She couldn't control the gasp that escaped her when she saw him. Attached to machines, IVs, pale as a ghost, splayed out across the bed, not responding, barely breathing.

Jillianne stepped forward into the room, unable to look away from it.

She briefly looked over her shoulder, where Stellan was standing in the doorway, watching her with a concerned look in his eyes. Jill took a deep breath. She had gone long enough without him there to protect her.

"I'll be okay Stellan," she said quietly. "This is something I need to do on my own."

She could see the pain in his eyes, but his face remained dry. He gave only a nod, and ducked away to give her a moment of privacy.

Jill pulled a chair over to his bedside. "Oh Elliot," she said quietly, her eyes full of painful tears. She wasn't sure she could stand to see him like this. But now she knew that she had to. She took his hand: the parts of it that didn't have cords and needles in them, and gently rubbed his fingers.

At her touch, one of his eyes feebly opened. "Jill…" it was barely above a whisper. His voice was raspy, painful, but he was alive. He didn't move.

"I'm here," she said quietly. She looked into the face of someone she had loved for so long. He was always so gentle, yet brave… "It's me. You're going to be okay, Elliot."

"Jill…" She could see how much energy was sapped away by him just saying her name. He weakly picked up his arm, trying to touch her face, but unable to reach out. "I… I'm hap…py…"

"Sh," she said quietly. "Don't strain yourself. You've been through enough."

"Jill…"

"I'm sorry that we never got to be together Elliot." She was so sorry. "I should have done more. I crushed on you for so long…" She gently rubbed her fingers on his palm, around all the medical equipment. She couldn't imagine how much pain it was all causing him. "I shouldn't have let you suffer under that bitch for a single second."

"No." He practically coughed it out, and his lips moved again with no sound coming out. "No."

The monitor beside him started to beep faster and louder, which surely wasn't a good thing. Jill held his hand. She knew in her heart that soon he would no longer be in pain.

She knew what he would want from her in these moments. She sang.

"Lay… Down… Your sweet and weary head…" She could barely force out the words. Her voice wobbled, and she realized how ridiculous it was. Her, singing, her voice barely able to hold a pitch, accompanied by the sounds of the heart monitor beside him.

Elliot tapped her knuckle with his two middle fingers. Keep going.

"Night… is falling… You've come to journey's end…" She took a quivering breath, but the monitor gave the high-pitched, uninterrupted drone that indicated that it was too late. Jill couldn't finish the phrase. She draped herself over Elliot's body, sobs rocking her as she held onto him, knowing that he was gone.

Jill couldn't stay here forever. She sniffled, wiped her eyes, and stood up. She peeked out of the door, wanting to get away from that hospital stuff, the sight of Elliot like that…

Stellan approached her, looking into his sister's face for any signs of good news. Jill sniffled, trying to hold back her tears as she simply shook her head. Stellan didn't talk, he didn't need to. He threw his arms around his sister, pulling her close. She grabbed onto his strong arm for support and strength. Kat was so kind to her and protective of her, but Jill needed her big brother.

Stellan pressed her face into his shoulder, and didn't talk. He just held her as she cried, rocking her back and forth gently. It was so foreign: but so familiar.

"I'm so sorry Jill," he said quietly into her ear. She was taken back to District Six, in the arms of her brother, who she loved and looked up to so much. He was her hero. Hell, he still is. Even when her tears had stopped, Jill stayed in her brother's tight embrace. She just needed to be there, for one more second longer. Stellan didn't give any indication of letting go any time soon, after she calmed down. He needed her just as much as she needed him.

He leaned forward and kissed the top of his head as she gripped on his shirt.

"I'm sorry Stellan," she said. For refusing to be with you all those years. For robbing us of time together like we both craved.

"I love you Jill. I just want to be your big brother again." He held her tightly, and more tears rolled out of Jill's cheeks.

"You never stopped."

.

