And... THE STORY STILL HAS A PULSE! Hey guys- I apologize for abandoning this for so long, but I'm back in it and I'm going to finish it if it's the last thing I do!

Chapter 10

The anthem blared.

From above, a giant portrait of Marvel's stupid grin filled the sky for the last time. Following him, the gentle face of Rue appeared and disappeared in almost the same second.

Silence reigned.

The arena seemed so much quieter when no one was around. In all the time since the games started, there had always been someone nearby. Granted, most of them were idiots that I couldn't wait to get rid of- but I had allies never the less.

Everyone was gone now. The only person left was Clove.

After I almost took an arrow to the skull earlier, I made no rush to return back to the Cornucopia. I already knew who would be there and what she would ask. There was no point listening to her bitching and complaining if I didn't feel like putting up with it in the first place.

So then I walked. I walked for hours, wanting to put as much distance between the Cornucopia and me as possible. I would go back later, when I wanted to. Now, I only felt the prickly impulse to scratch my way out of all the things I had just witnessed.

Everything had backfired. Everything had gone wrong in the course of six hours.

And it was entirely Clove's fault.

If she hadn't had showed up that night, none of this would have happened. Rue would've been alive and well. My plans would've been functioning. I even had Katniss in my fingertips, and her trust.

I had been so unbelievably close.

And that was the thought that irritated me most of all. The task was nearly complete. If I had been given more time- perhaps even another day, our outcomes would have been much different. We would've hunted Marvel and Clove down at the Cornucopia and gotten rid of them completely. Rue would've been alive, and she'd be safe.

But then what?

How much longer did I really think I could continue this game?

Eventually, they would have to die. I knew that the moment I volunteered in the mountains. Hell, I even knew it when they were my allies. I always knew that they had to die for me to win.

And I didn't even have to be the one to kill them.

Perhaps it was better this way. There was no chance I could have the kid's blood on my hands and I didn't have to worry about how to dispose of her. As innocent and gentle as she was, everyone knew she stood no chance in a place like this.

But even so, the very thought of how gruesome her death gave me an uncomfortable feeling. I couldn't tell if was anger or flat out repulsion. It was probably both.

When I decided to head back, an orange light flickered from the mouth of the Cornucopia. I trudged across the clearing of ruins with a sight frown. I didn't think I'd ever see Clove do something for her survival that didn't involve her knives. She would rather zip up her jacket and grit it out the rest of the night instead of get her hands dirty.

She was sitting next to the fire with her legs crossed. She glanced up at me coldly, but didn't say a word. I ignored her and dropped my sword on the floor.

By now she would have learned the outcomes of what had happened that afternoon. She would know Katniss survived the attack. She would know Marvel's plan had backfired and got him killed. She probably thought both of us had died since I took such a long time returning.

I reached for my sleeping bag and cushioned it under my left ear, facing away from her.

The fire crackled.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I heard her speak.

"I thought you ran off with her."

I scoffed at that. So it hadn't been my death she considered. It had been something completely different- something worse in her mind.

I decided not to say anything back. There was nothing to discuss that wasn't already obvious.

The last thing I heard was Clove's unanswered question crackling from the flames before I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke, both Clove and the fire were gone. The dry musk of smoke was still prominent, but all that remained was ashes.

I sat up and stretched my arms. It was still dark out, but dawn was approaching. Somewhere within the trees, the stirring of the mutations were audible. The wind was still.

Eventually, a shadow fell over me. Clove leaned against the side of the mouth, chugging down the water from her flask. When she finished, she flicked the cap in place and looked down at me.

"So Marvel's gone. I'm guessing that little bitch got to him before I could."

I ignored her by cracking my back, loudly. She waited for an explanation and crossed her arms. Her narrowed, beady eyes told me that I wasn't going to get out of this without some sort of word.

Instead of responding, I grabbed my own backpack and began gathering leftover knives and food remnants within the Cornucopia. I began stuffing them in the smaller pockets where they were more easily accessible. Clove watched me, suspiciously.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

I fingered through the rest of my food supply in my biggest pocket. Once I had finished, I zipped up the pockets and threw the strap over my shoulder.

"I'm going after her at daybreak," I announced.

Clove didn't move, just like I expected. It was probably the shock of it, the sheer ridiculousness of my statement alone that put her bitching in play. "Why?" she finally muttered, scathingly.

I looked up at her. "You know why."

"No, I don't," she took a menacing step forward. It was strange having her taller than me for once- glaring down at me with a mad gleam in her eye. It was almost frightening. "You said- no, promised me, that she was my kill. You can't go off without me! No. I don't care how much you want to avenge Marvel, you can't-"

"I never said I was going to kill her."

Clove paused, while I watched both the realization and suspicion churn through her dark eyes. I remained relaxed, and rolled my jacket sleeves to my elbows.

