Sharp Objects

chapter twenty three

I would call them dreams,but I feel as if I will never wake up. I which case,they can't be dreams,more like strange visons of real life.

I watch my mothers death again and again; watch her fall in slow motion, through a walk of light orange flames. She crashes to the floor of the burning house,my burning house,and explodes into ashes before my eyes.

The flames build around me and the smoke rushes through my lungs . Every sharp intake of air fills my chest with smoke that closes around me and clouds my eyes.

An assortment of  torched screams break through the flames,from all directions,I don't know witch direction to run first. The original layout of the house is very hard to figure out,every single surface is covered in flames.

More screams assaults my ears.and I still can't place them.

Harper?Albert? Another person is inexplicably in the house? I can't tell.

But I have to get out. That is my focus now.

Ignore the screams,clove. Ignore them.get out now.

Without even checking my way, I cover my face with my jumper and blindly run. It seems as if the flames are following me.i can't find a way out. Everytime I find a door way it seems to burn down.the floor falls away,or something threatens to drop from the roof.

I have no escape.

Except.

I turn my head,uncovering my face completely for a second,and spot a window.

It's the only way.

Without even bothering to cover my face this time.i run. A beam attempt to catch me on it's way down.no such luck; I leap over it as high as I possibly can,and clear it easily.

The daylight burns through the flames, shinning through the orange and bright blue that assault my eyes.

I reach the ledge,and through myself out the window.

I am like a bird in the sky,gracefully flying.

No.not flying,falling. But they do say that,sometimes,you have to fall before you can fly.

My body turns in mid-air,to face the ground.

And suddenly,I'm falling fast impossibly fast,and my body's meet with the floor is mere milliseconds away.

Screaming cuts the air.thsi time,unlike many times before,I know that it is my own. Because I am going to die.

"Clove!" The voice, whatever's it is,has halted my fall "clove wake up!"

I slowly open my eyes. Move my arms and legs, feel the air around me: I am safely back on the ground. There in grass beneath my body,and I am completely unharmed.

What?I don't understand.

"Clove,you're okay!" Marvel appears at my side,leaning over me,his face a display of terror and then,relief. I try to sit up,pushing myself up on my elbows.

"Yeah I think I'm okay. I was falling through." I say,raising one hand to my head.my eyes still haven't focused properly and I'm still not entirely sure what happened while I was asleep. Asleep. It was definitely a dream. Burning houses in the arena? I don't that would happen.

And plus,my mother was there, why would my mother be in the arena? Mum is dead.

Yep,definitely a dream.

I try to stand up,but I stumble forwards into a pair of strong arms that catch me by the waist "steady there ,clove. Your okay now." I recognize the voice, but I can't pinpoint it exactly: my brain is still a little fuzzy. I look up to find myself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes.cato

"What happened?" I ask him,regaining my balance and,deeming myself able to walk without falling to the floor. Make my way out of he tent to a space under a canomy a few feet away. Marvel is already there,sharpening his spear and talking to maverick, who looks like a rabbit in headlights. Nothing's changed them.

"You were poisoned." Says cato. I can feel my eyes widening in terror. Who the helk would be able to poison me? And the,I remember. The buzzing: the tracker jackers.fire girl.

" Katniss everdeen you've got a knife heading straight to your heart." I mutter under my breathe. Cato looks at me, confused.

"What did you say?"

I said,Katniss everdeen is going to get a knife thrown at her if she's not careful." I hiss in anger,my right hand absentmindedly straying towards one of the knives in my jacket.

"You mean like zafira?" Says cato,I look up at him again,and his face is no longer happy: his mouth set into a hard line,his eyes cold and cruel.

"Why did you do it clove? She was part of our alliance. She was useful! Why did you kill her?"

I don't understand him. I killed zafira?when? How? Why?

And then I remember.

"I was saving your life." I say it quietly, barely audible,but he still catches it.

"What?" His voice is also quiet,but I am just able to make out the small words that manages to escape his lips.

"She was going to kill you." I continue,my voice solemn "if I didn't do it you were going to die.you collapsed, it was just as we got back here,after we ran away from the tree. She had a spear pointed to your heart and you were unconscious. You were going to die. I threw the knife,saw her die,then collapsed myself." Then,suddenly my quiet voice turns into mountain range. "But I shouldn't have done it. I should've just let you die. You don't seem to appreciate me saving your life so why should I bother. Next time I'll just leave you there to be killed. No mercy,nothing, because why should I care about you,when you don't even thank me for saving you. Again."

I shrug his hands off my shoulder and storm towards the canopy. " I can see love's back on form." Says Marvel with a smile. He Pats the seat besides him, and I reluctantly fall to the floor,my knees up against my chest."What's up?" He asks, I just sigh heavily in response, and he doesn't try to get me to answer.

We sit like this for what seems like hours: silence except for the scratch of metal on metal as Marvel sharpens his spear. When cato comes to join us,it becomes even worse. The silence is almost deafening.it's horrible. But I am not going to say anything until cato says sorry,or at least tries to believe me. I did save his live. Again. And he doesn't trust me. surly I shouldn't be the person he trusts the most. Obviously not.

When it seems almost as if the arena will be swallowed by the tension, somebody finally speaks. I look up from the evermore-interesting floor to find cato perched next to me. "Thank you." He says "twice, I do believe you,and I am sorry that I didn't. Thank you."

I contemplate my choice of words carefully.sure, he's forgiven,but I'm still not exactly happy with him. " okay, apologie accepted." I say,because I can't think of anything better. As soon as my words are said, Marvel let's out a massive sigh.

"Thank god that's over!" He shouts, wiping his brow in mock relief "I thought the silence was going to eat us! Right, now, who wants a party!" His face lights up in amusement. I look to cato, and he looks uncannily happy too.

I don't have a clue what's going on.once again.

"Haven't you noticed,my dear miss kentwell, that a certain annoying blonde is no longer in our midst?" Announced Marvel as if we were a news reporter or something. I look around, and then it hits me: Glimmer is dead. Glimmer is gone. And so is zafira. I can sleep without fear of being murdered in my bed.

With that thought on mind,it takes everything I have to stop me running through the forest screaming in happiness .but instead, I settle for a huge smile, and one strange thought.

What an unlikely celebration