Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

"Peeta!" I screamed, shaking him hard, even slapping him in the face, but to no avail.His heartbeat has stopped.The fan didn't help either. "Peta!" Finnick leans Mags against a tree and pushes me away. "Let me do it." He presses his fingers into Peeta's neck, then the ribs and spine, and he pinches Peeta's nostrils. "NO!" I yelled, lunging at Finnick, who was definitely trying to kill Peeta and never bring him back to life.Finnick swung his arm and hit me right in the chest, sending me flying and hitting the tree trunk behind me.The bump hurts so much I'm gasping for air and I can't help myself when I see Finnick pinch Peeta's nose again.I sat on the ground, drew the bow and was about to shoot the arrow when I saw Finnick kissing Peeta on the mouth.Even for Finnick, it's so weird, I stop.No, he wasn't kissing him, he pinched Peeta's nose but opened his mouth and blew hard into his mouth.I could see Peeta's chest rising and falling.Then Finnick unzips Peeta's shirt and presses his palm against the area of ​​his heart.I was so shocked that I finally understood what he was doing.

I've seen my mother do this before, on a bright moonlit night, but not often.After all, in District 12, if a person's heartbeat stops, his family won't come to see his mother again.So, usually her patients are burned, smashed or sick.Or, of course, there is excessive hunger. But where Finnick lives is certainly different.Whatever he was doing at this moment, he had certainly done it before.He did it with rhythm and a masterful approach.My arrow gradually hung down to the ground, and I also leaned over to look at it.I am anxious and hope he will succeed.Painful, long minutes passed, and my hopes were dashed.I'm thinking, it's too late, Peeta's dead, gone forever, when he coughs lightly and Finnick straightens up.

I dropped the bow and arrow to the ground and lunged at Peeta. "Peeta?" I said softly.I push back a strand of wet hair from his forehead and notice the pulse in his neck start to beat again under my fingers. He opened his eyes, flickering his long eyelashes, and his eyes met mine. "Be careful," he said weakly, "there is an electromagnetic force field ahead." I smiled, and at the same time, tears rolled down my cheeks. "It must be much stronger than the force field on the roof of the training center," he said, "but I'm fine, just a jolt."

"You were already dead just now! Your heart stopped beating!" I blurted out, and I didn't even think about whether I should say it or not.I put my hands over my mouth because I cried so badly that I coughed every time I cried. "Okay, my heart is fine," he said. "It's okay, Katniss." I cried and nodded. "Katniss?" Now that Peeta was worried about me, it made me look even more stupid. "It's okay, it's just her hormones," Finnick said. "It's because of the pregnancy." I looked up at him, still tired from the fatigue of the climb, the sweltering heat, and the nervousness of rescuing Peeta. was out of breath.

"No, it's not—" I said, and wept even louder, hysterically, to prove Finnick's claims about children were correct.He looked at me, and I looked at him with tears in my eyes.It's stupid, I know, and what he did just annoyed me so much.All I wanted was to keep Peeta alive, and I couldn't, Finnick did, and I should be grateful to him.Yes, I appreciate him.But I'm also mad because I'm forever in debt to Finnick Odile.forever.So how could I possibly kill him while he was asleep? I was going to see a smug or mocking expression on his face, but his expression was weird.He looks at me, then at Peeta, as if to see something, and then shakes his head slightly, as if to stop thinking about it. "How are you?" he asked Peeta. "Do you think you can go?"

"No, he needs a rest," I said.I've been having a runny nose, but there's not a single thread of cloth here, so I can't wipe my nose.Mags plucked a bunch of moss hanging from a branch and handed it to me.I was upset, without thinking, I blew my nose loudly and wiped away the tears all over my face.The moss is fine, soaks up tears and is still soft. I see something shiny on Peeta's chest, and I reach for a little disc with my Mockingjay engraved on it. "Is this your mascot?" I asked. "Yes, I used your Mockingjay, you don't mind? I want to match ours."

