Chapter 2: Thoughtlife
"So with these few words, you'll erase me
Two years of our lives meant nothing to you
But this fool that you've made of me has a lesson learned
You can't trust a lover who was never a friend."
-Emery, Thoughtlife
Katniss POV
My fingers gently close Peeta's eyes as I prepare his body for resting. I smooth his blond hair back as I lean down to plant a kiss on his forehead for the final time. I squeeze his hand for a final goodbye.
As selfish as it sounds, I don't want to be here when the hovercraft comes to retrieve his body. I can't handle it right now. I hear the familiar roar of the hovercraft and quickly move out of the cave and behind some nearby trees, scanning the horizon for any nearby figures.
Cato and Foxface are still alive, and I'm betting he's going to be looking for me soon, if not already. Now that Peeta's gone, I've really hit the end of the road. He was my last hope. Now I'm stuck in the arena alone.
Darkness begins to creep over the sky as I inwardly curse the game makers for making the night come so quickly, at such an inconvenient time. My heart aches when I see Clove, Thresh, and then Peeta's face flash across the night sky. Thresh is dead? I was so caught up in getting back to Peeta that I didn't even notice the second cannon.
I blink back tears and try to think of a distraction. I want to hunt so badly, so I can feel in control and calm myself down. Unfortunately, it would be foolish and nearly impossible to hunt now, in this darkness, so I'm forced to retire to the isolated cave alone with my merger food supply.
Only a few roots, some crackers, and a handful of berries remain. I quickly shove the rations down my throat and wash them down with the small amount of water left in my canteen.
Tomorrow, I think as I settle down to sleep, I'll hunt and figure out how to get rid of Cato and Foxface. I have nothing against either of them personally, but if I'm going to keep my promise to Prim, they have to be eliminated. I try to ignore the feelings of guilt directed at my fellow tributes, including a certain muscular and handsome Career. The District 2 male, Cato, had been sneaking looks at my since the tribute parade. He must have thought I didn't notice but I always did. Flushing shyly under his stare, I silently cursed him for being so good looking. The Career pack tried to kill you, I remind myself. I'm just doing what I have to for survival, nothing more. He would easily end your life without a second thought.
Those looks were meant to inspire intimidation, not admiration. I had never let myself get distracted by something as petty as romance before and I wasn't about to start now. He has to go. Another, more sympathetic part of me remembers that he has a family to go home to as well. But now is not the time to back down. I've killed before, and I'll do it again. Anything to go home and get back to Prim.
Cato POV
I stare up at the faces of the fallen tributes from the safety of my tent. My district partner was included among the dead. "Goodbye Clove. It was a good fight, a really good fight. You made your district proud." This is all I allow myself to say. I can't start getting emotional and risk making myself look weak.
My trainer's words flash through my memory: "Stay strong until the end, even when your district partner is gone. Never show emotion. Showing emotion shows weakness, and being weak always gets you killed. Always."
I compose myself and keep a strong front as Lover Boy's face flashes above me. That means the Girl on Fire is still alive.
Part of me is relieved, and I don't understand why. "She's competition! You have to kill her! Why are you acting like you have some kind of juvenile crush on her?" I silently berate myself. If Brutus and my trainers could hear what I was thinking now, I'd be in a world of hurt. There was no time for romantic relationships in the arena or back home.
Those were saved for after you had become victor, and even then were mostly loveless, based mainly on raising future victors. No girl, especially one from the slums of District 12, would ever change that tradition.
Katniss had captured my attention, but she and I could never be together in the way that I imagined. Soon she will be dead, by my hands. I can't forget who I am. I'm brutal, bloody Cato from District 2. Tomorrow, I tell myself, I'm finding her and the girl from 5. Then I'll kill them both and finally become a victor. And no feelings, romantic or otherwise, will ever get in the way.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added Take Care to their alerts and favorites! Special thanks to my first reviewers, Courtney DiLaurentis and Peeniss0314 Y'all make me blush. I'm so glad you guys like it and it would be so great if you could drop a quick review or PM me so I can get your thoughts on what I can do to improve So in the second chapter Katniss' POV is longer than Cato's because I struggled with writing what was going on with him during this chapter. I went back and edited both parts several times. Fortunately, this story in general has been coming along really nicely. I already have ideas for future chapters but I need help on a few things. I was planning on having Cato as an only child- even though I love the idea of him having siblings, this just seems like a better fit for this story. What do you guys think? If you've made it this far, thanks for reading my nonsensical ramblings! Now onto the story
Edit: 6/29/12 I went back and changed the formatting to make it easier to read. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.