16
Cato
About 2 weeks have passed since we arrived in the Capitol, and we've just finished the private sessions, which can only mean one thing. My days with Katniss are numbered. Despite the fact she's going into the Games, I'm feeling positive. She has a large alliance, and at least half of the ones who aren't in the alliance are close enough to us that they won't actively try to kill her. The Gamesmakers don't like this though; they've never seen a group of tributes get along so well in training. They're doing everything they can to make people target her, which is making me suspicious of President Snow.
We're all sitting together, waiting for the scores. The room is crowded, 17 tributes, plus mentors. Caesar dances through each one, commenting briefly on each one. Clove receives a 10, as do Brutus, Finnick and Johanna, which was expected. Then finally we reach District 12.
Rory manages to scrape a 7, at which Katniss heaves a sigh of relief and Peeta also receives a 10. Then it's my darling's score. 12. The whole room gasps and immediately Haymitch has a face like thunder, something I must reflect. If there is any way to make people target her, this is it. And sure, about 4 of the tributes flounce out, fuming. But the other 12 remain.
The room breaks into cheers and I can tell they have made a decision to shove this back in the Gamesmakers' faces. She is passed from person to person, who each congratulate her in their own way. Finnick. Brutus. Johanna. Thresh. Clove. Marvel. Clara. Peeta. Ros. Chaff. Cecelia. Rory. Then the mentors.
When she sees Haymitch, she bursts into tears. He embraces her and passes her to me with a slight grimace that says, 'We lost 3 Careers.' He's right – Cashmere, Gloss and Enobaria all stormed off, which worries me. But right now all that matters is Katniss, who is in my arms. I kiss her passionately and whisper, "A tribute of firsts, huh babe?" She laughs and slaps me lightly before snuggling into my chest to protect herself. "Night, everyone," I call and everyone waves back. Katniss gives a broad smile before leading me into our bedroom, leaving it to Haymitch to dismiss the others.
Katniss
It's time to prep for the interviews. I've made Cinna promise to put me in flats so I don't have to do that awful walking session with Effie, under the pretence that it's better for my back, which I managed to hurt… somehow. Haymitch and I are ready for anything, and we practice by him asking the most random questions. By the end of the session, we are both laughing our heads off and when my prep team come to fetch me, it takes me a while to calm down. He gives me a hug and whispers, "I believe in you, sweetheart. Just…don't be a slug." He winks and sends me off with Venia, Octavia and Flavius.
They coo over me for hours as they work, on and on. I must admit I've never been so bored of any word as much as I am of the word 'radiant'. After about 3 hours, Cinna comes in and I'm in his arms in a second. He helps me into a beautiful green dress, which I realise is similar to the one I wore last year but not red, and some silver flats. He plaits the front of my hair and touches up my make-up until I'm practically unrecognisable. "All we need now is a tiara and you could be a prom queen," he says and smirks, which makes me laugh, reminding me of Finnick's initial comment. He gives me one last hug before sending me off into the waiting area.
I'm last to arrive and the room falls silent. Cinna has done a great job with me, but seriously? Finnick winks at me and gives me a discreet sign of his approval. Brutus blows me a kiss and Johanna gives me her broadest smile. I love them both, even though they're supposed to be the scariest ones out there. My girls - Clove, Clara and Ros - all sigh and I laugh at this but Cato is my main focus.
His jaw is practically on the floor, and as I make my way over to him, he struggles to make himself presentable. Finnick slaps my arse and I wink at him before falling into Cato's arms. "I love you," I whisper and he laughs, "Me? I'm married to the most beautiful girl in the world. I love you more!" I roll my eyes and say, "I love you. The most." He kisses me and then we have to line up. This year, we're being interviewed with our mentors, which I am certain is just an excuse so they can interview Cato and me together. Peeta and Rory are going with Haymitch, so I get Cato to myself. That's why I couldn't prep with him. We don't want it to seem too rehearsed and it's not as if we need the practise. I've done this way too many times recently.
