"You've got to go through it to get to the end of it." -Suzanne Collins
The last thing James remembers before blacking out is frozen on the hovercraft, being very gradually lifted to the top. Despite his lack of movement, blood still flows from his wounds, and the pain is getting hard to manage. James wants to open his mouth and scream, but he's helplessly frozen.
Luckily, the moment he's unfrozen, he falls to the floor of the hovercraft, unconscious in seconds.
.
.
When James opens his eyes, he's still in the hovercraft. Tubes go in and out of his body, some large, some small. Machines beep at various rhythms, all presumably keeping him alive. He sits up, and looks over at a window. He can see the landscape, zooming by. They're heading back to the Capitol.
He's safe now.
He's almost naked, save for his socks and boxers. The rest of him is wrapped in bandages. Pain, dull pain, numbed partially by morphling or whatever drug the Capitol's using, aches through him. James looks back at the window, and then gasps to find someone looking back at him. Then he realizes that it's just his own reflection.
A monster gapes back at him.
He's unshaven. His hair's greasy. Wild, terrified eyes look back at him, and he can see tears brimming in them. His forehead is wrapped in a tight bandage. His eyes have bags under them. His cheeks are hollow.
A woman, a doctor guessing by her scrubs, walks into James' makeshift hospital room. Her nose and mouth are covered by a medical mask, but her eyes widen. "He's awake!" she calls out. "He's awake!"
Before James can say anything, he falls back asleep.
.
.
James doesn't know how long he's asleep for.
Hours?
Days?
Years?
He drifts in and out of flashbacks from the arena, in no particular order. Sometimes, he's sitting in a tree with Violet, other times he's laughing in the cave with Declan. Once or twice, he has to relive Caesar's murder. During the brief period of time he's awake, he finds that he's in a room with no doors and no windows. He's too exhausted to try and figure out where he is.
This continues for awhile.
Dream. The dreams his drugged-up brain conjure are usually happy. Climbing a tree with Otto. Laughing at a football banquet with Justinian, back before he was Reaped.
Then awaken for a few minutes at a time, dazed and confused, before falling back asleep.
Dream. His father's hearty chuckle booming through their household.
Awaken.
Dream. Romeo telling a dumb pun about coal in the Training Center.
Awaken.
And then one time, James opens his eyes, ready to fall back asleep, but he finds no medical tubes stuck in him, and a door has materialized in the room, and hangs wide open. James, fully naked save for some tight-fitting Capitol briefs, looks at the end of his bed and shudders at the outfit.
Waiting at the end of his bed is a clean version of what he wore in the arena. Cotton socks, pants, olive shirt, black windbreaker. James half-expects his bright-orange backpack that he lugged around at all times during the Games to be there. He knows he'll have to greet his prep team in this outfit, so he reluctantly puts it on.
As James throws the T-shirt over his head, he notices that he's...clean. His stomach is still bandaged, but there's not a heavy roll of gauze around his waist still time. A light layer of bandaging, so light it won't stick out in his clothes. He puts his hand to his forehead and finds that's it not bandaged. He can't even feel stitches. The rest of his body, from his biceps to his toes, remain fully clean. His fingernails aren't caked with dirt and blood, but shine.
He knows it's customary for the Capitol to transform the wounded, haggard mess of a victor into a human being, but it's still dumbfounding how they could change James into his condition in this time. He feels his stomach lightly after putting on his pants. He's lost a lot of weight, a decent amount of his muscle from hunger, but still it's strong. After zipping up his windbreaker halfway up, James places his feet on the floor.
When his legs don't give out under him, he's more than relieved. James takes a few steps forward, and then leaves the room. He's in a white hallway with no doors, but at the end of the hallway he sees a large chamber. He sees them all — Blight, Eques, Bunting, Cliff. James tries to run to them, but falters and resolves to stumbling towards them. Once he reaches Blight and Eques, he pulls the two into a huge bear hug.
"G'job," Eques smiles.
"Nice one, Henderson," Blight says with a grin.
When he realizes, Bunting's rubbing him on the back, speaking in his melodic voice. "Oh, you poor thing, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," James says. "Fine now. Well, actually, I'm hungry as hell."
