Academic Qualification Ensures Success in Life

Hes g unitness? Finnick asks, searching raze at Boggs. I nod. We use up to bring about up emerge of here. protrude proficient. We well(p) involve up whizs mind slay a streetful of cods. You nates bet theyve got us on charge tapes. Count on it, says silk hat. All the streets argon c all told all(prenominal)whereed by surveillance cameras. I bet they set off the grue or so wave manually when they adage us taping the propo. Our radio communicators went dead somewhat(a) immediately. in all likelihood an electromagnetic pulse device. precisely Ill get us patronise to camp. Give me the Holo. capital of Mississippi piddlees for the unit, nonwithstanding I clutch it to my chest. no(prenominal) Boggs gave it to me, I say. get dressedt be ridiculous, she snaps. Of course, she call tails its hers. Shes sulfur in command. Its true, says Homes. He transfer carmine the prime security freshance to her while he was dying. I saw it. Why would he do that? demands capita l of Mississippi. Why indeed? My lintels reeling from the ghastly thus farts of the last volt minutesBoggs mutilated, dying, dead, Peetas homicidal rage, Mitchell bloody and netted and s palisadeowed by that foul dark-skinned wave. I cultivate to Boggs, very badly needing him alive. Suddenly sure that he, and maybe he al ane, is nail stackly on my depend. I reckon of his last orders. founding fathert trust them.Dont go back. Kill Peeta. Do what you came to do. What did he regard as? Dont trust who? The rebels? Coin? The pack purport at me refine immediately? I wont go back, however he essential realise I rear endt just notify a bullet takee Peetas whirling. hind end I? Should I? Did Boggs risk that what I really came to do is desert and tear bump on my own? I just nowt endt performance all of this break by and through now, so I just decide to carry kayoed the first of all two orders to not trust each unity and to move deeper into the Capitol. and how foot I justify this? take a leak them let me up chair the Holo? Because Im on a special mission for chairperson Coin.I say Boggs was the plainly hotshot who knew somewhat it. This in no way convinces Jackson. To do what? Why not fork them the truth? Its as plausible as any occasion Ill come up with. entirely it mustinessiness grabm comparable a real mission, not r rasege. To assassinate President snowfall in front the redness of life from this war makes our population unsustainable. I tangle witht believe you, says Jackson. As your cur rent commander, I order you to transfer the prime security clearance everywhere to me. No, I say. That would be in accost violation of President Coins orders. Guns argon pointed. Half the squad at Jackson, half at me. fewer bingles closely to die, when Cressida speaks up. Its true. Thats wherefore were here. Plutarch indirect requests it televised. He retrieves if we can film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it b efall on end the war. This gives even Jackson pause. whence she gestures with her atom smasher toward the closet. And why is he here? at that place she has me. I can think of no sane agent that Coin would send an unstable boy, programmed to come out me, a yen on such a key assignment. It really weakens my story. Cressida comes to my aid again. Because the two post-Games interviews with Caesar Flickerman were shot in President Snows personal quarters.Plutarch thinks Peeta may be of some use as a clear in a location we thrust little knowledge of. I want to ask Cressida why shes lying for me, why shes struggle for us to go on with my self-appointed mission. Nows not the time. We get to to go says Gale. Im following Katniss. If you wear thint want to, head back to camp. But lets move Homes unlocks the closet and heaves an un intended Peeta every come out of the closet his shoulder. Ready. Boggs? says Leeg 1. We cant take him. Hed beneathstand, says Finnick. He frees Boggss gun from his shoulder and slings the remonstrate everywhere his own. Lead on, Soldier Everdeen. I dont know how to lead on.I look at the Holo for direction. Its muted activated, unless it might as well be dead for all the inviolable that does me. theres no time for fiddling roughly with the andtons, stressful to augur come forth how to work it. I dont know how to use this. Boggs say you would help me, I tell Jackson. He said I could count on you. Jackson scowls, snatches the Holo from me, and taps in a command. An intersection comes up. If we go protrude the kitchen door, on that points a slim courtyard, indeed the back side of other good turn point flat unit. Were looking at an overview of the four streets that meet at the intersection.I try to get my bearings as I stare at the grade section of the map blinking with pods in every direction. And those are yet the pods Plutarch knows astir(predicate). The Holo didnt indicate that the block we just left was mined , had the black geyser, or that the net was make from barbed wire. Besides that, in that location may be Peace waiters to deal with, now that they know our bunk. I act the inside of my lip, flavoring everyones look on me. Put on your masks. Were going out the way we came in. Instant objections. I raise my fathom over them. If the wave was that powerful, then it may nurse triggered and absorbed other pods in our path.People stop to consider this. Pollux makes a few quick signs to his brother. It may fuck off disabled the cameras as well, Castor translates. Coated the lenses. Gale props one of his boots on the foreclose and examines the splatter of black on the toe. Scrapes it with a kitchen knife from a block on the counter. Its not corrosive. I think it was imaginet to either suffocate or poison us. Probably our best shot, says Leeg 1. Masks go on. Finnick adjusts Peetas mask over his lifeless grimace. Cressida and Leeg 1 prop up a woozy Messalla between them. Im time la g for psyche to take the point position when I remember thats my job now.I push on the kitchen door and meet with no resistance. A half- inch layer of the black goo has sp immortalise from the living inha bend about cardinal-quarters of the way down the hall. When I gingerly test it with the toe of my boot, I find it has the unanimity of a colloidal jelly. I lift my foot and after stretching s get downly, it springs back into place. I take three steps into the gel and look back. No footprints. Its the first good topic thats take placeed today. The gel becomes slightly thicker as I cross the living way. I ease open the front door, expecting gallons of the squelch to pour in, scarcely it holds its form.The pink and orange block seems to turn out been dipped in glossy black paint and set out to dry. Paving stones, buildings, even the rooftops are coated in the gel. A coarse teardrop cites above the street. Two shapes project from it. A gun barrel and a human accomplish. Mi tchell. I wait on the sidewalk, staring up at him until the entire grouping has joined me. If anyone needs to go back, for whatever reason, now is the time, I say. No questions asked, no hard observeings. No one seems inc cable television system serviced to retreat. So I start moving into the Capitol, penetrative we dont prepare a good deal time.The gels deeper here, four to six inches, and makes a sucking sound each time you pick up your foot, precisely it up to now mop ups our pass overs. The wave must rent been enormous, with tremendous power insensible it, as its impact several(prenominal) blocks that lie ahead. And though I tread with care, I think my instinct was right about its triggering other pods. One block is sprinkled with the favourableen bodies of t twingeer jackers. They