The Hunger Games - Primrose Everdeen

Chapter Nineteen

So sorry for the shortage of updates. So busy with school and all. Didn't know eighth  grade would have so much homework.

The feeling makes me shiver, running down my spine to the tip of my toes. Muttations, I think. But then again, it might just be a pack of wild dogs. I can't tell. All I know is they are here. Watching me, ready for a kill. They stand in front of me, growling, beering their teeth at me. A claw swipes at my leg and I can't help but yelp out in pain.

Right as one is about to pounce, I move out of the way, clutching the bark of a tree. As I look up the tree I can't help but see something else up there. Guess that my only option is to climb, though. Whatever waits up there could be harmless, staying down here with what I now know as wild dogs is definite death. My legs wrap around the trunk as I begin to scale the tree. 

Once I reach a height of which I am sure the dogs can not jump to, I study my leg. The darkness does not help. What I really need now is a light. 

I scratch the back of my neck, something that I always do when I am thinking long and hard, when I feel the chain around my neck. Thank you Cinna! Effortlessly, I peel off the necklace and switch on the light. It doesn't give me much to work with, but back in the Seam my mother and I have had to work in candle light, this should do just fine. 

The claw mark goes from my knee all the way down to my ankle. Bloody and damaged, my leg throbs in pain. This is a terrible gash, but no way is it out of my intellectual reach. In my twelve years, these sort of wounds are always the easiest to handle. Remembering the first aid kit that I never gave back to Rue, I yank open my backpack and desperately search around for it. Finally, my hand hits it and I free it from the pack. I fling it open and snatch the disinfectent cream that I used on Peeta's arm. It's not much for a cut of this scale, but it will have to do. Gently, I rub it into the slash. I bit my sleeve in agony, it's all I can do not to scream out in pain.

Once the cream is all applies and the pain has subdued, I take out the gauze and unravel it, revealing that there is only enough left to cover half of the claw mark. So, after the gauze is fastened from my knee to the bottom of my calf, I take out my knife and cut free a good foot from my shirt, figuring that the jacket is more warmth giving than the shirt. Wrapping the cloth around my leg posses little chalenge and I'm done in under ten secounds. 

I breathe deeply and tiredly. A yawn comes over me and I know that I need sleep. The dogs have moved on but I don't dare come out of this fine tree. Instead, I climb higher and higher until I remember. The figure. The one I saw before, but at the time it was the least of my worries. Now, as I inch closer to it, I consider sliding back down to the ground and running to a seperate tree. 

But I don't. Curiousity gets the best of me and I keep going, wanting more than anything to know what lays up here at the only fork in the tree. 

Her eyes are wide open, nervously shaking. "Rue?" I say queitly.

"Prim, I need help." She says weakly. A cough spurs from her mouth.

I study her face, taking in every bit of it. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I am in so much pain, the dogs got me. I found this tree, but it was too late. Please Prim." Rue cries, tears flowing down her face. "The worst is the cut on my back."

There's no time to waste, I can already tell that she is in a fatal condition. Softly, I take her in my arms and place her on her stomach, I can't even begin to comprehend how uncomfortable and painful this must be. A loud groan rockets from her lips. I grab her bag and scrummage through until I find some mint leaves. "Here, chew on these. It will help you keep quiet."

"Sorry." She painfully says as she takes them from my hand.

Her back is terrible, absoulutley horrifying. But I wipe out the medical kit and turn on my necklace so I may begin to take care of the cut. Since there is no gauze left, I take another few feet off of my shirt, leaving me with a chest exposed up to my rib cage, but the jacket keeps me warm enough, even with the air becoming so cool. 

Finally, her back is all finished. "Where else are there any cuts?" I wonder caringly.

"That's it." Rue answers. I let out a sigh of releif, grateful that I get to keep the rest of my shirt.

"Drink lots of water. I'll be on that branch over there." My bony finger points to a thick branch that sits diagnally from where we are. 

Without waiting for a reply, I hurry over to the branch and strap myself in. It isn't a good sleeping branch but I guess I'll have to do some improvising.

The water from my bottle tastes so sweet on my lips, the last of the rabbit from the start of the games makes my stomach rejoyce. Tomorrow morning, I will start a fire and cook the one that I caught from the snare. 

Still hungry, I close my eyes and drift off, but not for long. After all, who could sleep with such a close scream and canon?

So I just realized that lately I have been making Rue seem like a jerk, so I'm making up for that now. Love all nine of you, at least I think it's nine. Not many readers...