Dear Readers.
Sorry for taking so long! Sorority recruitment and moving in happened but I finally managed to finish another chapter! Thanks for being loyal readers! Hope it's worth the wait!
-esl1852
Clove knew Marvel was still sad about Glimmer's death. He wasn't the same as he was. He didn't make any jokes, he was quiet, and seemed to be lost in thought for most of the day. Clove felt kinda bad for him. Sure she didn't like Glimmer, but she did like Marvel. She even considered him a friend. And seeing him so affected made her... uncomfortable.
It was later in the day, and Cato was with the District 3 boy, getting him to explain how the mines he had set up around the supplies to guard them worked and he was also showing him how to safely get to the supplies. Clove took this opportunity to join Marvel, who was sitting by the lake; she almost didn't see him at first because where he was sitting was obscured from most of the plain by the cornucopia.
"Hey." She said coming to sit down beside him. He nodded, acknowledging her presence, but he didn't look at her. Clove was not good at comforting people and felt even more uncomfortable that she had. "How you holding up?" She asked finally.
He shrugged. "I thought I'd be sad...and I was for a while, don't get me wrong. But now, I don't feel anything at all." He said, and then he turned his head to look at her. "And I know you are trying to be nice... something I know you don't do very often. And I appreciate it."
"Well... it sucks, losing your friend. Especially since she was someone you knew before the games. Even if it was Glimmer." Clove said, scrunching up her nose.
"I know you hated her, but Glimmer was my friend." Marvel finally said, looking towards the lake, but it was like he wasn't seeing anything at all. "And I get why you hate her; Glimmer was never good at staying away from bad boys or things that were off-limits, and she could be a little ditzy. But Glimmer in reality, not here but back home, was so much more than what you know her to be."
Clove felt extremely guilty because she didn't give a shit less that Glimmer was dead. Even when she wasn't pissing Clove off, Clove was never a fan of Glimmer. It made her feel even worse for Marvel. Because here in the games, Marvel was the only one who cared that she had died. Cato didn't even seem to care, but then again that didn't really surprise Clove too much. "Believe it or not, Marvel... I am sorry because it affected you." She stood at this point, realizing the awkward attempt to comfort him was not really going well. "However, I urge you to remember where we are. Mourning anyone will only get you so far, Marvel." Was all she could bring herself to say.
He clearly was ignoring her at this point even though they both knew she was right; he stood up as well. "We met when we were little kids." Marvel said, clearly deep in reverie of Glimmer. Clove just chose to stay silent and listen. "It was before we had started training for the games. We were five years old. She just came up to me one day with pigtails and a pink dress and said to me 'Hi. I'm Glimmer. Let's be friends okay?'" Clove rolled her eyes. Of course Glimmer would do that. "And I was kind of an introverted kid at the time so I just looked at her, until she said, 'Don't be shy. We're friends now. Friends don't have to be shy with friends.' I just nodded and mumbled my name and she took my hand. By the end of the day she had me talking and not shutting up."
"You? Not shutting up? I don't believe it." Clove teased.
He allowed himself a small smile, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "It's true. She always encouraged me... always. Like when we started training, before I had ever tried my hand at throwing a spear. I felt like I sucked. She just kept telling me that 'Suck is a matter of opinion and point of view. And in my opinion, you only suck if you think you do. Do you think you suck?' It pissed me off, I thought it was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. But then I discovered how naturally gifted I was with a spear... and everything fell into place. She just smiled at me like she knew all along."
