Disclaimer: nothing belongs to me.
A/N: English is not my first language. I apologize for any mistakes. Also, my tablet was giving me a hard time when I tried to do some text editing, there might be some big spaces and etc. So when you see those, you'll know why they're there. Sorry about that, as well. Hope you enjoy reading my story, anyway!
"If peace can only come through killing somebody.. then I don't want it."
~ Hiro Mashima
None of us had expected any of this. None of us knew this would happen. Most of us thought we were hours or days from encountering our deaths. We thought this was going to be just yet another game. Just yet another year when 23 innocent kids were going to stop breathing, to put it nicely. And I was sure I would be one of them. None of us saw that coming. Makes me wonder... if we had known, would it have changed anything? Would it have affected the training? The relations between all of us for those 2 weeks we had spent in each other's company, already seeing the death creeping onto people's faces. The smell of death everywhere around.. It makes me wonder... would have anything gone differently in the arena if we had known from the start how different the Games were going to be?
Not that it matters now. Now it's too late. Now they're all gone. It's just me now, still breathing. Still alive. Just me.
I wish I'd died with them.
DAY 1
He took a slightly deeper breath than normal, trying so hard not to let his mentor sense that he was in fact a bit nervous about what was about to happen. He had trained for this all his life. He wanted this. Right? Why the nerves? Why did he feel like he was about to do something he didn't necessarily want to do? That's what he was born for. This is who he was. Why the bad feeling? Why any feelings?
Anxiety was all he felt, as he stepped into the tube that was seconds away from lifting him up into the arena, where he would see about twenty terrified faces of his opponents. As he waited for the tube door to shut, he closed his eyes and repeated the Careers strategy plans in his head. The plan for the bloodbath they had made. It was nothing complicated. But he felt the need to go through it silently. He had never killed anyone before. Sure he had hurt people. Badly. But he had never actually killed anyone. What was it going to be like? Was he actually able to end someone's life? He was definitely trained for it. But actually doing it was going to be something else. He already thought of himself as a monster. What word would people use to define him after he kills all those faultless kids?
He shook his head. He had to stop thinking about it. It was just a game. He was just one of the players. It's what he lived for. It's how their world worked. Who they had raised him to be. There was no room for thinking or any sort of feelings. He just had to be passionate. Yes. Passionate about killing. Well, this was some sick shit.
Before he knew it, he was breathing in fresh air. The second he opened his eyes, he understood why he had such a bad feeling about these Games. That's all it took.
One second. And he knew he was a part of something he was not prepared for.
Because there was no 23 other opponents or terrified faces around him. There was no Careers looking at each other with smirks on their vicious faces.
There was no Clove. There was no Cornucopia or weapons or supplies. There was just him. And three other faces, but not terrified, as he had imagined them to be. They were just startled and confused. Every bit as much as he was.
There was just him. And 3 others.
'What the fuck?' He asked rhetorically, staring at one of his biggest enemies in the Games. He got no response. Peeta just stared back, his lips trembling a bit from the cold air and the wind that made all four of them shiver. Cato himself couldn't help but notice how freezing it was. He took his eyes off of district 12 and glanced at the little, dark-skinned girl that was on his left side. She stood there, shocked, wordless. Ever since he saw her while watching the reapings, he had been trying to keep any thoughts of the kid out of his head. It's not like he didn't know he would be most likely forced to kill 12 year olds. But he didn't exactly like thinking about it.
Cato felt as if something was squeezing his throat and so he turned his head away from Rue and to his right where the redhead from 5 was. Her pale face showed only confusion, no fear, no weaknesses. Determination, maybe. And will to figure out what the hell was going on. He knew her type of person. She was extremely clever. The Careers had spent full ten minutes, talking about the girl. They knew she was going to be sneaky. That she would use her brain in every situation in order to survive.
Despite the circumstances, his mind of a Career immediately started analyzing the situation. He almost smiled to himself, knowing it was going to be so easy to kill all three of them.
Almost too easy..
Wait.
His mouth went dry, as he reminded himself that not only was there just three people there with him, but there was no Cornucopia. Therefore, no weapons whatsoever, as far as he could see. He frowned and looked around, realizing they were on a street of what looked like an abonded city. Bulidings everywhere, dirty cars parked on the streets, trash flying around. And the wind, that freezing to the bone breeze.
