The Winner Takes it All

The Bloodbath

After watching 12's Girl on Fire, I got up and decided to head back to our apartment, only to be quickly intercepted by Cato.

"What'd you think of the interviews?" Cato asked with a playful glint in his eyes.

"If you're talking about yours, I've seen better," I respond, holding his gaze.

He chuckles, seemingly pleased with my response. "Fiesty, are we? I guess District 12 isn't the only one bringing the fire this year." He then proceeded to scan the other tribute's faces and then returned his gaze back to me. "See you in the arena."

Cato winks as he takes the now-empty seat next to Glimmer. Glimmer, for her part, enthusiastically welcomes his company.

'What game is Cato playing?' I think as I shrug off the strange feeling I got when he went with Glimmer.

Zale's voice snaps me out of my thoughts, "How's flirting with Cato going?"

Feigning disinterest, I glance at him, "You're an idiot. He's clearly trying to mess with my head and probably Glimmer's."

Not convinced but deciding to drop the subject, Zale nods. "Fair enough, any way; what do you think of our competition? Anyone standing out?"

"Just that girl from 12, but I'm pretty sure that Cato and Clove want to be the ones who take her out," I say truthfully, remembering her flaming dress from earlier.

We mingled with the others for a bit longer and decided to head back to our apartment. While the elevator ride was silent, like usual, I began planning my strategy for when I'd eventually have to go solo. I then realized that Clove would most likely take the knives tomorrow, leaving me with nothing to use. 'Shit, now what am I going to do?'

"Well, I have a surprise for you," Sereia says with a slight grin, standing up and opening the door for Finnick.

"Finn!" I yell as I run over and immediately hug him.

"Nice to see you too, Mar." He says before turning his attention to Sereia. "Thanks for doing this, Rei."

"My pleasure, but I also brought you because maybe you could give these two some advice," she says, ignoring the nickname.

"I guess don't trust the other tributes because the alliance between Careers only lasts as long as there are weaker tributes." He says, leaning against the wall.

"I'd also add that since you're from District 4, don't ignore potential water sources," Sereia adds.

"That's easy for you to say since BOTH of your Games had arenas with large bodies of water," Zale complains.

"Zale, they're not saying to swim. We can also, you know, drink water." I say, slamming my hand on my forehead.

"Exactly; now, if you excuse me, I must head out since you guys have a big day tomorrow," Finnick says, hugging me one last time. "Good luck."

The next day, I'm escorted to where I imagine the launch pads are. Eros greets me with a wide grin, reminding me of a creepy clown.

"First of all, green is totally your color, and second, here's your necklace," he says, putting the necklace on me.

"You think?" I say, laughing, "Where did you get this."

"From your parade costume, silly," he says, brushing my hair out of my face and tying it into a ponytail.

"I left it on there?!?" I guiltily ask.

"Yes, you were in such a hurry to go to bed. You just threw everything off and left that necklace with your crown. I would've given it to you last night, but it clashed with your dress, so I saved it for today." He confesses.

"What would I do without you, Eros?" I ask, pulling him into a hug.

"Have bad fashion sense and many split ends." He says, laughing.

"Hey!!" I whimper.

Eros and I move around to make sure my outfit doesn't bug me for the next few minutes until a voice rings out from the speaker.

"Prepare for launch."

"I'm rooting for you, kid," he said tearfully as he led me to the launch pad.

"Thanks for everything." I smile, covering the necklace under my shirt. Now, no one can grab it.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't grow to like you, kiddo. Good luck." Eros confesses, wiping his tears on his handkerchief while the launch pad begins to rise.

For the first time since I came to the Capitol, I was utterly alone, albeit for a few seconds, but now I couldn't trust anybody, not even Zale and especially not Cato. I will enjoy these few days with him and ensure Glimmer doesn't get to take him from me. Suddenly, all 24 of us are in a circle around the cornucopia surrounded by a forest, and I notice Clove on my left and the boy from 8 on my right. Great, now, I'm screwed. I hear Claudius Templesmith begin the countdown and watch faces of fear and determination all around me until I catch Cato staring at me and winking once he notices me looking back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the seventy-fourth Games begin!" Claudius announces as most of us sprint for the cornucopia.

Unsurprisingly, Cato gets to the cornucopia first and begins attacking nearby tributes. I pick up a nearby knife and notice Zale about to throw his spear at the girl from 11. Oh, hell no, you're not hurting her. Instinctively, I throw my knife directly at his calf and start running towards the cornucopia as he winces and removes the knife. The girl from 6 rushes at me with a serrated sword, and before she can react, I dropkick her and begin to brutally beat her and take her sword to slash the girl from 3's leg.

Before I can react, the boy from 8 throws an axe at my thigh and rushes toward me, only to be knocked down and killed by Marvel. Quickly removing the axe and tossing it aside, the boy from 6 throws me to the ground and raises his sword, about to kill me. I struggle and try to throw him off, regretting throwing away the axe. As if by some miracle, Cato pushes him off and slashes his stomach twice before going after other tributes. I ensure no other tributes are trying to kill me before I attempt to get back up.

Standing back up, I realize that the bloodbath is almost over, and my fellow Careers have cornered the boy from 12. d I watch Zale spear the girl from 9 and then charge at the boy from 11, only to receive a slash across the throat from his much larger opponent's crescent sword. I watch Zale's lifeless body fall to the ground as the boy runs into the forest.