A.N: Sooo this chapter starts out kinda slow, but I promise it makes up for it by the end! This is it folks! Buckle up and I hope you're ready! ;)

* Chapter Twenty-Six *

The next day is much the same. The storm continues and Cato and I stay holed up in the cornucopia. It's nice to have a respite, though Cato and I agree it's to give Peeta a chance to get better before the final showdown. It has the added bonus of helping me heal too and with a steady supply of Capitol medicine, my arrow wound is slowly closing over and my ribs no longer ache.

"I think it's for us too," I smirk and start kissing along Cato's jawline.

"Then they're trying to drive me crazy," Cato growls, nosing aside the strap of my bra to have full access to my collarbone.

While I would happily spend all day kissing Cato, we are mindful of the eyes of the country on us, and of how easily we are distracted by each other. I don't really want to be killed because we didn't notice someone sneaking up on us. So, we sharpen our weapons. I sort our supplies. He paces the cornucopia. By early afternoon however I'm going stir crazy and propose a short trip down to the lake to refill our water bottles. Cato agrees, but he insists we put on the body armour sent for him and Clove. He calls it 'our armour' and hands me Clove's as if it were meant for me.

I hold it for a long moment and trace my fingers over her name on the wall before putting it on. Clove was half a foot shorter than me and much more petite in every way, but I don't tell Cato I'm worried it won't fit, because he's pretending it was always meant for me. And maybe it was, because the skintight material stretches almost easily over my frame. I'm somewhat dubious about it's durability, but Cato assures me with slightly alarming intensity that an arrow won't be able to pierce it. I put my clothes back on over the top, both because the armour doesn't leave much to imagination and because the element of surprise might let us kill Katniss before she realises her arrows can't hurt us.

We don't see any sign of the pair from Twelve for the rest of the day, but I manage to spear a fish with surprising ease and Cato shocks me by knowing exactly how to clean and gut it, "We don't just learn how to swing a sword and act like an arse," he tells me.

I can tell he's a bit offended, so I make sure to compliment his fire on how it burns so much better than anything I've been able to create.

"Maybe I should have taught you that in Training too," he smirks.

"You were too busy acting like an arse to actually do anything at a survival station," I remind him with an eye-roll as I open a parachute package which has another loaf of bread.

This time it's a smoky one from my district that almost has a hint of pine in it's scent. Johanna's note reminds me that arrogance gets you killed and is probably a timely reminder because I'm definitely getting comfortable in the cornucopia. With Cato and the cosy little shelter, I've felt almost safe the last few days.

"What did you do in training?" Cato asks me with a frown as we tuck into our meal.

I'm confused for a moment, then I laugh as I realise Cato probably thought I disappeared all the time from the Training Centre,"I sat up the top of the roof and watched everyone else," I admit with a chuckle, "I like being up high."

Cato's face tells me he thinks that's crazy and his words reinforce it, "You climbed up to the roof and sat up there like a fucking bird?"

I smirk at his disbelief and nod, "Secrets are a valuable trade and I learnt a lot by watching. A few people knew I was up there, but most had no idea."

"Who?" he asks with surprise.

"Brinna saw me watching," I say and smile as I recall our first conversation, "that's when I knew I was right to be looking out for her. You'd be surprised how few people look up. She was smart and she was a survivor."

Cato nods contemplatively, "Clove said she was always watching. She was sure that she was lurking around the cornucopia, said she'd gotten used to feeling the eyes on her and knew she was still watching us. I thought she was being paranoid."

"She wasn't just watching," I tell him proudly, "she figured out your booby-trap and was nicking your food."

Cato's mouth falls open and then he scowls and shakes his head, "That was a disaster from the start! Just proves you can't trust District Three! Titus always said that, but it sounded like such a good idea…"

I smile because it sounds like some sort of District Two superstition and continue, "Rue found me up there and sat with me once. After the knife incident she'd seek me out to talk to me. I think she really missed her family, she loved talking about them and mine too. She said I was the sort of big sister she wanted to be."

I feel my lips turn down as I think of how she had her whole life snatched away from her and how distraught her beloved family must be. Then my thoughts turn to her district partner. I doomed the tributes from Eleven as surely as if I'd planned their executions, "Thresh didn't like me talking to her," I whisper and hang my head as the bread gets stuck in my throat, "he said I was drawing attention to her, that I'd get her killed. That's why he didn't like me and maybe he was right… she never should have been in the bloodbath," I add quietly, but don't say anything else for fear of angering the Capitol, "you know it was actually Rue who stole your knife?"

