Chapter 24

"What was that?" I shout, when we run into Cato and Clove.

"I don't know," Clove replies. Then, she adds carefully, "I think it came from the Cornucopia."

I follow her concerned gaze in time to see Cato storm off towards our camping, his veins perfectly noticeable in his neck, which has turned bright red. We follow him, and again it crosses my mind that Cato may not be completely sane- and who knows what he can do in his rage? Every time he loses his temper, he loses his reasoning as well, and Clove seems to be the only one capable of calming him down.

Things just go worse when he catches sight of our pyramid of supplies- or what's left of it. Someone, in some way, managed to activate all the land mines Chip had placed so carefully around our provisions, turning them into a pile of incinerated trash, and leaving nothing behind. Cato is angrier than ever- even more than when he punched me; this time, he can't even talk- he seems about to have a stroke, with his veins pulsing dangerously on his temples, and he's opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. Then, he falls to his knees, grabbing fistfuls of his own hair and yelling at the top of his lungs, and starts punching the ground violently.

I try not to roll my eyes; I don't really get why he is so upset about losing a bunch of boxes. I've lost so much in the past days that I truly don't mind any of this.

"It's safe to go," says Chip, after throwing a bunch of stones into the fumy wreckage and nothing happening. Clove and I approach the remains of our supplies, and I pretend to look for whatever the explosion may have spared, even though I know nothing's left; Cato just chooses to kick every container he runs across, still yelling incoherently.

Suddenly, Cato stops, and turns to Chip with the deadliest look I have ever seen in his eyes. "You fucking idiot!" he shouts, as he strides towards him furiously. "You should have predicted this!"

Chip has the good sense to turn around and run, but it's too late; Cato catches him from behind, locks his hands around his head and brutally twists it to the side. The cannon doesn't go off fast enough to muffle the sick sound of neck bones snapping.

"I'm going back in there! I'm going back and I'm going to tear out her limbs, one by one!" he vociferates. By 'her', I suppose he's talking about Katniss.

"Cato! Cato, please listen!" Clove is desperately tugging on his jacket, and manages to calm him down enough for me to step in.

"Dude!" I point at the sky. "Whoever did this is dead!"

"There's no way anyone could detonate all the supplies and survive," Clove adds. "They were probably blown up to pieces and we didn't hear the cannon."

"Yeah," I say, relieved that Cato seems less and less likely to take out the rest of his rage on us. "We'll find out who did this when the faces appear tonight."

Actually, I'm not really concerned about finding out who destroyed our supplies. Watching Cato snap Chip's neck like that just because he made a mistake made me think about how he punched me for letting Lover Boy in our alliance; would he have blamed Serena for the same reason? After all, she was the one who talked him into allowing Chip to join us. I grit my teeth at the thought of Cato getting those filthy hands around Serena's delicate neck. I would have killed him without thinking twi-

I'm dead, Marvel. I can't suffer.

I rub my eyes, trying to make Serena's voice go away. That's it- tonight I'm leaving the Careers, one way or another. Now that Cato has settled down, he's talking to Clove again and ignoring me; I follow them as they step away from Chip's body and wait for the hovercraft to pick it up. I watch sorrowfully as he disappears towards the sky- he was a nice kid, after all. Now there are really only three of us left, and I can't help but think how the only Careers left besides me are precisely the ones I wouldn't have minded to see killed first.

As we wait for the identity of the bomber to be revealed, I lay back and close my eyes, dozing off shortly after; this time, I don't dream about Serena, but there's a horrible symphony with her screams as she died, coupled with the District 10 boy's and the crack of Chip's neck. So it's actually a relief when the anthem wakes me, before they show the seal and the faces of the tributes who died today.

First they show Chip's picture; then, the boy from District 10, meaning that either Rue, Thresh, Katniss or Lover Boy are dead. We wait patiently to find out which one did it… But the seal reappears instead. Out there, someone is laughing at us.

"Alright, let's go," Cato says grimly, as he and Clove put on their night-vision glasses. I light up a branch I pick up from the ground to use as a torch, and as we quickly approach the woods I realize that it's now or never.

"I think we should split up again," I blurt out, after a while. "Whoever exploded our food will not be expecting that."

