Rayann Carter, District 5 POV:

There was a sudden light that hit me when my eyes fluttered open for what seemed like the first time in years. I was blinded for a second, but there was the smell of chlorine and cleanliness with the screeching sound of a heart monitor that bleeped with every jolt of my own heart. Where was I? What happened? The sounds and smells told me that I was alive but... I was supposed to be dead. I felt myself die...

The light eventually faded, but everything was white. White walls, white ceilings and white doors. I managed to lean up despite my muscles being stiff as wood to get a glimpse of various machinery before I realised I was in some fancy kind of hospital room.

That meant one thing.

I was the victor.

The realisation hit me so hard I pinched myself just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming, but there was still a sharp pain as my nails dug into my flesh. My breaths sped up and then the memories of the Games followed - was this victory a dream or was the pain that followed a nightmare?

Or was it a terrifying mixture of dreams and nightmares that twisted into some sickening reality? I paused for a second and my stomach lurched, but my body was so drained I couldn't even summon up bile.

It shouldn't have been me here, lying in this white bed in a white hospital gown in this stupid big white room. It should've been Bethuny - she deserved it, or Lyla because she wanted to get back to her parents so desperately.

"Ooh, here is our darling Victor!" I heard someone squeak, I managed to catch a glimpse of towering white and black hair and the green skinned Contessa moved into the room. "Well, you've finally won!"

I couldn't reply, I was too busy feeling numb with shock. Out of all the twenty four children that were sent into the arena why was it me who came out alive? I was a good climber, a mediocre fighter and good with spears, but was that enough? There were strong people like the Eleven boy, Careers like Maximotus, geniuses like Lyla or Bethuny and sly people like the girl from District Eleven.

And I was the one who survived? Why?

"I won?" I asked Contessa, just to clarify.

"Yes," Contessa confirmed before holding a tray out to me. On the tray was every District child's food fantasy - all sorts of fresh fruits, sugary sweets and fatty foods like pizzas and burgers.

"No," I muttered, moving the tray aside. I couldn't eat, despite the fact I had probably spent days withering away in my hospital bed eating was the last thing on my mind.

"Oh, fussy child!" Contessa sighed, placing the tray on a bedside table that seemed to slide out of the wall magically. I bit back my tongue, but I wanted to tell Contessa that no fussy person would ever eat mashed up insects to survive.

"How long was I out for?" I asked the woman who was supposed to be my caring escort. My hand immediately reached for my stomach, which had been torn so badly I could've seen my innards, and now all I could feel was skin as smooth as velvet. "How did I survive... My stomach..."

"Your stomach was in a bad state, torn... And some of your intestines were actually out of your body." Contessa said casually, chewing on some fudge. "The surgeons had to actually guide them back into the body and sew your stomach back up - without any scars, as if by magic!"

"But... Maximotus..." I said. I didn't care whether I had physical scars or not, because the mental ones hurt much more.

"He was dead before we could get him into a hovercraft," Contessa laughed. How was that funny? "The glass had pierced his jugular - not pleasant. And he had a wound on his wrist that ultimately killed him apparently... You were in a bad state too, of course, we were almost victorless!"

"Oh..." My voice was empty. It was hard to imagine that somewhere Maximotus was dead, almost unimaginable. Though he took my friends from me I didn't hate him anymore; he was a child, like me. He wanted to win more than me and unlike me he probably had a mother who loved him...

"I killed him," I said. I wasn't speaking to Contessa, merely saying what I thought. There was a life in that arena that I had taken... That...

"You're a star," Contessa giggled, grabbing my arm and pulling me up, forcing me to spin like a dancer. "And a live one too thanks to the Capitol surgeons."

"I'm pleased," I said, but the tone of my voice opposed my words.

"The surgeons even gave you a make over!" Contessa squealed, pressing her hand onto the wall so that it seemed to shift into one big mirror.

The sight of me was horrendous.

There was no disfigured victor being reflected, nothing at all that I expected... The girl in front of me wasn't even me, Rayann Carter was an average looking girl but I was staring at a Capitol supermodel.

My hair had miraculously grown and it had been fantastically styled into beautiful chestnut tresses. My body seemed smooth, no blemishes or scars whatsoever with high cheekbones and full lips to follow suite. They even changed my plain green eyes so that they looked like tacky glistening emeralds-

"I look..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Beautiful," Contessa sighed, though that was the last adjective on my mind. "I mean cosmetic surgery does wonders! It's changed an ugly duckling like you into a girl's dream..." She sighed in content. "We were considering breast inflation but we wanted to keep your tom boy image."

I didn't look like a tom boy.

I looked like a beautiful victor.

But I was a fraud.


