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"Come on you moron. Just get in. Swimming can't be that hard for you, can it?" I ask sarcastically to Clay. Both North and I, stripped down to our underclothes, are in the water, washing up from the past few days' events. Clay, however, is sitting on the side of the lake, blatantly refusing to set foot in the water.
He glares a little more at me. "No way in hell. I'm not getting in, even if you paid me," he replies stubbornly.
I send him a sarcastic look. "What if I set the Careers on you?" I grind out, my voice still sarcastic. For a moment, Clay's eyes flashed in fear.
"Aw, damn. You got me," he concedes with a smile. "I'm not going any deeper than waist though. I'm an awful swimmer." His grin is wide and relaxed, as if we're not Tributes in the Hunger Games, but teens hanging out at a lake or something. Looking behind me, Clay calls, "Hey, c'mon North, don't go too far out!"
North waves him off as he continues to splash around, clearly enjoying himself in the cold water. I laugh, shaking my head at the young boy's antics. "He is from District 4, Clay."
The brunette boy rolls his eyes before taking off his jacket and shirt. "He's not just from District 4… I swear, that kid is a damn fish," he grumbles as he takes his shoes off as well. He keeps a strong grip on his long knife though.
"Paranoid," I joke.
His expression is still his happy-go-lucky signature smile as he deadpans, "You never know when Cato's going to show up." I roll my eyes; we're safe from Cato. Then again, I can't tell Clay this. It's still a secret from the rest of the Tributes, after all.
Honestly, it's better that way. Cato is my weakness, like I am his. I know that if Cato died, I'd probably go insane. He knows practically every worry I have in the Games. While I can't say the same thing, I do know that Cato cares. There are Tributes, like the Careers, that would use us against each other.
I look down a little. "Cato and the Careers? Please, they're harmless," I scoff. Clay looks at me like I'm insane. "Trust me, Clay. They won't touch us." I flash a small smile at my partner.
He nods slowly, a skeptical, sarcastic smile on his face. "What're you hiding?" he asks. I freeze and look at him questioningly. He just gives me a stare like I'm that stupid. Which, honestly, I'm probably even stupider than that stupid. "There's no way you can know that the Careers won't come after us."
I shrug. "Well, it's day four of the Games, Clay. They're probably restless. They want Katniss, especially since she got that 11 in Training." Clay rolls his eyes. He clearly doesn't believe me. Either that or he thinks I'm absolutely insane. I'm pretty sure that it's both, actually.
"Right. Because you definitely know how the Careers work," he drawls, matching the sarcasm I spoke with earlier. I grin sheepishly at him and shrug again. Not like he cares enough to find out, right?
North lets out a loud laugh, and we both turn over to him. He's proudly holding up a large, struggling fish by its tail, a grin on his adorable face. "Look at it!" he exclaims. I laugh and shake my head. "I caught dinner!"
Smiling, Clay nods. "That you did North, that you did." North is clearly proud of his catch, dragging himself from the lake and placing the flailing fish on the ground.
Suddenly the smell of something burning hits my nose. I whirl around and gasp at what I see. "Fire!" I practically shriek, pushing Clay into the water. North's eyes widen, and he quickly kills the fish, using his knife, and shoves it in his bag. He dives into the water, me rushing after him.
Clay paddles along helplessly, all of us having grabbed whatever we could in those few moments. He really is a pathetic swimmer. He's practically walking as he struggles to keep his head above the water.
North reaches the shore first, pulling himself up. I'm close to the shore before I hear a few pitiful splashes, and see Clay struggling to keep breathing. I throw my bag to North, who rushes into the water to catch it. He pulls it back up as I swim back to Clay. "Go!" he gurgles through the water. "I hear the Careers, I can draw them away from you!"
I shake my head and proceed to lift his bag and weapons off of him. He splashes around as I attempt to drag him to the shore. I hear footsteps along the rocks, and I freeze, turning my head only slightly.
