Chapter 10: Ally

The next time I tune in to the Games, it's after dinner, my first one in days. She had to stuff the food in my mouth herself, after she caught me redistributing my food. How could I indulge myself while Katniss was scraping by?

"Gale," my mother had said, "Katniss's family is eating, even though they are worried sick about her." Are they? I honestly haven't been talking to them, just dropping game and materials off, and quickly running off. I didn't like seeing the house so empty.

The TV shows a recap of what had happened. The fire caused much damage to the players, including Katniss, where I see many burns on her, and I wince. I know how much she hates burns, she can't even see them, she told me. They are showing live that Katniss is up in a tree, as the Careers crowd around. Including Baker Boy.

I am stunned as she smiles at them. Still sarcastic. "How's everything with you?" she says cheerfully.

The Careers are just as shocked as I am and that Cato says, "Well enough. Yourself?" "It's been a bit warm for my taste," she say. I can "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?"

"Think I will," says Cato.

"Please, if Katniss can top me at climbing, no way can that monstrosity catch up to her," I say. My mother laughs.

"Here, take this, Cato," says the girl from District 1 (Glimmer?), and she offers him the silver bow and sheath of arrows that was in the Cornucopia. I hadn't noticed. Katniss glares at Peeta (amusing) as he busies himself with his knife, which he is apparently so good at. Coward, look her in the eye. Cato gets on the tree as Katniss begins to climb at a much more rapid pace.

"You were right, she is like a squirrel Gale!" Posy says. Why she is so pleased, I have no idea. Maybe it's the whole furry animal thing. Girls.

"Three...Two...One," I mutter, and the idiot plummets next to his broken branch. "Right on cue." He begins swearing with words I've only heard at the Hob and mines, and I cover Posy's ear as she covers Rory's.

"It's not like I don't know anything he's saying, Mom," Rory complains. "Gale taught me everything."

"Stop bluffing," I glare at him. So I stubbed my foot this one time (understatement), and it had hurt like hell. So what was I was supposed to do? It's not my fault Mom walked in at the end of the milder portion of my rant. And all I had said was hell. And shit. And fuck. And a few other words that begin with a b and some other letters. She made me wash my mouth out with soap. As if she never cursed. The idiots grumble to each other until a frustrated Peeta says, "Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning." Like you will.

She puts some water on her wound, and I flinch as I realize that she's in pain again. She doesn't get any sleep but the camera reveals she has company. That Rue girl came to the same tree and just watched everything that had happened. Man, that girl is good. I don't feel worried. I don't think this girl is going to hurt Katniss. They make eye contact for a while, until she points at a wasps nest. Templesmith says (I occasionally listen to him), "Well lookie, here. We've got ourselves a tracker jacker nest."

The hairs on the back of my neck stand as I look in horror at my family.

"Shit," slips out from my mouth, as Posy giggles. Then she turns pink when we frown at her. Tracker jackers is something we never messed with. Enough stings and you go either mad or you end up dead. And here Katniss is, as the old saying goes, caught between a rock and a hard place. Except much more deadly. Rue is gone, when Katniss looks for her. Did Rue come just to warn her? Suddenly, Katniss has a determined look and whips out her knife, climbs up, and waits for something.

"No, she isn't," I murmur. As the anthem plays, she is. Almost. Then she returns, and she finds ointment. Yes! She must have some sponsors, if this can be afforded. I remember Greasy Sae's collection. I wonder how that's going. I must ask. How are they getting it all to the Capitol? "Oh, Haymitch," she whispers. "Thank you." Did she really think that she was all alone? She sighs in relief, as do I.

I realize we have been watching the Games throughout the night, and Rory and Posy have fallen asleep. "Mom go to sleep. I'll let you know if anything happens." Though before I finish the sentence, she's out. Katniss whispers the girl's name, and gestures to show her plan. So she is going to finish. Of course. The camera shows Rue flying from tree to tree and Katniss smiles.

It doesn't last long. She quickly saws, but the jackers are coming out, and one finds a target on Katniss's knee. The nest crashes down, as the residents buzz angrily, and more find their way to Katniss.

"Oh, fuck!" I gasp, and my mother stirs, her eyes quickly widen.

"She's done it," she says in awe. The Careers panic, and most of them scatter to the lake. Glimmer and some District Four girl, are not so lucky. Glimmer twitches to stillness, in hysterics as Katniss watches in silent horror. The other girl is slowly dying out of her view, but no one seems to care. Katniss's skin is in terrible shape, but she runs to retrieve the bow and arrows when the cannon fires, typical, and she get the key to winning this game. Playing her biggest strength. The other cannon fires, as a strange look passes over her face. Oh no. She must be hallucinating. Please let the tributes be far away, please, please, please! I plead silently. I exchange a look of panic with my mother. I know this can't be the end. She will make it out alive, I repeat for the thousandth time. My only solace.

"Do it!" she yells fiercely at herself (well at least I think so) and yanks her weapons out. Someone comes in as she positions an arrow. But she stumbles. Shit! She just has to be dizzy now! Crap it's Peeta! Oh wait, it's only Peeta with a spear (where did that come from)?. She's safe (for a bit).

"What are you still doing here?" he scolds her? She stares at him, utterly confused. "Are you mad?" He pokes her with the shaft of the spear. She's not an animal, Peeta. "Get up! Get up!" she gets up, but he still pushes her. Seeing that she's still confused, he shoves her hard, clearly desperate. But why? "Run!" he screams. "Run!"

