Glimmer screamed as the arrow flashed by her head, and she fell to the floor. It was so close, it could have ended her life. She scrambled for her bow, and then reached for the arrow that had almost killed her. She took her bow and arrow, then stood, and tried to slot the arrow into place, but it was too late. Another arrow was heading her way. Panicking, she tried to throw the arrow in the direction, but it didn't go father than a foot. She dived to the ground, and the arrow barely missed her head. She gazed up, and saw that Cato was already walking towards to the place were the arrow came from.
"Wait! Cato!" she shouted.
"Stay here," he called back. His voice was deep, and demanding. Unlike the way he was talking to her a few minutes ago.
"No!" cried Glimmer. She gripped her bow and arrows, ran towards him, until they were both walking at the same pace. He didn't even look at her. "I'm coming with you, Cato."
Cato froze, and so did Glimmer. He turned to her, staring at her with his cold, blue eyes. His stare made Glimmer feel uncomfortable. He was like a completely different person from a few minutes ago. Neither of them said nothing. They just looked at each other.
"Glimmer," Cato finally said. "I am telling you to go back to the lake."
"And I'm telling you I'm not going," said Glimmer.
The silence returned. Glimmer wanted to look away, she couldn't bare it any longer. She wanted the old, kind Cato to return. She hated the bloodthirsty, selfish version.
"Fine," said Cato. "But don't interfere."
Cato looked away, and kept walking. It took a moment before Glimmer followed him. They walked in silence. Glimmer occasionally glimpsed at Cato, but he didn't once look at her. Glimmer gazed down at Cato's sword. That could be the sword that could end her life. She could picture it. Her and Cato- the final two. Only one wins. It wasn't going to be her. Cato would push her to the ground, take his sword with a smirk on his face. He would put his weight on her, so that she couldn't move. Gripping her wrists with his foot and spare hand. She would beg for her life. But Cato would ignore her. In one swift movement, he would slice off her neck. And a cannon would fire.
The thought of it made her blood run cold. But then her thoughts returned to the lake. Splashing each other. Laughing. Teasing. And most of all, smiling. His grin. Not his smirk. Not his blood-thirsty smile. His sweet, almost shy smile. And that is what Glimmer loved about him. How he made her heart skip a beat.
"Get down," whispered Cato, as he dragged her to the ground with him. Cato nodded towards the red-headed girl from 5, who was picking berries from a bush. Instead of eating them, she simply picked one, and examined it. Glimmer narrowed her eyes in concentration.
"What's she doing?" she hissed.
"I don't know," Cato hissed back. "But whatever it is, she won't be doing it for much longer."
Cato raised his sword, and smirked at his reflection. He then stood, but Glimmer grasped his shoulder.
"No," she said. "Look." Glimmer pointed towards the tree to their left. When Cato was distracted, Glimmer smiled, and ran towards the girl. She pointed her bow, and was ready to fire.
Cato raised an eyebrow, and then went to turn back to Glimmer, but then his eyes widened.
"Glimmer, no!" he shouted. Too loudly.
The girl from 5 then noticed Glimmer, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She had no weapons. She tried to run, but Glimmer had already released the arrow. It hit the girl in the stomach, and she fell to the ground. A cannon signalled her death.
Immediately, Cato ran up to Glimmer, and gripped her by the shoulders. He shook her rapidly, as if trying to knock some sense into her.
"What did I tell you?" he yelled. When she didn't respond, he gripped her harder. "Huh? What did I tell you?"
Glimmer glared at Cato. He was really scaring her now. His face was scrunched up, revealing gritted teeth, He breathed heavily on her face.
Her expression reflected on Cato. He began to feel guilty. He had never seen her so afraid. And all because of him. He released her, his fingers slowly leaving her shoulders. She had tears in her eyes, and she trembled as she exhaled. Cato bit his lip, and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry," he said. He had never apologized in his life. He had never felt guilty before. He sat down upon the grass, crossed his legs, and placed his fingertips to his forehead. "The Games… The Games just get to you, you know."
Glimmer was still trembling. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked at Cato, and the two met eyes. She was afraid of him, and he felt guilty for it. He didn't want her to be afraid. He didn't want to scare her.
Kneeling down to the ground, she shuffled herself towards Cato. Slowly, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Then, another hand. A sob escaped her mouth, and she placed her head on his shoulder. Cato tilted his head so it was resting on hers. Then Glimmer wrapped her arms around him, and the two shared a warm embrace. Glimmer wasn't sure if she was still scared of him. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't, but that didn't matter. She felt protected in Cato's arms. Something that she hadn't felt ever since the Games had begun. She just wanted to stay like this forever.
To Glimmer's surprise, she heard Cato release a small sob. The most unmanly sob she had ever heard. The two began to laugh, and Cato smiled his sweet, almost shy smile. Glimmer had missed that smile. And she was glad that is was back. She didn't want him to stop smiling. She could have stared at him forever.
But that is when they heard the twig snap.