The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Rewritten 03.29.2023

Whoever comes out of the arena, whether it be Cato or one of the other four tributes, isn't going to come out the same. Still reeling with questions about my lineage and what place I hold in the Rebellion, I focus on the Hunger Games, anxiety rushing through me as we make it to almost the end. Whoever wins, they'll probably develop some sort of a bad habit. Like the District Six Morphlings, or the three alcoholics; Haymitch, District Eleven's Chaff, and me.

In the Hunger Games, you eventually end up numb to everything around you. Snow hasn't sent a client to me in days, which ironically has me on edge. He wouldn't want to waste money like that, he has something planned. Usually, I let Brutus handle the sponsorship deals I don't unwillingly have sex for. He certainly doesn't have an issue with that, he loves anything and everything that has to do with The Hunger Games.

I decide to watch as the storms pour down on the remaining tributes, a desperate Gamemaker attempt to drive them together. Katniss and Peeta are hidden in a cave, Peeta's healing successful after Katniss succeeded in getting the medicine for his blood poisoned leg. I hear them make plans of going hunting, Katniss' secret truly out of the bag now. Everybody watching knows Katniss is one of the illegal hunters of District Twelve, and I wonder if she's going to face the consequences of that.

With very few tributes left, it's likely that the Gamemakers are planning some natural disaster to speed things along. In the 70th Hunger Games, the one Annie Cresta of District Four won, there was a flood that killed so many tributes. Annie was the only one who could swim, so it made a for sure win for her. I always wondered if Finnick had something to do with that... My year, the 72nd Hunger Games, they had an avalanche. Of course, we all know the main purpose of the avalanche was to take out a cannibalistic tribute named Titus, but it took out a few others as well.

The Games are as boring as ever, with Peeta gathering and Katniss hunting. Thresh is still hidden in the grain field, Cato stalks through the woods, and Fynch simply hangs around in the shadows, planning to steal their food. Stealth is the District Five girl's main source of surviving, and she's proven to be good at it.

Katniss is only about thirty meters away from Peeta, I had watched earlier as she taught him a mockingjay tune in order for them to stay in touch. She whistles, but doesn't hear back. Sprinting back to where she had last seen Peeta, where she sees the backpack. A pile of roots are piled next to it, the sheet of plastic that came in Katniss' original pack - the one she fought the District Nine male for - is covered in a single layer of berries.

"Peeta!" The panic is clear on Katniss' face as she hears a rustle behind her, and she sends an arrow in the direction of the noise. Luckily for Peeta, the arrow lands into a tree very close to his head. "What are you doing?" She exclaims at him angrily, allowing herself to relax and drop her arm to the side, pulling down her bow. "You're supposed to be here, not running around in the woods!"

With the startle, Peeta sends the handful of his berries into the foliage. "I found some berries down by the stream," he says, confusion on his face.

They fight for a moment, Katniss telling him that she whistled. Katniss mentions that she didn't want to make the same mistake as she did with Rue, having too far of a distance between the two. "And you ate without me!" Is the last part of the argument when she realizes someone took half of their goat cheese, automatically assuming that it was Peeta who did.

"What?" Peeta raises his eyebrows, looking down at what Katniss had been talking about. "I didn't eat anything."

"Oh, and I suppose the apples ate the cheese?"

"I don't know what ate the cheese," Peeta looks as if she's trying not to lose his temper at Katniss' accusations. "But, it wasn't me. I've been down by the stream, collecting berries. Would you care for some?"

The camera follows Fynch through the woods, clearly the culprit of stealing from Katniss and Peeta's stash of food. She eats a few berries, and I widen my eyes with realizations. The District Five girl falls to the ground, her eyes wide open as the Nightlock immediately takes her life.

The cannon fires, Katniss and Peeta watching as the hovercraft appears about a hundred yards away. It's Fynch, her stealth being the cause of death. But, this doesn't make sense. Cato and Clove had mentioned during training that this particular girl had a perfect score on the poisonous/edible plants station. Wouldn't she know what Nightlock is?

"We should climb," Peeta says immediately, looking up at the nearest tree. "He'll be here in a second, and we'll have a better chance of fighting him from above."

Katniss calms down, looking at Peeta with a sort of sympathy in her eyes. She holds out the handful of berries, looking at him sadly. "No, Peeta, she's not Cato's kill. She's yours." And then, there were four.