must have been set free only when to accept to the fumes. A little farther along, an entire flat building has collapsed and lies in a mound under the gel.I sprint across the intersect ions, memory up a hand for the others to wait while I look for trouble, still the wave seems to have dismantled the pods far better than any squad of rebels could. On the ordinal block, I can tell that weve get hold ofed the point where the wave began to peter out. The gels only an inch deep, and I can see baby blue rooftops peeking out across the next intersection. The afternoon light has faded, and we badly need to get under cover and form a plan. I choose an flat tire two-thirds of the way down the block. Homes jimmies the lock, and I order the others inside.I go on on the street for just a minute, observance the last of our footprints fade away, then close the door foundation me. Flashlights built into our guns illuminate a large living room with mirrored walls that throw our faces back at us at every turn. Gale checks the windows, which state no damage, and annihilates his mask. Its all right. You can olfactory perception it, but its not excessively strong. The apar tment seems to be laid out exactly the likes of the first one we excessivelyk refuge in. The gel blacks out any natural daylight in the front, but some light even so slips through the shutters in the kitchen. Along the hallway are two bedrooms with baths.A spiral staircase in the living room leads up to an open space that composes lots of the second floor. in that respect are no windows upstairs, but the lights have been left on, probably by someone in haste evacuating. A huge television suppress, blank but glowing softly, occupies one wall. Plush chairs and sofas are strewn approximately the room. This is where we congregate, slump into upholstery, try to catch our breath. Jackson has her gun trained on Peeta even though hes still cuffed and unconscious, draped across a deep-blue sofa where Homes deposited him. What on earth am I going to do with him?With the crew? With everybody, frankly, besides Gale and Finnick? Because Id rather track down Snow with those two than without them. But I cant lead ten people through the Capitol on a pretend mission, even if I could read the Holo. Should I, could I have sent them back when I had a chance? Or was it too stark? Both to them personally and to my mission? Maybe I shouldnt have listened to Boggs, because he might have been in some delusional dying state. Maybe I should just come clean, but then Jackson would take over and wed end up back at camp. Where Id have Coin to answer to. tho as the complexity of the people Ive dogged everybody into finds to overload my brain, a yon chain of explosions sends a tremor through the room. It wasnt close, Jackson assures us. A good four or five blocks away. Where we left Boggs, says Leeg 1. Although no one has made a move toward it, the television flares to life, emitting a treble beeping sound, bringing half our party to its feet. Its all right calls Cressida. Its just an sine qua non broadcast. all(prenominal) Capitol television is automatically activated for it. thither we are on-screen, just after the bomb took out Boggs.A voice-over tells the hearing what they are viewing as we try to regroup, react to the black gel shooting from the street, lose realise of the situation. We watch the chaos that follows until the wave b forget me drugs out the cameras. The last function we see is Gale, alone on the street, arduous to shoot through the cables that hold Mitchell aloft. The reporter identifies Gale, Finnick, Boggs, Peeta, Cressida, and me by get up. Theres no aerial footage. Boggs must have been right about their hovercraft capacity, says Castor. I didnt notice this, but I prefigure its the kind of thing a cameraman picks up on.Coverage expects from the courtyard behind the apartment where we took shelter. Peacekeepers line the roof across from our former interout. Shells are launched into the row of apartments, setting off the chain of explosions we heard, and the building collapses into rubble and dust. Now we cut to a live feed . A reporter stands on the roof with the Peacekeepers. Behind her, the apartment block displaces. Firefighters try to control the blaze with water hoses. We are pronounced dead. Finally, a bit of fate, says Homes. I guess hes right. Certainly its better than having the Capitol in pursuit of us.But I just keep imagining how this bequeath be playing back in 13. Where my mother and Prim, Hazelle and the kids, Annie, Haymitch, and a whole lot of people from 13 think that they have just seen us die. My father. He just lost my baby and now says Leeg 1. We watch as they play the footage over and over. Revel in their victory, especially over me. abeyance away to do a montage of the Mockingjays rise to rebel powerI think theyve had this part prepared for a while, because it seems pretty polishedand then go live so a couple of reporters can discuss my well-deserved violent end. Later, they promise, Snow will make an official statement.The screen fades back to a glow. The rebels made no at tempt to break in during the broadcast, which leads me to believe they think its true. If thats so, we really are on our own. So, now that were dead, whats our next move? asks Gale. Isnt it transparent? No one even knew Peeta had regained consciousness. I dont know how long hes been watching, but by the look of misery on his face, long ample to see what happened on the street. How he went mad, tried to bash my head in, and hurled Mitchell into the pod. He painfully pushes himself up to a sit down position and directs his oral communication to Gale. Our next moveis to kill me. 1 That makes two requests for Peetas death in less than an hour. Dont be ridiculous, says Jackson. I just murdered a member of our squad shouts Peeta. You pushed him off you. You couldnt have known he would trigger the net at that exact spot, says Finnick, trying to calm him. Who cares? Hes dead, isnt he? Tears begin to expect down Peetas face. I didnt know. Ive never seen myself like that in the first pl ace. Katniss is right. Im the monster. Im the mutt. Im the one Snow has turned into a weapon Its not your fault, Peeta, says Finnick. You cant take me with you. Its only a matter of time before I kill someone else.Peeta looks around at our conflicted faces. Maybe you think its kinder to just dump me somewhere. Let me take my chances. But thats the said(prenominal) thing as handing me over to the Capitol. Do you think youd be doing me a favor by sending me back to Snow? Peeta. Back in Snows hands. Tortured and tormented until no bits of his former self will ever emerge again. For some reason, the last stanza to The Hanging Tree starts trial through my head. The one where the man wants his lover dead rather than have her face the evil that awaits her in the world. Are you, are you Coming to the tree Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree. Ill kill you before that happens, says Gale. I promise. Peeta hesitates, as if considering the reliability of this offer, and then handshakes his head. Its no good. What if youre not there to do it? I want one of those poison pills like the rest of you have. Nightlock. Theres one pill back at camp, in its special slot on the sleeve of my Mockingjay suit. But theres another in the breast pocket of my uniform. Interesting that they didnt issue one to Peeta. perhaps Coin thought he might take it before he had the opportunity to kill me.Its unclear if Peeta means hed finish himself off now, to spare us having to murder him, or only if the Capitol took him prisoner again. In the state hes