Five figures rush out of the woods only a few yards away from where North is. Luckily, he's hidden himself in the bushes, pulling the bags along with him. Now I only have to worry about Clay and myself. I bite my lip as Cato emerges from the forest first, followed by Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, and, surprisingly, Peeta. I shush Clay. Keeping him afloat is rather difficult, but keeping him quiet is much harder.
I suddenly look around slowly. I see brown hair and blue-gray eyes. Katniss Everdeen is on the other side of the lake. I close my eyes and pray that the Careers don't see Katniss or Clay and me. Katniss spots the Careers as well. I hear yelling from the five Careers, and I take that chance.
Their backs are turned to me, and I swim towards the rocks, pulling Clay along with me. I toss him onto the shore. "Take care of him," I say to North. The little boy nods, pulling out all of our clothing from my bag. I pull on my white tank top, Cato's jacket, and the uniform pants. "Stay here." Grabbing my two swords, just in case, I take off after the Careers in order to help Katniss.
If the Careers catch up to her, she's going to die. They're after her for her eleven in training, I can tell. Cato is too proud to let go of the fact that a girl from a lower District got a higher score than he did when he trained his whole life.
My boots thud along the rocks as I squeeze my hair out. Branches almost hit me in the face, and I almost trip several times. As I hear laughing, I stop. My eyes widen as I survey the scene. Katniss is literally up a tree, high enough so that the Careers can't get to her. Cato falls as he attempts to follow her. The rest of the Careers, except for Peeta, are cheering for him to kill her.
I breathe heavily and shakily. Both Glimmer and Cato attempt to hit her, shooting arrows at her, but they miss terribly. In a tired, but taunting tone, Katniss looks at the Careers and calls down, "Maybe you should throw the sword!" I grin a bit; She definitely knows how to hold her own against the Careers. Maybe she'll be just fine.
It's then I notice her pained face. She must've been in the fire, too. I look around in a panic; no one is around. All of the Careers have gone off somewhere. Frowning, I carefully step out, trying to be as quiet as possible.
Figuring that I'll only have a few minutes, if that much time at all, I dive back into the forest, looking for aloe, which I learned helps with burns. It's not Capitol medicine, but it'll help to take away the pain for a while.
After a few minutes, I manage to find a single plant of aloe. It's not much, but it'll do. Bending down, I uproot the plant, taking the parts of it that I can hold. It's not long after I kneel down that I feel something sharp and cold at my neck.
"You know you'd be dead if it wasn't me that found you, right?" Cato asks. I breathe a sigh of relief and look up at him. "Glimmer especially. She plans to kill you as soon as she sees you." I gently push his sword away as I stand up, the aloe still in my hands. "You'd better get out of here, and fast."
I stare at him for a moment before grinning and hugging him quickly. "Well, first off, it was you that found me. Secondly, Glimmer couldn't hit me if I was standing still and as big as a house. Third, I didn't waste my time here. I need you to keep the Careers away from Katniss for a few minutes."
He frowns. "Why the hell should I do that? We're aiming to kill her, not save her, Lei," replies the older boy.
I shrug. "Well, I know you. You'd rather the Tribute you kill put up a fight, right? Well Katniss is injured." Cato's face falls. "She was caught in the fire, just like me and Clay and North."
"Wait, you were caught in a fire? Are you okay?" he asks worriedly.
Laughing, I reply, "Cato, I'm fine. We all got out without much harm done to us, just a bit shaken up. But I think Katniss was burned pretty bad."
He bites his lip, clearly hesitant to kill an injured opponent who could give him the fight of his life. "Fine. You'd better be quick though. If Glimmer or Clove catches you, they're not going to hesitate to stick something sharp through your neck."
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
Enobaria is not happy. In fact, she's ridiculously angry. Every single one of the other mentors knows it, too, and they al try to stay away from her at dinner. Even Brutus chooses to sit with Gloss and Cashmere over her today. Digging her knife into the rare meat, Enobaria viciously rips through the food, a dark look on her pretty face.
