CHAPTER 21!

Hey guys! There is going to be a series of three chapters of the 'first nights' in the arena. There will be one from Prim and Rue, one from Peeta and then a final one from Thresh and other tributes.
I want to get into the head of some of the tributes and what I think they would be thinking.
ENJOY!

~Amity Ravenclaw from District4

RUE POV

We ran. We are running. We will run. I don't think we will ever stop.
Prim built up a bit of stamina after all these days training and a hearty diet, so she can almost keep up. I managed to snatch up a pack on the edge and a sheet of plastic, but I couldn't risk her to get more. I don't think either of us would have lived if we did that.

The woods pass by us in flashes. Branches scratch my cheeks and if I took off my jacket they would get my arms as well.

I hear Prim panting beside me. We have stopped every few kilometres for water from the small pouch I managed to grab. A few drops each every few kilometres; that is all I allow us to have.

"We have to….huhhhhh…..stop", Prim is struggling to get out the words.

"We have to keep going until dark", I am determined to get as far away from those careers as I can.

"But, huh huh, I can't keep going for any longer", she is begging me now. "Can we at least walk?"

I relent finally. I feel sorry for her. She is not used to this, but I am. "Okay", I say gently.

She walks with light steps, but I can tell she is limping. She looks so tired now. The circles under her eyes have only darkened and her breathing is shallow and quick. I guess I can blame myself for that.

I remember that she won't be able to move much tomorrow if we keep going like this.

"Maybe we could set up camp in a tree somewhere", I wonder out loud while looking for suitable trees.

She looks at me with hope in her eyes. "That would be good", she says.

I look a few trees to my left and see a tree with high sturdy branches and thick leaves that will conceal us. "Come on", I say pointing at the tree. "That will do."

The tree proves difficult for Prim. Eventually though, with my help, she manages to climb up to a sturdy branch high up. The bushy green leaves will conceal us at nightfall, but for now we need to remain quiet. We are so far up thy will not be able to hear us whisper, but if we were to talk at normal volume, we would be dead before the sun finished setting.

We settle on a thick fork in the branches, we both easily fit due to our tiny figures.

I notice Prim squatting slightly like she is about to move and a scared look on her face as she looks around for anything strange. She is frightened; and to be honest, so am I.

I decide to try and distract her. "How about we see what's in this pack?"

Her head immediately turns towards mine. She nods her head slightly.

I pull the drawstring on the bag and pull it wide open. There isn't much in it.
There is another drinking container, empty though.

A small packet of dried fruit.

A roll of elastic and a small coil of wire.

A packet of 10 water crackers.

Then right at the bottom there is a thick wool blanket that will be wide enough to fit both me and Prim under it.

The sheet of plastic I picked up earlier is on a metre long and a metre wide, but it should keep rain off both our heads.

"Well", I sigh. "We better set up camp.

We manage to somehow set a little bed up with the wool blanket folded under us and coming up over our shoulders. I wrapped the elastic around us so that if either of us were to fall then the other one would be woken up. I then took the wire and used it to hang the sheet of plastic over our heads. It should keep the rain off us somewhat.

"Rue, do you mind if we have the rest of the water?" Prim is trying to be polite, but it is obvious she is thirsty.

"Sure, we can look for fresh water tomorrow."

I reach into the pack and bring out 2 crackers each and the small water pouch.

"A few sips okay?" I tell her.

She nods and carefully brings the nozzle up to her lips. I can immediately see some light return to her weary eyes. I feel guilty. I shouldn't have been so hard on her. I have been running my whole life and she has barely had to work. I shouldn't have made her run so far.

"I am sorry about the distance Prim", I start. "I should've stopped us when you told me."

She crunches down on her first cracker, and then looks at me in surprise. "It's okay, you were right to get us out of there fast."

PRIM POV

Our blanket is tucked around my shoulders. I think it's about 11 at the moment and I think Rue has been asleep for about 2 hours. I can't sleep. I keep on thinking about the ways in which I could die.

Cato could come after me swinging his sword at my legs. Clove could bury one of her knifes in my forehead. Marvel could put his spear through my heart.

She could make the nightmares go away. A tear slips down my cheek and I take a shaky breath in.

"Can't sleep?" Rues voice startles me. I could have sworn she was fast asleep.

I turn towards her. "Not really." I pause. She looks tired. "Sorry I woke you up."

She sighs. "I was never asleep Prim", she tells me in a whisper.

Despite myself I giggle. "I guess we'll just have to have an all-nighter."

She giggles back at me. We both need this, these small words of comfort.

"What do you do to fall asleep in District 11?" I ask her.

Her eyes turn sad. "I used to hug my sisters Fern and Willow close to me. As long as I had them, I knew everything would be okay."

Rue is crying now. Tears are slipping down her cheeks, shimmering in the moonlight.

Then we hear the music. The anthem. We both sit up immediately and look through the branches into the sky.

I watch as names appear in the sky. Faces appear, young children, all of them only a bit older than me. I know if it weren't for Rue, my blonde hair and blue eyes would be lit up in the sky.

There are 13 dead in the first day. There hasn't been that many for years. I guess I can count myself lucky. The symbol of Panem ends the slideshow and I settle back into the tree.

"What did you do to get to sleep in 12?" Rue asks me.

"I used to have nightmares all the time back home", I tell her. I feel my eyes watering at the thought of that small bed. How I wish I was there now. "Katniss held me until they went away."

"She sounds like the best kind of sister", Rue tells me.

"Yeah, she is really the best kind." I start to breathe in and out deeply as tears come out of my eyes like rain.

Rue holds me then. She is the only type of family I have now, in here anyways.

As I feel myself start to drift off I remember that this has to be short term. I really hope I won't have to be the one to kill her. I need her. My sister.

THIS WAS MY LAST UPDATE UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS! Sorry it took so long! I wanted to develop the relationship of Prim and Rue in this chapter. I will try to write some more while on holiday, but I won't be able to post anything.

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