Cato's eyebrows lift and he smiles slightly, "She must have deserved that seven."

I smile softly and sadly, recalling the mischievous streak I'd sensed and seen in Rue, "She did," I say simply and think of all the other things Rue deserved. Brinna deserved. Linden deserved. All of us. We all deserved so much more than we'd got.

"Tomorrow we should start looking for Twelve," Cato says some time later, breaking the comfortable silence we'd settled into.

His arm tightens around my shoulders and I know he wants this over with as much as I do. I nod and consider the pair from Twelve. Peeta sort of reminded me of Linden, we could have been friends I think. We weren't though, we were enemies and I owed him nothing. Katniss I owed a good right hook, her I'd easily kill. The Gamemakers' twisted sense of irony about Everdeen's nickname had seen them start that forest fire, it shouldn't have been Linden who died in it.

"I want the Girl-On-Fire," I murmur and meets Cato's gaze.

His jaw tightens but his gaze is steady. Like me, he sees her as a personal grudge to settle, she killed Clove. He doesn't say that though, instead stating, "I've been gunning for her from the start."

I find myself smirking at him a little disconcertingly as I nod my acknowledgment of this statement and then warn him, "If I have an opening, I'm not going to hold off swinging. You aren't the only one she's burned."

Cato considers this and then nods, "Lover-Boy betrayed the Pack. Give them a good show with Katniss. Fire-Girl can't be snuffed out too fast."

I know he's warning me what the Capitol will want to see and I nod, because I honestly wouldn't mind a bit of a drawn-out fight with Katniss Everdeen. He's right about an axe to her head seeming too fast. I'm also not surprised at Cato's decision. He'd allowed Peeta into his pack, treated him as an ally, fed him, protected him, trusted him to some extent. Peeta had betrayed that trust, broken the honour between the Career's. Cato had been the pack leader, Peeta was still one of his. A rogue that needed to be put down. I understood that and I thought there was a noble sort of honour in it, an unwritten code that said Peeta was Cato's to take care of.

"He's still one of yours," I say aloud, to show Cato I understand.

He nods and I snuggle into his side as we gaze into the fire. We're in unspoken agreement that no price is too big to ensure we leave this arena together, but the thought that this could be the last night we ever have with each other makes me press to him as close as I can.

"Only together," I whisper and he turns to look at me, his eyes glinting and his jaw clenched with determination.

He doesn't speak, only presses his lips to mine. A long passionate, promising kiss filled with need and dependence, because at this point, we're addicted. I can't live without him and through the way he crushes me to him, wrapping me in arms that seem to never want to let me go, I know he feels the same.

We're leaving the arena together, or we're not leaving at all.

…

The rain stops when dawn comes and the difference in sound immediately wakes me from my sleep. I'm tense for a while as I watch the world slowly brighten, but nothing rushes out of the forest at us and the meadow is empty save for a few birds. Even in sleep Cato's arm is still around me and his face is pressed into the crook of my neck, my back flush against his front. It still surprises me to wake up in someone's arms and the surprise still turns to pleasure as my brain wakes up. I like the way he holds me. It makes me feel safe and protected, something I didn't realise I was craving so much.

We don't get any food sent to us this morning, which strikes me as odd because Cato and I mean to end this today. I make a sweet stew using dandelions and overripe berries and some mint leaves I find. It's thin and watery, but it's enough to fill our stomachs with something warm. I can tell Cato doesn't much like the taste and I smirk at him as I finish my serving, "I said you could eat the dandelions. I didn't say they tasted nice!"

Cato gulps down some water with an expression of disgust, "I've had worse."

I have too, but it surprises me that Cato can admit that so easily. Districts One through Four are supposed to be the richest and less impoverished. Cato is the stone in their district's sword, surely he would have got the best available? It reminds me that before he joined or was recruited from the Academy, he must have had a life, a family. Even if it wasn't much of one, he must have come from somewhere and I want to know where it was. I want to know and understand everything about him. Now isn't the time though and I roll up our sleeping bags as Cato puts out our fire.

