Chapter 2

Ten.

Cato crouches in place, preparing for the moment when the siren would sound. His entire body itches with the urge to sprint out to the Cornucopia. He wishes to feel his legs burn with a faint pain as he takes to the Cornucopia like a moth to a flame. He feels a faint twitch in his gut as he does so. To distract himself from the urge to run he analyses everything before him. His eyes graze each weapon slowly, a plan growing inside him. He'd grab the axe first; it's one of the first weapons he learned to use. It's pretty easy and quick, so long as you have the upper body strength for it. And if there was one thing Cato has, it's upper body strength.

Nine.

Peeta's body twitches almost painfully. Is it just him or is the countdown going slower than it should be? He swallows audibly as he resents the need to sprint, to do something. In order to distract himself he glances around. He's filled with mixed emotions as he sees the faces of those around him. From the fearful expression on the 12-year-old district 11's face to the look of twisted longing on the dark-haired girl from district 2's face, they sure were a mixed group. Thinking of it every year there was a mixed group. It probably kept the Games fun.

Eight.

Cato feels bile rising in the back of his throat when he feels her gaze on him; blue eyes piercing against his skin. God doesn't she see that she's really not my type? Cato represses a shudder. Of course she doesn't see that she's not his type. He's been sneaking off with Glimmer for hidden moments ever since they got to the Capitol. It puts on a good show for him to have a pet like her. It makes him seem desirable. It's also one more person who won't want to kill him. He already knows that the girl from his district, Clove, is head over heels in love with him; he made sure of it years ago, when they were just little kids. He should probably feel bad for messing with all of these girls' emotions. But at the end of the day, they didn't mean anything to him. They never would. He finally feels the blonde turn away, averting her attention to the Cornucopia. Hopefully she's thinking of the weapons they could use to put the Girl on Fire's flame out. A slow smile crawls onto Cato's lips.

Seven.

Peeta could kick himself when he realises he's staring at him. On the inside he still loves Katniss; when you've cared for somebody that much for that long it's not easy to just stop. But his body's confused. His body keeps telling him he wants him, Cato. What happened the night before, he swore it was a fluke. In the moment he had promised to make Cato his, but now he rejects that thought. He's on TV right now, for everyone to see. How could he be stupid enough to think that he'd try seducing some guy? No, the entrails of the night before would never be heard by anybody. Nobody would ever know the way his body began to sweat when he merely thought of Cato, how his length would harden painfully with desire…

Six.

Cato rolls his shoulders back proudly, an arrogant smirk finding its way involuntarily to his lips. He knows that the boy is staring at him. No, not the boy; his boy. Cato grins wickedly, a tug pulling in his chest. This will be easier than he had thought, making Peeta his. Cato trained his peripheral vision for years just for the Games. Even though he's looking nowhere near the boy, he can see the longing easily in his eyes. It sends a shiver of delight across Cato's skin, rippling his muscles and warming his chest. He wets his lips faintly, puffing his chest. He doesn't know how long Peeta will stare at him for, but he's going to make it count. He's not concerned about the rapidly coming beginning of the Games. Cato's instincts are sharp as knives. Even if he only heard the last two seconds of the countdown he'd still be running, flying towards the Cornucopia quicker than most of the contestants would even realise it's safe to run.

Five.

No. His eyes narrow and he looks around, anywhere, everywhere but at him; at the boy who was ruining everything, confusing everything. Peeta grits his teeth together, adjusting his body to lean towards the Cornucopia. It's not enough. Seeing all those weapons while Cato was still so fresh in his mind, it was evoking painfully erotic thoughts. Quickly, Peeta turns his gaze on Katniss. A strange flutter pulls in his chest and he sees that she's looking towards the Cornucopia longingly. He follows her gaze, his eyes falling on a perfectly sculpted silver bow. Everything explodes before his eyes and he knows immediately that she's going to run for it. Sure, if she got her hands on that bow she'd be unstoppable. Nobody would be able to fight Katniss and her bow, no matter how well trained they are. But if she didn't make it to the bow, if somebody simply sliced a knife into her back while she was on her way… It wouldn't be worth the chance.

