Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

1.13

Livia's hand immediately flew towards the assortment of knives. The girl had been graced with throwing knives and she silently thanked both herself for being skilled and training with knives, and the Capitol for choosing throwing knives over any other form of knives. On the table was a black towel where eight silver throwing knives sat. Next to the table where the weapons were laid was a backpack. The girl speedily shoved five of the eight knives into her bag and three into her pocket in case she needed them.

A few yards away sat a second bow and arrow set, silver to match the knives. The blonde ran over, grabbing her backpack with her left hand. Quickly, she swung the back quiver that held the arrows over her shoulder and held the bow in her left hand which was now free after giving the backpack to Cato so he could keep it with him and so she could have a free hand. She then noticed sudden to her right. The boy from District Three was running towards her. With her right hand she took an arrow out of her back quiver and shot the boy right in the center of his chest.

The tall figure stopped running at the contact and stared down blankly at his chest before looking up at the girl straight in the eyes and falling to the ground. He was dead. She was a murderer. But she had no time to pity both herself and the boy with the girl from District Ten running up to her. The brunette punched Livia in the stomach before she could move. The blonde stumbled back a few steps but quickly gained composure and grabbed the other girl by the shoulders, kneeing her in the stomach multiple times.

The slightly taller girl groaned in pain and hunched over to knee level, holding her stomach. She went to stand and go for the blonde but her plan was overturned by Cato who grabbed her head, pulling her away from his friend, and snapped her neck, letting her drop to the ground. Livia stared at the two bodies in front of her in fear. Shaking off the horrible feeling in her head she looked off in the distance to see if she could spot any other tributes.

Across the field was an older boy, running for the woods. The blonde started running towards him, grabbing a knife out of her pocket as she neared him. She was about eight or nine yards from the boy when she threw the knife that landed in the center of his back and he flailed forward, face planting in the grass. He too was dead. Before he had fallen, the girl assumed he was heading for the forest but had really been going after the girl from Twelve.

This was her chance to kill her. With no hesitation the smaller girl grabbed a second knife from her pocket and chucked it at her. It would have hit her in the chest but the older girl had used her backpack as a shield and the knife stuck itself in the backpack. Just as Livia went to reach for a third knife she was knocked to the ground and landed on the grass with a ginger girl from District Nine on top of her. The blonde didn't hesitate to punch the girl, knocking her off of her frail body.

The ginger groaned angrily and went to get up and attack again but Livia was too quick. She had already taken a knife out of her back pocket and stabbed the girl where her heart would be. Once she was sure the girl was lifeless she removed the knife from her body and the blonde wiped the blood off on her jeans, tucking it back in her pocket and doing the same with her other two knives that stuck out of the boy's bodies.

The only ones left at the cornucopia were the careers. It was only them four. Anyone else who survived would be somewhere in the forest right now. Cato found the blonde girl first, giving her a quick hug as a silent praise that she was still alive and led her to Glimmer and Marvel who were on the other side of the cornucopia. When she had run off he feared her life had been taken with the others. Glimmer hugged her the moment she saw her face, Marvel following right after.

"Thank God you guys are okay." Marvel spoke as all four teens panted, somewhat out of breath. But it wasn't long before footsteps could be heard coming from the other side of the wall and out of their sight. They all took cautious steps forward, all wordlessly agreeing that whatever it was would die the second they were seen. And of all people it was the boy from Twelve who they crossed paths with.

The moment he realized what he had walked into he stopped in his tracks with wide eyes before backing up. Cato and Glimmer caught eyes for a moment, smirking at each other, then turning back to the boy with the same smirks that Livia and Marvel also had. Each of them readied their weapons; Livia her bow and arrow, same with Glimmer, Marvel gripping his spear, and Cato his sword; preparing to shoot the boy who put his hands up in surrender as he staggered backwards in fear. "Wait!" he yelped.

The four teens stopped inching towards the boy and looked to him curiously. He noticed this and let out a partial sigh of relief, not daring to lower his hands. "I can help you." he told them, looking at  each career in the eye as he spoke. Livia squinted her eyes at him, trying to figure out if he was fibbing or if they could trust him. As far as she was concerned, he had nothing to offer them. "And what would we possibly need from you?" the smallest girl asked coldly.

The frightened boy's eyes met hers and his mouth trembled. It was like he couldn't form a sentence. Yet he was able to speak moments later. "I can help you find her!" he yelled, his voice slightly shaky. The group of four looked at each other, all of them confused as to what he could have been talking about. They didn't know who this 'her' was. Glimmer rolled her eyes in annoyance as her and Livia readied their weapons.

But Cato and Marvel either didn't get the memo or they were considering letting him follow along even though they had no idea who this girl was that Peeta spoke of. "Who exactly are you talking about?" Marvel asked, speaking up and taking a few steps forward. Peeta gulped nervously and stepped back when the boy stepped forward. He looked to his feet and looked at the group once more before hesitantly replying. "Katniss. I can help you find her." Livia didn't believe it. He was supposedly 'madly in love' with the girl.

The blonde knew that there was no way he would help them find her. She assumed he only used the excuse so they wouldn't kill him. She didn't believe him for a second. So much that she took three large steps toward him and used both the most intimidating voice and facial expressions she could. "We don't need you. We could find her in a matter of a few days without you." she spoke rudely. The others must have agreed with her statement because they all readied their weapons, prepared to attack the boy.

He frightenedly staggered back even farther, trying to keep as much space between him and the group as possible. Although it clearly wasn't working as they had managed to get closer to him then when they had started talking. "No! I- I- I swear! She gave me an idea of where she would hide! I can't give an exact spot but I have an idea." he stuttered. The four halted once more with heavy sighs and huddled together to figure out if letting him stay was a good idea.

"What do we say?" Cato asked, looking at each of his allies. Livia, as she had come up with an idea, spoke up first. "I say we let him lead us to her. We kill her and then we kill him right after. That way we get two people out of the way." she suggested in a whisper, hoping the boy a few yards away wouldn't hear her. The group ultimately agreed and turned back around to face the boy from Twelve. It was Cato who spoke up this time. "Fine. But if you fuck up you're dead."