The Hunger Games- Prim's Story

Chapter 25

They're mutts. Muttations. An invention by the Gamemakers to spice up the games a little. They're not natural-born animals, that's for sure. They look like huge wolves, but they definitely aren't. They jump and land perfectly and can move their front paws as if it has a wrist. I'm morbidly entranced by them, but the sound of their claws, razor-sharp and at least four inches, scraping against the Cornucopia brings me back to the reality of these ugly mutts. When we're distracted, Cato has climbed up the Cornucopia and is looking around for us, with murder in his eyes. 

Cato makes his way to Peeta without a weapon. I don't underestimate Cato though. I bet he could snap a neck with his bare hands. I grab one of the large rocks and throw it, aiming for Cato's back. That body armor doesn't protect against a broken back. I throw it, but it only hits him in the leg. He doubles over and almost falls. Peeta kicks him, but Cato grabs his leg and pulls himself back up. 

The mutts assemble and stand on their back legs. They have fur of all different colors and textures. Curly, wavy, straight, brown, red, and blonde. There's something eerie about the way they look at me, but I don't have time to dissect that right now because the blonde one has taken a running start and leaps onto the horn of the Cornucopia. It climbs on and I see its pink lips pulled into a snarl. Its eyes are distinctly human and it isn't until I see its jewel-encrusted collar that I put the pieces together.  That's Glimmer. They're the tributes. 

It runs towards Peeta and I shriek. Peeta sees and shakes Cato off of him. Cato scrambles towards me, keeping the majority of his weight off his right leg, where the rock hit him. His leg looks unstable and definitely broken. I throw a smaller rock at his head and it makes a dent, but he doesn't stop for a second. Peeta stabs the mutt with his spear and throws it at Cato. He falls flat on his face on the Cornucopia and I throw another rock at the back of his head. I hear the crack of rock against bone and he grips the Cornucopia as hard as he can while he slips down. 

A smaller mutt with dark hair and dark eyes, with a metal collar that has 2 engraved on it digs its teeth into Cato's back and pulls him down. I hear a faint whimper as he sees Clove's mutt equivalent. All the mutts start attacking him except for one. The mutt has dark curly fur and big brown eyes. It has a woven collar with 11 on it. Rue. I stare into its big brown eyes but I don't look for mercy. Peeta's eyes are wide, looking at Rue's mutt, trying to think of what to do. Why is it programmed differently? Why does it want me when it has Cato? 

But at this moment I don't think. Instead, I grab Peeta's spear and hurl it at Rue's mutt. It whines and it falls back and I breathe a sigh of relief. I don't watch what they're doing to Cato but I can hear the mutts snarls and growls. Cato isn't wasting any energy fighting them off, but I can hear the quiet sounds of pain he makes as the mutts tear at his body armor and then at his skin. Icy air blows at me and I feel myself shivering, wanting to kneel over because of hunger and I can only imagine Peeta feels the same. 

Peeta motions to the horn of the Cornucopia and we lean against it. I sit next to Peeta and move as close to him as I can. He puts his arm around me and zips his jacket around both of us. We're both shivering and starving. "Go to sleep, Prim. When you wake up, this will be over, okay?" I nod and try to sleep. I tune out Cato's quiet noises of pain, the mutts snarling, the sound of my stomach growling, and the icy wind and just focus on my breathing. I go to a horrible sleep, broken by the noises of mutts and dying human. 

But I don't feel bad. One more person to District Twelve. Just one more tribute. I wake up when the sun is finally coming up. Cato still isn't dead. I unzip myself from Peeta's jacket and lean over to see Cato. He's not dead, but he's almost there. Just another hour of suffering. I'm tempted to leave him to suffer but one look from Peeta tells me to end it. I throw my knife down carelessly and it hits him right in the head. After a few minutes, I hear the cannon. The mutts run away just as quickly as they came and as soon as they run back into the woods, we slide down from the Cornucopia.  

"We won," I say, with a smile, partly of disbelief and partly of pure happiness. Peeta only nods, with an expression of incredulity. The hovercraft hasn't appeared and I listen for the sound of trumpets, but I hear nothing. "What's going on?" I yell into the air, but nothing happens. The mockingjays don't even repeat the tone of my voice. 

"Maybe we should move away. We can go to the lake." Peeta advises and I follow him to the lake. I hope we hear those trumpets soon, I'm starving and I don't have much energy left in me. When we reach the lake, the hovercraft finally appears and takes Cato's bruised and bloodied body up. 

"What are they waiting for? We won, get us out of here!" I say angrily. Just then, Claudius Templesmith's voice booms into the arena. "Greetings, to the final contestants of the Seventy-Fourth annual Hunger Games." 

Peeta looks confused and mouths, 'Final contestants?' I shrug, a glare still plastered on my face. I stick my knife in my pocket and listen to the rest of his speech.

"The earlier revision has been revoked over further examination of the rules. It has been disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and, as always, may the odds be ever in your favor." 

I look at Peeta, whose face I can only describe as sad. I run at him and hug him, burying my face into his shirt. He starts talking very quietly and very fast. "It's okay, Prim. I swear, it'll be okay. We're family, right? I'm not going home without you. I got a little something." He tries pulling me away, but I cling onto his shirt, so he continues talking. "That nightlock, I found it on a bush on the way here. We eat it. Okay? We're family. We go home together." 

I nod, and he's still hugging me when I quietly dig the knife out of my pocket. I shove it into Peeta's torso. I see his eyes as he falls. Pity. I never liked the pity in his eyes. The pity he had for me. I look down at him. "Sorry, Peeta. Family only lasts so long in the Arena." I walk away and don't look back. They had to have their victor. And they never planned to let us both win. After the acid rain, it was blatantly obvious. And who am I to deny them a good show?

The trumpets sound and I hear Claudius' surprised voice saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games, Primrose Everdeen! I give you- the tribute of District Twelve and youngest ever winner of the Hunger Games!"