Okay this might not stay a one-shot but tell me what you think. This is Prim, Gale, Madge, Mrs. Everdeen, and all of the Hawthorne's watching the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games when Rue is killed. (Did anyone else cry and cry at this part in the book, I did. And then I memorized the words to the song Katniss sang to Rue.)
Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins owns The Hunger Games not me.
I sat down next to my mother to; once again, watch another day of the horrible Hunger Games. Another day where I could see my sister die.
Last night the Games' stopped after Katniss and Rue had allied and were settling in to sleep. I actually didn't have any nightmares last night because I was happy Katniss wasn't all alone still, and the image of her and Rue tucked into that sleeping back was so peaceful among all of that death it soothed me.
We were in the Hawthorne's house with Gale and his family, and surprisingly Madge Undersee who had come the first day of the Games to watch with us. It turned out she was really close to Katniss and was almost as worried about her as I was. Almost.
"Prim," I looked up at Hazelle who stood behind the love seat I was sitting on. She stared back at me with worry and I knew it must be because of my bloodless, pained face. She asked me gently then, "Would you like anything to drink, Prim?"
Oh. "No thank you, Hazelle." I muttered turning back to the television set.
It starts on Katniss and Rue again. They seemed to have just finished eating and were making plans. Plans to blow up the Careers food supply. I felt an unhappy smile come to my lips. Oh, Katniss, you are brilliant. That was it, the years a Career didn't win was when they didn't have the right supplies. The needed the Cornucopia to get food since they weren't smart enough to do it themselves.
So they split up, Rue going to set off those three fires to draw the Careers away from the Cornucopia so Katniss can go and destroy the food. I just have the feeling something will go wrong today.
The cameras follow Katniss as she treks through the woods, silent and deadly, a worried look on her face. I know today though that worry is for Rue. Her bow is draped over her shoulder and her arrow filled quiver is strapped to her back. Her singed black hair is carelessly braided down her back, like always.
When she gets to the Careers' camp she drops down to hide in the brush, and peeks out to watch the Careers leave. They do after seeing the smoke in the distance.
"I hope Rue is okay." Madge whispers softly and that is when I realize we have been horribly quiet the whole day. But all we do is murmur our agreement.
As Katniss just sits there contemplating her next move the Gamemakers must have decided she was being to boring, so they skipped to Rue. She was hopping from tree to tree like a beautiful bird, her brown hair flowing out behind her, as she hurries to the next fire site.
She finally seems to come to the right tree and stops to listen for any sign of the Careers. Hearing nothing she gently drops from the branch and lands lightly on her feet, like a cat. She kneels down near the assembled kindling and hurries to begin this fire.
Back to Katniss.
She's crouched, looking ready to fight or flee, and then they heard what she hears a rustling in the bushed across the clearing. The one girl, Foxface (Sorry I can't remember her actual name so she will still be referred to as Foxface.),bolts through the trees and runs to the Cornucopia. She stops right on the edge her eyes sweeping back and forth, then she takes a tentative step forward.
Nothing happens.
With a wide smile she runs, jumps, and leaps her way to the Cornucopia, doing a strange hypnotizing dance.
"Bombs!" Gale gasped, now remembering how a few days earlier that one boy had taken the bombs out of the ground and planted them around the Cornucopia. I pale just as bad as my mother as they flip back to Katniss whose eyes are narrowed a look of understanding dawns on her face. Then her eyes narrow as she is faced with this new challenge. She is definitely thinking hard on this.
Foxface takes a little food here and then a little there but never enough from one place to alert the Careers that she had been there. Then with a crazy laugh she is off again, darting to the woods.
"It's mined." Katniss whispers to herself.
Katniss is still trying to figure this out as she fingers her bow and biting her bottom lip. Then her eyes hone in on a bag of apples hanging there. Triumph flickers on her face and she pulls out three arrows from her quiver.
Gale gives a soft gasp of understanding. It can be weird sometimes how well he knows Katniss and she knows him.
"What?" I whisper as though being to loud might alert the Careers and make them come tramping back to kill Katniss.
"She's going to cut open the apple bag, then cut the rope so they fall on the ground and detonate the bombs." Gale told them all with absolute certainty. He was right.
She let loose one arrow and it made a slit at the top of the burlap bag. The next opens a wide hole and an apple is getting ready to fall already. She draws back the last arrow and aims. It's whistling threw the air where it completely severs the rope. All the apples fall to the ground and create a humongous explosion.
All the food is destroyed just like Katniss was going for, but she was thrown back and lands on her back. She brings up her hands to save her face from the burning debris.
"That looks like it hurt." Rory said wincing. Vick nods vigorously beside him where they sit on the floor. Posy whimpers and burrows into Gale even more as I lean into my mother. She wraps an arm around me.
