Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! I have so much fun writing this and you all make it even more fun! This is a bit of a filler chapter, but the next few are guaranteed to be filled with excitement and Clato moments!
We leave District 3 with a spear in case any other tributes try to steal supplies from us while he is the only one at camp and tell him we expect to see progress when we return. Cato then distributes items that will help us to see in the dark before we head off. The pecking order is made clear as he hands me a pair of night-vision goggles, keeping a pair for himself, gives Marvel and Odessaly flashlights and leaves Glimmer and Lover Boy with the torches. Glimmer looks far from pleased, but is smart enough to keep her mouth shut.
We first take a look at what lies on the far side of the arena, sloping down. As we approach the area, we see it is a large field of tall grass and other plants. I'm not sure why, but there's an eerie feel to the place, something that just doesn't feel right. I know that one of the most important things to do in the games is to trust your instincts and honestly, I feel like it would be best to just steer clear of that area. Cato seems to sense it as well, as he says that he doubts any tributes would be hiding there and turns us around to hunt in the woods.
It's not until about 3:00 in the morning that we first get an idea about the location of any other tributes. It's then that Odessaly sees the promising swirls of smoke rising quite a distance away from us. It's way too early in the games for this to be a trap, no the fire is surely made by some dumb tribute trying to keep warm. We head out in the general direction and make a deal that whoever sees the tribute first gets to kill him or her. Just before sunrise, Cato calls out that he sees someone. We break into a run and gather around the girl to see Cato make the kill. He kicks her awake and laughs as she pleas. He slashes her with his sword in the chest and the others join him in laughter as she screams. And even though in the back of my mind I know this is wrong and I can see how truly cruel this is, I find myself laughing most of all.
"12 down and 11 to go!" I call out and the others let out appreciative hoots. Cato checks her for supplies, but she only has a box of crackers and some rope. We add it to our packs anyway but grumble about not getting anything better.
"Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking." Cato says. We continue on, congratulating Cato on his kill, before Glimmer stops in front of a stand of willow trees.
"Shouldn't we have heard a canon by now?" Glimmer asks. We all stop and consider this.
"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately." I respond. I wonder why the Gamemakers haven't set the canon off yet. She was certainly dead.
"Unless she isn't dead." Marvel says. Oh please, I'm sure she is. Marvel is probably just upset he didn't see her first.
"She's dead. I stuck her myself." Cato defends.
"Then where's the canon?" Marvel challenges. Odessaly speaks up now,
"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done."
"Yeah we don't want to have to track her down twice." Glimmer states. I can see Cato's anger rising now as he spits out,
"I said she's dead!" Marvel, Glimmer and Odessaly all team up against Cato and I, insisting that we need to go back and finish her.
"We're not that far away, just go check, Cato!" Odessaly says. I turn to face her,
"Did you see where Cato got her? She's dead. And even if she isn't yet, she will be in a minute. He got her square in the chest!"
"Let's just check." Marvel yells.
"No, we are moving on. I said she's dead!" Cato repeats, angrily.
"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on." Lover Boy says. I raise my eyebrows, that's one of the only things I've ever heard him say.
"Go on then, Lover Boy, see for yourself." Cato says. Even though he did save Cato earlier today, I'm finding it hard to think of reasons to keep Lover Boy around.
"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?" I say, expressing my feelings.
"Let him tag along. What's the harm? And he's handy with that knife." Odessaly responds.
"Besides, he's our best chance of finding her." Marvel adds. Well that is true. We should question him about her later today.
"Why?" Glimmer asks, "You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?" I consider this,
"She might have. Seemed pretty simple-minded to me." I tell Glimmer and feel the need to add, "Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke." And I do feel nauseous, but probably for other reasons...
"Wish we knew how she got that 11." Odessaly sighs.
"Bet you Lover boy knows." I say. And I'm pretty sure he does. I mean he proclaimed his love (however real) for her in front of all of Panem. Surely he at least knows her talents.
We hear Peeta's heavy footsteps returning and fall silent.
"Was she dead?" Cato asks. I realize he was absent from our conversation about Lover Boy, presumably upset that Peeta had to go back and kill the girl.