Bunting smiles. "You'll get to eat soon enough. Now, go with Cliff." Bunting nods to James' stylist. Cliff, still sporting his blonde hair and earrings, has lost his eyebrow piercing and his eye black. He wears only a T-shirt now, revealing surprisingly strong arms.
Cliff smiles warmly. "Come on, James. Let's go."
James relaxes as Cliff guides him through the hospital and into the elevator. The hospital goes deep under the ground of the Training Center, but James doesn't care as Cliff leads him into the elevator and presses a button to go to the seventh floor. As they pass the floors, faces flash through his mind, and James tries not to think of the twenty-three tributes who perished in the arena.
When the elevator opens, his prep team is hugging him tight. Livius, Dax, and Fragrance. James can't decipher their speech, but grins and squeezes them as they hug him. He doesn't like them as much as Cliff or Bunting, but after them they're the only people from the Capitol he can stand except maybe Caesar Flickerman.
After the brief reunion, they head into the dining room and James tastes his first Capitol meal in awhile. Chicken, rolls, and rice pilaf. It's delicious, though James is refused seconds.
"Can't be throwing up on stage," Dax says. James doesn't like this, but when Dax hands him a chicken leg under the table with a wink he accepts it.
After the meal, he's given a shower and his prep team starts to work on him, enviously admiring a "full body polish" James received. He thinks back to embedding his axe in Pollish's chest and shudders. As they continue to make him pretty for the cameras, they talk about the various events during the Games and what they were doing when it happened.
When James found the cave with Violet, Fragrance was fast asleep.
When Romeo saved Declan's life, Livius was getting her fingers painted.
When Declan whirled around a tree with his bow right after James murdered Tybalt, Dax was doing his laundry.
As they ramble, James does his best to hide a scowl. They talk about it like they were just watching television; Even though the Games were televised, it doesn't mean that they were scripted. They talk about the dead tributes like characters in a TV show, and James almost clocks Fragrance when he talks about Kristina getting butchered.
Cliff comes in a few minutes later with James' outfit. It's a quaint outfit: Black leather shoes, khaki pants, an olive T-shirt (Identical to the one he wore in the arena), and a navy-blue quarter-zip. Not a suit.
When James sheds his arena clothing for the and puts on the outfit, James look at Cliff. "Am I pretty?"
Cliff laughs a little. "A beauty." He suggests that James take off the quarter-zip. When James asks why, Cliff replies, "I want you to give off a very...relaxed look. No fancy suits. Just a boy."
This is strange for a victor to appear, but James agrees with Cliff's choice in every other way and takes off the quarter zip. The T-shirt fights for control against his muscles, which are still prominent despite the malnutrition survived in the past eight days. James realizes that he still looks like a warrior, like a protector. Nothing left to protect, James bitterly thinks to himself, his hand dashing to the clover necklace. It's still there, and he feels relieved.
They head down to where they trained, and James nervously waits for everyone to go. It's customary for the the prep team to rise from beneath the stage first, followed by the escort, then the stylist, then the mentor, then the victor. Since Eques has done the majority of Violet's mentoring, and Blight mentored James for the most part, Blight will be the one to rise from the stage. Blight approaches James right as the prep team starts going up.
"How do you feel?" Blight asks. His beard is clean, but much longer than when James last left him. His hair's longer, too. Deep bags hang over his eyes.
"Fine," James replies. "You look like ass, Blight."
Blight smiles a bit. "Likewise." He rubs his eyes. "I never get any sleep during the Games." He looks at James again. "Tell me, actually, how do you feel?"
James pauses, and then says, "Horrible." His gaze drops to the floor. "I let her down, Blight. I was all she had, and I let that little girl down."
Blight rubs his shoulder. "I'm not gonna tell you it's not your fault, because you heard enough of that from Declan in the arena. You did your best, you tried, but she didn't make it." Blight lets his hand fall from James' shoulder. "It's okay. She made it far. Wouldn't have lived the first day if it wasn't for you. Don't forget that." He leads him over to the metal plate. "Try not to dwell on it."
