Chapter 16: "Aftershocks"

"You lie silent there before me ...
Your tears, they mean nothing to me ...
The wind howling at the window ...
The love you never gave ... I give to you.
[...] Here's a lullaby to close your eyes ...
It was always you that I despised ...
I don't feel enough for you to cry ...
Here's a lullaby to close your eyes,

Goodbye ..."

~ Akira Yamaoka "Room of Angel"

It was funny how little Cato seemed to remember of his life before the arena now that they had been forced to be a part of this play pretend. This make-believe act of allying with their enemies for the sake of the stupid rules that each one of them surely knew were to be revoked sooner or later. Why did they even go with it in the first place? Cato didn't think he understood why. He could understand why Lily and Rue did, he supposed. After all they didn't have much of a choice. He'd have killed them right there and then on the first day. But Peeta? Katniss? Clove...?

It was funny how little he actually remembered of his own character; the way he used to feel and think before the arena. The way he had seen others. The way he used to feel the minute his eyes would open. His dreams. He couldn't remember any of it. Almost.

One thing stood out; Clove. Those memories were quite vivid which wasn't very surprising considering she was the only thing from his old life he had right before his eyes. He saw her watching him carefully, watching his every tiny twitch even if it was just the steady movements of his chest as he breathed. She watched for any signs of a red flag that would help her prepare for what he knew she half-expected whether she wanted to or not. If there was anyone who knew what was going in his head, it was her.

To everyone in Capitol and the districts, it was all very simple, wasn't it? The rules were now no longer valid and so here he was, the most powerful tribute left in the arena, about to claim his victory. About to turn his back on his pretend-allies. About to laugh as their lives are cut short so he can win the fame and all the honors he had wanted his whole life. It was life or death now. So that was simply what was about to happen. He could almost see it all happening in his head;

He saw Katniss trying to reach for an arrow but his knife hit her chest before she could even aim for him. He saw Clove sending one of her own knives his way and the knife hitting him because Clove never missed. But it wouldn't stop him from sticking his sword in her stomach and throwing another knife at Rue who would be deperately trying to run away. He saw himself standing above Clove's bleeding body as her teary eyes looked up at him with emotions he was no longer able to read. Because this was what had to happen. This was what he had come for here. This was who he was, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

Rue's eyes showed anxiety as she threw a quick glance at the Careers, wondering if that bubble they had been placed in would just burst. Wondering if Clove and Cato's now calm and almost warm eyes would turn freezing cold again. Thinking was that announcement enough for the two to get back to their senses and remind themselves why they had volunteered in the first place. Was it so they could play buddies with the weaker districts? Definitely not. She couldn't help but let the fear soak her insides like a disease. She felt her hands beginning to shake as a lump began forming in the back of her throat. She glanced at Katniss.

The brunette returned the little girl's stare, before she too looked at her, now, former allies. She knew from the very beginning that this was going to happen, sooner or later. But now that it finally had happened, that it actually happened, she was having a very hard time believing it was real. She'd spent days with these people, fighting to survive together, bonding with them whether they inteded to or not. And now? What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to feel? What the Game Makers were expecting of them was very clear. But what was actually going to happen? She had no clue.

Katniss glanced at Clove and the way her eyes narrowed at her district partner. What was she thinking? If Cato decided to attack, what would she do? Would she run? Would she help? Would she choose to kill?

Clove felt like someone had hit her hard on the chest; the announcement had taken her breath away and she couldn't help but wonder was that really enough to change her? Was that all it'd take for her to forget that she'd spent hours upon hours with them? That they'd stayed with her while she was dying? That Thresh died trying to save her?

She watched Cato from her spot next to Katniss and though no more than one minute had passed since they'd heard Claudius' voice, it felt like hours had gone by. She knew that she was in no way able to predict Cato's reaction. She didn't know how he was going to react; was he going to go with the new rule simply because the Capitol had told them to? Who did they think they were? Did they think they could just go and force her to become allies with those people and then make her watch them die? Now they wanted her to turn around and put a knife through their hearts? Was that their definition of a magnificent show?

Cato didn't move an inch. He half expected for his fingers to start squeezing Rue's shoulder until she realizes that by rules he was no longer her friend. He half expected for his blood lust to make him want to retrieve his sword and cut her skin open. He half expected for Clove to pull out her knives and send them flying at the Girl on Fire they both used to hate so much. He could see all those images playing out in his head like some sort of a super weird flashforward. All of a sudden he felt unbelievable rage filling his body like hot lava. He felt more enraged than he ever remembered feeling in his life before.

He let go of Rue's shoulder, so gently he frowned himself. His eyes locked with Clove's and in her eyes he saw everything he could feel in his bones. That innocence on her face that was so new to him squeezed his heart that he wasn't aware he even had for most of his life.

"What's the hold up?" he snapped, anger making his eyes turn dark blue. "Let's move."

