Chapter 25: Loverboy's Cannon

It's a view hours before dawn and the night is still. The cave is dark and Katniss is passed out asleep. I have only received a small amount of sleep, but I can't really complain. I move out from the covers of the sleeping bag, away from Katniss, and towards to pack I packed before.

I make sure Katniss has everything before she leaves and get a good look.

Her forehead relaxed from those stress lines. Her face calm, innocent, and simple. Not the same harsh, strong look she gives everyone. It's just Katniss, perhaps maybe before everything turned to shit for her. Maybe she would have been different, but who am I to know? I don't know her situations. I don't know what she's been through. I want to.

I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead. I place a kiss on her soft lips. "I'm sorry Katniss, but I can't risk losing you," I spoke even though she couldn't hear me.

With that I grabbed my pack and sword and head out from the cave, closing it over and making sure no one could get in or out. I make way for the Cornucopia and only focusing on saving Katniss.

The woods are dark and it's hard to see what's in front of me. I lose my balance several times with the way of the land. I take it slow knowing I have time before the feast begins. I think of Clove. We were friends. We were so much alike. We came into this thinking we would do this together, and look at us now. I would do anything for Katniss, and that involves having to kill my friend, my own, if it came down do it. What was I doing? How could I do this? What happened?

But I knew the answers to those questions. I knew what happened, how I could do this, and what I was doing. Katniss. She showed up and stopped all thoughts of winning in my head. I had to protect her.

Hours have gone by and the sky is lighting. I wonder if I am the only one this early, but I doubt it knowing Clove's way of thinking. I think about who else might be here. Thresh. I haven't seen him anywhere. Is he even alive? He could have died in the past few hours.

I sit down waiting, trying to come up with a plan, but I don't know of one.

When I feel a rumble in the ground is when I straighten up and grab my sword. I leave my backpack here hoping I'll be able to run back. A floor opens up and a round table with a snowy white cloth rises. The table consists of backpacks, two large ones with the number two and eleven, a medium-size with the number 5, and a tiny one with a twelve on it. Whatever can save Katniss is in that tiny thing?

I begin to step out from the tress, hoping to be first, but a figure darts to the table fast snatching her backpack and running back into the woods. What the hell?

I tighten my grip on my sword and take a deep breath. This is it.

I take off heading toward the table as fast as my legs could carry me. I focus only on the number twelve not even caring about backpack number two. I didn't need anything. I guess Clove did. But what?

I reach the table seeing that there were two backpacks for district twelve. Shit! Peeta? Could he still be alive? Which one do I grab?

I stare at the backpacks and just decide to take them both. Sorry Loverboy, she's more important, even if she does kill me for this.

I turn at the sound of trees rustling and see Thresh charging at the table too. If there was anyone here that could possibly take me down it would be him.

But I turn back to the table. How furious would Clove be if I took the backpack? Maybe instead of me physically killing her I could take her out by taking what she needed. I hitch the large pack on my back and take the two smaller ones around my one hand, sword in another. Shit this is a lot to carry.

I make my way around the table and try to circle around Thresh, but it doesn't work. We bang right into one another and his anger is on me. What the hell did I do?

"What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" he screams in my face.

"What little girl?" I scream back confused. Who was he talking about? What girl?

"Rue! You're that leader of the pack, you probably killed her," he says and with that he brings her arm back to punch me. I grab his arm realizing I dropped my sword a couple feet away when we slammed into each other.

"No, No, I didn't kill her. I swear!"

"Who else did then?" he lands a hit to my face and I try to throw him off but he was too heavy. He hits me above the eye twice and I get him in the gut.

Where the hell is Clove? Shouldn't she be here by now? Clove!

"It was Clove! It must have been. She's been all alone," I speak defending myself. Well she isn't here anyways.

He stops at this. Eyes still glaring and daring me. "It wasn't me," I speak again.

My eye is throbbing and I couldn't let him be on top of me any longer. I use my strength to push him off and he falls back. I take my chance and grab my sword and run back to where I dropped my backpack in the woods. Great. Another backpack. You really though this through.