Caesar flies through the interviews, giving 6 minutes to each tribute and their mentor. Finnick's is hilarious; when his mentor splashed water on Caesar, I thought the audience was going to explode with laughter. But Finnick styled it out, and when he read a poem to his one true love, I could feel my heart breaking. He received news yesterday that Annie had passed away and he's been so remarkably strong but he's welling up now. I can't help myself; I run up with a tissue and give him a kiss on the cheek. Caesar raises an eyebrow and asks, "Is that your one true love, Finnick?" He winks to the audience and answers, "Yeah, she wishes." I laugh loudly and stick my tongue out, shouting, "In your dreams, Odair."
Rory's is awful; Caesar asks why he volunteered and, seeing no other way out, he explains that he's there because his brother was in love with me and he's doing what Gale would have wanted. I'm the one tearing up now, but Cato is strong for me and he slips an arm around me, reminding me to be tough. Damn hormones! Peeta's is brilliant; he and Caesar have such comedy timing the six minutes just flies by. And then it's my turn.
Caesar gives me a warm hug, firmly shakes Cato's hand and invites us both to sit down. "So Katniss! Congratulations on your marriage! I trust life is treating you well." I resist the temptation to roll my eyes as I answer, "Of course, Caesar, as well as life can treat you when you're taking part in the Hunger Games." He chuckles and Cato and I exchange a look; he really is so naïve. "So, you seem to get on well with most of your fellow tributes?"
Cato nods passionately and I answer, "Yes, well, I did spend about a month alone with some of them, when we were trapped in the arena. Also, I've got to know some of the others pretty well; we're like a family really. These Games are going to be really hard." Caesar nods and turns to Cato, asking, "It must be difficult for you to be a mentor to your wife." He shakes his head and answers, "No, not really. In fact, it's made me more determined to help her win."
"Ahh yes. Now, have you thought about what would happen if she didn't come out of the arena?" We both shake our heads and reply together, "No. Because that's not going to happen." Caesar laughs, and says, "It's nice to see you so certain. Although I suppose it's difficult not to be when you get a training score so high." The buzzer goes off then and he rounds it off, shouting, "That's that everybody! Katniss and Cato Hadley; good luck in the arena, Katniss!"
Our last night together was wonderful. We spent the night in each other's arms, and unlike last year, I had no difficulty sleeping. I'm finally ready and Cinna helps me slip into my jacket. He hugs me, as does Haymitch and then I'm in Cato's arms. "Come back to me, princess." We're both crying as he kisses me and makes me promise, but there's just a small lingering thought that this could be the last time I see him. I step into the glass tube and push my face up against it, trying to be close to Cato. He does the same, and our breath makes a hazy patch. I draw a heart on it and then rise into the arena. Oh. Oh God.
Cato
We rush to the viewing room in time to see her coming into the arena. She takes one look around and begins to cry again. I can see that Clove, Clara and Ros are doing the same and even Peeta, Thresh and Marvel look choked up.
"What is it?" Haymitch asks and I gasp. "It's the same. It's our arena. They're gonna finish it where it all began. Oh God." I'm crying too now and Rue and Glimmer sit beside me, also in tears.
Finnick looks around, confused, but soon enough realises. No one is focused when the klaxon goes off but Katniss wakes up first, and sprints for the bow and arrow, before darting up the nearest tree to wait for the others. We decided that she needs to stay out of the bloodbath, in order to protect herself. She hated the plan, but our alliance basically forced her into it, guilt-tripping her for hours until she agreed.
Amazingly, only 3 dead. Chaff is gone, something which I know Haymitch is angry about, along with Cecelia and Woof. I think it's because the alliance is so massive this year, made up of 9 people. Katniss is about to start climbing down, when Enobaria and the two from 1 appear at the bottom of her tree. Finnick and the others are busy cleaning up at the lake and by the time they realise, she's had to go back up.
Gloss tries to climb up but fails and Cashmere misses with her spear. Enobaria, however, means business. She climbs up 5 times, but keeps falling so she tries to throw
something. Her aim is quite good, so Katniss has to dodge, which keeps me on the edge of my seat. Luckily, Finnick, Thresh and Clove have arrived. They each kill one and it is so spectacular to watch, the three of them falling in unison. That takes the death total to 6. Only two more before the alliance has to turn on each other. I'm dreading it; these people are the closest thing I have to family, and I know each loss will devastate Katniss. Hell, it'll devastate me.
