Katniss' eyes harden with resolution.
"But it won't work." she says, coldly.
I stare at her, tears in my eyes. It would be so easy for her to kill me right now. I'm helpless. I'm innocent. I'm weak. And she is Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire. The girl who can shoot an arrow so fast I wouldn't even know I'd died. The girl who never misses.
But the girl I know won't kill me. Can't kill me.
"Katniss." I whisper. "Kill me. Before it's too late." She ignores me.
"When you're on the Victory Tour." She says, quietly. "Tell Prim I'm sorry. Tell her I love her. She'll understand. And... and give her this."
Her voice breaks as she hands me the Mockingjay pin. I close my fist around it, hold it tightly, as if it is Katniss' life, and as long as I hold on to it, she can't die. But I know what she's going to do. And I know that I can't stop her.
"I will." I whisper. I could stop her. I could throw myself into the mass of mutts below. But I have never been brave like Katniss. I have never had her strength. And now, even in the face of her death, I can't bring myself to save her. I hate myself for it, but I don't want to die. Not yet. Not now.
And then Katniss is falling, tumbling through the night air, into the hungry sea of mutts. But no screams pierce the air. Katniss remains, in her own way, undefeated.
And tears are burning in my eyes, the pin is sharp in my palm, blood is trickling down my hand, but none of this matters, because Katniss is dying. And I could have saved her. If I had only been brave like this wonderful girl, determined to save me. Determined not to let me down. But I have let her down. Because here I am, standing here, watching as she dies.
And then I realise. I can still do it. I can still save her. They must have a Victor, and she is not yet dead. Trembling, I dig my hand into my pocket, and draw out the purple berries I kept secret from my allies. Before, I wouldn't have even considered falling at this final hurdle, with victory so near. I wish I could see my family one last time, tell them I love them, because somehow all the times I told them weren't enough. But Katniss is all that matters now. Katniss is the reason I must die.
My hands shaking, I slip the Mockingjay pin onto my shirt, right over my heart. I sing my four notes, to let Katniss know that I'm okay. That I want to do this. Have to. The mockingjays take up the song. When I die, I want there to be music. Familiar music. That way, I can pretend I'm still at home, safe and happy.
Katniss won't see this right now, but she will when they replay the footage, once she's the Victor. I press my three middle fingers to my lips, and hold them out to her. A final goodbye to the Girl on Fire.
The tart berries are the last thing I taste.
