A Shot in the Dark
Chapter 9
By: WonderGirl556

AN: Sorry for the long no update period guys! I had this entire chapter wrote out and Open Office (NEVER USE OPEN OFFICE!) turned it all into this :##############. So I had to rewrite it. :'( Anyways I was wondering if you guys would like to read my 74th Hunger Games fic featuring my character Rose Periot! If you would tell me in the reviews or on the my pages poll. I was also wondering if you would like a Tumblr where I would post all of my fanfiction goodness? Tell me in the reviews! And as always thank you to my lovely reviewers! You guys rock my world! And a speical thanks to Viralsfan101 for beta-ing this chapter! Go on and check out her stories, she rocks!

It's day five of the peacekeepers visit. Technically day six, but whatever.

I sneak across the road from my hiding place behind the Mellark bakery. He wont hear me.

At the moment I am engaging in my new favorite game called "Stalk the Peacekeeper". The rules are simple, don't let Cato catch you. If you win, you get a cheese bun the following day and the sweet satisfaction of mentally rubbing it in Cato 's face that you are better than he is. The consequences for loss are dire, Cato will inevitably rub it in your face that he is better at playing "Where's Katniss?" than you are at "Stalk the Peacekeeper."

This is the second day of my game, yesterday was a flawless victory and I've come back for more.

From this game I have learned on valuable piece of knowledge: Cato is really boring. Not even kidding, all he did yesterday was walk around the Justice Building and study it's architecture for FIVE HOURS!

But today there is a twist; Cato has brought with him a simple dark green bag. It is KILLING ME that I can't guess what's inside, my sole consolation is the fact that I will find out soon.

Today he seems to be leading me to the fence. What are you going to do Cato? Count the number or barbs on each wire?

I had to chuckle at that. Oh shit he stopped walking! I think he heard me!

He begins to slowly turn around, so I quickly hide behind the candle making shop.

I can't see him, but I can hear his footsteps, and they seem to be heading forward.

I let out the breath I had unknowingly been holding and forge onwards after Cato. We walk in silence for a hundred meters until we are stopped at the fence. I was right! He is here to count after all! I snicker silently at this.

Instead of counting Cato seems to be. . . . . . having a temper tantrum? He is wildly stamping his foot around. What is he doing?

Then the fence turns off.

Oh my God the fence is motion sensitive!

He then lifts a tendril of wire and slips through. I didn't think he would fit. Visions of Cato stuck in the fence dance through my mind, the angry grunts and wails, the disapproving expressions of the older peacekeepers, revoking of his "extra privileges"...No! We could not have that! No revoking of privileges!

But I'm still curious about his tantrum. Once Cato is engulfed by the woods I sneak over to place he was previously standing. I get down on my hands and knees to search.

I am astonished to find that Cato was stomping on a little red button, no bigger than the size of a quarter. This button must be wired to the fence! That must be how the Peacekeepers get in and out of the woods! It's genius! Wait until I tell Gale about this! I creep under to fence and scurry towards the woods.

I try to follow the sound of crunching leaves until the sound stops. I count to 100 before moving again. Maybe he's having a midnight snack in the woods! That must be what was in his bag!

I continue to shift forward until I see his illuminated figure, no more than ten feet away from me, sitting atop a stray boulder.

Damn.

I retract back behind a nearby tree so I can admire his beauty for a minute.

His perfect, Adonis like face is perfectly contoured by the moonlight, bringing out his sculpted cheekbones.

I sit like this for a couple minutes observing his glorious face. Until I notice what he's doing.

Cato has opened his bag and pulled out a tightly bound wrap-up leather case. Very similar to an artists sketching set I saw in the District's thrift store, but that can't be it. It must be some treasured knife or weapon.

The next thing he removed from the bag is a large notebook. Who knows what it's for, maybe he's recording his accuracy or something...I don't know I'm not a peacekeeper!

He then proceeds to unwrap his knife sheath thing, and to my great surprise it isn't a knife at all!

It's an artist's kit!

And I'll bet my bow, that notebook is his sketchbook.

The art kit seems to have all sorts of pencils, ink pens, fountain pens, and charcoal. He must be a serious artist!

I wonder how his peacekeeper buddies would react to big strong Cato, going off into the woods in the middle of the night to draw pictures of sleeping bunnies!

As hard as I try not to, the image of giant, hulking, Cato, drawing sleeping, innocent, bunnies, makes me laugh. Not like a cute little chuckle, but like on of Gale's loud and obnoxious gufaws.

Aww shit I've done it now! Cato's head jerks up from his drawing, which seems to be a bird's nest, and spins on over to my direction. Luckily I am concealed behind my trusty tree, so he doesn't see me at first, but I have a feeling I'm not getting off that easily.

I hear him getting off his perch, and trudging in my direction.

I try to sneak off, but my normally nimble feet get caught on a stray tree root. As I fall face first into the ground, the ever attractive sound of a cat in a washing machine escapes my throat. Great, I bet that will attribute a TON to my street cred with Cato.

And when I look up Cato is there, arms crossed, with his signature smirk on his face, he says: "You are about as graceful as a dying cow."

No cheese buns for me.

Now don't worry! I made you a list of things to do!

1.) Leave a review telling me whether you would read my alternate 74th Hunger Games, if you would like a Tumblr dedicated to this story, and if you like, say something nice about this update! :)

2.)Take the poll on my page asking about my alternate Hunger Games story that I hope to write!

and 3.) Check out Viralsfan101 's writing!

Goodbye my loves, and take care! :)