Bec sang to him in his dreams. "You are my sunshine," trilled the deep voice as his friend held out a hand to him. "My only sunshine…" Jace reached out, to take his hand, to hold it tightly. "You make me happy…" He wanted to go. "When skies are gray…" He put a hand up and spun Jace around. "You'll never know dear…" He missed him so badly. "How much I love you…" Bec… "Please don't take…" He was dreaming. "My Sunshine…" He was dreaming. "Away."

Dead people don't dream.

He came to. He was laying in a bed… The deep voice from his dreams trilled next to him, humming the song he had heard in his dream. He wasn't dead. But if he wasn't dead, then…

"Where am I?" His eyes shot open. There were eight tributes left, there was no way he won. "What the hell happened? I want answers, right the hell now!" Real scary Jace. The blind kid making demands.

He heard a deep, low chuckle that was in the perfect range to resonate on the walls. "Welcome to heaven. I'm your sexy guardian angel. I'm tall, dark, and handsome. Not to mention ripped."

"Cut the shit," Jace said, crossing his arms, which still felt like they were full of lead and poison. Poison. He'd been poisoned. The welts on his body started to sting and itch. He didn't want them to know he was in pain.

"Ok." A small sigh. "How much of that did you believe though? I mean, was it convincing?"

"If I were in heaven, I could see right through your shit, jackass. Now I want to know who you are and where I am, now." He balled his fists, still feeling pain on the parts of his body that had been stung.

"Alright, alright. But just so you know, I really am tall and handsome. And ripped too."

Jace wondered if he had just ended up in hell. Wait a moment. He actually did recognize that voice. It was all coming back to him.

"You're the guy from that Capitol group. You were giving Camellia a hard time. What the hell are you doing here? Did God strike you down finally?"

"He tried," chuckled the guy. "Oh, did He try."

"Ted. Tell me where the hell we are right fucking now, Ted." He was pretty sure that was his name.

Jace heard another laugh come from this asshole. "Alright kid, relax. You're safe now, I promise. You're hanging out in an underground bunker right now with other rescued tributes. It was all a ploy to get you out of the Arena while everyone else thought you were dead."

Jace couldn't believe his ears. "Why? Who would do that?"

"Lux Buttwad Hastings, that's who. The guy ain't so bad, really. He and Wolf have this whole business set up for us now."

"Us… You're a saved tribute?" his annoyance faded slightly, replaced by a burning curiosity. "Fascinating. Tell me more."

"You're trying to guess who I am."

Jace's face heated up at that. "I-I wasn't about to play a game or anything!"

"No, I like it. See if you can guess who I am based on only the sound of my voice. I'll be impressed if you land on it. Although, not surprised. What vibe are you getting from me, Doll? I'm simply dying to know."

"I'm getting the vibe that you like to hear yourself talk," Jace said, which got another cackle out of the figure in front of him.

"You're not wrong. My peers would definitely agree with you. But when you have a voice this velvety smooth, you would want to talk all the time too."

Jace considered in his head. He felt the part of his bed by his feet weigh down as Ted sat down on the foot of it. "Keep talking. I think I have something."

"I think you just want to hear my voice more. Indulge yourself, you know."

"You're a Career." It was a ballsy guess, but something about how his s sounds seemed to slither gave Jace the vibe of a trained killer.

That earned him a laugh. "You would be correct about that. What gave it away?"

"I'm psychic," he deadpanned, but he was trying to keep himself from quirking a smile. That earned him a laugh: that he could tell was genuine, as it was much less theatrical than the others. It was… Cute. Not cute, he's a trained killer. It was cute, but like a cute baby snake.

"Alright then, I don't have to talk anymore Mr. Psychic." He sounded smug.

"No you don't… Trap."

He couldn't see what was happening but he could hear him gaping. "How'd you know?!"

"Lucky guess." No Career was ever quite as miserly and charming at the same time. He knew the Careers from Bec's Games, and from his, and neither of them even came close to the chocolatey, buttery sound of the voice he was hearing now. "I'm assuming this only started last year."

"Only last year." Now that he knew who it was, he could hear it. "So, how're you feeling?"

