Okay guys, chapter 22. Now, this one is another filler. I had to do it before the next one, because chapter 23 will have a good bit of action in it. If you've read the books, you'll know what i'm talking about. I hope ya'll enjoy! Please read the stuff below; I have a very important announcement! DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Hunger Games
Cato and I sit without saying a word to each other. I can tell by the vein in his neck that he's still very high strung and angry, rightfully so. I'm pretty ticked off myself.
It's not until now that I realize that Marvel hasn't returned yet. But, just as I'm about to voice this to Cato, 2 cannons go off.
I freeze and sit straight up. "Do you think one of those was…" I begin, unable to finish the sentence. "Possibly, but Marvel's got to go anyway if you're to get out of here alive." Cato says, strangely calm after his meltdown.
"Oh no, we're not doing this again." I say as I stand up and walk to the other side of the camp to practice my throwing skills.
I take put all of my knives and line them up on a crate in front of me. I select my target, an empty backpack sitting at the edge of the grassy area.
I pick up one of my knives, bring it back to just behind my ear, focus on the center of the backpack, breathe in, and release the knife when I breathe out.
It goes hurdling towards the pack and impales it dead in the center. I repeat this process over and over until my throwing arm feels like it could fall of any moment and the pack is sitting in shreds.
When I feel like I've released ll of my anger, I decide to go back over and talk to Cato. But, when I get there, he's gone.
"Cato?" I call out, not to loudly though. I wait for a response, but receive none. I glance off into the forest, and amidst all of the trees and undergrowth, I can just make out his large figure.
I take off running towards him, catching up just before he disappears. "Where are you going?" I pant, out of breath from my sprint.
"I'm going to look for Marvel, or proof that he's gone." He tells me while continuing to move. I follow along wordlessly, curious myself as to what's taken him so long.
We reach a clearing and see an empty net, but the ropes holding it down have been cut. "This had to have been either Fire-Girl or Thresh. They're the only ones with blades other than us." He states, upon examining the ropes.
I look around the fairly large clearing for any signs of activity, but I find with the last thing I wanted to see. Lying just inside the clearing, are 2 spears and a single arrow.
"Cato" I say as I pick up the arrow. I hold it in my hands and do my best to hold it together and I wipe the blood off of the tip of the head.
"There's blood on this spear as well. He didn't die for nothing Clove." Cato says, trying to console me. I do nothing but nod once, stand up and hurl the shining arrow and the nearest tree.
To my surprise, it sticks firmly into the trunk. "You're going to have to kill me before you get to kill her." I mumble as I storm off back to the camp, my vision already becoming blurry due to tears.
I plop down against the wall of the cornucopia and hold my head in my hands. I refuse to cry and show my weak side. He had to die anyway. He was ready.
Not a single tear falls from my eyes, instead, I sigh and continue to hold my head in my hands until Cato comes and sits beside me.
"You ok?" he asks after a few silent moments. "Yeah, I guess so." I say quietly. "Well, would you care to help me gather more fire wood?" he asks gently while standing up, unsure of whether or not I am ok.
"Sure" I smile slightly as I accept his help getting up. "Like I said before Clove, he had to die to get you home alive." He whispers softly in my ear.
I'm suddenly filled with more rage than I can contain. "No! I am not the one who is going home! Why can't you get that through your thick skull?! I will die in this arena! You're going home to our District." I yell at him while pushing him away from me.
"No. I'm not." He says sternly, grasping my wrists with his large hands. "And why not?" I ask, struggling under his grip. "I can't bear to watch you die." He replies, still not releasing me.
"Cato, why can't you just let me go? You don't think it'll be hard for me to watch you die? You would be able to adjust. I'm so freaking messed up already, that I'd never go back to normal. I'd probably become some morphling or alcoholic. Just let me die." I retaliate, staring him dead in the eyes.
"I said I can't do that." He says again. "Why?" I whisper, on the verge of tears for the second time today. He doesn't say anything this time, but pins my arms above my head and kisses me, right where everyone in the whole nation can see.
They are also able to see me kiss him back, ever so slightly. I'm still mad at him though. He pulls away, just enough to speak. "Because, I love you." He whispers so close to my face, I feel his breath on my nose.
I'm taken aback quickly. "He loves me? What kind of stunt is this?" I begin to think a million different things at once, when I realize there's only one thing that I can say to him.
I look into his deep blue eyes and say the words I never thought I'd ever get to say. "I love you too." I whisper back. He smiles so big; I think that his face is going to stretch out.
He kisses me again, but this time, it's not a one way kiss at all. He's still pinning my hands above me, making me feel quite vulnerable. I'm stuck between a rock, or cornucopia, and a hard place, to say the least.
Finally, he pulls away from my face, but changes his mind again and ducks in for one more kiss before pulling away.
When he does, we hear a faint beeping noise. I look into the sky and see a small silver parachute floating down onto us.
I catch the small canister, and open it to find a single slip of paper. 'I hope you know what you're doing, because we sure don't.' –E & B
"What is it?" Cato asks coming up beside me and wrapping his arms around my waist in order to look over my shoulder and read the small slip.
He chuckles slightly and shakes his head when he finishes. "We don't" he says plainly. "I know" I sigh, wondering how our little show is going to help us at all.
Just as I begin to start making dinner, we hear the crackling and buzz of a speaker followed by Claudius Templesmith's booming voice.
"Attention remaining tributes. In the midst of discussion, the Gamemakers have decided upon a rule change. If both the male and female tributes of the same District are alive at the end of the games, both shall be crowned a Victor. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor." He finishes and the speaker crackles again.
I look over at Cato with a massive smile on my face. He immediately hugs me, picks me up, and spins me around. "We can both go home!" I shout joyfully, kissing him when he sets me down.
"I know! Gosh, I'm so happy. We're going to do this Clove. We're going to win." He tells me, before kissing me yet again, and for the first time in several weeks, I'm genuinely happy.
There ya'll go! I hope you liked it! Now, for the announcement. Tomorrow is my birthday! And you know what would make me happier than ever? To get bunches of reviews and new followers! It makes my day to read feedback from ya'll! And another reason to review...i'm trying to beat my brother. He posted a Fan fiction a while back, but his stats are like double mine! So...he has 121 reviews, 37 followers, and 49 favorites. I'm so stinking competitive it's not even funny! So, help me out, please? :) Now, enough of that...here are the shout-outs!
livelaughlove140- Thanks for following my story! I hope you enjoy reading it! :)
i3fiction- Thank you so much for adding my story to your favorites and for following not only it, but me! That's a major confidence boost! :)
Twihard475- Thanks for adding this to your favorites and for following! It means a lot to me! :)
fizzyfurofknives- Thank you for your sweet review! And also, I've been wondering about the random 3's floating around ;)
myhockey23- I shall indeed keep writing! Glad you liked it! :)
charliesunshine- Thanks for reviewing! And I guess you'll have to read the next chapter to find out Clove's fate. ;)
District4girl- Thank you for your honest review! I've tried to make this one a little more exciting :)
i3fiction- Thanks for your review! Here's your update!
Well, there they are folks! I you'd like a shout-out, just review! ;) Anywho, ya'll have a great week and please remember what I said before! :)