Reading: The Hunger Games

Let's find out where this game is headed! Today's summary is from page 303 through page 345.

They eat some of their fresh lamb stew, but then it's right back to the romance. They talk about how whoever wins the games will get to live in Victor's Village. Even though the winner would get a incredibly new house, their neighbor would be Haymitch. For a while they make fun of Haymitch in hopes of entertaining the audience. Katniss asks how it was that Haymitch managed to actually win the games, and Peeta replies that it's because he was able to outsmart all of the other tributes.
It's night time and the dead are announced, except that only Tresh has died today. With this information Katniss knows for a fact that Cato and his posse will definitely be gunning for her and Peeta. They take turns sleeping and keeping guard off and on. Katniss day dreams about what if she and Peeta actually won? What would they do? She c an't help but wonder if they'll be friends or more.
In the morning they finish the stew and go hunting. Unfortunately for the two of them, Peeta is not very good at sneaking through the woods. He's loud and manages to scare away all of the potential food. They split up, Peeta gathers roots and she hunts, and Katniss teaches Peeta the "ok whistle."
Once Katniss has successfully hunted for a while, she becomes worried because she hasn't heard the whistle lately. She tries to whistle for Peeta, but no response, so she goes to their meeting spot. At first she doesn't see Peeta, she only sees berries scattered on the ground. He emerges from the woods and Katniss discovers that Peeta's berries were poisonous. Turns out Foxface ate the berries and died.
They come to the conclusion that Foxface had to have been watching Peeta collect the berries. They decide to keep a stash of the poisonous berries, with the hope that they can trick Cato into eating them. Katniss suggests that they make a fire, roast their game, and watch for Cato to come find them. He never comes, the couple head back to their shelter (because Peeta can't climb trees), and of course they kiss again. When they get to the cave they eat and Peeta falls asleep, Katniss tucks him in. Katniss remembers how Cato reacted when she blew the pyramid up, and she wonders if he's insane. She remembers Foxface as one of the smartest tributes to have been out there. This makes her wonder whether or not Cato is as smart as Foxface.
The next day the couple goes out to the river and finds that it's all dried up. They both know that this must but a move by the Gamemakers. I think I would go insane being locked up in this "game." Having no control over anything and the Gamemakers having all control. I might join Cato and go insane. Peeta and Katniss know that the Gamemakers are doing this to force all of the remaining tributes to go to the lake, where a fight will most likely break out.
When they get to the lake they don't see Cato anywhere. I haven't been keeping track, but when I read this I couldn't help but think, are Cato, Katniss, and Peeta the only remaining tributes? She remembers Rue's call and mockingjays begin singing everywhere. This would be such a cute romantic moment in real life! But, it'd only be ruined by Cato, of course. He comes flying through the trees, wearing armor, running from creatures. Katniss takes off running with Cato. The creatures are another altered breed made by the Capitol. Wolves chase Cato, Katniss, and Peeta to the Cornucopia. Right before Katniss is able to draw an arrow and shoot Cato, she hears Peeta yelling for her. When Katniss helps Peeta up the Cornucopia, she catches and up close glimpse of the wolves; they're humans, but not just humans, they're the dead tributes!
Katniss begins shooting rapid fire at the tributes; first at Glimmer, then Foxface, then the boy tribute from District 9, and little Rue. Katniss and Peeta beat off the zombie wolves, and Cato sneaks up on Peeta and puts him into a headlock. In a catch-22, Katniss doesn't know what to do. If she shoots Cato he'll take Peeta into the mass of zombie wolves. He gets a hold of her attention and tells her to shoot Cato's hand, which she does, he releases Peeta, giving him the opportunity to knock Cato into the raging pack of tributes. He's torn a part by the wolves and dies a long, slow, painful death (Katniss put him out of his misery, and finished him off with an arrow). Meanwhile, Peeta's loosing a ton of blood from his leg, YIKES! Katniss rips a piece of her shirt sleeve and uses her arrow to make a tourniquet (this is a device used to control the circulation of blood for a period of time).
She makes him stay awake through the night hoping he won't lose consciousness. With Cato dead, this now means that Katniss and Peeta win right? Nope, wrong. The emcee comes over the sound system and announces that they rules have changed once again. The new rule? There can only be one winner! Oh so depressing for this couple. Now, they really are star-crossed. Katniss realizes she can't kill Peeta, she just can't. She takes the berries they saved for Cato, and Peeta realizes what she's about to do. With a few berries in both of their hands, (ah it's the lover suicide scene, you know like in Romeo and Juliet) they start to put the berries in their mouths. DUN DUN DUN!
The emcee comes on once again announcing, "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am please to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"

Ah so the happy couple wins! Is everyone happy? We'll find out! There's only a few chapters left. Tune in soon for another summary.