I'm sorry for the late updates and also I forgot to mention that the epic fail of a song in the previous chapter was written by me. I wanted to push through with my idea of little Katniss singing a song so I had to make a pathetic excuse of a song (or poem since there isn't any music). Another thing! The reason I wanted "Segway" to activate and de-activate the landmines is because I wanted the Careers to look extremely formidable and I thought I won't be able to achieve that if the Careers look like they're playing hopscotch. It's just an added plus that it made Foxface look desperate and kind of foolish. I never really liked her that much. I'd also like to apologize for the fail fight scenes in this chapter it's really hard for me. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it after a while! Enjoy reading! Please Review! Creative Criticism and etc:D Thanks for reading!
After a few minutes, the others woke up. The bird left by then. We all picked up our packs, left Segway to guard our area and left to hunt for some tributes. We walked for a while before I spotted a flash of red. What was that? I peered around the bushes subtly since I could be wrong. I parted the bushes a little bit before I saw the girl from District 5. She's crouched down behind a large tree that's surrounded by bushes. It seems she saw Cato and the others but not me since she's looking at them and not me who can see her. Before I could blink, Cato turned around and saw me behind the girl. It didn't take him a second to know what's in between us. He started running and the others started to follow. It's either the girl was petrified with fear or she wants to commit suicide since she didn't move an inch when Cato started storming to our direction.
Once they were a few yards away they slip up and after a few seconds we've surrounded the girl. She stood up and looked as if she was thinking of a way to make a diversion so that she'll be able to run away from here. I looked at Cato and saw him clasp his sword tightly. I looked at Glimmer and Clove and saw them pull out knives from their pockets. Marvel on the other hand raised his spear threateningly. I didn't move an inch because I don't want to kill or injure anyone anymore. In a split second, the Careers lunged to the girl. Cato tried to behead the girl the same time Glimmer tried to pierce the girl's chest. They bumped and injured each other and got pushed away by Marvel and Clove. Marvel tried to plunge his spear on the girl's eyes but Clove probably thought of the same thing because they collided and bounced off each other. The girl used this opportunity to sneak away but Cato won't allow that. He clenched his fist before chasing after her. Once Glimmer recovered from her blow from Cato, she started running after Cato and the girl. Without even thinking, Marvel and Clove did the same thing. It took me a few seconds before noticing that they left me alone. I know! Stupid right? So I started jogging after them. I reached them a minute too late. It seems i missed the fight and the girl was able to escape.
She's sneakier than i thought. I thought she was sneaky because she was able to hide from the Careers and stealthily move around without rustling a leaf but now she was able to escape from the Careers without even a scratch, by the way the others kept complaining about wanting to maim her. Cato called it a day and we started trekking back to the lake. It didn't even occur to me that it was already this late. The moon is shining our way and the stars are blinking like a million lights. By the time we have reached the lake, I saw Segway become alert and picked up his weapon. I heard Glimmer and Marlene gasp.
Wait Marlene?
Where did she go while the others were hunting that girl from District 5? I didn't see her once since i saw the girl from District 5. In fact i haven't seen her since we started to hunt for other tributes. Weird. I can't believe i didn't even notice someone else was missing. Am i that self-centered that i don't even notice that one of our friends(if you can call your potential killer that) was gone? But enough about me. Why did Glimmer and Marlene gasp when they saw Segway? What's wrong with him? I'm sure they look a lot worse than him. He isn't bloody or injured in any way.
I peeked in between both girls and i wanted to gasp myself. I hid that in a perfectly safe place! How was he able to find it? Can he even use that? That's not meant for him! It's meant for someone else! So why the HELL is holding that silver bow and sheath? I need to make my face expressionless because they'll know i knew about the bow than they'll know what Katniss' secret skill is.
We walked towards him while the girls gaped at the bow. It's nice looking but what's so special about it? For them, i mean. For me it's special because Katniss was meant for it but for them it's supposed to be just another instrument. Marvel seemed to think of the same thing(minus the Katniss part) because he asked them.
"What's up with the bow? It looks plain to me" this of course earned him a collective gasp from all the girls. Why? I looked at the guys and saw that they're as clueless as me. Even Segway who seems to know everything. The girls exchanged a look before Clove told us to sit down. Glimmer and Marlene started making dinner without making a fire. I guess it's beef strips and crackers with dried fruit for dessert again. The guys sat down while Clove started telling us a story. I know, weird.
