Hello everyone! I can't believe it's almost Christmas omg, I swear it was march just a minute ago, we really lost an entire year smh. Things are getting a bit hectic in my life, with applying to colleges and taking tests, basically just going through my senior year during a pandemic hasn't been the most fun. I'm just glad I can still write these chapters and talk to all of you guys! Anyway, let's look at some reviews!
Daniela Marcelino- I like how this is evolving so far. On the one side I'm glad we didn't have to go through Rue's death right away.
I loved how Lily reacted when she realized that Kat wasn't already in love with Peeta at that time and then you skipped to a sweet intimate moment with those two just to make an even bigger contrast... Loved it! oh and that small bit about her reaction to the canon and then like "oh wait, I exist!"
I'm glad you liked it! I was worried that if we officially met Rue and watched her die all in the same chapter, it would feel a bit rushed, so I decided to space it out a little. And I love writing sweet moments with Katniss and Peeta, they're my favs. And yes, haha, I feel like I would think something dumb like that if I was me, so I through that little forgetful moment in there.
Eliza Bea- Great job on this chapter! That little piece about Kaden's first birthday was so sweet. I'm guessing you got that from the Epilogue in Mockingjay? Also, it's gonna be a while, but I'm so excited for Lily to watch Peeta announce Katniss is pregnant before the Quarter Quell!
Thank you! And yes actually, I wanted to expand on it a little lol. And omg that would be so much fun to write!
Jaelynnrose810- I Really liked it! I wish it was longer, but it was still amazing!
Me too tbh lol, it takes a surprisingly long time to write a basic size chapter. I really do wish they could all be way longer, but when I do have the time to make them longer I will try my best to do that!
And now, onto the story!
~Jillian
Xoxo
(Lily's POV)
"Why isn't she getting up?" I mumble quietly, staring at my mom's weak form. After the explosion she caused, I had expected her to immediately get up and run away, but she can barely move. I breathe a sigh of relief when she begins to push herself up, only to look around deliriously. Some horrifying thought seems to dawn on her as she falls to the ground once again. I can only guess how dizzy she must be, she definitely hit her head on impact. I can tell from the dark blood that is slowly making its way down her neck.
Katniss throws on her hood, keeping the blood from dripping onto the ground, and begins to crawl. Slowly but steadily, Katniss crawls away from the scene of her crime, stopping behind some bushes just as the careers emerge from the woods.
Cato is absolutely furious. The camera focuses on his almost beet-red face. Adrian lets out a laugh he can't control, causing Celia, who can barely control her own giggles, to lightly shove him to the side. Cato screams and yells, shouting curse words I've never even heard before into the open air.
"What a big baby," Adrian states, "someone's a bit used to having things go his way."
"Seriously, he's got some unresolved issues," Celia jokes, making me laugh despite myself. The rest of the careers begin to poke around at the smoldering remains of supplies, actually using their brains and looking for something to salvage, but find nothing. The boy from district three's trap was majorly successful, but at what cost?
The sight of Cato breaking the boy's neck in one move stops all thoughts of laughter from us. The canon goes off, and he's gone.
"We need to go looking for whatever asshole did this!" Cato shouts, pointing back into the woods.
"Cato!" Clove yells, getting his attention, "We won't find them in the woods! Whoever did this wanted to get our supplies and died trying."
"She's right," Marvel steps in, "we'll be seeing them in the sky soon. The canon was probably covered by the sound of the explosion."
This seems to calm Cato down a bit, that was the point of the trap after all. But we, the audience, know the truth, Katniss is alive and well. Actually...maybe not "well", but definitely alive.
"Katniss doesn't have much time before they come looking for her, why does she stay?" Celia asks, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"I mean, I doubt the careers think that whoever caused the explosion would stick around to face their wrath. That's probably the last place they'll look." I answer, trying to put myself into the situation. If anything the careers will look in the furthest corners of the arena before their own territory. Everyone's supposed to be afraid of them right? I let out a sharp breath in amusement. Katniss sure showed them.
The anthem comes and goes, and the careers now know their culprit is alive. The torches they hold light up the darkness, illuminating their faces, filled with determination and anger as they head back into the woods.
Katniss, staying in her hiding spot, digs out her night vision glasses from her bag, and tries to warm up. She's interrupted by a sound that has my heart racing. Someone pops out of the treeline, way too close to Katniss for my liking. Katniss scrambles in a panic, before relaxing in her realization that it's Finch, not the careers, who has returned.
