Valley of the Dolls—Prologue
"Come on!" I scream, my voice scraping my throat raw as I run at top speed toward the giant, golden horn that is our only hope of salvation. At any other time, I would find the irony of it funny. The Cornucopia is the place where more tributes die than any other and yet it's the only place where Peeta and I stand a chance of being safe.
I glance at Peeta, who's only a step or two behind me, his arms pumping at his sides, his face flushed from exertion. I'm a faster runner than he is and I can only pray that he can keep up. I've always been better than him at the physical aspect of the games, but I know better than anyone that we are a team. We will make it out of this together. The Capitol doesn't want us to die, of that I am sure. Seneca Crane's voice echoes in my mind as I recall the message that changed everything.
Attention tributes: There has been a rule change. TWO people will be allowed to win this year, one boy and one girl. I repeat, there has been a rule change, one boy and one girl will win this year's Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor.
The odds are certainly in my favor now. Technically, I've already won. I'm the only girl left alive. Peeta is not so lucky. Cato, the Career from District 2, is still alive, hiding out somewhere probably, waiting for Peeta to die. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to do the deed himself, and kill me in the process. I have never seen such hate in someone, except perhaps in Gale. But Gale's hate burns with the passion of righteous vengeance, of someone who has suffered too many wrongs for far too long. Gale's hate I can understand. Cato radiates a cold fury that scares me; his eyes are dead except when they glint with a dark amusement at the violence he inflicts. I recall the look of iciness in his eyes when he realized what I had done with the tracker jacker nest and I shudder. Death is waiting for me there.
The growls from the mutts bring me back to reality. I knock an arrow and fire it off at the mutt who so resembles Rue; it was about to sink its monstrous jaws into Peeta. It falls back and Peeta sends me a nod of thanks. It's all he can manage, seeing as he can barely breathe from running so much. I look down at his leg, knowing it must be paining him terribly, and my jaw sets in determination. We will win. I will not let the boy with the bread die. Not when I have the opportunity to save him and save myself in the process.
Finally, we reach the Cornucopia, a hunk of metal that is impossibly high and equally impossible to climb. Peeta and I glance at each other for half a second before he cups his hands, offering me a brace.
"I'll help you up, then you pull me up," he yells over the sounds of the mutts' growls and snarls. I shake my head.
"No," I yell back. "I'm safe, Peeta. I've already won. I've already won! You first!" I mimic his hand gesture and, realizing that we are out of time, a furious Peeta braces himself against me as I push him upward. His nails make an awful scraping sound against the metal of the Cornucopia as he scrambles up. I look behind me and see that the mutts are less than five feet away and showing no signs of slowing. Suddenly doubting my supposed safety, I scream.
"Peeta, hurry up!"
His face, bruised, bloody and covered in dirt, peers over the side and he reaches out to me with both hands. I can just barely reach them standing on my toes. He grabs my wrists and pulls up; I do what I can to climb the Cornucopia but the slick surface of the metal prevents me from getting any kind of foothold. The mutts are so close that I can feel their hot breath on my ankles, but Peeta pulls me to safety before they can strike. I breathe a sigh of relief and he smiles, believing us safe, but our moment of respite is short-lived. A huge hand grabs Peeta's shoulder and yanks him away from me, tossing him several feet towards the other side of the Cornucopia. Peeta howls and is already on his feet before I can process what's going on, rushing at the enemy. Too much is happening at once. My mind, however, screams one word above all others.
Cato!
I reflexively grab my bow and load it with what I realize is my last arrow, but in the time that it has taken me to understand what's happened, things have changed. Peeta and Cato have exchanged blows. Both are bloody and in bad shape, but Peeta looks ready to collapse. Cato, a savage grin on his feral face, spins Peeta around and holds him in a headlock. Peeta yanks against Cato but the brute from District 2 doesn't even budge. The three of us stand still, the growls from the now-distant mutts the only sound that fills the night air.
"Go ahead," Cato taunts, tightening his grip on Peeta. "Shoot. It won't help you. I'm wearing armor."
One glance and I can see that he's right. His chest, arms, hands, and legs are all covered by a black metal casing, making him impervious to my arrows. I do not release, but I do not lower my bow either.
"Your head isn't protected," I say, raising my bow to aim right at his head. Cato's smile falls but only for a second.
"So then your boyfriend and I'll both die," he says, his eyes locked with mine. In that moment I know that he'll do it, insane as it is. That armor of his just might protect him long enough from the mutts for Peeta to die first. I bite my lip, knowing that we're at an impasse. I need to keep Cato distracted until I can figure out a way to kill him and save Peeta.
"Kat…niss…" Peeta chokes out, still attempting to weakly claw at Cato's arm. I gulp, my eyes meeting Peeta's. Hold on, my eyes tell him. Just a little longer. I won't let you die, Peeta.
Cato's squinty eyes narrow as he watches our interaction. He loosens his grip and for one surreal second I think he's going to let Peeta go, but he grabs Peeta's shoulders in one hand and his legs in the other, lifting him high in the air.
"Say goodbye!" Cato yells and tosses Peeta over the side.
"No!" I scream. All thought of Cato forgotten, I lunge toward the far side of the Cornucopia, where the low growls of the mutts has turned into a cacophony of vicious snarls mixed in with Peeta's screams. I fire off an arrow, striking one mutt, and reach back for another. My heart drops into my stomach as I realize that my quiver is empty. I can barely make out Peeta's face amid the mutts.
"Katniss!" he yells, his back arched in pain.
"Hold on!" I call down and without regard to my own safety start to slide down the side of the Cornucopia. What I intend to do, I don't know. All I know is that I can't let Peeta die. Not like this.
Cato's hand grips my wrist hard enough to leave a bruise and he pulls me back to safety, turning me so my back is to the edge of the Cornucopia. I look at him in bewilderment, unable to rationalize this move as the sounds of Peeta dying fill my ears. Cato hates me. Why isn't he letting me fall?
"Don't be stupid," he says, close enough to my face that there's no need to yell. "You've already won."
Horror racing through my veins, I yank against him, but he won't let go. Desperate, I spit in his face. It shocks him enough for him to let me go and I turn my back on him, racing for the edge, but he tackles me, slamming me hard onto my stomach. He stays on top of me, holding me down as I thrash against him, repeating "you've already won" over and over again. I scream as a last resort, but the sound of the cannon drowns my wailing out. I freeze, my mind going numb with shock. If the cannon went off that means that Peeta is dead. But Peeta cannot be dead. I will not allow him to be dead.
The arena falls eerily silent as Cato gets to his feet. I make no effort to do the same. Peeta cannot be dead, but just the same I know I do not want to see what is at the foot of the Cornucopia.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" Caesar Flickerman's voice calls out, descending on us like the voice of God. "Katniss Everdeen and Cato Bodea!"
Author's Note:
Hey guys! TeenIdle17 here with my first Hunger Games fanfiction. Please review, I'm eager for reviews both positive and critical :) A couple of housekeeping items. The title, Valley of the Dolls, is taken from a Marina and the Diamonds song that you should definitely check out as I believe it suits the nature of my fic pretty well. Also, I'm not writing this with the intention of shipping Cato and Katniss together, but if it happens, it happens. I find it unlikely, personally, but if it comes out in the writing I'll go with it. So...I think that's it for now. Happy reading and don't forget to leave a review please! :)