into peta's arm and slowly pressed down on the plunger my hands go to my head and then drop to my lap slick with blood the last thing I remember is an exquisitely beautiful green and silver moth landing on the curve of my wrist chapter 22 the sound of rain drumming on the roof of our house gently pulls me toward Consciousness I fight to return to sleep though wrapped in a warm Cocoon of blank gets safe at home I'm vaguely aware that my head aches possibly I have the flu and this is why I'm allowed to stay in bed even though I can tell I've been asleep a long time my mother's hand Strokes my cheek and I don't push it away as I would in wakefulness never wanting her to know how much I crave that Gentle Touch how much I miss her even though I still don't trust her then there's a voice the wrong voice not my mother's and I'm scared Katniss it says Katniss can you hear me my eyes open and the sense of security vanishes I'm not home not with my mother I'm in a dim chilly cave my bare feet freezing despite the cover the air tainted with the unmistakable smell of blood a hagard pale face of a boy slides into view and after an initial jolt of alarm I feel better Peta hey he says good to see your eyes again how long have I been out I asked not sure I woke up yesterday evening and you were lying next to me in a very scary pool of blood he says I think it stopped finally but I wouldn't sit up or anything I gingerly lift my hand to my head and find it bandaged this simple gesture leaves me weak and dis busy Peta holds a bottle to my lips and I drink thirstily you're better I say much better whatever you shot into my arm did the trick he says by this morning almost all the swelling in my leg was gone he doesn't seem angry about my tricking him drugging him and running off to the feast maybe I'm just too beat up and I'll hear about it later when I'm stronger but for the moment he's all gentleness did you eat I asked I'm sorry to say I gobbled down three pieces of that grueling before I realized it might have to last a while don't worry I'm back on a strict diet he says no it's good you need to eat I'll go hunting soon I say not too soon all right he says you just let me take care of you for a while I don't really seem to have much Choice Peta feeds me bites of grueling and raisins and makes me drink plenty of water he rubs some warmth back into my feet and wraps them in his jacket before tucking the sleeping bag back up around my chin your boots and socks are still damp and the weather's not helping much he says there's a clap of thunder and I see lightning Electrify the sky through an opening in the Rocks rain drips through several holes in the ceiling but Peta has built a sort of canopy over my head and upper body by wedging the square of plastic into the Rocks above me wonder what brought on this storm I mean who's the target says Peta KO and thresh I say without thinking fox face will be in her Den somewhere and clove she cut me and then my voice Trails off I know cl's dead I saw it in the Sky last night he says did you kill her no thresh broke her skull with a rock I say lucky he didn't catch you too says PETA the memory of the feast Returns full force and I feel sick he did but he let me go then of course I have to tell him about things I've kept to myself because he was too sick to ask and I wasn't ready to relive anyway like the explosion and my ear and ruse dying and the boy from District 1 and the bread all of which leads to what happened with thresh and how he was paying off a debt of sorts he let you go because he didn't want to owe you anything asks Peta in disbelief yes I don't expect you to understand it you've always had enough but if you lived in the seam I wouldn't have to explain I say and don't try obviously I'm too dim to get it he says it's like the bread how I never seem to get over owing you for that I say the bread what from when we were kids he said say I think we can let that go I mean you just brought me back from the dead but you didn't know me we had never even spoken besides it's the first gift that's always the hardest to pay back I wouldn't even have been here to do it if you hadn't helped me then I say why did you anyway why you know why Peter says I give my head a slight painful Shake hey Mitch said you would take a lot convincing hey Mitch I ask what's he got to do with it nothing Peta says so KO and thresh huh I guess it's too much to hope that they'll simultaneously destroy each other but the thought only upsets me I think we would like thresh I think he'd be our friend back in district 12 I say then let's hope KO kills him so we don't have to says Peta grimly I don't want KO to kill thresh at all I don't want anyone else to die but this is absolutely not the kind of thing that Victors go around saying in the arena despite my best efforts I can feel tears starting to pull in my eyes Peta looks at me in concern what is it are you in a lot of pain I give him another answer because it is equally true but can be taken as a brief moment of weakness instead of a terminal one I want to go home Peta I say plaintively like a small child you will I promise he says and bends over to give me a kiss I want to go home now I say tell you what you go back to sleep and dream of home and you'll be there for real before you know it he says okay okay I whisper wake me if you need me to keep watch I'm good and rested thanks to you and he Mitch besides who knows how long this will last he says what does he mean the storm the brief respit it brings us the games themselves I don't know but I'm too sad and tired to ask it's evening when Peta wakes me again the rain has turned to a downpour sending streams of water through our ceiling where earlier there had been only drips Peta has placed the broth pot under the worst one and repositioned the plastic to deflect most of it from me I feel a bit better able to sit up without getting too dizzy and I'm absolutely famished so is PETA it's clear he's been waiting for me to wake up to eat and is eager to get started there's not much left two pieces of grueling a small mish mash of roots and a handful of dried fruit should we try and ration it Peta asks no let's just finish it the grueling is getting old anyway and the last thing we need is to get sick off spoiled food I say dividing the food into two equal piles we try and eat slowly but we're both so hungry we're done in a couple of minutes my stomach is in no way satisfied tomorrow's a hunting day I say I won't be much help with that Peta says I've never hunted before I'll kill and you cook I say and you can always gather I wish there was some sort of bread Bush out there says Peta the bread they sent me from District 11 was still warm I say with a sigh here chew these I hand him a couple of mint leaves and pop a few in my own mouth it's hard to even see the projection in the sky but it's clear enough to know there were no more deaths today so Po and thresh haven't had it out yet where did thresh go I mean what's on the far side of the circle I asked Peta a field as far as you can see it's full of grasses as high as my shoulders I don't know maybe some of them are grain they're patches of different colors but there are no paths says Peta I bet some of them are grain I bet thresh knows which ones too I say did you go in there no nobody really wanted to track thresh down in that grass it has a Sinister feeling to it every time I look at that field all I can think of our hidden things snakes and rabbit animals and quicksand Peta says there could be anything in there I don't say so but peta's words remind me of the warnings they give us about not going beyond the fence in district 12 I can't help for a moment comparing him with Gail who would see that field as a potential source of food as well as a threat thresh certainly did it's not that pet is soft exactly and he's proved he's not a coward but there are things you don't question too much I guess when your home always smells like baking bread whereas Gail questions everything what would Peta think of the irreverent banter that passes between us as we break the law each day would it shock him the things we say about panm Gail's tyraids against the capital maybe there is a bread bush in that field I say maybe that's why thresh looks better fed now than when we started the games either that or he's got very generous sponsors says Peta I wonder what we'd have to do to get hch to send us some bread I raised my eyebrows before I remember he doesn't know about the message hitch sent us a couple of nights ago one kiss equals one pot of broth it's not the sort of thing I can blurt out either to say my thoughts aloud would be tipping off the AUD audence that the romance has been fabricated to play on their sympathies and that would result in no food at all somehow believably I've got to get things back on track something simple to start with I reach out and take his hand well you probably used up a lot of resources helping me knock you out I say mischievously yeah about that says Peta entwining his fingers in mine don't try something like that again or what I ask or or he can't think of anything good just give me a minute what's the problem I say with a grin the problem is we're both still alive which only reinforces the idea in your mind that you did the right thing says Peta I did do the right thing I say no just don't Katniss his grip tightens hurting my hand and there's real anger in his voice don't die for me you won't be doing me any favors all right I'm startled by his intensity but recognize an excellent opportunity for getting food so I try to keep up maybe I did it for myself Peta did you ever think of that maybe you aren't the only one who who worries about what it would be like if I fumble I'm not as smooth with words as Peta and while I was talking the idea of actually losing PETA to hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die and it's not about the sponsors and it's not about what will happen back home and it's not just that I don't want to be alone it's him I do not want to lose the boy with the bread if what Katniss he says softly I wish I could pull the shutters closed blocking out this moment from the prying eyes of panm even if it means losing food whatever I'm feeling it's no one's business but mine that's exactly the kind of topic haage told me to steer clear of I say evasively although hch never said anything of the kind in fact he's probably cursing me out right now for dropping the ball during such an emotionally charged moment but Peta somehow catches it then I'll just have to fill in the blanks myself he says and moves into me this is the first kiss that we're both fully aware of neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold this is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest warm and curious this is the first kiss that makes me want another but I don't get it well I do get a second kiss but it's just a light one on the tip of my nose because Pet's been distracted I think your wound is bleeding again come on my down it's bedtime anyway he says my socks are dry enough to wear now I make Peta put his jacket back on the damp cold seems to cut right down to my bones so he must be half Frozen I insist on taking the first watch too although neither of us think it's likely anyone will come in this weather but he won't agree unless I'm in the bag too and I'm shivering so hard that it's pointless to object in stark contrast to two night ago when I felt Peta was a million miles away I'm struck by his immediacy now as we settle in he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep no one has help me like this in such a long time since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother no one else's arms have made me feel this safe with the aid of the glasses I lie watching the drip of water splatter on the cave floor rhythmic and lulling several times I drift off briefly and then snap awake guilty and angry with myself after 3 or 4 hours I can't help it I have to Rouse Peta because I can't keep my eyes open he doesn't seem to mind tomorrow when it's dry I'll find us a place so high in the trees we can both sleep in peace I promise as I drift off but tomorrow is no better in terms of weather the Deluge continues as if the game makers are intent on washing us all away the Thunder's so powerful it seems to shake the ground heet is considering heading out anyway to scavenge for food but I tell him in this storm it would be pointless he won't be able to see 3 fet in front of his face and he'll only end up getting soaked to the skin for his troubles he knows I'm right but the gnawing in our stomachs is becoming painful the day drags on turning into evening and there's no break in the weather hitch is our only hope but nothing is forthcoming either from lack of money everything will cost an exorbitant amount or because he's dissatisfied with our performance probably the latter I'd be the first to admit we're not exactly riveting today starving weak from injuries trying not to reopen wounds we're sitting huddled together wrapped in the sleeping bag yes but mostly to keep warm the most exciting thing either of us does is nap I'm not really sure how to ramp up the romance the kiss last night was nice but working up to another will take some forethought there are girls in the seam some of the merchant girls too who navigate these Waters so easily but I've never had much time or use for it anyway just a kiss isn't enough anymore clearly because if it was we'd have gotten food last night my instincts tell me hch isn't just looking for physical affection he wants something more personal the sort of stuff he was trying to get me to tell about myself when we were practicing for the interview I'm rotten at it but pet Do's not maybe the best approach is to get him talking Peta I say lightly you said at the interview you'd had a crush on me forever when did forever start oh let's see I guess the first day of school we were five you had on a red plaid dress and your hair it was in two braids instead of one my father pointed you out when we were waiting to line up Peta says your father why I asked he said see that little girl I wanted to marry her mother but she ran off with a coal miner Peta says what you're making that up I exclaim no true story Peta says and I said a coal miner why did she want a coal miner if she could have had you and he said because when he sings even the Birds stop to