第6部分(第1/7 页)

¨Itˇs　not　just　hunting。　Theyˇre　armed。　They　think；〃　I　say。

¨So　do　you。　And　youˇve　had　more　practice。　Real　practice；〃　he　says。　¨You　know　how　to　kill。〃

¨Not　people；〃　I　say。

¨How　different　can　it　be；　really？〃　says　Gale　grimly。

The　awful　thing　is　that　if　I　can　forget　theyˇre　people；　it　will　be　no　different　at　all。

The　Peacekeepers　are　back　too　soon　and　Gale　asks　for　more　time；　but　theyˇre　taking　him　away　and　I　start　to　panic。　¨Donˇt　let　them　starve！〃　I　cry　out；　clinging　to　his　hand。

¨I　wonˇt！　You　know　I　wonˇt！　Katniss；　remember　I　�〃　he　says；　and　they　yank　us　apart　and　slam　the　door　and　Iˇll　never　know　what　it　was　he　wanted　me　to　remember。

Itˇs　a　short　ride　from　the　Justice　Building　to　the　train　station。　Iˇve　never　been　in　a　car　before。　Rarely　even　ridden　in　wagons。　In　the　Seam；　we　travel　on　foot。

Iˇve　been　right　not　to　cry。　The　station　is　swarming　with　reporters　with　their　insectlike　cameras　trained　directly　on　my　face。　But　Iˇve　had　a　lot　of　practice　at　wiping　my　face　clean　of　emotions　and　I　do　this　now。　I　catch　a　glimpse　of　myself　on　the　television　screen　on　the　wall　thatˇs　airing　my　arrival　live　and

feel　gratified　that　I　appear　almost　bored。

Peeta　Mellark；　on　the　other　hand；　has　obviously　been　crying　and　interestingly　enough　does　not　seem　to　be　trying　to　cover　it　up。　I　immediately　wonder　if　this　will　be　his　strategy　in　the　Games。　To　appear　weak　and　frightened；　to　reassure　the　other　tributes　that　he　is　no　petition　at　all；　and　then　e　out　fighting。　This　worked　very　well　for　a　girl；　Johanna　Mason；　from　District　7　a　few　years　back。　She　seemed　like　such　a　sniveling；　cowardly　fool　that　no　one　bothered　about　her　until　there　were　only　a　handful　of　contestants　left。　It　turned　out　she　could　kill　viciously。　Pre