"I won't," James says as Blight starts to ascend up to the stage. "Thanks, Blight."
"Anytime," Blight responds, and then it's James' turn to step on the metal plate.
He hears the loud rumbling as the prep teams and stylists are introduced. Then it's Bunting's turn, and he swears Bunting's louder than the entire audience combined. Blight, handsome and with eyes that can melt the hearts of any Capitol woman, brings on loud cheers.
He feels himself start to rise, similar to how he started to rise into the arena, and then the crowd deafens him with their cheers. Caesar welcomes the audience, his voice booming loudly. The crowd's screaming now, whooping and clapping as James smiles and waves at the crowd, his quarter-zip folded neatly over his other arm, which brings on another wave of cheers.
James paces over to the victor's chair, a plush red chair designed for, obviously the victor, and shakes Caesar's hand before taking a seat. A few short jokes later, Caesar announces it's time for the mandatory viewing of the Games. James looks strong and healthy, sitting in the chair, compared to the horrible person James was only a few days ago, when he was retrieved from the Games.
The mandatory viewing will be played all through Panem, and is a three-hour video of the Hunger Games. The lights dim, and the Capitol seal appears on the screen. James feels short of breath, but tries not to let it show. He'll have to relive all eight days of the arena, have to watch twenty-three of his fellow tributes die, some by his own hand. He'll have to watch not only Amelia, Declan, and Violet die all over again, but Romeo and Kristina be slaughtered. He remembers Oxford saying Kristina died slowly.
The first half-hour focuses on the pre-arena events, first starting with the Reapings. The camera focuses most on James and Violet's Reapings, of course, but spends a bit more time on Declan and Romeo's Reapings. The girl standing next to Declan, Capulet, sobs as he's taken away. He whispers something to her as he goes. Only she will ever know. As Violet is called up to the stage, the camera focuses on James himself, whose face turned from a blank face to a scowl.
Then the chariot ride, where James is clad in his clunky outfit, angelic Violet next to him. It cuts now to a scene in the chow hall of the Training Center, where the six members of the Ace of Spades are laughing over lunch. James isn't surprised they filmed this, but still, it unnerves him. Then the training scores and interviews. What irritates James is the upbeat soundtrack playing through most of it, since almost everyone on the screen is dead.
Then the arena scenes occur. Every year, whoever's in charge of (somewhat impressively) cutting down the footage into three hours tells a story. This year, they tell one of friendship. It starts with James and the rest of his alliance tapping their biceps to signify where they're going, and then there's detailed coverage of the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. James gets the first kill, slashing open Caesar's throat with a knife. Every now and again, they display the victor's reaction in the bottom right, in a box. James looks at his stunned face in the corner, and then compresses it into a frown.
After James kicks Oxford off of Declan, bludgeons Scotten, and scoops up Violet, they switch to the rest of the tributes dying for a while before switching to James and Violet, together. It shows James talking to Violet about how they need shelter. Amelia getting butchered right below the two of them. They focus on James, thumbing the necklace, whispering for the necklace to keep him safe.
Then it's time for Romeo's death.
It's just like Declan said: Declan tries to run to steal some food, weaponless. Ontario, holding a bow, fires off an arrow at him before running after her, her leg wound barely noticeable. Declan's strong, and no match for the bow, and he would've ran faster if he didn't roll an ankle running from Ontario. Ontario's about to put an arrow through his head when Romeo, sitting in a tree, hucks rocks at her, distracting the girl from District 2.
Romeo leaps from the tree, and starts to grapple with Ontario for the bow, yelling for Declan to run. Romeo manages to fend off the girl until she pulls a knife and shanks him twice. Romeo collapses, but before Ontario can finish him off he wrestles for the knife, rips it from her hands, and plunges it into her chest. The two of them die, side-by-side, right as Declan returns to help Romeo.
The camera pans to James and Violet, collecting berries, and the Careers, nearing them. Declan follows them quietly, holding Ontario's bow in his hand. And then it's time for Violet's death.
