Rise From the Ashes

Chapter Fifteen

My right ear is ringing and when I reach up for my left ear, my hand comes back bloody. I pull my hood up. No blood trail. I can't get myself back to my feet so I start crawling. A few stray blasts knock me back onto my face and I just drag myself into my hiding place when they reappear.

Gale is so enraged it's comical. He catches the boy from three around the neck and twists. A canon must go off because the others convince him they must've died in the explosions because he calms down and they move to the lake. The hovercraft appears and picks up the body of the boy from three.

They stay at the lake until night fall and they only see the face of the boy from three. They put on the glass like the ones I have and the boy from one lights a torch. They stride into the woods and I slip my own glasses on. It's almost like it's day time. I cover myself in leaves and grit my teeth. It's quickly becoming colder during the nights and I'm missing my sleeping bag.

The next morning my ear has stopped ringing and I find I can walk again. I get up and hurry towards Rue and my meeting spot. She isn't there so I climb a tree to wait. She probably got stopped. My mind finally drifts back Cato. I hope he's alright. I climb down and sprinkle mint leaves on the ground. This way she knew I was here and the others won't question it. Except Gale. He'd probably notice. I hurry away and keep my right ear cocked for information. My left ear is still dead.

"Ash!" A scared scream pierces the air.

"Rue!" I scream yelling towards the noise. I find Rue right as the spear enters her body. I pull back an arrow and it flies into the neck of the boy from One. I run over to Rue and cut her out of the net.

"Did you blow up the food?" She asks.

"Every single bit of it." I answer.

"Can you sing?" Rue asks.

"Yeah of course." I answer. I take a deep breath. "Deep in the meadow, under the willow.A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise."

Rues breathing slows but I have to finish the song. 

"Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you. Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of green, a moon beam ray. Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true.Here is the place where I love you."  I sing softly. Rues eyes close and her canon goes off. I gently slide her head off my lap and stand. I can't leave her like this. I walk to the edge of the clearing and I carefully pick a bunch of flowers. I decorate her body carefully. Giving her a wreath of flowers, covering the ugly wound, outlining her body. I kiss her forehead and stand.

I press my fingers to my mouth and hold them out. I retrieve my arrow from the boy from One and cut the packs from their backs. I leave the area trying to hold back my tears. They can't see me as weak. I start back to the cave and keep my head down. I slip into the cave and carefully go through their packs.

"Ash." Cato moans.

"Okay, help Cato." I tell myself softly. I feel his face. "You're burning up." I carefully get his pants off and check his leg. It's very swollen and red. While I was the best healer of our small group of hunters, it's normally small cuts or the larger ones that can be fixed by just adding a bandage and one of the many antibacterial herbs that are around district twelve. The leaves for the tracker jacket stings will at least help it with the swelling.

I carefully get him up and take him down to the stream. I chew up some leaves and apply it to his leg. Pus runs out of his leg by the bucket. I turn to his other injuries and treat his burns and stings. I carefully reapply the leaves to his leg and then apply some of the burn ointment. I dig out the boy from Ones first aid kit and carefully bandage it and get some fever reducing medicine in him. I help him back up and back into the cave. I get him tucked in again and lean back against the wall taking a deep breath. Rue is gone. I fight back a scream and satisfy my urge by hiding my face and sobbing into my hands silently. I manage to get myself under control and lean back against the wall. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. I lean back against the wall and stare at the opening.

The next morning I feel like I'm in a fog. Everything seems like too much work. I keep giving myself orders to make sure I do something. I reorder Cato and my packs and refill our water bottles. I make myself fix the cave so it's harder to find if you don't know where it is. I take care of Cato's leg and go hunting. I build a fire in the middle of the woods and cook the meat I killed. The boy from One was my first kill. It is like hunting. It's the exact same movement but completely different afterwards. He has a family that's mourning him. Maybe a girlfriend. Probably friends. They lost him because of me. I'm being credited with taking District One out of the game this year.

"Attention tributes, there will be a feast tomorrow." Claudius Templesmith says. We have enough food. I won't bother going. "Before you disregard this, each of you needs something desperately. It's being held at the cornucopia at dawn." His voice leaves.

Medicine for Cato. I guess I'll have to go. A parachute floats down to me. Inside there's a loaf of bread. The rough grain filled stuff from district Eleven. I carefully break it in half and wrap half of it up in the wrapper it came in. I bite into the warm loaf and slide down the tree. The girl from Five is peeking around a tree. I sigh and break my half in half again and get some of the rabbit out. I wrap it in the parachute and toss it over to her. She sneaks out and grabs the package. She runs away and I carefully eat the warm loaf.

I stand and force myself to walk back to the cave. I break into the rabbit and carefully nibble at it. I also eat half the groosling. It's going to be an empty day. I wriggle back into the cave and check in Cato.

"You can't go to the feast." Cato croaks.

"You need medicine." I answer. "And you can't walk. I'm not loosing you."

"Ash you can't go." He says.

"I can't lose you!" My voice cracks. "I can't lose anyone else right now."

"I can't lose you either." Cato says. There's a thunk and I walk outside. I open the bowl and find broth. I walk inside and smile.

"Look what Haymitch and Terra sent." I say cheerfully.