Cato

It was one of the little kids that pointed out that the train was early. The train came later today but it had come last night. She was a little twig of a thing but she was one of the brightest in Sneak and Cato was training her to be a spymaster of sorts. Sussy seemed a little frantic that morning wanting to tell him the news.

The other kids were busy playing war games in the dirty snow. All the snow here turned black or grey once it fell so far, the coal dust coating it. Today they were practicing in real teams, no going against your team near the end. Every one won together or lost together. They liked it better that way and this was an easy training day.

"There were boot prints this morning, and there are never boot prints on the first of the week train, that only happens at the end of the week." Sussy explained.

"That is significant." Boot prints meant people getting on or off the train. "Have you seen anyone new or has some one gone missing?" Cato asked the girl.

She shook her head vigorously and went back to the game. She might have good attention to detail but she was still just a child, and children wanted to play. Today Sneak won the games and yet all the kids seemed happy. For a second Cato though maybe today would go well despite the late train, then Rory came running.

Cato had never seen Rory crying. He was too stubborn to cry even when hurt or terrified. This was not good.

"They are killing him!" The small boy shouted running right into Cato's chest. "They are whipping him and he is going to die!" It clicked. The boots were new peacekeepers, and they had Gale. Of course they had Gale, he was too open about his breaking of the laws and these peacekeepers would be fresh and from Two. All the peacekeepers came from Two, capitol citizens never wanted to live in squander.

Cato was moving before he even had the thought formed. Sure enough there stood a new peacekeeper and a bloody unconscious Gale being whipped half to death. The crowd let Cato through; few of the adults had gotten over their complete fear of him. When Cato blinked he saw other people on that pole and remembered the times he had felt that sting.

The whip hissed through the air. Cato didn't brace for impact or falter in his movements. He simply walked slowly between the whip and Gale. It stung, but it was an old sting a pain that is body knew and Cato did not flinch. There would be a giant whelt on his face for a while and it would sting to blink for days.

"Stand aside!" The large man ordered. Cato felt a bit like laughing, because he knew this man. He knew that voice because it had been a voice in his childhood. Romulus Thread had been a tormentor for a while. One of the older boys that had taken joy in breaking the younger boys. Then he had tested poorly. Sure it was fine if Romulus had rage issues in training and combat, that made a better solider or tribute as far as they were concerned. But to have rage problems when dealing with civilian situations was unacceptable. It would be in poor taste to have a tribute start killing early or start attacking the guards over nothing.

Some days it amused Cato that as a victor he was allowed to do the things that had Romulus barred from the program.

"Well isn't it Romulus Thread, the big disappointment for the program." Cato went for cocky. He remembered the pysch profile they had done on Romulus before he was ejected from the program. They always made sure the other kids knew why the failures were kicked out. The key was to not get riled up; Romulus did not do well with smart-ass remarks.

"Excuse me?" Romulus was older of course but he looked very much the same.

"Romulus, surely you recognize your victor." The tone felt foreign on his tongue but he to keep it up.

"No, I had heard you moved to live with these filth, I had just hoped you had better sense." Romulus spit on the ground. Cato wanted to say something but he was silent on that part because the whipping was delayed as long as he kept this going.

"And I had heard you had gone to peace keeper training, but you must have done poorly to be sent here. Couldn't send you anywhere important, you might fail at that as well." Cato managed to laugh. A red head peacekeeper stepped forward just as Romulus raised his hand to send the whip at Cato.

"Sir, the first violation lashes have been served." The red haired man says.

"I could have told you that Romulus. I mean really, how badly did you fail at this program to not know that? District twelve has a lower lash quota, because of the labor required here. Eight has the highest because of the menial labor. Should I quote you the manual as well?" Cato smirked.

"Tell the gutter rats I will be coming for them." Romulus turned and left. It was a good thing he left when he did because Katniss came along then, he had wondered where she had been this whole time. She came out of nowhere like she always did and this time was screaming. Cato suspected that some one in town might have been keeping her busy until this was resolved and he would have to find out who and thank them later.

