Panem High School

Sting Like a Bee

Katniss's POV
The moment the Careers turned their attention away from me, the adrenaline I had been feeling was gone. Pain and hunger soon took over my body, but the thought of eating makes me sick. I wonder where Thresh and Rue are right now. When the Careers saw me all I did was run. I didn't think about my two allies who were somewhere in the area. They didn't come for me either it seems. I feel eyes on me and look at a neighboring tree, where two eyes peered at me, catching the firelight from the Careers' torches. Then I realize something. Those eyes belong to a human. It's Rue, she did come for me. She's been in that tree the whole time. I held her gaze and, without making a noise, her hand slides into the open and points to something above me. I looked to where she was pointing and at first saw nothing. Then, as I squinted, I saw it. At first I couldn't identify what it was, but now I know exactly what it is. The low hum, the way it hangs off the branch, the size, it all adds up to a wasp nest. Except, knowing the Hunger Games, these are no ordinary wasps. These are Tracker Jackers. With their distinctive solid gold body and a sting that causes a huge lump on contact, most can tolerate more than a few stings before going completely mad from the hallucinations they induce. Whoever disturbs them is as good as dead, because they will track you down. I never understood why they would put Tracker Jackers in a, supposedly, school event. These things are fatal if not treated immediately. According to Snow, the ones in the games are different than the real Tracker Jackers. Apparently, they can sting you and cause hallucinations and get you out of the games, but they can't kill you. I'm not sure if I trust him, and even though most of the people down there are people who I share a mutual hate with, I don't want to be responsible for killing them either. Although, if they do die, then maybe the Capitol will realize how corrupt this all is. Maybe Snow will finally get put in his place. I looked to Rue again, to see if this is what she meant, but she had already disappeared into her tree. This is my only option. No way will the Careers let me get away after I made them look so foolish on national television. I'll have to send the whole branch down in order to get the nest, and I'll need a saw of some sort. I think my knife should be able to handle it, but I don't know if my hands can. The burns still sting and trying to saw with them is probably the stupidest thing you could ever do. Not to mention the vibrations from the sawing may awake the Careers, or even worse, the Tracker Jackers. Then I would get myself out. It'll have to be during the anthem, that's my only chance. It should be starting any minute now, so I prepare myself. I climb the tree with my knife in my belt and reach the limb that supports the nest. The anthem begins and I immediately begin to saw. Blisters burst on my right hand, but I continued to saw, eventually getting a groove. If only people got out today. The anthem ended before I could finish and I had to stop. I'll have to wait until dawn to finish, that's the best choice since I'd rather not do it by feel. When I got back to my sleeping bag, I saw that I had gotten a gift from a sponsor. I quickly opened it and could tell by the smell it was medicine. I carefully probe the surface of the ointment, and feel immediate relief in my fingertip.
"Oh, Haymitch. Thank you." I whispered and began to apply the medicine to my calf. I can tell this is Capitol made just by how quickly the relief comes. I rub some on my hands and then put the rest in my pack, the cooling sensation calming me down and finally allowing me to sleep. A bird woke me up just as the sun rose to signal a new day. The skin on my hands has calmed down from a fiery red to a soft pink. I apply another coat of medicine onto my still inflamed leg and quietly pack up my gear. I'm going to have to move fast. I force down a cracker and a beef strip and drink some water. I look down at the Career pack and try to figure out who is sleeping where. Judging by how Glimmer looks, I'd say she was suppose to be on guard, but must have succumbed to her fatigue because she's now sleeping on Cato's arm. I remember last night that she was the last to settle down, considering she's the only Career I know who'd be loud while moving around the campsite. She was talking to herself. Her and Cato are closest to the nest, Sagara is pretty close as well. Peeta is off to the side. Marvel is diagonal from Glimmer and Clove is facing the other side of the woods, across the site from where the tree is. I looked to the tree adjacent to mine and tried to make out Rue, but I couldn't, so I softly called her name. She appeared instantly and I explained to her what I was doing using hand motions. She nods and disappears, and I can hear rustling coming from a nearby tree, then another and I know she's gone. I always knew she was great at climbing, but I never knew she could actually leap from tree to tree. No wonder she got such a high score for a freshman. I can't afford to wait any longer, so I quickly climb up again and begin to saw. I wince as I noticed a Tracked Jacker lazily moving on the branch, but I knew stopping now wasn't an option. They begin to buzz and I can hear them coming out. I feel a surge of pain, meaning one of them must have stung me. Just as the knife cuts through, I push the branch away from me and it crashes down until it lands in a thud on the ground below. The nest bursts open and a furious swarm takes to the air.
