Chapter 10: With You
Clove
I was a bit frustrated when I saw Marvel's picture floating in the sky. He's been my friend ever since our first training day and it's really hard to ignore his death completely. Well, at least he was killed by somebody else, not by me. And I bet anything it was Katniss Everdeen.
My frustration leaked away when I heard the trumpets and Claudius Templesmith's voice, announcing that two tributes can win this year if they're from the same district. At first I was shocked, by the sudden rule change and Cato's hug, confirming that what I heard was correct. But then I realized that I felt glad, glad that I won't be killing him anymore, and glad of feeling his body against me, knowing that he's feeling the same as me, glad that he won't be killing me anymore. With that, I found myself hugging him back.
Cato and I decided to sleep for the night near the lake. We agreed to have equal sleeping times. Cato volunteered to take the first watch so that I can sleep for half of the night and he'll wake me up when it's my turn to take the watch and his time to sleep.
I have fallen asleep quickly. I think it's because my mind is peaceful right now, not thinking about Cato and I fighting for victory as the games end, but with both of us coming home as victors. At last, my mind has found peace.
I've woken up to take the second watch and watched Cato sleep beside me. I'm sure both of us will be crowned as victors. We make a very good team. The odds will definitely be on our favor. I wonder what will happen to the two of us after the games. Will we stay as close as before, or even more? But of course, I'm not hoping for too much. I'd rather be his friend forever than not being in his life any longer.
Cato
The next day, we ate a little bit of our food before going into the woods and hunt for the other tributes. We should eat only what we need to survive because we only have a limited amount of food right now. Thinking about our supplies being blown up into pieces really makes me want to kill fire girl so badly. She and the little girl were responsible for it.
After eating, we refill our water bottles from the lake and purify it using iodine. After that, we made our way into the woods and hunt for the other tributes. There are only six of us left. Me, Clove, the foxface girl from District 5, Thresh, the boy from District 11 and both tributes from District 12. But no luck, we haven't found a single one of them.
We decided to take a rest before night falls. We're sitting on the floor when the sound of the trumpets startles us. We're on our feet in a flash, not wanting to miss a syllable. Claudius Templesmith is inviting us to a feast.
"Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."
Clove
After hearing the announcement, Cato and I made our way somewhere near the Cornucopia, near enough for it to be visible in front of us, and formulated a plan. According to this plan, I will go and get our backpack from the Cornucopia while Cato scouts the area for hiding tributes. After planning, we decided to sleep a little for the night to be prepared for tomorrow. We agreed to have equal sleeping times again but this time, I volunteered to take the first watch. Hours have passed and I wake Cato up for my time to sleep and his turn to take the watch. I've fallen asleep minutes later.
I felt Cato waking me up and sit up immediately beside him. Dawn is approaching but I still don't see the backpacks. Cato and I just sit and waited.
"Cato, what if fire girl shows up?" I asked him moments later.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll take care of her."
"Cato, let me have her," I said and he looked at me. "I know you want her as much as I do but please, let me have her. I promise I'd give the audience a good show."
He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Ok, you can have her." I smiled with relief. "But be careful. She's handy with the bow." I nodded. "Clove." He said as he looked me in the eye.
"Yes?"
"We'll win this thing together right?" he said.
"Right," I said, and he rested his head on my shoulder. I was startled by his sudden actions but I didn't push him away. Feeling his body close to me really makes me know that I'm safe, that I'm protected. We just stayed in this position until there's a disturbance on the plain.
Just as the first ray of sun glints off the gold Cornucopia, the ground before the mouth of the horn splits in two and a round table with a snowy white cloth rises into the arena. On the table sit four backpacks, two large black ones with the numbers 2 and 11, a medium-sized green one with the number 5 and a tiny orange one marked with a 12.
"Be careful Clove," Cato said to me. "Don't worry, I'll be near." He said as he run away.
