GAMES
"Do you know what the reason for these games even is?"
"Of course I do. To punish us for the Dark Days. The war."
"Exactly. And do you know what that means?"
"What?"
"No one wins when it comes to the Games. Twenty-three tributes lose their liv...
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***
Shay's head snapped toward the fight the second the cannon fired. Her eyes were wide with fear, afraid that she was going to turn and see a lifeless Cato lying before her. Until the fear flooded her veins, she had not realized the extent of her attachment to him. But now, somehow, she couldn't imagine being in this arena without him. She couldn't imagine a world without him in it.
It wasn't just because of her growing feelings for him, but also about the kindred spirit he was to her now. He was the one person who could understand her and what she'd been through. It was trauma only tributes could fathom, and hers in particular she felt could only be known by Cato.
Instead of watching her fear come to life, a sigh of relief escaped her as Cato pulled his crimson-coated blade from Thresh's abdomen, the taller boy dropping to his knees before completely toppling over to the ground. Shay scrambled to her feet and slowly approached the blond boy who breathed heavily from the recent exertion.
Glancing down at his blade, she watched as the viscous, red liquid ran down its length, dripping into the verdant grass. When her gaze moved back to his, she could see her panic mirrored in his icy eyes. Despite his exhausted state, he moved quickly, grabbing her by the arm and walking with her away from Thresh's fallen body.
They left in the direction that Thresh had come from, hopefully toward the boy's camp. Cato's grip slid down her arm, settling on her wrist as he led her. They were silent for a minute before Shay stopped and pulled away from Cato. Everything had happened so quickly that she needed a minute to gather her wits. Cato was hurt and instead of checking on him, she had allowed herself to operate on autopilot.
The blonde girl opened her mouth, about to ask him if he was all right, but the words never formed. Instead, Cato was the first to speak.
"What the hell were you thinking back there?" he snapped at her. "I told you to leave and get the pack!"
Shay blanched at the harsh change that happened before her eyes. She stuttered, struggling to retort, her worry turning to annoyance. "I-I'm not a dog! You can't just tell me to go fetch and expect me to leave you." Her heartbeat was racing, a fast thumping in her chest as she got worked up all over again. Her breathing was still ragged.
"You could've been killed! Thresh could've killed you. Hell, he almost killed me!"
Shay narrowed her eyes at him, her body heating up as blood rapidly pumped through her body. "You're right, he—he could've killed you! And I was the one who stopped him! I wasn't just gonna let him kill you if I could do something about it."