That stupid, arrogant Tribute of hers basically gave up two perfectly good kills for pride. She's not completely dumb, she knows that Cato's not about to murder the girl he's clearly smitten with. But as to why he's letting her heal up the biggest threat in the game, she has no clue.
She watches with anger as that stupid girl, Leilani, or whatever her name is, climbs the tree to the sleeping girl of District 12 slowly. She leaves the aloe on the girl's leg before fleeing. She growls a little.
"You're not too happy with your Tribute's performance, are you, my dear?" Finnick sighs, plopping himself down on the couch. Enobaria quickly takes another swipe at him. He's been running around, causing mischief for a few days now. "I'm thinking of sending that girl something good for helping my Tribute."
The dark-haired woman scowls. "Shut up and send the damn gift then," she spits, glaring at him. "It's not like you need my permission."
Laughing, Finnick shakes his head. "I'm not asking for your permission. I'm telling you that you should be grateful. That girl could do some serious damage to your darling Cato, you know. She's not because she cares about him."
Enobaria tosses her plate across the room, the ceramic shattering as it hits the wall. "He's giving her so many opportunities to kill her, and he hasn't taken a single swing at her!" she complains loudly. Everyone already knows about the forbidden love between Leilani and Cato already.
Sauntering over, more sober than anyone's seen him in years, Haymitch sits across from Finnick and Enobaria. "He's not 'swinging' at her 'cause he cares about her just as much as she cares about him. That boy's wrapped around her finger."
"And how the hell do you know she won't use that against him?!" Enobaria demands, crossing her arms.
"Love." The three look up to see the old man, a mentor of District 8, Woof. This is the first time any of the mentors have heard him speak. He's staring out the window, away from the screen. "She love him, he love her," says Woof simply.
This only serves to make Enobaria angrier. "Love," she scoffs. "I'll teach that kid a lesson." She stalks off from the room, two dozen eyes staring after her.
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
Cato pokes at the fire with his sword once more with his sword, watching the tip turn an orange-red color. He sighs a little and leans back. Glimmer is on his left, a bit too close for comfort, while Clove is across the small clearing, tossing knives at lizards and other small animals. Marvel is simply staring at the stars. Peeta's gaze is up at the branches of the tree above them.
Katniss, however, is still stuck in the tree, unable to come down in fear of being skewered. They'd chased her into the forest, but they were all unable to follow her. Cato's back sports a large bruise now from his fall. Glimmer lost two arrows trying to hit her.
But Lei had scaled the tree without much difficulty, leaving aloe for the Girl on Fire's burns.
Lei.
The blond Tribute sighs a little, placing his sword at his side again. He looks around; everyone else is still in the same positions as they were a few minutes ago. Except for Glimmer. Glimmer is far too close.
He stands up and grabs his sword and canteen. Turning to Clove, he says, "I'm getting water. I'll be back." The dark-haired girl just nods. Glimmer moves to go with him, but he turns and snaps, "I'm going alone."
She frowns, but stays where she is. Cato stalks through the woods, making his way back to the lake. It takes him a while, leaving him to his thoughts.
Most of his thoughts are about how he's going to get out of there with Lei safe and sound. Others are about what he's going to do when he gets home.
He'll probably move into Victor Village with his little sister and his older brother. It'll keep them from working at the stone quarry. That's why he volunteered for these stupid Games in the first place. He wants to ensure that his family won't have to go through such horrible times again.
Maybe from time to time he'll take a train down to District 8. Visit Lei and her family, see her happy and safe at her home. That's what he truly wants. His grip on his sword loosens a bit as he turns another corner.
"Your turn, Clay!" a light voice cheers. Cato gives a small grin as his eyes land on a small fire across the lake, hidden by a wall of rocks around the pit. Around the fire are three figures, two boys and a girl.
Clay is one of them, and he stands, picking up one of the knives that's resting on the ground. He quickly tosses it over another boy, who Cato realizes is from District 4. The other boy jumps out of the way as a bird comes crashing down to the ground.
