The Hunger Games- Prim's Story

Chapter 17

My eyes widen in fear and I quickly climb a tree. I'm frantically grabbing for branches and my feet slip and I fall down to the ground and land on my back. I scramble back up when I hear a deep voice behind me. "Where's Rue?" I whip around and see Thresh, the large, eighteen-year-old boy from District 11. Rue's district partner.

I back away. I'm terrified of him, it wouldn't be hard for him to snap my neck now, or kill me with the large crescent sword that he's gripping in his hand. "Where is she? You're allies aren't you?" He says, more gently, which still sounds threatening due to his deep voice.

"How do you know that?" I stammer, my back up against a tree. Thresh still stands in his original spot, he hasn't moved since I saw him. 

"You climbed the ropes together. And sat together. I figured you had a thing for her." He shrugs and looks down at his knife.

Panic surges through me. I see him glancing at his knife and I know what he's thinking. I think quickly and ask, "Why? Why do you want her?" Maybe if I can get him talking he'll hold off on killing me. But that will be a hard feat to accomplish, Thresh doesn't seem to talk a lot. He kept to himself during training, except for helping Rue occasionally, and during his interview, he stayed sullen and hostile and would only answer with 'yes' or 'no'. 

He rolls his eyes at me and says, "Relax. I have better things to do than kill little kids. Just tell me where she is, she can't survive by herself no matter how much she thinks she can. Even with another little kid helping her." 

I scowl when he calls me a little kid. I'm not little anymore. I counter, "I'm not a little kid. I have a knife."

He laughs, and I listen in awe. I've never even seen him smile, this must be a big step for him. He doesn't look like he laughs a lot, and I haven't seen the older tributes laugh since we got to the Capitol. "So do I," he replies. "C'mon kid, what's your price? Just take me," he throws a small container of roots and plants at my feet and I pick it up and shove it into my bag.

"One condition," I say. He looks at me with his arms crossed, waiting. "I'll show you where Rue is if you bring me to Peeta right after. And insure my and Rue's safety throughout the trip." 

He silently walks towards me and picks up the bag I dropped and he throws it at me. I catch it with both hands. He asks, "Which way?"

I point towards where I told Rue to go. We're probably miles away from where Rue and I started, but we should come across her going in her general direction. He nods and I see a faint flicker of a smile on his face. Then he takes my spear. I find my voice and say, "That's my spear," 

I hold out my hand for him to give it to me but he doesn't. "You can barely carry it. You need to lead us, I want to get there before sundown." 

We start walking, and he doesn't say anything. I keep making small remarks, trying to get him to talk but he only nods or shrugs his shoulders. We occasionally stop for water, but there's still no conversation, the only sounds are leaves and grass crunching underneath our boots and our heavy breathing. "You don't talk much do you?" I remark.

He shrugs and replies, "There's not much reason to." 

A brick wall again. "You have to have something you want to talk about," I pester. "What about your family? I have a mom and a sister. My sister's name is Katniss. She's amazing with a bow, she shoots everything perfectly, right in the eye-"

"That's the one Peeta's in love with isn't it?" He interrupts me.

"Mhm," I say, and continue talking. "I also have a goat named Lady, she makes the best cheese in the Seam. And my cat, Buttercup. He's kind of raggedy but he's loveable. My sister used to hate him so much and she tried to drown him. But she tolerates him now. At least he doesn't hiss at her anymore, that was pretty terrible considering she fed him." 

He nods and then says, "I have a sister. Ethelia. And my grandmother. We all work in the fields."

I'm puzzled at this. "Your grandmother? Wouldn't she be a little old?" Even in twelve, you aren't allowed in the mines after a certain age. 

"The Peacekeepers don't care. If you're able to walk, you're able to work." He says gruffly. I'm silent. The way both Rue and Thresh describe District 11 makes me think District 12 is some sort safe haven.

I search for a more positive topic and we're silent for a while. So I say the first thing that comes into my mind. "Do you have a crush back at home? Girl? Boy?" I hate admitting it, but I'm a sucker for a good romance. Whenever Katniss comes home from her dates and we go to bed, I grill her about her date. She always ends up falling asleep in the middle of one of my questions and I have to shake her awake again. 

He smiles and says, "A little bit of both," and then he stops and looks at me. "And what about you?"

I look down and continue walking quickly. I know what he's getting at. He continues, "I know you have a thing for her."

I blush and say, "I don't know." Do I have a thing for Rue? I think so. But I don't know what the thing is. I have a little idea, but I'm not about to admit it. We both can't win anyway, so what's the point in exploring it? He sees my blush though and smirks. 

We continue walking and the sun's starting to go down. Luckily we're coming close to where Rue and I started. We continue in the direction she went. The anthem hasn't been played yet, but I already know who's going to be in the sky tonight. Hopefully, Marvel's death will hold the crowd for a little bit and give us a mellow evening and night. 

We go farther into Rue's territory and I notice some leaves in a flower shape on the ground. She's been here. We're still walking in silence, weapons out, when I hear a shrill scream and another panicked voice. I start running, crashing through the woods, not caring if Thresh is behind me or not. The thrashing coming from behind me, tells me he's right on my trail.

I skid to a stop when I see her. She's trapped in a net, kicking her arms and legs out, with a nervous Peeta right next to her with a knife in hand.