in, I expect it would be in the first place rather than later. It would certainly make things easier on the rest of us. Not to have to shoot him. It would certainly simplify the problem of dealing with his homicidal episodes. I dont know if its the pods, or the fear, or watching Boggs die, but I feel the arena all around me. Its as if Ive never left, really. Once again Im battling not only for my own survival but for Peetas as well.How satisfying, how demeantaining it would be for Snow to have me kill him. To have Peetas death on my conscience for whatever is left of my life. Its not about you, I say. Were on a mission. And youre necessary to it. I look to the rest of the group. Think we might find some aliment here? Besides the medical kit and cameras, we have nothing but our uniforms and our weapons. Half of us stay to guard Peeta or keep an eye out for Snows broadcast, while the others trial for something to eat. Messalla proves virtually valuable because he lived in a near replica of this apartment and knows where people would be most likely to stash food. same(p) how theres a storage space concealed by a mirrored panel in the bedroom, or how light(a) it is to pop out the ventilation screen in the hallway. So even though the kitchen cupboards are bare, we find over thirty canned goods and several turning pointes of cookies. The hoarding disgusts the soldiers raised in 13. Isnt this illegal? says Leeg 1. On the contrary, in the Capitol youd be considered poor fish not to do it, says Messalla. Even before the Quarter Quell, people were starting to stock up on scarce supplies. While others went without, says Leeg 1. Right, says Messalla. Thats how it works here.Fortunately, or we wouldnt have dinner, says Gale. Everybody grab a can. or so of our company seem reluctant to do this, but its as good a manner as any. Im really not in the mood to divvy up everything into eleven allude parts, factoring in age, body weight, and physical output. I poke around in the pile, about to sink on some cod chowder, when Peeta holds out a can to me. Here. I take it, not knowing what to expect. The label reads Lamb Stew. I press my lips together at the memories of rain dripping through stones, my ill at ease(p) attempts at flirting, and the aroma of my favorite Capitol dish in the chilly air.So som e part of it must still be in his head, too. How happy, how hungry, how close we were when that picnic basket arrived outside our cave. Thanks. I pop open the top. It even has dried plums. I bend the lid and use it as a makeshift spoon, scooping a bit into my mouth. Now this place tastes like the arena, too. Were passing around a box of fancy cream-filled cookies when the beeping starts again. The pestle of Panem lights up on the screen and remains there while the anthem plays. And then they begin to show images of the dead, just as they did with the tributes in the arena. They start with the four faces f our TV crew, followed by Boggs, Gale, Finnick, Peeta, and me. Except for Boggs, they dont bother with the soldiers from 13, either because they have no idea who they are or because they know they wont mean anything to the audience. Then the man himself appears, seated at his desk, a flag draped behind him, the fresh white rose gleaming in his lapel. I think he might have recently had more work done, because his lips are puffier than usual. And his prep team really needs to use a lighter hand with his blush. Snow congratulates the Peacekeepers on a masterful job, honors them for ridding the awkward of the menace called the Mockingjay.With my Snow congratulates the Peacekeepers on a masterful job, honors them for ridding the country of the menace called the Mockingjay. With my death, he predicts a turning of the tide in the war, since the change rebels have no one left to follow. And what was I, really? A poor, unstable girl with a itsy-bitsy talent with a bow and arrow. Not a great thinker, not the mastermind of the rebellion, merely a face plucked from the rabble because I had caught the nations attention with my antics in the Games. But necessary, so very necessary, because the rebels have no real leader among them.Somewhere in District 13, Beetee hits a switch, because now its not President Snow but President Coin whos looking at us. She introduces hers elf to Panem, identifies herself as the head of the rebellion, and then gives my eulogy. Praise for the girl who survived the Seam and the Hunger Games, then turned a country of slaves into an army of freedom fighters. Dead or alive, Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this rebellion. If ever you waver in your resolve, think of the Mockingjay, and in her you will find the strength you need to rid Panem of its oppressors.I had no idea how much I meant to her, I say, which brings a laugh from Gale and questioning looks from the others. Up comes a heavily doctored photo of me looking beautiful and fierce with a bunch of flames flickering behind me. No words. No slogan. My face is all they need now. Beetee gives the reins back to a very controlled Snow. I have the feeling the president thought the emergency channel was impenetrable, and someone will end up dead tonight because it was b afforded. Tomorrow morning, when we protract Katniss Everdeens body from the ashes, we will see exactly who the Mockingjay is.A dead girl who could save no one, not even herself. Seal, anthem, and out. Except that you wont find her, says Finnick to the empty screen, voicing what were all probably thinking. The dramatise period will be brief. Once they horn in through those ashes and come up missing eleven bodies, theyll know we escaped. We can get a head start on them at least, I say. Suddenly, Im so tired. All I want is to lie down on a nearby honey oil plush sofa and go to sleep. To cocoon myself in a comforter made of mouse hare fur and goose down.Instead, I pull out the Holo and insist that Jackson talk me through the most basic commandswhich are really about entering the coordinates of the nearest map grid intersectionso that I can at least begin to operate the thing myself. As the Holo projects our surroundings, I feel my heart sink even further. We must be moving close together(predicate) to crucial targets, because the number of pods has perceptibly increased. Ho w can we possibly move forward into this bouquet of blinking lights without detection? We cant. And if we cant, we are trapped like birds in a net. I decide its best not to consider some sort of superior attitude when Im with these people.Especially when my eyes keep drifting to that green sofa. So I say, Any ideas? Why dont we start by ruling out possibilities, says Finnick. The street is not a possibility. The rooftops are just as bad as the street, says Leeg 1. We still might have a chance to withdraw, go back the way we came, says Homes. But that would mean a failed mission. A pang of guilt hits me since Ive fabricated said mission. It was never intended for all of us to go forward. You just had the misfortune to be with me. Well, thats a moot point. Were with you now, says Jackson. So, we cant stay put. We cant move up.We cant move laterally. I think that just cast offs one option. Underground, says Gale. Underground. Which I hate. Like mines and tunnels and 13. Underground, where I dread dying, which is stupid because even if I die aboveground, the next thing theyll do is bury me underground anyway. The Holo can show subterranean as well as street-level pods. I see that when we go underground the clean, dependable lines of the street plan are interlaced with a braiding, turning mess of tunnels. The pods look less numerous, though. Two doors down, a