Rue's Diary

I’ve spent a week in the arena almost to the hour, and I’m surprised I made it this long. I’m on my way to our campsite as we speak; I only pause to take a break from walking to write a bit in here.

Between writing this and scouting for Careers, who are sure to be enraged by now, I’ve got my hands full. It’s taking me a really long time to get back to Katniss, which is bothersome because I feel so worried about her.

Last night, I lay awake, thinking about the people in my life, the people I love, and why I need to win this. There are eight of us left, and that increases my chances of winning by quite a bit since the last time I checked.

If Katniss or I win, it’s just that. Both of us can’t win. And if I don’t win, I hope it’s her, and I assume she thinks the same of me. We’ve become good allies, but we both know that even this friendship can’t last forever.

And then, my family. My five little siblings, my parents, and the workers at the orchard, who are practically my family, anyway. I have to survive for them; otherwise...I don’t know what they’d do. They don’t know how to take care of themselves, not without me. Especially the younger ones – they don’t know how to survive.

I think I hear something, a rattle in the leaves or a light breeze brushing against the branches, but I ignore it. If anything, it’s too small to be human, and it must be an animal. It couldn’t be another tribute, could it?

I banish the thought from my mind immediately. I’m hiding right now, and I’ve become far too good at camouflage for anyone to see me, right? Instead, I think of music. The song we sing at the end of the work day. The lyrics we say in the form of a lullaby. The songs that lull my siblings and I to sleep when our stomachs are too famished to let us.

I hear something again, and this time, my body fills with adrenaline. I’m frightened – very frightened. The noise was too loud to be an animal. It’s another tribute, I’m almost positive. I’m sitting still, motionless and frozen.

I don’t have anything to defend myself from a distance...I only have a blade I can use to cut someone up should they get close. I could throw it, but my aim isn’t very good. At best, I could hardly puncture an arm or a leg.

My pencil is shaking in my hand, and I can barely formulate thoughts in my head right now. My breathing is fast and uneven. Blood is pounding loudly in my chest.

I quickly peer out from behind the bush to see if I can spot anything, or anyone, but all I see is emptiness...at least, until I see the rustle of tree branches moments later.

It’s the boy, the one from District 1. He’s looking around, looking for fresh meat. I can tell by the furrow in his brow and the flames in his eyes that he wants revenge, and mostly, he wants to kill the one who started it. Me.

He whips his head back and forth furiously, like he’s trying to survey the entirety of his surroundings at once. His mouth is pointed into an odd snarl, almost bloodthirsty.

Finally, his eyes focus on a point in space. A point that most without excellent senses would think to be nothing, but for a Career who’s been in an arena for days, it’s as obvious as the plain as day.

He’s staring at me.

And then, after a few moments, not even enough time for me to say a prayer, or even think, he does something that I wished he wouldn’t. He pulls out his spear. The spear with an arrowhead as sharp as ten blades.

And he lunges for me.