Only one more chapter before the end! The last chapter will be posted by the end of this week so keep an out eye for it! Thanks for reading and enjoy!
I'm walking with Aria and Aleta to lunch where Rowan, Odelia and Warwick await. As we walk we pass Madge who waves at me and I nod in return. I don't know what takes control of me, but I turn around and call after her, "Madge, join us." I nod in the direction of the table where I can now feel everyone staring at me for talking to someone willingly.
Madge brightens at my words and eagerly nods her head in response, practically skipping over to the table to sit. I sit too, ignoring the clearly shocked faces of my friends and turn to the projector to watch the Games. I eat the small sandwich with the last bit of bread we had left, top with rabbit meat a cheese from Prim's goat.
On screen Katniss says, "She's very clever, Peeta. Well, she was. Until you outfoxed her." I'm confused at what her words, clearly have missed something Important. "Gale, you missed it! Lover Boy took out the red head." I turn to him, my expression telling him to say more. He does happily, using big hand gestures and his whole body reenacts the death of the girl from District five all because of some berries.
I've encountered nightlock berries before. They really do look harmless, but in reality, they could take out anyone who didn't have knowledge of the deadly fruit. So now that just leaves three tributes. People talk about Cato and his seemingly indestructible armor eager to see it in action until they all fall silent when realizing that it would be used when fighting Katniss and Peeta.
Their stares return to me, all worried that they've upset me and I'm about to leave the table to escape their many questions that I know they want to ask when Madge pulls out a bundle of strawberries and offers it to the table, taking the attention is off me in an instant. I look towards he to see her smile at me and I nod my head in thanks. She turns to talk to Aria and Aleta who graciously thank her for the fruit.
I take in the projector screen where Katniss is talking to Peeta while they make a fire. They are luring Cato, feeling more confident now that numbers are on their side. But they have no idea about Cato's secret weapon of defense. Madge nudges me, handing me a strawberry. I try to turn the offer down but she just continues to stare at me until I take it. Her smiles widen at my obedience. She then gives the remaining to Ofelia, to Rowan's dismay.
"Nooo." He shuffles to Ofelia about to pounce, but Warwick, her knight in shining armor stands blocking his path. Rowan tries to sidestep him but fails and instead begins to grovel on his knees for more. "Please, just one!" Ofelia, laughs behind Warwick, clutching the bag of strawberries. She then takes one out, stands on a chair next to Warwick and places the strawberry into his mouth. "Thanks" she tells him, blushing profusely.
She jumps down from the chair running into the building. Aria and Aleta are squealing in shock and run after her, calling Madge to follow. Madge laughs and waves in my direction before taking of too. Warwick stand frozen, strawberry hanging out of his mouth, cheeks as red as the fruit. Rowan goes to pull the strawberry out of his mouth so he can eat it, but Warwick pulls away before he can.
The normalcy of it all is a wonderful distraction, but too early does the bell ring returning us to class and into reality. I'm torn between two worlds and right now I long for one, but as I view the screen of Katniss laughing with Peeta and looking at him with an intensity I've never even experienced, I turn away and head to give Warwick a pat on the back, "Congrats," I say and walk off to class. Rowan laughs and chants, "Warwick and Ofelia are in love!" Warwick stays silent by munching on the berry. But he smiles not denying Rowan's taunting. We head into class and I don't look back towards the projector.
ooOOOoo
It's the next day and I'm elbow deep in dirt down in the coalmine. I've been here for some time, coming as soon as school ended, trying to get in as many hours I can to earn that extra bit of money. But as I'm chipping away at the caved wall, an alarm rings out. Instant panic racks my body as I wonder if something terrible is about to happen. Shouts ring out from above and I'm sweating from fear of the wall caving in, burying us alive.
But then Reynolds jogs over to me, "Don't worry, it's just the peacekeepers calling us to come up. I bet something happened in the Games that they want us to be present for." He scoffs but follows the rest of the men on to the elevator. It's only when we're actually above land do I remain my calm demeanor. I really thought the fate of my father was about to crush me.
But instead shouts of the peacekeepers instruct us forward as we're marched to the town square. The square is packed with everyone from the District. I scan the area, my eyes finally landing on my family with Everdeen's. The huge projector shows the Games. I have no idea what has gone on today since I only heard some announcements over the loudspeakers. I didn't even spend lunch with the others because I wanted some advice from my instructor, Theodore on some tips on mining.
