Peeta

I simply lie there all day, feeling my fever going up and down. My wound is surely infected, and I just hope I'll die sooner than later. I’m thankful that the pain isn’t too bad. I try to eat a few more roots later in the day, and I throw them up again soon after. No, I'm not hungry, so I just stick to water from then on. Besides, I'll go faster that way, anyway.

Late that afternoon, I hear explosions, and wonder if it's another one of the game makers’ traps. I think about Katniss, and wonder if she is dying in those explosions. The thought makes me sick, and even though there is no food in my stomach, I vomit up whatever water I managed to hold down.

After the explosions end, I hear the cannon, and I’m so worried about Katniss that I wish that I would just die and get it over with.

That evening, I see the face of the boy from District 3. Something must have happened to the bombs he planted, and surely Katniss would be smart enough to avoid them. The District 10 boy's face appears too. Sad, sure, but fewer people means Katniss is closer to winning.

"Katniss," I whisper her name, hoping that she's still fighting, and will continue until she wins, and gets out of this hell for good.

The night is cold, and I shiver from fever. The morning brings warmth, and I doze off, but some more cannon shots wake me. Who died now? I think of drinking some more water, but I can’t struggle out of the weeds. This simple act has gotten far more difficult since yesterday. Good, I think, I'm just that much closer to dying.

Evening comes again and I see the two more faces: first Marvel, then Rue, the little girl from District 11. I feel a pang of sadness. It's amazing that she made it this far, but how terrible that someone so young died when she most likely had little to defend herself.

I think of Prim, Katniss' little sister who she volunteered for, and how she cheerfully gave my father goat cheese, which he always praised her for. I think of my neighbor's twelve year old boy, and my best friend's sister. Twelve just seems so young for someone to die.

A rush of anger overcomes me. All of the sudden, I want to fix my leg and storm towards the Capitol, yelling at them for actually enjoying this “show” we put on, where little kids like Rue die for their entertainment.

There's a flourish of trumpets, surely marking a feast which I'm completely prepared to ignore. I start to doze when I hear a strange announcement. A rule change.

...a rule change?

It says that two people can survive if from the same district. And at first, I am so overjoyed that both Katniss and I can win, that I can live to see her for another day. For a second, I’m enraged. And they couldn’t have thought of that sooner? I thought.

Then, I think of what this would mean for me. Will Katniss be able to find me? How close am I to actually dying?

I suppose she will, though the efforts may be futile. However, it would be my dying wish just to see her again. I want to hold out until that happens. The night grows cold, and my fever starts again. I know this will be a long night, but now I'm determined to live, if only for just one more day.

It's late morning when I finally hear footprints – the only sign of other people I’ve had in days. I tilt my head slightly to the left, and I see her. Katniss did come for me!

She's swarming up the river, not even trying to be quiet, it seems. I know she's dirty - her hair is messy and her clothes tattered, but she looks more beautiful than I've ever seen her. She’s looking back and forth, desperate to find me. She’s completely out of breath.

"Peeta!" she whispers my name.

I smile, then with the little breath I have left, I say, "You here to finish me off, sweetheart?"