Written from the view of the District Three male.
***
The moment I saw them being reaped I knew there was something wrong with them. Always from District 2 the biggest, strongest tributes volunteered. Sometimes the most unstable. I watched during the Tribute Parade how they came out soaking in the applause dressed as fierce gladiators but were quickly angered once the crowd noticed District 12 for the first time in years. Their tempers were short and it took their mentors ten minutes to talk them down from attacking the others. On the first day of training, I saw the girl, Clove hit the bullseye of every target she aimed for. And the boy, Cato skewer a dummy straight through the heart with a spear from close to fifteen yards away. District 2 was a force to be reckoned with. I noticed the attention Cato gave to the District 1 girl. Yet that despite how close he and her got, even if they were side by side, skin touching, him and Clove were closer than ever.
The Interviews showed their sickness. Cato walked out and took the view of a beast, a killing machine that would not be stopped. His hunger for the blood of every other person in the room was evident, and the crowd ate it up. He was willing to kill anyone for the crown, except for her. Clove found a way to be sweet, but at the same time sadistic. She claimed that in a few weeks, she'd be right in that same exact spot, being crowned victor of the 74th Hunger Games. But for them, honor and glory only went so far, and that being crowned meant going home alone. Something unimaginable for them. They didn't seem to know it yet, but if it came down to the two of them, they wouldn't be able to kill one another.
***
I almost made it out of the blood bath alive without meeting the Careers once. If only I had run just a little faster. It was Clove who caught me. She was about to slit my throat when I found the courage to speak. Even that wasn't enough for her and Cato. She still wanted to carve and slice my body to pieces. If it wasn't for Peeta and the District 1 pair, I'd have been dead sooner. They let me do my work in peace and was only bothered once by Clove to warn me about my death if I betrayed them. I wasn't about to, but like I said before she and Cato had some problems. During the night I heard Cato mumble for Clove a few times, but she was on the opposite side of the campsite away from him and Glimmer. Maybe it wasn't evident to anyone else but she was hurting inside. In her sick mind she was probably imagining cutting Glimmer open until the grass ran red with her blood. That was exactly the type of fantasies Clove had. But I lived, and wasn't causing problems for them. Until I was told to guard the supplies.
Hunting, that's what they called it, hunting. One of the most inhumane things that I had ever heard in my life. I stayed by the Cornucopia that night feasting on the food without having Clove or Cato breathe down my neck. I had been given a small, but powerful spear. A weapon I had never weld and didn't know how to use. It was a stupid move on their part, thinking that I could protect the supplies. But they believed the bombs would protect them, and as long as they believed that, I was safe.
And I did make it through the night. Without any complications too. It wasn't until the morning that everything went sour. I heard them coming a mile away, they were so loud every tribute in the arena probably heard them. I heard Cato shouting and screams. Cato was yelling for Clove to run rather than the District One girl and I could only assume they were being chased by something that wasn't another tribute. Just as I though, Clove came out first followed closely by Cato and Marvel. They ran straight past the camp without another look and dove right into the lake. I didn't understand at first until I felt a sting on my arm and another on my leg. I screamed in fear and was running around until I understood they dove in the lake to escape these bees. Following pursuit I jumped in and flailed around for a bit until I could touch the ground again.
"Peeta." Cato growled and got out of the lake stalking towards the forest. Clove was all ready rummaging through the pile looking for something useful. She threw a bottle of pills at Marvel who was sitting on the ground in pain. She beckoned me over and roughly pulled out the stingers while I yelped in pain.
"Oh suck it up. It's just a sting." Clove said harshly.
I didn't answer her. All I needed was an angry Clove which would mean an equally angry Cato.
"Where's your partner and Peeta?" I asked Marvel.
"Dead." he replied with a trace of emotion, "and Peeta's about to die."
I gulped and went back to my mindless task.
***
They continued to hunt even with the loss of the District One girl and Peeta. They continued to kill even in their slightly weakened state and couldn't believe their luck when they spotted a fire in the broad daylight. I shook my head silently praying for the unfortunate, but stupid tribute who decided to light that fire. They'd soon be gone. Cato called Clove and Marvel over and they set out immediately. I didn't think anything of it until I heard something tumble down behind me. Behind me where the supplies are. I watch in horror as several apples fall down the pile and in slow motion they hit the ground and the next thing I know I'm flying backwards.
I'm dreading the moment they return and have the thought to run but running wouldn't make a difference. They'd chase me down and kill me brutally so I stay and wait kicking around some stray rubble making sure all the bombs have been activated. I have done my job too well and caused my own destruction in the process. I see them run out from the forest the anger evident on their face. Cato is the worst, he yells and kicks at the burnt, smoldering crates while Clove and Marvel pick their way through the ruins. Cato has a sudden realization and instead turns on me. I know at that moment I should've run earlier and I try to run now but I get about two steps before I feel him grab me around the neck and then nothing but darkness. I can't say they weren't committed to their cause but now I know that wasn't the only thing. They were committed to each other and I saw that from start to end. Nobody mattered in that arena except the two of them. And I'm sorry I was involved because maybe I would've made it out alive.