Clove furrowed her eyebrows and exchanged glances with Katniss and he couldn't help but wonder what that was supposed to mean. Did they both expect for him to suddenly turn around and attack them? Or was it simply Katniss checking out Clove's reaction to his words? "Are you guys gonna move? Or would you like for me to move you all?" Cato snapped through gritted teeth, very much aware that that sort of tone wasn't going to make anyone listen any faster since they all were already scared and confused enough.

"Where are we going?" Clove decided to ask and he suddenly realized he hated the way she seemed to be on the other two's side. She stayed close to Katniss and kept throwing glances at Rue. Cato took a few fast steps toward her and stopped when his chest was inches from hers.

"We're going straight ahead," he murmured, looking down at her like a hawk. "like we have been for days now."

"How should I know that as soon as I turn my back, you won't stick your sword in it?" Clove couldn't help but ask, her voice full of doubts even though she had very little reasons to believe he'd harm her now. He'd saved her life twice and risked losing his own. He had refused to let go of her and basically chose to be eaten alive by the mutts along with her. So it was not a huge surprise to Clove when she saw his eyes darken even more as soon as that question made it out of her mouth.

He grabbed her shoulders quite roughly and spun her around before Katniss and Rue even managed to blink. Her back was now pressed to his rapidly moving chest and he bent slightly to be able to whisper in her ear: "If I wanted to kill you, little girl," he rasped, making her shudder. "I'd stick my sword right into your heart while your eyes were on mine."

Clove felt his fingers squeeze her arms quite gently for Cato, but hard enough to possibly leave bruises. And she knew right then that this was the worst punishment he could afford in that moment for what she had accused him of. But he also understood why she let such thoughts cross her mind; after all the rules have changed. After all, he was now supposed to become what he was the minute he stepped into the arena. He was now yet again supposed to become the Capitol mascot and do as they say. Squeezing Clove's arms a bit tighter, he snapped: "Go."

Clove glanced up at him briefly over her shoulder and in his eyes she saw all the emotions she could feel herself in the very same moment. Rage. Hate. Betrayal. Desperation. And so many more. She shook herself free from his grasp and, without a word, began walking away, her hand resting itself on the handle of one of her knives. Because little did the other two girls know, Cato's decision was not just a sign of loyalty and mercy. That decision was a way bigger deal than Katniss and Rue could imagine and Clove was sure they would soon feel that on their own skin.

Cato watched her go for a while before he landed his eyes on Katniss and Rue, fury eating away at the bits and pieces of patience he had left. "Have I not made myself clear?"

The brown-haired dared staring at him for a couple of seconds longer before simply nodding her head and then sticking out her arm in Rue's direction, asking her to take her hand. Rue looked up at Cato with those big, brown, innocent eyes of hers, then stepped away from him and grabbed Katniss' hand. The two started following Clove without looking back to see if he was behind them. Or if his sword was after them, that is.

Cato stood there alone until they were far enough, then looked around, making sure there was nothing and nobody approaching them. He then squeezed the handle of his sword and with a few cuss words muttered under his breath, he followed the rest.

Hours were passing by slowly. They were running out of food and water rather quickly; the Game Makers thought of a quite clever plan of manipulating the weather enough to completely tire them out and make them more hungry and thirsty than they had expected they'd be. It was now getting dark, so Clove was now leading them through the forest using her flashlight to be able to see anything in the darkness, but the rest dared not follow her example. Something was in the air. They weren't sure what it was yet, but it made them all feel like using any light or fire at that point was risky in itself. Walking half-blindly and trying not to make too much of a very undesired noise turned out to be quite difficult, especially considering the fact they were by then all starving. Clove stopped suddenly which made Rue bump into her with a quiet gasp. "Sorry!" Rue whispered, scared; as if she was sure she was going to be greatly punished.

"It's fine." Clove whispered back, waiting for Katniss and Cato to catch up with them before continuing, "Ready to make camp?"

Cato, who hadn't spoken a word since the announcement, let out a tired sigh. "I'll take a look around, see if I can find a good spot. You all stay here." he ordered, his head moving slightly in the dark and Clove was sure he was giving each one of them a hard look.

"On second thought, I think we should go back to Cornucopia." she suggested, lifting her flashlight slightly so she could make out the look on Cato's face. "We're not gonna last much longer on one bottle of water and a few bags of dried meat."

"I wonder who ate the rest of our food?" Cato snapped, though Clove couldn't help but think his voice sounded rather amused. "Looks can be deceiving, right Clove?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You eat more than I do, that's what, little girl." Cato growled, but this time his voice was quite serious. "But yeah, I suppose you're right. Don't think we're too far from Cornucopia. I'll go get some more food. You should stay here."

