A/N: I'm too. . .sad. . .to. . . even. . . :(

Epilogue

Zeb Walls

Loving Brother, Son and Friend

Died with honour on August 29th 3019

Rest in Peace my dear friend

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire, I'm with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate,
To say that destruction ice,
is also great. . .
and will suffice."

Robert Frost

I sit by the grave and read the poem to the headstone, my spare hand never moving from resting ontop of the soil.

Zeb's heart gave out ten minutes before Johanna and I arrived. Beetra, not being a doctor and not knowing whether to call an ambulance or not in case it gave away Zeb and my's location to the peacekeepers, took a panic attack.

We travelled to District 10 the next day to bury him in his own district. It took us a week to get there, travelling in a truck Beetra leant to us, and I've been numb the whole time. I still can't believe it's true, even when I'm sitting here beside his grave. Zeb cannot have died of something as basic as heart failure. There has to be more to it. There's so much more he could have done. We could have done. Kaliana and him could have done.

His parents are dead. They died a month after Zeb and Carrie were reaped for the Hunger Games. They never got to see their son or daughter in the flesh again before they slowly gave in to the gripping hands of starvation.

"Zeb, you can hear me right?" I whisper to the soil as I finish reading the poem. "Course you can. You can't keep a good guy down right?" My fingers trace over the two arrows that are crossed together to form an 'X' that sit ontop of the headstone. "Your haven't really left me right?"

~xXx~

"Nice outfit," I say, holding out my handful of sugar cubes to him.

Zeb looks up at me and he looks completely confused at this kind gesture. He plucks a cube from my hand and pops it into his mouth and nods gratefully. "You OK?" I ask. His cheeks suck inwards as he sucks the cube and then puff back out again. "Not sure," he replies.

"This is difficult for all of us," I admit, "But it must be difficult x40 for you." I pause for a moment. "Was that little girl your sister?"

"Yes," Zeb replys sadly. "Her name's Carrie." I nod and say, "I just want to let you know that I respect you for taking her place like my mom did for her sister. I just hope to god it won't be you and me at the end because all I can see is Carrie's face as she was pulled away from you and I don't want to have to cause that for the rest of her life." I throw another sugar cube into my mouth and sigh in irritation. Zeb smiles. "Thank you," he says.

"No problem," I grin.

"You really think this costume is OK?" he asks as if he doesn't believe me.

"Oh yeah, it's lovely," I say sarcastically. By the look on his face I can tell he thinks I'm either mad or I have no sense of style. "You heard of sarcasm?" I ask.

"What?"

"Never mind."

~xXx~

"I have!" I protested. "I cleared up the mess I made that implied we were lovers!" Zeb sighs heavily and I think again for a moment as the Capitol audience laughs at our scabble. "Which we're not!"

"Here's an idea!" Zeb declares. "How about you keep this," he presses my lips together with his thumb and finger, "closed."

~xXx~

"How'd you do that?" I ask him in disbelief.

"I know my arrows," he replies.

~xXx~

"Hey, cowboy!" Waness calls from down below.

"What?" Zeb asks, seeming untainted by the name, 'cowboy.'

"How would you like to join the career pack?" Waness asks.

"What? Why?" Zeb frowns.

"That arrow thing was amazing," Nana says.

"You caught one in your mouth!" Jamica puts in.

"Your mouth?!" I exclaim, looking from the three arrows on the branch to Zeb, then back again. Zeb just shrugs.

"Plus your kinda hot," Waness says. The other two nod in agreement. That's when I burst out laughing. "What? Him?!" I ask between laughs. "Your deranged!"

"Yeah, no thanks," Zeb says. "I'm going to stick with Primrose."

~xXx~

"Kaliana needs you to know. Wants you to know. Dead now. Can't tell you herself. Won't let me go. Won't let me go."

"Tell me what?"

"She loves you Zeb. Only dated three days. Loved you since day one. Love at first sight. Ever since you met. Always has, still does, and always will," Harrie says hysterically.

"Tell her I love her too. Always has, still does, always will."

~xXx~

"Carrie would have two birthdays every year. Her offical one and the pretend birthdays I held for her every year. It was just a bit of fun. I would chose a random day every year to make her pretend birthday and I would treat the day like it was her proper birthday. You know, homemade cards, gifts, I'd ask mum if she could have a few friends over. It wouldn't be much but she loved it all the same," he says to me. "Then, last year I woke up one day and she was sitting on her bed with a small package in her hands. I asked her what it was and she told me it was about time I had a pretend birthday. The small package she had was this," he pulls a small necklace out from under his shirt. Was he always wearing that? "It's my district token. It has a photo of mum, dad and Carrie in it." He opens it up and I scoot over beside him and look at the photos.

He's his mom's double. He has her ginger hair and her green eyes. His dad then is a double of Carrie. Blonde hair and brown eyes. Carrie's laughing and his parent's are beaming. He snaps the necklace closed again and puts it back under his shirt.

~xXx~

"Zeb?" I ask. "Zeb? Talk to me."

"No," Zeb mumbles.

"Zeb, please talk to me. Is this chemo the sort of chemo I think it is?" I ask.

"Depends on what you think it is," Zeb replies through the sheets.

"Do you. . like. . .um. . ." I bite my lip, trying to think of a right way to put it.

"Have cancer?" He peers out through the top of the covers. "It's Ok to say it you know."

"Well, do you?" I ask.

"Yes."

Oh my god. "Wh-what type?"

"Lung," he replies. "Youngest recorded case in the last century."

