Claudius Templesmith's voice booms across the forest where Cato and I lie together, and I'm not listening... but the message gets through.

Two tributes-two tributes from the same district- can win. Cato's still partly asleep, so I shake him awake and tell him, laughing and crying at the same time.

We had planned to separate this morning-neither of us wanted it to come down to just him and me. He stares at me for a moment, and then stands up and whirls me around.

"Clover, we have people to kill."

I knock him down and lie down on top of him. "Breakfast in bed, sweetheart."

He laughs. "Okay. Stay on watch, Clover. And stab, then ask questions, beautiful."

I snicker. "Twelve won't know what hit them."

In the forest, I'm just about to gut the rabbit I snared, when I hear a girl's voice above me.

"Peeta!"

I look up, and there's the girl from Twelve, Patniss, or whatever her name is. Her hand's over her mouth, and she's looking around s if she's scared someone heard her.

Well, someone did. I step up to the base of her tree.

I'm about to climb up and gut her like I would a rabbit, when our eyes meet.
She loves him. I remember me and Cato, laughing, kissing, joking, killing together.

Can't I let her go? No, of course not. But I know how she feels-know how happy she must be. Know that I'd do the same thing if I were in her place.

So I step away, act as if I never saw her.

Because even if it means I lose the Games, I refuse to be a monster.

I'm the Knife Girl, the Blade, Clover. Not a killer.

Not really.