As he went to walk away, Clove grabbed his arm and pulled him back surprisingly hard. She saw him frown in the faint light and it almost made her smirk. "Right, so you can eat it all and come back empty-handed? I'm coming, too."

"No, you're not." Cato snapped back at her. "The three of you shall stay here and make camp."

"Oh don't be stupid, Cato. You know you need back-up, just in case they decide to send another dozen wolves your way." Clove insisted, letting go of his arm. "In fact, let's all go. That'll be fair."

Cato threw a quick glance at Katniss and Rue whose faces at this point (and in this light) were not the easiest to read. He was quite certain they didn't like that idea almost as much as him; ever since the announcement both of them had been feeling quite uneasy around him and he couldn't really blame them because Cato himself didn't feel very comfortable with himself. It was different when he knew he was only cooperating with the rest to gain more sponsors, follow the rules. But now? The rules were no more. He was not supposed to be this guy. If he was the Cato the Capitol wanted him to be, Katniss and Rue would have been long dead by now. Hell, Clove would have been dead.

"Fine, let's go." Cato growled at last, turning on his heels and quickly walking away from the rest in fear that something in him would explode;

That something inside of him that had been asleep up until now would awake.

They made it to Cornucopia faster than they thought it'd take them in the darkness; within a little over an hour they were already watching Cato re-open the entrance to the richest source of food and weapons. Clove risked a glance at Katniss and Rue and it didn't really take much for her to be able to realize that there was no way they were going to go down there. They were too afraid; Clove could see it in their eyes. They were scared and they did not trust them anymore. She was very well aware of the fact that they would sleep with their eyes open that night. She understood that. Frankly, she'd have called them idiots had their faces been any less suspecting than they were.

"Be right back." Cato announced before switching on his flashlight. "Stay alert." he warned them. "Keep your eyes wide open and be quiet."

"I'll come down, too." Clove decided, following him down the stairs and leaving slightly confused Rue and Katniss behind.

As soon as they made it downstairs, Cato turned on the light and headed for the shelves with canned food. He grabbed a few cans, squatted and began putting them in his backpack without a word, without paying any attention to her. Clove furrowed her eyebrows and came closer to him to grab a few apples and a couple of snack bags. She then proceeded to put them inside his backpack and her arm brushed his as she did. Cato froze for a second or two before getting back on his feet and walking off to fetch a few water bottles.

Clove wanted to ask him so many questions and she knew this could be the very last time she had any sort of opportunity to speak with him alone. She didn't exactly know why it had now occured to her, but she knew their time was running out faster than ever at this point and if there was anything that needed to be said, now was the time. And with that on her mind, the next four seemingly simple words echoed in the room;

"I knew your brother."

Cato stopped at once with his arm buried halfway into his backpack. His back was turned on her and dead silence filled the room slowly like iced water. Clove had no idea why she had decided to confess that so out of the blue. Maybe it was simply because she knew that one of them was surely steps away from being the next face in the sky. "I mean," she whispered. "I didn't know him." she decided to clear up her previous, bold statement. "I didn't even know you were related until you told me your brother had been picked for the Games."

Cato turned his head to the side as if too afraid to look all the way back and in her eyes. He waited patiently though until she was ready to continue. "He and I were picked for a hand-to-hand combat once and he just... wouldn't hit me. I didn't think much of it the first time but then it happened again and again until I got really frustrated and decided to confront him about it."

After those words left her mouth, Cato finally seemed to have gotten up the guts to turn around and look her directly into this pair of dark eyes. "His only explanation for it was that he wasn't doing that for me."

Cato's face fell and he swallowed hard before his eyes glanced down, unable to hold her gaze. "I didn't understand what that meant for a long time." Clove said, watching him carefully, observing every twitch of his eyebrows, every flutter of his half-closed eyes. Afraid he'd explode. Afraid of a reaction she could not predict. She didn't know him that well, after all. She thought she did before the Games, but things had changed so much she felt like a blind person trying to find her way out of a room full of traps. What were the odds?

"I never told you that before because," she paused for a brief moment as if to gather her thoughts. "because I guess I didn't think it was important. But now, given the circumstances..." she let out a small sigh. "I figured you'd want to know."

And with that she simply walked off toward the shelves and began packing some extra food, all the way feeling his eyes watching her. She didn't look back at him. Not even for just a glance.

Cato hated crowds but he was a good actor; he knew he'd win the hearts of all those Capitol clowns in the audience without too much effort. He knew he was a very strong candidate and had a great chance of gaining sponsors because he had it all; looks, strenght and passion. He was everything Capitol loved the most. And he was a Career. There was no doubt in his mind that the interview would go nice and smooth. As much as he dreaded actually getting out on that stage and pretending like he cared whether people clapped for him or not. He knew that their approval was important, but he didn't care much for it. He knew that whatever he'd end up doing on that stage would do just fine. It'd work if he chose not to smile and glare at everyone or if he decided on throwing a couple of jokes. He did not have to worry. Besides, who else could possibly do better than him? Marvel?

