Katniss Everdeen.... 11
That number.
11
She couldn't get out of her mind.
She was right, she was so right.
She was correct, 12 was a threat this year, having beaten out Clove's and Cato's own good score.
"Be strong Munchkin." She kissed his forehead, holding his cheeks in her hands so tight before backing away. "I'll wait for you."
"See you later Athy." He said, smiling at her, still his ever confident self. "I can't lose, you trained me all too well."
"If you miss me I'll always watch over you." She lifted the matching pair of necklaces they had.
"Of course."
"Tribute, into your tube." A peacekeeper said, she glared at him but she knew there was no way to delay it any more.
"Careful." She squeezed his hands as he stepped back into the tubes.
"Always."
She took a deep breath as he went up with a last wave she barely had the time to echo before he was gone from view.
With another deep breath, she looked at the little screen that lowered to watch the initial bloodbath from this room.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as the arena was displayed as a forest environment, not the best of starts, Cato didn't really know how to climb trees.
The count down was so loud, it was as if the gamemakers were trying to deafen her with it.
A hand clasped around the little pendant she had as the characteristic canon shot signalling the start was blasted high and loud.
The first splatter of blood froze hers in her veins, the bloodbath was without mercy and with no pity.
"Shit." She breathed out, Clove almost having had the 12's girl she was so worried about but a lucky impact with a boy lead him to be stabbed and the next throw was blocked with the bag before she ran into the forest.
"Bloodbath is over Hadley, leave the perimeter."
She glanced one last time at the screen as the careers joined up to look around the cornucopia, to judge what supplies were left for them as the body of many littered the surroundings.
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Athena usually watched the games in the victors' lounge with the others, with snide remarks too them.
But right now, she couldn't bare having anyone around, watching the screen with hawk eyes in the quarters and in her room to be away from Julian and his annoying personality.
She laid in bed but intensely was staring at the screen hanging up on the ceiling.
A stupid girl had made a fire, Marvel, the boy of 1, finding her and the careers making a chase game out of killing her.
She wasn't happy, it was horrible, a horribly painful way to die, but as long as Clove and Cato are happy doing so, she will be happy, she just hopes that none of them will ever come too the realization she had and they'll always idolize the games to save them from the mental anguish they cause too those aware of them.
Cato was as brutal as she was in her own games, three deaths, two from the bloodbath and one from the hunt that followed, were under his belt and two of those he had killed with his bare hands, one had been grabbing a girl's head and slamming it on the side of a supply crate and the other was twisting the head of a boy.... Athena hoped he wouldn't go personal like she needed too but well, she hoped for nothing.
And the Everdeen girl almost had died too fire, fuck.... She wished she had, she even made a little trap and had caught a squirrel, this girl knew how to hunt while she should have never, coming from 12.
Days and nights went on as she watched from her spot, rarely leaving too the bathroom or to eat something, even rarer when she got shut eye.
When she wasn't watching, she was talking up powerful men and women, sharing her bed, her body with them, acquiring sponsors left and right, making herself feel sick of being touched but having sent down a fire starter kit too the careers was worth it, none really having skills in wilderness survival and they were literally freezing too death in the night, her package buying them days of heat.
They had even recruited 12's boy and 4's boy, 4 had reactivated the landmines from around the podiums and creates mounts of them to protect the piled up supplies. While 12 promised he wanted to kill the girl for betraying him.
Fools believed him.
And so when they found the girl in the river, they ran after her with laughter and glee, skipping down the rocks as if it was to go picnicking with friends.
Even with the open burn wound that girl had, she still was quick to climb trees.
Cato, big boy he is, tried to climb after with the cheering of his friends before a branch broke and he fell, Athena's heart stopped before he got up with a groan as Glimmer, 1's girl, tried to shoot Everdeen off but missed twice before Cato grabbed the bow and missed a third time.
Lover boy told them all to wait, she would come down, he was right.... Until.
Athena watched with gripping fear as the little girl from 11 popped up early the morning that followed that interaction, conveying too 12 how there was a nest there and that idiot girl started to cut the branch holding the trackerjackers up.
Athena held her face, screaming at the screen, as if they'd hear her, watching helplessly as the nest plummeted down and exploded.
