Chapter 11
Cato's sleeping behind me. But his breaths are heavy so I presume he's still awake. I know he likes me. It's obvious. All the sweet words and actions. I know I want him. I know Glimmer wants him too. He is amazing, I don't blame her. I here shuffling behind me and stiffen. It's Cato. I relax. He must think that I'm asleep because he's moving closer to me. I try as hard as I can to act asleep. I feel a hand slip under my arm. My stomach almost flips when his arm slides around my waist. My mind panics and I don't know what to do. I could just keep pretending to be asleep. But I want him to know that I'm awake without ruining this. I feel amazing and alive…loved. I slowly move my hand up to his and wrap my fingers around his hand. His whole body stiffens and then he adjusts to my touch. I smile. He partly sits up and plants a kiss on my cheek. I spin around to my back and prop myself up with my elbows. He looks down at me with the corners of his lips slightly turned up. I can barely see him though. We both laugh quietly. I know this one is mine. But this game will only allow one of us to live. I stop laughing and smile softly, trying to hide my tears. He won't be mine forever.
My eyes flutter open slowly to the sound of sawing. I look up and see a large orange object hurtling towards us. It crashes to the ground in the centre of our dead fire. It looks like a wasp nest! Insects fly in all directions attacking us. I jump up about a millisecond before everyone else. They swam around us individually. "The lake!" I scream. "Get to the lake!" we rush to the lake with these things chasing us. My vision starts to go blotchy. The stings are affecting my vision. I reach the lake first and jump in, ridding all the vicious insects. I climb out just in time to see Peeta running off into the forest. Cato sees him to and chases him. I follow close behind. I see exactly what Peeta is running for. Katniss. She's just sitting there! Peeta is yelling at her and she runs off quite clumsily. Cato reaches Peeta and swishes his sword, just once, leaving a deep cut running down Peeta's thigh. I hear a high pitch scream. Peeta runs away, limping. I lift my knife but Cato puts his hand on mine. "Leave him for now." he says quietly.
As we start to walk back to the Cornucopia, things start to spin. My head glugs up. I've felt like this before. When I was five I got stung by what my mother described as a "tracker jacker." It was an awful experience. I grab onto a tree to stable myself. Cato stops and looks at me. "Clove?" he says as he puts a hand on my shoulder. Then it affects him too. He grabs me arm and we start stumbling towards the Cornucopia. As soon as we get there, I collapse next to marvel. Glimmer isn't there.
My mom's dead. Joan's dead. District two is destroyed and my life is falling apart. I'm standing in front of my ash filled school as bombs go off all around me. I'm running through a blazing forest with red trees. I reach a clearing and look up at the blood red moon. Night mares. Nonstop night mares. I cannot think, I cannot see.
I feel dead.