Gale: A Hunger Games Story

The Mutts

I'm literally on the edge of my seat.

Of all the gripping moments in the Hunger Games, the fire, the injuries, the tracker jackers, the backpacks, this by far is the most dangerous.

It's all or nothing now.

Cato, brutal and ruthless Career tribute, born and raised to kill, is up against Katniss and Peeta, two peasants from a poverty-ridden village with no experience.

But it's two against one.

This is where it ends.

Either my true love will die, or she will come home to me. But either way, in hours, minutes maybe, the Games will be over.

Wildest dream or worst nightmare.

Katniss and Peeta walk through the woods. Katniss moves soundlessly, but Peeta crunches leaves and twigs. I can even hear him breath, ragged and sharp through my television.

The next moments are a blur of motion that my tired eyes can barely keep up with. I hear Katniss speak, Cato responding, words floating through my head but not registering. There's movement, bodies heaving, and Peeta cries out.

And then the mutts are there.

They are wolflike creatures, with slender canine bodies. But each one is unique, hair ranging from light blonde to red to jet black. I watch them slink in my dreamlike state, thinking of how they remind me of some people, and that maybe I've fallen asleep because they look exactly like...

The dead tributes.

This snaps me back to reality. There's Glimmer, polished and grinning, blond fur slicked back stylishly. And there's the Fox Girl: slender and smooth, red fur and beady eyes. And there's Rue. Curly black fur, the smallest in the pack. She snarls and lunges at Katniss.

This is her weakness. Katniss can handle a fire, a storm, combat, no problem. It's her emotions that are easily bruised. These muttations have damaged Katniss far more than any other obstacle has. It's one thing to fight to survive, but quite another to kill others. I know Katniss hates that all these people have died so she could stand alive. To have the wolves imitate those she has lost is a powerful weapon. She can't kill any of these tributes again.

Peeta tries to calm her down, but the mutts are approaching, circling in from all sides. There's nowhere to go but up. They scale the golden Cornucopia. The wolves try to follow, but their claws can't get a purchase on the smooth metal. The Gamemakers are wicked. Those wolves aren't going make the final kill. The tributes are. Now Cato, Katniss, and Peeta are stuck, armed, on a slippery platform surrounded by vicious animals. This is the most gripping Hunger Games yet!

I slip back into dream state as they stand, looking at each other. No, I think, fight it. I can't be floating in and out of consciousness at this point in the Games.

I see the cameras panning around the three teenagers, and push thoughts of the transmission time out of my head.

The next thing I know, Peeta is suffocating in Cato's grasp. Katniss knows if she shoots Cato, Peeta will go down with him. If she doesn't do anything, Peeta will die of suffocation. Either way, Peeta is going to die. Weeks ago, I would have begged her to save herself and sacrifice Peeta. But things have changed a lot, and I want Peeta to come home almost as much as I want Katniss back. I hold my breath. Then I see what Peeta is doing. He's taken the blood from the wound on his leg and is drawing on Cato's hand.

X.

Katniss understands. Before Cato can even flinch, an arrow is shot into his hand. It isn't meant to kill, but it serves its purpose. Cato lets go of Peeta's throat, and loses his balance. As he tumbles down into the swarming pack of wolves, Katniss's hand reaches out, as if to try to stop Cato from falling. Peeta grabs it tightly and pulls her close. They share a kiss atop the Cornucopia, and for a moment, everything seems all right.

Any second the trumpets will sound and a hovercraft will appear. Any second it will arrive to take Katniss home to me. She will see her family again. She will always be well fed and clothed.

I wait and wait for the fanfare. Technical glitch? Impossible. These Games are meticulously designed.

So why haven't they won yet?