Peeta's Story- The Hunger Games

Chapter 51

hey! so i'll be in alaska next week, so idk if i'll be able to upload for awhile. this chapter's longer, so hopefully you won't get too bored. also, check out my friend TheUnreal's works. he's like my best friend and his story is off to a good start :)

x

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He's right. It's all over now. My muscles begin to slack and I lean on Cato, weighing him down. Maybe if I die, I can at least take him with me. I try to move towards the edge, but it's too much effort.

Katniss's face is tense, her teeth clenched as she glares at Cato. I can almost hear the cogs turning in her head as she tries to think of a way to outsmart him. It is then that I realize something. The hand holding me in a vice is warm and soft, like actual human flesh. Cato's body armor does not protect him here.

I can barely think anymore, but I work my hand up to Cato's arm, as if I were about to wrestle him. The effort strains me, and the remaining energy saps out of me, but not before I manage to draw an X using my finger across the back of Cato's hand. I can only hope that Katniss gets the message.

The sound of an arrow whizzing through the air is the last thing I hear before everything turns into chaos.

I feel myself go limp as I am launched straight into the air. Somewhere in the distance, Cato cries out in surprise. Then a warm hand encloses mine as someone screams my name.

“Peeta, Peeta, hold on!” Katniss screams as she tugs me to safety.

My eyes flutter open as Katniss holds me tightly, hugging me as if I were the only thing in the world. “You're alright,” she whispers as she hangs onto my arm, her sweaty hand twitching in anxiety.

A dull sound comes from below as Cato hits the ground. Seconds later, the mutations are upon him, pulling him apart, tearing him to shreds. I shield Katniss's eyes from the horror down below and try to look away as I see a mutt take out Cato's arm, ripping it effortlessly from the body. He cries out in pain, a cry full of agony that almost makes me feel sorry for him, before he takes out a knife and begins stabbing the mutations with his one remaining hand.

He puts up a good fight as they move further and further away from us. Soon, the fight is out of sight, but I can still hear the chilling noises- the growling of the mutts and the cries of pain.

In the distance, I can still hear his unearthly moans, a sound of fear and terror that chills me to the bone. Occasionally, shrieks pierce the air, sounding like claws scratching across a chalkboard. Each time, this happens, I shudder. The shrieks make my hair stand on end, scaring me far more than Cato's pitiful cries because they seem so unhuman, and instinctively, I know they are coming from the mutations.

It must have been an hour already since Cato fell to the ground, but Katniss and I don't move, paralyzed by shock. Somewhere in my mind, I register that my leg is bleeding profusely, but I am too scared to care. All the events of the past few hours have finally caught up to me and the shock is finally rolling in on me, crashing down in waves.

The wind blows furiously and I pull my clothes in around me to keep in the heat. A few hours ago, it seemed so hot, but now that the sun has completely gone down, the temperature has dropped tens of degrees.

Cato's cries have gotten softer and softer now, as if he has finally given up. I pray for his death to end his suffering and so Katniss and I can finally go home. However, the cannon signalling the end of the game never sounds, even as the night gets colder and colder.

The anthem plays, a mournful funeral dirge that seems to sing of death and sorrow. Cato's picture is still not in the air. Although he is not dead yet, he has stopped crying, and I wonder what has happened to him.