It was quiet. Muffled, and far away, but it was still a scream. It wasn't clear whether it was male or female, but it was a scream, and that was all that mattered. Glimmer's feet refused to move at first; afraid and alarmed. But after a few moments, she was darting towards the source of the sound.

Breathlessly, Glimmer ventured throughout the woods, dreading what she would find. She bumped into the odd tree or two, and narrowly missed the rest. The sky was as dark as ever; the endless pit of darkness foreshadowed the boundless darkness that was to come.

Glimmer's bow remained tight beside her, her numb, cold fingers still retaining the grip. It felt like her fingers were fixed to it. Like her fingers could never ever leave it. Just like the memories could never leave her brain. They would remain there forever.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to get her anger and fear out of her system. The sound was burning in her throat. Threatening to come out at any moment. She took a breath, and her throat settled. If she was going to fight, she needed to calm down.

Gasping for breath, Glimmer inhaled and exhaled quicker and quicker. She found it difficult to breathe. She was so tired, yet so determined. She wanted to stop, but she couldn't. The Capitol wanted a fight, and she needed to give it to them. Whether she liked it or not.

Half of her was praying that Cato was okay. But the other half of her hoped that something else had got him, so she wouldn't have to kill him, or even witness his death. But she couldn't get all worked up about some boy. He was a Career, blood-thirsty and brutal. He was Cato. She was Glimmer. So many differences, yet so many similarities. Perhaps they weren't perfect, nobody was. But with their flaws and weak points, that was what made them human.

Another cry. Deeper. But it wasn't a scream.

Realisation hit Glimmer. The cry was so piercing, so lasting, that it could be only one thing.

A howl.

Glimmer froze. Her heart beat faster, and she could almost hear it. The wail echoed in her mind, each time so clearer and clearer of how much danger she was in. Her breaths shaky, she gazed up to the sky and unlike previously before, she saw the brightness and intensity of the moon. It looked so small, so far away. The little circles of detail upon it. The bright glow that traced its outline. So beautiful, so natural. No-one ever had the time in District 1 to notice the beauty of nature. They were so racked up about their new clothes, and new shoes. Similar to the Capitol. Neither of the places cared about the environment. They were too busy for that stuff. Yet they made the arena so striking, so luring, as if it would hide the fact that it were a place of destruction.

Beautiful, yet deadly. Like Cato.

Before Glimmer had the chance to flee, sharp claws pierced into her skin and she was knocked to the ground with a thud. She screamed as the claws pierced into her hair, and forced her to stay on the ground. As much as she wriggled, it did no use. The wolf-like creature was tense above her, ready to begin its meal. Glimmer opened her eyes, slightly, and glimpsed into the mutt's. Strangely, they were a pale blue, and contrasted with its dark orange fur. Its mouth was wide open, revealing razor sharp teeth, which Glimmer could almost feel digging into her skin. The mutt breathed into her face with foul breath.

Glimmer was trembling. A whimper escaped her throat. It's over, she thought. It's over for me. The Capitol had begun the grand finale, and there was no escape. Not this time. She tried to lift her bow and arrow, but the mutt had firmly pressured its paw on her arm. She lost her grip, and the pressure was too strong to retrieve it. Glimmer released a sob, as the sharpness of the mutt's teeth found its way into her right arm. It tore at her skin, and the pain was unbearable. She closed her eyes, tight, unable to even glimpse at the horror that was happening to her arm. Her lip trembled- she wanted to speak, she wanted to scream- but no words came out. Frozen in shock and fear. Weak. The weak girl from District 1. A pretty face, but nothing special. Worthless. She was only noticeable when with the other careers. But the odds were more in their favor than hers. Out of the pack, she was the least likely to win the Games. Everyone knew it, it was obvious. The amount of times that she had missed the target, when practicing her bow and arrow skills during training. But it was her smirk, her mischievous personality that made her threatening. When placed with the other Careers, she seemed stronger than she actually was.

But the Careers were not here anymore. She was alone, and dying. It would take a while until the mutt would finish her. Hours, maybe days. And there she was, waiting for it to finish. Waiting for her death. She couldn't bare waiting. The mutt's tongue pressed against the flesh wound upon her arm, causing it to string agonizingly. Something like a sob escaped her lips, her shaky breaths clear. People back home were watching this. Back in the Capitol, back in District 1. The nation was showing how weak she was. How helpless she was. Showing a seventeen year old girl being murdered. How could they? How could they watch someone suffer for hours and hours? Why? It wasn't entertaining. If Glimmer was watching this back home, she would probably be bored, and turn the television off. It wasn't exactly a fight. She had lost, she was dying. Wasn't that enough? Did they have to continue? Yes. Of course they did. The whole point was to torture the tributes as much as possible. The Capitol didn't care. It didn't affect them.

Glimmer swallowed. Perhaps she deserved it. If you kill, perhaps you should be killed. It was only fair. She wasn't innocent; she was completely and utterly guilty. Perhaps her District would be proud of her, but would her family? Would they be proud that their daughter had killed innocent children? Would they be cheering her on? Glimmer had no idea. Her family were faint in her mind; it had been so long since she last saw them. Nevertheless, she assured herself that they would still love her, no matter what. Perhaps even her father would be proud of her.

