If it was me in this situation, I'd want to do the same. What if Cato was in Glimmer's place? What would I do? Die, probably. But, he wants me to do this. He wants me to win. It's just so confusing. Die to be with him or win for him?
I stand there, waiting for him to notice me. He kneels once more. I watch as flower petals fall to the ground from Marvel's hands. I don't know how he found them, but this was the sweetest thing. I smiled to myself, never seeing this side of marvel. I still stood there in silence. I didn't want to ruin his moment. He finally turned around. And his eyes widened when they met mine. "Oh, hey." He says. "How long have you been there?"
"I'm not so sure. I just kinda knew where you would go. And then I found you, sooo I was right" I reply. My tone of voice was cockier than I had wanted.
"Well, sorry for running off. I just didn't think she got what she deserved. She deserves this big funeral when she's too old to work anymore. Not just a glance when she's sixteen." Marvel sighs. He adds, "But she was sweeter than most people thought she was."
"I get it. You don't have to explain anymore." I nudged his shoulder. "If you want.
"Nah, I'm gonna shut up for now. All of Panem's already heard enough." He replies. We begin to walk the way I came from.
"If you ever need to talk, I'm here." I inform him.
"Alright." He nods.
Maybe Marvel and I have been walking for hours. I couldn't tell anymore. But the sun was coming up, like I'd expected it to before we got back. If we got back. We were talking. About anything and everything. I had asked Marvel how him and Glimmer met. And he wanted to know more about Cato and I. It was sweet how we were trying to comfort eachother. "Look!" Marvel cries, interrupting my talking. He runs over to a blackened spot on the ground. He kneels down to rub a finger on it. "Ashes. Still warm, too." he adds, "Maybe we can catch up to them?"
I appreciated his thought, but I knew we weren't going to find them. "It's useless!" I cry. "I'm never seeing Cato again. What's the point of trying?" I slump to the ground next to Marvel.
He shakes his head multiple times. "No. You're not giving up. I won't let you. I'll carry you if I have to." He replies, standing. I argue as he grabs my hands and starts dragging me by the arms. It took minutes of being dragged to stand up and walk myself. My jeans were muddy and ripped. My arms were scratched and red with blood. It took all of my power to keep moving with Marvel. "Damnit, Marvel!" I say, examining my bruised body.
"What? What did I possibly do now?" He asks angrily. He turns to look at me. His eyebrows raised as I show him my scratches. "I-I did that?" I nod slightly. My gaze is directed at the ground. We continue walking without another word. "Look, I'm sorry!" Marvel says after the long silence. "I didn't want you to give up! Because you could really win this thing. Cato wouldn't want me to let you give up. So you're not giving up!"
I glare at him. "Why are you even helping us?" I mean, he's a Career and I think he could win this thing if he was only a little smarter.
"Because I know what it's like to lose someone for time last time." He replies, his voice softening. "And I didn't try to save her. But you, you guys can save eachother. If you live, it's for him. I know that. If I win, it's just for me and the district. But if you win, it's for Cato, Clove, all of District 2. It's for everyone you love. And I know that you want to go back to 2 if you win."
I sigh, knowing he's right. We continue walking. But it's getting lighter outside, fast. "We should find somewhere to chill for awhile.. I think we both really need some sleep." I suggest. Marvel agrees with a yawn. I lead the way towards the river. I've seen multiple underground caves around. Marven runs to one. And I follow him down. I felt like I was on a waterslide. The cave was fairly deep, nothing I couldn't handle though. Marvel and I each spent a bit of time making sure we could climb up and out of the cave. Then we would slide back down. It was pretty nice, actually. No words spoken, just laughing and smiling, and fun.