listen that's true they do I mean they did I say I'm stunned and surprisingly moved thinking of the baker telling this to Peta it strikes me that my own reluctance to sing my own dismissal of Music might not really be that I think it's a waste of time it might be because it reminds me too much of my father so that day in music assembly the teacher asked who knew the valley song your hand shot right up in the air she stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us and I swear every bird outside the windows fell silent Peta says please I say laughing no it happened and right when you're saw ended I knew just like your mother I was a goner Peta says then for the next 11 years I tried to work up the nerve to talk to you without success I add without success so in a way my name being drawn in the reaping was a real piece of luck says Peta for a moment I'm almost foolishly happy and then confusion sweeps over me because we're supposed to be making up this stuff playing at being in love not actually being in love but peta's story has a ring of truth to it that part about my father and the birds and I did sing the first day of school although I don't remember the song and that red plaid dress there was one a hand me- down to Prim that got washed to rags after my father's death it would explain another thing too why Peta took a beating to give me the bread on that awful Hollow day so if the those details are true could it all be true you have a remarkable memory I say haltingly I remember everything about you says Peta tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear you're the one who wasn't paying attention I am now I say well I don't have much competition here he says I want to draw away to close those shutters again but I no I can't it's as if I can hear hitch whispering in my ear say it say it I swallow hard and get the words out you don't have much competition anywhere and this time it's me who leans in our lips have just barely touched when the clunk outside makes us jump my bow comes up the arrow ready to fly but there's no other sound Peta peers through the rocks and then gives a whoop before I can stop him he's out in the rain then handing something into me a silver parachute attached to a basket I rip it open at once and inside there's a feast fresh rolls goat cheese apples and best of all a terine of that incredible lamb stew on wild rice the very dish I told Caesar flickerman was the most impressive thing the capital had to offer PETA wriggled back inside his face lit up like the sun I guess hch finally got tired of watching us starve I guess so I answer but in my head I can hear hitch's smug if slightly exasperated words yes that's what I'm looking for sweetheart chapter 23 every cell in my body wants me to dig into the stew and cram it handful by handful into my mouth but peta's voice stops me we better take it slow on that stew remember the first night on the train the rich food made me sick and I wasn't even starving then you're right and I could just inhale the whole thing I say regretfully but I don't we are quite sensible we each have a roll half an apple and an eggsize serving of stew and rice I make myself the SE in tiny spoonfuls they even sent us silverware in plates savoring each bite when we finish I stare longingly at the dish I want more me too tell you what we wait an hour if it stays down then we get another serving Peta says agreed I say it's going to be a long hour maybe not that long says Peta what was that you were saying just before the food arrived something about me no competition best thing that ever happened to you I don't remember that last part I say hoping it's too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush oh that's right that's what I was thinking he says scoot over I'm freezing I make room for him in the sleeping bag we Lean Back Against The Cave wall my head on his shoulder his arms wrapped around me I can feel hitch nudging me to keep up the act so since we were five you never even noticed any other girls I asked him no I noticed just about every girl but none of them made a lasting impression but you he says I'm sure that would thrill your parents you liking a girl from the seam I say hardly but I couldn't care less anyway if we make it back you won't be a girl from the seam you'll be a girl from the Victor's Village he says that's right if we win we'll each get a house in the part of town reserved for Hunger Games Victors long ago when the games began the capital had built a dozen fine houses in each district of course in ours only one is occupied most of the others have never been lived in at all a disturbing thought hits me but then our only neighbor will be haitch ah that'll be nice says Peta tightening his arms around me you and me and haitch very cozy picnics birthdays Long Winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games Tales I told you he hates me I say but I can't help laughing at the image of Hamish becoming my new pal only sometimes when he's sober I've never heard him say one negative thing about you says Peta he's never sober I protest that's right who am I thinking of oh I know it's sinna who likes you but that's mainly because you didn't try to run when he set you on fire says Peta on the other hand hitch well if I were you I'd avoid hitch completely he hates you I thought you said I was his favorite I say he hates me more says Peta I don't think people in general are his sort of thing I know the audience will enjoy our having fun at hitch's expense he has been around so long he's practically an old friend to some of them and after his head dive off the stage at the reaping everybody knows him by this time they'll have dragged him out of the control room for interviews about us no telling what sort of lies he's made up he's at something of a disadvantage because most mentors have a partner another Victor to help them whereas hch has to be ready to go into action at any moment kind of like me when I was alone in the arena I wonder how he's holding up with the drinking the attention and the stress of trying to Keep Us Alive it's funny hech and I don't get along well in person but maybe Peta is right about us being alike because he seems able to communicate with me by the timing of his gifts like how I knew I must be close to water when he withheld it and how I knew the sleep serrup just wasn't something to ease peta's pain and how I know now that I have to play up the romance he hasn't made much effort to connect with Peta really perhaps he thinks a bowl of broth would just be a bowl of broth to Peta whereas I'll see the strings attached to it a thought hits me and I'm amazed the questions taken so long to surface maybe it's because I've only recently begun to view hch with a degree of curiosity how do you think he did it who did what Peta asks hey Mitch how do you think he won the games I say Peta considers this quite a while before he answers hitch is sturdily built but no physical Wonder like KO or thresh he's not particularly handsome not in the way that causes sponsors to rein gifts on you and he's so Surly it's hard to imagine anyone teaming up with him there's only one way hitch could have won and Peta says it just as I'm reaching this conclusion myself he outsmarted the others says Peta I nod then let the conversation drop but secretly I'm wondering if hch sobered up long enough to help Peta and me because he thought we just might have the wits to survive maybe he wasn't always a drunk maybe in the beginning he tried to help the tributes but then it got unbearable it must be hell to Mentor two kids and then watch them die year after year after year I realized that if I get out of here that will become my job to Mentor the girl from District 12 the idea is so repellent I thrust it from my mind about half an hour has passed before I decide I have to eat again Pete is too hungry himself to put up an argument while I'm dishing up two more small servings of lamb stew and rice we hear the anthem begin to play Peter presses his eyes against a crack in the rocks to watch the sky there won't be anything to see tonight I say far more interested in the stew than the sky nothing's happened or we would have heard a cannon cutness Peta says quietly what should we split another Ro too I asked cutness he repeats but I find myself wanting to ignore him I'm going to split one but I'll save the cheese for tomorrow I say I see Peta staring at me what thrush is dead says Peta he can't be I say they must have fired the cannon during the Thunder and we missed it says Peta are you sure I mean it's pouring buckets out there I don't know how you can see anything I say I push him away from the rocks and squint out into the dark rainy sky for about 10 seconds I catch a distorted glimpse of thresh's picture and then he's gone just like that I slumped down against the Rocks momentarily forgetting about the task at hand thresh dead I should be happy right one less tribute to face and a powerful one too but I'm not happy all I can think about is thresh letting me go letting me run because of Ru who died with that spear in her stomach you all right asks Peter I give a non-committal shrug and cut my elbows in my hands hugging them close to my body I have to bury the real pain because who's going to bet on a tribute who keeps sniveling over the deaths of her opponents Rue was one thing we were allies she was so young but no one will understand my sorrow at thresh's murder the word pulls me up short murder thankfully I didn't say it aloud that's not going to win me any points in the arena what I do say is is it's just if we didn't win I wanted thresh to because he let me go and because of Ru yeah I know says Peta but this means we're one step closer to District 12 he nudges a plate of food into my hands eat it's still warm I take a bite of the stew to show I don't really care but it's like glue in my mouth and takes a lot of effort to swallow it also means KO will be back hunting us and he's got supplies again says Peta he'll be wounded I bet I say what makes you say that Peta asks because thresh would have never gone down without a fight he's so strong I mean he was and they were in his territory I say good says Peta the more wounded KO is the better I wonder how fox face is making out oh she's fine I say peevishly I'm still angry she thought of hiding in the cornicopia and I didn't probably be easier to catch KO than her maybe they'll catch each other and we can just go home says Peta but we better be extra careful about the watches I dozed off a few times me too I admit but not tonight we finish our food in silence and then Peta offers to take the first watch I burrowed down in the sleeping bag next to him pulling my hood up over my face to hide it from the cameras I just need a few moments of privacy where I can let any emotion cross my face without being seen under the hood I silently say goodbye to thresh and thank him for my life I promise to remember him and if I can do something to help his family and ruse if I win then I escape into sleep comforted by a full belly and the steady warmth of PETA beside me when PETA a wakes me later the first thing I register is the smell of goat cheese he's holding out half a roll spread with the creamy white stuff and topped with apple slices don't be mad he says I had to eat again here's your half oh good I say immediately taking a huge bite the strong fatty cheese tastes just like the kind Prim makes the apples are sweet and crunchy M we make a goat Che and apple tart at the bakery he says bet that's expensive I say too expensive for my family to eat unless it's gone very stale of course practically everything we eat is stale says Peta pulling the sleeping bag up around him in less than a minute he's snoring huh I always assume the shopkeepers live a soft life and it's true Peta has always had enough to eat but there's something kind of depressing about living your life on stale bread the hard dry loaves that no one else wanted one thing about us since I bring our food home on a daily basis most of it is so fresh you have to make sure it isn't going to make a run for it somewhere during my shift the rain stops not gradually but all at once the downpour ends and there's only the residual drippings of water from branches the rush of the now overflowing stream below us a full beautiful moon emerges and even without the glasses I can see outside I can't decide if the moon is real or merely a projection of the game makers I know it was full shortly before I left home Gail and I watched it rise as we hunted into the late hours how long have I been gone I'm guessing it's been about 2 weeks in the arena and there was that week of preparation in the capital maybe the moon has completed its cycle for some reason I badly want it to be my moon the same one I see from the woods around District 12 that would give me something to cling to in The Surreal world of the Arena where the authenticity of everything is to be doubted four of us left for the first time I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home to fame to wealth to my own house in the Victor's Village my mother and Prim would live there with me no more fear of hunger a new kind of freedom but then what what would my life be like on a daily basis most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food take that away and I'm not really sure who I am what my identity is the idea is scares me some I think of hitch with all his money what did his life become he lives alone no wife or children most of his waking hours drunk I don't want to end up like that but you won't be alone I whispered to myself I have my mother and Prim well for the time being and then I don't want to think about then when Prim has grown up my mother passed away I know I'll never marry never risk bringing a child into the world because if there's one thing being a Victor doesn't guarantee it's your children's safety my kids names would go right into the reaping balls with everyone else's and I swear I'll never let that happen the sun eventually Rises it's light slipping through the cracks and Illuminating peta's face who will he transform into if we make it home this perplexing good-natured boy who can spin out lies so convincingly the whole of panm believes him to be hopelessly in love with me and I'll admit it there are moments when he makes me believe it myself at least we'll be friends I think nothing will change the fact that