Jace kept his poker face on. No way in hell he was trusting this guy. "Besides the fact I've just been attacked by evil bees, I'm just peachy." Jace quickly realized something, and his façade fell quickly. "Elliot. I could still hear his heart beating when he was taken. Was that because of you guys?"

"Yeah. But…" The way his voice got quieter, less throaty, was all the indication Jace needed.

"Not good news."

"It was just a littletoo late."

Because of me holding him back. "Camellia knew about all this."

"She knew," he affirmed.

"And she had to stop me somehow." And it was still too late. The place she'd hit him was still sore, but his headache was gone. The magic of medication.

"Don't beat yourself up. I doubt we could have saved him either way."

"But we'll never know."

Silence on the other side.

Suddenly, he heard an alarmed-sounding voice from the other side of the doorway. "Who the hell left him with Trap alone?!"

"I resent that!" said Trap, and Jace heard a sudden surprised "Oh!" come from the other side.

"You had one job Numitor!"

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep!"

The voice of his mentor was familiar to Jace.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves," Jace said, unable to hold back the snark. "This was a deeply traumatizing start to my second chance at life."

"Oh, shut up," Trap grumbled.

"How are you feeling?" Wolf asked, his voice closer as he must have stepped into the doorway.

"I'm just fine, don't get your boxers in a twist," Jace said. The weight of what he did to Elliot was heavy on his chest, but he did what Jace did best and repressed.

Another voice came into the doorway, one that Jace would be a fool if he didn't recognize.

"Eden's in critical condition, Wolf. I think we're about to lose her." The sound of footsteps leaving the room left Jace wondering if anyone was still around.

"Was that Piccolo Wallace?" He knew it was, but he still couldn't believe it.

"Yeah." Numitor sounded tired as he'd just awakened. "Sorry for that. They've been monitoring tributes pretty closely."

They were silent for a moment. Jace felt the worry close in on him.

"Camellia knew because that other boy is her boyfriend, right?"

"Todd Malloy," Numitor said.

"Wow! Nothing gets past you!" Trap said, sounding genuinely impressed, but it was pretty obvious to Jace. After the inevitable eye roll, Jace felt the frown pull at his lips.

"Are you going to get Camellia out of here too then?"

"As far as I know they're doing their damndest," Numitor said. "But we haven't gotten any communication from Lux about any of this, so we can't know for sure."

"You would be stupid not to. She's the heart and soul to this operation."

They were both silent, but Jace was completely serious. "I would have held onto his body until he was dead for sure. She was the one that acted. She has to know that now I know why. She has to know that I forgive her…"

"There's plenty riding on Camellia, but don't worry your pretty little concussed head about it," Trap said. "The poison from those bees hits pretty heavy, and you were plenty battered besides that. You need rest!"

"You tell me that I was saved from the Hunger Games and you just expect me to go right back to sleep!?" Unbelievable.

"I want to," Numitor said, and Jace heard him yawn.

"You're right. There's a bathroom straight ahead of your bed if you want to wash up. Lawrence, you lay your lil' head down and go back to dream land. I'm going to go put some soup in the microwave for your first meal as a free man. That sound okay?" He could hear in Trap's voice that he really wanted to take care of him. He supposed they were saved together, not in an Arena anymore, so maybe he could give the guy a chance.

Jace smiled despite himself. "Alright. Fine."

.

His bleary eyes opened. He blinked around at the eyes peering down at him and let out a small yelp as his eyes flew the rest of the way open.

"I'm dead!"

"No you're not!" she smiled at him like he had just said the silliest goddamn thing she'd ever heard.

"Listen lady, you don't understand. Literally. I'm dead. I'm actually dead. I- I spun the wheel!"

He looked at his arms, noticing the wounds from Shit Brown dude were stitched closed. What? "Did Purple and that other guy both explode!?" he asked. That was a horrifying thought.

"No no!" she was laughing, but he didn't know what was funny.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Coda was not amused.

"Just slow down for a minute. We're here to help you. In fact, we rescued you from the Arena!" He looked into her face, her kind eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"We're in a secret underground bunker right now. Nobody knows you're alive."

