A/N: Do I update these TOO much? If I do, sorry, and school is starting soon so I won't have much time to post. Once again, if you enjoyed my fanfics, leave a review! It's always nice to see someone's opinion, nice or not. Happy Hunger Games!
They are really going to stay here. It's been three hours, I believe. Night has just fallen and they've lit a small fire to keep them warm. Peeta's demanded to take night-watch. He occasionally glances at us, but he keeps his face so straight that I can't tell if he's making sure we're okay or making sure we're still up there. The positions rotate every hour. When it's Cato's turn, he strokes Clove's hair while Glimmer stares at her with envy. We make sure to tease each tribute. "Oh, Peeta looks like he's after Clove." Rue says with a smile. Cato looks at Peeta defensively, who looks up at us. "I bet Glimmer's angry. Two guys going after Clove, but no one for the poor blonde girl from One." we say when she's finishing her night-watch. We don't tease Clove about Cato, but instead we talk about her aim. "You'd think a Career could actually hit something." I say with a grin. Clove throws one of the poisonous berries at us, which bounces off the tree and into the firepit. She must be trying to prove us wrong, as she slits the throats of passing lizards.
"Marvel, it's your turn." she whispers. He refuses for a while, but eventually gets up and sits next to Glimmer, who is under the tree. We don't even get a chance to tease him, as he falls asleep after a few minutes. "We need to get rid of them." Rue whispers under her breath. "But how…" I stare around us. There's nothing we can use. If we throw the two knives we have, what will we use to fight the others? And what if we miss, and wake them all up? "You could jump on their necks." I utter. "You can leap onto one of their necks, and then scuttle back up like nothing happened." Rue stares at me in disbelief. I don't even know how I came up with that one. Mother must be so proud, knowing her daughter is making plans to kill a group of kids with her partner-in-crime. "Ok." she smirks.
We look at each tribute. Cato and Clove are too far away. Peeta is even further. Marvel is the closest, but he's leaning against the tree. That leaves Glimmer, and she's lying down in a perfect position. "Remember, right back up." I whisper. She takes out the knife that Clove lodged in her backpack and tightens her grasp around it. I peer down below. She's on the tip of her toes, about to leap down when I grab her wrist and momentarily pull her back. "Wait for the anthem. It'll hopefully block out the noise of any cannons." I say. "And the screams, if there are any." Rue adds. A few moments later, the anthem begins. "Good luck." I whisper. I watch her leap down from the tree. She plants her feet on Glimmer's neck, and even from up here, I swear I can hear a crack. It's very silent, but there is a cannon. Rue takes her backpack and bow and crawls up the tree. "We did it!" I mouth after the anthem finishes. I find my nails have dug deep into the bark of the tree. I don't know if I'm scared of the height or if the Careers will notice or not.
"Let's sleep. I think we deserve rest." Rue says. We tie the sleeping bag to the tree branch we are sitting on. It's wide enough to hold us like a cradle. We can both fit in, so we sleep under the moonlight until we hear yelling. "Glimmer's dead!" Marvel says. "How?" I hear feet moving on the foliage that has settled. "Her neck's broken. They killed her somehow." Cato replies. They argue about if they will leave or not. "We've got to go back to the Cornucopia eventually. Who knows if people have been eating our food or not." Peeta sighs. Cato orders Marvel and Peeta to watch us while he drags Glimmer's body away with Clove. "We'll be in the Cornucopia soon." Clove says. "Glimmer's so heavy!" I hear her groan after a minute or so.
I pack up the backpack while Rue chats to Peeta and Marvel. "Shame your district partner died. She's not that much of a looker anyways." It takes a while for me to shove the large sleeping bag inside, but when I finally do, I join in on the conversation. "I suggest you leave now before we step on your necks too." Rue and I giggle. I comb my hair with my fingers, then re-tie it into a braid. "We're not going anywhere." Marvel says.
Rue puts her lips to my ear and whispers really quietly, "We're going to jump from tree to tree. Just a few." My eyes widen in a response. I have no clue which is more dangerous; tree leaping or neck-snapping, but both have been done by Rue. Not me. I shake my head furiously. "What if you climb up a bit higher, and I pretend you're with me." I look above me. There's a few sturdy branches. I reluctantly climb higher. My heart beats so fast I'm scared I will have a heart attack. "When they leave, climb down and hide in that bush down there." is the last thing Rue says to me before leaping to a tree.
She glides across the air, like a bird in the sky. "Next one, Prim." she lies. But the boys below believe us, apparently. "What are they doing?" Peeta asks. CRUNCH! "I think they're jumping across branches!" Marvel yells. They chase after Rue, which gives me enough time to slowly slide down the tree. I graze my arms and legs, which now sting really bad. I slide in the bush and begin to weep. She didn't deserve to die. What was I thinking? I'm such a bad person. I deserve to die, not some girl that was going along with someone else's plans. I blow my nose on a leaf nearby. When my hysterical crying calms down, I peer at the tree we were in. It's a willow. I remember a song-Katniss taught it to me once, but the lyrics don't come to my mind at the moment. I don't bother to get my sleeping bag out, I fall asleep in the bush, until I wake up to see a clear view of the night sky. The stars glimmer in the night sky. It's beautiful, until I see something falling. It's a person, but not any person, its Rue. She lands on my neck and laughs as she does. I hear my bones crack before I can react. I can even hear a cannon. But somehow, I'm still alive.