we've saved each other's lives in here and beyond that he will always be the boy with the bread good friends anything beyond that though and I feel Gail's gray eyes watching me watching Peta all the way from District 12 discomfort causes me to move I scoot over and Shake peta's shoulder his eyes open sleepily and when they focus on me he pulls me down for a long kiss we're wasting hunting time I say when I finally break away I wouldn't call it wasting he says giving a big stretch as he sits up so do we hunt on empty stomachs to give us an edge not us I say we stuff ourselves to give us staying power Count Me In Peta says but I can see he's surprised when I divide the rest of the stew and rice and hand a heaping plate to him all this we'll earn it back today I say and we both plow into our plates even cold it's one of the best things I've ever tasted I abandon my for and scrape up the last dabs of gravy with my finger I can feel Effie Trinket shuttering at my manners hey Effie watch this says Peta he tosses his Fork over his shoulder and literally licks his plate clean with his tongue making loud satisfied sounds and he blows a kiss out to her in general and calls we miss you fie I cover his mouth with my hand but I'm laughing stop KO could be right outside our cave he grabs my hand away what do I care I've got you to protect me now says Peta pulling me to him come on I say in exasperation extricating myself from his grasp but not before he gets in another kiss once we're packed up and standing outside our cave our mood shifts to serious it's as though for the last few days sheltered by the rocks and the rain and Ko's preoccupation with thresh we were given a respit a holiday of sorts now although the day is sunny and warm we both sense we're really back in the games I handp of my knife since whatever weapons he once had are long gone and he slips it into his belt my last Seven Arrows of the 12 I sacrificed three in the explosion two at the feast rattle a bit too Loosely in the quiver I can't afford to lose anymore he'll be hunting Us by now says Peta KO isn't one to wait for his prey to wander by if he's wounded I begin it won't matter Peta breaks in if he can move he's coming with all the rain the stream has overrun its banks by several feet on either side we stopped there to replenish our water I checked the snares I set days ago and come up empty not surprising with the weather besides I haven't seen many animals or signs of them in this area if we want food we better head back up to my old hunting grounds I say you're call just tell me what you need me to do Peta says keep an eye out I say stay on the Rocks as much as possible no sense in leaving him tracks to follow and listen for both of us it's clear at this point that the explosion destroyed the hearing in my left ear for good I'd walk in the water to cover our tracks completely but I'm not sure peta's leg could take the current although the drugs have erased the infection he's still pretty weak my forehead hurts along the knife cut but after 3 days the bleeding has stopped I wear a bandage around my head though just in case physical exertion should bring it back as we head up alongside the stream we passed the place where I found Peta camouflaged in the weeds and mud one good thing between the downpour and the flooded Banks all signs of his hiding place have been wiped out that means that if need be we can come back to our cave otherwise I wouldn't risk it with KO after us the boulders diminished to rocks that eventually turned to Pebbles and then to my relief were back on pine needles in the gentle incline of the forest floor for the first time I realized we have a problem navigating the rocky terrain with a bad leg well you're naturally going to make some noise but even on the smooth bed of needles Peta is loud and I mean loud loud as if he's stomping his feet or something I turn and look at him what he asks you've got to move more quietly I say forget about KO you're chasing off every rabbit in a 10mi radius really he says sorry I didn't know so we start up again and he's a tiny bit better but even with only one working ear he's making me jump can you take your boots off I suggest here he asks in disbelief as if I'd asked him to walk Barefoot on hot coals or something I have to remind myself that he's still not used to the woods that it's the scary forbidden place beyond the fences of District 12 I think of Gail with his velvet tread it's Eerie how little sound he makes even when the leaves have fallen and it's a challenge to move at all without chasing off the game I feel certain he's laughing back home yes I say Patiently I will too that way we'll both be quieter like I was making any noise so we both strip off our boots and socks and while there's some improvement I could swear he's making an effort to snap every Branch we encounter needless to say although it takes several hours to reach my old camp with Rue I've shot nothing if the stream would settle down fish might be an option but the is still too strong as we stop to rest and drink water I try to work out a solution ideally I'd dump Peta now with some simple root Gathering chore and go hunt but then he'd be left with only a knife to defend himself against Ko's Spears and Superior strength so what I'd really like is to try to conceal him somewhere safe then go hunt and come back and collect him but I have a feeling his ego isn't going to go for that suggestion cat he says we need to split up I know I'm chasing away the game only because your legs hurt I say generously because really you can tell that's only a small part of the problem I know he says so why don't you go on show me some plans together and that way we'll both be useful not if KO comes and kills you I tried to say it in a nice way but it still sounds like I think he's a weakling surprisingly he just laughs look I can handle KO I fought him before didn't I yeah and that turned out great you ended up dying in a mudbank that's what I want to say but I can't he did save my life by taking on KO after all I try another tactic what if you climbed up in a tree and acted as a lookout while I hunted I say trying to make it sound like very important work what if you show me what's edible around here and go get us some meat he says mimicking my tone just don't go far in case you need help I sigh and show him some roots to dig we do need food no question one apple two rolls and a blob of cheese the size of a plum won't last long I'll just go a short distance and hope KO is a long way off I teach him a bird whistle not a Melody like ruse but a simple two note whistle which we can use to communicate that we're all right fortunately he's good at this leaving him with a pack I head off I feel like I'm 11 again tethered not to the safety of the fence but to Peta allowing myself 20 maybe 30 yards of hunting space away from him though the woods come alive with animal sounds reassured by his periodic whistles I allow myself to drift farther away and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel to show for it I decide it's enough I can set snares and maybe get some some fish with peta's roots this will be enough for now as I traveled the short distance back I realized we haven't exchanged signals in a while when my whistle receives no response I run in no time I find the pack a neat pile of roots beside it the sheet of plastic has been laid on the ground where the sun can reach the single layer of berries that covers it but where is he Peta I call out in a panic Peter I turned to the russler of brush and almost sent an arrow through him fortunately I pull my bow at the last second and it sticks in an oak trunk to his left he jumps back flinging a handful of berries into the foliage my fear comes out as anger what are you doing you're supposed to be here not running around in the woods I found some berries down by the stream he says clearly confused by my Outburst I whistled why didn't you whistle back I SN snap at him I didn't hear the water's too loud I guess he says he crosses and puts his hands on my shoulders that's when I feel that I'm trembling I thought KO killed you I almost shout no I'm fine Peta wraps his arms around me but I don't respond catness I push away trying to sort out my feelings if two people agree on a signal they stay in range because if one of them doesn't answer they're in trouble all right all right he says all right because that's what happened with Rue and I watched her die I say I turn away from him go to the pack and open a fresh bottle of water although I still have some in mine but I'm not ready to forgive him I noticed the food the rolls and apples are untouched but someone's definitely picked Away part of the cheese and you ate without me I really don't care I just want something else to be mad about what no I didn't Peta says oh and I suppose the apples ate the cheese I say I don't know what ate the cheese Peta says slowly and distinctly as if trying not to lose his temper but it wasn't me I've been down by the stream collecting berries would you care for some I would actually but I don't want to relent too soon I do walk over and look at them I've never seen this type before no I have but not in the arena these aren't Rose berries although they resemble them nor do they match any I learned about in training I lean down and scoop up a few rolling them between my fingers my father's voice comes back to me not these Katniss never these they're nightlock you'll be dead before they reach your stomach just then the cannon fires I whip around expecting Peta to collapse to the ground but he only raises his eyebrows the hovercraft appears a 100 yards or so away what's left of fox Face's emaciated body is lifted into the air I can see the red glint of her hair in the sunlight I should have known The Moment I Saw The Missing cheese Peta has me by the arm pushing me toward a tree climb he'll be here in a second we'll stand a better chance fighting him from above I stop him suddenly calm no Peta she's your kill not Kos what I haven't even seen her since the first day he says how could I have killed her in answer I hold out the berries chapter 24 it takes a while to explain the situation to how fox face stole the food from the supply pile before I blew it up how she tried to take enough to stay alive but not enough that anyone would notice it how she wouldn't question the safety of berries we were preparing to eat ourselves I wonder how she found us says Peta my fault I guess if I'm as loud as you say we were about as hard to follow as a herd of cattle but I tried to be kind and she's very clever Peta well she was until you out foxed her not on purpose doesn't seem fair somehow I mean we would have both been dead too if she hadn't eaten the berries first he checks himself no of course we wouldn't you recognized them didn't you I give a nod we call them nightlock even the name sounds deadly he says I'm sorry Katniss I really thought they were the same ones you'd gathered don't apologize it just means we're one step closer to home right I ask I'll get rid of the rest Peta says he gathers up the sheet of blue plastic careful to trap the berries inside and goes to toss them into the woods wait I cry I find The Leather Pouch that belonged to the boy from District 1 and fill it with a few handfuls of berries from the plastic if they fooled fox face maybe they can fool KO as well if he's chasing us or something we can act like we accidentally drop the pouch and if he eats them then hello District 12 says Peta that's it I say securing the pouch to my belt he'll know where we are now says Peta if he was anywhere nearby and saw that hovercraft he'll know we killed her and come after us Peter's right this could be just the opportunity K's been waiting for but even if we run now there's the meat to cook and our fire will be another sign of our whereabouts let's make a fight right now I begin to gather branches and brush are you ready to face him Peta asks I'm ready to eat better to cook our food while we have the chance if he knows we're here he knows but he also knows there's two of us and probably assumes we were hunting Foxface that means you're recovered and the fire means we're not hiding we're inviting him here would you show up I asked maybe not he says pet is a whiz with fires coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood in no time I have the rabbits and squirrel roasting The Roots wrapped in leaves baking in the coals we take turns Gathering greens and keeping a careful watch for KO but as I anticipated he doesn't make an appearance when the food's cooked I pack most of it up leaving us each rabbit's leg to eat as we walk I want to move higher into the woods climb a good tree and make camp for the night but Peta resists I can't climb like you Katniss especially with my leg and I don't think I could ever fall asleep 50 ft above the ground it's not safe to stay in the open Peta I say can't we go back to the cave he asks it's near water and easy to defend I sigh several more hours of walking or should I say crashing through the woods to reach an area we'll just have to leave in the morning to hunt but Peta doesn't ask for much he's followed my instructions all day and I'm sure if things were reversed he wouldn't make me spend the night in a tree it Dawns on me that I haven't been very nice to Peta today nagging him about how loud he was screaming at him over disappearing the playful romance we had sustained in the cave has disappeared out in the open under the hot sun with the threat of ko looming over us hey Mitch has probably just about had it with me and as for the audience I reach up and give him a kiss sure let's go back to the cave he looks pleased and relieved wa that was easy I work my arrow out of the oak careful not to damage the shaft these arrows are food safety and life itself now we toss a bunch more wood on the fire it should be sending off smoke for a few more hours although I doubt KO assumes anything at this point when we reach the Stream I see the water has dropped considerably and moves at its old leisurely pace so I suggest we walk back in it peta's happy to oblige and since he's a lot quieter in water than on land it's a doubly good idea it's a long walk back to the cave though even going downward even with the rabbit to give us a boost we're both exhausted by our hike today and still way too underfed I keep my bow loaded both for KO and any fish I