Chapter 4: Death's Sting
I could feel his hot breath down my neck, sending shivers up my spine. Both hands had me pinned against the tree, and he smiled down at me. A fair way behind him on the forest clearing, Glimmer laughed, obviously about some stunt Adrea pulled. Adrea is the girl from 4, and non-stop she has been pulling jokes and stunts. The 'entertainer' of the careers.
Marvel turns back to me, playing with my hair. In the dark, all I can sense is his heat. It's so cold at night, and he leans closer to me.
"I love the way you throw those knives Clove" he says with a velvety voice. I almost have to cover my mouth due to the laugh coming from me, so I give him a smile. His whole seductive act is so pathetic; I have to give him a little encouragement.
"You really think so huh? You know I kill kids just for you..." I look back to Cato, putting his sword into the fire. Glimmer hugs him.
Marvel grabs my attention. "Clove, you really are beautiful. Why did you volunteer?"
This is the line I use to my benefit. "Don't you see Ca- Marvel? It's fate. The Hunger Games has introduced me to you." I look down. And that's when Marvel dove for my face. His lips met mine in the dark, and instantly my heart beat furiously. There was nothing forced, he was gentle. I swear he was one of the best kissers I have ever met.
He thumb stroked my cheek, wiping away the tear that had escaped from the corner of my eye. This was horrible, that he had pulled me into the dark to kiss. Are we not supposed to be killing each other? Where were my motives? Why was I crying? Day two of the games and already I'm making out.
Marvel pulled back, breathing heavily as if he had run a marathon. He looked down at me, chewing his lip. His hands... his eyes... my emotions.
Everything moved in slow-motion as he attempted to kiss me, harder. Pushing his tongue between my lips, trying to dominate me. But I pulled away, or at least attempted to. I didn't want this. I was only playing a game. Leading him on to his own pathetic desires.
This had to stop.
Marvel could sense my discomfort and tried to grab me. He attempted to grab my top, almost as if he were trying to reach another place. I tried resisting, and he smiled. His eyes danced with fire, and his hands tried to grab my shirt sleeves. I couldn't breathe; his tongue was dominating my mouth.
I tried to scream but couldn't. It was then that I realized, Marvel was blocking my airway. Suffocating me by blocking my throat. He was kissing me to death. If I wasn't able to breathe I would have laughed at that thought.
I freed my wrist and brought my hand to his face, shoving him away. Marvel ripped the top of my shirt, exposing flesh. He laughed, and drove for the kill, but before he reached there, he flew. Lifted away from my grasp and landing hard on his ass.
Marvel screamed, and I watched as he was flung towards the forest floor. Cato was there behind him, baring his teeth. In a kids cartoon, he would have steam erupting from his nose. Cato dragged Marvel to the fire and shoved him to the ground, kicking Marvel in the groin.
Marvel screeched in pain.
As Cato walked back to me, I breathed through my airways, but it was like breathing through a straw. Cato sat by me for hours until I felt ready to walk, and we made our way back to the campfire. Marvel was lying over by the base of the tree, scowling at Cato and I.
"Marvel, don't you ever touch Clove. Touch her again, and I will make sure that you die the longest in this game, not Katniss". Cato points up at the tree, where in the dark Katniss slept.
"I will make you beg for death" Cato smiled at him. A crazy, loony grin.
Marvel looked away, no doubt hurting and embarrassed. Serve's him right.
Fatigue creeps up on me, so I try to find a leafy spot to sleep. I turn around to find some space to find Peeta looking straight at me.
"What are you looking at lover boy?" I sneer at him. Pathetic rat. I should just kill him tonight.
But Cato has advised against it. He warned us that it's the only way to find 'her'.
He responds with a quiet "nothing" and lays back down.
My eyes droop, and I'm asleep before my head hits the ground.
"Mum, I don't want to go to that place" I yelled, resisting her grip. Mum had a vice-like grab, and she pulled me towards the academy. "Clove, one day you will volunteer for the games. So you need to go to an academy to learn how to kill. Be a good girl for mummy, ok? Sweetheart, don't resist."
But I do. I resist. I know what the games are.
I don't want to die.
My mother slaps me, hard. Tears sting my eyes. "Clove, you are mummy's little girl. And you will do as I say." Her voice had ice in it. I felt a stinging feeling on my cheek.
"Mummy! Don't!" I had tears running down my cheeks. The stinging on my cheek grew worse. My mother, enraged, appeared to stretch before me. She explodes in a flash, and the sound of a cannon erupts in my ears. The stinging sensation grows worse, and worse, before I'm begging for death.
I wake up to the sound of buzzing, and a large crack. A stinging sensation in my cheek and hand wake me up, and I scream as a large yellow sack opens up. Flying beetles gather around us, and I drop everything.
My mind has only time to register one thing: Tracker Jackers.
Cat has left the clearing, but Glimmer lags behind. Now is my time. I shove her to the ground, then run for the bushes. I turn around one last time to watch an incredible scene.
The thing about Tracker Jackers is they sense who is the weakest at that point. Seeing Glimmer on the ground, they must know she is the easiest target. In seconds, thousand of the stinging insects surround her. Crawling all over her. She screams, and finally I turn around, knowing I'm next to be hunted.
Which direction was the lake?
Where is it?
Tree's warp and twist, and loud sounds render me dizzy. There is a brief moment of intense green, the feeling of rocks under my feet, the sound of more screaming.
Finally, a splash into what looks like water renders me unconscious, letting me listen to my mother and father sing "The Little Warrior" over and over again...