A Love To Die For | Clato FanFic

Chapter 8 ~ Love

Clove POV

I watch as Cato unzips our drooping empty backpack and takes out the fire starters, and so I walk off to look for some dry firewood. Marvel follows behind me and looking back I see that Lover Boy is still just staring up the tree.

We don't have to walk far to find some suitable wood, there seem to be broken branches all over the ground now that I'm paying attention to it. I squat down and gather as much as I can in my arms, piling them up until I can't see in front of me.

"Need any help?" Marvel offers kindly, even though he's already carrying more than me.

"I'm ok," I lie, as I struggle to stand back up straight and not drop them all. As if he can read my mind, Marvel reaches one arm over and grabs a handful of my sticks, placing them in his pile.

I take a sigh of relief as he takes that extra weight out of my arms. "Thank you," I say appreciatively, and start leading back towards our camp.

When we arrive back Cato and Glimmer are gone, but Lover Boy is still just sitting there. I place down all the branches in a big pile next to the tree, which District 12 girl climbed up, and Marvel does the same.

I take a moment to observe her, after all we need to find the best way to kill her in the morning. She was sitting in a fork of the tree, looking down at her leg with a pained expression. I almost feel bad for her, just sitting there, waiting for her inevitable death, but I push these stupid thoughts away.

In the morning we could go back to the Cornucopia, hopefully find a spear for Marvel and then he can try and kill her.

"Where did Glimmer and Cato go?" I ask Lover Boy, who seemed to be lost in thought.

He looks up to me suddenly as if I had awoken him from a deep contemplation, and then he says, "I'm pretty sure they went to look for food or something, we have hardly any left." He gestures towards our backpack which was slumping against the tree.

That's weird, I think. Cato has never been one to pay attention in training when they explained which plants were edible, and I wouldn't count on Glimmer to be very bright in that area either. I shoot Marvel a questioning look and he gives one back.

"Oh well, we better get the fire going," Marvel says, changing the subject. He walks over to where Cato laid out the fire starters and grabs a few branches.

I sit down and watch as he and Lover Boy create a tepee-looking structure with the branches and then place a white cube in the centre, which must've been in the fire starter pack. Marvel then strikes a metal object against a stone, which causes yellow sparks to rain down. At first, there is only smoke but then alas a small branch catches fire.

I watch, mesmerised as the fire crawls over each the branches, engulfing them in flames. The relaxing cracking of the fire is interrupted when I hear Glimmer's obnoxious laugh in the distance, and I know Cato and Glimmer are close by. Marvel looks over to me, concerned.

"You know it shouldn't have to be like this." He whispers lowly, I don't look back at him.

"Like what?" I reply, even though I know what he's talking about. Just as he opens his mouth to explain, Cato and Glimmer have arrived back. I'm glad they've interrupted our conversation, because even though I know Marvel is right, I refuse to believe Cato would ever betray me. I trust him.

Cato and Glimmer seem to be carrying what looks like a handful of berries each. They took so long, just to find that much.

"Are you sure those are safe?" I ask them both as they sit down around the growing fire. "Yeah of course! I already ate some!" Glimmer replies, a bit too merrily. I shake my head.