I'm ready as soon as Claudius Templesmith announces the "feast". Heck. This feast is just a joke. I mean, I haven't eaten in a while and neither has Cato so I'm pretty hungry and I'm sure Cato is too. I don't mind though. As long as I kill 12 I don't care if I get my bag or not. Cato told me that hunting for food is a waste of time and that he doesn't want to risk eating anything in the arena other than what we get from the sponsors. He also told me that I could take out 12 and he'd get Lover Boy.
Cato and I wake up and check our packs before we venture to find the other tributes. Maybe we'll find 12 before the feast and we can take her then. Oh I hate 12 and the whole star-crossed lovers act. It's all one sided. I don't understand why no one else realizes that Katniss doesn't care about him. She just wants to survive.
"You want this?" Cato offers me a small roll we got from a sponsor.
"No you keep it."
"Haha no here just take it." He shoves the roll in my pack. I look at him and he just smiles. Cato has a great smile I wish he smiled more.
He's been pretty nice to me since the games started. It's about time though. Cato and I were neighbors back in district 2. He never acknowledged me though. I used to see him around a lot at school. He would always walk with a big group of friends, mostly girls. Cato had many relationships. I would always see girls going in and out of his house. Except at the end of the school year his attitude changed. Cato and his little sister weren't that close but she looked up to him. His sister's name was Ginger. Ginger was one of my classmates because we were the same age. We would only talk on occasion though. There were rumors on how she died but there was one that was supposedly the truth. Cato was practicing swinging his new sword he bought from my father who sold custom swords. When he bought the sword he knew he wanted to volunteer for the games. One day Cato left his sword outside and and his sister picked it up and started swinging it around. Ginger picked it up and it was too heavy for her and it sliced her forehead. She didn't tell anyone because she was embarrassed. Ginger hid the injury and never showed it to anyone. The gash got infected after a few days. At this point Cato knew something was wrong with his sister. He kept asking her what was wrong. It wasn't until she got blood poisoning that she told Cato and her family what she had done. The blood poisoning went straight to her brain before any medicine could be any help. After that the girls stop going to visit and he stopped going to school. There were rumors that he was still training furiously to volunteer and now he's here.
Cato and I walk back to our camp. We didn't didn't get anymore kills today, but that's fine the feast is going to start in a few hours. We got enough sleep yesterday that we feel ready to fight. Every once in a while Cato and I would catch each other staring at one another. I don't like to think about Cato as something other than a friend especially because I was set up to kill him. I just push away the feelings I don't understand for Cato to the back of my mind.
"Okay. You ready?"
"Yeah" Cato pauses. "Be careful...okay?" he asks without breaking his stare.
"Of course. You got this Cato, okay? Lover Boy is half dead anyway. It'll be easy." I smile a little. Just the thought of Lover Boy healed and fighting Cato turns my smile into a frown and I look back up at him.
"I think i'm gonna get going now." I reach my pack of knifes and Cato stops me. He pulls me over to where a camera can't see.
"Don't get hurt. Promise?" he whispers. He hesitantly leans down and kisses the corner of my mouth. When he pulls out, confusion and worry lie on his face. I smile but i'm a little confused. Why me? Is he just desperate or is it real? The undetermined feelings are coming back to my mind and the flashes or Cato's smile appear in my head and i just push them away. It's time for me to kill 12 now.
I take my place disguised in the bushes near the Cornucopia. I wait until 12 get here. I'm stunned when I see the redhead sprint from inside the Cornucopia and grab the bag with a 5 written on it.
"Are you kidding me?" I mutter. Before I can even think about throwing a knife at her head she's gone. Then 12 sprints toward her bag and I run out after her. She doesn't notice until I tackle her to the ground.
"Where's Lover Boy, huh?" I ask with a wide smile. I take out a smaller knife from my boot as she struggles under me.
"And where's your little ally? What was her name? Rue? Yeah well we killed her. Haha! And we're gonna kill you too. Cato told me i can do anything i wanted to you." I say this as I take the small blade and hold it to the top of her neck. 12 doesn't say a word. "As long as we hear that cannon in the end." My words spit in her face.
As soon as my last words leave my lips i'm lifted off of 12 and thrown to the ground. A shriek escapes my mouth. I look up to see Thresh's angry face staring at me.
"Cato! Cato!" I scream and Thresh holds up a large rock. No, please. I think.
"You killed Rue?" He yells.
"No I-" I search for words.
"You say you killed her!"
"I-" I stutter. Thresh raises the grey rock and before I know it everything is blurry. A shearing pain goes through my skull. I think he hit my head. I'm so dizzy I don't even try to get up. The rest of my body collapses and i'm laying on the ground. Then I see a blurry figure run towards me. Cato! I can't speak. He crouches down to my level and his blue eyes lock with my brown ones. Tears stream down his cheeks. I watch him because it's the only thing I can do and I understand the feelings now. I've watched and learned about him for years. I kept track of everything he did up until the games. I love you. I love you Cato. I just can't utter a sound. I wish he knew.
"Clove." he cries . My head is spinning. I can't speak.
"Clove, don't leave me. Please." Cato holds my hand tight as my eyelids start to drop. I'm numb. I can't feel a thing. I love you, I think again. The words spin around my head as i watch Cato try to wipe away the tears. All I manage to do is moan softly from the pain. Cato sobs next to my body and it makes me want to cry too but no tears flow from my eyes.
"Clove please. I love you." It's barely audible but I know now that we feel the same way. Finally.
My eyelids finally drop and I hear a muted scream from Cato, but all of the worry escapes me. I'm surrounded by darkness except for a bright light shining to my right, so I use my arm to block the light from my eyes. I start stepping back as I see a figure walk out of the bright light but then I stop when I realized the figure is my mother. My mother died when I only a few years old, so I grew up with my father and younger brother. She would buy illegally produced guns from a friend who personally made then. They were new and really no one had them besides the Peacekeepers so, my mother would sell them to a Peacekeeper. After a few exchanges of guns and money they become friends. They even knew each other by name. His name was Mateo. They knew each other very well and apparently I even met him a few times. One day a few neighbors came suspicious of my mother and Mateo. The neighbors called the capitol and asked for a General Peacekeeper to observe for a while. My mother didn'didn't know and Mateo didn'didn't have time to warn her, so she made her usual offer. The observer noticed what she was doing and killed her on sight and also Mateo. I haven't spoken with my mother in so long that I can't even remember what her voice sounds like.
"Mom?" I whisper. She nods and I jump into her open arms. The thought of seeing my mother again thrilled me.
"I missed you so much." I say as tears fill my eyes.
"I missed you too honey!"
"Mom, I-"
"I'm sorry I left so early." She tightens her grip and I don't let go.
"It's okay." I cry. I feel like kid again in district 2. It's like I never left. It's like she never left. I let go and wipe my face.
"Can I go with you mom?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I don't want to lose you again." I start sobbing again.
"Of course Clove" She tells me. We start for the bright light as we hear a loud cannon. The words of Cato speak through my mind once again. I love you too Cato.
