Inspired by Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. I highly recommend listening to the song.
The light filters down through the thick, intertwining branches of the trees. It casts mottling shadows across my dark skin. I smile at the pattern. It reminds me of home.
Home. I wish I was there now. I wish I was out in the trees, jumping from branch to branch with my family while searching for fruit. I wish I was anywhere but here. But I am here. I am lurking in the branches of an unfamiliar tree while other people search for me. While other people try to kill me. But I am okay. For now anyways. Katniss will protect me.
I let out another four note whistle and wait. There is a pause in the normal bird song. A pause that makes me nervous. When the birds stop singing it means there is trouble coming. It means a person is coming. Someone who might hurt me. I bite my lip nervously and try not to move. I try to not even breath. I don't want anyone to hear me.
Before I can get too worried, a single bird picks up my tune. He copies my familiar whistle perfectly. This seems to be the cue. Any mockingjay within hearing distance whistles my song to the skies. I guess they just needed time to pick it up. I smile again, and let out a long sigh.
I wait a little longer, but waiting makes me nervous. I wonder what could be taking Katniss so long. Could she be hurt? She wasn't killed, that was for sure. If she was dead then I would have heard the sound of a canon firing. But what if she was hurt and needed my help?
I glance around the clearing below me. I am too worried to really take a close look. Then I lower my legs and drop lightly to the floor. Back home I am one of the best jumpers. One of the quietest, too. I guess it's because I'm so tiny. Small people like me don't make a lot of noise.
But big people do make noise.
I hear the sound of pine needles rustling under heavy footsteps. It causes my heart to jolt and my stomach to feel sour as it drops in fear. I let out a shocked squeal when a heavy net gets thrown on top of me. The boy throwing it yanks it tight, causing me to lose my balance and crumple to the grassy ground.
I struggle beneath the net but the boy places his foot on my stomach, pinning me. Now I can see his face. It is the boy tribute from District 1, Marvel. I am good with names. I remember everyone's name from the Reapings. That way I can more easily remember who to stay really far away from.
I'm scared. Terrified, really. My heart is beating so fast in my chest and my hands are trembling. I pull my hands closer to me and close them in tiny fists next to my face. I whimper.
"Please, please don't hurt me." I say in a small voice.
Marvel just smiles. At first I think that maybe, since he's smiling, he'll let me go. Then I notice how strange his smile is. It is twisted all wrong. And his eyes… he has scary eyes. They don't look like how eyes should be when someone smiles. I whimper again.
He raises the spear above his head and I panic.
"Katniss!" I scream as loudly as I can.
Maybe Katniss can save me. Maybe she is close by and can get rid of Marvel with one of her arrows.
"Rue!" I hear her scream back. It sounds like she is running.
"Katniss!"
Katniss runs to the edge of the clearing and then stops. I look at her, taking my eyes off of Marvel. I hear him grunt and then I hear the rush of wind.
Pain. There is a stick of wood coming out of my belly. It hurts a lot at first. But then, the pain stops a little. It doesn't hurt that bad. But there is a lot of blood. It is pouring out from around the pole.
I hear a thud next to me and see that Katniss has killed Marvel with one of her arrows. It has gone right through his neck. She is still running around the clearing, looking all around. I hear her ask me if there are any more tributes around. I have to say no a bunch of times before she hears me.
Finally she runs over to me. She pulls out a knife and cuts the net off around me. I see her reach for the spear and them stop herself. That scares me. She isn't trying to take the spear out.
I feel something warm dribbling down out of my mouth and touch it. It's blood. I know this should probably scare me even more, but it doesn't. I guess I've been scared too much today.
The clearing starts to look fuzzy around the edges. It fades slightly and then comes back. Fade, bright. Fade, bright. Kind of like when they change scenes on the televisions that the Capitol makes us watch.
I remember my mommy singing to me when it was time to go to bed. I don't know what reminds me of it, but it comes into my head. I want to hear my mommy singing to me again.
"Sing me a song." I ask Katniss.
Her eyes are starting to look really teary. A drop already fell on my face. But she nods her head and starts to sing.
Her voice is pretty. Prettier than mommy's, even. I smile and let my eyes flutter shut as her song echoes in my head. It is so pretty.
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