To Kill A Mockingjay

Chapter 4

"For the last time, Rue! I'm not letting you risk your life for whatever I need!"

"We are a team, Thresh," I tell him for what feels like the zillionth time, "and like I told you, I have a plan."

I draw a small diagram on the dirt (the portion of the arena around the Cornucopia) as well as I can.

"This is you," I say, drawing an X in the outline of the trees. "I'll hide on the inside of the Cornucopia a few hours before Dawn, and you'll cover me from the forest."

"Rue," he starts, but I cut him off. "It's the least risky idea; I'll just grab the pack and bolt."

He opens his mouth to object but apparently finds nothing.

"Thresh, I NEED you to cover for me." I add

He sighs for what I think is an excessive amount of time until he finally gives in "fine."

"great!" I exclaim, "We'll meet here 2 hours before dawn!"

"Maybe our pack contains alarm clocks," he jokes.

I climb my usual tree and prepare my own version of an alarm clock. I precariously hang my water skin, filled halfway with water, then tie a pebble to the mouth. The force of gravity should make the skin tip over slowly, splashing my face with water at the right time.

I end the groosling and have some greens, then Azure berries for dessert. We of District 11 have almost an unfair advantage knowing the berries and greens that grow here, but Katniss did too. A small voice says in my head. I don't have to be a genius to figure out she hunted. We have hunters in 11 too, but they have to be very cautious because the penalty for poaching outside the district boundary is being shot on the spot; they hunt mostly to feed themselves anyway; almost nobody can afford their prices. I climb the tree and set up my bed and my "alarm clock." I used this trick in the orchard, in case I ever fell asleep, and it worked every time.

Splash! The whole content of the water skin splashes on my face, and the skin itself falls on my forehead. The sun has not yet made an appearance, but there is a faint light over the mountains on the far side of the Arena. My hands are cold, so I stick them in my pockets and realize my old pack is still there. Great! I unfold it and stuff what I need in it. some water, snacks, Katniss's night vision glasses, and my slingshot. there, all ready. After some minutes of waiting for Thresh, he arrives, carrying a large stone.

"What's that for?" I ask him.

"I wasn't going to risk it at the cornucopia, and my sponsors gave me all the musts."

"Soooooo, that rock came from a sponsor?"

He laughs and pretends to hit me with The Rock but just taps my head lightly with it. We set off towards the cornucopia, chatting and laughing on the way. then, at the edge of the forest, we split up, and I walk on alone. The halo of light is way brighter now; it's probably an hour before sunrise, before dawn, although it's at least half an hour later when I reach the golden cornucopia. It's a bit hard to scale with my pack, so I toss it in and climb in myself. Then I freeze. A small figure is crouched in the inside of the cornucopia. Before I have time to react, it pins my hands behind my back and covers my mouth with it's hand.

"What are you doing here?" A female voice hisses in my ear, "They're going to kill you!"

She lets go of me, and I slowly turn around to face her. It's the ginger from five. I look her up and down; her cheeks are sunken and hollow; she's nothing but skin and bones.

"Aren't you?" I ask,

I could take her easily; she has no fight left in her.

"I wanted to," she admits, "but I can't kill a little girl."

"So?"

"So, I won't kill you."

For a second, the idea of killing her crosses my mind, but I discard it; for now, the smartest course of action seems to be a truce.

"Just this once," she adds.

The cogs and wheels in my mind are spinning.

"I've got a better idea." My stupid mouth says without my permission, but I have to finish now. "What if you join us as an ally?"

***

Yeah ik, i had to make another filler chapter, but since i'm publishing this one alongside the next, (two chapters in 1 day no idea how i did it) chapter 5 is filled with action :)

Also, I had to change some stuff from the original book so my fic makes more sense. I'll always tell u what i'll change in the chapter before tho, so yea, a lot of procrastinating done to tell u in my version the boy from 10 is still alive. 

Luv u all, ty so much for choosing this fic to read :)

Kelz->out