First of all, don't kill me for taking so long to update. Second of all, don't kill me for what happens in this chapter...
"Clove, you have to get up, our stylists are at the door." I hear Cato's deep voice in my ear and open my eyes, even though I want nothing more then to just lay sleeping in bed with Cato for the rest of my life. I guess I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was a bit excited for the games though... I've been training 9 years for this, I barely remember life before then. Does it make me a horrible person if I'm looking forward to killing other teens?
Cato and I both get out of bed and throw on some pjs as not to be too obvious to our stylists about what went on last night. Cato opens the bedroom door and Drala & Quincis take one look at us and raise their eyebrows. Yeah, I guess we weren't being too subtle. "Alright. We'll get you both into your arena outfits then we have to go to the hovercraft directly afterwards. You can eat breakfast on the way to the arena." Quincis says, "We have to hurry as well, we're running a little behind schedule." Drala tells us. Cato and I get out of the pjs and put on the arena clothes. The pants seem pretty durable and the shirt & jacket are pretty comfortable. I had been hoping for sneakers though and these boots we had to wear felt a bit foreign. "Here's your district tokens." Drala says and holds out Cato's rock and my locket. Cato takes both of them and pockets the rock then walks over towards me and clasps the necklace around my neck. "Now, I wouldn't be too keen on showing your allies your tokens. They'll catch on for sure." Quincis says. I personally doubted that any of them were smart enough to figure it out, but I assured Quincis that we wouldn't. "It's time to get you two into your respective hoover crafts and head over to the arena." Drala states. "See you in the arena." Cato says, then turns to leave. Oh, hell no. This is not how we are going to say goodbye before the games. I don't care that our stylists are right next to us, I want a proper farewell. At least one of us is going to die and this is not how I want to leave things. "Cato!" I say, forcefully. He turns back around and I rush over to him and throw my arms around his neck. He hugs me then gives me a soft kiss before saying, "Don't you dare go easy on the tributes at the cornucopia." "I would never," I tell him, "You better kill at least 3 or I might not be allies with you." He chuckles then hugs me again before heading out of the room and towards the elevator. And while we both may still be alive, I know that he is gone for good. That was the end of our story.
"You ready?" Drala asks. I shake the sentimental thoughts out of my head and get in character, "Of course." I tell him, "I've been training for this day for years, I'm ready to go in there and show everyone that I'm not the girl you want to mess with." Drala pats me on the shoulder and we take the elevator up to the roof where I get on a hoover craft. As I grab hold onto the ladder, I find myself frozen in place and am lifted up into the main compartment. An older lady tells me that she needs to inject a tracker into my arm and I feel a sharp pain in my forearm before I am released from the current holding me tight. Drala, who had been lifted up right behind me, turns to the lady who had just placed the tracker in me and whispers something in her ear. The lady nods then says, "Now if you don't mind I'm just going to run some quick health tests on you before you get put into the arena." Where I had prior knowledge of the trackers, this took me by surprise. No one had ever mentioned a health check before the games. Really, what was the point? All but one of us would be dead within a few weeks. I don't question it though and follow the woman into a different room. I sit down on a padded doctor's table and think about the games as the lady takes my temperature, looks in my ears, and records my heart rate. She then tells me that she needs to do some further tests on me. She draws some blood from my arm that doesn't have the tracker and I can't help but feel a bit annoyed. Is she trying to weaken me before the games? "Take this cup into the restroom and pee in it. Once you do that, all the tests are done." As gross as it seems, I don't want to disobey anyone who works for the games, so I walk over to the bathroom, pee into the cup and return it to the woman. She tells me to wait for my results and I ask her to have someone bring me some food. I still haven't had breakfast yet and I'll need my strength in the arena.
As I'm halfway through my plate of poached eggs and sausages, I hear a door open and the woman say, "You were right, Drala, I'm going to contact Seneca at once." Then the door slams and I hear only the sound of her muffled voice. I wonder vaguely if the call has anything to do with my impromptu health check. As I sit alone in the room, eating, I can't help but to turn my thoughts back to the games. What if there are no weapons? What if someone takes down Cato before I can go to his aid? What if I call out for him and he can't hear me? I guess you could say, I'm a nervous wreck. Sure, I had been training for this day half my life, but no one tells you what it feels like to actually be thrown into the arena. All the audience sees is the facades that we throw on. The people of the Capitol will only see me as an unforgiving, blood-thirsty girl. They don't care about my real personality, my emotions, my past. I'm just there for their entertainment. My thoughts are interrupted as the door to the health room opens. The lady who had conducted my tests flies across the room and throws her arms around me in an embrace. Why do these Capitol citizens have to be so emotional and touchy-feely? I quickly shove her off of me and give her a look that clearly questions her actions. "I'm so sorry, Clove. I tried to convince Seneca, I really did, but you'll have to participate in the games anyway." I stare at her, confused. Convince Seneca of what? Was she saying that it wasn't certain that I would be going onto the arena until now? "What did you mean about me going into the games anyway? Was someone trying to get me disqualified?" "Well neither Drala nor I think you should have to go into the games, obviously, but Seneca insists, even though you're pregnant." My eyes widen, my heart rate quickens and my nearly empty breakfast plate falls to the floor with a clatter. "You didn't know..." The lady gives me a sympathetic look and hugs me again. This time I'm too shocked to even attempt to get her off of me. "How far..." is all I can manage to say in an even tone. "About 2 months I think, maybe a little more." I stand up and slowly make an exit from the health room. I find an empty couch away from everything and mull things over.
Stay calm, I think. I mean really this wasn't that big of a deal, was it? Why should it matter if I'm pregnant, I'm going to die sometime next week anyway. I just have to make sure no one finds out, especially Cato. Cato... He'll never know. He'll be crowned victor and will never even imagine the possibility of me carrying his child. It's best if he doesn't know, he can't know. The only problem is I can't lie to him for some reason. I have no trouble making up ridiculous stories and feeding them to other people, but not to Cato, ever to Cato. But as long as he doesn't suspect anything, he won't ask. I just have to act normal. If he found out, I know he would sacrifice himself for me and *our* child, but what good would that do? Like I could raise a kid by myself. I would be, without a doubt, the worst mother ever. Yes, I just have to stick to the plan set out what seems like a lifetime ago by my father. Remain distant from Cato and then implement my part of the plan later. This doesn't change anything. I'll just ignore it. I'll get in the arena, kill, then be killed. It's as simple as that. And yet, I know deep down in my heart that this changes everything.
Well, what did you think about what happened? Reviews would be splendid!