might see but the stream seems strangely empty of creatures by the time we reach our destination our feet are dragging and the sun sets low on the horizon we fill up our water bottles and climb the little slope to our den it's not much but out here in the wilderness is the closest thing we have to a home it will be warmer than a tree too because it provides some Shelter From The Wind that has begun to blow steadily in from the West I set a good dinner out but halfway through Peta begins to knod off after days of inactivity the hunt has taken its toll I order him into the sleeping bag and set aside the rest of his food for when he wakes he drops off immediately I pull the sleeping bag up to his chin and kiss his forehead not for the audience but for me because I'm so grateful that he's still here Not Dead by the stream as I thought so glad that I don't have to face KO alone brutal bloody KO who can snap a neck with a Twist of his arm who had the power to overcome thresh who has had it out for me since the beginning he probably has had a special hatred for me ever since I outscored him in training a boy like Peta would simply shrug that off but I have a feeling it drove KO to distraction which is not that hard I think of his ridiculous reaction to finding the supplies blown up the others were upset of course but he was completely unhinged I wonder now if KO might not be entirely insane the sky lights up with the seal and I watch Fox's face shine in the sky and then disappear from the world forever he hasn't said it but I don't think Peta felt good about killing her even if it was essential I can't pretend I'll miss her but I have to admire her my guess is if they had given us some sort of test she would have been the smartest of all the tributes if in fact we had been setting a trap for her I bet she'd have sensed it and avoided the berries it was peta's own ignorance that brought her down I've spent so much time making sure I don't underestimate my opponents that I've forgotten it's just as dangerous to overestimate them as well that brings me back to KO but while I think I had a sense of fox face who she was and how she operated he's a little more slippery powerful well-trained but smart I don't know not like she was and utterly lacking in the control fox face demonstrated I believe KO could easily lose his judgment in a fit of temper not that I can feel Superior on that point I think of the moment I sent the arrow flying into the Apple in the pig's mouth when I was so enraged maybe I do understand KO better than I think despite the fatigue in my body my mind's alert so I let Peta sleep long past our usual switch in fact a soft gray day has begun when I shake his shoulder he looks out almost in alarm I slept the whole night that's not fair Katniss you should have woken me I stretch and burrowed down into the bag I'll sleep now wake me if anything interesting happens apparently nothing does because when I open my eyes bright hot afternoon light gleams through the Rocks any sign of our friend I ask Peter shakes his head no he's keeping a disturbingly low profile how long do you think we'll have before the game makers drive us together I asked well fox face died almost a day ago so there's been plenty of time for the audience to place bets and get bored I guess it could happen at any moment says Peta yeah I have a feeling today is the day I say I sit up and look out at the peaceful Terrain I wonder how they'll do it Peta remains silent there's not really any good answer well until they do no sense in wasting a hunting day but we should probably eat as much as we can hold just in case we run into trouble I say Peta packs up our gear while I lay out a big meal the rest of the rabbits Roots greens the rolls spread with the last bit of cheese the only thing I leave in reserve is the squirrel and the Apple by the time we're done all that's left is a pile of rabbit bones my hands are greasy which only adds to my growing feeling of grubbiness maybe we don't bathe daily in the seam but we keep cleaner than I have of late except for my feet which have walked in the Stream I'm covered in a layer of grime leaving the cave has a sense of finality about it I don't think there will be another night in the arena somehow one way or the other dead or alive I have the feeling I'll Escape it today I give the Rocks a pat goodbye and we head down to the stream to wash up I can feel my skin itching for the cool water I may do my hair and braid it back wet I'm wondering if we might even be able to give our clothes a quick scrub when we reach the stream or what used to be the stream now there's only a bone dry bed I put my hand down to feel it not even a little damp they must have drained it while we slept I say a fear of the cracked tongue aching body and fuzzy mind brought on by my previous dehydration creeps into my Consciousness our bottles and skin are fairly full but with two drinking and this hot sun it won't take long to deplete them the lake Peta says that's where they want us to go maybe the ponds still have some I say hopefully we can cheuck he says but he's just humoring me I'm humoring myself because I know what I'll find when we return to the pond where I soaked my leg a Dusty gaping mouth of a hole but we make the trip anyway just to confirm what we already know you're right they're driving us to the lake I say where there's no cover were they're guaranteed a bloody fight to the death with nothing to block their view do you want go straight away or wait until the water's tapped out let's go now while we've had food and rest let's just go end this thing he says I nod it's funny I feel almost as if it's the first day of the games again then I'm in the same position 21 tributes are dead but I still have yet to kill KO and really wasn't he always the one to kill now it seems the other tributes were just minor obstacles distractions keeping us from the real battle of the games KO and me but no there's the boy waiting beside me I feel his arms wrap around me two against one should be a piece of cake he says next time we eat it will be in the capital I answer you bet it will he says we stand there a while locked in an Embrace feeling each other the Sun light the rustle of the leaves at our feet then without a word we break apart and head for the lake I don't care now that peta's footfalls send rodent scurrying make Birds Take Wing we have to fight KO and i' just as soon do it here as on the plane but I doubt I'll have that choice if the game makers want us in the open then in the open we will be we stopped to rest for a few moments under the tree where the careers trapped me the husk of the tracker Jacker Nest beaten to a pulp by the heavy rains and dried in the burning Sun confirms the location I touch it with the tip of my boot and it dissolves into dust that is quickly carried off by the breeze I can't help looking up in the tree where Ru secretly perched waiting to save my life tracker jackers glimmer bloated body the terrifying hallucinations let's move on I say wanting to escape the darkness that surrounds this place Peta doesn't object given our late start to the day when we reach the plane it's already early evening there's no sign of ko no sign of anything except the gold Cornucopia glowing in the slanting sun rays just in case KO decided to pull a fox face on us we Circle the cornicopia to make sure it's empty then obediently as if following instructions we crossed to the lake and fill our water containers I frown at the shrinking Sun we don't want to fight him after dark there's only the one pair of glasses Peta carefully squeezes drops of iodine into the water maybe that's what he's waiting for what do you want to do go back to the cave either that or find a tree but let's give him another half an hour or so then we'll take cover I answer we sit by the lake in full sight there's no point in hiding now in the trees at the edge of the plane I can see the Mocking Jays flitting about bouncing Melodies back and forth between them like brightly colored balls I open my mouth and sing out ruse four note run I can feel them pause curiously at the sound of my voice listening for more I repeat the notes in the silent first one mocking jay trills the tune back then another then the whole world comes alive with the sound just like your father says Peta my fingers find the PIN on my shirt that's ruse song I say I think they remember it the music swells and I recognize the Brilliance of it as the notes overlap they compliment one another forming a lovely unearthly Harmony it was this sound then thanks to Ru that sent the orchard workers of District 11 home each night night does someone start it at quitting time I wonder now that she is dead for a while I just close my eyes and listen mesmerized by the beauty of the song then something begins to disrupt the music runs cut off in Jagged imperfect lines dissonant notes intersperse with the melody the mocking Jay's voices rise up in a shrieking Cry of alarm we're on our feet Peta wielding his knife me poised to shoot when KO smashes through the trees and bears down on us he has no spear in fact his hands are empty yet he runs straight for us my first Arrow hits his chest and inexplicably Falls aside he's got some kind of body armor I shout to Peta just in time too because KO is upon us I brace myself but he Rockets right between us with no attempt to check his speed I can tell from his panting the sweat pouring off his purplish face that he's been running hard a long time not toward us from something but what my eyes scann the woods just in time to see the first creature leap onto the plane as I'm turning away I see another half dozen join it then I am stumbling blindly after KO with no thought of anything but to save myself chapter 25 mations no question about it I've never seen these muts but they're no natural born animals they resemble huge wolves but what wolf lands and then balances easily on its hind legs what wolf waves the rest of the pack forward with its front paw as though it had a wrist these things I can see at a distance up close I'm sure they're more menacing at attributes will be revealed KO has made a beine for the Cornucopia and without question I follow him if he thinks it's the safest place who am I to argue besides even if I could make it to the trees it would be impossible for PETA to outrun them on that leg Peta my hands have just landed on the metal at the pointed tail of the Cornucopia when I remember I'm part of a team he's about 15 yards behind me hobbling as fast as he can but the muts are closing in on him fast I send an arrow into the pack and one goes down but there are plenty to take its place Pete is waving me up the horn go Katniss go he's right I can't protect either of us on the ground I start climbing scaling the cornicopia on my hands and feet the pure gold surface has been designed to resemble the woven horn that we fill at Harvest so there are little ridges and seems to get a decent hold on but after a day in the arena Sun the metal feels hot enough to blister my hands KO lies on his side at the very top of the horn 20 ft above the ground gasping to catch his breath as he gags over the edge now's my chance to finish him off I stop Midway up the horn and load another arrow but just as I'm about to let it fly I hear Peta cry out I twist around and see he's just reached the tail and the muts are right on his heels climb I yell Peta starts up hampered by not only the leg but the knife in his hand I shoot my arrow down the throat of the first mut that places its paws on the metal as it dies the creature lashes out inadvertently opening gashes on a few of its companions that's when I get a look at the claw 4 inches and clearly razor sharp pedo reaches my feet and I grab his arm and pull him along then I remember KO waiting at the top and whip around but he's doubled over with cramps and apparently more preoccupied with the muts than us he coughs out something unintelligible the snuffling growling sound coming from the muts isn't helping what I shout at him he said can they climb it answers Peta drawing my focus back to the base of the horn the muts are beginning to assemble as they join together they raise up again to stand easily on their back legs giving them an early human quality each has a thick coat coat some with fur that is straight and Sleek others curly and the colors vary from jet black to what I can only describe as Blonde there's something else about them something that makes the hair rise up on the back of my neck but I can't put my finger on it they put their snouts on the horn sniffing and tasting the metal scraping Paws over the surface and then making high pitched yipping sounds to one another this must be how they communicate because the pack backs up as if to make room then one of them a good-sized mut with silky waves of blonde fur takes a running start and leaps onto the horn its back legs must be incredibly powerful because it lands a mere 10 ft below us its pink lips pulled back in a snarl for a moment it hangs there and in that moment I realize what else unsettled me about the muts the green eyes glowering at me are unlike any dog or wolf any canine I've ever seen they're unmistakably human and that Revelation has barely registered when I noticed the collar with the number one inlaid with jewels and the whole horrible thing hits me the blonde hair the green eyes the number it's glimmer a shriek escapes my lips and I'm having trouble holding the arrow in place I've been waiting to fire only too aware of my dwindling supply of arrows waiting to see if the creature can in fact climb but now even though the mut has begun to slide backward unable to find any purchase on the metal even though I can hear the slow screeching of the claws like nails on a Blackboard I fire into its throat his body twitches and flops onto the ground with a thud Katniss I can feel peta's grip on my arm it's her I get out who asks Peta my head snaps from side to side as I examined the pack taking in the various sizes and colors the small one with the red coat and Amber eyes fox face and there the Ash and hair and hazel eyes of the boy from District 9 who died as we struggled for the backpack and worst of all the smallest mut with dark glossy fur huge brown eyes and a collar that reads 11 in woven straw teeth Beed in hatred Ru what is it Katniss Peta shakes my shoulder it's them it's all of them the others Rue and