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I Reach For Prim In The Twilight, Clamp My Hand On Her Leg And Pull Myself Over To Her. Her Voice Remains Steady As She Croons To Buttercup. "it's All Right, Baby, It's All Right. We'll Be Ok Down There." My Mother Wraps Her Arms Around Us. I Allow Myself To Feel Young For A Moment And Rest My Head On Her Shoulder.

-Suzanne Collins

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I Reach For Prim

Suzanne Collins

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I Reach For Prim In The Twilight, Clamp My Hand On Her Leg And Pull Myself Over To Her. Her Voice Remains Steady As She Croons To Buttercup. "it's All Right, Baby, It's All Right. We'll Be Ok Down There." My Mother Wraps Her Arms Around Us. I Allow Myself To Feel Young For A Moment And Rest My Head On Her Shoulder.

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I Can See The First Apple Teetering When I Let The Third Arrow Go, Catching The Torn Flap 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.

Then He Smiles As If He'd Be Happy To Lie There And Gaze At Me Forever.

You're Not Afraid I'll Kill You Tonight?" "like I Couldn't Take You.

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Turn And Turn And Turn Again You See The What, But Not The When Remedy And Wrong Entwine And So They Form A Single Vine

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No Matter What I Do, I'm Hurting Someone." - Katniss Everdeen

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Ladies And Gentlemen....." His Voice Is Quiet, But Mine Rings Through The Room. "let The Seventy-sixth Hunger Games Begin!

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Roses. Wolf Mutts. Tributes. Frosted Dolphins. Friends. Mockingjays. Stylists. Me. Everything Screams In My Dreams Tonight.

I Wonder How She'll Make Up Her Mind." "oh, That I Do Know." I Can Just Catch Gale's Last Words Through The Layer Of Fur. "katniss Will Pick Whoever She Thinks She Can't Survive Without.

I No Longer Feel Any Allegiance To These Monsters Called Human Beings, Despise Being One Myself.

Fine. Somebody Else Can Arrange To Get The Stupid Goat Knocked Up.

Why Am I Hopping Around Like Some Trained Dog Trying To Please People I Hate?

What Say You, Luxa?" Said Vikus. "what Can I Say, Vikus? Can I Return To Our People And Tell Them I Withdrew From The Quest When Our Survival Hangs In The Balance?" Said Luxa Bitterly. "of Course You Cannot, Luxa. This Is Why He Times It So," Said Henry. "you Could Choose To - " Started Vikus. "i Could Choose! I Could Choose!" Retorted Luxa. " Do Not Offer Me A Choice When You Know None Exits!" She And Henry Turned Their Backs On Vikus.

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Star-crossed Lovers Desperate To Get Home Together. Two Hearts Beating As One. Romance.

How Are You Managing? And Don't Say You're Fine." It's True. Whatever The Opposite Of Fine Is, That's What I Am.

I Do Think You're Mad And I'll Still Go With You.

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A Spark Could Be Enough To Set Them Ablaze.

No More Kisses For You, Until You Have Eaten !

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I Really Can't Think About Kissing When I've Got A Rebellion To Incite.

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It Is A Perfect Weapon

A Furious Peeta Hammers Haymitch With The Atrocity He Could Become Party To, But I Can Feel Haymitch Watching Me. This Is The Moment, Then. When We Find Out Exactly Just How Alike We Are, And How Much He Truly Understands Me. "i'm With The Mockingjay," He Says.

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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 Exhilarating And I'm Tempted To Ask Effie Trinket If We Can Ride It Again, But Somehow That Seems Childish.

So What I'd Really Like Is To Try And 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.

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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.

An Ability To Look Into The Confusing Mess Of Life And See Things For What They Are.

She's Not Here," I Tell Him. Buttercup Hisses Again. "she's Not Here. You Can Hiss All You Like. You Won't Find Prim." At Her Name, He Perks Up. Raises His Flattened Ears. Begins To Meow Hopefully. "get Out!" He Dodges The Pillow I Throw At Him. "go Away! There's Nothing Left For You Here!" I Start To Shake, Furious With Him. "she's Not Coming Back! She's Never Ever Coming Back Here Again!" I Grab Another Pillow And Get To My Feet To Improve My Aim. Out Of Nowhere, The Tears Begin To Pour Down My Cheeks. "she's Dead, You Stupid Cat. She's Dead.

