Welcome to Chapter Four! A bit of a longer chapter but, I'm excited to get your reactions for this one... It shall be fantastic. :) Anyway, read and review. Please leave your thoughts, and any suggestions. I'm open :3 And mostly, enjoy! ~Squintz P.S. I don't own the Hunger Games, explaining why I'm twisting the story and the event timeline. Thanks ^-^
Katniss's POV -
I run through the forest, my heart pounding in unison with my head. My head aches from all that's gone on, including the heat from the Arena. I find a large tree, and scale it quickly. I sit down on a branch to rest, catching my breath. Even though I can run for a while, and I can run fast, it still exhausts me every once in a while. I look down, hearing the laughing and joking of the Careers once again. Really? Has Clove lead them to me? Would she do that? I feel anger sparking within me, and I watch as they break through the brush laughing.
What angers me even more, is the fact that Peeta follows behind. Lagging, of course, with the girl from District Four. I feel a sudden urge to yell all the curse words I know at the boy who pretended to love me all for the entertainment of the Capitol, but I then remember that the Careers are right there. I shake my head, watching closely as Clove makes her way underneath my tree, completely oblivious. I wonder if she's thinking of me... I wonder if she's wanting to know where I am. I shake my head, remembering how she told me to run away as soon as she heard the laughter of her "partners".
Maybe she doesn't like me at all, like she says she does... I think.
The thought infuriates me. I look down to see the Careers getting further from me, so I pluck a pine cone off the tree and chuck it down at the back of Cato's head. The Careers look around as Cato shouts out a curse word, and turns around.
"Up here, friends!" I smile and wave cheerily, knowing this will make them angry.
Clove glares at me, her jade green eyes full of remorse at pushing me away.
"Give me that," Cato hisses at Marvel, snatching his spear.
He starts to scale the tree, and I sit there casually. Once he starts to get closer, I go up to another branch. He reaches up for a slightly smaller, not as thick branch. As soon as he attempts to pull himself up, the branch snaps and he goes tumbling down. He lands on his back, and I feel a sudden hope that he's broken his neck and it killed him. But... He stands back up, to my disappointment. I frown, and see Glimmer pull out the bow that should be mine. This brings a new scowl to my face, and I grip the trunk of the tree.
"Get her." Cato growls to Glimmer.
"Hit her, Glim..." Marvel urges.
"Kill her..." The District Four girl says.
Glimmer aims, and then shoots the arrow at me. Of course, she misses. It's completely evident she can't shoot to save her life. I snatch the arrow from the tree, and wave it around in the air. Cato yells a few curse words, and Peeta just stands there like a useless rock, not knowing what to do. Clove has her arms crossed, looking up at me with those eyes. I can tell she's feeling sort of bad, but I ignore the thought.
"Let's just wait her out, guys," Peeta says, "She can't stay up there forever, right? She'll come down soon. That or she'll starve to death."
The Careers are silent, all looking at Peeta. I stare down at Clove, who stands in the back of all the Careers. She looks up at me, and then back to the Careers. Then back up to me.
She mouths the words: 'I'm sorry.'
I nod my head, then frown. "I know." I actually whisper.
"Alright." Cato growls, "Somebody hurry up and make a fire."
The Next Morning -
I wake up to the sound of something creaking in the tree beside me. I look out, tilting my head and gripping the bottom of the branch tight. I lean to the side, then see Rue's eyes in the leaves. I wave, and then she points to something above my head. I look up, seeing a tracker jacker nest. Whoa. How long has that been there? She points down to the Careers, who sleep lazily on the floor. Even Clove... Of course, her hands are completely clenched around her favorite knife.
Rue points back to the tracker jacker nest, making a sawing motion. I look up to the nest again, and then nod at Rue. She disappears into the trees, and then I hear some rustling in the trees near her's. I grin to myself, finally figuring out how she had gotten a decent score in the Capitol.
Quickly, I climb up the tree and get to the branch where the tracker jacker nest hangs. The golden insects create a low, quiet hum. I figure maybe it's too cold for them to be out this early, but a few wander around the outside of the nest. I pull Clove's knife from my belt, bringing it up to the branch. I look down to the magnificent girl who sleeps underneath me, and she rolls over, those jade green eyes slowly opening.