I stood up. "This is what's going to go down, from here on out. I'm going to find her, and then-"

"You'll what?" Clove spat, seething with anger. "Sweep her off her feet and ride into the sunset? Huh? Is that what you think? No. No way in hell are you coming back here with her. I won't allow it."

"She'll make a good ally," I backfired. "Especially when we track down the guy from 11."

"Does it look like I give a fuck?" Clove nearly screamed. "No! No. Cato- we don't need her. We don't need that scum from that poor district!"

I let my backpack drop roughly back on the ground. "Don't start with that crap," I told her menacingly. "You know as good as I do that those excuses died long ago."

"God- what does it matter?" she said, exasperatedly. "Cato- we don't need any more allies! There are only four others out there- why the hell-"

"She'll be useful is she's on our side," I argued. "We'll have one less threat to worry about. I don't understand why you're bitching and complaining about it."

Clove was shaking, she was so angry. Eventually, after I strapped my sword onto my belt and headed out to fill my flask, I heard her call from the Cornucopia, trembling.

"She won't want you, you know."

I froze on the spot.

Then, I slowly turned around to look at her.

"Yeah, that's right," her fists were in tiny balls, her feet apart. "After what you did- she'll never want you again. You think no one knows what you're really doing- what you're really after? Cato- you poor, sorry ass, suck up. Your pride cannot blind me."

She knew it was coming. The sword dropped so fast that it only had time to hit the ground before I had her throat in my grasp, her tiny neck warm with heated anger. Her nails sunk into my fingers, but she didn't let up on her expression. She looked me square in the eye.

"We're back to this, yeah?" she hissed. "Thinking you can just torture those who tell a truth too painful for your soft, little ears?"

"She'll want me," I said low and venomously. "She always has."

She smiled horribly. "No. Not anymore."

"Yes, she will," I squeezed tighter, but Clove just adjusted.

She let out a throaty laugh. "What, are you trying to wriggle a lie out of me? What do you want me to say? You want me to take it back?"

"I want you to rot in the ground."

She laughed again. "That's the best you can do?" she challenged. "Wow. I expected better. But fine- kill me. Do what you want. It'll only prove my point all the more. At least I wouldn't settle for Lover Boy's leftovers."

The hand wrapped around her neck had become so strict that she actually began to choke. She didn't look afraid- but her face was blooming red. As she coughed and sunk her nails further into my flesh, I smiled darkly.

"This would be too easy of a death for you," I muttered. "Too boring. Which is a shame, because I do feel the impulse to smother the living existence out of you." I finally released her, letting her knees fall to the floor. "No. I think I'll let the girl on fire end you. You can die the way Marvel died."

Clove rubbed her neck, glaring up at me spitefully. "And how did he die?"

I shook my head, hooking my sword back into my belt. I grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder for the second time, heading straight into the heart of the forest.

"I guess you'll find out."

For the first time in a long time- I didn't have a game plan.

I usually always did. It was something we were all taught in training, to always strategize and think things through before making a decision. Reckless wandering only got people killed. The most lethal people were the intelligent ones, the ones that had a strategy figured out.

I had done a lot of the decision making in the arena. I kept the morons from District 1 alive much longer than they were supposed to be, and I had thought most of the ideas through. I strategized what I was going to do with Katniss almost every hour since I entered the games.

But not anymore. Now- I was wandering again, carrying only questions on my back.

She was furious with me. She wanted to kill me. How in the world was I supposed to approach her again without an arrow penetrating my back?

And even if she had cooled down, where would I begin to search for her? As much as I wanted to parry any argument against me not really knowing her- I didn't know where she would go. I never paid attention to the routes she seemed to favor. I didn't even know her well enough to know whether she would still be fuming angry with me.

I really didn't know.

All I knew was that some part of me wanted her back. I needed her to know that Rue's death wasn't on me. I needed her to trust me again.

It was just something I had to do.

I shoved the hanging plants out of my way and slashed any that caught my ankles. I supposed keeping an eye out for a bundle in the trees near the river was a start. Where would she go after the death of a friend? Would she go into hiding- or would she forgo any camouflage for confrontation?

It appeared I would see in time.

The sun rose to its peak. My movements trudging through the heavy dirt and over logs were beginning to pattern. The trees were unmoving and vacant- but every now and then I would catch a figure in the branches, just from the corner of my eye. But whenever I'd whip my head around to look at it more closely, nothing would remain.

Although my vision began to deceive me, my hearing was sharp. I heard every twig I stepped on and every little rustle from a nearby mutation. Other than that, the forest was dead. If anyone were around, I would have at least heard them breathe. No one could remain so unearthly silent.

The sun began its descent- and still, there was no sign of anyone.

I sighed, wiping an arm across my sweaty brow. I knew it would difficult to track her down, but I wasn't making any progress whatsoever. I couldn't find one tribute. From what it seemed, Clove and I were the only two breathing tributes in the whole damned arena.

