The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Seventeen.

Rewritten 03.27.2023

The thoughts running through my head as Plutarch's words echo through my brain have my mind spinning. The Careers food supply is blown up, which my mind is oddly seeing as a metaphor for the brewing rebellion. It's complicated, trying to sort out my feelings when I have to make a choice between two very important things. My very strong, extremely intense feelings for Cato, and my need to be free, my want to make my own decisions and not be used. I can't sacrifice Cato for my own freedom, can I?

If I really do think I have a future with Cato, could I really sacrifice his life for this? Cato and I, we're two separate people with very different beliefs. I hate Panem, I hate the President, I hate the Hunger Games. Cato loves his country, and he sees this as an absolute honor. Would he ever forgive me if I even turned my back on the country he loves so much?

Cato is capable of murder, I've seen that first hand. As am I, of course, I sure murdered enough people in my lifetime. The difference is I've changed, I've seen the harm that I have caused, and I cannot ever forgive myself for being a Capitol robot.

Still reeling from the conversation with Plutarch, I focus on the television, watching the two tributes in question. Cato Hadley, who sees the ruins of the only supplies he had, acting in anger and snapping the neck of the District Three boy with his bare hands. Then there's Katniss Everdeen, smirking at what she had just done, knowing she just gave everyone else a fair shot against the Careers.

The cannon sounds to signify the District Three boy's death, Clove and Marvel trying to calm Cato down. They point at the sky, telling him that whoever set off the explosion is more than likely dead, and he'll see who it was tonight. The three then walk over to the lake, waiting for the hovercraft to take the Three boy's body.

It's not long until the sun sets, the Capitol anthem like thunder clapping against the sky. The seal is shown, followed by the portraits of the District Three boy and the District Ten boy. After the portraits disappear and the Capitol anthem begins playing again, the Games cut out  and clips of the two dead tributes deaths are played. They don't play this in the arena, saying that it's an unfair advantage for tributes. I see a replay of Cato killing the District Three boy, and another of Clove killing the Ten boy earlier in the day.

The camera then switches back to Cato, nostrils flaring and jaw clenched. He's figured it out, he knows that the bomber is still alive - and I'm sure he knows exactly who it is. "We're going hunting," he snarls, sliding his night vision glasses over his eyes. Clove follows suit, with Marvel right behind her, both of them aware of the danger Cato radiates at this moment. Marvel lights a tree branch as a makeshift torch, illuminating their path through the arena as they stalk through the woods, like hunters chasing their prey.

Katniss stays where she is, hidden in a bush near the opening of the arena, only about seventy-five feet from the blast. She's smart, she knows Cato and the rest of the Careers would expect the culprit that caused the explosion to run. They wouldn't expect her to be right there.

I sigh, the wave of anxiety freeing me as Cato's safety is guaranteed. I have zero idea what I want to do with this plan; I can't betray Cato, but do I really want to keep living this life?

I think of the remaining survivors in the arena; Marvel, Cato, Clove, Katniss, Peeta, Rue, Thresh, and the District Five girl. Eight final tributes, all the way down from twenty-four. The top eight means that there will be a special feature on every tribute, interviewing each family and members of the district. District Twelve hasn't had a tribute in the top eight in years, and now they have two. At least I know for sure that district is celebrating.

The next morning is when Marvel's special feature airs. Sitting in the City Circle, I learn a few things about him, more than I'd like to know. He's an only child, with parents that are absolutely Capitol brainwashed and proud that their son volunteered and has made it this far. They talk about his life, the fact that his dad was a hunter, and he comes from one of the wealthiest families in District One.

Next is Clove's feature, and she's also an only child. Her parents look incredibly out of it, almost comparable to the Morphling addicts of District Six. I don't know a lot about Clove's life, other than the fact that she felt the need to volunteer. Cato said a few things here and there, like that she didn't get along with her parents - and I see why. They don't have much good to say about their daughter.

Cato's feature is next. They interview his father, Marcus, and his little sister Aurelia. Aurelia is only ten, and from what Cato had said, he loves his little sister more than anything. I don't see a mother though, which causes me to believe that I might not know enough about Cato Hadley. His sister doesn't say much, his dad doesn't give him the chance. Marcus goes on and on about how he's the reason Cato made it to top eight, how the only reason Cato has made it this far is because of his father.

The District Five girl's name is Fynch. We meet her parents and older brother, and I learn she's only fourteen.

Then, we meet Rue's family. Her parents, and five little siblings. They seem terrified for Rue, but also holding onto hope that their twelve year old daughter will make it out of the arena alive. I like her family, and I'm hoping somehow, someway, they find peace.

Thresh's older sister and grandmother are introduced. District Eleven's Peacekeepers are known to be brutal, evil even, so as soon as his grandmother mentions that she raised him, I wouldn't rule out the idea that at some point along the line his parents were murdered.

In District Twelve, we see the girl Katniss volunteered for. Primrose Everdeen, her twelve year old sister. We also meet her mother, who Prim resembles with blonde hair and blue eyes. My time in Twelve had been slim, but I did learn the people with lighter features were part of the merchant class. Her mother must've married someone from the poor part of Twelve, resulting in Katniss' half-starving body and need to put her name in multiple times for tesserae.

Then we meet Peeta's family, a baker for a father and his mother, as well as two brothers. His father seems sweet, but I don't think I would ever get along with his mother. His eldest brother is mentioned as being twenty, too old for the Games, but the middle brother is eighteen. I wonder if Peeta stood there after his name was called, waiting for his brother to volunteer for him like Katniss did for her sister.

After the District features, the television goes back to the Games, starting with a high pitch scream in the woods. "Katniss!" The voice yells, only one person being able to sound like that. Rue. I hope it's a trap, that maybe Clove could do some pretty decent impersonations. I hope Cato wouldn't be so heartless to kill someone so young, so close in age to his little sister. Maybe the Careers are the cause of the scream, waiting, laughing, and ready to kill Katniss.

My heart breaks as Katniss enters a small meadow, revealing Rue hopelessly trapped in a mesh net. The camera does not show who trapped her there, simply following the line of a spear as it enters Rue's body. This is harder than the rest of the deaths, and I'm wondering if that's because I had just seen the hopeful looks on Rue's family's faces.

I hear the whooshing of an arrow, silently praying that the person shot isn't Cato. My hopes are granted as Marvel's face is shown, an arrow in his neck. The cannon sounds, revealing his immediate death as Katniss kneels down next to Rue. Rue won't survive this, but at least Katniss can say goodbye.

That's almost six left, the Games are coming to an end.