For the first few minutes after I wake up, I'm not sure where I am. Then I register Cato's arm around me and panic. We should not have slept like this. There's always a chance someone could be watching. I remember asking Cato to say my name and flush scarlet red. How embarrassing that must have been for him. I should get up. We need to search for thresh or the red haired girl today. I should move. I really should.
Cato's breath tickles my shoulder in a gentle rhythm. I know it will be awkward when he wakes up and I don't want to make it worse by staying like this while he sleeps. I shift away from him and Cato wakes up. His blue eyes are bleary in the morning. He looks at me and smiles but soon the smile slips away. Its as if he is remembering something. What? I wonder. Cato and I disentangle ourselves in silence. I begin to roll up the sleeping bag. The air seems stifled with tension. Neither one of us knows what to say.
When we're ready to go, Cato finally speaks. "Thanks." he says simply but heavily.
"I wasn't going to let you freeze." I snap at him. I don't know why but I'm so angry. Not at Cato, but he's taking the brunt of it. The next few words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them. "I'm not going to let you die." I choke on a sob. I don't want Cato to die. He needs to live. He NEEDS to live. Hiding my face, I turn to grab my backpack.
"I'm not going anywhere Clover," Cato whispers, "And I'm not letting anything happen to you. I promise you, we will get out of here alive." After that, there's nothing more to say. We crawl out of the tunnel, blinking in the morning light. Cato takes the lead and I follow. Its time to track down some of the remaining tributes.
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We spend all day wandering beneath the relentless sun. And find no one. The arena is far too big. When the sun begins to set we venture back to the hollow beneath the tree. It's a good 3 miles from the lake so I'm glad we stopped there this afternoon for some water. While I start a fire, the announcement plays.
"Attention tributes! Tomorrow morning at the cornucopia there will be a feast. Come, for there is something each of you desperately needs." The voice abruptly cuts off.
"Desperately needs?" I wonder.
"Lover boy will need something for that cut I gave him. I bet he and Katniss are teaming up."
"What do you think they'll have for us?"
"Weapons? If we're lucky, some body armor. We should go anyway, the other tributes will come. We can take several out at once."
"Sounds good," I agree. "How about I wait for Katniss to be out in the open and you wait for Thresh by the fields. They're our biggest competition so we need to take care of them first."
"Are you sure we should split up?" Cato says worriedly.
"I don't think we have a choice. This is the best way to kill them both. You can handle Thresh and I can easily take down the Girl On Fire."
"You're right. Yell if something goes wrong." Cato tells me.
"You too." The fire blows out. Cato and I make our way into the little hollow. I roll out the sleeping bag. Stars flicker through a small gap in the roots and I remember wondering over a year ago if the stars would be different from inside the arena. They look different. But maybe it's not the stars that have changed.
I climb into the sleeping bag, a nervous knot of anxiety in my stomach. I know I can kill Katniss but the sense of foreboding remains. What if something goes wrong? What if Cato and I don't make it out together after all? Cato slides in beside me without a word. And I let him. We don't touch this time, both of us know what a terrible idea that was last night. I have a sudden panic that he will be gone in the morning, that everything will change. And that whatever Cato and I are will become a memory.
Reaching over, I grab his hand and interlace his fingers with mine. He gives mine a little squeeze like the pulse of a heart. And that is how we fall asleep, hands clasped as if it could somehow keep us from losing one another.
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A/N Its coming!!! We all know what I'm talking about! *evil grin*
In any case, please comment and vote! :)
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Clato: Cuts Beneath the Surface
FanfictionClove never knew her parents. All she knows is her trainer Favian who sometimes doubles as her dad, and sometimes falls far short of looking out for her. In district 2 they train you not to be heartless, but to ignore your heart. After years of soli...