"No, of course I don't mind." I forced a smile.It could be a blessing or a misfortune that Peeta shows up in the arena wearing a Mockingjay print.On the one hand, it will encourage the rebels in all districts, on the other hand, President Snow will never ignore its existence.That way, it's even harder to keep Peeta alive. "So, do you want to camp here?" Finnick asked. "I don't think it's a good idea," Peeta said. "Stay here, no water, no protection. If we go slower, I'm fine with it, really." "Slower is better than never." Finnick helped Peeta to his feet, and I pulled myself together.Since waking up this morning, I've been through a horrific sequence of events: Witnessing Cinna beaten to death, entering a strange arena, seeing Peeta die.Luckily, Finnick played the card that I was pregnant, which was the best way to attract sponsors.

I check my weapon, no problem, I have more control over everything with a weapon. "I'll clear the way," I announced. Peeta is about to object when Finnick cuts him off. "No, let her go." Finnick asked me, frowning at me. "You know there's an electromagnetic force field, right? At the last moment? You were just about to issue a warning?" I nodded. "You How do you know?" I hesitated, not knowing how to answer.Bit and Willis knew about the electromagnetic force field, and it would be dangerous to spread the word.I don't know if it caught the attention of the Extreme Race organizers at the training ground when they pointed out the location of the electromagnetic force field.Regardless, the information I got was useful.If the Capitol learned that I had this information, they would take steps to alter the EMF so that I might not be able to discern subtle changes around the EMF.So I lied and said, "I don't know. I seem to hear small voices. Listen."

Everyone fell silent, surrounded by insects, birds, and the sound of a gentle breeze blowing leaves. "I didn't hear anything," Peeta said. "I can hear it," I insisted. "It's the same as the hum of the District 12 power grid, only much smaller." And then everyone listened again, and I listened, too, though impossible. to what. "Listen!" I said, "Can't you hear it? It's coming from where Peeta was knocked down." "I can't hear anything either," Finnick said. "You can hear me, so go ahead." I simply followed the plan and went down the donkey. "That's weird," I said.I turned my head to the left for a while, and turned to the right for a while, as if I didn't understand, "I can only hear with my left ear."

"The ear the doctor fixed for you?" Peeta said. "Yes," I said, shrugging, "maybe doctors are more skilled than they think. You see, sometimes I can hear strange sounds in this ear. People usually think that these things are not Sounds like insects flapping their wings, or snow falling on the ground." Perfect, now, all attention is turned to the doctors who operated on me last year, and they have to explain why my hearing is like As sensitive as a bat. "You girl." Mags pushed me with her arm, so I walked ahead.We walked at a slower pace, and Finnick deftly made a cane out of a branch for Mags to use.He made one for Peeta too.Even though Peeta said he could walk, no problem, the crutches helped him, and he was so weak now that he wished he could just lie down.Finnick was at the end, so at least one quick-witted person would be at the rear.

