A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, subscriptions, favorites, etc.! I'm sorry I left you all with a horrible cliffhanger, but I just had to keep you on your toes! ;) I'm warning you now; there will be more cliffhangers in the future of this story! This chapter is a little shorter, but my attention span today has been shorter than a goldfish's and I promised I would update. Hope you still enjoy it anyways! Keep being amazing!
Chapter 7
I'm numb. People rush around me, but I don't move. I don't even blink. I just sit there, staring into space. I try to straighten up my memory of what happened, but it's like I'm missing all of the major pieces to the puzzle.
Cato pushes me to the ground. Cato gets shot. That's it. Brutus and a few other men chase after whoever shot him, but I don't know whether or not they found the person. I shiver runs down my spine. What if the shooter got away?
I replay what I saw over and over, and I come to a horrible realization. Cato saw the shooter. He pushed me out of the way. That bullet was meant for me. It would have pierced my heart perfectly. Whoever shot at us knew what they were doing.
Cato took a bullet for me. And now I don't even know if he's going to live. Tears run down my face. I know by now I look like a wreck, but I don't care. I just want to wake up from this and realize it's just another one of my nightmares.
It would be my luck. I finally decide to let my guard down for someone, and he gets shot trying to save me! If I would have just treated him like dirt and pushed him away like I normally do, this never would have happened. I would have gotten shot and Cato would still be perfectly healthy. I cry harder, but push away Haymitch's arm as he tries to comfort me.
It feels like I've been in this waiting room forever. I have refused to move since we got here. Effie has tried to get me to change into different clothes, as my dress is covered in Cato's blood. But I can't move. Haymitch tries to get me to eat or drink something, but I know if I try to cram something down my throat, it will just come right back up. Brutus, who showed up a few hours after we did, is quiet, but is angrily pacing across the waiting room from me. Enobaria keeps trying to calm him down, but he won't sit still.
A doctor comes in, searching for who he's supposed to speak to about Cato's current status. Since we got here, only nurses would come out every hour or so to let us know that they're still working on him. Now that the doctor is out here, maybe it means they're finally done. I jump up from my chair to get his attention and he walks over to me.
Once he's standing in front of me, I realize how big of a mistake I may have just made. What if he came out here to tell me Cato didn't make it? My knees weaken and I almost fall to the ground, but an arm catches me and holds me upright. I glance next to me, surprised to see Effie holding me up. I take a deep breath, struggling to stay calm as I wait for the doctor to speak.
"Katniss, right? The good news is, he's stable. We managed to repair the damage done to his organs. We're going to keep him unconscious for the night, to help with the pain. But he should recover fairly quickly. The bad news is, he won't be dancing anytime soon. Although we did a great job repairing the damages done and he will recover fairly quickly, he needs to take it easy for a few weeks."
My heart speeds up. Cato is going to be alright. "Can I see him?" I ask.
"Well, he's asleep right now—"
"I don't care. I want to be with him." I interrupt.
The doctor sighs, thinking about it for a few minutes. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Follow me."
When he leads me to Cato's room, I stop and take a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever lies behind that door. Seeing Cato asleep on that hospital bed sends waves of relief through my body. I can see his chest moving up and down. His face looks angelic as ever; peaceful, even. I have to stop myself from running to his bedside and jumping in bed with him.
Instead, I grab a chair and drag it next to him, grabbing his hand in mine. I stare at him until I fall asleep. Even after everything that has happened, I can sleep soundly knowing he's alive and sleeping right by my head.
"Katniss." I hear a voice, and thinking it's just part of a dream, I don't stir. But then someone is shaking my shoulder and I look up, groggy.
"Wow. You look horrible." I hear a laugh and my eyes shoot open. Cato is right there, staring me right in the eyes. His grin looks weak, but still as cocky as ever.
"You don't look too hot yourself." I spit back, smiling and knowing how big of a lie that his. At least they cleaned him up a bit. I still have Cato's blood all over my dress, my cheek, even in my hair. My elbow has been throbbing and it is beyond swollen now. I can't even move it. I had refused to let anyone look at me, and I almost wish I didn't. But Cato being alive and well took my thoughts off my own pain for a while and I didn't even realize it was there until just now.
Cato notices the grimace on my face as I try to move my elbow. Without a second thought, he takes out his morphling drip and shoves it into my arm. I glare at him, trying to take it out, but he won't let me.
