Stars | Cato Hadley

Chapter Twenty

"It's just the six of us now," Wren said to Cato as she patched up his reopened wound. Hours prior the two lost Clove to the boy from Eleven. Wren wanted her revenge, but Cato wouldn't let her. Her eyes filled with tears and turned green with sadness.

"Cato I couldn't save her. I couldn't save Clove. I couldn't save Marvel or Glimmer. I-" Cato cut her off by smashing his lips onto hers. Wren forgot what she was going to say as she kissed him back. Cato pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.

"Wren. Breathe."

The girl took a deep breath, but tears formulated again as she sobbed. Cato wrapped his arms around her for a hug. The brunette cried into his chest as he whispered soothing words to her.

"They know you tried." Wren shook her head with a sob.

She pulled back from his chest and Cato wanted to kill Thresh for causing her to cry. Wren placed her hands on either side of his face as she brought his lips to hers for another kiss. The kiss was deep as Cato's tongue fought its way into her mouth and Wren chuckled as she pulled away.

"I like you a lot Cato, but there are cameras everywhere." He only laughed at her comment.

The two grabbed their items and laid outside and looked at the stars. Cato tried to use his hand to trace the constellations above them and Wren moved his hand to help.

"Move your hand to the right just a little bit- there!"

Cato smiled as he had traced his first pattern. The stars looked so real in the fake sky. Wren's eyes darted from one bright spot to another. A smile crept up her lips and Cato looked at her.

"What's got you smiling?"

"Just thinking of back home. My little brother William." She whispered.

"What's he like?" The blond boy asked.

Wren giggled, "William is a sweet little boy that loves to eat sugar. If he ever gets any, especially from our neighbor, he's bouncing all around the place. Before I left a lady at the market gave him sugar cubes and Will was running all around the house." Cato smiled as he pictured the little boy from the reaping running everywhere.

"What was your brother like?" Cato sucked in a breath.

"He was distant. He often wouldn't talk to me after training and when he did it was one-worded phrases." Cato mumbled softly as he then placed a kiss on Wren's head. "Get some sleep, I'm taking the first watch."

The hazel-eyed girl curled into his chest and was softly snoring minutes later. Cato glanced up to the stars once more before lifting her into his arms and taking her back to their cave. He sat near the entrance and cleaned his sword after he laid the girl from Ten down on the makeshift bed. Her snoring filled the cave and he smiled. He would do anything to protect the girl from Ten. Anything.

...

Wren's screams echoed throughout the cave as she woke up from her nightmare. Cato was quick to place his hand over her mouth as he shushed her. The girl sat up and wrapped her arms around the boy from Two.

"I'm sorry. I had a dream and you died and I couldn't save you like the others." She let out a strangled sob. "Cato you died. you-"

"I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He lifted her knuckles to his lips as he kissed them before he leaned over to kiss her cheek. At the last second, Wren moved her head and her lips met his. The kiss they shared was soft and salty from her tears. The pair separated.

"Promise me you won't leave," Wren whispered against his lips. Cato's eyes met hers.

"I promise."

His lips met hers once more.

...

"Do we have the tribute's DNA on file?" Plutarch Heavensbee asked Seneca Crane. The man with a newly styled beard looked at the older gentleman.

"Why do you ask?"

"I have an idea for muttations. If we take the DNA of a dog and the DNA of a tribute we can put the tribute's features on a large wolf." Seneca studied the man for a moment. "I like it. Get to work, now," he snapped.

Plutarch Heavensbee left the room and went to the hospital wing of the dead tributes. Each child laid on a bed before him and he nearly lost his lunch. A nurse in a white dress stood before him.

"Do we have their DNA?" The woman nodded. His eyes scanned each tribute before pointing to a few random ones.

"Prepare them. The Captial has plans for their bodies." The nurse was confused but moved the selected tribute's bodies to a different room. "Oh, and nurse," the man said. "Keep in touch with me. I'll be back." He shot her a wink before returning to the control center.

...

Wren was woken up by Cato for her shift to keep watch. Her eyes were set on the boy from Two as he laid on his back with his arms crossed. Cato seemed like a dangerous person, but in reality, he was just trying to go home to his family. They all were. Wren's heart clenched thinking about her friends that died in the games.

The two blondes from District One. Her unlikely friends. Glimmer and Ivory had both grown on the girl and it wasn't until Ivory's untimely death she started to like the girl. The brunette boy from One, Marvel. Marvel had become her best friend. A brother at most. She smiled as she remembered all of the jokes he'd make in situations that shouldn't have been funny. Clove, the little girl from Two. Wren was scared of the girl in the beginning but her grouchy attitude was something she learned to love. The terrified face Clove had would often haunt the girl's thoughts. Wren shook her head.

Her eyes went to the stars and she smiled. Each one of the formerly alive tributes appeared in the sky. All of them laughing and smiling. Wren couldn't help but wish to see them one last time. She hit her forehead with her palm and tried to get rid of her thoughts until morning.

The morning light had revealed itself in the cave and Cato had awoken from his slumber. His face was covered in sweat which meant he had a nightmare. His eyes looked around the cave in a panic and relaxed when he saw Wren was okay. The girl handed him half of her squirrel, the only food they had left. Cato sat and happily ate as he and Wren stayed quiet. As they stayed in the cave all day time seemed to go fast. Hours later it was dark again.

"What is going on?" Wren asked the boy beside her. "It got dark awfully fast."

"I have no clue."

A cannon went off.

They looked at each other confused as to who it could be. Wren's heart sunk as she whispered a name.

"Finch."

"You don't know that," Cato whispered.

Wren shook her head. She knew. She knew that the Capital was growing bored and that the game makers were going to start something. The only question that settled on Wren's mind was: what could the game makers be up to?