AN: This is my 1st Fan Fiction as well as the 1st story I've ever written. It's been in my head since April so I finally started to write it down. Hope you enjoy.
Detailed Summary: After a series of mysterious events near the end of the 74th Hunger Games, Cato emerges victorious. What he doesn't know just yet is that Katniss is also a victor. President Snow gives them the easiest task, become friends and present a united front to show that the Hunger Games were just that, a game, in order to calm the districts. No hard feelings. Katniss's stubbornness makes this nearly impossible, until she is forced to depend on Cato for her survival. Only then does she come to know the real Cato and develop a true friendship that eventually develops into more. Along the way, they find what really happend during their Games and how that could affect the future of Panem for the better.
It was night now, at least in the arena. The game makers had turned the sky dark when it should only be around noon. They wanted the games to end soon and this was their grand finale. There were only three of us left: me and the two tributes from district 12.
I had an inkling from the start that the Girl on Fire would be in the finale. It's what they want, isn't it? Cato, the brutal and deadly district 2 tribute versus the slum girl who volunteered for her sister. The Capitol loved her, wanted her, desired her. If her stylist hadn't light her costume with harmless fire during the tribute parade, she wouldn't be a factor in these games. Or would she? The stunt her district partner pulled during the interviews was more than enough to drive the gossip hungry Capitol citizens into a frenzy with the willingness to bend over backwards to sponsor the pair. Confessing his love for her. They dubbed them the star-crossed lovers. Well, love has no place in the arena and I'm about to prove that.
The snap of a branch from somewhere to my left breaks me from my thoughts. I draw my sword from its sheath and set myself ready to defend from an attack. Then I hear the low growl and as much as I want to stay and fight, I can only guess there is more than a few of whatever creature the game makers have unleashed on us. It takes only seconds for me to realize I need to get to the cornucopia. I'm running for my life now, tree branches slapping my face, cutting lines into my skin. Warm blood begins to flow lightly from a particularly deep cut on my forehead and I have to use my jacket sleeve to wipe it away to keep it out of my eyes.
Just as I leap over a fallen tree trunk, a huge dog like creature jumps out at me from my right. Mutations! I pivot to try to evade the mutt from hitting me square in the chest but it still manages to slash its claws down my right side. Thankfully my body armor protects from any damage done but it feels like a dumbbell has been dropped onto my ribs.
"Fuck," I yell out. The pain is intense but I don't have time to take it easy. Without a second thought, I plunge my sword into the mutt's skull and yank it back out. The cornucopia is still a few minutes away and this delay could be deadly. I sheath my sword and pull two daggers from my belt which are much easier to run with and take off towards my destination. The howls in the cool, night air assure me what I've already been hoping for, that the creatures are enclosing from a distance and are not already blocking my path to the cornucopia. They are close though.
As I break into the clearing that houses the cornucopia, I see the two tributes from district 12, backs to me. Are they stupid, I think? Do they have a death wish? Do they not hear the mutts? They mustn't and that's my advantage. I can easily take on both of them, but the boy would just end up getting in the way of a most magnificent ending. Besides, I can't wait to see how Fire Girl breaks when her precious lover dies.
The howls are closer now and I'm certain 12 can hear them as I see the boy turn towards me. Shock and fear cross his face as he grabs Fire Girl's arm to spin her around. She raises her bow in my direction and releases an arrow. Had I not been wearing the body armor, the arrow would have pierced my heart. The aim was perfect. Her secret skill. However, the arrow just bounced off and I only grunt from the pain of the impact.
I can take a little time now as there are two more targets for the mutts. I contemplate briefly whether I should knock Lover Boy out when I'm only a few feet away but then think against it. Where's the fun in that? So instead, I bash the butt end of my dagger into his face and sweep his feet, making him fall to the ground. A few mutts are just now entering the clearing so I know my time to play is done. I turn to look at Fire Girl who's trying to help her district mate. As she turns to meet my gaze, I can see pure hatred written all across her face. I smirk at her, letting it turn into a smile and lean down to say slightly louder than a whisper, "run."
I break into a sprint for the cornucopia, tossing my daggers on top of the roof and climb up to the same spot. I turn to see that Fire Girl has shot the two mutts who were already in the clearing and she was trying to help the boy but he was yelling at her to leave him. Finally she does and just as she reaches the top and stands, I draw my sword. She holds her bow protectively in front of her but she has no more arrows left. I throw my head back and laugh. Too easy.
