I boarded the train with a heavy heart. Katniss had volunteered for her sister. She was going into the arena. Katniss was going into the arena.
District 12's first volunteer.
I sat in the back of the train and focused on the gloomy scenery of District 12. The doors opened and Katniss and Peeta walked in with Effie. Immediately I pulled Katniss into my arms and hugged her bony frame against mine. She wrapped her arms around me and wiped her tears on my shirt. I didn't care.
Someone coughed and I released her. I cleared my throat and nodded.
"I assume you two want to eat?" Effie asked and both nodded. Peeta (or Bread Boy, as I liked to call him) gave me a dirty look, but I assumed it was because I killed his brother. Effie led us into the dining car where a feast had been prepared. Haymitch was nowhere to be seen.
Probably drinking.
I sat down at the head of the table and Katniss on my left and Bread Boy on her left. Effie was to my right. They looked at the superfluous amounts of food on the table and their eyes widened. The two knew how to use utensils, but ate very quickly. I tore a roll and began to eat it when and Avox tapped my shoulder. He passed me a note and walked away.
~A call came for you, sir. Mr. Arckenson wishes to speak with you.~ It stated and I excused myself, bumping into Haymitch on the way out.
"How'r they holding?" He slurred and I rubbed my temples.
"Katniss is going to be a fighter, but the boy, he's not going to prove much. Those muscles could be useful, but he's never swung a sword before." I muttered and Haymitch pursed his lips.
I brushed past him and walked to where the note directed me. An earpiece was handed to me and I was connected to my father.
"Father? What's wrong?" I asked and there was a clatter and a curse.
"Nothing's wrong. I was wondering if you wanted to know who the new Tributes for 2 were." He stated.
Do you?
"Who are they?" I asked and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.
"The male tribute is Garen Scrabbler and the female tribute is Clove Ensworth. You might want to watch the Reapings, though. They provide for good review material. Good luck, son." Father hung up as I wrote down their names.
"Scrabbler..." I muttered and wrote down what I remembered of him.
Brunette, swords, arrogant, stupid?, spear, bow?, sword
"Clove..."
Short, young, clever, KNIVES. I wrote in all capital letters. Even though she was a little girl when I was at the Academy, I knew she was going to be deadly with throwing knives. Clove was not to be messed with.
Didn't the Instructors tell you to teach her how to throw? Looks like the monster you- let's say created, is turning against the you and the one you love!
I don't love Katniss.
Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that, Loverboy.
Don't call me that.
I re-entered the dining car and saw Katniss lodge a knife into the very crack in the wall I created when trying to teach my first set of Victors how to throw. Haymitch whistled and I saw Bread Boy's face light up.
The knife is in the crevice, so it makes her look better than she already is.
"Good," I said and all heads turned to me. I walked over and dislodged the knife. "but the knife went into the gap, so you probably had a stroke of luck." I placed the knife back onto the table and sat down. Bread Boy glared at me while I spread butter on a roll and placed meat onto my plate. He and Katniss seemed to have nearly cleared the table of food, so I took whatever was left.
If Bread Boy keeps glaring at you, he's going to be the first one to die in the arena.
He probably still hated me. Despised me.
He has good reason too. You did kill his brother.
Oh for crying out loud! I continued to eat while Haymitch gave a little speech on how he would remain sober enough to help the two (lie), how he would split the Mentor work with me (also lie, I would be the one doing all of the work), and how he was going to try his best to get them out alive (lie?).
Looks like the drunk is actually gonna try. Surprising.
What was so different about these two that made me feel hopeful? Well, I was hopeful about Katniss, but Bread Boy? Eh...
I studied the two tributes and how they acted. Bread Boy had red eyes from crying and was pretty quiet for the most part. I felt like he was the soft, longing, lost puppy that needed an owner. He was too weak for the games.
He might surprise you.
With what? His undeniably amazing way of cake decorating? I'm sure Clove and Garen will be shaking in fear. He has no weapon training, and he is completely useless.
Katniss is-
Good with a bow and-
Completely and utterly cold to strangers. That's just an okay combo. Peeta is bad with weapons and probably nice to strangers. Another okay combo.
