star crossed lovers ➸ cato hadley

ix. round two

     Natalie looked down at the material, frowning at the black and light grey sheer jumpsuit that did nothing to cover up her baby bump. No matter how hard the Capitol citizens tried, President Snow had refused to stop the games. The Mellark female knew that he had no intention in considering it; she was the flame for the rebellion. She needed to be killed. 

"You're going to be a great mom, Natalie." Cinna says, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "You will make it out, I promise." Cinna always knew what was on Natalie's mind. There was no way Snow was going to let the mistake happen again, especially as his own grand-daughter was in the running then it was certain that Rosen Snow was going to win. But that didn't stop Cinna in believing in her.

"I'm scared." Natalie finally admitted. There wasn't just Peeta she needed to look after like the first time. She was a mother, wife and sister; her whole family was fighting for the death and there was nothing she could do to protect the ones she loved. Natalie had so much to lose, one small slip up can cause everything to come crashing down.

Natalie's eyes immediately shown with fear upon hearing the countdown in the Launch Room. Cinna gave her one last smile as she stepped onto the circular mental plate. She suspected the pod to rise the moment she stepped inside but as it didn't move, she realized something was wrong.

Several peacekeepers wandered in a second later, going straight over to Cinna and started beating him. "No!" Natalie screamed, pounding on the glass in attempt to break it. "Stop it!" Tears streamed down her face as she watched Cinna being beaten to death, knowing that there was nothing she could do. The peacekeepers took no notice in her pleads and begs as they dragged his lifeless body out of the room, the plates finally rising.

With her hands shaking and her breathing rapid, Natalie was soon consumed in darkness. The endless nightmares about this moment couldn't compare to the horror it now became. She had lost her friend, for what reason she did not know. Her husband and her brother was no where in sight. President Snow knew her greatest weakness and was baiting her once again.

     This time, Natalie Mellark was prepared. She forced down the fear that was lingering and locked it deep inside her. She was going to become the heartless monster he wanted. She just hoped that he was ready.

Beautiful blue water surrounded Natalie from every direction. As usual, the cornucopia laid in the middle with the tributes surrounding it. In between the thin strips of land was two tributes in each sector. In the same sector as Natalie was Cashmere. On the other side of the piece of land was Brutus. There was no one in sight that she was on friendly terms with.

"Ladies and gentleman, let the seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith hammering in her ears.

As soon as the gong echoed throughout the arena, Natalie dived into the water without a second thought. The Mellark twins were definitely not swimmers but survival instincts kicked in and Natalie soon found herself swimming forward, her arms and legs spreading out.

Her eyes burned from the salt but she pushed forward, hurriedly swimming through the waves. She grabbed the strip of land and lifted herself from the water. Natalie barely had a chance to move before someone grabbed her ankle and threw her back into the water. Water quickly clogs Natalie's throat as she let out a silent scream.

Large hands wrapped around her neck, trying to choke her as Natalie kicked at the person, clawing at their hands. Her vision began to darken as small hands pryed the unknown person away. Natalie broke the surface for the second time, coughing up water as Rosen grabbed the District Five male and slammed his head against the ground until his skull shattered.

As soon as the male was dead, Rosen helped Natalie to her feet dismissing the blood on her hands. "You just gonna let us do all the hard work?" She winked before running towards the cornucopia, leaving Natalie with no other choice but to follow.