The girl, Leilani, laughs a little and claps as Clay bows mockingly and the District 4 boy carefully picks up the dead bird.
It's a much happier camp than the camp that the Careers made. Cato stares longingly out at it for a minute. He shakes his head and kneels down, dipping his empty canteen into the lake. It fills up quickly and Cato stands, looking once more at the small camp of three.
He then realizes that he's actually really lucky with the camp he got. He knows that once it gets down to it, Lei won't have the heart to kill her District partner or that little boy. The rest of the Careers, however, will kill for the thrill of it.
Cato never liked killing, at least as a child. He was never a fan of ending a life. But being in the Academy snuffed that fire of resilience pretty quickly. No, the teachers of the Academy didn't just snuff that fire. They beat it out mercilessly.
It took them ten years to turn Cato into a trained killer. He is, as some would put it, the perfect soldier. After he turned sixteen, he realized that he wasn't the best. He wasn't going to be put in the games when he was eighteen, and that would ruin the chance he had for his family.
He discarded all useless qualities after that. The teen from District 2 became their killer. He forgot emotion, he forgot pain, and he forgot weakness. Cato put in extra time, training to be the best that District 2 had ever seen.
Sighing, Cato runs a hand through his hair as he walks back to the camp. He doesn't know how one girl from a weak District could turn him from a ruthless killer into a… well, a lovesick puppy.
It's at this second, in this moment, that's when Cato realizes. He realizes that he's prepared to die for her. She is his biggest weakness, something that he knows will both give him strength and take it away.
Looking at the sky, Cato frowns. No one has died in several days. It's day five, and there hasn't been a death since the Bloodbath. That needs to change, and fast, or the Gamemakers won't hesitate to take matters into their own hands.
"Cato! You're back!" Glimmer announces as he walks back into the clearing. He simply rolls his eyes and takes his spot – this time, far away from the blonde Tribute. She's getting attached; it'll be too easy to kill her when the time comes.
He doesn't voice this however, just sits down and continues to play with the fire. Clove rolls her eyes. Letting out a snicker, Marvel shoots Glimmer a look, to which she responds with a glare.
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
As the Careers lie awake beneath her, Katniss Everdeen is still on high alert while in the tree. Her leg is still burning, just not as much. Someone had kindly left her aloe; who it was, Katniss has no idea. It couldn't have been any of the Careers, seeing how bad at climbing all of them must have been.
That leaves only a few other choices. Katniss' top choice is Rue or one of the District 8 Tributes.
Her eyes are closed as she tries to remember home. She remembers waking up to an empty bed, as Prim has decided to lie with their mother. She remembers walking past Greasy Sae's and the rest of the Seam. She remembers the smell of freshly baked bread from the Mellark family bakery. She remembers Gale's hugs and hunting together.
Then she remembers the Bloodbath. People dying everywhere, and the only thing Katniss could do was run for her life. She'd known that she could die if she ran for the Cornucopia. She hadn't listened to Haymitch and now, she regretted it.
If she'd only stayed with Peeta…
A beeping brings Katniss out of her trance. Her eyes slowly open and she looks above her to see a blinking light. It's a parachute, flying a small capsule over to her. On it is printed, in large lettering, the number "12". That parachute is meant for her.
Her eyes follow the parachute as it lands in a branch a bit over her head. With her leg still in pain, Katniss struggles to reach the parachute. Her hand captures the small silver capsule and she rips it open.
Inside is a small, silver case of something. She twists open the case and brings it up to her nose to sniff it. It's burn medicine, along with a note from Haymitch.
Apply generously and stay alive. –H
Katniss does so, feeling relief in her leg and hands. She sighs and places the burn medicine in her bag before leaning back once more.
"Psst."
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
The next morning, at dawn of the fifth day of the Hunger Games, both Clay and North are still sleeping when I slip off. I want to make sure that Katniss is all right. I quietly pick up both my short swords and leave, going back towards the clearing.
