-October 28th, Year of the 73rd Hunger Games-

'Vice!'

I slam my fist repeatedly into his door, the noise rebounding through the silent morning air.

'Vice, are you coming or not?!'

I hear a clattering behind the door.

I knock harder than before, practically punching the wood. 'VICE!' The door swings open.

'For the love of God, shut up!' His breath reeks of alcohol.

Vice stands at the door, his shirt stained all over – red splotches that could be either wine or blood and other yellowish patches, the cause of which I'd rather not think about. His hair is greasy and untamed, longer than it should be, and dark bags hang underneath bloodshot eyes.

'Are you coming or not?' I say, not even second-guessing his appearance. This is the norm.

He grumbles something, the words lost in his throat, before speaking up, his syllables slurred. 'Coming? Coming to what?'

'The Victory Tour. Are you coming or not?'

'Oh!' he says, swinging his arms wide, 'The Victory Tour! Oh, where, y'know, where the Capitol can show off their little Victors.' His words are emphasised at odd points, strung together in a garbled slur.

'Ugh, forget it.' I turn to leave.

'Hey, hey, no, no, hey, no.' He says, his eyes fluttering drunkenly. 'Hey, Connor, my man, don't – don't just walk off. I'll be ready. I'll- I'll be ready. I mean I don't want to- to miss, y'know, like District six and stuff'

'District six?' It dawns on me, and I turn on my heel. 'You're not getting morphling, Vice.'

I start to walk away, whilst he calls after me. 'Hey, Connor! Hey, just a lil' bit. Jus' like a bit. Hey Connor!' I continue in my direction to the train station. 'Hey! HEY! DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME! OI! CONNOR! CONNOR! COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE-'

A string of expletives fill the air as I keep walking, the air cold and brisk on my skin. Eventually Vice's garbled curses fade into the distance, and I'm walking through the town. Peacekeepers stand guard whilst the town people mill about. Many of the citizens say hello. One woman gives me some flowers for helping Annalee win, but I turn them down as they'd only die on the journey. I don't need any more reminders of death on the Victory Tour.

The train station soon comes into view, as do the figures by it. There are several Capitol and District 5 staff members, running about the station, organising last minute preparations. I spot the mayor and the head Peacekeeper among others. Standing by them are Stella, Tobi and my family. To the right is Annalee, but she's truly engrossed in saying goodbye to her family.

'Where is Vice Taybridge?' Stella asks, her voice sharp and her lips pursed.

'He's not coming.' I reply with a shrug. Tyga rolls her eyes.

'What? Why on earth not?!' Stella squawks. She's had barely any interaction with Vice since she was appointed the role of escort and still doesn't understand. 'It is an honour!'

'Yes, well, apparently not for him.' I bring Alexis and Autumn into me, and together we embrace. 'I'll see you girls in a couple of weeks.' I say with a smile.

'Where are you heading first?' Alexis asks, breaking away from the hug long before Autumn.

'District 12.' I reply.

It's been years since I last stepped foot in District 12 and it wasn't under pleasant circumstances. Art's death. It hit Haymitch hard – I think he's heading the same way as Vice. Maybe it's better that way.

'Now, Tobi, you're coming with us, correct? Stella says with a plastered smile, trying to recover from Vice's absence.

'Nope, 'fraid not.' He replies. Tobi's getting on a bit now. He's in his sixties – his hair now a perfect, snowy white. I remember a time when his hair was white through choice, not nature. He's stockier than before, but still holds a fairly good physique. That's one of the things about Victors – they never seem to get overweight. It would appear the survival-of-the-fittest instinct is ingrained in our subconscious.

'What?!' Stella gasps, her eyes wide. In anyone else I'd say this was melodrama created as a joke, but in Stella it's 100% real. 'You have to!'

'Well, I'm not.' Tobi says with a chuckle. 'Not gonna happen. Things to do, people to see – I've travelled to the other Districts four times before, don't need to do it again. Besides, someone's gotta look after Vice.' he jokes.

Stella's eyes look like they're going to burst out of their sockets, but the horn on the train sounds, signalling that it's ready for boarding, and this snaps Stella out of her rage. I give Autumn one last tight squeeze, Alexis smiling from a distance. Tyga embraces both our daughters tightly.

'Now, you be good for Uncle Tristan.' she says, looking them both in the eye before hopping onto the train.

'Don't listen to her,' I say to the girls, 'Give him hell.'

