Peeta
(Two) I Know Her Secret
I see a lake to my left and a forest to my right. Across the way, past the tributes, there’s a field fill of, well, who knows what? Then, in the very center, I see the cornucopia. It’s filled with an array of foods, supplies, and glistening weapons like spears, maces, and knives. Towards the very center, I see a sparking bow with a matching sheath of arrows, and I already know where Katniss is going to head first.
Katniss! I yell in my head. After a few seconds, I pick her out in the circle of tributes, and she’s staring them down, prepared to run straight for them. I know for a fact that she’ll run directly into the Careers and their already-claimed weapons.
I can’t let her do it. I try to send her my thoughts as if I’m telepathic: Don’t do it! Don’t run for them, you’ll get killed! She squints at me and I shake my head. She looks confused for a moment, and the gong rings.
I lose track of her and where she runs, but I know now that I need to get as many weapons as I can for myself, including the bow and arrows for Katniss. And so, I run forward instead of away as I was directed. I pick up a small switchblade that was lying in my path and shove it into my pocket quickly.
Most of the other Careers are there when I get to it, already using their extremely deadly and terrifying weapons to attack the other tributes. I don’t make it to the arrows, or anything else for that matter, because I see the boy from District 4 charging at me, spear in hand.
I don’t run away because it seems futile – he looks like he can throw it pretty far. I instead dodge his attack, followed by a knock to the ground with my arm. I hop on top of him and rip the spear out of his hand, tossing it aside. We begin to wrestle around a bit – kind of like two young siblings playing the backyard. We both come to the realization that we’re equally matched, so he tries a more radical approach – he bites my arm. I let out a short yelp in pain.
This isn’t just another wrestling match, I think. This is the Hunger Games. There are no rules!
I reach into my pocket and pull out the switchblade. I’m back at him again, and this time he realizes that I’m armed. I don’t want to kill him, but I really don’t have much of a choice, do I? I aim to jab the knife into his shoulder, but I miss. I sudden burst of pain flows through my left arm as I realize that he has a knife, too. The cut’s not deep, but it’s enough to make me pull away, in turn getting punched square in the jaw.
He’s scrambling to his feet as I kneel, trying to recover from the shock of it all. He swings his knife, and I manage to duck the blow at the last second, all while swinging my knife towards his legs. I graze his knees, which is enough to distract him while I get to my feet. Then we stand there and size each other up for a short moment.
He charges at me again, but I don’t hesitate. I grab his wrist with the knife and try to pin it over his head, but strangely, he does the same thing. I find it extremely odd that we’re so similar, even if we come from two completely different areas of the country.
We’re standing face to face, neither of us able to move with our arms being restrained above our heads. For a moment, all I can take in are his deep, hazel eyes, and it’s not surprising when he catches me off-guard and knees me in the stomach.
I’m on the ground again, rolling over because of the sharp pain; fortunately, I still have the switchblade ready in my hand. I’m given absolutely no time to recover when he gets on top of me, pushing my head into the dirt and wrapping his arms around my neck.
We sat like that for a good fifteen seconds, though it seemed like so much longer. Suddenly, he makes a loud grunt, relaxes his grip on my throat, and slumps over a bit. His spits something onto my shirt, and I think it’s saliva at first. However, when he turns his head slightly to the right to examine his wound, I see the knife stuck in the side of his neck as he falls over, dead. That’s when I see the blood stained onto my jacket.
The girl from District 2 stands triumphantly in front of me. She’s dangerous, this girl, but if I can get close enough, I know I can overpower her physically. I fetch the spear I tossed aside earlier and barely miss the knife she tosses in my direction as I stand back up. I summon all the strength I have left and use it to toss the spear. It misses, though I knew it wouldn’t have done much damage even if it hit her. This distracts her enough to tackle her down, though I only have the upper-hand for a moment.