I walk for a short amount of time before I hear something. Heavy, fast footsteps. Looking around frantically, my eyes wide in terror, all I see is trees. Not seeing any other way out, I quickly scale a nearby tree, breathing heavily. My heart is beating faster than it has since the Bloodbath.
Screams echo from below me, and I look down. Marvel, Clove, and Cato are running from a group of angry insects. I frown and attempt to stay hidden as they run towards the lake.
My eyes widen – Clay and North are still asleep on the bank across the lake. I let out a sharp gasp as I drop down from the tree and run towards the lake as well. Branches cut into my face arms as I move, but it doesn't bother me.
What would bother me is seeing people I love getting hurt. I bite my lip and look around carefully, trying to find another way through the trees, a faster way. When I see nothing, I have to continue on.
The lake is quiet. There's no buzzing, no splashing, and certainly no screams of pain. My first glance is to where our camp is. I suppose Clay and North woke up, as there's nothing left. It looks like everything has just disappeared. I heave a sigh of relief. That just means that they're okay. My eyes move then to where three of the four Careers are. Glimmer is nowhere to be found, I assume she's dead. Clove and Marvel are passed out, twitching ever so often in pain. As for Cato, he's sitting up, his eyelids half droopy. He looks like he'll be out like a light any second. All three of them are soaked.
"Cato?" I ask quietly, slipping from the trees. Cato's head snaps up, but he makes no other movement. In fact, he doesn't even seem to recognize me. I realize that he does when he mutters my name softly. I smile a little and kneel in front of him.
His head falls onto my shoulder as he chokes out, "My neck is burning. My arms hurt… What's wrong?" I look over to his neck and gasped. There are stingers sticking out of his neck, and knowing the Capitol, they were lethal if not treated. I pull up his sleeves as well, seeing the stingers there, too.
I panic a bit, but demand, "Cato, stay still. I have to get these stingers out of your skin." He only nodded tiredly. My fingers are shaking as I reach up to attempt to pluck the stingers from his skin. They slide out slowly, almost painfully. Each time I pull a stinger from his skin, he grunts a little in pain. It has to be really bad if he's showing any signs of pain. "How are you feeling?"
Cato doesn't reply, only stares at something behind me incredulously. I turn, but there's nothing there. "Can… can you see it?" he asks quietly. I shake my head and pull out another stinger. "It's my parents."
Frowning, I reply, "Cato, there's nothing there."
"I know I'm probably going crazy," he blubbers, for once looking more like a child than anything. "My parents have been dead for years, they can't be here." I frown again as he continues to tell me about his parents. Angelica, his mother, and Orion, his father.
Kissing Cato's forehead, I mutter, "You'd better take care of yourself, Cato. I won't be able to get to you again to help you." He just nods in response. The venom in the stingers is clearly taking a hold of him, pulling him under. I can't leave them like this. If someone was to find them, any sensible Tribute would take the chance to kill the Careers while they're vulnerable.
I grab Cato first and drag him into the forest, hiding him in a hollowed tree. I cover the opening with bushes as I run to get Clove and Marvel. Neither of them are as heavy as Cato is, thankfully. As I look at the sky, I notice that the sun is higher in the sky, signaling that it's around the middle of the day.
I have to get back to Clay and North.
Running back to them, I realize that the camp has been emptied. All I have now are my two short swords. At this point, I'm desperate to find them. There's no blood, no bodies, and no evidence that they're dead.
"Clay!" I yell, my voice cracking from worry. "North! Where are you guys?! Are you out there?!" My voice goes hoarse as I continue to yell for my allies, hoping they're somewhere near me, or I'm doomed.
I can hear footsteps rushing towards me, but I'm not about to take any chances. Quickly slinging myself into a tree, I wait.
A fluffy head of hair appears from the trees. "I heard her, Clay! I heard Lei, I heard her yelling for us!" North claims, looking around the now empty clearing.
Clay emerges after the younger boy. "She's not here, North. Look, there's nothing but… well, nothing." He places a hand on the younger boy's head, whose eyes fill up with tears. "There hasn't been a cannon yet. She's not dead."