She started with a look that says if you laugh we'll kill you all.
"Girls all over Panem know this story since none of you guys have sisters you have an excuse not to know the story of the Silver Archer." She explained to us.
"Who's the Silver Archer?" Segway asked.
"I'll be able to answer that if you let me continue" she answered to him in a tone filled with venom." So anyway. The Silver Archer wasn't always a Silver Archer. She was normal person like us"
"So she's like a girl hero or something." Segway interrupted. How can a smart dude like him be so dense? Didn't Clove just imply she's the only one who should be talking?
"Do you have a death wish?" Clove asked him with a voice dripped with sweetness but laced with venom. Segway gulped before shaking his head no. Maybe he finally got the message.
"So anyway, the Silver Archer used to be known as Artemis. Like the old myths from our ancestors. She's extremely petite. Most children from her time are about a head taller than her. Her face was sweet and lovely. Almost doll-like. Her hair is always on 2 separate braids. "
As soon as she said this it reminded me of Katniss. When I first saw Katniss she was smaller than most kids and her hair was in 2 braids. How coincidental!
"The most starling thing about her was not her size but her eyes. Her eyes are silver. Shiny silver. In our time, having silver eyes are common but during their time it was uncommon. Almost unheard of. And also her eyes are real silver not cosmetically enhanced silver like that girl from 12."
I did my best to control my emotions by this time. How can she call Katniss' eyes cosmetically enhanced? Her eyes are REAL SILVER. PURE SILVER even. Emotions aside, I'm a bit bothered by the coincidence of the Silver Archer to Katniss. Why are they alike? Why am I bothered?
"Growing up, she was a social introvert. During breaks she would sit under a shade and sing softly to herself. Sometimes petting animals that are drawn to her. Her parents picked up her name out of instinct and as she grew up, they noticed how perfect the name was. When Artemis started her secondary education they were required to pick a sport to study on. All her classmates picked the team sport and only a handful picked the individual sports. Artemis saw that archery was the only one without a student so she picked that since she's still a social introvert and wants to be alone. It turns out Artemis was excellent when it comes to archery. She can hit every target even though she's 2 miles away from it. She's still small so it makes it more impressive. Her teachers started calling her Lady Artemis or Artemis, Goddess of the hunt behind her back. You see, in the myths from the olden times, Artemis was the goddess of hunt. She protects or replenishes the forests and jungles. When she hunts an animal, she just snaps her fingers and another animal will replace the one she killed. The resemblance of the 2 Artemis' are almost uncanny. As if Artemis a.k.a. The Silver Archer is the Goddess of the Hunt personified."
"By the time she was in higher education she still has no friends. Her only company was canary. She was the smallest in her class. Probably no more than 5 and a half feet while her classmates were at least 6 feet. No one has ever heard her voice except her teachers and the few people who accidentally heard her sing."
Like me to Katniss. I'm one of the few people who heard her sing.
"Although a lot of guys pursued her because her loveliness and her skill in archery, she didn't pay attention to them. She looks pass them as if they weren't there. After a few years of ignoring men, some of guys started to be bitter. They would spread rumors of Artemis and bully her but she wouldn't show any emotion. She'd look past them as if they weren't there and not speak. They'd call her witch, robot and other horrible names but she won't react. Once they've graduated, almost everyone forgot about her. Except one person"
Great the love part of the story. Predictable, since the girls like it. How come everyone has a love life besides me? Even a social introvert has one! How come I don't have one? Except maybe unrequited love life. Wow I guess even the Games can't make me forget my rejection. I should stop feeling bitter. I knew that rejection was the outcome but I still couldn't help but wish that there's a positive outcome. Sadly, that's just my overactive imagination thinking.
"His name is Kyle. He's a normal person. He has only a handful redeeming qualities. He's completely average. He liked Artemis since her saw her practicing archery but he never tried to talk her. Every time he tries he loses his courage before he makes a step towards her."
Seems familiar….poor dude… I know how you feel.
"A couple of years after graduation, Kyle went to the woods and saw a rabbit that was caught on a snare. He helped the rabbit out of the snare and tended to its wound. Nothing bad just a small cut. He set it free but it doesn't seem to want to leave. He stayed with it for a while before it finally hopped to another place. Kyle became curious to what attracted to the rabbit since it didn't want to leave a few seconds ago. He followed the rabbit and saw a small girl pick the rabbit up.
