Chapter 8
Bright light and the rustling of leaves causes me to open my eyes. I lift up my head and look around. Dead leaves hang from the tree I slept in and the ones that surround it. Down below I see blond headed person darting behind tree trunks. My first inclination is that it's Cato, but this blond is shorter and his hair is a curly mess. Peeta. I quickly untie myself from the tree limb I slept on and scurry down the tree.
I land on the ground jerk my head in the direction I last saw Peeta. The tip of his boot sticks out from behind the tree. I roll my eyes.
"Peeta." I hiss. Nothing. I call his name again and he comes around the tree. "What are you doing here?" I growl at him, still furious about his helping the careers.
"Katniss I'm sorry I was just trying to protect you." he casts his eyes to the ground, obviously ashamed of what he did. Part of me says to forgive him, but another part of me that is more rational tells me that where there's smoke, there's fire.
"Where are the other careers." I demand from him. Unless he broke away from the alliance and somehow managed to live through that, then I'm sure they aren't far behind. His lips part slightly, they are chapped and red from cold. An answer was about to be given to me but its too late. Arms wrap around my midsection and neck. I'm trapped.
"They won't hurt you, they promised they wouldn't. All they want is Cato." Peeta pleads to me. But in my mind he has just sentenced me to death, and I will never forgive him. I don't have a chance to anyway. Clove comes stalking out from behind the tree line. Her cruel smile that looks like she could have carved it with one of her knives is stretched across her face.
"You actually believed us? HA." she lets out a short and piercing burst of laughter. "You really are stupider than you look. Well now that you've led us to what we wanted, I can finally dispose of you. What a waste. You know, you could be a powerful tribute, but your soft. Compassion breeds weakness." No, I know what is coming next. She drives a knife into Peeta's abdomen, he clutches at it and falls to the ground. The knees of his pants turn up the soft dirt as he hits the ground with all of his weight, stunned by the blow.
"No!" I scream. I fight and thrash against who I presume to be Marvel. He saved my life once, I can't let this happen. I manage to kick Marvel in the knee with the heel of my boot. He loosens his arms just enough for me to escape. I am free. I want to run, to put as much distance between me and those monsters as possible, but I cant. I take out my bow as quickly as possible and notch an arrow. I have my sights set on Marvel, the arrow head trained directly at his heart. My resolve shakes. Can I really kill another person? I hear Peeta moan in agony beside me on the ground. My fingers release the bow string. The cannon sounds.