I can see her. She is just lying there, not moving, not chasing after Thresh. Why? Normally she would be up and running within a second. Something must be wrong because nothing can stop Clove only…death.
"Clove!" I scream, not caring that someone might be waiting for the right moment to attack. Not caring that millions of people are watching. Not caring about how disappointed my Dad must be because I am showing emotions, showing weakness. All I care about is Clove. Clove, the girl with the knives.
"Cato?" she croaks. I quickly run over to her and see a dent the size of a fist in her head. I fall to the ground beside her and gently place her head on my knees. I gaze down into her eyes, the eyes that were once full of life but now look dull and sunken.
"I'm right here Clove." I whisper in her ear. She slowly turns her head to look at me and when her eyes finally settle on my face she gives me a huge smile. But that smile quickly falls. She raises a shaky hand to my face and wipes something away.
"Please don't cry." She whispers wiping another tear away.
"I'm not crying." I say as another tear makes its way down my face, dripping onto Clove.
"Of course you're not Cato." Clove laughs. She then starts lifting her head towards mine and I watch as the little colour she had left in her face drains. But she must be ignoring the pain this little movement is causing her because she continues lifting her head until it is about a centimetre away from mine. I close the gap between us and place my lips to hers and we kiss. The first kiss we have ever shared before her head falls back onto my knees.
"Win for me Cato. You have worked your whole life for this. You can't just give up. Please promise me you will win." Clove begs.
"I promise Clove."
"And Cato."
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too." I manage to choke out before the cannon fires to signal her death. No! Clove can't be dead. We were meant to win these games together. She can't be dead. But she must be, the Capitol doesn't make mistakes when it comes to death.
I push myself up off the ground and arrange Cloves body so it looks like she could be sleeping. That's what she should be doing, sleeping. But no, the Capitol has to see children suffer and die for their sick entertainment. And I helped them. I wanted to go into these games, kill innocent children and all because I wanted to be rich and famous and special. But there is nothing special about being in these games. I came into the arena craving blood. I wanted to kill every single person in here. And all because they told us about the honour of winning. But I have to kill one more person…Thresh.
Thresh. He killed Clove. He killed my Clove and I will get my revenge. I will also kill fire girl and lover boy. She always wanted them dead and she will get her wish.
I take one last look at Clove before running into the woods.
There used to be a song from many years ago that described Clove. I can remember before the Hunger games playing it to her. She had hit me and called me a little girl. But that night she had crept into my room and told me how much she had appreciated me playing the song for her. She had said it was one of the only nice things someone had done for her. That confused me at first but when I found out about Clove's family treated her it made sense.
The song. How did it go?
She can kill with her smile, She can wound with her eyes,
Whenever she looked at someone in training and gave them her number one smirk you could tell someone was going to get seriously injured.
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies,
She destroyed many people by telling them one simple lie.
And she only reveals what she wants you to see,
Many people tried to break Clove but it never worked. The only person she would tell anything was me.
She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me,
Before she died she would hide her true feelings behind violence and evil. But that didn't stop me from falling for her.
She can lead you to love she can take you or leave you,
Many people thought they had gotten through Clove's dark exterior. Thought that they had got Clove to love them, but they never did. She always left them for me.
She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you,
She always asked what I was thinking and whenever I told her she would say I was lying and storm off.
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free,
She was always cautious of people and whenever they offered her something she would always make them tell her what strings were attached.
Yeah, she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me.
She had a shelf full of her favourite knives from the academy that she had stolen. But I still loved her no matter what she did.
I walk over to the field where I know Thresh will be hiding. I crouch down and start making my way through the long grass until I see an orange tarp propped up by three sticks.
"Come out and fight you coward!" I scream at him. I see a face appear from inside the little den he made.
"Coward? You're calling me a coward? I'm sorry but I don't think a coward would kill that little friend of yours. What was her name? Clove? Yes, that's it, Clove. She screamed like a little girl you know. No one would have thought she had trained for years to win these games. She was-" But he was cut off by a knife that had lodged itself in his stomach.
He slowly pulls it out and glares at me. Then suddenly he pounces, knocking me to the floor and holding the knife to my throat. Just before he can dig the blade deeper into my flesh I knee him and throw him off me. He goes to hit me with the knife but I dodge him and swing my sword cutting off his hand. He shouts out in pain but not for long because he sees me advancing on him with I rock in my hand.
