Clove Kentwell ~ The Victor

~ The Battle With Thresh ~

Finally, Peeta dies without the medicine. We hear the cannon late that night. We high five eachother, then settle for the night. Cato tells me that we will refill opn our water supply and go hunting for food because we have been running low tomorrow. I drift off into a restful sleep.

The next morning, I split the last slice of bread and eat half. I give the other to Cato. Then we set off in search for food. I find a bush of berries that I remember aren't poisenous. I get a good bunch. Cato manages to throw a spear into a rabbit. The spear is so big is punctures the rabbit whole. He shrugs and grins sheepishly.

After, we fill our water bottles. Then we put the food and water into our packs. I take my jacket off. It sure is hot. We sit there for a little bit. I use a lizard for target practice. Then night falls. It feels so quick.

I put my jacket on and stand up, stretching out my legs. Suddenly, a wolfish looking thing jumps onto me. I feel how close the teeth are snapping to my neck. I stab it in the head with my knife. I scream at Cato. I see him batting off another with his sword.

"Let's go, let's go!" I screech at him. We take off at full speed. There are only a few mutts, 5 in all. But they all are ganging up on us and hunting us down, just like we do to other tributes. Since I'm faster then Cato, he just ends up following me. I run to cornucopia, even though I have no idea how it will help us.

"We have to fight," pants Cato. "There going to catch us." Without waiting for a response, he starts battling with the first mutt. I throw a knife into one mutts leg, and it whines and limps away. Then I grab a larger knife and point it at a mutt in a defensive positian. Cato has his sword stuck in the wolfs throat.  The mutt jumps at me. I drag the knife across the mutts face. It barks and slashes my arm. I gasp with pain, but keep on fighting.

I stab it twice in the stomach. It howls and dies. Two more mutts left. One of the mutt jumps at Cato. I run over to help him, only to be knocked to the ground with the other mutt. I keep moving my head to avoid it's teeth near my throat. Then I slash wildly at it, having no idea where I cut it since my eyes are closed.  But it was enough to drive it away. I run at the mutt and jump onto it's back, stabbing it. Cato spears its leg. Then he decapitates it with his sword. We are both sweating with the effort of killing those mutts.

"That was so close," I say.

"Yeah," he says. "I learned never to collect food at a finally. And he unzips his pack and throws his food away."

I laugh. "Let's hunt for Thresh," I say. Cato nods

He heads off away from cornucopia. Secretly, I will treat my mutt scratch. Luckily, once more it is on my left arm. I roll up my sleeve and sit on the ground and unzip my pack. I can't tell which medicine will actually help me, so I just put a little of everything on my arm. Then I roll up my sleeve again.

As soon as I get up, something wraps around me and yanks me off the ground. It slams me against cornucopia and pins me tjere. I get one tiny glimpse of Thresh before I scream for Cato. Before he can kill me, Cato comes up and attacks Thresh. He pushes him away and I try to regain my breathing. I pull out my knife. Thresh is battling Cato with a sickle. I throw my knife at him, but he ducks. He shoves Cato hard and he tumbles onto the ground. Then he comes toward me. I step back, having better aim. I throw my knife and it hits his shoulder. He grunts then attacks me. Cato grabs his sword a few feet away, and slashes at Thresh. It hits him in the back. I step him in the leg. He falls, and I throw my last knife, hitting him in the stomach. Cato then impales him with the sword. Soon the cannon fires. We know he's dead, we are the victors.

The sun rises quickly, unnormally. We stand, waiting for the hovercraft. Nothing appears. Then Cladius Templesmitch speaks.

"Attention tributes. The rules have changed. Only 1 victor may be crowned. Goodluck!"

Neither of us hesitate before we get back into battle mode. I run far away, knowing that I am better at long range, I cannot win against Cato close up. Since I'm faster then him, I get quite far ahead. He probably knows this is the end for him.

His eyes stare at me. Totally innocent, after killing all those people "Sorry," I say carelessly. "What can I do?  It's the rule change, not me." The knife I throw lodges into his head and he thuds to the ground. I refuse to look at his body. I don't care if he's dead. I won the Hunger Games. I'll have to face his family, which I always liked. But they won't care for me anymore. But I've just done District 2 a huge favor. It doesn't matter what people think of me. I won fair.