promises • cato the hunger games

Seventeen

The nightmares are endlessly horrific. I can't wake up, no matter how much I try. I lost count of how many times I watch everyone close to me die. My mother, my father, Rose, Cato. And I can't do anything to stop it. I'm frozen to the spot, unable to help them as they're stabbed, shot, hung, poisoned...

Yeah, you get the idea.

I keep thinking I've woke up too. I'll open my eyes, and Cato'll be there. But then something'll happen. Another tribute will appear and stab him. Or even worse, he'll kill himself, saying he needs to die if I'm going to win.

Again, my eyes flutter open. This time I'm in a cave.

Cato's POV

"Penny? How are you feeling?" I ask quietly. She's been asleep on and off for nearly a week now, and I'm so bloody glad she's woke up.

"Is this real?" she whispers.

"What?"

"A-am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming. You've been asleep for days. I think you've been having nightmares. You've been screaming in your sleep," I tell her gently. She nods.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Fine," she's says, though she's clearly feeling like death warmed up. I can tell she's burning up; I can actually feel the heat radiating of her.

"Don't lie," I say, a little but sharper than I meant to.

"Fine then, I feel like shit. I feel even worse than when I blacked out. But there's nothing either of us can do about it, is there?"

I flinch.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "That came out wrong."

"No, it's okay." I think she's got a pretty good reason to be pissed.

"How long d'you think I've got left?" she asks.

"Shut up. You're going to be fine. I promise."

I don't know how just yet though. There's probably some plant that could help her, but I don't know how to find it, or what I would do with it when I did. I'm praying some sponsor sends something.

I'm desperate.

"Don't promise, Cato. You know you can't definitely help me."

I know she's right, but I'm not going to admit it. For the first time in my life, I'm scared. Scared I'm going to lose her. The only thing in this planet that I love whole-heartily. Now that I've got her, I'm not going to let her go.

"Can you sit up?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I, I don't think I can move," she says.

Okay, this is not good news.

"H-how much pain are you in on a scale of one to ten?" I ask her. It's pretty obvious how much pain she's in, I just can't think of anything else to say.

"Er, eight and a half," she says softly, though I know she's lying. She's in the worst pain imaginable, she just hates complaining.

"You're a rubbish liar, Penelope Smith," I tell her. She doesn't have the energy to think of some snarky come back like she usually does, she just attempts a smile.

"What happened when I was out?" she asks, sounding even quieter as the pain obviously seethes for a moment. I hate having to watch her suffer, knowing there's nothing I can do to stop it.

"Well, before I found you, we were waiting for Twelve to come down from her tree, and she dropped a nest of wasp things on us."

She gasps, and tries to sit up. It's clearly too painful for her, because her face scrunches up and sweat trickles down her temple.

"Don't try to move," I say, pushing her back down.

Penny's POV

"Are you okay?" I ask, through gritted teeth, because pain seems to be circulating around my body.

"Yeah, I was fine, had a few hallucinations but that's all," he says, still trying to stop me sitting up.

"Ow," I say. I didn't hurt as much as the pain as I'm now, but he stops pushing me down, and pulls me into a sitting position. I'm too weak to sit independently, so I lean against Cato.

"You're boiling, Penny," he says.

"I know," I sigh. Cato's already taken off my jacket when I was sleeping. If I was at home, I'd take all my clothes off, but I don't really want to do that now, in front of the whole nation.

"Who else is gone?" I ask.

"Er, Glimmer," he says, whilst I smile to myself. "The boy from Ten."

"And the boy from Twelve? He was in your pack, wasn't he?"

"Erm, yeah."

"Why?" I ask.

"To help us find Katniss," he says awkwardly.

"Oh. And where is he now?"

"I don't know. I thought I'd finished him off, I left him next to some lake, but his face didn't appear in the sky."

I feel sicker thinking about him lying somewhere, alone, in agony.

"What happened to Marvel?"

"I left him when I found you. I think he's at the Cornucopia."

I nod. "And where are we?"

"In a cave. No one'll find us here," he assures. I feel bad. He wants to be out, finding people, collecting weapons and supplies, but he's stuck in here with me. I'm making him weaker, I'm holding him back. He's sacrificing too much looking after me, which will probably be a wasted effort. I can feel myself getting weaker and weaker, wasting away.

I'm about to ask for water, when there's suddenly a loud bang, like an explosion. I swear, I jump about five feet.

"What the hell was that?" says Cato. He gently lays me back on the ground. "Stay there," he says. As if I can really move anywhere.

He pushes back a rock and exits the cave. He's only gone for a few minutes, but I still get nervous.

Cato's POV

I make sure no ones's around before I climb to the top of the cave and crane my neck. There's smoke coming from the direction of the Cornucopia. Someone must've blew up all the supplies. Well that was pretty stupid.

"What was it?" asks Penny when I get back in the cave.

"I think some idiot's blew up everything in the Cornucopia," I say angrily. Now we're relying solely on sponsors. I'll bet there was medicine for Penny there too.

Two cannons go off. Penny shudders. "D'you think one of those was Marvel?"

"Probably," I say. I know she feels bad for every death, but I just see it as one more step to get her out of here.

She closes her eyes.

"Don't go the sleep," I order her.

I'm not sure this is exact medical protocol, but I'm terrified if she falls asleep again, she'll never wake up.