Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Come on, Katniss. I'm not 5 years old. I'm hurt but I can look after myself for a few minutes. What I can't do is die of dehydration in the Hunger Games. That's just embarrassing" Peeta rambled, trying to get Katniss to leave and get water because they had been sitting in a dark, dry cave all night and hadn't drank water in days.

"You sure do act like it" Katniss shot back, using the knife she found to sharpen a rock. She wanted to have a close range weapon in case they got attacked while they slept but they had been to scared to sleep anyway.

"You're rude." He grumbled, whining like a child.

"Can it, Peeta. I'm thirsty too. Its just too risky to leave you here by yourself."

"I know it is. But if we stay without water, we'll die of dehydration. If you leave, either you can get ambushed or I can get ambsuhed. If we both leave, we both get ambushed. Might as well take the risk" Peeta says, trying to sit up but failing miserably. "Besides, the cut on my leg is the size of a bird. I might as well be dead, so just get me some water."

"Fine. If it makes you shut up." Katniss says, immediately regretting it. She stands up dramatically, smiling at Peeta as she grabs her bow and shoves the rock in the pocket of her windbreaker. She walks out of the cave, moving quietly as to not alert anybody in the silent night.

As she crept to the stream, she couldn't help but wonder how her and Peeta would make it out. He was injured severely and they barely had food or defenses besides her rock and bow. But with her carrying both, Peeta had to fend for himself. Her "lover". She didn't love him. She cared for him. She wanted him to be safe but she didn't love him. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was what the Capitol wanted. It's always about the cap-

Her thoughts were cut off by a familiar scream. It went on for no longer than 3 seconds before suddenly stopping, making the eerie silence of the forest all the more unsettling. She drops everything, running back to the cave as fast as her feet would take her. Her lungs burned and her vision was blurring hut she couldn't slow down. She had to save peeta.

When she got to the cave, there were no signs of activity, except for a few missing items and the dead body lying on the ground. Peeta. His face was covered in blood, the slit on his throat still gushing out warm blood. Who. Who. Who. Who did this. Her head spun as she fell to her knees by his side, sobbing. 'Why. Why. Why. Why did I get the water. I should've let him annoy me. Why.' She knew staying in there could put her in more danger, so she gathered all of the supplies that were left by the intruder and ran out, tears running down her face as she ran.

Her vision was blurred with tears and exhaustion by the time she stopped running, not being able to stand up on her own. She didn't know how long she had been running but she knew that it was enough for her legs to almost completely numb. She set down her supplies, plopping down onto the floor due to the fact that she was unable to use both of her legs. She lied down, trying to ignore the fact that she was now completely alone.

After laying down and feeling sorry for herself for what felt like an eternity, she got up, moves her supplies into a nearby bush and layed down in it so she would be hidden. She let herself drift off to sleep, exhaustion possessing her. She dreamt about how she could keep her family safe by winning. She dreamt of the luxury. And of Peeta.

Chapter Text

When she woke up, she was met with tiny raindrops, no bigger than a grain of rice, splattering all over her. She sat up, looking around as the bright morning sun peeked through the shrubs. With a groan, she lied back down, not even bothering to check on her supplied. It only took a few moments for her to remember Peeta, or what was left of him. She wanted to see him again, not out of love or sadness but out of loneliness. The gamed were bad enough to be in but being alone was the worst thing that could've happened to her. She was vulnerable now, left with only her thoughts and impulses.

As she sat up for a second time, she grabbed her things, slinging her small bag over her shoulder, carrying the rest. She walked over to a little stream and got down on her knees, scooping some water with her hands. She had dropped her water bottle the previous day when she heard Peeta's scream and she hadn't been able to retrieve it. She didn't even think about it when she ran away, rightfully so.

As she got back up to her feet, she heard rustling in the trees and turned around to face Clove, who wasted no time launching a knife at her, it grazed her eye as she dodged, leaving her with only one good eye. It didn't matter though because she only needed one eye to use her bow so she strung an arrow quickly, scurrying into the trees to avoid Cloves knives.

"You scared, girl on fire? Me and Cato got rid of your lover boy because we felt like it. Don't take it personally" Clove said, following her through the thin trees. Katniss broke for just a second before she realized that this was her chance to get rid of the people who did this to her. Brought her misery. With no sense of orientation, she lets a bow fly, hitting Clove right in the leg but before she could shoot another one, her bow got snatched out of her hand and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cato running into the trees. When she turned back to Clove, she was gone as well, leaving Katniss with only that stupid rock to defend herself. She ran the opposite direction, hoping to get as far away from them as possible when she ran into someone, both of them falling to the ground.

As she pulled out her rock and crawled back on her elbows, she noticed that it was Rue.

"Rue? You're...alive?" Katniss says still keeping her distance from the girl. Rue doesn't answer, slowly getting up to run away.

"WAIT! Don't go. I'm not gonna hurt you Rue" Katniss says gently, standing to her feet as well. She remembered how after getting rid of the supplies that the Careers had, she had never reunited with Rue after she didn't respond to the bird calls.

"Hi." Rue says, stopping and staring at Katniss, not knowing what to expect. Katniss walked over to her and looked at her for a few seconds before hugging her tightly.

"What happened?" Katniss asked, not letting go of her. Rue hugged back, starting to cry.

"It was them. The Careers. I didn't go fast enough and they found me so I had to run and climb far away. I didn't have any weapons so it was all I could do." She says, Katniss finally letting go of her. She wiped her tears and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go somewhere safe? We're gonna be okay. And we won't get separated this time." Katniss says trying to walk away but Rue stays put.

"I know where we can go. It the one place in the Arena with no cameras. My mentor told me to look for a place with many animals. They don't like the sound of the cameras so sometimes they hide there." Rue says, pointing out into the trees. Katniss hesitates for a bit before following her. They walked for a long time, Katniss noticing little markings on every tree they passed.

"What are those?" She asks, Rue looking up at her when she stops.

"I did them, to remember where I am and if I'm going in the right direction."

"That's smart." Katniss says as they start walking again. When they finally reach their destination, it's a deep cave, with some animals here and there.

"I like it here because I have privacy. I want to be able to sleep without having the Capitol breathing down my back. I want to be able to feel safe and not like some prey." Rue says as she puts her stuff down and lays down, using her jacket as a pillow. Katniss does the same, laying down right next to Rue.

"We're apart of the last 4. How does it feel?" Katniss asks, staring up at the ceiling of the cave.

"Im scared. That just means I'm closer to death" Rue says, turning to face Katniss. Katniss sighs, turning to face her too.

"I am too. It's really scary and dangerous. But we can do it." Katniss says, reaching out to rub her arm and comfort her. "Speaking of dangerous though, if you had such a good hiding place and stuff, why did you leave?"

"Food. I haven't been able to eat anything for a few days. I had some berries but not nearly enough to make me full. I felt so weak and knew I wouldn't survive if I didn't eat something so I was gonna go and gather some berries and nuts."

"You're hungry?" Katniss asks. After receiving a nod from Rue, she reaches over to her small bag, pulling out a pack of jerky. She hands it to Rue, smiling. "Here you go."

As she watched Rue eat, she realized that she was right. Without the cameras, she felt so free. Like a billion pounds had been lifted off of her back. Now she could cry over Peeta without worrying about being Judged by millions of people.

Finally, Rue hands her the pack again, eating half. "Thank you." She smiles wide, feeling like she was just shot with energy. As Katniss finished the jerky, they lay in silence with the occasional small talk about the games and their families. As the night finally fell and the sun was no longer shining, they were both asleep, basking in the freedom and warmth of the cave.