Katniss is sitting with Peeta. She sings a melody similar to ones I've heard her hum many times absentmindedly on days when we would go into the woods to escape from our lives for a while. We would lie in the grass and stare at the clouds, not speaking. She would hum and I would listen. Instead, Peeta's the one taking in her sweet voice. Without warning, a mockingjay picks up the tune, joining in her song. Then more and more join until the sky rings aloud with the tune.
"Just like your Father," Peeta says.
"That's Rue's song. I think they remember it," I can hear Katniss just before the camera switches to Cato. It's an image of him I thought I would never see. He's sprinting at an unimaginable pace.
He's petrified.
He runs, not stopping for anything even as sweat drips into his eyes. I can see the glimmer of the armor that protects him, but it must not be any use against whatever he's running from. The camera shifts so it's in front of Cato so we view him full on as he runs. That's when we see it.
Huge, unmistakable muttations appear whipping through the trees. A wolf hybrid made into an even more deadly version of itself. It's twice the size of a regular wolf and runs faster too. No wonder even the great Cato is panicked into running.
Slowly the tune of the birds begins to grow back into the cameras reach, meaning the wolves are now close to Katniss. Murmurs break out in the crowds, some cry out loud in support for Katniss and Peeta, trying to warn her of the danger that lurk, but Katniss and Peeta just remain in serene silence as they listen to the song overtaken by the birds. The tiredness from a day spend in the mine, can't keep me from being on high alert for the danger that is about to befall Katniss.
The birds must sense the danger for one by one the melody cuts off as the birds fly away frantically, leaving an ominous silence in the air. Katniss and Peeta scramble up, already attacking Cato, since they don't see the wolves just yet. Katniss' arrow is deflected off of him easily. Sensing something's wrong, Katniss screams, "He's got some kind of body armor!" She readies to fight as Cato barrel towards them, but when he whizzes by them without so much as a glance, do they finally realize that he's running from something. Both, turn back to see the muttations break into sight, snarling growls that reverberate through the arena. They're off and darting after Cato in a heartbeat.
Katniss runs quick, her agility to move is almost enough to catch up with Cato. But Peeta lags behind since his bad leg only lets him move so fast. So as a dozen of wild Mutts stay on their trail we see all three head to the only place that will hopefully keep them at bay.
Cato is the first to make it to the Cornucopia. He climbs up easily, the golden ridges in the side designed like the woven horn used during celebration. Katniss is not far behind, but as she's about to hoist herself up, she looks back, eyes frantically searching for Peeta. He's still pretty far away, so Katniss unleashes an arrow it the mass of fur and teeth, luckily hitting one Mutt. But an arrow can only do so much.
"Go, Katniss! Go!" Peeta instructs her to climb, knowing there's no more for her to do but help him when he has to climb. So Katniss heads up first, her eyes immediately falling on Cato who lies panting from sprinting. He rolls on his stomach head over the edge and dry heaves. Katniss looks ready to take him out and loads an arrow to shoot at him and I wait for it to bounce of his suit of armor again, uselessly. But she doesn't ever release it since Peeta shouts for assistant now that he's reach the Cornucopia.
Nearly within biting reach are the mutts, Peeta struggles to climb and Katniss let's an arrow fly into the closest mutt. It goes down, luckily harming a few of the others, but still they keep coming howling and teeth glinting in the moonlight, showing the sharp points clearly. Peeta managed to get his feet off the ground away from the sharp claws that tear at the side of the cornucopia where he stood a second ago.
Katniss reaches out to help him and only gives a slight glance back at Cato, making sure he's still debilitated. She relaxes a little knowing she doesn't have another enemy barring down on her from behind for Cato is still immobile, his chest heaving from the effort to catch his breath. He speaks too incoherent and breathy from the lack of air reaching his lungs to hear correctly, but Peeta translates as Katniss shows confusion, "He said, 'Can they climb it'?"
With Peeta safely on top of the Cornucopia, they get a good vantage point of the wolves. All the wolves range in terms of looks. Some are brown with straight fur others close to blond. Some fur is curled and others blend into the night, only the flash of teeth and the white of their eyes can help decipher them. Then I see the collar of the blond haired wolf as it tries to climb on to the Cornucopia. It has a 1 marked on it. Katniss screams, letting an arrow fly into the throat of the wolf. I search her for an injury, not understanding why she screamed. "It's her!"