"Hell no, I'm not dead!" I snap. Both pairs of eyes look up at me, and I smile sheepishly from up in my tree. "Sorry I worried you, I went for a walk earlier this morning… and when I came back, you were both gone."
North looks upset, but also relieved. I swear that he sounds older than he really is when he yells, "You'd better not do that to us again! I thought you were dead, and I can't lose you!" I frown a little and jump down in front of him. Tears are welling up in his eyes, and he immediately wraps his arms around my waist and hugs me. I hug him back, shushing him as I kiss his fluffy head.
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
"I love you, Lei."
"Cato, I love you, too. I want you…"
Cato begins to stir, Lei's calming voice still echoing from his dream. His eyes flicker open suddenly as he stares at a blank ceiling. He turns his head a little to see a wall of green blocking his vision. On his other side is Clove, along with Marvel.
Sitting up, Cato pushes through the greenery to the outside world. His head is still spinning, but he remembers one thing. He remembers that Lei had taken out the tracker jacker stingers with her hands, her fingers shaking as they brushed against his skin.
He smiles a little as he looks towards where he thinks the lake is once more. He looks back to where Clove and Marvel are finally starting to wake up. He knocks on the tree, and almost immediately, Clove is on edge, searching for her knives in her pockets. Cato has to grin at the younger girl's paranoia. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he taunts, a smug grin on his face.
Clove sends him a deadly glare, one that only Cato would realize was playful. "Shut your trap, Cato. I won't hesitate to sew your lips shut," she shoots back, teasing him with a glare still on her face. "Now, what the hell happened?"
Frowning a little, Cato realizes that he can't speak about Lei. "Tracker jackers. I guess it's 'cause of my size or something, but I managed to stay awake long enough to get us under here."
"What about the Girl on Fire?" Clove asks quietly. Her arms are crossed over her chest defensively. "Is she…?"
Cato grimaces and nods. "She's alive. Lover boy got to her first and got her out safely. I did manage to get a good slash in on his leg." He seems to be somewhat proud of his accomplishment, and it seems to make Clove pretty happy, too. "We still going after her?"
Looking to the side, Clove bites her lip. "Let's just get back to the Cornucopia once Mr. Comatose over there wakes up."
"That's a good idea."
The only thing is, Cato's mind isn't on the Cornucopia. It's on what happened to Lei after she escaped the lake and put them in a safe place. Cato almost frowns in worry. He hadn't been awake when she left. Had there been a cannon shot?
Clove looks up to him as he stands and walks out. She follows him and stands next to him with her arms still crossed. "What? You think someone died while we were out?" she asked sarcastically. Cato just nods. "Why? You know someone else?"
Looking down at Clove, he replies, "Can I trust you to keep a secret and not want to kill me for keeping it from you?" Clove just looks confused. "I… I've been…"
"It's that girl, Leilani, right?" she guessed, this time a little softer. Cato looked over at her incredulously. "I'm not blind and I'm not stupid, Cato. You're in love with her, aren't you?"
Stuttering, he looked anywhere but at Clove. A satisfied smirk crossed the younger girl's face. He sighed. "Maybe. I can't be in love with her though. These are the Hunger Games, damnit," he complains quietly, looking down at his shuffling feet.
The dark-haired girl looks up at her friend and moves in front of him. "You're smart, Cato. You find a way to get both of you out of here, or I swear, I'll come back and kill you myself."
Just from the look on her face, Cato knows that Clove is one hundred percent serious. He just nods weakly. Satisfied, Clove pulls away and resumes her position next to him, her arms crossing again. "Clove," he snaps, his leader-like tone kicking in once more. Her head snaps towards him. "Grab Marvel. We're going back to camp."
"Where's Glimmer?" she asks quietly.
Cato goes silent for a moment. "Dead. Tracker jacker venom just got to be too much for her."
Even his fierce District Partner is quieted by the news. All of them had been stung, and it hurt like nothing either of them have ever felt before. For someone they knew and, to an extent, cared about to die like that is a horrible feeling.
