A month after the end of the Victory Tour
People in District 7 seem to have gotten angrier over the last month. I think that the thing that set it off was the death of Ryan. Maybe our dancing at the Street Party wore him out, as just 8 days after, me and Charlie went to check on him like we did everyday to find that he'd gone to bed and not woken up. The whole of the District attended his funeral and all us Victors watched his games together. He was fighting to get home to his girlfriend who he married the day she turned 18. Apparently she died 7 years a go, which is probably why I dont remember her. Our little family is one member smaller.
Today is time for the meal with Forest's Family. I've met up with his sister Poppy a few times in town and we seem to get on well but I don't want to jinx anything. I think it'll be more than a little strange if I have to look at the family of the boy I killed to come home. But they insisted it would be okay, which is how I now find myself stood outside of their small house just on the boundary of the woods. I've already stood here for at least 2 minuites, trying to convince myself that I can do this, I can knock on the door and I can have dinner with them, all I have to do is knock on the door. I know what it is that stopping me. The day after Ryan's death, I got a call from President Snow who once again invited me to be a part of his 'Elite Group'. I said no again, theres no one left that I love, so why should I? He hasn't got anyone to hurt. I know that if I get to close to anyone, he will kill them and ask me again and again until I stop talking to people or I accept his offer. With that terrifying thought, I finally convince myself to knock lightly on the door.
Someone from inside calls "It's open!", so I push the door gently and see that I could have made the job a lot easier if i'd have just tried that in the first place, as it is in fact already open. Poppy is the first the get to me and she quickly gives me a tight hug. Her younger brothers- I'm pretty sure they're twins- shake my hand, properly introducing themselves as Lorcan and Lysander. Forest's mum hugs me and kisses me on the cheek, whilst his dad pats me on the back, telling me to call them Daisy and Elm. We sit around a table as a fire blasts in the corner and the rain pours down outside. We wait for the meal to finish cooking- it smells like some kind of meat- whilst eating warm loaves of District 7 bread. I try to establish how well off this family is. Forest was much bigger than me, indicating he was well-fed, but he was also strong. Lorcan and Lysander look like they could do with a bit more meat on them, but they aren't old enough to start working that much in the woods yet, which could be why. Poppy is thin, but you can see the muscles in her legs when she walks and the strength behind the way she moves. She must work in the Forest too. Or perhaps these are developments of the last few months without Forest. Longer working hours to compensate, perhaps less money coming in so less food, grief- all 3 have most likely been a combination to this result. Their house is small but not tiny. As soon as they serve the food though, I abandon this train of thought. I'm actually in danger of drooling as I wait for them to finish serving everyone. We talk all the way through dinner, laughing and joking in a similar way to how my family felt. Its a similar set up too. Lorcan and Lysander remind me a little of Ethan and Hunter when they were younger, even though Ethan was older. Poppy reminds me slightly of my Aunt before she died- fiercely protective and a very determined person. Daisy and Elm are just like my parents. They laugh and joke with us throughout the meal too. I leave later that night feeling a lot happier. They didn't ask me about the games or talk about Forest, probably in an effort to make me feel more comfortable with them.
When I get home, the phone rings and rings but I ignore it as I can see its from the Capitol and I don't want to talk to Puff or Snow unless its really necessary. For the first time since I got back from the Victory tour, I fall into a dreamless sleep and actually wake up feeling refreshed rather than more tired than I did when I went to bed. I go downstairs and automatically I can tell that something is off. The back of my neck prickles and my hands are trembling. I can't place whats wrong until I get a call from Charlie because she is sick and wants company and I notice that in a vase by the phone, there is a single white rose. I drop the phone. Where have I seen that before? It's one of Snow's roses, it must be. Who else could produce such perfect flowers? Charlie is calling to me from the phone, but I leave it hanging off as I grab the rose and run into the main room. I light a fire quickly and throw it in viciously. Another one catches my eye, from a pot of dried flowers on the table. I grab that too and throw that on the fire. I run around the house quicker than I've ran since the games and collect the roses scattered around. There are 10 besides the 2 I already burnt and I slowly throw them on the fire. I can't let his threats take over my life. 'I am fine', I tell myself. 'I am safe'. I go back to the phone where Charlie is still waiting patiently. She gives me a minuite to calm down and, not wanting to make me explain, she goes back to telling me the story she was telling before I freaked out. We talk for another 10 minuites before ending the call, but I cant shake the uneasy feeling. Something is wrong.