We arm ourselves to the extreme. Cato insists I take all of Clove's throwing knives and I strap the spear I have been reunited with to my back. My remaining axe sits comfortably on my hip with the comfortable familiarity of home. Cato is even more loaded down with weapons, though each is calculatingly placed, the weight balanced and the handles easy to grab. The swords he has crossed over his shoulders are probably both too heavy for me to wield and my eyes are drawn to their wicked length as I walk behind him across the meadow. We want to move fast, so our pockets are filled with only a few essential items: drink bottles and iodine, night-vision glasses and some first aid supplies. We don't intend to return to the cornucopia, I am confident I can find exactly where I last saw Peeta and Katniss wouldn't have been able to move him far.

We move at a fast pace, jogging for ten minutes, walking for ten and then running again. Cato says it's the best way to cover ground and reserve energy and I'm happy enough to go along with it. Under the armour, we're both sweltering hot and we're dripping with sweat in no time. Reassured that we're moving straight for the river, we drink greedily to prevent dehydration. We reach it when the sun is at it's peak, the current is fast and angry after the storm and I'm glad we don't have to cross it. It takes another half hour before I find the place I left Peeta, but it's there that we finally stop.

There's nothing to prove it is the right place, no signs of human presence, but we're on guard and I make sure to keep my voice hushed as I note, "Even if the rain hadn't washed everything away, I know nothing about tracking."

Cato's annoyance tells me he doesn't know enough either and he mutters a curse word as we search the nearby undergrowth, "He wouldn't have got far," I'm determined of that, "his leg was bad and she's too small to carry him."

"You got me pretty far," Cato reminds me dubiously.

I choose to not point out the fact I have a good thirty pounds on Katniss Everdeen, "You were out cold in a coma, we would have heard his screams if she dragged him like I did you."

We move up the riverbank, slowly and quietly, our weapons at the ready. My every instinct is telling me they should be here, but there's no denying they aren't. Cato wants to wait and stake them out, thinking they might be out hunting or looking for food. I'm doubting my certainty that I've lead us to the right place and that Peeta was as bad as I thought, "Maybe they're looking for us," I say and a shiver goes down my spine, because the first place they'd go would be the cornucopia.

Cato meets my eye for a moment and then shakes his head firmly, "His leg can't have gotten better that fast. They can't have moved as fast as us."

The wonders of Capitol medicine makes me want to argue, because my own wounded leg is now little more than a scar. I don't however because it's comforting to think like Cato.

We return to the cornucopia, hot and tired and Cato amends his plan to decide we're going to wait them out. They're going to come to us.

He's intently focused on our goal now and I have to work hard to get him to agree to sleep. He's determined to hold vigil all night and because I don't trust him to wake me, I insist on taking first watch. He doesn't take my insistence gracefully, but I ignore his muttering as he settles down to sleep far away from me. We have no fire tonight, no easy target for them to shoot at. The night-vision glasses allow me to vigilantly scour the meadow for any sign of movement, but they don't keep me warm and I'm shivering violently within an hour. If I make it out of these Games, and have to mentor future tributes they will be getting an earful about never turning down warm clothing. I internally curse myself, Glimmer and the Girl-on-Fire as I mourn my lack of jacket and it gives me something to do as I keep watch. It is a cloudy and overcast night, with no moon or stars to be seen, but when I judge it to be the eery stillness of the hours after midnight, I stumble my way over to Cato as promised and gently shake him awake with numb, frozen fingers.

"It's your t-turn," I tell him soothingly, because he immediately reaches for his sword, "There's b-been nothing all n-night."

He nods curtly, telling me he's still annoyed and doesn't speak as he gets up. My teeth chatter uncontrollably and my entire body is raked with tremors as I fumble with the zip on my sleeping bag. I had been sitting as much in it as I could while keeping watch, but my fingers are too numb to zip it further up. Cato stiffly reaches to help me with it and his fingers brush mine as he does.

"Fuck, Rose! You're freezing!" he exclaims, his warm hand catching my aching one and using it to pull me close to him. He scowls as he wraps his arms around me, but can't hold me tight enough to stop my shivers. "Why didn't you say something?" He demands angrily, "You could've had my fucking jacket!"

I know he's angry at himself for not thinking of it and worried about me, so I press myself closer to his delicious warmth and meekly whisper, "I'm sorry."

He grumbles under his breath and wraps me up in my sleeping bag, carrying me with him to the mouth of the cornucopia. He leans his back against the metal and sits with me curled between his legs, one arm holds me close to his chest and the other grips the handle of his sword. I turn my cold face into his shoulder and whisper, "Thank you."

