The Hunger Games- Prim's Story

Chapter 19

I wake up and Rue's gone. I think, for a second, that she's left with Thresh already, that she left without saying goodbye. But then I hear Peeta and Rue calling my name. "Prim! Breakfast!" 

I climb down from the tree and sit down on the ground next to Rue. She smiles at me and I smile back. Peeta hands me some dried fruit and a small fish. It has tiny bones that get stuck in my throat and at one point, I start gagging and Rue has to hit me on the back to get it out. That's really embarrassing. We're pretty quiet when eating, and I'm not sure what the others are thinking, but I sure know what I am. I wonder how this all is going to work. I know for a fact that Thresh won't kill Rue now, but I'm still worried about her safety. Clove and Cato are still a distinct threat and it would break my heart to see her name up in the sky. 

When we're finished, Peeta breaks the silence. "So, splitting our supplies?" Thresh nods and dumps out his bag. The rest of us follow. After a second thought, a contribute my first aid kit to the pile. I was going to keep it for myself and Peeta, but what if Rue gets hurt? And I don't see them hiding anything from us. Thresh and Peeta go through the food and water first, then the weapons, and finally the rest of everything. The blankets, sleeping bag, and my first aid kit. By the time they're done, combined, Peeta and I have four large pieces of dried fruit, four small fish, two water bottles, one full, the other half. We also have a knife, spear, and three arrows, but no bow. Thresh and Peeta found the arrows, but no bow. It was probably from the Careers. We have one blanket, in return for the cave, while Thresh and Rue have one sleeping bag and two blankets. Then, we have a roll of bandages, half the bottle of fever pills, and six large leaves Rue found to heal cuts. 

"So this is it," Peeta says with finality.  I look at Rue and will my eyes not to water. She looks like she's trying to do the same. Thresh goes over to Peeta and pats him on the shoulder and smiles. Peeta smiles and says, "Good luck."

"You too," Thresh says and he beckons Rue to follow him. I run forward to hug Rue. I don't let go until I know that I won't be able to hold back tears. I don't know why, but this really isn't easy to handle. She gives me a sad smile and I lean forward to give her a small kiss on the cheek. I run away to walk with Peeta before I can see her reaction. I don't want to see it if it's bad.

Peeta knows the way to the cave and I look around trying to memorize where we're going. Who knows, I might have to walk this uncharted path all by myself. After a while though, I start to lose interest in my surroundings and I start thinking. "Thresh doesn't say much, does he?" I ask. He didn't even say goodbye to Peeta, even though, from the looks of it, they were friends. 

"He doesn't. But when he does, it's important." He doesn't seem bothered about not saying goodbye. His mind is elsewhere, but not where I'd thought they'd be. "So," he prompts. 

"So," I repeat. I know what he's thinking and I'd rather forget what he's trying to bring up. I've never had a 'thing' for anyone, at least not that I remember and I don't think I like it. It makes me nervous and vulnerable. Weak. I guess I've always been weak, but now, I can't be. And I don't want to be. 

He playfully nudges me. "So, you and Rue?" 

I roll my eyes and try to play it off as a close friendship, but I'm not fooling anyone, not even the Capitol audience, and they aren't the brightest. "It's nothing. I won't see her again anyway, we're going to go home right?" I don't mention how whenever I look at her, my heart flutters. 

He smiles. "Okay then. If you don't want to talk about it, then we'll talk about something else. Like your face." He looks at the huge burns on my face. "What happened?" 

I touch the tight, rough skin on my face and shudder. "The huge fire. I collapsed and Rue found me. She tried her best to fix me, but I think these are here to stay. I'm fine."

"She tried water? And the leaves? What about the burn creme?" He asks, concerned.

"Not the burn creme yet. I found the burn creme and found Thresh right after." I answer honestly. 

He nods and responds, "We'll try that when we get to the cave. It's only about an hour of walking away." And with an afterthought, "Don't expect miracles though. Those are pretty bad." 

We walk in silence for the rest of the time until we get to a stream. We follow the stream to the left in another part of the woods I don't recognize. I don't think I've ever been to this area of the arena. I see huge muddy banks covered in tangly water plants and large rocks. As we continue to walk, the muddy banks cease, until all there is, are large rocks, increasing in size. We walk about fifty feet more and come across a few mini caves formed by a mixture of large and small rocks. We come across a bigger one, and when I look in eagerly. 

The floor is covered in pine needles, but other than that, you couldn't have known that anyone had ever stepped foot in the cave. Peeta motions for me to go in, and I move away some of the rocks to make an opening so we can get in. He stops to get water at the stream and collect some sticks for a fire when I set out some of our supplies out and split it fairly between us. Then, I apply a thin layer of burn creme to my face and leg. When that's done, he finally comes back in and I sit down on the pine needles and watch him cover up the opening with more rocks and vines. His fingers move carefully and when he's finished, you couldn't see anything from the outside. The vines keep out a lot of light, but the few holes from the vines bring in small rays of sun that linger on the walls of the cave. 

My stomach growls and Peeta smiles. "Hungry?" He asks, with laughter in his voice. I nod and get out two small fish and some of the dried fruit. 

"We don't have much, do we?" I say, looking critically at our small pile. 

"No problem." He says, making a small fire. "Thresh taught me to fish in the stream and how to hunt. We'll have enough soon." 

We cook our food and eat it quickly. I'm more aware of the bones now and manage not to choke on them. The fish are small and not very filling. The dried fruit is hard and I'm not sure how nutritious it is, because I still feel starving. I'm cold too. I try to shrink into my jacket, but I'm still freezing. Peeta motions me over and puts his arm around me, in front of the fire. He wraps the blanket around me and I lean on him. It's almost peaceful, the blanket around me, pulled up to my chin, Peeta's arm around me, and the fire dancing in front of us, giving off its warm air. The only thing ruining this moment now is the knawing hunger in my stomach.

It's so peaceful, I soon forget our troubles and fall asleep. I don't dream, but I wake up to Peeta poking me. "Prim, Prim, Prim, Prim, Prim, oh my god, Prim, wake up already!" 

I wake up and push him away. "Why are you so annoying?" I ask. 

His eyes are twinkling. He pulls out a silver parachute and opens it, to reveal two bowls of soup broth and two spoons. "Am I so annoying now?"