Chapter 18 guys :D
Please remember to comment and vote!
And enjoy, most of all ;)
Also, I'm not going to be updating Try Not To Be Afraid of the dark for a while :'(
Only because I'm editing it :)
And Broken Beyond Repair is on hold AGAIN, as I have no inspiration to write :(
One last thing, do you guys actually read these author notes? Or am I just rambling on to myself about random crap? :/
If you do read them, please tell me in your comments! :D
Thankyou!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I try and control my breathing, in case of the off chance that they're not waiting for me, instead just waiting for someone else. Yet I know that they're waiting for me; I know they've been following me all along since I set off.
Trying to forget about who's outside, I decide the only thing I can do now is sleep. If I try and get away, they're sure to catch me and then probably kill me.
After about five hours of tossing and turning, I realise that I'm probably never going to be able to get to sleep, not while I'm this scared.
Some time later, I notice the blanket of darkness dissapear from the sky, allowing the sun to come up. Poking my head out of where I am now, carefully in case I am spotted, I realise that whoever was outside last night, is nowhere to be seen this morning. Quickly yet quietly, I slide out of my hiding place, and tiptoe towards a tree and hide behind it, just in case my 'stalker' is waiting not so far away. But after a while, with no movement what-so-ever, I peep out from behind the tree and carry on with my quest to find Caleb, heading North yet again, furiously trying to remember the path the waves took when they washed me away to the beach.
I've only been walking for about five minutes, when I hear a noise that sounds just like the snapping of a twig underfoot. Swinging round, I gasp as my eyes lay on a small girl, terrified as to what she thinks I'm going to do to her.
"Rue!" I exclaim, scaring her a bit with how loud I am being.
"Um..." She says, a slight tremour in her voice. "I'm sorry."
I take a deep breath, wondering what I should say to her. I know that any other tribute would just kill her, but she's the exact same age as me! I would never be able to do it. And I suppose anyway, I'm not like any of the other tributes, I will do anything to avoid killing anything or anyone unless it's for the ultimate survival.
"What are you doing here Rue?" I ask her, not wanting to moe any closer in case I frighten her, "You where the one following me last night, weren't you?"
Slowly, she nods her head. "I'm sorry, I just didn't..."
I interupt her before she finishes speaking, as I know exactly what she's going to say. Twelve year old girls minds are pretty must the same, after all. "You didn't know where to go, you were lost, weren't you?"
Again she nods, this time taking a step back from me, a look of horror in her face. I'm shocked at her reaction. "No, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!" I tell her, smiling weakly to show I'm being genuine.
Rue, after a few minutes of silence, takes a step towards me, showing that she's willing to trust me. "Okay," Is all she says.
I smile again, brushing some leaves off my boots, "I would offer you some food, but unfortunately, I don't have any."
Now it's her turn to smile. "That's okay, I've got tons of food back in my den, do you want to come and have some? I'll happily take you there." Without thinking about what I'm doing, I start to follow her as she takes me back to her 'den'.
As we're walking, I suddenly remember the dangers of going with her now. For one, she could take me there then kill me. Seems unlikely, but there's loads of surprises in the Hunger Games. And secondly, what if she has allies back there that could turn on me?
But somehow, something inside me is saying 'trust Rue, she's not going to hurt you'. And I decide to trust her, because after all she trusted me.
"Hey Rue?" I shout to her, as I'm already starting to lag behind.
"Yeah?" She replies, turning around to face me as she watches me run towards her. "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing..." I say, looking her straight in the eye, "But, are we allies now then?"
"Yeah, I guess we are." She smiles.
With Rue as an allie for now, and Caleb maybe not so far away, I know that I at least have people there, so I don't have to do this alone.
-----------------------
"Wow! These nuts are amazing!" I tell her, nodding approvingly as she watches me devouring her food.
"Yeah, I go and find them when I go scavage hunting sometimes of a night, so I don't get caught." She says, glad that I'm enjoying the food that she has found.
"You'll have to definately show me sometime, I'd love that." I grin.
"Sure, that would be fun. What do you think of the roots as well? Took me ages to pull them out from the lake, but it was definitely worth it." Rue says, gesturing to the roots lying in front of me, practically screaming 'eat me, Primrose!'. I do as they say, and bit into one of them, my eyes widening as the flavour explodes in my mouth.
"They. Are. Delicious." I say, inbetween each mouthful. Before I know it, I've finished of her whole supply of roots. I mouth sorry, as I swallow, but she just laughs, not bothered.
"Yeah, Katniss roots they are. Pretty tasty, huh?" She says, nibbling on a small, furry nut, her small hands holding the top of it elegantly.
Just at the word 'Katniss', I can feel the colour draining from my face. "Are you okay?" Rue asks me, her face full of concern. I nod, smiling, yet she know's that I'm lying.
"Oh Prim..." She says as she realises what she's just said. "I'm sorry, so sorry."
"It's okay. I just miss her, you know. Everyday I think of her." I say, tears streaming down my cheeks. I shouldn't be telling her all this, it'll just make me seem weak to the other tributes, and most of all to the other sponsors. But, I can't help it, the mention of my beloved sister, and I go all weak and fragile.
Rue doesn't say anything, just looks at me sympathetically.
"I understand, in fact, I miss my family too. Everyday I think of them. Actually, I think about everyone back at District 11. They were all like family to me; broke their hearts to say goodbye to me." She says, after a while of sitting there in silence, the only noise to be heard is the one of roots being munched and nuts being crushed. I really was hungry, judging by the amount of Rue's stash of food that I've ate.
"Maybe, just maybe, you'll get to see them again. Good luck to you," I say, smiling at her.
"No, not me, I won't be going home. But I really think you might be able to win. And I'm not just saying that." She tells me, her face full of honesty. For some reason, I think this actually might be her opinion and she's not just lying to make me feel better.
"How so?" I say, wanting to know why she thinks this.
"Well, you may not be the best fighter, but you certainly know how to hide. And sometimes that's crutial to winning the Hunger Games. So good luck to you too, and may the odds be ever in your favour," She giggles, as she says the Hunger Games' famous quote.
I laugh too, as I wash down my lucious meal with some interesting syrup, kept in a container just like the one I had.
"This is wonderful!" I exclaim, my face lighting up as the tasty liquid hits my mouth. I lick my lips, satisfied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you guys think? Can Rue be trusted?
Beg, and you will get the next chapter very soon!
Please remember to vote and comment and fan, it means the world to me to know that you enjoy reading my story! :D
Also...
I'm writing a new story called 'The Baby Project' but I wont be posting it until I've finished this story. And I'll be posting 'Forever Awkward' too :D
Unfortunately though, when I go back to school, I won't be updating as regularly as I am now as I'll probably have loads of homework to do and after that, I'll be too tired to do anything more than eat and shower. So, I'm sorry, but I'll update on weekends, because I'm a nice person ;P
Love you all <3