Lyte Anderson, D6
Shinju unfolded one arm and watched the light playing across her skin.
"See? No monster. Just a girl," I said. She reached out her hand and pressed it to the window pane.
"It can't be that easy," she said. "What about all the people I killed?"
"They're dead. They're not going to feel better if you stay evil. The best thing you could possibly do is not kill any more," I said.
"They won't forgive me," she said.
"You can't control who forgives you, but you choose what you are," I said.
"How did you get so wise?" she joked.
"I'm like thirty years old," I said.
People don't turn evil overnight, and they don't turn back overnight either. Shinju didn't say much for the rest of the day, which passed without event. She was still recovering from the huge slash all down her front, and I didn't want her pulling her stitches out, so I went out for food when the time came. It wasn't as dangerous as it sounded. The kitchen was a floor beneath us, but the laundry chute ten feet from the bathroom led right down to the laundry room, which was next door to the kitchen. I slid down the chute and landed in the hamper that stood underneath it. I was climbing out when I heard the announcement.
Chrome Cabello, D2
"Attention, Tributes. Please stop what you are doing for a short recess. I have a very important announcement from President Snow."
It was one of the Gamemakers. Theodora, it sounded like. I recognized her voice from some Capitol broadcasts. But she never interrupted the Games. Something weird was going on. Whatever it was, it meant a break from the Games.
Will Lyte Anderson please report to the front entrance of the Arena? The Games are currently in recess. Any attempts to attack Lyte or anyone else will be considered an infraction of Games rules and will be punishable by death."
Vera Busattil, D4
What is going on?
The television set into the sitting room I was prowling through flickered to life, showing the entry room to the mansion. Theodora was standing shortly inside the door. Lyte walked past the doorway of my sitting room, coming from the direction of the laundry room down the hall. I shot him a quizzical look as he went, and he held up his hands in confusion. I watched the screen as he appeared in the entry room with Theodora.
"Mr. Anderson," she greeted him. "President Snow wishes to extend his heartfelt gratitude for your actions regarding his daughter Rose, which may have saved her life. At her behest, he wishes to grant you a full pardon from your Reaping."
"What?" Lyte asked, obviously understanding what she meant but unable to believe it. "Like, a full pardon?"
Theodora smiled at him. "That's right, kid. You're coming with me." She gestured at the open door.
"Gaaah!" I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't stop myself. I screamed out loud in sheer delight, throwing up my hands and hopping like a little girl. My little friend Lyte, the boy who held my hand and stared down a Camazotz, was safe! He was going home! No more resurrections, no more killing, no more Black Death, no more Death Bat... he was safe. A Career should have composure, but that went out the window. I was crying and laughing all at once. I was a total mess.
Shinju Matsushita, D3
I heard Theodora over a loudspeaker, and the mirror in the bathroom turned into a screen, showing the scene.
"What about Shinju?" Lyte asked.
"Sorry. I'm here for one kid," Theodora said. Lyte looked up the stairs ruefully.
"Can you at least send her some food?" he asked.
"I'll do what I can," Theodora said. "Let's hid the road. I might design Arenas, but they still give me the creeps." Lyte followed her out the front door, turning back to wave at nobody.
Did he really mean all that? I knew the answer. I just didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe anything could be good in my life. It was easier to accept that I'd always be a monster and be hated than to hope that things could change. I didn't have to put any effort into improvement if I was evil by nature. But Lyte was gone now. I could go back to the way I was.
I don't want to. For the first time in a long time, I didn't want to kill anyone. I'd turned to murder because it was the only way to express the anger in my heart, but I wasn't that angry anymore. I was still plenty bitter and resentful, but not as bad. Lyte reset me, in a way. He showed me I wasn't a monster by nature. I had the choice in front of me again. Little girl, or vampire. I looked in the mirror, at the reflection I didn't think would be there. The reflection was of a girl. That was what Lyte saw when he looked at me.
Like he said, it was my choice in the end. It wasn't my parents or the other kids who made me into a monster, and it wouldn't be Lyte who changed me back. I was who I chose to be. My past would always be part of me, but I chose what I did with it.
I walked back to the window and stuck my hand into the sunbeam. Something came to mind that was deep and cheesy all at once.
I choose light, I thought. I choose Lyte.
Chekhov's Heimlich Maneuver strikes! I chose Lyte solely so he could redeem Shinju- I knew nobody would think he could win, since I made him. However, I had a stroke of inspiration when I remembered Rose would be hanging around the Capitol. Lyte can't win, but he CAN live.
Not really any place, since he didn't die: Lyte Anderson- pardoned
Funny story: I made Lyte as a filler back when I didn't get tons of submissions. I gave him a boring Six named based on a car headlight, so the light theme was a serendipitous coincidence. Since he has now died four times, I think I have sufficiently showed non-favoritism. He became an ensemble darkhorse right away and I didn't want to keep killing him in Resurrection Games, since I was afraid I would run out of ideas for him eventually and he'd get stale. That very popularity means I don't think anyone will protest this ending for him. I'm sure we're all happy to see Lyte get what he deserves.
IMPORTANT INFO: Lyte's pardon was not broadcast to Panem at large. His family was told, and anyone who looks really hard at the Games Center staff could find out, but he's not really famous in-universe. When the next Resurrection Games came, people assumed he wasn't popular enough to be chosen. Lyte was sent to medical school in the Capitol and was put to work in the Games Center, since he sort of belongs to the Capitol, like Victors. He works as a first aid instructor during the training period and is part of the medical team that patches up new Victors.
These last chapters were Shinju and Lyte-heavy, but you can see now it was because Lyte was going to be gone soon. Chrome, who has been underrepresented of late, will now be a bigger part.
