Scars Of Our Love | Cato Hadley X Male Reader | Vol. 1

14 ~ Bathed In Blood

The Games Begin

I take in a deep breath as the floor beneath me shakes. Johanna and I stood silent in the elevator as it slowly rose to the roof. I take a deep breath. "Y/n," Johanna says quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. "Look, I-I know we've had our bad moments but," she pauses while turning toward me, "I want you to know I'm rooting for you."

I feel a small smile tugging at my lips, "Thanks. Got any final advice by chance."

She nods while looking back at the doors, "Don't step off the platform early or they'll blow you up."

She thinks for a second, her foot tapping against the floor rapidly. "I don't want to tell you what to do," she says, my head turning toward her out of confusion, "Out of every tribute I've had to mentor you're the one that scares me most. You scare me because you remind me of me. And if you are anything like me then I know you'll make the right choices. So make sure not to die in there! Do you hear me!"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, her eyes began to water. She was acting so different like her tough exterior had just been torn down. She did truly care about me, which didn't help calm my anxiety, but It did make me feel better about myself.

The doors suddenly opened, and a large black jet stood in the center of the platform in front of us. A single stairwell leads up to the entrance. I step forward. "You've got this, just follow your instincts," Johanna says before the doors close.

I hesitate for a second but quickly walk up the stairs. A woman in white sat me down in one of the twenty-four seats that lined both walls, at least half of them were already filled with the other tributes. On the far end opposite of me, I see Cato, he stares at me with an unreadable face. I give him a slight nod which he returns before the both of us look back ahead of us.

"Arm!" The woman says while holding a hand out. I reluctantly place my arm in her hands, a large needle appears from behind her. My muscles tense as I watch a glowing device slide into the base of my forearm. "What is that?" I ask quietly. "Your tracking device," she says before continuing down the line of kids.

Of course, our locations would be tracked the whole time in the arena, it was the Capitol after all.

The plane ride was short, no longer than half an hour. We landed in a dark facility, taking separate stairwells down to our rooms. The hallways underground were lined with dozens of peacekeepers, and as I slowly walk through, they turned to face me one by one. It was highly unprofessional for them, but a few whispered or laughed. They got front-row seats to watch us in our final moment before all hell broke loose.

The final door opens as we stand in front of it, revealing a small room. The walls were lined with sickly-colored lime green tiles, and the ceiling lights were an off-white color, giving the room an unnerving effect. As I looked around the room I noticed it was mostly empty, aside from a metal shelf, a few hooks with jackets on them, and a large glass cylinder tube to the far right.

Serenity places a hand on my shoulder causing me to jump. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you," she says, sweetly with worriedness in her voice. "It's ok, I'm just nervous," I mutter. Her eyes fell as a slight forced smile grew on her face, she looked like she would break down into tears at any moment. "It's normal, especially in a situation like yours," she says, pausing to look me up and down, "Out of every kid in there I only see you. You are different, I know you will be ok just as long as you follow your instincts."

I smiled a bit, leaning into the hug she offered. "Thank you, Serenity, for everything you have done," I say. She nods before turning toward the hooks with jackets. "Larger or tighter fit," she hums to herself before picking one, "This one will be perfect."