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Finally, I hear hi I open ht of dawn I can see, too, how bloodless Peeta&039;s face has becoet him back to the Capitol
Still, no cannon has fired I press ainst the horn and can just make out Cato&039;s voice
"I think he&039;s closer now Katniss, can you shoot him?" Peeta asks
If he&039;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&039;s in your tourniquet," I say
"Make it count," says Peeta, unzipping his jacket, lettingthe tourniquet back as tightly asto regain circulation When I crawl to the lip of the horn and hang over the edge, I feel Peeta&039;s hands grip me for support
It takes a few ht, in the blood Then the raw hunk of meat that used to be my enemy makes a sound, and I knohere histo say is please
Pity, not vengeance, sendsinto his skull Peeta pulls et him?" he whispers
The cannon fires in answer
"Then on, Katniss," he says hollowly
"Hurray for us," I get out, but there&039;s no joy of victory in my voice
A hole opens in the plain and as if on cue, the re as the earth closes above them
We wait, for the hovercraft to take Cato&039;s remains, for the tru happens
"Hey!" I shout into air "What&039;s going on?" The only response is the chatter of waking birds
"Maybe it&039;s the body Maybe we have to move away from it," says Peeta
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 could make it to the lake?" I ask
"Think I better try," says Peeta We inch down to the tail of the horn and fall to the ground If the stiffness in my liing and bending s until I think I can help him up Somehoe make it back to the lake I scoop up a handful of the cold water for Peeta and bring a second to , lohistle, and tears of relief fill my eyes as the hovercraft appears and takes Cato&039;s body away Now they will take us Noe can go hoain there&039;s no response
"What are they waiting for?" says Peeta weakly Between the loss of the tourniquet and the effort it took to get to the lake, his wound has opened up again
"I don&039;t know," I say Whatever the holdup is, I can&039;t watch hiet up to find a stick but almost immediately come across the arrow that bounced off Cato&039;s body armor It will do as well as the other arrow As I stoop to pick it up, Claudius Templess to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth 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&039;s a s more I stare at Peeta in disbelief as the truth sinks in They never intended to let us both live This has all been devised by the Gauarantee the ht into it
"If you think about it, it&039;s not that surprising," he says softly I watch as he painfullytowardthe knife from his belt -
Before I am even aware of ht at his heart Peeta 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 dropin what can only be shame
"No," he says "Do it" Peeta limps toward me and thrusts the weapons back in my hands
"I can&039;t, I say "I won&039;t"
"Do it Before they send thoseI don&039;t want to die like Cato," he says
"Then you shootthe weapons back at hio hoht here, right noould be the easier of the two
"You know I can&039;t," Peeta says, discarding the weapons "Fine, I&039;ll go first anyway" He leans down and rips the bandage off his leg, eli the final barrier between his blood and the earth
"No, you can&039;t kill yourself," I say I&039;e back onto his wound
"Katniss," he says "It&039;s what I want"
"You&039;re not leaving o home, not really I&039;ll spend the rest ofto thinkme to my feet "We both know they have to have a victor It can only be one of us Please, take it For oes on about how he loves me, what life would be withoutbecause his previous words are trapped indesperately 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 Gaht possibly even be executed, slowly and painfully while the cameras broadcast it to every screen in the country
If Peeta and I were both to die, or they thought ere
My fingers fu it Peeta sees it and his hand clamps on my wrist "No, I won&039;t let you"
"Trusto 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?"
Peeta leans down and kisses ently "The count of three," he says
We stand, our backs pressed together, our eht
"Hold them out I want everyone to see," he says
I spread out ive Peeta&039;s hand one last squeeze as a signal, as a good-bye, and we begin counting "One" Maybe I&039; "Two" Maybe they don&039;t care if we both die "Three!" It&039;s too late to changeone last look at the world The berries have just passed in to blare
The frantic voice of Claudius Teentlemen, I aer Gaive you - the tributes of District Twelve!"