Clove's POV
I had been sleeping with my back turned away from the rest of the group, everyone had annoyed me and I didn't want to look at them or be near them. Suddenly, my slumber was interrupted by a buzzing noise. My eyes shot open and I sat up, at first only seeing Glimmer asleep on Cato's arm, which made me feel sick. Then I realized what was happening. Tracker Jackers. Everdeen must have found a nest and now we're being attacked.
"To the lake!! To the lake!!" I hear Marvel exclaimed, we found the lake last night, I'm the closest to the path that takes us there. I looked around and saw that Mellark had bolted away and so had Marvel, but I'm still sitting. Why am I still sitting? I'm staring at Cato who's removing his arm from under Glimmer's head while yelling her name as the Tracker Jackers turn away from Mellark and Marvel and turn on the rest of us.
"Clove!! What are you doing? Ahh!! Move!!" Cato yelled as he got stung under his eye. I suddenly realized I was about to be stung as well and was no longer frozen. I rushed up as the first sting began to make me feel woozy. I began to sprint away, Cato grabbing my arm and pulling me forward. Cato was right, I'm still not ready to run. Between the venom and the burning sensation in my throat, I begin to cough and stumble and if it wasn't for Cato holding me up and the knowledge that the Tracker Jackers are right behind me, I would've collapsed. The adrenaline pushed through me as I ran toward the lake, still getting stung. My vision began to slant as the hallucinations began. The outer rim of my vision is shiny, like when you have a dream and everything is regular in the middle of your vision, but the farther left or right you look, the more blurred it appears. We reach the lake and I think the Tracker Jackers went away, but I can't tell because I fall to the ground instantly. At first, that seems to be the only thing that happens. I think I have 2 stings, maybe 3. Then I look up and see the lake, which looks like purple mucus. There's no possible way that's real, but either way, I drag myself away from the lake and somehow sit up, searching for Cato, Marvel, and the others. Glimmer and Sagara never appeared, but I can see Marvel, Mellark, and Cato. Then I was at home. I don't know how I got here, only thing that would explain it would be that it has to be an illusion. I looked around and saw I was in my kitchen. Then, my mom stormed in, dragging Willow by her hair.
"Since you didn't win the games, she will suffer." My mom stated and kicked Willow in the gut. I tried to move, to help Willow, but I was frozen, stuck to the floor.
"Willow!! Willow!!" I screamed, that's all I could do. Then, the scene changed. It was Snow, he was ordering someone to cut off peoples' tongues, so they can become an Avox and live to serve him. The first person to be brought in was Glimmer. She didn't fight it, just cried and stared straight ahead. Then Sagara was brought in, she fought against the chains holding her in place, but failed. Marvel was brought in next and just glared. Then, in came Cato. He was angry, so angry that he didn't even move, he didn't speak. I don't understand why they're so angry at a wall, that's what they all seem to be staring at.
"Any last words?" I heard a cruel voice ask. I recognized it as my own. I'm the wall they're all staring at. I watched myself laugh at my four best friends, and that's when I noticed the guy who is going to cut off their tongues is Slate. The three of us, Snow, Slate, and I, just laughed and laughed. Then, all eyes went on Glimmer, she was up first.
"I'm your friend. I'm your friend." She whimpered between sobs and then Slate cut her tongue off. I couldn't turn away. Next was Sagara.
"I always knew you were unhinged, but this is just unthinkable." Sagara stated, still powerful even in her state. Her tongue was gone. Next was Marvel.
"I forgive you." Marvel said. That hurt the most, he forgave me. He forgave this monster of a person. His tongue was gone. Now it's Cato, I tried so hard to turn away, to close my eyes, to do anything. It didn't work. I watched.
"This is not you, Clove. It's me, Cato. We're best friends, remember? I love you." He said quietly, not angry or confused. Just disappointed, and heartbroken. I watched as Slate was about to cut off his tongue, but instead went for his head instead.
"NOOO!!" I screamed. The scene changed again to me. It was just me, in an electric chair. I could see the button that would be pushed in order to torture me. 5 people walked in. Cato, Glimmer, Marvel, Sagara, and Willow. Cato and Glimmer are holding hands, and Willow is smiling. I don't cry for help, I know what's gonna happen next. They're gonna hit the button.
"I hate how short you are. You could be mistaken for a 10 year old." Sagara spat and pushed the button. I screamed from pain. After it was over, Sagara laughed and left, and Marvel already had his hand on the button.
"You are the most stubborn and by far the meanest person I have ever met." Marvel remarked and hit the button. Out he went and it was Glimmer's turn.
"I don't know what you thought Cato was to you, but he's mine. He's not your friend and I think we all know why. I mean, look at me. Now, look at you." She hit the button and I was electrocuted again. Glimmer turned to Cato and kissed him.
"I love you." She said and sauntered out.
"I love you too." He called after her. Then, Cato turned to me. He laughed.
