Wrong Place, Right Time - Cato Hadley x OC

Chapter 15: Relief

The haunting boom of a cannon wakes me from my first peaceful sleep in days.

I shoot up and instantly notice that I'm alone in the cave. 

"Cato," I whisper-yell, more to myself than the boy I'm calling for.

My eyes dart around, and I see that there is now only one set of armour on the floor of the cave. My heart starts to race, and I don't even bother to put the other set on before I scramble out of the safety of the cave. 

With a knife in hand, I scan the immediate area around me, squinting due to the lack of sunlight.

"Cato!" I shout louder than the time before, and I receive no response.

The panic is setting in now. Why did he go out? Is his leg still bad? Did Thresh find him? My heart is in my throat as I start frantically searching and calling for the blonde from District Two. 

I hear nothing: no footsteps, no birds, no Cato. My hands start to tremble. 

"Cato!" Now I'm screaming. I already lost Wade in this arena; I cannot fathom losing Cato, too. 

My head darts as I search for him, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I run into a tree. 

The tree somehow wraps its arms around me.

Flailing, I looked up to see that the 'tree' I had run into was the boy I had been looking for.

"Hali! Relax, it's me," He's trying to soothe me, but my racing heart has yet to slow down.

"Why did you do that?" I shout, the accusation heavy in my tone.

He looks confused as I finally start to settle, "Do what, Hal?" He questions me.

"Leave when I'm sleeping! How do you think I felt when I woke up to a cannon, and you weren't next to me? And what if someone found me in the cave? How would yo-"

I'm forced to stop my rampage when his lips crash down onto mine. Still stiff, I slowly allow my limbs to relax as I reach my hands up and wrap them around his neck. He moves his one hand from my waist to grab my face. I yank my mouth away from his when I realise his hands are wet.

Grabbing his wrists and forcing them in front of my face to examine them, and despite being dark out, the sight of blood is evident.

"Cato!" I yell, "What is this? Who's is this?"

He laughs lowly, "Relax, it's Lover Boy's," He looks down to see the confusion on my face. "I heard groaning outside the cave about an hour ago, so I went out to find Twelve cowering at the base of a tree."

I sigh, chest still heaving, "So you're okay?" I demand.

"Well, I was," He starts, lowering his head, "Until you pulled away from me."

I dodge his mouth as he aims at mine again, "Go wash the blood off your hands, I don't want it to get in my hair."

He laughs, "That's what I was going to do when your shrieking notified me, and the entire forest, of your presence."

Failing to hide my smile, I duck my head, "I'll meet you at the cave."

We part ways, him heading to the stream and me to the cave that I've called home for the last two nights. I'm smiling to myself the whole way back. That was our first kiss since the day I left. I didn't know how much I missed it. 

When I reach the mouth of the cave, I'm startled to hear a beeping somewhere nearby.

It's a bomb! I think at first, immediately terrified again.