After a while the debris stops and Katniss sits up. She looks disoriented, her hands over her ears. Blood pours down her face. She is just able to stagger to her feet, takes one step, and falls back down to her hands and knees. Gasping she freezes there while she pulls up her hood to soak up any blood.
She starts to drag herself painfully through the trees, trying to get back to her little hideout. A few bombs that didn't go off before give loud blasts and the waves knock poor Katniss to her stomach again. When she returns it seems to be only seconds before the Careers come back.
Cato is furious, he immediately takes it out on that boy from District Three breaking his neck and killing him. They leave again in pursuit of Katniss not knowing she is right there. Somehow Katniss curls up and falls asleep right there.
We are shown the Careers as the wonder through the woods not trying to be quiet, anger filling there faces, frustration building up in them. Then it cuts to Peeta. We haven't seen him in a long time. He is buried under the mud completely invisible unless you knew he was there. Like Katniss, Peeta was sleeping, or at least they couldn't see his bright blue eyes open and flickering around.
Katniss is back and waking up. She seemed to have gotten over the dizziness so she climbs to her feet and starts to go looking for Rue. A mixed look of worry and happiness is written on her usually blank face. For hours she walks looking for her, climbing trees, eating, going to the third fire that Rue had never started for some reason.
Worry fluttered in my stomach. Where was the girl who was only my age? I don't want her to die, Katniss needs someone and Rue, I think, is the best person for her to be partnered with now. So where is she?
Katniss is obviously thinking the same thing so she starts walking again, wandering around searching for Rue. We then see Rue she's up in a tree again floating through it easily then with no warning a net closes around her and she's dangling there, helpless. Terrified she cries out my sister's name.
Katniss is walking close by listening to the four notes a Mockingjay is singing to her, the notes that mean safe, just as Rue's scream reaches her ears. Her gray eyes widen and she turns to the directions Rue's voice is coming from. Then she takes off sprinting through the greenery and jumping over logs. She reaches Rue who is struggling in her net just as the boy from District One is gets there too. He raises his arm and throws the spear as Rue yells Katniss's name one more time.
It lands right in Rue's stomach. She let's out a piercing scream as all of us at home give strangled cries too. Posy burst into tears right then and crawled into Hazelle's lap hiding her face and clamping her hands over her ears to shut out Rue's desperate cries of pain and Katniss's cry of despair.
Katniss has an arrow knocked and flying towards the boy before she's aware of what's she's doing. Her face is twisted into a hateful unforgiving expression as the arrow pierces the boy's throat killing him immediately.
I give a dry sob, that was Katniss's first kill and it seemed ruthless with that terribly pained look on her face.
Then Katniss runs up to the girl and swivels around pointing another arrow through the woods.
"Are there anymore? Are there anymore?" she yells desperation and hysteria rising in her voice. After Rue says no Katniss drops everything and pulls out her knife to cut the net away from Rue's small body. She moves Rue gently so she's laying half in Katniss's lap. She holds the girls offered hand and clings to it, tears in her eyes.
"You blew up the food?" Pain is filling Rue's small voice.
"Every last bit." Katniss whispers. I feel my heart breaking along with my big sisters.
"You have to win." I'm nodding at Rue's words.
"I'm going to. Going to win for the both of us now." She's saying this with conviction. A cannon sounds and Katniss looks up her hand tightening on Rue's.
"Don't go." Rue murmured her eyes looking heavy.
"Course not. Staying right here." Katniss didn't seem to be able to say complete sentences as she gently brushed Rue's dark curls away from her pale face.
"Sing." Rue asks.
Katniss seems momentarily confused. She has never sung since our dad died unless it was for me when I was sick. Katniss finally comes to a decision and starts off softly:
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings
them true
Here is the place where I love you
Rory and Vick have given up there 'tough guy' covers and have tears flowing down there cheeks. Madge has been crying since Rue was stabbed. Hazelle's eyes were closed tightly and she looked pale as she held little Posy closer. Gale was staring at the floor a hard look on his face and a single tear on his cheek. My mother is shuddering beside me whimpering. But as I held back my own tears all I could think off was another happier time when Katniss sang this song to me when I was home from school with a fever.
Now Rue's eyes were closing her breathing becoming even more shallow and irregular.
"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your fears lay
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away
Tears started falling thick and fast down Katniss's face.
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings
them true
Here is the place where I love you"
The cannon sounded and Katniss bowed her head, her shoulders shaking.
We were all crying noisily like little children, and unashamedly too. My poor sister, she was all alone now. Unless she tried to find Peeta. And Rue I have never even met her but I felt a great loss now that she is dead. The words of that well known song floated around in my head, but now they have a whole new meaning.