As a new tradition the Victor had to give a public speech to a screaming Capitol crowd before their interviews. Contessa was running around like a headless chicken making sure that everything was in order.

My mind still kept wandering to Maximotus, just thinking about him. I knew I was going to kill somebody from the moment I was reaped - I was almost certain of it, but everything changed once I had done the deed, once I had taken Maximotus' life.

Holding onto that piece of sharded glass and slicing it into Maximotus' neck was easy enough, but then watching him dying had the opposite effect. Even though that boy was so willing to kill me, even though that boy ridded me of Bethuny, getting rid of him seemed so wrong.

I wondered how the Capitol and the President when they saw Maximotus and I joining her hands as we were dying. Was it a sign of rebellion or something cheesy that was to be ate up?

Only time would tell, but I wasn't prepared to succumb to the President's wishes... Death was a better option.

"We want you in your hospital gown so that you appear like a scarred, recovering victor," Contessa told me as she ushered me through an unfamiliar corridor. She stuffed a crumpled piece of paper in my hand and patted my shoulder. "Read it out - it gives your thanks and support to the Capitol."

I wanted to go out there and tell the Capitol to go to hell for what they had done - they killed all twenty three of us, Bethuny, Lyla, Maximotus...

Spiritually they had killed me too.

"Speaking to an audience may be daunting," Contessa advised me as I saw the doors of the balcony. "But it's all going to be fine - you're a victor, you're untouchable..."

"I've never been scared of heights or spiders," I told Contessa as we stopped to allow the technicians to set up the spotlight and microphone. "But audiences have really never done it for me."

"Act like you're in front of a bathroom mirror," Contessa smiled, clapping her green hand onto my back. I supposed she did care about me deep down, in her own weird way. "It'll be nothing."

"What does the whole speech say? Is it a remembrance speech or something?"

"Of course not," Contessa scoffed. "We don't want to depress them too much - you're flaunting your status, thanking your leaders and declaring your love to the Capitol!"

My green eyes were directed to the balcony door, which the Peacekeepers had opened for me to walk out. "What if I don't wanna say that..."

"Then the President will make you declare your love the hard way," my silly escort sighed. "And of course you loved the Games! Who doesn't love them?"

I didn't want to answer that question.

There were two Peacekeepers by my side, and both of them had rather intimidating guns in their hands. There was a grand marble balcony that they led me on to and I was deafened by the screams of thousands of Capitol citizens who were scattered around like ants.

The city circle gave me memories of riding through in a chariot with a plastic suit that changed colours, supposedly DNA, and a familiar sense of stage fright that hit me that night crawled back into me.

"To all the Capitol citizens," I spoke out from the balcony, almost jumping from the way my voice's volume had amplified so that it was ear splitting. I squinted slightly, trying to distinguish the words of Contessa's scribbly handwriting. "I am so proud to be here. I am so proud to stand in front of my fellow citizens as a hero and representative of this country. I am so proud to stand here as the victor. I must say thanks to my sponsors, stylists, mentors and especially my escort for guiding me and allowing me to stand before you. Let us all pause after the tremendous Games to reflect - let us think of the lost tributes and the tributes before them, and how they represent the punishment the Districts deserve." The audience were deadly silent, and my heart was beating with fury at my own words. "I am glad to represent my District and my country - to fight for my family, my friends and most importantly my President." The last few words are sickening, but I uttered them anyway. "Let the two hundred and third Hunger Games bring us this same prosperity. I can easily declare myself a patriot after this wonderful experience."

I moved the piece of paper down, and the whole audience cheered - My whole being was burning with anger. Why did I let myself say that? There was a gunshot in the distance and while I was escorted back into the building for my interviews I managed to catch a glimpse of people with banners - protesters - being shot to death by a faction of Peacekeepers. Through all the happy crowds I could hear screaming, but before any more was shown I was stuffed back indoors by frantic Peacekeepers.

They obviously didn't want me to see anything, giving me ideas wouldn't have been wise, but I'd had the same ideas for years anyway.

I wish they knew I didn't mean a word I said. It made me sick to think that I told lies when I said I wouldn't succumb to the President's will...


The stylists continued to add to my beauty by adding unneeded make-up. They wanted rouge lipstick to make my lips appear fuller, all sorts of eyeshadow to make my eyes wider and other random powders and sprays.

Wasn't the cosmetic surgery enough for them? I was fake enough, but they still had to smother me in junk.

"Just when you think your beauty couldn't be more defined," my stylist sighed as he looked at my fake face in the mirror. "Of course we won't be adding anything else - not even any piercings, dyes or paints, we want you to contain that natural tomboy look."

If I was told about my 'natural tomboy' look one more time I would've murdered somebody. If they wanted me to be natural why did they change my features completely with their surgical tools?

