The Damage Is Done ~ A Clato FanFic (Cato's POV)

Chapter 2 ~ Fallen Leaves

A wail of horror escapes my lips. I quickly swallow the pain that has filled my thigh. Clove looks satisfied. I will not show this bitch the pain that thunders inside my leg. I chuckle, making it seem like it was nothing. She marches up to me. A near few feet from my body when she tears out the bloody dagger. Cloves twirls the knife in her sweaty palms. Droplets of blood splatter on the floor between us.

"I would have aimed some where else but that'd be..." She pauses staring into my eyes. "Inappropriate." she ends with a wink.

She pony tail flips behind her as she turns around so rinse off the blood covered dagger. I will make her pay, i have to prove im the most lethal like i claimed. Wait. Why would i need to be proving anything to her? I'll just display my monstrosity once she returns.

She scampers back into my sight. Her the expression on her face is blank. Her eyes calculating. I narrow my eyes and watch her get increasingly closer to me, closing the gap between us. She begins to spin the knife in her hands when she sees me watching her.

"Whatcha starring at there?" Clove snarls.

"Nothing." I growl looking away.

I squeeze the sword in my hand. I march over to the mannequin, ready to show my skills. She keeps her eyes locked on the blood streaming from my thigh. Several dummies are placed around the area im standing in. I sway my sword. Thrashing around towards the dummies when i hear a scream.

I look at the end of my sword. Its definitely not Clove who i mistaken as a target but that idiot girl i had before her. Amary Kellion. My deadly sword has pierced through her neck and her skull is dangling by several pieces of flesh. Soon her head tumbles to the ground with a smack.

Every where i look Amary's blood lies. This picture is burned in my memory. It will represent a victory, for say. Cloves expression shows it all. Satisfaction. Amusement. And a dash of surprise. Coach begins to make his was over to the blood bath, his face is covered in bliss.

"Well done Hadley." He muses giving a venomous smile towards me.

"Thanks." I smirk.

Our coach genially appreciates power displayed during training that results in someone elses death. He finds it quet comical. Coach is a tough man, he has high expectations. Even higher ones for myself. I feel like its hard to satisfy him, but clearly in this brutal case it did. I feel no feeling what so ever for what i did.

We've been raised to have no feeling, to be heartless monsters. Thats just what i am. Nothing else. Every part of my being has been consumed by training and the Hunger Games. A tiny part of me wishes it were different. You know, being able to have feeling. But we cant. We're the careers. Or atleast thats what the outlying districts call us. Well, we do this for a living so i guess its about accurate.

They think we have it easy living in wealthier districts. They're wrong its actually not that easy. We have expectation needing to be met. We have to train every single day of our lives for that one moment when the adrenaline rushes through us when we call out "I volunteer!"

For that one moment when we will be thrown into an arena to fight to the death with the odds ever in our favor. Just because we're careers doesnt mean anything. Theres more than meets the eye.

Im shot back to reality as hands pat my back and congratulations overwhelm the air i breathe. Congratulations? For killing in the training center? Big achievement apparently considering all the gleeful hoots and hollers im receiving.

Im abit proud of my kill today. The thurst for blood has been curdling through my being for awhile, and i've been dying to slaughter some one.

"We're going out Hunting tonight. Wanna come?" Darious questions me in a hushed tone.

"Do you really have to ask Darious?" I chuckle.

"Field. Eleven o'clock. Sharp." He adds walking away from me.

I turn back to my training partner, Clove. Her eyes lock in a gaze with mine. I try and calculate the expression on her determined face. But its only stone cold.

"Pretty good." She says eyeing out my sword.

I look down at my sword.Twirl it around a bit. Then look back up to her. Shes not the tallest female in the academy, but shes a decent size i guess. Training is almost done for the day. Im stoked for Hunting tonight.

I cant wait to feel the blade of my sword pierce through innocent people tonight. My lips curl into a devious, menacing smile.The thought smothers my brain with greed.

"Alright everyone." Coach booms. "Today was a magnificent day of training if i do say to myself." He looks at me.

I send a bold smile back his way. "You all, are dismissed." He concludes.

I make my to the male locker room. I scan the rows of lockers until i come to mine. Number 12. I hate the number 12. It reminds me too much of the poorest outlying district. Either than that, my brother -- Musten -- was murdered when he was 12. I was 4. I seen him get slaughtered.

It was orientation day at the training center. The trainee's family is brought in as well as a panel of judges to see what the trainee offered, to show weather or not it they will be able to --when they're 18 -- volunteer for the games.

They put two careers in a cage with a weapon they chose. It was a fight to the death. Musten was thrown in a cage with a muscule boy named Alakay. My brother chose a spear, while Alakay chose a sword.

The horn sounded for the fight to begin. With in an hour my brother was slaughtered. Alakay diced him him. I couldnt take my eyes away from the torture my brother was going threw. I watched it all unfold in the cage.

I no longer had a brother. I cried. Of course. But that was when im not the heartless monster i am now. Today is the anniversary of his death. Tonight i plan on finding Alakay who is now around his 20's. I will brutally murder him. I will do what he did to my brother. Dice him.

I push my way through the crowd in the locker room. Most people scatter when they see me coming. Im the most feared here in the academy. Most brutal. Most popular. Its pretty much an automatic thing to do when i sweep through the halls.

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The crisp autumn air brushes lightly against my face, and dashes through my blond hair. My training bag sways in the wind. The breeze is nice. I wish it was like this all the time.

"Cato!" I hear a voice call.

I dart around to see Clove scampering behind me. Her tight pony tail flops in the wind. Shes holding something in her hand but i cant identify it.

"What are you doing? Following me?" I ask.

"No. No im not." She snarls.

"Then what?" I pose.

"You forgot this blondie." She chuckles. Clove extends her hand in a forward motion to take the object from her.

Its my training uniform. I knew i forgot something. I reach out my hand and snatch my uniform from her. She pulls away as soon as i grasp it.

"Uh. Thanks Clove." I add.

"What ever." She spits.

I shove the uniform into my pack with all my other training things. Then i look back at Clove. Her eyes are fixed on the ground not wanting to look at me.

"I...uh...will see you tonight." She mummers.

"Mmhm?"

"Hunting. I've been invited too you know." She sneers.

"Well, i will see you later than." I say beginning to walk away.

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