Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

2.27

The remaining seven allies were now gathered in a small circle by the edge of the forest, standing or sitting in complete silence. The past ten minutes had been a lot on the group. They had just lost Nate and they had almost just lost Livia along with him. They were all still pretty shaken. Even Johanna and Lennox had been slightly scared when they watched the blonde tumble into the deadly waters.

Even if they weren't the biggest fans of her, they still cared and it showed. "So besides the two from Nine, who's left?" Livia asked once everyone was ready to begin. Everyone looked around at each other just as they had done earlier. After a few moments of pondering, Cato gave a half-hearted guess. "Maybe Chaff. Just those three." he answered as he itched the side of his face. Finnick, who was leaning on a tree beside him, let out a sigh, making everyone look at him.

"They know they're out numbered. I doubt they'll attack again. We're safe here on the beach." he reassured the group. Livia wanted to believe the tribute but she knew that there was still a chance of them attacking, no matter how many people were against them. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, it was the truth. There was no letting their guard down just yet. It wasn't even just that.

There was still no assurance that after the other two would be eliminated that the others wouldn't turn on her and Cato. Because she knew that the moment her guard went down would be the moment someone would attack. "So what do we do? We hunt them down?" Johanna questioned, her tone much more harsh than the previous times she had spoken. Before anyone else could respond a sudden deafening shriek came from deep within the forest.

It was a scream that was all too familiar. She had heard that scream before. It sounded just like her sister. "Liv! Help me!" the girl screamed. It was Chloe. She was in trouble. Livia could tell by the way she called out for help that she was in pain. The teen's protective mode kicked in instantly. She didn't know how they had gotten a hold of Chloe, how they got her into the arena or what they were doing to her, but she needed help.

"Chloe! Chloe!" the blonde called back. Quickly, she pushed herself up from the ground, grabbed her bow and ran off into the forest to find her sister. The six others got up hurriedly and began to run after her, yelling at her to wait for them. In the games she should have known by now that running off on her own wasn't a good idea. But she didn't care. She had to find her sister. The girl ran for a while, though she wasn't tired.

Hearing her sister in pain gave her a rush of adrenaline simply because she was determined to find her. After a few minutes of running and calling out for the thirteen year old, the girl stopped running. It was when she stopped that she finally felt the fatigue setting in. She could have sworn that the screams were coming from just next to where she stood. But Chloe was nowhere to be found. Just a silly old Jabberjay flying around above her.

And that was when it hit her. So in one swift movement Livia pulled out an arrow and shot it at the bird. The moment it impaled the creature the screams stopped. Her mind felt like it was running a mile a minute. She didn't understand what was happening. It had sounded so real. Finnick and Lennox finally caught up to her, both of them yelling Livia's name in hopes of catching her attention. The small girl snapped her head towards the two as she tried to process what had just happened.

"You okay?" the man asked, placing his hand on her upper arm as a look of worry taking over his face. Both him and the girl next to him breathed heavily from trying to catch up with the blonde. But it wasn't over just yet. This time it wasn't Chloe screaming and calling for help. It was Finnick and Lennox's best friend, Annie. Livia wasn't aware of this but she had been in the games a while back and had been slowly getting crazier and crazier ever since. The two of them had been taking care of the girl for years. And they knew her screams. "Finnick! Lennox!" Annie's voice called.