"Cato? Monster Boy? Hellooo? Earth to-"
"What?!" I interrupted Haymitch and he sighed.
"We thought you were dead the way you were zoning out. Katniss asked if you wanted a slice of fire cake." I shook my head.
"I don't eat desserts very often. Thank you, though." I stated and Haymitch laughed.
"I thought District 2 let you eat dessert after you won the Games!"
"We choose not to eat dessert, Drunk." I growled and Effie clapped her hands together.
"Well, now that we've had our tummies filled, Mentors, would you like to say some words of advice?" She asked and Haymitch nodded.
"Don't die." He began to laugh and I suppressed a grin. Typical Haymitch.
"Cato do you have anything worth our time to say?" Effie asked.
"When you get to the Remake Center, don't fight them. We have a new Prep Team and pair of stylists this year. The stylists are Cinna and Portia. Katniss, you're getting Cinna and his crew. Flavius, Venia, and Octavia. Peeta, you get Portia and her crew. Lavinia, Drenton, and Ossus."
"What will they do to us?" Peeta asked and Haymitch laughed.
"Only put you through the most painful torture and see how high your pain tolerance level is. That's what they use to make the Games fun, and you do all of their games naked with all of Panem watching." Katniss and Peeta both had mortified expressions on their faces and Haymitch added a playful "Just kidding, you'll be fine."
"What they will be doing is cleaning you up for the cameras. That means waxing, plucking, trimming, and giving you the shot." Katniss frowned.
"What's the shot?"
"It makes you infertile for a year." Katniss' face grew cold while Peeta's jaw dropped.
"I've never heard about that," Katniss stated and Peeta nodded.
"Why would they do that?" He asked.
Seriously?
"So you won't be pregnant when you're supposed to be killing people. Pregnant people dying do not make for a good show," Haymitch grinned. I sent him a withering look and he shrugged. I stood and looked at my watch.
"They keep it a secret from the public. We're arriving tomorrow morn-"
"No sex in the dining car or the meeting car." Haymitch warned and Katniss' expression went from cold to frozen. Effie gasped and I snorted. I walked out of the dining car and decided to roam the train for the next nine hours.
Walking around, I looked out windows, stared at walls, and thought about what the hell I was going to do when Katniss entered the Arena.
You're going to recruit Sponsors. You're going to send her things she needs. You are going to make her survive.
I looked at the vast open spaces fly by and noticed a few animals here and there. Everything was so peaceful yet nothing was at peace. The people were restless. They needed a saviour. One who would release them from their misery and bring them a life of pleasure, not the torture they were dealing with now.
After a few hours, the sun set and the sky went from light blue to orange to black. Bright stars twinkled and the doors opened.
"Hi." Katniss sat down and motioned for me to sit as well. I had forgotten that I was standing and sat by her. "Cato, if I don't make it out alive-"
"Don't think that way. You will make it out alive, I'll make sure of it." I growled and she shook her head.
"Take care of Prim." She whispered and and allowed two tears to fall from her eyes. "Please, Cato, whatever you do, don't let my family starve." She allowed me to wipe her eyes and I nodded.
"I won't take care of them." Katniss looked at me in pain. "I won't have to take care of them because you will be there to. Katniss, you will go back home. I promise you." I stated and pulled her scrawny body against me. Katniss let me hold her for 3 seconds and pushed me away.
"Don't distract me." She muttered and looked out the large window. "Cato, have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly?" She asked and I shook my head. "Just, to be able to spread your wings and leave whatever place you were in and settle down somewhere else?"
What? Where in the world is all this coming from?
"No, I never have." I stated and she nodded.
"You are one of the most unimaginative people I have ever met." She scoffed and wiped her eyes once more. "I'm glad you came to District 12. I'm going to try and get some sleep." She said and walked back to her room.
I raised my arms and laid down on the couch.
Be poetic and think about life.
I scoffed and rolled over. My feet spilled over the edge of the couch and I crossed my legs. The passing scenery was drab and most of it was trees.
Soon I fell asleep.
I was in the arena and I had a sword in my hand. There were others around me, a blonde girl and boy, and Clove. Suddenly, the scene changed and I had a little girl with curly hair pinned to a tree. I stabbed her repeatedly as she screamed,
"Katniss! Katniss!" Wait, Katniss?
