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“Cato!”
“Clove!” I scream. I shouldn’t have let her go by herself. I shouldn’t have let her take Twelve.
I crash through the underbrush of this man-made hell, rushing into the clearing and dropping to my knees at her side.
”Clove, what happened? Stay with me, please stay with me.”
”Eleven. He had a rock,” she gasps out.
I hang my head in despair.
"Cato, don't worry. It wasn't a hard hit." The bleeding girl smiles at me and glances in the direction of her wound. "I love tomatoes. Don't you remember?"
I frown, confused. She hates tomatoes. She licked a bit of blood off of her lip.
"Remember spaghetti night at your house? I loved the sauce your mother made."
I gasp in shock. She didn't... "Did you-"
"Ah!" she screams and writhes in what I now know is fake agony.
Fine, I'll shut up, I think.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6pA1yswSS
"Cato, Love, I won't make it out alive, but I have to do the thing, alright? Watch the hovercraft, and know I'm okay. Win for me, or else do the thing. Please, my darling."
I nod, forcing tears down my cheeks, when all I want to do is run around the arena rejoicing.
"I love you, Cato,"
"I love you, Clove, please, stay with me!"
She gives one last scream before her eyes glaze over and the infernal cannon blasts through the arena. I lean over and kiss the blood-stained lips, sliding a piece of bread into her pocket as I do. I stand up, licking the tomato sauce blood off of my lips, and turn, fleeing into the cover of the trees. As soon as I reach the first tree, I turn and watch the hovercraft lift my Clove to what I hope is safety.
Steeling myself for the hard fight ahead, I run into the field after Eleven.
He's dead. He's finally dead. Eleven is dead. So is Five. I don't remember who, if anyone, is left besides the kids from Twelve. 238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqtt7wlgo9
Of course, the mutts that killed Eleven are now hot on my tail. I killed one with my spear, and a few with my sword before both weapons had to be left behind so I could speed up my flight.
The doglike creatures dash through the forest after me, steering me in the direction of the Cornucopia. I see the kids from Twelve, and the girl shoots an arrow straight at me. It bounces off of my body armor, and that is the exact moment the mutts come into view for them. The girl turns and runs, totally forgetting about Lover Boy. If I wasn't asphyxiating, I would laugh. When the chips are down, she turns tail and leaves him behind.
Okay, now is maybe not the time to be laughing at her shortcomings.
I reach the base of the Cornucopia and haul myself up. Twelve finally realized Lover Boy was practically mutt food and shot one of the beasts. Oh, who cares about them?
I keep climbing, desperate to reach the top. By the time I reach it, I'm purple with lack of oxygen. I heave and gag at the edge of the Cornucopia.
I can see Twelve loading an arrow, aiming at me, but Lover Boy yells and she turns on the mutts. I lay panting for a few more minutes while the Twelves battle the mutts. When I've finally regained my breath, I creep to where the Twelves are fighting. In one quick move, I grab Lover Boy and put him in a choke hold. Twelve gasps and, as she notches an arrow, I can see she can't tell I have a face guard. I play along willingly, knowing I'm too weak to take them on any other way.
So I laugh.
"Shoot me and he goes down with me!"
She knows I'm right.
Lover Boy's finger brushes my unprotected hand.
Oh no...
The arrow hits my hand before I can blink. The pain is blinding, and I'm sent reeling over the edge.
The mutts are on me instantly. My blood is everywhere, and pieces of my body are being eaten before I can even notice the pain. I fight them off as best I can, but every step I take signals yet another mutt to rip off a piece of my flesh. At some point, I don't even know when, I'm dragged into the Cornucopia and the monsters continue to feed off of me.
I moan, my pain immeasurable. Twelve hangs over the edge, bow and arrow ready to fly. I moan "Please". I can still make my plan work. The arrow hits, ricocheting off of my facial armor. The arrow hits, and that is the exact moment I make my heart stop.
The next thing I know, doctors in white coats are bent over my raw body, or what's left of it. Clove is standing in a doorway, knives in hand.
"Clove," I whisper, blood burbling up through my lips.
"Cato!" she cries, rushing to my side. "Darling, you'll be okay. The plan worked. The people on this hovercraft weren't expecting a live tribute and I have them all under my control. I got doctors on here. They're fixing you up, and we're headed for Alaska, if it's still there."
"It hurts, oh, Clove, it hurts, IT HURTS!" I scream, the pain searing through my body.
"Cato, stay with me," she whispers. "You will be okay."
Tears stream down my face as I murmur, "As long as I have my Lucky Clover, I'll be okay."
Clove's smile is the last thing I see before I slip back into unconsciousness.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
