promises • cato the hunger games

Twenty-Six

I open my eyes. I'm lying in the arena still, but it's different; light and cloudy. The air feels thicker, more dense. It feels like I'm in a dream. Maybe I am.

The forest is deserted. Not even the leaves on the trees are rustling. I can hear someone shouting too, yelling. It sounds suspiciously like Cato. Where is he? I start running like crazy, trying to find him.

"Cato? Cato!"

And then I see him. He's in an even worse state than when I left.

He's yelling, roaring, growling in rage, and there are tears rolling down his cheeks. My body's not here, either they've taken it away, or he's took himself away from it. He's going mental, punching trees, and himself, kicking just about everything in sight, even tugging at his own hair.

This is all my fault. I've done this to him. This is why I didn't want to get close to him.

But I was too selfish.

"Cato?" I shout hopefully, but he doesn't hear me. I try to put my arms around him, but I just go right through him. I can't do anything to comfort him. I'm nothing but a shadow.

No. Less than a shadow, he can't even see me, he can't even sense me.

I feel so helpless. Like when you're reading a book, and you feel so into the story, like you're a part of it. If you get annoyed at any if the characters or plot lines, you can't change anything. You're just a spectator. You just have to watch everything unfold, no matter how bad things get.

I almost cry, but I stop myself. I'm sick of tears. Not that it matters now.

Cato doesn't stop going crazy, and I can't do anything to stop him. At first I try screaming at him, as if I'm as loud as possible he'll hear me, but then I realise there's really no point. He can't hear a word I'm saying, no matter how loud I yell at him.

It starts to get darker, and I see Cato slump against a tree, exhausted. He just stares into space. When it's almost pitch black, I hear something. Cato hears it too and stands up.

There's a distant growling, like dogs. Mutts. Cato gets up and starts running in the direction of the Cornucopia, and I quickly follow him. I'm scared, even though I know nothing can hurt me now. We suddenly hear screaming, and then a cannon. Thresh.

I see a small smile appear on Cato's lips, and I know why. The strongest competitor is out. Only two more to kill.

The growling gets louder and louder, until I turn around and see a huge, black dog, baring it's teeth at Cato. But it's not like the usual mutts. It's different. It has bright blue eyes, just like...

Mine. It's me. Obviously it's not really me, but the eyes are identical to mine. Same shape, same color. It's just a mind trick by the Capitol, made to scare Cato. He must know that, but he stands still, completely paralyzed, staring at my eyes. Well, the dog's eyes.

The mutt growls again, but Cato doesn't do anything. What's he doing? He's holding his sword, why isn't he using it?

"I can't watch her die again," he whispers. He keeps whispering it again and again to himself. Again and again.

It sounds like he's losing the plot. I start yelling at him to kill it, screaming that it's not me, it's just a trick.

He doesn't move until the mutt's literally two meters away, and then he turns and runs. My mutt chases after him, and other ones appear out of nowhere, all with the eerily human eyes.

One streaks past me, with the same blue-green eyes of the ginger girl I murdered. She doesn't see me, obviously, no one can see me, but I feel sick to my stomach. She wouldn't be a mutt if it wasn't for me.

I can't help thinking about her, and her family, friends, maybe even a boyfriend who would have all have wanted her back desperately. I've not only ruined her life, but everyone around hers life. The only people who'll have been affected by my death are Cato and Rose, but maybe she won't even remember me. I start to cry just thinking about this. I can't help it.

I sink to my knees, and scrunch my eyes up in attempt to stop the tears leaking out.