The Boy from One

Chapter Seventeen: A Change

My eyes flutter open and they blink to get used to the light. I feel I'm lying on a blanket and struggling, I try to get up. 

A pair of small hands gently ease me back down again. 

"You can't get up yet Marvel," says a calm male voice, trying to reassure me. 

I blink, my brain recognising the voice "Alvis?" My voice sounds croaky, as if I haven't used it for a while. I twist my head and see him sitting next to me. 

"Here," he says, handing me some water. He supports my back so I can sit up whilst I drink. When I've finished, he says, "Well I'm relieved you've woken up. The others and I weren't sure you were going to make it."

"What happened?" I say, trying to remember, "All I remember is buzzing."

"Tracker Jackers," says Alvis, "But don't worry you're alright now. I managed to find some cream for the stings. It was meant for stinging nettles so it didn't work completely but it did make the lumps go down. Cato refused to accept the cream though." He sounds proud of himself for being of some use. 

I look at him, amused, "What are you a medic now as well as a technological genius?"

He beams but then shrugs modestly, "In District 3, working with things like explosives is dangerous. We get taught first-aid at school so we can react in an emergency."

I smile, "I guess it's not just Districts 1,2 and 4 that are taught something useful, then." I drift back off to sleep. 

After a few hours, I wake up again and this time I'm able to sit up with Alvis's help. I take a look at my surroundings. It's a nice sunny day and I'm under a canopy that someone's constructed. I see the tents all in a line, and I can see Cato and Clove down my the lake. I smile. They're kissing. It's the first time they've been properly open about their relationship-I guess Marina was right all along. 

But then I remember the reason why they're suddenly so open-Glimmer's dead. My smile vanishes in a second. I still remember her screaming my name. Moonshine must be heartbroken back at home. 

He must know that it was too late for me to do anything. That the tracker jackers had got to her before I could reach her, and I wouldn't have been able to carry her, because I was already carrying...

Marina. 

A terrible thought occurs to me, and I whip my head round to the canopy, half-expecting to see her lying down in our little 'infirmary'. 

I turn back to Alvis. He's grimacing, as if he already knows what I'm about to asking. 

"Alvis, where are the others?" I ask slowly, scared of the answer. 

"The others?" Alvis says, his voice squeaking slightly. He's a terrible liar. There's something he clearly does not want to tell me. The sense of dread I feel mounts. 

"Where's Marina? And Peeta? We're missing half our group." I can't keep the desperation out of my voice now. 

I face Alvis and this time there's no mistaking his anxiety, "Marvel...I'm sorry. Marina and Glimmer...didn't make it."

"What do you mean?" I ask harshly, but I already know the answer. 

"The nest of Tracker Jackers Katniss dropped...they stung Glimmer and Marina multiple times. By the time you carried Marina to the lake, it was too late."

"No." I groan and I put my head into my hands. Marina's gone. 

"It's not your fault," Alvis does his best to reassure me, "There's was nothing you could do...in fact, if anyone's to blame, it's that girl from District Twelve."

"The girl from Twelve," I whisper, between clenched teeth. With just a single knife, just by cutting a branch from a tree, she managed to kill both Glimmer and Marina. Two careers who should have killed her easily. 

I'm angry. She's the one to blame for this. She's the reason Moonshine won't see his cousin again. She's the reason Ariel won't see her girlfriend again. But at the same time, I feel an inkling of fear. 

Careers are supposed to be killed by other careers, not by untrained girls from the coal-mining district. If Katniss was able to kill Glimmer and Marina...

"Marvel, are you ok?" asks Alvis, concerned. 

"I'm fine," I growl, even though I'm clearly not. There's a prickling sensation in my eyes. To my horror, I realise I'm about to cry and quickly clench my fists. 

I've never been allowed to cry at District One and I definitely can't now. It was bad enough I threw up at the Cornucopia, but if I break down now, the audience will see it as a sign of weakness and they definitely won't give me sponsors. 

I turn back to Alvis, and try to distract myself from the mixture of grief and fear I'm feeling. 

"And Peeta?" I ask, as nonchalantly as I can, as if losing allies and friends is a day-to-day occurrence for me. 

Alvis says something but it's a quiet mumble as if he's terrified of telling me. 

"Tell me Alvis," I growl. I don't mean to sound menacing-I just need a way of making all these emotions go away-but I'm scary enough to make the poor kid tremble. 

"He betrayed us," says Alivis, scared, "He and Cato had a fight and he... he stabbed Cato in the leg so Katniss could run away."

I don't believe it. Katniss, this girl from District 12, has cost us three of our members. 

Before she was an annoyance. Now, she's a threat. 

My mind goes back to the training centre, where she and Peeta spent all their time together. Then it flashes to the interviews-Peeta's impromptu love confession-Katniss's fake surprise. 

Why didn't I realise this before? They've planned this from the start, the pair of them. Coming up with a way to not only have one of them win the games, but to also make fun of us Careers and ruining any chance we have of looking good in front of the audience. 

I remember Marina's look of fear as I carried her to the lake and rage boils up inside me.  

"She will pay for this," I murmur, and I imagine myself throwing my spear into her chest. For once, the idea of murdering someone no longer makes me feel sick or guilty. 

Marina death has changed me. 

And I find that I'm actually looking forward to killing Katniss Everdeen.