Голодные игры

           IknowI’mchasingawaythegame."

           "Onlybecauseyourleg’shurt,"Isaygenerously,becausereally,youcantellthat’sonlyasmallpartoftheproblem.

           "Iknow,"hesays."So,whydon’tyougoon?Showmesomeplantstogatherandthatwaywe’llbothbeuseful."

           "NotifCatocomesandkillsyou."Itriedtosayitinaniceway,butitstillsoundslikeIthinkhe’saweakling.

           Surprisingly,hejustlaughs."Look,IcanhandleCato.Ifoughthimbefore,didn’tI?"

           Yeah,andthatturnedoutgreat.Youendedupdyinginamudbank.That’swhatIwanttosay,butIcan’t.HedidsavemylifebytakingonCatoafterall.Itryanothertactic."WhatifyouclimbedupinatreeandactedasalookoutwhileIhunted?"Isay,tryingtomakeitsoundlikeveryimportantwork.

           "Whatifyoushowmewhat’sediblearoundhereandgogetussomemeat?"hesays,mimickingmytone."Justdon’tgofar,incaseyouneedhelp."

           Isighandshowhimsomerootstodig.Wedoneedfood,noquestion.Oneapple,tworolls,andablobofcheesethesizeofaplumwon’tlastlong.I’lljustgoashortdistanceandhopeCatoisalongwayoff.

           Iteachhimabirdwhistle-notamelodylikeRue’sbutasimpletwo-notewhistle-whichwecanusetocommunicatethatwe’reallright.Fortunately,he’sgoodatthis.Leavinghimwiththepack,Iheadoff.

           IfeellikeI’melevenagain,tetherednottothesafetyofthefencebuttoPeeta,allowingmyselftwenty,maybethirtyyardsofhuntingspace.Awayfromhimthough,thewoodscomealivewithanimalsounds.