Foxface and all of the other tributes I choke out I hear peta's gasp in recognition what did they do to them you don't think those could be their real eyes their eyes are the least of my worries what about their brains have they been given any of the real tributes memories have they been programmed to hate our faces is particularly because we have survived and they were so callously murdered and the ones we actually killed do they believe they're avenging their own deaths before I can get this out the muts begin a new assault on the horn they' split into two groups at the sides of the horn and are using those powerful hind quarters to launch themselves at us a pair of teeth ring together just inches from my hand and then I hear Peta Cry Out Feel the Yank on his body the heavy weight of boy and mut pulling me over the side if not for the grip on my arm he'd be on the ground but as it is it takes all my strength to keep us both on the curved back of the horn and more tributes are coming kill it Peta kill it I'm shouting and although I can't quite see what's happening I know he must have stabbed the thing because the pole lessens I'm able to haul him back onto the horn where we drag ourselves toward the top where the lesser of two evils awaits KO has still not regained his feet but his breathing is slowing and I know soon he'll be recovered enough to come for us to hurl us over the side to our deaths I arm my bow but the arrow ends up taking out a mut that can only be thresh who else could jump so high I feel a moment's relief because we must finally be up above the mut line and I'm just turning back to face KO when peta's jerked from my side I'm sure the pack has got him until his blood splatters my face KO stands before me almost at the lip of the horn holding Peta in some kind of headlock cutting off his air peta's clawing at K's arm but weakly as if confused over whether it's more important to breathe or try to stem the gush of blood from the gaping hole a mut left in his calf I aim one of my last two arrows at Ko's head knowing it'll have no effect on his trunk or limbs which I can now see are clothed in a skintight flesh colored mesh some high-grade body armor from the capital was that what was in his pack at the feast body armored to defend against my arrows well they neglected to send a face guard KO just laughs shoot me and he goes down with me he's right if I take him out and he falls to the muts Peta is sure to die with him we've reached a stalemate I can't shoot KO without killing Peta too he can't kill Peta without guaranteeing an arrow in his brain we stand like statues both of us seeking an out my muscles are strained so tightly they feel they might snap at any moment my teeth clenched to the breaking point the muts go silent and the only thing I can hear is the blood pounding in my good ear peta's lips are turning blue if if I don't do something quickly he'll die of asphixiation and then I'll have lost him and KO will probably use his body as a weapon against me in fact I'm sure this is K's plan because while he stopped laughing his lips are set in a triumphant Smile as if in a last Stitch effort Peta raises his fingers dripping with blood from his leg up to K's arm instead of trying to wrestle his way free his forefinger veers off and makes a Del liberate X on the back of Ko's hand KO realizes what it means exactly one second after I do I can tell by the way the smile drops from his lips but it's 1 second too late because by that time my arrow is piercing his hand he cries out and reflexively releases Peta who slams back against him for a horrible moment I think they're both going over I dive forward just catching hold of PETA as KO loses his footing on the blood slick horn and plummets to the ground we hear him hit the air leaving his body unimpact and then the muts attack him Peta and I hold on to each other waiting for the cannon waiting for the competition to finish waiting to be released but it doesn't happen not yet because this is the climax of The Hunger Games and the audience expects a show I don't watch but I can hear the snarls the growl the howls of pain from both human and beast as KO takes on the mut pack I can't understand how he can be surviving until I remember the body armor protecting him from ankle to neck and I realized what a long night this could be KO must have a knife or sword or something too something he had hidden in his clothes because on occasion there's the death scream of a mut with a sound of metal on metal as the blade collides with the Golden Horn the combat moves around the side of the Cornucopia and I know KO must be attempting the one maneuver that could save his life to make his way back around to the tail of the horn and rejoin us but in the end despite his remarkable strength and skill he is simply overpowered I don't know how long it has been maybe an hour or so when KO hits the ground and we hear the muts dragging him dragging him back into the Cornucopia now they'll finish him off I think but there's still no Cannon night falls and the anthem plays and there's no picture of ko in the sky only the faint moans coming through the metal beneath us the icy air blowing across the plane reminds me that the games are not over and may not be for who knows how long and there is still no guarantee of Victory I turn my attention to Peta and discover his leg is B bleeding as badly as ever all our supplies our packs remain down by the lake where we abandoned them when we fled from the muts I have no bandage nothing to staunch the flow of blood from his calf although I'm shaking in the biting wind I rip off my jacket remove my shirt and zip back into the jacket as swiftly as possible that brief exposure sets my teeth chattering beyond control peta's face is gray in the pale moonlight I make him lie down before I probe his wound warm slippery blood runs over my fingers a bandage will not be enough I've seen my mother tie a tourniquet a handful of times and try to replicate it I cut free a sleeve from my shirt wrap it twice around his leg just under his knee and tie a half knot I don't have a stick so I take my remaining arrow and insert it in the knot twisting it as tightly as I dare it's risky business Peta may end up losing his leg but when I weigh this against him losing his life What alternative do I have I bandage the wound in the rest of my shirt and lie down with him don't go to sleep I tell him I'm not sure if this is exactly medical protocol but I'm terrified that if he drifts off he'll never wake again are you cold he asks he unzips his jacket and I press against him as he fastens it around me it's a bit warmer sharing our body heat inside my double layer of jackets but the night is young the temperature will continue to drop even now I can feel the Cornucopia which burned so when I first climbed it slowly turning to ice KO may win this thing yet I whisper to Peta don't you believe it he says pulling up my hood but he's shaking harder than I am the next hours are the worst in my life life which if you think about it is saying something the cold would be torture enough but the real nightmare is listening to KO moaning begging and finally just whimpering as the muts work away at him after a very short time I don't care who he is or what he's done all I want is for his suffering to end why don't they just kill him I asked Peter you know why he said says and pulls me closer to him and I do no viewer could turn away from the show now from the game Maker's point of view this is the final word in entertainment it goes on and on and on and eventually completely consumes my mind blocking out memories and hopes of Tomorrow erasing everything but the present which I begin to believe will never change there will never be anything but cold and fear and and the agonized sounds of the boy dying in the horn Peta begins to doze off now and each time he does I find myself yelling his name louder and louder because if he goes and dies on me now I know I'll go completely insane he's fighting it probably more for me than for him and it's hard because unconsciousness would be its own form of Escape but the adrenaline pumping through my body would never allow me to follow him so I can't let him go I just can't the only indication of the passage of time lies in the heavens the subtle shift of the moon so Peta begins pointing it out to me insisting I acknowledge its progress and sometimes for just a moment I feel a flicker of Hope before the agony of the night engulfs me again finally I hear him whisper that the sun is rising I open my eyes and find the Stars fading in the pale light of dawn I can see too how blood L peta's face has become how little time he has left and I know I have to get him back to the capital still no Cannon has fired I press my good ear against the horn and can just make out Ko's voice I think he's closer now Katniss can you shoot him Peta asks if he's near the mouth I may be able to take him out it would be an act of Mercy at this point my last arrow is in your tourniquet I say Make It Count says Peta unzipping his jacket letting me loose so I free the arrow tying the tourniquet back as tightly as my frozen fingers can manage I rub my hands together trying to regain circulation when I crawl to the lip of the horn and hang over the edge I feel peta's hands grip me for support it takes a few moments to find KO in the dim light in the blood then the raw hunk of meat that used to be my enemy makes a sound and I know where his mouth is and I think the word he's trying to say is please pity not Vengeance sends my arrow flying into his skull Peta pulls me back up bow in hand quiver empty did you get him he whispers the cannon fires in answer and we won katn he says hollowly hooray for us I get out but there's no joy of victory in my voice a hole opens in the plane and as if on Q the remaining muts bound into it disappearing as the Earth closes above them we wait for the hovercraft to take Ko's remains for the trumpets of victory that should follow but nothing happens hey I shout into air what's going on the only response is the chatter of waking Birds maybe it's the body maybe we have to move away from it says Peta I try to remember do you have to distance yourself from the dead tribute on the final kill my brain is too muddled to be sure but what else could be the reason for the delay okay think you can make it to the lake I asked think I better try says Peta we inch down to the tail of the horn and fall to the ground if the stiffness in my limbs is this bad how can Peta even move I Rise first swinging and bending my arms and legs until I think I can help him up somehow we make it back to the lake I sco scop up a handful of the cold water for PETA and bring a second to my lips a Mocking Jay gives the long low whistle and tears of relief fill my eyes as the hovercraft appears and takes K's body away now they will take us now we can go home but again there's no response what are they waiting for says Peta weakly between the loss of the the tourniquet and the effort it took to get to the lake his wound has opened up again I don't know I say whatever the hold up is I can't watch him lose any more blood I get up to find a stick but almost immediately come across the arrow that bounced off K's body armor it will do as well as the other Arrow as I stooped to pick it up Claudius temples Smith's voice booms into the arena greetings to the final contestants of the 74th Hunger Games the earlier revision has been revoked closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed he says good luck and May the odds be ever in your favor there's a small burst of static and then nothing more I stare at Peta in disbelief as the truth sinks in they never intended to let us both live this has all been devised by the game makers to guarantee the most dramatic showdown in history and like a fool I bought into it if you think about it it's not that surprising he says softly I watch as he painfully makes it to his feet and he's moving toward me as if in slow motion his hand is pulling the knife from his belt before I even aware of my actions my bow is loaded with the arrow pointed straight at his heart Peter raises his eyebrows and I see the knife has already left his hand on its way to the lake where it splashes in the water I trop my weapons and take a step back my face burning and what can only be shame no he says do it Peta limps toward me and thrusts the weapons back in my hands I can't I say I won't do it before they send those muts back or something I don't want to die like Koo he says then you shoot me I say furiously shoving the weapons back at him you shoot me and go home and live with it and as I say it I know death right here right now would be the easier of the two you know I can't Peta says discarding the weapons fine I'll go first anyway he leans down and rips the bandage off his leg eliminating the final bear barer between his blood and the Earth no you can't kill yourself I say I'm on my knees desperately Plastering the bandage back onto his wound cutness he says it's what I want you're not leaving me here alone I say because if he dies I'll never go home not really I'll spend the rest of my life in this Arena trying to think my way out listen he says pulling me to my feet we both know they have to have a Victor it can can only be one of us please take it for me and he goes on about how he loves me what life would be without me but I've stopped listening because his previous words are trapped in my head thrashing desperately around we both know they have to have a Victor yes they have to have a Victor without a Victor the whole thing would blow up in the game makers faces they'd have failed the Capital might possibly even be executed slowly and painfully while the cameras broadcasted to every screen in the country if Peta and I were both to die or they thought we were my fingers fumble with the pouch on my belt freeing it Peta sees it and his hand clamps on my wrist no I won't let you trust me I whisper he holds my gaze for a long moment then lets me go I loosen the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm then I fill my own on the count of three Peta leans down and kisses me once very gently the count of three he says we stand our backs pressed together our empty hands locked tight hold them out I want everyone to see he says I spread out my finger fingers and the dark berries glisten in the sun I give Peter's hand one