My dad taught me to hunt long ago. Or more accurately, he taught me the ways of the woods. How to use the wind to tell what direction the weather is going. How to track animals by their footprints, their trails, whatever they may leave behind. It's all there, ripe for the right person to take and abuse. It can lead to what I know best-snares and traps for those animals. It's simple really even if most of the knots aren't-an art form if you will. It relies heavily on intuition and patience, something my dad had an exuberant amount of. Not that his intuition could save him from the mine explosion that killed him…
But what he didn't teach me is what Katniss did-actually stalking the animals with the intent to kill them in the here and now, no tricks or traps necessary. No waiting. Just a simple pull on a string, a release that if aimed right, your dinner would be just seconds away. She taught me how to use a bow and arrow, but what was left unsaid was how different the prey react. In both snares and an arrow they don't have a lot of time, but the fault is different. In the trap isn't something of their own fault, walking right into their own death. It takes a few minutes I'd guess to die, maybe more. With a bow, it's the hunter's fault entirely-unless you count ignorance of the prey. It's all on you unless you blame the prey for being stupid.
In this case, I had already blamed the prey. I just allowed them to walk into a trap first.
And like I had hoped, their reaction is award-winning.
A breadcrumb trail?
We saw the fire from camp and ran for it, mostly out of habit. We don't really have to kill other tributes now with this rule change that's unlike anything I've ever heard of for the Hunger Games, but it's not out of the ordinary I suppose. They do love their surprises and well, why not? What do they lose if we kill an Intruder? Nothing really. In fact, they'd thank us.
Or at least that's the way I saw it. In fact, I find it to my advantage since it would be faster to end the Games. And as Cato pointed out, we both could kill the Intruder and be Victors. Our district wins a lot of the time compared to other districts aside from Districts 1 and 4 (though more recently they've been lacking since they haven't had one since the mad girl four years ago), but two Victors is unheard of. While I had a lot of pride and would like to be selfish and take it for myself, I can't deny that if it comes down to that at least I'd get what I want. You know, assuming Cato makes it to the end.
It was implied with the rule change that no more killing tributes is necessary, but that doesn't mean it's not allowed. I mean, this is the Hunger Games for fuck's sake-there's supposed to be killing. This is what I signed up for. So really the plan now is to take out tributes along the way so that we get to the Intruder before anyone else. Usually I'd say that the other tributes are too lowly to even have a chance in hell, but this is the year of strange occurrences. Thresh is a beast himself, and who knows the fuck why Twelve got her damn eleven in training. Lover boy claimed it was knives and such, but I had a feeling he was lying. She didn't pick up the right knife for that and the only proper throwing knife she has is the one I stupidly didn't kill her with in the bloodbath. Besides, I didn't really buy that crap that she was pissed at him for claiming he shouldn't have said what he did in the interviews. I'd be over the moon if someone blatantly gave me a chance in the spotlight.
But all the other tributes, they're nothing truly. Just obstacles in the way of the Intruder, potentials to take away my victory. Which means I doubt they're going to lead us to them with this breadcrumb trail.
So…Twelve? We haven't seen her since the beginning of the Games, though I'd assume she was the one who killed Four when we got that little bird trapped in a tree. But even then she wasn't brave enough to come out and fight us on her own. So must be Thresh ready to take his stand or with some intention to join up with us to find the intruder which doesn't really seem like him, but hey, it's a new Games with new rules. So the more likely is to do what we plan to-take out the competition.
I mean it is a bread crumb trail. He does hail from the Agriculture district for fuck's sake. Some game of his to clue us in? Perhaps.
"Hey guys," I whisper pointing down to the sticks leading us to wherever, "I think it's Thresh."
"Why the fuck would he lead us to him? Seems pretty flashy for a guy from Eleven that doesn't even talk." Marvel questions. It's a legitimate question, but I have to be right.
"I don't know, maybe he wants to take tributes out?" I reply with a sarcastic layer, indicating I've already thought about it. I can't be sounding stupid.
"Could be." Cato takes my side and I give him a grateful smile. We don't really get along per-say, but neither of us are fond of Marvel. It's actually too bad that there was a rule change in a way because we were planning on getting rid of him soon, but now it's a bit harder. Of course if it is Thresh and Cato and I were too busy to help him…well, who could argue over that outcome?