"I just hate you. Nothing in particular, just you. Although, the knife obsession is definitely up there. Weirdo." Cato commented and pushed the button. Now it's Willow's turn, she's still smiling.
"You remind me of Mommy." She stated and hit the button. Then, everything was dark. I could hear voices, but my eyes refused to open.
"Clove!! Wake up!!" I heard Cato exclaim, he must be crouching over me since his voice is so near.
"Dude, Lover Boy is already running away." Marvel stated.
"I've got Lover Boy. Take care of Clove."
"Got it." I could hear Cato run away and Marvel approach me.
"Let's hope Clove doesn't wake up and stab me because I'm touching her without her knowing." Marvel muttered and if I had been able to move, I would've laughed. I felt him lift me up and submerge me in the lake. I felt relief as the water washed over the stings.
"Okay, survival skills. I think I'm suppose to take the stinger out. Well, let's hope this works." Marvel said to himself. I could feel him remove a stinger from my arm, then another from my neck. That felt better. I could feel Marvel cautiously putting water on the stings and after a while he dragged me out of the lake. I was finally strong enough to open my eyes and slowly sit up against a tree.
"Well look who decided to wake up." Marvel remarked and I chuckled.
"Cato's still not back yet, but I have beef strips and a refilled flask with water from a tree on me, I assume you still can't really move." Marvel added. We got a spile as a sponsor gift for Sagara on the second day. Marvel handed me a beef strip and I drank some water. I began to eat the beef strip as Marvel reorganized his pack. As we waited for Cato, I decided to clean my knives. I went over to the lake and began to clean them. I was on my third knife when Cato stumbled out of the woods. He collapsed on the ground and Marvel and I rushed over to him.
"Get him to the lake. The water helped your sting, and he still has his stinger in there." Marvel ordered and we dragged Cato into the water. He only has one sting, under his eye. Marvel held him up as I splashed water on it.
"You need to get the stinger. It's really down there, and I don't have long nails like you girls do." Marvel said.
"Speaking of that, where are Sagara and Glimmer?" I asked as I began to try to get the stinger out.
"Neither of them survived the Tracker Jacker attack." I looked at Marvel who seems completely out of it, now that I look at him. He seems worried.
"Are they dead?"
"I don't know. I heard two cannons, but I never made it back there to check. Cato did. If the bodies are still there, it's probably because they needed to send in a different type of hovercraft since dead bodies can't climb a ladder or hold onto it. If they aren't, they're most likely fine. We have to wait for either Cato to wake up or the anthem, whichever comes first." I turned back to my work and pushed the skin around the stinger together, hoping that the stinger would rise through the skin. It didn't work at first, but slowly it rose up and I could pick at it. I eventually managed to pull it out and splashed water over it again.
"That's all I did for you, let's get him on the ground." Marvel stated and we dragged him out of the water. As it got darker out, I finished cleaning my knives and Marvel decided to build a fire. At this point, none of the other tributes are going to be on the offensive. Everyone knows that it's not smart to build a fire, so if someone has a fire going, it's probably someone who isn't afraid of getting caught. Which would be us. Marvel sat on one side of the fire and Cato and I are on the other, Cato has yet to wake up.
"I'm gonna go look at the supplies." I stated and went to the big pile of supplies we had poorly constructed. I took some crackers and apples. I went back to the fire and saw that Cato was up, and he and Marvel were having a standoff with a young boy, a freshman. Maybe a sophomore.
"What's going on?" I asked. I approached Cato, who was struggling to hold his sword to the throat of the boy.
"He wants to join our alliance." Marvel stated. I rolled my eyes. You let in one 12 and suddenly everyone thinks the Career pack is for them. Figures.
"What use could you possibly be?"
"Well, I'm from 3, so I can help protect your food." He managed to say.
"Protect our food?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Land mines."
"You mean-"
"Yes, I can reactivate the ones from the beginning of the games. It can make it so anyone who tries to get your food will be shot far away, and get them out of the games."
"And you'll protect it 24/7?"
"Yes."
"And what do you want from us?"
"Well, to be in your alliance, but I also want to stay in the games, and I was stung." He showed us the huge sting he got. I shared a look with Marvel and he nodded. I looked to Cato, who had dropped his sword.
"Marvel will take you to the lake and show you how to treat the sting. You'll start reprogramming the mines tomorrow." Marvel led the boy to the lake and left Cato and I alone.
"Where's Mellark?" I asked. Cato turned around and put his sword back in his belt.
"He betrayed us. He let Everdeen go." Cato replied and I handed him an apple. Well I wonder who the girl he likes is. Note the sarcasm.
"How do you know?"
"I saw him when I went back for weapons. She was still there and he made her leave, so I cut him in the leg. It shouldn't be too long until he's out."
"What about Sagara and Glimmer?"
"They're fine, they're out, but they're fine."
"That's good. Marvel was worried."
