Author's note: This is an AU version of The Hunger Games. The characters all remain the same and so does the real story up until where mine begins- in their first training session in the Capitol. After that, I take full creative control. Hope you enjoy. (And Disclaimer- I know, I don't own anything!)

Called Out In The Dark

Chapter One: We're Going Under If We Can't Be At Peace

I'm tired of being what you want me to be,
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface,
Don't know what you're expecting of me.

Linkin Park: Numb

Katniss kept her face impassive as she watched Cato rapidly, and continuously, decapitate the dummies that were set up in the sword-fighting section. Haymitch had told her enough about the Careers for her to know they would be lethal and to not be surprised by their weapons prowess.

She could not afford to show fear, surprise or any other emotion that they would leap upon as a weakness. But that didn't mean she wasn't afraid. This boy- no man, she corrected herself, for he was 18 and built like a fully grown soldier - was different from the other Careers. He was so intense that Katniss knew if any of the other tributes were to be her end it would be him.

That wasn't to say that his female counterpart- the tiny dark-haired District Two girl who had shown a terrifying and impressive skill with knives- hadn't intimidated her too. It was simply that Katniss could see the same determination to win in Cato that she knew was burning in her. They all wanted to win for the glory- all the Careers- and Cato was no different in his arrogance, but he had the edge on them. They had their individual skills; but he had all of that combined and the power of an ox on them.

She was still contemplating this- of how would she possibly survive if she didn't have a bow and arrow for her defence- when he stopped his training and locked his blue eyes on hers. She could do nothing but stare back as she froze on the spot, feeling as if time had stopped still. She could feel a blush inexplicably creeping up her cheeks as they continued to stare at each other. He tilted his head but did not tear his stare away, and Katniss felt her knees begin to tremble – from the awkward way she was knelt or because of the way he was looking at her she didn't know- but she was determined to not look away first.

I'm not going to let you break me, I'm not going to back down, she thought, even as her heart raced.

He seemed to read her mind then because he smirked and raised an eyebrow, chucking his sword carelessly to one side before striding over to her, eyes still on hers. He crouched down right next to her, leaving only centimetres between them, and he whispered, "So you're not afraid of me Fire Girl?"

Katniss could hear the taunting in his voice and her blood boiled. "No," she hissed back, "Not in the slightest."

His smirk widened and he leaned in closer still, so close that Katniss could feel his warm breath on her collarbone as he bent to her ear, "Not yet."

He stood up then, still smirking, before finally tearing his blue eyes away from her as he turned and made his way over to the weights section.

Katniss made herself stay still for a moment and she squeezed her eyes shut briefly before forcing herself up on to her feet. He was trying to intimidate her, he was taunting her. She could barely contain a growl as she strode over to the archery station, running her fingers over each bow available until one felt right.

She knew he was watching, in fact they all were, when she strode to the marker line and pulled the string tight. She gave herself a second or two of complete blankness before she let the arrow loose, already knowing it would hit the target's centre perfectly.

There was silence throughout the room as she spun around and she smiled triumphantly as she caught Cato's eyes once more. I'm not the only one who should be afraid, she thought, and you know it don't you?

She didn't stop to look at the rest of their faces; she simply set the bow back in its place and marched out of the training centre. There was no point staying in there anymore, she knew what she was good at, she knew what she could do, and she knew she could do with the advantage of leaving them with her threat hanging. Now they all knew that she was not a weak link; now they all knew she was a threat.

"Look, just go in there and do the best you can, you need to impress the Gamemakers to get yourself a decent score. Do you have an approach? Do you have a plan?" Haymitch was demanding answers, as the rest of the table remained silent.

"Katniss!" He launched a bread roll at her as she idly stirred her stew. "Do you have a plan?"

She stared up at him, furious, as the bread roll bounced from her shoulder to the floor, wondering why he was picking on her – as usual- and not Peeta.

"No, Haymitch, I do not have a plan. Why the fuck should I? Isn't that your job? Isn't it the Mentor's job to come up with plans and strategies? My plan is to stay alive and that's as far as I've got… Do you have anything better? Huh? 'Cos I would love to know if you've actually bothered to think up something that could keep us alive!" She could barely contain her rage as she pelted a roll right back at him.

"Katniss!" Effie tried to chastise her even as Haymitch swore violently.

"You want to stay alive sweetheart? Then you stop acting like such a bitch and give the people a reason to keep you alive! You want to live honey? Then damn well do what it takes and make a goddamn impression!"

