The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Sixteen.

Rewritten 03.26.2023

My life is completely and irrevocably boring, always has been, but the time of the year where The Hunger Games is the entertainment always hits the worst. Usually, when I'm back home in District Two, I spend my days drowning myself in alcohol to the point where my housekeeper has to peel me off the bathroom floor and throw me into the bath.

Alcoholism hadn't been something I wanted when I left the arena my own year. In fact, I was extremely happy, I held the title of Victor of the 72nd Hunger Games, I had all the fame and fortune I could possibly want. It wasn't until I got home, the key in the lock of my new house in Victor's Village, that I opened the door to President Snow telling me exactly what he expected from me. Then he told me the consequences of not doing what he had asked me to. That's when I realized that nobody truly wins The Hunger Games. I was fourteen, I was a child. Now that I'm sixteen, I'm still a child, but he made sure that I grew up very quick.

The first time he sold me, the person who bought me gave me three hundred dollars for my troubles. Now really, what was three hundred dollars compared to the lifetime of wealth that I had just won? When I got to District Four on my Victory Tour, Finnick picked me out of the crowd. He asked me point blank, if it was happening to me too. I don't know if it was the whiskey that influenced my decision to tell him it was, I don't know if it's how I looked, absolutely wasting away from the lack of food and abundance of alcohol. He already knew the answer before I even opened my mouth.

From there, my friendship with Finnick developed, and he told me the secret. Get them to pay you with secrets, because one day the Capitol will be overthrown. When it came time for my first mentorship, Finnick was who I turned to for advice, not Brutus. I did what he said, consistently asking to be paid in secrets. Gathering information, obtaining knowledge, preparing myself for it all. Finnick always said a rebellion is coming eventually, and we want to be as equipped as possible.

As time progressed, my drinking got worse. I couldn't function without alcohol in my system, I couldn't get through the days without being drunk. I've become exceptionally well at hiding it, though.

Nothing exciting has really happened in the Games, and I know the Capitol folk are getting anxious. I'm getting anxious as well. Sponsorships are sealed, and nobody is really looking for any more. We're in the final ten now, with the numbers dwindling down. It's almost over, it's almost time for Cato and I to go home. All that's left is Marvel, Cato, Clove, the boy from District Three, the girl from District Five, the boy from District Ten, Thresh, Rue, Peeta, and Katniss.

Last night, Cato had slashed Peeta's leg pretty badly, no telling how long until he's going to bleed out. That will make it nine. The cameras flash to Peeta every once in awhile, camouflaged extremely well on a riverbank. Rue and Katniss have teamed up, and they both have an elaborate plan to destroy the Careers' food. If they succeed at that, it should be an easy win for someone who isn't a Career. The Career districts don't know how to be hungry, at least not like districts Eleven and Twelve do.

Typically, the Careers stock up on food directly after the bloodbath, and they just sit on that until one of them wins. The years where the Careers didn't have a food supply, like when a Gamemaker's flood washed it away or a pack of reptiles destroyed it, are the years where the poorer districts pulled through on a win.

A knock at my door sounds as a cannon goes off during the Game, and I turn off the television. "Come in," I announce, assuming it to just be Brutus. To my surprise, Plutarch Heavensbee walks into my bedroom. "Oh, hello," I'm hoping he isn't here for services, because I'm not in the mood to unwillingly have sex with someone. He paid Snow to talk to me last time, I don't think I'll ever get that lucky again.

"Marblyn Rivers," he greets, shutting the door behind him. "Just the person I wanted to see. I have more information for you, about what we talked about last time."

"Why are you just telling me this for free?" I question, curious as to why this Capitol man is so hellbent on telling me rebellion plans.

"Because I figure with all you go through, you'd want to be the first to know," for some reason, I feel as though that I can trust him. It's a very rare feeling when it comes to me, as I trust nobody. "I'm sure you've noticed that Katniss Everdeen has caught quite a bit of attention."

I look around my room, wondering if it's bugged by Snow or if it's safe to talk in. "Should we really be talking about this here?"

"I paid extra to have the surveillance turned off," the man simply shrugs, confident that they met his wishes. "Under the guise of knowledge of indulging in a Victor being bad for my reputation. We're safe."

"Okay," I sigh, looking up at the man. "What about Katniss Everdeen."

"She's become a symbol," he sits in a chair in the corner of the room, gesturing for me to sit beside him. I do as I'm asked, intrigued as to where this story is going to go. "The districts look up to her, volunteering as a symbol of the rebellion. I believe we can get them to look up to you, as well."

I shake my head, rejecting the idea. "I'm one of the most murderous Victors the arena has ever seen, I killed a dozen tributes myself. I had to drink myself into practically a coma before I could face the people of the districts on my Victory Tour."

"And why is that, Ms. Rivers?" I don't answer his question, knowing he's going to continue anyway. "Because you were ashamed? It was clear in your face, the regret in your eyes as you had to see everyone's family. They saw first hand how The Hunger Games changed you, how it affected you. You enforce the idea that The Hunger Games has no winner."

"But how could they see that from my Victory Tour?"

"Not just your Victory Tour, Marblyn. They saw the hope on your face as you tried your hardest to bring your tributes home last year, they knew it meant more than you just wanting the district win. Everybody sees it, in every district. I'm beginning to believe President Snow sees it as well, in you and Katniss."

"He pays me visits sometimes," I swallow hard, disbelieving that I'm actually about to trust a stranger. "Last time I was told I had to make sure Cato won, or I face the consequences."

"I'm not sure if we could ensure Cato's win, Marblyn. We need Katniss Everdeen to come out of that arena alive." His words sting, making me feel like I'm on a chessboard, a pawn in both Snow's and his game.

"I won't do anything without Cato," I shake my head, not willing to betray the only person who has been getting me through life lately.

"I didn't say Cato had to die, Marblyn. I said he can't win."

"How can he make it out of that arena without winning?" The confusion hits me like a brick, thoughts running through my mind of what the plan could possibly be. I'm more confused now then I was before Plutarch gave me all of this information.

"You have to let the plan unfold, Marblyn Rivers. Have a good day," with that, the man leaves me alone in my bedroom, just as my television turns on by itself to show me Katniss' arrow spilling apples onto the landmines, blowing up all of the Careers food. Maybe Plutarch is right; she's become quite the symbol.