He doesn't respond, his eyes already searching the darkness for an enemy and my eyelids droop as slowly warmth seeps back into my toes and fingers. Just as I'm about to fall asleep he leans down and kisses the top of my head, "Good night Rose."

"G'night," I mumble back and when I drift off, it's with a small smile on my face.

…

"It's gotta be today," Cato growls and paces as I stuff a waterfowl with some rosemary and thyme, "We have to be getting boring."

I snort and carefully fix the spit over the fire Cato built me before he started his rant. I'd hoped to get him to clean the carcass too, but he hadn't taken my silent hints and I had elected not to interrupt his long winded explanation of exactly how many times past games had continued longer than twenty four hours with only four tributes - only twice - or how our entertainment value matched up with other games - apparently not well.

"I don't know," I muse aloud before I can stop myself, "I reckon we're pretty entertaining."

Cato blinks at me, stopping mid word; I take this as permission to continue and use it as an opportunity to distract Cato from his raving.

"I mean, maybe our arena isn't particularly glamorous, but I've certainly done my best to keep things interesting," I glance up at him through my eyelashes and wipe my hands on my trousers, slowly rising to my feet, "I certainly hope you haven't been getting bored?"

He doesn't reply as I arch an eyebrow and slowly move towards him, my steps prowling and voice low, "I mean… there are ways I could spice things up, heighten our entertainment value," I tell him in a breathy voice, relishing the gobsmacked way he's staring at me, "I've thought about so many exciting things we could do," I trail a finger lightly down his chest and he gulps visibly, "but then again," I look up at him with a devious smirk, pressing my body against his, "I don't really want to share you with anyone… you'd rather keep me all to yourself too, right?"

For a long moment Cato stares at me, his eyes dark and his heart beating rapidly under my hand, then his nostrils flare and his face twists into a scowl, "It's not funny Rose."

I finally let the laughter I've been containing spill out as he crosses his arms and glares, "You're so easy to rile up," I snicker, "you know they aren't prolonging the Games just to annoy you… we'll have all the time in the world Cato," my laughter dies and sudden vulnerability hits me as I shyly add, "In here it's just us, I can almost pretend there's nobody else watching. I… it's be nice to have this," I gesture between the two of us and then wave a hand to vaguely encompass the area.

Luckily Cato seems to understand because his eyes soften and he reaches for me, "I have you all to myself," he articulates my inner thoughts and I nod into his chest, hiding my reddening face.

"Does that make us selfish and awful?" I wonder, and then realise it's a stupid question because of course we're selfish and awful - we've killed other children because we want to be the ones to leave the arena.

"Sometimes it's okay to be selfish and awful," Cato states simply and then with a bark of laughter, purrs into my ear, "I like it when you're selfish and awful."

He makes it sexual and I laugh but push myself away from him, "You like me full stop," I say smugly.

Cato snorts, "Yeah, but you love me so…"

I pretend to think about it and then shake my head, "Nah."

He laughs and shakes his head, "Yes you do…"

"Nope," we're wrapped around each other again, but I still shake my head in denial.

Cato's eyes narrow and I shriek in an extremely undignified manner when he suddenly pokes at my sides. Despite my laughter, instinct takes over and I trip Cato, sending him crashing to the ground as I try to evade him. He grabs my ankle before I can run away and pulls me down on top of him, rolling to try and get me pinned. I continue to wriggle and fight for a while as he tickles me mercilessly and almost succeed in getting to my feet again, giggling madly, but eventually I let him get me beneath him. He tortures me for only a few moments then kisses my nose and sits back to grin at me, "You gave up."

"No," I giggle.

"Yes," he edges and his grin widens, "You gave in!"

I begin to realise why he's so happy and laugh at him, "Well… if I beat you, you'd have pouted all day—"

"No," he shakes his head at me, eyes dancing with mischievous humour, "You like being trapped underneath me, don't you Rose?"

He's trying to catch me off guard and make me squirm like I did him, but though my cheeks heat up, I fight back easily, lowering my voice to a sultry purr, "Between you and any hard surface really…"

I've managed to shock him again and I laugh as he gapes, though he does recover faster than before, "Hmm, I quite like you in that position too."

"Yes, but as I said, you just like me."

