『 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡 』𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

The Plan

TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD, VIOLENCE, GRUESOME SCENES, AND DEATH.

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Rue has decided to trust you wholeheartedly. You know this because as soon as the anthem finishes, she snuggles up against you and falls asleep. Nor do you have any misgivings about her, as you take no particular precautions. If she'd wanted you dead, all she would have had to do was disappear from that tree without pointing out the tracker jacker nest. Needling you, at the very back of your mind, is the obvious. Both of you can't win these Games. But since the odds are still against either of you surviving, you manage to ignore the thought.

Besides, you're distracted by your latest idea about the Careers and their supplies. Somehow you and Rue must find a way to destroy their food. You're pretty sure feeding themselves will be a tremendous struggle. Traditionally, the Career tributes' strategy is to get hold of all the food early on and work from there. The years when they have not protected it well — one year a pack of hideous reptiles destroyed it, another a Gamemakers' flood washed it away — those are usually the years that tributes from other districts have won. That the Careers have been better red growing up is actually to their disadvantage, because they don't know how to be hungry. Not the way you and Rue do.

But you're too exhausted to begin any detailed plan tonight. Your wounds recovering, your mind still a bit foggy from the venom, and the warmth of Rue at your side, her head cradled on your shoulder, have given you a sense of security. You realize, for the first time, how very lonely you've been in the arena. How comforting the presence of another human being can be. You give in to your drowsiness, resolving that tomorrow the tables will turn. Tomorrow, it's the Careers who will have to watch their backs.

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The boom of the cannon jolts you awake. The sky's streaked with light, the birds already chattering. Rue perches in a branch across from you, her hands cupping something. You wait, listening for more shots, but there aren't any.

" Who do you think that was? " You can't help thinking of Peeta.

"I don't know. It could have been any of the others," says Rue. "I guess we'll know tonight."

" Who's left again? " You ask.

" The boy from District One. Both tributes from Two. The boy from Three. Thresh and me. And you and Peeta," says Rue. " That's eight. Wait, and the boy from Ten, the one with the bad leg. He makes nine."

There's someone else, but neither of you can remember who it is.

" I wonder how that last one died," says Rue.

" No telling. But it's good for us. A death should hold the crowd for a bit. Maybe we'll have time to do something before the Gamemakers decide things have been moving too slowly," you say. " What's in your hands? "

" Breakfast," says Rue. She holds them out revealing two big eggs.

" What kind are those?" You ask.

" Not sure. There's a marshy area over that way. Some kind of waterbird," she says.

It'd be nice to cook them, but neither of you want to risk a fire. Your guess is the tribute who died today was a victim of the Careers, which means they've recovered enough to be back in the Games. You each suck out the insides of an egg, eat a rabbit leg and some berries. It's a good breakfast anywhere.

" Ready to do it? " You say, pulling on your pack.

" Do what? " says Rue, but by the way she bounces up, you can tell she's up for whatever you propose.