Chapter 15

Enobaria woke me up just before dawn. I had some how traveled from the couch to my room during the night. I knew Cato had probably carried me there. The thought made me smile. I hoped I would get to see him before the games began.

"Sephone will be here in twenty minutes. The games start at 10 but, she'll need to get you ready. So, do you have any last questions? This is the time." Enobaria said.

I knew exactly what to ask. It had been bugging me for days. "Yes," I muttered. "When it was just you and your allies left, how did you all kill each other?" The question felt stupid when I said it out loud. The answer was obvious. You kill them because this was The Hunger Games.

She smiled sadly, her sharpened teeth biting into her lip. "Well, we were attacked earlier in the games. My district partner and the girl from 4 were killed. The boy and girl from 1 both died when we were chased by mutations. Bears, I think. Then when it was just me, the boy from 4, and the boy from 7, we fought. I ended up ripping out the throat of the boy from 7," she smiled proudly. "That's why I got these teeth." A felt a chill run through my body. "Then I won," she sounded sad. Why would she be sad about winning? Winning was everything.

"You make it sound easy," I murmured.

She closed her eyes, thinking. "I shouldn't be saying this but, The Hunger Games was a nightmare. It was absolutely horrible, Clove. I still wake up with terrifying dreams, constantly. I don't mean to scare you but, it's nothing to get excited over."

I couldn't believe she was admitting this. I stared at her, shocked. If the Hunger Games were so bad, then why did everyone in our district get so happy about it? Why did they get so excited?

She pulled me into a hug before I could reply. "Good luck," she whispered.

The next thing I knew, I was being escorted to the elevator. Spart had said her goodbyes, making me promise I'd see her soon. Then Sephone had showed up, ready to take me away. Just before the doors shut, I heard Cato shouting my name. I pushed my way out of the elevator and sprinted. I had to say good bye, just in case. He picked me up, wrapping his arms around me.

"I thought I missed you," he murmured into my hair.

"Me too." I buried my face into his chest, not wanting to let go. Sephone made sure I did. She pulled me off and dragged me to the elevator. I gave Cato a nervous smile as the doors closed between us. We would be reunited soon. I would not die and neither would he. I would see him again.

We took a hovercraft to the arena. I had a tracker inserted into my arm. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it looked. Once we landed, Sephone and I, along with the other tributes and their stylists, headed to the Launch Room. Sephone gave me my arena outfit, and pulled my hair into the bubbles. I slipped on the cargo pants, and a maroon hooded jacket over a thin shirt of the same color. I slipped my feet into a pair of sturdy black boots, similar to my pair back home. Sephone wrapped a black belt around my waist. I wasn't sure what it's purpose was because it certainly wasn't holding up my pants.

"60 seconds," The room shouted at us.

I took a deep breath and stepped toward the tube.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sephone asked, digging into her pocket.

A confused look crossed my face as she took out the item. I gave a sigh of relief as she pulled out my bracelet. I had forgotten it. She handed it over and I slipped it on my wrist, hoping Cato remembered his.

"Thank you," I said as I hugged her.

She gave a surprised chuckle. "No problem, dear."

I stepped toward the tube once more, with 30 seconds remaining. I stood in the cylinder as the glass door closed around me. Sephone gave me a little wave but, I didn't return it. The room told me I had 15 seconds left. I wondered what the arena was going to be like. I was hoping for woods but, everyone always was. My thoughts were interrupted when the cylinder began to rise. I lifted my chin and stared straight ahead as darkness surrounded me. I could feel the metal plate beneath me pushing up. Suddenly, I was in open air.

"Ladies and Gentleman, let the Seventy Forth Hunger Games Begin!"

I glanced around quickly, taking in my surroundings. A small lake was at my right and I could make out rocky terrain in the distance but, the rest of the arena was covered in trees. In the middle of it all was the golden Cornucopia. It was loaded with weapons, supplies, backpacks, and everything else we would need. Our plan was kill or scare off the other tributes during the bloodbath. Then, once they were gone, we would take the leftover supplies. First, I would need to find myself some good knives.

I looked over at the countdown, now displaying 15 seconds. I smirked and locked eyes with the Cornucopia. I got ready to run, knees bent and on my toes. My palms were sweating and adrenaline pumped through my veins. This was the moment I had always dreamed of.

The gong rung just as my feet left the platform. I was sprinting full force into the heart of the battlefield. I spotted a vest, the pockets loaded with an assortment of knives. I lunged toward the ground and seized it. I jumped to my feet and slipped the jacket on, ready to get in on the action. Marvel was busy with a long knife, attacking the girl from 7. Glimmer was on top of a girl, blood splattering her face. I found Cato gathering supplies. No one dared to attack him.