"Well you look nice." her voice interrupted his silent thinking and as much as he didn't mind compliments, he really wished those words came out of somebody else's mouth. Hell, he'd have been happier had the said that to him. Glancing down at Glimmer, he smirked.

"And you look... cold." he said, referring to how little she was wearing. Sure, she looked hot. He was a guy, after all, so he'd noticed. But he knew that this was simply a lousy attempt to try and seduce the sponsors into betting on her. This see-through dress of hers she had on was her entire game; there was nothing more. Katniss Everdeen was likely a stronger tribute.

Glimmer didn't respond in any way, as if she didn't hear him. She just started looking around as if she was bored and suddenly her face fell. Cato looked in the same direction and saw district 12 tributes, looking quite impressive with the girl wearing a bright, red gown, her hair shimmering in the light.

But Cato didn't get the chance to even think twice about the strong desire to kill them both (and their stylist) because someone else had just walked inside the room where they'd all been waiting. Her dress was a nice shade of orange, strapless, revealing her bare, milky-white shoulders and a little bit of cleavage. Her make-up was very subtle, barely visable and yet it still somehow emphasized her dark eyes and freckles, as well as her light rose lips. Her hair was up in some sort of a messy bun on the back of her head, with some loose strands around he face.

She began to head their way and he quickly snapped himself out of it before anyone could notice the awe he was in.

"Hey." Cato growled, trying super hard not to stare at her for too long for it to seem suspicious. "you're late."

"Yeah, my stupid stylist insisted on having me try on three different outfits. Gah, I hate this." Clove murmured in response, trying to pat down the frills on her chest, making Cato involuntarily glance down to her chest. As soon as he caught himself staring, he turned away and cleared his throat. Thankfully, shortly after the organizators started to gather them together and had them line up so that they could await their turn to come up on the stage with their very own set of bullcrap.

Glimmer went first; she showed up on stage swaying her hips left and right, accompanied by whistles and cheering of those watching her. Caesar Flickerman welcomed her warmly with a kiss on the cheek. She sat down in the chair in royal fashion and Clove snorted. Marvel glared at her over his shoulder but her eyes were too focused on the screen above his head to pay him any mind; someone else had surely noticed, though. Cato caught his hard stare and returned it with his own. Marvel's face fell immediately as he presumbly remembered the night Cato had intimidated him, threatening him to stay away from Clove. Instantly, he turned away, but Cato could bet he was feeling the holes his glare was burning in the back of his head for Glimmer's entire interview.

"Glimmer, are you prepared?"

"Yes, Caesar. I am very prepared." Glimmer's seductive voice came from the screen as she grinned at the crowd, possibly hoping she'd get even more sponsors by showing off her perfectly straight, white smile. A couple more compliments thrown her way and another round of admirative clapping and Glimmer's interview was over. Marvel came next and surprisingly, Clove was sure it was likely that he'd be able to gain a few sponsors after all because on stage he was incredibly funny and pleasant. For the most part, anyway.

"Well, Marvel, what's the thing you're most excited about?" Caesar asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a genuine smile, apparently enjoying himself.

"Having fun, of course!" Marvel laughed as if it was obvious. "That's how I see the Games, isn't that the point?"

"So you're not even a tiny bit frightened to go in the arena?" Caesar asked him with a raised eyebrow and a faint smirk on his glowing face. Marvel seemed to have lost a bit of his self-confidence for a second or two, but then quickly recovered and broke into yet another smile.

"I'm from district 1, Caesar. The Games are what I live for." Marvel growled and the crowd sure seemed to buy that statement. Not Cato, though. To him it couldn't be more obvious that the guy was already feeling threatened, especially knowing that he was being watched by someone who wanted his blood.

Marvel got off the stage shortly after and now it was Clove's turn to shine. She didn't have a specific plan; she was just going to speak her mind and she frankly didn't care much how well it would work (despite her mentor's persuasions to play sweet yet lethal). She knew her skills had already bought her plenty of sponsors and she did not need to charm them with her looks or suggestive behavior. She wasn't and didn't want to be anything like Glimmer.

"Welcome, Clove!" Ceasar greeted her kindly, shaking her hand. Clove smiled at him before taking her seat and flashing the audience a brief smile, as well. Cato watched her face take on a mysterious look; he knew Caesar couldn't tell whether Clove was just being shy or hiding a secret. He quickly picked up on that and instantly decided to try and find out more. "You look thoughtful. Is there anything you would like to share with us before tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid I'm not an open book, am I?" Clove asked rhetorically, sending him another mysterious smirk and making Cato smile at the screen as well.

"You sure aren't!" Caesar admitted, grinning like a school boy. "But you know we love a good challange! Do you think that this quality of yours will help you in the arena?"

