Gathering Shadows: Chapter 1 *{My new Hunger Games fan fiction, Rue's POV!}*

by WolfWriter in Cardiff, the only place anymore where you can power your TARDIS for free. :P

CHAPTER ONE  

I lowered my head slightly, flashing a glance to first the right, then the left. In the west, the sky was tinted red and orange, the sun just beginning to dip below the horizon. A mockingjay landed on a nearby branch and trilled a short melody. I grinned for the first time in weeks, then replied with a song of my own, the simple, four-note tune that I had used in the orchards back in District 11 to signal that the work day had ended.

          The mockingjay, which was young by the looks of him, cocked his head to one side, then repeated my song flawlessly before fluttering away. The mockingjays were not intended by the Capitol to exist. The Capitol had originally created a muttation know as a jabber jay during the time in which the districts rebelled against the Capitol. It had been genetically altered in the Capitol’s labs to remember and repeat long conversations between humans, then was released in areas of rebels and trained to return to the Capitol, like their own personal spies.

          I pressed forward, brushing a tree branch out of the way. Soon, night would have fallen; I needed a place to set up camp. Or at least, what I was forced to consider my camp. I had been unable to get that sleeping bag I had seen at the Cornucopia, which I now regretted. Still, though, I was so small that I might not have made it trough the bloodbath that was certain to occur each year at the beginning of the Hunger Games, or at least, for anyone who threw themselves into the fray, struggling for what supplies and weapons there was.

          Since I didn’t have the sleeping bag, my camp only consisted of a secure place--if it was possible to be secure as long as everyone was out to kill you--to sleep until morning, when I would have to continue on. There was no specific place I was aiming for; I wanted only to have a supply of food and water, while avoiding contact with other tributes, especially the Careers. So far, I hadn’t crossed paths with many others, though I saw Thresh, the other tribute from District 11, once. I hadn’t dared to approach him though, since not even the same member of your district was worth your trust.

          A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and then came the sounds of more footfalls. My mind froze, but my instincts kicked in just in time. I darted forward at high speed, praying that they hadn’t seen me, then scrambled up the closest tree, out onto the thinnest branches, and as high as I could go. My heart was racing, and when I watched from my perch, my worst fears were confirmed.

          The Careers had been chasing me, having formed together as a pack to pick off the weaker members. They had gathered near the trunk of my tree, and one of them, a girl with sleek blonde hair and deathly green eyes, looked up. I wasn’t certain if she had seen me or not, but I climbed silently up even farther.

Then I realized that they hadn’t been pursuing me, because their focus was on the tree next to mine. I glanced to the right, and, sure enough, there was Katniss, or at least I thought that that was her name. I had heard her interview, the girl with the mockingjay pin. If there was anyone I the arena who was worthy of any bit of my trust, it was Katniss.

I looked down again, back to where the Careers stood. One of the leaders, who I recognized was the boy tribute from District 2, tried to climb up after Katniss, but failed when his body weight became to much for the tree’s branches and he fell to the ground. Katniss looked slightly frightened, though she knew that the Careers were all too heavy to get up as high as she was. I saw here eyes lock on something one of the Careers was holding, the bow and arrow that the same girl who had almost seen me held.

Finally, the Careers decided to set up camp for the night. They each had sleeping bags and plenty of food and water, which brought up waves of envy. While I would be freezing yet another night, they would be cozy and safe from almost all of the real threats. I didn’t count my self out, or Katniss, either. And there was Thresh, too, but I doubted he ever came to these parts of the arena. He was headed back towards a field on the opposite end last time I saw him. No one seemed to bother him or give him much trouble, so he was lucky. Actually, I hadn’t been in too much trouble with another tribute either, which was good. Even if they saw me, they couldn’t catch me, and if they couldn’t catch me, they couldn’t kill me. And I could always climb, too. So unless they could throw knives or spears or had a bow and arrow, I was fine.

Darkness set in, and I watched as Katniss unrolled a sleeping bag on the fork of one tree limb. She slid into her bed and belted herself in, which was very smart of her. Already the cold was biting at my bare skin and I shivered.

I watched Katniss for a while longer as she fell asleep, then something caught my eye, something I had seen all too often back at the orchards of District 11. I took in a sharp breath when I saw what hung just above Katniss’ bed. It was large and an off-whitish color, seeming to be made of a paper-like material. The movement of a small, golden object caught my attention, glinting in what little light the moon offered. It was drowsy from the smoke from the fire that the Gamemakers had used to drive all of the tributes together, but it was still deathly. I gulped when I realized how much danger all of us, especially Katniss, were in.

Katniss stirred in her sleeping bag, then caught my gaze. I pointed up at the tracker jacker nest.