Victor: Ashara Nox, District 1 (4 Kills)
2nd: Chiara Truist, District 6 (0 Kills)
Carina was at school when it happened, watching with wide eyes that pleaded for her sister not to give up. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as the announcer read the winner’s name and it wasn’t Chiara’s. Carina flinched away from the comforting hands as she walked out the front door and back towards the old park. No one would look for her here and that was all that Carina wanted. She didn’t want the broken swings to remind her of her sister; Chiara deserved so much more than that. She had been so full of life, willing to take on anyone that threatened her confidence. Chiara wouldn’t have sat crying in the mud until the sun disappeared between the trees. Carina couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d taken the wrong sister.
3rd:
Noemma Dobra, District 4 (2 Kills)
Thomas
gritted his teeth as her cannon sounded, but his mind simply wouldn’t accept
that Noemma was gone. He was the one to see her coffin as it was delivered to
the funeral home, the one to choose the flowers and the plot she would be
buried in. Not one bit of that felt real either. His father and youngest sister
shed more than enough tears for the three of them, but Thomas cried none. A
shroud of numbness was all that encompassed him when his thoughts wandered to
her. He should have been glad at the turnout for Noemma’s funeral, but their
chatter just felt so deafening to the nothingness plugging his mind. By the
time the director motioned for Thomas to come up and speak, he already had two
feet out the door. He hoped that his sister would forgive him.
4th:
Jordan Kalisco, District 4 (6 Kills)
Grier no
longer dreamt of fire. No, in the days that followed her brother’s death, she
dreamt only of smoke. Each night it curled around her body, twisting her skin
until it felt like it would all be ripped away. It poured down her throat and
tightened in her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath when she finally sat up
in bed. Still, no dream could be worse than being awake with the realization
that Jordan wasn’t coming back. In the years that followed, the district built
their first real training facility and instructors went door-to-door recruiting
new students. Unlike so many others, Grier couldn’t reject their offer fast
enough. She wouldn’t allow herself to make his mistake no matter how tempting.
5th:
Levi Mirani, District 7 (1 Kill)
Aviva
couldn’t understand what happened. The fog affected the cameras. He was
taken down by the District 4 girl during the outage. Those were the messages
her family got in the days following his death announcement. When an unmarked
urn showed up a week later, the others were so eager to accept these answers,
but Aviva couldn’t. He had been so close. She wanted to scream and cry, to beg
them not to give up on Levi because he couldn’t be gone. Instead, Aviva grew
silent as the weeks dragged on. None of them would believe the doubt that
spiraled through her mind, in fact she wasn’t certain that she believed it
herself. Is it better to know that he’s gone or forever hope that he’s still
out there somewhere? Aviva wished that she had the answer.
6th:
Delias Vayne, District 2 (1 Kill)
Bernard heard
the news from a prison guard, who read out his son’s death like it meant no
more than the cement she was standing on. Broadcast screens had never reached
the prisons. Sitting alone in his cell, Bernard hadn’t even known Delias was in
the Capitol let alone that he was already gone. He shouted for the guards to
let him see his son. He screamed for the right to say goodbye. No one answered
his desperate cries until they came to take him to solitary, but that stopped
nothing. His son was worth any punishment they could give him.
7th:
Doran Ibarro, District 5 (0 Kills)
The guilt
was impossible to ignore. Dayla didn’t want her remaining sons to feel brushed
away, just like she knew Doran had often felt. He had just wanted her to be
there, but she always thought there’d be time to make it up to him. When the
boys were all old enough, she could sit down and talk as much as he wanted but
now that moment would never come. Each night Dayla cried in bed, pleading with
herself to do more, but day after day nothing changed. Her boys were growing up
before her eyes and Dayla was missing every moment just trying to survive. All
the children wanted was to grieve Doran with their mother, but her door always
seemed to be locked.
8th:
Sadira Abdelli, District 11 (0 Kills)
Farah
lifted the framed picture of her daughter up to her chest. She’d always thought
of herself as a master of her emotions, able to hold in anything. Screaming at
a potential customer over something Farah can’t even remember, well that proved
her theory very wrong. It had only been a week since she lost her position at
the orchard; a month since she lost Sadira. She wasn’t sure where that left her.
There have only ever been two things Farah really had to choose between- her
work and her daughter. It always felt like she would enough time to spend with
both eventually, but she was wrong about that too. She placed the picture at
the top of the box before taping it shut. She would give anything to go back
and choose again.
9th:
Sinead Kennard, District 9 (0 Kills)
Sinead
wasn’t the first student that Mr. Picks had ever lost to the Hunger Games, but
she was the most memorable. A hidden part of him hoped to find the poetry book as
he cleared out her desk, though he knew that he’d have to turn it in if he did.
