Written for Starvation's November prompt: Dust.
Disclaimer: Don't own the Hunger Games, never will. The last line is from Genesis in the bible.
Return To Dust
In the midst of the war and chaos, a young girl pulled herself out of the wreckage of her home. She shivered as the cold wind blew about the ashes of District 12. Other than the soft whisper of the wind, the area was devoid of sound, no indication of life whatsoever.
Madge Undersee stumbled around the debris, desperate to find some life in the carnage. Loneliness filled her heart as she took in the carnage.
"M-Mother?" she croaked. It was no point really. Her mother had been so ill. How would she have been able to save herself? Madge cursed herself for being unable to save her own mother.
"Daddy? Can you hear me Daddy?" Silence greeted her. She tried her best to clear the debris in her immediate surroundings. Perhaps her parents had been as lucky as her, merely trapped and unconscious.
She wished she had not made that decision.
She recoiled from the sight of Mayor Undersee lying face down on the floor, dried blood caking the back of his head. Had it not been for the fatally large pool of blood around the wound, Madge would have had a tiny glimmer of hope.
Still, Madge braced herself. She would not let her father lie so indignantly on the ground like that. With every ounce of strength she could summon, she pushed Mayor Undersee's corpse into a sitting position against the charred remains of the wall.
Once more, she regretted her actions. What had been lying beneath her father was another body, its face burnt beyond recognition. Madge stumbled back a few steps. On closer examination, she could actually see the familiar gold-plated necklace hanging from the body's neck.
Mother…
It was not difficult for Madge to piece together what had happened. She tried to squeeze the mental images out of her head but they were relentless. All she could remember was fire, debris falling and dust.
Dust everywhere…
It was the dust of her friends, the dust of her neighbours and the dust of people. As though she had not realised it before, the entire district screamed of death. On the verge of hysteria, Madge ran through the entire district, screaming, desperately hoping to hear someone else in her living hell.
"Why did they leave without me?"
She ran towards the middle of the town. Every building was an ominous black colour. Dread clawed at her as she watched the remnants of the merchants and their families blow about in the wind.
Her hand trembled as she touched several of the charred buildings. They crumbled under her light touch. In shock, she retracted her hands, watching in horror as a stronger wind scattered the ashes. Was everything always this fragile?
"This isn't happening! It's just a nightmare! Wake up Madge! Wake up!" She slapped herself then pinched herself, willing the nightmare away. When she realised how futile it was, resignation took over. Madge trudged slowly back to what was once her home.
"I can't stay here anymore. There's no one here, nothing here. Nothing but dust." The girl wept bitterly as she tried to salvage something usable.
Amazingly, she managed to find her favourite strawberries in their container. She laughed sadly.
"I can't believe the containers Daddy bought from the Capitol was really indestructible. To think he bought them in case of a disaster." Finding several more containers of food and water, Madge found herself hoping again.
"Maybe I can live in the woods. Gale and Katniss managed back then didn't they? Maybe there are still some traps there." Madge found a bag that was still usable and packed her supplies into it. When she had strapped everything onto her shoulders, she gave her parents one last glance.
"Goodbye Mother… Goodbye Daddy…I'll live on. One day I'll see you both again." But as she stepped over what was once the threshold, the sky darkened dramatically. Madge frowned and looked up.
She never knew what happened as the last bomb fell. Madge Undersee, last survivor in District 12 returned to dust, joining her parents sooner than expected.
For dust you are and unto dust you shall return.