How It All Goes Down
- Katniss has endured a bunch of medical treatment (again). Peeta could have killed her.
- She's temporarily unable to speak but that won't last forever. She has to wear a special collar and lie very still, though.
- She tells us that Boggs came to her rescue after Peeta attacked her. She's still not sure why Peeta did that. Someone made a reference to him being "hijacked," whatever that is.
- Prim comes to stay with Katniss and see how she's doing.
- Then, Plutarch, Haymitch, and Beetee join them. Prim will not leave Katniss.
- Beetee and Plutarch explain what hijacking is: it's a kind of mental torture that acts on the brain, by using poison from tracker jacker bugs to increase frightened feelings. It has made Peeta forget he loved Katniss, and makes him think he wants to kill her.
- They aren't sure if they can get Peeta to come back from that. It might be irreversible.
- Katniss is worried (for more than one reason) that Peeta won't ever recover.
- Plutarch admits that Snow and the Capitol have already retaliated, as Portia (Peeta's stylist) and prep team have already been killed.
- Katniss is horrified by this additional loss and has to be drugged again. Really?
- For the next little while, she's quiet and almost stunned. She barely wants to eat.
- Other people in 13 are busy working to save Peeta.
- Gale drops by, but doesn't say anything.
- Finally, Katniss is able to get out of the medical area. She goes to her own quarters along with her sister.
- Once again, Prim shows she's growing up by comforting Katniss and telling her that there might still be a way to save Peeta. Totally an older sister move.
- After a while, Prim leaves and Katniss finds herself going over to Special Defense, where she meets up with Gale and Beetee.
- They show her that they've been designing all kinds of new weapons for the war.
- Katniss worries these new weapons are inhumane.
- Then, Haymitch comes to get Katniss and explains that the medics are trying out something with Peeta, bringing in a neutral acquaintance from 12 to try and separate his memories from his fear.
- This acquaintance is a friendly, nice girl named Delly. Delly pays Katniss some compliments and Katniss thinks that Peeta probably won't associate the two of them together.
- Katniss, Haymitch, and Plutarch, along with some others, watch through a one-sided window as Delly is taken in to chat with Peeta. Peeta is tied to the bed just in case he tries to hurt anyone again.
- Delly has the tough job of getting Peeta to remember things… without triggering any ideas connected to the tracker jacker venom or his experience of being hijacked.
- Suddenly, Peeta remembers that 12 has been destroyed. He blames Katniss and starts to freak out. He calls Katniss a mutt.
- (When they were in the arena, he and Katniss had to fight these genetic creations called mutts, which spoke with human voices but were terrifying animals.)
- Katniss is super upset by this association, because it means Peeta thinks she's not even a person anymore.
- She demands that the rebels give her a warlike task to do, to keep her mind off all this. Plutarch says she can be assigned to District 2.