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I spew the berries froue with the end of my shirt to make sure no juice remains Peeta pulls me to the lake where we both flush our mouths ater and then collapse into each other&039;s arms

"You didn&039;t s any?" I ask him

He shakes his head "You?"

"Guess I&039;d be dead by now if I did," I say I can see his lipsin reply, but I can&039;t hear him over the roar of the crowd in the Capitol that they&039;re playing live over the speakers

The hovercraft materializes overhead and two ladders drop, only there&039;s no way I&039;o of Peeta I keep one arm around hi of the ladder The electric current freezes us in place, and this tilad because I&039; on for the whole ride And sincedown, I can see that while ourthe blood froh, the minute the door closes behind us and the current stops, he sluers are still gripping the back of his jacket so tightly that when they take hi me with a fistful of black fabric Doctors in sterile white, o into action Peeta&039;s so pale and still on a silver table, tubes and wires springing out of hiet we&039;re out of the Games and I see the doctors as just one ned to kill hiht and thrust back into another roolass, screanores me except for some Capitol attendant who appears behind e

I slu uncolass in e juice, a straith a frilly white collar Horong it looks in my bloody, filthy hand with its dirt-caked nails and scars My mouth waters at the s anything so clean and pretty

Through the glass, I see the doctors working feverishly on Peeta, their brows creased in concentration I see the flow of liquids, puhts thatto me I&039;m not sure, but I think his heart stops twice

It&039;s like being holed person from the mine explosion, or the woling against pneumonia and my mother and Prim, they wear that same look on their faces Now is the time to run away to the woods, to hide in the trees until the patient is long gone and in another part of the Seam the hammers make the coffin But I&039;m held here both by the hovercraft walls and the sa How often I&039;ve seen theht, Why don&039;t they leave? Why do they stay to watch?

And now I know It&039;s because you have no choice

I startle when I catch so at me from only a few inches away and then realize it&039;s lass Wild eyes, hollow cheeks, leda safe distance fro I knoe&039;ve landed back on the roof of the Training Center and they&039;re taking Peeta but leaving lass, shrieking and I think I just catch a glimpse of pink hair - itto my rescue - when the needle jabs me from behind

When I wake, I&039;loith a soft yellow light allowingjust my bed No doors, no s are visible The air sht arm has several tubes that extend into the wall behind ainst my skin I tentatively lift my left hand above the cover Not only has it been scrubbed clean, the nails are filed in perfect ovals, the scars from the burns are less prominent I touch my cheek, my lips, the puckered scar above h my silken hair when I freeze Apprehensively I ruffle the hair by ain

I try and sit up, but so band aroundmore than a few inches The physical confine to pull h the band when a portion of the wall slides open and in steps the redheaded Avox girl carrying a tray The sight of her cal to escape I want to ask her a million questions, but I&039;m afraid any fa closely hs and presses so position While she adjusts my pillows, I risk one question I say it out loud, as clearly aswill seeives me a nod, and as she slips a spoon into uess she did not wish me dead after all And Peeta has made it Of course, he did With all their expensive equipment here Still, I hadn&039;t been sure until now

As the Avox leaves, the door closes noiselessly after her and I turn hungrily to the tray A bowl of clear broth, a slass of water This is it? I think grouchily Shouldn&039;tdinner be a little more spectacular? But I find it&039;s an effort to finish the spare meal before me My stomach seems to have shrunk to the size of a chestnut, and I have to wonder how long I&039;ve been out because I had no trouble eating a fairly sizable breakfast that lastof a few days between the end of the competition and the presentation of the victor so that they can put the starving, wounded, ain So our wardrobes for the public appearances Hay the banquet for our sponsors, reviewing the questions for our final interviews Back hoanize the hoiven that the last one was close to thirty years ago

Hoht of Prim&039;s scruffy old cat et out of this bed To see Peeta and Cinna, to find outon And why shouldn&039;t I? I feel fine But as I start to workinto my vein from one of the tubes and almost immediately lose consciousness

This happens on and off for an indeterh I resist the iain I sees register The redheaded Avox girl has not returned since the feeding, ine it? Or do I hear a ? Not in the Capitol accent, but in the rougher cadences of ho that so out for me

Then finally, the tied into ht arm The restraint around my middle has been removed and I am free to ht ofNot only are the scars fro have vanished without a trace My forehead feels like satin, and when I try to find the burn on s out of bed, nervous about how they will bearat the foot of the bed is an outfit that makes me flinch It&039;s what all of us tributes wore in the arena I stare at it as if it had teeth until I rereet my team

I&039; in front of the here I know there&039;s a door even if I can&039;t see it when suddenly it slides open I step into a wide, deserted hall that appears to have no other doors on it But it must And behind one of the, I&039;ht or the Avox girl wouldn&039;t have said so But I need to see him for myself

"Peeta!" I call out, since there&039;s no one to ask I hear my name in response, but it&039;s not his voice It&039;s a voice that provokes first irritation and then eagerness Effie

I turn and see the chamber at the end of the hall - Effie, Haymitch, and Cinna My feet take off without hesitation Maybe a victor should show more restraint, more superiority, especially when she knows this will be on tape, but I don&039;t care I run for them and surprise even myself when I launch into Haymitch&039;s arms first When he whispers in my ear, "Nice job, sweetheart," it doesn&039;t sound sarcastic Effie&039;s so about how she told everyone ere pearls Cinna just hugsThen I notice Portia is absent and get a bad feeling

"Where&039;s Portia? Is she with Peeta? He is all right, isn&039;t he? I mean, he&039;s alive?" I blurt out

"He&039;s fine Only they want to do your reunion live on air at the ceremony," says Haymitch

"Oh That&039;s all," I say The awful uess I&039;d want to see that et you ready," says Haymitch

It&039;s a relief to be alone with Cinna, to feel his protective aruides es and to an elevator that leads to the lobby of the Training Center The hospital then is far underground, even beneath the gy spears The s of the lobby are darkened, and a handful of guards stand on duty No one else is there to see us cross to the tribute elevator Our footsteps echo in the emptiness And e ride up to the twelfth floor, the faces of all the tributes ill never return flash across ht place in my chest

When the elevator doors open, Venia, Flavius, and Octavia engulfso quickly and ecstatically I can&039;t h They are truly thrilled to see h not like I was to see Cinna It&039;s lad to see an affectionate trio of pets at the end of a particularly difficult day

They sweep et a real meal - roast beef and peas and soft rolls - althoughstrictly controlled Because when I ask for seconds, I&039;m refused