Chapter 30: Unsuspecting
The woods are alive with all kinds of creatures and Katniss knows the family will have their fill for dinner tonight. There are squirrels, rabbits, turkey and duck, all plentiful and not as fearful of her as they should be as Katniss makes her way through the trees. She decides rabbit would be nice for a stew and, after loading her bow, makes her first kill for the summer. It all comes so naturally, even though she hasn't hunted for a while. She retrieves her arrow and gather the rabbit up by the legs.
Her next target is a turkey. Prim loves turkey. The turkey makes an easy target due to the fact that it is a little slow moving and can't really get off the ground. It's quite heavy in her hands as she lifts it and Katniss thinks she should have left the turkey until last. But she wants one more prize before she heads back to Annie and Prim. Her last choice for dinner today is a squirrel. They are more of challenge to shoot and Katniss is a little out of practice so she might not get one on her first attempt. Looking up into the treeline, Katniss spies a decent sized squirrel gnawing on a nut. She stealthily takes aim and wonders if she can hit it in the eye the way she always used to. She remembers the complement Peeta's father had paid her and which Peeta had shared with everyone at the first Games.
As she prepares to take aim, Katniss hears the whizzing noise just before she instinctively drops to the ground. A searing pain grips her right shoulder and the breath is knocked out of her momentarily. She knows she has been hit and quickly rolls on her left side to try and come up to face her assailant. Katniss is unable to reload her bow. Her right arm has been rendered useless by what she now knows is an arrow buried deep in her shoulder. Gasping she scans the treeline. Suddenly, she sees him. A man with a bow walks directly towards her. He knows she can't move and Katniss thinks she will be easy pickings, just like her prey.
Breaking the silence of the moment, Katniss screams. "Run! Annie, Run!" As she shouts the man begins to run towards her. He thought she was alone. Katniss screams again "Run!", before he reaches her, grabbing her around the throat and placing a rag over her nose. The rag has a distinctive smell, a smell that is beginning to put Katniss to sleep. She manages to fight with what little strength she has left and force the rag away from her face
"You missed" she says groggily.
"No, I didn't" he says. "I was told not to kill you… yet".
Katniss loses consciousness.
Annie has heard the scream from the woods. It startled her, but she heard Katniss' instruction clearly. Run! Annie knows she needs to get help and Prim is her first priority. She can't protect herself. Annie gathers Prim up in her arms and runs as quickly as she can to the closest house which is Haymitch's.
"Haymitch! Haymitch!" she cries as she reaches the door.
Haymitch runs out to see Annie in a hysterical state holding baby Prim.
"Katniss…" Annie is having trouble catching her breath. "Katniss…she went into the woods to hunt and I heard her scream. She told me to run!" is all Annie can manage say before collapsing in tears.
Haymitch doesn't hesitate. He grabs the loaded shotgun he keeps in the parlour. which he rarely has any use for, and heads out the door to help Katniss. Haymitch tells Annie to wait in the house as he runs towards to woods.
Passing Prim's grave Haymitch can see where Annie has dropped the sling in her panic to get help. He cautiously begins to enter the woods and isn't sure what direction Katniss has taken. He will never understand what drives that girl to do the things she does. She knows her life is under threat, but goes into the woods on her own in spite of it. Haymitch knows that stubbornness may not have paid off this time. She has her bow and arrows, so he hopes Katniss has been able to put up a fight.
After travelling several metres into the forest, Haymitch can see something glinting in the sun. As he gets closer, his worst fears are confirmed. It is Katniss' bow and arrows and there is some game lying there, too. He sees blood on the ground and hopes it is just from the game. In truth, he knows it is Katniss' blood. She is hurt, if not dead already. The fact that she is nowhere in sight means that someone has probably taken her. Haymitch calls out her name and wanders further into the woods, hoping that he might get a reply. Katniss doesn't answer. For now, there is nothing left for Haymitch to do except return to the Village and raise the alarm. Peeta will be devastated.