The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Table of Contents
Chapter 11 to 15
Chapter Eleven
Before the beginning gong sounds, Katniss and the other tributes are in a ring around the Cornucopia. They are given a single minute to look at their surroundings before the Games officially begin. Any movement before then will trigger land mines. Though Haymitch has instructed her to run away from the Cornucopia, Katniss is tempted to ignore him. She sees a bow and arrow in the Cornucopia and realizes that they would give her a tremendous advantage during the Games. However, Peeta catches her eye and seems to be shaking his head at her, as if he knows what she is contemplating. Distracted by Peeta, Katniss hesitates. She still runs toward the Cornucopia, grabbing bread and some plastic, and then fighting with a boy over a backpack. The boy she is fighting with is hit by a knife and dies. Katniss runs away, and discovers as she is running that the knife is embedded in the pack; while she did not get the bow and arrows, she does have a weapon.
Katniss spends the rest of the day trying to follow Haymitch’s advice and put space between her and the other tributes. That evening, she hears the cannons that signify deaths; so far, 11 tributes have died. That night, the Capitol will project the faces of the dead, so Katniss will know who continues to survive. She realizes that Peeta could be among the dead. The thought saddens her, but she also realizes that if Peeta is dead, she will not be faced with having to kill him.
Katniss is pleased to find several useful things in the backpack, including a sleeping bag. She still has not found any water. She climbs up into a tree and sleeps in one of the branches. She sees the projection of the dead in the sky and finds herself relieved that Peeta is not among them. She also hears another tribute making a fire. She is angry at the tribute starting the fire, because Katniss realizes that a fire will signal her location to the other tributes. She even thinks that she should kill the fire starter herself in order to protect her own location. However, Katniss’s predictions come...
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