"Cato, you need this more than I do." I insist.
"I did that to you, Katniss. I pushed you down and broke your elbow." Emotion rushes to his eyes and I can see that he's blaming myself.
"Are you kidding me, Cato? If you hadn't pushed me, I wouldn't even be alive to complain about a little pain in my elbow." I say, trying to comfort him, but it only makes him upset.
"No. I should have done it differently. I didn't need to shove you so hard. I just didn't think." His grip tightens on my hand and I squeeze back. I can't believe he's blaming himself for my broken elbow. It's nothing compared to his gunshot wound.
But it's no use arguing with him, so I change the mood. "Well, you shouldn't feel bad because I forgive you. But the doctor told me about the bad news. Looks like we won't be able to dance at our party." I grin up at him and he grins back.
"I really wanted to dance with you though. I mean, I probably would have stomped all over those pretty little feet of yours, but at least I could hold you close to me the whole night."
"Yeah right. Haven't you seen clips from those celebrations? The victor has to shake hands with every single person in the room. There's not even enough time to pee, let alone dance." I say, smiling at him. "But I'll take you up on that dancing offer, as soon as you're better. My feet are tough, I think I can handle a little stomp or two."
"Only if you let them take a look at your elbow. Right now." He insists. But I shake my head.
"I'll have them look at it when you go to sleep. I don't want to leave you here alone." I say, leaning closer to him.
"Well I just pushed the button, so the nurse will be here any second. She can at least make sure you're okay." He says with a grin on his face. I just sigh and lean my head on his shoulder. He brings his free hand up to my head, running his fingers through my hair. This little gesture makes me want to cry. I never would have felt him do this if he would have died. His life was in danger because of me. Someone tried to shoot me, but shot Cato instead.
A thought pops into my head. Who would try to shoot me? Snow hates us, but we've done everything we possibly can to make people think we're in love. Why would he try to take my life secretly anyways? If he wanted me dead, he could execute me in front of everyone as the example he thinks I am. But if it wasn't Snow, who else could it be? An angry family member of one of the tributes we killed? That seems highly unlikely. They wouldn't even be allowed in the Capitol. Cato notices the confused look on my face.
"What's going through your mind? I didn't mean it when I said you looked horrible. My blood looks pretty good on you." I ignore that last part, making a mental note to change my clothes as soon as he passes out. They've got to have something lying around here. Maybe Effie will bring me something to wear. But she'd probably bring me something frilly. Maybe I'll ask Haymitch instead.
"Who do you think shot at us?" I blurt out, my thoughts racing, trying to think of who I've made enemies with lately. I'm not really a lovable person, so I'm sure the list is pretty long.
The door opens and in comes a nurse. "I don't know. But we'll talk about it later." Cato says and then he turns to the nurse and addresses her. "Hi. Could you possibly check out her elbow? I pushed her down last night and she smashed it against the ground. She's too stubborn to leave me, so you'd have to do it here." He shrugs, as if he thinks I'm requesting an orange elephant that juggles puppies.
"Sure, now let's take a look." She says, and begins to examine my elbow. I refuse to let go of Cato's hand. This comes in handy when she tries to move my elbow and I grimace in pain, squeezing his hand. Apparently the pain killers haven't really kicked in yet. She shakes her head. "We're going to have to bring a doctor in to set it. You may even need surgery. You definitely shattered it." And before I can tell her I don't need a surgery, she's walking out of the room.
I look at Cato, who can see the annoyance in my face. He laughs and rolls his eyes at me. "You know, you don't have to act so tough. I like you just the way you are."
"I'm not acting tough. I'm being a big baby. I am not leaving you. I don't care what they say. Until you are better, I'm not leaving your side." I say firmly, which only makes him laugh harder. He has to stop, clutching his side in pain. I stop, my eyes growing wide. I try to take the painkiller out of my arm and shove it back into his, but he shakes his head.
"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt that bad." He says, trying not to wince.
"You're such a bad liar. Let me give it back to you. I'm sure they'll give me my own when they come in to fix my elbow." I reassure him as I slide the needle out of my arm sneakily. He doesn't even notice when I shove it back into his arm until after it's done. I look up at him triumphantly, but he just shakes his head at me and laughs.