Wait. If he was still alive after a spin… "Henley!" he said. "Where is she?!" his heart suddenly filled up with hope, which was quickly deflated.

"She was too far gone," the nice girl said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Coda frowned. He should have guessed as much. He just couldn't help but at least hope… "So, what's this place like?" He tried to get out of bed, but his body was still a little delayed from the paralysis.

"It's an okay place. But aren't you going to ask me who I am?"

He hadn't even thought of that. "I guess."

"You don't recognize me?"

"Ma'am, I don't recognize anybody."

"Montessori Stallard." Was he supposed to know that name? "District Three, last year's Games? Backstabbed by that little kid?"

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"Well, just believe me, okay?"

"I do believe you!" He really didn't have a choice considering he was dead, but now he's not.

"Well you could have just said that."

He couldn't help but mock, "You could Have just SAID that."

"You're impossible."

"Bleh, You're IMPOSSIBLE."

The girl, Montessori, just smiled and shook her head at him. "If you want to clean yourself up, the bathroom's through that door. Do you want a sandwich or soup?"

"Both!" He was starving.

"Alright, I'll be back with that. You settle in, make yourself at home."

What a weird kid, they both thought as they went to do their various tasks.

.

She hadn't been lucid for almost two days. He hadn't left her bedside.

It was like they were caring for two patients in there: the others took shifts bringing food. Wolf was the only one he would trust to watch her while he showered and slept- which he barely did. They had brought over Jace's hospital cot for him to sleep in so that he could be beside her. He hadn't stopped worrying about her in so long.

Jace came for the occasional visit as he started to feel better, but the beeping of the machines she was attached to flared his nerves, so he often didn't stay.

Sometimes, she would open her eyes, but immediately close them. Wolf had confirmed that the pill wasn't lethal when caught as early as they did: but there was never a way to know for sure.

So many tears had been shed over her body: from Malloy to Wolf, when nobody else was there.

He was sitting in a rocking chair, playing his guitar quietly, when she said his name. "Todd…"

He dropped the instrument, hurrying over to her bedside as she looked around the room. "Am I…?" Her eyes widened, filling up with tears as she realized where she was. "Wolf…" Tears blinked out of her exhausted eyes.

Todd took her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips. "It's okay," he said quietly. "You don't need to cry anymore, Flower."

Camellia's lips quivered as she blinked slowly. "Cer…Ceru…"

"He's still kicking," he said quietly. "Lonan's dead. They're in the finale."

Camellia relaxed a little bit back into the bed as her mind started to clear. She looked around, her eyes slightly livelier. "So this is your place, huh?"

"Yeah," Malloy said, laughing as he blinked tears out of his eyes. "Yeah, it is."

"Bit… grungy," she said, taking a long blink as she looked around.

"You're safe now, Flower, they're never going to hurt you again." Camellia couldn't help but smile as she looked into his face.

"Jo…"

Malloy frowned. "I'm still talking to Wolf. But now that you're here, we'll definitely find a way."

She sniffled a little bit and nodded. With him here, she would never have to worry. She knew she could trust him. She heard the door open and Wolf appeared.

"Oh my God," he said, practically sobbing in relief as he hurried over. "Camellia…" He was holding her other hand.

"I'm okay," she said, now the one to do the reassuring. "Thank you." She could see in his face how tired he was from everything. He had probably been working for so long, and she could see in his face how much he had lost. She didn't even need to ask about Elliot.

A lump formed in her throat, but the sob wasn't released until she heard the sound of a bicycle bell in the hallway.

"Is that…?" He peeked in the doorway and Camellia started to sob, though her body didn't produce tears. "Jace!"

"Camellia?" he entered the room, bumping his shoulder on the doorframe. "Camellia!"

"I'm here Jace!"

"Oh thank God!" he grinned, his eyes misty. "Camellia…" He stumbled forward, Wolf guiding him to where she was laying.

"I'm so sorry Jace," she said, taking a deep breath of air. "I…"

"No," he said. "I understand now. And if I hadn't hung on to him for just that extra second…" his voice broke and he looked away.