"Okay," Clove says suspiciously; I can tell she knows what I'm doing. "I'll go with Cato, and you-"

"I'll go this way," I say, before I turn around and disappear into the darkness, without looking behind; I'm getting rid of them, at last; I don't even mind where I'm going, as long as it is far away from Clove, Cato, and his little fits.

The last time I was alone here, it was on full daylight, and I was looking for Serena. But now, with the light of the torch casting shadows on the path in front of me, I feel completely alone for the first time since I entered the arena.

I just miss her so much.

I've reached the top eight, just like I always dreamed- I'm almost a victor; I can imagine that right now a team of reporters is on their way to District 1, looking forward to interview my family and friends. I can practically imagine it: Crystal will be competing against Flint and the rest of my friends, to see who can come up with the most embarrassing story about me; Jem will… well, Jem will probably speak excitedly about how he can't wait to become eligible to be in the Games; my mother will fake a smile and tell the reporters just how grateful she is that I'm being given this chance to bring honor to our district. And my father… I hope he feels proud of his son, and shows them just how happy he is that I'm on my way to glory. All of them, expecting me to return home.

And I will return home. I'm not going to give up now.

But what will happen then? I'll go back to District 1, move out to a bigger house, and be absurdly rich. From time to time, I will have to work as a mentor, but District 1 has many victors. No one in my family will ever have to work again; perhaps I will even get married, to some upper-class wealthy woman. But I will forever be haunted by the memory of the girl I dared to love exactly when I shouldn't.

I sit by a tree and look up at the deep blue sky, with bright stars sprinkled all over it, but I'm not actually watching them.

I don't even want to think about what Serena's family must be going through right now: being forced to watch their sister die just a few days after the arrival of a baby. Getting her body delivered in a wooden box. I shiver, and it has nothing to do with the cold night air; maybe they've even already buried Serena, and she's now lying underground, alone in the dark. I remember her saying she didn't have many friends- did they go and say goodbye as the coffin was being lowered? I'm pretty sure that girl she used to talk about- Sally, I think that was her name- did, but I wonder if Annie Cresta was able to pull herself together.

Then, of course, there are her mentors, who are still somewhere in the Capitol, even though both the tributes from their district are dead- that old lady, and Finnick Odair. I bet he's been watching me, making sure I kept my promise. I bury my face in my hands; if I manage to get out of this alive, I will be forced to look into his eyes year after year, and spot the silent accusation in them. You ran away when she needed you the most, they'll say.

I guess I must have zoned out, because when I finally decide to get up and go check some of my traps, I'm really cold, and my limbs are stiff. As I head for the closest one, I try to be as quiet as possible- if there are any tributes around, I don't want them to acknowledge my presence until I reach them. I don't have any luck on the first two traps, though, so I decide to get some rest; I don't even bother about climbing a tree- the only person out there who may possibly be able to kill me is Katniss, and she's already shown that high trees are the least of her problems. I just curl up on a bed of moss, and even though I'm freezing and, more than ever, missing Serena's body heat- I left my sleeping bag back at the camping- I manage to drop off.

The sun is well high up in the sky when I finally wake up, meaning I slept a lot more than I should; however, I feel well-rested for the first time in weeks, and ready to hunt all day. Before I go, though, I decide to look for water and take a bath; after walking for about half an hour, I run across a wonderful small pond with fresh, clear water. I catch some fishes with my spear, and while I wait for them to cook on the fire I set up with the help of Serena's last match, I take off my jacket- it's too hot to wear it anyway-, shirt, boots and pants- I hope my female sponsors are enjoying the show- and plunge myself up to my neck in the water.

I scrape off the dried blood of the boy from District 10, which had gotten stuck to the skin of my hands and under my nails, and study the swellings left by the tracker jackers; even though I pulled out the stingers, they don't show signs of having gotten any better, and are now as hard as rocks, and still pouring liquid. Then I remember how deformed Serena- not to mention Glimmer- looked, and immediately forget about the pain; I feel a new wave of hatred for Katniss, and the thought that this might be the day I catch her at last is enough for me to bring myself to step out of the water and get going; I quickly eat my fish and, not even bothering about letting myself dry out, I put my clothes back on and head for my next trap.

However, I'm not lucky; most of the traps have been left untouched, and one of them has even gotten untied, and is now completely useless; I set it again and walk away, annoyed that I haven't caught anyone: it might be true that yesterday two tributes died, but it is never enough for the Capitol people, especially now that there's only a few of us left.

