Hunger Games 1

Chapter 32 The Third Campfire (1)
The shock wave from the explosion was so powerful that it threw me far away, and the backpack behind me didn't play much of a buffering role.Luckily, the bend of my arm blocked the arrow in the quiver, the arrow did not fly out, my shoulder was not injured, and the bow was still held tightly in my hand.The ground was shaking with the explosion, and I couldn't hear the explosions one by one. The apple must have detonated many mines, and its fragments detonated many more mines.I tried to shield my face with my arms from the flying debris, some of which were still ablaze and fell beside me.The smell of gunpowder smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

After about 1 minute, the ground stopped shaking.It gave me satisfaction to see that what had been piled up like a hill of supplies was now reduced to a burning ruin.Those professional players probably couldn't salvage anything from it.

"I'd better run away," I thought, "they'll be on their way in no time." But when I stood up, I realized it wasn't going to be that easy.I was so dizzy that the trees around me and the ground under my feet were spinning.I took a few steps, but fell to the ground with a plop.I waited a few minutes for it to pass, but it didn't.I started to panic.I can't stay here, I have to run away.But I can neither hear nor go.I put my hand over my left ear, which was facing the direction of the blast, and it turned out to be bleeding.Am I bombarded deaf?I felt a pang of fear. I hunted by ear and eye, more often by ear.But I can't show fear.Absolutely not.I'm appearing on television screens across the country in Panham.

"No one can see the blood," I said to myself.I put the hood on and fastened the drawstring under the chin with my unruly fingers.The hat can absorb some of the blood.Now I can't walk, but can I climb?I crawl forward carefully.Yes, I can crawl slowly.The woods didn't offer me much protection, and my only hope was to climb back to the bushes Lulu had pointed out to me.I could not be captured by them in this crawling state, not only would I die, but I would die a slow, painful death at Cato's hands.Thinking that Prim would see this scene, I desperately and tenaciously crawled to the hiding place bit by bit.

Another explosion sent me face-down to the ground.It's an explosion caused by a falling crate.Then there were two more beeps.It reminds me of those last few packets of rice popped at home with Prim.

It would be an understatement to say that I escaped just in time, for almost at the same moment I scrambled into the bushes Cato sprang out of the woods, followed by his accomplices.He was so angry that it was almost funny—it turns out that when people are in a hurry, they will really grab their hair and beat the ground with their fists.If only I didn't know that he did it for me and was pissed off at what I did.I was so close to them, I couldn't run, I couldn't defend myself, in fact, all of this terrified me.I'm thankful the camera didn't get a close up view of my hiding place, because I was biting my nails like crazy and doing so to keep my teeth from chattering.

The boys from District [-] threw some rocks at the pile of ruins and then said something to the others, probably telling them that all the mines had gone off, so they started getting closer to the ruins.

Cato, exasperated, set fire to the pile, kicking at the burnt bottles and crates while the others wandered about the ruins.The boy in Ward Three was doing a great job, and Cato must have thought so too, for he was yelling something at the boy.Cato wanted to pinch his head to his armpit from behind, but the boy from District Three hurriedly dodged away.Cato tugged on his head again with both hands, and I could see the veins popping in Cato's arms.

In an instant, the boy in the third district died.

The other two seemed to be trying to calm down Cato, and I could tell he was going back into the jungle, but the other two kept pointing to the sky, and I wondered what they meant, and then I realized, of course, they thought that The person who detonated the mine must have died.They didn't know about the apples and arrows, they thought it was wrong to lay the mines, but the man who set them off was killed, and even if the cannons were fired afterwards, their sound would be drowned out by the explosion, and the corpses of the thieves who stole the supplies It was taken away by helicopter, so they retreated to the other side of the lake and waited for the organizing committee to take the body of the boy from District [-] away.They waited.

Then came the sound of gunfire, and the helicopter appeared and dragged the body away.The sun has sunk below the horizon and night is approaching.The emblem of Panham appeared in the sky and the national anthem was played.After a while of darkness, the image of the boy from District [-] appeared, and the boy from District [-], who must have died this morning, before the city emblem reappeared.Now they know that the person who set off the mine didn't die.With the light of the city emblem appearing in the sky, I saw Cato and the girls in the second district put on night vision goggles, and the boys in the first district lit a branch as a torch. Their faces were clearly visible against the firelight, serious There was a look of determination on revenge on his face.Several professional players rushed into the jungle and started a new round of hunting.

The dizziness has gradually passed, but the left ear is still unable to hear, and the right ear is buzzing, which may be a good sign.I don't need to leave my hiding place now.It was the safest place to be near the "crime scene" and they must have thought the detonator had escaped for two or three hours, and it would be a long time before I risked my escape.

The first thing I did was take out my night vision goggles and put them on, which relieved me a little because at least one sense of being a hunter was still working.I drank some water to wash the blood from my ears.I was worried that the smell of meat would attract predators—the smell of blood was enough—and I ate some wild vegetables, stems, and berries that Lulu and I picked together, which was good.

Where is my little ally?Has she returned to the meeting place?Is she worried about me?At least, the images from the sky showed that we were both alive.I counted the remaining people, the boy from District [-], a man and a girl from District [-], Fox Face, four people from District [-] and District [-], there were only eight of us.The Capitol stakes must be hot at this point, and the TV station must be doing our feature, maybe interviewing friends or family.It's been a long time since someone from District [-] made the top eight, and now we're both in the top eight.Although, according to Cato, Peeta is about to be out, but Cato doesn't count.Didn't he just lose all his supplies too?

"Let the Hunger Games '74 begin, Cato!" I thought, "Let's start the real games!"

It was windy and cold, and I reached for my sleeping bag, and I realized I left it for Lulu, and I should have gotten another one, but the mines and all made me forget about it.I was shivering with cold.It was not wise to spend the night in the woods like this, so I dug a hole under the bushes, retreated in, and covered myself with leaves and pine needles.Still shivering from the cold, I covered my upper body with the plastic sheet again and put my backpack on it to keep out the cold wind.This is better.I thought of the District [-] girl who lit the fire in the woods that first night, and felt more sympathy for her situation, and it was my turn to grit my teeth and stay up until dawn.Some more leaves, some more pine needles, and I tuck my arms into my jacket and curl up in a ball.In a daze, I fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes, everything around me seemed distorted, and it took me a while to realize that the sun must have risen, distorting my vision with my glasses.I sat up and took off my glasses, when I heard laughter from the lake, and I froze for a moment.Weird laugh, but it shows my hearing is coming back anyway.Yes, the right ear is still buzzing, but I can hear the sound, and as for the left ear, well, at least the bleeding is gone.

(End of this chapter)