Expose
-Make (something) visible, typically by uncovering it.
There's deadly silence.
Then the shocking crack.
And millions of Tracker Jackers fill the air.
I let out a blood curdling cry and dart from the little camp, just when I feel the first sting. The effect is instantaneous.
Pain spreads like wildfire throughout my shoulder, travelling up my neck and down my torso. My vision blurs a little.
Then a second sting to my right thigh and the same effects begin. The world becomes a blurry haze and I slow for a second, fumbling with my shoulder. I find the walnut sized sting and grope around for a second. The stinger is almost submerged in swollen skin but I manage to extract it.
By the time the first stinger is out, I feel number three on my forehead and number four on my left shin. The pain is agonising and I start to see things. Massive purple butterflies. Glowing white gnome-like creatures at my feet, running with me.
I try to get out the other stingers, but it's pointless, the stings are too swollen.
Then the trees stop and I feel grass swishing around my ankles.
The welt on my shin is obstructing my speed and I feel Clove brush past me. Marvel runs ahead, his left arm greatly distorted. I risk a glance behind me at the blur the world has become.
"Where's Lover Boy?" I cry.
"I don't give a shit!" Marvel snaps, his voice trembling with fear.
God damn it.
He wasn't getting off this easy.
More stings follow as I turn sharply and head back in the direction I came, drawing my machete from my belt as I run. The arena is fading to black and white, every leaf on every tree shining like a new penny.
I hear panicked voices up ahead and as I burst through the trees, I see Everdeen running away.
Peeta Mellark stands before me, his fear filled face covered in welts.
"You'll pay for that, Lover Boy!" I threaten and shove my machete deep into his thigh.
All I hear is a near girly scream, and then I pass out and the hallucinations take over.
When I wake, I'm in the Cornucopia. A throbbing, hangover-like pain is present in my head and my body aches dully, like growing pains.
"Thank god," comes Clove's voice.
I gently push myself up on to my elbows, an act so sore it makes me groan, and survey my body slowly.
"How many?" I ask.
"Stings? I lost count at ten," Clove answers. I turn my head slowly towards her and see she is relatively unharmed, just a few stings here and there. Marvel is propped up against the metal wall of the Cornucopia and has the explosives boy tending to him.
My own stings are still relatively large. "You're looking well," I remark.
"I had the sense to take out the stingers as soon as I felt them," she replies, "as you did a few times. Marvel, however, being the genius that he is, dug his fingers right into his stings and ripped them right open. So half of his stings are a bloody mush of pus and the other half are the size of apples."
I snort. "Sounds like him... how did I get here then?" I ask.
"When I woke up I went to find you and practically dragged you back here. According to explosives boy, I was out for one day and you were out for another one after that," she tells me, "Glimmer and Jerrica are dead."
I nod slowly. "Okay. So it's day seven. Fourteen dead, ten to go. What next?"
"I think it's best you two get better, then we can get hunting," she says.
"Okay..." I say.
It isn't until the next day that I'm well enough to go hunting. Marvel is looking even more battered and bloodied than me.
We start off slowly, Clove and I doing our best to ignore Marvel's complaining. At what we judge to be midday, we take a short break. We eat what is left over of Day Five's fawn. It was old, but not off, as we're careful to inspect each bite.
We've only just set off after lunch when we hear a curious noise. There's a thump, then an odd rustling, like something being dragged. It's very faint, the person is quite far away. I motion to Clove an Marvel, telling them to be quiet and follow me.
I squint a little as I look through the trees. It takes me awhile but I soon make out the shape of the boy from District 10, poorly camouflaged as part of a tree trunk. The curious dragging noise was the sound of him walking with his crippled foot.
Clove sees him seconds after me and pulls her jacket open. She stokes the handles of her many knives, finally choosing a thin, sharp, smooth blade that weighed little more than a feather. She throws with admirable precision, and I hear the slight whistle of the blade in the air, then a sickening thump as it hits home. A canon follows seconds later.
I rush to take hold of the boy's pack and supplies before the hovercraft appears. He has roots and berries and a small pack of medicines. They were Capitol made and very specifically labelled, most likely a gift from a sponsor.
"What is there?" Marvel asks.
"Food and meds," I answer.
"Are the meds any use to us?" he says, peering over my shoulder at them.
"No, they were for his ankle," I reply, "But who knows?" I add, putting them in my backpack.
"Let's just get back, I need a rest," Marvel groans.
I roll my eyes and get to my feet. "Fine, just for an hour or so."
We return to the Cornucopia plane, where the District Three boy sits under the awning he set up. The day is growing increasingly hotter and my head is beginning to throb.
