A FLAMING PRESENT FROM THE CAPITOL
Clove turned and ran as fast as she could, pulling the neck of her shirt over her mouth as the noxious black haze surrounded the Cornucopia at an alarming speed. As her feet pummeled against the ground she saw Cato up ahead just noticing the fire. Eyes wide and mouth agape, he quickly snatched his backpack and dashed across to the forest opposite the one the fire was destroying. Running as fast as Clove could, she caught up with him. She could hear Peeta trying to run along but with the uneven steps she was hearing, he was lagging behind with his limping gait.
The blazing inferno was closing in quick, already skirting across the field where the Cornucopia lay. Flaming trails dominated the place, chasing them right into the forest. Not only that, but balls of fire shot down from some unseen place, all of them directed at Cato, Clove, and Peeta.
"They're aiming at us!" shouted Cato as they one fireball burst into the ground beside him. The side of the forest they had run into was already ablaze, trees falling and animals screaming as the flames ate away at them. They jumped over the burning branches that fell to the ground, ran through the smoldering branches, and inhaled the toxic smoke of the fire.
Clove was getting lightheaded and watery eyed, the smog was too thick to clearly see through, and despite covering her mouth with her shirt, she was still inhaling the smoke. She was drenched in sweat and exhausted, her sprint slowing down to a jog. Everything was in chaos, it seemed like everything around her was dying, including herself.
She took a moment to stop, and that was Clove's mistake. A fireball rocketed towards her, aflame and fast. She turned around, saw the flames shooting directly at her, and gave a piercing shriek. Blazing arms writhed out of the inferno ball; she could hear the crackling and popping of it as it almost reached her.
Fire and sparks. Inconceivable heat. Tendrils of fire reaching towards her, eager to grasp her in an embrace and burn Clove to death.
Feeling her body lurching backwards, the blast of fire smashed into the ground where she had just stood, clearing a hole that was alarmingly deep. Cato stood behind her, hand grasping her wrist tightly. Another fireball shot down at her, and again Cato yanked her out of the way.
"Clove, come on!" he screamed as the air rapidly began to fill with the apple sized balls of the fire, like some bizarre interpretation of shooting stars. They ran faster now, despite their fatigue. Hand in hand, they stumbled through the forest to the best of their navigation. Cato and Clove ran until their legs gave out, both of them faltering in their run before they tumbled down.
But the Capitol's attack had stopped by then. Both of them just kept running despite that. Fear was in their systems, controlling their instincts. They didn't what else to do and couldn't do anything else except run.
They laid on the ground, breathing heavily. Every part of Clove's body ached. Her head, her legs, her lungs. Oh, her lungs. They felt like they were being baked right inside her chest, with every breath making pain shoot through Clove's chest. Every rattling cough hurt like hell, and it was like she could feel the ash settling in her lungs. Clove coughed until she started to retch over a bush, her vomit coming out stained and dark. Once it was all out of her stomach, she collapsed onto the ground, taking large, wheezing breaths.
Cato sat beside her, chugging his water bottle with no consideration of saving it. Soot blotted their skin, and the smoke that didn't disappear with the fire stood out more now that the sun had risen to its full height. The lingering heat of the fire and the new heat of the sun were unbearable. They took off their jackets and rolled up their pant legs. Swirls of smoke looked mistakenly innocent as the sun shone through them, making the arena look majestic.
For a while, that's all they did. Laid on the ground in silence. Trying to relax their tense muscles and rid their bodies of the burning feeling in their lungs. Eventually, the two of them fell asleep, exhaustion taking over.
Hours later, the sound of nearby footsteps and chatter woke them up. To Cato's delight, Marvel and Glimmer had made it out alive and wandered right into where they made camp. And even better, they had not lost their District Twelve boy. Apparently, the two of them found him passed out near a stream, and bullied him to consciousness.
"Alright, this is good. A lot better than I imagined after the fire. I thought the two of you and lover boy were dead. Let's head back to the Cornucopia, make camp and rest for a bit, then we'll get back to hunting."
They agreed and gathered their things. Peeta stood farther into the forest, distancing himself from everyone else. He was still battered from the fire and drowsy from his unconsciousness.
Clove glared at him from where she sat on the ground, collecting her possessions. His very presence always peeved her. So weak, so submissive once you brought up Katniss Everdeen… How could she ever stand Peeta Mellark when the dominating, vigorous Cato was with her? He would never become weak and obedient at the mention of her name.