Glimmer stirs on Cato's arm, and Clove goes still. When the blonde decides it's okay to go back to sleep, she lies back down, cuddling his arm and closing her eyes. I breathe in deep, looking down to Clove. She looks up at me, knitting her brows in confusion. I make a sawing motion like Rue, and point to the tracker jacker nest. Then, I gesture down to the sleeping Careers. Clove's eyes widen, and I press my index finger to my lips. I gesture at her to stand up, and she picks up her maroon colored jacket, getting a head start through the brush. I smile, then frown as I look back to the nest.
If I'm going to do this, I'll have to do it quick. If not, I'll probably die. I begin to saw, reminding myself to keep going as a tracker jacker wanders across the top of my hand. It stings me, and I make a quiet yelp noise, slapping my hand over the insect. The humming becomes more aggressive, but still a bit sleepy. I continue to saw, forcing myself to move faster. I pull my arm back, then push it forth over and over. A tracker jacker stings me in the neck, and this time, my yelp is a lot louder. But, after what seems like ages, the branch begins to creak. I saw one last time, and the branch starts to go down, and I quickly push it out to the Careers.
The nest goes sailing down, and it's as if time freezes when the nest slams into the ground. It explodes like a rotten egg, and the enraged tracker jackers fill the air. Glimmer and the girl from District Four shriek, and the air is full of the furious buzzing. Cato is up and about, screaming to get to the lake. Marvel and Peeta follow quickly, leaving the screaming, fitting girls to die. I know I have to get going, and I begin to climb down from the tree. I'm about twenty feet from the ground, when my hand fumbles and I fall down the rest of the way. I hit the ground hard, and then stand up woozily. The venom has already found its way to my head, and the whole Arena swings around me. Luckily, I remember to pluck out the stingers, and I do just that.
Glimmer is twitching on the floor, her stings already completely inflamed as well as the girl from Four. I stumble over to where the blonde girl lies, clenching my bow in her swollen, disgusting hands. They ooze a horrid green liquid, that smells like rotten meat. I continue over, though, seeing most tracker jackers have left in pursuit of the other Careers. Well, the remaining tracker jackers. I lean down, seeing the horribly misshapen Glimmer on the grass. The once beautiful girl has been replaced by a nightmarish, disturbing carcass.
I run my hands along the clean, silver surface of the bow. My bow. I tug hard, then look at Glimmer's fingers. As disgusting as this is, I must do it. I snap her fingers, forcing myself to stay completely calm. I feel like this is the perfect time to have a panic attack, but I just grab the bow from her. Finally, my bow... The cannon booms out, and I look over to the District Four girl getting lifted into the air. I don't have much time... I reach for the quiver, attempting to pull it over her extremely swollen head and shoulders. But, it doesn't work. I snap her ribs, and then pull the quiver over, running my hands down the smooth arrows.
The cannon booms out again, and I sling the quiver over my shoulders. I hold the bow and begin to run, but instead get a mouthful of bark from a tree. I spit, then start to run again. But, I fall in a pit, full of bubbling orange liquid. I scream for help, and then I'm covered in ants, and I black out.
Two Days Later -
I wake up in the middle of the day, looking around. I'm still in the pit, but it doesn't seem to be full of the creepy bubbles and the hungry ants. I sit up, crawling from the hole in the ground. I turn up to the trees, examining my surroundings. I pull out my water bottle, taking slow, cool sips. Then, I notice a weird carving in the tree in front of me...
'K – Meet C at Cornucopia' in big, neat letters on the trunk of a willow.
I smile to myself, knowing this clean, careful work could have only been executed by Clove. I stand up, drinking from my water bottle as I walk towards the Cornucopia. If I start now, I'll be able to make it in no time at all. I walk through the forest, looking at all that surrounds me for a while. I finally reach the edge of the forest, seeing the back of the Cornucopia. I smile, then go running towards the Cornucopia. Somehow, stupidity and the want to see Clove overwhelm me, and I begin to yell her name.
"Clove! Clove! Clo-" I scream, but then reach the front of the Cornucopia.
Clove is completely tied up, and her mouth is taped shut. I see Cato grab her by the neck, and then throw her on the ground in front of me. He grins, then cocks his head at me.
"What? You didn't think we wouldn't find out, did you? Unfortunately, you made the mistake of letting her go before all of us... And, well... When we asked how she noticed, she wouldn't give up. Of course, she was a tough nut to crack, but she spilled eventually. It just took a little threatening. Peeta found you and told us you were lying in the pit. Marvel wanted to kill you, but I came up with a better plan. And Clove had no choice but to write that if she wanted you to live..." Cato laughs.
Clove just looks at me with enormous, watering eyes, attempting to apologize.