Behind Those Violet Eyes ▸ Hunger Games

Chapter Thirty: Cato

Chapter Thirty:

Cato's POV

Before I have time to fully turn around to face Alia, she slashes me across the nose with her sword.

“What was that for?!?”

Tears are pooling out of her blue-grey eyes and dripping down her face.

“You killed her, Cato!” she snaps, dropping down to Astrana’s body.

“What was I s’posed to do?” I ask.

Alia doesn’t bother to look up at me when she replies, “I wanted her to live… to be one of the four victors…”

Alia then yanks a few white flowers out of the ground and braids them into Astrana’s blonde hair. She closes Astrana’s eyes and zips her DISTRICT TWELVE jacket all the way up to hide the gash in her stomach. More tears fall down onto Astrana as alia continues to weave the flowers through her hair.

The next thing Alia does shocks me. Sniffling, Alia unhooks her mother’s silver locket and puts it around Astrana’s neck. Her mother’s locket is her most prized possession… Now I feel a pang of guilt for killing Astrana. Clearly, Alia spared Astrana twice for a reason. And because of that reason, Alia could never bring herself to kill Astrana.

“Goodbye, Astrana… I’ll miss you…” she muttered under her breath.

She stood up and brushed herself off.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to say to Alia at that point. But the words, “I’m sorry!” seemed to slip out.

Alia half-smiled. “Thanks, Cato, but I really wanted her to live, you know? Me, you, Astrana, and maybe even bread boy…”

“Bread boy?” I repeated, wrinkling my nose in confusion.

“Yeah… he and Astrana loved each other. Therefore, I had some sort of respect for Peeta and hoped he and Astrana would make it out okay.”

Before I could reply, Alia sighed and said, “But everything happens for a reason, right? Even things like this.”

Suddenly, the Capitol hovercraft appeared in the sky to collect the dead tributes. One by one, they vanished into the machine, Astrana the last to go.

When I turned around to face Alia, she had a small, silver parachute in her hands… a gift from sponsors…

Alia removed the parachute to reveal a cup of warm soup with the District Twelve stamp engraved on it.

Alia, the people of District Twelve were very touched by your actions toward Astrana Mare. This is their way of thanking you. –Alexis

A smile came to Alia’s face as she said, “Thank you, District Twelve.”

She turned to me and added, “And Cato… I’m sure you’re aware that I’m mad at you for killing her… But, I’ll be okay. She’s safe now and won’t ever experience pain again.”

“And…” she continued, a slight smirk forming, “Besides you, there’s no other tributes I care about. It’s kill or be killed, Cato, and I have no intention of dying.”

I took her hand as we went back inside the cave. “So, what now? There’s sixteen of us left, and only four get to live.”

“The Gamemakers will try to end it soon. They’ll devise a plan to bring us all together, the climax of the Games. And… guess we’ve got twelve more to take down,” Alia replied.

“How s–?”

Before I could finish my question, the annoyingly loud voice of Claudius Templesmith interrupted me.

He began with the usual Congratulations to all those who remain, blah, blah, blah, Happy Hunger Games May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor,  and finally added something that caught my attention:

“There will be a Feast at sunrise. Each of you needs something desperately… and we intend to be… generous hosts… There will be a pack with your District on it at the Cornucopia filled with those things that you need. Good luck to all of you.”

Alia and I exchanged glances, both of our eyes wide with excitement.

“Told ya,” she said, smirking.

I laughed. “What d’ya think will be in our pack?”

Alia shrugged. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see. But we should get some sleep; we don’t need any of the other tributes stealing our pack.”

I nodded and gave her a quick kiss as I laid out a sleeping bag. “Well, good night, Alia. See you in the morning.”

"Good night, Cato," she said as we both fell asleep almost instantly.