They play it in full: Lepus stabbing Violet, James breaking through the trees, sending the axe into Tybalt's chest. Olivia turning to run, and Declan stepping out from behind a tree, scowling as he sends the arrow into her neck. James slashing open Lepus' leg and then hacking Tybalt to a pulp. Declan whirling around the tree, ready to shoot James. James and Violet, both crying, as she dies in his arms. James is trying hard to fight back tears as he watches his older self break down on television.
The scenes alternate between Mick being slashed by Oxford and being left for dead, James touching the necklace, Lepus' recovery, Kristina, hiding in a tree, and Kaylana, who hides halfway-submerged in the swamp to the north.
Then it's time for the bugs to attack, and James shudders as he watches the tributes do battle with the horrific insects.
James and Declan, picking off the creatures until they swarm the two of them. James saving Declan from being eaten alive, and then taking a tumble down a hill.
Kristina, still in her tree, does well with a stick and a rock, kicking away the insects as they come.
Oxford finds Michaela, and she asks him to help until he throws a knife at her that barely misses her. Oxford's full blown insane. Michaela tries to flee, and accidentally slams into a tracker jacker nest while running, and Michaela shrieks as the wasps engulf her, killing her, and sting Oxford a few times before he gets away.
The insects leave a dying Mick alone, surprisingly. Mick watches with wounded, wild eyes as they crawl past.
Lepus and Pollish climb on top of the Cornucopia and fight off the insects with ease.
Kaylana, the girl from District 3, initially does well in the swamp, stabbing and slashing away the bugs with a knife. That is, until a spider the size of a car drags her underwater, and Kaylana drowns after screaming her lungs out underwater as the spider bites and stings her. It's one of the worst deaths yet, and James is horrified and relieved he didn't head to the swamp.
Once the bugs crawl away, the camera focuses on the remaining tributes: James, Declan, Oxford, Lepus, Pollish, Mick, and Kristina. First James, with a nasty head and stomach wound, unconscious, as the first silver parachute lands on him, and then a wounded Declan, looking around confused for James. Oxford panting and delirious, huddled in a corner, tracker jacker stings only adding more to his insanity. Mick, whimpering and bloody. Kristina, whispering out Declan's name in the darkness. Lepus and Pollish, idly waiting at the Cornucopia, munching on their rations.
James is still unconscious as Declan goes out looking for James, calling his name out. The audience awws at Declan's brave attempt to risk the Careers while wounded to try and find James, and James smiles sadly to himself. Declan really was a true friend.
Mick is found by Declan, nearing death at a stream. Declan eyes him up and down.
"That looks like it hurts," Declan calmly says.
"It does," Mick coughs.
They sit and have a short conversation, before Mick explains what happened to him and asks him to be put out of his misery. Declan says, "I'm sorry this happened to you, Mick," and then sighs, squeezing his eyes shut and wincing as he shoves his knife into Mick's chest. The boy gasps, and then the cannon sounds. Declan wipes tears away, closes Mick's eyes, and wanders off.
James is still unconscious as Kristina is found by Oxford. Oxford wasn't lying, either: He stabs Kristina in the stomach and she screams for hours. Eventually Oxford gets bored and cuts her throat open, and James feels a tinge of hate towards the boy.
The camera follows James getting up the next day, thanking the crowd and his own district. The camera zooms in on his necklace, and then cuts to Declan, right as James walks into the cave. The look of surprise on his face. That night, as James sleeps, Declan stands watch with a big grin on his face.
After a conversation between James and Declan where they laughed about times they hurt themselves (Declan fell off a barn and James fell out of a tree), they cut to the fight with Oxford. Declan rubbing his throat, and then leaping to his feet when Oxford speaks of Kristina. The murder is shown fully.
And then the final duel at the Cornucopia. Declan shoving James and taking a spear in the gut for him, Pollish in turn receiving an axe to the chest.
The duel between James and Lepus is shown in full, too. James, bloody and barely alive, managing to get Lepus onto the ground, stabbing her bad leg, and then hacking off her hand and almost removing her other forearm before burying the hatchet in the girl's chest. James feels awful. He hated Lepus, but she didn't deserve such a gruesome death.
