"Katniss! Katniss!" Rue cries out not far off in the distance.
Without hesitating Katniss responds, "Rue!" letting the girl know she is near. Her shout not only warned Rue of her location, but also any other tributes looking for prey.
Katniss follows the consistent cries of Rue. Bow ready in hand, Katniss spots the girl from District 11 as she nears the clearing. Rue is lying the ground hopelessly entangled in a net.
"Rue, it's okay. It's okay" Katniss tries to calm the girl who resembled her little sister Prim. She quickly kneels beside her, laying her bow on the ground to grab the knife resting in her belt.
Katniss cuts through the mesh enough for Rue to climb out of the entanglement.
"Thank you" Rue gasps as she hugs Katniss for saving her life. Slightly shocked, Katniss hesitates for only a second before hugging Rue back.
"Katniss!" Rue screams.
Katniss knows from the shear terror in Rue's voice that something is terribly wrong. Her sisterly instinct takes over as she moves in front of Rue to block whatever danger lie ahead.
In a split second Katniss arms herself with her bow and arrow and fires in the direction Rue is pointing. She hits her target square in the neck killing him instantly before he can realize what happened. But not before a spear leaves his hands.
As if in slow motion, Katniss sees the District 1 boy's spear plunge in to her body. The pain is like nothing she had ever experienced. Before this instant Katniss had always thought that burns were the worst kind of pain. She was wrong.
Katniss falls to her knees. The rest of her body follows. But before her head hits the forest floor, Rue quickly catches her. Crouching before her, Rue gently holds Katniss upper torso in her lap.
Katniss feels a warm liquid forming a small puddle around her. She lifts her trembling hand to find the source. She meets the shaft of the spear, with the spearhead buried deeply in her stomach.
This is it, she thinks. This is the end. I lost the Hunger Games and have failed Prim. I'm so sorry Prim.
"K-Katniss?" Rue asks terrified.
"Hey" Katniss whispers. Rue is barely able to catch the word.
"Please don't go" Rue begs. Tears forming in her eyes.
"I c-can't stay much longer" Katniss replies with a calm voice, trying to mask her pain and fear from Rue.
Watching Katniss accept her fate, tears stream down Rue's face.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn't ha-"
"No, Rue. It's not your fault" Katniss finds Rue's hand and grips it with her remaining energy. Rue tightens her grip. "P-Promise me something?"
"Anything." Tears now pouring down Rue's cheeks.
"Promise me you'll win."
"Of course…for the both of us." Rue let's out a saddened smile.
"Good" Katniss weakly returns the smile.
What a way to go, Katniss thought. At least it wasn't the fire balls the gamemakers sent. That would have been a laugh for the Capitol people. The girl on fire…literally.
Katniss was getting tired. And desperately wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. She knows what that means. No awaking. Besides the fact that she didn't want to leave Rue and the other important people in her life. Prim. Peeta. Gale. Her mother. The pain was excruciating. It felt like someone had reached inside of her body and was trying to yank her vital organs out. The pain was excruciating. The pain was unbearable. The pain!
Katniss had once seen her mother treat a patient who was impaled by a mining shaft. Her mother said that there wasn't much they could do for him. He was a goner. But at least the injury was so severe that he didn't feel anything.
"I-It hurts, Rue." Katniss let out a small smile.
Rue looked surprised by the slightly optimistic tone in Katniss' voice. But she quickly understood. Being from District 11, agricultural workers had their fair share of injuries as well.
Relieved, Rue lets out a muffled chuckle mixed with her crying gasps. She has a chance. Katniss has a chance of surviving.