the hunger games-飢餓遊戲(英文版)

第33部分 (第4/7頁)

¨Soon；〃　I　promise。　¨I　need　to　look　at　your　leg　first。〃　Trying　to　be　as　gentle　as　I　can；　I　remove　his　boots；　his　socks；　and　then　very　slowly　inch　his　pants　off　of　him。　I　can　see　the　tear　Catoˇs　sword　made　in　the　fabric　over　his　thigh；　but　it　in　no　way　prepares　me　for　what　lies　underneath。　The　deep　inflamed　gash　oozing　both　blood　and　pus。　The　swelling　of　the　leg。　And　worst　of　all；　the　smell　of　festering　flesh。

I　want　to　run　away。　Disappear　into　the　woods　like　I　did　that　day　they　brought　the　burn　victim　to　our　house。　Go　and　hunt　while　my　mother　and　Prim　attend　to　what　I　have　neither　the　skill　nor　the　courage　to　face。　But　thereˇs　no　one　here　but　me。　I　try　to　capture　the　calm　demeanor　my　mother　assumes　when

handling　particularly　bad　cases。

¨Pretty　awful；　huh？〃　says　Peeta。　Heˇs　watching　me　closely。

¨So…so。〃　I　shrug　like　itˇs　no　big　deal。　¨You　should　see　some　of　the　people　they　bring　my　mother　from　the　mines。〃　I　refrain　from　saying　how　I　usually　clear　out　of　the　house　whenever　sheˇs　treating　anything　worse　than　a　cold。　e　to　think　of　it；　I　donˇt　even　much　like　to　be　around　coughing。　¨First　thing　is　to　clean　it　well。〃

Iˇve　left　on　Peetaˇs　undershorts　because　theyˇre　not　in　bad　shape　and　I　donˇt　want　to　pull　them　over　the　swollen　thigh　and；　all　right；　maybe　the　idea　of　him　being　naked　makes　me　unfortable。　Thatˇs　another　thing　about　my　mother　and　Prim。　Nakedness　has　no　effect　on　them；　gives　them　no　cause　for　embarrassment。　Ironically；　at　this　point　in　the　Games；　my　little　sister　would　be　of　far　more　use　to　Peeta　than　I　am。　I　scoot　my　square　of　plastic　under　him　so　I　can　wash　down　the　rest　of　him。　With　each　bottle　I　pour　over　him；　the　worse　the　wound　looks。　The　rest　of　his　lower　body　has　fared　pretty　well；　just　one　tracker　jacker　sting　and　a　f