District 1
Cecelia Hart
The train rumbles past the towering mountains of the Capitol as we speed back to my home. I boarded the train only a few hours ago, finally allowed to return home after the Capitolian doctors confirmed all of my injuries were either healed or healing safely. I'm missing two fingers on my right hand, which is unfortunate, but people have come out of the Hunger Games with much worse.
I lean my head against the cool glass of the window as I stare outside. It's night, but the stars and moon brighten the scenery enough for me to see everything - only in blurs, of course, since we're traveling so fast.
I feel a melancholy ache in my chest as I stare outside. It's hard to believe I'm going home. The combined time of the pre-games, the post-games, and The Hunger Games themselves means I have spent a chaotic month in the Capitol. And yet, I'm not sure if I'm happy to be returning home. I have a small number of friends at home, and I've missed my twin sister, Lya, so much, but I know that none of them will understand what I went through. They'll be sympathetic, of course, and comfort me, but how will that really help? They don't understand what it felt like in the arena. They didn't experience the nights soaked in rain or covered in bug bites or the blood that was stained into my clothes for all sixteen days. I was wearing a white jacket when I first entered the arena. It was red by the time I left.
And of course, they don't know how terribly it hurts to have lost Noelani. They won't understand it. Not only do they have no clue of my feelings for her, but even if they did, they haven't had someone they loved die feet away from them, with the knowledge that they could have saved her… if only they made better decisions… if only I helped her.
Estella, my mentor, explained to me that the Capitol edited out everything romantic about my relationship with Noelani. Apparently, they didn't want some of the Capitol to dislike a potential Victor because of their homophobia. That kind of bothers me, but I feel a bit of relief over that. In the arena, I hated the fact that the whole world was potentially viewing my vulnerability when it came to Noelani. Even though the reasons for editing it out were stupid, I'm grateful that not every bit of my life was projecting to all of Panem. It feels nice to have those memories to myself, even if it means my friends and family won't understand my true pain.
The only people who understand everything that happened to me were the twenty-four mentors and Gamemakers who had full access to the cameras. They're the only ones who somewhat understand how I feel; not the Gamemaker monsters - the mentors. I suppose they're the only ones who will really understand.
The journey to District 1 will be fairly quick, since District 1 is adjacent to the Capitol. I think I'll just stay up until I reach home. I don't think sleep is an option right now.
District 6
Axel Woodleigh
I don't think sleep is a possibility for me tonight. I've tried to sleep for hours now, but my mind won't stop running with memories of the Hunger Games. When I first exited the arena, I found the comfort of these Capitol beds wonderful, but now I just want to be home. All I want is the comfort of my own home and my family and friends. I no longer find joy in the extravagances of the Capitol. I can't wait to give up this high-tech feathered bed for the small cot in my house; or the fluffy, buttered Capitol bread for the dark, bitter bread of District 6. Who cares about all of these designer clothes in my closet when I get the comfort of my Mom's hand-sewn outfits?
I was told I'd be re-entering District 6 in roughly thirty hours. I'm on the same train as Cecelia, but I've only seen her a little bit. We haven't talked at all. I don't know about her, but I'm in kind of a quiet mood right now. I don't want to bother with socialization. The train we're on is dropping Cecelia off first - I guess because District 1 is closest and I'm sure the Victor gets top priority. The Capitol's kind of pretending I don't exist. After the interview, they've barely discussed me.
Generally, the media comes to film the Victor boarding the train. It's a chance for all of the rich Capitolians to get close to the Victor before they return home to their District for another year. The more cocky Victors will even sign autographs, which I think is stupid. Anyway, they figured they didn't want me stealing any spotlight from Cecelia, so they had me board the train ahead of time. I think someone must have heard about that, though, because when Liber and I tried to privately board the train, I was bombarded by a group of middle-aged women who wanted to hug me. Luckily, Liber told them to go away and I managed to get on the train without having to hug a forty-year-old woman with fake eyelashes at least six inches long.
As glad as I am that I survived, I'm very upset Hadley isn't here with me. It would have been so wonderful to be on this train with Hadley and Tristana! I would have been so happy to have been able to walk into District 6's train station side by side with Tristana… but instead, it's just me. I don't have Hadley and I don't have Tristana. I don't even have Linen or Arabella. Cecelia's nice, but I don't know her. I only talked to her on that final day, after I had spent the entire Hunger Games thinking of her as a villain, compared to Tristana and Hadley, who were the heroes of my tale.
When the Hunger Games got too much for me, I did this thing where I pretended it wasn't real. I would imagine I was in one of the adventure tales my Mom used to read to me. In those tales, there were heroes and villains and monsters… just like in the Hunger Games. Although, I suppose the only villains were the authors of the story, the ones making us kill each other. But in those tales, there was always a happy ending for the hero and his sidekick. That's what I would imagine when the Hunger Games got too painful - physically or emotionally. But there wasn't a happy ending for the hero - only the sidekick, me.
I'll have to return to my homeland, without either or my protagonists. It will just be me, the dependent sidekick, without the one that people really root for. Without Hadley or Tristana.
Is it really a happy ending when only the sidekick is the survivor?
District 1
Cecelia Hart
I take a deep breath as the train pulls into District 1's train station. It's filled with Capitol paparazzi and of course, District 1 citizens. I scan the crowd, but I can't see my family yet. I still haven't decided whether I'm glad to return home.
"Hi," someone says at my shoulder. I turn around and see Malakai Mavericks. Funnily enough, I had no clue he was on this train. Usually, it's just the Victor and their mentor and escort, so I thought it was just me, Axel, and our entourage.
"Hi," I respond, somewhat unsure of what to say to him.
"I'm sure this is bad timing since you're about to exit the train, but… I was requested to ask you something," he says, taking a deep breath. "Can I trust you?"
"Maybe, maybe not," I say, suspiciously. "In what context?"
"It's about the Capitol, and…" Malakai leans closer to whisper in my ear. "A possible rebellion. Would you be interested in that? Would you be interested in possibly taking down the Capitol?"
"Of course," I say in a low voice.
"That's all I needed to know," he shrugs as the doors slide open. Immediately, we're bombarded by flashing lights and I'm forced to step on the platform.
I'm home… Does that make my story a happy ending? Or maybe it's not over yet...