Chapter 10: In the Wild

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Peeta woke me up in the night so I could go on watch. He had told me he thought I was the one least likely to slit his throat for rousting me.

 I sat at the mouth of the Cornucopia, thinking. The sky went from pitch black to sun-almost-risen unnaturally. I have to admire the Capitol's technology. The way these arenas are built is astounding. 

Not long after the fake sun started to rise, Wade stirs. He sluggishly walks over to me and sits down beside me. 

"Did Lover Boy wake you up?" He asks, yawning.

I nod, "I don't mind. I like watching the sunrise."

"I know." He says, and for a moment, everything feels like it used to.

"This is crazy, isn't it?" I ask. "What are the odds that both of us were reaped?"

He smiles. "I guess the odds weren't in our favour, huh?" He pauses. "I can't lie and say this isn't exhilarating, though. It's nothing like I thought it would be."

"You can say that again. I can't believe that only one of the twenty-four of us will live, I mean, thirteen now." I admit.

He nods, thinking about what I said. Some of our alliance members start to wake up. I can see Glimmer twitching softly and Marvel rolling to his other side. 

From the looks of them, you wouldn't know that they had killed almost eleven children yesterday. That's what the Games do to us. 

I watch as Cato comes to. He reaches his arm out to where I slept, and I smile to see him panic when he realizes I'm not there. Quickly, he looks up to me with Wade and lays back down.

Through my watching, I didn't see Peeta on his way to me. 

"Thanks," he said, glad I didn't force him to stay to keep watch. 

Before I can say anything, an annoyed Clove urges everyone to get up.

"We don't have all day, you know? We'll have to get out there and find someone before they find us." She bugs.

"Someone definitely will find us with you talking that loud," Marvel groans, finally sitting up.

If looks could kill, Marvel would be long gone by now. 

The seven of us packed some bags, snacked on dehydrated meat and nuts and began hunting. 

We find our snares have caught a few more birds, so we pack them and keep tracking. Marvel and Wade started a game of "Would you Rather", and I'm pretty sure they're the only ones interested. 

"No, listen. If I'm bit by a snake, it's over, but I could totally fight off a bear." Marvel argues.

"But a snake is so little," Wade pleads, "One smack by a bear, you lose. Just grab the snake by the neck. What's it gonna do?"

Marvel rolls his eyes. "And how are you going to grab the snake by the neck without it chomping?"

"I'm going to go find some firewood," Cato announces, breaking up the dispute. "Hali, come with me." 

Clove laughs, "What? Not tough enough to carry it all back yourself, big guy?"

He shoots her a fake threatening look. "We wouldn't want me to get ambushed, would we?" 

Marvel grins, "Especially not by a snake."

Cato puts his hand on my back and guides me off the path of the woods, the voices of Wade and Marvel being drowned out by birds. 

Once we're out of sight from the rest of them, I turn to my companion. "Isn't it a bit early to be looking for firewood?" 

"You know we don't need firewood." He says, stepping closer to me until my back is pressed against a tree. "I've barely seen you the last two days."

Wrong Place, Right Time - Cato Hadley x OCWhere stories live. Discover now