He smirks, "Bit more than just like actually."

"Really?" I ask, playing long with him by pretending to be confused, "So you… adore me?"

"I adore you," he confirms and a rush of pure joy floods my system, making me laugh with delight, "And…you?"

"And I love you," I admit, with pretend reluctance, then melt into the kiss he draws me into.

I pull away to tend to our lunch and pointedly ignore Cato's snide comments about my ability to clean a carcass, "Butchering is a figure of speech, not a goal, love," he teases and then goes to retrieve the parachute we've been sent, "It's for you… I think my mentors have disowned me," he muses.

"Nah, Johanna probably just bullied them into giving her your money to send stuff to both of us," I say lightly, though I wonder if there was a hint of real emotion behind Cato's words, "What does she say?"

"She says: 'Stop being disgusting and get on with it Thorns'. See! She agrees this needs to end already!"

"Let's see?" I reach to take the note from him and pretend to read it with a snort, "No it doesn't! It's got 'jealous' written all over it!"

Cato snorts, but refuses to laugh, even when I tease him for being scared of Johanna. I finish cooking the meat and we eat it with the bread we've been sent. It's only as I'm stamping out the fire that I realise the sun is beginning to sink behind the trees.

"Cato," my voice alerts him at once and he's tense and serious beside me immediately, "the sun's setting… it can't be past two."

His arm draws me to his side protectively and his eyes scan the meadow carefully, "It's starting."

…

We're a blur of action after that. I have one pack filled with essential survival supplies, ready at our feet just in case. Cato shoves the rest of our things inside the mouth of the cornucopia as I tightly rebraid my hair off my face. While Cato sharpens his favourite sword I fuss anxiously over Clove's throwing knives. By the time night has fully set in we stand silent and vigilant, scouring the meadow with our night glasses enhanced vision.

We must wait for over an hour.

It's a feeling in the air that stirs me more than anything else, I suck in a sharp breath and reach for Cato's hand. For a moment we're tense, eyes straining and ears pricked, then loud and clear, a howl shatters the silence. The scars on my stomach ache immediately in response and the hair on the back of my neck stands up.

"Should we—"

Before I can finish the thought, Katniss and Peeta suddenly burst out of the trees on the far side of the meadow. They're sprinting for their lives, terror etched on every part of their face. My grip on Cato tightens and I drag him back before he can spring forward. The things that erupt from the forest behind them are pure nightmares.

"Go!" Cato roars and I barely snatch up our survival pack with my free hand as he pushes me back.

He practically throws me up onto the cornucopia and then hurries to scramble up himself. We're still clutching each other as we stare numbly at the scene unfolding before us, "You just had to insult their entertainment value," I spit, not taking my eyes off the muttations chasing the pair from Twelve. The closest thing they resemble is a wolf, but of course the Capitol have mutated them to be bigger, uglier, scarier and a whole lot more blood thirsty. Cato growls, his eyes fixed on Katniss who has almost reached the cornucopia now. She's left Peeta far behind without seeming to realise. I know Cato is longing to act, but he knows as well as I do that we have to give the Capitol the show they want. Katniss pauses at the bottom of the horn, apparently remembering she's part of a team. Her cry of fear as she sees how close the mutts are to Peeta makes Cato twitch beside me, but he only lunges forward when Katniss draws her bow and starts sending arrows into the pack on Peeta's heels. Not even one of the mutts falls, despite all her arrows finding targets.

I grab Cato's arm as Peeta roars at Katniss to climb and she hurries to comply, "She's mine," I remind him with a devilish smirk that's only mostly for the cameras.

When he doesn't respond I tear my eyes away from where Katniss is hauling herself up and realise Cato is looking at the mutts, not at Twelve. I steel myself against the horror and turn to scan them more carefully.

"Are they…" I trail off in disbelief as one of the wolves rears up onto its hind legs and tries to lunge at Peeta.

They're bipedal.

The more I stare, the more unnerving their appearance becomes. Their fur ranges from jet black and curly to golden blonde and shiny… like Glimmer's hair. Another scan tells me there are exactly twenty mutts and I have to tear my eyes away and stop that train of thought in its tracks to prevent hysteria from claiming me. Surely not even the Capitol would—

My hand closes around Cato's and squeezes, "What if they can climb?" I ask in a carefully quiet voice.

