(Foxface)
I can hear Cato and Clove blundering after me, but it's more in fear than in pursuit. I see the Cornucopia and I know to climb it. I reach it quickly and look back.
The mutts are closing in on us rapidly. Cato and Clove are halfway here. "Come on!" I shout to them. "Up here!"
I scale the golden horn, which burns in the blistering heat. I know that once they get up here, it'll be full scale war to kill me. I don't have any weapons whereas Cato has a spear and Clove has a bow and arrows. Isn't that Katniss'?
Oh well. I make it to the top, sit down, and watch the show. Clove has just reached the Cornucopia and is climbing. I scoot to the front, turn sideways, and watch both of them.
Cato is a little slower, and he has to slice one or two mutts to get to the horn. "Can they climb?" He shouts at me. I shrug.
Both of them make it to the top as soon as the mutts reach the Cornucopia. They're both coughing loudly and Clove is gagging. Cato is well on his way to vomiting.
I might be able to take them both out, kick them over the edge, but one might grab me and bring them down with me. So I just stand up in anticipation.
The mutts are jumping on the horn, trying to reach us. One makes it up near Cato – it's Thresh, no doubt, with that blonde fur – and he stabs it with his sword. I wonder when they realize that the mutts are replicas of the Tributes?
Eventually, Clove regains her stature and starts surveying the mutts. She shrieks in horror. "Cato!" she slaps Cato on the side, which nearly makes him fall off. "It's them! It's the other Tributes! Rue, Thresh, Glimmer, Marvel, Lover Boy, Fire Girl! It's them!"
"I noticed…" he chokes out. He sits down next to her. Then they both notice me and stand up.
"Well, this is it you guys." I say. "The finale of the 74th Hunger Games."
"So I see…" Clove loads the bow and points it at me.
"Then who will win?" Cato raises his spear.
They both throw at the same time, and I duck just in time. Cato charges at me but I do a sweep kick and throw him off his feet. He tumbles over the edge and the mutts are upon him.
"CATO!" Clove shrieks. She's watching over the edge as she tears up her boyfriend. "NO! STOP IT!"
She takes her remaining arrows and fires at some mutts, but she end up running out. She throws all her knifes, Cato's sword that he dropped, the bow, the quiver, and all kinds of stuff. She ends up throwing all the contents of her pack and the pack itself, but nothing is keeping the mutts from tearing up Cato.
Cato had a knife or something hidden in his clothing, because I can see a few mutts are falling back with blood on them. But, even with all his strength and power, Cato can't fend them off.
"No! Cato!" Clove has tears in her eyes. "Please! Stop! Don't kill him! He's all I have left! Please don't! Stop!" Her tears are practically flowing down her face. Cato is still alive, but the real torture must be for Clove when she hears Cato moaning, begging, and then whimpering as the mutts work away at him.
"No… Please…" She sniffles. "Don't kill him. Please, just let him live…" What she does next surprises even me.
She stands up and jumps into the mutts.
I lay on my stomach and watch over the edge as the mutts tear up District 2. How awful that must feel, to be torn apart from your love and then torn apart with your love.
If only I could know that.
I can tell it's going to be cold when the sun sets because the horn begins to cool off. I was smart enough to bring – and keep – my pack, so I have all my supplies. I pull out my roll-up blanket and drape it over me. I eat a piece of squirrel and drink a little water. I can only wonder how long the Gamemakers will let this last.
Oh well, I can live.
I curl up, listening to the sound of boy and girl and mutt. The anthem plays in the sky, showing Peeta's death. Huh. No wonder he never showed up. I must have missed the cannon when I fought the beaver for this squirrel.
The sky goes dark and the only thing I can hear is the howling and the whimpering. Time to settle down and get some sleep…
The first thing I note is that things have quieted down. The sounds of the mutts have disappeared. I don't hear Cato or Clove whimpering in pain. I peer over the edge. I see what's left of Cato and Clove right at the mouth. The mutts are sitting in a perfect choir line, watching me expectantly. Are they waiting for me to kill them? Or are they waiting to kill me?
When I drop down, they don't move, just continue to watch me. I walk over to the remains of my enemies. How will I kill them? I don't have any lethal weapons, but then I remember the weapons that Clove threw.
However, when I begin to round the horn, I hear growling. I step back to the front and it stops.
I see. They don't want me to cheat. They want me to kill them on my own, to show my smarts.
I think. Nothing in my pack can help me. I don't have any weapons with me. The only thing nearly destructive is… my ankle weights.
The two heavy rocks I tied around my ankles to help me run faster when I take them off. I reach down and roll up my pant legs. I untie the heavy rocks and hold on in my hand. Maybe I can hit them in the head like Thresh. Or place it on their throat and stomp on it? Whatever I'm gonna do, I better do it fast. The mutts might grow impatient if I delay and they'll attack me.
I take the stone and go next to Cato. "I wish this didn't happen to you, Cato…" I whisper.
"It's okay… I… Just finish me…"
I take the stone and slam it on his forehead. I hear him yelp, but, it's not deep enough to be deadly. I hit him a few more times before I give up. It won't work.
I can tell the mutts are getting impatient. A few rise to their feet. I decide I have only one thing left to do.
I take the other stone and place one on each of their throats. I stand in between them. "Please, don't mourn…" Clove tells me. "We… want this…"
"Yeah…" Cato adds. I nod. I jump and slam my feet down on the stones. They cough up blood and I hear two snaps. Then the cannon fires twice. A hole opens in the plain and the mutts rush into it, and then they're gone.
I have to go so they can retrieve the bodies.
But… I just can't leave Clove and Cato like this. They were people with real feelings. They loved each other. They died together. I have to do something.
I walk over to them. I take what's left of their mottled hands and join them together, placing their disfigured fingers around the curves of their broken knuckles, pressing their destroyed wrists together. I take a flower from my bag and put it behind Cloves dismantled ear. Then, I zip up my pack, sling it over my shoulders, and walk off.
I stop when I hear the scream of a mocking jay and then, I turn to see the hovercraft retrieve District 2. Then, once it's gone, I hear the trumpets and the announcement.
"Congratulations! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the winner of the 74th Hunger Games, the Female Tribute from District 5 – Cleo Foxx!"
As the ladder drops down and I am lifted into the air, somehow, I know that I haven't really won.