vertical metro connects our row of apartments to the tunnels.To reach the tube apartment, we will need to squeeze through a maintenance shaft that runs the length of the building. We can enter the shaft through the back of a closet space on the upper floor. Okay, then. Lets make it look like weve never been here, I say. We erase all signs of our stay. Send the empty cans down a trash chute, pocket the full ones for later, flip sofa cushions smeared with blood, wipe traces of gel from the tiles. Theres no fixing the latch on the front door, but we lock a second bolt, which will at least keep the door from s winging open on contact. Finally, theres only Peeta to contend with.He plants himself on the blue sofa, refusing to budge. Im not going. Ill either disclose your position or hurt someone else. Snows people will find you, says Finnick. Then come out me a pill. Ill only take it if I have to, says Peeta. Thats not an option. Come along, says Jackson. Or youll what? Shoot me? asks Peeta. Well knock you out and drag you with us, says Homes. Which will both slow us down and ambuscade us. Stop existence noble I dont care if I die He turns to me, pleading now. Katniss, please. Dont you see, I want to be out of this? The trouble is, I do see. Why cant I just let him go?Slip him a pill, pull the trigger? Is it because I care too much about Peeta or too much about letting Snow win? Have I turned him into a piece in my undercover Games? Thats despicable, but Im not sure its beneath me. If its true, it would be kindest to kill Peeta here and now. But for better or worse, I am not motivated b y kindness. Were wasting away time. Are you climax voluntarily or do we knock you out? Peeta buries his face in his hands for a few moments, then rises to join us. Should we free his hands? asks Leeg 1. No Peeta growls at her, drawing his cuffs in close to his body. No, I echo. But I want the key.Jackson passes it over without a word. I slip it into my pants pocket, where it clicks against the pearl. When Homes pries open the small metal door to the maintenance shaft, we encounter another problem. Theres no way the insect shells will be able to fit through the abbreviate passage. Castor and Pollux remove them and detach emergency backup cameras. Each is the surface of a shoe box and probably works about as well. Messalla cant think of anywhere better to hide the bulky shells, so we end up dumping them in the closet. Leaving such an easy pencil lead to follow frustrates me, but what else can we do?Even going single file, holding our packs and gear out to the side, its a tight fit . We sidestep our way past times the first apartment, and break into the second. In this apartment, one of the bedrooms has a door marked utility instead of a bathroom. Behind the door is the room with the intrigue to the tube. Messalla frowns at the round-eyed circular cover, for a moment returning to his own fussy world. Its why no one ever wants the center unit. Workmen coming and going whenever and no second bath. But the rents considerably cheaper. Then he notices Finnicks amused expression and adds, Never mind.The tube covers simple to unlatch. A wide ladder with rubber treads on the steps allows for a swift, easy descent into the bowels of the city. We gather at the foot of the ladder, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the dim strips of lights, breathing in the mixture of chemicals, mildew, and sewage. Pollux, pale and sweaty, reaches out and latches on to Castors wrist. Like he might revert over if there isnt someone to steady him. My brother worked down here after he bec ame an Avox, says Castor. Of course. Who else would they get to maintain these dank, evilsmelling passages mined with pods?Took five years before we were able to buy his way up to ground level. Didnt see the sun once. Under better conditions, on a day with few horrors and more rest, someone would for certain know what to say. Instead we all stand there for a long time trying to formulate a response. Finally, Peeta turns to Pollux. Well, then you just became our most valuable asset. Castor laughs and Pollux manages a smile. Were halfway down the first tunnel when I realize what was so remarkable about the exchange. Peeta sounded like his old self, the one who could always think of the right thing to say when nobody else could.Ironic, encouraging, a little funny, but not at anyones expense. I glance back at him as he trudges along under his guards, Gale and Jackson, his eyes fixed on the ground, his shoulders hunched forward. So dispirited. But for a moment, he was really here. Peet a called it right. Pollux turns out to be worth ten Holos. There is a simple electronic network of wide tunnels that directly corresponds to the main street plan above, underlying the major avenues and cross streets. Its called the channelize, since small trucks use it to deliver goods around the city. During the day, its galore(postnominal) pods are deactivated, but at night its a minefield.However, hundreds of additional passages, utility shafts, train tracks, and drainage tubes form a multilevel maze. Pollux knows details that would lead to hap for a newcomer, like which offshoots might require gas masks or have live wires or rats the sizing of beavers. He alerts us to the gush of water that sweeps through the sewers periodically, anticipates the time the Avoxes will be changing shifts, leads us into damp, obscure shrills to dodge the nearly silent passage of cargo trains. Most important, he has knowledge of the cameras. There arent more down in this gloomy, misty place, ex cept in the Transfer.But we keep well out of their way. Under Polluxs guidance we make good timeremarkable time, if you compare it to our aboveground travel. later on about six hours, fatigue takes over. Its three in the morning, so I figure we still have a few hours before our bodies are discover missing, they search through the rubble of the whole block of apartments in case we tried to escape through the shafts, and the hunt begins. When I suggest we rest, no one objects. Pollux finds a small, warm room humming with machines loaded with levers and dials. He holds up his fingers to indicate we must be gone in four hours.Jackson works out a guard schedule, and, since Im not on the first shift, I wedge myself in the tight space between Gale and Leeg 1 and go right to sleep. It seems like only minutes later when Jackson shakes me awake, tells me Im on watch. Its six oclock, and in one hour we must be on our way. Jackson tells me to eat a can of food and keep an eye on Pollux, whos i nsisted on cosmos on guard the entire night. He cant sleep down here. I drag myself into a state of relative alertness, eat a can of potato and bean grudge, and sit against the wall facing the door. Pollux seems wide awake.Hes probably been reliving those five years of imprisonment all night. I get out the Holo and manage to input our grid coordinates and scan the tunnels. As expected, more pods are registering the closer we move toward the center of the Capitol. For a while, Pollux and I click around on the Holo, seeing what traps lie where. When my head begins to spin, I hand it over to him and lean back against the wall. I look down at the quiescence soldiers, crew, and friends, and I wonder how many of us will ever see the sun again. When my eyes authorize on Peeta, whose head rests right by my feet, I see hes awake.I wish I could read whats going on in his mind, that I could go in and untangle the mess of lies. Then I settle for something I can accomplish. Have you eaten? I ask. A slight shake of his head indicates he hasnt. I open a can of chicken and rice soup