As we wait for Marvel to man up, I take some pain relief meds and drink a bottle of water. I'm the only one sitting outside when we see it.
"Clove!" I call. She emerges from the Cornucopia and looks up to see a think column of smoke rising from the trees.
"Let's go," she says, going back into the Cornucopia to get Marvel and her bag.
I'm ready to go when she asks me about our guard.
"I think he should stay here, just in case," Marvel reasons.
I shake my head, "He's coming. We need him in the woods and his job here is done. Anyway, his guarantee is finished and he hasn't realised. We're at the last eight. If we just take him out into the woods and attack him without warning, he's dead," I say quietly, making sure he doesn't hear.
"What if Lover Boy comes along? He knows all about the security!" Marvel says.
"I know where I cut him! He's dying, he ain't in any shape to raid us." I assure them.
They still look worried, so I just shake my head. "Fine, District Three stays here," I snap and throw a spear towards him. He catches it badly, almost slicing his hand open, making me wonder whether he'll make a difference to the safety of our supplies.
We set off at a sprint, racing towards the trees at a tremendous speed. "Just for letting that kid stay, when we find Everdeen, I kill her, no interference," I insist. They don't say a word.
We run long and hard up the steep slope of arena, towards the smoke. I think of Thresh, who may be luring us in to some kind of trap. The only person bigger than me in the competition could be around any corner.
Suddenly, we break in to a small circular clearing, the smouldering remains of the fire before our feet. No one is to be found, we check the surrounding area thoroughly.
No sooner do we confirm there is no one near us, than a second tower of smoke appears in the sky.
"It's a trick," Clove says venomously. "Let's go, let's get back to the Cornucopia."
The words have barely left her mouth when there is a ground shaking explosion.
"Shit," Marvel simply says and races off through the trees. Clove and I follow without hesitation.
We run like hell hounds are on our trail, arriving at the grassy plain within minutes of the explosion.
Sure as hell, our supplies are gone.
A deafening roar rips through me. "No!" I scream. I arrive at the smoking rubble and kick the remains of a pan high into the air. The explosives boy is pale and horrified, unable to do anything but stare.
With three long strides, I am by his side. I grab his head in my hands and yell "Stupid little-!" The rest of my words are drowned out by the sickening crack of his neck breaking.
Adrenaline and pure rage keeps us up into the early hours of the morning, by which we've spent so much time tracking the only thing really awake in our bodies is our minds. We spent about twelve hours running through the trees, hunting for our competitors. Now exhausted, we lie on the ground in our sleeping bags, waiting for rest to pull us under.
I sleep easily that night, probably the best since the start of the Games. Even anger must subside to exhaustion in the end, I figure. I'm awoken a lot during the night to take my fair share of watch duty. As our numbers have been halved, our watches have doubled.
When morning finally arrives, I find every part of my body aches. I sit up slowly and eat a meagre breakfast of a handful of dried fruit and some water.
Clove is awake too, but Marvel still sleeps. Dozy sod.
"What shall we do today?" Clove asks, her voice filled with pain.
"I really can't be bothered with tracking right now," I tell her honestly.
She nods. "I agree, we did a lot yesterday. Do you want to just chill for awhile? After all, even your stings aren't better!" she points out. My stings are reducing in size but they're still hot and sore. Right now, they were the least of my worries.
"Sounds good to me," I answer.
Based on that, we do little for a few hours. At midday, I set up some simple snares, catching one rabbit. We skin and cook it and have a halfway decent lunch.
"I think we should get going," I finally say when we finish lunch.
Marvel groans, "I'm so sore, Cato!" he moans.
I grimace, "What a baby!" I snap, "Clove, I reckon we should just slit his throat now and be rid of him!"
"Shut it, two," he snaps.
"Ooh! Hear that, Clove? Marvel's scared! Scared of dying!" I jibe.
Marvel jumps to his feet, pulling his sword from his belt and training it on my head. "If you tried anything, I'd make it my last action to kill you," he replies.
I raise my eyebrows and gently push his sword away. "So, I take it that you're good to go?" I ask carefully.
He spits at my feet and pulls his bag on to his back. "There's a reason I'm still alive and well! I'm smarter than Glimmer, than Jerrica, than Lover Boy, than every kid that's died so far. Remember it, District 2!" he snaps.
Marvel had exposed his true nature. He was showing his real colours.
A/N: Wow! Ch9 already! I'm sorry it took so long, really I am! But I hope you like it! We're drawing close to the inevitable and dramatic climax of our favourite Hunger Games duo and I really hope it may jerk some tears! Until I upload again, DFTBA and please leave a review.