第52章

  no,
  there’s the girl from district 10. that’s it. the capitol seal is
  back with a final musical flourish. then darkness and the
  sounds of the forest resume.
  i’m relieved peeta’s alive. i tell myself again that if i get
  killed, his winning will benefit my mother and prim the most.
  this is what i tell myself to explain the conflicting emotions
  that arise when i think of peeta. the gratitude that he gave me
  an edge by professing his love for me in the interview. the an-
  ger at his superiority on the roof. the dread that we may come
  face-to-face at any moment in this arena.
  eleven dead, but none from district 12. i try to work out
  who is left. five career tributes. foxface. thresh and rue. rue
  . . . so she made it through the first day after all. i can’t help
  feeling glad. that makes ten of us. the other three i’ll figure
  out tomorrow. now when it is dark, and i have traveled far,
  and i am nestled high in this tree, now i must try and rest.
  i haven’t really slept in two days, and then there’s been the
  long day’s journey into the arena. slowly, i allow my muscles
  to relax. my eyes to close. the last thing i think is it’s lucky i
  don’t snore. . . .
  snap! the sound of a breaking branch wakes me. how long
  have i been asleep? four hours? five? the tip of my nose is icy
  cold. snap! snap! what’s going on? this is not the sound of a
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  branch under someone’s foot, but the sharp crack of one com-
  ing from a tree. snap! snap! i judge it to be several hundred
  yards to my right. slowly, noiselessly, i turn myself in that di-
  rection. for a few minutes, there’s nothing but blackness and
  some scuffling. then i see a spark and a small fire begins to
  bloom. a pair of hands warms over flames, but i can’t make
  out more than that.
  i have to bite my lip not to scream every foul name i know
  at the fire starter. what are they thinking? a fire i’ll just at
  nightfall would have been one thing. those who battled at the
  cornucopia, with their superior strength and surplus of sup-
  plies, they couldn’t possibly have been near enough to spot
  the flames then. but now, when they’ve probably been com-
  bing the woods for hours looking for victims. you might as
  well be waving a flag and shouting, “come and get me!”
  and here i am a stone’s throw from the biggest idiot in
  the games. strapped in a tree. not daring to flee since my
  general location has just been broadcast to any killer who
  cares. i mean, i know it’s cold out here and not everybody
  has a sleeping bag. but then you grit your teeth and stick it
  out until dawn!
  i lay smoldering in my bag for the next couple of hours real-
  ly thinking that if i can get out of this tree, i won’t have the
  least problem taking out my new neighbor. my instinct has
  been to flee, not fight. but obviously this person’s a hazard.
  stupid people are dangerous. and this one probably doesn’t
  have much in the way of weapons while i’ve got this excellent
  knife.
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  the sky is still dark, but i can feel the first signs of dawn
  approaching. i’m beginning to think we — meaning the person
  whose death i’m now devising and me — we might actually
  have gone unnoticed. then i hear it. several pairs of feet
  breaking into a run. the fire starter must have dozed off.
  they’re on her before she can escape. i know it’s a girl now, i
  can tell by the pleading, the agonized scream that follows.
  then there’s laughter and congratulations from several voices.
  someone cries out, “twelve down and eleven to go!”