They gave me my clothes - luckily the dress wasn't anything stupidly dramatic, it was an ivy green dress that was thick and unrevealing (and it obviously complimented my 'natural tomboy' look).

I stood at the side of the interview stage, looking at the purple haired Jynx who giggled to her audience as she was about to introduce me. There was odd sense of nostalgia, because I had been here before, but that time there had been twenty three other people who were doomed to die with him.

"So - everybody should welcome our Victor... Rayann Carter!" Jynx stood up and clapped, there were screams from the audience and though my mind was telling me not to do it, I walked onto the stage with a smile as fake as my face.

"You look dazzling," Jynx said loudly as she kissed both of my cheeks lightly. The audience screamed on whilst I sat down on the comfortable interview chair.

"Thank you to everybody who sponsored me," I said. Contessa told me to thank the President, but there were people who deserved my thanks more.

"Such a humble Victor!" Jynx smirked. She was nasty to tributes who came into an arena but she was a kiss-ass to any victor that came out, because they were one of her. "So how did you win?"

"I kept out of the limelight, I fought as hard as I could, I had an intelligent ally to guide me and a lot of luck too."

"You weren't on anyone's bets to win, not until the final twelve anyway," Jynx's pearly teeth glistened. "Have you proven anyone else wrong?"

"Myself," I muttered, deciding that honesty was the only interview angle I could follow.

"No confidence then?" Jynx asked, looking to the audience who were shouting meaningless compliments at me. If I were a tribute Jynx would use my lack of confidence against me, but her attitude changed completely. "You're a perfect Victor!"

"Thank you."

"So who are you going home to?"

"Err..." I paused. I didn't want the Capitol audience to know anything about my family or my one and only friend at home. I wondered how Layla was doing - I was willing to bet she didn't expect me to come home alive. "Just some family and my best friend."

"Did you think about them ever in the Games?" Jynx asked, smiling brightly.

"A lot."

More silly questions followed, but then Jynx grabbed a box of tissues and I knew that the optimistic questions would turn into tear jerking ones.

"So what did you think about your allies?" Jynx asked, and the audience all listened intently.

"Lyla... I never got on with her. She was... She was annoying, but she was a genius who didn't deserve to die." For the first time my answers weren't blunt, because I wanted to talk about my allies who had died. Thinking about Bethuny made my delicate stomach do some odd areobic stunt while my voice went hollow. "And Bethuny deserved to win this... She was so kind... So understanding... I wouldn't of survived without her... I'll think of her every day."

"So do you detest Maximotus for killing her?" Jynx asked me.

"No," I said, looking into her velvet eyes angrily. "I blame the Capitol for it."

There was a nasty gasp that rippled through the audience, and Jynx looked alarmed for a microsecond before distracting the television audience at home-

"Ok, time for the Games recap!"

The next four hours were torturous, but I was sure the President intended them to be. I watched the Bloodbath with a shocked face - most of the shots were of me speeding through the bloodbath and avoiding spears, but then they showed the six children that were killed and Maximotus obtaining the gun that I would repossess.

There were shots of my conversations with Bethuny, and hearing her voice itself was painful. I could see the hardships other tributes had to go through, and I discovered a lot of things about them - I always thought he was sly, but the Nine boy was sullen and a lot like me. The Ten girl and boy were hysterical, even managing to make me laugh a bit.

And then the Three boy was broken by freakish zombies. The Ten boy was mutilated by Liane, the Seven girl who resembled Layla so much was killed.

The Eleven girl betrayed her innocence completely by stabbing her ally, and I could only watch helplessly as they showed the footage of me cradling Bethuny's dying body in my arms

There were all sorts of dramas - the Career tensions, the ever building 'anti Career' alliance, and some messed up love triangle between three tributes which ended with the District Two boy's throat being slit.

Even though I knew the outcome I was still left on the edge of my seat while the Eleven boy unknowingly killed his ally, Lyla and I were thwarted by Maximotus (ending in Lyla's gruesome death), Spyglys killed once again and Katie was tracked down and killed by Liane.

Then there was the chaotic feast with the gigantic octopus mutt followed by the pyramid collapsing on Krindle, who deserved to see his girlfriend again.

The deaths all whizzed by as if they were meaningless, and then the whole footage of the finale was shown. My heart raced while Maximotus brutally sent a bolt of lightning into my stomach before I stabbed him brutally in the neck, so that we slowly fell into death...

For Maximotus that death would be permanent.

"Once again, give it up for Rayann Carter, the District Five victor!"


There was a lovely party held for me, my fake mentor who was never a Victor and just a survival expert told me I did well. My styling team complimented my beauty. Contessa laughed at my lack of grace. I thanked all my sponsors and meant it - without them I'd have probably starved or frozen to death, and I owed them my life. A lot of the party goers asked me about Bethuny, but I could only walk away.

