𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐄 ▸ HUNGER GAMES [ 1 ]

SIXTEEN

When I finally locate Cato, he seems to have gathered some adversaries. The girl from 9 is shakily clutching a spiked mace with two hands, and the boy from 6 – the one we argued with in the training centre – is poised on the other side of him with a machete. I know he can take them, but we need to work quickly if we want as many tributes as possible out of the way within these first couple of hours. Already, far too many for my liking have vanished into the woods beyond the plain, and I don't feel like having to hunt down the stragglers in the dark later.

In a split second, two knives have found their marks in each of the tribute's backs. The two of them keel over, weapons clattering to the ground as they collapse to join the other fallen. Cato shoots me a wicked grin as I cross the expanse of grass between us.

"Can you see any more?" I call out, spinning one of the blades in my hands.

"I'm not sure." He says, bending down to retrieve my knives from the pair laying motionless at his feet. He passes them over and I regroup them with the others in my left hand. "I think more of them took off into the woods than I'd hoped." A dark look crosses his face as he spots something behind us.

I spin on my heels to find Marvel marching towards us, one hand clutching a smaller boy by the scruff of the neck. Glimmer is beside him, shrugging the quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Zafira is finishing off the last victim of the bloodbath in front of the cornucopia.

"This isn't a war camp Marvel; we're not taking prisoners. Just kill him already-" I shout, but my District 1 ally cuts me off.

"I know but hear him out, he's got a great idea! You know 3, they're all brainboxes aren't they. He thinks he might be able to booby trap our camp."

Cato and I exchange a wary look, but he seems intrigued, and frankly I am too. After a moment of reflection, he relents. "Okay, what have you got, 3?"

Trig, the boy from 3, begins to pitch his idea to protect the career stronghold. It seems like this grassy plain will work as a good base for the alliance, a unanimous opinion, but without decent cover we will be open to potential attack from either side. Trig's plan is in actual fact genius – not that anybody mentions it though. To dig the landmines from beneath each tribute plate and rebury them around the pile of supplies left abandoned at the cornucopia. 

It's certainly never been done before, and I'm not even sure it's possible, but Cato agrees to induct 3 into the career pack in exchange for the protection of the mines. The boy must know that his lifeline won't extend further than a couple of days, but there must be some fighting spirit in him if he's desperate enough to bargain with a Hadley. I'm not quite sure whether he's brilliant or stupid, but none of the other tributes offered us such a tempting deal, and technically we only have to keep him alive until we're sure his plan will work. Then I have no doubt Cato will dispose of him in a heartbeat.

The other members of our pack have begun to pick through the supplies dotted around the plain, carrying them over to a patch just to the left of the cornucopia to set up our camp. I retrieve the rest of the knives, fifteen in total, from where I hid them at the start of the Games, and unfold the black garment beside them. It's a vest, with slots for each knife, positioned for easy access in battle. I strap it on over my t-shirt and replace my burgundy jacket over the top.

Marvel and Zafira find a giant pop-up shelter right in the mouth, and Glimmer and I help them to erect it whilst Cato discusses the finer details of the landmines with Trig. I am not surprised that Cato has elected himself de-facto head of the career pack. It is in his nature to lead, and I have no doubt the rest of us will be worked hard under his instruction, to track down the rest of the tributes over the coming days.

I still don't want to think about the potential scenarios that might play out after everybody else is gone – once the five of us are the last in the arena and the realisation kicks in that only one of us will leave. But for now, we can enjoy the next couple of days hunting as a pack. Wolves in the night, baying for blood.

We have just about finished piling up the supplies into a pyramid when Glimmer spots him. He is battered, bruised and a gash across his upper arm is soaking the fabric of his jacket through with blood. Peeta, the baker's son. The girl on fire's secret admirer.

"There he is!" She screams with mirth, pointing at the spot where the boy from 12 has just graced the tree line. She reaches for her bow and slots an arrow into place, raising and pulling the string back. But Cato's hand on her shoulder shuts her attempted kill down. I pull myself to my feet on a weapons chest, swiping a couple of my knives from my vest, and follow Cato out as he meets with the other tribute. I hang back a couple of metres, still hoping to catch some of their conversation but the wind is too strong across the plain. What is Cato thinking? And why isn't he killing him? This boy who's declaration of star-crossed love has the potential to doom both of us. Why doesn't Peeta Mellark have a sword through his chest?

At some point Glimmer must sneak up behind me because her voice startles me from my efforts. "What in the hell is he doing?"

"Fucked if I know." I tell her.

Glimmer groans. "But I thought if anybody had an idea it'd be you."

"And why is that?" I turn to ask her, brows furrowed.

She giggles, face splitting into a grin. "Well he's your boyfriend, isn't he?"

I fix her with a death glare, and she shies backwards, but she's still laughing to herself. "No, he is not my bo-" I begin, but I don't get to finish because Zafira has sidled up behind Glimmer. The smile on her face is almost pained, and she doesn't speak. The strange feeling that made me wary of her in training resurfaces in my gut, and I find that I still don't trust her.

But apparently my District partner has decided to trust everyone and anyone, as Peeta Mellark follows Cato back towards the camp. Multiple emotions run through my body. Fury, confusion, but most of all pure disbelief. What on earth is Cato thinking, inducting all these extras into the alliance?

"Loverboy here says he can help us track down his girl." Cato announces.

So clearly Sidonia was right – Haymitch Abernathy has been busier than usual helping out his tributes this year. The fake doomed romance was nothing but a ploy to win the favour of the Capitol, and this boy, the baker's son, pulled it off perfectly. I can't deny his acting was flawless, almost as good as Cato on a daily basis. He sure had the Capitol fooled last night.

But tying himself to us has probably just lost him half of his sponsors. No wonder Cato wants to let him into the alliance. With Peeta's supporters dropping every minute he stands beside us, our kill count at the bloodbath will be rousing more discussions. We will regain our pedestals as the favourites for the crown by nightfall.

Which is why I stand as the first tribute to welcome Peeta Mellark to the career pack. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE -
It's happening, we are officially in the arena! Cato is setting up alliances left right and centre and Clove is confused af! Glimmer is teasing the fuck outta Clove! It's all fun and games until everyone starts dying, hey ;) But I hope you enjoyed this, from here on out things start to get more interesting (though less cutesy I will say)! Thank you for reading and I can't believe we're almost at 2K!!! Much love - Vee xx