last squeeze as a signal as a goodbye and we begin counting one Maybe I'm Wrong two maybe they don't care if we both die three it's too late to change my mind I lift my hand to my mouth taking one last look at the world the berries have just passed my lips when the trumpets begin to blare the Frantic voice of Claudius templesmith shouts above them stop stop ladies and gentlemen I am pleased to present the victors of the 74th Hunger Games Katniss everine and Peter malar I give you the tributes of District 12 chapter 26 I spew the berries from my mouth wiping my tongue with the end of my shirt to make sure no juice remains Peta pulls me to the lake where we both flush our mouths with water and then collapse into each other's arms you didn't swallow any I ask him he shakes his head you guess I'd be dead by now if I did I say I can see his lips moving in reply but I can't hear him over the Roar of the crowd in the Capital that they're playing live over the speakers the hovercraft materializes overhead and two ladders drop only there's no way I'm letting go of PETA I keep one arm around him as I help him up and we each place a foot on the first rung of the ladder the electric current freezes Us in place and this time I'm glad because I'm not really sure Peta can hang on for the whole ride and since my eyes were looking down I can see that while our muscles are in mobile nothing is preventing the blood from draining out of peta's leg sure enough the minute the door closes behind us and the current stops he slumps to the floor unconscious my fingers are still gripping the back of his jacket so tightly that when they take him away it tears leaving me with a fist full of black fabric doctors in sterile white masked and gloved already prepped to operate go into action Peta so pale and still on a silver table tubes and wire is springing out of him every which way and for a moment I forget we're out of the games and I see the doctors as just one more threat one more pack of muts designed to kill him petrified I lunge for him but I'm caught I'm thrust back into another room and a glass door seals between us I pound on the glass screaming my head off everyone ignores me except for some Capital attendant who appears behind me and offers me a beverage I slumped down on the floor my face against the door staring uncomprehendingly at the crystal glass in my hand icy cold filled with orange juice a straw with a frilly White Collar how wrong it looks in my bloody filthy hand with its dirt caked nails and scars my mouth Waters at the smell but I place it carefully on the floor not trusting anything so clean and pretty through the glass I see the doctors working feverishly on Peta their brows creased in concentration I see the flow of liquids pumping through the tubes watch a wall of dials and lights that mean nothing to me I'm not sure but I think his heart stops twice it's like being home again when they bring in the hopelessly mangled person from the mine Explosion or the woman in her third day of Labor where the famished child struggling against pneumonia and my mother and Prim they wear that same look on their faces now is the time to run away to the woods to hide in the trees until the patient is long gone and in another part of the seam the Hammers make the coffin but I'm held here both by the hovercraft walls and the same force that holds the loved ones of the dying how often I've seen them ringed around our kitchen table and I've thought why don't they leave why do they stay to watch and now I know it's because you have no choice I startle when I catch someone staring at me from only a few inches away and then realize it's my own face reflecting back in the glass wild eyes Hollow cheeks my hair in a tangled mat rabid feral mad no wonder everyone is keeping a safe distance from me the next thing I know we've landed back on the roof of the training center and they're taking Peta but leaving me behind the door I start hurling myself against the glass shrieking and I think I just catch a glimpse of pink hair it must be Effie it has to be Effie coming to my rescue when the needle Jabs me from behind When I Wake I'm afraid to move at first the entire ceiling glows with the soft yellow light allowing me to see that I'm in a room containing just my bed no doors no windows are visible the air smells of something sharp and antiseptic my right arm has several tubes that extend into the wall behind me I'm naked but the bed clothes are soothing against my skin I tentatively lift my left hand above the cover not only has it been scrubbed clean the nails are filed in perfect ovals the scars from the Burns are less prominent I touch my my cheek my lips the puckered scar above my eyebrow and I'm just running my fingers through my silken hair when I freeze apprehensively I ruffled the hair by my left ear no it wasn't an illusion I can hear again I try to sit up but some sort of wide restraining band around my waist keeps me from rising more than a few inches the physical confinement makes me panic and I'm trying trying to pull myself up and wriggle my hips through the band when a portion of the wall slides open and in steps the redheaded avox girl carrying a tray the sight of her calms me and I stop trying to escape I want to ask her a million questions but I'm afraid any familiarity would cause her harm obviously I am being closely monitored she sets the tray across my thighs and presses something that raises me to a sitting position while she adjusts my pillows I risk one question I say it out loud as clearly as my rusty voice will allow so nothing will seem secretive did Peta make it she gives me a nod and as she slips a spoon into my hand I feel the pressure of friendship I guess she did not wish me dead after all and Peta has made it of course he did with all their expensive equipment here still I hadn't been sure until now as the avox leaves the door closes noiselessly after her and I turn hungrily to the tray a bowl of clear broth a small serving of applesauce and a glass of water this is it I think grouchily shouldn't my homecoming dinner be a little more spectacular but I find it's an effort to finish the spare meal before me my stomach seems to have sh to the size of a Chestnut and I have to wonder how long I've been out because I had no trouble eating a fairly sizable breakfast that last morning in the arena there's usually a lag of a few days between the end of the competition and the presentation of the Victor so that they can put the starving wounded mess of a person back together again somewhere C and porsa will be creating our wardrobes for the public appearances hitch and Effie will be arranging the banquet for our sponsors reviewing the questions for our final interviews back home District 12 is probably in chaos as they try to organize the homecoming celebrations for PETA and me given that the last one was close to 30 years ago home Prim and my mother Gail even the thought of prim's Scruffy old cat makes me smile soon I will be home I want to get out of this bed to see Peta and CNA to find out more about what's been going on and why shouldn't I I feel fine but as I start to work my way out of the band I feel a cold liquid seeping into my vein from one of the tubes and almost immediately lose Consciousness this happens on and off for an indeterminate amount of time my waking eating and even though I resist the impulse to try to escape the bed being knocked out again I seemed to be in a strange continual Twilight only a few things register the redheaded avox girl has not returned since the feeding my scars are disappearing and do I imagine it or do I hear a man's voice yelling not in the capital accent but in the rougher cadences of home and I can't help having a vague comforting feeling that someone is looking out for me then finally the time arrives when I come to and there's nothing plugged into my right arm the restraint around my middle has been removed and I am free to move about I start to sit up but am arrested by the sight of my hands the Skin's Perfection smooth and glowing not only are the scars from the arena gone but those accumulated over years of hunting have vanished without a trace my forehead feels like satin and when I try to find the burn on my calf there's nothing I slip my legs out of bed nervous about how they will bear my weight and find them strong and steady lying at the foot of the bed is an outfit that makes me Flinch it's what all of us tributes wore in the arena I stare at it as if it had teeth until I remember that of course this is what I will wear to great my team I'm dressed in less than a minute and fidgeting in front of the wall where I know there's a door even if I can't see it when suddenly it slides open I step into a wide deserted Hall that appears to have no other doors on it but it must and behind one of them must be Peter now that I'm conscious and moving I'm growing more and more anxious about him he must be all right or the avox girl wouldn't have said so but I need to see him for myself Peta I call out since there's no one to ask I hear my name in response but it's not his voice it's a voice that provokes first irritation and then eagerness Effie I turn and see them all waiting in a big chamber at the end of the hall Effie hey Mitch and sin my feet take off without hesitation maybe a Victor should show more restraint more superiority especially when she knows this will be on tape but I don't care I run for them and surprise even myself when I launch into hitch's arms first when he whispers in my ear nice job sweetheart it doesn't sound sarcastic Effie's somewhat teary and keeps patting my hair and talking about how she told everyone we were pearls sinna just hugs me tight and doesn't say anything then I notice Porsche is absent and get a bad feeling where's Porsha is she with Peta he is all right isn't he I mean he's alive I blurred out he's fine only they want to do your reunion live on air at the ceremony says hitch oh that's all I say the awful moment of thinking peta's dead again passes I guess I'd want to see that myself go on with sin he has to get you ready says hitch it's a relief to be alone with CNA to feel his protective arm around my shoulders as he guides me away from the cameras down a few passages into an elevator that leads to the lobby of the training center the hospital then is far underground even beneath the gym where the tributes practice tying knots and throwing Spears the windows of the lobby are darkened and a handful of guards stand on duty no one else is there to see us cross to the tribute elevator our footsteps echo in The Emptiness and when we ride up to the 12th floor the faces of all the tributes who will never return flash across my mind and there's a heavy tight place in my chest when the elevator do open Venia flavius and Octavia engulf me talking so quickly and ecstatically I can't make out their words the sentiment is clear though they are truly thrilled to see me and I'm happy to see them too although not like I was to see sin it's more in the way one might be glad to see an affectionate Trio of pets at the end of a particularly difficult day they sweep me into the dining room and I get a real meal roast beef and peas and soft rolls although my portions are still being strictly controlled because when I ask for seconds I'm refused no no no they don't want it all coming back up on the stage says Octavia but she secretly slips me an extra roll under the table to let me know she's on my side we go back to my room and C disappears for a while as the prep team gets me ready oh they did a full body polish on you says flavus enviously not a flaw left on your skin but when I look at my naked body in the mirror all I can see is how skinny I am I mean I'm sure I was worse when I came out of the Arena but I can easily count my ribs they take care of the shower settings for me and they go to work on my hair and nails and makeup when I'm done they chatter so continuously that I barely have to reply which is good since I don't feel very talkative it's funny because even though they're rattling on about the games it's all about where they were or what they were doing or how they felt when a specific event occurred I was still in bed I had just had my eyebrows dyed I swear I nearly fainted everything is about them not the dying boys and girls in the arena we don't wallow around in the games this way in district 12 we grit our teeth and watch because we must and try to get back to business as soon as possible when they're over to keep from hating the prep team I effectively tune out most of what they're saying sinna comes in with what appears to be an unassuming yellow dress across his arms have you given up the whole Girl on Fire thing I ask you tell me he says and slips it over my head I immediately notice the padding over my breasts adding curves that hunger has stolen from my body my hands go to my chest and I frown I know says sinna before I can OB but the game makers wanted to alter you surgically hey Mitch had a huge fight with them over it this was the Compromise he stops me before I can look at my reflection wait don't forget the shoes Vena helps me into a pair of flat leather sandals and I turn to the mirror I am still the girl on fire the sheer fabric softly glows even the slight movement in the air sends a ripple up my body by comparison The Chariot costume seems garish the interview dress too contrived in this dress I give the illusion of wearing candl light what do you think asks C I think it's the best yet I say when I managed to pull my eyes away from the flickering fabric I'm in for something of a shock my hair's loose held back by a simple hairband the makeup rounds and fills out the sharp angles of my face a clear polish coats my nails the sleeveless dress is gathered at my ribs not my waist largely eliminating any help the padding would have given my figure the Hem Falls just to my knees without heels you can see my true stature I look very simply like a girl a young one 14 at most innocent harmless yes it is shocking that CNA has pulled this off when you remember I've just won the games this is a very calculated look nothing CNA designs is arbitrary I bite my lip trying to figure out his motivation I thought it would be something more sophisticated looking I say I thought Peta would like this better he answers carefully Peta no it's not about Peta it's about the capital and the game makers and the