The left ear is what I lied to be super sensitive, so when I walk, I turn my left ear towards the position of the electromagnetic force field.But these were deceiving, so I plucked clusters of nuts from a nearby tree that dangled like grapes, and at each interval I tossed it ahead to scout the way.This works well, I don't feel like I can see the EMF most of the time.Every time the branch hits the electromagnetic force field, there is a puff of smoke before the branch hits the ground, and the nuts are charred, cracked, and bounce back to my feet. After a few minutes, I heard crackling noises behind me, and I turned around to see Mags shelling nuts and stuffing them into her mouth, which was already full. "Mags!" I yelled at her, "spit it out, it's poisonous." She muttered something and ignored me, licking her lips while eating with relish.I looked at Finnick, hoping he could help, but he smiled and said, "I think we'll find out soon." I kept walking, wondering why Finnick had saved Mags and then watched her eat the strange nut.Finnick's alliance with us was approved by Haymitch.He saved Peeta's life, but why didn't he just let him die?In that case, there is nothing wrong with him.I never thought he'd be able to save Peeta.Why did he save Peeta?Why is he so determined to ally with us?Of course, if the situation forced him, he would not hesitate to kill me.But that will have to wait until the end. I threw the branches and walked forward.Sometimes I can spot electromagnetic force fields.I try to go left as far as I can, hoping to find a breach and get out of the area, away from the Horn of Zeus, and find the water.But after walking for another hour or so, I realized that we hadn't been able to go left, and we were doing nothing.In fact, the electromagnetic force field seems to be driving us in circles all the time.I stopped, turned around and saw Mags limping along, saw the sweat on Peeta's face, and said, "Let's take a break, I have to go up the tree and take a look." The tree I picked seemed taller and taller than the others, and I climbed up the crooked branches, as close to the trunk as I could.It is difficult to say whether these limp branches are easily broken.Even so, I climbed fairly high to get a better view of what was below.My suspicions were finally confirmed as I swung from side to side on the slender twigs, a hot, humid breeze caressing my cheeks.There's a reason we haven't been able to go left, we'll never be able to.From this high place, for the first time, I saw the shape of the entire arena.It is a regular circle with a regular giant wheel in the middle, surrounded by jungles, and the sky is all pink.I think I can make out one or two undulating squares of electromagnetic field, what Willis and Beeter refer to as a "hidden crack in the hood."These shields are to hide the electromagnetic force field, but expose its location, which is exactly where its weakness lies.To be 100 percent sure of this, I shot an arrow over the woods.Where the arrow hit, there was a ray of light, which was the color of the real blue sky, and the arrow immediately fell into the jungle.I came down the tree trunk, ready to tell everyone the bad news. "The electromagnetic force field traps us in a circle. Actually, there is a dome on top. I don't know how high it is. In the center of the arena is the Horn of Zeus, surrounded by water, and the outermost jungle. Very regular , especially symmetrical, and the area is not too large." I said. "Did you see the water?" Finnick asked. "Just saw the salt water we saw when the game started," I said. "There must be another source of water," Peeta said, frowning, "or we'd all be dying of thirst in a few days." "Well, the woods are quite dense, maybe you can find a spring or a pond or something." I said. I also have doubts about my own words.I instinctively felt that maybe the Capitol wanted this unpopular match to end as soon as possible.Maybe Plutarch Havens was ordered to crush us long ago. "Anyway, there's no point in trying to figure out what's down there, because the answer is: there's nothing there," I said. "Then there should be drinkable water between the field and the wheel," Peeta insisted.We both knew that meant going back to the pros and the bloody fights; at this point, Peeta could barely walk, and Mags was too old and frail to fight. We decided to go down the hill a few hundred yards and circle around, maybe find water at that height.I'm still at the front, and I occasionally get nuts popping to the left, but we're out of the range of the electromagnetic force field.The sun shone hot, evaporated the moisture in the air, and dazzled us so much that we couldn't keep our eyes open.By noon, it was clear that Peeta and Mags couldn't walk anymore. Finnick picked a spot ten yards from the electromagnetic field and prepared to camp.He said that once attacked, it can be used as a weapon to lure our enemies into the electromagnetic field.Then he and Mags plucked clumps of sharp blades about five feet high and began weaving mats out of them.It seemed that Mags had no adverse reactions after eating those nuts, so Peeta picked some too, threw them into the electromagnetic field, roasted them, and then skillfully peeled off the husks and piled the pulp on the leaves.I stood guard on the sidelines, the hot weather and everything I experienced today made me feel irritable and uneasy. Thirst, thirst is unbearable.Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Finnick, why don't you come and watch, I'll look around to see if there's any water," I said.People weren't all that excited about my proposal to go out and find water by myself, but everyone felt threatened by extreme water scarcity. "Don't worry, I won't go far," I assure Peeta. "I'm going too," he said. "No, if possible, I'll also hunt some game." I told him.I didn't say anything else, because you made too much noise.But it goes without saying.He may scare away prey, while also putting me in more danger. "I'll be back soon." I walked softly in the woods, glad to find that the ground was not easy to make noise.I walked along the slant, but except for the lush plants, I didn't find what I was looking for. Suddenly there was the sound of a cannon, and I stopped.The initial fight at the Horn of Zeus must have ended.Now the number of "tributes" who died is very clear. I counted the sound of the cannon, and each sound represented the death of a "tribute". There were eight rings in total.Not as many as last year, but it feels like there are more, because I know everyone's name. I felt suddenly weak, and the hot air sucked all the water out of my body like a sponge. I leaned against a tree to rest.It was already difficult to breathe, but tiredness hit me again.I rubbed my belly, hoping that some sympathetic pregnant woman would become my patron and get some water from Haymitch, but it didn't work.I collapsed to the ground. I waited quietly, and suddenly saw all kinds of animals: some birds with bright feathers, three lizards with flickering blue tongues, and some rodents that looked like mice and possums. on the branches.I took one down and took it to my eyes for a closer look. The thing was ugly, a large rodent with mottled gray fur and two protruding tusks jutting out of its upper lip.As I gutted and skinned it, I noticed that its mouth was wet, as if it had just been drinking water.I was so excited, I stared at the tree where it was staying, and carefully circled around the tree.I thought the source of water would not be too far away. No, nothing was found.Not even a drop of dew was found.In the end, I was afraid that Peeta was worried about me, so I decided to return, and I felt more and more hot and frustrated. When I returned to the camp, I found that everyone had made the camp very decent. Mags and Finnick built a canopy with straw mats, which were closed on three sides and open on one side.Mags also wove bowls into which Peeta put roasted nuts.They looked at me hopefully, but all I could do was shake my head. "No, there's no water, but I know there must be, and it knows where it is," I said. I showed them the skinned rodent. "When I knocked it down from the tree, it looked like it had just drank, but I couldn't find where it drank. I swear, I walked around the tree for thirty minutes. Size meets square." "Is this edible?" Peeta asked. "I'm not sure. But the meat doesn't look much different from a squirrel. Roasting it should be..." But at the thought of starting a fire with nothing, I hesitated.Even if there is a fire, it will produce smoke.In the arena, each player is so close to each other that it is impossible to start a fire without being noticed. Peeta has a great idea.He tore off a piece of meat, strung it on a pointed tree stick, and threw it into the electromagnetic force field. The outside of the piece of meat was immediately burnt, but the inside was also cooked.We applauded him, but immediately realized that it was dangerous to do so, and stopped quickly, As the hot sun set from a pink sky, we gathered around the canopy.I was skeptical about the nuts being edible, but Finnick says Mags saw them in another Hunger Games episode.When training, I didn't spend time at the plant identification station because I thought everything was too easy.Now it seems that I really should go to training.Now I am surrounded by unfamiliar plants, and if I practice, I can become more familiar with my environment.Mags seemed fine, having been eating the nuts for the last few hours.So, I picked one up and took a small bite.Slightly sweet, much like chestnuts.I think it should be fine.As for the ugly guy, the meat is quite chewy and smelly, but the gravy is quite juicy.Well, it's not bad to have dinner like this on the first night in the arena.How nice it would be to eat with a drink. Finnick kept asking me about the rodent, and we finally decided to call it the tree rat.How high does it stay?How long did I watch it before hitting it?What was it doing at that time?I