"So what, you think he's just going to be waiting for us patiently in the woods until we-" Marvel begins to argue, but cuts himself off when he sees something and his eyes go wide.
"What is it?" I ask curiously before my eyes land on what he's obviously seeing. The worst part is, he was right-it's not Thresh.
It's a message.
They're six stick figures, three with a bright red 13 on them. They stand in a row, the first being Glimmer. The stick figure looks like it's been in a noose, which if you think of the way she died is not very accurate but funny in a way if you have a twisted sense of humor. I mean, she did essentially tie her own noose by taunting that tribute. The second and third are the tributes from Four, Danio and Molly. Danio's has a stick obviously meant to be an arrow from his back, and Molly's has a red line on her neck. All three of those have some kind of necklace on, though from here I can't tell what they say if they say anything.
It's not hard to guess who the other three are.
Us.
Just out of curiosity I stalk over to the three at the end, finding my name on the one next to Molly. How dare they! This is clearly some kind of message of the order that our alliance is going to be killed, and if I'm next they've got another thing coming. But one thing has become clear to me-this isn't the work of Thresh.
I go back to the breadcrumb trail and pick up one of the sticks as Cato and Marvel come out of their shock and start calling out obscenities, Marvel cat calling for Thresh and calling him a pussy for hiding. I ignore them for a moment, far more interested in getting some kind of clue. I find something I missed before on the sticks, a carved in 'I' on it. I go to the next one and find that it's the same.
No, this isn't Thresh at all. It's not even a tribute that sent this message.
It's the Intruder.
In anger, I throw the sticks at the nearest tree along with one of my knives, wishing I could sink it into the Intruder's chest, head, and everywhere else about a hundred times. It's been fucking with us this whole time! It wasn't that girl we killed that set that trap that killed Glimmer, it was the Intruder. Therefore it couldn't have been Twelve that killed Danio. We never did see her, we just assumed that she was too chicken to come out and face us. But really, it must have been it. The Capitol's precious little toy. They hid it just so we wouldn't catch on that they had this little trick up their sleeves. And Molly-she must have died by it too, from the looks of it a knife to the throat from behind. She never would have even seen it coming, never would have known there was an Intruder in the first place coming to kill her.
The Intruder isn't an intruder at all. It's a cheater. It's some sick twisted joke of the Capitol's to fuck with us, kill us. To give those idiots who don't even train some kind of chance in hell at winning.
But why?! We're the ones that give them the show, that put the most work in. That deserve to win. I deserve to win!
And…and they gave this cheater a means to fuck with us in it's programming. The Intruder knew that Glimmer would taunt and none of us would think anything of it that she got killed in a trap. It knew we would assume Twelve was hiding that she could use a bow and damn well but she was too scared to come out and play. It knew Molly would go out looking for revenge on her own.
Theyf knew it could let us in on the little joke now that the Intruder rule is in place. It's not just trying to kill us-it's taunting us.
Well if it wants to play, they should know that this is my favorite game. And if the Intruder isn't above cheating then neither am I.
"Guys, let's go." I yell back to the boys who are now kicking down the little display, Marvel yelling that we should set it on fire and show them whose boss.
"Thresh is going to pay for this!" Cato screams, "I'm going to fuck with him so hard that he won't know his feet from his elbows!"
"It's not Thresh!" I declare, pointing to the trail I just came from. "There were 'I's on the sticks we followed here. It's the Intruder's work."
"The Intruder can go to hell then. Let's go find this fucker and burn them!" Marvel cries out, and we all start following him back to camp to come up with a plan.
But I stick around, waiting for it to show up. There's no way it wasn't there watching that little show. I would want to, and I doubt even an Intruder could resist that. No matter what the Capitol told it to do.
It doesn't take long, just a few minutes. It seems to be a boy or maybe a young man a few years older than me, maybe more. He's tall and if I wasn't fuming at him for this fucking display and all he's done, I'd want to go at him he's that attractive. At least they chose well for their pet, I'll give them that. I wonder how this boy managed to break in if that's what he did at all. I was suspicious from the start that it was really an intruder in the arena. Not only does no one know exactly where the arena is until after the Games, but there's a force field around it; no one would be able to break in. Which means that this guy is in on their little game in the Capitol and has probably been here since the start or even before. Probably got all sorts of weapons and supplies we don't have.
