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"How long do you think we&039;ll have before the Gaether?" I ask

"Well, Foxface died alo, so there&039;s been plenty of tiuess it could happen at anytoday&039;s the day," I say I sit up and look out at the peaceful terrain "I wonder how they&039;ll do it"

Peeta reood 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

Peeta packs up our gear while I lay out a big reens, 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&039;re done, all that&039;s left is a pile of rabbit bones My hands are greasy, which only adds to rubbiness Maybe we don&039;t bathe daily in the Seam, but we keep cleaner than I have of late Except for my feet, which have walked in the strea the cave has a sense of finality about it I don&039;t think there will be another night in the arena so I&039;ll escape it today I give the rocks a pat good-bye and we head down to the strea for the cool water Iif we ive our clothes a quick scrub e reach the stream Or what used to be the stream Now there&039;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 ht 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&039;t take long to deplete them

"The lake," says Peeta "That&039;s where they want us to go"

"Maybe the ponds still have some," I say hopefully

"We can check," he says, but he&039;s just hu myself because I knohat I&039;ll find e return to the pond where I soakedmouth of a hole But we make the trip anyway just to confirht They&039;re driving us to the lake," I say Where there&039;s no cover Where they&039;re guaranteed a bloody fight to the death with nothing to block their view "Do you want to go straightaway or wait until the water&039;s tapped out?"

"Let&039;s go nohile we&039;ve had food and rest Let&039;s just go end this thing," he says

I nod It&039;s funny I feel alain That I&039;m in the same position Twenty-one tributes are dead, but I still have yet to kill Cato And really, wasn&039;t he always the one to kill? Now it seems the other tributes were justus from the real battle of the Games Cato andbeside ainst one Should be a piece of cake," he says

"Next time we eat, it will be in the Capitol," I answer

"You bet it will," he says

We stand there a while, locked in an eht, the rustle of the leaves at our feet Then without a word, we break apart and head for the lake

I don&039;t care now that Peeta&039;s footfalls send rodents scurrying, ht Cato and I&039;d just as soon do it here as on the plain But I doubt I&039;ll have that choice If the Gamemakers want us in the open, then in the open ill be

We stop 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&039;t help looking up in the tree where Rue secretly perched, waiting to save my life Tracker jackers Gli hallucinations

"Let&039;sto escape the darkness that surrounds this place Peeta doesn&039;t object

Given our late start to the day, e reach the plain it&039;s already early evening There&039;s no sign of Cato No sign of anything except the gold Cornucopia glowing in the slanting sun rays Just in case Cato decided to pull a Foxface on us, we circle the Cornucopia toinstructions, we cross to the lake and fill our water containers

I frown at the shrinking sun "We don&039;t want to fight hilasses"

Peeta carefully squeezes drops of iodine into the water "Maybe that&039;s what he&039;s waiting for What do you want to do? Go back to the cave?"

"Either that or find a tree But let&039;s give him another half an hour or so Then we&039;ll take cover," I answer

We sit by the lake, in full sight There&039;s no point in hiding now In the trees at the edge of the plain, I can see thehtly colored balls I openout Rue&039;s four-note run I can feel the for jay trills the tune back, then another Then the whole world comes alive with the sound

"Just like your father," says Peeta

My fingers find the pin on ," I say "I think they renize the brilliance of it As the notes overlap, they co a lovely, unearthly harmony It was this sound then, thanks to Rue, that sent the orchard workers of District 11 ho time, I wonder, now that she is dead?

For a while, I just closeThen soed, imperfect lines Dissonant notes intersperse with thecry of alar his knife, h the trees and bears down on us He has no spear In fact, his hands are eht for us My first arrow hits his chest and inexplicably falls aside

"He&039;s got some kind of body armor!" I shout to Peeta

Just in time, too, because Cato is upon us I brace ht between us with no atte, the sweat pouring off his purplish face, that he&039;s been running hard a long ti But what?

My eyes scan the woods just in time to see the first creature leap onto the plain As I&039; away, I see another half dozen join it Then I a but to save myself