Josef Swan, Victor of the 25th Annual Hunger Games, District 8
I wake up in a hospital bed, alone, hooked up to a bunch of medications. Not exactly the warm homecoming expected to be given to the victor of the Hunger Games.
And then it hits me: I failed.
I failed. I failed my parents, I failed the rebels, I failed Woof, I failed Katlyn and Edith, I failed Alais. All this pain and pretend for nothing at all.
Alais was supposed to live! This was how we had planned it from the beginning! Heck, that's why my parents even put me in the Games! Alais was supposed to be the Mockingjay, supposed to spark the revolution, supposed to unite the districts with her victory.
I suppose, in a way, it was my fault. For delaying so long in order to give that litle speech. For scaring her, faking that I was going to kill her-as if! That was the hardest part-pretending that I was actually following through in the Capitol's plans. These were the rebel's plans that we were talking about! And now I believe I've sent them all the wrong message.
Orsina bursts in, wearing-surprise, surprise-a blood-red suit and skirt and a long wig to match. She bounces up to the bed and hugs me, which hurts. "Congratulations! Oh, I just knew it would be one of my tributes!"
One of my tributes. "Thank you, Orsina." My voice seems abnormally raspy.
"There's so much to do now! Get you ready for the recap viewing, and then the victory interview, and the special dinner with the president, and-"
"Where's Woof?"
She pauses for a moment, and then babbles, "I dunno. And the dinner with the president, and the homecoming ceremonies, and-"
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
She shrugs. "He left. Before the Games ended, actually. Apparently there was some sort of scuffle in the mentoring room which the president herself had to chide them for. The woman from District Seven got seriously hurt-she's in this very hospital right now, getting treated. Anyway, Woof stayed behind to talk about something with the president-can't imagine what-and we haven't seen him since."
I pause for a moment. "Edith got hurt?"
"Oh, is that her name? I never knew. Games must have been before my time. I'm only twenty, you know. That's why I got such a low district-they thought I was inexperienced! Imagine that!" Well, Orsina does seem a little more normal compared to some of the other escorts.
"Well, anyway, I've gotta run. Just wanted to say congrats on your victory, though I must admit that I wished there had been actual fighting between you and that little girl." She pats me on the head, beaming. "Tee-tee-eff-enn!" I'll never understand Capitol speech patterns.
If Woof was being detained by the president... only bad things could ensue. Woof knows a lot more about the rebel cause than even my parents, maybe even me. Worst of all, he's currently carrying the very letter that was supposed to be given to Alais after my death, after her victory. The one that explained everything to her.
Not that I'm not confident in Woof's ability to stay strong, but who knows what kinds of torture that Capitol is putting him through right now? If I had to bet, I say we're in a turn for the worse.
My stylist and prep team come in, all expression congratulations and concern (mostly for my injured state). I don't listen to them. Some hospital people come and take me off the medicines. I get up and walk around the room. I eat some soup that my stylist so generously thought to bring me. I would go back to the District Eight training center floor, but I don't know how to get there. I'm trapped.
I look down at myself. I've been scrubbed clean, and am wearing a cleaned-up version of the tribute uniform from the arena. I peer under the shirt, seeing if my token necklace is still there. Yep. A wooden mockingjay, poised for flight. It was supposed to go on Alais's string, around her neck.
The first Mockingjay is dead, and I don't know what a Jabberjay can do to remedy the situation.