Katniss POV (Been a while hasn't it?)
I rush over to where Rue is laying on the blood-covered grass. I kneel beside her and inspect her wound. Her pants have a gaping hole in them and I'm afraid to see what's underneath.
Gale and Thresh come and kneel beside Rue as well, and I notice tears forming in the corners of Thresh's eyes.
"I-is it bad?" Rue whimpers as she reaches to touch her leg. I look at Gale but he's looking down at her calf where the wound is.
"I don't know yet, we need to inspect it more thoroughly," Gale says as he begins to roll up her pants. I almost throw up at the sight.
Her whole calf is covered blood and more is oozing out of the wound. I hear Gale breath in sharply.
"We need to wash it up before it gets infected and so we can see how bad it is" I speak up
"Do either of you have any water left?" Thresh asks teary eyed. I look through my satchel, but to my dismay I find that my water canteen is desert dry.
"No, I don't" I say sorrowful
"Me either, one of us should go look for some" Gale says stiffly
"I will, I saw a stream a few kilometers away the other day" Thresh speaks up. I hand him my water canteen and he rushes off.
"You're going to be alright Rue, trust me" I say trying to sound convincing
"But you just said that you didn't know, don't lie to me Katniss" She replies sternly.
"Lets try to slow the bleeding" Gale says. I nod my head and he grabs a length of rope from my satchel. Then he wraps it tightly just under her knee.
"Katniss" Rue says quietly "Will you sing for me?" I look up at Gale and he nods his head.
"Alright" I give her a small smile as I begin "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 you awake, the sun will rise.
Here it's safe, here it's warm Here the daisies guard you from 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, 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" I finish the song and blink back tears and am startled by Thresh rushing through the trees noisily.
"I got some water as well as some herbs that will help to heal the wound faster," He says breathlessly. I grab the water canteen and Gale takes off his shirt and hands it to me.
I pour some water onto his shirt and begin to dab Rue's wound softly. The blood washes off fairly easily and we can see where the bullet went in.
"There isn't much we can do right now" Gale says solemnly, I nod my head in agreement. Thresh places the herbs atop of Rue's wound and I hand him Gale's slightly wet shirt.
He wraps it around her small calf and ties it up. Then Gale reaches down and picks up Rue gently. Just now do I notice how amazing Gale looks without his shirt on. His chiseled abs, the way his arms bulge when he flexes his muscles, his chest. Everything is so tantalizing, I can't take my eyes off of his body.
"I know I'm irresistible, but we need to get a move on Katniss" Gale says teasingly. I look down at the slightly moist earth beneath my feet as a blush quickly spreads across my olive-toned skin.
I hear Thresh and Gale chuckle in the back round and I look up and glare at the two of them.
I see that Rue has a smile across her face and that sight makes my heart lighten. Despite what just happened, she's still got her smile, even if it is because of my embarrassment.
"Whatever, come on, we don't have all day," I snap sharply. Thresh shuts his trap immediately, but Gale just smiles even larger.
We trudge through the deep forest, keeping an eye out for our families. I hope there wasn't another group of Peacekeepers who attacked them as well.
"Don't worry Catnip, I'm sure they're ok" Gale says reassuringly. It's a wonder how he always knows what I'm thinking. I look up at Rue who is staring intently at the birds hovering above us in the trees.
"I wonder if those birds are mutations, like they used in the dark days" She says out of the blue
"That is curious, I doubt it though. I think the Capitol is smart enough to know that we caught on them years ago, and won't do it again. Even if they look like flamingos and iguanas" Thresh says. Rue giggles and I even let out a small chuckle.
"And those birds didn't sing like these ones do" I point out. Suddenly all the birds fly away, squawking and screeching.
"What's going on?" Rue asks
"I… don't know. Obviously something is upsetting the birds" Thresh says slowly as he turns to face the direction we had just come from "Something behind us"
"What is it?" Rue says getting all hysterical now.
"Shh, listen" I say and everyone goes silent. You could hear a pin drop. Suddenly a slight hum begins to ring in my ears and it must in Gale's too. We exchange a worried glance at one another and he suddenly yells for us to get under cover.
We rush to hide under a small rock cliff as the humming sound gets louder and louder. The trees around us all shake and their leaves are flying all around. We can hear the sounds of various animals running away from the Hovercraft flying towards us.
"It must be the rescue team" Gale mouths. I nod my head slightly and look down at Rue who is still in Gale's arms. She has a terrified look on her face, although she's trying to hide it.
I grab her hand and enclose it in mine. I give it a slight squeeze and she looks up at me. A reassuring smile is plastered across my face and she returns one as well.
I look away when I hear the sound of people shouting in the distance. It gets slightly louder and I tense up when I hear the sound of multiple feet trotting close to us. I shut my eyes and pray that they don't find us.
I let out a sigh of relief after what seems like an eternity, when in reality it was only a few seconds. The sound of the hovercrafts goes away and Thresh is the first to crawl out.
He helps me out of the rock development and does the same with Rue. Gale climbs out and we all just stand there, with the exception of Rue who is now in Thresh's arms, taking in what just happened.
"We need to get a move on, before something happens to Rue's leg. And before nightfall" Thresh speaks up. We agree and begin again to search for our families.
It took the remainder of the day to locate our families, but we still did it. Rue is currently being taken care of by Mother and her Mother. The young children are still a little shaken up, but they'll be ok.
"Catnip you surprised me today, you handled yourself a lot better than I thought you would" Gale says as he buttons up his sweater. Thresh, Gale, Charlie, Rory and me are all sitting around a fire that we made.
"Well, I'm sure Rue was very scared, and me adding to that would not a favor" I say as I poke some logs with a stick.
"Well you cheered her up with the display between you two" Thresh says as he winks at me. It takes me a few minutes to figure out what he's referring to, but when I do I'm ready to smack him.
"What happened?" Rory asks
"Nothing important" I say bitterly and send a pointed glare to Thresh and Gale.
"I thought it was fairly important" Gale speaks up
"Well it wasn't so let's just forget it," I snap.
"There's nothing to be ashamed about" Gale says teasingly
"Sadly I can't say the same for you" I reply and that shuts him up.
"Would any of you care to grab some more wood?" Charlie speaks up. I raise my hand swiftly and run out of the clearing.
I begin to search for some wood and find a few logs here and there.
"Katniss you shouldn't leave camp without a partner, especially after what just happened" Gale speaks up, startling me. I turn around and glare at him, though I doubt he can see it through the darkness.
I can sense him step closer to where I'm standing. He grabs my hand and I back up against a tree.
"I have to admit Catnip, I enjoyed it when you stared at me"
"And why is that?" I reply as he stands right in front of me, so close our noses are almost touching.
"Because, you need to see something as sexy as me in your lifetime" He chuckles
"You're hilarious Gale" I say un-amused
"I know that Katniss" He says huskily, god his voice is mesmerizing.
"Why are you so close to me?" I ask half laughing
"So I can do this," He says, I'm about to ask him what he means but I'm cut off by him placing his lips upon my own.
=D YAY! They're FINALLY kissing! Aren't y'all so happy? Please tell me your feelings in a review! Even though I only got 3 reviews (-_-) I still had to write this chapter! And you people really owe me a review, since I didn't kill of Rue and because Gale finally grew some balls and kissed Katniss.