Chapter 26

One Way or Another

One way or another I'm gonna find ya

I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha

One way or another I'm gonna win ya

I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha

One way or another I'm gonna see ya

I'm gonna meetcha meetcha meetcha meetcha

I freeze, terror filling me as I watch the fire spread. It's getting closer and closer. I've heard stories about wildfires and forest fires, how quick they can get out of control, but this is too fast to be real, and I know it's the gamemakers' doing.

"Cato!" I shake him, trying to get him up, but then I remember how difficult it is to wake him and groan.

So imagine my surprise when he wakes up instantly. "What is it?" He asks, but I'm already running to Eli to get him up.

"Oh shit," I hear Cato mutter behind me.

Eli is quick to wake up, instantly on alert. He comprehends what's happening faster than I did. I'm thankful we had the foresight to pack all of our things before we slept in case we had to leave fast. The only thing I see is the little bag from Haymitch that came with the food, which we never even opened.

Knowing it's important if Haymitch sent it, I quickly put it in my pants pocket and grab one of the backpacks while holding my bow.

"We need to hurry!" Cato shouts. He's already grabbed the other pack and his sword. He and Eli are by my side as we sprint out of the forest, the fire catching up to us.

I look back when I hear a hissing noise, almost like a warning. "Duck!" I shout, seeing the fireball aiming right for us. We all hit the ground and the fireball hits a tree not too far in front of us. I can feel the heat pressing in from all around me and inhale smoke. I cough as I get up, and we sprint around the burning tree the fireball hit.

I hear the hissing noise again, and look back to see where this new fireball is aiming. It's heading straight in between Eli and me.

"Eli, move!" I yell at the last second, and we both dive away from each other. I bump into Cato and stumble, but he steadies me and we continue running. Eli is now a few feet away, the fireball having separated us. We keep sprinting with no specific place in mind but just away from the fire.

I hope there's a water source wherever we're running, because that would be the best place to take cover. There are only nine of us left, and I pray we don't run into anybody.

We've probably run about two miles since the fire started, and I can feel it as my muscles scream at me to take a break.

Dread fills me when I hear the hissing noise again. When are they going to stop?

Cato looks back before I can and groans before tackling me to the ground and shielding me with his body. My cheek scrapes the dirt and I'm squished underneath him. Half a second later the fireball whizzes by and I hear Cato cry out, his voice filled with pain as his fingers tighten on my waist.

He rolls off of me when the coast is clear, but when I'm out from under him he rolls back onto his stomach. I see why when I'm on my knees.

"Oh god," I choke out when I see his back. It's burnt through the fabric of his shirt and jacket, and about 65% of his back is burnt, layers of skin just gone. I go to touch his back, wanting to comfort him, but pull back when I realize how stupid that would be.

He's breathing heavily, his hands digging into the ground, but he doesn't make any nose.

I open my mouth to speak when he slowly starts to get up.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shriek.

"We have to keep going!"

I never realized how loud a fire would be until now, when I have to concentrate just to hear his voice.

"You're hurt! You can't move!" I shout back at him, tears filling my eyes when I think about how much agony he's in. If only he hadn't tried to shield me!

I look back and see the fire raging on, inching closer by the second.

"Yes I can," he mutters through clenched teeth, determined to get up. I don't even know how he's moving right now, let alone trying to stand. Burns are the worst kind of pain imaginable, especially him with how deep it went.

"Keep moving! I'll catch up with you!"

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to leave you." Especially after you saved my life, I think to myself. He's hunched over on his hands and knees on the ground, so I reach down and grab his arm to help him up.

"Just go, Prim!" He says through clenched teeth. I don't respond, but put his arm around my shoulder and grab his waist so he can lean on me. I leave the pack behind, but swing my bow over my shoulder.

We start out walking and work up to a slow jog, but it's better than nothing. Every time he makes a noise in pain, I flinch. I can't believe he's actually jogging with that burn on his back. I can barely see since it's the dead of night, but it's probably a second or third degree burn. I'll have to get a closer look before I can know for sure, but I know he is in an unbearable amount of pain right now. He's not even leaning on me that much!

I look back and see the fire practically nipping at our heels. Viewers must be getting a kick out of this. The Spark of Panem who rode in on the chariot on fire is about to get burnt to death.

I don't know where Eli is, but can't see anything with the smoke and fire surrounding us. I vaguely wonder if the gamemakers separated Eli from us on purpose, especially with that perfectly aimed fireball between us. Why on earth would they separate us?

Relief overwhelms me when I see a small lake in the distance, surrounded by rocks.

"Look! Just a little farther and we'll reach that lake," I say, nodding towards it.

Cato doesn't respond, but he does pick up the pace a little. I can hear the hissing noise again, and mutter a 'sorry' to Cato before dragging him with me to the ground.

He moans in pain when his back is extremely jostled and I feel horrible for dragging him to the ground but there was no other choice.

The fireball passes by seconds later and when it does I feel extreme heat on my bicep. Before I know it I'm shouting out in pain too, when I feel the burning sensation get past the layers of clothing to my skin.

"You okay?" Cato asks, his voice strained and somewhat panicked.

I nod, knowing my burn is nowhere near as bad as his, and force myself up so I can help him up too. The fire is so close, and I barely get him up and running in time before it catches up to us. I ignore the pain, which is easy to do with the adrenaline pumping through my body.

