After I shook Ceaser's hand, I went backstage to Brutus, Kesla, and Clove. "Oh Cato dear! That was marvelous darling, truly marvelous!" Kesla said, pulling me into another bone crushing hug. Brutus shook my head. "Not really what I told you to do, but I liked it. You'll pull in sponsors that way boy." Clove didn't say anything. She just hugged me. I was thrown off guard. My face must've shown it, because Kesla signaled to hug back. I obliged, and I immediately thought of Cora. Even though I thought about her a lot, I never knew how much I truly missed her until now.

"Alright dearies, that's enough! We must go to bed now! The games start tomorrow! It's going to be big!" Kesla broke us apart and brought us on the elevator.

We went back to the third floor. I took off my suit and took a long shower. The games are tomorrow. I was having trouble wrapping that around my head. After my shower, I laid in bed and looked out the window, when there was a light knock on the door. Before I could say anything, Clove opened the door and stood there. "Hi." I said hesitantly, eyeing her up and down. Something was wrong. She just stood there, looking down at her feet. It felt like hours before she actually did anything. Still looking at the floor, she said "Do you ever just stop and think? About how wrong all of this is?" Her voice sounded broken, like she had just been crying.

I felt a lump in the back of my throat. I walked over to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled over to the bed. I sat her down and kneeled in front of her. She began to cry.

"Clove, it'll be okay." I said, trying to not sound as upset as I felt. "We're good. We know we're good. The Capitol knows we're good. The other tributes know we're good. We'll be okay, I promise."

"It's not about that." She sighed, grabbing my hand and squeezing to keep more tears from spilling over. "It's about… Well… This is wrong Cato. This is so wrong."

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely confused. This is normal. There isn't anything wrong about it. Clove was quiet, looking at me like I just grew an extra head.

"They're making us kill each other, Cato! How is that not wrong?"

"But Clove, it's just… it's just what happens. It's how it's always been, and it's how it always will be. It's normal." She began to cry again. "It shouldn't be this way." I reached over and hugged her, trying to soothe her. She kept saying it over and over, whispering to herself. "It shouldn't be this way… It shouldn't be this way."

Once again, I thought of Cora. What I would do if this was her and not Clove. Tears ran down my face. "Clove, you need sleep. Just sleep here tonight. I'll stay with you."

I picked her up and placed her in the center of the bed. I took an extra pillow and blanket and laid on the floor next to her. I could still here her sniffling, so I held her hand. When her breathing became more steady, I began to think.

What does she mean "this is wrong?" There's nothing wrong about the norm. It's just how it is. We all want to get home, and only one of us can. But Clove was truly upset about all of this.

Right before I fell asleep, I vowed to keep Clove safe for as long as I possibly could.

Kesla began pounding on the door. Caaaaatooooo! Get up darling!" She opened up the door and stopped when she saw Clove in my bed and me on the floor. We fell asleep holding hands. "What is going on here you two?" She said with a sly smile on her face. I sat up. "Nothing. We just had rough nights is all."

"Oh. Okay then. Well then up up you two! The games start today! You need to get ready!" With that she left the room.

I gently nudged Clove. "Come on. Let's go get breakfast," I said "Before we have to get ready."

She looked confused. "The games are today, aren't they?" She said, eyes going wide, suddenly remembering. I grimaced and nodded. "Let's just go get breakfast."

We both walked into the dining room. Brutus and Kesla were already there. Kesla was jumping up and down in her seat, clearly excited about the 'big day.' Brutus was taking more drugs than usual, popping a couple ever fifteen minutes or so.

I wasn't hungry. Neither was Clove. Kesla kept trying to feed us her eggs. "Come on now dearies, you need to eat! It's a big day!" We just stared at our empty plates.

"Alright you two, listen to me now. I'm going to do everything in my power to get you both sponsors. You don't have to eat now. I'll make sure to get you two food. And medicine. Anything you need. Just give me a sign, and you'll get it. Understand?" Brutus meant business. It was almost touching. I look at him and nod.

I began to think about my 'team.' Kesla, Brutus, Clove, Astin, and even Jolan. It took me till this very moment to realize that these people do care about me. I got up and wrapped my arms around Kesla. She looked ecstatic. I moved on to Brutus. He looked appalled. "Touch me again and it'll be your last." He threatened. The slight spark in his eyes though signaled that he was joking.

We got down to the lobby and were taken into a ship, with two rows of seats along either side. The other tributes were already there. We took the only empty seats left. A woman with a giant syringe immediately came up to me. Before I could do anything she stuck the giant needle in my arm and pressed down. I cried out in pain. "Calm down," she said. "It's just the tracker. So we know where you are in the arena." She touched the watch on her wrist and spoke into it. "All tributes are now marked. Cleared for takeoff." The ship immediately got off the ground and flew for what felt like thousands of miles.

When it finally landed, we were in a basement. I was taken in a strange room that looked like a hospital. Astin was already waiting for me with my outfit. I quickly threw it on and gave him a hug. He patted my back. "You can do this Cato. I know you can." As we pulled apart, he looked me dead in the eye and smiled. "Fierce." I laughed and we both walked to the other side of the room, where a giant tube was. He put me inside of it, saluted, and walked back to a cot in the back corner.

All of a sudden, a countdown started.

Sixty, Fifty Nine, Fifty Eight…

I must've looked scared, because Astin gave me a reassuring smile. I saw him mouth 'good luck' before the floor below me began to rise. Astin got smaller and smaller until it completely went dark around me.

Forty Five, Forty Four, Forty Three…

I began to feel claustrophobic. I thought I was going to be sick. Until I saw a small bead of light right above my head. I leaned against the side and took deep steady breaths until I got closer.

Thirty Nine, Thirty Eight, Thirty Seven…

My head broke the surface of the light. The arena. The cornucopia, with weapons all around. I began to look for my weapon. Against the side of the cornucopia were swords. At least fifteen of them. I knew where I was going.

Twenty Four, Twenty Three, Twenty Two…

I looked at the other tributes. I first saw Clove and stared at her. We both made eye contact and nodded. She pointed to the left, to a place behind the Cornucopia. Then she pointed straight ahead, to Glimmer. That must mean Marvel was behind the Cornucopia. I saw Katniss about six people down from me. I couldn't think about killing her yet until I got my swords though.

This was it. There was no turning back. I need to make my family proud. I need to bring honor to my district. I need to get home to Cora.

Nine…

Eight…

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…