The Hunger Games Chapter 17 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • The pyramid is blown to bits, but escape proves difficult: Katniss is dizzy and wobbly and can't hear in her ears (one of which is bleeding).
  • With explosions still going off, Katniss manages to drag herself back into the bushes of the copse when the Career Tributes return.
  • Cato throws a massive tantrum and snaps the neck of the boy from District 3. Seriously. The other tributes are pointing to the sky when Katniss realizes that they must think whoever set off the explosion is dead.
  • The sun goes down and the anthem plays: that's when the Career Tributes realizes that the bomber must have survived. (Their picture, after all, was not projected into the sky.)
  • The Career Tributes head out to hunt the bomber, but Katniss stays right where she is. She puts on her night vision glasses and eats some food. She thinks about the eight remaining players and drifts off to sleep freezing in the cold with no sleeping bag.
  • Katniss wakes to the sound of a laugh (she must be regaining at least a little hearing): it's Foxface, who has managed to scavenge through the rubble of the pyramid for some supplies.
  • Katniss thinks about either enlisting her help or killing her, but before she can do either Foxface runs away.
  • Katniss heads back to the meeting point, but Rue is not there. She scales a tree and waits for her. Growing impatient, Katniss decides to head to the spot where Rue was to set the third fire.
  • There's no Rue there, and the firewood has not been set. Something has gone wrong.
  • Where is she? If she had died there would have been a canon shot. Katniss decides to find her. All of a sudden she hears Rue's signal from a mockingjay. That must mean she's alive and OK!
  • Katniss starts to follow the bird when she hears a girl scream. It's Rue. Is it a trap? Katniss breaks into the clearing where the scream came from and sees Rue caught in a net.
  • Rue calls Katniss's name and then suddenly, a spear is run through Rue. (Everybody: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!)