A shiver of excitement runs through me as the clock ticks down from 60. Despite the circumstances, I'm excited. How can I not be I've prepared for this my whole life. I'll show my father that I'm not worthless. I'm not. I can do this.
I share a glance with Cato. He doesn't look angry, which is strange. He really should, considering I threw half of the knives in the dining room at him. He never should have volunteered. But he did. It felt good, letting it loose at him.
He grins at me arrogantly. For once, I grin back. We brace ourselves, there's only a few seconds left. Then, the gong rings and the screaming starts.
I race over to the cornucopia, brutally shoving a small girl over. She yelps, and I grab my knives. I smile at her coldly, and with a flick of my wrist, my knife flies into her chest. Her eyes go wide, and then blank. My first kill. Another shiver runs through me.
I don't hesitate as I leap onto the back of the District Four boy and slit his throat. I briefly consider doing that to Glimmer, she's too pretty for my tastes, but I know Marvel will want her. He's wasting his time with her.
I find another girl, District Six, racing away with a tiny pack. My knife lodges into the back of her head, and she falls onto her face. I grin, and then I see Katpiss wrestling with Ten over the backpack.
A knife imbeds itself in his back, and Katpiss turns and flees. I roll my eyes, and send a knife spinning towards her head. But it doesn't hit her like I thought it would. She pulls her pack up at the last second and covers her head. Then, she's gone. I snarl, and run back to the bloodbath. There's none left now, except for us.
All around us, dead bodies litter the grass. A tiny pang of guilt hits me, but I ignore it. From the looks of it, there's only thirteen of us left. I see them gathered around a tribute. When I join them, I notice that it's Peeta. Cato looks second away from gutting him with his already bloody sword.
"Why's he still alive?" I ask Cato. "Shouldn't he be dead by now?"
Cato shrugs. "Probably. But Peeta here says that he can help us."
I laugh. "Really? With what? Give me a break."
The boy is dead pale. "I can help you find Katniss," he squeaks. "I know her, I know where she'll hide."
I raise my eyebrows, and lean in close. "Really, Loverboy? We're not stupid. You'll lead us right past us. That's what you'll do. Then, when the time is right, you'll run off and go be allies with her," I turn to the others. "Let's just kill him now."
I expect them to agree, but Cato doesn't. He looks bloodthirsty now. He's hated the Everdeen girl all along, but when she beat him with her 11, he's wanted to kill her slowly and brutally. And he will. Of course he will.
"No, he can tag along," he says. Peeta's face brightens. "But one wrong move, and you're dead. Got that?"
Peeta nods.
I roll my eyes. "Congratulations, Cato. You've managed to make a dumbass decision within the first ten minutes of the games."
Everyone draws in a breath. They don't know that Cato and I used to be friends, that I can cross the lines. I must be looking pretty suicidal. But Cato turns around, and glares at me. I give him a little smirk, and he growls, and turns off towards the cornucopia.
I roll my eyes and smile snidely, and walk beside Marvel. He's chuckling under his breath.
"That," he says. "was very, very funny."
I roll my eyes. "Someone has to let Cato know he's a dumbass. I've had that job for years."
"And he doesn't get mad?" Marvel asks.
"Yeah, he'll throw a tantrum, but that's what he always does," I say loudly, so he can her. Cato turns around slowly and gives me the bird. I graciously give it back.
I head over the the supplies, and begin to sort things out. I grab a sleeping bag and a part of the food, and put it in the tent I'll have to stay in with Glimmer. I wrinkle my nose in disgust. A slumberparty. Great.
"When should we go looking for them?" Glimmer asks, a bow in one hand, a quiver thrown over one shoulder.
"For who?" Cato asks, and Glimmer smiles coyly at him. I feel like throwing up. I feel something else, too. Almost ... angry.
"You know, the other tributes. We've got to get them sometime, don't we?" She says, and I stand up.
"She's right," I say. "We should go. One of us should stay here, because we can't have anybody stealing the supplies. Marvel, you keep watch."
Marvel curses under his breath. "Why can't Loverboy do it?"
"Because, Marvel," I say as if talking to a two-year old. "If we do that, Loverboy will probably try something stupid. And that will just be a lot more tiring for us."
We walk away then, Glimmer, Cato and Loverboy. I despise all of them. Glimmer now has her arm wrapped around Cato, and I'm resisting the urge to plant a knife in her back. Loveboy's walking beside me. He's quiet. Probably scared.
The woods are quiet, except for a few birds. But there's thirteen tributes hidden in here, and we have to find them. I have knives lining my jacket, and one in my hand. Glimmer has her bow knocked, and Cato has his sword in his hand. We didn't really bother to give Loverboy a weapon, but he looks so sad I hand him one of my knives, warning him if he tries anything he'll be on the ground.
Then, we hear something. A crunching noise, the same sound you'd get when walking on leaves. It gets closer, and then we find her. The girl from District Seven, hiding behind a bush. Glimmer's arrow embeds itself in her forehead. I have to admit, her aim's good.
We leave, and walk around more. Then, we hear the canons. Eleven of them, and then a little while later, Seven's canon.
"That was a good shot," Cato says to Glimmer, and she laughs.
"Happy you liked it," she says. "You can watch anytime."
My face is burning, and I'd like nothing more than to kill both of them. Being alone with Loveryboy would be better. At least he knows when to shut up.
We find a boy a little while later, and he tries to run. I'm the fastest out of all of them, so I race off behind him, but I don't throw my knives. I wait until I'm on top of him. He's struggling and squirming, and then I slit his throat.
Peeta looks disgusted. I purposely flick one of my knives in his direction, and it splatters blood all over his face. I smile down at the ground.
I think of what my father thinks right now. Is he proud? Surprised that I actually might win? I think of his harsh words before I left for the Capitol. You've made a big mistake, girl. You can't win. At least it's one less mouth to feed..
If Cato had found out, he would have beaten him to a pulp, no questions asked. Or maybe he wouldn't have. Him volunteering showed just how much I meant to him. We used to have each others backs, but now it's as if a wall is between us now. And as much as I hate it, I can't take it down.
But it doesn't matter. Cato will be dead in weeks, and I'll be the victor. The thought of him dead after being my friend for so long sends a pang through me, but I ignore it. I've been taught all my life to ignore feelings, emotions. It comes easily now.
It's getting dark, and we head back to the lake. It's cold now, and I can just imagine Cato and Glimmer snuggling together in my tent. The image sends a wave of anger through me.
When we make it back to camp, I storm into my tent angrily. I grab my sleeping bag and crawl into it. Through the thin fabric of the tent, I can just barely see the silhouette of the moon. I close my eyes, and turn over on my side.