When the doctor comes in, he confirms that I need surgery. I beg him to wait, but he says it needs to be done now, before it begins healing the wrong way. I make them promise me to take me back to Cato's room as soon as the surgery is done. Before I leave, I lean over Cato, making sure not to touch his torso in any way. I drop my face so its inches from his, and I wait there, teasing him for a few seconds, knowing he can't get close enough to kiss me. Then I press my lips down on his gently, almost too soft to feel because I'm worried if I kiss him any harder, the passion will take over and I'll end up hurting him. "I'm glad you're okay." I whisper before I turn around and head out the door to be prepped for surgery.
When I wake up from my surgery, I'm still pretty groggy. I look up at the clock and realize I was only out for about an hour or so. I look around, panicking until I lay my eyes on Cato's innocent sleeping face. I smile, but then I frown, realizing how far I am away from him. I try to get out of bed, but I'm a little more out of it than I thought. I fall and make a loud clatter as my bed falls with me. Thank goodness I land on my good side, and I don't feel like I hurt anything else, except maybe a bruise or two on my hip bone.
I hear a gasp and I look up, seeing Cato trying to get out of bed.
"Stop." I shout. "I'm fine. I just didn't realize how slippery the floor was. I'm going to come sit next to you." I get up, trying not to use my hurt arm, and I stumble across the room to his bed. He scoots over and pats the bed next to him. I shake my head. "No, it's fine. I can sit in the chair again." I say, looking for the chair I was in earlier. It's back against the wall and I contemplate how I'm going to move it with one arm. But before I can figure it out, Cato is grabbing my arm and pulling me on the bed.
His huge body is taking over most of the bed, so I give into his pull and try to slip into it as gently as I can. I have to lie on my side, so my body is curved against the side of his. He wraps his arm around me, holding me there. "There! That's much better. I missed you." He says, closing his eyes and grinning.
"I was just in here an hour ago." I state, looking up at him with my eyebrow raised.
"I meant you being right next to me. I missed my arm being around you. The whole way to the hospital, I was worried about never getting to snuggle with you again." His smile is genuine, and makes me smile back. He kisses my forehead and we lay there for a while, just feeling each other breathe. I notice his breathing is slowing, and I focus on making mine match his.
The next thing I know, I can hear people whispering. Cato seems to still be sleeping, so I try not to move. Instead, I try to listen in on the conversation going on in our room. I think I hear Brutus, but I can't quite be sure. I've only hear him speak a few times since I've met him, and his voice isn't very distinctive. Its deep and manly, but there's nothing that stands out about it. The other voice is Haymitch's. I can tell instantly. Not to mention I can smell the booze from here.
I strain my ears to listen, but I can only pick up a few words. The first voice, who I can safely assume is Brutus, is saying something about how they need to catch someone, how he should have been able to catch the person that night. He must be talking about the person who shot Cato. My blood turns cold. They didn't catch the shooter. That means our attempted murderer is still out there somewhere, waiting for us. Haymitch isn't as hushed as Brutus, but he's slurring his words pretty bad. I decide I have to know what they're talking about.
So I stretch a little, and when they don't notice, I clear my throat. The two of them glance up at me, and then look back at each other. Brutus nods and then Haymitch leaves. Brutus pulls the chair up to the bed. "Wake Cato. There are things you both need to know, and it will be easier to tell you at once." I do as I'm told. Cato looks around, wide eyed and confused. Then he sees me and smiles. He's about to say something when I move my eyes towards Brutus, and his follow.
"Brutus." He nods, accepting his presence.
"Okay you two. I want you to know we tried to catch the shooter, but they got away too fast. We're still looking out for that bastard, and when we find him, there will be no mercy. But until then, you two need to go into hiding. The nurse and doctor that have been taking care of you are under strict rules not to let anyone know that you survived. According to our story, Cato died in the operating room and Katniss is going to commit suicide in the hospital. There isn't going to be a Victory tour, not like there was much of one planned anyways. Half of the districts were off limits due to rebellion. It seems you two were the cause of it. They figure the 'alliance' you two made in the games was to stick it to the Capitol and they are trying to support you. Both of you had mental breakdowns, which leaked to the public, feeding the rebels with more hatred for the Capitol and their games. This being said, there were rebel groups long before you two were even thought of. They've just been lying dormant until now. We're taking you to one of their bunkers. You'll be safe there until we figure out what is going on." Brutus stops, looking at us to make sure we understand everything.