I grab my coat and pull my boats on, run my hands through my short hair and leave my house. Sure enough, there is a single white rose planted outside my front steps. I rip it out of the ground, only to find that the roots bury deep, as if its been there for years. There is no way they could have done that overnight, but i'd definitely have noticed it before. I go back in my house and route around in the drawers until I find some scissors so I can cut it out instead. I ignore the thorns digging into my hands and throw it behind me. There is another one further down the path, and then another and another. Its like a trail. I follow it along cutting the flower off as I go. It leads me to the center of town. Someone is being whipped.
Forest's dad Elm is strapped to the whipping post, back marked with at least 30 lashes. Poppy is curled up on the floor, but I can see marks across her arms. I don't know where the twins or their mum is, and im not sure I want to know. I know that me trying to stop it will only make it worse, so I wait until the peacekeeper is done and stalks out of the square before running to them. Poppy bursts into tears when she sees me and then cries harder when she sees her dad. I try to help her but she shakes me off and screams at me "Find my brothers". I stumble backwards and run off in the direction of their house.
Daisy is washing up when I burst in through the door. I quickly gabble at her "Elm and Poppy have been whipped and she told me to find Lorcan and Lysander do you know where they are?". She looks at me shocked with tears pooling in her eyes. She points towards the woods.
"There's a clearing in the woods where he trains the kids. They might be there"
She hastily draws a map and I sprint off into the woods. The blood is pounding in my ears as I run towards the clearing. When I reach it, I see splashing of blood lacing the ground and the trees. There is a groaning from under one of the bushes nearby and I go to it. Lorcan is curled up under the bush holding tightly onto Lysander. There is an axe sticking out of Lysander's stomach. He has tears running down his face but he's trying not to let them show. I take one look at the injury and know that its too late. It's ruptured too many organs, and once a pool of blood has gotten too bug, there's no going back. But I try my best. I gently ease the axe out of his stomach, doing my best to ignore his cries of pain and take my jacket off so I can tie it round the wound to stop some of the bleeding. At least we'll be able to get him home first. I instruct Lorcan to grab Lysander's feet whilst I grab his shoulders so we can carry him back to the house.
When we get back, Poppy and Elm are sat on the kitchen table, Daisy trying to stitch up their wounds. They all look our way and jump off the table when they see us carrying Lysander. He's fully crying at this point. He's 11 years old at most, and I think he also knows that theres no going back from this. He holds tightly to Lorcan and Poppy's hands as we place his carefully on the table. His mum and dad are crying together and I attempt to wipe the tears from my own eyes. He is like Hunter. He knows its the end and he's going to die and there's nothing he can do about it, and his family know that too.
His mum manages a choked "I love you".
Lysander smiles and says "I love you too". He turns to Lorcan. Their identical eyes lock and they both nod solemly. As twins, they have an unbreakable bond and we all know it. Lorcan sniffs and hugs him. "I love you I love you, thank you thank you, your my best friend and my brother and geez Ill miss you".
His voice cracks but he keeps eyes locked with Lysander. Lysander whispers his name and breathes his last breathe onto Lorcans hand. The energy in the room falls apart and everyone simultaneously burtsts into tears. Through the next half an hour, I get the story. Elm was training the kids when Peacekeepers arrived in the clearing. Poppy was throwing knives at the moment they walked in, so they took her and Elm to be whipped for breaking the no training rule. Lorcan and Lysander attempted to hide, but a peacekeeper caught them and 'accidently' threw an axe at them. According to Lorcan, he had a Capitol accent, not a District 2 or 7 one. He hit Lysander who fell over which caused it to drive in deeper. Lorcan managed to dodge one and the peacekeeper left in order to not miss the whippings. Lorcan already knew it was too late for Lysander after having grown up watching the games. He held onto him until I got there and bought him home. He dissolves into tears and can't tell me anymore. I help Daisy stitch up Poppy and Elm and tuck Lorcan into bed. All the time I'm there, I can feel the pieces connecting in my brain. Snow knew about my friendship with Forest's Family. I said no again. So he killed someone else. Took another child from the family. I don't remember leaving the house, but I end up back at home, curled up on the soft white carpet, too numb and tired to cry. A friendship i'm going to have to cut off unless I want more people to get hurt or killed. I robbed that family of two children with my actions, and I cant go near them again. I won't give Snow any more ammunition.
I'm sorry, please don't hate me. Reviews?- Skywitch xo