Hey guys! okay so here's chapter 5, so sorry that i took two weeks to update but my exams have started so i've been revising like crazy but i'll be on holidays at the end of this week so i should be back to updating soon and this fanfic will be finished by christmas :D!

xxxxxx

Chapter 5-It begins

Glimmer's POV

"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the beginning of the 74th annual Hunger Games!" I look around me slowly, checking to see who I'm close to. To the left of me is the girl from 7, and to my right, the boy from 10. I keep looking and see that Marvel is only 6 to my left, not too far away. Cato and Clove are one apart from each other and are both near the other side of the circle of tributes, but not behind the cornucopia.

The arena isn't what I expected, but I'm sure it will work to my advantage. To one side of me, is a vast lake. I'm hoping it's the only water source as it should draw tributes in making them easy pickings, but I don't think I'll be that lucky. To another side of me, is a grain field. Shit. That's where 11 will go if we don't kill him and he's from the agricultural district he'll know his way around it easily.

I look to above the cornucopia to check the countdown. 30 seconds to go. I turn and now look to the last area, a forest. No doubt that's where most of the tributes will go, and that's where we'll look for them tonight. Smirking, I meet Marvel's eye and nod once.

3 seconds.

I turn and focus my eyes on the cornucopia.

2 seconds.

A knife… yes, I'll grab that first of all.

1 second.

I poise myself ready to run

BOOM

I'm gone, speeding away straight towards the cornucopia, the light gleaming off of the knife as it sits there, waiting for me. I'm there, at the cornucopia, and grab the dagger immediately, then I turn and find the district 9 girl going for a backpack just in front of me, she hasn't seen me. I throw myself forward and tackle her to the ground. She screams and then my dagger has passed through her chest. She lies there, dead. One down, 22 to go.

Clove's POV

Katniss and another boy are going for the same backpack. I grabbed my knifes moments ago to find Glimmer already on top of the girl from 9. I quickly pull out a knife and release it straight for the pair of them. It hits the boy straight in the back and he falls to the floor, either dead or dying. I quickly draw another and fling this one for Katniss, I don't know how she got that 11 but I'd rather she died now rather than later. To my anger she's pulled the bag up so she's got it on properly, and the knife embeds itself in that instead of her. Great, now she has a weapon as well. I spin around to see Marvel spear a girl through her stomach and then as soon as she falls, pull out a knife and stab the boy from 8 straight in the chest, what a fool, going so close to him, idiot.

Turning again I see 11, I go to throw my knife but too late, he's in the grain field, he's got a sword, he's gone, soon being hidden away from us as the grain covers him. Great.

Cato's POV

I smirk as my second target falls to the floor and then turn and see the others are finishing their own kills. Clove and I walk towards each other, not speaking, and then wait.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

11. 11 cannons.

"11 bodies. 11 cannons." I nod at her comment and then turn to see the boy from 12 being dragged towards us by marvel. The boy from 3, who was hiding in the cornucopia, is now working hard to dig up the mines about the area. We agreed to have him join us after the girl from four, Coral I think, agreed to Glimmer's invitation. He said he could keep our supplies protected; besides, we can just kill him when he stops being useful anyway.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Says he can help us find Katniss." Clove instantly spins around and glares at him. I know that glare, she doesn't trust him.

"Oh yeah? And why should we believe him?"

"Because I know what she did to get her 11! And I know all about her and she's going to have to die if I want to get home and I don't stand a chance against her." Glimmer looks to him carefully; Coral at her side and nods once.

"Alright you're in." Marvel instantly drops him but Clove and I instantly turn on Glimmer in outrage.

"What do you mean he's in?! Who put you in charge?"

"Oh shut up two." She glares at us and then walks towards the cornucopia. "Come on! We need to empty everything that's left and see what we have, then pile up all the food except for that which we'll put in our backpack for our meals throughout the day and tonight's hunt." Bossy bitch…

Clove glares at her and I nudge her quickly "We need her for now Clove…" I bend down slightly, after all she is a lot smaller than me, and mutter quietly into her ear. "After we've gotten rid of one of the bigger targets or it's down to the final 8, then we'll kill them… deal?"

"Deal… as long as it's my knife that slits her throat and I'll cut her hair off to boot." Chuckling darkly, I nod and walk after one. The boy from 3 quickly jogs up to us and informs us that he's dug up all the mines and he'll be able to reactivate them by tonight when we go on our hunt. I nod once at him, at least he doesn't annoy me. Yet.

We enter the cornucopia and slowly begin to sort everything into piles. Food, weapons, and everything else like matches, sleeping bags, and the sort.

By the end of sorting, which seems to have taken most of the day and we only had one break for lunch, we each have the weapon we want, and a medium sized pack. In each pack we have matches, a sleeping bag, and then the rest simply varies. In mine I have 3 bags of dried fruit as well as 2 cans of food, I'll have finished most of it by the end of the day but we only need it for travelling so I'm not too worried.