The screams of agony almost made her cry but she swallowed those tears too like any others, knowing of the pain they might cause, having seen a 'magnificent' variant of them nickname Snowjackers, that could survive her arena's frigid temperatures, seeing one of them sting the girl from 1 when they were still allies and how much she suffered.... So seeing everyone stung while 12's boy helped the girl run after she got the bow back away and Glimmer be stung to death hurt a lot.
She wanted Cato to kill the lover boy but with the hallucination caused by the venom he missed, tho deeply sliced into the leg of the boy, a wound that would probably be fatal after a few days.
The days went on, anxiety stealing her appetite as the 12 and 11 girls worked out a plan that worked: Blowing up the supplies after drawing the careers away, it caused the death of many... The boy from 4 got his neck snapped by Cato for being to blame, the girl from 11 got spear stabbed by Marvel after that while Everdeen shot an arrow through his chest... Three gone in quick succession.
Now only Clove and Cato remained together.
Athena this time almost cried since after the two of 12 found each other and hide in a cave, playing up a fake act of love, it was announced that there could be two winners if they came from the same district.
Athena knew that it was bullshit for all of those that have survived, they would not do it for 12 at all, but wow the publicity if 2s made it out.
Athena instantly sent a note hidden in between two cans of food for them and that night, the two played along, sleeping in each others arms as Athena sold the story of how adorable they were, dating even when they were in 2 and how close they were, trying to outdo Heymitch who was her number one enemy currently, pushing the star-crossed lovers for the 12.
She almost punched him once when her sponsors said they already spent on the fire girl and lover boy.
Soon enough he was worst, wound infected and the cornucopia stocked with things each tribute would need.
Athena had sent more knives for Clove and body armor for Cato since Clove was a longer rang fighter, she could get out of the way and Cato was the one that needs to be close, plus with their narrative he'd try to block the shots towards her, making both of them be protected.
But something happened, Cato tripped up, Clove, overconfident, didn't wait up and when she emerged from the forest, she saw the fire girl, rushing too her.
It would have ended there but she taunted the girl with a knife too her throat about her friend's death.
Athena punched the TV in the living room, shattering it too Julian's complaints, when Tresh, boy of 8, snuck up on her and grabbed her.
Watching on the broken screen how she screamed for her friend's help and how Cato screamed back, running as he could through the forest but nowhere near quick enough.
She kicked the screen, definitively breaking it as Cato dropped too her dead body's side, crying and begging for her to wake up and how they could have both come home.
After that she didn't leave her room, just stared at that screen, as Cato went on to hunt Tresh down and killed him brutally, leaving only him and the two of 12.
Cato would soon be home.
Soon be back.
She was standing with her arms crossed, staring up as the arena's sky was darkened way before night.
And then they came out.
Mutts, what looked like horrid experiments of mixing human and dogs into one creature, one having a familiar fur color, they all wore collars with numbers on them, 2, and their eyes, damn their eyes, so human, light blue.
This mutt looked like Clove.
Her organs stopped functioning and she thought she was dying as Cato ran for his life, swinging his sword back and blindly running, one of the beasts clawed hands slicing into his face as the horrible realization that this was not a game shined into his eyes, losing hold of his sword in a final defensive parry, left only with a short dagger in its sheath on his belt.
Finally he made it too the cornucopia, climbing up the side, his body armor saving his from a nasty claw slash.
Athena couldn't breathe a sigh of relief as 12 also soon made it too the safe spot and clambered up the side.
Cato grabbed the boy in a headlock as the girl aimed up an arrow.
"Go on, shoot, I'm dead anyway." The broken voice of her brother shook her up, tears in his eyes as he held the boy who was trying to pull his arms away easily.
The girl aimed up, making Cato do a movement as if he'd snap the boys head, hiding his own behind it.
"Now Munchkin. Come on, do it." She whispered. "Do it Cato." He could win this easily, snap the head and drop him, she can already see your armor, she can't shoot you in the chest and the head is too small of a target if you rush in.
The boy of 12 raised his finger, dripping with blood from his leg, up too Cato's arm.
Instead of trying to wrestle his way free, his forefinger veers off and makes a deliberate X on the back of Cato's hand.
Cato realizes what it means a second after Athena and the fire girl does.
A single second too late.