And the best part is, no one would be looking for him. We didn't even know he existed until the announcement. But if the Capitol wants him dead-which clearly they do, or at least they want us to try for their own entertainment-then it must be a punishment of some kind. Maybe he did something so bad that it warranted this as his sentence. I wouldn't put the Capitol above it-I mean, we send our prisoners to the Capitol to be avoxes. Why not make this guy go into the Games?
Too bad his sentence is about to end in death anyway, and I'm going to be the Victor. By myself. Cato can go fuck himself for leaving me the bait.
The Intruder doesn't see me yet, he's just smirking at the destroyed display, clearly amused by the boy's antics. I ready four knives in my fingers and take careful aim that I don't need to before the Intruder looks right at me, eyes wide. But it's too late to run as I fling the knives away.
But something's wrong. The knives pierce me instead, all in the back of my neck in one place. I start choking on blood and can't breath before falling to the ground gasping, my vision going blurry before black and I drift off into nothingness.
It's only as I'm fading that I realize that I never let the knives go.
I will never not be surprised by this development.
I was in a tree watching the antics of the Careers at my display, deciding that they could wait to be killed. It was much more fun stalking them individually, and the girl had already figured out it was me instead of Thresh who they were originally blaming. So instead, I waited for them to leave to look at their destruction, wondering idly if it was worth doing again. But then, something in me told me to look up, that I was in danger. I saw Clove readying knives and she was about to let them loose on me. Initially I thought I was just an idiot for not realizing it was a trick on her part in leaving and that I really should have at least nocked my bow before coming down to inspect, but that's still true.
But I'm not the one who killed Clove.
Katniss did.
She must have been coming because of the fire or something and saw Clove trying to kill me. Lucky for me, because there's a very likely chance I'd be dead right now if she hadn't been. It practically takes my breath away that she saved me. My hunting partner. Who apparently believes I was not only dead but now a mutt.
But she saved me. So she couldn't.
"I thought you thought I was a mutt." I break the silence as she looks at Clove on the ground in her last seconds of life, eyes wide and apparently in shock. I suppose I should be too, but she did what she had to do.
She breaks off her gaze to look at me, her bleary eyes hardening as she does so. "You are. But I'm not going to let a Career kill you."
"Well thank you then." I reply sincerely, still frustrated at her. If only she wasn't so damn stubborn and set in her way of thinking. "And I'm not. Which you must know since you saved my life."
"I still have to go home the Victor. Prim and mother need me." She answers, and I can see her eyes begging to look down at Clove as a cannon goes off. It's been a year, but I can still read her like a book. She's ashamed of her actions even though she did it to save me. She no longer had to kill tributes out of necessity and she did. She feels as if she's a monster. It makes me want to take her and shake some sense into her that she had to if she was going to save me, but it wouldn't help right now. I need to convince her that I'm not a mutt and I'm actually alive before I can deal with her conscience. It makes me wonder why I don't feel that bad about killing them. They're just Careers.
Actually, I'm more terrified that she saw my display. You know, before it got destroyed. I can't imagine what she'd think of me doing that. Even I can admit it was a bit insane though it had the desired effect.
"Well I'm right here." I point out, dropping my bow and putting my arms out wide, willing her to do it. But I know she won't. She's too raw from killing Clove.
She didn't save me to kill me herself, even if she claims so.
She pretends for a moment that she'll actually take her victory, but eventually sighs and gives up.
"Are you willing to come with me at least?" she questions, having trouble looking at Clove at her feet or me, so she settles for fiddling with her bow. "I don't have to want to come find you every time someone tries to kill you."
I want to laugh at that comment but now is not the time. But at least that's hopeful. If she wants me around it's going to be far easier to convince her I'm not a mutt than if I'm off on my own. Besides, now I can easily protect her.
I nod and follow her from a distance, picking up my bow beforehand. When I pass Clove I bend down to take the knives out of her hands and placing them in my belt for safe keeping. They'd just go to waste if they left with her, and I don't waste anything. Including this opportunity with Katniss even if it's the most difficult thing I'll ever do in my life.