She looked into his face, pain so evident in her eyes. "You couldn't have known. I mean, who could even imagine this?" She squeezed his hand, her heart breaking at how his head was hung in shame. Jace couldn't argue, but it was evident that he still blamed himself, in some capacity.

"Did you get anyone else?" she asked quietly.

"One other," Malloy said, keeping his voice nice and steady.

"But I have to warn you, his greeting wasn't exactly what I expected," Jace said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Coda's still recovering, Tessa's in with him now," Wolf said. "Just be warned. He's probably forgotten your name by now."

Camellia gave a small smile. "That's exactly what I would have expected from him."

"He didn't forget my name," Wolf said with a cheeky grin. "Just saying. I'm like the only one."

"Don't lie, he called you Coyote first," Jace said, bumping Wolf's shoulder (Camellia was impressed that he landed his target.)

"Well he got it on the second try," Wolf pouted. Camellia couldn't help but smile at them all.

"I love each and every one of you in this room to absolute bits and pieces, don't get me wrong. But I'm going to go crazy if I don't get to brush my teeth after almost twenty days without it."

"You're totally right, dude." Camellia smiled at his use of the word. Hopefully that meant he was feeling better now, before putting up his hand and calling, "I call soup duty!"

"I guess I'm on leave until a better time duty," Jace said with a small smile.

"Think you can get up on your own?" Malloy asked, and Camellia frowned as she realized she didn't know.

"Can you stay with me just in case?"

Malloy smiled and nodded, standing up to kiss the top of her head. "Of course."

He gave her an arm to help her up to the edge of the bed.

"I'm never going to leave your side again, Flower."

~.~.

A/N: Do I have to do these three again? I suppose so! So surprise, if you didn't guess already, there are 3 survivors, and here they all are! It's a good thing I opened up this possibility before the story started because there were some characters I just couldn't kill off. So they are here, and this is definitely not the last we are going to hear from them!

Just so you know, I have a brigade of authors writing deleted scenes for me that are going up on the blog for this story! You can find the link on my profile. Thanks to everyone who wrote scenes and continue to check the blog for updates!

Survivors:

Jace Galillei, District 3

My first chosen survivor. He was the reason I knew there had to be survivors for this story and I picked the tracker jackers right away. The gift was not randomly generated (sorry, Plat) but it was just a really perfect opportunity to make it look like an accident. I loved Jace from the moment I got him and I knew that I absolutely couldn't part with him. He's sassy, he's fiery, and he's also fucking blind. I love this guy so much and I am so excited that I created a loophole where I continue to get to write him!

Camellia Gallen, District 7

CAMELLIA. I know, I saved both of the legacy tributes, but let's be real everyone it absolutely HAD to be done. This was a form unlike any other I'd received, and there came to be a point where I just knew that it had to be her that was saved. I loved Elliot so much, but I realized when I was writing his death that I was going to sell him out for a corn chip to keep Camellia around. But to keep everyone in suspense I decided to take her out too. Ultimately though, it ended up being an easy choice for me because of all the awesome things she is going to do in her role with Out of Spite and she I am just so excited to continue her legacy here!

Coda Fukai, District 8

Coda. Geez, I love Coda. He was the last one I chose, but I chose him all the way back before the feast to be saved. I couldn't have him be a Victor option because I knew I couldn't have him be dead, he had to be saved. I liked his form when I got it, but the things I was able to do with him in the story made him an unconventional frontrunner on everyone's list of faves, including mine. I just knew there was no way in hell I would be able to let go of him, and I love this little meme with all I have in me. I am so happy I get to continue to write his dirty mouth and his sass, because it would have been deeply missed.

If I didn't save your tribute, please know it's not anything personal and it's not because I didn't absolutely adore them! These were the three with the best dynamic and the shadiest deaths, and I am extremely happy with the decision to put all six of these guys together and force them to be friends.

CQ: Are these the survivors you expected? Any surprises?

Next epilogue: Ceru comes home, and UV attends a funeral.