AN: So this is my first fic and I gotta say I have been dying to make a Katniss/Cato fic forever :D
Please if anything review I will try to post it every Monday if possible.
Enjoy! :D
I wake-up to find the house in complete silence. I walk into my baby sister Opal's room she lies there in her crib breathing uneven breaths while sleeping. It kills me to know that the only way I can help her is to go into the games. The first time I heard I was having a baby sister was two years ago and now I just might lose her. I had talked to my parents about volunteering and becoming a victor that way our family could afford the surgery that my sister desperately needed, but they had said no saying that they would rather lose one child instead of both. Obviously I wasn't going to listen. Opal was my little light in this horrible and darkened world and I wasn't going to let her leave it.
I change and dash out of my house before my parents wake. I walk to the line of 18-year-olds at the town center and wait for them to take my blood. I never understood the reasoning for this. Did they think we were going to run away?
As I was lost in my thoughts I didn't notice the figure charging at me from behind. As I turn around my friend Garret Day tackles me to the ground. I laugh and start to stand up every year he does this to me, and every year I fall for it.
"Glad to see I still go my essence of surprise on me, gonna be useful for when I'm in the arena this year," Garret said while brushing the dirt off his knees.
"Hey we already went over this, I'm going in this year, and you will get your chance next year," I said with a smirk, "besides you are seventeen you still got one more year left in you this is my last year to go into the games."
"Well," he started, "may the odds be ever in your favor," he said in a mocking Capitol accent as he strode over to the 17-year-old section.
I turn to see that the reaping has already started and the escort, a young man from the Capitol wearing a pink and orange pinstripe suit with matching hair walked up to the microphone. "Good day to you all and happy Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor." The man is met with a silence not because of dread, but because everyone is anxious to see who will be District 2's next tributes. "Well let's being, ladies first," he walks to the girls reaping bowl and I watch as his had dives in to the hundreds of names on hundreds of slips of paper, he pulls one out and walks back to the microphone, "Clove Atrial."
The crowd turns to the 14-year-old section and I watch as a short girl with dark hair emerges from the crowd and then takes the stage. I can see the look in her eyes is like no other.
Determination.
Surprisingly there are no volunteers, which I'm sure she had that planned she then walks up and takes the stage. "Well," the escort continued, "let's move onto the boys." I wait as he goes to the boy's reaping bowl and pull out a slip of paper, "Vick Zander." I knew that it was time so before my mind could catch up with my actions I run out of crowd of kids and say, "I volunteer." Everyone turns to me many recognize my face from school, others stare at me with a fit of rage painted across their face probably because of they themselves wanting to volunteer, I try to not take notice of their faces and walk up to the stage and stand next to Clove who is now looking at me with a smirk on her face. I look over to the escort who asks, "What is your name son?"
I responded, "Cato, Cato Fortes."
He then turns to the crowd, "Well there you have it our two District 2 tributes for the 74th Hunger Games may the odds be ever in your favor." The anthem begins to play and a group of Peace keepers ushers us into the Justice Building. I am sent into a room to wait for our final good-byes. I sit there and wait and am not surprised to see my father and mother come walking into the room an angered but saddened look is on my father's face.
"I thought I told you not to volunteer, look we will figure out how to take care of Opal I promise," he said.
"It is too late now I'm going into the games, I have already trained, I know what to do to get sponsors, and I promise I won't get myself into any trouble," I say trying not to look my father in the eye. "I'm doing this for Opal and you and I both know that there is no way we can come up with enough money for the surgery for her before…before," I trail off.
"But Cato if there is any way to help her it certainly isn't this way just think of what will happen if you don't make it out alive," my mother protested in-between sobs.
I think for a second and then turn to them, "I don't think there is much of a future for me otherwise."
My parents stare at me with a shocked expression. The Peace keepers come in and take them away and I am left alone until Garret shows up.
"Hey," he said with his head down obviously he isn't too happy either about the turn of events, "so…uh you weren't kidding."
"No, but hey if I make it out alive just think of how much more awesome our lives will be," I say. He knows that the likely-hood of me getting out of the games out alive isn't likely. I will probably have to work up an angle to be able to get more sponsors luckily for me I am strong enough since in school it is part of our lives as District 2 citizens to train to become a Career.
"Before you go will you at least take this," he holds out an old wrist watch, "it was my grandfather's when he was in the rebellion, and my father had it when he was in the games I thought that you might need it for when you get a little homesick."
I take the wrist watch and put it on, "Sure, I…I guess, but are you sure you can part with it I mean this was your father's."
"Notice how you said 'was' instead of 'is' he is gone now and now that watch is yours, take care of will you?"
"I promise."
And with that Garret is sent away and the Peace keepers lead us over to the train where we will meet our mentor and rest there until we reach the Capitol. I walk into my room on the train and look around there is plush furniture everywhere and a big window showing the landscape. As I walk over to the window I try to figure out which District we are in, while I am looking I am startled by a knock on the door. I walk over to get the door only to find standing in front of me a large, burly man probably in his 40's standing in front of me.
"So, you must be Cato," he said he isn't too intimidating many of the guys at school are like him and I have taken down even larger when I did wrestling.
"Yes," I responded standing up straighter.
"Well I'll be you mentor for the games," he holds out his hand, "I'm Brutus." With that we shook hands and we went down to the dining area where we met with Clove and her mentor Enobaria who already seemed to be in a deep conversation about strategy for the games.
Clove turned to us, "Glad to see someone finally decided to join us, we were just about to view the reapings." We walk over out of the compartment to find a small living area with a television already showing the reapings. Throughout the time I see a beautiful girl from District 1, a sly girl from District 5, a tall menacing boy from District 11, and finally, I see her. I watch as the escort calls out a girl's name and a small blond girl starts walking out from the crowd obviously terrified. Another girl comes out of the crowd who looks like her older sister calling out her name and then she says it. "I volunteer." She walks up to the stage as her younger sister cries out her name. The escort asks her name she responds, "Katniss Everdeen." Katniss Everdeen, in all the eighteen years of my life I have never seen a girl as beautiful. The way her braid cascades down her back and the way of how her grey eyes give off a sense of power and intensity. The escort then calls from the boy tribute and a tall boy with blond hair and blue eyes comes up to the stage and then the reapings are over and the show ends with the anthem playing, I turn and look to see my district partner asleep on the couch as well as my two mentors so I decide to return to my room. As I shut the door I sink to the floor and realize now that my time in the arena was going to be harder than expected.