fingers fumble with the pouch on my belt, freeing it. Peeta sees it and his hand clamps on my wrist. "No, I won't let you." "Trust me" I whisper. He holds my gaze for a long moment then lets go. I loosen the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm. Then I fill my own. "On the count of three?" Peeta leans down and kisses me once, very gently. "The count of three," he says. We stand, our backs pressed together, our empty hands locked tight. "Hold them out. I want everyone to see," he says. I spread out my fingers, and the dark berries glisten in the sun. I give Peeta's hand on last squeeze as a signal, as a good-bye, and we begin counting. "One" maybe I'm wrong. "Two" maybe they don't care if we both die. "Three!" It's too late to change my mind. I lift my hand to my mouth taking one last look at the world. The berries have just passed my lips when the trumpets begin to blare. The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouts above them. "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you the tributes of District 12!"

Katniss uses her wits and physical aptitude to survive the games. She and Peeta relied on each other and in the end it paid off.

The original rules of The Hunger Games are that only one person can survive, meaning that both tributes from each district must fight everyone or each other. When the romantic plot of Katniss and Peeta becomes popular with the public, the Capitol changes the rules to allow two tributes to survive if they are from the same District. However, when Katniss and Peeta are actually the last two survivors, the Capitol tries to change the rules back; in rebellion, Katniss threatens to commit mutual suicide with Peeta instead of fighting him. Rather than allow that very powerful defiance of their power, the Capitol lets them both survive, and Katniss and Peeta return to their District to begin the events of the second book, Catching Fire.