don't remember what it was doing, sniffing around, looking for insects or something. The night is coming and I am terrified.At least the finely woven straw sheds afforded us a little protection from the animals that roamed the woods at night.Before the sun had completely set, the bright moon had risen, and under the pale moonlight, everything around was clearly visible.Our conversation grew quieter as we all knew what was coming next.We line up where the awning opens, and Peeta takes my hand. The coat of arms of the Capitol appeared, and it seemed to float in the air, and the night sky was brightly illuminated.As the national anthem played, I thought to myself, this might be harder for Finnick and Mags.But for me, it is also difficult to accept.I quietly watched the faces of several victors appear in the sky. The male contestant from District Five, the one Finnick killed with a harpoon, is the first to show up.This meant that several players from districts one through four were still alive—the four pros, along with Beetle, Willis, and, of course, Finnick and Mags.After the male contestants from District 5 came the Junkie from District 6, Sicilia and Wulf from District 8, two contestants from District 9, the female contestants from District 10, and Sidel from District 11.The Capitol emblem reappeared with brief music, and then the night sky returned to silence, with only the moon hanging high in the sky. Everyone was silent.I can't say I'm familiar with any of them, but my heart can't be at peace. I think of Cecilia when she was taken away, snuggling with her three children; The kind face that was kind to me when I was there; I thought of the big-eyed drug addict painting yellow flowers on my face, and even this scene made my heart ache.They all died, and their souls returned to the West. I don't know how long we would have sat there if the silver parachute hadn't fallen from the leaves and landed in front of us.But no one reached out to take it. "Whose is this?" I finally said. "No way," Finnick said, "why not let Peeta claim it, he died once yesterday?" Peeta untied the rope and spread out the silk umbrella.There was a small metal thing on the parachute, I can't say what it was. "What is this?" I asked.no one knows.We passed it from one hand to the other, and each of us studied it carefully.It's a hollow metal tube that constricts slightly at one end and has a tongue that curls outward at the other end.This thing looks familiar, like a part from a bicycle that fell off, or a curtain rod or something.Really like it. Peeta blew on one head, to see if he could make a sound.no.Finnick stuck his little finger in to see if it could be used as a weapon.But it was useless. "Mags, can you fish with this?" I asked.Mags, who can fish with just about anything, shakes her head and mutters something. I picked it up and moved it back and forth in my hand.Since we're allies, Haymitch must be working with the District 4 instructors, and he'll be involved in the gift selection process as well.This means that this thing is very precious, even life-saving.I remembered last year when I was desperately short of water, Haymitch didn't bring me water because he knew I could find it if I tried.Whether Haymitch gives gifts or not, they all contain important messages.I can almost hear him yelling at me, use your brains, if you have any.what is this? I wiped off the sweat that flowed to my eyes, and held the present in a daze under the moonlight.I turned it back and forth, looked at it from different angles, covered a part, opened it again, and wanted it to pass on its secrets to me.Finally, disappointed so much, I stuck it in the soil all at once. "I give up. If we are with Bit and Willis, maybe we can still know what this is for." I lay down, pressed my face against the straw mattress, and stared at the thing with utter annoyance.Peeta rubs the stiff muscles in my shoulders to relax me.I wonder, the sun has gone down, why is this place still so hot, and what will it be like at home? I think of Prim, Mom, Gail, March, they must be looking at me now, I hope they at least stay home and not be taken to the police by Stryder or suffer like Cinna Punish, or, like Darius, be punished for me.Not everyone. My heart began to ache for them, for our district, and for my woods.Our woods have real hardwood forests, lots of food, non-crawling game, running creeks, and cool breezes.No, it's a cool breeze that can sweep away the hot stuffiness.I create the wind in my mind that makes my cheeks go cold and my fingers go numb.Suddenly, what was buried in the black earth had a name. "It's an intubation!" I yelled and sat up straight. "What?" Finnick asked. I pulled that thing out of the dirt and wiped it clean.I cover the thinner end with my palm, tucking it in my palm, and watch the protruding tongue.Yep, I've seen this stuff before.One day long ago, on a cold and windy day, my father and I went to the woods and dug a small hole in a maple tree, and stuck it in