Hunger Games- Dead and Gone (The Broken Promise)

I am hidden in the bushes, the cornucopia in sight. I try not to move, I can't afford to make a sound. Everyone left in the arena must be nearby now. I remember around this time of the games, all the tributes usually turn into cold-blooded killers. I am no exception. Knives in hand, camouflaged in the bushes, hopefully no one can see me. I stare at the table with four bags on it, a number on each one. They represent the districts with tributes remaining. I look at mine with a large black two on it. I need this bag. Our food supply had just blown up a few days ago; I can't afford to lose this too. It's a clearing, so I can see anyone approaching and anyone around the cornucopia. Luckily, there doesn't appear to be anyone nearby. I am just about to take off when I hear something.

Out of nowhere, the girl from District Five runs to take her bag. I want to catch her, but she is too fast. Her steps quicken once she has the bag in her hand as she heads off in the direction of the lake. I make a mental note to search for her after. Now that she's gone and has taken her bag, three bags remain: two, eleven and twelve. But now that she's gone, this must mean something else…no one else is near. I get up from the bushes and sprint as fast as I can toward the cornucopia. That is, until I notice someone else is running in the same direction as I am. I look beside me to see the girl whom I can only recognize as the girl on fire. She is running straight to the table and doesn't even notice me. This is my chance.

Just as she is about to reach her bag with the big black twelve on it, I throw my knife at her with a flick of my wrist. She sees me too early and the knife only skims her head, leaving a long red streak on her forehead. Cato had told me if I ever found twelve, save her body so he could kill her off. Not this time. I throw another knife at her and it misses her by a mile to my surprise. I come charging toward her body and she shoots an arrow at me. I dodge it and pounce on top of her. I take another knife out and put it to her throat. She pushes me and we roll over multiple times. I can kill her. I can kill her easily. We finally stop. I'm still on top of her, my knees digging into her arms. My knife makes a small cut in her throat; I've been pushing too hard.

"Where's Lover Boy?" I ask. "Is he still hanging on?" I give a low laugh. I really enjoy playing with people's minds. "Cato knows where he cut him, he's nearly dead. There's no point in bringing that backpack to him, nature will take care of him soon enough."

She gives me a cold, look of hatred. "No he's not. He's fine; in fact he's out there hunting Cato right now. Peeta!"

"Shut up!" I snap and jab my fist into her windpipe. "It doesn't matter who you call because now, I'm going to kill you. Just like how we killed that girl from Eleven. What was her name…Rue?"

Her arms struggle at the mention of her former ally's name. I press my knees harder into her arms which just makes her moan. Her grey eyes are full of panic but the look she gives me is cool and calm. Well played, twelve.

"Alright, twelve. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" I ask her. I hear a gurgling noise coming from her mouth and it's followed by a glob of blood and saliva in my face. With my free hand, I take my sleeve and wipe it off my face. "Okay then, let's get started."

I press the sharp blade of my knife against her throat. Maybe I'll make it last…for Cato. I'm about to make the first cut in fire girl's throat when I hear a noise coming from behind me. It sounds like another person. I turn around expecting to see Cato, instead seeing the last tribute from District Eleven. Twelve has her eyes closed; expecting her death but it's not her time. I think it might be mine. Eleven yanks me off of the Star Crossed Lover and holds me above ground. He has great strength, holding me up only by the collar of my jacket. He brings my face close to his. It's flushed with anger and wrath. He wants me dead.

"You killed the little girl?" He's screaming at me.

"No, no! I swear I didn't! Cato! Cato!" I need an answer. I can't die like this. We were supposed to win together, Cato and I. We were supposed to be the first victors to win as a pair. At least, this is what he told me two days ago when we heard there could be two victors. I can see his face now, telling me exactly this, with his blonde hair catching the light from our campfire. He smiled at me in a way I would never forget. This makes dying seem so much more unthinkable. I must live for Cato. I must.

Eleven holds me tighter. "You said her name. I heard you!" He's shaking me now, I feel everything inside me moving.

"I didn't kill her!" I say. I see him pick something up and my mind races when I realize what it is. Cato, where are you? Eleven holds a large rock about the size of my head. "Cato? Cato! Cato!" In the distance, I finally hear something. It can't be five, she ran to the lake. Lover Boy is probably lying dead somewhere. It has to be him. He's running to me. I can feel it. He'll save me like how he said he would. We'd protect each other through the rest of The Hunger Games and be crowned victors together. I would never have to live life without him.

"Clove! Clove!" I hear a distant voice call. It is him! He's come to rescue me.

But he's too late. Eleven has raised the giant rock and brings his arm crashing down. I feel an extremely hard impact against my skull followed by an excruciating pain. District Eleven drops me and says something to the girl on fire. She watches me lying on the ground in pain and doesn't do anything about it. All she does is grabs her backpack and runs off into the woods. My vision is blurring, everything is cloudy. I'm in a daze that I can't escape. The only word my mind will register is: Cato. I see him running to me, he's sprinting.

"Clove!" He shouts. "Clove!"

I see his light hair, glistening from the sun as he runs toward me. I can barely turn my head in his direction but I want him to know that I want him to win. As if I can tell him telepathically, I repeat it several times in my head. Cato, you must win the 74th Hunger Games. Cato, you must win the 74th Hunger Games. I watch him get closer and with one last thought of my love, I descend into a dreamless sleep in which I will not awake.