Return of the Mockingjay

Chapter 45

That night my dreams are haunted by that image. The memory of my first games as Cato effortlessly broke the neck of that poor boy from District 5. And then the standoff between Cato and I, when there were only the three of us left and Cato had Peeta's head in that same headlock. Although my arrow defeated Cato it was Peeta's quick thinking that saved us that day, right before my little trick with the berries. My eyes blink open to another day in this hell which is Wolfe's arena. Yesterday we took the decision to lay low as the careers would be searching for their missing team member. After Cato killed Haymitch, he filled his jacket pockets with rocks and tossed his body into the lake where it would sink and the spider would no doubt eat it. Peeta would eventually figure out that Haymitch was dead, and he'd also know that it was most likely us that killed him.

He'll be angry at losing another ally but ever more incensed that I'm still alive. Maybe I'll have to start heeding Cato's caution or I could get us both killed. Twice my decisions have led us into trouble and each time we've somehow escaped, and one of those times with the help of Rue who we haven't seen since. I climb from my mouldy mattress in our derelict building, wander through to the adjoining bathroom and stand in front of the cracked mirror. My mockingjay suit is covered in dust, dirt and dried mud from the lake shore and in a few places its burnt from the raging fire of a few nights ago. I'm so glad we came out of that relatively unscathed, if I'd of lost Cato into that pit of flames then my days would definitely be numbered, it's clear I can't survive without his help.
I look at my dirty face, the swollen cheek and black eye from where Haymitch struck me yesterday has bloomed and my braid, which has started to unravel looks dirty and unkempt. I smile to myself at what my Peeta would think of my appearance. I smell too, but there's nowhere here to bathe, not unless you don't mind swimming with an enormous man eating spider that is.

Cato stirs and gets up to a sitting position.

"Hey" I say as I spit on a piece of fabric and try to at least wipe away some of the dirt from the face.

"what's the plan for today?"

"I guess we've gotta try and tackle that spider again but we've got a problem. Peeta knows we're in the area what with our last fight with the spider and then with Haymitch. We need to strike fast and kill it before the careers hear the noise and come looking for us"

"So how do we do that exactly"

"We need to plan it, last time we attacked with no strategy. That's one thing Lyndon taught me during my training is to always plan ahead. If we do that then we have a chance, and we might pull it off before the careers arrive"

"Okay, you're the Mockingjay, what's the plan?"

"Well that's just it, I don't know but I'll think of something, hopefully"

Cato shakes his head and laughs sarcastically "You're really something else you know that? You keep coming out with this great master plan of yours but you ain't gotta clue as to how it's gonna be carried out!" says Cato angrily.

"Okay, you figure it out!" I yell whilst pointing my finger at him.

"We'd be better off drawing them out and killing them one at a time, we've killed two in just a few days and if we keep that up then we could still win!"

"No, Peeta would eventually figure that out and we'd lose, although it would help if we knew how many were left in the career pack"

Cato looks to the floor, deep in thought. "Well, Peeta still has Blight and Foxface and we're not sure about Enobaria, he could be down to just the three allies although there were so many more tributes that started the games. They could be dead or they might not of found Peeta yet, without the cannon and the updates from the gamemakers its impossible to know just how many are left. It's as if they've kept it a secret for a reason"

I walk to the window and look out across the arena,  my mind trying to remember the names of the fallen. "So far we know Marvel, Chaff, Clove, Finnick, Glimmer, Gloss and Haymitch are dead. Enobaria could be dead or dying. With Peeta, Foxface and Blight that only makes 11 and if you include us and Rue then that makes 14. How many started the games?"

"The same as always, 24"

"So what we need to find out is where are the other 10 tributes, did they fight it out among themselves or are they hiding out somewhere?" That last comment triggers a thought. "Cato, you said that all the tributes from the quarter quell were in the games, does that include the morphlings?"

"Yeah, they were there in training as well as a few others. Seeder, Brutus, Beetee, Wiress, Thresh, Mags and Wolf. They must of all launched into the games as we did. They're either dead or roaming the arena somewhere, but they're just the ones I trained with, there could be more"

"So why haven't we seen them, they can't all be dead?"

"I don't know, it's a big arena so I guess it could be that we've just missed them. Neither of us have been back to the launch rooms at the other end of the arena since the beginning, they could be there I guess"

I look out the window at the arena that stretches out before me. The early morning sun beats down and it looks like it's gonna be another scorching hot day. For the last week the gamemakers have chosen to end the rain and mist from those early days and bath the arena in hot sunshine. From our viewpoint we can see right across to the buildings on the opposite  side of the arena, the forest,  lake and meadow all lay in view below us but when you look to our right toward the far end of the arena all you can see is heat haze, if there are any other tributes at that end we can't see them from this far away. My attention gets drawn back to the lake, which seems to be a regular flash point in the battle between us and the careers. Peeta walks out from the tree line, his hood pulled over his head and his bow held loosely in his right hand. He looks around trying to see us but my hand comes up to my mouth in shock as Foxface and Blight follow him out into the sunshine with Rue held captive, her arms tied behind her back.

"No!" I scream as I grab my bow and take off toward the stairs.

"Katniss wait, it's a trap!" yells Cato as he runs after me. I bound down the stairs two at a time to the ground floor then run across the street and straight into the forest. I'm not going to let her die, not again, not after I failed her last time. I run headlong through the trees until I reach the opposite shore and watch as Peeta loads an arrow and points it straight at Rue as the other two tributes stand aside to allow him a clear shot. Rue stands in the bright sunshine, while Peeta the executioner stands opposite, dead still, his cape gently blowing in the breeze.
"Stop, wait!" I yell from the other side of the lake.

Peeta lowers his bow, pulls back his hood and stares across the lake at me. He's smiling in victory, that he's about to make my life even more horrifying. I take off at a run along the shore, loading an arrow of my own as I sprint but when I look back he raises his bow, laughs out load and shoots the arrow straight through Rue's heart.