So the past couple days have been a little hectic. Sometimes real life just blows... This one was written over the course of a few days over a multitude of moods, so sorry if it seems kind of choppy.
Also, please do not ACTUALLY threaten my life. Pretty sure this message was kidding, but still. NOT COOL.
I saw her blood splatter outwards at the arrows initial impact, and it sickened me watching my closest friend die before my eyes. Her limp form was laying against the ground, her blood slowly drawing a pool around her. If I was afraid to battle, I wasn't anymore. I could see my sword laying next to my sleeping bag, I could make it.
Darting from behind the tree, I jumped into a roll, trying to make my movements hard to follow. My warrior instinct was in full force. From how the arrow hit the tree, I had an idea of where the attacker was, avoiding the area and surrounding regions in case they had moved.
Springing from my somersault, I grabbed my sword and ducked behind a tree. "Cato." I heard Peeta whisper, his voice sounded terrified and soft.
"Stay there." I whispered, the sword swinging in my grasp, feeling its balanced weight in my hand. I moved slightly to the side to view the surroundings from behind the tree. I didn't hear anything, it was suspiciously quiet.
My vision went blank for a moment as I feel to the ground, feeling the initial impact of whatever hit me in the back of the head. Regaining my composure, I noticed there wasn't an arrow nearby. Or any weapon for that matter. Ducking behind a nearby tree, whoever attacked me must have come from behind, which meant I wasn't safe no matter where I was. I felt less vulnerable facing towards the invisible weapon and hiding from the deadly bow that struck down Clove.
Peeta scrambled from his position. Watching him run for cover, I noticed what looked like snowballs being launched at him. At least that gave me the position of the other attacker. They were attacking with snow? Granted there was an endless supply of it, but…
An icicle embedded itself against the tree near my head, making me jump. Whatever was launching this had some strength behind it. It wasn't someone simply chucking ice at us, it was being launched by something. It would be easier to take them out first, the archer could wait.
I eyed Peeta, "Stay." I simply said, my voice wasn't mine, and I was starting to fear what was happening to me, but it only lasted a minute as another barrage of ice bombarded us. Blocking it with my thick coat, I started my random course towards our attacker, cutting randomly and dodging attacks by jumping into bushes.
My sword gleamed in the early morning light as I ran, the light reflecting off of it as I somersaulted behind a tree. I rested for a moment, feeling the arrow's impact vibrate the trunk. Who ever the archer was, they must have been tracking the light my sword was giving off from the sun.
My sword was to large to cover with anything. I felt myself over for something that might be able to distract the archer. Something shiny. The marble was heavy in my pocket, I pulled it out, feeling some remorse before throwing it. I saw another arrow follow it, striking the tree behind.
This was my chance, I jumped into action, running towards the launching ice. Another bombardment of icicles flung through the air, rolloing to the ground to avoid the brunt of it, my torso taking the blow instead of my face. The ice struck me hard in the back, but bounced off my thick garments. Landing my tumble, I knew it had to be now or never. I'd never make it if I took the time to stop.
Knowing the person launching the frozen assault was growing closer, I jumped from behind a bush, my sword glimmering in the sunlight.
"Katniss!" I heard the screech as my sword found its target. The dark haired girl's blood splattered against me and the icy ground. She dropped what appeared to be a slingshot as she fell, her life slowly fading as I pulled my weapon from her. I stood, watching her blood flow, revealing in my kill.
The sound of the cannon, signaling the girl's death filled the air, as I swung my sword, watching her blood splatter in a line from it. "Rue!" I heard a distant voice and the noise of thrashing through the forest.
Katniss. If I didn't have a vengeance before, I did now. I hid behind a tree, waiting for her arival. My blood splattered sword raised high as I waited for her clumsy and emotion filled approach.
There was a second person storming through the forest in my direction. I partially lowered my blade, thinking that two people would be harder to fight at once. Stepping into partial cover from the thick brush, I waited for the two to arrive.
Katniss was first, her form entering the clearing to find Rue's bloody corpse, a thick pool of red surrounding her already. "I'm so sorry, Rue. This is all my fault" Katniss whispered, I barely caught it over the rustling that was approaching.
Katniss looked defeated, her slouched form knelt before the young girls body, her bow lazily held in her hand. Her mind must have been on Rue, for she seemed unaware of the noise following her. Or it was another of her allies, and she felt safe. Perhaps Glimmer, they seemed fond of each other. Clove's voice, 'Never thought I'd see those three together.' entered my thoughts.
Peeta burst into the clearing, tackling Katniss to the ground. They wrestled in the blood-snow mixture, Katniss gaining the upper hand. She seemed to have caught him in a headlock, but he grabbed her by the arms and flipped her over his body, breaking the hold. I never noticed the strength the boy possessed, always thinking more of him as a talker than a fighter. It was obvious the boy could hold his own.
