CHAPTER 1.15

'There's a boy here in town says he'll love me forever.

Who would have thought forever could be severed by.

The sharp knife of a short life,

Well I've had just enough time.'


Debris was scattered all around the Cornucopia. Any trees caught in the crossfire had been incinerated. Supplies were non-existent, destroyed by the landmines that had once seemed like such a clever idea. Cato's rage was apparent from the violent shaking of his body and the vice-like grip on his sword.

Storming up to Glimmer and District Three (both of whom looked rather dishevelled), he demanded to know what had happened and why they hadn't defended the supplies. Stuttering his way through an apology, Three didn't last very long before Cato gripped him in a headlock, hands on either side of his face. Wrenching the boy's head to the side, Cato only released the body after hearing a sickening crunch and the sound of a cannon.

"Please, Indie. Don't let him kill me. You saved my life, remember?" Glimmer pleaded but Indiana just stared blankly at the girl. "Where's Marvel?"

"Gone. He's dead. Maybe if you hadn't stayed here to flirt with Three, he'd still be alive." Indiana hissed venomously.

She didn't believe that – Marvel would've died either way because he chose to wander off – but somehow saying the harsh words dissipated some of the blistering anger swelling within her. It wasn't until Cato began stalking towards the terrified girl that Indiana acted in a way that she would later regret when the numbness faded.

"Indie, please. Stop him!"

Pulling out a knife from her belt, Indiana slashed Glimmer's throat with one quick, precise movement. Hot blood sprayed her face and stained her blond braids but she didn't so much as flinch. The cannon sounded, signalling the death of yet another tribute. Four tributes gone within the space of an hour. Four innocent lives gone within such a small space of time.

"Finally." Clove muttered under her breath before sharing a worried look with Cato over the mental state of their friend and ally.


Stumbling their way through the forest, the three remaining Careers were crackling with energy, eager to hunt down the last few tributes left. There was now only seven tributes left standing. Indiana, Cato, Clove, the girl from Five, Thresh, Peeta and Katniss. Tensions were running high as the end of the Games drew closer.

"We need to take them out and then we should split up." Indiana said, eerily calm after the events of the day.

"Should we go after Eleven first? He's the biggest threat." Clove asked the sanest blond.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Cato agreed.

"Then we should split up after that."

"I want Twelve." Indiana stated, hand clenching around the hilt of her knife as she thought about the dark-haired woman.

"We can get her together." Cato reassured, placing his hand atop her own.

There was no way he was letting her hunt down Twelve on her own, too angry to pay attention to her surroundings. That was the quickest way to get herself killed. The Capitol anthem halted their footsteps and everyone in the arena froze, listening attentively when Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed throughout the fake world.

"Congratulations to our final contenders! There has been a slight change to the rules this year. Two tributes may be crowned as Victors so long as they are the last two alive. However, there is a slight catch; the remaining tributes must be one male and one female, regardless of the District. May the odds be ever in your favour."

Letting out a sad sigh, Indiana's heart sunk upon hearing the news. Before, she would've jumped at hearing a proclamation like that but what was the point now? Marvel was dead, he wasn't coming home with her.

Unfortunately, the news also meant that Indiana would have to leave the Pack sooner rather than later. Cato and Clove came from the same District so they would probably choose to leave together. Indiana did not want her demise to be at the hands of those she considered friends. The rest of the journey was carried out in complete silence. Once the trio found a relatively safe space to set up camp, the sky began to darken and the cold started creeping in.

"Should we start a fire?" Clove asked, teeth chattering together slightly as she got out her sleeping bag.

"No. Not with Thresh still out there." Cato replied.

Wandering off to sit by herself, Indiana left Cato and Clove to their own devices – probably discussing the best strategy to win. Fiddling with the leaves around her, Indiana couldn't help her mind wandering to Marvel and the years of friendship they had shared together. He had been her best friend, her partner in crime and her 'brother'.

Accepting that death was coming for her soon, Indiana smiled at the prospect of being reunited with her family. Whilst she hated the idea of leaving her aunt and uncle (and even Cato), she was excited at the prospect of meeting her parents.

Eventually, after many failed attempts to speak to the girl, the tributes from Two lied down and drifted off to sleep.

Smiling sadly down at the man she had grown to care for, Indiana placed a feather-light kiss to his brow before gathering her weapons and some water, and wandering blindly into the forest. Finding a sturdy tree to settle in for the night, she began scaling it as quietly as she could. Pain rocketed through her body as her skull connected with a branch. Reaching a large, flat branch perfect for sitting on, Indiana hung her backpack on another branch before gingerly touching the top of her head. Hissing in pain, she ignored the fact that her fingers came back covered in blood.


Sunlight filtered through her closed lids and Indiana had to ignore the resistance her eyelids put up when she tried to open them (due to the lack of sleep). Groaning at the blaring trumpet sounds, she ignored the pain in her head and tried to listen to the blasted announcement.

"Hello, my good-hearted tributes! In celebration of coming this far, we have arranged a little feast for you. Now, hold on before you start declining my invitation, this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. You will all find a pack with your District number on it. Think hard about whether or not you'll show up. For some of you, this may be your last chance."

Medicine!

It was a risk for her to but it was one worth taking if she was to have a chance at winning this thing. Sliding down the tree, her knees buckled as her feet landed on the ground and she stumbled, head spinning. If she encountered Cato or Thresh, she had no chance of survival.


Ducking behind a bush, Indiana's gaze was trained on the table that had been set up in front of the Cornucopia; there was two large packs for Two and Eleven, two medium packs for One and Five, and a miniature one for Twelve. A flash of red hair darted by as the female from District Five darted out for her pack and back into the forest. Crouching down further, Indiana decided she would wait until Two had collected their pack before risking hers.