The table has just clicked into place when a figure darts out of the Cornucopia, snags the green backpack, and speeds off. I recognized her as the foxface girl from District 5. Leave it to her to come up with such a clever and risky idea. The rest of us are still poised around the plain, sizing up the situation, and she's got hers.
Seconds later and I saw fire girl sprinting for the table. I run towards her and threw a knife on her right side but she deflects it with her bow. She sends an arrow straight at my heart but I turn just enough to avoid a fatal hit, but the point punctures my upper left arm. It's a good thing I throw with my right but it's enough to slow me down for a few moments, having to pull the arrow from my arm and take in the severity of the wound.
I saw her at the table now, her fingers closing over the tiny orange backpack. I send another knife at her. She's turning to fire again when my second knife catches her in the forehead. It slices above her right eyebrow, opening a gash that sends a gush running down her face, blinding her eye. She staggers backward but still managed to send her readied arrow at me but she misses. And then I slam into her, knocking her flat on her back, pinning her shoulders to the ground with my knees.
"Where's your boyfriend, District 12?" I asked her. "Still hanging on?"
"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," she snarled at me. "Peeta!" She screams at the top of her lungs.
I jam my fist into her windpipe, very effectively cutting off her voice. I whip my head from side to side, but since no Peeta appears to save her, I turn back to her.
"Liar," I said with a grin. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for lover boy? Too bad he'll never get it."
I open my jacket. It's lined with an impressive array of knives. I carefully select an almost dainty-looking number with a cruel, curved blade. "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show." She's struggling now in an effort to unseat me, but it's no use.
"Forget it, District 12. We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally… what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of lover boy. How does that sound?" I asked her. "Now, where to start?"
She attempts to bite my hand but I grab the hair on the top of her head, forcing her back to the ground. "I think… I think we'll start with your mouth." She clamps her teeth together as I teasingly trace the outline of her lips with the tip of my blade.
"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow lover boy one last kiss?" I asked her. "All right then. Let's get started."
The tip of my blade opens the first cut at her lip, and then some great force yanks me from her body and before I knew it, I was screaming. I am dangling a foot off the ground, imprisoned in Thresh's arms. I remember him as big, but he seems more massive, more powerful than I even recall. If anything, he seems to have gained weight in the arena. He flips me around and slams me hard on the Cornucopia, still imprisoned in his arms.
"What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" he shouted at me.
"No! No, it wasn't me!" I said helplessly. Right now, I can't breathe properly. And then he flings me onto the ground so forcefully my whole body hurts.
"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her?" he shouted at me once again. "You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?"
"No! No, I...," I managed to say. Right now, I need help. "Cato!" I screech. "Cato!"
"Clove!" I hear Cato's answer, and I know that he's near enough to help me, to save me. And then I see it, the stone, about the size of a small loaf of bread, in Thresh's hand. Right now, I'm crying, not so sure anymore if I can survive this or not. "Clove!" Cato's voice is much nearer now. I can tell by the pain in it that he sees me on the ground.
Before Thresh brings the rock down against me, someone dragged him away from me and I see Cato, fighting with him, as I managed to sit up. I also see Katniss running away from us with her backpack. I threw a knife at her but it missed her by inches and lodged in one of the trees. I want to follow her and kill her but right now, I feel so weak I can't even breathe and sit up properly. At least I stopped crying. I watch Cato fighting with Thresh and moments later, a cannon fires and I found Thresh, dead on the ground.
Cato made his way towards me and kneels beside me. He helped me sit up and then I said, "I'm sorry Cato. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I was careless, I…," before I get to say anything else, he wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest as I found myself locked up in his arms.
"I'm the one who should be sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have followed the foxface girl. I should have guarded you right from the start." I close my eyes as I hear his heart beating inside his chest. "I'm sorry Clove."
Cato
Clove and I get our backpack from the Cornucopia and made our way to the lake for the game makers to collect Thresh's body. We refilled our water bottles from the lake and stayed there until afternoon, resting and eating our remaining food. It looks like Clove and I have to hunt for food starting tomorrow. We're sitting in front of the lake when I noticed Clove's wound on her upper left arm.
