Fuck
"But, seriously, I believe that is the first time we've actually caught a break. Things seem to be looking up" Marvel laughs.
"Don't jinx us" I chuckle and slap his arm. It's true. We've had a lot of close calls in the games. We barely made it out each time and, though I hate to admit it, it's always been because we were there for each other. Meaning he's saved my ass just as many times as I've saved his.
"How is Peeta even alive?" I ask abruptly. "He's been solo this entire time. He should be dead by now." What with all the deadly traps and beasts that seem to lurk around permanently.
"I honestly have no clue. That cave is indestructible I guess." He shrugs
The cave.
The cave!
"Oh my god! We're so stupid!"
"No we're-"
"Yes we are. I've noticed some things while we were walking."
"Oh no; not the things" he smirks
"The occasional pine tree, a couple of rocks where the river used to be, stuff like that. So maybe the entire arena didn't change. Maybe some things stayed. Maybe the cave stayed."
"The cave means Peeta. But, how are we even supposed to find it?"
"I'm not sure" I admit
"I think I have an idea" Marvel says with a look of painful concentration on his face
"Don't hurt yourself" I scoff
"Do you know the once constant in every Arena?" he asks with a grin.
"No, there is no constant; every arena is different." I deadpan
"Wrong Kitten. In every Arena-" he ignores my glare "-The Cornucopia is in the same place. The very center."
"We have to go back then" I say without hesitation. I turn Kiera towards the Cornucopia.
"We won't have time" he reasons
I look up at the sun and see that he's right it's about eight o'clock; four hours till we're gassed. It took us an hour to get where we are.
"I hate it when you're right"
"Really? Because I like it"
We both chuckle as we catch our breaths.
"So, figuratively, the Cornucopia is that way" I point in the direction of our shelter.
"The cave was far west of it so, were heading in the right direction, it should take us only about an hour or two." He continues.
"Which mean we won't get back before were gassed." I finish
"Seems like it." He says, locking eyes with me.
"How are we going to survive the night?"
"That's a good question"
"Marvel! This is serious!" I snap
"You think I don't know that?" he snaps back. We both stew for a few moments before speaking again.
"If you're right, the cave would be in the seven o'clock sector."
"So we have to wait another hour?" I groan
"Don't be impatient" he smirks
"If its quicksand time, chances are Peeta isn't in there. He could be waiting for the hour to end." I say cautiously and he suddenly gets stiff and looks weary.
"We have to be careful then. We should move closer to where the river was, then as soon as the hours over, we can find the cave and wait for Peeta."
"And what if he's waiting for us?" I ask
"Then we'll fight" I nod in agreement and we take off in the direction of the river.
A few minutes pass when I get the courage to speak again.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I know you're only trying to help and-"
"Im not doing this entirely for you" he cuts me off "It's mostly for you but there's a part of me that wants to finish what I started that day in the penthouse."
"That seems like so long ago" I sigh
"It does. That was the day I decided to protect you and the day you decided I was a part of your family"
"It seems our family has gotten a bit bigger" I chuckle
"It seems that people like repaying favors"
"What do you mean?" I ask
"You said and I quote 'The people, who are your family, are the people who make you smile for no reason at all and bring you happiness; and you want to pay them back with equal or more happiness. It's a never ending cycle of debts that you want to repay.' Or has that changed?"
"What's family to you then?"
"I just like to think it's a group of people you love" He answers
"Oh how sweet" I hear someone gag behind me. The cats start to growl and hiss. Marvel and I snap around but, no one is there.
"Come out you bastard!" I scream
"Come back for more Seam Scum?" Peeta chuckles darkly from somewhere to the right of us. We turn again and there he is; bruised, bloody, and with a malicious grin. Marvel readies his spear but Peeta raises his hand: in it is a buzzer like object.
"Uh-huh" he tsks "If you do that, you can say goodbye to your precious family back at the Cornucopia"
"What are you talking about?" I ask shakily
"What I'm saying is that while you were all napping, I was digging: digging up all of the deactivated mines. I found that reactivating them was as simple as flicking a switch"
"Is that-" Marvel growls
"A detonator made from a few broken cameras, why yes, yes it is"
"How did you learn to do that?"
"I spent my training time in the electronics department" he drawls
"If I go with you, would you give Marvel the detonator?" I ask
He laughs "This isn't about you anymore Katniss, I got what I wanted from you so im done with you. This is about me walking out of here alive" his words sting and I step back.
"What can we do so that you don't blow everyone up?" Marvel asks cautiously
"You can back away slowly and don't look for me again" I share a look with Marvel and we both know that won't happen. I shift my foot and step on Kiera's foot and she lets out a loud growl which catches Peeta off guard. I launch an arrow into his foot and he flings the detonator into the air. Marvel's in the air and catches it within seconds. He lands close to Peeta and the man on the ground grabs his leg and pulls. It's as if Marvel falls in slow motion; the detonator falls out of his grip heading button first into the ground. Someone screams no but I can tell if it's Peeta, Marvel, or me.
It lands and the button makes the clicking noise of being pushed.
-~*~Momo