I can still do this

epilogue

Haymitch

I don't know Katniss that well, but I understand her. So after the other kid dies and she's got that Career trapped on the roof, I am not at all surprised when she doesn't kill him. She's a stone-cold fox; the only thing that affects her is when people hurt the ones she loves, and that just happened big time. She's not stable right now. I just hope it doesn't get her killed.

He's a completely brutal killer, which is kind of terrifying. Not for me, for her. I'm not scared. It's nothing I haven't seen before.

That's a lie. If she dies, I'm going to be super pissed at her. Out of every kid in twelve, she's the only one who has what it takes to win. She's one-of-a-kind. I'm going to do whatever I can to help her out with this dumbass scheme.

I have some idea of what she's trying to do. She's confused and numb, trying not to deal with a shitload of guilt and sadness. I'm willing to bet she's gonna take him somewhere secure - that cave, probably - and keep him there while she figures everything out.

The Gamemakers should give her some time. Just her not killing him right off the bat is weird. Plus, I'm sure they'll want both kids strong for the final showdown. She'll get at least a couple of hours.

Honestly, I dunno how she does it - she's talking to the other dude pretty calmly. She should hate him. Everything up until this point was pretty much engineered so she would. I'm ninety-nine percent sure this is the fight those bastards were praying for; boy versus girl, 2 against 12, physical strength against mental. Really nice and symmetrical. They even look completely different. Once she gets her shit together and they finally have this last fight, it's gonna be fantastic.

Then she gives him some bread. That's the moment that I realize there isn't going to be a fight. I mean, yeah, I sent that note telling her to do what he would, but that was not the outcome I had in mind. At all.

Alright. If I'm being totally honest, I was aware this might be how things turned out. Katniss' sense of right and wrong is too strong to let her justify cold-blooded murder. Guess I was hoping for a vengeful rage. I should've known better

Anyways. It's clear she's in this for the long haul. Time for me to do my job and get her what she needs.

That kid from Twelve, the one who's been giving all these kickass interviews, Storm or whatever the hell his name is. he brought several rich sponsors to my doorstep who just want to help the poor girl that lost her father. I'm grateful to him for that, but I'm definitely not buying the cousin deal. I sense a scandal. But that's not my problem right now.

It costs the moon and stars to get her those shackles, but I get them. Anything to keep her safe. But then she goes and puts herself in harm's way, like six separate ways. She gets way too close to him to treat his wounds, feeds him as well as she's feeding herself like she's unaware she's just giving him more strength to kill her with. And he keeps missing all these opportunities to smash her head in or snap her neck. I can't tell if he's dumb or if he's waiting on purpose. It's probably because he's dumb.

But that can't be totally it. They train the kids to play the game well, look for weak spots and exploit them. He's doing this on purpose, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Ryan

I'm lucky the games are required viewing, because I'm not sure my mother would let us watch otherwise. She doesn't care that our brother, her son, is in the final three. But even she won't go against the Capitol's commands, so Edan and I get to watch every second.

That's a good thing, of course, but it also sucks. We ant to see every minute, but I'm always super aware that means we'll probably see him die. I mean, I want him to win, I really do, but I know he won't. He'll never let Katniss die before he does. There's no way. And she's not going to let that Career get the best of her; she's too stubborn. It's why he loves her. He's told me all about it.