CLOVE'S POV:
"Let the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begin," says Claudius Templesmith in his washed-out voice.
I take a deep gulp of breath and squint as my eyes adjust to my surroundings. My pedestal is in the middle of a wide field. The other twenty-three tributes on their pedestals surround me. I can just make out Cato across the field, over next to Jason, the District 6 male. He'll probably go for him first, like he warned him.
My eyes scan the bounty flowing out of the Cornucopia: swords, axes, machetes, bows, arrow quivers, knives! I spot a huge rack of knives just against the wall of the horn-shaped building. I'm going to get those knives, and anyone who gets in my way will find one in their back rather than in their hand!
Besides weaponry, I also spot large storage boxes and tent kits. Around the Cornucopia, the loot is thickest. Out here, over by our pedestals, backpacks are scattered sparsely. Some of the dumber tributes will target these, or even venture toward the Cornucopia, where the best stuff is. As a Career, I will ignore these backpacks and find weapons first. Then Cato and I and the others from District One will fight the tributes who are silly enough to stick around.
The numbers are counting down: 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!
I leap off my pedestal and sprint across the field right past the backpacks. I have eyes only for the beautiful array of knives on the rack beside the Cornucopia wall. Until something distracts me in the crates around the horn.
Before I can investigate, I'm temporarily sidetracked as I see the District 8 male hop Marvel. That kid's asking for it. Marvel turns, knocks him off, and stabs him repeatedly with a knife.
I seize the object that caught my eye: a black vest lined with pockets. Perfect for knives. I spin around, my ponytail swinging around behind me.
CATO'S POV:
Jason runs alongside me. I haven't forgotten my need for revenge. I turn and punch him over the head. He topples backward into the grass. I need a weapon.
Sprinting to the Cornucopia, I seize a machete from the wall. The tall kid from District 10 appears nearby. Jason is on his feet again, and he and the boy from Ten begin to fight over a backpack. Marvel dashes over, hurling his axe at the boy from Ten, knocking him backward. Marvel charges away after the boy from Three while the boy from District 10 struggles to a sitting position. He sees me, and I can see the fear in his eyes before he leaps to his feet and tries to run. I cleave his chest with the machete, and he falls down with a groan.
The girl from District 7 runs by with an axe. I'm about to attack her, but the boy from 3 gets there first, pushing her over and stealing her axe. The girl struggles to her feet while the the boy sprints away, colliding with Marvel. They begin to grapple over the axe. The boy pulls unrelentingly on the axe, and Marvel finally hurls a backpack at him, winning his axe.
Clove is nearby, rummaging through a pack. I want to yell at her to get out of here, but my throat is dry. I'm distracted instantly as Ember, the girl from Four, charges by, knocking the girl from Six to the ground and snatching her sword. The girl from Six gets to her feet and stumbles backward--straight into Glimmer. Big mistake. Glimmer grabs her hair and shoves her roughly into a crate. When the girl won't let go of her backpack, Glimmer seizes a knife and stabs her multiple times.
Horrified, the girl from 7 leaps behind a crate to hide. Oh, no you don't, I think, seizing my machete and stalking over to where she is crouching. Suddenly, Ember charges in front of me, waving her sword. I easily dodge the blow. Is she really this stupid? Does she expect me to accept her as a fellow Career? Not a chance. I thrust my fist out, sending her tumbling over a crate. She half runs, half crawls over to a red backpack and dashes away at top speed.
I see the girl from Three grab a backpack and run, but the boy from 5 hurls himself at her. They fall together, sprawling on the ground for a second. The girl from District 3 sees her chance and steals it, escaping from the boy. She dashes away, grabbing her backpack from where it lies on the grass. But the boy from 5 isn't done. He slashes at her with his sickle, sending her tumbling to the ground, bleeding. Grabbing her backpack, he runs away--straight into the boy from Seven. They begin to brawl, until Thresh dashes in between. He slashes at the boy from Seven's throat with his curved sword.
