The Hunger Games - PRIM EDITION

Chapter 14 - Loss

I wake with a banging headache and blurry vision, and my ear is ringing a little bit too. The sun is getting lower in the sky, signifying that it is quite late at night and the sky is a beautiful blend of blue pink and orange. I sit up, rubbing my eyes, trying to get rid of the feeling in my eyelids like they have weights on them.

At first I am confused to why I am lay on the floor in the middle of a forest, but then my memory returns and suddenly my main priority is to make sure Rue is okay. I look to the spot where I think I remember seeing her last, but she isn't there. I look all around me, but still there is no sign.

"Rue?" I call quietly. There is no reply.

"Rue?!" I raise my voice a little, just in case she can't hear me. But still there's nothing. Starting to panic, I stand up, swaying on the spot a little before I go anywhere. I quickly grab the small bag containing the medicine from Haymitch, a bundle of berries, and a small water bottle, and then head towards where I think the lake is, hoping to find rue there.

When I finally arrive at the lake, there is no sign of any human life whatsoever. My panic rises. What if one of the careers took her? No, they would have taken me too. What if she thought I was dead and left me? No, rue isn't like that, she would have had to have been sure before she left the alliance. What if she's dead? My mind races with all different scenarios, until my throbbing head can't take any more.

I sit on a rock by the river bank and take a few sips of water. I haven't drank anything for however long I was asleep for, and my throat is dry. In the places that the Tracker Jackers stung me, my skin is red and inflamed, and it feels as though it has been burned with a red hot poker. The medicine that I got from Haymitch has no effect, and neither does water. I will have to find some plant to put on it.

I search my head, looking for information that I may have learned in training. I remember there being some kind of leaf that helps heal stings, and my mother has used it on some of her patients before, but I don't remember the name. It is a large green leaf, and Katniss used to get it from the forest, so I must be here somewhere.

I set out through the trees, keeping an eye out for the leaf. I have only been searching for about tem minutes when I see them, hanging from a low tree. I run over to them, picking wodge of them and thinking what to do next.

An image flashes up in my mind of my mother, spreading a green leafy paste onto a man's back, and I recall that it helped a lot. I put the leaves into the lid from the water bottle, and grind them up with some water using a rock. When I have done this, I apply the paste to my various stings.

The leaf works like magic, and the burning stings have an instant cooling effect run through them.

I lean back on the tree I have decided to climb – or more scramble – up, and close my eyes, trying to calm my mind. It's okay, she'll be back soon I tell myself, taking some deep breaths and hoping with every bone in my body that I am right.

The sun slowly sets, and the sky goes from pastel blues and oranges to the darkest shade of blue possible, making the stars shine brighter than ever like Christmas lights. The pain in my head has subsided a tiny bit, but it still throbs every now and again. I try to ignore it, taking sips of water and waiting for the capitol seal to show in the sky.

When at last it does, and the capitol anthem blasts through the arena, I jerk my head up so fast that it hurts my neck. 'The Fallen' flashes up in the sky, and my attention is soulfully on the sky. Only one face flashes up.

Her face is so innocent, so young, and her dark brown eyes shine like diamonds in the night sky. Her dark skin looks so smooth and realistic on this projection on the sky, and I wish it wasn't up there. As soon as Rue's face disappears from the sky, my mind just stops working. I freeze to the spot, and I feel like all of the wind has been knocked out of my chest.

This can't be happening. This isn't real. No matter how many times I tell myself these things, I can't make myself believe them. This is real, no matter how much I want to deny it. I wipe away tears that I didn't know had fallen, but they are replaced by fresh ones.

I shouldn't be this effected by Rue's death. I only knew her for about five days, but the sadness I feel is uncontrollable, so take a few minutes to calm myself, taking deep breaths.

I eventually relax, and without planning to, I fall asleep. I fall into a stupor of nightmares, as my brain re-enacts the incident with the Tracker Jackers over and over in my head.

~

"Attention, Attention, Tributes!" Claudius Templesmith's voice wakes me, as it echoes through the surrounding trees. "The rules allowing only one victor to be crowned have been changed. Two victors may now be crowned if they both originate from the same district. That is all."

Thoughts race through my mind. Peeta? Is he still alive? He could have died while I was unconscious. I refuse to let myself think about these things, and I jump down to the ground. Peeta could be anywhere and I am determined to find him.

*Peeta's POV*

A week into the Games, and still, nothing from Haymitch.Nothing at all. Not even medicine for the wound on the bottom of my foot I got when I stood on someone's broken down snare. I have managed to live off berries and a rabbit that someone had snared and forgotten about for the past week, and I was lucky enough to find water in the first ten minutes of looking, but I am beginning to get hungry now because it is hard to walk on this foot.

I have been awake all night, un-able to sleep in this awkward position. My camouflaging skills have come in handy so far, and I have disguised myself to fit in with the rocks by the river, covering myself in moss and clay to make my skin grey. It works too. The careers didn't spot me.

The announcement brings me to my senses. "Attention, attention, tributes." Rings Claudius Templesmith's voice. "The rules allowing only one victor to be crowned have been changed. Two victors may now be crowned if they both originate from the same district. That is all."

I sit up suddenly.

"Prim."  I whisper to myself. I promised her sister that I would try to protect her, and now is my chance to do that. I scramble to my feet and hobble over to a nearby tree. I snap a strong branch off to use for a crutch and set off through the forest. It's still difficult to walk, but the handmade crutch does help a bit.

After what seems like hours of walking, I hear a distant scream. It is the scream of a girl. I pick up my pace, wanting to know more and hoping it's not Prim.

~

Prim hangs upside-down with rope bound around her feet. Someone has caught her in a trap, and her face is getting redder by the second. I hobble over to her as fast as I can, and grab a knife that lies on the floor.

Her terrified eyes follow me, but she doesn't speak. I suddenly wish that I was tall like my father, as I try to stand on the tips of my toes to cut the rope. My hands are starting to get clammy, and the knife is slipping in my hands, but I carry on. The rope finally breaks through, and Prim falls to the floor, gasping.

"Are you okay?" I ask kneeling down on the floor beside her. She nods her head, still trying desperately to catch her breath. Without speaking, she picks up a small bag, and opens it. She hands me a small pot, and points at my foot.

"Put it on, it will make you better." Prim says. I do as I'm told and immediately feel the pain in my foot disappear. The medicine has a magical effect, but I can' help feeling a little bit envious. Prim has obviously had an injury and Haymitch has sent this to her, so why hasn't he sent me anything?

We head to a tree to spend the night, and after Prim has helped me up as I pathetically try not to hurt my foot, we spend the rest of the afternoon talking about what has happened so far. We exchange stories of the past week, and I am devastated to think about how sad Prim must have been when Rue, her ally and friend, died.