A Game Called Revenge ✭ Cato Hadley

Twenty-Six - Let's Kill Tonight

Finally, at an arms length of the thick branch she perched herself on earlier, she pushes herself from the trunk and launches for the branch, wrapping her arms around it and beginning to muscle up when she hears a shout.

"Clio!"

Her head snaps up and she immediately lets go of the branch, falling to the ground with a thud as the shrieks continue. It's Cato's voice. The only thought running through her brain is Cato. She needs to get to him. And fast. She stumbles to her feet, boots catching on the creeping vines.

"Clio!"

She breaks into a run, jumping over the various fallen trees as she sprints in the direction of the beach. She follows the line marked in the soil as she runs so fast she's almost tripping over her own feet. Everything is left on the ground beside the tree, only carrying the knives in her holsters and one that she unsheaths as she sprints. "Cato!"

The jungle seems to last forever as she runs. The trees all start bunching together, all looking the same as his voice carries, louder and louder the closer she gets to the beach. She's screaming back to him. "Cato!"

Cato's head snaps up from sorting through the supplies at the sound of Clio's screams. He immediately drops the different weapons he's attempting to secure to the harness over his shoulder, abandoning the hidden parcels of food and tightens his grip on his sword. "Clio!"

He's running now. Down the slippery strips of rocks. He's running as fast as his feet will carry him. The brief thought of what he's going to run into in the jungle crosses his mind before he's shouting back to her. "Clio!"

She's stopped responding. The only sounds he can hear are his own voice and the high tide crashing against the rocky spokes. Eyes briefly flitting to Finnick, the two make eye contact as he continues to run. The man from Four barely even flinches as the blonde sprints past him. Peeta has picked up his weapon and is starting to push himself to a stand when Finnick stops him. They seem to know what's happening, Cato thinks as he tries to speed up. To move even faster. To reach Clio even quicker. He pushes away his thoughts as he reaches the beach - not allowing himself to entertain the idea that he's going to find her laying victim to Katniss or Johanna - and immediately finds the tracks marks of disturbed soil that will lead him back to her.

As Clio runs, a flock of birds swoop low. They seem to chase her as she hears Cato's screams get louder. They fly near her face, not close enough to injure her; instead just enough to cause her to swerve off path. One flies directly toward her, obstructing her vision in the low light and she veers into the path of a thin tree, hitting it face first. The birds continue to shriek around her and she hears another voice. A voice that cannot be real. She hears her sister's voice. There's no way her sister can be calling for her from inside the arena. The shrill notes of panic and pain fill her ears and ground her. She finds herself rooted to the floor, frozen in terror as the desperate shriek plays in her mind. The moment before her baby sister's death repeated over and over and over again. It's all a trap, she realises. Clio sinks to her knees, back pressed up against the bark whilst her eyes are stuck watching the birds fly above her. She finally recognises the birds now. Jabberjays. A muttation. She squints to get a look at the bird that was twisted and turned and manipulated into a Capitol spy to repeat the plans of those in the first rebellion. Giving the Capitol an edge but discarded like a broken toy when the rebels caught on to the tactic and used them for their own purpose. She knows the screams are fake, and now she's given up her location but she can't bring herself to move. Then she hears her own voice. "Help! Cato!"

The screams are louder and becoming more frequent as Cato pushes through the foliage into the jungle. He's shouting back, trying to find her as he runs frantically. Birds attack him as he ducks underneath the trees and suddenly he's hearing his own voice calling for her; screaming for help in a manner that is so uncharacteristic. Shouts quieten down and he turns around, running straight back towards the noise until he sees her. She slumped on her knees, staring at her boots. Finally, he thinks but he's careful when he touches her. Dropping beside her, he reaches out for her shoulder and quickly dodges the knife swung at him from her left arm. Clio's eyes widen as they meet his, apologising profusely before screwing her eyes shut for a moment at a particularly loud screech. Her screams for him die down and give him the chance to hear the sound she's been hearing, swearing when he recognises the voice. The birds settle into the trees above them, and he recognises them now. Fucking mutts. He sits in front of her and forces her to look at him but only for a few seconds until the birds start screaming in another voice he recognises. His sister. Twelve years old and innocent and likely being tortured for the sound.