I'm almost there when I'm pummeled from the side. I fall once again into the grass. Anger rises within me as I see Clove's smirking face in front of me.

"Missed me?" she asks me as she takes out two knives and stabs them into my hands.

I scream out in pain, almost losing all my senses. "You think you could just leave me here Cato? You think you could run off with that fire bitch and leave us?"

I shake my head not making any sense as I couldn't help but focus on the pain.

"Where is she now Cato? Huh? Did she send you away because she doesn't love you back? Of course she did. She doesn't want a monster like you. Someone who kills innocent people and doesn't even bother with humanity. Someone who grew up without feelings, without true friends, but only blood," she speaks above me, staring into my eyes.

"Shut up Clove! You're just jealous that I left you for someone better. Someone who had more will and strength in the tips of her fingers than you do in your whole body," she snickers at me and presses the knives harder into my hands. I feel the blood seeping out.

"You don't know anything Cato. I am ten times better than her and you know it. She has you drugged or something. You couldn't leave me willingly. I know you wanted us together from the beginning. It was always just us and this way it will be. I bet she's huddled up somewhere dying at this very second because of me. Nothing gives me greater pleasure to have you sit here and wait. Maybe I'll go find her now," she suggests.

"Don't you fucking dare touch her!" I scream as she begins to stand.

She lands a punch to my bruised face causing my lip to bleed. I couldn't take it anymore.

I kick her in the knee and she loses herself falling to the ground. I give her a kick to the face and she throws her head back. I'm stuck to the ground by the knives and I try to lift my hands, but I scream out in pain not able to accomplish anything.

She makes her way back to me when something or someone tumbles on top of her. Nothing surprises me more than this moment. It's Peeta.

He gets on top of her and lands a few punches, but they carry no strength as he's too broken. She pushes him off her forcing a knife into his chest.

Clove stands up grabbing her backpack. "Stupid Loverboy. I'll be back for you Cato," and with that she was gone into the trees just as fast as she came.

"Peeta?" I called out to him.

I got no response. Why did he save me? He hates me. I hate him. So why?

"Peeta!" I call out to him again. I receive a groan as he just lays there bleeding.

What have I done? Why didn't I just run in the other direction? Now I'm stuck here with Clove running around waiting to find Katniss at any moment. Oh, Katniss.

I have failed her these whole games. I wasn't there to protect her even as I promised. I can't treat her as I'm stuck to the ground, my hands bleeding out. She could be dying right now, Clove was right. I am a monster. I will die a monster.

I'm so sorry Katniss. I'm so terribly sorry.

With movement from the side I look over and before I could make a protest Peeta pulls the knife out of my hand with his last remaining strength. My scream echoes in the woods and tears fill my eyes.

Peeta slumps to the side of me whispering he was sorry. With all the might I had within me, all the love I had for Katniss, and all the sacrifice Peeta had taken to get me up, I pulled the remaining knife out of my other hand with another scream.

Blood poured out of both, but I didn't care. I rushed over to Peeta seeing him lying there, barely breathing.

"Why did you do that?" I couldn't help but ask him.

He took a moment to answer as it was too hard for him. "Katniss," he whispered. I understood now. I understood his sacrifice was for Katniss and nothing to do with me. He wanted me to get to her and get her home more than anything.

"I know," I told him.

"Can you…please…tell her I love her, please," he begged. His face was pained and even I couldn't deny his request. I understood his love for Katniss. He was right when he came to me that night. We both wanted to protect the one we loved and that was Katniss. Our beautiful Katniss. "I'm sorry Peeta."

He nodded his head and closed his eyes. And as he lay there dying in front of me, without the one thing he loved and cared for most, I couldn't help but be sad for Loverboy. He loved Katniss more than anyone and he couldn't be the one to save her. But he would. Because without any doubt I would not let his sacrifice go to shame as I would bring Katniss home. He will be the one to save Katniss, not me because without him she would be gone, not just in the games, but at home too.

"Thank you, I will tell her." With his last breath, a smile on his face, and me holding his hand, thanking him, he slipped away and a cannon fired.

It would be the one cannon that I would hold in my heart.