"Attention tributes!" Claudius Templesmith's voice booms down through the arena. "Congratulations on being one of the final six tributes! There has been a rule change within the games! Under this new rule, there can be two victors, if both are from the same district. Thank you, that is all."
Two victors? Me and Clove can both go home! I begin to shake her shoulders. "Clove! Clove wake up!" She quickly bolts up and grabs her knife, shifting her eyes to find the immediate danger. "Calm down, there's nothing here. They just made an announcement. We can both go home!"Her look of shock quickly turned to confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Claudius Templesmith just came on the announcements! If we're the last two tributes, we can both go home!" Her smile lit up her whole face. "Are you serious?" I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes I'm serious! Come on, let's get going. We got to find food."
"And some other tributes." She said slyly. I nodded, and the two of us began our walk through the forest. However, hours went by and we came across nothing. Clove was clearly tired, tripping over twigs and rapidly falling behind.
"You know what," I stopped and turned towards her. "Let's just stop here for the night. It's getting dark anyway, we won't be able to find anything."
"But Cato, I'm so hungry." She quietly moaned, grabbing her stomach. "It'll be okay!" I grabbed her shoulders and tried to hold her up. "Maybe Brutus will send something! Or maybe we'll find something!" Clove couldn't hear me though. After hours of walking with no food for the day, she was beginning to pass out. Against my better judgment, I gently placed her on the ground, and left her there to search for food.
Making sure to stay close by, I stalked the area looking for anything that could potentially be salvaged as a meal. Other than some Nightlock, which could kill us in a minute, there was nothing. Defeated, I made my way back to Clove, and fell asleep next to her.
"Attention tributes!" I was jolted awake by Claudius Templesmith. The sun was only just setting. I must've only been asleep for a couple of hours. "Congratulations on being one of the final six tributes! Commencing at sunrise, there will be a feast tomorrow at the cornucopia." Claudius was silent as I sunk in what he said. "Now hold on. Some of you may be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something. Desperately." Food. "Each of you will find that something in a backpack marked with your district number, at the cornucopia, at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."
I turn to Clove, ready to wake her up and tell her the news, when I see she's already up. "They'll have food" She said steadily. "Exactly what I was thinking." I smirked.
"I can go in and get it." She looked determined, ready to fight. Not like the girl I saw a few hours earlier, fatigued and starving. "Absolutely not." I said sternly. "You're too weak right now. I'll go and get it."
"No. Let me do this." She wasn't going to back down anytime soon. I sighed. "Okay then. Here's our plan. You go in and get our backpack. I'll be in the forest on the edge of the cornucopia, watching you. If you're in any danger, I'll come save you."
"I don't need your saving! And don't stand too close to the edge. You don't want anyone to see you. So you stay here. I'll go in the morning, and I'll be back before you know it!" She smiled, then laid back down to get more sleep.
I woke up a little earlier then Clove did. I laid there pretending to sleep, waiting for her to get up. When the sun began to rise and she still didn't budge, I jabbed her with my elbow, then rolled back over, pretending I did it in my sleep. I listened to her grab a backpack and walk away.
After she was a safe distance away, I got up, grabbed my sword, and started following her. There was no way she was doing this alone.
When she finally got to the cornucopia, she waited in the forest for the right moment. I began to walk back a little ways, still within earshot of the cornucopia. I sat down aimlessly and began sharpening my sword with a rock, waiting for her. She'd be mad if she knew I was so close by, but better to be safe than sorry.
"CATO! CATO!"
"CLOVE!" I began running for the cornucopia. When I got there, Thresh was… bargaining with Katniss? As he ran away, he dropped a bloodied rock. On the ground, next to the cornucopia, was Clove.
"CLOVE!"
I ran as fast as I could towards her, but the feeling in my gut told me it was already too late.
I kneeled down next to her and grabbed her hand. "Stay with me, Clove!" Her breathing was shallow and uneven, and her hand was shaking in mine. "Y-Y-Y-Y-" I shushed her, tears spilling over my cheeks and onto her jacket. But she managed to get the words out. "Y-You h-h-have to w-win C-Cato. F-F-For C-C-C-Cora." I laid my head on her chest and cried. "I promise Clove, I'll win for you now. I promise."
A slight smile crept on to her face, and with that, she closed her eyes, took one final breath, and sounded the cannon.
As the cannon went off, reality hit. Sorrow turned to rage. I stood up and looked around. Without thinking I punched the side of the cornucopia repeatedly, leaving a dent in it. I turned to the table where the backpacks were sitting, and threw it to the ground. I broke off its legs and cracked it in half. With nothing else to destroy, I stopped and looked around. Our backpack, the only one left. Inside it was enough food to get two people through the next few days, and our chest pieces from our chariot outfits. I quickly put the armor on under my shirt.
The District Eleven boy. Thresh. He killed Clove. Katniss killed Clove. The Capitol killed Clove. Panem killed Clove.
I ran blindly into the woods, not knowing what I would come across. As I was running though I realized one thing:
I'm not Cato anymore. Any hint of Cato that was left has just died with Clove. This is a new Cato. A new man.
A new monster.