I never see these things coming. They happen too fast. One second you're proposing an escape plan and the next...

Let them go, I tell myself. Say good-bye and forget them. I do my best, thinking of them one by one, releasing them like birds from the protective cages inside me, locking the doors against their return.

It sends out a very clear message: "Mess with us and we'll do something worse than kill you. We'll kill your children.

Ally." Peeta says the words slowly, tasting it. "Friend. Lover. Victor. Enemy. Fiancee. Target. Mutt. Neighbor. Hunter. Tribute. Ally. I'll add it to the list of words I use to try to figure you out. The problem is, I can't tell what's real anymore, and what's made up.

They erase my face with a layer of pale makeup and draw my features back out.

If my holding out those berries was an act of temporary insanity, then those people will embrace insanity too.

It'd be better if he were easier to hate.