and hand it to him, keeping the lid in case he tries to slit his wrists with it or something. He sits up and tilts the can, chugging back the soup without really bothering to chew it. The bottom of the can reflects the lights from the machines, and I remember something thats been itching at the back of my mind since yesterday.Peeta, when you asked about what happened to Darius and Lavinia, and Boggs told you it was real, you said you thought so. Because there was nothing glassy about it. What did you mean? Oh. I dont know exactly how to explain it, he tells me. In the ancestry, everything was just complete confusion. Now I can sort certain things out. I think theres a pattern emerging. The memories they altered with the tracker jacker venom have this strange quality about them. Like theyre too intense or the images arent stable. You remember what it was like when we were stung? Trees shatter ed.There were giant colored butterflies. I brutal in a pit of orange bubbles. I think about it. Shiny orange bubbles. Right. But nothing about Darius or Lavinia was like that. I dont think theyd wedded me any venom yet, he says. Well, thats good, isnt it? I ask. If you can separate the two, then you can figure out whats true. Yes. And if I could grow wings, I could fly. unless people cant grow wings, he says. Real or not real? Real, I say. But people dont need wings to survive. Mockingjays do. He finishes the soup and returns the can to me. In the fluorescent light, the circles under his eyes look like bruises.Theres still time. You should sleep. Unresisting, he lies back down, but just stares at the chivvy on one of the dials as it twitches from side to side. Slowly, as I would with a wounded animal, my hand stretches out and brushes a wave of hair from his forehead. He freezes at my touch, but doesnt recoil. So I continue to gently smooth back his hair. Its the first time I ha ve voluntarily fey him since the last arena. Youre still trying to protect me. Real or not real, he whispers. Real, I answer. It seems to require more explanation. Because thats what you and I do. Protect each other.After a minute or so, he drifts off to sleep. Shortly before seven, Pollux and I move among the others, rousing them. There are the usual yawns and sighs that chase waking. But my ears are picking up something else, too. Almost like a hissing. Perhaps its only steam escaping a shout or the far-off whoosh of one of the trains. I hush the group to get a better read on it. Theres a hissing, yes, but its not one extended sound. More like multiple exhalations that form words. A single word. utter throughout the tunnels. One word. One name. Repeated over and over again. Katniss. 22The grace period has ended. Perhaps Snow had them digging through the night. As soon as the fire died down, anyway. They found Boggss remains, briefly matte reassured, and then, as the hours wen t by without further trophies, began to suspect. At some point, they realized that they had been tricked. And President Snow cant tolerate being made to look like a fool. It doesnt matter whether they tracked us to the second apartment or assumed we went directly underground. They know we are down here now and theyve unleashed something, a pack of mutts probably, bent on finding me. Katniss.I jump at the proximity of the sound. Look dementedly for its source, bow loaded, desire a target to hit. Katniss. Peetas lips are barely moving, but theres no doubt, the name came out of him. Just when I thought he seemed a little better, when I thought he might be inching his way back to me, here is proof of how deep Snows poison went. Katniss. Peetas programmed to respond to the hissing chorus, to join in the hunt. Hes beginning to stir. Theres no choice. I position my arrow to penetrate his brain. Hell barely feel a thing. Suddenly, hes sitting up, eyes wide in alarm, short of breath.Katnis s He whips his head toward me but doesnt seem to notice my bow, the waiting arrow. Katniss Get out of here I hesitate. His voice is alarmed, but not insane. Why? Whats making that sound? I dont know. Only that it has to kill you, says Peeta. Run Get out Go After my own moment of confusion, I cerebrate I do not have to shoot him. Relax my bowstring. Take in the anxious faces around me. Whatever it is, its after me. It might be a good time to split up. But were your guard, says Jackson. And your crew, adds Cressida. Im not leaving you, Gale says.I look at the crew, armed with nothing but cameras and clipboards. And theres Finnick with two guns and a trident. I suggest that he give one of his guns to Castor. issue the blank cartridge from Peetas, load it with a real one, and arm Pollux. Since Gale and I have our bows, we hand our guns over to Messalla and Cressida. Theres no time to show them anything but how to point and pull the trigger, but in close quarters, that might be enough. Its better than being defenseless. Now the only one without a weapon is Peeta, but anyone whispering my name with a bunch of mutts doesnt need one anyway.We leave the room free of everything but our scent. Theres no way to erase that at the moment. Im guessing thats how the hissing things are tracking us, because we havent left much of a physical trail. The mutts noses will be abnormally keen, but possibly the time we spent slogging through water in drain pipes will help throw them. Outside the hum of the room, the hissing becomes more distinct. But its also possible to get a better sense of the mutts location. Theyre behind us, still a fair distance. Snow probably had them released underground near the place where he found Boggss body.Theoretically, we should have a good lead on them, although theyre certain to be much blistering than we are. My mind wanders to the wolflike creatures in the first arena, the monkeys in the Quarter Quell, the monstrosities Ive witnessed on televisi on over the years, and I wonder what form these mutts will take. Whatever Snow thinks will scare me the most. Pollux and I have worked out a plan for the next leg of our journey, and since it heads away from the hissing, I see no reason to alter it. If we move swiftly, maybe we can reach Snows mansion before the mutts reach us.But theres a sloppiness that comes with speed the poorly placed boot that results in a splash, the accidental clang of a gun against a pipe, even my own commands, issued too loudly for discretion. Weve covered about three more blocks via an overflow pipe and a section of neglected train track when the screams begin. Thick, guttural. Bouncing off the tunnel walls. Avoxes, says Peeta immediately. Thats what Darius sounded like when they tortured him. The mutts must have found them, says Cressida. So theyre not just after Katniss, says Leeg 1. Theyll probably kill anyone. Its just that they wont stop until they get to her, says Gale.After his hours studying with Beetee, he is most likely right. And here I am again. With people dying because of me. Friends, allies, complete strangers, losing their lives for the Mockingjay. Let me go on alone. Lead them off. Ill transfer the Holo to Jackson. The rest of you can finish the mission. No ones going to agree to that says Jackson in exasperation. Were wasting time says Finnick. Listen, Peeta whispers. The screams have stopped, and in their absence my name has rebounded, startling in its proximity. Its below as well as behind us now. Katniss. I nudge Pollux on the shoulder and we start to run.Trouble is, we had be after to descend to a lower level, but thats out now. When we come to the steps leading down, Pollux and I are scanning for a possible alternative on the Holo when I start gagging. Masks on orders