Hey everyone! I'm posting this on a Friday instead of during the weekend because this is my birthday weekend and I will be super busy. I am turning 18! Of course, instead of having a raging party I will be having a tea party instead, I'm super cool. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! I love reading and replying to them. You are the best readers I could ask for and you help keep me motivated with every kind comment!

Even being hot on the trail of District 12 can't keep me from being exhausted. I haven't slept in days and we have been constantly on the move. I find myself trailing behind the boys. Marvel had gotten sleep the night before and Cato was too angry to be tired- he handles not sleeping pretty well anyways. The lack of sleep combined with our food rationing and my pregnancy has left me weakened significantly. I keep hoping they will stop for a break, but they never do. We don't see any sign of District 12 so we scan the areas around the two fires that were set and happen upon a third one. Marvel suggests setting up a trap so we place a net in the upper branches of a tree (Cato let Marvel and I do the honors, seeing as his track record with trees wasn't very good). We continue traveling through the woods and I find myself becoming increasingly slower as the night goes on. Marvel thinks that I am out of ear shot and turns to Cato to discuss me.

"What do you say we ditch Clove? She's only holding us back. We could either leave her or just kill her now." Oh Marvel. So dumb. Did he really think that Cato would choose him over me? How oblivious could a person be? Apparently quite oblivious, as Marvel is shocked to find Cato's fist connecting with his face. Marvel stumbles backwards,

"What the hell, Cato?" He yells, touching his hand to his face to see if he was bleeding (yes he is- Cato had given him a nice bloody nose).

"Don't you ever threaten Clove." Cato growls at Marvel, who, instead of backing down, decides to worsen the situation.

"Oh sorry, didn't know you had a little crush on her." He mocks.

"You're right. I do have a crush on her and more than that, She's my girlfriend." Marvel's eyes widen as he looks between Cato and I.

"I'm sorry, Cato. I was just-"

"Leave." Cato says.

"What?" Marvel asks, confused.

"I said, leave." Cato repeats, "You are no longer needed. Be thankful I'm letting you live- for now." Marvel, for once, uses his brain and heads back into the direction of the three fires.

"Why didn't you kill him?" I ask Cato once Marvel disappears from view, hopefully for good.

"He's not even worth it." Cato replies, "He'll probably die of dehydration or something stupid like that." I nod and walk over so I'm right next to Cato.

"He was right though, I am slowing you down. I'm sorry, I'm just really tired."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Cato says, "We can go to sleep here, let's find somewhere to set up for the rest of the night." Wow, that was easy. I thought Cato would stop at nothing to pursue District 12. Cato sets down our sleeping bags and gets into his own, then unzips mine for me. However, I decide to take the opportunity to crawl into Cato's bag instead. It's a bit of a squeeze, but Cato shifts himself so that we both fit. It hits me that this is as alone as we will ever be with each other for the rest of our lives. It's just us, no other tributes to worry about (ok, so us and the cameras that are surely doing close-ups on us right now). Cato rubs his hand up and down along my arm for a while before I roll over so that I'm facing him.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow? We still going after Fire Girl?"

"Yea." Cato's answer is somewhat curt and I know he has other things on his mind. We lay in silence for some time, Cato running his fingers through my hair, before he speaks again.

"Are you sure you're just tired? Is everything alright?" No. I wasn't just tired and nothing was alright, so of course, I say,

"Yes. I was exhausted from hunting last night. I feel fine though, I just need a good night's rest." A beat, then,

"Are you sure nothing else is going on?"

"Nothing is going on, Cato, I'm fine."

"Clove, you have to tell me if there's something the matter, ok?"

"Ok. But nothing's wrong."

"You promise?" Cato says. And I, for one, knows he takes his promises seriously.

"I promise." I say with a lump in my throat. Cato is unable to completely mask the hurt on his face. He knows I'm lying and he wants me to confide in him. My face must reflect the same sadness and hurt because he wraps his arms around me and pulls me in closer.

"It's ok." He whispers, comforting me in response to my unspoken confession. I flashback to when I found Cato on the train crying in his compartment and how I had gone to comfort him saying the same thing: "It's ok." Both times they were lies. Merely words without meaning. We both knew then and now that absolutely nothing was ok and probably never would be. He draws me in for a passionate kiss and I wonder if it could be our last. We were taking risks, sleeping in the middle of the woods without having someone keeping watch. But I know that no one will come and if they do, I can at least hope to be killed quickly and quietly with a slit of the throat. That's usually the common practice for killing sleeping tributes. I suppose it wouldn't be that bad of a way to go, although I had always envisioned something more epic. A showdown where I am truly overpowered and beaten. In a rage of fury and flying weapons, that's how I would want to die.

The next day passes slowly. I convince Cato to give up on finding District 12, so we head back to our camp by the Cornucopia. It's late afternoon when we hear a canon.

"Lover Boy?" I ask Cato.

"Most likely. It's about time."

"Seven." I say

"You think they'll have a feast soon?" Cato wonders.

"Probably." I respond, "That would be a good opportunity to get rid of some more." We discuss the probability of a feast for a few more minutes before we hear a second canon. Cato and I lock eyes for a moment,

"Well that changes things." I say.

"You think it was Marvel?" I ponder this for a moment.

"Maybe he and Thresh fought and they killed each other." Cato nods his head,

"It's a possibility." Six. Just four others were still alive. We only need to wait for a couple of hours before the anthem plays. The capitol seal vanishes and we see Marvel's picture appear. His image fades and is replaced with the tiny girl from District 11. I'm not sure how, but I remember her name: Rue. Marvel had once mentioned seeing her jump from one tree to another. She was quick though, and we lost her. Even I didn't want to be the one to kill the 12-year-old.

"So what happened?" I ask.

"Marvel killed the girl." Cato says and I am inclined to agree with him. "The real question is who killed him." Cato finishes. I think about who's left: both from 12, Thresh, and the girl from 5.

"Well it couldn't have been Peeta, he's far too injured. I doubt that District 5 could take down Marvel. That leaves Thresh and District 12."

"I think Thresh is in the fields." Cato says.

"So it was fire girl then."

"Yea. The girl from 11 must have been her ally, the one who set the fires while she destroyed our supplies." I could see District 12 allying with the little girl. She had volunteered to save her little sister after all.

"Only two real competitors left." I say. Cato nods. Lover Boy is out for sure and the girl from 5 seems to just be hiding out. She probably couldn't kill us if we were disarmed.

"Clove." Cato's voice is soft and I can tell that whatever he says won't be good. "I think we need to split up soon. I wouldn't want us to be the last two." I knew it was coming, but it was a blow nonetheless.

"I guess we knew this would happen at some point." I state and put my arms around Cato. He kisses the top of my head,

"I'm so sorry." He says.

"Me too." I respond, although I'm unsure what I'm apologizing for. Everything, I guess.

"Clove, you mean the world to me. I love you." Cato tells me.

"I love you too." I say. He doesn't go into further details about when we will have to leave each other, so I'm left to ponder this on my own. I don't want to think about having to say goodbye to him because I know that when I do, it will be goodbye for good. When we fall asleep, bodies pressed against one another in Cato's sleeping bag, I can feel his steady heart beat against my chest. The last thing I think of before I drift off is how this could be the last time both of our hearts will be beating as one.

Alright, what's the verdict? I had a lot of momentum coming off of this chapter and actually have already written the next one in my journal! I'm really excited for next week when you get to read the next part. Thanks for reading and please review!