I wasn't long before I found my first victim. The boy from 7 rushed toward me, a club raised above his head. I almost felt bad for him.With the weapon raised up high, I had a clear shot. I whipped out a knife and threw it straight at his heart. My shot was perfect. But, it was no longer him. My mother stood in front of me, blood soaking her dress. Her ghastly pale face was inches from mine. My knife was jabbed into her chest. My knife. I stumbled back in horror as she fell to the ground in front of me. Her body collapsing just as it had that night. I covered my mouth to muffle my scream and shut my eyes tight, as the world spun.

"Clove! Are you hurt?" Cato asked frantically, shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and remembered where I was.

I shook my head and scrambled to my feet. The body was not my mothers. It was once again the boy from 7. "I just fell," I lied. I could tell he didn't believe me but, he nodded and hurried off.

Did that really just happen? This really wasn't a good time to be losing my mind. I tried to convince myself that I had seen my mother because the boy was my first kill. That had to be it. I had never killed anyone before and it just shocked me a little. That was the only explanation. I was not insane.

I shook it off and prepared for my next kill. I spotted Katniss and the boy from 9 fighting over a backpack. Perfect. I pulled out a few knives from the vest. I aimed for the boy first. The knife jammed into his back. The boy fell forward coughing blood in her face. She jumped back, confused and horrified. Her eyes met mine as I hurled the knife at her chest. She was too quick. Katniss pulled the backpack on and sprinted toward the woods. My knife lodged itself into the pack. I swore under my breath. I never missed. I wanted to go after her, tackle her to the ground and make her death slow. I knew I would get another chance to kill her. Katniss was going to die by my hand. I watched her disappear into the trees and decided it would be best to return to the Cornucopia.

The fight was almost over when I returned. Glimmer was finishing up the girl from 10 and Cato had just sliced the throat of the boy from 4. Apparently we weren't allies. I spotted Marvel walking among the fallen tributes. The ground was soaked with blood. I counted 11 bodies, almost half of us were gone.

"Clove, help us gather up the rest of the stuff," Marvel called, hands full.

"Okay," I said, as I picked up a small water bottle by my feet.

"Is that all you have?" Glimmer asked, pointing to my vest.

I scowled. "Yeah, is there a problem?"

She shrugged. "Well you could have been more useful and grabbed the good stuff before it was taken."

I pushed past her and joined Cato, who was busy sorting through our supplies.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey," Cato said. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't want to talk about what had happened with my mother. It was embarrassing just thinking about it.

"It's kind of weird." he muttered. "We trained our entire lives to kill and it's hard to believe we're actually doing it."

"I know what you mean," I replied, as I set my water bottle down.

About an hour later we had gathered up all the supplies and had it sorted out. We had a pretty good stash. We had 10 sleeping bags, 12 boxes of matches, 10 full water bottles, 9 empty, 2 night vision glasses, dozens of knives, a few bottles of iodine, several coils of wire, 11 flashlights, 5 pairs of sunglasses, 4 chairs, a tent or canopy, 5 bags of apples, several crates of different nonperishable foods and an assortment of other supplies. We packed most of it up into crates but, made sure we each had a full backpack. We each carried a bottle of water, a flashlight, matches, a knife, a sleeping bag, 3 meat sticks, and a package of crackers, in our packs. We planned to leave the rest of the crates hidden inside the Cornucopia. Glimmer had her bow and arrows and Cato had found a sword. Marvel had a a few spears and I had my knives. We were all set.

"So, where are we going first?" Glimmer asked.

I looked up at the sky. "Well it would be best to attack in the dark but, we might as well start moving." They nodded in agreement. We all grabbed our weapons and packs and headed toward the trees.

I was leading, Marvel followed behind me, and Glimmer and Cato trailed along in the back. I tried not to listen to their conversation but, with Glimmer practically yelling, it was hard no to.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" She seemed to say, all the time. "I killed 4 people today! And I thought the Academy was fun!" Cato agreed with a laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"So, I heard you and Clove knew each other before the games," Glimmer said jealous dripping off every word. "Did you met at your Academy?"

"Yeah, we trained together almost everyday. Did you and Marvel know each other?"

She ignored the question. "So were you two friends or what?"

I turned around. "We still are friends, best friends. " I growled. I glanced at Cato's wrist and smiled, finding his bracelet.

"Oh," Glimmer said. "I thought you were going to say you guys were a couple because that's what you told me before." She smirked.

"I did not."

"Mmm, pretty sure you did."

"Glimmer, shut up." I snapped.

"Fine," she said, probably realizing I would kill her in her sleep if she continued.

I glanced over at Cato, expecting him to be embarrassed but, he was just smiling. Apparently enjoying my embarrassment.

I cleared my throat. "Well, we better get going."

