One by one they fell, dropping like falling trees with a loud thud to the cemented floor. I don't know what I felt watching my choices go limp on the ground in front of me. The numbers, they were random. I didn't know who was which one, but I was so afraid.

Snow told me before he brought me into this room that it was just a meeting to discuss my future plans without Cato. I was surprised when I walked in to the seven screens, each one showing me a different face. Everyone was familiar, everyone except for the man. He was new, but I felt like I knew him.. like I had seen him before.

He was sitting directly across from Cato, and that's how I made the connection. Strong jaw line, blond hair, striking green eyes, the nose, the lips.. he was the man I saw in the photo back at Cato's home. It was Cato's dad. Why was he here, out of all people? I had never met the man before, nor had I seen him or knew anything at all about him. What does he have to do with me?

Mother and Katniss were there. It only put more worry in my heart. I knew something horrible was going on when I saw their faces. It was like a punch to the gut.

Snow tricked me into this room because he knew I would say no if I knew what was going on. If he would have told me that he had kidnapped my family along with everyone else that I love, I would have ran. I would have tried to escape, even if I did end up getting caught and killed for attempting to flee.

They fell. They fell one by one.

He fell. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. I almost didn't even understand what happened until I saw the blood drizzling from the small hole in his head. His body went lip as his face went straight to the ground, his body following suit. His hands, tied behind his back, stayed there as his life poured from that one small hole.

He fell.

Haymitch. The one man that had nothing but hope for me. The man who I knew loved me, but didn't show it. The man that I knew would do anything to protect me from the world even though he was drinking his own world away.

He was number one.

Next was him.

I watched him go backward instead of forward. His blond hair began to stain from the tiny stream of the red blood being pulled downward by gravity. His knees bent and so did his back in what seemed to be a painful pose. I knew nothing much of him, other than he did something to Cato that brought all of this on me.

He fell so suddenly, but I didn't feel a thing.

Cato's father. The mystery man.

Cato was eerily silent. I knew him well. Something was strirring in his brain. He was going to do something. Snow took his non-existent father away from him, and no matter how Cato felt or thought about anyone, I knew that deep down, he really loved his dad. If not, he wouldn't still have his pictures in his room.

He was planning something.

And lastly, she fell.

She fell to the ground, and I almost wanted to rip my own heart out. I heard my screams escape my mouth, but it was as though I had no control over them. They came without recognition.

She fell.

Her hair fell over her face, like a dark waterfall shielding her draining life away from me. I couldn't comprehend it, couldn't fully come to terms with her getting away from me within the blink of an eye.

Snow killed my sister, and I still don't even know why.

My eyes closed, but the visions remained.

Mother screamed and shuffled over to her, trying to pull at the restraints on her hands so that she could try to do something. But she couldn't, I couldn't.. no one could do anything else.

This was all Cato's fault.

He obviously doesn't care about me. He never did. I bet this was all just a ploy.. a trick that he had planned out with Snow from the beginning.

I would have thought it to be true, until I heard him scream.

He managed to pull his wrists out of the restraints and in no time, he was knocking out a Peacekeepers and taking his gun. Within maybe ten seconds, he had taken out all seven Peacekeepers without a single thought and was breathing hard, his eyes wild and animalistic.

I knew it. He wasn't going to sit back and let something like this happen.

Snow was beside me, surprised, but also smiling with obvious content.

He watched as Cato moved to untie Cinna, my mother, and his mother. His mom stared at the dead body of his father and Cato knelt beside him. My mother cradled my sister while he cradled his father, both of them rocking their loved ones back and forth as if it would bring them back.

This wasn't Cato's fault. Yes, he did do something horrible to me, but he didn't plan this. He didn't make Snow choose this fate for us. He was willing to let himself die to make sure that I wouldn't be hurt any more than I already was.

Snow chose this. He did this to us.

"This.. this is what I was waiting for. This is the fighter that I need for the future." Snow smiled, laughed even, clasping his hands together and staring at Cato on the screen with such admiration.

"You planned this?" I whispered, horrified at the realization of it all.

Snow watches me before leaning over to push a random button on the wall. "We needed something to motivate him, but if we killed you, he would have never agreed," Snow answers monotonously.

"But..."

"We need a Gamemaker that doesn't let his emotions get the best of him.. one that enjoys the adrenaline.. the rush from a kill. We need someone that will enjoy the act of sacrifice for this nation."