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

But I Feel As If I Did Know Rue, And She'll Always Be With Me. Everything Beautiful Brings Her To Mind. I See Her In The Yellow Flowers That Grow In The Meadow By My House. I See Her In The Mockingjays That Sing In The Trees. But Most Of All, I See Her In My Sister, Prim.

But Don't Worry; As I've Been Saying - And This Has Been Very Clever Of Me, I'm Sure You'll Agree - If You Put Enough Pressure On Coal, It'll Turn To Pearls!

The Heat Of The Bread Burned Into My Skin, But I Clutched It Tighter, Clinging To Life.

Come On And Eat With Him. I Promise, I Won't Let Him Kiss You Again.

The Star-crossed Lovers

Star Crossed Lovers

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 Rue.

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 Harm.

‎what Is To Prevent, Say, An Uprising?

Just The Perfect Touch Of Rebellion," Says Haymitch "very Nice." Rebellion?

I'm More Than Just A Piece In Their Games.

Aim Higher In Case You Fall Short.

Aren't They The Very Reason I Have To Try To Fight? Because What Has Been Done To Them Is So Wrong, So Beyond Justification, So Evil That There Is No Choice? Because No One Has The Right To Treat Them As They Have Been Treated?

The Main Thing I Feel Is A Sense Of Relief. That I Can Give Up This Game. That The Question Of Whether I Can Succeed In This Venture Has Been Answered, Even If That Answer Is A Resounding No. That If Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures, I Am Free To Act As Desperately As I Want.

Desperate Measures

I'm Almost There, Almost To The Barricade, When I Thinks She Hears Me. Because For Just A Moment, She Catches Sight Of Me, Her Lips Form My Name. And That's When The Rest Of The Parachutes Go Off.

If Your Parent Is Deployed And You Are That Young, You Spend The Whole Time Wondering Where They Are And Waiting For Them To Come Home. As Time Passes And The Absence Is Longer And Longer, You Become More And More Concerned - But You Don't Really Have The Words To Express Your Concern. There's Only This Continued Absence.

You're Punishing Him Over And Over For Things That Are Out Of His Control. Now, I'm Not Saying You Shouldn't Have A Fully Loaded Weapon Next To You Round The Clock. But I Think It's Time You Flipped This Little Scenario In Your Head. If You'd Been Taken By The Capitol, And Hijacked, And Then Tried To Kill Peeta, Is This The Way He Would Be Treating You?" Demands Haymitch. I Fall Silent. It Isn't. It Isn't How He Would Be Treating Me At All. He Would Be Trying To Get Me Back At Any Cost. Not Shutting Me Out, Abandoning Me, Greeting Me With Hostility At Every Turn.

It's Meant To Be Pretty," Whispers Octavia, And I Can See The Tears Threatening To Spill Over Her Lashes. Posy Considers This And Says Matter-of-factly, "i Think You'd Be Pretty In Any Color." The Tiniest Of Smiles Forms On Octavia's Lips. "thank You.

I'm Not Flailing Now, As My Muscles Are Rigid With The Tension Of Holding Myself Together.

I Turn And Put My Lips Close To Peeta's And Drop My Eyelids In Imitation... "he Offered Me Sugar And Wanted To Know All My Secrets," I Say In My Best Seductive Voice.

Katniss, I Don't Think President Snow Will Kill Peeta. If He Does, He Won't Have Any Way To Hurt You." "so, What Do You Think They'll Do To Him?" I Ask. "whatever It Takes To Break You.

Hey. I Just Wanted To Make Sure You Got Home," I Say. "katniss, I Live Three Houses Away From You," He Says.

I Volunteer!" I Gasp. "i Volunteer As Tribute!

You'll Never Be Able To Let Him Go. You'll Always Feel Wrong About Being With Me.

Katniss, Got That Spile?" Finnick Asks, Snapping Me Back To Reality.

Sometimes When I'm Alone, I Take The Pearl From Where It Lives In My Pocket And Try To Remember The Boy With The Bread, The Strong Arms That Warded Off Nightmares On The Train, The Kisses In The Arena.

Yes, Frosting. The Final Defense Of The Dying.

It's Just Me And The Bane. And I'm Fighting Him Because He Killed All Of Those Innocent Mice And People, And I Have To Stop Him. Not Because Sandwich Says So But Because I Say So.

All The Times These Arms Were My Only Refuge From The World. Perhaps Not Fully Appreciated Then, But So Sweet In My Memory, And Now Gone Forever.