"Oh. . .how long?" I ask.

"A good bit now. They wouldn't give me proper chemo before the games as, obviously, I'd lose my hair and apperance is everything to the Capitol."

"Your gonna lose your hair?" I ask.

"Yes, I will."

"Oh Zeb." I bring my drip round the side of the bed and go over to him. I pull the quilt down and give him a big hug. "Zeb, we really need to stop with the secrets, yeah?"

"I couldn't think of a time to say it," Zeb shrugs. "It's not like I could go, 'Oh, I know I've got blood poisoning and, hey Primrose, did you know I have lung cancer?'"

"I guess so," I say back.

"It's nothing to worry about though," Zeb assures, sitting up right.

"What? Nothing to worry about? Your getting Chemo Zeb. It must be serious," I reply.

"Primrose, I'm fine. I've never let the cancer stop me. I could work fine with it, I can shoot fine with it, I'm fine, believe me."

~xXx~

"Tell me about when you first fell for him," I tell her.

"Um, well, you know the way he did extra practice for his archery?" Kaliana asks. I nod. "Well, I went down to brush up on my weapon skills a bit since my overrated movements always made me nearly kill someone and I jumped when I saw him there too. He didn't see me, obviously, he had his back to me but I sorta just stood and watched him shoot arrows for a bit. It's nothing to do with his body. People always ask me that. 'Is it because he's ripped' blah, blah, blah, well no, it isn't. It's because he's beautiful. The smile, the firey red hair, the cute button nose, and his personality matches. I love him. And I've known that since then."

"Then there you go! Love at first sight!" I declare.

"But how are we-"

"Kaliana Zachary, do you love Zeb Walls?" I demand.

"With everything I'm worth," Kaliana replies.

"Will you do everything in your power to get him out of the Capitol?" I ask.

"Of course I will," Kaliana answers.

"Do you want to be with him for the rest of your life?" I ask.

"More than anything," Kaliana replies.

"Then nothing else matters," I answer.

~xXx~

"They're going to hurt it," he mumbles quietly once we've stopped crying.

"Hurt what?" I manage to whisper.

"They're going to hurt my baby," he whispers back. I nod in understandment. They're going to hurt both our true loves. Maurice is my baby just as much as Kaliana is Zeb's.

"I know the feeling," I answer.

"I'll never get to meet him," Zeb continues.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"My baby," Zeb replies.

"You mean a real baby?!" I exclaim.

"Yes, I real baby," Zeb frowns. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Kaliana!" I reply, completely flabberghasted.

"What? No!" Zeb exclaims. "Kaliana's pregnant!"

~xXx~

"I'm gonna wake up, and I'll be with my mum, trying awfully to get my aim right on a bow and arrow as she tries hopelessly to teach me, and my dad as he cuddles me at night when I have my nightmares, and Gale, who'll climb into my arms at night in fear of never waking up again once he goes to sleep. Don't worry Zeb, you'll wake up too! You'll be at home with your family and Carrie! This is all just a dream!"

My struggles against him are getting weaker and weaker as I feel my mind turn to hysterical mush.

"Primrose, please, stop it!" Zeb pleads.

~xXx~

The last thing Zeb ever said to me was stop it. I was scaring him half to death and that's the last thing he ever said to me.

"Primrose, I'm fine. I've never let the cancer stop me. I could work fine with it, I can shoot fine with it, I'm fine, believe me."

That sentence has been bouncing through my brain for ages now. The true belief that Zeb was going to be OK was what I held onto and now it has been torn from me. Completely ripped from my grasp and torn to pieces.

"Your being so brave Primrose," Johanna whispers from behind me, making me jump since I was unaware of her presence.

"You have no idea what's happening in my head right now," I whisper back.

"Your remembering," Johanna says. "Everything."

"He can't be gone," I whimper.

Johanna crouches beside me and rests her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Primrose, he is."

I bite my lip to try and stop it quivering. It doesn't work. Johanna kneels beside me and wraps her arm round my shoulder. I turn my face into her chest to hide my face away.

He's not dead.

He's not dead.

He's not dead.

. . .

. . .

But he is.

I get up off the ground and start to walk away, leaving Johanna to sit at the grave. The grave I still can't acknowledge exists. I leave it all behind as I walk to the top of the hill in the district, where I can see Carrie playing with Kaleb in the grass with the animals, where I can see their parents smiling at them both, proud of their daughter and her best friend.

Then I see him in the distance. He's stroking a cow who I assume is the infamous Milky Way. His hair falling over his eyes and his lips turned up in a cute smile, content in watching his sister enjoying herself.

The Walls family are dead.

But I'll make sure their legacy lives on in everyone's hearts.

And as the sun begins to set over District 10 I buck my chin up and decide one thing.

There's no way I'm going to lose now. I'm going to win this war.

For Zeb.

A/N: Well. . .that's it. . .it's over. . .

Until after Christmas that is. Keep an eye out for the sequeal guys.

And a big thank you to all my supporters.

From my first reviewer TheHungerGamesFan01,

To sitting. waiting .watching who never failed to give me the constructive criticism when it was duely needed,

To Skylar Pederson, who always has a question to ask,

To all my annoymous reviewers and readers who I never get to speak to!

But most of all, thank you to DoctorwhotailaandtheOlympian s, you never fail to make me smile every day Doc, even in my darkest times, (and you know I've had plenty!) you always know the right thing to say to make me laugh and you always support me when it's needed! Thank you my good friend :')