𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 ✔︎ || clove Kentwell

She never misses || XVIII

As the loud gong marks the start of the games, I sprint towards the Cornucopia. Chaos ensues with tributes being killed left and right. Cato stabs people, and blood splatters all over the supplies. Clove throws knives, and Glimmer slashes people's throats.

I notice a bow and arrow laid out, which I quickly grab. I turn around to see a small boy charging at me with a knife. Reacting quickly, I fire the arrow and hit his heart, killing him instantly.

As I make my way out of the Cornucopia, I notice a boy trying to attack Chris. I release an arrow, taking him down before he can harm Chris. I help Chris up from the ground and urge him to hide in the Cornucopia.

Suddenly, a boy tackles me to the ground, and we fight for control. Eventually, Glimmer appears and slashes his throat, saving me. "Thanks," I say, grateful for her timely intervention.

Without hesitation, I continue to take down tributes, releasing an arrow at a girl from District 4. Suddenly, my attention turns to Katniss, who is running towards the woods with a backpack. Just as I'm about to release an arrow at her, Clove throws a knife in her direction.

As the knife lodges into the backpack, Katniss picks herself up and dashes away.

Surveying the area, I see numerous dead tributes and realize that the bloodbath is over.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Clove, and I run up to her. "Are you injured?" I ask. She shakes her head. I give her a peck on the cheek before mumbling, "Chris..."

"Chris," I repeat to myself before sprinting towards the metal shelter in hopes that he has survived.

Running towards the small metal shelter, I finally spot Chris, who is hiding behind a box. Pulling him close, I embrace him tightly, feeling relieved that he is safe.

As I look around, I notice the rest of us careers making their way over to us. Tom is missing, and we speculate that he might have either been killed or made a run for it. Ava is with Cato, which puzzles me.

"Why is Ava here again? I thought we decided to leave her. She can't do anything to save herself," Glimmer says, panting as she tries to catch her breath.

"Well, if you must know, I saved this guy's life," Ava smirks and points at Cato.

I try to make sense of the situation, wondering how Ava could have managed to save Cato's life.

"You sure you're capable? You seem to be doing more drooling than saving," Glimmer sneers.

"Careful, Glitter, or I'll win your man over too with my looks," the obnoxious girl from District 1 retorts.

"He's just so hot. I wanna...," Ava laughs before receiving a punch to the jaw from Glimmer.

Marvel picks Glimmer up over his shoulder and carries her away. "My jaw!" Ava screams.

"Marvel, put me down!" cries the blonde girl as she hits Marvel's back. "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Not until you calm down," chuckles Marvel, trying to ease his girlfriend's anger.

"Okay, okay, I'm calm now. Just put me down," she relents, and Marvel complies. Glimmer attempts to approach Ava again, but Marvel pulls her back and embraces her in a soft hug.

With their foreheads touching, Marvel reassures her. "I love you, not her, okay?" The couple shares a passionate kiss, affirming their love for one another.

We had to wait for Gimmer to calm down before venturing into the forest. As we walked, Cato heard a branch snap and gestured for us to stop. Suddenly, a disheveled blonde boy stumbled out from behind a bush- Peeta? Clove immediately held a knife to his throat, while Cato menacingly drew his sword.

Before anyone could make a move, the boy blurted out, "Wait, I can help you find Katniss!" His words were met with Glimmer's scoff and laughter, but Cato silenced her and asked the boy for more information. Peeta nodded quickly, confirming that he knew where Katniss was.

I intervened, warning Clove to lower her knife. She reluctantly complied, still keeping the boy under her watchful eye. "One wrong move and you're dead," she threatened, causing the boy to gulp nervously.

Cato issued a deadly threat. "If you betray us in any way, you're dead, twelve." His words lingered in the air as we continued into the forest. Suddenly, we heard the sound of cannons firing one after another, and I stopped in my tracks to count them. Twenty-four cannon blasts - on the first day of the games. Only 20 tributes were left.

We continued walking and came across a lake, filling our water containers with the water and purifying it with tablets provided by the Capitol. With our water secured, we continued on our journey.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped us and music began to play. The fallen tributes were being shown in the sky, each one a haunting reminder of the brutal reality we faced. Tom was the first to appear, next was Arthur from District 5, followed by a girl from District 3. In total, 21 more tributes appeared in the sky that night.

After the fallen tributes had been memorialized in the sky, we continued walking and stumbled upon a fire ahead.

Glimmer excitedly announced, "Oh, she's mine!" Her playful demeanor made me uneasy as we approached a girl with long blonde hair from District 7. She sat nervously by the campfire, looking up to see us all watching her. Glimmer walked up to her, brandishing her knife, and the girl screamed in terror.

"Please don't kill me," she begged. But Glimmer didn't hesitate - she slit the girl's throat without a second thought. I felt sick as I watched the crimson blood spill from the girl's neck and her screams were silenced by the cold hand of death.

The cannon sounded, and I was left with the numb realization that there were now only 21 tributes left in the games.

As we walked through the forest, Marvel laughed at the memory of the scared girl's face. Some of us laughed along, finding his amusement contagious. However, I didn't find it funny - I was carrying Chris on my hip, and fatigue weighed heavily on me.

"Oh, no! Please don't kill me! Oh, no!" Glimmer mimicked the girl, making Clove burst out laughing.

"That's a pretty good impression," Marvel noted, earning a smirk from Glimmer.

"Hey, lover boy, are you sure she went this way?" Cato taunted Peeta, who trailed behind us.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Peeta replied, his eyes cast downwards towards his shoes.

"You better be," Cato threatened.

"That was her snare we found back there," Peeta responded truthfully, just as our group stumbled upon the trap woven by our elusive prey.

Peeta walked off with Clove, Ava, and Marvel, leaving me behind with Cato and Glimmer. "Are you sure we shouldn't just kill him now?" I asked Cato, not because I wanted Peeta to die, but because I wanted to end the terror he was experiencing at the hands of Cato.

"Nah. He's our best chance of finding her. Besides, why would you want to kill him? You both looked pretty loved up with each other in the Capitol elevator," Cato joked.

"You do realize I have a girlfriend, right?" I laughed, pulling the sleeping Chris back up on my hip.

"I'm sure Clove wouldn't mind," Cato teased, but I rolled my eyes and continued walking, trying to catch up to the rest of the group.

Little did we know... the Girl on Fire was right above us.