Pretty As a Primrose (A Hunger Games Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

A cannon jolts me awake. I sit up, feeling the warm sun already heating me up. Something feels off though. I blink a couple times, waking myself up.

"Rue, are you up yet?" I ask. But then I realize what was wrong. Rue is gone! The cannon that just fired, was it hers? I climb down the tree as fast as I can wihout plummeting to the ground, the moment my feet touch the floor I scream for Rue. She can't be dead! She appears, holding a rabbit in one hand and her slingshot in the other.

"Primrose, I'm fine. I just wanted to hunt before we get seriously dehydrated" Rue says. I run and hug her, thankful she hasn't left me alone. I would be lost without her. "I'll start a fire, maybe you could pick some berries" she suggests.

I nod and force myself to let her go. I head off, staying in a close range because I'm afraid to let Rue leave my sight. I think it's more for me, than for her, my staying so close. I don't want to be alone in the arena where I'm always being hunted. I search the area for any berries, but none could be found. There's no sign of water either, a little disappointing.

"I'm going to go out a little ways. Maybe I'll have better luck farther out" I call to my friend. She nods in response, her mind too focused on starting a fire. I step through the bushes, lifting my boots high. Rue is out of my sight now, I pray that nothing bad happens. I stop and investigate a bush, looking for berries or anything that could tell me that water is nearby. Nothing. I sigh and get up once again, swallowing a bit of saliva and grimacing at the awful taste. If only Haymitch knew how badly I wanted it. Haymitch! Maybe he could send me a gift from sponsors!

"Haymitch, I need water," I croak towards the sky. I frown, seeing no sign of a parachute coming. Maybe sponsors this year are betting on the strong, courageous tributes, not the pitiful little girls dying of thirst. It isn't fair, nothing is fair anymore. I feel like crying, but I don't have any tears left in me to cry. I have to keep looking, or I'll never find water. This part of the forest is dry as a bone. A rustling in the woods reaches my ears, but I ignore it thinking it's just another rabbit. Then a hand clamps over my mouth.

I struggle against the hand, trying to get away. But without water, I'm weakened and it's no use fighting. I try screaming for Rue, but the hand over my mouth doesn't let the noise escape.

"Shh. I can get you water" The voice is close to my ear, a female hissing her words so she won't be heard. I freeze and stop my struggles so I can look up at the girl. The first thing I catch is sunlight glinting off radiant red hair. Then a face becomes visible, features that remind me so of a fox.

"How?" I whisper.

"Get your little friend" she replies. Her hand releases me and I scamper off to find Rue. I find her cooking the rabbit.

"The girl from district 5, she says she'll bring us to water" I say. Rue tilts her head to one side, obviously confused.

"While I was looking, she grabbed me and told me she can get us water" I explain. She rises from the ground and pulls the rabbit from the fire.

"We'll eat later then" she shoves the dead rabbit into her pack and my heart clenches for a second seeing the poor dead rabbit. I lead her back to the exact spot where the girl had found me, but it seems she left. I furrow my brow and look for her. She slides down a tree trunk suddenly and drops to the ground.

"Don't talk" she hisses, leading Rue and I away from this area. Rue looks hesitant, but I grasp her hand and tug her along.

"Are you sure about this?" Rue asks softly. I put my finger up to my lips and nod quickly. I don't see any weapons on her, hopefully she isn't hiding any.

"Climb a tree. Watch me" the girl whispers. Rue goes ahead of me, scaling a nearby tree. I follow her up and try not to look down, but once I'm high up enough to see where the girl is going I lower my gaze. Instead of a water source, she is sneaking up to some sort of camp that's been set up. I wrinkle my forehead in confusion, wondering how the boy guarding doesn't see her. She stops in front of a large pyramid of supplies and plucks something from it. Then she sprints back at an amazing speed, stopping below our tree.