Although, why was Clove thinking like that? Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen were lovers. Stupid, star crossed lovers. Cato and Clove were nothing like that… They were cohorts, partners. They supported each other, they were strong together. They weren't…lovers.
The very idea made her burn red with embarrassment. What kind of thought was that? Lovers? As if that would ever happen. They were in an arena trying to kill 22 people off. In the end, they would be trying to kill each other off. Although Cato did save her life a few times back there during the fire...that wasn't like him, was it? Maybe it meant something… No. It just wasn't something to consider. Actually, even if they weren't in the arena, it wouldn't be something to consider. Cato didn't consider girls on skill. Sure, it was a nice thing to have. But despite his own power, he was one that fell completely for appearance. It was probably the only reason he kept Glimmer around. Clove knew the way Cato would leer at her when they sat around, relaxing. It made her angry; it made her stomach boil with spite. She never really considered why…
"Alright, let's go," Cato said. Everyone nodded their heads, their cheeks still covered in the soot that was so insistent on clinging to their skin. They were still inconvenienced from the fire's side effects despite their rest; everyone still had ash coating the insides of their lungs and they were still sore from running away from the rampant blaze. Hopefully, the Gamemakers would take some pity on them and save the muttation animals for later.
They trekked through the forest for a long time. Clove didn't realize how far she had run with Cato. Her legs seemed so stunted when the tongues of flame were licking at her ankles. To her, it seemed like they had barely run a mile from the Cornucopia.
Once the Careers reached their campsite, they saw the overall wreckage of the place. The grass was burned off the ground, leaving uneven clumps of green on the now blackened range. Miraculously, the Cornucopia seemed to remain untouched, still glistening and golden in the sunlight. Perhaps the Capitol didn't want to hurt such a magnificent creation of theirs.
If that was so, Clove wasn't complaining. Their supplies were safe, which meant they were too. Everyone rummaged through the giant golden horn, checking that everything was in place, while Peeta sat on a rock nearby, looking sullen. Luckily, only a handful of things were picked off of their stash. Although everyone else sighed in relief, Cato stood rigid, a muscle in his cheek jumping.
"What?" asked Clove, eyeing him apprehensively. "This is good. We've still got the bulk of our supplies."
"What if they took something important?" he retorted in a strained voice. Cato pronounced his words slowly, and clipped, as if it hurt to speak. "We're just taking an inventory on what we remember. What they took might end up letting them win."
Clove was just happy that they got out of the fire alive and still had a bounty waiting for them. She could appreciate these things, while Cato took every fault towards their chances of winning personally.
"Don't be so cold," she said shortly. "So what if we lost a few things? We could win without the supplies if we wanted to. What happened to your confidence? I remember when you thought we could run through everyone with my knives and your sword and we'd just be left with the two of us. Now you're getting bothered by every little thing that hurts our chances. What? Is it that District Twelve girl you're worried about? Because she got an eleven in training and we haven't found her yet?"
Cato turned sharply and faced her with a look of utter infuriation. Cobalt eyes on fire and handsome features twisted into something animalistic.
"Shut up! You shut up," snarled Cato. "You don't know! You don't! What if she wins? What if she took that stuff and knows how to use it better than we do? She messed up my odds, Clove! She just came in here with her score of eleven and her stupid survival skills, and you know what? We haven't found her yet! So just stop, Clove! Just stop, okay? Don't make me— don't make me regret saving you!"
Clove stood before him, stiff and pale as her whole body shook with fury. She could barely form words as she tried to contain herself.
"Then why did you?" spat Clove bitterly. Anger rose in her being, loathing words forming in her throat. Rage was like vomit, once you started you couldn't stop, you couldn't stop being angry or stop whatever came out from coming out. And in the end all you were left with was a sour feeling and pain. "Why? I've always questioned why you favored me over the others. I know I'm from your District and I can throw knives, but what's it matter? If you think you've got such bad chances here, why not just kill us all now and go off by yourself? Huh? Maybe you'll get better chances then. Who knows? The only thing I know is that you're bitter and angry and hateful and you hate it when things don't go perfectly. The only thing you about me is that I can throw knives nice! Why did you save me, Cato? Why?"
She spoke the last word with such pain and resentment that it almost seemed like Clove choked it out. Everyone had fallen silent. Marvel, Glimmer, and even Peeta seemed to be listening.
Cato glared at her agonizingly, with true, desperate confusion gleaming in his eyes, before finally saying,
"I…I don't know."
end A FLAMING PRESENT FROM THE CAPITOL