Finch actually manages to find a few bits of supplies in the remains, laughing all the while. Seeing someone else's manic joy causes the corners of my lips to rise, and I see Adrian and Celia struggling to keep their smiles at bay as well. After a few minutes, Finch runs off, apparently having heard something. Katniss just about settles down for a bit, when the screen changes.
"What the-" I'm caught off guard, the words "District Interviews" filling the screen. Starting from district one, a capitol representative introduces the audience to Marvel's parents, siblings, and friends. They do this with each remaining tribute, everyone talking about how their loved one is doing and what they think about the games so far. I can see where Cato gets his cocky attitude from, and I'm sad to see that instead of parents, the matron of district seven's orphanage has to be Finch's well-wisher.
"I had no idea they did interviews of the families for the Hunger Games," Adrian remarks, voicing all our thoughts.
"Same, I assumed all the focus would be on the tribute themselves," Celia sighs, "but I guess it just goes to show how cruel the Capitol really was."
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking to her in question.
"Like, they are forcing these people to talk about someone they love, knowing they're probably gonna die. These tributes are never going to hear these words, their parents telling them how much they love them. Their friends going on about how much they miss them. They'll never know. It's pretty sad," Celia rants disapprovingly.
Her words have me stunned into silence, my core shaking at their truth. How would I talk about a loved one if I knew I would probably never see them again? How could the Capitol force these people into the spotlight instead of letting them deal with their pain on their own terms? Pain the Capitol is entirely responsible for. It's another disgusting example of the Capitolites not viewing district citizens as real people.
That pain really comes through when the interviews get to the district eleven families. Rue's parents are weepy with both pride and fear. "We would just want her to know how proud we all are of her," Rue's father says, "She's just a baby, and she's done so well."
"We love you so much, Rue. You are so kind and intelligent, we know you'll make us even more proud than we can imagine," Rue's mother finishes, not bothering to hide her tears. How must it feel to have your 12year old daughter ripped away from you and basically sentenced to death? I can't even imagine their pain. And her siblings look so vividly like Rue that it hurts my heart. How awful it must have felt to know their older sister won't be coming home.
Watching Thresh's family interviews isn't much easier. Only having a sister and a grandmother, it's obvious how important he is to them. "Thresh is a good boy. Strong, respectable, capable. We love him very much," his grandmother says, face pinched with emotion.
"Thresh is important in this community, we all care for him very much. He's the best man I know," his sister states proudly, rolling her shoulder back. The only sign of her fear is the small wrinkle between her eyebrows. She puts on all the confidence she can manage to display for the Capitol.
Finally, it's district twelves turn. I see my Grandma Iris and Katniss's little sister Prim. It's quite weird to see my grandma looking so much younger. I barely see her, but in my mind, she's a much happier woman than the one speaking on the screen. Though I really can't blame her, her oldest child is literally fighting for her life. She's also much thinner, uncomfortably so. I'm once again reminded of how little the people of district twelve had. "Katniss is brave and strong. She's a survivor. I believe in her with all of my heart," she says, not bothering to wipe away the stray tear that slides down her face.
"Katniss is the best person I know," Katniss's sister, Prim, says, her face bright with pride. "I know she has what it takes to win, she promised me she would try." I'm struck with how smart Prim looks, like she knows a lot for her age. She definitely looks more mature than most 12-year-olds I know, Kaden being at the top of that list. But in times of hardship, children are forced to grow up too fast. It really is a tragedy.
As if I couldn't be more emotionally drained, I see yet another familiar face. When he's introduced as her cousin I feel my insides churn.
"Hey, isn't Devin's last name Hawthorne?" Adrian asks, nudging my shoulder.
"Yes actually, that's his dad," I say, my voice emotionless.
"What?!" Adrian shouts.
"Oh my God!" Celia cries, grabbing my arm.
"I promise, they aren't actually related!" I explain, eyes wide. Both Arian and Celia relax slightly, the disgusting thought erased.
"How do you know though?" Celia asks, her eyes searching mine.
I cringe, "We actually ran into him the other day. They used to be best friends, that's all."
I can feel Adrian and Celia look at each other over my head.
"Used to be? What happened?" Adrian pries, irritating me.
"I don't know, okay! Can we please just pay attention?" I ask. For a second I feel guilty for lashing out at them, but I seriously do not want to dwell on the subject any longer.
Five heads of blond hair fill the screen, and I realize this is the first time I am ever seeing what my Dad's family looked like. I let out a shuttering gasp, my eyes filling with tears. Celia, sensing my pain, laces her fingers with mine, my outburst apparently forgiven.
