21. Friends
Keep Your Friends Close…
"See you tomorrow, Clove," Glimmer calls over her shoulder as she and Marvel leave Clove and Cato to return to their suite in the Training Center.
The elevator hums as Clove and Cato ascend to the second floor.
"You've made a new friend," Cato says, smirking.
Clove shoots him a glare, but says nothing. She wonders how long the alliance she has formed with her fellow Careers will last once the Games begin. I'm sure we'll get past the bloodbath, she thinks. Then it hits her hard: once Girl on Fire is dead…if any of us Careers finish her off, that'll leave us to turn on each other…betray each other…kill each other. Only one can go home…Clove has seen years of Hunger Games and is wise enough to know that Cato is not her friend, even if he does come from home, District 2.
Friendships and alliances have a short lifespan in the Games.
One year was really awful: the 53rd Hunger Games saw three final tributes wandering in a scorching desert: both tributes from District 1, and the female tribute from District 2. During the night, the tributes from District 1 ganged up on the District 2 tribute while she was asleep. The District 1 male slashed District 2's tribute's throat…she woke up, gagging, clutching her throat, blood spilling out of her mouth. While he stood over her, laughing and pointing at the dying girl, the District 1 female took the opportunity to spear him through the back. As though that wasn't enough, she ran in the front so that she was facing him. She took a second spear and aimed at his stomach.
Clove trembles at the memory of it and clenches her fists. Get it together, Clove, she admonishes herself. She can't show fear. The 53rd Hunger Games hit a chord with her because it was the District 2 female tribute that had been so cruelly murdered…
That could be her.
If anything, those Games were a clear reminder that it's only a matter of time before allies stab each other in the back—literally and figuratively. It makes her glad she has developed her knife-throwing skills during training at the academy. She can stab an enemy in the back, gut a friend face to face, and throw a knife from a distance if needed to bring down anyone in her path. Her combat skills with edged weapons make her a deadly and terrifying tribute.
It also means the odds of her leaving the arena alive may be in her favor…And yet, if she's the one to murder the Girl on Fire, she knows the Careers will turn on her. She'll be seen as the main threat to be eliminated after Katniss is dead. So Clove reminds herself that no matter what's said or agreed between her, Cato, Marvel, and Glimmer—at the end of the day, she can only be a friend to herself if she is to survive the 74th Hunger Games and return home to her family.
oOo
She can barely think over the crushing pain in her skull.
Snippets of recent memories flash through her mind. Glimmer tried to kill Katniss. Failed. Shot an arrow up the tree. Missed. Next morning, tracker jackers stung her to death. Marvel was close, but Katniss was faster. An arrow shot through his neck. Cato and her planning to go the feast. Corner the Girl on Fire. Kill her once and for all.
She had come the closest to killing her. Threw a knife at her. Struck Katniss above the eye. Tackled her to the ground. Slammed her down. Taunted her about LoverBoy. Was proud to see the blood streaming over Girl on Fire's eye. Planned to give the audience a good show. Earn sponsors. She chose a specific knife to begin carving up Katniss' face. One moment, straddling the Girl on Fire. Next minute, yanked off and held in the air. He was bellowing at her. She didn't know his name. He mentioned District 11's tribute. Rue.
Then she saw the stone in his hand.
She couldn't pretend to be brave. Not when death stood right in front of her. Her heart lodged itself in her throat.
He smashed the stone against her temple and her skull exploded with pain.
Although she can't respond anymore, she can hear everything around her. Enobaria had told her hearing is the last sense to go. How it was possible for the dying to hear everyone and everything around them, even though they can no longer respond.
She hears voices above her. Katniss and Thresh talking. Her telling him she sung Rue a song as she died. How she buried Rue in flowers. They were allies. Not just allies. Katniss and Rue were friends. Friends. Clove wishes she had a friend now. She thinks she hears Cato nearby. Crashing through the bushes. Katniss and Thresh are gone now. She heard them leave. They were noisy when they ran off.
She senses Cato kneel beside her. She can feel his hand gripping hers. His hand is large and warm and envelops her small one. She wishes she could talk, but she can't. All she can do is listen to him plead with her.
"Stay with me, Clove, just hang in there."
She can hear the sadness choke his voice. He's trying to be strong for her. Maybe Cato really believed the announcers when they said two tributes from the same district can go home.
"Don't leave, we're going to make it out of here. Stay, Clove…"
The blue sky above her begins to darken as her vision fades. Just before her world blackens forever, Clove is thankful she had one friend in the arena so she didn't have to die alone.