"What happened to you?" the girl asked the rabbit with a soft musical voice.
Kyle inched closer to the girl but she didn't seem to notice him. He still can't see her face since her back was in front of him. The only thing he can see is a silver bow and sheath filled with silver arrows.
"You don't seem badly hurt. It seems someone has tended to you other than me. How odd normally when other people see something like you they'll stop at nothing to hunt you" she observed
She turned to the right and Kyle was able to her profile. He gasped and stared at her as if he wants to pull her to his eyes.
"It's her. It's Artemis. It's been a while since I last saw her. She's more beautiful than before. Her dark chestnut hair became auburn. Her skin is paler making her eyes more silver. She's breathtaking." He thought. Before she could see him, he left the forest quietly."
This story is really interesting but I feel like a kid that's being told of a bedtime story. It didn't help that the moon is out and I'm feeling a bit drowsy. I'm surprised Cato hasn't complained yet. Normally he doesn't have the patient for this type of thing.
"Everyday Kyle would visit the rabbit and leave as soon as he had a glimpse of Artemis. He always uses the rabbit leaving as a sign that Artemis is here. One day the rabbit didn't leave Kyle even though he knew that Artemis was there. He thought Artemis would like a new friend and to him Kyle seemed pretty nice. Artemis went looking for the rabbit until she saw him with Kyle. She approached them timidly.
"Excuse me" she said. Kyle couldn't believe that Artemis actually approached him but then he remembered the rabbit that was on his lap.
"She's here for the rabbit not me" he thought sadly. Her voice has a musical tone to it even though she wasn't singing. It sounded better than before.
"I'm sorry. Is he yours? I saw him trapped on a snare, one time, and ever since then I visit him everyday. He usually leaves as soon as he senses someone else is here to visit him. I hope you don't mind that I visit him" he said to her
"I don't mind. You're the one who tended to him a few weeks ago. Thank you for that" she said to him. She picked up the rabbit from his lap and walked away.
"She still doesn't want any friends" he thought. Without thinking about what he's about to do, he stood up and ran to Artemis.
"Wait up!" he called up to her. She looked around before she stopped and waited for him.
"I'm Kyle and I forgot to ask what your name was" he told her.
"I already know your name but I don't want to sound creepy so I'll ask. It's more polite that way" he thought
"I am Artemis. If you'll excuse me, I must leave now" she said to him in a soft voice
"Why?" he asked
"Because my parents told me to not to speak to strangers" she said simply. Without waiting for an answer she left him and he stood there watching her walk away."
Clove is really good at this. This story is starting to sound cliché but she makes it sound interesting.
"It took time but after a while, Artemis started to talk to Kyle and they became close friends. When Kyle couldn't take it anymore he finally asked her what he has wanted to ask her for a long time.
"Why are you always in the forest?" he asked. Artemis thought for a while before replying
"I go here because of the peace and quiet. I am able to think peacefully and sometimes practice archery without worrying about hurting somebody." She answered softly
"Where do you practice archery?" he asked
"I'll show you" she said. She stood up and motioned him to follow her. They walked for a while before Artemis crouched down and started crawling underground. The hole is extremely big. A small bear could fall into it. Kyle followed her until they stopped at a large room. It looked like those rabbit houses in the picture books, children read. It's probably as big as 4 houses put together. At the end of the room there are multiple targets. Some are apples. Some are strawberries. Some are big cotton filled circles.
"Why do you use fruits and cotton when you're in a forest filled with wild animals?" he asked her. She put the rabbit down before looking at him in the eye while answering
"Because I don't believe in harming animal for sport. It don't think it's fair for us to endanger their lives for our pleasure."
"Then you don't eat meat? Since eating is meat is pleasurable and it endangers animals." He said to her
"No I don't. Whenever I have food I share it with him" she said while pointing to the rabbit"
Before Clove could continue her story, the seal of the Capitol appeared and the anthem started playing. There was only one face on the sky. The girl from District 8. She's the one that the Careers killed this morning. I hope her body made it hope safely. Even though I didn't kill her I still feel guilty about letting her die. Yes, feel, since I can't get over it. The anthem finishes playing and Marlene calls us for dinner. It took them that long to find beef strips? Oh well. After a few minutes of silence, Cato finally decided it's time to sleep. Marlene took the first watch and the rest of us lay down on our sleeping bags and fell asleep.