"NO" I shouted at the screen as I saw a spear go through my brother's chest. I felt a pair of hands go under my arms & pull me up; I was on the ground, screaming. I looked up & saw the face of Cato, a boy in my class. His sister was a tribute that year too, she died in the bloodbath. I'd never even spoken to him before, but his arms felt comforting as they surrounded me in a warm embrace.
That was two years ago. Tomorrow is the reaping, but today I'm going with Cato to the training centre. According to the law we're not allowed to train for the games but the capitol doesn't do anything about it. I'm meeting Cato in town, but first I've got to get ready, so once I'm showered I grab a black shirt & some black trousers. As I slip them on I hear a knock at the door. My parents are out so I run downstairs & open the door to see a smiling Cato. He's wearing black trousers & a red shirt, his muscles showing through. All the girls in the district like him, more than he'll admit. "I like the new hair, suits you." He laughs as he walks past me & up the stairs to my room. I reach up and pat my head; I dried it but never brushed it. I follow him up & grab a brush. I quickly get the knots out & then turn to him. "You were meant to meet me in town" He gives me a cheeky smile & laughs.
"I thought we could hang out here for a bit before we go." He grabs my hands & pulls me towards him. "You look beautiful" He stands up and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. After my brother's death, when Cato dragged me away, we talked for hours. About meaningless things, it felt safe, happy even. We became friends quickly & within a few months, we became closer until one night, in the training centre, when everybody was gone, he kissed me, and then left without another word. The next day when I tried talking to him about it, he said it was nothing, it was ok it didn't matter. He treats me like we're together but whenever someone asks, he denies it. Not that there's anything to deny. We're not together, at least not to my knowledge.
"Thanks, but since your here, we might as well get an early start," I say pulling my hands out of his. "C'mon." I grab a cardigan from behind my door as we walk out. As we walk through town I see several of the girls from our school, see the way they look at Cato, how they look at his muscles, how they blush. It annoys me, Cato's mine. I can't stand it anymore, I make sure they're watching & say "Cato?" We stop & he turns to face me. "Yeah?" he asks. I look into his eyes & slip my arms around his neck & quickly close in & kiss him. He immediately wraps his arms round my back & pulls me in. He's warm & the kiss is passionate. He stops & grabs my hand. "C'mon" he says to me, and then pulls me towards his house.
When we get there we run up to his room & close the door behind us. He turns round suddenly & kisses me again. I'm against the door & have one of my hands around his neck & the other on his chest. Things really begin to heat up when he backs up slightly & I help him pull his t-shirt up, over his head. He backs up and I go with him. When we reach his bed I push him gently so he sits down. Then I kiss him again. I feel him begin to unbutton my shirt, & I don't try to stop him. My shirt opens & he puts his arms round my waste, his hands are gentle & warm & I just sink into them.
As I button up my shirt Cato comes up behind me & kisses my neck, "That was amazing." He whispers. I think you can guess what happened & he's right it was. It was also my first time & apparently his, which makes me feel better. "Yeah it was." I say. He moves away & I turn around to see him putting his t-shirt back on. "We don't have enough time to go training now & the reaping is tomorrow, I better get home. I'll see you later." I give him a kiss on the cheek then leave. I don't head home straightaway, first I go into town. I pick some flowers from the side of the road & walk to the cemetery. I lay the flowers on my brother's grave & leave, not allowing the tears to fall.
I hear the escort call my name faintly. I stand up straight & walk to the stage. I'm the reaped, but that's ok, I tell myself, I've trained for this since my 8th birthday. I'm ready. A twelve year old is reaped, but Cato immediately volunteers. No, I think, you can't do this, only one of us has the chance to come home. We are escorted into the justice building & put into separate rooms to say our goodbyes. No one comes, my mother has probably already drunk herself into an abyss, but I won't cry, I won't show weakness, I'm not even in the arena yet.
I must have passed out because I don't remember getting onto the train, but here I am in my bed. I walk out to see everybody eating dinner, so I grab a plate, fill it with food & sit down. I don't eat much; mostly just push the food around my plate. After we've finished & we're heading back to our rooms I say to Cato "Can I talk to you?" He nods & follows me back to my room. Once we're through the door, he puts his hands round my waist & starts to kiss my neck. I wriggle out of his arms "Stop." I say. He looks at me questionably.
"Why'd you do it?" He looks at the ground & replies
"It was my last year, I've trained for this, I was meant to volunteer." He gives a small laugh.
"Don't give me that crap!" I shout at him. "You IDIOT!"
"Ok you want to know the truth, I want to protect you! I can't do that from district 2."
"But this way only one of us can live! Don't you realise what you've done." He looks up at me.
"I'm sorry." He says. Then he kisses me on the cheek & holds there. I shift my head so that our lips meet & I put my arms around his neck, he slips his hands onto my hips & pulls me towards him. I forget my anger. I pull back slightly & take my shirt off; he catches on & starts removing his clothes too. After thirty seconds we're down to our underwear. He pulls me back towards him, his left hand on my hip, his right on my thigh. I start backing up, pulling him with me until we reach the bed. We fall onto it, the duvet cold against my back. During the entire time we're together I can't help thinking, I love him, I love him.
