Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Classes have started again this week, and actually it's my birthday today (!) so that's taken up a lot of the last few days preparing. But here's an albeit short update, hopefully it will do until I have time to write a longer one. Review this as a birthday present to me? Enjoy!
Crowd of Two
Chapter Fifteen
Grey's POV
"Grey, get over here. We're watching the reaping coverage." Finnick's emotionless voice floats over to me and I turn my head to look back at him. I've been sitting at the window of the train ever since we left District Four, disinterested in anything relating to the games. I couldn't bear to look at Finnick, his normal smirk replaced with a sad, pitying expression. I knew why: The further away we got from Annie, the closer we got the Capitol and our likely deaths.
Titus and Caria, the other female tribute who I was introduced to on the way to the station, sat nervously on the couch opposite Finnick. They seemed uncomfortable that no one was talking to them, because right now their mentor should be giving them tips to stay alive. As far as I knew, if a mentor happened to be a tribute as well, then there would be no mentor. So there would be no mentors for District Four this year, unless Finnick or Mags - who I didn't think was even on this train - decided to give their knowledge.
I slowly make my way over to the seating area and sit between Titus and Finnick, who sighs impatiently and presses a button on the device he is holding. Instantly the Capitol seal is projected up onto the wall of the train in front of us and it goes straight into the District One reaping. Similar to our own reaping, the victors are picked first and I recognise Cashmere and her brother Gloss when they volunteer proudly and prance onto the stage. The two blonde siblings are two of the most famous victors in the district, and they must want another taste for blood to be volunteering.
The next tribute is a volunteer named Kaine. He has dark red hair that is spiked in all directions and he runs up to join the other tributes while whooping in delight, lifting his hands up to try and get louder cheers from the already screaming audience. While this is happening, I hear Titus huff from beside me. A girl is reaped next as 'Lightening' and Finnick scoffs at her name from the other side of me, but I can instantly tell that the sullen teenager with black hair - hints of blonde show themselves when she moves - is not someone to mess with. I shut my old mentor up with a glare and he goes quiet as the girl smirks into the microphone and says that she's actually known as "Litty." The glare she gives her escort is enough to frighten everyone on the train, but Kaine wraps one arm around the sneering tribute and laughs loudly.
My heart starts beating quicker as the camera cuts badly to District Two and as their escort's hand swirls through the (large) reaping ball of male victors, everyone slowly looks to me to see how I will react. There's a collective sigh of relief when someone I don't recognise is called up as the male victor tribute, but suddenly a loud but expressionless voice announces that they volunteer and my heart cracks a little. A very tired looking Cato, with bags under his eyes and a red cheek - as if he was slapped in the face - slowly makes his way up to the stage.
I whisper "No…" under my breath and hardly notice as Enobaria is called as the other victor tribute, and a secretive looking teenage boy walks up without even volunteering. The escort takes it all in her stride, and "Target" as he introduces himself, goes to stand beside Cato. Cato barely looks up at the person coming to stand beside him and Target - with his dark hair shaved close to his head - looks like he will pick up more sponsors. Next, a blonde who reminds me of Glimmer with the name Brynn is reaped, and the four tributes plus the escort begin to walk into the Justice Center. Cato has the cameras on him for a moment and we all see him mouth "I'm sorry." He could be speaking to anyone, but from the way he is looking everyone with even half a brain cell knows it's directed at me.
"Cato, you idiot!" I scream suddenly, getting up on my feet as footage from District Three starts. "No!" Everyone looks up at me and Finnick reaches out an arm as I run past, but I evade his grip and keep running until I get out of the room. Through teary eyes I try and find my room, but unfortunately I meet our escort, Domitia before I can get there. I see her purse her lips at me which makes me cry even harder, and I push her out of the way so I can run past. With surprising speed, she grabs my arm with her hand and pulls me into a crushing hug.
"Oh goodness, whatever is the matter Grey?" She shushes me gently and my sobs turn into hiccups. When I don't answer her, she ponders for a second and then hazards a guess.
"Was Cato reaped?" The way my sobs start up again says that she's right. My purple haired escort leads me gently to my room where I collapse face-down on the bed and she perches on the edge and starts to rub my back.
"You knew it was a possibility, Grey, we all knew it." She continues and I nod into the bed covers.
"Of course I knew," I mumble, "But he wasn't reaped, he volunteered. It's like he wanted to go back! That's not the Cato I know…"
"I think that sounds a lot like Cato's father, don't you?" A voice says from behind us and I sit up to see Finnick standing in the doorway. "I can take care of this now Domitia, thank you." Our escort leaves the room and Finnick comes and sits casually beside me.
"You saw how upset Cato looked volunteering, didn't you?" He begins, staring straight into my eyes, "You know that's not how he is now. He'll be dreading going back into the games, especially when he finds out you're a tribute too. His father or a trainer must have told him that he had to volunteer." I nod at him but don't reply because he has already started talking again.
"You're going to have to tread carefully in this year's games. I've met Enobaria countless times and she is a psychopath! But she is also smart and she knows that she needs to keep Cato away from you at all costs. You'll have to get used to the idea that you won't be in the same team this year." I nod solemnly.
"I know that Finnick. It's probably best for both of us anyway because it means we won't have to see each other brutally murdered. That's always a positive." Finnick sighs and pats my back sympathetically before rising from the bed.
"Finnick?" I call out to him, stopping him on his way to the door. "Who else was reaped this year?"
"Not much to compete with the career pack I'm afraid. Beetee and Wiress are in, they're exceptionally smart, and maybe they could be helpful. The victors from Nine are nothing, but the reaped kids look like people we want: strong and defiant looks in their eyes. And District Twelve, well I'm sure you know Haymitch is there. Also Katniss and who was it… Gale's little brother. Ah, Rory." My mouth drops open at the idea of fighting against Katniss, Haymitch and a sibling of Gale's after they helped us back in District Twelve. Us, that meant me and Cato.
"Oh. Was there anybody strong looking? I mean, we're going to have to fight the careers." I reply.
"No one stood out to me. Titus is probably the strongest and most well trained out of all of us." Finnick says, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I could find a trident and you have your knives, I don't know about you but I'm probably a bit rusty now."
Feigning tiredness, I bid Finnick goodnight and he exits the room, leaving me alone. I lie on the bed for a long time, thinking about the tributes I saw on the recaps and also those I would see for the first time at the parade. Thinking about what was realistically going to happen when a strong group of careers went up against the rest of us. Thinking about what would happen when Cato caught me at the end of his sword. I only slept a couple of hours at the most that night, and I only realised this when the warning came over the intercom that we were arriving in the Capitol soon.