"She was not a coward!" I say bring the rock down onto his head, "You will never know what she was!" I say bringing the rock down again, "She was ten times the person you will ever be!" I bring the rock down on his head for the last time. I watch as his body falls to the ground just like Cloves did. I keel down beside him and whisper in his ear, "And now you know how she felt." Turning I make my way out the field and into the woods, leaving him to die.
A few minutes later I hear the cannon fire. I am one step closer to winning, one step closer to be free, one step closer to be making Clove proud. All I have to do is take out fire girl and lover boy.
Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time.
She never needed protecting. The only time I ever had to help her was when her family was beating her. And after the awful nights where I couldn't help she would wait for me in the tree house we had made as little kids. She would always talk of a better future, a future she will never get to see.
Oh, and she never gives out, and she never gives in, she just changes her mind.
No matter what anyone did to try and upset her or help her she would stick to what she knew and wouldn't let anyone distract her. But she changed her mind about me, I was the only one.
And she'll promise you more than the Garden of Eden.
She told people what they wanted to hear. She would promise them anything to try and find their weaknesses but as soon as she found them she would disappear from their lives.
Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleedin'
The weapon Clove could use better than any other was a knife. Every Friday when we were allowed to use an actual weapon to spar people with Clove would always use a knife and end up cutting people. Even when the instructors said enough it wasn't enough to stop Clove from making people bleed then laughing at how weak they were.
But she'll bring out the best and the worse you can be.
But sadly what people didn't understand was that Clove was helping them in her own, twisted way. She was bringing out the best in their abilities. She did it to me and many other people but they thought she was evil and would always avoid her. She was a freak.
Blame it all on yourself, cause she's always a woman to me.
Nobody thought that Clove could have feelings because of the way she acted so they tried to show Clove how useless she was. But that didn't stop me from wanting to be with her.
I hear a growl to my right and turn to see a massive wolf mutt with glowing green eyes. The exact same green as…Clove's. I stumble backwards and fall to the ground. How can they be Clove's eyes? They can't be hers. But I would know Clove's green eyes anywhere and they are the exact shape, size and colour.
My thoughts are interrupted as another three mutts join Clove's. I quickly scramble to my feet and start sprinting in the direction of the cornucopia. I fly past fire girl and lover boy and don't stop until I am safely on top of the shiny, metal horn.
I peer over the edge and see a mutt with ginger fur and a collar with a number five on it. It can't be she girl from five, can it? I look to the left of her and see a small. Dark furred mutt with a collar that has an eleven on it. Rue? It's the mutt of that little twelve year old girl, too young to die.
The mutts I look at all have something in common with the 21 dead tributes. But I don't have time to name them all because the District twelve tributes are scrambling onto the cornucopia. They should not be here! Clove should be the one standing on top of the horn with me. Not two people from District twelve who have gotten this far due to good luck and a sappy love story. These 'star crossed lovers' have to go, for Clove.
Oh, she takes care of herself, she can get what she wants, she's ahead of her time.
She shouldn't have always been looking after herself. I should have been there with her at the feast to make sure nothing happened to her. But I wasn't and she died before she had a chance to live.
Oh, and she never gives out and she never gives in she just changes her mind.
She must have cared for me because Cloves doesn't just wait for anyone. She can wait if it is to get information or secrets from someone but not just to say good bye. She could have changed her mind and left me without a good bye, but she didn't and I'm glad.
I am standing on the edge of the Cornucopia with lover boy in a headlock. He is trying desperately to get out of my grip but nothing will work. Only a knife to the heart would make me let go.
I watch as fire girl looks at me with disgust on her face because I am slowly killing her boyfriend. She raises her bow and arrow and aims it at my head. But I can see it in her eyes that she does not want to have to kill me.
"Go on then, shoot me. There's no point anymore, I'm dead already." Dead without Clove. "Is that what they want, huh? Is it? But I can still do this. I can still win. Just one more kill. That's all I know how to do. Bringing pride to my District, that's all I have ever wanted." She pulls the string back on her bow a bit more. "Please just kill me. I don't want to win this thing without her. Please just shoot." I let go of lover boy and push him towards her. I take a step towards them and fall to the floor.
"Please." I beg then put my head in my hands. "I'm sorry Clove. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I don't want to live without you." I whisper quietly so they can't hear me. I hear a bang and look through my fingers to see that fire girl has dropped her bow and is walking towards me. She crouches in front of me and carefully peels my hands away from my face.
