Sagittarius "Sage" Ryans (19) Victor of the 72nd Hunger Games
It was weird how loneliness had assumed the role of my best friend since the past eight months.
Being alone, letting the telephone ring again and again without ever answering it, and holding the picture of my favourite cat to my chest as I lay in bed was my favourite hobby. Of course, my kitty never replied, or rather, my Kitty never replied, but I was content in holding the cold photo frame against my bare chest. As I looked around at the beautiful walls of my bedroom, painted in the lightest of green and having a really big and comfortable bed in it, I turned the photo frame so that she too could look at it.
"All this is boring without you."
Of course, Kitty never replied. She never even smiled in the photo; it was a really serious one.
"I wish you were here," I said, "I'd like to know what you look like without those cat ears and all."
Or maybe, what you looked like without your car attire.
Marrying a fifteen year old would have been scandalous here but it would have been worth it. I was ready to take shaming if it would come. But really Kitty...
"Why did you die?"
I wasn't crying, my voice hadn't cracked either. I was genuinely curious. Didn't she love me? It seemed that way from the look in her eyes when I saw her for the final time. I had reason to believe she loved me. Then why the hell did she have to go and die? Why did she leave this guilt and pain to me? Why didn't she take it on herself? Wasn't that selfish?
"It could be you in this room holding my photo," I told her photograph sternly, "But you never loved me. That's why you left me here. Had you loved me, you'd have let me die. Kill me even. You had no business to die at that point of the game."
She unabashedly kept staring at me.
"Good night, idiot," I whispered as I touched my lips to the photograph before putting out the lights and getting inside the blanket.
Nights were cold in the Capitol, just like the city itself.
Regal Winter (20) Rebel Leader
This was the weirdest headquarter any rebel group could ever have. But then, Cress and Anya had designed it.
It was really like a very posh house. With all comforts and everything people could imagine. I knew a few things about comforts being a former President's son.
"How's he?" I asked Haley, who was making coffee for Sage.
"Not good," Haley replied with a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping, "I don't know what I can do to help him. It's been eight months and-and he just-"
"Calm down!" I said, taking my friend into an embrace. It really felt weird, considering she was younger than me when I died and now she's almost a decade older.
I could relate to Sagittarius on more than just one level. Being the son of the father who loved to violate him both mentally and physically in unspeakable ways, and the brother of the sister who was executed only because she agreed with her brother and loved him, I knew pain well. And Sagittarius had lost a loved one. I remembered the way I'd been numb for a couple of years after my sister's death. Had it not been for Alan, I would have never recovered.
The problem was that Sage did not have that someone. He never opened up to anyone and tried to act normal around us. Except Cress, of course. Sage had bared his heart in front of the older man, and had wept on the shoulders of the person whom he first thought was responsible for his cousin's death. Now, they both understood each other.
"I'll take the coffee," I offered.
Haley looked at me reluctantly, her eyes giving away her doubts. I was, after all, a clone. A lesser human and hence I should lack the ability to understand other people and their pains and feelings. Plus, I've had negligible interaction with Sage. I smiled in amusement as Haley brought forward the mug hesitantly. My once closest friend really had doubts about my intentions.
I didn't grace her with any clarifications.
I knocked lightly on Sage's door, waiting for a response... Or a lack of it. As expected, it was the latter. I turned the doorknob, surprised that the door wasn't locked.
The room was surprisingly clean, and all the lights were put out except one small nightlight. It glowed rather dimly, but was enough to illuminate Sage's figure under the blanket, trembling slightly. It wasn't really that cold.
Nightmare?
Maybe I shouldn't have done that, maybe I should have had remembered my limits as a lesser human. But as I sat down on his bed and lay my hand gently on his sweaty forehead, his eyes suddenly snapped open.
"I-I didn't want to wake-"
"Who told you that you could come in?" he asked calmly, his voice barely concealing his rage.
"Nobody."
"Then why are you here? Go away!"
I had never seen him act like that. We've never had much to talk about but even I knew that today he was reacting differently.
"Alright," I replied, getting up, "Haley didn't know that you were asleep so she sent coffee for you. Good night."
"I don't get why she'd trust you," he muttered suddenly just as I reached the door, "You're not even human."