I dash over, intending to take on Thresh myself, but he already has a lot of ground covered. He disappears into the trees.
CLOVE'S POV:
Knives in hand, I begin hurling them at the other tributes, just like I would in the gym. Only this time it's for real. I send the big-eyed girl from Ten down right away. I spin around, seeking out my allies. Cato is running across the field, waving his machete. He must be after Thresh, but I watch Thresh disappear. No, we'll have to get him later.
Where is that little squirt from Eleven? Maybe she isn't as dumb as I thought. Maybe she had the sense to clear out of here. I force myself not to think about it. She won't last much longer anyway.
What about the kids on fire? The two celebrities from Twelve? I rotate, searching the fray for their faces. The boy, Peeta, is nowhere in sight, but there's Katniss! I see her running across the grass, carrying an orange backpack. Out of nowhere, the boy from Nine springs to his feet and charges after her, carrying an axe. He's my first target.
I throw a knife directly at his back. It's instantly successful; he falls flat on his face. Katniss will be next. I throw a knife at her, but she unexpectedly lifts her backpack up to shield her face. I watch in shock as my knife lodges itself in her bag.
Well, she won't be safe for long. I let loose into a sprint, dashing after her. Unfortunately, she's already way ahead. She disappears into the forest. No, I'll wait until I'm with the rest of the Careers to hunt her down.
I turn, just in time to see Glimmer stab the boy from Five.
CATO'S POV:
I see Jason from Six, and our gazes meet. I see terror reflected back in his brown eyes. It's coming to him and he knows it. His eyes widen in horror while he stumbles backward, intending to run. I dash at him and topple him onto the grass, slashing at his stomach. Then I leave him lying there, the blood gushing out of his wound and staining the grass. I get to my feet, and I find myself staring directly into the face of the redheaded District 9 girl. She looks stunned. Without hesitation, I raise my machete and stab her.
The girl from District 7 runs by, but she trips over her own backpack. Marvel leaps to his feet and stabs her with his spear. Maybe these District One kids might not be so useless after all. But I can't tolerate them forever. If either Clove or I are going to survive and bring home the gold for District 2, then we can't support District One for long.
The Cornucopia is mostly clear of the other tributes, with the exception of us. Glimmer, Marvel, and Clove walk around, scanning the field for anyone who might still be hiding. But we see no one. Probably these people were smart enough not to stick around long.
A slight movement over by the crates catches my eye. Every muscle in my body stiffens as I turn around to see. A brown curly head disappears behind a box. I lift my machete and stalk over. The shrimp from District Four appears, carrying a sleeping bag in one arm and a backpack in the other. He must have been here the whole time. He looks up, and his eyes meet mine. For a split second, I see the terror in his eyes before I whack at his neck, sending blood spurting everywhere. He tumbles backward, leaving his blood splattered on a crate.
A glint of silver flickers for a second to my left. I lower my supplies and walk over to it. A glimmering broadsword hangs on the wall of the Cornucopia, surrounded by other bladed weapons. The fixture of it, here in the center, draws me to it, almost as though it's meant for me!
I drop the machete, and pick up the sword. Sunlight reflects from it across my forehead.
CLOVE'S POV:
We clear the Cornucopia of all useful items, making sure we all have the right weapons. Glimmer claims a silver bow and quiver of arrows that escaped the snatchings of any of the other tributes in the course of the bloodbath. Marvel finds a suitable spear, and Cato straps a sword to his belt.
I collect as many knives as possible, lining them inside my new black vest, which I strap on over my red T-shirt. Only it's more than a fashion statement. It's a house for my knife collection.
Glimmer zips up the inside layer of her jacket and straps her quiver over her shoulder. I've seen her in Training; she's really not that amazing at her aim. I could outmark her in a heartbeat. Marvel's pretty good with his spear, though.