I'd face memories about her my whole life... I didn't want her being brought up in every conversation.

"Well done Rayann," a well spoken voice congratulated me.

"Thanks," I replied in a blasé manner, but my body stiffened when my eyes looked into the metallic grey eyes of the President, followed by his ghostly skin and shockingly white hair.

"You did yourself well," he shook my hand and leant back. "You're a truly spectacular Victor."

I didn't reply, because I knew the President would've preferred Maximotus to win - it was blatantly obvious. With some reluctance the President placed a victor's crown on my head.

"Never looked better," he hissed. The audience noticed the crown on my head and they all applauded, and I felt enclosed and claustrophobic - I needed to escape, somehow... Someway.

I tried moving but the President holds onto my wrist as the Capitol audience cheered and took pictures. His lips were right next to my ears as he breathed chilling words-

"You're a rebel, Rayann Carter. A natural rebel that should be punished for her actions... Don't pull anymore stunts."

"Maybe if your country wasn't so brutal and badly run I wouldn't of done so," I smirked bitterly. The President remained quiet, probably because no-one had been rude to him before.

The audience cheered at us as I walked away from him - probably thinking we were whispering words of thanks and encouragement at each other, the music re-started with the party was alive again. I just wanted to get into my room and escape. After this party the whole Games process would be over and done with... All I had to do was get on the train and return home, back to my newly acquired house in the Victor's Village.

Not that it would compensate on the Games or end the procedure of them; I'd be whisked off on a Victory tour and forced to mentor with the only two live Victors left, Jynx Blackthorne and Iopian Endovnier, the winner of last year's Games who was heading in my direction.

"G'day Rayann."

"H-hello," I stuttered, taken aback.

"I just wanted to say... Congratulations," his voice was kind of empty. What did he think about the kids he had to mentor?

"Thanks. I'm sorry about your tributes... They did well."

"Yeah, not well enough." He smiled and dunked his wine glass into the waterfall of cider that was next to us and then gave one last weak smile and raised the glass to me. "At least I'll have someone else to mentor with... Not a crazy Career... Someone who shares the pain."

His words confused me, because Iopian was not unintelligent enough to turn into a drunk or something - he was sober, albeit unhappy. Did he really need someone to sympathise with so much? He won his Games last year by poisoning the Career's food supplies, and since then people have never underestimated his intelligence since, and I made a note to not to do so too.

"Rayann - I just wanted to say," Jynx was smirking behind me. "Next year I'll also be mentoring and, well, it'll be nice to see the competition between us-"

"We all have friendly competition with your Career cronies," Iopian sneered. "And I'm willing to bet you'll be a biased interviewer-"

"And your tributes will be useless, starving lumps." Jynx retorted with her fists clenched. As the argument continued I moved away from the two, trying to find a desolated toilet to go to. To my chagrin as soon as I walked into the toilets I discovered that they were occupied by vomiting Capitolites.

"Had a bit too much dear?" Contessa was one of the people in the queue with a batch of pills in hand. "Do you want something to let it all out?"

"No," I muttered, horrified at all the heaving sounds from inside the toilets. All the starving children and there were people vomiting excess food out? Could the Capitol be any sicker?

Feeling physically ill I ran out of the toilets, moving out of the party room and up the stairs. I clicked the elevator button that lead me to floor five and sighed with relief.

I had escaped the party. All I needed was to go to sleep and go home... Home at last. After all the dramas and fighting I had kind of forgotten that home was what I had fought for.

I was tempted to see what the other District's had as their accommodation, but the thought of all of them being deceased now put me off slightly. Even as the elevator doors slid open I tried to keep my eyes away from my District partner's room.

But my own had had the door kicked off its hinges.

I tried to control my own racing heart, but everything was too much - what had happened? Even as I walked in the room there was an obvious break in of some kind, the windows had been smashed and there was ruined objects all over the room.

"Hello?" I muttered, glancing into an empty bathroom. The baths had been running, and water overflowed into the tiled floor. I flickered the lights on and stepped into the room further.

What had happened?

As soon as I had thought the question there was an answer - strong arms grabbed me from behind and yanked me back. I tried to scream, but I was thrown backwards and my mouth was covered and muffled. There was a flash of something silver that stabbed its way into my chest, and then everything went black.

Game over.


Choosing between Rayann/Max was hard, but I chose and I'm happy with it. Oh yeah... Cliffhanger again. Oops.

Now review this chapter, and I'll post the epilogue chapter as soon as I have 5 reviews ;)

~Toxic

Question: What do you think has happened to Rayann?