Katniss
After the scare with the Careers, I come down from my tree and we set up camp by the Cornucopia, to work out our next move. This results in a fight between Thresh and Marvel and Clove, who all…die. We have to move away so they can collect the bodies and I mouth to Cato, "I'm sorry." As if in response, I receive a parachute with a bandage and some cream, with a note that says, "Chin up chook, C xx". I spin frantically, asking, "Who's injured? Who got hurt?" My eyes fall on Clara who is supporting Ros' unconscious body.
How did I not notice this? Am I really this self-centred? Clara bows her head and whispers, "She's gone. But if there's any bandages going spare, I could use some," and she shows me the cut on her leg. Finnick takes them from me and fixes her up while Peeta holds my hand and tries to calm me. Our pack is already down to 5, including Rory who hasn't spoken since we've come in. I tap him on the shoulder and he spins to reveal a very pale face. He's also bleeding very heavily and I can tell he's going to die. I sit him down next to me and I begin to sing to him:
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said I'll never let you go
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said
Don't leave me here alone
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight.
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound.
Don't you dare look out your window
Darlin', everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold on to this lullaby
Even when the music's gone
Gone.
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound.
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound.
I whisper one last thing to Rory, before he slips away, "That was your brother's favourite song."
Cato
I remember Katniss telling me once that when her father sang, the birds stopped to listen. She said that her mom told her she was the same – she was right. The whole room was silently crying, in awe of her voice. Even me. I can't believe I've never heard her sing before. Anyway, that's the 5th death in the alliance, and Peeta doesn't look like he has long left either. He's been stabbed by Enobaria, not that he'd tell Katniss and I hate seeing him in so much pain.
Haymitch sends him some cream, to kill the pain, but he'll be dead by morning. He takes first watch, followed by Finnick, but when they try to wake him in the morning, they realise he's dead too. I find myself crying and I realise that Peeta was my best friend. He was so amazing – he loved Katniss and he let her go, something I could never have done. I always saw Gale as my competition but if she was to leave me, she would have gone back to Peeta. He was the real star-crossed lover, because fate was never on his side… Rest in Peace.
5 remaining and I can tell everyone's getting a bit bored. Suddenly Johanna darts out of the tree, throws a spear which pierces Clara in the heart and they both drop dead. Brutus staggers out of the trees, collecting his knife from Johanna's back but it's clear he's injured and he collapses on his way over to Katniss and Finnick. Final two. Oh god.
Katniss
"Oh god, Clara," I sob but Finnick is pulling me away, towards the lake, away from the bodies. He speaks slowly, "I knew this would happen. It was always going to come down to the two of us. And you know that I don't want to live any more. I can't – not without Annie." Both of us are crying now, our foreheads pressed together as he says hurriedly, "Look after your family, and enjoy your life with Cato. You deserve it. I love you, Katniss, and you know you love me too." I laugh through my tears and play along with the banter he so desperately needs. "Yeah, you wish, Finnick." I kiss his cheek and then step back, waiting to see what he will do. He turns his sword on himself and stabs himself in the stomach.
I can't bear to watch but as he coughs my name, I go to sit next to him, hold his hand and talk to him until he dies. I talk about Annie, about when he sees her again, and it makes me feel better to know that he died happy. Then Claudius Templesmith's voice booms around the arena, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of the 75th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen." I watch as two hovercrafts arrive, one for Finnick and one for me. Goodbye Hunger Games. Goodbye Brutus, Johanna, Clara, Clove, Thresh, Marvel, Ros. Goodbye Rory. Goodbye Finnick. Goodbye Peeta. I love you all. Oh God.
Hey guys, I'm really sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I'm right in the middle of mocks and I'm very stressed. I just wanna say a couple of things about this chapter, because I sort of know what you're all gonna say -
I realise these Games went very quickly, but that is sort of the point, remember there are only 17 tributes, so it will obviously go faster anyway, but also I wanted to get across the idea that people were practically killing themselves for Katniss.
I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone that reviewed, it made me really happy! Please read and review, I like to hear your thoughts and improvements, and I promised to update on time next week
viralsfan101 xxxxxxxx