Just a Game

Chapter Twelve

A/N: This is the last chapter! Thank you to everyone who's been reading this story, I really appreciate it ^o^

Jaycen xx

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I fight them off for about ten minutes. I almost kill one of them by strangling it, but the rest of the mutts pull me away. Their claws tear at my face which was unprotected. One of my eyes was already scratched shut and I could feel blood streaming down my face from my broken nose and torn lips. I'm still on my feet, attempting to beat them away with a small knife I grabbed from my pack. I glance up and saw the District 12 tributes watching me fight the mutts. The only satisfaction I get from that glance was that I see Lover Boy bleeding heavily from his wound.

That moment I am distracted, the mutts tackle me down to the ground, knocking my knife out of my hand. They continue to bite and scratch me, but they don't seem to want to kill me right away. I realize that they were trying to tear off my limbs, one by one, leaving me in great pain, and almost begging for death. I float in and out of consciousness, short memories making their way into my sights when I blacked out.

A laugh echoes through the meadow. It's a sweet laugh, not unlike one I had heard so recently.

"Come on, Cato," a voice says. "Hurry up!"

My head swivels around to the direction the voice came from. It was none other than Clove.

I shout out. "I'm hurrying, but they won't let me go!"

I wasn't sure what we were talking about. It seemed that I wasn't in control of my own body, but rather a viewer, stuck in the back of my mind, watching myself be controlled.

"You have to let go," she says, appearing beside me. She grabbed a hold of my arm. "You have to want to death. You have to crave it. Beg for it, Cato."

"I'm not the type to beg," I say. "You know that, Clover."

"If you give in, you'll be with me forever. We'll stay here without anyone else breaking us up."

A picture of my sister, Comyna, flashed in front of my eyes. I thought of the way she giggled when I gave her a hug everyday when I went home. I remembered when she was just a baby, how I'd rock her to sleep when my parents were too tired. Did I want to stay here with Clove? I still had a family I wanted to see, but I know that I won't be able to see them until they died like I knew I would. But staying here forever, with a girl I barely knew, seemed like the only way I could escape the pain my body was going through back up in the Games.

Either she could read my thoughts, or my expression was giving something away, Clove backed away from me, a tearful look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cato," she says, blinking back her tears. "I wish that it were easier for us to be together. I know you miss your family, and so do I. You can choose to leave me forever, Cato, I won't hate you. If you go somewhere else, you'll eventually see your family again."

I felt tears coming to my own eyes, and I didn't bother to wipe them away. Clove began to walk away, but I called her back and wrapped her in my arms. I could feel her shuddering and sniffling, her tears soaking through my shirt.

"I really like you, Clove," I say. "We've always been looking forward to participating in the Games since we were young. I've wanted to represent our district, but I didn't realize that if we lost, how much we would lose. I regret volunteering, but I'm glad I got to know you.

"But I can't stay here forever. I still have a family that I'm willing to wait for. I'll miss you, Clover. You're one of the only people in the world that's seen me cry like this, by the way," I add, smiling a little.

She smiles a little as well. "I get it, Cato. It's okay. I'll really miss you.

I put my lips against hers, and after a moment, she kisses me back.

I'm pulled out of this dream, still with my arms around Clove. I feel the mutts on me again. I don't think that my right arm is attached to me anymore. But I don't dare to look. The sun has risen again, and I turn my eyes away from the dazzling brightness.

I spot Katniss, looking at me with a strange look in her eyes. I'm in pain, so much pain, that I stare at her, begging her to kill me. She realizes what I'm saying, and notches her arrow. I close my eyes, praying that I will get out of this without too many regrets.

I tell myself, just before everything goes black with a whiz of an arrow, not to worry because it was just a game.

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Fin