The Great War.

IV

"I Can See the End as it Begins."

I was ten years old when I joined the combat classes at the training center. I didn't know what it was about, and if I had known, I would have run as fast as possible, very, very far away from there.It was a rainy morning, and I was practicing new knife throwing techniques.

I wasn't very skilled yet, but I was making progress; everything was going according to schedule, until suddenly an unknown man came to the armory room, exchanged a few words with the trainer in charge of the class, and asked me to go with him. I quickly followed that man to the courtyard of the training center, where a group of four girls were waiting for us in the pouring rain.

"Clove and Lexi." He shouted to be heard above the thunder. "To the center, no weapons."

I didn't quite understand what was happening. I took the three knives that were in my jacket and left them on the ground. I couldn't see or hear well due to the storm, so it took me a few seconds until I reached the center of the courtyard, where a black circle had been painted. It was barely visible. The other girl who had been called was standing completely still; she was twice my height, and she looked older as well.

It was all very confusing until I saw a black shadow lunging at me, throwing me to the ground and grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, then smashing my skull against the ground over and over again.I closed my eyes tightly and just listened to how my screams got muted by the storm, turning my suffering into a silent movie.

I tried to get rid of that girl, but I couldn't do it; she was huge. Out of nowhere, I felt how she slightly loosened her grip; she lowered her guard for a second, and that was enough time for me to raise my face until the skin of one of her hands touched my lips. Then I sank my teeth into her flesh, and my mouth got filled with blood, making me nauseous.

She backed away from me for a moment, and even though the rain was blurring my vision, I could see the horror in her eyes, which lasted just for a split second because before I could do anything more, I felt her nails digging into my neck. I ended up spitting the piece of meat that I had torn from her hand straight into her face.

The only thing I remember after that was waking up in the nurse's office with tubes tied to my forearm and an unbearable headache. That day, I felt how that violent, murderous instinct had emerged from the depths of my bones for the first time. It was also the first time I experienced real fear, and the last time I showed it. I felt like my body was ready to fight for my life, and curiously, that feeling is being repeated at this very moment, with Cato holding my wrists tightly and piercing every layer of my soul with his cold gaze.

"There's nothing we could talk about." I whispered the same way he had done. "Get out of here."

He lets go of me suddenly as he gets up from the bed. I try to hide the fact that it's hard for me to look at his face, not out of embarrassment but because he's ridiculously tall and I'm about to twist my neck.

"Everyone knew that you would end up volunteering." He speaks slowly as he looks at me from head to toe. "You and I have a good chance, and you know that, Clove."

I stop in my tracks for a moment. He must think that I'm stupid enough to believe that big lie that just came out of his mouth. There is no "you and I" here; it will be him or it will be me.

Maybe I am being paranoid, but anyone would be. Cato Hadley is scary. Every word, every gesture, and every action of his means danger, and there is something else about him that makes me want to run away. I swallow the panic I'm feeling right now because I can't let him see how much his presence terrifies me.

"I did it because the other girls were a bunch of cowards," I say, almost yelling.

He smiles as he takes a seat on the edge of the bed again, crosses his arms, and remains silent for a few seconds, as if he were trying to find the appropriate words to express himself.