We leave the Cornucopia as the hovercrafts descend to collect the dead tributes.
Glimmer hasn't dropped her flirty angle, even though we're in a death slaughter Game. She hovers around Cato constantly, stroking his blond hair and rubbing his shoulders. What ticks me off the most is how Cato just lets her touch him. In fact, he almost seems to enjoy it!
Come on, Cato. You know that you're not letting District One win. Don't act like it!
Marvel pretends he doesn't notice, especially when Cato and Glimmer walk hand in hand a little ways behind us. Instead, he tries to break up the awkwardness by offering a random comment. It doesn't usually work.
We scour the woods for a long time, but we don't find any other tributes. Night falls.
The Capitol anthem rings in my ears. I look up into the sky and watch as they show the twelve dead tributes. The girl from 3, the boys from 4 and 5, both from 6, 7, the boy from 8, and both from 9 and 10.
I'm seriously wondering why I trusted Cato at all when we're suddenly distracted by a distant light. It's not a steady glow; it keeps twisting and flickering off the trees. Cato stops dead, and a grin spreads across his face.
"Come on."
"What is it?" asks Glimmer sweetly, running up beside Cato. I roll my eyes. Either she's trying to get Cato's attention, or she's just really stupid. Maybe both.
"Someone's gonna get killed," Cato replies smugly.
I fold my arms across my chest. Glimmer should seriously not need to be told this. Anyone who makes a fire in the arena, especially at night, is asking for a quick and thoughtless death.
"Shh!" cautions Marvel as we creep through the trees. I don't know who we'll meet with, so I keep my hand near my knives. We hover just outside of the glow of the fire. A girl with long curly brown hair is rubbing her hands over the small flame. I think it's the girl from Eight. She's defenseless and weaponless. Whatever the case, she's a goner.
We step into the firelight casually. Her head jerks upward at our approach and her eyes are huge with horror. For a minute, she's speechless. Then she squeaks, "No! No! Don't kill me!" Cato smirks and hands his sword to Glimmer.
Hey, wait a second! I should be the one to--
But Glimmer, looking very pleased with herself, walks over to the girl and thrusts the sword into her middle. The girl's bloodcurdling scream vibrates the trees, and then I hear a cannon.
I'm surprised by how quickly the cannon sounded. You would expect these people to take a little longer to die. I'm equally surprised when, out of the blue, I notice the hovercraft claw dip down to pick her up. Cato barely has time to reach out and pull his sword out of the girl before she's taken upward.
They never come that fast! Something seems... different, almost. But how could it be different?
I manage to shrug it off while I follow the other Careers into the gloom.
"So who are we targeting next?" asks Cato. I can tell he's intentionally directing the question at Glimmer, but I ignore that.
"The kids from Eleven and Twelve," I blurt quickly, before the blonde at Cato's side can even open her mouth. She gives me a look, and my hand shifts to my knife. A silent warning passes between us.
Neither Cato nor Marvel seems to notice. "Yeah, I agree," Marvel says. "Of all the kids left, they're probably the most threatening. Besides us and them, who else is here?"
"Um... that kid from 3?" mumbles Cato. "I dunno."
"What about that girl from District 4?" asks Glimmer. "I saw you knock her down," she adds sweetly to Cato. For once, Cato barely pays attention to her.
"I didn't kill her. She ran away into the woods."
"Anyone else?" I ask. They all shrug
I really feel like there was someone else from the middle districts that wasn't in the bloodbath, but whoever it was is slipping my mind.
"I say we find Katniss first," I suggest. "Let's take down that Eleven!"
A rustling sound comes from a nearby bush. We all freeze and turn our heads toward the foliage. I see Cato lift his broadsword.
"Who's there?"
"Hold up!" comes a sharp voice. "You say you want to find Katniss?" A hand emerges from the branches, followed by a blond head. Peeta.
"I'll take you to her," he says quietly.
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