Chapter VI-Betrayal
The instant the tracker jackers gave up on us in the lake I stormed out, noticing Peeta had abandoned us halfway through the run. Stupid Loverboy had probably gone back to the Girl on Fire. I was going to kill him. Sure enough Peeta was letting Katniss get away with her weapon of choice when I arrived. I could have attributed the slip to tracker jacker venom but the look in Peeta's eyes was too coherent for me to wave it away. "You," I snarled and he spun to face me, actually looking nervous. "Traitor." I sliced at him with my sword and I saw the surprise in his wide eyes. Normally I would have killed him but my perception was already being thrown off by the poison from the tracker jacker stings. Instead my blade sliced deep across his thigh. He winced crying out a little, and then backed away, gushing blood everywhere. I turn and half stalk half stumble back to our camp.
When I arrive I force myself to walk steadily even though the tracker jacker poison is making me sick. Clove and Marvel have just exited that water and are dripping yet. Tahlia is staying a good distance away from them watching every move they make with wary blue eyes. Peeta, Lyric, and Glimmer who all seemed to like her are gone and it's obvious she's uncomfortable without them. "Loverboy is dead," I sneer while inwardly wondering just how much I can protect Tahlia. With Glimmer, Lyric, and Peeta gone our alliance will be close to falling about and she'll be caught in the crossfire. I don't know how to protect her. I don't even know why I care but I do.
"Where was the cannon blast?" Clove snarls at me, still dripping water everywhere.
"You were probably too busy cowering in the water waiting for the big bad bugs to come get you to hear it," I snarl back, wishing that Clove had been killed and not Glimmer. It's awful and I shouldn't hate her because she's my district partner but I do. Clove actually looks hurt and I do feel bad because of that but I ignore the feelings and hide them safely away. I don't need Clove thinking she can manipulate me.
"There wasn't a cannon blast," Marvel says after a moment of silence and then shrinks back when I glare at him. He's pathetic compared to vicious little Clove or even Glimmer who couldn't bring herself to kill.
"There will be soon," I snap. "There's now way Loverboy is surviving his wounds. He'll either bleed out or die of blood poisoning." Both of them nod after a moment.
"So can we kill District 3 now?" Marvel asks, focusing on Tahlia since the discussion about Peeta is over. Something in his tone makes me want to punch him and then start kicking him while he's down until he begs for mercy. I don't understand it and I don't act on it but the need is there.
Clove almost looks eager at Marvel's statement. "Please," she says, staring at me with big brown eyes. Before the games started that might have worked on him but now all he could see was Tahlia's wide blue eyes staring hopelessly into the woods while they jumped into the lake, still waiting for Glimmer to show up.
"No," he hissed and his voice was a harsh as a sudden cold snap causing Tahlia, Marvel, and Clove to freeze. I can't force myself to mock or taunt her death. Instead I sound as if I am trying to freeze my allies with just my words and it works. "Not yet." They back off but none of three relaxes. They move around me like one wrong move and I'm going to snap. Marvel and Clove keep sending dark glances at Tahlia when they think my back is turned and it's a fight not to kill them both.
Clove falls prey to the venom first, moaning and twitching. Tahlia ignores her completely but watches Marvel warily as they sun sets. It's obvious that the instant I fall into poison induced slumber Marvel is going after Tahlia so I do the only thing I can think of to protect her. "You're with me tonight," I snap, grabbing her arm when she tries to fade into the shadows. She glances once at Marvel and doesn't argue as I toss her Glimmer's sleeping bag. She drifts off to sleep at the same time Marvel finally succumbs to the tracker jacker poison. I fall asleep not long after.
I wake a few hours before sunrise as the poison wears off. I wasn't stung as often as Clove and Marvel, both who were slower, and it hasn't affected me as much. Clove is still moaning softly and Marvel looks pale in the dim light of the coals. Tahlia has the sleeping bag wrapping tight around her and is shivering and muttering in her sleep. I hear Glimmer's name mumbled several times and realize she's having a nightmare. I hesitate for a moment and then reach over, brushing her cheek with my hand. If she would have been awake she would have flinched away but instead she lets out a sleepy sigh, her mumbles silencing. I sigh to myself and pull her over gently so she's tucked up against me with her arm around me. Then I realize the tracker jacker venom is still blurring the world around me and I drift off once more.
I wake again at sunrise and realize that I've actually pulled Tahlia closer to me while I slept. My eyes flicker open and I see her head resting on my chest as she sleeps. My arm is tight around her waist, holding her close, and her small frame next to mine is actually comforting so I leave her there, letting my eyes fall shut and enjoying not having to wake up. Tahlia stirs a few minutes later and her heart pounds frantically when she finds out she's trapped in my arms. She tries to squirm free but I only tighten my grip and mutter, "Think for once" under my breath so softly that she probably thinks I'm asleep. Slowly her heartbeat calms as she realizes neither Clove nor Marvel will be coming after her to kill her while she's trapped and she rests her head back against my chest, drifting off to sleep.
I pretend to wake a couple hours later, freeing Tahlia first by letting my arm sleep off her waist so she can slide free first. She does and avoids my gaze whenever I look at her yet at the same time she becomes my constant shadow. I don't say anything about her lurking, afraid of scaring her off. Clove rouses next and Marvel wakes around sunset. We decide to stay at camp that night to gather our strength instead of hunting. We the sun rises the next morning we eat and are gathering our weapons we Clove sees the smoke. We leave to investigate without another word, reaching the first fire to find no one. That was when Marvel spotted the next one. "Split up," I ordered.
After twenty minutes of searching I am heading back toward the first fire when I hear the explosion. I turn and head for our camp and at the same time I hear someone scream "KATNISS!" I hesitated, turning back toward where Fire Girl will be heading, and then shake my head, creeping toward the camp. The red haired girl from 5 is laughing, actually laughing, with Tahlia. I should feel betrayed but instead I'm thinking about how clever she is, bringing the playing field down to everyone else's level. I try to hold in a laugh and settle my face into a dead mask before deliberately cracking a stick.
Both girl's spun to face me, looking startled and terrified for a moment. Then the red haired girl from 5 shrieked, "Run" and pulled Tahlia after her. I couldn't hide my smile then, shaking my head as I watched them vanish. I couldn't hide the relief either. Tahlia was safe. Now I could focus on getting out of the games alive, which was turning out harder than I'd originally thought. Then again I hadn't planned on caring for some nobody from District3.
