Just a Game

Chapter Five

A squirrel. I panicked because of a squirrel. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was scared though, because I heard Marvel whirl around with his spear, nearly cutting Clove through the stomach.

"Watch it, sequin boy," she snarls, jumping back.

Glimmer giggled. I look at her. She had a scratch on her chest and a large bruise on her forehead. But she still looked really good, considering that she just murdered a bunch of people, and nearly got killed by the District 6 male.

"Better clear out so they can get the body before it start stinking," I say.

The group agrees. We continue our path near some really tall trees with a lot of big branches. Marvel and Clove are holding flashlights so we can see our way, without tripping on anything. We stop at a clearing, our faces puzzled.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" asks Glimmer.

I look at her. "I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately."

"Unless she isn't dead," points out Ariel.

"She's dead. I stuck her myself."

Marvel puts the tip of his spear into the ground, and leans on the handle. "Then where's the cannon?"

"Someone should go back," says Clove. "Make sure the job's done."

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice," Glimmer agrees.

I get a bit angry. "I said she's dead!"

Everyone blows up and starts arguing with me. Then Peeta pushes past us into the middle of our fight.

"We're wasting time!" he shouts. "I'll go finish her and let's move on!"

I scowl. "Go on, then, Lover Boy," I say. "See for yourself."

He heads back to the site where the girl was, carrying a lit torch. As soon as he's out of earshot, Clove pinches me on the arm.

"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?" 

“Let him tag along,” I reply. “What’s the harm? And he’s handy with that knife. Besides, he’s our best chance of finding her.”

Ariel makes a face. “Why? You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?”

“She might have. Seemed pretty simpleminded to me. Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke.” I remember the girl giggling like a kid, during her interviews.

“Wish we knew how she got that eleven,” says Clove.

“Bet you Lover Boy knows,” retorts Glimmer, smirking.

Peeta returns. We all stop talking abruptly. Oblivious, he puts his knife back into his jacket pocket and wipes his hands on his pants.

"Was she dead?” I ask.

“No. But she is now,” says Peeta. At that moment, the cannon fires. “Ready to move on?”

Seeing as the sun is rising, we decide that we would eat what food we had left, and then head out to search for more tributes.

We walk to the lake, where we refresh ourselves. No other tributes had crossed our path. It was odd, because were spending time actually relaxing. Watching the past Hunger Games, it wasn't usually like this. There were moments of temporary calmness, but then the Gamemakers always came up with something to break the peace.

Despite the lack of action, I was somewhat enjoying the rest. But just like Glimmer and Clove, I wanted to find the District 12 girl. She had to be killed. I hoped that I was the one who did. I knew that Clove was still angry that she had gotten the highest score out of all of us.