"I know." I find it hard to look at Cato after the Tracker Jacker hallucinations. Every time I do, all I see is him being killed or saying how he hates me and it's just too painful.
"Clove?" Cato asked.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"What did you see? In your hallucinations?"
"Willow, Sagara, Glimmer, Marvel, and you."
"Me too."
"Willow said I reminded her of our mom. The first hallucination I saw was of my mother hurting Willow and in the last one Willow said I reminded her of our mother." I didn't cry, I don't do that, but it still hurt. Even though I know it's just a hallucination. It targeted my greatest fears.
"You're not your mom, Clove. Definitely not." He took one of my hands in his and squeezed. Marvel and the 3 returned and Cato and I let go. The 3 didn't have enough courage to even make eye contact with the two of us, but Marvel did. He seems... angry. As the 3 began to munch on some crackers and an apple I had given him, Marvel joined Cato and me.
"Cato says that both Sagara and Glimmer are alive." I stated.
"Good. You know, Cato, even though Glimmer isn't here, she's still your girlfriend." Marvel said.
"I know." Cato said.
"Good, it just seems to me that she's been gone for less than a day and you're already getting a little too... what's the word I'm looking for? Oh that's right, handsy." I felt my stomach drop, he's right. Cato is taken, why can't I seem to remember that? The hand holding and hugging and light flirting that I know is going on between us, that isn't appropriate. It's not fair to Glimmer. I forget how flirty Cato is. He always has been, never wanting to commit, thinking love is for suckers. At least half of his relationships have ended because the girl got super clingy since she doesn't trust Cato and another girl alone. I know that, I've been there for all of it. More often than not, I am that girl that isn't trusted. I didn't really care when it was those girls, they were mean and annoying anyway, but this is Glimmer. There's a major difference. I walked away from the two, I could tell an argument was brewing and it would be better if I wasn't there to see it. So I silently eavesdropped from afar, obviously.
"What the hell was that?" Cato asked.
"You have the nerve to ask me that?" Marvel spat.
"Well yeah."
"I'll tell you. I know that whatever it is between you and Glimmer may not be important to you. These relationships never are for you, but it's really important to Glimmer. You may not realize it, but she's been killing herself in order to be the perfect girlfriend for you. I've woken up to her sitting on my bed. She had been waiting for me to get up so she could ask about you."
"That's kinda weird."
"It's not weird, and it's not crazy or stalkerish or something you can make fun of. It's charming, she cares about you. This is Glimmer we're talking about. She's the girl who cries when the dog dies in a movie. She's the one who loves first and thinks later. She chose you, whether she means anything to you or not, she chose you. And you let her. You're letting her be all crazy about you and leading her on and making her think she's the one, like always, and then one day you're gonna dump her cold turkey. That's what you always do, except you can't do that this time. This time it's a friend that you're screwing over. She'll still be around."
"Marvel, you're freaking out about nothing. Glimmer knows that I like to keep things casual."
"Yeah, except she doesn't. I'm sure she went into this with the same mindset as you, but that's not the case anymore. You can't just hurt her like you did with all of your other exes. That means that all of the too-meaningful-to-be-platonic hugs and gestures that you share with Clove, can no longer happen as long as you and Glimmer are together. I love Clove, and I know she doesn't realize it, but she is a major homewrecker when it comes to your relationships. You and I both know that you know that when you're losing interest in a girl, you pull the Clove card. You start rainchecking everything your current girlfriend wants to do in order to spend time with Clove. You do it so obnoxiously because you know it annoys said girlfriend and that normally ends the relationship. You think none of us notice how every reason behind your newest breakup is that she hated Clove? We do, and that's not fair to the girls you're dating or to Clove, who has no female friends besides Glimmer and Sagara thanks to you. Don't make her lose a friend in Glimmer just because you're getting bored. I'm begging you, just stop using them."
"Is that what you think of me? That I just use my best friend in order to get on my girlfriend's nerves?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I think of you, and I'm not the only one."
"I was holding Clove's hand because her hallucinations from the Tracker Jackers were horrible."
"Mine were horrible too, but I don't see you holding my hand. You didn't even bother to ask."
"That's beside the point."
"No, it's not."
"Yes it is. I do not use Clove to get out of relationships. That just so happens to be the reason I breakup with all of these girls."
"Just so happens... do you hear yourself? Look, maybe you don't realize what you're doing, but now that I've brought it to your attention, you have no excuse. Just... just don't break her heart. I don't know if I can be friends with you anymore if you decide to hurt Glimmer by using Clove as a weapon." The argument ended there, but my thoughts didn't. I barely slept that night as my mind reeled from the new information, not even processing the anthem as it played and showed Glimmer and Sagara. I spent the night analyzing every breakup Cato has ever had, and the results that I came up with were not as good as I had been hoping for.