AUTHOR'S NOTES: The games are getting closer to their grizzly end. Rue cannot hide forever, and she realizes that. However, it doesn't mean she's done messing with Clove's head. With Clove and Cato teaming up in hopes to both go home, Rue has been put on the defensive. More details on this little antagonist's method to her madness will show up in this and the next chapter.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 19: Facing the Enemy

Days 14 and 15 were all fairly ominous in their design, considering that almost nothing happened. Rue successfully evaded Clove and Cato so well that they could not even find the small girl—only signs that she had been there, which seemed to be left on purpose. They knew, however, that she was alive and well, because the Mockingjays continued to sing her songs. It seemed that Rue was making her presence no mystery, any more than Clove and Cato were trying to be discreet.

Rue's morale was fairly low over the next couple of days, for all of her friends were dead. Prim had died in her arms; Thresh had died trying to stop the biggest threats that would now almost certainly mean that she would never see her home again; and Peeta had died trying to fend off those selfsame threats from killing her. He had succeeded in a way, but it had also cost him his life. Rue would never forget the heroism of Thresh, Peeta, and Primrose, if she were to return home as the victor. However, she also knew that the youngest victors in Hunger Games history had all been within a few weeks or months of each other, and had all been at least 14: the stunning and suave Finnick Odair from District 4; the cunning and discreet Alice DeSiete from District 8; (who, despite his name, was actually a boy) and the tiny and dangerous Leto Irizari from District 2. People remembered the 65th, 46th, and 35th Hunger Games (respectively) because of those victors, and for a moment, Rue briefly contemplated if people would remember the 74th Hunger Games if she won.

Rue knew that in order to stop Clove and Cato, who would for certain be working together against her, she would need to play by her rules rather than theirs. If they forced her into proper combat, she knew that they would best her because of their strength and years of training. However, as the days passed, she began to realize that they knew most of her tricks, and that clearly they were staying out in the open on purpose. Rue's stealth and cunning did not work in such obvious conditions—and thus, there was no action during the 14th and 15th days.

It did not take a genius to figure out why there was no action, however. Given the calmness of the last two days and the beginning of the 16th day, as well as the sponsor gifts that Clove and Cato received, they both deducted that the Capitol was letting them rest up before what would presumably be an epic finale. Clove did not think that a fight with Rue would last too long, and she had insisted that she be the one to face Rue in single combat. Cato agreed, although also agreed to have her back in case something went wrong.

"Given out record with Rue so far, think of it as a precaution;" He quipped.

"Don't even say that," Clove growled, "I am NOT going to falter again."

"well, given the choice, I would rather step in and finish her than let you die in the name of honor." Cato chortled, "But let's not worry about that. Let's hunt her down."

The two of them continued their hunt, with nothing but birds flying overhead to indicate any other sign of life in the arena. As the day wore on and the sun began its descent, there was silence. The afternoon was oddly serene, and it was only around sunset that Clove realized what had happened.

"The Mockingjays," she paused, "they've stopped singing."

"There hasn't been a cannon though," Cato's brow furrowed, "maybe she's coming for us?"

"Let's be ready for her then," Clove suggested, "let's get back to the lake. There's no hiding there."
Clove and Cato navigated back towards the lake, only to find a considerably surprise.

"The hell!?" Cato and Clove were glancing upon a dry lakebed—not even muddy; just dry. The water was gone, and all that was left around them was a light hazy fog.

"We're too far out," Clove's eyes widened, "we're not supposed to be here."
Neither of them wasted any time in scrambling back towards the cornucopia. The last thing they wanted was to face the wrath of the fireballs again. The foggy haze grew thicker towards the northwest from whence they came, but it seemed to be diminishing towards the east. Perhaps the cornucopia was not where the Gamemakers wanted them to meet.

"This fog might lead us to Rue," Cato suggested, "except that it's going right back into the dark forest."

Their sunlight was minimal at this point, as the trek to and from the lake had burned much of the afternoon. They had taken their time to keep up their strength, but were now confused. What did the Gamemakers want from them? They had eaten almost all of their food, and were equipped with the best weapons and even some body armor (Clove was still devoid of footwear though, to her slight ire), although they had not been the only ones to get sponsor gifts. Naturally, much of Panem, especially the outer districts, was surprised that such a small girl had lasted so long in eluding the mighty career tributes, one of which had scored a 12, and the other an 11. Thus, Rue had been sponsored some rather nice equipment as well, despite it being so late in the games.

"I'm not going in there, and neither are you." Clove insisted, "we're bringing Rue to us, not ourselves to Rue. She's gotten the best of me far too many times. She needs to come to us, so I can find out what makes her tick."

In truth, Clove and Cato both had a quaint sense of respect for Rue, which was why they used her name, instead of the crude nicknames they had fashioned for just about everyone else. Even Clove had to admire the little girl's grace and agility, especially in the trees or in the air. If anything, thinking about that simply pumped her up for what she expected would be a final fight in single combat. The tricky part would be getting Rue to play by her rules.
"The good news," Cato snapped Clove out of her brief trancelike state of thought, "is that this fog isn't poison or anything—but it's clearly trying to convince us to step into the forest—and I'm not going to."

"Me neither," Clove agreed, crossing her arms.

"How about now?" A voice from behind them spoke up.

There, in plain sight, was Rue, her arms calmly crossed. Her diminutive stature did not look all that threatening, but it seemed that she had also received weapons and even body armor from generous sponsors. Gone was her slingshot, and in her hands were two fairly good-sized crescent-shaped blades. On her forehead were a pair of those night-vision glasses, which she had raised as if to look Clove and Cato in the eyes.

Naturally, both of them spun around to see Rue there, and Clove was so surprised that she didn't even attack (though she did whip out a knife).

"I've been waiting weeks for this moment, Rue Keniye," she sneered, "you and me—right here, right now. You've been giving me nothing but hell and harassment for the last several weeks—I am going to repay that favor, slowly and steadily—a fate befitting my worst enemy."

"So; you say that I'm your enemy?" Rue tilted her head, unfazed once again by Clove's threats, "really, I'm nothing without your passionate hatred for me."

Rue's words actually made Clove stop and think; and incidentally, Rue's blades hung in her arms, which also hung at her sides. Clove narrowed her eyes and glared at the dark-skinned girl, as if expecting a surprise attack. Her own ego and sense of pride was what was stopping her from killing Rue so suddenly—perhaps this arrogance and appeal to tradition might be her downfall.

"Who ARE you?" Clove's eyes narrowed even more so. "You're a monster!"

"A monster?" Rue paused, briefly lowering the glasses onto her eyes before lifting them again, "I'm just Rue; Rue Keniye. You killed my friends, you gave me threats, and you've chased me all around the arena. What would I be if I didn't become a monster just to try and stay alive?"

Survival. Rue was not in these games for fame and fortune the way the tributes from District 2 were. She did not care about the pride and the glory; she simply wished to live, and was willing to do anything necessary in order to achieve that goal.

Clove's mouth opened to form a reply, but the moment she saw Rue's face drop, she knew something was wrong. It was only made worse when she belted out a bloodcurdling scream before back-flipping onto her hands, pivoting on one hand so her back was to the careers before landing flipping back onto her feet once again, where she immediately took off running.

A split-second after Rue's flip, Clove and Cato spun around to see what Rue had freaked out about, only to be greeted by dozens of glowing eyes appearing from the trees—accompanied by the sound of growling. As they took off running after Rue, they saw what these things were: mutts—two dozen bloodthirsty wolf mutts.