"He would never do something like that for you!"

Snow shakes his head. "He doesn't have a choice, and neither do you."

"No, I would never-"

"You don't make the decisions here, Ms. Everdeen, I do. If it weren't for me, Cato wouldn't even be alive."

"If it weren't for you, my sister would still be alive!" I bite back, holding in everything that would prevent me from hurting him.

"Everything happens for a reason, Ms. Everdeen."

I turned and ran away from him. I had to find them, to find my sister, my mom, and Cato.

I checked every door, every crevice, and anywhere else that I possibly could.

I found them.

I opened the door with so much force and found myself staring into the bloodshot eyes of the four people that remained. Cato was still holding on to the man, Cinna was sitting in the background, glueing his eyes shut with the palms of his hands. Mrs. Hadley was rubbing Cato's back slowly, staring wide-eyed at the man who gave her two kids, and who possibly hurt her beyond compare.

With a single glance, I saw that my worst nightmare was true. There she lay, as pure as she could be even though we were all tainted. My big sister, the person that loved me most, was dead in my mother's arms.

I knelt down slowly and grasped her in my small arms, holding her so tightly. Her blood stained my shirt, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything in this world but her.

I found myself singing to her, just like she did all those nights that I woke up from bad dreams.. all those times that I was too nervous or shy to walk out of the house.. all those times that I felt like I was falling and I would never rise back up again.

Katniss picked me up, but because I found someone to take her place, she didn't have anyone to keep her going. I didn't fight hard enough to keep up with her and Cato at the same time.

"Katniss I'm so sorry," I whispered to my sister. My only sister. Gone, right before my eyes.

I feel arms wrapping around me and I look up to see my mother, hugging me while I held on to the one piece of the sculpture that held our family together. Now that she's gone, there is nothing keeping me grounded to District 12. While I loved my mother, I never had that connection that I felt with my big sister. She was the one that cared for me and taught me everything that I know.

I turned to hug Mother and cried into her shoulder, letting out the building dam in my eyes. All you could hear was our silent sobs, along with the subtle sound of Cato's feet as he rocked his Dad back and forth.

Someone cleared his throat, interrupting us from our mourning. "Let this be a lesson," Snow spoke through the speakers. "No one is safe from the Capitol. Not the Victor's, families, or friends."

Snow takes a step forward and I close my eyes as if he was standing right in front of me. I felt protection not looking him in the eyes. Looking into memories of death was better than looking in his blood stained eyes.

"You will do what we say, or this won't be the last of your sorrow."

My lips trembled in fear. This is what winning the Games got me? I thought that if I won, I would be able to go home and be left alone, other than having to train other kids for the Games.. Why does it have to be like this?

"Now, go get some rest. You guys have a lot of work to do, starting tomorrow."

What does that mean?

I opened my eyes to see Snow walking out of the room that I had been in not ten minutes ago.

Once he made it through the door, more Peacekeepers came rushing in, pulling me up and away from my Mother and sister. I screamed and thrashed, shouting for them to let me go. Snow killed Katniss, so the least he could do was let me say my proper goodbyes. But of course, nothing ever goes my way.

I'm shoved out of the room along with Cato, and I watch as one of the Peacekeepers slams the door in our faces, leaving Cinna, Mrs. Hadley, and my Mother in the room with them. Cato jumps up and bangs on the door, almost smashing it to pieces. He shouted every single bad word that anyone could think of, but it did nothing to give us back the ones we love.

Cato finally gave up trying to break through our barrier, and then I watched as he crumbled to the ground, his palm rested on the door.

We have no one now. We're all on our own. It's either we separate, or we get through this together. I can't turn my back on him, just like he would never do to me in a time of need.

I sniffed and wiped my runny nose. "Cato," I mumbled, my voice hoarse from my cries and screams.

Cato connected his fist with the wood door, completely ignoring my plea for him.

"Cato," I try again. He doesn't listen.

I sigh and walk over to him, kneeling down to place my hands on either side of his face. He stares down at the ground before he slowly looks up to match his eyes with mine. God, there is so much... so much of everything in them. I've never seen him so vulnerable, so unattached from his true self.

"Please," I pleaded, rubbing his cheek softly as we let the tears flow together. "I need you."

