Hunger Games 1

Chapter 26 Fireball (2)
I lay down by the pond for a while, hanging my hands in the water, and checked the flame patterns on my fingernails, which had started to come off.Well, I've seen enough fire in my life.

I washed the blood off my body and the dust off my face, trying to recall all my common sense about burns.Burns and scalds are common in zone [-] because we use coal for cooking and heating.There is also a coal mine accident... Once, the family brought an unconscious young man home to ask his mother for medical treatment.The community doctor who was in charge of treating the miner said he was hopeless and told him to go home and die.But his family is unwilling to accept this fact.He was lying on my kitchen table, completely unconscious.I took a look at the burn on his thigh. The skin was so bloody and bloody that it looked like fish skin, and the bones were exposed. I hurried out of the house.I had been hunting in the woods all day, and I kept thinking about the wound, and Papa's death, from time to time.What's interesting is that Prim, who is afraid of her own shadow, stays behind to help her mother.My mother said that the only way to heal the wound is to grow new flesh by yourself, not medicine.They did their best, but the man died, just as the doctor had said.

My leg needs to be dealt with, but I'm still too scared to look.What if the wound is the same as that person's wound, and the bones are exposed?I suddenly remembered what my mother said, if the burn is too severe, the burnt person can't feel it at all, because the nerves have been burned out.Thinking of this, I felt a little relieved, and I sat up and put my legs in front of me to watch.

The wound on my leg almost made me faint, the tender flesh was blood red and covered with blisters.I forced myself to take a deep, slow breath, thinking that the camera must be right in my face, I can't show my weakness when I'm hurt, at least not if I want to get help.

Wretched circumstances do not bring salvation, but perseverance can command respect.I cut off the trousers at the knee and looked closely at the cut.The burn was the size of my palm and the skin was not charred.I think soaking it in water should be ok.So I cautiously extended my legs into the water, leaning my boots against the rocks to keep them from getting soaked.I breathed a sigh of relief, the wound was indeed much more comfortable soaked in water.I know some herbs that, if I can find them, can speed up the healing of wounds, but I can't remember them.Cool water, and time might help me recall.

Should I keep going?The smoke gradually dissipated, but it was still too thick to breathe.If I head away from the fire, will I run into the pros?Also, every time I take my leg out of the water it hurts like before and I put it back in a hurry.

The injury on the hand is better, and it can be taken out of the water for a short time.So I slowly got the supplies ready.First fill the bottle with water, disinfect it, and then hydrate your body.After a while, I forced myself to nibble on the biscuits bit by bit, so I solved my stomach problem.Then I rolled up the sleeping bag.Apart from a few black spots on the sleeping bag, there was little damage.My jacket was a different story, it stinks of burning, and at least a foot of it in the back was burnt, and I cut it off so it was just as long as my ribs.The hood isn't broken, it's better than nothing.

Even though it hurts, I still feel sleepy.I have to find a place to rest in the woods, but the rest during the day is easy to be found.Plus, getting out of the pond is literally impossible.I've packed my things, even put my backpack on my shoulders, but I can't seem to leave.I saw that the roots of some aquatic plants can be eaten, so I was going to eat them simply with rabbit meat.I sip my water and watch the sun arc rosy in the east.Which direction should I go to be safer than here?I leaned against my pack, sleepiness set in again. "If the pros want me, let them come." Before falling asleep, I thought, "Let them come."

They really found me.Fortunately, when they arrived, I had already left, and they were only 1 minute away from me.It was getting dark, and when I heard footsteps, I ran quickly, crossed the pond, and ran towards the forest.The leg injury slowed my running, but I don't feel like my pursuers are walking as fast as they did before the fire.They coughed and shouted roughly.

They were approaching like a pack of wild dogs.The situation was critical, so I took the same way I used to deal with the same situation. I found a tall tree and climbed up.The running just now caused severe pain in my wound, and climbing the tree was even more painful, because climbing the tree was not only strenuous, but also had to touch the bark with my hands.But I still climbed up quickly.By the time they got to the tree, I was twenty feet up.We all stop for a moment to watch each other, I hope they don't hear my heartbeat.