Four.

Cato's eyes lock on the centre of the Cornucopia when he sees it. The sword is silver, the sun glinting off it at just the right angle for the glare to shine directly in his eyes. It's kind of stupid really, how he feels the weapon call to him. He knows immediately that it will be his, the same way that he took one look at Peeta and knew he'd be his. He imagines taking the handle of the sword into his strong, calloused hands and wielding the razor-sharp blade expertly. He imagines hunting down Katniss, finding her once she's realised just how in over her head she is. He imagines seeing her lying in mud, cold, wet, starving and about to die, even without his help. He imagines taking the perfect blade to her skin, peppering her with cuts of different depths, hearing her screams set the entire forest on fire while he chuckles low. He'd use her as bait for Peeta. He'd hear his love's screams and come running, right into Cato's palm…

Three.

Peeta twists towards Katniss, his eyes murderous as he glares at her. She apparently feels the weight of his glare because she turns to face him but a millisecond after he whips around. He shakes his head subtly, letting the girl know that it's a bad idea. He silently tells her that he'll kill her himself if she defies Haymitch by going for that bow. Personally, Peeta trusts their mentor completely. There had to have been a time when Haymitch wasn't such a slob, a time when he was smart enough to make it out of the Games alive. He trusts that whatever Haymitch told them while he mentored them could very well save their lives out here. Peeta grits his teeth together, almost hard enough to break them. He will not let the Girl on Fire down. She's going to win, he decides silently. Peeta promises to do everything in his power to make sure Katniss makes it out of this thing alive. He'll kill every one of these kids, hell; he'll kill himself to make sure she makes it out. A plan begins growing in Peeta's mind. It would start with the Careers…

Two.

Cato's upper lip rises in a low snarl, not caring who hears him and guesses his thoughts. Peeta would scream for his loves life. Cato wouldn't mind too bad, he doesn't really want Peeta's love. Cato's never been in love and he's convinced he never will be. Love is weakness and he can do without it. No, so long as Peeta's lust belongs to him that's all that really matters. So long as Peeta would beg for Katniss' life, telling Cato he'd do anything, anything to save the silly girl. It'd be his excuse, to save Katniss. But Cato would hear past the excuse. He'd hear the longing in the other blonde's words. He'd know that Peeta would just be fulfilling his own immodest thoughts when his voice would take on a seductive tone. His eyes would glaze with lust; his lips would become wet with thirst for the taller blonde. He'd continue begging for Katniss' life, but Cato would know; they both would know. They'd know the reason Peeta really came to the sounds of Katniss' screams that he was hoping it was Cato torturing her. He'd take the bait gladly, the explanation enough to justify his covetousness. And then they'd fall in to each other, their bodies becoming scarce of clothes almost instantly as the mud enveloped them. The whole world would be watching but neither would care. Neither would know of anything but the other's body grinding into their own…

One.

Peeta's body tenses as he leans towards the Cornucopia. His gut twists awkwardly, hit feet digging into the mine beneath him as he awaits the sound of the final siren. His plan is ready in the forefront of his mind, and although it's sketchy and far from full proof, it's all he's got. You know you're not doing it for her, his thoughts hiss at the back of his mind, mocking him. You made this plan to be closer to him. The one that's changed everything. Peeta rejects the whispering, swallowing it deep down where he can ignore it. His muscles flex once more as his eyes narrow on the axe he's going to make a run for. Katniss herself said he was strong, she saw his potential. And an axe is the perfect weapon for someone with strength to spare. Not only is it deadly if you can use it, but most people who steal it from you won't be able to. Peeta purses his lips in a firm line as he waits for the world to explode.

Bang.

