We haven't spoken a word about Glimmer since she died. It's like she never even existed.

I should be happy about that, shouldn't I?

Instead, I keep worrying about Marvel. There aren't many tributes left, and soon we'll have to find a way to get rid of him. As much as I know, there's Lover Boy and his friend from Twelve, the giant and the little girl from Eleven, the red-haired whose District I can't remember and the boy who helped setting the trap around our supplies. That makes nine, the three of us included.

I decide to talk to Cato as soon as I get the chance. Which is at the same night, after Marvel has fallen asleep. I can't possibly rest with him snoring next to me… and Cato is awake, too. He's sitting at the fireplace, stirring the dying ashes with a long branch.

The boy who was stupid enough to help us is keeping watch at the other side of the supply pyramid. I wonder why he joined us in the first place. It's obvious that we're going to kill him right after we're done with the other remaining tributes. Maybe he just hoped to live a bit longer. Or maybe he thought we wouldn't be that cruel if he helped us…

Whatever. I don't give a damn about that boy. It's Marvel we need to pay attention to.

I straighten up and stretch my numb limbs. "Hey, Cato", I whisper.

He turns around. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Do you really think that's possible, next to him?" I ask with a smile. Marvel lets out a grunt as if he wanted to support my point.

Cato laughs. "Yeah, right. Why don't you come over here?"

I crawl over to him and pull my knees up to my chest. I wish the fire was still burning, because I'm chilled to the bone. Do you do that on purpose, Gamemakers? Do you think that's funny?

"I couldn't sleep because of those damn stitches", Cato explains.

I look at his profile. The left half of his face is still a bit swollen. We've tried everything that came to our mind to ease the pain of the tracker-jacker venom, but nothing has worked so far.

Cato faces me and our eyes meet for a split second. "How are you?" he asks quietly.

"Better", I reply, averting my gaze. Better, but still far from good.

Is that the reason why we need the boy to help us? Because we're too silly to figure out how to treat tracker-jacker stitches? Because we're too weak and vulnerable from the venom to protect the supplies ourselves?

It doesn't feel good to depend on that boy's help, anyway.

"We need to talk", I tell Cato with a serious undertone to my voice.

He frowns at me. "Talk about what?"

I shoot a quick look over my shoulder, just to be sure. "Marvel", I say under my breath.

"Marvel?"

"Well…", I begin, taking a deep breath. "Don't you think we should get rid of him soon?"

Cato studies my expression before he answers, as if he couldn't believe I'm serious.

"We need him to kill the others", he says then. "First of all, the boy has to die." He mentions over to the supply pyramid. "And Lover Boy's next. That'll be a bloody revenge."

He grins, but I just sigh. "No, Cato, I mean it. Marvel might become a danger if we wait too long."

"A danger? Come on!" Cato protests. "It's us against him. We can kill him easily, at any time we want. And besides, Glimmer just died. That'll be enough for a while, okay?"

Did he say… did he say her name?

I stare at Cato in surprise.

"What?" He seems totally confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing." I quickly wave it off, but inside, I feel wrecked.

Not even in my dreams, I would have thought that Cato – the cold, emotionless killing machine Cato – could be able to, well, mourn somebody's death. But that's what he does, obviously. That's why he's never mentioned her name since she died, and that's why he doesn't agree on killing Marvel.

He can't go on yet, because he's still thinking about Glimmer.

Part of me thinks: You decided you'd have to kill him. He's hurt. He's vulnerable. This is the perfect time to do it. I hate that part of me.

The other part says: He shouldn't be concerned by a simple death… That girl has to be important to him. More important than you'll ever be. I think I hate that part, too.

Where is the part of me that was so overly happy to be a tribute in the Hunger Games? The part whose dream had finally come true? Does it even exist anymore?

Okay, here's what we learned at the academy: Whatever may happen, always stay calm.

Stay calm, I tell myself, repeating it over and over in my head. Maybe you're just overreacting. What did he say again?

He said that Glimmer's death was enough for a while. That means he's not over it yet, doesn't it? It means he'll need some time to leave Glimmer and every thought of her behind… which, again, means that she's important to him. Too important to be forgotten right away.

