[Note: so sorry this is a really short chapter. I have been so busy lately and I promise to write more this weekend but this is all I managed to write this week.]
The Arena.
I awake to a sliver of light flickering over my eyelids. I realize I forgot to shut the blinds last night and the sun is just rising. I can tell from Cato's breathing that he is awake too. I lie as still as I can so he wont know that i'm awake and I lie there with my head on his chest not wanting this moment to end. "Hows your hand" he asks me. Of course he knew I was awake. "It's fine" I reply. "Better than fine actually". I look down at my hand and notice that it doesn't hurt at all. That magical capitol glue must have worked. "We have to be downstairs and in the hovercrafts at 10" he says. I don't say anything. I cant. All I want is to forget about the hunger games and go home. Back to my flawed, imperfect life which I never appreciated until it was gone. I cant help thinking that this is not how its meant to be. He was meant to win and come home to me and I was supposed to go next year and win too. Then we could live together in the victors village. It's not that i'm not ready for the hunger games. I am. I could kill every one of those other tributes no sweat, but I could never hurt him and I know that they would never allow the both of us to win.
After an hour I realize we should be moving so I reluctantly untangle myself from him and make an effort to get ready. I don't feel like eating but I know I should. Usually the careers have the supplies to themselves so they don't go hungry, but one year the game makers didn't have any food in the arena just so the capitol would have the pleasure of watching everyone starve to death, and this year might be the same. I force myself to eat an apple but give up after a few bites. Im too nauseous to eat anything.I see Cato in the elevator as we make our way downstairs. Once the door closes he pushes the stop button on the elevator and turns to me. "Promise me that whatever happens you want stop fighting, that you'll keep going and never give up" he holds onto my shoulders and squeezes them hard as if trying to force me to do what he wants. "Didn't I give you the same speech a few days ago" I ask him. He looks defeated as he realizes I will never make that promise. He lets go of my shoulders and pulls me into him wrapping his arms right around me. I rest my head against his chest and close my eyes. We stand there soaking in each others embrace for longer than we should have. When we finally let go of each other I reach up on my tip toes and cup his face in my hands. The last kiss we will ever share I think as our lips meet. I feel his tears run down my fingers on his cheeks. Like myself, Cato hasn't cried since he arrived at the academy. "I fucking love you" he whispers in my ear. I start to turn away so he doesn't see the tear roll down my own cheek but change my mind and pull him back to me and kiss him harder than I ever have. His eyes are still slightly puffy but only I would be able to tell that. I push the button and the door opens with a bing.
On the hovercraft i'm seated next to Katniss. She takes one look at me and then casts her eyes down to avoid meeting my gaze. Her hands are shaking and her eyes look like a deers trapped in headlights. She's terrified I realize. Maybe she's not the trained hunter we all assumed her to be. A man in a white suit injects a tracking device into my arm. Im the first one to have it done and the others all look to me to see if it hurts. Being trained in torture has it advantages and I don't even flinch when the long needle injects the flashing light under my skin. The others look satisfied and the girl across from me seems more than happy to offer up her arm. When she realizes its not as painless as she first thought she screams and jerks her arm away with pain. I smile to myself. The others are all ready for the pain and wince, shut their eyes and some even sob. Katniss, however only slightly flinches. She realizes I have been watching her and is trying to appear calm. I give her props for trying. I look up as the the hovercraft trembles and lifts into the air. The sensation of flying is so foreign to me that for a split second I start to panic. I realize soon enough that I have nothing to worry about. I look over at Cato to see him giving me a knowing stare. I quickly look away before anyone can see us. Where not even in the arena yet and already his act is failing.
We arrive at another concrete building and are taken below into separate rooms. I give Cato one last look and he brushes my hand as he walks past me. I meet Eloise in a tiny room where she fits me into dark olive cargo pants, a red singlet and a reddy brown raincoat type jacket. Its pretty basic but it gives me no clues as to what the arena has in store for me. Eloise isn't one for talking. She instead hands me a glass of water and tells me to drink. I force myself to drink the whole glass before stepping onto a concrete platform surrounded my a glass tube. I see a red light flash as the tube closes itself around me trapping me. I have always wondered what goes on in these last few moments leading up to the games. I look down at my hand to see a fresh pink scar in my palm. Its incredible how quickly it healed. It would have taken over a month for it to get to this stage back home. I run my finger along the scar and think about how Cato did the same last night. Thinking about him brings a tear to my eye and I quickly jerk my thoughts away from him before I become an emotional wreck. The platform starts to raise and before I know it i'm in a large grassy field surrounded by a forest. I see the cornucopia ahead of me and focus on it intently. I know i'm probably the fastest here and as we had agreed upon earlier its my job to make it there first and secure the weapons. Cato is to my left next to marvel and I am next to Katniss and the foxy girl from district 5. I look at Cato and he nods at me. This is it. The clock is counting down and I steady myself ready to sprint. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
