Clato : Till forever falls apart

Chapter 15- recovery

I awake constantly, only to be pulled back into more nightmarish visions . Everything in such vivid detail it's hard to believe it's not real. Every time I come round I think it's over, I'll finally wake up for real. How many times can I be pulled back into a nightmare I've created? Cato kills me in every way possible. I kill him and scream as the blood pours from his body. I feel myself getting ripped from limb to limb. Or growing so big my limbs stick out of windows of houses. This is what tracker jacker venom does it targets your deepest fears and makes them come real. Too real.

I wake up and expect to be pulled right back into a new tourture but realise the venom must have left my system. My body's completely drenched but my eyes and mouth feel bone dry. I gulp the air. Just opening my mouth send lightning down my spine. I lay in the same position for ages, curled up making myself small. Hiding from the visions. to weak to do anything. Occasionally I hear a scream and try to turn my head but the pain overcomes me. It's bright outside. It must be afternoon but fast approaching evening. I mange to crawl to the inside of the cornucopia. Each movement is stiff. I remember The pack I managed to pick up. I pull it off my shoulder groaning at the pain. I pull out a flak of water raising it to my lips and sipping it down.

It all comes back to me. The tracker jacker nest, Cato attacking Peeta. katniss, she got away. Maybe she's dead. What about our group are we ok. This thought forces me onto my feet even though my body rejects the movement making me hunch over in pain. I walk outside. Chase, he must of run to the lake when he saw us. He has two stings. And lays just outside the cornucopia. The worlds still a little blurry, I drag chase back into the cornucopia. And look across I see Cato and Marvel their close, there body's convulsing from the stings they revived. I don't see Glimmer or Marina. I don't know how I'm going to get them inside. The two boys are at least triple my size. But the skys starting to get dark I walk over to Cato. His so close to the prymid Honestly it a miracle none of us stood on the mines. I try moving Cato by dragging him from his underarms. But my body's screaming at me. It's futile. Then I rember the bounty of the prymid. I take our known route through the mines and pull out a tarp.

I walk back to Cato and push it under his body the slippery surface makes it easier to pull him and my strength is coming back. I drag him into the cornucopia putting him next to chase, next I get Marvel and drag him in next to the other two. That's when I realise none of our stuff is here. Did somebody steal it all whilst we were out. No they would have killed us we were easy targets. I walk back to the outside and realise our nets no longer stretched from the cornucopia to stack. I scan across and that's when I see Chase has built a camp right next to our stuff. I laugh. The sound escapes my lips and I'm surprised by it. The cornucopia and camp are at least at 50 metres away. So I start the process again dragging them each around the mines to the new camp placing them each on sleep mats. I can't lie Chase had made a really nice camp.

I look at the seven mats on the floor realising three of them will never be used again. Images of Glimmers deformed face come back to me. I can only imagine Marina looked the same and Peeta... well he was a traitor. Cato screems and his eyes shoot open he must have been the one screaming earlier. I wonder what his nightmares are. What can scare such a monstrous boy. But I know his not monstrous. At least when we're alone.

I look down at my hands. They're covered in cuts from my knife and the pulling on the tarp has only made it worse. but one massive, now plum sized lump is still there. I look for healing cream in the pile. It takes me a while to find it but when I do, I rub it on my hands a feel immediate relief. Next I go over to they boys with it. It's dark now so I use a flash light to examine them. I realise none of them had the sense to pull the stingers out. I pull 3 out of marvel, 5 out of Cato and 2 out of chase, I toss the stingers into the forest. Although chase's new set up is nice, a better defensive position and closer to supplies, it's colder. The metal shielded us well from the winds. This does it ,but not so much. I stay out on the watch because nobody else can. An hour later the cuts on my hands are faint pink lines and the spot has gone to the size of a grape. I check the boys. Cato still screams every now and then. Having the worst case with all them stings. But all of their stings have gone down considerably. I apply some more cream and drip some water in their mouths. I really don't know what else I can do I'm no medic. I head back outside and wrap my sleeping bag around my torso to fend off the cold. The anthem blares in the sky. Glimmer and Marinas face are in the sky. This tells me I've been out for just under 20 hours. At least I havnt been out for more than a day.

I wasn't prepared for feeling somewhat sad to see there faces. I think back to the training centre lunches and our first few days running around the arena. Maybe they weren't as expendable to me as I thought they would be. Katniss isn't in the sky, nether is Peeta. This means we have to track them down again. I roll my eyes at the thought.

Sometime during the night my appetite reappears so I eat bread and cheese. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth eating it alone it feels forbidden. But I haven't lost my newly gained physiche yet. And I want planning on it. In fact I might've gained more muscle since entering the arena. But this body is now Burnt, bruised and scratched. I feel myself drifting off, my eyelids getting heavy so start fruitlessly throwing the knives from my jacket into the ground. I throw them 10 metres away and form a perfect stright line. Then I do it again. Untill even that becomes exhausting.

I curse myself for falling asleep. I check the surroundings it's late morning. I go to check on the boys their stings have gone down a lot, still Catos eye is swollen. I move down to chase to find his awake

"Morning"

He flinched at the sound. I can tell his experienced the same thing as I did. I grab water and put it by him but he still seems to be paralysed.

"Your set ups good" I tell him motioning to the camp around me.

"Annoying when I had to drag you here. Might've been easier just to kill you all" the last part makes his eyes widen with terror

I wouldn't kill my Allies this early in the games but of course he doesn't know. I heat some soup up over a fire. I make a bowl for him and one for me. By the time I go back to him his sitting up. I pass him the bowel and put the spoon in his hand.

"The lake is close. Can you keep watch whist i wash?" I ask

He nods his head moth full of soup.

I head over to the river taking off everything but my under clothes. I don't want to be naked on camera. I slide into the river and relief instantly floods over me. I dunk my head under. Washing off the last few days. I don't take my hair out because I won't be able to re-do it like Desmond. I stay in the river for half and hour washing my clothes and leaving them to dry on the grassy bank. I feel lighter when I get out. Like the layer of dirt over my skin had been weighing me down. I put on fresh undergarments and my newly cleaned clothes. They're slightly damp still which gives a cooling effect this is the cleanest I've been since entering the arena. I sit down by the river and clean all my knives whilst I've got the opportunity.

When I get back I find Marvel and Cato sitting with Chase eating more soup. I suggest they wash as well. The each take it in turns to wash. When I tell Marvel that Glimmer died a sadness clouds his face for a moment before it returns to an indifferent expression again. I don't know what Cato saw in his nightmares but he looks into the distance whilst he eats. His screams enter my ears. It must've been bad.

Cato tells us we hunt tonight and none of us decide it wise to argue with him