Chapter 15

Plan of Action

Katniss

I stir slowly. I'm damp all over … either from sweat or dew. I'm on top of my sleeping bag. I'm groggy, very sore, and somewhat disoriented but I'm aware of my surroundings.

Aware of my surroundings enough to know Clint Barton is asleep right next to me. I'm very confused. He ran off with the bow like a dirty coward and I'm an idiot for ever trusting him – so why would he be here?

Clint lifts his head and looks at me, awake, and breaks into a huge smile. "Mornin', beautiful," he says under his breath. It's a Starkish thing to say and I almost hit him. "Or should I say evening?" It looks closer to evening.

"Hey Spruce, Katniss is awake!" a little voice calls. An unchanged boy's voice, I think. I lift my head and, sure enough, I see the little boy from 5 standing by me – Stephen is his name, I think.

"Oh good, we were really worried!" the dark, curly-haired boy from 7 says cheerfully. He's standing at a tree, tapping it for water. I don't know how he got a spile, but I'm jealous. There's dried blood stains on his shirt but he looks as cheerful as can be, and Clint and Stephen don't seem to be worried about anything in each other's company. I must still be dreaming. At least it's a pleasant dream now, if only Peeta was here it would be perfect.

The beautiful little girl from 11 comes running into the clearing with berries and roots. "You must be hungry," she says, and pushes them all into my hands.

"Were you … waiting on me?" I ask the gathered group.

"Well actually I was just helping with supper but you haven't had anything to eat in two days," Rue explains.

"Two days?" I ask, shocked.

"We were hoping for some soup for you … but I think Haymitch is drunk again," Clint teases. Everyone knows he's a drunk – they all saw him face plant at the Reaping, and remember mishaps from years past. I start to nibble on the roots Rue brought me.

It's a strange, strange supper for me – I eat the roots and berries quietly while Spruce roasts the groosling Clint apparently brought him some time earlier. The others chat as if they've known each other all their lives. I learn that Spruce wants epinephrine – whatever that is – for Stephen in case he has another severe attack. Rue and Stephen are fast friends even though they come from different worlds – they talk mostly to each other and sometimes they even finish each other's sentences. Clint laughs and jokes like he has with me all this time, but he gets serious when he mentions he thinks the girl from his district may be with Anthony Stark – he seems like he's very unsure whether that's comforting or not.

Finally, Stephen breaks the pattern of small talk. "So when are we going after Cato?" he asks eagerly.

"When Katniss is better," Spruce says chidingly.

"I'm fine now," I say, but that's a lie. I'm weak and I don't think I'd be much help on any mission.

"We'll give it a couple of days," Spruce says quickly.

"What are we going to do?" I ask.

"I'm apparently setting his food on fire," Spruce says. "Whilst these little squirrels are a distraction and you two cover me." Does he mean one of us using the awful bow Clint made? Also, I hate the idea of setting perfectly good food on fire, but I guess it'll force a confrontation.

"What if one of the 'little squirrels' gets caught? And is Cato the only Career left?"
"Drusa's out there somewhere too … we have to watch out for her," Rue says.

"Who's left?" I ask, thinking immediately of Peeta.

"Anthony Stark, the little girl from my district is out there somewhere, the girl from 5, the boy from 11, Drusa, Cato, Peeta, and us," Clint says, counting everyone off on his fingers.

"Peeta's still alive?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, down by the river I think," Rue says coyly. "Is all that true?"
"Is all what true?" I ask, trying to sound like I don't know.

"Are you two … in love?" she asks, sounding dreamy. Stephen rolls his eyes. Spruce looks at Clint nervously, and suddenly I know why Clint was sleeping by me and I just want to hit him. If Clint pulled the same crap as Peeta I'm going to punch him in the face.

"I want to hear more about this plan," I say evasively. Spruce breathes easier, Stephen approves, Rue apparently takes that as a yes and grins real big, and Clint … Clint looks jealous.

I very nearly hit him.

I stir slowly. I've been asleep in a tree. The first people I see are Spruce and the little ones. Clint has Spruce's sleeping bag, so Spruce just wears a knit cap pulled down low over his eyes. Rue and Stephen sleep with their heads on either of his shoulders like he's a human pillow – it's adorable.

I try not to think about what's going to happen to them.

I look over at Clint – he takes the night watch, which is why he sleeps most of the day when he isn't hunting. "I'll take the next watch," I tell him, barely loud enough for him to hear – I don't want to wake the others.

"You're still sick, you need your rest," he says back.

"I'm fine," I insist.

"Please – you're exhausted, I can tell," he says back, and he sounds annoyed. His eyes are fixed at the base of Spruce and the kids' tree, but his ears are probably peeled and I don't want to bother him with the questions I want to ask – I want to know why he stayed with me once he had the bow. I don't know if he'd tell me even if I asked. I want to know when he decided to rip off Peeta, but of course he wouldn't answer that, would he?

Speaking of Peeta – I try hard not to think about what's going to happen to him either.

I lean back against the tree and decide to pretend to be asleep. I keep my ears open – I know Drusa's still out there and I don't know how much help I'll be with the bow Clint made, but I'd rather have at least a fighting shot if she shows up.

The thing is, I really am exhausted, and almost as soon as my eyes are closed, I stop "pretending" and really do fall back asleep.

Spruce leaves us sleeping until pretty late in the day – I'm kind of annoyed at first but I'm grateful for the extra rest. I lay my head back against the tree – my neck is stiff and I have a headache. "Come on Sunshine, you can get your beauty sleep later," Clint calls to me from his tree as he climbs down.

"Shut up," I tell him, not able to think of anything wittier at the moment. Spruce, who's climbed into my tree to wake me up, smiles like he almost laughs but thankfully doesn't.