"Peeta may be gentle, but he's sharp as a whip." His father, my Grandpa, praises.
"It's true!," the younger of the two brothers, my Uncle Rye, states excitedly, "He's crazy smart, and talented. You saw him disguise himself!" The other brother just smiles and nods, more of the quiet type it seems. His mother, my Grandma, declines to speak, instead offering a few stray nods of agreement. For some reason this makes my blood boil. I'm surprised by how many friends speak about Peeta. He must have been pretty popular back in the day. I wonder why I don't recognize most of the faces. But I do recognize one.
"Oh my god, it's my mom!" Celia squeals, nearly jumping to her feet. And there she is, Delly Cartwright, speaking words of encouragement to her best friend Peeta Mellark. "I can't believe they've been friends for so long !"
"She's so young," Adrian states, staring in awe.
"She looks just like you Celia," I gush, "save for the hair."
She nods in agreement, smiling. Her mother's hair is much yellower and straight, while Celia's hair is a paler blond with a slight curl to it.
"We all love Peeta here! He's so kind and intelligent. I know he's gonna make us proud!" Delly finishes with a smile, hope in her eyes. The interviewer wraps the segment, bringing us back to the situation at hand.
The footage of the games resumes right where it cut off. Katniss seems to have finally decided to leave her safe haven, heading back in the direction she and Rue last met.
Her trek nearly takes her the rest of the night, having only a pair of "sock-gloves" to keep warm. She finally comes across a smoldering woodpile, the first of the three they had planned for Rue to light. Then, after shooting a bird for breakfast, she makes it to the second pile.
My back is rigid with nerves, and my fingers clutch Celia's tightly. I have a bad feeling I can't seem to shake, something that's been itching my brain since Katniss left her hiding spot.
After hours of trekking for Katniss, and minutes for us, she finds the third pile. Unlit.
"What happened?" Adrian asks, running a worried hand through his hair. We don't have an answer, all of us are thinking the same thing: Why didn't Rue light the final pile?
Katniss's face shows she's thinking the exact same thing.
Katniss looks around, searching the woods for any sign of Rue, drawing back into the shadows of the trees. There are no clues that help figure out where Rue might be, no blood, no upturned dirt, nothing. So maybe she isn't on the ground?
Katniss's search finally ends when the sound of a 4-note whistle pierces the air. A smile graces Katniss's face, and she heads in the direction of the whistle. I finally relax my death grip on Celia's hand, and out of the corner of my eye, I watch as she flexes and massages her sore hand.
I can't help but smile at the sound of birds singing the short melody, and Katniss can't seem to resist either. Both of our smiles fall when we hear the scream. Adrian flinches at the sound, sucking in a sharp breath. It's a child's scream. Rue. Katniss is up and running before she can stop herself.
"Katniss! Katniss!" Rue cries, her terror flowing through the words and stabbing me in the heart.
"Rue!" Katniss shouts back. A part of me thinks that was a bad idea, but I ignore the thought. "Rue I'm coming!"
Katniss breaks through the clearing, just in time to watch Rue reach a tiny hand through the mesh net before a spear enters her chest.
"No!" Adrian cries, leaning towards the screen. I can feel all the muscles in his body tighten on reflex, his need to do something coming out in full effect.
"Oh my God…" I whisper, hiding my face in my hands. Celia doesn't bother to hide her emotions, letting the tears fall.
I hear the sound of an arrow sinking into flesh, and I look up in time to watch Marvel pull it out of his neck. Katniss is at Rue's side in a second, looking around wildly for any more attackers. "Are there more?" She shouts, "Are there more?"
It takes more than a few weak "No"s from Rue to finally get Katniss to stop and free her from the net.
Katniss looks at Rue's body helplessly, knowing and hating the fact there's nothing she can do.
"No, Rue…" Celia cries, her body shaking slightly. Adrian grinds his teeth, and I grab onto his arm, needing something to ground myself. I expect Katniss to offer Rue some words of comfort, but she chooses not to. It's probably for the best anyway. Rue doesn't deserve the last words she will ever hear to be lies.
Rue reaches out a hand and Katniss holds it like a lifeline. "You blew up the food?" Rue whispers.
"Every last bit," Katniss replies softly, earning a weak smile from Rue."
"You have to win."
"I'm going to," Katniss promises, "Going to win for the both of us now." The cannon goes off for Marvel, but it makes me hold onto Adrian tighter, burning myself in his arms.
