I'm not flailing now, as my muscles are rigid with the tension of holding myself together.

They hadn’t counted on the highly controlled jabberjay having the brains to adapt to the wild, to pass on its genetic code, to thrive in a new form. They hadn’t anticipated its will to live.

They're betting on how long I'll live!' I burst out. 'They're not my friends!

I realize, for the first time, how very lonely I've been in the arena. How comforting the presence of another human being can be.

What will break me into a million pieces so that I am beyond repair, beyond usefulness?

Come on and eat with him. I promise, I won't let him kiss you again.

There's no going back. So we might as well get on with things.