“Get him, Cato!” I hear the girl yell. Before I have time to even blink, I’m pinned face-down by the massive boy from District 2. He’s sitting on top of me, threatening my head with his bloodied sword. And suddenly, I know what I can do. I know how I can save Katniss.
“Wait!” I shout, clearly out of breath. “I know her secret!”
Katniss! I yell in my head. After a few seconds, I pick her out in the circle of tributes, and she’s staring them down, prepared to run straight for them. I know for a fact that she’ll run directly into the Careers and their already-claimed weapons.
I can’t let her do it. I try to send her my thoughts as if I’m telepathic: Don’t do it! Don’t run for them, you’ll get killed! She squints at me and I shake my head. She looks confused for a moment, and the gong rings.
I lose track of her and where she runs, but I know now that I need to get as many weapons as I can for myself, including the bow and arrows for Katniss. And so, I run forward instead of away as I was directed. I pick up a small switchblade that was lying in my path and shove it into my pocket quickly.
Most of the other Careers are there when I get to it, already using their extremely deadly and terrifying weapons to attack the other tributes. I don’t make it to the arrows, or anything else for that matter, because I see the boy from District 4 charging at me, spear in hand.
I don’t run away because it seems futile – he looks like he can throw it pretty far. I instead dodge his attack, followed by a knock to the ground with my arm. I hop on top of him and rip the spear out of his hand, tossing it aside. We begin to wrestle around a bit – kind of like two young siblings playing the backyard. We both come to the realization that we’re equally matched, so he tries a more radical approach – he bites my arm. I let out a short yelp in pain.
This isn’t just another wrestling match, I think. This is the Hunger Games. There are no rules!
I reach into my pocket and pull out the switchblade. I’m back at him again, and this time he realizes that I’m armed. I don’t want to kill him, but I really don’t have much of a choice, do I? I aim to jab the knife into his shoulder, but I miss. I sudden burst of pain flows through my left arm as I realize that he has a knife, too. The cut’s not deep, but it’s enough to make me pull away, in turn getting punched square in the jaw.
He’s scrambling to his feet as I kneel, trying to recover from the shock of it all. He swings his knife, and I manage to duck the blow at the last second, all while swinging my knife towards his legs. I graze his knees, which is enough to distract him while I get to my feet. Then we stand there and size each other up for a short moment.
He charges at me again, but I don’t hesitate. I grab his wrist with the knife and try to pin it over his head, but strangely, he does the same thing. I find it extremely odd that we’re so similar, even if we come from two completely different areas of the country.
We’re standing face to face, neither of us able to move with our arms being restrained above our heads. For a moment, all I can take in are his deep, hazel eyes, and it’s not surprising when he catches me off-guard and knees me in the stomach.
I’m on the ground again, rolling over because of the sharp pain; fortunately, I still have the switchblade ready in my hand. I’m given absolutely no time to recover when he gets on top of me, pushing my head into the dirt and wrapping his arms around my neck.
We sat like that for a good fifteen seconds, though it seemed like so much longer. Suddenly, he makes a loud grunt, relaxes his grip on my throat, and slumps over a bit. His spits something onto my shirt, and I think it’s saliva at first. However, when he turns his head slightly to the right to examine his wound, I see the knife stuck in the side of his neck as he falls over, dead. That’s when I see the blood stained onto my jacket.
The girl from District 2 stands triumphantly in front of me. She’s dangerous, this girl, but if I can get close enough, I know I can overpower her physically. I fetch the spear I tossed aside earlier and barely miss the knife she tosses in my direction as I stand back up. I summon all the strength I have left and use it to toss the spear. It misses, though I knew it wouldn’t have done much damage even if it hit her. This distracts her enough to tackle her down, though I only have the upper-hand for a moment.
“Get him, Cato!” I hear the girl yell. Before I have time to even blink, I’m pinned face-down by the massive boy from District 2. He’s sitting on top of me, threatening my head with his bloodied sword. And suddenly, I know what I can do. I know how I can save Katniss.
“Wait!” I shout, clearly out of breath. “I know her secret!”