Rue Lives!
Rue POV: I had just finished gathering the kindle for the 3rd fire that would hopefully confuse the careers, when I heard an awful explosion. I gasped and looked around. My first thought was that Katniss had caused the destruction of the supplies, but then I wondered where she would have gotten the explosives. It couldn't have been the Careers since the Gamemakers didn't usually put explosives as weapons in the Games. They're gory, yes, but only entertaining once. At least, entertaining to the Capitol. Back home, we prefer the deaths to not even be shown.
My next thought was that the Gamemakers were up to something, like the fire, but wasn't there already enough activity going on? Surely they knew we were up to something? Then I remembered the boy from District 3, who was now part of the Careers. He must of…the mines! He must have dug them up and reactivated them!
I smiled. Katniss must have realized it too and used them to blow the supplies. Mission complete then, no need to even bother lighting the last fire. We could use it for something else later on. Then I heard the cannon a few moments later and feared the worst. Had Katniss been severely injured and died from the explosion? Had the Careers found her? A million situations ran through my mind and I was extremely tempted to go find her, but the Careers, whether or not they found her, will likely already be there to see what happened to their precious supplies.
I still couldn't help, but worry about Katniss. I'm the eldest of my siblings so I'm used to looking out for people I care for. But Katniss is different. This must be what it would be like to have an older sister. Someone you care and worry about, but you're probably the one who'll end up in trouble and need them. The Sun was going down and I knew I wasn't going to be able to get back to our rendezvous point before night. I whistled our tune then I climbed into a nearby tree and got set up for the night.
As I ate some grooseling and nuts, I wondered who the cannon was for. Maybe Katniss had found one of the Careers alone or maybe she ran into that District 5 girl…..that's who we forgot from before! Maybe she even ran into Peeta or Thresh. Oh no, not Thresh. He was nice to me, but he probably would just see Katniss as an enemy.
I saw the light and heard the anthem go off as I looked up and saw the Capitol Seal. My heart beat quickened. Was it Katniss? God, I hope it wasn't. No, it was that boy from District 3. Perhaps he betrayed the Careers? Either way, Katniss and I are one step closer to victory. Suddenly, I heard a scream. It sounded like a girl. Who was it? I put my stuff together and raced from tree to tree to what it was. Finally, the screaming turned to calls for help. I looked down to see the District 5 girl hanging from a tree with her foot stuck to it by one of Katniss' game traps. However, what she was screeching about was the hungry looking bear-like creature walking towards her on all fours. 5 (that's what I'm gonna call her) saw me and begged me for help. I pulled a knife I found from my pack and jumped. I was aiming for the ugly thing's head , but my knife sunk right into its spine.
The creature let out a terrifying wail, then slumped to the ground, dead. I took a moment to catch my breathe then climbed up the tree she was stuck in.
"Get ready" I called down "I'm about to cut the rope!" She nodded. I slowly edged my knife back and forth and it snapped after a few seconds. 5 landed on her feet then nearly fell to her hands. I got to the ground to check on the girl.
"Are you okay?" I asked, a little concerned.
"I'm fine" She replied, still out of breathe. "Who set that damn trap? It's too simple to be of the Gamemakers' work." She questioned.
"Oh! That was Katniss' snare, but it was meant to catch game, not you." I said, resisting my urge to giggle.
"Oh, yeah,. You guys formed an alliance." She said. My eyes questioned her statement. "I prefer to keep tabs on my enemies, so I knew you guys had a plan and that you were working together."
"Well, you could join us. More allies means safer conditions, right?" I told her.
"What! You want a bandit like me working with you guys? There's no way that would last!" She coughed out.
"Well-" I began. Then we heard the cannon. I froze and 5 jumped to her feet. We glanced around to see what happened, but nothing was there. My mind immediately went to Katniss again. No, she wouldn't die that easily, she's out there, somewhere.
"I don't think that was your friend." 5 said. "I guess we can work together, at least until we find Katniss. I can't let a little girl like you walk in the woods alone." She continued with a smirk.
"I'm the little girl?" I echoed. "You may be older, but you're definitely smaller!" I replied with a shrill laugh. She stared at me cautiously then started laughing too. After a couple of minutes, we calmed down and started into the forest.
"By the way, Rue is your name, right?" She asked. I nodded. "Mine's Yua." We traveled by foot until she said we could easily be followed, so we climbed up a wide tree. I got to a high branch and looked for the stream.
"There it is!" I shouted to Yua. "There's my rendezvous point with Katniss!" Then I heard another cannon and I couldn't stop myself. "Katniss!" I screamed. "Katniss! Where are you?" I hopped from tree to tree as fast as I could. I heard Yua behind me, calling my name. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past me. I jumped down and hugged Katniss, hard. "Katniss! I was so worried about you! I heard those past 3 cannons and all I could think was that you were dead! I'm so glad to you okay."
"Prim, I mean, Rue! I thought you were dead. I'm happy to see you survived. You're 3rd fire didn't burn so I got worried and-" Katniss noticed Yua. She pushed me behind her and loaded her bow.
"Katniss, don't!" I yelled. "She's on our side!"
"Oh! Really? Sorry about that. Force of habit." Katniss apologized. She must have trusted my judgment. Either way, she lowered her bow. "I'm Katniss."
"My name is Yua." She said. Yua and I filled her in on how we teamed up. Then, Katniss told us about the explosion and of how the boy from 3 died.
"We should definitely watch out for Cato." Katniss said. "He's very strong and handy with that sword." It was nighttime and we had just finished off the last of the grooseling and some rabbits Katniss had shot. Yua was very skinny. She clearly hadn't been able to get enough food. She had seconds then we all climbed up a very large tree to rest. The sky lit up with the Capitol's symbol and the anthem played. The boy from 1's face appeared. What was his name again? Mark or Marv or something like that. Then Peeta's face appeared. I heard Katniss gasp and her crying a little. I turned towards and hugged her and patted her back.
"It's okay, Katniss." I said, calmingly. "You'll be okay. The pain will go away. I promise." She continued to cry into shoulder. Eventually, she fell asleep. I finally looked up, just in time to see Yua looking concerned while watching Katniss. Then she notices I'm watching her and her facial expression becomes almost bored. She shrugs and gets set to sleep. I smile to myself. Despite the deaths and sorrow, it's good to have allies who care.
Thanks for reading! If you have any ideas for Chp. 2, send them to me :)