He sighed, looking down. "She got me. Which is weird because not only were we completely different, but we had different goals. I was training to enter in the Games; I wanted to. It was for my family, for my district; honor, glory, fame, and fortune. I wanted it; all of it. But she never cared about training, not really. Sure, she was pretty good, but she never wanted it. Not like I want it. Not like you want it." Marvel said, nodding to Clove. "Her parents encouraged her to train if she was ever selected for the Games. They wanted her to be prepared. She would've been more prepared if she had focused instead of flirting. But all Glimmer wanted was to have fun, to mess around, to love her life and everything in it. She wanted to grow up, get married, and have kids. That was all she really wanted; not this. Not the Games. Glimmer wasn't meant to be here." It was funny; Clove and Glimmer were so different, but they did have one thing in common. They both weren't meant to be here; the girls who were supposed to volunteer didn't. Sure it was for very different reasons, but still. "I always knew Glimmer wasn't a killer; not really anyways. Glimmer went along with us on all of our vendettas against 12, she even enjoyed it. She fought for her life, but Glimmer was never gonna make it in the arena. And I knew that." He said, looking glassy-eyed.
"I'm actually really sorry." Clove said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Marvel turned to look at her. "It's stupid because one of us will have had to die anyway, but I still wish she hadn't. There's no one else here who really knows me."
"Marvel..." Clove started, but trailed off, not sure what to do. This was not her strong suit.
"I'm just afraid that I'm going to lose hold of the person who I used to be." Marvel said seriously. Clove knew what he meant, probably better than he thought she did. Since they had gotten into the arena, she could feel all the parts of herself that Cato had brought out already slipping away; the good parts of her anyway. But it wasn't too late for Marvel. She could tell.
"You're a good person, Marvel. I know you are; mostly because I know for a fact that I am not." He looked her in the eyes, and before she even knew what was happening, Marvel had grabbed her by the neck and pulled her into a kiss. Clove was shocked at first. But his touch was so gentle and so intoxicating... Cato had never kissed her this way before. Cato. Clove's eyes flew open as soon as she realized what was going on.
She pulled back from him, turning away from Marvel. She couldn't believe what just happened. Clove did not go around kissing guys. No. This was not her. True, Marvel had kissed her, but still. Now she could see why Cato was so worried about their friendship. She actually cared about Marvel; she didn't kill him when he kissed her. Fuck. He was her only friend and now that was shot to shit.
"Shit, Clove." Marvel said. "I didn't... I mean, I don't... Fuck." Clove couldn't even speak. She didn't know what to say or do. "Clove..." She heard him shift behind her, knowing he meant to put a hand on her shoulder. She tensed visibly right before he did, and so he froze, pulling back. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" She whipped around, visibly shaking with anger. "You're sorry?" Marvel took a step back. She looked just as murderously angry as she felt. "Sorry for fucking things up? Well it's too late, cuz you did. I knew nothing good could come of caring about other people. Nothing good ever comes of being friends." She spat the last word like a curse.
"Clove-" Marvel started, but was interrupted by a low, unfriendly voice. "What's going on over here?" They both looked toward the cornucopia, where Cato stood leaning up against it with his arms crossed. His face was unreadable, and Clove couldn't tell if he had seen or if he hadn't.
"Nothing. It's nothing." Clove finally said.
"Clove are you-" Marvel started.
She cut him off with a look that said 'drop it,' before saying, "Forget about it." Then stalking past Cato without so much as a glance.
Marvel ran a hand through his hair as Cato stared him down. "So friend, wanna tell me the truth?" Cato was no longer as friendly with Marvel as he had become during the games.
"Like Clove said, it's nothing." Marvel said robotically, moving to walk away.
Cato grabbed him hard by the upper arm, and then said in his ear. "Damn right it's nothing. And it always will be. And I don't really care if your blonde bimbo best friend just died, because if you ever do what I just saw you do again, I'll break every bone in your pathetic body."
Marvel's temper flared, and he yanked his arm out of Cato's hand, and then pushed Cato back a step. "And if you ever talk about Glimmer like that again, I'll be sure to do the same to you."
They stared each other down for a few minutes. Suddenly, Cato looked over Marvel's shoulder, and then pointed, their face off momentarily forgotten. "Look!" Marvel turned cautiously, and saw smoke, most likely from a fire, somewhere off in the woods.
"Someone has started a fire." Marvel said.
"Clove!" Cato called, and then turned back to Marvel. "This isn't over, by the way." He told him. "I'll deal with you later."
