Dangerous Allies // Cato Hadley

Part 15: Unexpected Alliances

Eve's silent trudge through the woods ended at the clearing in front of the cornucopia.

Clove, Marvel, and a boy she didn't recognize were moving everything into a large pile.

"What're they doing?"

"The kid from 3 knows how to reactivate the mines so we're protecting the food." He said.

"That's stupid." She scoffed. "If it gets triggered it's all gonna blow sky high."

He shrugged. "It's more of a scare tactic."

"Right." She made up her mind that she wouldn't be sleeping anywhere near the ticking time bomb.

The second her eyes met Clove's, a knife was soaring towards her face.

"Woah!" She dodged out of the way and Clove threw another.

Eve slapped it out of the air with her spear and aimed.

Cato's hand came down on her spear and his voice echoed across the clearing. "Cut it out. Both of you."

Clove stomped over to the two. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Incase you haven't noticed, we need all the help we can get." He said.

She scoffed. "How could she possibly help us?"

With Glimmer gone, Clove was able to enjoy her time in the arena with Cato. Now this random from District Four was ruining it.

"She killed the kid from 10." His eyes moved to Eve. "And might I say it was a very fun watch."

"Is that where you got that cut on your head?" She laughed. "Getting injured by a high district is a disgrace."

In reality she got the cut from falling down a hill but she'd be damned before she admitted that to the cunning girl from 2.

"What happened with 12?" Eve cocked her head to the side. "Looks to me like you're down a player. You're in worse shape than me."

"Please." She scoffed. "I hated Glimmer."

Clove narrowed her eyes. "Saved me from having to dull a knife on her thick skull."

"What don't you hate?" The question was rhetorical, but Eve was genuinely curious if the girl ever felt a positive emotion in her life aside from the thrill that came with murder.

Clove's eyes burned with a deep hatred for the girl in front of her, but Eve wasn't blind to the way her eyes darted over to Cato. It was brief, but it was there.

Eve felt something in her chest when she noticed the slight shift in Clove's demeanor. She didn't enjoy it at all. She wanted to drive her spear into the girl's stone cold heart.

"So you're with us now?" Marvel's voice cut through the tension in the air.

"How'd you guess?" Eve asked, keeping her eyes locked on Clove.

"Funny." He held his hand out to her with a charming smile. "It'll be nice to have the help."

She shook it. It was strange. He would have seemed like a normal guy if she hadn't seen his interview where he talked about his desire to hunt children for sport.

Eve didn't look at the boy from District Three. She didn't want to have to make friends with another person destined to die.

She hoped Finch was okay. Being good at staying hidden had kept her safe, but Eve had a feeling that wasn't going to last. The Gamemakers wanted a good show and they wouldn't get it if she was hiding in the trees.

"I'll show you around." Marvel grinned down at her.

Eve's eyes drifted to Cato's. They were as guarded as ever and she didn't have the energy to decipher whether or not he was okay with her going off alone.