Winning Means Fame And Fortune. Losing Means Certain Death. The Hunger Games Have Begun.

I Pull An Arrow, Whip The Notch Into Place, And Am About To Let It Fly When I'm Stopped By The Sight Of Finnick Kissing Peeta. And It's So Bizarre, Even For Finnick.

Hope Is The Only Thing Stronger Than Fear.

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. . . . Everything Is About Them, Not The Dying Boys And Girls In The Arena

There's A Meeting In Command. Disregard Your Current Schedule,' He Says. 'done,' I Say. 'did You Follow It At All Today?' He Asks In Exasperation. 'who Knows? I'm Mentally Disoriented.' I Hold Up My Wrist To Show My Medical Bracelet And Realize It's Gone. 'see? I Can't Even Remember They Took My Bracelet.' (katniss And Boggs)

The Cat That Prim Got Hates Me, I Think Partly Because I Tried To Drown It.

Oh, Well. At Least My Blood Is Flowing.

Katniss?" Peeta Says. I Meet His Eyes, Knowing My Face Must Be Some Shade Of Green. He Mouths The Words. "how About That Kiss?

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 Is Different. Wrinkles Aren't Desirable. A Round Belly Isn't A Sign Of Success.

Now He's [cinna] Arranging Things Around My Living Room: Clothing, Fabrics, And Sketchbooks With Designs He's Drawn. I Pick One Up And Examine One Of The Dresses I Supposedly Created. You Know, I Think I Show A Lot Of Promise," I Say. Get Dressed, You Worthless Thing.

To Be Honest, I'm Not Much Of A Drinker. It Makes Me Sick, And I Hate That.

What Do You Think?" He Asks. "i Hate Them," I Say. I Can Almost Smell The Blood, The Dirt, The Unnatural Breath Of The Mutt. "all I Do Is Go Around Trying To Forget The Arena And You've Brought It Back To Life. How Do You Remember These Things So Exactly?" "i See Them Every Night," He Says.

Just Remember, Stealing's Punishable By Death

The Damage, The Fatigue, The Imperfections. That's How They Recognize Me; Why I Belong To Them.

The Idea Of Being Strong For Someone Else Having Never Entered Their Heads, I Find Myself In The Position Of Having To Console Them. Since I'm The Person Going In To Be Slaughtered, This Is Somewhat Annoying.

Peeta Bakes. I Hunt. Haymitch Drinks Until The Liquor Runs Out.

Because Something Is Significantly Wrong With A Creature That Sacrifices Its Children's Lives To Settle Its Differences. You Can Spin It Any Way You Like... But In The End, Who Does It Benefit? No One. The Truth Is, It Benefits No One To Live In A World Where These Things Happen

Want A Sugar Cube?" He Asks In His Old Seductive Voice. That's How We Met, With Finnick Offering Me Sugar. Surrounded By Horses And Chariots, Costumed And Painted For The Crowds, Before We Were Allies. Before I Had Any Idea What Made Him Tick. The Memory Actually Coaxes A Smile Out Of Me. "here, It Improves The Taste," He Says In His Real Voice, Plunking Three Cubes Into My Cup.

What Have The Nibblers Ever Done For You?" The Breeze Ruffled Her Hair, Pushing It Back From Her Face, Giving Him A Clear Shot Of Her Eyes. They Were Asking For An Answer. Needing To Know If She Could Count On Him. "they Saved Your Life," He Said. And For Just A Moment, Luxa's Face Softened And She Smiled.

Even In War There Should Be Lines You Didn't Cross.

Why? Do You Find This" - He Strikes A Ridiculously Provocative Pose - "distracting?

We're Supposed To Be Making Up This Stuff, Playing At Being In Love, Not Actually Being In Love.

The Rules Of The Hunger Games Are Simple. In Punishment For The Uprising, Each Of The Twelve Districts Must Provide One Girl And One Boy, Called Tributes, To Participate. The Twenty-four 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.

Several Sets Of Arms Would Embrace Me. But In The End, The Only Person I Truly Want To Comfort Me Is Haymitch, Because He Loves Peeta, Too. I Reach Out For Him And Say Something Like His Name And He's There, Holding Me And Patting My Back. "it's Okay. It'll Be Okay, Sweetheart." He Sits Me On A Length Of Broken Marble Pillar And Keeps An Arm Around Me While I Sob.

