"Go! I'm coming!" I shout when Katniss turns back to look for me. She hesitates briefly then continues sprinting towards the Cornucopia. She throws herself onto the roof then thrusts her arm out to me. I reach out to grab it but she is hurled away at the last second. As her body flies across the Cornucopia, Cato takes her place, hovering over me with a sly grin plastered on his face. Before I even have time to react, Cato takes me by the arm, throwing me harshly onto my back.
Pain shoots through my body as the hard metal collides with my spine. Katniss runs towards me, but Cato catches her. "Peeta!" She shouts. I charge forwards, or at least that's the last thing I remember doing. Suddenly, I'm frozen in place as I see a girl rolling over the side of the Cornucopia and bouncing onto her feet. Throwing off her hood, she says fiercely, "STOP!"
Cato, who's now holding Katniss in a tight headlock has his mouth hanging open. Slowly, I turn my head. My entire body goes numb as I see Clove standing with her fists tight at her sides, her hair blowing wildly around her face. No. It can't be. I look anxiously back at Cato. His eyes are filled with a blend of what seems like a thousand emotions. Shock, pain, relief, and more that I can't even name.
"Let her go." Clove says firmly. "I thought you were dead." Cato whispers, as if talking to a ghost. Clove's lower lip quivers as they stare uneasily at each other. And that's when I remember Katniss. She's turned a sickening shade of blue, she'll die if I don't free her soon. My mind scrambles to think of a solution when Clove says, "I'm alive. And I'll always stay with you no matter what you choose. But I'm asking you not to do this."
This couldn't be Clove. She was sadistic, and the most murderous person I know, aside from Cato. Hell, she was probably just some sort of sick hybrid the Gamemakers made to mess with our head. And yet, this felt realer than I could've imagined. "I have to!" He yells, tears streaming down his face. "If I don't, I'll be giving up everything I've ever wanted."
"But you don't want it!" Clove shouts, her eyes too clouded with tears as she takes a step towards him. "I've known you my entire life. You may think this is what you want, but it's not. If you we don't end this right now, you'll be miserable for the rest of your life. Is this what you really want for yourself?"
"Does it matter what I want?" Cato asks, his voice suddenly becoming cold and quiet. "District 2 will never let us go back if we spare her, or him." He snickers in my direction. "We'll figure out another way." Clove said. "Don't you remember what you told me? When I was…" She hesitates. "When I was close to dying, what you said to me?"
Cato doesn't move.
Clove slowly takes a step forward. "You told me you finally understood what the Games really were. That it wasn't worth it to keep fighting like this. That you were losing," She pauses. "Already lost your soul."
Cato blinks rapidly, his chest beginning to rise up and down.
"You're my best friend, I know every part of you. In and out." Clove says when he cuts her off.
"And that's all I'll ever be to you RIGHT?" He screams loudly so suddenly that it makes CLove jump. "W-what are you talking about?" She whispers. Cato lets out a huge breath as he says, "You're blind. So fucking blind. You think volunteering was all about winning, don't you?"
"That's what we've talked about ever since we first met."" Clove mumbles ambiguously. "Clove." Cato says, exasperated. "Are you really that stupid? Can you not see that I'm in love with you?"
I watch the realization hit her as she swallows hard.
"You're the only girl I ever had real feelings for, feelings I could never shake no matter how I tried." Cato said. "I thought that if I continued to stay by your side, maybe you'll eventually love me back." Clove stares at him, and I know she really was clueless.
"Do you know how it felt when you died? You were in my ARMS!" Cato screamed as tears came to Clove's eyes. "I had to watch your eyes close, your body go limp…" He trailed off as she sniffled. "From then on, I'd made up my mind. I didn't care anymore. I don't care anymore."
"But it doesn't have to be that way." Clove says, her voice breaking.
As if he didn't even hear her, he says, "And because of that, this is why I won't be seeing you again."
Clove shakes her head slightly, not understanding. "Don't you see what's happening here?" Cato asks, sounding somewhat amused. "I'm letting you go." The sadness that immediately fills her eyes makes me remember the pain I felt when I thought Katniss hated me. She blinks back tears. "Cato…"
"You were never my friend." Cato said flatly. "You were always a girl to me. You're still a girl to me." I glance from him to Clove, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she stares at the ground with her lips pressed in a straight line. After a moment, she looks up, taking a quick breath of air before saying, "Cato, you were always my best friend. I knew you'd be from the day you rescued me." She pauses to see if Cato is listening. He is. "Which means you should also understand that I don't know what love is. I don't think I could ever love anyone, I don't even love myself."
Katniss chokes, bringing me back to reality. We're running out of time. I wasn't even thinking about killing Cato or Clove. The only thing I was worried about doing right now was getting Katniss out of his arms. Then, I spot Cato's hand. It's the only way I could save Katniss so that Cato won't bring her down with him. But how on earth could I shoot his hand? I don't have her arrows or my knives. I run my hand through my hair, more desperate than ever. God, I had to do something right now.
"So," Cato says, his voice cold and bitter. "You're saying you can never love me?" Clove stares at him, her mouth quivering. "I see." Cato says hollowly.
"It doesn't have to be this way, Cato." She pleads, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.
"I love you, remember that." He says. For a split second, Clove thought he was going to change his mind. And then, two things happen simultataneously. Just as Clove steps forward I suddenly remember the knife in my pocket, which I reach for instantly. Just as Cato takes a step back, I raise my hand to throw the knife when I see Katniss's hand disappear over the edge with Cato. "NOOO!" The word rips from my throat. Suddenly, I can't see anything anymore I feel my body slam into someone else's. I am on my knees, and instantly smell the sweet scent of cotton beneath my nose.
Suddenly, I don't feel anything anymore. I hear the screams and shouts of pain from below, but somehow, I'm not reacting to them. Even as I feel something fracturing in me, I can't bring myself to acknowledge it. My body. Why can't I move? I try to wiggle my fingers, but their stiff frozen. I realize I'm laying on someone's arm, and that person could only be Clove. She wipes something falling from my cheek, something wet, but I don't know what it is.
Confusion is the first thing that hits me, and then it disappears. The only thing I can see is the forest across from me. I don't want to look at Katniss. Or Cato. I hear a soft cry escape from Clove's mouth. Exhaling, I close my eyes and sink deeper into her arms, ready to let her do whatever she wanted to me. It's over. Eventually, the screaming stops and it slows to a soft moan. I'm too tired to wonder why she isn't trying to kill me yet. "Katniss…" I mumble. Katniss.