"I was thinking you could help me with some …" Spruce starts.

"I thought I would be hunting," I say quickly.

"Oh? Yeah – if you feel up to it," he says with a smile, and he actually looks kind of relieved. He climbs out of the tree even faster than I could and I follow. I see Stephen and Rue holding hands while they stand at the base of the tree, and I don't know if this is love or just friendship for them.

"You three be careful," I tell them as I follow Clint into the woods.

Clint looks up and smiles when I join him. "You sure you're up to hunting, Kat?" he asks. I almost tell him I hunt while feeling way worse, but of course I can't mention my hunting at home.

"Yeah – I'll go crazy sitting at camp," I answer instead.

He actually cut the ends off the bow he made so its closer to my size – I can use it much more easily now. "Why'd you adjust it for me instead of giving me the good one?" I ask, teasing.

"Because I'm selfish," he says flippantly. "We can trade if you want – our arms are about the same length and me cutting the ends off should help us both." I'm surprised he's not afraid I'll run away with it – I can't deny I'll be tempted to if he hands it to me. "But first – try that one for a while." He hands me a few of his arrows.

A rabbit scurries across our way, several hundred yards ahead – I take the shot. It tumbles into the brush, hit, and Clint cheers and runs for it. "Nice – it's through the eye!" he says as he kneels by it. He lifts it by the ears, and sure enough, the arrow, being the well-made and lethal piece of weaponry it is, went all the way through the unfortunate rabbit's head, but it went in through the eye. He slings it over his shoulder – he doesn't mind the fresh blood that's joining the stains on his shirt, apparently. I almost protest that its mine but that would sound childish, and if he's volunteering to carry it, I don't object.

A few hours later, we're walking along and, between us, we have four groosling and two rabbits (I got most of the birds). We're almost ready to head back – we want to get one more groosling so everyone can have their own. Clint says the others will certainly have berries and other edible plants gathered for us to eat along with the meat, and Stephen will probably be drinking the medicinal tea Spruce has been making for him.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask.

"Bad lungs – he can't breath sometimes. I guess the tea helps. Rue found the plant Spruce uses to make it. She's liable to show him up – she took care of you while you were out too," he explains. My chest gets tight – Rue's a healer like Prim. She has no business here. I also can't avoid the question anymore.

"Clint – why'd you stay?" I ask. He doesn't answer right away.

"Clint?"
"It's too soon – I didn't want to leave you."

"What do you mean too soon?"
"I mean … if I don't win, I want it to be you. You or one of the kids. I wanted to make sure you had a chance." I almost ask if he would have left me if all the Careers had been killed at that point – but I decide I don't want to know the answer. I don't think I can stand either one. "Why do you care who wins if you lose?" I ask instead.

"You have to ask?"

"Yes."
"My brother came home to me. I want Prim to have the same thing happen." I have no idea if he's telling the whole truth, but even if he's lying by omission I'm glad for it. He throws a rock into some bushes and stirs up some wild birds – I take the shot before he can and the last bird falls at our feet – I didn't get it through the eye this time but it'll still taste fine.

I'm suddenly hit with unwanted empathy for Clint's brother – I imagine if I win, and Prim got reaped again. He must be going insane now, and it'll probably kill him if Clint doesn't come home.

I push that thought to the back of my mind as we walk back towards camp. "You know Kat, it's not just that …" he says, and I just want him to keep his mouth shut. "You're all fire and …"
"Just don't, please," I cut him off. I don't think I can stand it, because I'm really starting to believe him.

"Kat …"
"That's not my name. My name is Katniss," I say sharply, even though I really don't mind. Maybe if I'm hateful to him, he won't be so keen on me – maybe he's an awful person and he'll show his true colors.

But there's not much time to hope for that outcome – we hear a scream from the direction of camp. We look at each other for one brief second, both filled with fear, and run like our lives depend on it. Thankfully, we're not far at all.

I come into the little clearing we've made into our camp just a few seconds before Clint, and see someone disappearing into the woods on the other side. I fire an arrow – I know I don't hit but I think I graze her cheek.

I give chase but I quickly find myself losing her trail in the woods – Clint's right behind me, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. I swat it away. "If I'd had the good bow, she'd be dead!" I shout and storm back into the clearing.

Spruce, Rue and Stephen are all safe and sound – up a tree. I breathe a sigh of relief as I look at them. Stephen's breathing funny and Spruce looks scared out of his mind. He's got a good grip on his axe like he was ready to use it.

"Is everyone okay?" Clint asks.

"You can see they're okay," I snap.

"Well excuse me for not making assumptions, princess," he says, and I have no idea why he calls me that.

"We're fine," Spruce says quickly, cutting off the fight, as he climbs down with Stephen. Stephen wraps his arms around Spruce's neck and Spruce just comes on out of the tree like its nothing – I'm very glad he's a gentle soul, considering he's much stronger than he knows. "I think she wanted to intimidate us more than anything – she threw the empty tracker jacker nest into the clearing." My face gets hot and my stomach tightens – that was clearly meant for me.

"I didn't know it was empty at first – that's why I screamed," Rue explains apologetically as she climbs down.

"No, that's good, Rue. It brought us back quick," I say and hug her. I agree with Clint – if I don't win, I want it to be one of the kids. Or Clint.

"We need to move," Clint says stiffly. He's still standing guard, with an arrow drawn in his bow.

"From now on, we need to sleep somewhere different every night," Stephen adds. I don't say that Drusa's probably been watching us, because I don't want to worry him, and besides he's right – we don't need to make it easy for her. We have strength in numbers for now, but eventually she'll get desperate enough. When that happens, I plan to kill her before she gets to any of my allies. I'll be ready.