Katniss recovered, trying to pull an arrow from her quiver. Peeta was faster, crashing his fist into her face. She spiraled to the ground, her bow dropped to the side. He was on top of her, a dagger pulled from his belt, Clove's Dagger. He held it to her neck, the scene familiar. Katniss always seemed to be pinned to the ground, a dagger to her neck.
"Going to kill me now?" Katniss asked, "After everything we've been through? I kept you alive here."
"You left me for dead." Peeta hissed back, "Ignored me my whole life!"
"What did you want me to say?" Katniss glared back, "That I never forgot what you did for me? That because of it, I could never get you out of my head?"
Peeta's hold on her seemed to loosen. "What are you talking about?" His voice soft.
"I never forgot! How could I? You made me fall in love with you!" she was shouting now, "Then I find out I never had a fucking chance. Not as long as Cato was in the picture." The sound of my name was filled with hatred. I really should make my presence noticed, but something kept me glued to my position.
Peeta completely relaxed against her, his knife dropping out of his hand. "What about Gale?"
"I never liked for Gale, he was a hunting partner." Katniss answered, still struggling under Peeta's weight. "He always knew it was you that had me."
"Then why didn't you say anything?" Peeta answered, his hold on her returning, pinning her to the ground with force. "Why did you ignore me, act like you hated me?"
I didn't want to listen anymore, the horror of the situation dawning on me. If I wasn't in the picture, would Peeta really have fallen in love with her? Was I just second place? The beginnings of the mask's presence that haunted me at Clove's death were starting to spread across me, filling me with the heart wrenching realization that Peeta was using me.
"I never knew what to say!" Katniss answered, Peeta's forearm against her neck caused her breathing to be labored, irregular.
"Even when we were both reaped!" Peeta shouted, "You still never said a single word to me."
"It was too hard to think about… Even if we had the chance to go home, it still put us back at square one." Katniss whispered, tears filling her eyes. Her voice was chopped from her straining.
I heard enough, stepping from my hiding place and entering the clearing. "Kill her, Peeta."
He jumped at hearing my voice, losing his hold on her. She spun, taking advantage of it and pushing him off her. Grabbing her bow, she ran off into the forest away from us.
"Dammit Cato!" Peeta shouted at me.
"What was that?" I asked, my voice wasn't mine and I feared what was coming.
"You heard all that?" he asked in almost a whimper. My gaze was cold, maybe even colder than our surroundings. He seemed unhinged.
"Why didn't you kill her?" I asked.
"I couldn't, not after what she said…" Peeta answered sheepishly.
"Do you love her?" I was being blunt, and I tried to will it all away.
"It's just, I don't know. I didn't know she felt that way about me." Peeta answered.
"Do you LOVE HER?" I shouted at him, and he backed away from me. I wanted to stop myself, seeing the fear in his eyes. The fear that was caused by me, but I couldn't. My anger was taking over and I couldn't stop it. "Was I just the second option and you'd throw me away without a second thought?"
"No, Cato. I would never do that!" Peeta defended himself.
"Then why didn't you kill her!" My mind was racing, the anger overwhelming. "She fucking killed Clove! Or have you forgotten about that?"
"No, I haven't forgotten!" Peeta shouted back, his anger starting to rise as well. "And no, I don't love her. I told you how I felt about her yesterday! Or have you forgotten about that?"
I stopped, but my anger was continuing to rise, my mask forcing itself back.
"And it fucking hurt to watch you throw something that reminds you of me away so easily." His marble. I had used it as a distraction, but that was life or death. "Yeah, I saw that. Watched you throw something you told me represented a piece of me. It hurts even more because you know how much that marble meant to me as well. How am I supposed to feel about that?"
"That's different." I answered, "It was life or death, if I hadn't, we'd both be dead."
"It's not, Cato!" Peeta answered. "I understand why you did, but I wasn't going to throw it in your face like you are! I thought you knew me better!"
I watched him walk away, stopping to pick up the black sphere before continuing on. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, I knew that he and Katniss had a strange past that seemed to revolve around each other. Maybe I was being paranoid and a bit jealous.
I walked back to the clearing, seeing Clove's body. The arrow was sticking straight up out of her skull, dark crimson spilling from her eye to pool around her body. Her motionless frame brought tears to my eyes, pushing the mask away. Kneeling next to her, I cupped her head in my hands and let the tears come.
Dammit Clove, why did you have to leave me? I pulled her face close to mine, kissing her forehead for the last time. Without you here, who's going to keep me from being the monster inside? Who's going to help me fix everything and put me back together? Will Peeta ever forgive me? I can't do this on my own. Then it hit me, once again, I was completely alone and it was all my fault.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one, because I was having issues with how it ended... Whatever, I'm probably just being over critical on myself again. Since this next week is going to be hell for me, I most likely won't be able to post anything until after. Unless I get super carried away again and pump out a few this weekend before it all starts. Love you all!