Pieces in the game. (The Hunger Games)

Chapter 24: The end?

nLilly's POV.

A shriek escapes my lips and I'm back up. As I do I trip and land on my butt, scrambling backwards away from the edge of the Cornucopia. I can hear the slow screeching of their claws on the metal, like nails on a blackboard. I can see Katniss firing arrows as Gale and Peeta come to my side. "Lilly?" I can feel Peeta's grip on my arm. "It's her!" I manage to spit out. "Who?" asks Gale as they help me to my feet. I stand, looking around, examining the pack, taking in the various sizes and colours. There, the small one with the red coat and amber eyes... Fox face! And there, the dark coat, the brown eyes... Heath. I look away again when I notice the smallest mutt, with dark glossy fur, huge brown eyes and a collar that reads 11 in woven straw. I can't stand to see her teeth bared in hatred... Rue! "What is it Lilly?" Katniss asks as Gale nudges my shoulder. "It's them. It's all of them. The others. Rue, Fox face, Heath," I point at each mutt as I name them. "All of the other tributes," I manage to choke out. Once I do I hear the others gasping with recognition. "What did they do to them? You don't think... Those could be their real eyes?" Peeta asks and I nod bending over to try and fend off the nausea. What if the gamemakers didn't stop there... What about the other tributes brains? Have they been given any of the other tributes memories? Have they been programmed to hate our faces particularly because we have survived and they were so callously murdered? The ones Katniss, Gale and Peeta killed... Do they believe they're avenging their own deaths?

As I have been deep in thought I fail to notice that the mutts seem to have regrouped their efforts and have now split off into two groups, one on each side of the horn, and are using those powerful hindquarters to launch themselves at us. I gasp as a pair of teeth snap together centimetres from Katniss's hand, then I scream in horror as Peeta is yanked off the side. Katniss and Gale react quickly, grabbing his arms and holding onto him, they are the only thing stopping him from fully falling to the ground. I can't see what's happening but I can hear Katniss screaming in desperation. "Kill it, Peeta! Kill it!" she screams as she lets go, holding onto the arm that Gale has a grip on instead. Though I can't quite see what's happening, I know he must have stabbed the thing, because Gale and Katniss are able to haul him back onto the Cornucopia. I move to take a step towards Peeta when an arm curls around my neck. I start gasping for air as Cato lifts me from my feet and starts backing away. Peeta is the first to notice and I see his lips moving to say my name but in my panic, I can't hear anything execpt my frantic gasping for breath.

Katniss and Gale turn swiftly, Gale raising his spear and Katniss aiming and arrow at Cato. Cato stops as He is standing on the edge over the mouth of the Cornucopia. He just laughs behind me as I continue to claw at his arm. "Shoot me and she goes down with me!" he growls at Katniss. At this point, the edges of my vision have begun to go black and I am preparing myself for the eventuality that this will be how I die. I can see the panic rising in their eyes the longer we stay in this standstill. I have managed to gouge deep enough into Cato's arm that he has started bleeding and he shakes me a minute leaning down to my ear he whispers ; "naughty, naughty" before biting my earlobe, hard enough to make me give a strangled squeal. Gale takes a step closer and Cato snaps his head back to the group. I slowly dip my finger in Cato's blood and then make eye contact with Katniss. My vision is blackening further, I likely only have seconds before I black out... at the very least. So, holding eye contact with Katniss I draw a deliberate X on the back of Cato's hand. I can tell when Cato realises what I have done but it is too late. Because by the time he is realised there is an arrow sticking out of his hand. As Cato cries out he reflexively lets go of me and I drop to my knees, gasping for air. Cato begins to fall backwards and he must tip himself of the edge and I feel him grabbing hold of my ankle and I start to slide backwards, off the edge of the Corornucopia. Gale dives for me, and by some stroke of luck, manages to grab my wrist as my body slide from the Cornucopia, my head still above the edge as I watch Katnis and Peeta grabbing onto Gales legs, noting in horror the growing pool of blood near Peeta.