Everything shatters in a nanosecond and Cato is sprinting into the bloodbath without even stopping to consider his actions. He's been trained almost his entire life for this moment, the moment the Games really begin, and it shows. He's halfway to his sword when the rest of the world catches up, snapping towards him like a rubber band that just got snapped against his skin. Despite the stimulating thoughts he had no even two seconds before, his focus is completely on the one weapon that he wants more than anything else. Sound detonates his eardrums as the war cries begin, but all he sees is the sword. A comforting burn flashes up his thighs as he increases his pace. He refuses to let anybody else beat him to the Cornucopia. Nobody will have an advantage on him, he refuses it.

He makes it to the Cornucopia before the Girl on Fire is finished deciding where to run. A manic grin crawls onto his lips as his hand crawls around the hilt of the sword. A large part of him longs to chase her out into the forest, but he rejects the idea. He'll keep her for last. He'll hear her screams reverberate throughout the empty forest, making sure she knows she's the last one. Just him and her, that's what he decides instantly it will come down to. It'll be a shame that the blonde from her district will already be dead by that point, but a sacrifice Cato is willing to make.

Cato twists his body behind him, his own war cry ripping from his chest as he swipes the recently-sharpened blade of his sword through the thin neck of a kid. A quick glance at the kid tells Cato that he was the tribute for district 5. His feral grin grows and his growl heightens in his chest as he searches for his next victim. The blood bath becomes a blur to him. It would be etched into his memory forever as a flash of red and silver, mingled with the taste of copper and the sounds of screams and war cries. All he knows is that eleven people died, at least half of them at the none-existent mercy of his sword.

At the end of the day his chest rises and falls with power, his muscles twitching and shaking with adrenaline. The day he trained his entire life for is over, and it's time for the real Games to begin. The Cornucopia blood bath, that's a Game in its own. Cato's always seen it as the foreplay to the true Games, just giving the contenders a taste of what's in store for them. His stomach quivers with a thirst for blood, with the longing to sprint into the forest and hunt down ever one of the sorry sons-of-bitches that escaped the wrath of his sword.

Instead he falls to the ground. Blood is mingled into his clothes, so much that he can smell the copper wafting up his nose. The other Careers follow his lead, sitting around him. He glances up to see feral delight in each of their gruesomely distorted faces; the girl from district 4, the boy from 3, Clove, Marvel and the sickening dog Glimmer. He'd kill her in her sleep later, letting her wake just in time to make sure she knew it was him who slitted her throat.

He grins just thinking of it.

Cato frowns slightly when he hears an odd sound; a pacing towards them. His fingers curl tightly around his sword's hilt as he stands, turning in the meadow to find where the noise is coming from. Clove and Glimmer instantly stand, their backs facing his as they make a circle. Either they hear the steps as well or they simply trust his instincts. Cato wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

His muscles twitch impatiently when he hears the sound slowing, but getting louder. Whoever it is a lot closer now, just on the skirts of the meadow. Cato's facing the Cornucopia when he sees him. Something at Cato's core freezes with fear when he realises Glimmer has seen his reaction and is following his gaze. She sees him and instantly loads up the bow she collected from the Cornucopia. She's only trained with it a little before, but Cato doesn't believe for a second that she won't be able to kill him with it.

"Glimmer," Cato warns, his voice sharper than a knife. The blonde girl hesitates slightly until she lets the bow drop to her side. Her eyes narrow on the intruder like daggers and she tries to understand her leader's reasoning. Why can't she just kill him already? It's not like they'll let him live after this intrusion anyway.

Cato presses his lips tightly together, trying desperately to keep his expression under control. Does he really care if he dies? Not much. He just doesn't want to lose him before he's had him.

"Why are you here?" Cato calls out, his voice easily making its way across the meadow. He rolls his shoulders, unfurling away from the Cornucopia. He takes a step towards the Careers, attempting to mingle an air of confidence into his perception. This comes off as arrogance though, making Glimmer lift her bow to her shoulder again, her eyes shooting daggers towards him. The boy clears her throat, his eyes twitching from Glimmer with her bow to Cato, who's obviously the appointed leader of the Careers. He straightens his back, endeavouring to make his expression as fierce as possible. He will not be denied. He just hopes they see that.

"I'm here to join you." Peeta calls, his voice silencing the Careers instantly.

And then all Hell broke loose.