"Dad, are we almost there?" I called out, miserable after walking for the last five days, I was getting tired of seeing nothing but trees. He told me we were going far from District 12, to meet someone special.

"Almost, dear. If they left the same day we did, we should run into them any minute now." Just as the words left his mouth, a cry came from around half a mile away.

"Is that you, old friend?" A man's voice called happily, "Sam, my brother, it is you!"

"Cyo!" My father roared happily as a man emerged from the woods. A young boy trailed behind him warily, eying me with interest.

"Introductions!" Cyo called happily, grabbing the blond boy and pulling him into our circle.

"This is my son Cato. Cato, this is my friend Sam and his daughter." Cyo smiled widely at me.

"This is Katniss," my dad filled in, "And Katniss, this is Cyo. We've been friends since we were your age, when our fathers brought us to this exact spot."

"It's a tradition for the Stones and Everdeens. For generations." Cyo said, and he pushed his son forward. "Now go, make friends! We have some setting up to do."

With that, Cyo and Sam began setting up a small camp in a nook between two trees. They laid out the few provisions we all had, and they merrily chatted with one another as they caught up on their lives.

Meanwhile, Cato and I stood a few yards away, studying the other. He was about six inches taller than me, and had muscles larger than any child in the Seam. His blond hair stuck up straight, and was messy after days of travel. His piercing blue eyes captivated me. In District 12, there were no blue eyes. Everyone had the same grey eyes. Looking into his eyes I felt like I was staring up at the sky on a clear day. I kept finding myself staring deeply into his eyes, awestruck at their beauty.

"Katniss?" His voice brought me out of my trance. He looked at me confused.

"I'm sorry," I giggled, "What did you say?" I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, and tried to make it go away by focusing on the pains of hunger in my stomach.

"I said, do you hunt too? My dad said your dad taught you just like my dad taught me." He reached a hand up and ran it through his already messy hair, dirtying the blond with dirt.

My eyes lit up as I said, "Yes! Me and my dad hunt almost every day for food. I use a bow and arrow." I smiled widely at him, feeling the connection between us deepen.

He grinned back at me. "I've used a bow before too, but I'm not that great with it. I'm better with this." And suddenly he pulled a huge sword out of his belt, showing it to me. "It may not seem like good for hunting, but I can take down deer with this easy." He smirked, proud of himself.

I stared at the shiny blade in shock, imagining attacking a deer with it. "That's amazing," I said, as I reached out and touched the blade. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"Really?" He sounded shocked. "I can show you all of me and my dads. We have a ton! Back at home, they train us how to use them in school."

I felt my mouth drop to the ground. "They train you how to hunt at school?" My voice squeaked in shock.

"Not just hunt, how to fight. Kill. It's preparing us to be in the Hunger Games." He smirked again as he returned the blade back in its holster.

My eyes widened even more. "Preparing you? Why would you want to be prepared for something so horrible?" I'm so confused as I stare at the strange boy.

Now it's his turn to look confused. "Because… because it's an honor, you know? To be in the Games. To win." His eyes darkened as he looked off, and a faint smile played across his face. "I'm gonna win some day. I know it."

I stared at this boy, more confused than ever as to why anyone would ever want to be in the Games. "That doesn't make any sense." I said. Just as he started to reply, my father and Cyo rejoined us, and prepared us to all go hunting together.

My dad pulled me off to the side, and muttered, "So what do you think of Cato? Are you two friends already?"

I nodded happily, and he grinned and replied, "Trust me, Katniss. He's going to be one of those people you learn that you can't live without."

"For us."

I lean in to him eagerly, my heart lurching in anticipation. "Feel free to share," I say.

"Well." He begins, adjusting himself comfortably. "Let's say I'm fully healed tomorrow, which I probably will due to your excellent nursing skills." He bumps my shoulder like he always does, and I grimace at the compliment. "So tomorrow, day and night, me and Clove will hunt. Hopefully take out as many tributes as possible. We're a good team together when it comes to hunting." He glances at me, gauging my reaction. My face remains unchanged.

"So then, when she finally goes to sleep, I'll say I'll take the first watch." Suddenly, I seem to see where his plan is going. "I'll kill her, quickly and in her sleep. Then you come, and it will be me and you. We'll have our own base camp here, and hunt down the rest together. Think about it. Me and Clove are a good team; me and you are a great team. Remember all those times we would hunt together?"

I do. In fact, I remember them vividly. "But there's a problem." I say, wondering how to tell him about my alliance with Rue. It's not the type of thing he'll understand.

"What?" He asks, his voice deepening.

"Rue. I allied with her." I say simply.

He exhales in relief, and I look at him oddly. He glances at me, and looks away pointedly.

"What? What did you think I was going to say?" I ask, puzzled.

He refuses to look me in the eyes, and says, "I thought you were going to say Peeta. That you allied with him or something."

Suddenly, for some reason that I cannot explain, I start cracking up laughing. "I haven't seen Peeta since the bloodbath. He's hiding out somewhere good, I don't think he needs me to ally with him." I giggle again.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind it." Cato mutters darkly. "Rue. Well, just ditch her. It'd be better that way. Then someone else would take care of her before you'd have to."