Clove's dark eyes twinkled as she smirked at Caesar. "Oh yes. If I'm not easy to read, I'm not easy to kill."

Cato crossed his muscular arms over his chest and smiled harder; she sure knew how to give people a foretaste and then leaving them craving for more.

"Very wise, indeed, Clove. But tell me," Caesar tried to push more as Cato had anticipated. "is there anything at all that you can reveal to us?"

Clove made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a laugh and a snort before glancing at the audience. "Why would I want to spoil all the fun for you?"

People clapped loudly when she said that, some whistled and others yelled her name as if to show how supportive they were of whatever she had planned. And probably just to let her know they liked the suspense. Cato knew his district partner would never in the world share any of her secret plans or thoughts, but not because she didn't want them to know too much before the Games; she was simply too smart to let the rest of the tributes find out things about her that they could later on use against her. Not everyone seemed to think similarly. Some seemed to think that revealing their hidden talents would actually inscrease their chances. Bunch of idiots.

Clove's interview was over and Cato took the last opportunity to admire the way she looked in that dress as she left the stage. He was grateful that nobody was filming them backstage or he'd be screwed. He could not help but stare when she walked away in such a graceful fashion that he didn't even realize she was capable of. He wondered how the hell she'd learned to walk in heels so fast and with such class, too.

"From district 2," Ceasar's voice brought him back to reality. "Cato!"

He walked on that stage with such confidence it wouldn't fail to intimidate any opponent. He knew he had to look strong and lethal despite the elegant suit he had been forced to wear. Knowing all eyes were on him, he put on his best game face and welcomed Caesar with a smile as he sat down opposite him.

"Well!" Ceasar drawled, followed by a few faint female squeaks and screams which only made him grin even harder. "I see you've got yourself some admirers in the audience!"

Cato just shot the crowd a playful smirk and pretended he loved all the attention. "Sounds like they're just excited as I am." he growled in his deep voice.

"Sure does!" Ceasar assured him before putting on more of a curious smile. And Cato just knew he was about to be asked a question he did not want to answer. "But I'm sure a young, handsome, strong man like yourself already has someone waiting for him to come back home, don't you, boy?"

Cato sat there with his smile fading slightly as Clove's image looking all beautiful in her orange dress flashed before his eyes. He had to push those thoughts aside, far to the back of his head if he was to gain any more sponsors tonight. But how could he when all he was thinking about was her silky, dark hair and the teasing smirk she often liked to answer his undesired questions with. More memories of her crossed his mind before he noticed Caesar furrow his eyebrows and realized he must have been quiet for too long.

"I can't afford any distractions right now, Caesar." Cato said confidently, sounding as if the idea of him in a relationship before the Games was absolutely ridiculous. Because it was. "This is what I dedicated my life to. I'm here to bring pride to my district and I will."

"Seems like nothing can stop you now, huh?" Caesar asked him with a raised eyebrow, making something heavy drop to the bottom of his stomach. He could sense how anxious the crowd was to hear him come back with another arrogant or evil comment, but he couldn't seem to think of anything good enough. Clove's face flashed before his eyes once more and he blinked quickly to get rid of her image before breaking into a cold smirk.

"People have tried before." he said with a hint of danger to his voice. "I doubt they'll be trying to get in my way again any time soon."

Caesar brought his shoulders up as if he was cold. "You just gave me chills, I see how that works for you!" he joked, making the audience laugh. "I guess you couldn't be more prepared!"

"I'm prepared, vicious and ready to go." Cato summed up, receiving more applause from the crowd. Caesar clapped along before they both stood up so he could grab on his arm and pull it up in the air in a victory fashion as if he was already claiming him the winner.

Clove watched Cato triumph on the screen in the back room where all the tributes had to wait for their mentors to come watch the rest of the interviews with them; her eyebrows were furrowed as her focused-like-a-laser gaze was fixed on Cato's face and the reaction of the crowd. She felt a tiny lump grow in the back of her throat, seeing how all those people simply adored him.

"You're not gonna win this round, little girl." she heard a male, snarky voice she knew very well whisper in her ear, while passing her by. She glanced at Marvel hatefully as he smirked at her, attempting to walk away. Something has overcome her and before she could register what was happenig, she was already lunging forward.

"Hey!" Cato's voice came out of nowhere, as she felt arms wrapping themselves around her torso, pulling her back. She struggled. "Hey, hey, easy, Clove."

Marvel looked quite taken aback by the action she decided to take upon hearing his little, venom-filled comment. His eyes were slightly widened, but as Glimmer came to his side, he tried recovering from the surprise and threw her an amused smirk.

"What, are you afraid?" Clove snapped, continuing to struggle, though there was no getting away from Cato's grip. "I don't need any weapons to fight your stupid ass, why wait for tomorrow? Let's go right now!"

