The End
Chapter 2:
I never understood the true nature of mankind, not until I saw the blood pooled on the streets, ligaments carelessly torn off of people's bodies, thousands of dead bodies spread throughout the city, wounded crying out in pain, and innocent children blown to bits. I have a terrible feeling that these images will never leave my mind, if I ever make it out of this death trap alive.
There are so many wounded and so few medics to help them. About fifteen of us – including myself but not my mother – are taken into where the children were killed. Peacekeepers are removing the barricades and making numerous paths to get to them. I follow along with the crowd, moving as fast as my little feet can manage through the sea of people.
Complete and utter chaos. Those are the exact words I would use to describe this situation. Everyone is so afraid. Is that what Snow lives off of? Our fear? Well, I hope he is enjoying this show. It must be pretty interesting from all the way up in his protective tower. Down here, with those bomb dropped, all hell has broken loose.
When finally we arrive where the children are located, we see that presents had been dropped, and about half of them had exploded. Some children still open the remaining presents, hoping for something spectacular on this treacherous day.
I kneel down beside one boy, wielding my medical kit, He grabs my hand and grips it tightly. He looks to be about six and his leg was blown off. "Am I...am I going to...to be oka...okay?" He says stuttering because of how scared he is.
"Yes, you will be. I promise," I say giving that little boy the only thing that I can right now. Hope.
Suddenly, I hear someone calling my name. I look around to see who the sound may have come from, although I cannot see the person calling me. All I see are people of the Capitol, running away from any and every form of danger.
"Prim! Prim! No!" I hear Katniss screaming my name now. I turn to look for her and spot her in the crowd. She looks just like a Capitol citizen. Dressed in a fur coat with a wig and a bunch of hideous makeup on.
I just begin to say her name when the second bomb goes off.
In an instant, I see Katniss singing "The Hanging Tree" and making rope necklaces as my mother screams at us, Katniss giving me Lady and allowing me to keep Buttercup, Katniss being the strong one, feel my father's loving embrace, hear Buttercup's soft purr, see Katniss feed her family on her own, my mother a frozen statue as her children are starving to death, my mother smiling and happy with my father, Katniss telling me how beautiful I look, laughing and playing with all of my friends from school, my name being called at my very first reaping, Katniss volunteering for me, Katniss and Peeta winning, Katniss on her birthday and how Gale hurt her, Gale helping Katniss with the food and hunting, Gale feeding us while Katniss was in The Hunger Games, moving into our new home in the victors village, Katniss going back into The Hunger Games a second time, Katniss blowing up the arena, District 12 being bombed by the Capitol, Gale saving hundreds of lives, a hovercraft taking us to District 13, Katniss coming to District 13, all of the promo's, Peeta being rescued, Katniss training for battle, me saving lives in the hospital alongside my mother, Peeta almost killing Katniss, Katniss being "killed" in the war, then discovering that she was alive, being told to come here, hearing the bomb, hearing Katniss scream my name, and looking at the little boy's face, right before we die.
I am on fire. I can feel the flames licking their way inside my body and burning me to a charred nothingness. I feel such a pain that I think I could die twice just from this sheer agony. Then all at once, the nearly unbearable pain is gone. In it's place, is a sort of peacefulness and safety that I have never felt before. No. I cannot feel. I can only think of feeling.
I am nothing anymore, there is nothing left to feel. I cannot see, I cannot hear, I cannot feel, I cannot taste, and I cannot smell. And I never will be able to again. I am Katniss' Mockingjay, burnt to a crisp. The white wings of the bird is my soul escaping the motionless black being that once was me.
I am a mockingjay, singing a beautiful replica of Katniss' favourite song. I can fly anywhere that I want to because I am finally free. Free of Panem and the careless people in the Nation that I once took pride in. The cruel people who forced innocent children to maliciously murder each other. That's all we were to them, pieces in their precious games. However, necessary, and a very important element in them. It was all for the entertainment and it always will be as long as President Snow is the ruler.
For my family's sake, I hope that the rebels win the war. Who knows what torture methods Snow would use on Katniss once he had her in his grasp. I cannot think of that now though, because peace is my only option, and it is the one that I so desire.
I soar through the trees and the mountaintops, finally being able to explore the natural beauty of the world I once lived in. Where I am, I can view the world at a comfortable distance and not experience starvation or torture. I am in God's hands now, and I will let him protect and take care of me.
My father. This is whom I get to see every day now. Both of us can see, but neither one of us is really there. We fly together and watch my big sister grow to become a courageous, beautiful woman.
Inevitably, she marries Peeta. Nobody quite understands what Katniss is going through, but Peeta. And vice versa. Together, they help each other move on from the terrible things that once existed, however, they will never forget them. They have two beautiful children who are lucky enough to not live through hunger, or the sick, twisted, cruel games that nobody dares to play anymore.
My sympathy, however, does not go to those who were forced to compete and died, it goes to Gale. A man who would have ended up marrying Katniss one day if Peeta and the games had not come along. But mostly, my sympathy goes to Gale because he will never get the chance to be with Katniss. Not after the double bombing was presumed to be his fault, because I am certain that Gale never would have meant any harm.
Things have definitely gotten better in Panem. There are no longer slaves and fewer starving children. But surely, eventually, some cruel leader will rule again. Because that is all the rest of us are. Tiny pieces in one enormous, everlasting game.