I shudder, all laughter gone. "I would never be able to kill her. She reminds me of…" I trail off, not wanting to bring Prim into this.

He finally looks into my eyes again. "I know what you were going to say." He says, and doesn't push it. "Well, maybe we can re-strategize a little."

He goes deep into thought, and I try to as well. However, all I can think of is how tired I am. He can tell too, because he seems to notice my eyes fluttering as I struggle to stay asleep.

"You're exhausted." He states simply.

"Yeah," I mutter. "Some annoying Careers were keeping me up last night."

He snorts, and mutters something to himself. I smile lightly as I feel my eyelids close again.

"CATO!" A scream suddenly pierces the air, and my heart turns cold. "Cato, I'm coming! Get away from him you murderous bitch!"

Clove comes running towards us, clearly thinking that I was attacking Cato, trying to kill him. How ironic.

The irony is lost to my thoughts, however, as I leap up and begin a mad dash for the woods. I feel Clove close behind me, and start zig zagging randomly as I run, hoping to again dodge one of her knives.

A knife whizzes past my ear and embeds itself into a tree a few yards away. I quickly change my direction and run parallel to Clove, desperately trying to outrun her.

All I can hear is the air thundering past my ears and my heart beating rapidly in my chest. As I get closer and closer to the trees, I feel a slight glimpse of hope in my heart.

Suddenly, a knife lodges itself just below my heart, deep in my stomach. I let out a loud cry of pain and I tumble into the ground, still rolling toward the trees with the knife in my body. I feel tears fall uncontrollably from my eyes, and I grab the handle of the knife. I simply hold it still, trying not to hurt myself any more.

"NO!" Cato screams. The world suddenly seems to freeze. In a crumpled heap on the ground, I look up through my tears to see Cato running to me, shaking his arms for me to run. His scream seemed to confuse Clove, as she turns and looks at him.

I seize the moment and muster all the strength and desire to live that I have, and I spring through the woods, holding the knife in place in my stomach.

I hear yells coming from Clove, and the more I run, the more faint her anger becomes. I slow to a jog, and then a walk. Soon I can barely see straight, the pain shooting through my body is so intense.

I stumble through the woods, not really knowing where I'm going. My world becomes blurry at the edges, and I feel the tears dry up. I look down at my wound, with the dagger still embedded deep in my stomach. I'm covered in blood, and the wound is so deep I can only see the handle of the knife.

"So this is it," I say, not even realizing I'm speaking aloud. This is how I'm going to die. Prim and my mother must be a wreck right now, knowing exactly what they would do to heal me if they had the chance. Gale must be furious right now, calling for Clove's blood.

Cato will win now; he won't have to worry about me getting in the way. He deserves it. He's been dreaming of it for so long, it would be cruel to take it away from him. After all, Gale will help my family survive. They will mourn me, and move on. I'll just be a distant memory in a few years.

I drop to the ground, running my fingers through the moss as I grow dizzy. I wonder if I should take the knife out. I choose against it, figuring it's holding something together if I am still alive and conscious.

For the second time today, a scream pierces the air that makes my heart turn cold. This time, however, instead of fear, I feel dread. It's Rue.

I stand, and begin running as fast as I can in this state towards her feeble screams. She screams my name, and I can tell she's crying.

I run as fast as I can, until suddenly, there she is. Her small body is lifted several feet in the air, entangled in a mess of ropes.

She's sobbing, and reaches a small hand through the ropes, as if she's reaching out to me. "Katniss," She whimpers, her frail body shaking.

I hobble to her, reaching up to her as well. And then the spear hits her body, completely piercing it though. The net drops, and her small corpse lies entangled in a mess of rope and blood. Her breathing slows immediately, and tears fall from her deep brown eyes.

It takes me half a second to pull the knife from my own stomach and enlodge it straight in the skull of Marvel. He drops, dead on impact.

Normally, I would be pleased for his death. But instead, I feel the tears burning in my head. I drop to the ground, and pull the rope net away from her.

Her breathing is hitched and delicate, as she is barely alive. She looks up at me, and the smallest of smiles appears on her face.

I stroke her cheek gently, singing softly to her. I brush through her hair, and hold her in my lap.

Her eyes close slowly, and her breath slows even more. Suddenly, she croaks, "Did you blow it up?" My tears finally find their release as I let out a loud sob. Her eyes snap closed, and all air leaves her tiny body.

I scream in anguish. She died for nothing, I didn't even destroy one of their supplies. I hug her body tightly in my arms, crying out loudly. I don't even care who comes for me now. I'll be dead in a few hours anyways.

I glance down at my stomach again, and feel faint at the sight of the large gash. I can see the insides of my body, covered in black blood. My head becomes more and more light and I get dizzy, I look at Rue one last time and give her one last hug.

And then darkness consumes me.


Hi! Sorry this chapter was so short, I'm about to go out of town for a week and I wanted to get out a new chapter first so I kept it shorter! Please review and let me know what you think!