Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or the 2012 movie. Anything you recognize (characters, scenes, phrases, etc) is not mine.

Cannon Fire

Being in their presence made my skin crawl and bile rise up into my throat. I'd seen them kill, not in self defense but, for the pure sport of it and throw their heads back and laugh when it was over. It made me sick to imagine what she would think of me once she saw the company I was keeping. She wouldn't understand. And I wasn't guaranteed a chance to explain.

I wasn't sure how long I could keep up this charade with the Careers. But the one thing I was sure about was that her life depended on this and mine was no longer a concern to me.

I had already said my goodbyes to life before I'd even left District 12. The second her name had echoed over the loud speaker and she joined me on stage, I knew right then and there that I would do whatever it took to keep Katniss Everdeen alive, even if it meant my inevitable death.

Cato seemed to be the biggest doubter of my allegiance. He had been on my heels all day long. Always watching, as if he was just waiting for me to turn traitor and attempt to slaughter them all when their backs were turned. Curious enough Cato himself had been the one to ask me to join their lethal little team of murderers.

I followed them more closely as dusk transformed into the cold darkness that signified the end of our first day in the murderous prison. The anthem would soon be sounding, then revealing the fallen tributes for the day. My dirty fingernails dug imprints into my palms as I clinched my fists and ground my teeth, at the thought of Katniss' picture hovering above me in the sky. She could be dead at this very moment, her body lying somewhere in the capitol being prepared for the televised group funeral that would follow the hunger games as it always had.

"Hey, Loverboy! Your hands are bleeding," Cato called from behind me.

I unclenched my fists and held them out in front of me, seeing the blood dripping from the cuts my nails had made in my palms. This guy didn't miss a thing. I ripped a couple of long leaves off the tree I was passing and bandaged them up before he could see the wounds. I didn't want him to see any form of weakness in me. Any sign that I did in fact have feelings for her. I couldn't afford that now. I opened my mouth to toss him some sort of excuse but luckily the anthem interrupted me. Cato and the others stood still and faced skyward. The momentary gratitude the tune brought to me seemed foreign, but it didn't last long before the agony that it should have brought set in.

I held my breath and watched unblinking as the photos flashed across the sky. The tribute girl from 3 and the boy from 4. I wanted to shake my head. The boy couldn't have been more than 14 years old. The boy from 5 flashed overhead, followed by both tributes from 6 and 7. I bit my cheek. Did I really want to know? I considered not even looking as the boy from 8's face appeared, but quickly dismissed the thought. I knew as soon as they knew Katniss was out of their way, the Careers would slice me up like a loaf of bread. Both tributes from 9 glowed in the dark of the night sky. Stay with me, Katniss. Stay with me, I pleaded in my mind and my hands started to bleed again. My nails had broken through the makeshift bandages. The girl from 10. The seconds that ticked by after this felt like hours. I set my jaw and waited for the stars to tell me the only thing on this Earth I'd ever cared about was gone from me but...there was nothing. That was it. She was still alive.

The anthem started playing and I wanted so badly to let out a sigh of relief, but I could feel Cato's eyes burning into my back.

"Hey guys. Looks like Loverboy's plaything survived the day." Cato taunted, and I knew he was waiting to dissect my response. I quietly and slowly let out the breath I'd been holding then turned around to face him grinning widely.

"Guess that means I get a chance to take a stab at it myself." I mustered up a wry smile and inconspicuously turned my palms inward toward my body, careful not to remind him about his previous suspicions. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the unsure glance Glimmer shot at Cato, but he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he matched my smile and slapped me on the shoulder.

"Now your thinking like a Career, Mellark."

I let out as convincing a laugh as I could manage and said, "Well I have been hanging out with a bunch of careers all day."

Cato smirked and suggested we make camp for the night. He of course turned me down when I offered to take first watch. And it wasn't a surprise when he elected himself for the job. He didn't trust me. And rightfully so. I'd only joined them in order to ensure that I'd be there to intervene if they found Katniss. They would be the most dangerous to her. So I rationalized that the closer I was to the danger, the further I could keep it from her.

I sat down and rested my back against the trunk of the tree I'd snatched the leaves from to bandage my hands. I closed my eyes only halfway after securing my grasp around my knife. I didn't trust him either. I knew that he'd only asked me to join because he believed my proclamation of love for Katniss was just a ruse on my part that she believed, and I'd be the best way to lure her to them. Little did he know he was wrong on both accounts.

I hadn't planned on sleeping that night to make sure I could trust them not to kill me in my sleep ...just yet that is, anyway. The cold helped keep me awake for a while, but eventually the heaviness of my eyelids and the fatigue from the events of the day won out, as I finally gave into the restful escape that sleep would offer in this place of horrors.

Unfortunately my restful escape became anything but soothing. As soon as the unconsciousness took me over I was being forced to relive the torturous day all over again.