"Clove, what's your problem?" I hear Cato ask. "Why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Every time I bring her up, you're getting upset."

"Glimmer?" I grind my teeth. "That's ridiculous."

Cato is rolling his eyes at me. "It's really ridiculous, okay? I don't know why you hated her that much, but she's dead, anyway! So what's your problem?"

He wants to know my problem? Well, to tell the truth: it's him. But of course, I can't say that.

"There is no problem", I reply. "I suggest we forget about Glimmer and think of Marvel instead."

"I told you, we still need him." Cato sounds bored, which is only making me angrier.

"To kill the other tributes? We can do that without him. Hell, we're Careers!"

"It'll be easier with him."

"But harder afterwards." I gesture toward Marvel's sleeping figure. "Think about it, Cato. Imagine I'd just go over and stab him with a knife. He'd be dead in an instant."

Cato snorts. "No."

"Very convincing", I mutter. "I just wanted to spare us some trouble. I'm always up for a good fight, you know that, but it would still be cleverer to kill him right now."

"What do you think is so dangerous about him?" Cato wants to know. "I mean, he's all alone if it comes to a fight. How could he cause any trouble, in your opinion?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Many things can happen in a fight. One of us getting hurt, for example."

"And if I got hurt, wouldn't that be good for you?" Cato insists.

Why? I want to ask, but I already know the answer. Because he'd be easier to kill then.

"And what if I didn't want to kill you?" I whisper without looking at him. "What if I was sad about you getting hurt?"

I know Cato is staring at me, but I won't look up. I don't want to meet his eyes, don't want to see the reproachful look on his face. He probably wonders how I came to be that stupid. Maybe he wonders what happened to the Clove he knew, the Clove who did what was necessary to win, the Clove who never thought twice about killing innocent people.

Maybe he liked me better the way I was before. Before I developed those feelings whenever I'm around him. But I just can't help it.

"You know, we can still split up if you don't like the plan", Cato says. "I'll stay with Marvel and when we've killed everybody else, I finish him off alone. That way, you can't get hurt."

"Do you think I'm afraid?" I shake my head in disgust. "Splitting up is no option."

"I didn't say you were afraid", Cato replies. "But you said you were concerned about getting hurt… so why not letting me deal with Marvel on my own?"

"That was never part of the plan", I protest. "Think about what our mentors said –"

Cato throws the branch away and clenches his fist. "Can you see them anywhere, our mentors? No! As long as we're in the arena, we can do whatever we want, okay? They won't care; maybe they don't even remember the plan they've taught us!"

"Calm down, Cato", I hiss at him. "You don't need to get aggressive because Twelve killed your lovely friend –"

"This has nothing to do with Glimmer!" Cato yells, jumping to his feet. "This is about you, don't you understand? I'm just trying to take care of you! I suggested we split up so you wouldn't get hurt! I've always tried to do what's best for –"

"For me?" I laugh. "Spare your words, Cato. You've never listened to me, not even once, when I came up with an idea! And you were flirting with Glimmer like all the time… You never gave a damn about me!"

"I told you, I just wanted some fun", Cato says as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"In the end, one of us has to die anyway", I whisper, more to myself than to him.

"Right", he states. "And where's your plan for that? You see, there isn't one! Because our mentors weren't straight enough to tell us what would happen after we've killed everyone else! Do you still trust their strategy, Clove?"

"They didn't tell us because it was so obvious", I answer. "We've always known there can only be one victor. We've known that one of us was going to die!"

"Killed by the other one", Cato adds quietly and sinks to his knees again.

We both remain silent for a while. There's nothing except the sound of the night, the humming and crawling and flitting of the darkness around us.

I don't dare look at Cato. We're sitting so close to each other, but still I feel like I'm drifting in a different dimension. It's him who finally breaks the silence.

"We have to make the best of it", he says. "When the time has come, we'll see who's going to win. We'll fight it out like real Careers."

"Sure", I agree, because there's just nothing else we can do. "But we have to pay attention to Marvel. We kill him first thing after we've finished off Lover Boy and his friend."

Cato nods. Then he offers me his hand. "I know Careers should never make promises, but… I guess I can make an exception. You have my word, Clove."