Uncrumpling the stray notebook papers, however, brought something even better.
He felt like a child again, sitting on the classroom floor reading pages of
questions that she’d never asked him about the Bride of Abydos. As the sun
started to set outside, he knew that he needed to get rid of them but instead
stuffed the pages into his coat pocket. Maybe curiosity wasn’t such a dangerous
thing after all.
10th:
Erdan Yates, District 3 (0 Kills)
Alber was
the first to speak at his son’s funeral, the flush of his cheeks enough to
quiet the full room. His speech was perfectly thought out to honour Erdan, the
brilliant boy he’d raised and loved. Except the others in attendance didn’t
remember him that way. They thought of Erdan and chuckled softly at the pranks
he pulled in school or way the teachers often had to wake him up in the middle
of class. Alber wouldn’t have recognized the boy in their memories because that
wasn’t the son he knew. Serious and comedic; dedicated and carefree. That’s how
Erdan would be thought of, a dichotomy across memories that no one really tried
to understand.
11th:
Aristona Villiour, District 2 (2 Kills)
Zephyr
didn’t realize how much his life had changed until he went to the Academy to
deliver another weapons shipment. His feet stopped at the door, refusing to go
any further as his hand trembled against the glass. All of it felt wrong in a
way that Zephyr didn’t know how to describe. Everyone told him that she died a
hero, that she would be remembered for what she did. No one could tell Zephyr
why, if she spent every waking hour preparing, she wasn’t here to make this
delivery for him. Was his daughter not enough after everything she’d given up? Did
the district not truly prepare her before sending her away? Either answer felt
like a betrayal of one of the two things he had always vowed to protect.
12th:
Evi Tolbert, District 8 (1 Kill)
As Evi’s
cannon sounded, the wind didn’t change direction in District 8. No one drew
their curtains in mourning or ran home in tears to hide from their grief. Cadell
had already found someone new soon after she’d boarded the train, another
pretty blonde that loved his money and his ex-wives satin dresses. It was like
the world had moved on without Evi even before her casket arrived at the
orphanage she’d grown up in. She was buried in an unmarked grave, the best
option once it was clear that no one would step in to pay for arrangements. She
had never let anyone in, and no one had tried to change that. It was only
natural that she was quickly forgotten.
13th:
Jory Danton, District 9 (1 Kill)
There
wasn’t a single part of Peacekeeper training that didn’t remind Chloe of her
friend. Boarding the train felt wrong without Jory rushing to take the window
seat first. She knew that he deserved it more than she did, that this was his
dream and only sort of hers. In the early days of training, all Chloe could
think about was how unfair it was that he never got to see the centre. As the
weeks dragged past, however, she began doing everything she could not to think
about him. His memory hurt too much. It made her feel weak, when she desperately
needed to be strong. The best thing she could do was forget no matter that it
felt like a betrayal of their friendship.
14th:
Florian de Avila-Coronel, District 12 (0 Kills)
Just like
everything the family did, their mourning of Florian had to be perfect. Oria
watched them all move silently around the living room with practiced steps. The
table had been set up meticulously for the lunch after the funeral, though no
one seemed hungry. It wasn’t her way of mourning the child, no that had been
done days ago in her quarters while the family was out to choose his arrangements.
It was too quiet, too dainty, when Florian deserved so much more. Oria was
almost glad when the fallen china plate shattered against the ground and soaked
gravy into the carpet. At least that felt real.
15th:
Fitzroy Gordon, District 6 (0 Kills)
Liz couldn’t
even look at Amanda when she introduced her to her new ‘brother’. Liz knew that
it was just a way for the old woman to cope with the loss; fill the bedroom so
it doesn’t feel quite so empty all the time. That’s all the game was and Liz wanted
none of it. Fitzroy might have been a pain in the ass, and maybe she hadn’t
been a very good sister, but he still deserved better. Accusations flew only
two nights after the new boy moved in. Part of Liz knew she was going too far;
the rest of her didn’t care. When she walked out the front door, she couldn’t
help but wonder how long it would take Amanda to replace her too.
16th:
Verdana Corbel, District 7 (0 Kills)
As the
next oldest sibling, it was only natural that Rallie take over but he was
drowning before he could even try to be like his sister. It was only days after
Verdana’s funeral that it happened. He’d fallen asleep taking care of the other
kids, snoring on the floor instead of watching Livie fall from the top of the
couch. He didn’t know what to do as he cradled his baby sister, trying to stop
her screaming even as the unnatural bend in her leg made his stomach turn. He
never really thought he would miss Verdana’s constant scolding, not until he
heard that same tone grow into his own voice. He wished he’d made things easier
for her, but now it was too late.