audience although I do not yet understand C's design it's a reminder the games are not quite finished and beneath his benign reply I sense a warning something he can't even mention in front of his own team we take the elevator to the the level where we trained it's customary for the Victor and his or her support team to rise from beneath the stage first the prep team followed by the escort The Stylist the mentor and finally the Victor only this year with two Victors who share both an escort and a mentor the whole thing has had to be rethought I found myself in a poorly lit area under the stage a brand new metal plate has been installed to transport me upward you can still see small piles of sawdust smell fresh paint C and the prep team peel off to change into their own costumes and take their positions leaving me alone in the Gloom I see a makeshift wall about 10 yard away and assume peta's behind it the rumbling of the crowd is loud so I don't notice hch until he touches my shoulder I spring away startled still half in the arena I guess easy just just me let's have a look at you heyit says I hold out my arms and turn once good enough it's not much of a compliment but what I say hamish's eyes shift around my musty holding space and he seems to make a decision but nothing how about a hug for luck okay that's an odd request from hch but after all we are victim maybe a hug for luck is in order only when I put my arms around his neck I find myself trapped in his Embrace he begins talking very fast very quietly in my ear my hair concealing his lips listen up you're in trouble word is the capitals Furious about you showing them up in the arena the one thing they can't stand is being laughed at and they're the joke of panm says hitch I feel dread coursing through me now but I laugh as though hch is saying something completely delightful because nothing is covering my mouth so what your only defense can be you were so madly in love you weren't responsible for your actions hit pulls back and adjusts my hair band got it sweetheart he could be talking about anything now got it I say did you tell Peta this don't have to says hitch he's already there but you think I'm not I say taking the opportunity to straighten a bright red bow tie C must have wrestled him into since when doesn't matter what I think says hitch better take our places he leads me to the metal Circle this is your night sweetheart enjoy it he kisses me on the forehead and disappears into the Gloom I tug on my skirt willing it to be longer wanting it to cover the knocking in my knees then I realize it's pointless my whole body is shaking like a leaf hopefully it will be put down to excitement after all it's my night The Damp moldy smell beneath the stage threatens to choke me a cold clammy sweat breaks out on my skin and I can't rid myself of the feeling that the boards above my head are about to collapse to bury me alive under the rubble when I left the arena when the trumpets played I was supposed to be safe from then on for the rest of my life but if what hch says is true and he's got no reason to lie I've never been in such a dangerous place in my life it's so much worse than being hunted in the arena there I could only Die end of story but out here Prim my mother Gail the people of District 12 everyone I care about back home could be punished if I can't pull off the girl Driven Crazy by love scenario hitch has suggested so I still have a chance though funny in the arena when I Port out those berries I was only thinking about smarting the game makers not how my actions would reflect on the capital but the Hunger Games are their weapon and you are not supposed to be able to defeat it so now the Capital will act as if they've been in control the whole time as if they orchestrated the whole event right down to the double suicide but that will only work if I play along with them and Peta PETA will suffer too if this goes wrong but what was it hch said when I asked if he had told Peta the situation that he had to pretend to be desperately in love don't have to he's already there already thinking ahead ahead of me in the games again and well aware of the danger we're in or already desperately in love I don't know I haven't even begun to separate out my feelings about Peta it's too complicated what I did as part of the games as opposed to what I did out of anger at the capital or because of how it would be viewed back in district 12 or because it was the only decent thing to do or what I did because I cared about him these are questions to be unraveled back home in the peace and quiet of the woods when no one is watching not here with every eye upon me but I won't have that luxury for who knows how long and right now the most dangerous part of The Hunger Games is about to begin chapter 27 The Anthem booms in my ear and then I hear Caesar flickerman greeting the audience does he know how crucial it is to get every word right from now on he must he will want to help us the crowd breaks into Applause as the prep teams are presented I imagine flavius Vena and Octavia bouncing around and taking ridiculous bobbing bows it's a safe bet they're clueless then Effie's introduced how long she's waited for this moment I hope she's able to enjoy it because as misguided as Effie can be she has a very keen Instinct about certain things and must at least suspect we in trouble Porsha and sinna receive huge cheers of course they've been brilliant had a dazzling debut i Now understand sin's choice of dress for me tonight I'll need to look as girlish and innocent as possible hey Mitch's appearance brings a round of stomping that goes on at least 5 minutes well he's a accomplished a first keeping not only one but two tributes alive what if he hadn't warned me in time would I have acted differently flaunted the moment with the berries in the capital's face no I don't think so but I could easily have been a lot less convincing than I need to be now right now because I can feel the plate Lifting me up to the stage blinding lights the the deafening Roar rattles the metal under my feet then there's Peta just a few yards away he looks so clean and healthy and beautiful I can hardly recognize him but his smile is the same whether in mud or in the capital and when I see it I take about three steps and fling myself into his arms he sagers back almost losing his balance and that's when I realize the slim metal Contraption in his hand is some kind of cane he writes himself and we just cling to each other while the audience goes insane he's kissing me and all the time I'm thinking do you know do you know how much danger we're in after about 10 minutes of this Caesar flickerman Taps on his shoulder to continue the show and Peta just pushes him aside without even glancing at him the audience goes berserk whether he knows or not Peta is as usual playing the crowd exactly right finally hey Mitch interrupts us and gives us a good-natured shove toward the Victor's chair usually this is a single ornate chair from which the winning tribute watches a film of the highlights of the games but since there are two of us the game makers have provided a plush red velvet couch a small one my mother would call it a love seat I think I sit so close to Peta that I'm practically on his lap but one look from Hitch tells me it isn't enough kicking off my sandals I tuck my feet to the side and lean my head against peta's shoulder his arm goes around me automatically and I feel like I'm back in the cave curled up against him trying to keep warm his shirt is made of the same yellow material as my dress but Porsches put him in long black pants no sandals either but a pair of sturdy black boots he keeps solidly planted on the stage I wish CNA had given me a similar outfit I feel so vulnerable in this flimsy dress but I guess that was the point Caesar flickerman makes a few more jokes and then it's time for the show this will last exactly 3 hours and is required viewing for all of panm as the lights dim and the seal appears on the screen I realize I'm unprepared for this I do not want to watch my 22 fellow tributes die I saw enough of them die the first time my heart starts pounding and I have a strong impulse to run how have the other Victors faced this alone during the highlights they periodically show the Winner's reaction up on a box in the corner of the screen I think back to earlier years some are triumphant pumping their fists in the air beating their chests most just seems stunned all I know is that the only thing keeping me on this love seat is Peter his arm around my shoulder his other hand claimed by both of mine of course the previous Victors didn't have the capital looking for a way to destroy them condensing several weeks into 3 hours is Quite a feat especially when you consider how many cameras were going at once whoever puts together the highlights has to choose what sort of story to tell this year for the first time they tell a love story I know Peta and I won but a disproportionate amount of time is spent on us right from the beginning I'm glad though because it supports the whole crazy in love thing that's my defense for defying the capital plus it means we won't have as much time to linger over the deaths the first half hour or so focuses on the pre- Arena events The Reaping The Chariot ride through the capital our training scores and our interviews there's this sort of upbeat soundtrack playing under it that makes it twice as awful because of course almost everyone on screen is dead once we're in the arena there's detailed coverage of the blood bath and then the filmmakers basically alternate between shots of tributes dying and shots of us mostly Peta really there's no question he's carrying this romance thing on his shoulders now I see what the audience saw how he misled the careers about me stayed awake the entire night under the tracker Jacker tree fought KO to let me escape and even while he lay in that mud Bank whispered my name in his sleep I seem heartless in comparison dodging Fireballs dropping nests and blowing up supplies until I go hunting for Ru they play her death in full the spearing my failed rescue attempt my arrow threw the boy from District 1's throat Ru drawing her last breath in my arms and the song I get to sing every note of the song Something Inside Me shuts down and I'm too numb to feel anything it's like watching complete strangers in another Hunger Games but I do notice they omit the part where I covered her in flowers right because even that smacks of rebellion things pick up for me once they've announced two tributes from the same district can live and I shout out peta's name and then clap my hands over my mouth if I've seemed indifferent to him earlier I make up for it now by finding him nursing him back to health going to The Feast for the medicine and being very free with my kisses objectively I can see the mut and K's death are as gruesome as ever but again I feel it happens to people I have never met and then comes the moment with the berries I can hear the audience hushing one another not wanting to miss anything a wave of gratitude to the filmmakers sweeps over me when they end not with the announcement of our Victory but with me pounding on the glass door of the hovercraft screaming peta's name as they try to revive him in terms of survival it's my best moment all night the anthem's playing yet again and we rise as President Snow himself takes the stage followed by a little girl carrying a cushion that holds the crown there's just one Crown though and you can hear the crowd's confusion whose head will he place it on until President Snow gives it a Twist and it separates into two halves he places the first around peta's brow with a smile he's still smiling when he settles the second on my head but his eyes just inches from mine are as unforgiving as a snakes that's when I know that even though both of us would have eaten the berries I am to blame for having the idea I'm the instigator I'm the one to be punished much bowing and cheering follows my arm is about to fall off from waving when Caesar flickerman finally bids the audience good night reminding them to tune in tomorrow for the final interviews as if they have a choice Peta and I are whisked to the president's Mansion for the victory banquet where we have very little time to eat as capital officials and particularly generous sponsors elbow one another out of the way as they try to get their picture with us face after beaming face flashes by becoming increasingly intoxicated as the evening wears on occasionally I catch a glimpse of hitch which is reassuring or President Snow which is terrifying but I keep laughing and thanking people and smiling as my picture is taken the one thing I never do is let go of peta's hand the sun is just peeking Over the Horizon when we straggle back to the 12th floor of the training center I think now I'll finally get a word alone with Peta but hitch sends him off with Porsche to get something fitted for the interview and personally escorts me to to my door why can't I talk to him I asked plenty of time for talk when we get home says hitch go to bed you're on air at two despite hitch's running interference I'm determined to see Peta privately after I toss and turn for a few hours I slip into the Hall my first thought is to check the roof but it's empty even the city streets far below are deserted after the celebration last night I go back to bed for a while and then decide to go directly to his room but when I try to turn the knob I find my own bedroom door has been locked from the outside I suspect haitch initially but then there's a more Insidious fear that the capital may be monitoring and confining me I've been unable to escape since the Hunger Games began but this feels different much more personal this feels like I've been imprisoned for a crime and I'm awaiting sentencing I quickly get back in bed and pretend to sleep until Effie Trinket comes to alert me to the start of another big big big day I have about 5 minutes to eat a bowl of hot grain and stew before the prep team descends all I have to say is the crowd loved you and it's unnecessary to speak for the next couple of hours when sinna comes in he shoes them out and dresses me in a white Gauzy dress dress and pink shoes then he personally adjust my makeup until I seem to radiate a soft Rosy Glow we make idle chitchat but I'm afraid to ask him anything of real importance because after