"What happened to your arm?" I asked her as I hold her wounded arm and examined it.
"Fire girl shot an arrow at me," she answered me.
"It's a good thing I have medicine right here," I said as I grabbed my backpack and get the medicine. She took it from me but I quickly get it back from her. "Let me apply this to you."
"Whatever," she said irritably, taking off her jacket. She began raising her shirt sleeve up and I can see her wound under it. I coated it with medicine and feel her soft skin.
"How do you feel?" I asked her.
"I feel so much better," she answered, smiling at me. I smiled back at her. "Anyway, what's in our backpack?" Oh, yes, our backpack, I totally forgot about it.
"Let's see," I said as I grabbed and opened it. We found two body armors inside it, probably to deflect arrows thrown at us. They probably think that Katniss and her bow and arrows are the only threat left in the games. Suddenly, the sky became darker and darker. I think a storm is about to come.
"Clove, I think it's best for us to find a suitable place for a storm," I suggested.
"Right," she said, standing up.
"Let's wear these body armors first, before going into the woods," I said, standing up as well.
And we wear our body armors and go look for a cave or something in the woods. We managed to find a cave before night falls and settled inside it. There's a clap of thunder, and I see lightning electrify the sky. Rain falls and the temperature drops rapidly and soon I'm chilled to the bone. We didn't hear the anthem plays but saw Thresh's picture floating in the sky.
"Cato," Clove suddenly said. "You have bruises all over your body."
"It must be because of my fight with Thresh," I said. "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"Give me the medicine," she ordered.
"Clove, I told you, I'm fine."
"I said, give me the medicine," she insisted so I get the medicine from my backpack and handed it to her. "Take off your jacket." I hesitated. "Take it off now." She insisted so I did what she told me to do and she coated my bruises with medicine. I also take off my body armor and my shirt and Clove continued coating my bruises with medicine. Yes, it's freezing, especially with my top off, but feeling her touch really brings warmth to my body, and that's good enough for me.
Suddenly, we saw a parachute floating down from the sky. Clove steps out of the cave and brings it inside. We opened it to find food. We ate some of it and decided to sleep for the night.
"Trust me, the game makers will allow us a peaceful night," I said. "And no tribute is going to attack us in this weather. There's still a storm going on. Clove, just relax."
"Ok," she agreed. "Let's sleep." I smiled at her.
Clove
I found myself lying on the cold, hard floor of the cave beside Cato, shivering because of the coldness I'm feeling right now. I can't sleep. Yes, I have my blanket on me but the cold is really chilling me to the bone.
"Can't sleep?" Cato suddenly asked me.
"It's freezing," I said.
"Move close to me and I'll keep you warm," he said.
I have no choice. I quickly moved close to him and he wrapped his arms around me, making me feel warmer than before. I managed to sleep moments later.
I woke up the next day locked up in Cato's arms. He's still fast asleep. I stand up and steps out of the cave. The storm was over. I turned to Cato. He is sitting up already.
"Good morning," I greeted him cheerfully.
"Good morning," he greeted me back.
I sat beside him and we ate our remaining food. After eating, we put on our body armors and go out of the cave to hunt for the other tributes. I wonder how they managed to survive the storm.
It's early in the afternoon when we decided to split up. We will hunt for food since we don't have any anymore.
"Just don't go too far, in case you need help," Cato said to me and I nodded. After that, we head off.
The woods come alive with animal sounds. I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel. I decide it's enough for now. As I travel a short distance back to look for Cato, a cannon fires. I run, abandoning the dead animals, as fast as I can, hoping that I would find Cato, alright and alive, hoping that it wasn't him who died.
"Cato!" I call out in panic. "Cato!" And then I heard him, calling out my name. "Clove!" He's alive. Right now he's looking for me. "Clove!" I can tell that he's not that far away. "Cato!"
And then I saw him, running towards me. "Clove!"
I run towards him as fast as I can. "Cato!"
As soon as we got hold of each other, our lips met.