It gives Cato a problem to solve and he tears his eyes away from the mutts to scan the area, "Then we run like hell and hope they can't swim," he decides and I follow his gaze to the lake.

"Maybe we should take care of as many of them as we can first," I say, checking back on Katniss who is helping Peeta clamber onto the horn and gasping for breath.

Cato hesitates and then shakes his head, squeezing my hand and then releasing it, "No, Twelve is going down and they're going down hard," his jaw tightens determinedly and with one last lingering glance at me the mask of a cold, ruthless and slightly psychotic killer covers his face.

Katniss screams in wild and horrified terror and my heart sinks when I see she's staring at the mutts too. The blonde one has just made a leap at the horn and I register quickly that their claws can't grip the metal before Katniss manages to articulate her terror, "It's her! It's them. It's all of them!"

Cato steps forward, he doesn't bother drawing his sword. Peeta is unarmed and Katniss seems to only have her bow and very few arrows left. Arrogance is the quickest way to die, Thorns…

I draw my daggers.

"The other tributes!" Katniss stumbles back as the mutts renew their assault on the cornucopia, "The collars! Their eyes!"

Peeta gasps in horrified recognition and asks something I don't hear over the growling of the mutts; Cato is closing in and I know it'll be my job to subdue the Girl on Fire. The cause of Linden's death is fresh in my memory and something inside me viciously roars for revenge as I plant a smirk on my face. Cato seizes Peeta around the neck and yanks him backwards roughly while my hand closes around Katniss' braid and tugs cruelly. I drag her to the ground, my knife at her throat as she shrieks and flails. She almost manages to hit me with her bow and remembering how much it hurt last time I twist her arm roughly until I knock the weapon from her hand, "I wouldn't try that again, if I were you," I hiss in her ear, pressing my knife hard enough to her neck that she whimpers in pain and stop struggling.

"The Girl-on-Fire, huh?" I taunt, shoving Katniss hard to the ground and delivering a swift, winding kick to her stomach and then another to crack her ribs, "Unlikable, selfish bitch but an expert archer? What did you do for that eleven? Set the arrows on fire?"

Katniss still manages to glare as she desperately tries to get her breath back, "What did you do for that ten?" she gasps, her eyes hard and hateful, "take your clothes off?"

I see red and I'm on top of her in a second. My closed fist bloodies her nose and she cries out before I slam my elbow against her throat and press my knife to her cheek. She convulses under me and it's her own movement that cuts her cheek as she tries to throw me off so she can breathe. I hold firm and the knife slips cruelly against her ear when she thrashes again, but even the surprise of this doesn't loosen my grip. It's only Cato's sudden cry of pain that distracts me, she sucks in a desperate breath and her arm flies wildly as I struggle to pin it once again. It's a mistake that reveals I've never actually trained to be in a life or death situation and it costs me. Luck is on Katniss' side, because she manages to knock the knife from my hand with another blind swing of her arm. I bare my teeth and stab my fingers at her half mutilated ear. She screams and her own fingernails gouge desperately at my cheek.

The pain makes me renew my efforts and I viciously use my superior weight and strength to lift and then smash her head brutally on the metal, "I'm getting real tired of you Twelve!" I spit, holding her down and looking quickly for my knife, "any last words for your sister?"

Katniss' face settles into a defiant mask though her gaze is extremely unfocused, "Why didn't you just join the Careers?" She spits, her words slurred and thick. She tries one last time to throw me off her as I snatch up my knife.

"ROSE!"

I'm slammed from the side and knocked away from Katniss to the very edge of the cornucopia. The body on top of me is dragged off at once and I get a glimpse of Cato's furious face as he wrenches Peeta away from me. His yell warned me enough to tense for impact and I curled on myself to protect my head, but the blow is still startling and surprised pain renders me motionless. I can hear Cato's wordless cries of rage, but it's the yipping barks that shock me back into motion. I roll away just in time to avoid the reaching claws of a small brown mutt. Heart pounding, head spinning and still slightly dazed from the shock of Peeta's tackle, I slowly clamber to my knees. What I see makes me freeze in silent horror. Cato has succeeded in getting Peeta in a headlock and his face is already reddening with lack of oxygen, but Katniss has retrieved her bow. She's drawn the arrow and they've come to a stalemate before I even realise why it's a stalemate. Our armour! She can't shoot Cato… at least nowhere beside his unprotected face and hands. I reach for the second knife in my belt, but Cato just laughs menacingly, taking in Katniss' blood covered face.