While I knew he had said that not because of spite but only due to his sadness on loosing his love, it did sting a bit. After all, I'd never asked to be revived again. I had thought my story had ended when I'd died. Maybe it would have been better that way. At least I wouldn't be painfully reminded of my truth again and again.
"Good night," I whispered before opening the door and walking out. I seriously wished that he would get good sleep. Sometimes, it really helped.
Nikona Linwood (17) 72nd Games' Escapee
"Don't worry Nikona," Ryder said for the fiftieth time. I told him again and again that I wasn't worried at all. But the thing was that I was worried.
My trust in Alan (or Julius, my mentor) was strong enough to know he'd make it out alive in any situation. The man had a sharp mind, and kindness with heartlessness at the same time. But now, he'd been gone for five months. I saw him a couple of times on TV, giving interviews about what he was expecting in future tributes. Sage had been chosen to mentor District Seven and so, Alan could take a retirement there. His job was only to train tributes at the training centre, which gave him ample amount of time to do more important stuff. He was definitely still providing information to the rebels, information that was crucial. Regal often summoned meetings, but none of the escapee tributes or Sage had been allowed in them.
"You guys are already too stressed," Regal said, "This will only trouble you more. If there's something important, we'll let you know."
They never let us know anything that happened in the meetings. Something was definitely up, because some strangers, around thirty of them, showed up at the headquarters two weeks ago and Cress left with them. There had also been bombings in various parts of the Capitol, parts where only influential people stayed or worked. The attacks never happened among the masses, most probably because Regal's followers from the previous decade were still around, ready to do anything for their leader and his mission.
But whatever the case, I was worried about Alan.
"Nikona," Ryder said as he touched my knee lightly, "Something amazing's going to happen today."
"What?" I asked in surprise. Searching my memories, I couldn't really find the answer.
The blankness of Ryder's face almost made me laugh.
"You tell me."
"Ruby's going to have her delivery today!"
Realising I had forgotten that, I slapped my forehead. Seriously, how could I forget?! A few days ago, I was helping Raylic make toys for the baby. And now...
"To hell with you Alan!"
Ryder smiled at that before letting out a sigh. Putting my arm around his shoulder, I asked him what the matter was.
"I hope that, maybe if Sage plays with the baby, he'll recover."
That was true indeed. All of us were hoping for his recovery and were heavily depending on the baby for it. True, all four of us had been in the Games, but neither the twins nor the two of us had actually killed. I could say that I wouldn't have been this traumatised, but how could I know for sure? Didn't I think I had no chance to live? Yet, here I was. In this underground bungalow these people had made.
"Where are the twins?" I asked after a few seconds.
"I don't know. Maybe you should ask where Anya is."
I laughed out at that. It was a barely concealed secret that Raylic really fancied the girl who, in turn, didn't really accept or reject him. The three of them spent too much time together, Roslin more so because he had no choice. He didn't really trust her and often told that to her face. Being the actress she was, she always laughed it off.
"I wonder what Roslin will do if Raylic and Anya suddenly decide to get married."
As soon as I said that, Ryder threw my arm off his shoulder with a laugh.
"Man, you have a dirty mind!"
"What? It's a genuine question!"
"Too genuine Nikona!"
Even as we tried to stiffle our laughter, the twins threw open the door and ran in, panting, a look of terror on Raylic's face and one of fear and worry on Roslin's. We knew the matter was serious as Roslin too looked scared and upset and angry at the same time.
"What happened?" Ryder asked, bracing himself for the worst.
"They've caught Alan and Cress and are demanding that Regal and all the rest of us surrender."
DAMN XD I'm sure you guys thought I was dead, and this story too. But here we are, both of us, alive and kicking. Maybe not too much, but it feels really good to write after two centuries. Or what really feels like two centuries.
I hope this wasn't too bad. If I've not contacted you or read your story, I'm sorry. I'll catch up as soon as possible, but I don't know how soon that is. I miss writing and reading, but after spending some fourteen-fifteen hours in college and college related stuff, it's become hard. I'll complete all my stories, definitely. But it'll take time.
Enough about me though. How are you, you beautiful people? I hope everything is alright with you all, and if you guys are still in school, please enjoy it. After that, life is horrible. And monotonous. And silly.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What do you think will happen after this? Any guesses?
So I hope you have a really fantastic day!