Chapter 25

The next thing I know, I am held in the air by the tribute from Eleven. No, 'held' seems too gentle. I can't move, I can barely breathe... I never like to admit this, but I need help.

Eleven opens his mouth, and shouts at me in a thundering boom. "Did you kill her?

I'm not sure who he is talking about. But I try to wiggle out of his arms. "No! No!"

"I heard you!

"No!" While thrashing around, I catch sight of a large rock gripped tight in Eleven's hand. I do the only thing I can think of. "CATO! CATO!"

"You said her name!"

Did I? I don't remember... So I just keep on screaming for Cato.

It all goes so fast. Eleven raises the rock, and I know that he is going to hit me hard. I make a final attempt to break out of his grasp. But not, it isn't just him; panic is gripping me as well. Though I know his arm is moving fast, it all goes by in slow motion. Right after I've lost all hope, I see a big blur out of the corner of one eye.

Cato slams into Eleven at full speed. The force catapults me through the air, and I hit the wall of the Cornucopia shoulder-first. Bracing for impact, I hear a cannon. It seems as if Twelve was too petrified to leave. It's almost amusing, really, to see why her cannon is going off. It seems as if Thresh landed on her, and is now sitting on her. I guess her airway was cut off, or something.

Once again, everything seems to be going at a slower pace. When I do hit the side, I feel a massive jolt, and a sharp, cramping pain shoots throughout my whole arm. I can't move it correctly, so I use the other to push myself up into a sitting position. Fortunately, my throwing arm is fine...

I look up just in time to see Eleven just barely escape with both the backpacks labeled '11' and '2.' It's okay, though. There really wasn't anything we needed. And with Twelve out of the way, Cato and I will be the only team left...

Cato. He picks me up gently, and carries me inside the Cornucopia. After spreading out a sleeping bag, he lays me down softly.

"I'm okay, really. It's fine." I say this mostly because I can tell that he is freaking out. But he looks my right in the eyes.

"Just let me take a look, Clove." He doesn't wait before unzipping my jacket and easing my arm out of it. I look down as well, and I can see that it is all purple with fresh bruises and swollen multiple times its regular size. We both have had our fair share of sports injuries to know exactly what happened.

Cato takes a deep breath and turns to me. "It's dislocated, Clove. I need to pop it back in place. It'll just keep getting worse if I don't."

"Have you ever actually done that?" I'm getting a bit nervous now. "If not, then no way." With that, I push myself to sit up, but I bump the dislocated shoulder as I do. It hurts so much that I end up falling backwards into his arms."Okay," I whisper. "Go on."

Cato guides me to lay down on my right side. He grabs my left arm as gently as possible, with one hand wrapped around a spot right above my elbow and the other one hovering above the shoulder blade. "Okay, now. Just don't look, okay?"

"Okay," I nod, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to relax. He counts down backwards from three slowly, and I feel everything slip back into place. Other than a bit of pressure, it really isn't all that bad.

"Alright, all done," he says, kissing my cheek gently and holding me close. "I think we should get it looked at when we get back, just in case, but I think you're fine for now."

I nod softly. "Okay. I will. Thank you."

Instead of answering, he just pulls me closer and holds me there. "What's it going to be like when we get back?" The question comes after several minutes of silence.

"I don't know," I respond. I just hope we're this close."

"We will be. I promise you." Once again, he kisses me slowly on my cheek. But this time, it's slightly longer. "Go to sleep," he whispers, stroking my hair back.

I do. And once again, I dream of District Two. But this time, I dream of what our lives would be like together...