Diana di Angelo, 18, District 2 Female POV

Dying isn't that bad.

I didn't want to die when I volunteered. I never wanted to die. But I'd always been prepared to an extent. Especially for the kind of death that Finnick gave me. All he did was stab me in the chest with his trident. Pain flared up. Then it was over.

The only bit that I'm sad about is that, while I was dead, my brother didn't have any family left.

"I was dead," I say, aloud.

"You were," a man's voice says. I sit up in my hospital bed.

Then I see him.

Last time I saw Finnick Odair, he was a little kid. His voice had barely broken and there he was, in the Hunger Games. Even younger than my little brother. I had to protect him.

Now he's a man. If I had to guess his age, I'd say that he's in his twenties.

I've been dead for years.

"How long?" I ask.

"Excuse me?" Finnick asks.

"How long was I dead?" I ask.

"Ten years," Finnick says. "You were brought back for the Quell."

Ten years...

I've been dead for ten years. Dio's been alone for ten years. He must be twenty-five now. Maybe he even has kids.

I could be an aunt and I wouldn't even know it.

"Are you alright, Diana?" Finnick asks.

"Do you know where my brother is?" I ask. "His name's Diocletian. Diocletian di Angelo."

"I'm so sorry..." Finnick says, his eyes sad.

"What happened?" I ask. "He didn't volunteer, did he?"

I know that Dio had always been planning to volunteer. We'd both known that the best way to support ourselves without any parents was to win the games and be treated to a lifetime of riches. Once I was chosen to volunteer for the Sixty-Fifth games, I was a little relieved. If I won, Dio wouldn't have a reason to volunteer and put himself in any danger.

I didn't know what he'd do if I died.

"He volunteered for the Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games," Finnick says. "The boy from Seven threw an axe at him and it killed him. He wasn't in pain for very long. His allies mourned him and avenged his death."

"Is he back?" I ask. "Is he back from the dead like I am?"

Finnick shakes his head. "They only brought back tributes who came second. Like Eros Buonafonte. Or... the Wracks."

I think of the siblings who came second in two consecutive years and shudder. They're going into the arena together and only one can leave alive.

Maybe it's a good thing that Dio's still dead.

Maybe it would be better if he'd been brought back and I'd been the one who'd stayed dead.

My little brother had always been so bright and full of life. Even after our parents both died in that rockfall. He was the most popular kid in his class in the academy, everyone's best friend. He was so kind to everyone he knew.

The world lost someone brilliant when he died. And there's no way I can fill the void he's left.

I hang my head and start to cry. I know it's not very Elite of me but I can't stop the tears from overwhelming me.

Suddenly there's a shriek from another room.

"Are you alright if I go?" Finnick asks, already rushing towards the door. "I think I'm needed."

I nod. It's exactly what I want to hear. I don't want people to try to comfort me.

Because the only person who could possibly help died in the Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games.

Liberty "Libby" Stringer, 12, District 8 Female POV

When I wake up, my hands are clenched into fists. I spent so long clinging to that floating log, I'm used to it by now. I remember listening to the cannons as the arena flooded, hardly able to believe my luck.

There were two of us left. I had a shot at being Panem's youngest victor.

"Did I win?" I croak.

"No," a woman's voice says. "You went to sleep. Then you fell in the water. Plop! And then you drowned!"

I sit up and look around. There's a brown-haired woman watching me with owlish, blue eyes. She looks kind of familiar. When my eyes meet hers, she presses her hands to her ears, trying to block out some noise that isn't there.

"You're supposed to be dead," she cries. "You died. You died. You died. Why are you not dead anymore? Finnick!"

A man rushes into the room. I recognise him as Finnick Odair, District 4's most recent victor. He wraps his arms around the woman and whispers some things to her that I can't quite hear.

"What's going on?" I ask, thoroughly confused.

Finnick glances over at me. "You died. You probably don't remember it. I think you were unconscious. But, because you came second, the Capitol brought you back and now you're in the Quell."

"Who's that?" I ask, gesturing towards the woman, who's staring at me like I'm something terrifying.

"This is Annie," Finnick says. "She won your games. She's supposed to mentor you but... you freak her out a bit."

Suddenly, I realise why that woman's so familiar. She was the girl from Four in my games. Except, in my games she was a fearsome Career. Now she looks even more scared than I feel. Maybe she just needs me to be nice to her.

"Hey," I say, gently. "My name's Liberty, but you can call me Libby if you want. Can we be friends?"

"Liberty," Annie says. "It means freedom."

"Yeah," I say. "My parents were massive rebels."

Annie smiles. "Sorry for being scared of you, Libby. I thought you were... a bad ghost."

I smile. I'm well used to dealing with victors like Annie. My last mentor, Cecelia, believed in ghosts and vampires and souls and everything.

"I'm not a ghost," I say. "I just..." I frown for a second, wondering how I should explain the situation when I only half-understand it. "I just took a holiday from being alive. Now I'm back."

"Did you enjoy your holiday?" Annie asks, pulling away from Finnick and walking towards my bed.

"Nothing much happened," I say, casually. I look over at Finnick and he gives me a thumbs up.

This is an incredibly weird day, I think. I suppose, once you've been reaped for the Hunger Games, you can't expect things to be normal. Especially if you end up dying.

"Are you both okay if I leave?" Finnick asks. "I kind of had to abandon Diana so I just want to make sure that she's okay."

"Yeah, I think I'm fine now," Annie says.

"Who's Diana?" I ask.

"Diana di Angelo is your new district partner," Finnick says. "She came second in my games so I'm mentoring her."

I gasp. My new district partner is a Career.

She's also the Career whose brother died in the Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games.

"Maybe you should go," I say. I know what it's like to lose family. I had to watch both my parents hang in the town square. It must be even worse for Diana, since she lost her brother while she was dead. That amount of confusion and grief mixed together can't be good for anyone.

"Okay," Finnick says. "Let me know if you have any problems."

He gives Annie a dazzling smile and leaves the room. She looks after him, longingly.

"He's dreamy, isn't he?" She asks.

"He's twice my age," I say.

"You're too young to die," Annie says, a little sadly. "I hope you survive the Quell."

I think about the Hunger Games ahead of me and realise that it's not as scary as it was last time. Now I know that I'm good enough at hiding to make it to second place, I feel a lot more confident in my chances of survival.

I also know that I shouldn't obsess over whether I'll live or die. I should just enjoy every second I have left. If there's one thing I've learned from my brief holiday from being alive, it's that dying isn't that bad.

After having Eidolon and Fawkes in two consecutive chapters, I think we all needed a bit of a breather. I don't think Diana and Libby are entirely angst-free but they both died in relatively nice ways. Emphasis on the relatively.

Also, to add to the list of mean things about the Quell twist, it forces Annie to mentor someone from the most traumatic experience of her life. Luckily for her, she and Libby didn't interact at all in the arena. That's good for Finnick as well, because he probably won't have to pull a Mercedes and mentor everyone this year.

Speaking of Mercedes, her district is coming up in two chapters. But first, we have to cover District 5.