Katniss gave a strangled cry in fury and bellowed, "What do you want me to do? Slap on a see-through dress and simper like that stupid District One girl? Do you want me to pretend I think this is an honour and not some sick, twisted game to show everyone that the Capitol is the power and the rest of are just slaves!"

She knew she had gone too far when even Haymitch paled at her remarks. Effie could only whimper and Cinna, Portia and Peeta just stared at her in shock.

She sat back down, having risen from her seat in her anger, before standing back up again. "I'm sorry," she said shortly, "My plan is to shoot some arrows. That's it." And she left the room as quick as she could, darting out into the hallway and pressing the lift button before anyone else would even be out of their seat.

She knew Peeta would try and follow her so she avoided the obvious spots where he would look and she slipped out of the elevator onto the training ground, sighing with relief when she spotted it was deserted. She headed straight for obstacle course and curled up next to one of the giant foam vaults that she had earlier watched the Careers tackle with ease.

She could feel herself calming down, and she began to feel contrite about her words. There was no need to shout at Haymitch. The guy was a drunk, and Katniss had been thankful for the help he had given so far. But she couldn't stop herself feeling furious about it all. And why should she pretend otherwise? Every year 23 children were killed for the sake of entertainment and people were either too shallow, too vain and too stupid to know better or too weak to do anything about it. She thought about the other tributes, wondering how they all really felt about being here. Even the Careers, she wondered, do they really think this is right?

She thought about Cato, and wondered about his life. Haymitch had said that Career tributes were trained for the Hunger Games from a young age until when they were 18. She hadn't asked what he meant by young age- had he meant from the age of 12, when they were eligible to be picked? Or had he meant earlier? When she was five and playing in the woods with her father, was Cato already been trained to kill?

She stopped herself in her tracks then, because she knew this line of thought would get her nowhere. She had two choices, and two choices only: kill or be killed. If she started to blur those lines and think about what was right, and who the other tributes really were, she would never get back home to look after Prim.

Suddenly, there was a soft thump behind her and she looked up and jumped, gasping, as Cato's face loomed over her.

He grinned, smug, as he slid gracefully off the vault and down next to her, "Scared?"

Katniss scowled back at him, "What are you doing here?" She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs as he rested his head against the foam behind them.

"I could ask you the same question." He closed his eyes and Katniss studied his face.

He was handsome- statuesque, stunning really- with his tan skin, dark blond, stylishly cut hair and chiselled features. She couldn't help but let her eyes flicker over his face. She had never really looked at boys before- not properly- and it was strange for her now to realise she had found someone she actually wanted to look at. It bothered her that it was Cato.

A second later his eyes snapped open and once more Katniss felt herself feeling trapped by his gaze, a blush creeping on her cheeks as she realised she had been caught staring.

"Like what you see do you?" his lips twisted up into another smirk, and his eyes stayed on hers, intense and searching, teasing her again.

She couldn't formulate a snide response- or any response- so she looked away from him to gather her thoughts, hoping some insult would come to her.

He seemed to enjoy her moment of mental lapse because he chuckled to himself, "Really? Girl on Fire has a thing for me? How… interesting."

Katniss glared at him, "You are such an arrogant prick. I am not even remotely interested in you. Don't flatter yourself."

His eyes flashed darkly and the smug grin disappeared, "Flatter myself? Are you serious? Do you really think I give a shit if you find me attractive, do you really think I give a shit about you at all?"

Katniss recoiled against the coldness in his tone, the underlying fury, before scowling back at him. "I don't think you give a shit about anything, anyone, but showing off the sick, twisted training you were given before you even got here." She made to stand up and leave; her attempt at escaping to somewhere and staying calm failing more with every second near him. But his hand shot out and he dragged her back as he stood too, causing her to lose her footing and stumble into the vault. She tried to shake her wrist loose but he kept a tight grip on her as he spun her to face him.

"You don't know anything about me." He hissed, his face twisted in anger and blue eyes dark.

Katniss pushed him hard in the chest with her free hand, "And you don't know anything about me."

They stood glaring at each other, Katniss' wrist still gripped in Cato's hand, their chests heaving. She wanted him to yell at her, so she could yell back, but they both remained silent and still until he released her hand and strode off, leaving Katniss alone once again, but even more confused and angry than before.

As she made her way back to her own floor and own bedroom she realised that she was beginning to cross that line she had drawn for herself: now she couldn't help but wonder who Cato really was and if she could really kill him.

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