Love is not a game (Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26: 

I couldn't stop crying. Every time I stopped crying, Clove's smiling face would flash into my mind and send me into a fit of tears again. I suppose that it made me look weak; I just didn't care anymore.  

It's been days since she left and I can only hope that she's in a better place now. I can't help but imagine her, skipping in a small meadow towards me, beckoning for me to join her. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be with her, no matter what kind of sacrifice that was. 

I snapped out of my thoughts to realise that the woods were starting to get very dark. They must want this to be over and done with, I guess. There's only four of us left now; the boy from 11 and both from 12. This, of course, means that I still haven't completed President Snow's orders. To be honest, I don't think I can do it anymore. If I so much as look at another tribute, memories of Clove will spring to mind, leaving me helpless and defenceless. 

I guess I'll just have to fight with my eyes closed then. 

I glance around the forest, suddenly remembering that I was in an arena where killing was an everyday occurrence. I guess I need to step up my game and stay alert; it's things like this that get tributes killed. 

So, to avoid being killed, I run towards the trees as fast as I can, hoping that I'll run into Katniss and get this over and done with. Would President Snow actually torture my own brother, even if I die? What would be the point of that? Probably the amount of fear that he inflicted upon me once I knew that my brother was in danger. I know that I can't take the risk of him getting hurt. Xavier is my brother and I will do anything in my power to keep him safe.  

The trees became a blur beside me as I ran deeper into the woods. Eventually, the tree amounts began to lessen until I found myself in the middle of a cornfield. Puzzled, I stopped to look at my surroundings. I nearly jumped a foot in the air when I turned to see the boy from 11, Thresh I think, standing a few metres away from me. Anger overtook my features as I realised that he had been the person to kill Clove. 

"You-You killed Clove!" I yell at him, watching his calm expression through eyes of anger, frustration and hurt. He simply nodded, looking me in the eyes with a hint of something in his eyes. Sadness? Pity? I had no idea but it looked like mixture of the two. 

"You killed Rue." He replied simply, allowing the hurt to flicker through his eyes as he mentioned the girl's name. I could tell that they were very close, even before the reaping. Suddenly, realisation hit me; Thresh only killed Clove because we had killed Rue.  

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and stared at my feet for a while. The air was silent and awkward. "Were you two close?" I ask curiously, not feeling the urge to fight him. He obviously didn't want to be here either. Come to think of it, who does? 

He nodded, looking past my head and into the horizon. He began talking, but I could tell that he was talking more to himself than me. "I was there the day she was born. Every day since, I looked out for her and made sure that she never got hurt or into trouble. We were the best of friends." He says, smiling at the memory. I couldn't help but smile too, picturing little children running away from him every time he yelled at them for hurting Rue. 

"The day before the reaping, we camped out with all her siblings, watching out for shooting stars. We wanted to wish for good luck, that none of us would be chosen." He says, glancing at me briefly before looking past my head again. "Seven shooting stars. That's how many we saw that night. It's my favourite number."  

Suddenly, his smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of sadness. "I guess all those wishes we made weren't very helpful. You saw the reapings, you know what happened. We were both chosen and I swore to myself that I would look out for her." He finally looks into my eyes and I'm shocked to find stray tears there. I then reach to feel my own eyes to find that, they too, are spilling tears out. 

Thresh barely whispered the next words, yet I managed to hear them anyway. "I let her down and now-"He says, choking up and stopping momentarily. "Now she's dead." 

I've only just noticed how dark it has gotten now, much darker than it had been before. Low growls sound from somewhere not far away and I know that the Capitol has some sort of strange muttation prepared for us. 

Thresh hears it too, and waves a simple goodbye to me. "She was like my little sister." He whispers, before looking up to the sky. "I have to take care of her in any way possible." He says before a muttation suddenly jumps from behind a stalk of corn. The muttation tears him apart quickly and I suddenly realise that I'm running. My feet are moving mechanically on their own, steering me from danger. 

Yet, I can't help but think one thing. What if he's right?  

What if I need to take care of Clove?

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Author's Note: 

Sorry for not updating in ages! I had writer's block, a lot of assignments and my laptop taken away from me. I hope that I can update soon!  

Please vote and comment if you liked it; I love hearing what people thought!

-Emily