promises • cato the hunger games

Eighteen

"Wake up, Penny, wake up," says Cato, shaking me.

"What?" I whisper. He'd better have a good reason for waking me up. I feel like crap.

"We can both win. They've just announced it. We can both win because we come from the same district," he gabbles. He's grinning from ear to ear.

I stare at him.

Is this for real? Maybe it's a trick. Or maybe being in the arena all this time, or being so desperate for both of us to win has turned him a bit crazy.

"We can both go home?" I say in disbelief.

"I-I guess so," says Cato. He smiles.

"Good. Can I go back to sleep now?" I ask. I'm so tired by now, I'm surprised I'm keeping my eyes open.

"Fine," he says reluctantly. "But I'm waking you up if you start looking like your dying."

"I'm already dying," I mumble, but not loud enough for him to hear.

Cato himself hasn't had much sleep since he found me, he's too scared something'll happen. He looks like a zombie right now. So do I, I suppose.

We don't have a sleeping bag or any pillows, so I rest my head on Cato's chest. He wraps his arm around me and I drift off.

My dreams are once again disturbed. I wake up half an hour later, feeling even sicker. I try to sit up, but I feel paralyzed. Everything's so painful.

"Nightmares?" asks Cato softly.

I nod weakly.

"What this time?"

"Something about running away from someone, then towards someone. Oh, and then drowning in a lake of blood."

I discover it's painful talking now.

"Nice," he says, smirking.

He sits me up and makes me drink some water, which I first refuse because it hurts too much.

"Please, Penny," he says, holding the bottle to my lips.

I shake my head.

"Do you feel too sick?"

I nod violently.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you need to drink it," he persists.

I shake my head.

"Penny, you need it."

I shake my head again.

He sighs. "Why've you got to be so stubborn? Look, you know I'll just force it down your throat."

I know it's probably not just an empty threat. I mentally sigh and slowly open my mouth.

"Thank God," Cato say to himself, and gently tips a little water down my throat. Just like I thought it would, it burns.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I nod. The room starts spinning even faster.

"Penny, are you okay?" Cato asks worriedly.

I try to nod, but black dots are climbing into my eyes.

"Penny?"

The black dots grow and grow until I'm surrounded by black.

Cato's POV

She's passed out again. I think it's my fault, I should have just let her lie still, and not have made her sit up and get a drink. I shouldn't have argued with her.

I'm suddenly faced with the urge to burst into tears, but force them not to fall. It would never do to show everyone watching that I'm weak. Not that I am.

I look at Penny, lying on the floor. She looks so fragile, and so tiny. Her cheeks are flushed and there's a sheen of sweat on her forehead and her chest. Despite this, she still looks unearthly beautiful.

I wish I could make her better, but I can't. I hate seeing her suffering like this. I know it's selfish, but I'd rather it was me who was bitten, it'd be easier than have to watch her deteriorate. We need sponsors.

I'm too busy watching Penny I don't even notice Claudius Templesmith making another announcement.

What did he say? Something about a feast tomorrow?

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about those. They usually have them when all the tributes are getting desperate. It draws everyone together for another bloodbath. They usually save it for when it's getting boring for them to watch.

But they always have the stuff you need. So they'll have Penny's medicine. The only thing is it means I'll have to leave Penny by herself, unprotected.

But if I don't go and get it for her, she'll die, and it'll be my fault. I'll have broken my promise to keep her alive. I need to go. I'll have to.

I wrap one arm around Penny and hold my sword with the other, just in case, and making sure I'm lying in the most uncomfortable position, so I don't sleep too heavily. I need to get there before anyone else does, so they can't take her medicine out of spite. You never know, it could be a good opportunity to take out some tributes too.

thank you so much for the 1000 reads and 100 votes! I know that doesn't seem that much compared to some writers but it really means a lot to me Xx