What had felt like a lifetime for Glimmer, the mutt finally stopped chewing on her arm. Slobber dripped down its mouth and onto the wound. Glimmer winced, her face scrunched. When Glimmer reopened her eyes to gaze down at her wound, she found the mutt staring right back at her. It brought its face closer to hers, until their noses were practically touching. Glimmer's emerald eyes stared right into the mutt's blues. Her eyes wide in fear and the mutt's narrowed and empty. The mutt released a soft gentle growl, before opening its mouth wide and growling in her face. So powerful that the air blew into Glimmer's face. Still frozen, Glimmer managed to whisper a "Please." The mutt growled again, softly, then backed away, and pressed its nose back onto the wound. It wasn't finished. The pain of saliva against the wound still stung harshly, and Glimmer couldn't bare it any longer. As the mutt pressed its tongue against the wound again, Glimmer's eyes shut securely. The enduring pain returned.

Abruptly, the weight upon Glimmer's arm left. Glimmer's eyes snapped open, and the mutt released a cry of pain. It took a few moments before it collapsed. Gazing up in front of her, Glimmer would be lying if she said that she wasn't relieved. There he stood. The boy who saved her again, and again.

"You know," he begun, "I thought that I was done saving you."

Without a second hesitation, Glimmer stood, and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace, pulling her tighter, reassuringly. When Glimmer finally pulled away, her hand accidently brushed against his neck. When she looked back at it, fresh blood had appeared on her hand. "Cato, your neck…"

"I'm fine," he nodded. "Just a small wound. I'll be okay."

Glimmer pressed her palm against it again, resulting in Cato to flinch slightly. Blood covered her hand, and she brushed her fingertips against it. She shook her head, eyes still fixated on the blood. "You're not okay, Cato,"

"Look," Cato gripped her shoulders, lightly. He looked deep into her eyes. "That doesn't matter. All that matters is getting you out of here alive. All right?"

Glimmer didn't reply. She didn't know what to say. She was shocked. Stunned. Speechless. Did he mean that? Did he really mean that? The two Careers stared at each other for what felt like hours. Trying to read each other's minds. Waiting for one another to break the silence. But neither did, and they just stood, voiceless. Like avoxes. Anxious, deep in thought and silent. Glimmer wanted to say something. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her mouth was dry- even if she did know what to say, she couldn't say it. Cato broke the silence, at last. "Come on," he said.

He extended his hand to hers, and she hesitantly took it. She almost forgot to pick up her bow and arrow, but Cato pointed at it to remind her. They set off, in silence, the only sound the echo of their footsteps. The tension was awkward, uneasy. Glimmer was so confused. Why would he say all that? Why? Why on earth did this brutal, strong boy want to help this small, weak girl? Was it a trick? That was it. It must have been a trick. They would kill Katniss, and at the last minute, Cato would jump out and kill her. That must be true. Glimmer thought. It's to keep the audience entertained. Glimmer managed a weak smirk. Two can play at that game.

Managing the most genuine, innocent smile she could, Glimmer shuffled herself closer to him. Cato noticed, and gave her a small smile back. Glimmer's smile was so wide that it was hurting her cheeks. Her face dropped. She needed more. An idea sparked in her mind, and she gave him a nudge on the shoulder. "I've missed you, you know," she said.

"Yeah," Cato nodded.

"Did you miss me?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Glimmer nodded, thoughtfully. Sometimes she couldn't understand Cato. He was such a mystery.

"Where did you go?" asked Cato. It was a harsher tone than he intended.

She bit her lip. Lying to Cato wasn't easy. "Oh, you know… Just hunting."

"You were gone a while," Cato noted.

"Yeah… Oh, I heard a scream before. Was that you?"

"Probably," he nodded. He stopped in his tracks, and rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed as he noted that it was still bleeding. "God…"

Glimmer bit her lip, and put a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "Still bad?"

Cato scoffed. "What do you think?" He showed her his bloody palm.

"God…" Glimmer barely whispered. She set herself down on the ground "Come here."

Cato sat next to her. Glimmer used her fingertips to retrieve her jacket sleeve, and dabbed it cautiously against Cato's neck wound. He flinched a little at first, but he later calmed down. She dabbed until the blood around the wound had gone. Then, she lifted some leaves off the ground, and held them to the wound. "Now, it's not the best bandage," she said. "But it will do."

"Glimmer Sparks, you're my hero." Cato smiled. Glimmer gave a small giggle. For a moment, she had forgotten how brutal and vicious Cato was. How he was going to kill her, or how she was going to kill him. How they were in a horrible place. And for a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Their gaze held, and their smiles faded. Waiting for one another to look away, but neither did. Though deep inside, it was a good feeling.

Gently, Cato brushed his knuckles against Glimmer's cheek. Glimmer smiled, and closed her eyes. His touch was light, and smooth. Relaxing. Comforting. Just what Glimmer needed. When he stopped, Glimmer rested her head against his chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair. They both tried to hide their smiles from each other. What they were doing was wrong. They were not supposed to do this, not now. They were supposed to be fighting each other. They were supposed to hate each other. But, no. These two teenagers stayed by each other's side. Happy.

But the Gamemakers were not happy.