Before I know it I am observing in first person as I stand on my silver plate hearing the seconds going by, each tick loud as a cannon in my ears, bowing my head and saying a prayer to the one God above who has the power to do the impossible. But it isn't just me I pray for. It's for Katniss. I pray that He keeps her safe to the very end and me safe just long enough to help keep her alive. I pray that all the other tributes know the Lord in their hearts as I do, because if the capitol has it their way 23 of us will soon be dead. And I pray that somehow this will all just be over quickly.

As I open my eyes, inside my dream, I look to my left and see to my horror, the dangerous wheels turning in Katniss' head. She is staring desperately at the cornucopia with obvious intentions of making a run for it as soon as she is given the opportunity. I stand there in shock unable to move or even blink for a couple of seconds, wondering what could have caused her such an enormous lapse in judgment.

Then I see it. And I understand. The silver bow with a quiver of arrows gleams in the sun at the top of the pile, and I can almost hear the siren song it is singing to her. She seems to have her mind made up now and is positioned to run.

I can't let her do this. It will be suicide! Haymitch, the man who made it out of his arena alive, has told us what to do! And that does not include joining in the massacre at the cornucopia.

I tense my body ready to do whatever it takes, praying desperately that she will look my way. When she finally does spare one last glance in my direction I shake my head gravely, giving her the silent warning, but it is almost too late. I'm not sure if she has seen me, but the gong has rung and our time is up.

I watch in slow motion as all the other tributes leap off their silver posts and made a break for the cornucopia and Katniss stands conflicted for only a second before deserting hers in the opposite direction. That's my girl! I think to myself and run to cover her.

The madness spreads like wildfire quickly throughout the arena. Screams echo in my ears as I fall to the ground, after tripping over a serrated bowie knife. I catch a glimpse of Katniss bending down to grab a piece of plastic from the ground before she takes off running towards the woods. I grab the knife and get to my feet and throw my head over my right shoulder just in time to see the girl tribute from 7 running at me full speed ready to plunge a spear in my back. I spin out of her way and grab the weapon, knocking her down with the other end in the process.

I leave her lying there in the grass trying to regain her bearings and made a break for Katniss who is now grappling for an orange backpack with a boy from 9. I see him cough blood in her face and fall to the ground and Katniss looking up to find his killer. It's Clove, the girl from 2. And her new target is Katniss. She grabs the backpack and makes a break for the woods. But Clove has a silver throwing knife with her name on it.

I'm about to make a break for the two, ready run in between them and take the knife in the chest for her but I am grabbed by the leg and fall to the ground on my face. I turn over unable to stop my attacker from pinning me on my back and sitting on my chest.

It's Cato. He holds me down by my throat and holds up a rock he grabs from beside us. I'm sure he's about to strike, but suddenly he's distracted by whats behind me, and I know it has to be Clove and Katniss. I can't see anymore of whats going on with them, but I know that Katniss must have survived because Cato snarls and turns his gaze back down to me and yells above all the chaos.

"We know your playing girl on fire! She believe you?" He says with wild eyes.

"What do you think?"

He takes the phrase to mean he she does and I don't correct him as he jerks me back to my feet.

"You help us find her, you get to live...longer. Got it, Loverboy?"

The next thing I knew, River, the girl from 4 was shaking me awake and the rest of them were on their feet all looking in the same direction. It was still dark. We couldn't have been asleep but a few hours at the most.

I got to my feet and figured out quickly what they were all looking at. Someone just about a mile away from us had been ignorant enough to build a fire out here at night, which was basically like shooting off a bunch of fireworks and screaming I'm right here! Please come and kill me! I rolled my eyes and wondered what mentor in their right minds would forget to mention that to their tribute. Glimmer loaded her bow and grinned wickedly at Cato who was unsheathing his sword, readying himself to lead the attack. I brought up the rear, following Clove, River, and Marvel, thankful that Cato had gotten so worked up about the attack that he'd forgotten to make sure he could see me at all times. A new thought had struck my mind and I wouldn't have been able to hide my expression of terror as it had hit. What if the fire starter had been Katniss?

No, I rationalized with myself, Haymitch told us both about the hazards of this kind of thing. She was paying attention...wasn't she? Now I began the part of my plan that I hadn't really hashed all out yet. I had placed myself in this situation so I could protect Katniss if they tried to attack her, but now that the possibility was there, what would I do? There were five of them and only one of me and I was smart enough to know that I did not have the skills to take them all on. It seemed impossible, but I knew I would do whatever it took. I started to run at the now faster pace they had taken on, and decided in the end that I would just have to make it up as I went along since I had no brilliant heroic ideas coming to me. I thought it would be easier than this. Just sort of come to me the way it did in books. And yet here I was devoid of any sort of plan to save her or even save myself if she didn't make it for that matter. But when I thought about it I knew I wouldn't want to live in a world that didn't include Katniss anyway, so I figured death would be welcomed if it came down to it.