Katniss.

Where could she be?

Eventually, I came upon the mad, rushing sound of water. This river was greater than any of the others I'd encountered- not the little creeks snaking around the arena. This was the mother river, with a decent sized clearing and plenty of chalk-white boulders.

I stopped when I approached the last layer of plant. This was a good spot for anyone to see another tribute and plan an attack, just like the clearing surrounding the Cornucopia. It was a good spot for Katniss, especially.

Did I dare risk my life putting myself in her grid of action? Would I be impaled the moment she saw me?

Hardly likely anyone was there, I decided. As much as there was a possibility of Katniss hiding out nearby, there was also a bigger possibility of her not being there entirely.

With that thought, I stepped out onto the boulder.

Nothing happened.

I approached the bank of the river with cautious steps. Very slowly, I reached into my backpack to grab my flask.

Still nothing.

I popped the cap open and lowered the metal into the water.

Nothing.

No one was there.

Sighing, I lifted my flask and screwed the cap back into place. I had to admit it was both relieving and disappointing she wasn't nearby. I would prefer to approach her in the forest with the safety of tree trunks and leaves- but at the same time, it meant I'd have to head over to another part of the arena to locate her.

Damned girl.

I walked upstream for a bit to see where it curved off. At one point, a few pebbles scattered from the direction of a boulder and a pile of mud, but I decided it was nothing after studying it for a solid minute. It was probably just another mutation getting some water.

The sky began to fade. Evening was approaching, and I wasn't in any condition to continue further without sleep. An afternoon of wasted energy was disappointing enough as it was.

I found a spot off the river that was a reasonable place to camp. Down a fairly steep drop, shrubs and vines surrounded a body length hole embedded in the hill. I tied my backpack to one of the vines and shifted myself inside, feeling the cold moisture of the earth surrounding me. This would have to do.

And then tomorrow, I would find her.

The water slithered around the soles of my boots as I made my way up the creek. It was a shallow waterway, with a variety of dead branches and multicolor stones. I kept my eyes cast downwards to peruse the water for signs of fish.

I hadn't learned much hunting in training, but I did have experience from my father. He could take down a thousand pound elk with a switchblade and nothing else. I hadn't seen any elk come across my path the whole time I had been in the arena, but I figured the method for fish wasn't much different.

While I had my sword poised for attack above the creek, a swift whipping sound cut through the air like a knife.

An arrow clattered against the stones.

I could see the animal that the arrow had been intended for. It was a furry brown thing that quickly scurried off into the plants once it realized it was being targeted.

I looked up.

My breath hitched.

There she was.

She was standing much farther up ahead, unable to see me. Her feet were planted on the rocks while her stance was proud, her hair falling in a gentle braid over her right shoulder. The silver ring of her bow flared in the sunlight.

I couldn't believe I had found her.

What should I do?

Katniss lowered her bow and reluctantly pulled out another arrow. The animal was long gone, but she wasn't going to let it go. With a graceful step, she landed in the creek and began making her way across it for a better search.

I stepped forward.

She stopped where she was.

Then, she looked right at me.

I knew my presence startled her since she stilled immediately. She regarded me with careful eyes, alarming eyes- unsure of what to make of my sudden appearance.

I began to walk towards her. The crunching of water under my boots sounded prominently throughout, cutting through the tranquil hum of the forest. I kept my eyes trained on her, and made sure to lower my sword.

After a few steps, she suddenly jerked out of her statue-like character and poised her weapon directly for my head.

I stopped in my tracks.

She hadn't released it yet, so that had to have meant something. She wasn't as angry with me as she was before, otherwise she would've released the arrow without a second thought. But even still, there was a danger in her stance- and she knew she had every reason to kill me on the spot.

No solution came to mind. Instead, my body took over and I slowly resumed my walk forward.

She still didn't release the arrow, but I felt the growing danger in every step I took. Every second that passed, she debated ending my life.

I began to approach her.

Now I could see the details of her face. Her eyes were the same as when I last saw her, blazing silver through a coat of tears. She despised my existence. She hated every part of me and there was nothing I could do or say to change her mind.

I had pushed her too far. I could see it in her face. Now- she was going to kill me.

I stopped for the last time, right in front of her.

Her hands trembled on the weapon, but it was still poised for my face. I gazed down at her, through the lines of the bow and past the arrow. I gazed right into her heart and she let me, driving me a look that expressed every thought of hate and betrayal that had coursed through her. Now I understood the hopelessness of my goal. Now I understood what I had to do.

Slowly, I released the sword handle from my fingertips.

It hit the rocks below me with a sharp clang.

She briefly glanced down at my abandoned weapon. She seemed slightly shocked, but she wouldn't release the hate and anger coursing through her features.

