Hunger Games 1

Chapter 35 New Rules (2)
I climbed up the tree, high up, not for safety, but to try to get away from everything that happened today.My sleeping bag was neatly folded in Lulu's backpack.Tomorrow I'm clearing out these items and making new plans.But today, all I have to do is tie myself up and eat that loaf.The bread is good and tastes like home.

Soon the image of the city emblem appeared in the sky, and the national anthem rang in my right ear.I saw District [-] boys and Lulu's profile picture.That's all for tonight, "there are six of us," I thought to myself, "only six." The bread was still in my hand, and I fell asleep.

Sometimes, when everything sucks, I have sweet dreams instead, hunting in the woods with Dad, eating cake with Prim in the sun; tonight it was Lulu.She wore a garland of flowers, sat on a big leafy tree, and taught me how to talk to a mockingjay.She had no wounds, no blood, just a cheerful girl, giggling, and her voice was sweet and fresh, and she sang songs I'd never heard before, and kept singing all night long, and in vague dreams she finally Disappeared in the forest, but the lingering sound still lingers.When I woke up, I felt sweet in my heart, and wanted to keep the peace and sweetness in the dream, but it disappeared quickly, and I felt lonely and lost like never before.

I felt heavy in my limbs, as if my veins had been filled with lead, and I had no desire to do even the simplest thing except to lie there and look straight up at the sky through the leaves.For hours, I remained motionless.But in the end, thinking of Prim's face anxiously waiting by the TV, he recovered from his bewildered state.

I gave myself some simple instructions, such as: "Katniss, you sit up now; Katniss, you drink water now." I followed the order mechanically. "Katniss, now you have to pack your bags."

Lulu's backpack contained my sleeping bag, a nearly empty sheepskin bag, a handful of dried fruit and roots, a bit of rabbit meat, her socks, and a slingshot.The boys in District [-] had several knives, two spear points, a flashlight, a small leather pouch, a first-aid kit, a full bottle of water, and a bag of dried fruit in their bag.Of all the options, I only chose a bag of dried fruit!In my opinion, this is utter arrogance.There's so much food at camp, so why bring food?You kill your opponents quickly and return to camp before you feel hungry.I wish the other pros didn't take food on their easy trips, only to come back with nothing.

When it comes to food, I'm almost done with my own.I finished the bread and rabbit meat sent by District [-].The food comes out really fast.All I had left was a bit of Lulu's dried fruit and roots, and the boy's dried fruit and a piece of beef. "It's time to hunt, Katniss," I said to myself.

I carefully put the things I need in my backpack.Climb under the tree and hide the boy's knife and spear point under a pile of rocks so no one else can use it.Yesterday's aimless walking had already made me lose my way, but I followed the general direction of the creek.When I saw Lulu's unlit third bonfire, I knew I was on the right track.Soon I saw a group of toucans perched on a tree in front of me, and the three toucans were still in a daze, and they were killed by arrows.I went back to Lulu's woodpile and lit the fire, ignoring the smoke. "Where are you, Cato?" I thought as I roasted the toucan and the roots. "I'm here waiting for you."

Who knows where the pros are?Either they were too far away to make it here, or they knew that lighting the fire was a ruse to lure them... Could it be?Too scared of me?Of course they knew I had a bow and arrows, and Cato saw me draw them from under Glimmer.But are they paired again?Have they figured out that I blow up the supplies and then kill their accomplices?They likely thought it was Saresh who did it.Shouldn't he be more avenged for Lulu than I?The reason is that they are from the same district, not that he is interested in her.

How about a fox face?Was she around when I blew up the supplies?No, when I saw her laughing in the ruins the next morning, she seemed to have been pleasantly surprised.

I guess they wouldn't think it was Peeta's signal fire.Cato had already decided that he was almost dead.I suddenly felt like I wanted to tell Peeta about the flowers on Lulu's body, to tell him that I finally understood what he was saying on the roof.Maybe if he wins, he can see me on victory night when they play highlights from the game on the stage screen where we were interviewed.The winner is seated in a VIP box, surrounded by the contestant's support staff.

But I promised Lulu that I had to win, for both of us.And that seemed more important than my promise to Prim.

I do think I have a chance and I'm going to win.It's not because I have a bow and arrow in my hand, and I was smarter than a professional player a few times; but when I held Lulu's hand and my life passed by little by little, my state of mind changed. I was determined to avenge her and let people remember her forever. Live her life is gone, only by winning can this be done, and only by winning can people remember me forever.

I looked beyond the birds into the distance, hoping someone would show up so I could use my bow, but no one came.Perhaps other players have been playing hard elsewhere.This is also very good.Since the first few bloody scenes, there should have been a lot of my features on TV, and I don't care anymore.

Finally, I bag up the food, head back to the creek, and refill the water.Even though the sun has just gone down, I feel as tired as I did this morning.I climbed the tree and prepared to spend the night.I kept thinking about what happened yesterday, when the spear penetrated Lulu's body, and my arrow tore the boy's throat.I wondered why I kept thinking about that boy, and then it dawned on me that he was the first person I killed...

On the Capitol, each player has a list of killed players, which, along with other reported data, serves as the basis for gamblers to place bets on.I figured, theoretically, that Grimmer and the girls in District [-] should be counted in my kills, since they were throwing wasp nests at them.But the boy from District [-] was the first one I was sure I could kill.Countless animals have perished at my hands, but man was the first.I seem to hear Gail say, "What difference does that make?"

The actions of killing and hunting animals are very similar, drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, but the results are very different.I killed a boy and I don't even know his name.Somewhere far away, his family is crying for him, and his friends want me to pay in blood.Maybe he has a girlfriend and I'm sure he'll return it...

But when I think of Lulu's frozen body, I resolutely drive him out of my mind.At least, for now.

See the image of the sky and know that nothing big happened today, no death.I wonder when the next disaster will strike to drive us together.If it's tonight, I'd like to get some sleep first.I covered my ears to relieve the tension caused by the national anthem, and then I heard the sound of the loudspeaker, and I sat up alertly, watching what happened below.

Most of the time, the only means of communication between the players in the arena and the outside world is the dreaded honking of horns at night, but sometimes announcements are made when the horns are finished.It is usually to inform everyone to go to the feast.When food is extremely scarce, the organizers of the competition will notify everyone to go to some well-known places such as the Horn of Zeus and invite the players to have a big meal as a means of stimulating them to continue fighting.But sometimes there is only one piece of stale bread for all the players to fight for.I won't go to eat, although this is also a good opportunity to eliminate the opponent.

Claudius Templesmith's voice was in the air, congratulating the remaining six of us, but instead of inviting us to the dinner, he said something incomprehensible, saying that there were some rule changes in the game .RULE CHANGE!

This is puzzling, because the competition itself has no rules at all, except that you must stand in the circle for no less than 60 seconds, and there is an unspoken rule not to eat people.The new rules state that if two players in the same division can be the last survivor, they can both be the winners.Claudius paused briefly, as if knowing we wouldn't understand right away, and repeated it again.

I slowly understood the news that there could be two winners this year.If they were from the same district, both could live, and both of us could possibly live.

Peeta's name came out of my mouth.

(End of this chapter)