It was confusing to be here. People were upset and screaming and crying. There was a panic to get Gale to the house fast enough to get his wounds cleaned and stop blood loss. Prim seemed to be in the center of the whirlwind with her mother, the two of them the calm in the storm.

Cato had seen so many injured before, had been injured so many times. But it wasn't the same here. He was always struck by they way they cared about each other here. It wasn't until Madge of all people grabbed him to drag him to the house that he was able to articulate anything.

"They are punishing us." He told the mayor's daughter. "All of us." He should have excepted repercussions sooner really. Cato wasn't sure how they had escaped the wrath of the capitol for so long.

"Some more than others." The look in her eyes was watery and sad. Cato hadn't before considered Madge too much. She was agile and getting better with a bow but she was so rarely at the training and she seemed to not get along with most people, so why should she care. She was a loner and a social outcast.

Cato did a mental catalogue of events, it was one of the things he had taught himself to do back during the program. He pulled up every memory of Madge to see what she had been doing.

He saw her watching, always watching from the sidelines. Until Gale came along. In the last twenty times he had seen her Gale had been near her or speaking to her. They rarely looked like the conversation was going well, but they kept talking to each other.

"You like him." Madge looks surprised for a second and then glares at Cato.

"Don't go around telling people. I refuse to be just another bandage on his pain." Madge orders him. Here was another one of those moments where Cato had to piece together bits of information. He had heard the stories of Gale and the girls of the district and once asked Rory if he knew why. The little boy had explained that Gale was trying to be an adult and a kid all at once and it made him mean and angry and hurt others, but not on purpose.

"I wont tell anyone." Cato promises. If Madge wanted to be special for Gale he would not spoil that, it was none of his business anyway.

"That's a lie and we know it. You will tell her."

"No I wont." Cato insists.

"You wont have to tell her. She will see it in your face. The two of you have some kind of mind link up most of the time. I have seen you have entire conversations with only three words between the both of you." Madge sounds angry, but people get angry when they are worried.

"Is there any way for you to help?" He has started to notice that loved ones always want to help when the injured come to Mrs. Everdeen.

"No." Madge snaps at him.

"Nothing that you might have that the Everdeen's wouldn't?" Cato knows about the pain medication, the entire district knows. But coming right out and saying it would be cruel. Madge stands there for a moment in the dirty snow seeming unsure and then it clicks in her head, she runs off towards town without a word.

Katniss finds him out in the snow when the screaming starts. She hates blood and pain.

"They are saying you know him." It's not a question.

"I know what he is." Because how do you know a monster or a shell of a man filled with rage and hate. Romulus has never been a person, not in the ways it matters. They stand there for a while watching the snowfall listening to Gale's screams. They can hear the others crying. Cato wonders if there is something wrong with them, they hardly ever cry except when they dream.

"What do we do?" Rory has come out of the house to stand next to them. The small boy looks lost but he is just the person that Cato needs.

"Tell the others we are going into scramble red." Rory's eyes get huge and then the boy runs off.

"What is scramble red?" Katniss asks. She missed that day.

"Invasion." Cato looks at the town. "Its counter measures for an invasion."


So this chapter took me all week to write and only three of you noticed. I am assuming everyone is on vacation or summer camp or something and not that you have stopped loving me.

In slightly related news my good real life friend is reading this, and according to her reading my AN makes her want to smack me. Because she can hear me saying this and she wants to give me the "bitch you are crazy" face and the "please stop petting my arm like I am your pet in public" face. She also says its weird because she is reading this and like "this is so good, and this is something E wrote. But I know her." She doesn't want to flaunt that knowledge so I am doing it for her. I gave her some juicy information about a few people that get to live in my story. You will have to Badger her to get her to tell. Not that she has an account on any website I will let you know about.

I suppose you shall have to all beg Ma'ayan to tell you what she knows in the review section. (She is going to glare at the screen when she reads this. But that is going to be like three weeks from now and it will be too late. Bwahahahaha. PS I am doing this because the ice cream is taking revenge on me. Why do I keep eating dairy? Why?)

Anyway. Going to post this now and go to bed. -E