"Don't go," Rue pleads, her fear making my eyes well up with tears.
"Course not. Staying right here." Katniss places Rue's head in her lap, brushing the hair away from Rue's head. The action vividly reminds me of something my mom used to do with me when I was younger. He thought sends shivers running down my spine. I feel a tear fall onto my cheek, and I look up to see Adrian barely holding it together. I hug him tighter.
"Sing," Rue says, so quiet we can barely hear her. Surprise shows on Katniss' face, but she's not about to refuse Rue her final wish.
And so, with a voice thick with tears and heavy with smoke, Katniss begins to sing a song that has been etched into my memory.
I'm transported back to when I was 5 years old and had a nightmare. Back to when I was 9 and was so sick, I could barely sleep. Back to when I was 12 and couldn't stop crying over a fight I had with Adrian. When my mother's voice soothed me to sleep.
"Deep in the meadow, under the Willow…" She sings, and I can no longer restrain myself. I'm a mess, sobbing into Adrian's shirt and his own tears fall onto my hair and face.
Rue's eyes have fluttered shut, and Katniss lets herself cry. "...Here is the place where I love you," she sings, so quiet it's nearly inaudible. Everything both on and off-screen is still, it's as if the world has stopped. Until, in a haunting display, the birds begin to sing Katniss' song back to her, echoing the beautiful melody.
Rue's cannon fires, and Katniss leans down to place a final kiss on her temple, before gently placing her head on the ground and letting go of her hand.
I wait for Katniss to move away from the body, remembering the hovercraft that has been picking them up. But instead, she lingers, choosing to take both Rue and Marvel's pack, and retrieving her arrow from Marvel's body.
Katniss can't take her eyes off of Rue's still form, seemingly unable to leave her, even in death. After a minute or two, Katniss moves, a decision being made. She walks to the edge of the woods where a patch of wildflowers are growing, gathering a few bunches.
The three of us watch in disbelief and amazement and Katniss surrounds Rue's tiny body in the flowers, the shades of yellow, violet, and white contrasting beautifully with her dark skin and hair. The effect is stunning, bringing real attention to the loss of such an innocent soul. To show the Capitol that this is wrong and that it is their fault.
Katniss holds up the three-finger salute in Rue's direction, whispering, "Bye, Rue," and forcing herself to turn and walk away. She doesn't look back.
The air is once again silent, the whole world holding its breath, until a bird lands on a nearby branch and begins to sing that now heartbreaking 4-note whistle.
Katniss makes her way from the scene and comes to a small clearing just as a silver parachute floats down to her. Inside of it, a dark, crescent-shaped piece of bread. Realization and gratitude fill Katniss' eyes as she looks to the orange sky. "My thanks to the people of District Eleven."
Rue's death takes a major toll on Katniss. Every motion is robotic, from climbing into a tree to forcing herself to eat bits of the bread. It's like the very action is painful if Rue isn't there with her. There's no doubt in my mind that Rue reminds Katniss of her little sister, Prim. There is no other explanation for her emotional state right now, and I honestly don't blame her. But it's hard to watch her so deeply upset.
The next morning when Katniss wakes, she vocally commands herself to move and be productive. Get up, check the packs, do something.
"She's trying to distract herself," Adrian remarks, brushing a hand over my hair.
"What do you mean?" I mumble, sniffling.
"When people go through something traumatic, instead of focusing on healing and facing what has happened, they instead busy themselves with other activities to shield themselves from the pain," Celia says knowingly. I look up in time to catch Celia and Adrian share a knowing look. Katniss has just settled down for some sleep when the sound of trumpets go off, gaining her attention. This is the first time we've heard this sound, usually, it's only the anthem that plays, so this must be something different.
"Congratulations to the Six remaining Tributes!" says the announcer, "There has been a rule change in this year's Hunger Games!" I hold my breath, this is it, the answer. "For the first time ever, if the last two remaining tributes come from the same district, they will both be crowned Victors!" The announcer repeats the rule change once again, predicting the tributes would be confused, before wishing them luck and signing off.
Realization dawns on Katniss's face. I see the name forming on her lips, and I smile.
"Peeta!"
Xoxo
Hey guys! I really am sorry, I wish this could be longer, but lately, I've just been really busy and I have zero time management skills. I'll try my best to make up for the length in the next chapter. But besides that, I hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to leave a review letting me know what you think and follow to keep up with any updates. Due to it being so close to Christmas, the next chapter should be up around December 26th, possibly one or two days later. Until then!