It's hard to register much beyond not in Panem, my mind hooked on that like a fish on a line. "Not in Panem?" I repeat stupidly. It doesn't make any sense. I want to argue there's nothing outside of Panem, even though I've argued just the opposite in the past. There's got to be something else out there, someplace that's safe, but—

"Where is it, then?" Safe— she'd said that I was safe. I'll believe that when I see it. Nevermind that I don't even know what it would look like. I take a breath; it comes out shaky. "And how'd I get here without knowing it?"