Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

1.18

Mines. That's what surrounded the supplies that now belonged to the career pack. It had taken a few days to put together but the boy from Three had done a decent job protecting their belongings. He had put mines in certain areas around the supplies so if one was to retrieve something from the insanely large pile, they would have to follow a very exact path to get there. If someone stepped even a few inches too far one way, the mines would blow up, immediately ending the person's life in the process.

No one was getting to those supplies. Jackson stood guard while the three remaining careers made small conversation, keeping their guards up in case someone was to come by and try to capture any of their goods. In the midst of their conversation a familiar scent filled Livia's nostrils. Someone was burning a fire. Her eyes immediately searched around them for any sign of a burning fire.

The other two boys must have smelled it as well. Just as soon as she had started looking Cato spoke up. "Look! Some idiot's got a fire going in broad daylight!" the muscular boy yelled, pointing to somewhere above the trees where a line of almost black smoke could be seen rising into the air. Livia snickered and grabbed both her knife and bow and arrow, ready to head to the fire and take out another tribute.

The blonde had gotten better over the past few days and had started communicating a bit more, though she was still internally mourning the loss of her friend. "Come on, let's go. Jackson, you stay here and keep watch." Cato told the boy as they ran off in the direction of the fire. The three ran as fast as they could through the forest, quickly stumbling across the location of the fire. But there was one issue. No one was there.

Marvel ran around for a moment, checking for any signs of someone recently being there. Nothing. No one was there. The trio looked at each other curiously, silently asking themselves where to go from their current position. It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. At least until a loud boom sound came from behind them. Their eyes all widened in shock as they stood frozen in their spots. Speedily, the three wasted no time in running back to their field by the lake. As they ran heaps of smoke came into view, clouding their vision.

When they got back their focus instantly turned to their large pile of supplies. More like lack thereof. Everything was either blown to pieces or set on fire from the explosions. Livia knew that this had been Jackson's fault. She assumed that he had 'failed to mention' that if one mine blew up, the others would as well and completely destroy the supplies. Clearly Cato wasn't having it. He was very obviously pissed and wasn't going to let the boy from Three get away with it.

"What did you do?" the muscular boy yelled as he stepped toward the boy, causing him to step backwards. Jackson stumbled backward, shaking his head unknowingly. "I didn't- I-" but the brown haired tribute never got to finish his sentence. He was too late. With a simple twist to the neck, the blonde tribute had killed the boy. His body laid on the grass motionless, his eyes staring blankly at the light blue sky above. Livia almost pitied Jackson.

But she didn't. They had warned him. If he messed up he would pay and he messed up so he had to pay. She knew that he deserved what came to him. "Liv, Marvel, go see if you can find anyone around here. That fire had to have been made recently so the person has to be close. I'll stay here and see if any of the supplies are still intact." he directed as he started walking towards the pile of now completely useless supplies.

Although he didn't make it far before a small hand wrapped around his right forearm. Turning around, the teens met eyes, neither looking away from the other. "Be careful. We don't know if all of them went off." she warned him seriously. With a sigh Cato pulled the girl into a hug, his hands lightly grabbing her waist. Her arms almost naturally found their way around his neck so she could bury her head into the crook of his neck.

The pair stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away, though they kept their arms loosely hanging in the same spot. "I'll be fine. Now go." he told her. In one swift motion Livia rose to the balls of her feet and pulled the boy down slightly so he was at eye level with her and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She then completely pulled away from the boy and ran off with Marvel, a smile spreading across her face and a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

The forest was quiet. Both careers had their weapons ready; Marvel with his spear and Livia with her bow and arrow. Her knives stayed in her back pocket just in case she was short on time and couldn't grab an arrow. The two teens searched for a few minutes, ultimately finding nothing. At least until the scream of a little girl nearby echoed through the trees around them. "Katniss!" the voice called. The blondes looked at each other excited, ecstatic that whoever this person was could lead them to their target.

The pair started running towards the voice as the child's cries for help got louder and happened more frequently. This continued for three minutes or so until the screams stopped. But Livia and Marvel kept running in the direction the voice had come from and soon enough they found the little girl they knew to be Rue and Katniss embracing in a hug. Rue instantly spotted the two careers, the fear growing in her widened eyes. The little girl mumbled a single word and the girl from Twelve sharply turned to face the pair across from them.

Marvel wasted no time in throwing his spear at the teen. But he missed. And he had hit the little girl. Livia gasped and took a step back when she realized that the weapon was lodged inside of little Rue's stomach. Katniss, in self defense, grabbed an arrow from her back quiver and shot an arrow at Marvel. His body stiffened as the arrow entered his chest and he slowly fell onto his stomach. He was dead.

The blonde quickly grabbed a knife from her back pocket and chucked it at the other teen for killing her friend. Of course the brunette just barely missed it as she fell to the ground with the little girl in her arms. It was then that Livia realized Katniss truly cares for the tween and the blonde knew that she needed to mourn. Even if Livia and Cato both wanted to kill her with everything in them. The blonde's eyes then trailed back to her friend from District One.

He was gone too. He wasn't breathing. Dropping to her knees, her head landed on his right shoulder as she let out a sob. Tears fell from her eyes, one after the other, as she grieved her dear friend. Livia, after a minute of letting out what she needed to, she turned to the girl from Twelve. "Just this once, bitch. Only because I know what it's like. I've already lost two of them. You don't get any other chances." Livia said intimidatingly as she stood up and fiercely walked away.

Soon after, Livia returned to the field where she met the sad yet angered eyes of Cato. She knew all of the supplies were destroyed. He didn't have to tell her. "Where's Marvel?" he asked. The blonde eyes filled with tears right away. It took him a moment but Cato soon realized what had happened. The girl broke down in sobs once more and the muscular boy pulled her in for a comforting hug. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she held onto the boy for dear life.

"I tried, Cato. I really did. But I was too late. I-" she tried to speak but her words were hushed by her district partner. He rocked them side to side as he placed small kisses on the top of her head. "It's okay, Hun. It's okay, it's not your fault." he cooed, keeping his right hand on the back of the teens head while the other wrapped around her shoulders. And though she didn't want to admit it, she was scared. And so was he.