'Tributes!' Claudius' voice boomed around the arena finally, as Cato felt like they had been standing there for hours, staring at each other, clueless. He couldn't wait for the gong, he could not wait to get rid of those three and find other Careers to finish the job the way they were originally supposed to. Him and Clove.
But where was Clove?
'There has been.. a small rule change.'
Peeta clenched his fists, probably wondering where his own district partner was. Cato was wondering that, too. He wondered where the rest of his victims were. He didn't expect for the Games to change so dramatically. Then again, who did? Normally, the Capitol only added a twist for a quarter quell, every 25 years. They were in 74th Hunger Games. What the hell was going on?
'In order to prepare our audience for the upcoming Quarter Quell, we have decided to spice up the Games this year and give them all something they had never seen before!'
Cato swallowed. That did not sound good. He could tell by the faces of other tributes that they didn't see anything good coming either. Not that typical Hunger Games would have brought them anything good..
'So far we have proudly held 71 Hunger Games that shared same rules and the only thing that always differed them was change
of scenery in the arena and of course, different tributes. This year we were hoping to experience something entirely new. While we are fans of routine and consistency, we are sure the people of the Capitol will be more than delighted and grateful for this minor change, as it is bound to deliver a great show!'
Cato could almost sense the fear, starting to build and show on the faces of his three opponents. He would have to be stupid not to be at least a bit taken aback himself. The reason Careers were always on top of the Games was because they knew the drill. They were trained for the infamous Bloodbath, getting their food and weapons, tracking tributes down, attacking and fighting back. Cato didn't have to hear the rest of the announcement to know that the supposedly small rule change was going to change the entire Games. He just didn't know exactly how yet. But he was damn sure about to find out.
'Tributes! You have been divided into six teams. Four tributes per team, two boys and two girls from different districts. It may come as quite a...shock to you, as well as the audience, but from now on, the people you are looking at right now' he paused there dramatically 'will be your allias.'
'So much for just playing my part' Cato thought, catching Peeta mouthing a silent 'what?'. As if he was the only one that didn't like what they'd just heard. Cato cursed under his breath. This was supposed to be easy for him. This was supposed to be something he was very well prapared and ready for. Clove was supposed to be his ally, not those three weaklings.
He felt somebody's eyes on him so he turned his head to look at little Rue. She didn't look away, she just continued to stare and he just stared back, wondering what was going through that head of hers. He couldn't help but feel at least a little bit relieved, though. He didn't have to become a child murderer the second the gong goes off.
'You came to the Capitol, expecting for 23 other tributes to become your enemies in the arena. You woke up this morning, prepared to either attack or fight back. You thought you were ready for what's about to happen. You thought you knew everything. But you were wrong.'
Cato's eyes landed on the only person that didn't seem that much moved by this whole thing. She seemed almost careless. Her red hair was all over her face, thanks to the wind, but she didn't care. She just stood there, as if it was just yet another regular day. That intrigued him.
He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky, waiting for the rest of the announcement. Anxiety eating him from the inside.
'From now on, your team is your key to survival. From now on, you forget what you had trained for. From now on, you don't kill each other. You protect one another. In order to make it out of here, you keep each other alive. The longer you keep your team going, the greater is your chance to win.'
'Gotta be kidding me.' Cato snapped, feeling his temper get out of hand quickly. Peeta shot him a cold look which he was more than happy to return. He was stuck with Lover boy as his ally. Magnificent.
'Expect further announcements. We wish you happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.'
He knew he had a bad feeling.. dammit, he knew something didn't feel right.. where the hell was Clove?
'Let the 74th Hunger Games begin!'
He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He almost felt like hitting his head against a wall to make sure he wasn't just dreaming this. This couldn't be real, could it?
Could it?
'Ten.. nine.. eight..'
Wake up, Cato. Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up...
'Seven.. six.. five..'
Clove, where are you?
'Four.. three.. two..'
It's just a dream. A really unfunny nightmare. He will wake up any second now...
'One.'
A/N: Well, I hope you like the idea and that you're interested in where I am going to take this.. :) I got no feedback on my last Hunger Games story, but since this is not a oneshot and since I have already almost finished second chapter, I am really hoping to get some reviews from you guys so that I know if there's people that want me to continue. Thanks so much for reading!