"Slippin' in my faith until I fall,
You never returned that call.
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting.
I wanna feel that fire again."
Read My Mind, The Killers
Disclaimer: Hunger Games are not mine.
The Capitol is kind.
The Capitol is merciful.
The Capitol will give you greatness.
That's what he was told ever since he was young. That's what poeple in District Two were told.
The games are not evil, they are an oppurtunity. Win, and you will be loved by all. You will never know pain and suffering; you will be saved.
He meets a girl at the Academy, when he's ten. She's younger, but only by a couple of years. She small and thin and weak and just not right for two. But she's better than him. At knives, anyway. Not perfect, but certainly better. The trainers see it too, and they let them practice together. After a year, they're invincible. Together.
"What do you want most, Cato?" She asks one day. It's a random question, really, but an easy one.
"I want to win the games." That's the right answer. It must be.
He's fifteen when they tell him the news. He'll be the victor of the 74th Hunger 's never been happier. His parents are delighted and they shower him with praise. She's happy, too.
"We'll both be victors and no one will dare challenge us!" She tells him.
Nothing beats that moment. The Capitol will give you greatness. He's so close.
Somehow, they both end up in the arena at the same time. He'll have to kill her because this is his time for victory. It's a shame because she could have won her own games. Now, they'll never rule together. That's okay because he doesn't need her. Does he?
They announce a rule change: Two victors as long as they are from the same distrcit. He's never believed more in the glory of the Capitol than he did then.
The Capitol is kind. No doubt about it.
District two loses both tributes in the 72nd Hunger Games. The boy dies in the bloodbath, how embarrasing. The girl is killed by Capitol mutts. Horrible snake like things that squeeze the life out of her as everybody watches in the square.
"She was my daughter! Look what you did! She's dead!" A man, the dead girl's father, is outraged. He screams and cries."She had a life ahead of her! Monsters! All of you!" Peacekeepers shoot him.
The man was upset about the wrong thing. He should have been angry at the girl. She lost. The point of the games is to win.
Still, his words never leave Cato's mind. Monsters. Who?
She was the fastest at the Academy, not Cato. It was painfully obvious the day of the feast. He ran, as fast as humanly posssible, and still it wasn't enough.
She was there, lying motionless on the ground. Eyes wide, staring up at the cloudless blue sky. He's focused on her, not noticing fire girl leaving or Eleven taking his pack. It's all her. And the awful dent on her temple. He kneels, setting his spear aside, and begs. He begs and it's so new to him.
"Stay with me. Hold on, we're going to win. They said so! C'mon Clove. Stay with me!" They said so. The Capitol said so! Damn it! Why was she dying? Where was the parachute that's supposed to fall containing something to help them?
The Capitol is merciful. He looked up at the sky and he called out to them.
"Help us! Save her! Don't let her die!" I need her.
But he sees no mercy. Only truth.
The truth is in her glassy eyes, in her shallow breaths, in her feeble grip. All this time, he was blinded by his faith in the Capitol. By the lies that they so cruelly told them. He believed each one and now look what they've done to her. To him. To all of them. This is what it feels like; this is what it's like to fall. And never get up.
He flashes back to the 72nd games, when the man cried for his daughter. He finally understands. Monsters. The Capitol is full of them.
Her grip slackens and her breathing stops. She's gone and she's taken him with her.
"What do you want most, Cato?"
"I want to win the games." What a stupid answer.
I'm not sure what this is, I wrote it in a rush. A lot of people write about the feast scene and I wanted to give it a try. Not exactly all about the feast, but it's in here. I'm supposed to be working on my other stories...then this happened. Oh well.