I walk for an hour or so before I discover the remains of a campfire; I stare at it for a moment, as its meaning sinks in: after the column of smoke that lured us into the woods, there was a second one, and if I'm not mistaken, this is what's left of its source. This means that whoever blew up our supplies had an ally that acted as a decoy. I look behind, to the place where we saw the first column of smoke, and then forward again, gazing in the direction of my last trap, the one I set the furthest from our camping.

What if…?

The trap is still three hours away, and even though I run for most of the way, it's already late afternoon when I get near it; I slow down and begin to walk carefully, trying not to alert my possible prey. Above my head, the mockingjays sing a tune they picked up somewhere, that I hope muffles the sound of my steps.

I hide behind a tree, peeking at the clearing where I left my trap, and smirk when I see it- on the ground lies a figure, still too far away to recognize, but undoubtedly human, helplessly trying to set free from the net. I decide to do things differently this time and get this over with fast; I grab my spear more firmly and take a deep breath- the moment I burst into that clearing, my victim will become aware of my presence, and possibly warn someone. I get out of my hiding place abruptly, running towards my target, who has probably already seen me; I raise my spear, and…

… and the person inside the net screams.

I stop running so suddenly that I almost lose my balance, with my spear still raised over my head. That scream, so high-pitched and childish, can mean only one thing.

Rue. I caught Rue.

I stare at the little girl, who's desperately trying to escape a few feet ahead, as plenty of thoughts run through my mind: I promised Jem I would never hurt little kids like him- out of a joke, yes, but it was still a promise. I think about just leaving her here- she would end up being found by another tribute (hopefully, not Cato or Clove), or eaten by a wild animal- and simply walking away.

"Katniss!" Rue screeches. "Katniss!"

As soon as I hear the name, I'm filled with a blind rage like I've never experienced before. Around me, everything turns red, and all I can see and hear is Rue pleading for help.

For her ally's help.

"Rue!" Katniss's worried voice calls from the trees. "Rue! I'm coming!"

I'm transported back to the lake; I'm calling for Serena, and she's not answering. Because she's helplessly lying on the ground, with no chance of surviving, and thanks to Katniss I'm forced to watch her die. She screams, and the entire world seems to freeze.

"She killed my Serena," I hiss, even though I'm pretty sure Rue doesn't hear me.

It may not have the same effect as killing Lover Boy, but it will do.

Don't worry. It will be quick, I want to say. I just need Katniss to watch.

But there's no time for that, because suddenly Katniss is storming out of the trees, reaching her hand to Rue.

Before I change my mind, I throw the spear.

I only manage to take a couple of steps forward, in order to remove the spear and let the child die quickly, before the arrow pierces right through my neck; I widen my eyes in shock for a second, the sight of Katniss's bow and the meaning of all this sinking in.

The pain is so agonizing I want to scream, but I can't.

I'm sorry, Dad, I think, as I fall on my knees. Now I'll never be a victor. I'm sorry, Mom. I'll never go back.

I pull out the arrow as I collapse on top of the dying girl, feeling the blood going up my throat, filling my nose and my mouth, preventing me from breathing. I'm drowning- how ironic. After all the work Serena went through to teach me how to swim. It's almost laughable.

Serena. At least, my suffering will finally end.

"Are there more? Are there more?" The corners of my eyes are going dark, and I can barely hear Katniss. She shoves me onto the grass, away from Rue, and the flowers are the last thing I see; I can't help a fading, bloody smile.

Lilies. White lilies.

My only regret is not having kept my promise to Jem.

I confess that writing this part completely broke my heart, especially since it (kind of, eheh) means the end...

As usual, I want to say thank you to A-Wayward-Soul (I seriously can't thank you enough! Like I said before, English is not my native language, so each positive review on the grammar and plot means a lot to me :') ), Allygrlfrnd, julesjumper, Luli Cullen, chocolate-chip-cookie-monster, Starzy12 (Oh, now I kind of wish I had thought about that idea!) and the anon who reviewed the last chapter :D

Well, about the fact this story is ending- there's still the epilogue, although I'm not sure it should be called that... because I'm working on a sequel! I'm not sure if you will like it, though, since it will be almost completely AU. But let's just say it has to do with something Marvel said back in chapter 10 :P

Again, than you all!