𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.Cato Hadley

18.

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𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.
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I'm in the garden of my house. It's all filled with white roses, my mother's favorite. As beautiful as they are, I find them frightening and their presence makes me feel like I'm going to suffocate at any moment. Someone puts a hand on my shoulder and I see my mother smiling at me but with tears in her eyes.

"Mel, you need to stop pretending." I look at her confused.

"Pretend what?"

"That I'm still here." She puts one hand on my face and turns it to look at the roses. They are all withered. Just a second ago they were so crisp and fresh, what happened? I look back at my mother only to see her dead on the ground beside me.

I scream and that's how everything ends.

I open my eyes. I stand motionless, wondering if I am having another terrible dream. I can't tell if I'm really awake or if it's another nightmare attack. Nothing is happening. Maybe I'm not dreaming anymore.

My body hurts, I guess I've been under the poison of tracker jackers for a long time. I'm trying to remember what happened last. I cut the branch with the hive, it fell on the Careers and then Glimmer went crazy. The thought of Glimmer immediately reminds me of the bow. I see it next to me with a dozen arrows. I have a bow! No matter how much my body hurts, my joy right now is endless. I feel more relaxed now knowing that I have a weapon and not just any weapon, but mine!

I notice my hands and neck are covered in leaves, right where the wasps stung me. I wonder who did that? Maybe Rue if she survived the tracker jackers' attack. She had a lead and got down from the tree earlier, she must have managed to escape them. And what happened to the others? Is Peeta alive or Cato?

Cato!

Now I remember what happened. After I took the bow from Glimmer, Cato was yelling something at me. I even think he carried me in his arms at one time, but I'm not sure about that. They were probably hallucinations.

I decide not to think about it too much, but to focus on what is happening now. The bow allows me to think I have a real chance of winning the Games. First, if someone attacks me, I can shoot them, and second, I can hunt and eat real food. Which I now desperately need. But that is not the only thing that is needed now.

My throat feels dry but that's normal after sleeping for so many hours? Days? How long have I been unconscious? It was morning when Glimmer died, and now it's afternoon. I'm really lucky no one found and killed me. How easy I was to kill, I fell asleep and there was a chance I would never wake up again. This thought stresses me out.

I see I don't have much water left which tells me I need to go to the lake to get some. Once I'm fully recovered, I'll be ready even if someone attacks me. I will even have a great chance of winning. That's all I need to go home to Layla. The girl who I'm sure is now almost as calm as I am. She knows that when the bow is in my hands, no one can stand a chance against me. But of course, it all depends on how they attack me.