The Girl With The Shimmering Smile

The Tracker Jackers #2

I noticed how she started giggling like a little girl when she bumped into him. Cato's face was turned away from me but I knew he smiled like the lunatic he was. They stopped and seemed to just look at each other. Suddenly he leans forward and kisses her. She returns the kiss and he lifts her up. I feel sick to my stomach and start walking back to the camp. I can't even bring myself to care if she kills him or not. How can anyone care about these things while we're fighting for our lives? I couldn't stand any of them. The rage was building inside me and I had to get it out somehow. I searched for any living creature around me but found nothing. The thing I was about to do was shameful and almost stupid if you think about it. I rested my back against a tree and took one of the small knives out of my jacket. The blade was sharp and I winced as it rasped against my ribs. Immediately I started to relax and the rage was just gone. This had been my outlet my whole life. I hadn't done it in years, not since I attended the academy and realised training gave the same relaxations. Memories started flashing before my eyes. My parents fighting, screaming, objects flying across the room. It all hit me like a knife in the guts. I dropped the knife and made myself into a small ball. No one would find me here so it was safe to stay like this, just for a little bit longer.

Everyone was already back when I returned to the camp. The vibe was off and I could feel how everyone tensed up when they saw me. I probably looked like a train wreck. No one looked at me except for Glimmer, but I refused to meet her eyes. I was still mad at both of them for possibly jeopardising everything. We would've been outnumbered if they had killed both Cato and Glimmer. They would've left me with Tweedledum, Tweedledee and Clumsy feet. It would've been a catastrophe.

The fire was starting to die down so I decided to get some more firewood just so I could have some minutes for myself. Of course that plan was smashed into pieces when blondie decided to come with me because of the "buddy system". Maybe she just wanted us to be alone so she could kill me without any witnesses since she clearly failed with killing Cato. I just rolled my eyes since there was no reasoning with her. There were two pairs of night vision glasses so I grabbed a pair and started walking towards the woods. Maybe if I walked fast enough she would lose me and go back to the camp? I could hear her feet clatter against the ground as she tried to keep up. Unfortunately it seemed like she could keep up with my pace so I slowed down a little. She started talking about how ugly the glasses looked on her and I just could not believe my ears. Who cares what you look like in the arena!? I shut her down with one look but she was not prepared to stop with the small talk. Instead she grabbed a stone and started babbling about her life back home. "You know, my dad could turn this stone into a real crystal. He makes flowers out of them. It's actually really cool. That's how he came up with my name. The crystals always glimmer so pretty in the morning lights" she says. I couldn't care less about her silly name. At least my parents named me after cleaving which is pretty fitting considering my love for knives. I didn't bother to look at her. She kept babbling about her family and I really couldn't care less. It was when she said "I'm a really good singer believe it or not. I used to perform at the cafes sometimes. My favourite memory is when the whole cafe joined me, you could hear it miles away" I couldn't take it anymore. "Do you ever stop talking?" I complained. An image of Glimmer singing in front of the café did however make me smile, almost. "Nope" she said and gave me a goofy smile. I rolled my eyes and turned away so she wouldn't be able to see the tiny smile growing on my face. Why did I smile? She was so annoying and she would for sure lure any tributes within a miles radius over here.

The thought of Glimmer singing in front of everyone in the arena wouldn't leave my mind. Without being able to stop myself I blurred out "Maybe you should try to sing them to death". She stared at me while a big smile started to form on her face. "You know what, that's not such a terrible idea actually. I could sing them a lullaby and kill them in their sleep" she said while giving me a shimmering smile. The most absurd thing about this was that I had no doubts she would be able to do just that. I snorted at the thought and said "Yeah sure whatever Glim Glam". There was something about her... I couldn't pinpoint what it was but she made me feel safe. I knew she could kill me any second, but there was some part inside me telling me that she wouldn't do it.