Hunger Games Chapter 17

Apologies to those of you who were up at 7am raring to read the latest post!  I had a lovely, leisurely morning.  17!  Know what this means, everyone?  We're almost to the end of part two!  Wheee!  That's 9 chapters closer to finding out how the whole series wraps up!

In which Katniss is blown through the air, but keeps the bow attached to herself.  She's concussed, and worse, deafened by the impact.  As she crawls to safety, she has the presence of mind to think "no blood trails."  That's our girl.  Can't tell when a boy has a crush on her, but doesn't want her blood to give away her hiding spot.  She makes it to Rue's copse literally as Cato comes barreling back.  "His rage is so extreme it might be comical," is such a great way to describe Cato and his 'roid rage.  But scary.  Katniss is so scared, she's chewing off her nail polish (remember her flame nail polish?  I'd forgotten it might have lasted).

Cato turns on BD3 and breaks his neck with his bare hands.  I'm starting to panic a little.  BD3xCato.  But to Katniss's advantage, the other three tributes must assume that whoever set off the explosion is dead, and that they didn't hear the canon over the other booms.  They retire to the far side of the lake to wait for the hovercraft.

The seal appears as night falls.  Today, BD3 and BD10 are dead.  Cato and GD2 put on their night vision goggles and BD1 lights a torch.  They go hunting.  Katniss stays where she is and puts on her own night vision goggles.  She cleans her blood and eats some of the berries she gathered with Rue.  And she thinks "Let the SEventy-fourth Hunger Games begin, Cato.  Let them begin for real." which is probably the very cheesiest moment in this entire book.  SO CHEESY.

She's cold but sleeps through the night.  She can hear again,sort of, and hears Foxface laughing as she digs though the remains of the explosion, finding a metal pot and a knife blade.  Ally?  Not really, Katniss finds her untrustworthy.

Time to find Rue.  Katniss follows the stream, eating a hunk of cold groosling.  She finds boot prints in the mud, which makes Katniss paranoid, so she takes off her boots and socks.  She walks in the cool water and shoots some fish, eating one, saving one for Rue.  She's still deaf on the left side.

She reaches the site of their first meeting, and no sign of Rue.  Katniss uses this time to wash the blood out of her jacket and hair.  She eats the second fish because they're easy pickin's.  And she's up in the tree, watiting.  She eats a bit more but is having what she calls a "hollow day," one that she can't eat enough to feel satisfied.  Do you think this is because she's really starving, or because of stress, or because of injuries?  All of the above?  Katniss comes down and scatters some mint leaves around the fire so Rue will know she was there without giving herself up to the idiot Careers.

She reaches the place they agreed to have the third fire, but it was never lit.  Something is wrong, and keeping Rue up a tree (literally).  Katniss hears Rue's four note tune and heads toward it.  More mockingjays are repeating it, and Katniss knows Rue's okay.  EXCEPT SHE'S NOT!

She hears Rue yell her name, and runs toward her.  She sees Rue caught in a net, and gets there just in time to see the spear go through her little birdy body.

Here's where I begin weeping.  It will last for a while.