My knees hit the ground. I felt the cold sting of the water soak through my pants.

She immediately took a step backwards at my sudden movement, but lowered her arrow so it was still aimed for my forehead. Her eyes were ringing down at me with disbelief, incredibility-

I closed my eyes and leaned my head forward, so I felt the jagged point of her arrow rest against my brow.

"It's you," I told her. "You are my death."

The arrow trembled against my flesh. I didn't open my eyes again. I only waited for the pain- once she finally decided to put an arrow through my skull and end my misery.

I jerked awake so abruptly I almost went tumbling down the hill.

My fingers sunk into the earth to steady myself. I breathed heavily, my eyes wide with shock.

My backpack was still tied to the vine. I was still ledged in the space hanging from the hill's slope. There was dirt on my arms and jacket.

My fingers automatically found my forehead.

No arrow mark.

It was a dream.

It was a dream.

Relief flooded through me in waves.

It wasn't real. I wasn't dead.

I wasn't dead.

Sweat ran down the side of my face. I immediately extricated myself from the hole and sat up, breathing in the cold, brisk wind. I hadn't dreamt so vividly in years, not since I was a child. Even now, I could feel the wet stains on my knees and the prod of Katniss's arrow. It was as real as ever. It was as if it really happened.

I was going to let her kill me.

I swallowed, hard. I had let go of the sword when my life was at risk. I didn't fight back. I didn't even try. And that wasn't even the worst part.

I had wanted her to kill me.

My heart stopped, making the world around me quiet. Then, sheer anger replaced my confusion.

What the hell was I doing? As useful as she was to me- was I really going to permit her to kill me so easily? That wasn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to win. I was the victor.

How dare she try and take it.

My fist clamped down hard on my sword, until I drew blood. The arena was mine. The game was mine. Every tribute and every mutation that got in my way was mine.

She was mine. I was not hers.

I wanted her to suffer for making me dream such things. It was absolute ludicrous. There was no way in hell I was letting such a thing happen. I was going to survive until the end- even if it meant tracking her down to the ends of earth to wretch open her insides. I wanted to watch her bleed before me and die.

A flame burned within. I had never felt such bloodlust in my life.

The quest for her heart was a futile and idiotic task. This wasn't how I was raised and this wasn't what I was going to keep pretending my goal was. In the end- it shouldn't have mattered who was behind Rue's death.

Let her believe I was part of it. Let her fear me.

I stood up then, gazing into the black sky.

The girl on fire had to die. She was the lone reason everything had gone wrong. She had ruined everything. Everything I had trained for, everything I had prepared myself for. She had to die. She had to die.

I wouldn't let her have my mind anymore. She could steal Lover Boy's or Marvel's or the whole damn Capitol's for all I cared. I wouldn't let her control me. No. I was not to be made a fool of any longer. She could not have me.

I would not let her.

I looked down at my last weapon- the sword that had been hooked onto my belt since Day 1.

And then I laughed. I had never been so happy to see it. I had never dreamt about someone's blood along the shining edges so vividly. I could hardly wait. I could hardly wait to feel the relief of completely detaching her from my person.

She would not be my death.

I would be hers- and it would mean everything. It would be so extravagant that the Capitol would forever remember me for it.

Snow's task was long gone.

Now- I had a brand new one, something I made myself.

Kill the target.

Suddenly, Claudius's voice filled the arena. "Attention, tributes. Attention. The regulations requiring a single victor have been suspended. From now on, two victors may be crowned, if both originate from the same district. This will be the only announcement."

It was logic, not the rule change that sent me back to the Cornucopia.

The last person I wanted to team up with again was Clove, but I didn't have many options anymore. If I was going to take Katniss down, I needed someone to have my back. And if it involved her death, it wouldn't be hard to garner Clove's support.

When I finally stumbled back to the clearing, the horn was completely abandoned. Frowning, I revolved around the structure to make sure she wasn't camping around it, but nothing remained.

I sighed, crossing my arms.

She probably knew better than to stick around if I claimed I was bringing Katniss back to kill her. It was a pretty wise move.

But where would Clove go?

I took only a few steps back into the forest before I found her- or she found me. A swirling dagger flew right between my face and the tree I was about to pass. I automatically turned to see her sitting against a tree amongst her pile of crap.

She had another knife ready in case Katniss appeared, but when she realized I was alone, she lowered it.

I approached her and dropped my sword on the shrub. I gave her a wicked smile.

"She's all yours."

Clove smiled back.

I sat opposite of her and began looking for something to eat in my backpack. As long as I kept feeding her the lie that I was surrendering the girl on fire to her, there would be nothing keeping her from aiding me. But when our confrontation finally occurred, there would be a change of plan- all petty promises aside.

When I found her, I would kill her in my own way, and no one would interfere.

I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter, but the next one will be full of it! Please leave your thoughts and comments ^^ Review!