The Hunger Games: Peeta's POV

Chapter Twenty Five

UPDATE: Hey guys!!! This ones much longer I apologize they have been very short lately! Comment, vote, and follow! 💗
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Peeta's POV-
Screams. Horrible screams of a boy. Cato's scream. What have they created? My question is soon answered. A beast, no not a beast, a mutt, comes sprinting in our direction. My first instinct is to run, but Katniss is quick and shoots the beast and then we start running through the trees which glisten under the light of the moon.

More are chasing us as we make our way through the forrest. We both know where they want us to go. The cornucopia.

My lungs burn as I breath heavily into the air and my leg is beginning to ache severely. It's in view. The cornucopia is twenty feet away. 10 feet...5 feet...Katniss leaps up on to the horn for safety and I follow but I'm held back. Something sinks it's teeth into my flesh and I can feel blood oozing down my bad leg. It's a wolf mutt.

Katniss grabs hold of both of my hands and pulls me with as much strength as she has. I quickly regain my balance and we both look down at the man-eating wild mutts below us, wanting so badly to sink it's teeth into our sweating flesh.

A faint gasp. Katniss' gasp. And before I have time to turn around, a fist is in my face. A surge of brief pain goes through me as I turn around to find Cato, covered in blood probably from the mutts.

Katniss regains her balance and crawls away, but Cato has gotten to both of us. He punches Katniss and I try to tackle him, but he pushes me back. I hit my back on the medal and get a glimpse of Cato's bloody face. I've never seen him so injured. He stares down at both of us and then goes for Katniss, pushing her to the edge of the cornucopia. Strangling her to death.

I lie on the ground trying to regain my strength.

No! I need to do this! We can do this together!

I rush over to Cato and grab him by the stomach. I throw him down on to the hard medal of the cornucopia, hoping that will stun him for a few moments, but it doesn't.

He tackles me and I manage to squirm away and get up, but it's to late. He's gotten hold of me. And Katniss has her bow loaded at the two of us. She has to shoot us both to go home.

He holds me so tightly, that my face is quickly turning into a dark shade of purple. I'm struggling to get free from his grasp, but it's no use. I'm as good as dead.

"Go on." He says with a pool of blood dripping down his lips. "Shoot. And we both go down and you win." He's almost crying now, but it can't be for the show. When your staring in the eyes of death, there's no way it's fake. He wants to live. "Go on. I'm dead anyway!" He's really crying now, I think Katniss is considering putting down her bow. "I always wanted it, right? I didn't-I didn't know that till now! How is that?! Is that what they want?! Huh?!" He shouts looking at the darkened sky. With this Katniss raises her bow again, to get herself back on track. "Huh!" "No! No! No!" I plead as his grip tightens around my throat. Anytime now I'll drop to the floor. "I can still do this! I can still do this. One more kill. I steady my breathing. One of my hands are free. And I use it to point at his hand. She can do it. She's the best shooter, better than Glimmer. "It's the only thing I know how to do. Bring pride to my district!" Katniss is aiming. "Not that it matters."

Fire!

The arrow shoots straight through his hand and he screams out of pain. I shove him to the ground, full of mutts, who are begging for flesh. Who are begging for death and then, he screams. His last words were, "Please!" And Katniss loads her arrow and lets it fly into his chest.

The sky lightens and with this we slide down the cornucopia and wait. And wait. But nothing comes. There's one more arrow in Katniss' quiver. Of course!

"Attention, attention tributes, there has been a slight rule change. The previous revision, allowing two tributes from the same district has been, revoked. Only one victor may be crowned. Good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor.

This one last phrase echoes in my head. The odds are not in my favor today.

We both turn to each other, rather slowly and I look down at her loaded bow. "Go ahead." I say. "Shoot. One of us should go home. One of us has to die, they have to have their victor." Katniss looks down at her loaded bow and shakes her head. She sets down her bow "No, they don't." She's inches from my face. "Why should they?" She pulls out the poisonous berries, nightlock. She going to die for me!

No!

"No!" I scream to her as I put my hands over the berries. "Trust me." She whispers. "Trust me."

I let go of her hands and she pours the berries into my hands. I look up at her and there's a long silence. "Together?" I ask. She gives a slight nod. "Together." "Okay. One." I look around the arena, my last glimpses of the world. "Two." Katniss says and before I can stop myself I touch her braid and and stroke it with my hand lightly. She looks down at my hand and then looks back up at me. "Three." This is it.

We raise the berries to our lips until a voice cries out, "Stop!" It yells. "Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games." We slowly look back at each other and finally process what is happening. We can both go home. Together.