Quote 37
I wrap my arms around his neck, feel his arms hesitate before they embrace me. Not as steady as they once were, but still warm and strong. A thousand moments surge through me. All the times these arms were my only refuge from the world. Perhaps not fully appreciated then, but so sweet in my memory and now gone forever. (24.42)
Katniss turns to Peeta for comfort one last time, just as she turned to him for comfort so many times – "a thousand" – during the Games and the victory tour. Has anything of their friendship remained? Will she ever see him again? This might be the last time they'll ever embrace – the last time she will ever see or get to hold on to her friend.
Quote 38
Heart pounding, adrenaline burning through me, everyone is my enemy. Except Gale. My hunting partner, the one person who has my back. There's nothing to do but move forward, killing whoever comes into our path. (24.60)
In the Games, Katniss didn't have Gale at her "back" – she didn't have him to rely on, to be a team with. Instead, she had Peeta, whose skills complemented hers, but who – let's face it – was never a fighter. Gale can protect her and work with her in ways that Peeta just can't.
Quote 39
I badly need help working this out, only everyone I trust is dead. Cinna. Boggs. Finnick. Prim. There's Peeta, but he couldn't do more than speculate, and who knows what state his mind's in, anyway. And that leaves only Gale. He's far away, but even if he were beside me, could I confide in him? (26.9)
Katniss has lost almost every friend she's had through this war – mostly to death. But some, like Peeta and Gale, seem to be taken from her by the combat itself. The war has stripped Katniss of her friends, allies, and confidantes. The people who've made it through now seem almost alien to her. In a moment when she needs an friendly ear more than ever, it's nowhere to be found.