Katniss is rescued

A gentle breeze blows through the forest, accompanied by the low drone of crickets.

In any other situation, I would almost call it peaceful. But I would preferably be warm and clothed, not stark naked in a lake, and getting colder by the second. I hop from one bare foot to the other, and vigorously hug my sides, but nothing I do warms me up. It wouldn't be so bad if I had a fuzz of body hair. But whatever Capitol had done after waxing my body, it was preventing my hair from growing back.

I usually pride myself on my problem solving, but I'm so mortified by my predicament that I can't figure a way out. I still cling to the hope that I'll be rescued by some sponsor donations, but as one hour merges into the next, that was becoming more unlikely.

I'm also convinced that the Gamemakers are deliberately making the water colder than it would naturally be. Yes, all of the warmth of the daytime had vanished, but water didn't usually cool down this quickly. They obviously want me to move and flash my naked body to the cameras, and the more time that passed, the more that decision was feeling inevitable.

"W-w-who's there?!" I squeak, as I hear movement in the undergrowth. Squinting through the darkness, I see the small face of the girl from District 11 smiling back at me.

"Don't look at me!" I squeal, pathetically.

What a way to go out, I think. Killed by a little girl while skinny dipping.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the girl says, as if reading my mind. "You need to get out of here, before they come back."

Being spoken to as though I was the younger one was somehow the most embarrassing thing I've experienced that day. But it was hard to argue that at that moment, I should be treated as the 18-year-old that I was.

"I-I-I'm n-n-naked," I stutter.

"I know!" the girl giggles. "I've made you something to wear."

My eyes light up as she brandishes a grass skirt, and a crop top made out of leaves. Not exactly proper clothing, but considerably better than my current outfit.

"T-t-thank y-y-you! P-p-please c-c-can you turn around?"

Hating how the girl continues to laugh at me, I make sure that her back is turned, and that her hands are covering her eyes, before wadding out of the water and back onto dry land.

I quickly step my bare feet into the skirt and pull it up to my waist, and wriggle into the makeshift crop top.

The skirt brushes my knees, although the top was slightly too small, and crushes my breasts. But considering I have no alternative, I'm not about to start complaining.

"H-H-how do I look?" I joke, smiling weakly as I turn in a circle.

"Well at least you're not naked anymore! I'm Rue, by the way."

"K-K-K-K-" I'm so cold, my chattering teeth can't form the word.

"Katniss, I know," Rue smiles. "I've got a cave you can warm up in."

Continuing to shiver, I follow Rue, wincing as the rough terrain batters my bare feet.

If going commando wasn't bad enough, the cool breeze that found its way up my skirt was a constant reminder of how under-dressed I am.

It wasn't long before we reach out destination. I collapse to the floor of the cave, exhausted, as Rue busies herself with lighting a fire.

My bare stomach rumbles as I sit up and accept the food she offers me; after all the excitement of today, I hadn't realised how hungry I am. I shovel down the hastily-created meal, until Rue's giggles become too irritating to ignore.

"What?" I demand through a mouthful of food.

"I...err...I can see your..."

The young girl points at my crotch.

Screaming, I slam my thighs together. How long had I been flashing her for?!

My face burns as Rue continues to find my behaviour amusing.

"I can make your top bigger, if you like."

Was it that obvious? I had been surreptitiously massaging my chest, which was being painfully squashed by my crop top; but obviously, not surreptitiously enough. Ideally, I would have refused Rue's request and struggled on regardless. But I was already barefoot, half-naked, and with a bunch of kids out there trying to kill me; it was probably wise to make my quest for survival as easy as possible.

"T-thank you," I murmur. I scoot around on my butt until I was facing away from my ally. I yank my top over my head and toss it over my shoulder, and place my hands over my breasts. For some reason, this only fuels Rue's mirth.

"I need to see your boobs, Katniss!" she laughs.

"W-what?!" I squeal, bewildered.

"I need to see how big they are, so I can make it the right size."

"No!" I squirm. I had done so well to keep them hidden, I wasn't about to just flash my breasts now!

"Well it's either run around with squished boobs, or go topless!"

"F-fine..."

Turning to face her once more, I lower my hands.

I look up at the roof of the cave as held back tears as I feel the younger girl's breath on my torso, and her hands on my boobs. My chest had been squeezed and poked countless times over the last week, but that didn't make it any less awful.

"I don't know why you were so ashamed of these, Katniss!" Rue remarks, as she finishes her mental calculations. "You must be exhausted after skinny dipping all day. Get some sleep, and I'll have your top ready when you wake up."

I open my mouth to argue, but instead, have to stifle a yawn.

Rue was right; I'm struggling to keep my eyes open.

Lying down close to the fire on the softest part of ground that I can find, I curl into a ball, aware that all I was wearing was a flimsy grass skirt.

A few minutes later, I fall into the welcome embrace of unconsciousness.