17th:
Jayde Cassidy, District 10 (1 Kill)
It felt
like Luke hadn’t taken a full breath since they took Jayde away. Their
apartment, which had always been home just because she was there, felt dingy
and dark. He left the curtains drawn, not that much light would have been able
to peek through the grime that had accumulated. Everything was coated in thick
layers of dust, but it didn’t matter because no one but him was there to see
it. Luke would look around without any idea where to even start cleaning until the
unwashed bedsheets called for him again. Life had always been hard, that was
nothing new to Luke, but it had never looked so hopeless.
18th:
Capri Romano, District 3 (0 Kills)
Like so
many other nights since she’d been gone, Carrington found himself back at the
train tracks. It had been Capri’s favourite place, even if just being nearby
was usually enough to make his knees shake. She said that she loved the people
it brought, but Carrington had always thought there might be more to that. He
regretted not asking her; in fact, he regretted a lot of things. It was illogical
to think that he might have been able to prevent her death, but that’s where
his mind ended up on these nights. He’s not the most exciting friend or the
best at conversation or even a terribly kind person. Carrington had gotten used
to only having Capri over the years. However, he wasn’t sure he would ever get
used to being alone.
19th:
Ira Adley, District 12 (0 Kills)
Jacks
clung to Alistair as the eulogy was spoken by an unknown man draped in lavish
clothing. Alistair felt out of place in the beautiful scene paid for by
Florian’s family, so his eyes focused on the coffin at the front. Ira deserved
every bit of luxury they could afford and more. She was stronger than either
man could ever believe himself to be at less than half their age. Alistair
slipped his hand into Jacks’, the warmth spreading as he squeezed their fingers
together. It might have looked like he’s holding Jacks together, but Alistair would
feel just as broken without his husband at his side. If there were any stares
directed at them, neither man even stopped to notice.
20th:
Chase Hauver, District 10 (0 Kills)
It was
harder for Estefany to hand over the keys to her son’s home than it had been to
watch him leave. How many hours had she spent inside, wandering aimlessly
between the narrow walls? How many times had she waited to hear Chase’s boots
click against the threshold as he tried to shake off the dirt from work? They
couldn’t afford to keep the house, Estefany knew but she still tried to force
things to work out. She would watch that train pull away with her son on board
a hundred times more if it meant she could keep this place and all of its hopeful
memories.
21st:
Romello Dupree, District 1 (1 Kill)
Just a
week after the Victory Tour, Aurelia stood outside the youth centre with her
brother’s last training cheque clutched firmly between her fingertips. Someone
had doubled the amount she’d received, though Aurelia hadn’t been told who. Either
way, it wasn’t nearly enough. It would get her family through the year,
possibly even longer, but that still wasn’t enough to cover what she’d lost. As
she stared down at the scribbled numbers, she could only wish that she had
Romello instead. He’d always wanted more, but some prices just weren’t worth
paying. She’d rather starve to death than miss her brother for one more night.
22nd:
Rion Dehart, District 11 (0 Kills)
Maybe it
wasn’t fair, but his parents couldn’t stop themselves from blaming his
grandmother for the loss of their son. It was her that had put those dangerous
ideas in his mind, her that had gotten him into trouble with the Peacekeepers
who would later escort him to the reaping stage. They couldn’t accept the idea
that fate would be so unforgiving. His grandmother was not permitted to attend
the small funeral; pride mixed with pain stopped them from reaching to her ever
again. Neither could look at the woman without seeing all of the worst parts of
Rion, but at an age that he would never be allowed to reach.
23rd:
Emilia Rorfile, District 5 (0 Kills)
Olivia
didn’t know what to do when she was given Emilia’s paint set at her funeral. For
the first few weeks, even looking at the brushes sent tears down her cheeks. It
felt fake to use them, like Olivia was trying to do something she didn’t
understand just because her friend was dead. She’d always been the writer where
Emilia had been the artist. One day, Olivia started dotting blue paint beside a
line she knew her friend would have been drawn to. Anything that reminded her
of Emilia was lined with pale blue streaks and messily drawn flowers. She knew
the paints would dry out eventually, but for now it felt like Emilia was still
reading.
24th:
Aberro Tripe, District 8 (0 Kills)
Iman took
every shift that was offered to him, working until it hurt to stand and then
waking up and doing it again. His wife did the same, both of them desperate to gather
enough money to avoid the tesserae that had taken away their son. The year that
their oldest child became eligible was the hardest, when a storm put too many
holes in their roof to ignore. Iman stayed up too many nights trying to make
ends meet; thinking that maybe if he looked at the numbers again they’d be
better. When his daughter came home with the tesserae sac, Iman couldn’t be
sure if his tears were from fear or relief.
