star crossed lovers ➸ cato hadley

xiii. bloodbath

It was absolute chaos everywhere. Peeta had immediately fled the scene, whereas Natalie and Cato sprinted for the Cornucopia. She was determined to get the supplies she needed then find Peeta. They were the main concerns, and of course, not dying.

Natalie slid down onto her knees, avoiding the arrow that flew her way. She snatched the backpack from the outer section before sneaking her way into the main part. She was careful enough to avoid the merciless slaughter from the Careers. Marvel was hacking into a Tribute relentlessly with his blade, whilst Cato smashed somebody's head against the metal.

Luckily, Natalie couldn't see what Glimmer and Clove were up to, though in her head, she knew it was just as brutal and gruesome as the boys killing was. Her eyes searched for the belt of knives and just as she spotted them, a force slammed her to the ground.

She saw Clove hovering over her, the cool metal pressed against Natalie's neck, blood from the previous victim dripping onto the grass beside her. "Clearly you District 12 lot are as dumb as you look."

Natalie spat in her face, causing the brown haired female to grow angry. "Did they not teach you manners in the Academy?" The helpless teen asked.

Clove growled and stabbed the ground beside her head. "I can't wait until Cato kills you." She hissed, getting ready to get off Natalie. However, Natalie headbutted the younger girl and threw the surprisingly light female off her. She quickly stood up and took the knife from Clove's hand. "Tell him to catch me first." She smirked and sped off into the forest.

It almost felt like home as Natalie ran into the line of trees, dodging sticks and rocks that littered the ground. She could almost feel Katniss and Gale's presence beside her, laughing like there was no tomorrow. That was until she felt someone smacked into her from the side.

Natalie immediately drew the knife close to her and whipped around to come face to face with the District 5 female. The two tributes stared at each other before she fled in the opposition direction.

The female sighed in relief and started her path to try and find her twin brother before it was too late.

•••

     Natalie was aimlessly walking around for hours on end, desperate to stay clear of the rest of tributes expect Peeta. Little did she know, they were on opposite ends of the Arena.

She scanned the clearing around her. It was easy enough for her to hunt but stayed concealed at the same time. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and started climbing up the nearest tree.

Once she was halfway, she swung her leg over the wood and leaned against the trunk, a sense of relief escaping her lips. She would have to rest until she felt her like her legs were no longer on fire.

As Natalie finally settled on the branch, she opened the backpack as she looked at the neglected contents: a sleeping bag, rope, night vision glasses, matches, food packages, iodine supplements and a water bottle. Everything was useful but she wasn't going to touch any of it until she found Peeta. She lessened her food intake during the training, what could one more day do?

     As Natalie finished putting everything inside the backpack as neatly as possible — expect the rope which she had used to tie around herself — she heard the Capitol Anthem blast through the Arena.

It was time for the Fallen. She hoped that it showed the narcissistic Careers more than anyone else, but she knew it was near impossible within the first day.

The boys from District 4, 5, 6 and 8 had all died, as well as both boys and girls from District 7, 9 and 10. Luckily the anthem and the projection disappeared afterwards, indicating that Peeta had survived.

     The two twins had survived the Bloodbath, sparking hope within District 12. Normally the tributes were dead within the first couple of days, especially if they went into the Cornucopia.

It was almost like Natalie was sending a massive 'fuck you' sign to Haymitch for defining his rules but the father figure couldn't be more prouder of her.

•••

The sound of crackling woke the female up. The sky was absent of stars, despite it being dark. Natalie couldn't work out the source of noise until she spotted the flickering orange light. A figure was huddled by the fire, arms wrapped around herself as she shivered.

Natalie felt a quick burst of sympathy but it faded as she realised how stupid the girl was being. She looked away, not wanting to see the trouble she would encounter due to her mistake but the piercing scream had her covering her ears.

She wanted to go through out the games without any trouble until the very last point. She didn't want any deaths on her hands. But seeing the Bloodbath and hearing the girls scream would not stop playing in her head.

The Career pack burst emerged from the tree line, Glimmer's shrieking laugh echoing throughout the forest. "No! Please don't kill me!" Glimmer cried, imitating the screams from the dead tribute. Clove and Marvel laughed sadistically, whereas Cato had a sour look on his face.

     "Hey, twin boy." Cato called out, turning around to the silent tree line. Within a second Peeta emerged from the trees, a blade in his hands and a breathless expression on his face.

Natalie had to dig her nails into the wood to stop herself from crying out in relief and jumping down to protect her younger twin. He was alive and wasn't in any harm. Even though she wanted him as far away as the Careers as humanly possible, he was okay...and that's all that matter to her.

"Are you sure she went this way?" Glimmer asked, narrowing her eyes at Peeta as she held onto Cato. Apart from Cato, every expression had turned sour as Peeta arrived, almost like he was an reluctant ally.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Peeta nodded, glancing to the tree line opposite Clove. "I would know my sister's markings anyway."

    Natalie's plan was going better than expected, it seemed. Hours prior to the Games, she sat with Haymitch and Peeta discussing a plan that was sure to kill the Careers. She didn't know if it would actually follow through but it was.

     Natalie would sent up her 'markings' around the Arena to send the Careers on a wild goose chase. She showed the drawing to Peeta so he knew to end in the opposite direction in case they couldn't find each other.

"When we find her, that bitch is mine." Glimmer snarled, marching off in the direction Peeta pointed towards, followed by Clove and Marvel. Cato and Peeta however hang back for a couple of moments.

Both the boys looked up the oak tree, spotting Natalie causally looking down at them. She smiled and waved innocently, waiting for Cato to call his lackeys back. However, Cato gave Peeta a look, whispering under his breath then stormed off.

The female twin looked with curiosity until Peeta drew out a knife from his pocket, a piece of paper wrapped around the handle. He placed it on the ground and gave his sister a thumbs up then hurried to join the Careers.

As soon as it was safe, Natalie quickly undone the rope and climbed down the tree, immediately grasping the knife. She took the small piece of rope off the handle and looked down at the unfolded paper in her hands.

     'My dear twin, just survive somehow.'

A tear slid down her face as she held the note close to her chest, one of the only pieces of her brother she had left.

XXX

slowly getting there.