Running With The Careers- A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 13- Bombs, An Arrow, and The Life I Save

I thought I was dead. I want to stay like this forever, unmoving and let my heart stop beating. The only reason I open my eyes is because I feel a giant lump of something go down my throat.

I shoot my eyes open immediately lifting myself into a sitting position, resulting in my head beginning to spin. "Aaliya, I thought I lost you," is all Marvel can choke out before he pulls me into a hug and begins to cry. "We thought you were gone. But a cannon didn't go off that we heard, so we kept you with us still so they couldn't take you away," he sobs.

"I'm here now," is all I manage to say.

"Can you stand?" he asks. I try to stand up, but my legs shake and Marvel has to catch me. Marvel then decides to just carry me. He swings me up into his arms, but since he is at least six feet tall, my head crashes against the canopy. "Sorry," he murmurs.

"It's fine," I say. He carries me over to another canopy and sets me on a foam mat. The other careers are sitting there, who all give me hugs and tell me how happy they are that I'm alive. The only person I don't recognize is the boy from District 3.

"What's he doing here?" I ask, nodding towards the boy from 3.

"Hi! I'm Ian, you must be Aaliya," the boy says, extending his hand out. Before I can shake his hand Cato jumps between us.

"Don't touch her," Cato growels, causing the other boy to cower away.

"Cato chill. He's not going to hurt me." Cato grunts and Clove pulls him down. Honestly I think if the kid put a finger on me Cato would slit his throat.

"To answer your question, Aaliya," Clove says, still keeping her hand on Cato's shoulder to keep him down. "He's here to help us. He replanted bombs or something."

"Actually I replanted the bombs around your stash of supplies so no one can steal them."

"Impressive. What else happened while I was out?"

"Glimmer is officially dead," Marvel says, taking a bite of an apple.

"I know that."

"We got the boy from 10. Clove got a knife in his neck from twenty yards away. But Cato decided to slit his throat just for fun."

"Why does that not shock me," I sigh.

The rest of the afternoon passes like that, just talking and having fun. Until Marvel and Clove go out hunting and Cato stays back because he won't leave me alone with Ian and says I can't go with them.

"Cato can I try out your sword?" I ask as we sit near the fire waiting for the others.

"Not today Princess. Maybe when you're better."

"But Cato," I whine. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. Come on, you're going to bed." Cato picks me up and brings me over to a sleeping bag.

"I want to try something," Cato says moments later.

"What?"

"Don't kill me."

"Why would I kill you?

"Because of that other guy..."

"What? Cato you're making no sense!"

"Just...don't move...."

Cato leans forward a bit, so our faces are inches apart, then he stops abruptly. "Don't move," he whispers.

He reaches out and touches my cheek. Slowly, he presses his lips against mine, and I kiss him back.

"Oh," he murmurs when he pulls away.