Cato saw how startled were those watching them; some of the sponsors were also present, but there was no surprise on their faces. They looked curious. For all he knew, Clove had just convinced them she was the right choice to bet on.

"Ok, come on, let's go." Cato hissed, whe she stubbornly tried to make him let her go.

"Get off of me!" Clove yelled, finally succeding in getting herself free. She spun around angrily with her hair all messy and her dark eyes filled with rage. "Who do you think you are?"

"Clove-"

"Look, they all might be scared of you and you might be able to order everyone around." she admitted, taking two steps forward and looking up and straight into his eyes. "But not me, Cato. I'm not scared of you. And I do not take orders from anyone." she told him, her own eyes shooting daggers. She then glanced at Marvel who now looked even more caught off guard, probably because of her sudden desire to take her anger out on Cato, too. "So if I'm not afraid of you, why would I fear him?" Clove snorted, making the other guy shoot her a dirty look. "We'll see how smart you all are when I see you in the morning."

And with that she turned on her heels and stormed away. Cato watched her go for a little while before making his way to where Marvel was; he could tell it took everything in that guy not to take a step back. He stayed put, though, with Glimmer hovering behind him. Cato's face was now inches away from Marvel's and when everyone was almost sure that something was about to explode, Cato simply smiled which they all knew was definitely not a good sign in this particular case.

"See you tomorrow." he said, his voice freezing, as his stare made chills run down Marvel's spine. It was ridiculous, really. Marvel thought he was safe from his sword just because they had agreed to ally in the Games? There was no boundaries or rules in the arena, really. What if that was the entire plan of his to begin with? Take advantage of their stupidity and kill them straight after Bloodbath? They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Cato ignored the entire fuss that Clove had caused and didn't respond when his mentor shouted his name, demanding an explanation. He followed Clove up the stairs and to the elevators. A few moments later he was already getting off on their floor. He walked past the dinner table full of dishes and desserts which awaited them after the interviews. He passed two of their avoxes and aimed straight for her room. The door was closed as he had expected so he raised his hand and hesitated for a split second before knocking twice.

"Clove, you there?" he asked, but silence answered him. "We need to talk." he said seriously, knocking again. He didn't expect for her to open the door so he decided to just go for it and tried the handle to see if she had locked herself in. To his great surprise, the door opened and he walked inside. He saw her sitting on the bed with a knife in her tiny hand; her fingers were touching the blade as she stared at it, breathing deeply.

"You okay?" he decided to ask for starters and not only after she frowned did he realize he probably had never asked her that question before. She glanced up at him, looking like she didn't recognize him.

"Apparently, I'm doing better than you." she growled, referring to his behavior. Cato knew it was out of character for him to stop her from attacking someone, then follow her and ask her stupid questions. What could he say? It was their very last night in the Capitol. Their last night before the Games. They could think they were so well prepared for them because they had spent their lives awaiting the opportunity. But sometimes what you believe is your biggest dream can very easily turn into your worst nightmare; and then you're not sure what you want anymore. And that's how he felt. Looking at her so seemingly vulnerable self sitting on that bed with her pale face and fire in those dark eyes that never seemed to die out. He did not want to be here. Or maybe he did. But not if she was here with him; this was not how things were supposed to be.

"Just checking." Cato finally spoke, giving her a shrug. "We need to be on top of our game tomorrow morning."

He wasn't even done talking when he felt a blow of air right by his left ear and a second after Clove's knife had dug itself deep into the door behind him. He glanced at it over his shoulder and then looked at her again with his eyebrows raised.

"Which I am." she snapped, already on her feet. "Don't you dare doubting me."

"I would never." Cato assured her and in spite of himself, his face broke into a smirk. "What were you thinking back there, Clove? Why is it that this guy can get you so worked up so easily?"

Clove almost looked offended by that question and she passed him by to walk into the bathroom. "Cause he's an ass."

"Well, so am I." he admitted, following her and leaning against the doorframe, as he watched her attempts to try and let her hair loose. "You're usually far more composed than this."

"You don't know me at all, Cato." Clove said, running fingers through her hair and making it even messier in result. Cato's smile faded just slightly and he let himself take a few deep breaths. He didn't know what was more frightening; the fact Clove was the perfect Career who was oblivious to any and every kind of emotion around her and was fixated on winning the Games just the way they had taught her? Or the fact that he failed to follow her example. He was nothing like the Career they wanted him to be. He heard Cade's last words echo in his head and only now did he realize just how right his brother truly was.

"I wish that was true."

Clove froze with her fingers still in the mass of her hair which was now down and loose, somehow making her look even prettier. She let her arms fall to her sides as she looked at him and for the very first time Cato could see consternation in her eyes. He knew he had just made her rethink everything she thought she already had figured out.

"I'm gonna go back, see what kind of losers we'll be up against." he said turning around and walking out the door which still had Clove's knife stuck in it.

