12: Day 6

Katniss

I can hear them coming after me and they're gaining on me, getting closer by the second. I don't know how this happened – one minute I was peacefully climbing out of the tree where I slept, on my way to check the snares I set last night; the next minute, three of the careers explode out of the bushes behind me and I'm running for my life. How did they even find me?

My only choice is to climb a tree and try to hit them from above with my arrows, like last time. About fifty metres away, I see a tree which would be perfect for the job – lots of skinny branches which could hold my weight, but not the careers'.

I'm about twenty metres from the tree when one of them hits me. Searing pain clouds my vision for a second and I look down to see one of Clove's knives has caught my right hip. In the split-second of lost concentration, I manage to lose my footing, tripping over a loose tree root. Before I even hit the ground, I'm scrambling to get up again, but another wave of pain hits me as a second knife enters my body – my leg this time.

I struggle to get up and before I can even get my feet on the ground, the careers have got me surrounded. I reach for an arrow but my hands only make it halfway before I feel Cato's sword against my throat.

"Uh, uh, uh... I don't think so," he mocks. He nods to the boy from District One, who swiftly comes up behind me and grabs the bow from my hand. My heart is pounding in my chest as I stand there weaponless, surrounded by three careers.

Clove approaches me and yanks the knife out of my leg. I groan in pain and my leg collapses under me. I'm sprawled in the dirt at Cato's feet, blood pouring out of my wounded leg onto the ground. He looks around at his allies, an evil smirk on his face.

"Get out of here, I'll meet you back at the Cornucopia. I'm finishing her off myself" he growls at the others and they reluctantly slink off into the trees.

Cato rounds on me, the grin on his face growing even larger. He kneels down beside me and touches his hand to the side of my face, almost tenderly.

"Now, what am I going to do with you, Girl on Fire?" he whispers, bringing his hand lower, wrapping it around my throat. Suddenly, without warning, his other hand is on my hip and he presses his fingers into my wound. I manage to suppress a scream, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much pain he's causing me.

The pressure of his hand around my throat increases. Gradually the fuzzy blackness starts to creep around the edges of my vision as I lose consciousness. I'm going to die...

Gale

I can do nothing but watch in horror. I know she was heading for that three and she would've made it if it wasn't for the girl with the knives. I can feel the pain myself when the knife strikes her hip, causing her to fall.

I don't want to believe it, but I can't tear my eyes away when Cato sends his allies away and wraps his huge hand around her neck. He presses on the wound in her hip and I can see the pain and fear in her eyes as she tries not to scream; her strength amazes me. Tears are rolling down my face and I gasp for breath when I see her eyes roll back as she loses consciousness. This is it...

Suddenly, Cato slumps to one side, falling to the ground and releasing his death-grip on her throat. Blood trickles from his temple, down the side of his face. What happened there?

The camera moves and shows a small figure hiding in a nearby tree – it's Rue! She is breathing heavily and holding a slingshot in her hand. Steffi, who is up high in a tree a little further away, looks at Cato in shock, then turns his awed gaze to Rue. She must've knocked out the career with a stone from her slingshot!

The youngsters carefully climb down their trees and approach the two unconcious tributes. Cato is groaning and starting to wake up and I pray that they are able to avoid him. I can hardly believe it when Steffi picks up Cato's dropped sword and, with surprisingly little hesitation, swings it down onto the older boy's neck. Steffi is not strong but the sword is sharp enough; the blow severs Cato's neck and the cannon fires.

Steffi looks down at the body of the career, the man he just killed, and bursts into tears.

My surprise and relief at the sudden death of Cato is shortlived, as the camera shows Katniss, still unconcious and losing blood at an alarming rate. Rue approaches her and tries to clean her wounds with water and strips of fabric. She roots around inside Katniss' bag and finds the bandages and first aid equipment from the Cornucopia. Ever so gently, she wraps bandages around Katniss, to cover the wound on her hip, which is the less serious of the two injuries. Her leg however is still bleeding profusely.

Rue shouts to Steffi, who is still sat in the dirt crying, to take his shirt off. He eventually does so, and throws it to Rue, who dampens it and presses it against the wound on Katniss' leg, trying to staunch the bleeding. A minute or so later, a silver parachute floats down beside Rue. The young girl opens the pack to reveal an assortment of medical equipment, including a sterile needle and thread, and a large padded bandage. A look of nausea flashes across Rue's face as she realises what she must do – she has to stitch up the wound if Katniss is going to survive.

I'm glad that it's Sunday and that I got such a good haul yesterday, because there's no way I'm leaving this room today.

Steffi

I killed someone.

I'm a murderer.

I'm only thirteen years old and I'm a murderer.

Early yesterday morning, we heard the careers pass our cave. With so many dangerous tributes nearby, we decided that we have to move somewhere which would be easier to defend, in case someone were to find us. Last night, we decided to sleep up in the trees; Rue showed me how to strap myself in, saying that she'd seen Katniss doing it before.

This morning we were woken by a commotion below. Katniss was smashing through the undergrowth, with three angry careers on her tail. I closed my eyes and prayed that they wouldn't look up and see us above them.

When they caught up with her, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could see that Katniss was outnumbered and injured. Surprisingly, two of the three careers then turned back the way they'd come.

I turned to look at Rue, only to find that she wasn't there. She was swinging gracefully through the trees, landing in the tree closest to the clearing, where Cato was now strangling Katniss. In the blink of an eye, Rue whipped out her slingshot and fired a large rock at Cato, who fell unconcious to the ground.

The next few minutes are an absolute blur in my mind. Somehow I managed to get hold of a sword and used it to kill Cato, but I don't know how I did that. I wish I hadn't.

I don't know how long I've been sitting here crying. Rue snaps me out of it for a second, shouting at me to give her my shirt. I peel it off, throw it in her direction and then sit back down, staring at the dead boy in front of me. Blood is pooling around his neck and the air is thick with the smell of it, making me feel ill.

Some logical part of my brain tells me that I did the right thing. Cato has killed before and would have killed again, without a second thought. He would've had no problem with killing me, or Katniss, or Rue...

I look over to Rue. Lovely Rue, who saved my life. She's trying to stitch up the wound in Katniss' leg but looks like she might throw up any minute. Once the wound is sealed, she presses the big padded bandage to it and secures it with another bandage.

As I watch her work, it dawns on me that we are in the final eight tributes. I can't believe I've got this far and I realise that I would never have made it if not for Rue. I owe her my life and I will repay her.

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay for this chapter. It was really hard to write and I really hope it didn't disappoint! Next chapter coming soon!