Within minutes we were only about ten yards away from the fire. My stomach lurched when I saw the sleeping form lying on the ground beside it was unmistakably female. I could tell by her long hair, but I comforted myself with the fact that the hair was not in a long braid the way Katniss' had been that morning. Instead it was down lying softly on her back, moving up and down with her slow breathing.

Without warning Cato broke into a run towards her and the others followed suit immediately. I started running and veered to the right so as to get around them and get to her before they did just in case it was Katniss. I caught up to them quickly and knew I could outrun them easily now, but before I could reach the front of the group my foot caught on a large tree root and I went soaring through the air only to land on my face. The last thing I heard before the girls terrified screaming was Marvel's mocking laugh in my direction.

The scream didn't belong to Katniss, I knew that the instant I'd heard it, but still I got to my feet immediately after falling. I could see they were checking her for supplies when I came up to the scene. The deed had already been done. Cato had stabbed her in the stomach with that wretched sword of his. I could tell now that it had been the girl from 8. I thought I remembered someone calling her Lacey at dinner one night.

"Twelve down and eleven to go!" he called out to us grinning from ear to ear. I wanted to rip the weapon from his grip and break it in half with my bear hands. What kind of monster was he? How could he look down at this girl he had just murdered in cold blood and enjoy the sight? Laugh at it even! I tried to calm myself down and keep my demeanor in tact but it was the hardest feat I'd attempted all day. I took some deep breaths, inconspicuously, and just tried to keep quiet, knowing my voice would give me away at that moment if I spoke.

"Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking." Cato hollered toward us before grabbing a log from her fire to use as a torch. . We all nodded in approval and began to follow his lead, but after a few minutes Clove stopped.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?"

We all stopped and turned around toward her and realized that the was right. Glimmer was the first to give her opinion.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately."

"Unless she isn't dead." retorted Clove.

"She's dead. I stuck her myself." Cato held his sword up proudly. I could feel my blood beginning to boil again so I turned my head away from them, and stared at the willow tree a few yards way from us. I tried to think of anything else, but their voices kept creeping in.

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done."

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice."

"I said she's dead!" Cato said angrily, insulted by their lack of confidence in his lethality. That did it! I had to get out of there. Get away from Cato's smug attitude towards her death, even if it was just for a few minutes. Otherwise I knew I'd end up punching him in the face and getting myself killed.

I knew the anger in my voice would show so I used it to my advantage and made it look like I was angry that we were just all standing around not looking for other tributes to kill. "We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!" The others stopped and looked at me incredulously. But Cato seemed to be more proud at my initiative than shocked, obviously thinking that they were slowly morphing me into one of them. The thought disgusted me but at the same time I was grateful for it.

"Go on, then, Lover Boy," he said, giving a crooked smile. "See for yourself."

It didn't take me long to put a good bit of distance between us. After I knew they couldn't see me anymore I stopped and kicked a tree as hard as I could, fuming, pretending it was Cato. Huge chunks of bark flew off in every direction and I was about to let the poor Oak have it again but that was when I heard it and remembered the reason I was supposed to be down here for in the first place. The soft pathetic moans were coming from the still burning fire we'd left Lacey at. I couldn't really believe what I was hearing but it made sense. Like they'd said, the cannon still hadn't fired.

When I made it over to her she was pale as a ghost and grimacing in pain, her arms wrapped around her lower torso. When she opened her eyes and saw me she began to cry.

"Just do it! Finish it. I know that's why you're here. I saw you with them." She said with the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She seemed surprised when I knelt down beside her and pulled off my jacket. When I rolled it up and raised her head to put it underneath, she stopped crying and looked at me in disbelief.

I smiled reassuringly and gave a backwards glance to make sure they weren't coming my way. "I may be with them, but I'm not like them. Lay back and rest. You'll be okay." I knew the last words were not true but I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth.

She shook her head and began to cry again. She knew they were lies as well. She reached out trustingly to me now and I held her hand. It only took a few minutes before she was still and at peace. Out of pain. The firelight flickered in her still open eyes as I said a prayer for her family, retrieved my jacket, and let go of her cold hand.

The sight of Cato was still as repulsive as it was before, when I returned and saw his murderous face. "Was she dead?" he asks me.

I ground my teeth and reminded myself of why I was with them and replied in the most calm voice I could manage. "No. But she is now." and the cannon fired.

I hope everyone likes this. When I first got this idea I was only planning to make this one shot a few paragraphs long and then it morphed into a lot more. Hahaha! Let me know how you like it.

Thank you to all the reviewers so far. I really appreciate your feedback :)

PS: I am considering what Prying11Pandora7 said about more of these as a collection. (by the way thank you soooo much for the advice) :) What do you guys think?