The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Twenty-One.

Rewritten 03.29.2023

Snow has said numerous times that he wants me to ensure Cato's win, with sponsorships. But what I'm not understanding, is how I'm supposed to get him sponsors if Cato and Clove aren't getting any screen time. About ninety-percent of the screen time is on Katniss and Peeta, with their star-crossed lovers story making them top pick. As of right now, every single rich Capitol citizen is rooting for the two of them.

Today, there is a feast, one which will bring the tributes dangerously close to one another. Katniss had drugged Peeta, because he didn't want her to go, but he desperately needed medicine for the leg Cato had wounded. She sits in the shadows, waiting for the table of bags to appear. Also around, right behind the thicket of trees, are Fynch, Clove, and Thresh. But where is Cato?

The Gamemakers are desperate, with people getting bored of the lasting games. With only six tributes left, people are getting anxious to see who will win. All of them will leave the arena with zero humanity intact, only one exception for this. Fynch, the girl from District Five, has not killed a soul. She may have to kill at least one person, to get the win, but she'll always be better than me.

I know from Haymitch that Katniss isn't in love with Peeta like she leads on, but Peeta does have a huge crush on her. "She'll never be good enough for him," is what Haymitch has said to me numerous times as we sat at the mentor table together, both drinking our lives away. Currently, the big screens in the City Circle are covered with the image of the table rising up from the ground near the Cornucopia against the backdrop of the sunset.

Four backpacks are placed neatly on the table, each labeled with a number. Two large black backpacks, labeled '2' and '11', a medium-sized green backpack labeled '5', and a small, bright orange one labeled with a '12'. I couldn't help but think that maybe the color of Katniss' bag isn't an accident, you could spot that color a mile away. Cato wouldn't miss an opportunity like this, one that would completely give him his in to kill the one person he views as his main opponent. Cato still believes the game is an honor, which is why I'm unwilling to let myself love him. This is as far from an honor as one may ever get. Where is he?

Without wasting a second, Fynch sprints across the clearing, grabs her backpack, and exits into the woods. Nobody goes after her, worried about their own supplies. I watch as Katniss debates on shooting her for a split second before deciding against it. Fynch isn't a threat to any of them, at least not right now.

Following her lead, Katniss runs into the clearing, securing the bright orange bag with her district number on it. A knife flys at her, getting her above her eyebrow, the blood streaming down her face. I never really paid too much attention to Clove's skills with a knife, until now. She really is the best, just as she said in her interview. With Katniss distracted by the blood blurring her vision, Clove attacks her, pinning her to the hardened ground.

Clove is light in weight, but she is absolutely better fed than Katniss ever was. "Where's your boyfriend now, District Twelve? Still hanging on?" Clove knows her name, I know that for a fact, and her lack of using that name is to assert her dominance. Clove Kentwell is sadistic, and she wholeheartedly believes that she is better than her District Twelve counterpart.

"He's out there hunting Cato," the Capitol folk gasp as Katniss snarls back at her, surprised that she's holding her ground against one of the most feared tributes. "Peeta!" She calls out his name, but it's all a show for Clove. Everyone watching knows that Peeta isn't coming, not only is he drugged and knocked out, but even if he was conscious he wouldn't have the capability.

Clove throat punches Katniss, but looks around quickly to ensure that it was a bluff. She grins, looking down at the tribute beneath her. Brutus is going to be mad he missed this, with his insistence on not going to bed until dawn. He likes to watch the nighttime Games, because that's usually when Cato and Clove are hunting.