"Shoot me and he goes down too Fire-Girl! How much do you really care about Lover-Boy?" Cato taunts, his voice only slightly muffled by the broken nose that ironically matches the one I gave Katniss.

He's got Peeta right in front of him, using him as a human shield, and as he laughs he moves closer to the edge of the horn. I want to scream at him to be careful, but most of the mutts are still on the other side of the cornucopia trying to leap at me and my throat is curiously dry and thick as I struggle to my feet on shaky legs.

The mutts go quiet as I do and the only sound is me pushing myself up, my eyes never once leaving the scene before me. Peeta's lips are slowly turning blue and his eyes flutter. Katniss is motionless, her arms trembling from the effort of holding the fully drawn bow straight. I wonder if she can even see straight after all the blows to her head, how much does she trust her aim? She doesn't notice as I finally succeed in getting my legs under myself. As Cato's eyes flick automatically to me and Peeta silently saves his life, she fails to realise there's another person in play.

I think I'm the first to realise what Peeta is trying to say as he draws the 'X' on Cato's unprotected hand. Probably because I just catalogued every vulnerable part of my partner's body. I'm fast, but Katniss must realise only a split second after me, because by the time my hastily thrown knife lodges in her shoulder, she's already released the arrow.

I see it happen in slow-motion. The arrow hits the very edge of Cato's armour, skims and falls away, but the cut and Peeta slamming back into Cato as he recoils is enough. Cato's fist clenches onto Peeta and I lunge forward desperately, but they're both falling and by the time my grasping hand is there, it's snatching at empty space.

"CATO!" My scream is a heartbroken wail, because to fall from the cornucopia seems like a death sentence, but then I remember the armour! The same armour that I'm wearing, it'll give him a chance... give both of us a chance.

My eyes fixate on his blonde head, a paler shade to Peeta's dark gold. He recovers with speed that only comes from training and manages to draw his second sword before a mutt is on him. He's bowled to the ground and for a moment he disappears under it's furry body. I scream again and clamber to my feet, this time an answering groan of pain comes from him and I see him struggle to push the dead body off him.

He needs me.

That's as much coherent thought that goes into my decision. I don't spare a single thought for Katniss, simply draw my axe and fling myself off the cornucopia and onto the back of one of the largest mutts. The momentum makes my axe sink into it's neck with no resistance and I roll to my feet as it crumples beneath me with a dying whine. On the ground, the mutts are huge; the smallest only slightly smaller than Cato and all of them are much larger than me.

It seems to take years to get to Cato's side, but in reality it can only be a few moments. I've already killed another and wounded one more by the time I reach him. My arms are already aching, my entire body is pumped with adrenaline which makes my heart race faster than I thought possible. Little thought can exist in the state of mind numbing terror I am gripped by, the only word I can form is his name. Aside from that it's only feral shrieks coming from my throat.

I lose my axe just as I reach him and if I'd lost it earlier it probably would have meant my death. Cato shields me for the split second it takes to draw my spear and I hear my own name echoed as I scream his in desperation. He shoves me behind him frantically and for a moment we're protecting each other's backs, then Cato's yanked away. Agony ripples through my body as jaws close around my calf. The armour protects me from the mutts teeth, but not from the power of its jaw. I react without thought my spear going straight between its eyes. The crushing strength ceases, probably just in time to save my bones from snapping. I yank my spear out with a grunt; immediately whirling to look for Cato. He's been flung several meters from the fray and my spear is quickly sent soaring into the flank of the gracile copper furred mutt stalking him as he struggles to his feet. Cato finishes it off with a swing of his broadsword as I reach for another weapon.

I have only Clove's knives left; I take one in each hand and will myself to fight with the same intensity she would.

It seems that for every mutt we take down, there are two to take it's place. I completely lose Cato in the fray and I can barely spare a thought for him as I fight for my life. Blood makes my hands slick and slippery and my whole body throbs with agony as I somehow make my way back to the cornucopia and place the metal at my back. It makes it easier not to be overwhelmed, but twice I crumple to the ground and manage to get my feet by clawing my way up the metal wall. I lose another knife and throw one to finish off a wounded mutt and in a brief moment of weariness I wonder when Clove's supply will run out. More times than countable I would have lost limbs had it not been for the armour protecting me from the razor sharp teeth and claws of the mutts and it's as I'm close to exhaustion that I suddenly remember… where's Peeta? He didn't have armour.

