The Career Pack
I wake up with a start. Its middle of the night and I am curled like a fetus under a tree. I had never planned on sleeping but I guess the last sleepless night in the training center and the fatigue of running through the woods all day had won over. I was just trying to take some rest and I must have fallen asleep. I know something has woken me up. Is it the cold, a sound, a bad dream, an intuition, what? Suddenly, I feel the hairs on my neck stand up and my heart starts beating faster. And then I hear them.
They are hunting in a pack. They are loud and they are laughing. They don't care who can hear them, they are here to intimidate others. And why shouldn't they, they are the careers, they have earned it. They are scourging the woods for the rest of us. And they won't hesitate to kill when they find one.
I get up immediately and start to run away from their direction. But my legs are making too much noise and I know they'll hear me. And they do. They are running after me now and soon I can hear their laughter just a short distance behind me.
"Who's that?" I hear one of the girls ask.
"I think that's the boy from 12." Another girl says.
"Oh ... the Lover Boy." I hear a boy's voice. I think it's the district 2 boy, Cato.
I am still running and they are following me, coming close every second.
"I can get him from here." A girl says.
And I feel it, before I can hear it. Something zapping behind me disturbing the air with full force. I move my head just in time as a knife whizzes near my right ear and gets stuck in a tree. But I twist my ankle in my attempt to escape the knife and fall near the tree.
"Ah ... bad luck, Clove." Cato says.
Now they are almost upon me. This is it ... but I am not going to go without a fight. I scramble up on my legs as a sharp pain shoots from my twisted ankle. I disregard the pain and quickly yank the knife out from the tree. I turn just in time to see a spear hurling towards me. I swing my left hand to divert its direction, but it still scrapes a chunk of the skin from my arm.
The District 1 boy is first to reach me. He has a longer knife in his hand and he slashes with it near my chest. But this time, I am ready, I move just out of his reach and push him away with my shoulder. He loses his balance for a second but he is on his feet again. He now faces me, knife in his hand and anger on his face. We revolve around each other waiting for the other to strike. I am limping a bit from my twisted ankle and my arm has started bleeding soaking my jacket.
The remaining careers are just standing there watching us. There's Cato and three girls. The lights from their torches illuminates the area around. I know they'll be upon me in a second if they feel I'm getting an upper hand.
Me and the boy from 1, we strike at each other a couple of times but we both miss. I have to do something unexpected to unhinge him. So, I suddenly hurl my whole body towards him and grab his midsection. I lift him and throw him onto the ground, falling on him myself. I have done this so many times during my wrestling matches, but at those times my opponent doesn't have a knife. This one however does, but my maneuver is so quick that he is not able to hold on to his knife. Now, he is unarmed and I have a knife and I am on top of him. I can do it, slice his neck in a jiffy, but I hesitate. And that moment of hesitation is my undoing.
He pushes me off from himself and now Cato is upon me. He slashes his sword at me and I roll over to escape the hit. I quickly stand on my feet and slash my knife at him. I manage to scratch his arm. But he is quick and when I try to slash again he easily moves out of the range and grabs my armed hand. He twists it behind my back. He then grabs my head with his other hand and pushes me on to a nearby tree. Now I'm pinned between him and the tree. He shoves my face, pressing my cheek to the hard bark, where the rough surface bruises me.
"So, the baker's boy can cut more than bread with a knife." He says angrily. He moves my face slowly so the bark now cuts my cheek. A scream escapes my lips involuntarily.
"Yes ... scream Lover Boy. Scream for your girlfriend. Where is she anyway? Did she ditch you?"
I don't know anything about Katniss, last I knew she was going for a nearby backpack at the Cornucopia. But I know she is alive ... I didn't see her picture in the sky.
I try to lift my leg and kick Cato from behind but I loose my footing and slide down on to the ground. Cato turns my head with a jerk and his hand is on my neck choking me and pressing the back of my head onto the tree.
"Any last message for your girl?" He asks me. "Once, I am done with you, I'm going to find her and then I'll give her such a death that the whole country will forget about the girl on fire. The stunts, you two have pulled in these last days ... well lets just say they were not very beneficial for us."
I believe, he is upset about our fiery entrance, Katniss outscoring him and our star-crossed lover angle. Yes, we must have gained some favors and stolen their sponsors. But hearing him talk about Katniss this way; it frightens me to my core. Suddenly, I am not scared for my life anymore but for hers. What is this brute going to do to her? My protective feeling for her surfaces again.
"You won't be able to catch her?" I manage to say.
Hearing me talk, he loosens his grip from my neck a bit.
"What did you say?" He asks me.
I take a big gulp of air and say, "I said you won't be able to catch her ..." and suddenly an idea strikes me. "... not without my help." His face frowns. "This arena ... this is like a home to her ... she knows how to survive in woods."
But I stop myself. I can't tell them about her hunting skills ... whole nation is watching this. If I tell him about her illegal trips to woods, she and her family will be in trouble. So I change my tactics.
"I've seen her in the training center. She knows how to set traps, make fire, climb trees. You can't catch her because you can't think like her." I say to him.
"And you can?" He asks me amusingly.
"I've spent last 5 days with her and I've spent my school days watching her. I have a pretty good idea of how she operates. For example, right now, her first aim is to look for water, and since she can't go to the lake near the Cornucopia, she will be looking for water elsewhere. I can help you find her." I say with conviction.
Cato now stands back allowing me to stand on my feet. I still have the knife in my hand but I am not going to use it. I have to gain their trust.
"And why do you want to help us? Did she break your heart?" Cato asks me.
"She was shocked just like others. She even shoved me and injured my hands." I tell him showing my hands which are still scarred. "But I know, she trusts me and that might help to lure her in."
"And you will be fine, when we kill her?" He asks smirking.
"Obviously, I don't want to be the one to kill her. But she is still my competitor. And after all, there is just one Victor, right?" I say to him smirking back.
"So you want to join our pack?"
"Who wouldn't take a chance on surviving a few more days, Cato. I promise, you won't regret this." I say sincerely.
Cato looks at me weighing my words.
"Just kill him, Cato" District 1 girl says. I think her name is Glimmer.
"Yeah ... I don't trust him." District 1 boy says.
"We can catch her on our own. She can't escape forever." District 4 girl says.
Cato looks at all of them, then looks at District 2 girl, Clove. He raises his eyebrows asking her opinion. My life hangs on her vote, I guess.
"He might be useful." She says. "He can fight. And we can always kill him anytime." She looks at me threateningly.
Cato thinks for a while then nods his head.
"OK, you can come with us. But if you put one toe out of line, Lover Boy, my sword will find your heart."
I breathe a sigh of relief. "Name's Peeta. And I'm not stupid, Cato ... l know, I'm alone against you five. I know where I stand."
"Alright, Lover Boy." He says disregarding my name. "Let's move on and find others before the morning."
"My knife, please." Clove comes to me with her outstretched hand.
I want to hold on to it, but everyone is watching me and its like a test for me now. I need to pass to get an entry in their coven. I smile at her and give the knife back.
"Let's put some bandage on that arm." She says and pulls out a roll from her pocket. She helps me tie it on my bloody arm, constantly watching my face. Her face remains impassive and she is really hard to read. She may have given me her vote but I have a feeling that she trusts me the least.
"Let's move." Cato says when we are done.
I follow them, now a part of the fearless Career Pack. And as I walk behind them, I look up at the sky and smile slowly, for the benefit of the sponsors.
A/N: So here is my take on how Peeta joined the Careers. Your thoughts? More incidents involving careers are in my pipeline. Please leave a review.