And then James comforts Declan as the boy dies, telling him he's going to be okay, and not to fight it, and to think happy thoughts. James feels a tear or two fall from his cheek, and wipes it away quickly as he watches his last friend in the arena die in his arms. Then the 68th Annual Hunger Games are over.
President Snow takes the stage next, and the crowd explodes into cheer as he gives James the victor's crown. There's no hate in the president's eyes, just a polite smile, but James hates the president. Hates him with a passion. For what he did to Violet. To Declan. To Romeo.
Afterwards, James is whisked away to the banquet held at President Snow's mansion. James refrains from eating, instead taking pictures and shaking hands with Capitol officials and increasingly-drunk citizens. A woman proclaims to be the one who gave him the hydrogen peroxide that saved his life, and he thanks her until she tries to kiss him, and then he backs away. He sees Blight and Eques in the crowd, and this soothes him, but for the most part he's alone.
Two Capitol girls, young, around his age, who have somehow gotten into the banquet approach him and smile at him flirtatiously. One of them, who has shiny eyes that look purple, touches his bicep, and James immediately steps back. The girl looks at him in confusion, and asks why he doesn't like her.
"I'm sorry," James says with a polite smile. "But I'm taken. I have someone back home I care about."
"Who?" the girl demands, stomping her foot with a frown.
James just smiles some more, and taps on his necklace. Iris. He still hasn't spoken to her at all, and doesn't hold any actual connection to her, but it's better than whatever the Capitol girl has in store for her. She's beautiful in comparison to the girl from the Capitol: The freckles that dot her face are immeasurably cuter than this girl's purple eyes.
The banquet continues, and James finds himself talking to more and more Capitol officials. At least a fifty-something Gamemaker won't hit on him. One of them, a heavier man whose name is Plutarch, congratulates him on winning.
"Thanks," James says, letting his gaze fall to the floor.
"You feel upset?" Plutarch asks. "Is it the girl? Violet?"
James nods. "I felt like I could do something." Why he's talking to this man, a random Gamemaker, about his guilt with Violet, he doesn't know, but it's better than an old Capitol lady trying to slobber on his lips.
Plutarch just smiles. "If there's any comfort to be taken in her death, and there likely isn't a damn good bit of it besides this, it's that she doesn't have to be at the banquet. Imagine what it would be like for her, a bunch of old Capitol ladies swooning over her."
James can't help but laugh at the prospect. "She'd be very uncomfortable. Would probably punch someone." When the Secretary of the Treasury, an older man with white hair, calls James over for a picture, James says, "Thanks, Plutarch," and walks away. A random Gamemaker, a person who probably tried to kill him with bugs, has just cheered him up, even if just a little bit
"Anytime, Mr. Henderson," Plutarch says.
The next day, James is to have an interview with Caesar. This is the first time that the country gets to hear the victor, since no interviewing happens the previous day. There's no audience this time, instead in the sitting room of the Training Center, right next to the kitchen. James wears similar khaki pants, but instead of a T-shirt he has on a commando sweater, the same one he wore when he boarded the train to the Capitol, a lifetime ago. As the camera crews are setting up, James walks up to Caesar, who shakes his hand.
"Congratulations, James," Caesar says with a warm smile. "How are you doing?"
"Tired," James says. "Can't wait to head home and sleep for a year."
"Make it a thousand and you'll have me convinced," Caesar says with a twinkle in his eyes. "If it's of any comfort to you, after this interview you'll be done with them for quite some time."
"Then I'll make sure to blow this one out of the park."
"That's the spirit!" Caesar grins. "Just be yourself and you'll do great."
James likes Caesar. He's comforting, and helps you when you need it. He's less of an interviewer and more of a friend. James sits down on a couch, Caesar in a chair opposite him. Someone counts down from five, and then Caesar's introducing the Warrior Boy from District 7 and victor of the 68th Annual Hunger Games, James Henderson.
Caesar asks, "How are you feeling, James? After everything?" Caesar asked this question to him personally just a moment ago, but the look in his eyes tells James that this is a question he should answer formally.