My Spirit. This Is A New Thought. I'm 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.

The Question Is, What Are You Going To Do?" It Turns Out The Question That's Been Eating Away At Me Has Only Ever Had One Possible Answer. But It Took Peeta's Ploy For Me To Recognize It. What Am I Going To Do? I Take A Deep Breath. My Arms Rise Slightly - As If Recalling The Black-and-white Wings Cinna Gave Me - Then Come To Rest At My Sides. "i'm Going To Be The Mockingjay.

Black And White

Our Romance Became A Key Strategy For Our Survival In The Arena. Only It Wasn't Just A Strategy For Peeta.

No Wonder I Won The Games. No Decent Person Ever Does.

Well, I Can't Leave Mags Behind," Says Finnick. "she's One Of The Few People Who Actually Likes Me.

You've Got To Go Through It To Get To The End Of It.

Peeta Smiles At Me, Sad And Mocking. "okay. Thanks For The Tip, Sweetheart.

If My Holding Out Those Berries Was An Act Of Temporary Insanity, Then Those People Will Embrace Insanity Too.

Temporary Insanity

Don't Let Him Take You From Me.

Katniss And Peeta

Knowing It And Seeing It Are Two Different Things.

He Puts The Chain With The Locket Around My Neck, Then Rests His Hand Over The Spot Where Our Baby Would Be. “you’re Going To Make A Great Mother, You Know,” He Says. He Kisses Me One Last Time And Goes Back To Finnick.

I Can Win But You Cant Lose, This Makes Us All Even In Our Ways.

I’m Stopped By The Sight Of Finnick Kissing Peeta.

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.

I Don't Want To Cry. 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.

But Some Secrets Are Too Delicious Not To Share.

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.

Who Says I Can't Handle It? I Can Handle It," Said Gregor Obviously Not Handling It.

For The Last Year His Grandma Had Been Slipping In And Out Of Reality. One Minute She Was As Clear As A Bell And The Next She Was Calling Him Simon. Who Was Simon? He Had No Idea.

You Can Swim, Too." He Says. "where Did You Learn That In District Twelve?" "we Have A Very Big Bathtub.

All The Writing Elements Are The Same. You Need To Tell A Good Story... You've Got Good Characters... People Think There's Some Dramatic Difference Between Writing 'little Bear' And The 'hunger Games,' And As A Writer, For Me, There Isn't.

Yes, Victors Are Our Strongest. They're The Ones Who Survived The Arena And Slipped The Noose Of Poverty That Strangles The Rest Of Us. They, Or Should I Say We, Are The Very Embodiment Of Hope Where There Is No Hope. And Now Twenty-three Of Us Will Be Killed To Show How Even That Hope Was An Illusion.

No One Knows What To Do With You, Girlie.

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 Here, Not Dead By The Stream As I'd Thought. So Glad I Don't Have To Face Cato Alone.

But I Don't Know What To Him About The Aftermath Of Killing A Person. About How They Never Leave You.

You Call That A Kiss?

I Always Channel My Emotions Into My Work. That Way, I Don't Hurt Anyone But Myself.

Crying Is Not An Option.

I Don't Care If You Got Knocked Up. I Can Still Rip Your Throat Out

Birds Are Settling Down For The Night, Singing Lullabies To Their Young.

One Slip. One Slip In Thousands. The Odds Had Been Entirely In Her Favor. But It Hadn't Mattered.

Delly Lost Her Temper At Peeta Over How He Treated You. She Got Very Squeaky. It Was Like Someone Stabbing A Mouse With A Fork Repeatedly.

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.

As We Ride The Elevator Gale Finally Says “you're Still Angry.” “and You're Still Not Sorry,” I Reply. "i Will Stand By What I Said. Do You Want Me To Lie About It?” He Asks. “no, I Want You To Rethink It And Come Up With The Right Opinion,” I Tell Him.

She’s Really Gone, Then. The Little Girl With The Back Of Her Shirt Sticking Out Like A Duck Tail, The One Who Needed Help Reaching The Dishes, And Who Begged To See The Frosted Cakes In The Bakery Window. Time And Tragedy Have Forced Her To Grow Too Quickly, At Least For My Taste, Into A Young Woman Who Stitches Bleeding Wounds And Knows Our Mother Can Hear Only So Much.

