Peeta Smiles At Me, Sad

You’ve Got About As Much Charm As A Dead Slug.

Lay Down Your Head, And Close Your Sleepy Eyes, And When Again They Open, The Sun Will Rise.

As We Trudge Back Through The Woods, We Reach A Boulder, And Both Gale And I Turn Our Heads In The Same Direction, Like A Pair Of Dogs Catching A Scent On The Wind. Cressida Notices And Asks What Lies That Way. We Admit, Without Acknowledging Each Other, It's Our Old Hunting Rendez-vous Place. She Wants To See It, Even After We Tell Her It's Nothing Really. Nothing But A Place Where I Was Happy, I Think.

"i'm So Sorry," I Whisper. I Lean Forward And Kiss Him. His Eyelashes Flutter And He Looks At Me Through A Haze Of Opiates. "hey, Catnip." "hey, Gale," I Say. "thought You'd Be Gone By Now," He Says. My Choices Are Simple. I Can Die Like A Quarry In The Woods Or I Can Die Here Beside Gale. "i'm Not Going Anywhere. I'm Going To Stay Right Here And Cause All Kinds Of Trouble." "me, Too," Gale Says. He Just Manages A Smile Before The Drugs Pull Him Back Under.

A Faint Light Burned In The Pit Revealing A Furry Creature Hunched Over A Stone Slab, Fiddling With Something. At First Gregor Raised A Warning Hand. He Thought It Was A Rat. Then The Creature Lifted His Head And Gregor Recognized What Was Left Of His Dad.