"Relieved," James replies. "I feel...relieved. I'm saddened by the loss of those I protected during the Games, but I feel some relief in knowing that I've made it through and there's blue skies ahead."
Caesar nods, and James knows he's answered the questions right. "Speaking of those you protected, all of us saw how you treated Violet during the Games. It was a very close bond, perhaps comparable to a brother and sister. It was very touching. There's no sense in asking how you felt after her tragic end, but I must ask: What was your incentive to protecting her? Was there any reasoning to it?"
James shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and Caesar gives a slight nod, as if to say, it's okay, you've got this. James takes a deep breath, and replies, "I suppose, when it comes down to it, there wasn't any realistic incentive to protecting her. But I made a promise to someone who values her to protect, and I'm not sure that I could live with myself if I just...abandoned her when the Games started."
"Well, all of us know from our days in the cave that you didn't just cast her aside," Caesar replies. "In fact, you charged an armed tribute just to get her out of harm's way. What was your mindset when you saw Scotten, the boy from District 8, threaten to hurt her?"
"I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't," James says firmly. "There's a certain level of anger that's only reached when someone you care about is threatened. I didn't know Violet before the Reapings, but afterwards she was my friend. I wasn't about to let him hurt her." James remembers Scotten howling with pain before James finished him off with a second blow to the chest.
"How about Justinian?" Caesar asks. "Some of us have forgotten about your brother, who tragically froze last year. If you could talk to him now, what would you say.
James ponders this a moment before coming up with a final answer. "I'd tell him that throughout the whole Games, he was in my thoughts, and that I won it for him."
From here, Caesar segways into all the ways James has been injured, from pulling a hamstring running with Violet to his painful tumble down the cliff, and his subsequent gashes (James now knows that the cut across his stomach was from his knife pointing the wrong way in his belt when he was falling. Caesar touches on his perished allies, Romeo and Declan in particular, before he asks James, "James, what is the Ace of Spades? We all heard Declan say it the night of his interview so many moons ago, and we saw you and a few others smile. Care to enlighten us?"
James smiles a bit. "I'm not sure I can do that, Caesar. That's classified."
Caesar scoffs jokingly. "Come on, you have to tell us."
"Oh, fine," James replies. "The Ace of Spades was an alliance between the tributes of Districts 7, 10, and 12. We had no goal in mind, we just didn't want to murder the others, I suppose." James rubs his chin. "The alliance was just words for awhile. Something that didn't actually matter, until Romeo sacrificed himself for Declan. Once there was a solid alliance between Declan and I, a concrete goal to take down the Careers, it was too late." James is frowning now. "Half of us had perished in the arena, and another was missing."
Caesar nods knowingly. "It was tragic. That final battle in the Cornucopia, between you and Lepus, was the most vengeful one we've seen in years. There doesn't seem to have been any true hatred between you and the other tributes, not even Scotten, but when you and Lepus clashed that stunned many of us. When did your deep-rooted hatred for the girl start?"
"Well, Caesar," James starts, "Technically it started in the Training Center. I embarrassed her during a display with axes, which, as you've seen, I excel at. It was just a somewhat-friendly rivalry, though, until I got into the arena. I know Lepus started to hate me much more than I hated her when I killed Caesar that first day in the arena. Once Lepus killed Violet though, Caesar, there was no bringing me back from how I felt about her. I wanted her dead, and after I wounded her and killed her district partner, Lepus was in the same place as me." James sighs.
"Well, we all could definitely feel the hate brewing in the arena, that much is for sure," Caesar says. "Our final question, and one we've all been wondering for awhile: What's your story with the necklace? We've seen you holding it like you've had it for years, but you didn't have it on at the Reaping. Throughout the Games, you've kissed this clover and fallen asleep with it clutched in your hand. Who gave it to you? What's its story?"
James smiles wryly. "Oh, Caesar, the story of this necklace is for me and me alone. All I can tell you is that this necklace has given me more good luck than anything else in my life, and that it's invaluable to me."
Caesar tries to pry it out of him, but James remains firm, thumbing the necklace with a smile. Caesar finally relents, and the interview's over.
