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A chill runs through ? Gale didn&039;t say, "Katniss will pick whoever it will break her heart to give up," or even "whoever she can&039;t live without" Those would have implied I was motivated by a kind of passion But my best friend predicts I will choose the person who I think I "can&039;t survive without" There&039;s not the least indication that love, or desire, or even co assessment of what my potential mates can offer me As if in the end, it will be the question of whether a baker or a hunter will extendfor Gale to say, for Peeta not to refute Especially when every emotion I have has been taken and exploited by the Capitol or the rebels At the moment, the choice would be simple I can survive just fine without either of they to nurse wounded feelings During a predawn breakfast of liver pate and fig cookies, we gather around Tigris&039;s television for one of Beetee&039;s break-ins There&039;s been a new development in the war Apparently inspired by the black wave, so rebel co people&039;s abandoned auto theer every pod, but they certainly get the an carving three separate paths - simply referred to as the A, B, and C lines - to the Capitol&039;s heart As a result, they&039;ve secured block after block with very few casualties
"This can&039;t last," says Gale "In fact I&039; The Capitol will adjust by deactivating specific pods and then e" Al happen on-screen A squad sends a car down a block, setting off four pods All seems well Three scouts follow and roup of twenty rebel soldiers follow them, they&039;re blown to bits by a row of potted rosebushes in front of a flower shop
"I bet it&039;s killing Plutarch not to be in the control rooives the broadcast back to the Capitol, where a grim-faced reporter announces the blocks that civilians are to evacuate Between her update and the previous story, I am able to markar out on the street, move to the s, and peek out a crack in the shutters In the early ees fro toward the Capitol&039;s center The owns and slippers, while the more prepared are heavily bundled in layers of clothes They carry everything fros to jewelry boxes to potted plants One man in a fluffy robe holds only an overripe banana Confused, sleepy children stu after their parents, most either too stunned or too baffled to cry Bits of them flash bya favorite doll A pair of bare feet, bluish in the cold, catching on the uneven paving stones of the alley Seeing the the fireboris offers to be our spy for the day since she&039;s the only one of us without a bounty on her head After securing us downstairs, she goes out into the Capitol to pick up any helpful information
Down in the cellar I pace back and forth, driving the others crazy Soe of the flood of refugees is a mistake What better cover could we have? On the other hand, every displaced personabout on the streetsfor the five rebels on the loose Then again, what do we gain by staying here? All we&039;re really doing is depleting our s forwhat? The rebels to take the Capitol? It could be weeks before that happens, and I&039;reet them Coin would have htlock, nightlock" I did not come all this way, and lose all those people, to turn myself over to that wos I couldn&039;t easily explain about the last few days Several of which, if they caht, would probably blow ht out of the water And forget aboutto need it Like Peeta Who, noMitchell into that net pod I can iine what Coin&039;s war tribunal will do with that
By late afternoon, we&039;re beginning to get uneasy about Tigris&039;s long absence Talk turns to the possibilities that she has been apprehended and arrested, turned us in voluntarily, or siees But around six o&039;clock we hear her return There&039;s so around upstairs, then she opens the panel The wonderful sris has prepared us a hash of chopped ham and potatoes It&039;s the first hot food we&039;ve had in days, and as I wait for her to fill
As I chew, I try to pay attention to Tigris telling us how she acquired it, but theI absorb is that fur underwear is a valuable trading item at the moment Especially for people who left their ho to find shelter for the night Those who live in the choice apart open their doors to house the displaced On the contrary, most of them bolted their locks, drew their shutters, and pretended to be out Now the City Circle&039;s packed with refugees, and the Peacekeepers are going door to door, breaking into places if they have to, to assign houseguests
On the television, atch a terse Head Peacekeeper lay out specific rules regarding how many people per square foot each resident will be expected to take in He reminds the citizens of the Capitol that teht and warns the but enthusiastic hosts in this ti shots of concerned citizens welcoees into their homes The Head Peacekeeper says the president himself has ordered part of his mansion readied to receive citizens tomorrow He adds that shopkeepers should also be prepared to lend their floor space if requested
"Tigris, that could be you," says Peeta I realize he&039;s right That even this narrow hallway of a shop could be appropriated as the numbers swell Then we&039;ll be truly trapped in the cellar, in constant danger of discovery How many days do we have? One? Maybe two?
The Head Peacekeeper comes back with more instructions for the population It see there was an unfortunate incident where a crowd beat to death a young s are to be reported immediately to authorities, ill deal with the identification and arrest of the suspect They show a photo of the victim Apart from some obviously bleached curls, he looks about as one wild," Cressida murmurs
We watch a brief rebel update in which we learn that several more blocks have been taken today I make note of the intersections on my map and study it "Line C is only four blocks from here," I announce Somehow that fillsfor housing I become very helpful "Let ive you a hand" Gale collects the plates
I feel Peeta&039;s eyes follow us out of the rooris&039;s shop, I fill the sink with hot water and suds "Do you think it&039;s true?" I ask "That Snoill let refugees into the mansion?"
"I think he has to now, at least for the ca in thewith you," Gale says "What should we do with the others?"
"Pollux and Cressida could be useful They&039;re good guides," I say Pollux and Cressida aren&039;t actually the problem "But Peeta&039;s too"
"Unpredictable," finishes Gale "Do you think he&039;d still let us leave hiuht stay here, if we&039;re convincing"
Peeta&039;s fairly rational about our suggestion He readily agrees that his company could put the other four of us at risk I&039; this ris&039;s cellar, when he announces he&039;s going out on his own
"To do what?" asks Cressida
"I&039;ht still be useful at is causing a diversion You sahat happened to that man who looked like me," he says
"What if youlose control?" I say
"Youon, I&039;ll try to get back here," he assures ain?" asks Gale "You don&039;t even have a gun"
"I&039;ll just have to take my chances," says Peeta "Like the rest of you" The two exchange a long look, and then Gale reaches into his breast pocket He places his nightlock tablet in Peeta&039;s hand Peeta lets it lie on his open pal it "What about you?"
"Don&039;t worry Beetee showed me how to detonate ot my knife And I&039;ll have Katniss," says Gale with a sGale away starts the tune playing in ain
Are you, are you
Co to the tree
"Take it, Peeta," I say in a strained voice I reach out and close his fingers over the pill "No one will be there to help you"
We spend a fitful night, woken by one another&039;s night with the next day&039;s plans I&039;in whatever this day holds for us We eat afood - canned peaches, crackers, and snails - leaving one can of salesture seems to touch her in some way Her face contorts in an odd expression and she flies into action She spends the next hour reular clothes hide our uniforms before we even don our coats and cloaks Covers our military boots with sos with pins Cleans off the garish remains of the paint we so hastily applied to our faces and ain Drapes our outerwear to conceal our weapons Then gives us handbags and bundles of knickknacks to carry In the end, we look exactly like the refugees fleeing the rebels
"Never underestimate the power of a brilliant stylist," says Peeta It&039;s hard to tell, but I think Tigris ht actually blush under her stripes
There are no helpful updates on the television, but the alley see Our plan is to slip into the crowd in three groups First Cressida and Pollux, ill act as guides while keeping a safe lead on us Then Gale and ees assigned to the mansion today Then Peeta, ill trail behind us, ready to create a disturbance as needed
Tigris watches through the shutters for the right moment, unbolts the door, and nods to Cressida and Pollux "Take care," Cressida says, and they are gone
We&039;ll be following in a et out the key, unlock Peeta&039;s cuffs, and stuff them in my pocket He rubs his wrists Flexes the up in me It&039;s like I&039; Johanna and me that coil of wire