The thought jars me from my rhythm and I get knocked to the ground again. I cover my head with my armoured arms and cry out as I endure the latest attack. This mutt really wants to pick me up, and it bites at my back and shoulders before catching one of my arms and flinging me like a rag doll. It's as I'm picking myself up from this that I spot him; Peeta. He'd managed to get to the mouth of the horn and it seems by protecting himself from three sides by the metal walls, he's managed to hold his own. He has a sword in his hand that must have been Cato's and there's three carcasses almost blocking the entrance. As I watch he staggers and manages to steady himself on the wall for a moment before crumpling to the ground. His body is hidden behind the mutts and I have to return my attention to the monsters biting and tearing at me. If Peeta has killed three, we must have halved the number of wolves, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Time after time I am sent sprawling and I can barely see past blood in my eyes. I'm covered in thick, foul smelling muttation blood, but some has to be mine too.

Exhaustion makes it hard to hold my arms up and I wonder if the next time I get knocked down, I won't get back up. The world spins and for a moment I almost fall, then I see another body on the ground. He's curled on his side, face down. His blonde hair is unrecognisable, it's covered in blood and gore, but I know him. The muttation standing over him howls in triumph. It's a lean, but tall and muscly male with light brown fur and green eyes that narrow when they swing to me.

I gasp and it's like a knife straight to my heart. With the eyes narrowed in hatred and darkened by murderous rage they're almost unrecognisable… almost. The mutt growls warningly at me and then bends it's head to tear at Cato's body, trying to break through the armour to get to flesh and blood. The roar that leaves my throat is animalistic. The way I attack is completely primal, fuelled by passion, instinct and rage. It's a final surge of adrenaline that gives me the energy to sprint to make my arms and legs move and my throat burn with the volume of my war cry.

"You can't have him!" I scream, my voice ragged and broken as one by one my knives sink into the blood-matted fur.

I seize Cato's sword off the ground and drive it deep into it's chest, the entire force of my weight and remaining strength behind the blow that sends blood gushing down my arms. The mutt turns as it roars it's dying breath and lunges for my throat. It's first howl attracted the rest though and they push it aside to get at Cato's prone body as I dive to protect both myself and the boy I love. I cover his head and back with my body and grip him tightly so they can't fling me off to get to him.

They can't have him. They can't have either of them.

My vision goes blurry, but as I turn my head to try and protect it under my arms, I meet the dying eyes of my district partner.

Linden snarls at me; eyes contorted with hatred. Somewhere in the distance I think I hear trumpets and I wonder if Rue really is somewhere with lots of music. It's my last thought before the world goes dark.

…

Death fucking hurts.

I'd never been particularly spiritual about the end of life, but my first conscious thought is to be rather peeved to find that the pain I felt in life continues. My second is to wonder at the fact I am consciously thinking.

When I crack my eyes open the blinding whiteness is more in line with what one might expect to discover upon death, but the sharpening to what is very clearly a medical room is more surprising. It takes me an inordinately large amount of time to realise that several people are standing close by and that I am being spoken to.

"Miss Aspen? Miss Aspen, can you hear me?"

It's not until I comprehend the man's words that I'm struck by the realisation that I am not in fact dead, but alive. My throat is dry and hoarse and I only manage a croak when I try and speak, so simply nod my head. The room spins momentarily and I miss what the man says next, but he moves away from my bed and turns to the other people.

Where am I?

If I'm alive that means… I won. But… that means—

An awful sudden keening wail fills my ears. If I'm alive then Cato isn't and if that's the case, then I wish I was dead. The doctors clammer towards me and try to shush me, but all I can hear is the blood pounding in my ears and my own heartbroken screech. I am utterly limp on the table, but as soon as a restraining hand pushes against my shoulder survival instincts kick in and I knock away the other hand, the one with the weapon.

I'm too weak, too pained to fight as more arms hold me down and when the glint of steel crosses my vision again I stop fighting. Kill me. I welcome the blackness, my last thought of the way his icy blue eyes warm and the smile tugs across his rugged face, softening it from marble to a different kind of perfection.

...

And there you have it. Please let me know what you think!

Much love and an enormous amount of gratitude for all you amazing readers!

-x