That triggered something in him, as always. The look in his eyes changed, and then there was the look that he always gave. The one look destined for me, and not anyone else. It was an intense stare that let me know he would do absolutely anything to make sure I was happy, even if that meant burying his pain.

It was the look that I never wanted to lose. It was something that I wanted to cherish. I wanted him to never want to look at me any other way.

I forgive him for everything, almost everything. It is better to cry together than to suffer even more apart.

Cato wiped his face with the back of his hand and stood, taking my hand in the process. He stares at the door, what was keeping us away, but he shook his head.

"I vowed to always be there for you, to protect you when you need it," he mumbled, his voice slightly off.

"And I promised to do the same for you."

He closes his eyes and nods. "Let's go."

Cato leads me away, toward where we officially started. We're going back to the penthouse, in complete silence.

What I couldn't stop thinking about was what they were going to do with the other three? Was he going to keep them and torture them, or let them go? He had to let Cinna go, Cinna worked for the Capitol. They needed him... but what about our mothers?

We got on and off the elevator and walked straight into the penthouse. We passed every room and made it to the bedroom, where all we did was get into bed. I crawled under the covers slowly and Cato followed me.

There was nothing we could do but hold each other. Cato's arms wrapped around my neck and mine wrapped around his torso. It was immediate.. my tears stained his shirt and his stained the pillow. He kept kissing my head over and over and I rubbed his back gently. He kept mumbling that he was sorry, that he never meant to hurt me this way, and how sorry he was that he was the cause of me losing Katniss. I obviously believed him, it was my only choice.

"Why us?" I ask him, and really just the air. I just wanted to know. "Why did it have to be us?"

Cato looks down at me and moved hair from my eyes. "It's because we fell in love."

I close my eyes and sigh. "No, I don't think-"

"If there was no us, one of us would have won the Games, and there would be no pain. We would have the life that we wanted and have been happy."

He's right. We are the cause of all of our problems.

"So what are we going to do? I don't think I can live with the thought that my sister is gone."

Cato lets out a big breath and shakes his head. "I don't know. But I can't lose you now."

"I'm still upset with you for what you did."

"I know, and I didn't want that to happen. But it did, and I'm sorry."

"What made you do it though?" I ask.

Cato goes silent, falling into his thoughts.

"Um, maybe it was me being home, and remembering all the stress I had to deal with. My dad.. he wasn't really the best person ever, and I hurt him. Being back brought up all the horrible memories, all of the nightmares that I couldn't shake. All I know is that whenever I had a problem, I would go to Molly and she would take them away for a moment. It wasn't until after it happened that I realized that you were my escape."

I chew on my lip. He has some reason there. "Okay, but why didn't you just say no?"

"I wasn't thinking." Cato lets go of me and props his head on his hand. "I was consumed with being home again and understanding the life that I had back there, and that even though a lot has changed, I'm still the same person."

I close my eyes. I wish I was the same person as I was before I went to the Games. It would have made things so much easier. If Cato hadn't kissed Molly, we probably wouldn't be laying here, paining over our losses.

HIs fingers trace up and down my jaw and he leans down to kiss me, but I stop him.

"Too soon?" he questions with a shy smile.

I nod. "I want to know something. When will you tell me what happened with your father? I know that was him with us in the room."

Cato shakes his head. "When the time is right. I just want you to know how I've changed since him."

I nod, but of course I'm a little upset. There is always a mystery with us. This one, though, I understand is a little bit too personal, especially if it's something he has done, so I can accept the fact that he wants to wait. I would rather not rush him into anything he doesn't want.

"I know you still don't forgive me."

I frown and open my eyes. It's true, I still don't, and it's going to take a lot for me, especially now, to let it all go.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't. I have to think about my sister. She's more important."

"Can I at least make it up to you?"

"How?"

"Let's start over. Pretend the Games never happened, that it was just me and you," Cato suggests with a smile.

I mirror his smile and nod. "I'll give it a try."

Cato kisses my cheeks and puts his head back down on the pillow.

We can try. We always have. We were invincible, and no one could tell us different.

... SO that happened.

Anybody hate me? Wanna send death threats.. LOL JK.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

I decided that instead of doing a hate comment of the week, I would do a nice comment of the week.

Comment of the Week: "Your writing is beautiful, I love this book and THISE hate comments are so stupid." Thank you baby!

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Cheers. Laters, baby.

Myesha xx