Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games just my original characters

Enjoy reading the penultimate chapter of Rue's Story!

I awake just before dawn and Katniss is still sleeping, I suppose she must be tired after everything she has been through so far so I leave her to continue resting and go to try and find some food for breakfast. This time of day is perfect, the birds are singing and the sun can just about be seen over the horizon - I hope to see many more of these sunrises. Because the current time and place would be useful for somebody to jump out on me, I don't want to stray far from Katniss but I manage to get far enough away without stopping being able to see her to find some large eggs, I think that they are safe but I can't be sure. Once I return to the clearing I hear a sudden boom of a cannon which wakes Katniss at once,

"Who could that be?" she says as she slowly wakes up from her sleep

"Anyone who is left I suppose which is the boy from District One, both from Two, Thresh, the boy from three, Peeta, the boy from Ten and us," we both know that there is one more person but I cannot remember her District, "I found some eggs for us to eat for breakfast - and I think they are safe,"

"Great!" Katniss replies and I hand one to her not willing to risk cooking them because if that was another death then it is pretty likely the careers have recovered from their near miss with the bees and are ready to continue playing. We eat our eggs quickly and quietly with the leftover meat from last night, they are not very nice raw but they will fill us up for today,

"So Rue, are you ready?" Katniss asks and I am confused, but I will do what ever she says,

"Ready for what?" I ask,

"Ready to destroy the careers' food?" this is shocking but I am very excited to do it and to stop those careers from winning the games when it could be someone who really deserves it like me or Katniss,

"Really? How?"

"No idea yet," she tells me, "But I am sure we can discuss it whilst we hunt.

I am useless at hunting but we use the time well anyway as I tell Katniss everything about the careers' base by the lake which I saw one night when she was sleeping. I only saw it very briefly but it was simple enough with the huge pile of supplies and the boy from Three guarding it closely so that they do not kill him.

"So is the food simply out in the open?"

"Yes it is and the boy seems barely armed,"

"Strange," she says and I agree. We dig for roots and berries and I tell her about mother and Willow and she tells me about Prim, her sister whom she volunteered for to come to the games. I told her how nobody volunteered for me which surprised her as she would have,

"I like to sing at home, when I am with Willow or sometimes when I am up in the trees with the mockingjays - which is the reason I love your pin,"

"Really? You have mockingjays?"

"Yes, we have them all over Eleven and when I sing to them they sing back,"

"What do you mean," she says,

"When I am in the highest branches of the tallest trees I sing a special song to them," I open my mouth and sing the four note tune I have not sung for a very long time, "They ca be dangerous, but I still think they are wonderful,"

"Here," Katniss unclasps her pin, "Have this, it will mean more to you than me,"

"Oh no I couldn't; that is the reason I trusted you in the first place and besides, I like seeing it on you. I have this anyway," I pull out the necklace I got from Willow and show it to Katniss, "My sister gave it to me," I tell her, "It is a good luck charm,"

We continue finding bits and pieces and discussing a plan which is finalised by lunch and we are ready to depart by the afternoon. I will light three campfires in turn to beckon the careers away from the supplies whilst Katniss goes to destroy them. We will meet back where we first met for dinner. Before we separate I teach her the mockingjay call and say, "When you hear the mockingjays sing it means that I a okay but I just cannot come quite yet,"

"There are mockingjays here?" she asks,

"Hundreds," I reply, I hug her and she hugs me back,

"See you for dinner if everything works and goes to plan she says,"

"Be careful," I say,

"And you," with that, we go.

I walk for about half a kilometre and it is getting darker now so it is harder for me to see where I am. With me is all of the wood I need for the first campfire and light the pile of wood just until the smoke from the orange flame has gone above the tree tops. Voices are coming from the lake and so are footsteps so I know that they have seen the fire and are on their way. I must make a move fast or they will catch me so I run in another direction for a while until I reach a clearing similar to the one I was in with Katniss but in another area of the woods. This looks like the perfect place to light a fire. As I prepare the wood it starts to rain so I doubt I will be able to actually light it until it stops but I will be okay as I am now very far away from the first fire. It takes almost an hour I think for the rain to stop and the wood to dry but it seems like much longer, I finally light it into orange flames but as the wind blows towards me so does the smoke and before I know what is going on I am on the floor and there is darkness. Maybe this is death, maybe this is what it is like to die? The smoke is in my lungs and I can feel no more.

Suddenly my eyes snap open and I realise that I am no longer in the clearing with the fire but somewhere else near to Katniss and it is morning, it takes me only a matter of seconds to realise all of that but as soon as I have I realise that I am tangled up in a net. I have been trapped! But who by? My question is soon answered when the District One boy looms above me with a spear and I scream and scream - struggling to escape. Katniss appears at the enterance to the clearing and I reach out of the net,

"Katniss!" I scream, then the spear is plunged into my body.

Katniss has shot the boy in the neck and runs over to me,

"Are there any more Rue? Are there anymore?"

"No," I reply quietly with tears streaming down my face because of the agonising pain. "Did you blow up the food," I wheeze,

"Every last bit," she says,

"You have to win Katniss,"

"I will, for both of us,"

A cannon goes but it is not for me but for the boy from District One, mine will be following soon after though,

"Don't go," I hold her hand tightly,

"Of course Rue. I'm not going anywhere,"

The final word I can utter before it hurts too much to speak is, "Sing," Katniss hesitates for a moment but then begins to sing a beautiful lullaby,

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe and here it's warm

And here the daisies guard you from every harm

My eyelids shut and I think of mother and Willow, how they are watching me fade away before their eyes, I think of Katniss and how she wishes she could have saved me. I want to cry but I have no breathe left to do anything but listen to the final line of her song.

And here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

A/N: *sob-sob*

This was a very difficult chapter to write because I really did not want to kill Rue off as I have become even more fond of her than I already was. Please review it would mean the world to me if you can tell me what you think of this story and there will be one more chapter after this which is a letter from her sister. I may write a sequel about Willow when she is older, should I?

Thanks for reading,

Rueflower7 xx