Cato joins them, wielding a sword. So that's why. Maybe I'm confused as well. She finally bolts out of there, screaming her head off, and I feel the tears coming. It hurts me, so terribly, to see her in this much pain. In any pain, for that matter. She finally crouches, and then passes out, as do I.

I wake up at sometime around the afternoon. Good thing it's Sunday, my off day. My mother shoves food at me. I realize I haven't been to Katniss's place, but conveniently, I supplied them extra well yesterday.

"Eat."

I reluctantly take a bite and look at her, waiting for news.

"She's alive." I sigh in relief. "But the poor thing, she has all those stings, and had so many nightmares. She was screaming the whole time she was asleep. She said Prim and Gale a lot. She misses you."

"In her nightmares," I mumble. But at least she worries for me. She cares. I don't think she would have been so restless if she had been dreaming about herself.

"So that's where they left off of then?"

"They left it off, when Cato confronted Peeta." I hold my breath. Do I want him dead or alive? "They fought. Peeta barely got away, he has a huge wound in his leg." Well, he's alive. To my surprise, I'm relieved.

"I'm not sure how long he will last, I hope he doesn't get blood poisoning. He sure has helped Katniss a lot."

"Yeah." I could have helped her even more.

"Gale, I know you're blaming yourself. I know you. But you need to understand, what would have happened if you did. And there can't be two victors. You know she needs you. She would have never forgiven herself."

"Yeah," I replied again.

The next two days are agony. Each time I check on the Games, Katniss is still asleep, thrashing about, in mental pain. My body joins her, and we both suffer, as does her family.

I'm at her house when Katniss finally comes to. Our heads lift up when we hear Katniss say, "You know, they're not the only ones who can form alliances."

Rue pauses, before she asks, "You want me for an ally?"

"Of course," I say. Prim and her mother stare at me. "Well, who does Rue look like? Prim! She obviously looks at her like she does Prim here. it's her piece of home in the arena."

"You think so?" Prim says, smiling a little. "I never would have noticed. But it's going to break Katniss's heart when she dies."

"Well Katniss is certainly not going to kill her. She just has to die before then," I say bluntly. Prim barely shudders. These past few weeks, she's grown stronger. She's accepted what must happen. I still don't want her to see her sister kill though. Do I?

"Why not?" Katniss asks, as I jump. For a moment I thought she had answered to me. "You saved me with those tracker jackers. You're smart enough to still be alive. And I can't seem to shake you anyway," she says with a friendly smile."You hungry? Come on then, I've had two kills today."

Rue hesitatingly goes near Katniss and says, "I can fix your stings."

"Can you?" Katniss asks. "How?"

She digs in the pack she carries and pulls out a handful of leaves. I've seen these before at Katniss's house. The one time a tracker found me. That's when we learned to be careful, and I remember now that I've hallucinated pretty badly, and Katniss had to drag me, kicking and screaming. I had only just met Katniss a few weeks before then. Seems like a century ago. "Where'd you find those?"

"Just around. We all carry them when we work in the orchards. They left a lot of nests there," says Rue. "There are a lot here, too."

"That's right. You're District Eleven. Agriculture," Katniss says. "Orchards, huh? That must be how you can fly around the trees like you've got wings." Rue grins back at Katniss. "Well, come on, then. Fix me up." Rue chews up some leaves and places the goo on Katniss's knee. Well, as long as it works."Ohhh." Katniss sighs.

Rue laughs. "Lucky you had the sense to pull the stingers out or you'd be a lot worse."

"Do my neck! Do my cheek!" Katniss pleads. As Rue complies, Katniss laughs in pleasure. I close my eyes, glad that Katniss has found some help, from a mini Prim.

"I've got something for that." Katniss says, and covers Rue's her arm with the burn medicine.

"You have good sponsors," Rue says longingly.

"Have you gotten anything yet?" Katniss asks. Rue shakes her head. "You will, though. Watch. The closer we get to the end, the more people will realize how clever you are." Katniss definitely sees Prim in this girl, Katniss handles her the same way.

"You weren't joking, about wanting me for an ally?" she asks.

"No, I meant it," Katniss replies.

"Okay," Rue says, and holds out her hand. They shake. "It's a deal."

Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna

He laughs at the girl teasing the Careers. That girl sure does have spunk. When the girl looks at the boy, he can't help as he snorts, earning a horrified look from Effie. Effie doesn't know how to reprimand Haymitch. How could Haymitch laugh, at a time like this? Doesn't he care?

Cinna allows himself a small smile, through his constantly tensed up body. Oh, his girl on fire. He frowns, as he blames himself yet again, for his outfit as the excuse to burn her. And him.

But the three are far from amused when they see the two suffer. Both mentally, and physically. Surely one of them will make it out alive?

Haymitch winces as he watches the boy. Effie and Cinna smile at her choice of an ally, but Haymitch is too preoccupied with the boy. Haymitch knows what he promised. But doesn't he still have the right to care? They assess the ally.

"Ah yes, I remember her," Cinna says. "She had a lovely outfit, it played her strength very well."

Effie says, "She's absolutely adorable! Amazing how she flies around!"

"She'll be a fine resource," Haymitch says. "Of course, we'll have to let her go."

The three return to being somber.