Голодные игры
Chapter 23
"Sorry,Ididn’tknow."
So,westartupagainandhe’satinybitbetter,butevenwithonlyoneworkingear,he’smakingmejump.
"Canyoutakeyourbootsoff?"Isuggest.
"Here?"heasksindisbelief,asifI’daskedhimtowalkbarefootonhotcoalsorsomething.Ihavetoremindmyselfthathe’sstillnotusedtothewoods,thatit’sthescary,forbiddenplacebeyondthefencesofDistrict12.IthinkofGale,withhisvelvettread.It’seeriehowlittlesoundhemakes,evenwhentheleaveshavefallenandit’sachallengetomoveatallwithoutchasingoffthegame.Ifeelcertainhe’slaughingbackhome.
"Yes,"Isaypatiently."Iwill,too.Thatwaywe’llbothbequieter."LikeIwasmakinganynoise.Sowebothstripoffourbootsandsocksand,whilethere’ssomeimprovement,Icouldswearhe’smakinganefforttosnapeverybranchweencounter.
Needlesstosay,althoughittakesseveralhourstoreachmyoldcampwithRue,I’veshotnothing.Ifthestreamwouldsettledown,fishmightbeanoption,butthecurrentisstilltoostrong.Aswestoptorestanddrinkwater,Itrytoworkoutasolution.Ideally,I’ddumpPeetanowwithsomesimpleroot-gatheringchoreandgohunt,butthenhe’dbeleftwithonlyaknifetodefendhimselfagainstCato’sspearsandsuperiorstrength.SowhatI’dreallylikeistotryandconcealhimsomewheresafe,thengohunt,andcomebackandcollecthim.ButIhaveafeelinghisegoisn’tgoingtogoforthatsuggestion.
"Katniss,"hesays."Weneedtosplitup.