I know though that I can't play with this girl. Perhaps when she's almost dead, but not before. If it's one the thing I know about Fire Girl, it's that playing with her gets you burned. Glimmer and district 4 died by tracker jackers after we chased Fire Girl up a tree. She'd dropped a nest on our group the next morning. The rest of us did not walk away unscathed but we had our lives still.
Marvel waited to kill the little girl that Fire Girl aligned with so she could watch her die. Told me he couldn't wait to see her break and that he'd bring her back to camp for me to kill. I'd headed back to camp after that and about a half hour later, heard two cannons several minutes apart. That night confirmed my suspicions that Marvel was dead after he didn't return to camp.
And then there was Clove. My Clove, my closest friend. The girl who knew everything about me and I knew all there was about her. The girl who knew my surface was just a show and that had my parents still been alive, I'd never have trained for the games. She wanted to kill Fire Girl at the feast and I agreed to let her. Only when I heard her screaming my name did I realize my mistake. As I'd come upon the scene, I could see the huge boy tribute from district 11 running off with his and our backpack and Fire Girl on her back with a knife cut down her face. I ran up to Clove, cradling her in my arms, feeling desolate as I watched her die. She had been bashed in the head by the large, bloody rock that lay near her body. If I had gone with her, this wouldn't have happened. When Claudius Templesmith announced earlier in the games that two could win if they were from the same district, we became overconfident. She and I could have gone home together but she played with fire and I paid the price by losing her.
My focus returns to the girl in front of me, once again wiping the blood away from my forehead. Long, dark hair braided to the side and grey, fierce eyes that display such hostility. There is a fire that rages in her eyes. She knows she's cornered but she won't go down without a fight. Fire Girl is feisty and I like that. I twirl the sword in my hand as I think about how I want to do this. Deeply placed cuts on her biceps would disable her and prevent her from using her arms to fight back. I glance quickly to the field where Lover Boy was last, just to be sure he hadn't made it here and catch me off guard. Sure enough, he is out there trying to fight off the mutts in vain. There are more than a dozen mutts though that have circled the cornucopia, so falling is not an option.
"Lover Boy can't help you now," I sneer at her. As she turns her head to look over towards the boy, I take that as my opportunity to cut her right bicep. She screams in agony and drops her bow on to the smooth metal surface below our feet. This is it. Just as I go in to cut her left bicep, a burst of air hits me and I'm knocked back off my feet. I feel the wind knocked out of me as I land on my back, my right arm smacking against the surface. I watch in horror as my sword slips from my hand and disappears off the side of the cornucopia.
Fuckers. This is the Capitol. They want Fire Girl to win and they're interfering. But as I sit up, I notice she isn't any better off. She's also laying on her back, trying to regain her breath. Again, I look out towards the field where Lover Boy was last but my vision is fuzzy. I can barely make him out but there is something else that I can't quite see and then I hear his cannon. Just me and Fire Girl left now.
My head is throbbing so I squeeze my eyes shut and return my gaze to my lap. I have to finish this. I've trained almost my entire life for this and I need to win. For pride, honor and glory. For Clove. For myself and what I need to do. Now is not the time to be weak.
I make my way over to Fire Girl who is now crying out for Peeta. So that must be Lover Boy's name. I press my one knee into her stomach and the other knee onto the metal surface. She releases her breath from the weight of the impact. I wrap my right hand around her neck and use the fingers on my free hand to dig into the cut on her arm. She screams out in pain and I can't help but laugh.
"Oh, Fire Girl," I chuckle. "I love hearing you scream." I wipe her blood on my fingers down the side of her face and along her jawline before bringing my left hand around her neck as well and squeeze tightly, wanting to watch as the life leaves her grey eyes. I squeeze harder while she flails under me, trying to pry my hands off with her only good one.
"Prim," she manages to whisper with what breath she can. I know she did this for her sister and for that I admire her for so I lean down and whisper in her ear, "I'm sorry." It's then that I feel a sharp stabbing in my exposed shoulder blade. Bitch. I roar out in anger, releasing her so I can grab for the dagger. This is my own undoing. I never picked them back up when I tossed them up here. The audience is probably loving this. Just as my hand grips the dagger, I'm hit with another force that knocks me over. It doesn't stop like the first time, though. It's like the earth is quaking under the cornucopia. Wave after wave hit and I feel myself losing consciousness. I should have just snapped her neck. And then I hear two cannons.