Chapter 7: fallen flower

                                    

                                          
Gale and I didn't come down from the tree for a few days. We still had enough food from when gale went hunting while I was unconscious. It was the middle of the second day and me and gale we're just sitting at the top of the tree looking over the arena.
"How did you make snares if there wasn't any wire in the bag?" I asked. We were high enough that we could talk without being overheard.
"I used some of the clasps on the bag and I pulled the cord out of our jackets. I also noticed your necklace was made of parts I could bend into pieces I needed for snares so I took it apart. I hope that's okay." 
"No no its fine cinna said I might need it for a different reason than just jewelry." I grabbed the water bottle we were sharing and realized we were almost out of water. I shook it out of boredom. 
"We're almost out aren't we?" Gale climbed up to the branch I was perched on.
"Do you want the last sip?" I asked handing him the bottle. 
"You drink it. I'm gonna go back to the spring and fill it up while you stay here. I'll also go grab the snares I left there and see what we caught." Gale started climbing down and I fallowed him.
"What are you doing?" He asked me. I had the bag on my back and I handed him the glasses and our knives.
"Here just in case. The glasses are night vision. I tried them when it was dark out of boredom and I could see everything." I brushed my hand over his cheek and he put his hand over mine and brought it over to his lips. He kissed my palm then began climbing down. I was on a branch about five feet above the one gale was on and I swung down. "One more thing." I hadn't returned the kiss from a few days ago at the capital so I pulled his face closer to me and kissed him softly.
"I'll be back just before sundown." He said after a few seconds. I let him go after that. I climbed back to the top of the tree and sat there. I looked in the direction of the spring but I knew I wouldn't be able to see him again for a few hours.
A few hours later I heard rustling below me so i climbed down thinking it was gale.
"Look there she is!" That was not gale it was glimmer. She was with Cato, clove, and marvel. I froze in place. 
"You didn't kill that kid. I knew you were faking the whole thing." Glimmer said.
"Yea right. Well come get me than since I betrayed you." I challenged them but I knew they couldn't get to me even if I came down a few branches. I got my whip out and climbed lower to give them a chance at getting to me.
Glimmer mounted her first branch. She was so slow I didn't even need to try to get away before she fell. Next to try was clove. She scaled the tree with ease and quickly caught up to me. I climbed higher and noticed she was struggling on the slowly thinning branches. 
"You need to hold onto the base of the branch."  I called down. She huffed and as she put her hand on the next branch my whip came down and sliced a few of her fingers. She lost her balance and fell out of the tree. She hit a few branches on the way down and fell unconscious. Cato caught her and marvel threw a spear at me. I swerved to avoid the spear and caught it. I swung down from the branches and hit the ground. I Held the spear like a javelin and started chasing them as they started running away. 
I launched the spear at glimmer who clearly had a sprained ankle from her climb. It hit her on her lower back and she fell. I didn't here a canon so I ran towards her. She was trying to get up. My spear must not have gone all the way through her. I whipped at the spear and pulled it out of her back. She managed to sit up and turn towards me. I looked at her pained face. I couldn't finish her off.
I turned around and started walking away but I heard her say something.
"Just finish me off." She said.
"I can't. I'm sorry." I said as I turned around. A tear rolled down my cheek and I knelt beside her.
"Please I don't want to suffer anymore. It hurts." She started to cry also.
I picked the spear up but my hands were shaking so bad. I propped her up on me, her head resting on my lap. She steadied my hand with hers and brought it down into her stomach. I put my free arm over her protectively and rested my head beside hers on my lap. 
"You were loved glimmer. I'm sorry." I whispered.
She put a bloodied hand to my cheek and kissed my other cheek. 
"I know we were never friends but I want you to win. You've shown you care and I thank you for that." I smiled. Her friends abandoned her but the person who was responsible for her death, me, I did care. I didn't want to kill her.
"I'm gonna stay here until I here the canon." I kissed her forehead and stroked her hair as my tears fell on her face. She reached out for my hand and I held it.
What felt like minutes later I heard a canon go off and I stood up and walked away so they could collect her body.
As her body was being lifted I kissed three of my fingers and rose them to the sky. I Held them there, as my tears fell, until I could no longer see her. 
I picked up the falled spear and wiped the blood off. I climbed the tree and gathered my stuff then left the sight. I started walking towards the spring where gale was. 
We met half way in the woods. it looked like he had been running. He sprinted towards me and wrapped me in his arms.
"Thank goodness your alive. What happened? Who died?" He asked. My brain was still trying to process what happened and I began walking towards the spring.
"The careers from one and two found me. Glimmer tried to get me but fell and sprained her ankle. Clove almost got me but I whipped her hand and she fell too. Cato caught her but she hit a few branches on the way down and went unconscious. Marvel threw a spear at me and I caught it. then I climbed down and chased them. Glimmer was struggling so I speared her in the back and she died." I left out the detail about how I had to stab her again as I was already struggling to get the last few words out.
Gale wrapped his arm around my shoulders and took the spear out of my hands.
"They know we're a team don't they." I noded in response and we continued to walk.
"I have dinner ready at the spring." He said trying to cheer me up. 
I felt weak and strong at the same time. I lost all sympathy for these games. I was done crying whenever someone died. I straightened my back and wiped any evidence of tears off my face. I was done killing for a bit. I just wanted to survive.
We made it to the spring and gale packed up his Homemade snares and we traveled up to where the water was flowing into the spring. We decided to stay in a tree again and this time I took watch so gale could get some much needed sleep.