Jackson. Theres no need for masks. Everyone is breathing the same air. Im the only one losing my stew because Im the only one reacting to the odor. Drifting up from the stairwell. Cutting throug h the sewage. Roses. I begin to tremble. I swerve away from the smell and stumble right out onto the Transfer. Smooth, pastel-colored tiled streets, just like the ones above, but bordered by white brick walls instead of homes.A roadway where delivery vehicles can drive with ease, without the congestion of the Capitol. Empty now, of everything but us. I swing up my bow and blow up the first pod with an explosive arrow, which kills the nest of flesh-eating rats inside. Then I sprint for the next intersection, where I know one false step will cause the ground beneath our feet to disintegrate, feeding us into something labeled warmness Grinder. I shout a warning to the others to stay with me. I plan for us to skirt around the corner and then detonate the Meat Grinder, but another unmarked pod lies in wait.It happens silently. I would miss it entirely if Finnick didnt pull me to a stop. Katniss I whip back around, arrow collected for flight, but what can be done? Two of Gales arrows al ready lie trivial beside the wide shaft of golden light that radiates from ceiling to floor. Inside, Messalla is as still as a statue, poised up on the ball of one foot, head tilted back, held captive by the beam. I cant tell if hes yelling, although his mouth is stretched wide. We watch, utterly helpless, as the flesh melts off his body like candle wax. Cant help him Peeta starts shoving people forward. CantAmazingly, hes the only one still functional enough to get us moving. I dont know why hes in control, when he should be flipping out and bashing my brains in, but that could happen any second. At the pressure of his hand against my shoulder, I turn away from the grisly thing that was Messalla I make my feet go forward, fast, so fast that I can barely skid to a stop before the next intersection. A spray of gunfire brings down a shower of plaster. I jerk my head from side to side, looking for the pod, before I turn and see the squad of Peacekeepers pounding down the Transfer towa rd us.With the Meat Grinder pod blocking our way, theres nothing to do but fire back. They outnumber us two to one, but weve still got six original members of the Star Squad, who arent trying to run and shoot at the same time. Fish in a barrel, I think, as blossoms of red stain their white uniforms. Three-quarters of them are down and dead when more begin to pour in from the side of the tunnel, the same one I flung myself through to get away from the smell, from the Those arent Peacekeepers. They are white, four-limbed, about the size of a full-grown human, but thats where the comparisons stop.Naked, with long reptilian tails, arched backs, and heads that jut forward. They swarm over the Peacekeepers, living and dead, clamp on to their necks with their mouths and rip off the helmeted heads. Apparently, having a Capitol pedigree is as useless here as it was in 13. It seems to take only seconds before the Peacekeepers are decapitated. The mutts fall to their bellies and skitter toward us on all fours. This way I shout, hugging the wall and making a sharp right turn to avoid the pod. When everyones joined me, I fire into the intersection, and the Meat Grinder activates.Huge mechanical dentition burst through the street and chew the tile to dust. That should make it impossible for the mutts to follow us, but I dont know. The wolf and monkey mutts Ive encountered could leap unbelievably far. The hissing burns my ears, and the evoke of roses makes the walls spin. I grab Polluxs arm. Forget the mission. Whats the quickest way aboveground? Theres no time for checking the Holo. We follow Pollux for about ten yards along the Transfer and go through a doorway. Im aware of tile changing to concrete, of crawling through a tight, stinking pipe onto a ledge about a foot wide. Were in the main sewer.A yard below, a poisonous brew of human waste, garbage, and chemical runoff bubbles by us. Parts of the surface are on fire, others emit evil-looking clouds of vapor. One look t ells you that if you fall in, youre never coming out. Moving as quick as we dare on the slippery ledge, we make our way to a narrow bridge and cross it. In an alcove at the far side, Pollux smacks a ladder with his hand and points up the shaft. This is it. Our way out. A quick glance at our party tells me somethings off. Wait Where are Jackson and Leeg One? They stayed at the Grinder to hold the mutts back, says Homes. What?Im lunging back for the bridge, willing to leave no one to those monsters, when he yanks me back. Dont waste their lives, Katniss. Its too late for them. Look Homes nods to the pipe, where the mutts are slithering onto the ledge. endorse back Gale shouts. With his explosive-tipped arrows, he rips the far side of the bridge from its foundation. The rest sinks into the bubbles, just as the mutts reach it. For the first time, I get a good look at them. A mix of human and lizard and who knows what else. White, tight reptilian skin smeared with gore, clawed hands a nd feet, their faces a mess of conflicting features.Hissing, shrieking my name now, as their bodies contort in rage. Lashing out with tails and claws, taking huge chunks of one another or their own bodies with wide, lathered mouths, driven mad by their need to destroy me. My scent must be as evocative to them as theirs is to me. More so, because despite its toxicity, the mutts begin to throw themselves into the foul sewer. Along our bank, everyone opens fire. I choose my arrows without discretion, sending arrowheads, fire, explosives into the mutts bodies. Theyre mortal, but only just. No natural thing could keep coming with two dozen bullets in it.Yes, we can eventually kill them, only there are so many, an endless supply pouring from the pipe, not even hesitating to take to the sewage. But its not their numbers that make my hands shake so. No mutt is good. All are meant to damage you. Some take your life, like the monkeys. Others your reason, like the tracker jackers. However, the true atrocities, the most frightening, incorporate a perverse psychological twist designed to terrify the victim. The sight of the wolf mutts with the dead tributes eyes. The sound of the jabberjays replicating Prims tortured screams.The smell of Snows roses mixed with the victims blood. Carried across the sewer. Cutting through even this foulness. Making my heart run wild, my skin turn to ice, my lungs unable to suck air. Its as if Snows breathing right in my face, telling me its time to die. The others are shouting at me, but I cant seem to respond. Strong arms lift me as I blast the head off a mutt whose claws have just grazed my ankle. Im slammed into the ladder. Hands shoved against the rungs. Ordered to climb. My wooden, peter limbs obey. Movement slowly brings me back to my senses. I detect one person above me.Pollux. Peeta and Cressida are below. We reach a platform. Switch to a second ladder. Rungs slick with sweat and mildew. At the next platform, my head has clear and t he reality of whats happened hits me. I begin frantically draw people up off the ladder. Peeta. Cressida. Thats it. What have I done? What have I abandoned the others to? Im scrambling back down the ladder when one of my boots kicks someone. Climb Gale barks at me. Im back up, hauling him in, peering into the gloom for more. No. Gale turns my face to him and shakes his head. Uniform shredded. Gaping wound in the side of his neck.Theres a human battle cry from below. Someones still alive, I plead. No, Katniss. Theyre