"What do you mean, figure out what's going on? Wouldn't someone who is against the rebels want to shoot us?"
"It's a possibility. But if President Snow wanted you dead, he wouldn't have to hide it." I nod, knowing we're on the same page.
"Then who-?" Cato says, but the door opens, and we all become silent. Effie glides in, making her way right to our bedside.
"Are you two ready to go? The train will be at the station shortly, and we need to make sure we get on it as quickly as possible." She says, not looking directly at us.
"You're coming with us, Effie?" I ask, surprised.
Effie turns and glares at Brutus, before answering me. "I'm being taken against my will. They don't believe that I won't say anything about you two." She huffs.
Brutus growls. "You know that isn't why. We're taking you for your own safety. If it is Snow going after them, he will torture you for answers. Do you want that?" He's a little too harsh and Effie winces before shaking her head and making her way out the door. I almost feel bad for her. I believe that she wouldn't say anything to harm us, but I also believe that Brutus could be right. And if taking Effie with us keeps her safe, I'm all for it. As annoying as she's been since the day of the reaping when she read Prim's name off that little slip of paper, I would hate for her to suffer on account of something they think I did.
"You heard the lady. Let's get a move on." Brutus says as he helps me out of bed. Cato gets himself up, slower than I like. I can tell he's in pain, and the pain is only going to get worse as the medicine starts wearing off. We quickly dress and we're rushed towards the back of the hospital. We step out under a structure, and a car is waiting for us. It's less conspicuous than the car we've been using to take us from place to place, but a car is pretty noticeable regardless. We take back roads to the train station, and when we get there, there's a small train waiting for us. It has the symbol for District 12 on it, and my heart flutters a little. The back two cars look like they have recently dropped off coal, and there are only three passenger cars.
When we arrive, Haymitch goes in first, followed by Effie. They place Cato and I right after them, closely followed by Brutus and Enobaria. I look around, hoping to see Cinna, but there isn't a soul in sight. It looks to be around 4:00am, and no Capitol citizen would be out at this time.
The entrance car is small, there is only a few small couches and a miniature kitchen. The other two cars contain four rooms, each with a tiny bathroom attached.
Brutus and Enobaria volunteer to share a room. It seems that all these years of mentoring have brought them close together. I almost wish Haymitch had a partner to help him through mentoring us poor, pathetic District 12 kids.
Cato volunteers to share a room with me, his grin spreading as he grabs my hand, ready to lead me to a room. Effie sighs, relieved that she doesn't have to share a room with Haymitch.
"Awe, Sweetheart. You don't want to share a room with me? I thought we were becoming pretty good friends." Haymitch hollers, waggling his eyebrows wildly. Effie lifts up her nose in disgust and walks silently to the last room on the train. Cato leads us to the room next to hers and I realize just how small it is.
The bed is barely bigger than the beds at the hospital. There is a small dresser, butted up against the window, barely leaving room to squeeze open the door to the bathroom. This is definitely not a Capitol train. The carpet looks warn, and even the bedding looks like it's had its fair share of bodies sleeping in it. I'm almost afraid to see the condition of the bathroom. The window is so dirty, it's basically impossible to make out the landscape passing quickly past us. It's funny how critical I am about this train, even though it is still in better shape than my house at the seam.
Cato is about to plop onto the bed before he remembers his wounds. He instead slowly lowers down his body onto the bed, sliding himself so he is leaning back slightly. He closes his eyes and exhales deeply. When I don't follow, he opens one eye to look at me, and then the other. "Aren't you tired? We may as well get some rest. Who knows where they're taking us." I walk around the bed to the other side and gently slide next to him. He wraps his strong arms around me and before his breathing gets really slow, he whispers in my ear. "Now don't try and ambush me in the morning. I don't think seducing me will be easy with the giant hole in my side." I feel a pang of guilt, but when I look up, his eyes are shut but his smile is wide.
Soon after that, I fall asleep in his arms. Wherever we're going, I know I'll have him with me. I'm thankful that I wasn't the only victor in this year's games, even if it's causing a lot of trouble all around Panem. Who would have thought two mentally unstable people could set fire to a rebellion. I smile for a moment, thinking we may be able to change something. But then I think of my family, and Cato's, and not even having Cato next to me can stop the nightmares I'm bound to have.