I give them a little wink and Alexis rolls her eyes in the way her mother does, before I join Tyga on the train. Annalee follows after, hurried along by a frantic Stella, and soon the train is gliding away from the station. I take a last glance at Autumn and Alexis, who wave, attempting smiles. It's not easy to say goodbye when the Capitol train is so often a symbol of approaching death in the Districts. Nonetheless, we have to, and soon they are out of my view.

The train snakes through the country and our landscape changes constantly. We pass the massive reservoirs of District 5, Tyga staying away from the window at this point. I sometimes forget about her fear of large bodies of water – she's getting better, but it's still ever present. We finally pass the nuclear plants – these are very small, I sometimes wonder if we used to have bigger nuclear plants somewhere in Panem, but I've never seen them – and then we're out of the District.

We spend hours passing through the wilderness, and as colours start to bleach the sky, the train begins gliding through the endless lakes of District 4. Apparently, we can cut through District 4 to reach District 9 and then travel up to 12. The air above fills with candy pinks then deep reds then rich purples until finally night sweeps over us, a black cloak jewelled with stars.

By about midnight, everyone has gone to bed, leaving just me gazing out on the glistening lakes, tranquil in their stillness, speckled with the reflections of stars. I am lost, past the glass of the window, in another District – another world. Eventually a yawn breaks me from my fantasy and I decide to turn in to bed. It is only when I turn that I realise I have not been alone.

Across the other side of the carriage, Annalee sits, eyes filled with wonder as we pass by the water's edge. Her legs are bent, her back leaning against the arm of the couch, and her strawberry blonde hair left loosely hanging down onto her shoulders.

'It's getting late,' I say, my words sounding harsh and rugged in the smoothness of the silence, 'You should probably get some sleep.'

She turns with a slight start, apparently too lost in her world to notice my presence. I know the feeling. She looks over to me briefly, but her gaze shifts back to the stars.

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' I say, placing myself lightly next to her.

'I've never seen the other Districts before,' she says, 'I wasn't really paying attention to the view the last time I was on a train.'

I nod. 'Well, you'll get to see it again. The train's only passing through here to get to 12. We'll be stopping back here in a few days.'

She nods. Not happy or sad. Just sort of knowing. 'Still. I don't want to miss it.'

I smile, looking out onto the fishing boats, slowly rocking in the water, specks in the distance. 'Nonetheless, it's probably best if you get some rest. We'll be arriving in 12 pretty early tomorrow and there are gonna be a lot of cameras on you.'

She turns to look at me, somewhat sheepishly. 'I've...I've been having dreams, Connor.' She shifts uncomfortably, as if remembering something painful. 'Not dreams, really. Nightmares. About the arena.'

'It's normal.' I reply. 'We all get them. Me, Tyga, Tobi, the other Victors. It is normal.'

'Still?'

'Occasionally. Not that much anymore.'

'And...what do you do?'

'Well, we're Victors. We take on the dreams. And we survive.'

Annalee chuckles – a dry, emotionless laugh. 'Yeah. I suppose you do. We do. I'm a Victor now – I keep forgetting that. I keep...thinking it happened to someone else. It just it doesn't seem real.'

Her eyes again return to the blanket of night, the world absorbed in the pure blackness that the late hour brings. And the glittering stars, carelessly scattered across the cloudless sky. Together we stare into the night for a while.

'Come on,' I say eventually and this time, with a tired sigh, she relents.

We walk together through the carriages until we reach Annalee's quarters.

'Show those dreams who's boss.' I say with a smile. She smiles back, but it's a tired smile. Tired of the struggle.

She walks in and softly shuts the door behind her. I walk along to the next carriage to my quarters. I slip into my room where Tyga lies on the bed, still and beautiful, her chest calmly rising and falling under the sheets. I walk over to the bed and undress, slipping in next to her. Her skin is soft against mine, but she is asleep.

I kiss the top of her resting head lightly, before leaning into the pillow and closing my eyes, allowing my thoughts to be overtaken by the rhythmic breaths of the woman I love and the soft hum of the train gliding through District 4.

A/N: Hey guys, so thanks for reading! :) I hope you enjoyed that - lemme know what you think in the reviews. By the way, sorry for not uploading last Monday - I was ill for a large chunk of that week so I was unable to write, but I am aiming to continue publishing a new chapter every Monday, so I should see you this time new week! Thank you and please review :)