"No. But she is now." Peeta responds and sure enough a canon fires a second later. "Ready to move on?" He asks. Cato nods and lead us forward at a run. Yes, he is definitely upset about the kill he lost to Lover Boy. I know Cato likes to run when he's mad and right now we are going full speed. Cato doesn't slow down for nearly 20 minutes and once he finally does, it's only because Lover Boy and Glimmer were unable to keep up with the pace. Not going to lie, I was quite relieved when Glimmer yelled out for him to slow down. I was having a hard time running beside Cato and was glad for the break. All panting, we continue on, walking though. The sun has come up and we don't see any signs of other tributes. As we are trudging through the never-ending forrest, I decide to use the opportunity to ask Lover Boy about his district partner. I slow down so that I am walking in the back of the pack now, beside Peeta.
"Hey Lover Boy, I've got some questions for you." He looks a bit surprised at being addressed.
"Yes?" He replies, a bit hesitant.
"So, your girlfriend, what's her deal? How did she manage to get an 11? Seemed to me during training that she wasn't good at anything."
"She was hiding her skills." Peeta answers. "Our mentor told us both not to reveal anything until our private sessions."
"So what's her special skill?" I wonder if he will avoid the question to try to protect her, or if he will sell her out. I figure that if he tells me then his little confession of love was all an act. Cato would never reveal information like that if our positions were switched.
"Hand-to-hand combat." Peeta states, "She's really good at wrestling. She won a contest back in our district. If she has a knife or any similar weapon she can take anyone out." Damn it! She does have a knife and I'm the one that 'gave' it to her. Well that's interesting enough. It actually works in my favor. If her specialty is wrestling, I can take her out with my knives before she can get close enough to touch me.
"Oh," I respond to Peeta, "And do you have any idea where she might be?"
"No." He says, "Although our mentor said that tall grasses are usually a good place to hide, so she could be down in that valley." I study his face and believe him for some reason. Maybe he never cared about his district partner, or maybe he figures if he tells me everything he knows that I'll spare him his life for a little while longer. Either way, I just gained some valuable information. I'll have to tell Cato as soon as I can.
We spend the next two days on the move. We walk the length of the entire forest without seeing any tributes. We've been sleeping during the day and hunting at night, but when we reach our camp by the lake at nightfall, we are too tired to do anything else but collapse in our tents. I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't find any other tributes to get rid of, but I'm ready for some quality sleeping, without having to be woken up for guard shifts. No one would dare attack us in our own camp. Besides, they probably would assume that one of us was up, keeping watch. However, after laying down for about 10 minutes, I realize how cold it is. We had been on the move at night, sweating. I had no idea it was this freezing. Teeth chattering, I pull my sleeping bag up to my neck, in an attempt to make myself warmer. My sleeping bag is made out of a thin material, practically useless at this temperature. I can feel my whole body shaking now, but I try to clench my muscles and suck it up.
"Clove." I hear Cato say groggily, "Stop shaking, you're making too much noise. I can't sleep."
"It's cold Cato." I reply, trying to keep my temper in check. "I don't have multiple layers of blankets like you do."
"I see where this is going." Cato replies, sounding arrogant for some reason, "You just want me to take pity on you and ask you to come and snuggle with me." Oh Cato, always teasing even at a time like this and in front of the entire country. "Just admit it, you want to join me." he says. I try to sound disgusted with his cockiness and his offer as I respond,
"If I admit it will you just let me get under the blankets?"
"Yes." he says.
"Ok fine, whatever. You're right, I was only pretending to be cold so I could sleep next to you and your manly body."
"There Clove, I knew you would admit that you thought I was sexy."
"Don't push it." I say, trying to keep my face looking annoyed, while really enjoying the banter. Glad not only to get warm, but for a chance to sleep next to Cato, I eagerly get out of my sleeping bag and bring it over next to Cato. He lifts up his half-dozen blankets and I get under them. Maybe we should shift our schedule and sleep at night when I have an excuse to be so close to him. I've missed having Cato's body pressed against mine at night, I had gotten used to it over the previous week.
Under the pile of blankets, where no cameras can see, Cato puts his arm around me and I put my hand on top of his. It's funny how just this small physical contact makes me instantly feel safer and more sure. While I know my death is soon approaching, it feels nice to be right here at this moment. I sincerely wish that we didn't have to keep our romance a secret. It's so hard to be this close to Cato and have to act like strangers. I long for the freedom we had in District 2. The superiority we felt over the others at the gym and at school. And while no one back home knew about us being together, when we were alone we could do whatever we wanted. There was no cameras recording our every move back in District 2. I reminisce about the better times before I feel my eyelids begin to feel heavy. I fall asleep easily to the rhythm of Cato's hand stroking my side and stomach.
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