As Katniss scream her revelation the screen splits in two. On the left side we still have the Games playing, where Peeta is calling to Katniss, trying to get her to explain. Claudius Templesmith laughs and says, "Well, the gamekeepers were unsure if anyone would catch on, but clearly our girl on fire, is more clever than we thought." The side that shows Katniss grows to fill the whole screen once again, but we still have a small picture of Claudius in the top right corner. " It's them. It's all of them. The Others. Rue and Foxface and… all of the other tributes." Katniss shakes as she continues to stare straight into the eyes of the smallest mutt. Claudius shakes his head and states, "It's true. The mutts are exact replications of the fallen tributes. Now you may be thinking, how could you have done that? Don't be frighten, it's all artificial. Nothing more happened to the tributes we lost."
I highly doubt that and so does Katniss. She scrambles away, Peeta trying to calm her is not paying attention to his surrounding and is grabbed unexpectedly by a wolf that sprung up on its hindquarters.
Peeta flings over the side, but Katniss grabs his arm, almost being pulled over the side with him. She grits her teeth as she holds on for dear life. "Kill it, Peeta! Kill it!" Peeta swipes the knife towards the base of the head of the wolf that latches onto his leg. He grips the hilts before slamming the knife right through the skull of the mutt. It immediately releases his leg and falls dead in a heap.
Katniss pulls, helping Peeta scrambles back on to the top of the Cornucopia. Both breathe heavily from the struggle, but Katniss makes it her job to keep an eye on Cato all the same. As a wolf suddenly jumps up, Katniss and Peeta turn their attention away to the enemy. But it's the wrong one.
Cato suddenly stands; his exhaustion must have been all an act, to lead to this moment of surprise. He barrels over to Katniss and Peeta and hauls Peeta out of Katniss grip in a headlock. Peeta claws desperately at the biceps of Cato, fighting for breath. As Peeta stands, we get a clear look at the bite mark left by the wolf that got him earlier. It's bleeds profusely and he stops fighting, hoping no movement will lessen the blood flow a little.
Katniss stands with an arrow drawn and fires, but it just bounces of the armor on Cato. Katniss realizes now that his body can't be hit, but an area left unprotected can. She aims at his head. "Shoot me and he goes down with me." He tightens his hold of Peeta who looks like he's about to pass out from the lack of air.
Katniss stays poised with arrow still ready to fire, but she isn't sure how to go about it without killing Peeta too. Peeta suddenly moves bringing a hand up to where Cato's hand grips him. But he doesn't struggle to be freed. He only uses the blood that's on his finger to draw an X on Cato's hand.
In that second everyone realizes. Gasps echo in the square and Katniss and Cato both get it. But Katniss is one step ahead. She releases the arrow right onto the X drawn on Cato's hand, making him yell and pull back in reflex. Both Peeta and Cato teeter on the edge of the Cornucopia, but Katniss leaps forward, catching Peeta by his jacket and hauling him to safety.
Cato falls. He lands straight into the awaiting mutts. The camera doesn't miss a beat and is focused on the Cato fighting against the band of mutts. He puts up a fight, but he's exhausted, and only has the small knife from Clove to uses against the massive wolves. As one of the wolf's massive head swings in for a bite, it knocks the knife out of Cato's grip and it's over.
The wolves descend, grabbing and biting. His armor lasts, but his hands are torn apart in a matter of seconds since they have no protection. Cato tried to run, even crawl, but the wolves are relentless. Someone screams in the square, and crying is heard from the smaller children that cling to their parents.
It's a brutal scene and we're meant to watch it until the end. And seeing how well Cato's armor is holding up, it's going to be awhile before we get to go home. Peacekeepers surround the square so there's no way of escaping without getting a whipping for it. So we're all left watching to brutal murder of a kid that although was terrible from the start, die in one of the most retched ways cruelly.
Claudius Templesmith screen is brought back up, but this time it shows the audience in the Capitol. Everyone is cheering, laughing and whooping in excitement at the scene. I cannot hide my disgust. Here, in District 12, we're all sick with the thought of watching this unfold, but there, my god they're enjoying it.
