Rise From the Ashes

Chapter Sixteen

I slowly feed Cato the broth, he's lost his appetite so I have to coax and kiss my way through the bowl. I also manage to coax the bread into him. He needs the medicine. I need to get the medicine. But first I need him to get knocked out for long enough to get it. I stand and walk out of the cave.

"Come on Haymitch give me some help." I mutter. A parachute floats down and I open it eagerly. Inside is a vial and a Rose. No one knows he's my grandfather. I open the vial and sniff it. It smells like sleep syrup. I touch a little to my tongue and shudder. Mrs Everdeen has dosed me with enough when I wasn't sleeping after my parents died. This much would be enough to knock him out for a day. I spot some berries I know are safe to eat and carefully strip a bush. I use the pot and mash them up adding the syrup. I walk back into the cave and shake Cato awake. "Look what I found." I say.

"They're really sweet." He mumbles while I feed him the berries.

"Yes we use them to make jam back in Twelve." I say.

"They're like syrup." Cato says. He's almost done with them so he's already eaten enough. His eyes fill with realization and I clamp my hand down so he can't spit them out. He's fading fast but his eyes look betrayed. I let go of my hand as he goes limp. He's still breathing and I smile.

"See you later." I mutter. I strip him of his jacket and slip it on. He's not going to need it with his fever and in his sleeping bag. I slip it on and zip it up adding on Rues gloves over my hands. I pick up my bow and leave the cave readjusting so he's safe if I don't return. I hurry to the cornucopia and hide in the same spot where I blew up the food. The gamemakers must be making it so cold. I rub my hands together and bite my lip. It's going to be a long night.

Dawn is slowly coming. Where is the feast? As the first rays of sunshine hit the cornucopia, the ground shakes and a table rises from a split in the ground. The girl from five runs out immediately and grabs her bag running away. I should've done that. I'm cursing her as I realize I have to be next. My bag is larger than I expected but then again Gale is still alive. I leave my hiding spot and start running. I hear a knife whizzing towards me and I raise my bow deflecting it. I pull back an arrow and quickly shoot it at Clove. She turns just in time to miss being fatally shot. It punctures her upper arm but unfortunately for me she throws with her left. I grab my bag and swing it over my quiver. I make it around the cornucopia just in time to have a knife fly across my forehead. Blood pours down into my eye and I can just make out Gales shape. I pull out my knife just in time for him to launch himself on it.

He gasps for a few seconds and then falls limp on me. His canon goes off and I gasp. Gale is truly gone and I killed him. His blood is pouring over me and I squeeze my mouth shut as it coats my face. I can't move him. Suddenly he's lifted off of me and Clove is standing above me. I scramble away.

"Is Cato okay?" She asks. I shake my head.

"He's got a bad infection. He needs the medicine in the bag." I say. She nods.

"Take care of him." She says grabbing her bag and running away. I stand and grab my bag again. I carefully take out the rose and set it on Gales chest. It also got a coating of his blood. I press my fingers against my mouth and hold them out.

"Goodbye Gale. I'll take care of your family." I whisper. I take off again. I run back towards the stream and crash into it. It takes everything in me not to throw myself into the stream to get Gales blood off. But if I pause I might not make it back. I run to the cave and carefully apply the paste to Cato's wound before the blood loss over takes me and I black out.

"Ash!" A voice wakes me up from my slumber. I blink. The world is kind of blurry. "Thank god! I woke up and you were in a pool of your blood."

"Yeah Clove got me across the forehead." I mumble sitting up. I touch my forehead and find a bandage. I move quickly and check his leg. It's like he never got cut. "Oh my god!"

"Yeah there was some left over so I put it on your cut." Cato admits. I raise my hands. They're still covered in blood.

"I should get cleaned up." I mumble.

"I saw the fallen last night." Cato pauses. "Gale is dead."

"I know. I'm covered in his blood." I say quickly leaving the cave. It's pouring rain and I use the time to cry since I'm already covered in water. I let the rain wash away the blood and I take a deep breath. The blood is gone and I'm the only one from Twelve left. "Damn it. Damn you Gale." I yell. The thunder covers my voice and I throw a rock into the river. I walk back inside and Cato is waiting for me. He's standing by the entrance and gently helps me out of my wet clothes. He drapes them over a dry rock and helps me into the sleeping bag.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles rubbing my hands. "It's hard loosing someone from your District."

"He was more then someone from my District. He was Katniss and my third person. After we met him, he became our third best friend. It was always us three. It can't just be Katniss. Someone needs to take care of them."

"But right now someone needs to take care of you." Cato says. I got quiet and let him brush the hair our of my eyes. "Let me take care of you."

"I just want to go home." I say softly. My voice is like a child's.

"You'll be back home soon." Cato promises. "Just stay here and sleep for a little."

"Okay." I say softly. He kisses my forehead and I let myself fall asleep.