"I'm… sorry to hear that," she chokes out, not knowing what else to say.
He can feel a headache coming on. "I left her there. When the hive fell, I tried to pull her with me. But she tripped, and I panicked, and I ran. I thought she could get up and follow us, but I went back to find Lover Boy and Fire Girl. She… she looked like she'd been stung everywhere, Clove." A shudder runs up the blond Tribute's spine as the memory of Glimmer's mutilated body forces itself to the front of his mind. "It's awful. She was a pain, but she didn't deserve a death like that."
Clove nods. "No one does."
"I'm going to kill her," deadpans Cato. "I'm going to kill Fire Girl. She dropped that hive on us and she killed Glimmer. She almost killed the rest of us. I'm not going to forgive her for that."
Grinning, the smaller girl pats him on the back. "There's our Cato."
Cato only grins weakly.
{ may the odds be ever in your favor }
Of course, I have to explain everything to Clay when we find shelter. North is already sound asleep in his sleeping bag, looking curled up and warm. I smile as I ruffle his head. He just snores in response.
Clay is still fuming from my explanation behind why I was gone. "Let me get this straight," he says for the hundredth time. Clearly, he's still trying to wrap his head around it. "You and District 2 have been secretly seeing each other. That's where you're going whenever you go off alone. And he hasn't snapped your neck or sliced your head off yet?"
I jokingly reach for my face and neck. "Nope. Both are still in tact," I reply cheekily. Clay just rolls his eyes. "Come on, you can't blame me. I knew you'd react like this if I told you, so I made them quick. But this morning, Cato and the Careers were hurt by the venom of some sort of insect. I couldn't leave them there."
"Tracker jackers, probably. But Lei… you have to be more careful." I frown a little. Clay reaches for my hand. "This is the Hunger Games. Half of the Tributes from twenty-four are left. And you know the rules as well as I do."
I nod solemnly in agreement. "There can only be one Victor."
Hey guys, sorry for late update. I had a huge paper due today, so I couldn't proofread this chapter until today. I think it turned out pretty nicely, if I do say so myself. Mostly because this is where I actually start to hint at things that are important at the end of the plot. I'll actually give you a few things to note, mostly because they're pretty subtle.
CATO'S PARENTS: I've read lots of stories that made Cato's parents total dickwads to their kid. I didn't want to do that. So, I made them only hallucinations for now. You'll see why later.
ENOBARIA: She's a mentor. Yes, she's also a total bitch. But Cato's parents are only hallucinations so far. Because they're from the same District, she's like a mother figure to Cato, who she looks at like her son. But she's... unique... so she's not very good at showing affection.
LEILANI'S GOOD DEEDS: Lei is doing lots of things to help people in this chapter, huh? That's because in this story, this is mostly about a group of teenagers being forced to kill each other and a few trying to stay human. Lei is one of them, and so, she tries to stay human by doing nice things to help others out of sticky situations.
CLAY & NORTH: Clay and North, if you've noticed, have a brotherly relationship. This is sort of a metaphor for two things. Clay stands for bravery and North stands for innocence. Not only are they trying to protect each other, but they're attempting to protect Lei, who stands for love, and Lei is trying to protect them as well.
MYRE & JADE VS NORTH: I'm pretty sure that this is the chapter where I compared Myre and Jade to North. This is because all three of them stand for innocence, but each a different type. Myre is an innocent, childlike love. Jade is pure and untainted innocence. North is innocence in dark times.
CLOVE: Clove isn't dumb. I always loved Clove, honestly. So I made it that she is highly observant and she isn't a heartless person. She does care for Cato and his feelings. She's only soft around him, you'll later see that barrier of hers go way up.
POCKET WATCH: I don't think I mentioned it in this chapter. But Lei's token stands for her connection to civilization, to her family, and to everything she knew before the Games.
All of this is pretty important, and I'll be covering it nicely, I hope.
Thanks to all who read this chapter, I promise that I shall try to be good with my updates. Please leave a review, every one helps!