She watched him go silently, frozen to the ground, deep in thoughts. Thoughts she herself could not understand.

She used to think there was nothing about the Games that could scare her. But now, as she was left there standing with Cato's voice still painfully present in her mind... she was not so sure anymore.

Clove did not want to wait for Cato to follow her up the stairs. She knew she had dropped the bomb about knowing his brother and that he likely needed at least a minute to recover from the news. And besides, Katniss and Rue were up there waiting for long enough already.

As she walked up the stairs, instantly this uneasy, odd feeling filled her stomach once more. She stopped halfway up when she realized that the trap door had been shut. She could only hope they weren't actually locked inside. But that wasn't what worried her the most; where were they?

Confidently, Clove made it to the top, placed her hand on the handle of her knife and pushed the trap door open, expecting an attack to come at any second. But nobody was there. She pulled her knife from behind the belt and looked around frantically in search of her allies, as she carefully and slowly stepped outside.

Nothing. It was really dark and there was no sign of them anywhere. Clove tried to take a calming breath and when that failed she simply began walking in the direction they had come from earlier, without thinking twice.

"Rue!" she whisper-yelled, hating the sound of her voice. Weak. Scared. Pathetic. "Katniss!"

No one answered as she had anticipated but that didn't change the fact that she was about to lose her shit. She'd even managed to forget about Cato as she walked further and further away from the Cornucopia. She knew there were only two explanations for their absense; one being the two of them running away on purpose simply out of concern that time had come to go seperate ways before her or Cato decide to finish them. But something was telling her that that was not what happened. Something was telling her it was not their choice to leave. Judging by the fact they must have shut the trap door before they left, Clove adjudged something had frightened them and they decided to hide but only after they made sure that no one would find the Cornucopia.

"Rue!" she hissed again, lifting her arm slightly, ready to let her knife fly in the event of danger. But the woods were silent and scary; scarier than she had ever imagined. Scarier than that time she had found herself left completely alone in the beginning of the Games. Scarier than that time she had been attacked by the mutt who she could swear had Marvel's eyes burning holes in her face. Because back then at least she knew what she was running away from. Now? She had no idea what she was up against. It was just too quiet.

"Guys..." she murmured more to herself than anyone else. She felt her petite fingers starting to shake and so she tightened her grip on the knife and swallowed hard, willing herself not to be afraid but it was all futile. She was terrified.

Darkness. Darkness everywhere.

She thought she heard sounds of approaching footsteps behind her and spun around, hoping her heart would slow down by the time they arrived so she could find it in herself to fight back. "Cato?" she almost whimpered and she hated how vulnarable she had become. But there was no taming it. She couldn't help it anymore. It was now almost too dark to see anything except for the outline of the trees and bushes in front of her.

"Clove!" a hushed whisper reached her ears and she almost released a loud sigh of relief. It was Cato. "Clove!" he yelled now and she scowled; was he dumb, why was he shouting?

"I'm here!" she hissed in the direction his voice was coming from to prevent him from yelling again. But that did nothing.

"Clove!" he yelled even louder and his voice sounded desperate as if he felt threatened.

"Cato?" she allowed herself to call before a bird came flying out of nowhere. Her heart almost stopped when she heard Cato's voice again, calling her name, right above her head. Because it was not his voice that she'd heard. It was not actually him.

A jabberjay.

Clove was quick; as little as she could see, she still managed to send her knife flying and a second later Cato's voice stopped as the bird fell to the ground, dead. She stared at it for a moment before her eyes grew wide as she realized how she had just completely abandonded Cato back there. Without a warning. Without a word.

"Damn it." she cussed herself and was about to start running back to Cornucopia when another voice struck her like a spear.

"CLOVE!"

She almost fainted right then and there. Her name echoed in the woods a couple of times, letting her ensure completely that she had heard correctly the first time around. In case she still had any doubts, more jabberjays came flying, each one of them squawking her name in the voice of the one person she really did not want to hear;

Thresh.

"Clove!" his voice parroted in the air, making it hard for her to breathe. "Clove, help me!"

All the memories of his body being ruined by the mutt, all the blood she could still feel on her skin, those empty eyes of his that were no longer looking, made her want to scream in agony. And scream she sure did;

"Stop!" she tried to overpower Thresh's voice coming at her from every possible direction. "Stop it!"

"CLOVE!" his voice repeated her name over and over until it was unbearable. She began running, feeling like she was merely seconds away from going completely insane How dared they? How dared they use his voice? How dared they make her feel so vulnarable? How dared they use the memory of Thresh to break her? Rage filled her up, but she didn't stop running. Oh she was going to kill them all; she was going to make them pay. But first, she just needed for all those unbearable voices to stop.

"Help, Clove! Clove, help me!"

