the girl who played with knives || clato ✔️

34

Clove

It's Thresh. It's Thresh and he's got me held in his arms like a rag doll and I'm thinking, how am I gonna get out of this? He throws me to the ground and I land flat on my back and feel the wind go right out of me. No, no, no, this can't be happening. This isn't right. This isn't me. This isn't my end. I wasn't-

"What'd you do to that little girl?!" Thresh booms. His voice strikes even more fear into my heart. "You kill her?!"

"No!" I exclaim, frantically scrambling backwards. "No, it wasn't me!"

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her? You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?"

"No!" It's not like that. It's not. "No, I-"

Thresh has a massive stone in his hand, and he's starting to lift it over me. My eyes widen and fill with tears.

"CATO!" I scream. "CATO!"

Cato

"Cato!" I hear a shout, far off in the direction of the Cornucopia.

"CLOVE!" I shout as loud as I can. "Clove, I'm coming!"

I sprint as fast as I possibly can but it's not fast enough. I'm not fast enough. Clove, Clove, Clove. No, no, no! Please, no.

"Clove!" I yell again, but my voice is hoarse.

I run and run until I get to the clearing where the Cornucopia is and come to an abrupt stop. And there is Clove, lying on the ground with her head all mangled and bloody. I scream her name, a shout of pain and anguish and fear of the unthinkable. And Thresh is standing over her with a stone in his hand. And Katniss is on the ground, too, but Thresh is letting her go free and now she's running away. And I'm sprinting again.

Thresh grabs two of the backpacks, his and ours, and runs away but I don't care. I don't care. All that matters is her.

"Clove, no!" I shout, falling to my knees beside her. My spear hangs limp in my hand. No, no, no, no! "Clove! Stay with me! Clove, please!" I scream, dropping my spear and taking her hand. "Clove, stay with me! Stay with me! Clove..." and I'm sobbing and crying out and she's dead.

She's dead and I am, too.

A cannon goes off and seems to blare forever.

"Clove," I sob, heaving breaths and hiccupping.

This can't be real. It's impossible. It's unthinkable. She can't be gone...

"No..." I whisper.

But it's happened. It's actually happened. We were separated and I couldn't get there fast enough and I'm a failure. I'm a fucking failure. And Clove's gone.

I stay kneeling there numb, not wanting to move, not wanting them to take her. No, no, no... it all happened so fast. Yet I wasn't fast enough. Wasn't fast enough. God...

I loved her so much... still love her so much obviously. And I had so many ideas, so much planned for us. We would win, we would go home together, we would be happy. But... but, but, but. But what? But I failed. Will always fail now.

I finally have to leave because I can't stand to look at her anymore. All mangled and sad and... dead.

I wander aimlessly and blindly through the forest. What do I do now? I have nothing to do. I have no will. Clove was everything. And Katniss and Thresh did it. It's their fault. Katniss and Thresh. Assholes. And Thresh took my pack but who gives a shit about that. He killed Clove, and for that I'll kill him. At least now I have something to do. At least. I've always hated that phrase. It just feels evil. At the very, very least, at your lowest point, you have only this. It's like a reminder of everything awful. God, I miss her so much already. Her fine features, delicate freckles, small graceful demeanor. Waving brown hair. Hair that I'll never get to run my hands through again. There are so many things that I'll never get to do again now. So many gaps. A wicked emptiness remains. And it's Thresh's fault. I make a vow here and now; I'll kill him. I'll kill them all.