The Huntress

I didn’t get very far before I collapsed and allowed myself to continue to cry. I just couldn’t take it anymore. All the killing and the torture we had to endure needed to stop. If it was the last thing I did, I was going to make sure I didn’t kill anyone else. I don’t know how long I sat there but I heard a branch snap and I was immediately on alert and had my bow and arrow loaded. I back was against the tree and I was looking to see who was going to emerge from the woods. There was another branch that snapped on my right side and my bow was then aimed to where the branch snapped.

“Whoa no need to treat me like I’m part of the career pack now,” I heard Gale’s voice and I dropped the bow and arrow and let out a sigh of relief.

“God you gave me a heart attack,” I said shaking my head.

Gale then saw my face stained with tears and dirt and immediately walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as my arms wrapped tightly around him.

“I want to go home,” I whispered into his chest but I knew he heard me, “I’m tired of this fighting.”

“Hey,” Gale said making me look at him, “What happened to get you so flustered Adyrn?”

“Rue,” was all I could get out before the tears started pouring out, “I told her we would be fine and I couldn’t save her Gale. I couldn’t save her.”

“Hey,” Gale said, “You can’t save everyone Adyrn. You two did an amazing job. You guys have now made this game a level playing field. Without you two, the careers would still have all their supplies by the lake and Cornucopia and still be hunting us down one by one.”

“She was so young,” I said shaking my head and then looked up at Gale, “She was Prim’s age.”

“Hey did you promise her something?” Gale asked trying to get me to think positive.

“Yeah,” I said looking out in the woods, “I told her I would win these games for her.”

I then looked at Gale.

“Gale promise me something,” I said.

“Anything,” he said

“If I don’t make through these games,” I said, “You have to win this for me and Rue.”

“I promise Adyrn,” he said and kissed the top of my head.

We stood in our hugging embrace for a little bit longer before I stepped away from Gale.

“We should find a place to sleep before nightfall,” I said looking up at the sun, “Before Cato, Clove, or Thresh find us.”

“Good idea,” he said and then I looked to see he had a bow and some arrows too.

“How many arrows do you have?” I asked as I followed Gale.

“I have about ten left,” he said, “You?”

“About the same,” I said as we both jumped into the nearby stream so we could hide our footprints.

“What happened after you shot Cato?” Gale asked.

“I passed out from the stings,” I said, “I was worried that they found you and killed you. I was always happy to find that you were still alive when I didn’t see your picture in the sky. How about you?”

“I ran into Cato again,” he said and then we heard a rustling sound and we both stopped and stood back to back.

“Any ideas?” I asked quietly.

“Well, well, well,” Cato said smirking emerging from the woods with Clove right behind him, “Look who we have here.”

“She’s going to throw a knife at you,” I said, “On the count of. . .Never mind duck.”

Gale and I then ducked and I spun around and shot an arrow at Clove that hit her in her shoulder of her throwing arm. She screamed in pain and then Cato charged at me. He didn’t have any weapons on him which I thought was weird but I was able to move out of the way and get onto land before he charged me again.

“Get out of here Gale!” I exclaimed.

“I’m not leaving you!” Gale exclaimed back as I was dodging Cato’s punches.

“I said leave!” I demanded I then looked up at Gale and Cato took his chance and kicked me to the ground.

Cato had me pinned and I heard Clove’s scream as she took the arrow out of her arm and Cato looked up. I then took my chance to switch my weight and somehow got Cato off of me. Before I could grab Gale make a run for it, Cato grabbed a knife from his utility belt he stabbed me in my leg and dragged it down to the middle of my calf. I screamed in pain and kicked Cato in the face and I grabbed Gale and we ran.

“Where do we go?” Gale asked.

“Far from here,” I replied breathing hard as Gale ran and I limped ran.

We could hear Cato’s and Clove’s footsteps and we knew that they were closing in on us. Before we could get any good distance between us, Clove threw a knife and it hit me in my calf again and I fell.

“Come on Adyrn we got keep going,” Gale said.

“I can’t,” I said, “I’ve got a knife stuck in me.

“We have to,” Gale said looking behind me and I shook my head.

“What do we do?” I asked Gale and he smirked.

“Bushes now,” he said and he pulled us into a giant bush.

We waited for them to show up. Gale and I kept quiet.

“They couldn’t have gotten far,” Cato said.

“Not any further now,” Clove said smirking, “Now that Adyrn has a knife stuck in her leg and you basically cut down her leg.”

“Let’s go back to the camp,” Cato said, “I’m not spending the night in these parts. We’ll find them tomorrow.”

They then left and I looked at Gale who was looking at my leg.

“I’m fine,” I said as I took the knife out of my leg and wiped my blood off the knife and the rest of my leg, “On the brightside I have another knife I can throw.”

“How many knives do you have?” Gale asked.

“Now a total of three throwing knives and one regular type,” I said as I grabbed some bandages from my backpack and tied it around my leg.

“Good,” he said as we stood up, “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said lying through my teeth.

“Then stand without my help,” Gale said and he let go of me.

I started losing my balance but I was able to catch myself before I fell the other way. I was looking up at the sky when Gale came into my line of vision.

“I thought so,” he said as he picked me up and we started walking back towards the stream.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To where I’ve been staying since you told me to run,” Gale said, “It’s in a part of these woods that no one will see.”

I didn’t say anything but laid my head on Gale’s shoulder as we walked through the stream.

“What have you done since we last saw each other?” I asked quietly.

“Hunt and tried to stay out of the careers path,” he said, “but that didn’t end up happening.”

“Hey do you remember that song I used to sing around town?” I asked getting tired.

“Which one?” Gale asked.

“The song about the coal miner’s daughter,” I said, “Everyone loved that song.”

I then felt the temperature change and the light got darker. I then figured we were in the cave.

“Remind me,” Gale said as he laid me down on the floor of the cave and he sat against the wall and my head rested in his lap.

I was very winded but I somehow found the strength to be able to sing the song that I wrote about Katniss. Gale and Katniss thought it was a song that I learned from my father but it was really a song I wrote about what I went through when I lost my father.

Come in, come in my father dear
And spend this hour with me
For I have a meal, and a very fine meal
And I fixed it up for thee, thee
I fixed it up for thee
No, I ain't commin' in, no I ain't commin' in
To spend this hour with thee
For I have to go down in the mines
I’ll return this night to thee, thee
I’ll return this night to thee

Did she got up her arrow and her bow
Her arrow and her string
And she went down to the forest deep
And sweetly she did sing, sing
And sweetly she did sing
Up spoke, up spoke a mockingjay
From a willow tree
Singing you had a father in the mines
Who's gone this day from thee, thee
Who's gone this day from thee

I got about halfway through the song when I was so winded I couldn’t finish the song so Gale had to finish it for me.

Woe be woe be mockingjay
Woe be woe be to thee
I'll send an arrow through your heart
For to bring such news to me, me
For to bring such news to me
Up spoke, up spoke that mockingjay
Don't waste your time with me
Go home and mind that pretty little girl
Her father no more to see, see
Her father no more to see

She went home to her house that night
That house so cold and mean
And she held her sister close to her side
And never more did sing, sing
And never more did sing

When the song was over, my eyes were slowly closing shut and Gale was humming the melody that the song had.