"Oh GOD!" she cried out, unable to take it anymore. She sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands and rocking herself back and forth in order to keep it together until it all stopped. "Stop, stop, stop, stop..." she whispered over and over, moving her palms to cover her ears when the sounds everywhere around only got louder. "STOP!"

She didn't know how long it'd been. She didn't even register when Thresh's voice finally faded into the thin air as soon as the jabberjays left the scene. She realized she was lying on her side, with her hands still tightly closed around her ears and her eyes squeezed shut. She murmured things under her breath, words that she herself couldn't even comprehend. Had she really gone crazy this time? Had the Gamemakers succeeded in destroying her at last?

"Clove..."

She shuddered even harder when she heard her name again, scared that those Goddamn birds had come back. But it was no longer Thresh's voice that she'd heard. No, that voice she could definitely tell apart from anybody else's.

"It's okay."

Before she managed to fully open her eyes, someone's strong arms wrapped around her tiny form and pulled her up and into a tight embrace. She grabbed onto his comfort, eyes wide open now as she tried to get over the aftershocks. She realized she was trembling still and it only made him hug her even firmer. She felt his chin rest itself on the top of her head as he hushed and rocked her gently right there on the ground in the darkness of the woods.

Clove never shed a tear, but her face was whiter than ever and expressed pure horror, her eyes shiny and bloodshot. At last she looked up at the guy holding her and swallowed hard when she saw the amount of concern he was looking at her with. "I'm okay." she choked out, shaking her head. "I'm fine."

"I know." he assured her and even if he was lying, he sounded too certain about it fo her to question it. "Wanna stand up?"

"Yeah." she whispered and allowed him to get her back on her feet with no effort whatsoever. He grabbed onto her arms to helped her find her balance and she licked her chipped lips, face turning away from his intense gaze. As she looked to her right she almost jumped up in shock because only then did she notice Katniss and Rue both standing there as if they had never gone missing. They both looked quite distraught and hell, she could not blame them. They were staring at her with compassion and understanding in a way that her-old-self would have probably wanted to hurt them for.

Who in the world has she become? Who are you Clove?

"Hey, look at me," Cato's whisper brought her back to reality, as he used his hand on her cheek to turn her face ever so softly. "Are you hurt? You good?"

She was way out of words at this point so all she could do was nod. He let go of her then and glanced at the other two before retrieving his sword and putting on a much harder expression; "We gotta move."

"What the hell was that?" Katniss finally asked, her voice kind of shaky still. "What were they trying to achieve?"

"I believe this was once more their amazing sense of humor." Cato informed them, handing Rue a flashlight. Clove was still in too much of a shock to actually question them about what had happened earlier and why they had left, but Cato didn't seem one bit concerned about it, so she just assumed he knew the reason behind it and that was all that mattered, really. However what he said next made everything much clearer:

"Keep those low." he reminded them before looking around. "Someone's right on our heels, so stay alert."

That was all the explanation Clove needed; Katniss and Rue must have heard someone or something approaching and decided to flee so that they wouldn't give away her and Cato's location. It also explained why the trap door had been shut.

"How many of us are there left?" she asked in a weak voice that made Cato shoot her a worried glance.

"Just two." Rue replied immediately. "Excluding us. Both tributes from district 3."

Silence followed her words because they all knew exactly what that meant. But no one seemed to be brave enough to just say it out loud or openly ask about what their next step was supposed to be. Because no one knew.

They stood there, just staring at each other in confusion and fear of what was going to come. The helplessness of it all was the most exhausting. How is one supposed to deal with a situation like this? How is one supposed to know how to act? It didn't seem to matter in most cases, anyway. Because you never know how you're going to behave until you no longer have any time to hesitate or wonder what would be the right thing to do. You just go with who you truly are on the inside.

The tension between the four of them was quickly interrupted as sounds of the horror they had already once encountered cut through their hearts.

Someone was maybe thirty feet from them and getting closer and closer to where they were...

...bullets from their gun flying in almost every direction.

A/N: Truth be said - I am really, really sorry that I kept you guys waiting for so long. But frankly I'm more terrified because of how long it's actually been! It can't have been that long, that's crazy. It surely doesn't feel like so many months... I'm not really gonna try excusing myself, but life has really been quite tough and busy on top of that. I think I'm in a better place now (I hope anyway) which obviously has helped since I'm updating. I had had such a terrible writer's block when it came to this story which was a shame because we are near the end of it. Anyway; here it is, I did my best, I truly did. This chapter is for ALL of you wonderful people who have been with me and have reviewed and given me words of support! And of course for the rest of you out there as well, who have been just silently following it and hopefully enjoying it. :) THANK YOU and I can't wait to see what you thought of this chapter (I'm open to getting cussed out for keeping you waiting as well lol). Hope that 2016 has been treating you all nicely so far!

And again, THANK YOU EVERYONE for reviewing! :)