For the next hour I lead us through the woods. They could barely keep up but, I was in no mood to slow down. At one point I was so far ahead, I couldn't even here Glimmer yapping. Although, I didn't exactly want to lose them out here. I decided to slow down and wait for them to catch up. Ten minutes later, they still hadn't shown. In a panic, I ran back the way I had come, listening closely for a loud annoying voice. I was staring at the ground, looking for footsteps when I smacked into something. I flew back, my body slamming into the ground.

"Ow, what the hell?" I gasped as I tried to sit up. I heard someone groaning beside me. Well, apparently the something I ran into was actually a someone. He sat up slowly, obviously in pain.

"Lover boy," I hissed. His eyes widened in fear. I smiled smugly, reaching into my vest for a knife.

"No, please! Don't kill me!" He stuttered. Suddenly, I got an idea.

"Cato!" I shouted as loud as I could.

"Clove?" I heard from not too far away.

"Come here! I have something you might want!" I glanced over at Lover boy, who was frozen in fear.

Glimmer, Marvel, and Cato had found me in just a few minutes.

"Nice catch," Marvel said, smirking at Peeta.

"Oh! Can I kill him?" Glimmer asked, pulling out a knife.

"No," I said. "I have a better idea."

"I can't think of anything better than killing him," Marvel jeered.

"Well, we all want Katniss dead," I stated. "So, maybe Lover boy can lead us to her."

"How do we know he'll cooperate." Cato asked glaring at him.

"Well if we don't find her in five days, we kill him." They all seemed to like my plan.

"Lover boy," I purred leaning in close. "Can you help us find your girlfriend? Or do we have to kill you," I dragged my knife across his jaw.

"Y-y-y-es," he stammered. "I know where she'll be."

I smirked, and helped him to his feet. "Allies?"

He took my hand and shook it. "Allies."

It was almost dark, and we had been hiking for hours. The flashlights helped with the dark but, my feet ached. Lover boy told us that Katniss would most likely be in the trees by the river. I didn't have any reason to believe him but, once we found one of her snares, we knew we were close.

"Come on, let's take a break." Cato announced. We all sat under a large tree, ripping open our packs. Cato sat between Peeta and I, and since Peeta didn't have a water, I gave him mine and shared with Cato. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I had inhaled half of the cracker package and 2 of the beef sticks. I probably would have eaten more if I didn't have to give some to Lover boy. We were finishing up right when the anthem started to play. We all turned to the sky, as the death recap began. The seal of the Capitol lit up the arena, followed by the face of the girl from District 3. There were no surprises. Everyone that lay dead in front of the Cornucopia, was up in the sky. I was still looking up when Cato tapped me on the shoulder.

"See, the fire?" he asked, pointing through the trees. I couldn't believe I had missed it. A flickering light was just through the branches and the fire most likely had an owner. We exchanged smiles and told the others. We all broke into a run, weapons out and ready. We had given Peeta a spear. No one was too happy about it but, he needed a weapon.

As, we reached the campsite, I realized it was the girl from 8, and she sure was stupid. She didn't notice us until we were in her face.

"Please don't kill me!" she wailed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Oh no! Please!" She was crying, tears streamed down her pale face. We all exchanged glances, before laughing. Cato seized his sword and thrust it into her stomach. She let out an agonizing scream, and slumped forward.

"Twelve down and eleven to go!" Marvel cried, and we all cheered.

"Anything good on her?" Cato asked, as I began to check her pockets.

"Nothing in here," Glimmer muttered, looking in her backpack. "Just some wrappers, and an empty box of matches."

"I didn't find anything either," I mumbled.

"Well, better clear out so they can get to the body before it starts smelling," Cato wrinkled his noise. We trudged on but, didn't get far.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" I asked, glancing back at the body.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately," Marvel said.

"Unless she's isn't dead," Glimmer snarled.

"She's dead. I stabbed her myself," Cato said, defensively.

"Well where's the cannon?" I asked.

"Someone should go back and make sure the job's done."

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice."

"I said she's dead!"

"Let's just make sure!"

"She's dead!"

"Someone go check!"

"Come on Cato, we're just making sure."

"Well she's dead! So we don't need to!"

"Let's just move on!"

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and we'll move on!" Peeta yelled as he took the sword from Cato. We all watched in shock, as he limped over to the fire, sword raised.

"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with," Glimmer muttered, once he was out of earshot.

"Let him tag along. What's the harm?" I whispered back. "Besides he's our best chance of finding her."

"Why? You think she bought into that sappy romance shit," Glimmer growled.

"She might have. Seemed pretty stupid to me. Every time I think of her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke." Marvel mumbled. "Puke on her, that is."

"I wish I knew how she got that eleven," I muttered. We all did.

"I bet he knows," Cato said, just as Lover boy returned.

"Was she dead?" Cato asked.

"No. But she is now." A cannon fired, just as he announced it. "Ready to go?"

We all broke into a run just as dawn began to break.