The explosion is big and loud. I've managed to hold onto the shoe, but most of the things inside have flown away. Instinctively, I look for Rue and Noah. Thankfully Noah isn't too far but Rue...she's gone.
The ground is shaking and it's like an earthquake. I've never been in one but we've learned about them in school. And because of it, It's hard to stand still; it's so wobbly. I do my best to make my way to Noah. He looks pale, and there is blood dripping from his right ear.
"Noah!" I screech, then realize the careers could have easily heard me under normal circumstances. But thanks to the shaking ground, they can't. Besides, I don't even know what normal circumstances means anymore.
I run over to him. He still has the spear in his hand. He looks extremely pale. Like blood is draining out from his face.
"Are you okay?" I ask. He looks confused. He just stares at me with a weird look. Then he's doing something weird with his ears, snapping, and clapping then suddenly looks at me.
"I can't hear!" he says. Oh wow, that explosion must have done some serious damage to his ears.
"Oh my...Well we should-" I forgot he can't hear. I find a stick and write in the dirt, RUE.
He nods. I mouth, "Let's go."
We start heading in the direction that I originally was in, before I came to Noah. We still can't see Rue.
"At least the ground has stopped shaking," I say, trying to be positive. I'm so frustrated. Where did she go? Is she looking for me too? Then I feel a tap on my back and then I see Noah pointing at a tree. What's that suppose to mean, that she could be in a tree? Haha, well I don't think she would be climbing trees in a situation like this...
He taps my shoulder again. He points at me, then up at the tree, then makes binoculars with his fingers around his eyes and makes a motion of looking for someone. Then I finally get what he is telling me. To climb the tree and look for Rue from there.
"You're a genius!" I say as I pull him into a tight hug. His cheeks flush. Whether it's from the blood he's losing from the ear or he's blushing, I don't know.
His ear! His ear is bleeding! I forgot about that. We have to wrap something around it, or stop the blood! Okay. Stay calm Prim. Look around you, what things can you use? I look at the boot to see what is left. Some of the shoe food, and there's the tin. The arrow is gone, and the slingshot is gone too. I sigh. Nothing useful. I take off my jacket and rip of part of the sleeve. I wrap it around his ear, using fast motions so the amount of blood he loses is minimal. He's a bit taller than me so I have to stand on my toes to reach him. I tie the cloth around him and look for something to hold it in place. I find a stick, it will do. I twist the cloth and stick and make it stay. I'm glad I've watched Mother deal with patients all the time.
After fixing his ear, or at least making the blood stop, I climb up onto a tree. I can't see much so I climb higher until I can see more. There's the cornucopia, and the ruins of the supplies that the careers had stacked up. Then there's the stream. And then there's Rue.
Rue! I know it's risky to call her name, since the careers could be near. Instead, I mentally take an image of where Rue is and climb down. She seems to be looking for me too. I run down from the tree and start running towards where I'd seen Rue. I motion for Noah to follow me and he does. He is still clutching his arm so I mentally note to make sure to help him sometime soon.
I run, I run because I need to find Rue soon. After a bit I climb back up on a tree so that I can see her, and I see her, just a little while to go. I climb down and walk. I check to see if Noah is there, and he is. I walk and then I can see her.
"Rue!" I exclaim but making sure to control my volume.
"Prim!" She exclaims and her volume is controlled as well. I run over to her and give her a big hug. Noah just gives a smile. Rue doesn't have her shoe, she must have lost it in the explosion.
"So, what are we doing today?" Rue asks.
"I guess we'll be filling up our supplies," I say, holding up the shoe.
"Okay," pause, "but what's up with him?" Rue asks indicating Noah.
"Um, he can't hear, his right ear is bleeding, and I think he broke his arm," I say.
"Then we better fix it," Rue replies. And so we do. Rue looks around for leaves we can use to heal him, and I look for things we can use to make a cast. Soon, we've fixed him up quite well.
"What do you think, doctor Prim?" Rue asks.
"I think he'll be well soon enough, doctor Rue," and we giggle.
We all look around for berries and nuts, but we are also careful to make sure that the careers aren't around. Noah is in the most dangerous position I guess, since he can't defend himself with a broken arm, and he can't hear the enemies approach.
"I think he should stay with one of us, just in case," I suggest.
"Take him with you, I can climb and jump from the branches and run away, but you still need some practice. He has a spear, so he can help. He still has one good arm."
"Ok, I'll take him," I say and motion for him to follow.
Together, Noah and I search for things to eat: nuts, plants, berries and roots. Suddenly, he stops and pulls me close to him. He looks me in the eyes and tells me,
"Prim, I need to tell you something."
I take in a sharp breath. Something tells me what he's about to say is important.
"I think you have a really kind heart and I can tell you care about others first. You're gentle and...you should have never been put in the games. I guess what I'm trying to say is...you are the best person I have ever met and I've...I've taken a liking to you."
He kisses me on the cheek and I freeze. My heart is pounding and I'm speechless.
"One of us is going to die," he continues, "don't forget about me."
I can't believe what just happened. Before I say anything, he walks away to continue scavenging for food. I stand there for another few seconds before the internal screaming happens. Giddy, I skip to a bush and pluck some berries that I recognize as nightlock. They are poisonous, and I put them in my pocket without Bunny since it's fatal.
Then I hear someone scream. Noah. When I turn around, he's on the floor, with a spear through his stomach. Boom! His cannon goes off and I know he's dead. In front of him is the District 1 boy, Marvel. How dare he! Happiness, shock, fear, and sadness all turn to anger as I take the spear out from Noah's stomach and run after Marvel. I crouch and pick up a sharp stone and throw it at Marvel's head, hard. He falls over and I stab him with the spear. The fear starts creeping in. I feel scared. I would never kill an innocent person. Boom. There goes another cannon.
~A/N~ I didn't want to kill Noah, really! I wanted Prim and Noah to have their happy ending, but that's not how these games work. Innocent people are killed. Sigh. Rest in Peace Noah. As I wrote about Noah and Marvel's death, I thought about how when you're writing, you only need a few words and one of your characters can be dead. Shrug. Keep up with the reading, I'll have a new chapter up soon, as in tomorrow~!
-Monica