I'm Unaware That My Feet Are Moving To The Table Until I'm Inches From The Holograph. My Hand Reaches In And Cups A Rapidly Blinking Green Light. Someone Joins Me, His Body Tense. Finnick, Of Course. Because Only A Victor Would See What I See So Immediately. The Arena. Laced With Pods Controlled By Gamemakers. Finnick's Fingers Caress A Steady Red Glow Over A Doorway. "ladies And Gentlemen..." His Voice Is Quiet, But Mine Rings Through The Room. "let The Seventy-sixth Hunger Games Begin!

The Hatred I Feel For Him, For The Phantom Girl, For Everything, Is So Real And Immediate It Chokes Me. Gale Is Mine. I Am His. Anything Else Is Unthinkable. Why Did It Take Him Being Whipped Within An Inch Of His Life To See It?

You're Not Going To Die. I Forbid It. All Right?" "all Right," He Whispers.

When I Was Young I Was Trained In Stage Fighting And Rapier And Dagger, For Several Years.

I Don't Know What It Is With Finnick And Bread, But He Seems Obsessed With Handling It.

"katniss," Gale Says Softly. I Recognize That Voice. It's The Same One He Uses To Approach Wounded Animals Before He Delivers A Deathblow. I Instinctively Raise My Hand To Block His Words But He Catches It And Holds On Tightly. "don't," I Whisper. But Gale Is Not One To Keep Secrets From Me. "katniss, There Is No District Twelve."

I Notice Her Blouse Has Pulled Out Of Her Skirt In The Back Again And Force Myself To Stay Calm. "tuck Your Tail In, Little Duck," I Say, Smoothing The Blouse Back In Place. Prim Giggles And Give Me A Small "quack." "quack Yourself," I Say With A Light Laugh. The Kind Only Prim Can Draw Out Of Me.

I Have Two Older Sisters And One Older Brother And Hold Them Largely Responsible For The Trouble I Got Into Growing Up. I Believe As The Youngest Child, That Is My Right.

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.

I’m In A Shallow Hole, Not Filled With The Humming Orange Bubbles Of My Hallucination But With Old, Dead Leaves.

And To Us, We're More Married Than Any Piece Of Paper Or Big Party Could Make Us.

Your Favorite Colour . . . It's Green?" "that's Right." Then I Think Of Something To Add. "and Yours Is Orange." "orange?" He Seems Unconvinced. "not Bright Orange. But Soft. Like The Sunset," I Say. "at Least, That's What You Told Me Once." "oh." He Closes His Eyes Briefly, Maybe Trying To Conjure Up That Sunset, Then Nods His Head. "thank You." But More Words Tumble Out. "you're A Painter. You're A Baker. You Like To Sleep With The Windows Open. You Never Take Sugar In Your Tea. And You Always Double-knot Your Shoelaces.

Hey, Look At This!" He Holds Up A Glistening, Perfect Pearl About The Size Of A Pea. "you Know, If You Put Enough Pressure On Coal It Turns To Pearls," He Says Earnestly To Finnick. "no, It Doesn't," Says Finnick Dismissively. But I Crack Up, Remembering That's How A Clueless Effie Trinket Presented Us To The People Of The Capitol Last Year, Before Anyone Knew Us. As Coal Pressured Into Pearls By Our Weighty Existence. Beauty That Arose Out Of Pain.

The Pain Over My Heart Returns, And From It I Imagine Tiny Fissures Spreading Out Into My Body. Through My Torso, Down My Arms And Legs, Over My Face, Leaving It Crisscrossed With Cracks. One Good Jolt...and I Could Shatter Into Strange Razor-sharp Shards.

Gale And I Were Thrown Together By A Mutual Need To Survive. Peeta And I Know The Other's Survival Means Our Own Death. How Do You Side Step That?

Poison. The Perfect Weapon For A Snake.

You Know, You Could Live A Thousand Lifetimes And Not Deserve Him.

Since My Father Died And I Stopped Trusting My Mother, No One Else's Arms Have Made Me Feel This Safe.

I Just Don't Want Them To Change Me, If I'm Going To Die I Still Want To Be Me.

Everything Is Happening Too Fast For Me To Process It.

You're Punishing Him Over And Over For Things That Are Out Of His Control.

He Became My Confidante, Someone With Whom I Could Share Thoughts I Could Never Voice...in Exchange, He Trusted Me With His.

She's Really Gone, Then. The Little Girl With The Back Of Her Shirt Sticking Out Like A Duck Tail.

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