A Knife in the Dark | ✓

Twenty Six

I was amazed at Cato's willingness to hunt Thresh down in the storm, but that's because the cameras and the Gamemakers were so focused on Katniss and Peeta's conversation, they forgot to keep track of the other tributes.

"Thresh!" At the sound of Cato's voice, Saylee and I were jolted from our sleep, the first good one we'd had since Cato and Clove had left. Jake reached over, tightly grabbing my wrist. It felt like circulation was cut off from my hand, but it was reassuring, knowing that Jake was there.

Thresh, too, was awakened by Cato's shout. I hadn't heard Cato's voice since Clove died, and it echoed through my head, even as Thresh opened his eyes and squinted or glared at Cato's rainsoaked figure.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Thresh stood, swayed a little on his feet, and I wondered what happened to him. He scooped up his makeshift spear, made of a sharpened branch and rock. Cato's metal spear looked a lot stronger, though I knew that Thresh's would hurt like a bitch to remove, not to mention leave a ton of splinters as it came out.

"You killed my friend," Cato laughed, and not pleasantly. "You couldn't have expected me to let that go."

"You killed my district partner."

"A disposible ally of mine killed your damn partner." Cato waved him off. "But that's not important now." He readied himself, hunching over his spear.

Thresh obviously didn't know how to handle his spear very well, but he still managed to mimic Cato's position.

Thresh made the mistake of lunging first. Cato dodged, easily, spinning out of the way. He pulled his sword free of his belt and turned, slashing down at Thresh's leg. It connected, cutting through skin and muscle, straight through to the bone. Thresh howled, his knee buckling. He fell to his knees, but he still swing his spear out at Cato.

But all of my weak-legged, down-on-one-knee attacks had paid off and trained him well. Cato jumped at the perfect second, the makeshift spear passing just under his boots. He landed easily and swung his sword, but Thresh ducked his head. Cato swung the sword back again, slicing through his back. It was not a clean cut, going only down to the spine, but not enough to sever anything important or do any real damage.

It was too loud to hear, but I saw Cato's lips move as he swung his sword one last time. He said two words that I didn't hear, but they were easy to guess--for Clove. His sword came down, and a perfect shot of the blow was shown--Cato and Thresh, only shadows. The sword came down, passed through Thresh's neck, and his head rolled off of his shoulders. I couldn't hear it, but I knew that a cannon went off.

"Twenty down," Saylee mumbled beside me, "three to go."

✗

Cato was hunting once more, uninjured from the fight with Thresh. He hadn't been injured in a way that would be concerning, just scrapes and bruises and a blow to the head that didn't cause a concussion, but nothing that would be harmful or concerning. I wanted him to find Katniss and Peeta. I wanted them out of his way, and I wanted that girl from 5 to drop dead. I didn't care that they were people with families and friends--I'm ashamed that I didn't care, but I don't regret the feeling--because I only wanted Cato home, safe with us.

Katniss and Peeta spent the day hunting, but even Jake cringed at how loud he was, and Jake was always the loudest of us five.

"I whistled," Katniss said after panicking and searching for Peeta once they'd been split for a while. "Why didn't you whistle back?" She sounded both angry and panicked, and Jake and Saylee exchanged a look that they ended with an eye roll.

"I didn't hear," Peeta said earnestly. "The water's too loud, I guess."

"The water's too loud." Saylee mimicked in a nasally voice. "Bullshit, Loverboy. Bull. Shit."

"I thought Cato killed you!"

"Oh my god." Jake dropped his head into his hands. "She's an idiot. A fucking idiot. Was there a cannon? No!"

"She would've heard him screaming if Cato got his hands on him." I said.

Katniss continued with her too-dramatic freakout, and Saylee pointed out that they were lucky that Cato wasn't near, or they would've been dead at that point.

But someone was in range. The cameras focused on a hand reaching out, stealing some food and then darting back into the bushes. While Katniss and Peeta argued, the cameras turned to a teenage girl with red hair. The girl from 5 darted through the trees. She scooped up handfuls of berries. She looked around, grabbing some from the bushes, and tucked them into her pockets.

"What the hell?" Saylee leaned towards the screen.

Jake did as well. "Did she just pick up--?"

"Yes, yes she did." I nodded slowly.

A flash of something--or, rather, someone--passed through the trees. The girl's eyes widened, and she reached into her pocket. Shakily, she forced some of the berries past her lips. "What the--" Saylee started, but was cut off abruptly. The girl collapsed, and the cannon went off.

The view returned to Katniss and Peeta, who had frozen, eyes widened.

They found her body, and stood in shock. Katniss's eyes were on her hand, examining the berries. Peeta pushed her away from the body. "Climb. He'll be here in a second. We'll stand a better chance fighting him from above."

Katniss stopped him. "No, Peeta, she's your kill, not Cato's."

"What? I haven't even seen her since the first day. How could I have killed her?"

In response, Katniss held out the berries.