the incident with the door I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched constantly the interview takes place right down the hall in the sitting room a space has been cleared and the love seat has been moved in and surrounded by vases of red and pink roses there are only a handful of cameras to record the event no live audience at least Caesar flickerman gives me a warm hug when I come in congratulations Katniss how are you fairing fine nervous about the interview I say don't be we're going to have a fabulous time he says giving my cheek a reassuring Pat I'm not good at talking about myself I say nothing you say will be wrong he says and I think oh Caesar if only that were true but actually President Snow may be arranging some sort of accident for me as we speak then pet is there looking handsome in red and white pulling me off to the side I hardly get to see you haitch seems bent on keeping us apart haitch is actually bent on keeping us alive but there are too many ears listening so I just say yes he's gotten very responsible lately well there's just this and we go home then he can't watch us all the time says Peta I feel a sort of shiver run through me and there's no time to analyze why because they're ready for us we sit somewhat formally on the love seat but Caesar says oh go ahead and curl up next to him if you want it looked very sweet so I tuck my feet up and Peta pulls me in close to him someone counts backward and just like that we're being broadcast live to the entire country Caesar flickerman is wonderful teasing joking getting choked up when the occasion presents itself he and Peta already have the Rapport they established that night of the first interview that easy banter so I just smile a lot and try to speak as little as possible I mean I have to talk some but as soon as I can I redirect the conversation back to Peta eventually though Caesar begins to pose questions that insist on Fuller answers well Peta we know from our days in the cave that it was love at first sight for you from what age five Caesar says from the moment I laid eyes on her says Peta but catness what a ride for you I think the real excitement for the audience was watching you fall for him when did you realize you were in love with him asked Caesar oh that's a hard one I give a faint breathy laugh and looked down at my hands help well I know when it hit me the night when you shouted out his name from that tree says Caesar thank you Caesar I think and then go with his idea yes I guess that was it I mean until that point I just tried not to think about what my feelings might be honestly because it was so confusing and it only made things worse if I actually cared about him but then in the tree everything changed I say why do you think that was urges Caesar maybe because For the First time there was a chance I could keep him I say behind a cameraman I see hitch give a sort of Huff with relief and I know I've said the right thing Caesar pulls out a handkerchief and has to take a moment because he's so moved I can feel Peta press his forehead into my temple and he asks so now that you've got me what are you going to do with me I turn into him put you somewhere you can't get hurt and when he kisses me people in the room actually sigh for Caesar this is a natural place to segue into all the ways we did get hurt in the arena from Burns to stings to wounds but it's not until we get around to the muts that I forget I'm on camera when Caesar asks Peta how his new leg is working out new leg I say and I can't help reaching out and pulling up the bottom of peta's pants Oh no I whisper taking in the metal and plastic device that has replaced his flesh no one told you asks Caesar gently I shake my head I haven't had the chance says Peta with a slight shrug it's my fault I say because I use that tourniquet yes it's your fault I'm alive says Peta he's right says Caesar he'd have bled to death for sure without it I guess this is true but I can't help feeling upset about it to the extent that I'm afraid I might cry and then I remember everyone in the country is watching me so I just bury my face in peta's shirt it takes them a couple of minutes to coax me back out because it's better in the shirt where no one can see me and when I do come out Caesar backs off questioning me so I can recover in fact he pretty much leaves me alone until the berry come up Katniss I know you've had a shock but I've got to ask the moment when you pulled out those berries what was going on in your mind H he says I take a long pause before I answer trying to collect my thoughts this is the crucial moment where I either challenged the capital or went so crazy at the idea of losing Peta that I can't be held respons responsible for my actions it seems to call for a big dramatic speech but all I get out is one almost in audible sentence I don't know I just couldn't bear the thought of being without him vaa anything to add asks caesar no I think that goes for both of us he says Caesar signs off and it's over everyone's laughing and crying and hugging but I'm still not sure until I reach hitch okay I whisper perfect he answers I go back to my room to collect a few things and find there's nothing to take but the mocking J pin m gave me someone returned it to my room after the games they drive us through the streets in a car with blackened windows and the trains waiting for us we barely have time to say goodbye to C and Porsche although we'll see them in a few months when we tour the districts for a round of Victory ceremonies it's the capital's way of reminding people that the Hunger Games never really go away we'll be given a lot of useless plaques and everyone will have to pretend they love us the train begins moving and we're plunged inight until we clear the tunnel and I take my first free breath since the reaping Effie is accompanying us back and hitch too of course we eat an enormous dinner and settle into silence in front of the television to watch a replay of the interview with a capital growing farther away every second I begin to think of home of Prim and my mother of Gail I excuse myself to change out of my dress and into a plain shirt and pants as I slowly thoroughly wash the makeup from my face and put my hair in its braid I begin transforming back into myself Katniss everine a girl who lives in the seam hunts in the woods trades in the hob I stare in the mirror as I try to remember who I am and who I am not by the time I join the others the pressure of peta's arm around my shoulders feels alien when the train makes a brief stop for fuel we're allowed to go outside for some fresh air there's no longer any need to guard us Peta and I walk down along the track hand in hand and I can't find anything to say Now That We're Alone he stops to gather a bunch of wild flowers for me when he presents them I work hard to look pleased because he can't know that the pink and white flowers are the tops of wild onions and only me of the hours I've spent Gathering them with Gail Gail the idea of seeing Gail in a matter of hours makes my stomach churn but why I can't quite frame it in my mind I only know that I feel like I've been lying to someone who trusts me or more accurately to two people I've been getting away with it up to this point because of the games but there will be no games to hide behind back home what's wrong Peta asks nothing I answer we continue walking past the end of the train out where even I'm fairly sure there are no cameras hidden in the scrubby bushes along the track still no words come heyit startles me when he lays a hand on my back even now in the middle of nowhere he keeps his voice down great job you two just keep it up in the district until the cameras are gone we should be okay I watch him head back to the train avoiding peta's eyes what's he mean Peta asks me it's the capital they didn't like our stunt with the berries I blurred out what what are you talking about he says it seemed too rebellious so hch has been coaching me through the last few days so I didn't make it worse I say coaching you but not me says Peta he knew you were smart enough to get it right I say I didn't know there was anything to get right says Peta so what you're saying is these last few days and then I guess back in the arena that was just some strategy you two worked out no I mean I couldn't even talk to him in the arena could I I stammer but you knew what he wanted you to do didn't you says Peta I bite my lip Katniss he drops my hand and I take a step as if to catch my balance it was all for the games Peta says how you acted not all of it I say tightly holding on to my flowers then how much no forget that I guess the real question is what's going to be left when we get home he says I don't know the closer we get to District 12 the more confused I get I say he waits for further explanation but none's forthcoming well let me know when you work it out he says and the pain in his voice is palpable I know my ears are healed because even with the rumble of the engine I can hear every step he takes back to the Train by the time I've climbed aboard Peta has disappeared into his room for the night I don't see him the next morning either in fact the next time he turns up we're pulling into District 12 he gives me a nod his face expressionless I want to tell him that he's not being fair that We Were Strangers that I did what it took to stay alive to keep us both alive in the arena that I can't explain how things are with Gail because I don't know myself that it's no good loving me because I'm never going to get married anyway and he'd just end up hating me later instead of sooner that if I do have feelings for him it doesn't matter because I'll never be able to afford the kind of love that leads to a family to children and how can he how can he after what we've just been through I also want to tell him how much I already miss him but that wouldn't be fair on my part so we just stand there silently watching our grimy little station rise up around us through the window I can see the platforms thick with cameras everyone will be eagerly watching our homecoming out of the corner of my eye I see Peta extend his hand I look at him unsure one more time for the audience he says his voice isn't angry it's Hollow which is worse already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me I take his hand holding on tightly preparing for the cameras and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go end of book one [Music] this is Tatiana masani we hope that you have enjoyed this production of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins this program was produced and directed by Scott Sheriff executive producer Paul r g recorded at John Marshall media in New York City by Cynthia Lee original music by David Manser field deep in the meadow lyrics by Suzanne Collins post- production by Jake namura winroth print edition published by Scholastic press a division of Scholastic Inc text copyright 2008 by Suzanne Collins production copyright 2018 by Scholastic Inc All rights Reserve [Music] hey everybody it's Tatiana masani I'm in New York New York and I just finished recording The Hunger Games on audiobook I first read The Hunger Games I guess back when it came out which was a long time ago now and was really uh drawn into the world of it I loved what it was saying about the world we were living in in this sort of veiled way and having this kind of strong lead character that I uh related to was really exciting when I got the offer to narrate the audio book I was sort of Blown Away first off because it's such an iconic book and it means so much to so many people and the the movies mean so much to so many people so I was uh daunted by the task but also really thrilled by it because of the kind of internal nature of the book it's so inside of Katniss's head so all of her thoughts and her feelings are really like front and center so it's kind of a wonderfully emotional read there were a few different challenges I'd never done an audio book before so just the kind of clarity and focus that it requires over a long period of time was challenging making sure that everything was being visually kind of imagined while emotionally going through it but I guess the differentiating of different characters and switching between them on the Fly was quite challenging and my favorite part also of the process working on voice uh on Orphan Black probably helped a lot in terms of embodying different characters just sonically but I don't have the I I can't use my body in the same way you know you you do have to kind of rain it in in a sense so it's different it feels like when I used to read books to my little brother that kind of thing of like acting it out for him it it really felt like that yeah I don't think I ever did an audio book before this and my prep for it was different in terms of it is just more of an internal process you don't have a steam partner to play off of was by myself but it it is a different process because you don't have that in the moment what's my partner sending me so you have to be your own partner so I guess in a sense Orphan Black set me up for that kind of work but also just like imagination and loving to read and all of that comes into play and in terms of of prep it was like vocal stuff and specificity of the images and then just being present and making sure that I stayed present throughout my favorite part of the book is the stuff with Caesar flickerman because the characters intentions are so opposite when he's interviewing Peta and Katniss and they sort of have all these secrets and these things that they're playing and he's kind of this complete different energy which is really fun to switch between and then also I really not enjoyed but was drawn in by the death of Rue it was a really moving part to read and record and yeah was surprising and engaging in a way that the whole book feels kind of like it's building up to I hated singing in that scene no I loved singing in that scene I felt uh it was great because I didn't have to be good at singing I've listened to quite a few audio books recently I listened to Lincoln in the BAU and Steve Martin's book born standing up was one of my favorites cuz I just like I like him a lot I like that boys my favorite place to listen probably on bike or on Transit I would want Peter sers to read my the audio book of my life because he could do all those voices all those characters e e