We pile everything up and chuck 3 a weapon and tell him to get busy. The kid says he can arrange the mines, which to my amazement he has reactivated (nerd), around our pile of supplies so that no-one but ourselves will be able to get it and we'll be able to leave it whilst we all go track down some tributes.

"How long do you think the games will take Cato?"

"No idea… until everyone's dead."

"No shit… but…umm... Cato?"

"Yeah?"

"What would… what would you do if… if it was just us two left. At the end." I pause, in all honesty, I don't know. Clove's my best friend, has been ever since we met all those years ago… I can remember it like it was yesterday.

"Get up Cato!"

I force myself up and glare at my opponent. I'm 10, just 10 years old, faced with the best 12 year old in this place, next week he'll start training with those eligible for the games. I pick up my sword and get ready to attack again, waiting for him to strike. There, he attacks, in three fluid motions he's fit my arm, my leg, kicked the back of my knee and now the sword is pointed at my throat, and I did nothing to stop it.

"Pathetic Cato… Ag-" The bell goes, signalling lunch and catching my trainer off guard. "Hmph, saved by the bell, no lunch, 10 laps, and then practice with the dummies, by tomorrow you better be able to beat them." She stalks off and the boy above me continues to hold the sword at my throat, smirking.

"You may as well give up Cato, you're brother died last games and he was meant to be one of the best, obviously he wasn't…" I can feel my blood boiling, how DARE he insult my brother.

"That wasn't his fault!"

"Idiot should have seen the mutts coming" Yes… he should've done. He'd broken his alliance with the careers two days before and so was wondering round on his own. In those two days three out of four of the other careers died, leaving him, the district two girl, a weakling from five, and the boy from four.

The games had been going on too long and they were tired of it, they sent swarms of mutts into the arena to drive all four into the centre, yet my brother was sleeping… on the ground. The mutts found him and he'd barely woken up before they began to rip him to shreds. I screamed at the TV in panic, outrage, as my mother and father cursed. "There goes our hope of receiving some winnings and moving out of this stupid apartment." I looked to them in shock, how could they not love him? How could they only care about their money? I ran out of the room crying, floods of tears falling down my cheeks. I don't even remember who won.

"Don't you dare insult my brother…"

"Or what?"

"OI!" As one, the heads of me, and the guy who defeated me turn to look to the newcomer's voice, and spot a small girl, she must have been what, 8, walking over to us, a knife in each hand.

"Get off of him you bastard."

"Who the fu-"

"Get off of him, or this knife will end up in YOU instead of being held in my hand." She glared at him menacingly, flicking her long black hair out of her face and I swear I saw her glance in the direction of the door… was she thinking of running? Though… for an 8 year old she had guts, but she was biting off more than she could chew here.

"Think you scare me?" The boy got away from me and walked towards her advancing on her.

"Nope. I just think you're easy to manipulate." To my astonishment, she started giggling, but it landed her a punch to the jaw at the exact moment that a trainer came in.

"Allan! How dare you attack an 8 year old!" Of course… one of our only rules… fighting is only to be done within 3 years of your own age…. Allan was 12; this girl was 8… well he's in deep shit.

"Get your sorry ass running laps, NOW!" Laps… yeah that won't be the end of it. The trainer quickly rushes to the little girl to look over who seems to be crying, yeah she was pathetic after all… the trainer speaks to the slightly softer than usual, well that won't last long… after a few seconds the girl seems to calm down and the trainer takes her into lunch, I watch her go confusedly and then go to proceed with my own laps, staying as far away from Allan as I possibly can.

It wasn't until that evening that I saw her again as I made my way back home annoyed, and starving, due to not eating since breakfast. Stupid trainers.

"You know you could say thank you."

Whipping around I see her, the small, little 8 year old, with long flowing black hair and piercing eyes, eyes staring straight at me.

"I thought you ran off crying…"

"Pfft, that was just so that git would get in more trouble. Which he did by the way, he's still running laps after hours now and he's going to miss tomorrow's training and has to work even harder the day after." Well... that was good to hear.

"So are you going to say thank you or what?"

"For what…"

"Umm… well…" She pauses and I raise my eyebrow before she glare and says rather quickly "for getting that dick of a guy off of you maybe."

"You swear a lot for an 8 year old…"

"And? Are you saying thanks or what?"

"Fine. Thanks…" I turn to leave and then pause, turning around. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl smirks at me, earning her a glare, before she flips her hair out of her face and simply says. "Clove."

"Cato."

"Nice to meet you… but you might want to work harder with the swords." I smirk and nod to her once and then turn to go again, making my way slowly back towards my house.

"Also your hair will get in the way… maybe tie it up."

I can't help but smile at the memory as I look down at Clove with her jet black hair tied up in a high ponytail and then realise, she did follow my advice after all…