not coming, says Gale. Only the mutts are. Unable to accept it, I shine the light from Cressidas gun down the shaft. Far below, I can just make out Finnick, struggling to hang on as three mutts tear at him. As one yanks back his head to take the death bite, something bizarre happens. Its as if Im Finnick, watching images of my life flash by. The mast of a boat, a silver parachute, Mags laughing, a pink sky, Beetees trident, Annie in her spousals dress, waves breaking over rocks. Then its over.I slide the Holo from my belt and choke out nightlock, nightlock, nightlock. Release it. suspiciousness against the wall with the others as the explosion rocks the platform and bits of mutt and human flesh shoot out of the pipe and shower us. Theres a clank as Pollux slams a cover over the pipe and locks it in place. Pollux, Gale, Cressida, Peeta, and me. Were all thats left. Later, the human feelings will come. Now Im conscious only of an animal need to keep the remnants of our band alive. We cant stop here. Someone comes up with a bandage. We tie it around Gales neck. Get him to his feet.Only one figure stays huddled against the wall. Peeta, I say. Theres no response. Has he blacked out? I crouch in front of him, pulling his cuffed hands from his face. Peeta? His eyes are like black pools, the pupils dilated so that the blue irises have all but vanished. The muscles in his wrists are hard as metal. Leave me, he whispers. I cant hang on. Yes. You can I tel l him. Peeta shakes his head. Im losing it. Ill go mad. Like them. Like the mutts. Like a rabid beast bent on ripping my throat out. And here, finally here in this place, in these circumstances, I will really have to kill him. And Snow will win.Hot, bitter disgust courses through me. Snow has won too much already today. Its a long shot, its suicide maybe, but I do the only thing I can think of. I lean in and kiss Peeta full on the mouth. His whole body starts shuddering, but I keep my lips pressed to his until I have to come up for air. My hands slide up his wrists to clasp his. Dont let him take you from me. Peetas panting hard as he fights the nightmares raging in his head. No. I dont want to I clench his hands to the point of pain. interference with me. His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy.Always, he murmurs. I help Peeta up and apostrophize Pollux. How far to the street? He indicates its just above us. I clim b the last ladder and push open the lid to someones utility room. Im rising to my feet when a woman throws open the door. She wears a bright turquoise silk robe embroidered with exotic birds. Her magenta hairs fluffed up like a cloud and decorated with gilded butterflies. Grease from the half-eaten sausage shes holding smears her lipstick. The expression on her face says she recognizes me. She opens her mouth to call for help. Without hesitation, I shoot her through the heart. 23Who the woman was concern to remains a mystery, because after searching the apartment, we find she was alone. Perhaps her cry was meant for a nearby neighbor, or was simply an expression of fear. At any rate, theres no one else to hear her. This apartment would be a classy place to hole up in for a while, but thats a luxury we cant afford. How long do you think we have before they figure out some of us couldve survived? I ask. I think they could be here anytime, Gale answers. They knew we were heading for t he streets. Probably the explosion will throw them for a few minutes, then theyll start looking for our exit point.I go to a window that overlooks the street, and when I peek through the blinds, Im not faced with Peacekeepers but with a bundled crowd of people going about their business. During our underground journey, we have left the evacuated zones far behind and surfaced in a busy section of the Capitol. This crowd offers our only chance of escape. I dont have a Holo, but I have Cressida. She joins me at the window, confirms she knows our location, and gives me the good news that we arent many blocks from the presidents mansion. One glance at my companions tells me this is no time for a stealth lash out on Snow.Gales still losing blood from the neck wound, which we havent even cleaned. Peetas sitting on a velvet sofa with his teeth clamped down on a pillow, either fighting off madness or containing a scream. Pollux weeps against the mantel of an ornate fireplace. Cressida stand s determinedly at my side, but shes so pale her lips are bloodless. Im running on hate. When the energy for that ebbs, Ill be worthless. Lets check her closets, I say. In one bedroom we find hundreds of the womans outfits, coats, pairs of shoes, a rainbow of wigs, enough makeup to paint a house.In a bedroom across the hall, theres a similar selection for men. Perhaps they belong to her husband. Perhaps to a lover who had the good luck to be out this morning. I call the others to dress. At the sight of Peetas bloody wrists, I dig in my pocket for the handcuff key, but he jerks away from me. No, he says. Dont. They help hold me together. You might need your hands, says Gale. When I feel myself slipping, I dig my wrists into them, and the pain helps me focus, says Peeta. I let them be. Fortunately, its cold out, so we can conceal most of our uniforms and weapons under flowing coats and cloaks.We hang our boots around our necks by their laces and hide them, pull on silly shoes to replac e them. The real challenge, of course, is our faces. Cressida and Pollux run the risk of being recognized by acquaintances, Gale could be familiar from the propos and news, and Peeta and I are known by every citizen of Panem. We hastily help one another apply thick layers of makeup, pull on wigs and sunglasses. Cressida wraps scarves over Peetas and my mouths and noses. I can feel the clock ticking away, but stop for just a few moments to overeat pockets with food and first-aid supplies. Stay together, I say at the front door.Then we march right into the street. Snow flurries have begun to fall. Agitated people swirl around us, speaking of rebels and hunger and me in their affected Capitol accents. We cross the street, pass a few more apartments. Just as we turn the corner, three dozen Peacekeepers sweep past us. We hop out of their way, as the real citizens do, wait until the crowd returns to its normal flow, and keep moving. Cressida, I whisper. Can you think of anywhere? Im tryi ng, she says. We cover another block, and the sirens begin. Through an apartment window, I see an emergency report and pictures of our faces flashing.They havent identified who in our party died yet, because I see Castor and Finnick among the photos. Soon every passerby will be as dangerous as a Peacekeeper. Cressida? Theres one place. Its not ideal. But we can try it, she says. We follow her a few more blocks and turn through a gate into what looks like a private residence. Its some kind of shortcut, though, because after walking through a manicured garden, we come out of another gate onto a small back street that connects two main avenues. There are a few click storesone that buys used goods, another that sells fake jewelry.Only a couple of people are around, and they pay no attention to us. Cressida begins to babble in a high-pitched voice about fur undergarments, how essential they are during the cold months. Wait until you see the prices Believe me, its half what you pay on th e avenues We stop before a grimy storefront filled with mannequins in furry underwear. The place doesnt even look open, but Cressida pushes through the front door, setting off a dissonant chiming. Inside the dim, narrow stool lined with racks of merchandise, the smell of pelts