Surprisingly, Katniss sprinted towards the table and Clove popped out of her own hiding space so as to tackle her to the ground. Pinning the girl from Twelve down, it looked as if Clove was taunting the weaker girl. Torn between wanting to get Katniss for herself and not exposing her hiding position, Indiana was saved acting when Clove was ripped off of Katniss.

Thresh had the upper hand as he slammed Clove against the Cornucopia, head smacking violently against it. Loud enough for anyone near the Cornucopia could hear, Thresh began screaming about Rue. Despite her pleads and screams for Cato, Thresh raised the rock he had grabbed and smashed it against Clove's skull, silencing her forever.

Indiana looked away as the crunch sounded and the cannon boomed.

Letting out a shaky breath, Indiana watched as Clove's body slid down onto the floor. Another friend gone. Another child dead. Katniss and Thresh disappeared, leaving Cato to mourn over his younger District partner.

"Cato." Indiana placed a hand on his arm in comfort. "I'm so sorry."

Turning to face the blonde, Cato's eyes were bloodshot with un-shed tears. Burying his face into the crook of her neck, he hung onto Indiana tightly. The cut on Indiana's forehead was still bleeding and dripped onto Cato's arm but the upset man paid no attention to it.

"I didn't even know her back home but she was only seventeen, and we became friends on the train. It was my job to protect her and I failed."

"Shh, it's okay. Just breathe."

Pulling away, his face was still sad but became instantly alert when he spotted the blood running down the beautiful face of Indiana Summers.

"Shit, your head. Let's get some salve on that," he helped Indiana stand and hand-in-hand, they walked over to the table before ripping open the District One pack.

Pulling out the pot of salve, Cato gently rubbed some of the cool salve on the cut, smiling when the blood stopped. Instantly, Indiana's vision cleared and the pounding in her head stopped.

"There's a note in here for you." Cato passed her a small slip of paper.

'Indie, stay strong. You're doing a great job, baby girl. Got your letter safe for when you get out. We like Cato, he's good for you. Love always, C+G.'

"My aunt and uncle say they like you. I have no idea why." Indiana sniggered, tucking the note into the inside pocket of her jacket.

"Ha. Ha. Someone's funny."

"That's why you like me." Indiana teased.

"One of the reasons." Cato grumbled, cheeks darkening slightly. "I want to go after Thresh."

"I want to come with you."

Surprisingly, Cato agreed with her. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again. We can win this together. We can be together... if that's what you want."

"I'm sorry I left. I do want to be with you but I didn't want you to have to choose between Clove and I."

"I would have chosen you." Cato practically whimpered, turning to face her. "It scares me but I think I'm falling in love with you. I know it's stupid because we've known each for less than two weeks but I feel like you know me more than anyone else."

"I think I'm falling in love with you too." Indiana whispered back. "I really want to kiss you right now but there will be plenty of time for that after we win this."

"Agreed," he chuckled, linking his hand with hers as they started hunting down Thresh.


After their fight with Thresh, Cato was bleeding from a deep cut and had suffered multiple blows but at least he had managed to take down the boy from Eleven. As they wandered throughout the woods (yet again), a cannon boomed and District Five's face appeared in the sky.

"You need to rest, Cato."

"I need to make sure you get out of here."

"You'll bleed out."

"Don't be so dramatic, Princess." Cato scoffed.

As the young coupled hobbled along, the sky rapidly began darkening and the sounds of the arena silenced.

"I guess they're in a hurry to speed this up." Indiana snorted.

After all, there were only four tributes left; comprised of two heterosexual couples. Growling caused the pair to quicken their steps before breaking into a full on sprint as the sound got closer. Trees and bushes started breaking and falling behind them followed by the pounding of heavy footsteps.

"Indie, run!" Cato bellowed, abandoning any thought of fighting whatever was chasing them.

The mutts drove the two towards the Cornucopia but somehow, the blonde couple were split up as half the pack chased Indiana to the back of the Cornucopia and Cato to the front. Slowing down when the footfalls faded, Indiana's heavy pants drowned out the sound of soft, human footsteps coming up behind her.

Exhaustion had slowed her reaction time, as she was unaware of the spear until it was lodged in her abdomen.

"Oh, no. I'm so sorry. I thought you were a mutt, I didn't mean to," the frantic voice of Peeta Mellark cried. "Indie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Yanking the spear out of her stomach, despite all her training warning her not to, Indiana felt an involuntary tear slide down her cheek. White, hot agony seared through her but it was when the pain stopped and her body went numb, Indiana began to panic. She knew it was too late.

More mutts were coming toward them and Peeta took one hesitant look at the pale girl before he took off running. Dropping to her knees, Indiana didn't feel it as her body slammed into the ground, clutching her stomach. Thick blood poured through her fingers, staining the grass and her clothes.

Staring up into the star-less sky, Indiana thought about Marvel and her parents – about how it would be nice to see them again. The face of a mutt hovered above Indiana's, snout huffing with carefully leashed violence. I never got to read that letter, Indiana thought to herself, remembering the letter from her mother that she had left in the Capitol.

Eyes clouding over, the last thing the young woman saw was a pair of familiar eyes in the mutt's body; Marvel's eyes.

A cannon boomed and Indiana didn't even have the chance to scream before the Marvel Mutt clamped his teeth around her throat.


'If I die young bury me in satin.

Lay me down on a bed of roses.

Sink me in the river at dawn.'