There was a rustle in the trees, and Katniss came bounding out. She looked at the corpse and at me. Her hands covered her mouth and she whispered,
"How could you?" I felt numb and suddenly, my body surged forward. I had Katniss by the neck as well, and stabbed her in the gut. She screamed and grabbed my shirt. I watched as she feebly grasped her bow and shot me in the right eye.
I woke up panting. The sun was glaring down painfully hard and someone had put a fresh set of clothes next to the couch for me to wear. I tried to calm down and gasped for breath.
I had hurt Katniss. I had hurt Katniss.
The little girl who was she? Not that it matters.
I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with my shirt and grabbed the spare clothes and went into the nearest bathroom. I looked in the mirror and turned the faucet on. I spit and rinsed my mouth with water and the green foam used for mouthwash. After splashing water on my face, I dried myself with a towel and took my shirt off.
There was a white dress shirt and a pair of black pants with subtle gold pinstripes. I undressed and got into the new clothes.
You're fine. You're fine. Calm down, and go eat breakfast.
On the way to the dining car, I ran into Effie and we continued together. I held the door out for her and she patted my cheek.
"Good morning, everyone! Are we ready for the Capitol?" Effie asked and I sat down in my usual spot. Both tributes looked uneasy and I knew exactly what was wrong. Both had eaten too much.
Typical.
"Start off slowly. eat some greens, fruits, and a bit of bread. Then have a bit of meat." I advised and cut a portion of the egg casserole. Haymitch was nowhere to be seen and I was partly grateful the drunk had disappeared.
"Er, why are they in such bright colors?" Katniss asked, pointing to the massive amounts of people gathered to glimpse their new pieces of fun.
Say a joke or something.
"This is the wild mating call of a Capitol man. He displays his feathers in order to attract the wild females. I wouldn't be surprised if they started having sex here and now." I stated with a straight face. Katniss and Peeta looked at me with absolute horror written on their faces.
Yeah, no. Don't say a joke ever again.
"What?!" Effie screeched and Peeta turned to her.
"Is this true?" He demanded and Katniss glared at the tinted windows.
"Cato!" Effie glared through her glittery eyelashes. "Please do not spread such atrocities around Katniss and Peeta, please!" I shrugged.
"Just having a bit of fun, Effie." She gave me a withering look and Haymitch entered the car.
"Heard everything. Kudos to you," He pointed to me. "Now, new policies have been arranged and they're gonna connect some type of tube to the train so Capitolites can't see their tributes till the Opening Ceremonies. Get dressed, Monster Boy. They need formal clothes for us." He raised a paper closer and examined it. "Insert Escort's Name Here will take the Tributes while we exit the train in the public way." He crumpled the paper.
Damn that man.
"I was going to applaud you if you memorized that entire thing." I stated and he scoffed, sitting down. "Haymitch, we need to watch the Reapings as soon as we reach the top floor. Don't get too drunk." I warned and Haymitch scoffed.
"Too drunk? You talkin' to me? Pfft." He said. Haymitch took a loaf of bread and sauntered away.
"Remember what your Mentors told you." Effie cautioned. "Don't fight your prep team. They're only trying to help." She pulled the two up and dragged them out of the train, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
Just you and me, pal.
I walked out of the train once the crowds had died down. I made my way to the bottom floor of the tribute building ad saw other Mentors having drinks.
"Cato!" Kelsa called to me. She smiled and pulled me to a table where Enobaria, Mace, and District 1's other Mentor, Cashmere were sitting.
"I heard they named you the Man of Ice because of your insufferable silence." Cashmere laughed and I nodded."Well, you'd better warm up and get a girlfriend!" She said and I walked off to get a drink. On the way, I bumped into an old woman.
"Hello, I'm Cato Arckenson," I smiled and she grinned up at me. She pointed to her name tag.
Mags Cohen. The Mags Cohen.
Why on Earth is she still Mentoring?
She reached up to pat my cheek and nodded to me. I smiled once more and said good-bye. She was a wonderful woman, and I was happy to meet her.