𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.Cato Hadley

20.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.
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Rue turns out to be right. There are indeed land mines and the boy from District 3 is part of the Careers. It's the first time I've seen anyone do such a thing during the Games. I'm sure that even for the gamemakers this was a real shock. I'm hidden behind some bushes from which I can see everything. I'm waiting for the smoke from the fire to show, and then I'm ready to act.

"Guys, look!" Everyone turns their attention to the smoke.

"You stay on guard until we get back," Cato tells the boy from District 3.

The Careers run into the forest and disappear from my sight. Now I have to figure out how to blow up their food. I look around for something that can help me but I can't find anything.

Then the girl I named Foxface appears out of nowhere. She runs toward the food pyramid with quick, tiny steps. When she gets closer to the pyramid, she starts moving with jumps on one leg. Looks like this girl knows what she's doing.

Foxface grabs a bag of the supplies and runs back into the woods. However, this gets the attention of the boy from District 3 and he goes to check if anyone is there. As he leaves I notice a sack of apples on top of the pyramid. And now I realize that my weapon could not have been more suitable for what I have in mind.

I"ll try to tear the sack and let the apples fall on the mines. This should activate them and blow up everything around them. If I'm not careful, that could include me.

I take a careful shooting stance and aim. It takes me about ten seconds to focus enough and then I shoot. Nothing. The branches prevent me from hitting the apples. I stand a little closer, thus risking being noticed and blowing myself up. I aim and fire the arrow. This time my arrow cuts through the bottom of the sack and several apples tumble down. The moment one of them touches one of the mines, everything explodes. The blast wave throws me back.

I get all the air out of my lungs. The impact on the hard ground stuns me. I can barely breathe and everything shakes from the explosion as if the whole arena is shaking. It gets even worse when the air fills with acrid smoke. 

My mind tells me to get out of here, but my body doesn't allow it. I try to stand up, but the moment I lift myself, seconds later I fall back to the ground. I'm so dizzy and starting to panic that I won't be able to get out. The only thing I keep telling myself is that I have to leave because the Careers will be back at any moment. But I can't walk.

Somehow I managed to get back to the bushes where I was hiding. I stop for a minute to somehow try to calm myself down and get over my vision problem. But nothing works, the trees keep spinning for me. I feel completely helpless and realize that this could be the end. There's nothing I can do. 

Just then, Cato and the others return and he starts yelling at the boy. I'm not sure what he's yelling at him, but at one point Cato walks up to him and twists his neck for a second. The boy falls to the ground and the cannon is heard. I am shocked by this view and it makes me start crawling in the forest. That makes me develop a huge fear of the boy whom I was kissing until a few days ago.