Without another word to Marvel, he jogged toward Clove, pointing out the smoke, and most likely telling her they were going on a hunt for whatever idiot was dumb enough to start a fire.
Marvel jogged over just as Clove was saying, "That is one of the stupidest things you've said since we've gotten into the arena. And you've said some really stupid things. He should stay her and watch the supplies." Clove said, gesturing to the District 3 boy.
"He's coming. We need him in the woods and his job's done here anyway. No one can touch those supplies," Cato told her, ignoring her jab at his intelligence.
"What about Lover Boy?" Marvel said, interrupting their argument.
"I keep telling you to forget about him. I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us." Cato said, as they continued packing up for their hunt. He grabbed a spear off of the ground, then thrust it into the District 3 boy's hands. "Come on." He said to Clove and Marvel, clearly meaning he was coming with them. "When we find her, I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes." Cato said suddenly. Marvel guessed that would be Cato's way to take out his anger at Marvel and possibly Clove. And she did drop a tracker jacker nest on them. Clove shot Marvel a look, but stayed silent.
All of them jogged off into the woods, Clove fell into the lead almost immediately, the boys right behind her, the District 3 boy trailing a ways behind.
"There's no one here..." She said when they made it to the first fire. She'd surveyed the whole area.
"How can you be so sure?" The District 3 boy asked after catching his breath.
"Trust me, I'm sure." She said. "Which means we wasted almost an hour for nothing." That's when Clove looked up with a confused look on her face and points out a second fire. "Something isn't right..." She said slowly.
"We should head back... screw whoever's fire that is; something's up. And I intend to fin out what." Cato said, and they started heading back to their base.
They had almost made it back when they heard a huge explosion. It shook the ground. They all looked at each other fearing the worst. Cato pulled ahead of Clove, barreling into the plain. Clove and Marvel, then the District 3 boy, stepped into the clearing and stopped dead. Their were burnt supplies everywhere, and the whole area stunk of smoke. Where their supplies once stood piled high was only a smoldering pile of wreckage.
And Cato had officially lost it. He was screaming and throwing things, practically tearing his hair out in rage.
"Are they all done or do you think any mines are left?" Clove asked. The District 3 boy threw a few stones into the wreckage before declaring they were all activated. They all moved closer to the wreckage. Cato was kicking open various containers, still throwing a temper tantrum. Clove rolled her eyes, but avoided looking at Marvel. They poked around the rubble, trying to find anything that could have survived the wreckage. But there's nothing. Clove starts to really panic for the first time in the games; they have no supplies. None. Only what that had carried with them. Which was definitely enough (she hoped), but now they would have to be extremely overly careful to conserve what the had left.
Cato turns on the District 3 boy when he realizes there's nothing left. "What the hell happened, huh? We had a deal that if you protected the supplies we wouldn't kill you. Do these supplies look protected to you? HUH? DO THEY?"
The District 3 boy tried to run, but Cato caught him in a headlock from behind. Before Clove or Marvel could protest, Cato sharply jerks the boy's head to the side. The cannon fires immediately, signifying his death.
Clove and Marvel moved to Cato almost immediately, knowing they had to stop his temper tantrum somehow. "Cato, calm down." Marvel said.
"I know you are pissed, but think, if this happened to our supplies, whoever caused it is probably dead. Blown sky high. We wouldn't have even heard the cannon, because of the explosion. Take solace in that." Clove went to touch him but he pushed her hand away. Clove lost her own temper, which she had been controlling so well, after that action. "Cato, could you try not to act like a five year old for five seconds while we try and get everything sorted?" Clove realized her mistake a second too late.
Cato grabbed her around the throat with one hand; he was lifting her in the air before she could even react.
"CATO!" Marvel shouted. "What are you doing?"
Cato ignored Marvel, looking only at Clove. "I don't recall asking for your opinion, Clove. Funny how you always feel the need to share it." He said with contempt in his voice, cocking his head to the side.
"Cato, let her go!" Marvel shouted again, grabbing his shoulder. Cato just shoved him away, still focusing on Clove. Only on her. Always on her.