In minutes we reach the lake and quickly wade in until we get to the middle. It isn't deep, so we're both standing. The water rests at my elbows but Cato's up to his waist.

"Don't get that burn in the water!" I shout at him quickly but a little too sharply.

He looks up at me, and I clarify. "We don't know what's in here and it could infect it even worse."

He nods and we both watch from the protection of the water as the fire stops where the water starts. After a few minutes it just disappears into the ground, like it's vacuumed into a black hole. The smoke leaves with it, and I think we both exhale in relief.

Now that the smoke is gone, I scan the area, hoping to see Eli. He's nowhere to be found, and I get angry at the gamemakers for doing this, for separating us. I know I'll worry about him until I see him again.

I quickly turn to Cato, and can barely make him out in the dark. When the fire left, so did the light it brought with it.

"We should-" he starts, but is cut off when light floods the arena rapidly as the sun rises. "Guess the gamemakers' wanted the day to start," Cato says in a puzzled tone.

Now that there's light, I'm able to see the full extent of his injury.

"Oh, Cato," I whisper in shock, wading over to him. I touch his shoulder where his skin isn't marred by the burn and examine the rest of his back. "We should get out of the water so I can treat this."

I scan our surroundings for a place that provides at least a little bit of coverage, and thankfully see a little opening that's camouflaged by the wall of rocks. It's small, but we can both probably fit through and hide. "Let's go over there," I point in the direction. "If somebody comes we can hide in that opening. It'll be cramped but it's our best option."

Cato nods, and we both start wading through the water. The opening is a few feet above the rest of the rocks, so you'd have to climb a bit to get there. Cato sits down on a rock underneath it. His back is ramrod straight so he doesn't stretch the skin any more than he needs to.

I watch him for a moment as he closes his eyes and just takes a moment to breathe. "I'm gonna climb up there to see if we'll be able to fit."

He looks at me before warily looking at the wall I have to climb. "Be careful."

I just nod and drop my bow to start climbing. It truthfully isn't that high up, but I climb trees, not rocks. I have to plan out where I put my hands and feet ahead of time, but I get there eventually. When I see the opening, I notice that we can both fit in there comfortably and lay side by side.

I can't tell how deep it is, so I decide to check it out. I have to use muscles in my arms I didn't know I had to pull myself up into the opening. I crawl forwards on my elbows, and am surprised when I don't immediately meet a wall. I keep crawling a few feet and start to see a light. As I get closer it gets brighter, and I crawl through to find a huge cave with an opening on the ceiling to let in light. I stand up and realize that what I crawled through was more like a small tunnel, but this cave is huge.

"Prim?" I hear Cato's worried voice perfectly, and realize that we'd be able to hear if anyone comes near. This is the perfect shelter. We're even right by a water source!

"I'm okay!" I yell back when I gather that I hadn't responded to Cato.

I quickly climb back through the tunnel, and when I make it out I climb back down the rocks. The climbing stretches the skin of the burn on my bicep, and now that the adrenaline is fading I definitely feel it.

I jump down the last few feet, right in front of where Cato is sitting.

The smoke probably blackened my face, so when I smile widely at Cato I probably look deranged. "There's a huge cave up there. It's perfect. I can even hear as clearly in there as if I was sitting out here. There's a small tunnel that leads to it. It was obviously put there by the gamemakers on purpose, but…" I shrug. "The only problem is getting you up there. The climbing would stretch the skin on your back and be pretty painful."

Cato studies the wall we'd have to climb before standing up. He winces at the motion, but then gives me a small smile that seems to take a lot of effort. "Can't be worse than running, right?"

I look at him for a moment, amazed at his strength. And his pain tolerance. I have to go on my tiptoes to grasp his cheeks before leaning in and kissing him right there. I pull away after a few moments, and fold my hands behind my back. His smile looks more genuine now, and he nods at the wall. "Let's get climbing, then."

It takes Cato a lot longer to climb, but we get there after a while. I try to help him, but there's no way to avoid moving his back.

We can both fit in the tunnel side by side comfortably, and I tell him we have to crawl through on our elbows because the ceiling here is short.

"Ugh, I hate army-crawling," he mutters, but we start doing it anyways. He has a permanent scowl etched on his face, and I think this might hurt more than climbing did.

"Army-crawling?" I ask, never having heard of that term before.

"We had to do it at the academy. For training," he mumbles.

He looks ashamed admitting that, and I stop, putting my hand on his forearm, halting him. "Hey. It's not like you wanted to go there. You were forced to." I remember him hinting at the fact that his dad forced him to join the academy.

He nods, but continues on without responding. I sigh, knowing I probably won't be able to convince him that I don't think any less of him for being in the academy. He even volunteered to save his brother!

We 'army-crawl' through the rest of the tunnel, and when we get to the end we both stand up. Cato turns in a circle like I did. "Wow."

"Right? We have water, and we can hear everything going on outside."

It is perfect. I know that we're safe here. For a while, at least.

A/N: Hey guys! New chapter for you, even though it's a bit of a filler. I always feel awkward writing kissing scenes, I don't know why haha. Love your reviews! Let me know what you guys think about this chapter! :)

Should I do another POV of the people back home again? Like Haymitch or Rory?

Sidenote: The song I chose for this chapter, One Way or Another, is a cover of the original done by a band called Until the Ribbon Breaks, so it's a different, slower version that I love and you guys should check out