Okay, so I got really bored after six days of Christmas break. So I decided that I would finish up the loose ends from my story Too Late for Love. Enjoy, and remember, I don't own the Hunger Games!
"See you soon," Clove says to me before falling to the ground, blood pouring out of the dent in her head. But there was no blood where Thresh hit her. I remember. There was no blood on my hands when I cradled her head in my lap. Except the figurative blood.
I promised to protect her, to let her win, to forfeit my chance of fame and glory for hers. And I left her alone. Sure, it was only for ten minutes, but those ten minutes made all the difference. If I would've been there, I could've stopped Thresh, and she wouldn't have been killed. But I wasn't, so she was.
It has been the same dream, over and over again. Clove says her last words to me, her last words ever, before starting to bleed after falling to the ground. It's starting to get to me.
I finally wake up, feeling more exhausted than when I fell asleep. Seeing her picture in the sky last night drained me so much emotionally, I curled into a ball and cried silently, covering my face with my hands, so the sponsors couldn't see or hear me. Careers don't cry, Cato, so neither do you, Clove had told me, right before she died. After ten hours of hunting Thresh down yesterday, I must be closing in on him. I pick up my sword and Clove's knife that I found laying a few feet from her body, apparently discarded. I eat the last of the meal Clove and I received from sponsors the morning of the feast. The morning of her death. Then I set off.
After an hour or two, I stumble upon a path of trampled grass. I take off running. I am close to him.
Suddenly, I see a flash of brown in the golden grass. I have just enough time to unsheathe my sword and get into a defensive position before Thresh barrels into me. My sword flies out of my hands, so I whip out my knife and stab Thresh in the arm. He roars in pain, but still tries to wrestle me to the ground.
All of a sudden, I have a flashback. About three years before, Clove and I were doing the same exact thing. To get her off of me, I started tickling her. Of course, that distracted her and I accidentally broke the wrist of her throwing arm, but this time, a broken wrist is what I'm hoping for.
I flip on top of him and bend both of his wrists backwards. He cries out in pain as they both snap. Now he can't fight back. Perfect. It's time for a show worthy of Clove.
"You killed my district partner," I snarl, holding Clove's knife to his throat. He stares up at me, his eyes filled with fear. And he nods. I know he did, but seeing him confirm it only plunges the knife into the already bleeding wound.
"Why?" My voice is gravelly. Any person can hear I've been crying. To others in Two, crying might be considered a weakness, but Clove deserves to be cried over.
"She killed my district partner. I killed her for revenge. Like you are doing now to me. It's nothing personal," he says.
"She didn't kill Rue." Hot anger wells up in my throat.
"She didn't?" He sounds surprised.
"So you killed her for no good reason."
His eyes widen with fear. "I'm sorry."
"I don't care if you're sorry," I hiss. He gulps, an accomplishment considering the knife at his throat.
"Did you even know her name?" He shakes his head.
"Her name was Clove. My Clover." He doesn't even try to fight back.
"And I loved her," I whisper. His face crumples.
"DID YOU HEAR ME?" I scream. "I LOVED HER, AND YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! WE COULD HAVE WON TOGETHER, BUT YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!"
He blinks, obviously surprised at my display of emotion. "We were the pride of District 2. Clover and I were the best of the best, trained from a young age to come out of these games on top. As victors. I volunteered to protect her after she was reaped. I promised her that she would win. That nothing would happen to her. I left her alone for Ten minutes. Ten minutes only. And in that ten minutes, look what you have reduced us to. She, dead, and I, a raving lunatic. And it's your fault."
A tear traces through the grime on his cheek. "I will not win. Without my Clover, I am too weak. Do you know what her last words to me were? See you soon. And I will. But first, I will have my revenge." He nods.
"Clover would have wanted a show. But I will be satisfied with something quick." He takes a deep breath as I raise my knife from his throat and align it over his neck.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
"I don't care. Enjoy hell, Thresh." And I bring the knife down.
Boom.
~Two days later~
I wrap my arm around Lover Boy's neck. This is what I will do to make sure she kills me. She will shoot me, and I will fall to the mutts, and she will win. But Lover Boy will come with me. I will make sure of that.
If I can't win with the one I love, she can't either.