"This isn't how you should die. You shouldn't die in an arena and Clove shouldn't have either. No one should have. You should have a chance to live your life, so should everyone else the Capitol has sent in here. I am so sorry that you lost Clove. I know she meant a lot to you. I saw the way you looked at her in training and the way you came as soon as you thought she was in trouble. I really am-" but she is cut off by an ear splitting scream.
"Aghh" I watch as lover boy trips over fire girl's bow and falls over the edge of the cornucopia into the crowd of hungry mutts.
"Peeta! Peeta!" fire girl screams over and over again as she watches him getting eaten. Once the agonising screams fade away I walk over to fire girl who is sobbing. I guess she really did love him after all.
"I am really sorry K-Katniss." I say, struggling to say her actual name instead of fire girl, "I know that you love him but at least he can't be treated badly anymore. He is in a place with no more Capitol, no more Hunger games and no more death. I am really sorry K-Katniss but P-Peeta is in a better place, just like Clove." And he is, same with Clove. Unlike fire girl and I who are still alive and feeling.
"I-I know. Thank you Cato." She manages to get out before bursting into tears again.
How am I going to kill her now? She is defenceless and weak. She has just lost someone important to her, just like me. I know how it feels, I know how she feels. I can't kill her. She deserves to live. Unlike me. I have helped the Capitol all my life. I have trained to be part of these games; I have been trained to kill. What sort of person trains to kill innocent children just for fun. I wanted to be in these games, she didn't. Fire girl has family waiting for her at home. A sister who will be destroyed if fire girl dies. I don't have anyone anymore, not now Clove has died. And because of that fire girl must win.
"Katniss, please kill me." I beg her again, "Please." I pick up her bow and throw it over to her, "Please." She gives me a sad confused look before she picks up her bow and loads it with her last arrow. Slowly she aims it at me and pulls back the string. I close my eyes and wait for the end. Wait to hear the arrow being released, but it doesn't come. I open my eyes and see fire girl empty handed. I search around for her bow and find it on the ground in the middle of the mutts.
"I don't want to kill you. I don't want to have to kill you. It's not fair to kill you and let the Capitol have me for a victor. They don't deserve to have a victor." She stands and walks over to me. As she is walking something falls out of her pocket. Berries? Black berries? No I have seen them before in training, they are night lock. Night lock!
"Then why should they," I pick up the poisonous berries, "Here take some. If they want a dramatic ending then let's give them one." I put some in her hand and stare into her eyes silently asking if she wants to do this. She gives small nod of her head before saying, "On three."
"One,"
"Two,"
"Three" we say together.
I throw the berries into my mouth. Then suddenly a trumpet goes off, "Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to announce the victors of the 74th Hunger games: Cato Jones and Katniss Everdeen." What! I quickly spit the berries out of my mouth and wipe my tongue to get any juice off. I turn to see fire girl doing the same thing.
A hover craft appears above us and I just stare at it. We both won? But how? We are from different Districts. This has never happened before so why now? "We won! I can go home1 I can see Prim and mother and Gale again!" Fire girl screams from next to me. "Cato, we won!" but I don't join in her celebrations. There is something wrong here. Why didn't they let us die. Anyone else would have been left to eat the berries so why not us?
"Good afternoon Mr President. What can I do for you?" I say as politely as I can.
"Well Mr Jones, the show you and Miss Everdeen put on at the end of the Hunger games was very…interesting. Many people love how you were going to sacrifice yourself so she could win." Sacrifice? "They also loved the berries. Now all of Panem is talking about yours and Katniss'…relationship. However your little stunt with the berries has caused a riot in a few of the Districts, and we can't have that can we?" I shake my head, "Good. So what I would like you to do is have a relationship with Katniss to keep the Districts calm."
"What if i say no?" I ask.
"Well I cannot force you into anything. But I do have ways to persuade you. Can you think of any?" Yes, yes I can. I can think of many, and most of them somehow end up with someone I care about or someone that is connected to me dying in a tragic accident. "So what do you say Cato, will you help me keep the Districts calm?"
I slowly nod my head. "Yes sir. I just have one question, how will a relationship with fire girl help keep the Districts in order."
"Well Mr Jones, that is a very good question, but one I don't think necessary to answer yet. But don't worry, you will find out in due time. Now, I need to get on so if you would excuse me." He says gesturing to the door.
"OK. Good bye Mr President." I walk out the door and close it behind me.
When I get outside the conversation starts to properly register. If Clove was here she would be furious. She would kill Snow right here and right now. She would hate this situation. Because now I have to date fire girl!
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Cookiecrazy224 xx