Hunger Games 1

Chapter 23 Water Lily (1)
Thank goodness I tied myself up beforehand.I had slipped off the branch, facing the ground, with my hands and feet straddling the branch through the sleeping bag, thanks to the straps that held me in place.There must have been a rattling sound as my body slid to the side, but the pros were fighting so hard that they didn't hear it.

"Go ahead, 'cute boy,'" said the boy from District Two.

"Go and see for yourself."

I see Peeta, torch in hand, walking toward the girl by the fire.His face was bruised and blue, his arm was bandaged and oozing with blood, and he was also a little limping from the way he walked.I remembered the way he shook his head and signaled me not to grab supplies.In fact, he had been plotting to hang out with these people, which was the exact opposite of Haymitch's idea.

Well, I can bear to start with them because those items are so enticing.But what's going on now, it's a whole... different thing, he's with these professional beasts, killing the rest of us.No one in District [-] would do that.Professional players are too evil, arrogant, and well fed, just because they are lackeys of the Capitol.Generally speaking, they were always hated, except by people in their own district.I can imagine how people back home talk about Peeta, and Peeta has the guts to talk to me about shame?

Apparently the noble boy on the top floor is up to another trick with me.But this was his last trick.Henceforth I shall eagerly await his image in the sky—if I cannot kill him myself.

The pros were quiet for a while, and when Peeta was out of hearing, I heard them lower their voices and say, "Why don't we just kill him now and save the trouble?"

"Let him follow first, what's the harm? He's pretty good at knives."

Yeah?This is the first time I heard about it, and today I learned a lot of interesting things about my friend Peeta.

"Plus, he's the perfect person to help us find her."

It took me a while to realize that the "she" they were talking about was me.

"What? You think she's taking his romantic approach?"

"She might. She looks so innocent to me. Every time I think of her twirling around in that dress, it makes me sick."

"I really want to know how she got eleven points."

"I guess 'cute boy' knows."

Peeta is back and they cut it off.

"She's dead?" the kid in District Two asked.

"No, but now she's dead," Peeta said.At this moment, the cannon sounded. "Can I go?"

The professional players ran away.It was dawn, and the singing of birds came not far away.I was still awkwardly hanging from the branch, and my muscles trembled due to the long-term exertion, and I dragged myself back to the branch.I need to get down to the ground and continue my journey, but I want to lie down for a while and think about what I just heard.Peeta was not only with them, but helping them find me.It seemed to them that the simple-minded girl was to be taken seriously because she scored an eleven because she could use a bow and arrow.Peeta knows this better than anyone.

But he hasn't told them yet.Did he intentionally withhold this information, knowing it was a bargaining chip to keep him alive?What was he planning in his mind?

Suddenly, the birdsong stopped.Then a bird uttered a shrill alarm.Just one sound, like the one Gail and I heard when the red-haired girl got caught.At this time, a helicopter appeared above the dying fire.A set of huge metal claws protruded from the plane and slowly and gently grabbed the dead girl's body into the helicopter.Then it disappeared.The birds were singing again.

"Go." I said softly to myself.I crawled out of my sleeping bag, rolled it up, and put it in my backpack.I took a deep breath.The night, the sleeping bag, and the willow branches gave me good cover, so the cameras must have struggled to get a clear image of me, and they must be tracking me at this point.The moment I jump to the ground, it definitely gives me a close-up.

The audience must have been thrilled to have overheard the pros talking when they knew I was hiding in the tree and found out that Peeta was with them.It's best if I at least know something before deciding what to do.No confusion, no doubts, no fear.I want to move first.

I climbed out of the thick branches and jumped to the ground.It was dawn at this time.I pause on purpose for a brief moment so that the camera can capture a clear image of me.I raised my head slightly, turned to one side, and smiled knowingly.Hey!Let them guess what I mean!

I was just about to set off when I remembered my trick.Perhaps it was unwise to look at game when others were so close, but perhaps years of hunting had formed a habit, and perhaps the lure of the meat compelled me to look.I found a really nice rabbit caught.After a while, I peeled the rabbit skin, cleaned the internal organs, and buried the rabbit head, rabbit feet, rabbit skin and internal organs under a pile of leaves.I wish I had a fire because eating raw rabbit makes people sick.But when I thought of the dead "tribute" and her lesson, I decided to give up.I hurried to the fire she lit.True, the embers of the fire were still hot.I cut up the rabbit, threaded it on a branch, and roasted it over a dying fire.

At this point, I'm so glad to have a camera pointed at me.I want my patrons to see that I can hunt, that I'm not easily preyed upon by hunger, so I'm also a good bet.The rabbit was roasting on the charcoal. I broke off the blackened branches and blackened the backpack.The charcoal black deepens the color of the pack, but I think it would be better with mud.Of course, to find the mud, I have to find the water first...

I put my gear on my back, picked up the branch, kicked some dirt on the charcoal, and walked in the opposite direction from the pros.I ate half a rabbit before I left and wrapped the rest in plastic for another meal.My stomach growled less after eating the rabbit, but I was still very thirsty.Water is the most needed thing right now.

As I walked, I thought I should still be the focus of the Capitol screen, so I tried to keep my face as quiet as possible.Claudius Templesmith and his partner must have been busy analyzing Peeta's behavior, my reaction.What will they say?Has Peeta already shown his true colors?How does this affect betting?Will we lose sponsors?Are we sponsored at all?Yes, I'm sure we have, or at least have in the past.

Of course, what Peeta has done has taken a toll on us as a couple.Or, has he really affected it?He didn't tell others all about my situation, maybe we still have a chance to benefit from it.Maybe people think we co-planned this tactic, especially with the way I look happy now.

The sun was already high in the sky, and despite being shaded by tree canopies, the sun was still unbearably hot.I put rabbit grease on my lips to keep them from chapping, but it didn't help.After only one day, I was dehydrated and I had to figure out all the ways I could find water.The water flows down the mountain, so it should be right to continue down the canyon.It would help me a lot if I could find a game trail or a particularly dense patch of greenery.But the road goes on and on, and nothing changes around, gentle slopes, birds and the same trees.

Little by little time passed and I knew I was in trouble.The little urine I pass is dark brown, my head hurts, and a small patch on my tongue is scorched.The sun hurt my eyes. I took my sunglasses out of my bag and put them on, but I felt awkward wearing them to see, so I put them back on.

(End of this chapter)