I realize to late what Lover boy is doing. Fire Girl shoots her arrow into my hand, making me release Lover Boy. He trips me and I fall back, stumbling over the edge, wrapping my fingers around the hilt of my sword, and down into the sea of mutts below. They drag me, screaming and still gripping my sword, into the empty horn.
And then I realize why they look familiar. A medium-sized wolf with bronze fur, a collar made of netting, and blue eyes tears at my arm while watching me with eyes full of hatred. It is Dylan, the boy from District 4, the one who I kicked out of the Career pack because his training score was not high enough. He died in the bloodbath.
Glimmer, with her green eyes, jeweled collar, and blond fur, is gnawing on my right foot. The biggest mutt of the pack is obviously Thresh. The girl from district 4, Hali, short for Halimeda (which means 'thinking of the sea', as she was quick to point out in training after Glimmer had laughed at her name), who died with Glimmer, is staring at me with her sea-green eyes as she chews through the armor of my left leg.
And then I see her. Out of the maybe ten mutts left, all are tearing at my armor, trying to get through to the flesh. Except her.
"Clove," I whisper, tears forming in my eyes. Her wolf lips curl back into a deadly-looking smile. She is the second-smallest mutt, being bigger than only the twelve year old girl from District 11, Rue. It makes sense. Clove was the third youngest tribute, the other was the boy from Dsitrict 9, and he was bigger than her. Clove's coat is silky, made of ebony black fur, just like her hair. Her breathtaking emerald eyes, which are still human, are looking at me with a mix of sadness and regret. I know these mutts have been programmed to hate everyone, even their former allies. So why is she looking at me like that, and why is she not attacking me?
And then I know. When I was running towards the cornucopia, Ignatius's mutt jumped on top of me and almost closed his jaws around my face, where the armor did not cover my skin. The gamemakers must have not wanted me dead just yet, because the mutt of the boy from District 3 spasmed and fell to the ground, dead. I had gotten up and started running again, the other mutts hot on my trail.
They are going to make me watch her die. Or at least watch her mutt die, because I have already done the former. Sure enough, Clove's mutt jerks once before falling to the ground, dead. I start screaming again. The tag on her stone collar flies off and lands an inch from my hand. I snatch it up and pull my hand against my chest, hanging onto that tag for dear life.
Then, at the same time, Hali breaks through the armor covering my leg, and Dylan breaks through the armor covering my arm. As the blood starts pouring, I lose consciousness.
~Seven hours later~
I go in and out of consciousness the entire night and into the morning. The mutts aren't killing me. They are severely wounding and disabling me, but they are not killing me. Clove's mutt has disappeared.
I open my eyes. I will not die like this, inside the cornucopia, where no one can see how much it takes to kill me. I want to die in the sunlight, under the sky, where I know Clove is looking down on me from. I grope around for my sword, and grasp the hilt just as the mutt that is Glimmer lunges for my hand.
I swing my sword into Glimmer's mutt. Her blond fur splatters with red, and she falls. Dylan and Hali get a sword in the ribs too. But Marvel's muttrips into my hand, making me drop my sword. I punch him with the hand that isn't in his mouth and start dragging myself towards the entrance to the horn. I crawl out into the sunlight. The mutts start ripping at me again. I look up and see Fire Girl staring at me with a horror-stricken look on her face. I must look awful. I look down at my hands. They are torn into shreds of skin, but you can barely see the skin that is left over all the blood.
Please, I mouth. Please end this pain. She pulls her last arrow from her quiver and nocks it on the bow she stole from Glimmer, aiming at me. After a few seconds of hesitation, she lets the arrow fly. I look up at the blue sky, thinking of my family, thinking of home, thinking of Clove. See you soon.
"Soon, Clove. Very soon," I whisper.
The arrow embeds itself in my skull, and Clove appears in front of my eyes. She smiles warmly at me, kneeling down beside me and holding out her hand. I reach forward and take it, smiling back at her. I stand her up and pull her up after me. I notice my hands are healed, back to what they were before I entered the arena.
Then the arena where I died fades from my view, and Clove and I are bathed in a glorious white light.
By the way, merry Chrsitmas, everyone! Or happy Hanukah, or happy Kwanza, or whaetever else you might celebrate!