Clove's Story part 3

CHAPTER 3
My sleep is filled with darkness and evil beyond what I could have ever imagined. I sit in my bed; beads of sweat pouring down my face as I breathe hard. I slowly slide out of the bed and make my ways towards the window where the world is rushing past as the train speeds it's way to the Capitol. Blurs of greens, browns, and blues make they're way past my eyes as we past the other districts, calming my mind down a bit.
My mind wanders to the recap of the reaping. District One has a gorgeous, blonde girl and a handsome boy with a warm smile.- both of them look like strong allies and enemies. District Three has sent in a crippled boy and a week looking girl-easy to kill. District Four is stuck with a skinny boy, but a strong looking girl.  Five has a boy that must be about fourteen and a girl with red hair and a face that resembles that of a fox. She looks sly and confident.
I ended up spacing on Districts Six through Ten. District Eleven has a strong and big boy that has dark skin and an intimidating stare. His partner on the other hand is a girl that's small and looks like she shouldn't be eligible for the games quite yet. She has dark skin, brown hair, and looks scared. And lastly, District Twelve. They must have had an interesting day considering there was a volunteer this year.
Their boy is stocky and strong with blonde hair. The girl was originally going to be a small blonde haired girl that must have been twelve, but an older girl volunteered. The volunteer has dark hair, tan skin, and intense gray eyes. To me, she's not at all a threat.
Why am I thinking like this? Choosing who's going to be easy to kill and who's not- what happened to 'your not going to kill anyone unless you need to' lecture I gave my self last night?
I sigh as Dantrell pulls me out of my thoughts with a call for breakfast. "Clove, dear time to eat," he calls for the tenth time. "Clove,"
"I KNOW!" I yell at him. Now he is one person I could through a knife into and not give it a second thought at all. I roll my eyes and change into a black V-neck shirt and navy blue sweats. I saunter out of my room and down the hall to the dinning area. Cato is leaning back against the wall of the train glaring at Brutes and Enobaria- our mentors.
"Well, there's the damn brat," Enobaria snaps when she sees me.
"Hey! She has a name you know!" Cato responds. I glance at him to tell him to knock it off. In one swift move, Brutes is up out of his chair and pinning Cato against the wall.
"Watch it boy. I think you forget that without us, you won't survive in these games," he hisses. I watch as Cato puts the heel of his boot on Brutes's stomach and push the big brute off of him. Soon, the two of them are tossing punches and kicks at each other. I look at Enobaria who is smiling at the fight. Without thinking, I get between the two guys and stare intently into Brutes's eyes.
"You're not supposed to hurt a tribute before the games, remember?" I ask him. He grabs my wrist and twists it until I gasp at the pain.
"And you're supposed to respect your elders you brat!" he yells in my ear. He lets go of my arm and pushes me into a chair. "Sit!" he barks at Cato. I look at my friend and he sits next to me. He has a cut on his cheek and a bruise is already forming on his strong arm. I rub my wrist and look at Brutes and Enobaria. "Now, if you two want to be careers, you need to listen to us, got it?" I nod without meeting his eyes. "Good."
I hear Cato take a deep breath before saying; "Your our mentors, what advice do you have for us?" I look at him and he smiles in a way only I can see.
"Advice, that's what you want? Fine, the games are simple, fight or die. My advice
would be to forget everything you care about. Family, friends, and pets- they're all useless to you now. Careers don't have feelings, they don't have love, and they don't have friends. All they have is strength, honor, and bravery. Emotions are to be hidden; the inner blood thirst is to be shown. Remember that, and you will be a favorite for sponsors," Enobaria snaps. It's the same things we learned in training.
"Anything else?" I ask, already, her words taking control of my body and mind.
"Don't die unless you want to be a mockery for our district." I look at her and nod. They both nod and stand up. Without any more conversation, they both leave the room.
After a few minutes of silence Cato turns my chair so I'm facing him. "Are you OK?" he asks, taking my wrist in his hand.
"Me? You're the one who was beaten up by that jack ass!" I say with a laugh. He looks me in the eyes and smiles. I pick up a napkin and start to clean the cut on his cheek. He doesn't even flinch when I touch it- another thing we were taught in training- don't let pain show.
"You should eat something. We'll be at the Capitol soon," he whispers as if he were telling me a secret.
"Eat? After that?" I ask, pointing to where our mentors left the room. He nods and takes a muffin in his hand. I open my mouth to tell him I'm not hungry, but before I can he shoves the muffin into my mouth causing me to choke. I cough and he laughs. Instinctively, I punch him in the gut, which is a habit I've picked up after being friends with Cato and the other boys for years now. I somehow manage to chew the food and swallow it. "Damn you," I mutter to him.
In reply I get a poke to both sides of my stomach, which causes me to squeal. I glare at him and he sticks his tongue out at me, It's times like this I wish I could stay in forever- times where we're acting like the six year olds we used to be. I know that this is going to be one of the last times I get this luxury, and I intend it to last as long as possible.
Sadly, it didn't last that long.
Cato suddenly got serious and pulled me out of my chair. He looks into my eyes with his ice blue ones and I could see the tears he's trying so hard to hold back. I'm wrapped in his strong arms. In just five minutes it's like we've grown up. Acting like silly six year olds, then suddenly acting like grown ups that just lost a dear friend or family member. "Cato," I whisper.
"Shh," he whispers back.
I don't want to loose him and I'm afraid if he lets go, I won't have him anymore. I fall to the ground, Cato with me. I feel his arms tighten around me, and I burry my head in his chest, tears starting to spill out of my eyes. I didn't realize until now how scared I truly was about being chosen for the games. Within moments, my body is shaking with sobs, but he doesn't let go. "Don't… let . . . go . . . " I tell him between sobs.
"Never," I can hear his voice crack as a few tears fall onto my head. How am I supposed to let go of years of friendship like this- a friendship that's lasted for years? I close my eyes after I stop crying. Savor this moment; it's going to be our last like this. A voice in my head tells me.