The next morning I wake up in his arms, his warmth enveloping me. I hear a knock at the door & just before I answer it, realise I'm naked. That was close. I grab a night gown from the floor, quickly wrap it around me & open the door a crack so the person can't see inside. It's our escort, she tells me we've arrived in the capital & just as I'm closing the door says "Oh and if you see Cato, can you tell him the same, he's not in his room." I nod & close the door. I turn around to see Cato sitting up staring at me. "I heard." He says. He sneaks back to his room & I shower. Then I get dressed & head out. There are cameras everywhere, the flashes imprinting on my pupils, so that every time I blink I see purple patches. The next few days go by in a flash & before I know it, I'm in the arena. 5…4…3…2…1…GO! I run for the knives, & take down a few other tributes easily. The rest grab a few items & run, apart from the other careers, we all make a pact. So we arrange our supplies & the next day begin to hunt down the other tributes. We come across the D12 boy, Peeta but before we reveal ourselves we discuss & agree to keep him alive, he's our best chance of finding Katniss. We just continue to hunt down tributes, when one day we find Katniss. She climbs a tree & Cato talks to her comically then tries to climb the tree but fails. Peeta suggests we wait her out & we take the advice, but while we're asleep she drops a nest of tracker jackers on us. I run for the lake & dive in, I suffered a few stings. I get out & the hallucinations take over. I wake up to Marvel nursing me. He feeds me some apple slices & water. I like him, he's nice. "What happened?" I ask. "Glimmer's dead, Cato fought Peeta, injured him & then he ran off. He tried to help Katniss. He'll bleed to death before long." He answers. I nod; when I try to get up he pushes me back down telling me to take it easy. So I just sit up & he sits beside me. So many times I saw Cato looking at Glimmer, time to get some back. As Marvel leans over me to get some water, I kiss him, full on the lips. We kiss him for a half minute before he pulls away, I see Cato out the corner of my eye & realise he saw the whole thing. What have I done? It was the venom, I tell myself, it was the venom.
Then next day we see smoke off in the distance. We run towards it, our weapons ready. When we arrive there are no other tributes in sight. We spot another plume of smoke in a different direction & realise it was a distraction; we start to run at full speed back to our supplies. Just as we begin to see through the trees, we're knocked off our feet by a giant shockwave. Our supplies are gone, blown up. Cato blames the district 3 boy; he was the one who reactivated the mines. Cato snaps his neck in one swift movement. Then he goes off on his own for a bit, raging. The following days are uneventful. Apart from when Marvel doesn't return from checking the traps we set. Two cannons go off that day & it isn't until the night we see the girl from D11 & Marvel light up the sky. We can't stay by the cornucopia anymore, there's only the two of us now & our supplies are gone. So we head off into the wilderness. We spend the next few days staying alive, gathering any food we can find. After a while Claudius Templesmith's voice is booming through the arena, inviting us to a feast. We plan for me to go to the feast, while Cato scouts the outskirts, so that if Thresh decides to come, Cato will be waiting. We split up just before dawn & get into position. As soon as the table rises from the ground, the girl from D5 grabs her bag & runs. I'm dazed by how fast she went, but I get my thoughts back together just in time for when Katniss runs for her bag. I throw a knife at her that misses & she fires an arrow at me, which digs deep into my arm. I throw another & it causes a gash on her forehead. She launches another arrow but it misses completely. I slam into her, knocking her flat on her back, pinning her shoulders to the ground with my knees. "Where's your boyfriend, District Twelve? Still hanging on?" I ask mockingly.
"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," She replies. "Peeta!" She screams. I jam my fist into her windpipe, very effectively cutting off her voice. I look around but Peeta obviously isn't coming. I pull out a small but sharp blade.
"Liar, he's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try & keep is heart going. What's in that pretty little backpack, that medicine for lover boy? Too bad he'll never get it. I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show." She struggles some more in an attempt to get free, but it's useless. "Forget it District 12. We're going to kill you, just like we did your pathetic little ally. What was her name, the one that hopped around in the trees, Rue? Well first Rue then you & I think we'll just let nature take care of lover boy. How does that sound? Now where to start." I wipe away some of the blood from her face to get a better look. "I think…" I say. "I think we'll start with your mouth." She tries to bite my hand but I grab the hair at the top of her head & force her back to the ground as I teasingly trace the outline of her lips with the tip of the blade. "Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" I ask. She works up a mouthful of blood and saliva and spits it in my face. "All right then, let's get started." As I start to cut into her lips, something lifts me off of Katniss. I scream uncontrollably. Its Thresh, he flips me round then throws me to the ground.
"What did you do to that little girl? You kill her." He shouts at me.
"No, no it wasn't me." I say, scared.
"You said her name I heard you. You kill her. You cut her up like you were going to do this girl here."
"No, no I…" This is when I see the rock, its jagged edges, protruding from his hand. It's about the size of a small loaf of bread. I can't help it; I lose any sense of bravery. "Cato!" I scream. "Cato!"
"Clove!" I hear him shout in response, but he's too far away, he'll never make it in time, I think to myself just before Thresh brings the rock down hard. There's no blood, no pain, just numbness. I'm aware of Thresh & Katniss speaking but can't make out what they're saying. "Clove!" I hear Cato's voice, it's much closer now, but it's too late. I can hear the pain in his voice. Thresh & Katniss are gone when he kneels beside me. "Don't do this," He begs. "Please, don't leave me." I can see the tears welling up in his eyes. He holds my hand I as I go.
With my last breath I say "I love you… I'm sorry." He holds my hand to his lips, & I feel his warm breath. It's the last thing I feel, he's the last thing see & the last thing I hear, is "I love you too."