She scratched at his hands, gasping for air. "Cato, what... are you... doing?" She choked. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing. He wasn't there. This time he was really gonna kill her. She gave up trying to fight him and tried to grab a knife from her vest, but with her lack of air and inability to see her knives she was having difficulty getting one out. "Fine, you wanna kill me, then kill me. Go on, do it. Kill me. What are you waiting for? DO IT! JUST DO IT ALREADY! I dare you." Then she saw something, a little flicker of humanity, in his eyes. His grip loosened a bit, but she still couldn't get enough air.
Suddenly, Cato lurched, a look of surprise on his face as his hand released her throat. She fell to the ground and then was no longer suffocating. She lay on her back and took gasping breaths as she tried to pull in the glorious air that she had been deprived of for almost too long.
She looked up, disoriented, and saw Marvel on top of Cato, spear at his throat. "You do that again, I will kill you myself." She realized that Marvel has saved her life, he had pushed Cato.
"I'd like to see you try." Cato spat at him. He then pushed Marvel away, standing. "Besides, this doesn't concern you."
"Uh when you try and kill someone in OUR alliance, it does."
He looked at Marvel, snarl on his face. "You're pathetic..." He said, and then looked down at Clove. "Both of you."
He turned and walked away from them, going to sit by the lake to stew in his anger. His words were like a punch to the stomach to Clove. She sat there barely breathing, not really seeing anything or hearing anything. Just his words, which rang over and over in her head You're pathetic... both of you... pathetic... pathetic.
"Clove, will you answer me?" Marvel's voice broke through as he crouched in front of her, grabbing her shoulders.
"What?" She said, confused. She had not heard him ask her anything.
"Are you okay?" He said, looking at her with worry.
She nodded numbly, hating the way he looked at her. Marvel pitied her and she saw it on his face often. That was one of the few things that Clove just couldn't take. She didn't need pity from anyone. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" He asked. "You were almost just choked to death."
She touched her neck absentmindedly. "I'm alive, aren't I?" He stood, and looked down at her in a way that made her squirm. "Sorry... thanks, I guess." He held out a hand to help her up but she stood up on her own, ignoring her hand.
"It's okay. But why did you push him like that?" He said seriously.
She shrugged. "I never knew when to stop. I still don't clearly."
"Clove, he just tried to kill you." Marvel said, a look of disbelief on his face. "That's on him... not you."
"Oh right, as if he would have actually killed me." She said. "He was bluffing."
"I don't think so Clove... can't you see it? He's different." Marvel said, slowly shaking his head. "He actually attempted to kill you. If it was anyone else it wouldn't bother me, but it was you Clove. If he tried to kill you, then he's clearly snapped."
"No, Marvel, you don't know him like I do. He's just on edge because we've lost our supplies. He'll cool down. Cato always does-"
"WHOEVER HE IS, WHATEVER HE'S BECOME, IT'S NOT CATO!" Marvel finally shouted at her, losing patience with her excuses. When he saw the look in her eyes he toned it down a little bit. "Not anymore, anyways. The Cato we knew is completely gone."
"That's not true!" Clove shouted back. "He's in there somewhere, I saw it, I saw him!"
"No, you wanted to see it." Marvel said with frustration.
"You know what Marvel, I'm sick of hearing you tell me off like you know me. YOU DON'T KNOW ME! We've known each other less than a month. Remember that. And remember that we are here to kill each other! Because you've clearly forgotten that, just like Glimmer did." She said, and he felt as if she had struck him. She surveyed him one more time before stalking away without another word.
They all 3 stayed as far away from each other as possible the rest of the day. By nightfall, after they show the fallen, the boys from District 3 and 10, they all realized that whoever had done it, and they knew who had done it, was not dead. Wordlessly, they all 3 prepared, and went in the woods to hunt. But it wasn't clear any longer whether they were hunting together, as a group of people with an alliance, or if the were hunting near each other, waiting for the right moment to strike each other down.