"Maybe it's time for us to meet face to face." I thought, what chance do I have of winning compared to them?There were six of them, five pros and Peeta, and my only consolation was that they were tired too.But, look at their weapons, it's frightening, and look at their faces - they are looking at me with a grin, they kill me like they want something.The situation seemed hopeless at the moment, but I had an idea, thinking that they were taller and stronger than me, yes, but they were also physically heavier than me.It was always me, not Gale, who used to climb the tallest trees to pick fruit or bird nests, and for good reason.But now, the smallest professional player is fifty or sixty pounds heavier than me.

Thinking of this, I smiled. "How are you doing?" I shouted excitedly.

They were discouraged not being able to climb the tree, but I know the audience would love to see that.

"Very good." The boy in the second district said, "How about you?"

"It's a bit hot for my taste," I said.I seem to hear the laughter of the Capitol. "The air is much better here, why don't you come up?"

"I think I will," the guy said.

"Here, Cato, take this," said the girl from District One.She handed him the silver bow and quiver.my bow!my arrows!Just seeing this makes me angry.I want to yell at myself, at Peeta, the traitor who distracted me at the time.I stared straight into his eyes, but he was wiping the knife with his sleeve, as if trying to avoid my gaze.

"No," said Cato, pushing the bow away, "I'm better with a knife." I could see his weapon, a short knife, in his belt.

I deliberately gave Cato time to climb the tree before I started.Gail always said that every time he saw me climbing the thinnest branch he thought of a squirrel.It's partly because I'm underweight, and partly because I train a lot.When climbing a tree you need to know where to put your hands and feet.I climbed another thirty feet when I heard a branch snap.I looked down, and Cato had fallen, along with a branch.He hit the ground hard, and I was hoping he'd broke his neck, but instead he stood up, cursing like a demon.

The girl with the bow and arrow is called glimmer (glimmer, the English meaning is shining. - Translator's note), I heard someone call her that - ah, people in the first district give their children such ridiculous names - she She began to climb up, and it didn't take long to hear the sound of cracking branches about to break. She was smart enough to stop.I have now climbed at least eighty feet.She tried to shoot me with an arrow, but it was obvious she was not good with a bow, and an arrow hit me beside me.I pulled the arrow out and taunted her by waving it over her head on purpose, as if I had taken the arrow just to laugh at her, when in fact I wanted to use it when I had the chance.If the bow is in my hand, I can kill them all, and there will be no one left.

Those pro players were muttering about something, complaining about something, obviously very annoyed at themselves for being so stupid.It was almost dusk at this time, and the attack on me was basically over.Finally, I heard Peeta gruffly say, "Oh, just leave her there, she can't seem to run away, we'll get to her tomorrow morning."

Well, he's right about one thing, I'm not going anywhere.The momentary relief that the cool water of the pond had brought to my pain was gone, and now I felt the sharp pain of the wound.Leaning against a tree branch, I slowly and awkwardly prepare for the night.Still strapping herself in, trying not to moan.The sleeping bag was too hot and my legs couldn't bear it, so I cut the sleeping bag open, stretched my calf outside, and sprinkled some water on the wound.

After all the bravado, I was so weak from hunger and pain that I couldn't eat.If I eat tonight, what will I eat tomorrow?I stared at the leaves and tried to force myself to rest, but it hurt so much I couldn't sleep.The birds have also returned to the nest, singing a lullaby for the chicks.The nocturnal animals started to move, owls howled, and then there was the faint smell of skunks. The animals in the nearby trees looked at me with burning eyes, maybe it was a possum, and the eyes reflected the light of the professional player's torch.Suddenly I put myself on my elbows, and it wasn't a possum's eye, because I was too familiar with the reflected light of a possum's eye.In fact, those were not animal eyes at all.With the last faint light, I recognized her, the person staring at me through the gaps in the leaves, she is Lulu!

How long has she been here?It's likely been here all along.While all this was happening under the tree, she was silent and invisible.Maybe she climbed the tree when she heard the gang approaching, shortly before I did.

For a while, we just looked at each other in silence, and then she quietly pointed her little finger at the top of my head.

(End of this chapter)