My body tensed as the platform began to rise up out of the tube. As the arena swam into view, my heart skipped a beat and I almost smiled. We were surrounded by trees, just like the ones you could see beyond the fence in District 12. Her chances of actually going home just increased to a much higher level than I ever through could truly be possible.
I looked over to the girl I had once hoped to marry and saw she was eying the Cornucopia. My throat became dry all of a sudden. Did she listen to anything that Haymitch said about running away from the blood bath? I breathed a heavy sigh just as her gaze found my stare. I shook my head at her, a silent protest to what she was about to do.
The gong sounded not five seconds later and I took off in a full sprint away from the Cornucopia, just as our mentor had instructed. I made it a few yards into the green before something occurred to me. The Careers. They made it very clear that they hated the Girl-on-fire. They wanted her dead more than anyone else in this arena.
I stopped mid-stride and dove into a nearby bush, so I wouldn't be standing out in the open. I was close enough to watch as the girl from 2 very nearly killed the only person I really care about. "Katniss!" I called out painfully in little more than a whisper. She got away safely and a plan began forming in my head. The only way to keep her alive is to keep the Careers away from her, and the only way to do that is to lead them to her without actually finding her. I grinned and made myself comfortable, deciding to wait out the blood bath before I made my move.
While the Careers were busy making sure everyone they killed were actually dead, I snuck over to the Cornucopia and grabbed the closest weapon I could find. The girl from 2, Clove, was loudly complaining about how she "Almost had her" and "If I had been two seconds sooner, that little bitch would be gone". I swallowed my anger and forced a grin.
"Had a little trouble extinguishing the girl-on-fire, I see!" I called out in a slightly mocking tone. Clove reached for her knife while Cato drew his sword and charged at me, his eyes full of rage. I almost flinched, but I caught myself. I had to be strong if I was going to pull this off. "You don't want to do that, 2," I said, grinning. His curiosity alone would be enough to keep me alive for the moment.
Cato put his hand up, a signal to the others to wait, and glared at me. "What makes you so sure that I don't, Loverboy?" he said, seething. I almost laughed, he was very predictable. I fiddled with the head of the spear that I had picked up, the grin still plastered across my cheeks. "Because," I began without looking up. "In an arena like this, you will never find Katniss. Not in twenty years. She is too familiar with woods. This is her arena."
The boy from 1 stepped forward and raised his spear toward me, "I don't see why that means you shouldn't die right now?" I looked up and laughed. "Because, genius, if you are going to find her, you're going to need someone who knows enough to be able to find where she's been," my heart pounded as I spoke. This was either the smartest or the most idiotic thing I could ever do in The Hunger Games. To actually go up to a group of people that wanted me dead was absolute madness, but I had to protect her.
A wide and dangerous grin slowly spread across Cato's face as he realized I was right. He needed me, and he knew it. "Alright, Loverboy" he said as he lowered his sword and put it back into its holster. He took a long step toward me and peered down at me, his eyes burning with intensity. "But if you do anything to save her, I will kill you in the slowest way possible." He turned on the spot and stomped away, and with that I was part of the Careers.