POV – President Scarlett
Ten years have passed.
Ten years since the rebellion was overthrown.
Ten years since the Hunger Games were initiated.
But just from looking into the cameras in my study, I can sense the burning, itching desire for revenge. The Dark Days have passed, but the darkness is still looming above the Districts, and it will only be a matter of time before it breaks free. I can only pray it doesn't happen before my death.
Sometimes I feel almost pitiful of the people in the Districts. But then I look at the picture on my shelf, and all feelings of regret vanish. My dead family... how I wish things had never changed. How I wish you were still there to guide me when I hit a dead end.
If I try, I can still remember. I can still remember the days of peace and prosperity, where everyone in each District was content. No Peacekeepers were needed. No Hunger Games. All it had taken was one wretched man and his friends to provoke the people of Panem, starting the War.
And so, so many people had died. The screams echoed through the country, the flames climbing higher and higher into the sky. The blood and tears smeared onto the roads until all that was left of a once proud and majestic nation was a wasteland.
I did nothing. I did nothing but hope that the Dark Days would heal itself, and like the coward I was I sat back and watched as my friends and family suffered for my sins. The luxurious life I had been promised as President was ripped from me in one swift movement, and as the world around me crashed down I was there: the most powerful person in Panem, spectating in her safe haven while her people's cries could be heard for miles around.
That was, until I found him. Maxen Hills, a worker at District 13. The one who had started the entire catastrophe by illegally using the aircraft to fly to the other Districts and giving stupid, meaningless speeches. The one who had taken everything from me. Something inside me clicked. A need for vengeance which I had kept at bay for so long emerged, and twisted, cruel side of me reared its ugly head. I let his District suffer the consequences, forcing him to watch as his district was burnt to ashes, not a single man, woman nor child spared. At least that was what I thought.
13 had begun constructing their own underground city, where they developed technology and machinery at an inhuman rate. I let them – what else could I do? The developments were starting to exceed even the Capitol's, and the last thing I wanted was a type of industrial war. As long as 13 kept their status as a thriving district concealed, I said, they would be allowed to continue.
But the 'obliteration' of 13 scared the Districts, and when they were scared they were weak. After that winning the war became incredibly simple. Of course, I couldn't just let another revolution happen, so I devised the Hunger Games. One boy and one girl from each District would be reaped, and made to fight to the death. A way of punishment, but also of way of showing who was truly in power.
I know that there won't be another set of Dark Days soon, but they will come. And when they do nothing will hold back the blood and tears from spilling.
Just the President reflecting on the Dark Days! The tribute form will be up on my profile. Hope you enjoy!