We watch Cato being torn apart slowly limb by limb as the armor beings to lose it's affects from the constant bites and tearing from the jagged teeth of the wolves. Having the added screen of the people in the Capitol throwing a party over the brutal torture of a kid, I feel nauseous.
This is the longest night of my life. We stand for hours. People are barely staying on their feet, but we cannot leave. It's the most "exciting" part of the Games and there's no way we can miss it. It isn't until the sun is beginning to rise are we finally told that we can leave. "You must return today at noon, to celebrate the victors." Cato is left bleeding. Hands shredded, face swollen with an eye-swollen shut and flesh ripped to reveal bone.
One by one people leave, shaken by the celebrating Capitol and the last cry of the boy. It's clear that we've won. Out tributes will be returned to us. But the weight of why they have to be returned in the first place, keeps us all from cheering. Later, when everyone isn't exhausted and finally looks pass the brutality of the Games, will people finally begin to cheer. It's been so long since District 12 had anything to celebrate, that even while under the circumstances, we all deserve to shows some pride in our District.
I go to my family and pick up Posy whose dead on her feet. I nod to my mom to go first with my brother's before I go to where Prim and her mom stand. "I'll be over shortly." They nod and I go to my house, dropping Posy into my bed, making sure to wrap her in my father's jacket. She deserves to have it now more than ever.
I make sure my mom eats something since my brother's also went straight to sleep, before I head to the Everdeen's. I just go straight into the house. The TV's on and they sit with cups of tea and one waiting for me to drink along with fruit. I thankfully take it, my stomach grumbling from not eating since lunch time, yesterday.
The screen shows Katniss and Peeta, looking ragged as Katniss huddles underneath Peeta's jacket. The pair has been on the top of the Cornucopia the whole time Cato was being butchered. We didn't get that many shots of them since the killing was what the gamekeepers wanting to focus on, but when we did get shots of them it was when their pure horror was etched into their features. "I think he's closer now. Katniss, can you shoot him?" I feel worn down by having to watch the death of Cato, but I can only imagine being there, 30 feet away from him as his screams of terror fill your mind. "My last arrow's in your tourniquet." Katniss says tiredly, her voice showing how much of a toll this finale put on her.
"Make it count." Peeta says, unzipping the jacket so Katniss can move. Katniss take the arrow from the tourniquet, retying it with as much strength as she can. Then she crawls to the tip of the horn and sits as close to the edge without falling. Peeta stays close to help support her. We see Cato again. Mrs. Everdeen looks away, but Prim and I stare in shock at what's left of him. The camera zooms as his lips move, reading "please". His cry for death will make the capitol happy. Seeing the once strong contestant torn down into nothing. Katniss' shoots, the arrow landing in his skull. Cato is finally dead.
"Did you get him?" Peeta asks. The boom of canon answers before Katniss can. "Then we won, Katniss." But his tone shows he's anything but grateful. The mutts that stayed alive, are called away, their job done. Prim grips her mother's hand and asks, "She won, right?" I nod my head, automatically. Everyone else is gone and with the rule change, both Peeta and her are winners. But as time passes no trumpets sound to their victory. We all look at each other in pure confusion.
"Hey! What's going on?" Katniss shouts as she stands on top of the Cornucopia.
"Maybe it's the body. Maybe we have to move away from it." Peeta suggests.
"Okay, Think you could make it to the lake?" Katniss asks. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter, but logic is the last thing you worry about when coming to the games. So Katniss and Peeta, although it takes them some time, drag themselves towards the lake.
As they reach it, a hovercraft finally comes and removes Cato's body. Relief is immediate between Peeta and Katniss. Their shoulders relax as it all comes to a close. I feel happy too and Prim comes over to give me a hug before she goes to her mom. We all start laughing, happy because finally it's happening. Katniss is coming back. But as minutes pass by and Cato's body is long gone, our happiness returns to confusion that matches Katniss and Peeta's.
"What are they waiting for?" Peeta questions. His face is pale again from the loss of blood and he looks like he's having trouble even sitting up. Katniss notices and looks around for something. She must see what she wants because she gets up. But as she moves she's brought to a stop when the speakers static to life, followed by Claudius Templesmith's voice, " Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games." The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."