the small hole, and the maple syrup would flow down the small hole to the bucket below. inside.With maple syrup, even the roughest bread becomes delicious.When Pa died I don't know where his little pipe went, maybe it was hidden somewhere in the woods, but I never saw it again. "It's a cannula, just like a faucet. You stick it in a tree and the sap will flow out." I looked at the thick tree trunks around me. "Well, this tree is very suitable." "Tree sap?" Finnick asked, they don't have that kind of tree by the sea. "Syrup," Peeta said, "but maybe something else comes out of this tree." We all stand up.We are very thirsty.There is no spring water here.The tree mouse's mouth is wet.All this suggests that there should be something of value in the trunk.Finnick picked up a rock and was about to wedge the cannula into the thick trunk when I stopped him. "Wait a minute, that might break it. We've got to drill a hole in the tree first," I said. There was nothing to drill the hole with, so Mags got out her awl, and Peeta pierced the bark in one fell swoop, driving the awl head two inches deep.Finnick and Peeta took turns drilling holes in the tree, eventually making a hole big enough to fit the cannula in.I carefully wedged the cannula in, and everyone took a step back, waiting for the results.At first, nothing happened.Then, a drop of water dripped from the small tongue of the cannula and fell into the palm of Mags's hand. She then added water with her tongue and stretched out her hand to catch it. We twisted the cannula again, repositioned it, and a small stream of water came out of the cannula.We all took turns catching water in our mouths under the cannula, and our thirsty tongues were moistened.Mags brought a basket, densely woven, to hold water.After we filled the basket with water, we passed it around and gulped it down, and then we luxuriously splashed water on our faces to wash them clean.Like everything here, the water was lukewarm, but we couldn't be more picky. After driving away the trouble of thirst, fatigue followed one after another.We are going to spend the night here.Last year, I always had my pack ready for an emergency retreat.But this year, there is no rucksack anymore, only my weapon, and I will never leave my weapon.Then I remembered about intubation.I carefully twisted it out of the tree hole, threaded a strong cane from the tree through the hole, and fastened the cannula securely to my belt. Finnick offered to let him watch first, and I agreed, knowing that there were only the two of us on watch, and Peeta had to wait until he had rested.I lie on the ground in the canopy next to Peeta and tell Finnick to wake me up if he gets tired.A few hours later, I was woken up by a sound, like the ringing of a bell, when!when!It's not quite like New Year's bells from a courthouse, but it's close.Peeta and Mags were still asleep and didn't hear, but Finnick was listening as was I.Then the bell stopped. "Twelve rings," he said. I nod.Twelve strokes.What is the moral?One sound represents a district?Maybe, but why? "What's the point, do you think?" I said. "Can't figure it out," he said. We await further instructions, perhaps a signal from Claudius Templesmith.An invitation to dinner is the only instruction that can be conveyed at a distance.At this time, a bolt of lightning hit a towering tree, and then bolts of lightning followed one after another, piercing the night sky.I guess it's a signal, rain, water, to the instructors who aren't as smart as Haymitch. "Go to bed, it's my turn to be on duty anyway." I said. Finnick hesitated, but no one can never sleep.He lay down at the mouth of the awning, the harpoon in one hand, and slowly sank into a restless sleep. I sat there with my bow and arrow in my hand.I looked at the jungle in front of me. Under the moonlight, a piece of pale and dark green colors intertwined.After about an hour, the lightning stopped.But I feel the rain rushing down, pattering the leaves a few hundred yards away.I waited for the rain to come to us, but it never came. I was startled by the sudden sound of cannon, but my companions lay peacefully as before.There was no point in waking them up for the sound of cannonballs.Another "tribute" died, and I don't even want to think about who died this time. The elusive rain stopped suddenly, just like the storm in the arena last year. After the rain stopped, I saw a mist rising where it had just rained.This is a natural reaction of cooler rain falling on hot ground.I thought to myself.The fog slowly spread forward, curling and stretching, like a human finger, as if pulling the fog behind it so that it could follow.I looked at it, and suddenly my hairs stood on end, the mist was not right.The fog front is too neat and unnatural.And if it doesn't happen naturally... A sickeningly sweet smell crept into my nostrils and I reached out to grab them, yelling for them to wake up. Within seconds of trying to wake them up, blisters started to form all over my body.