AUTHOR'S NOTES: as the title of this chapter suggests, there's a tad bit of irony that happens in these words, and it's got nothing to do with the blatant fact that Rue destroyed the supplies. Add the ironic act as well as the supplies destruction to Clove's already lengthy "list of reasons she hates Rue", and you've got a very angry career on your hands.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 15: Painful Irony

It had been a high-risk, moderate return situation that Rue had put herself in when she had trekked around the rampaging career pack to try and reach their supply mountain. Not to say that she would not have enjoyed those supplies herself, but she knew she could not try to consistently subsist off of trying to steal supplies and food from them without eventually getting noticed. The odds might have been against her, but Rue was still in it to win it. She was honestly not sure how she would deal with Prim or Peeta if it came to that, but in the meantime, she had to worry more about District 2, who was her primary enemies.

Her action with the mines, however, was probably one of the most glorious things the Capitol had ever seen in Hunger Games history. Rue had taken her slingshot, and launched a good-sized rock towards where she suspected one of the mines were. She missed the first two times, either from guessing incorrectly or from not having a large enough object, but the third time really was the charm. A chain reaction was triggered, blasting Rue off of her feet and into some nearby brambles. She was briefly knocked unconscious, but was fortunate enough to remain concealed by the bushes.

Rue was unable to move by the time the careers came storming back, only to find the District 3 boy standing there looking just as awkward and bemused as the careers, gazing upon the smoldering mountain of ruined supplies. They would have to rely on the whims of sponsors and the arena for sustenance from here on out.

Naturally, Cato was swift to blame Franklin for not watching the career supplies better, but Rue had purposely evaded him, positioning herself so that the supplies had been lined up between her and that boy before she had struck.

"Needless to say, Frank didn't stand a chance against an angry Cato, who yanked the boy's spear from his hands and with one deft movement, snapped his neck, causing a cannon to fire.

"That's it!" he was just as furious as Clove at this point, "no more pissing around. We find the rest of those tributes and we tear them limb from limb."
"I know exactly who did this too," Clove sneered, "'12 would be too afraid and the '11 boy wouldn't have been able to leave fast enough. It's Rue."

"I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, RUE!" It was rare for Clove to use anyone's name when talking to them like that, but Rue was a special case, and Clove wanted to kill her slowly.

The odd part about Rue vaguely hearing Clove's angry ranting was that she could only really hear it from her left ear. Maybe it was because she was lying on her side, barely clinging to consciousness, or maybe it had something to do with why her right ear felt sticky as she tried moving her head. She was not exactly in a very comfortable position, but she was so dizzy and exhausted that she did not even need to move, and fell asleep within minutes. If this was where she was going to die, then so be it. She was far too weak to be able to get up and do anything right now, or really even move much.

Primrose was unsurprisingly horrified when she found Peeta in the miserable state he was in. She did manage to curb the bleeding in his arm and leg from Clove's knife and Cato's sword (respectively), but even with the herbal medicines that she knew how to concoct, she could tell that it would not be enough to get Peeta back into commission. Peeta was not by any means disabled, but he knew that he would have to put some serious camouflaging skills to work if he wanted to remain stable and not get discovered by the angry careers.

"Do you think Rue is alright?" Prim did not know who the cannon earlier had been for,

"I certainly hope so," Peeta groaned as they found a place to settle down by a nearby stream for the evening as the sun began setting on the arena for the 10th time. "We'll find out soon enough, I guess."
The anthem played later that night and much to their relief, they saw the face in the sky belonging to that district 3 boy rather than Rue. It made them wonder what exactly had happened that had prevented Rue from being able to rendezvous with them, but they figured that they would find out sooner or later.

"Only 7 of us left," Peeta smiled weakly up at Prim, "we're almost out of here…"

Almost as if Seneca Crane himself was waiting to hear those words, he made an announcement for the tributes to all hear that shook Panem to its foundations.

"Attention Tributes… This year there has been a rule change. Two tributes may become victors, provided that they are from the same district. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

A great deal of excitement rushed over six of the seven remaining tributes, given that both tributes from Districts 12, 2, and 11 were still alive. Marvel was not terribly fazed though. He did not need Glimmer in order to emerge alive, he figured. If anything, it might add to the surprise and upset factor if the one "single" tribute was the one to emerge despite all the new stronger alliances that would be forged.

Clove on the other hand, saw it as their chance. Thresh might have called himself the ally of Rue and District 12, but he was clearly displaying that he would rather do things himself. She didn't imagine that he would spare Rue either when the time came unless they both were to win. Cato and Clove both had lingering doubts on the Gamemaker's statement—they had to have a catch somewhere.

For the time being, the three remaining careers headed southeast into the forest, passing Rue completely before making camp for the evening. Clove operated as the crew's hunter, given her speed and stealth, and she managed to get them a few things to eat by the time they properly settled in and the anthem had played.

Neither of them wanted to admit that Peeta had pulled the rug from under them when he had sprung up and struck, but they also realized that perhaps they should have just finished him then and there. The other tributes were not nearly as arrogant as Clove had expected—she figured that they were all like her and Cato, wanting to viciously murder everyone else on the field.

The next morning, there was another announcement.

"Attention tributes… tonight at sundown, there will be a feast, located at the cornucopia. The Gamemakers will provide all of you with what you most need, and so while attendance is not compulsory, it is still recommended. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

Clove and Cato were not sure why they had to wait till the evening, but figured that they could use this time to rest up. Cato had rested when Clove was injured, and so she figured she could return the favor. This left Marvel as the one delegated to hunting some poor defenseless animal, but the boy had scored a 10 in training for a reason.

Clove was sitting cross-legged on the ground, listening to Cato's slightly labored breathing with his head in her lap. "how are you feeling?" she asked curiously as she scratched his head,

"Better," Cato admitted, "but I'm starting to think that our reckless approaches aren't going to work anymore. We need to start thinking how these other kids think, and use those tactics against them."

"Rue uses stealth," Clove began, "and the boy from '12 uses camouflage while the girl's a healer. I think we know that '11 uses strength and his vantage point to throw us off."

"Then let's use the feast," Cato suggested, "either they will come and we can ambush them, or they won't come and we can take whatever it is they're looking for."
"what about Marvel?" Clove tilted her head, glancing down at Cato, "should we wait for him, or do you think he'll catch on where we're moving to?"
"He's a smart kid," Cato agreed, "he'll figure it out…"
Marvel had in fact gotten a decent amount of food, both in terms of meat and fruits, and was trekking his way back through camp. They were across the arena from Thresh and the 12-11 alliance, and so he had not suspected that they would have any interruptions. Most of the rustling from the trees had just been various birds and such anyways.

His mistake was thinking that all of the rustling in the trees were merely birds. The last thing he ever saw when he looked up towards the trees was a dark shadow flying down towards him.

Marvel felt a stabbing pain in both of his shoulders as the weight from the object threw him to the ground, and that was the last thing he ever felt. A cannon fired a second later.

KILLS THIS CHAPTER:
Franklin Sterling, District 3-Killed by Cato
Marvel Kain, District 1-Killed by Rue

ALIVE:
Cato Salazar, District 2
Clove Kazera, District 2
Thresh Dakara, District 11
Rue Keniye, District 11
Peeta Mellark, District 12
Primrose Everdeen, District 12