I don't own any of the characters, or the original story line. I was so unsatisfied when I finished Mockingjay, so I sat down and wrote this. I've never had the impulse to change the ending of a book or movie, so this is my first fanfic. Sorry for any improper grammar and typos. It's very brief, I hope you enjoy it.
Update: Thanks for all the encouraging words, guys! I won't be adding on to this - this is IT! You'll have to imagine what happens after this for yourself. I've gone through and fixed a few grammar errors and edited some of the sentences a little to make it flow better. I just sat down and wrote it one day...I never took the time to go through it again until now, so let me know if you see anything else I can improve.
As for more fan fiction - I do have just one more story planned, although I'm not sure when I will end up publishing it. This time I'll leave everything in the series alone and you'll be following Gale (and eventually his wife and kids!) through District 2... D Yes, I love Gale.
Chapter 1
Gale's perspective.
After two years of hard work, District 2 is finally up and running. Almost normal. A new normal. I've been helping clean up the mess that I created. It's been very satisfying so far, I've absorbed myself in working with Beetee on new weapons for the military, and I've also been working with Paylor on a new government system for Panem. The satisfaction that there will never again be another Hunger Games is a happiness that outshines all others. That the citizens of Panem will never again be forced to watch their children and loved ones fight eachother in a torturous battle to the death. That they will never be driven to the mental state that the victors that have survived to this day have reached. I stopped myself from thinking of their individual names. Most of them, particularly the one I don't want to think about, have already become invisible to the world, anyway.
Finally, I am able to make the difficult decision. Paylor has granted me a few weeks of vacation. I'm going back to visit my family in 12. I try not to think of who else lives in District 12. Or the painful memories that the woods outside of 12 contains. She never loved you, anyway. I tell myself. As the train chugs along, the pit in my stomach grows larger and larger.
We reach our destination and I find myself standing not in the square in my childhood memories, but a more modern version. I wander through the rebuilt town, occasionally greeting an old friend, making sure to stay clear of a certain part of the district. Eventually, I find the large updated house that sits in the Seam where our old shack used to be. It is nice. Clean, new. And huge. I stand in front of it for a minute, taking it all in, and then give a few hard knocks on the strong wood door. Much stronger than the one that kept the outside world from entering the tiny two-roomed shack that used to stand here.
Rory opens the door. He's grown much taller and looks so much older than the last time that I've last seen him. "Gale!" he shouts and we embrace for the first time in a very long time. I can hear Vick, Posy, and my mother storming through the house. "Gale!" They repeat over and over, and then the fury of questions is unleashed -I never told them I was coming.
We talk for hours about the new Panem, about my new job, about my mother's work, about the children's past times and school. Rory tells me he's been hunting, but he doesn't say who taught him how. I don't ask him. I purposely avoid speaking about anything Mockingjay-related. It's easiest not to think about it. Finally, it's late and we head to bed. I don't sleep soundly. I never have since the day she shot Coin. Her wild screams echo through my head as they pin her down. "Gale!"