fills my nose.Business must be slow, since were the only customers. Cressida heads straight for a hunched figure sitting in the back. I follow, trailing my fingers through the soft garments as we go. Behind a counter sits the strangest person Ive ever seen. Shes an extreme example of surgical enhancement gone wrong, for surely not even in the Capitol could they find this face attractive. The skin has been pulled back tightly and tattooed with black and gold stripes. The nose has been flattened until it barely exists. Ive seen cat whiskers on people in the Capitol before, but none so long.The result is a grotesque, semi-feline mask, which now squints at us distrustfully. Cressida takes off her wig, revealing h er vines. Tigris, she says. We need help. Tigris. Deep in my brain, the name rings a bell. She was a fixturea younger, less sad version of herselfin the earliest Hunger Games I can remember. A stylist, I think. I dont remember for which district. Not 12. Then she must have had one operation too many and crossed the line into repellence. So this is where stylists go when theyve outlived their use. To sad theme underwear shops where they wait for death.Out of the public eye. I stare at her face, wondering if her parents actually named her Tigris, inspiring her mutilation, or if she chose the style and changed her name to match her stripes. Plutarch said you could be trusted, adds Cressida. Great, shes one of Plutarchs people. So if her first move isnt to turn us in to the Capitol, it will be to notify Plutarch, and by extension Coin, of our whereabouts. No, Tigriss shop is not ideal, but its all we have at the moment. If shell even help us. Shes peering between an old television on h er counter and us, as if trying to place us.To help her, I pull down my scarf, remove my wig, and step closer so that the light of the screen falls on my face. Tigris gives a low growl, not unlike one Buttercup might greet me with. She slinks down off her stool and disappears behind a rack of fur-lined leggings. Theres a sound of sliding, and then her hand emerges and waves us forward. Cressida looks at me, as if to ask Are you sure? But what choice do we have? Returning to the streets under these conditions guarantees our becharm or death. I push around the furs and find Tigris has slid back a panel at the base of the wall.Behind it seems to be the top of a steep stone stairway. She gestures for me to enter. Everything about the situation screams trap. I have a moment of panic and find myself turning to Tigris, searching those tawny eyes. Why is she doing this? Shes no Cinna, someone willing to sacrifice herself for others. This woman was the embodiment of Capitol shallowness. She was one of the stars of the Hunger Games untiluntil she wasnt. So is that it, then? Bitterness? horror? Revenge? Actually, Im comforted by the idea. A need for revenge can burn long and hot. Especially if every glance in a mirror reinforces it.Did Snow ban you from the Games? I ask. She just stares back at me. Somewhere her tiger tail flicks with displeasure. Because Im going to kill him, you know. Her mouth spreads into what I take for a smile. Reassured that this isnt complete madness, I crawl through the space. About halfway down the steps, my face runs into a hanging chain and I pull it, light the hideout with a flickering fluorescent bulb. Its a small cellar with no doors or windows. Shallow and wide. Probably just a strip between two real basements. A place whose existence could go unnoticed unless you had a very keen eye for dimensions.Its cold and dank, with scads of pelts that Im guessing havent seen the light of day in years. Unless Tigris gives us up, I dont believe a nyone will find us here. By the time I reach the concrete floor, my companions are on the steps. The panel slides back in place. I hear the underwear rack being adjusted on squeaky wheels. Tigris padding back to her stool. We have been swallowed up by her store. Just in time, too, because Gale looks on the verge of collapse. We make a bed of pelts, strip off his layers of weapons, and help him onto his back. At the end of the cellar, theres a faucet about a foot from the floor with a drain under it.I turn the tap and, after much sputtering and a lot of rust, clear water begins to flow. We clean Gales neck wound and I realize bandages wont be enough. Hes going to need a few stitches. Theres a needle and sterile thread in the first-aid supplies, but what we lack is a healer. It crosses my mind to enlist Tigris. As a stylist, she must know how to work a needle. But that would leave no one manning the shop, and shes doing enough already. I accept that Im probably the most qualified for the job, grit my teeth, and put in a row of jagged sutures. Its not pretty but its functional.I smear it with medication and wrap it up. Give him some painkillers. You can rest now. Its safe here, I tell him. He goes out like a light. While Cressida and Pollux make fur nests for each of us, I attend to Peetas wrists. Gently rinsing away the blood, putting on an antiseptic, and bandaging them beneath the cuffs. Youve got to keep them clean, otherwise the transmitting could spread and I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss, says Peeta. Even if my mother isnt a healer. Im jolted back in time, to another wound, another set of bandages. You said that same thing to me in the first Hunger Games.Real or not real? Real, he says. And you risked your life getting the medicine that saved me? Real. I shrug. You were the reason I was alive to do it. Was I? The comment throws him into confusion. Some shiny memory must be fighting for his attention, because his body tenses and his newly bandage d wrists strain against the metal cuffs. Then all the energy saps from his body. Im so tired, Katniss. Go to sleep, I say. He wont until Ive rearranged his handcuffs and shackled him to one of the stair supports. It cant be comfortable, lying there with his arms above his head.But in a few minutes, he drifts off, too. Cressida and Pollux have made beds for us, arranged our food and medical supplies, and now ask what I want to do about setting up a guard. I look at Gales pallor, Peetas restraints. Pollux hasnt slept for days, and Cressida and I only napped for a few hours. If a troop of Peacekeepers were to come through that door, wed be trapped like rats. We are completely at the mercy of a decrepit tiger-woman with what I can only hope is an all-consuming oestrus for Snows death. I dont honestly think theres any point in setting up a guard.Lets just try to get some sleep, I say. They nod numbly, and we all burrow into our pelts. The fire inside me has flickered out, and with it my strength. I surrender to the soft, musty fur and oblivion. I have only one dream I remember. A long and wearying thing in which Im trying to get to District 12. The home Im seeking is intact, the people alive. Effie Trinket, conspicuous in a bright pink wig and tailored outfit, travels with me. I keep trying to ditch her in places, but she inexplicably reappears at my side, insisting that as my escort shes trusty for my staying on schedule.Only the schedule is constantly shifting, derailed by our lack of a stamp from an official or retard when Effie breaks one of her high heels. We camp for days on a bench in a colourize station in District 7, awaiting a train that never comes. When I wake, somehow I feel even more drained by this than my usual nighttime forays into blood and terror. Cressida, the only person awake, tells me its late afternoon. I eat a can of beef stew and wash it down with a lot of water. Then I lean against the cellar wall, retracing the