James trudges over to Blight and asks, "How'd I do?"
Blight's hair and beard have been trimmed, probably Cliff's work. "You did fine," he replies. "Now go get ready. We're heading home."
James takes the only things he has, his Reaping clothes, and heads for the elevator. He has a very brief goodbye with Cliff, but it doesn't matter because he's going to see him in a few months during the Victory Tour, where they force everyone to pretend they love James. He dreads visiting District 1, since he murdered both of their tributes, and did it painfully.
James is escorted with Blight and Eques through the streets in a darkened car, and then they board the train. James eats a huge dinner fit for a king, as they replay the interview. Afterwards, James retires to his room, and quickly falls asleep.
James has a happy dream after he fades into the sweet embrace of sleep.
In the dream, he awakens to find Blight, knocking on a door with a smile, and telling him dinner's ready. James groggily heads to the dining car to find everyone's waiting for him, and once they notice him they cheer.
Declan, Romeo, Kristina, Amelia. Mick. Violet. Justinian. They have big grins on their faces, and no signs of their wounds. No blood covers them. They're dirt-free.
James immediately hugs Justinian, and then Violet, and even Declan. He's giggling and laughing the whole time, and for a moment nothing else matters in the world because he's with his friends and everything's okay.
He eats the feast, laughing with his brother and the members of the Ace of Spades, and the banter is just as if they were alive in the chow hall of the Training Center.
And then James opens his eyes, and finds he's alone in the bedroom of the train. He curls up in a ball, trying to fall back asleep.
He's all alone.
All alone.
The feeling doesn't shake him as they pull into the train station of District 7, and James ignores the loud cheers of the crowd and flashes of the cameras. His eyes scan the crowd. They spot his friends, Ven, and a few girls he dated before the Reapings, before everything went wrong. His eyes lock with Iris, and for a moment they gaze at each other before James quickly looks away.
James spots his father in the crowd, standing next to Otto, and runs to them, pulling the two into a hug.
"It's okay," his father's whispering. "It's okay, son."
The next few days are a blur to James: Packing up the household, moving to a never-before-used house in the Victor's Village, right next-door to Blight.. It's all so sudden that James spends a few days locked inside his bedroom, opening it only to accept meals from his father and Otto.
It takes two weeks for his first nightmare to hit him. In it, he relives Violet's murder over and over, and butchers Tybalt at least five times over before he screams himself awake. This time, it's not his father or Otto who opens the door, but Blight. The bearded victor rubs his back quietly, telling him to think of happy thoughts as James sobs.
"You're not alone," Blight whispers. "We're all here for you. Me and Eques and your family. We're all here. We're not leaving you."
"Promise?" James asks, his voice ragged.
"I promise," Blight says.
Three days later, James is eating in the dining room for the first time since he entered his new house when he hears a knock at the door. He rises, wearing only a tank-top, gym shorts, and socks, expecting it to be Blight.
Instead, he opens the door to find Iris, looking at him. She's dressed warmly for the August day: She's clad in only a yellow sundress and leather sandals. In her hands is a small basket. She looks at him with the same hazel eyes that looked at him back in the Justice Building an eternity ago.
"Hi," James greets.
"Hey," Iris says. "You still have the necklace."
James looks down to see she's right: He still has the silver necklace around his neck. He woke up from his nightmare clutching it. He laughs a short, breathy laugh. "I guess I do."
"I brought biscuits," Iris says, lifting the basket. After a moment, she asks, "Is it alright if I come in?"
James pauses before answering with a small smile, "Of course."
And the the girl with the auburn hair and the hazel eyes who gave him the necklace steps into his home.
Right then, James knows that everything is going to be okay.
Chapter 13! This is the epilogue, and I'd like to thank you all for the incredible support you've given throughout the whole story. I have almost 800 views as of writing this, and it really means a lot!
I'm not sure I'll continue James' story, but I really liked writing this fic and will probably write another. Either one of those ones chronicling the entire history of the Games, or a submit-your-own tribute sort of thing. Who knows, James might make a cameo or two. Regardless, thank you all so much, and I'll see you soon :)
-C