Chapter 25: A New Life

Iris' POV

The blinding lights of the cameras flash towards me as I make my way into the train. I push through the mounds of reporters until I get to the door. Miles and Sarina are there waiting for me, ready to say goodbye until the Victory Tour in a couple of months. They are not coming with Jake and I to District 11.

"See you in a couple of months," Miles tells me as he wraps his arms around me, "You've done a great job."

"Thanks, Miles," I murmur into his ear as we embrace, "You've helped a lot."

He releases me and smiles, "No," He grabs my chin with his hand, "You did everything."

We hug again as he releases me and turns me to Sarina. She looks sad, and even though I loathed her in the beginning, I feel sad that I'm not going to see her for a while. I think when I see her again, I'll enjoy her perkiness.

She hugs me and it seems like she's trying hard to hold back tears. I hug her back and give a light laugh saying, "Don't worry, Sarina, I'll see you in a couple of months."

"I know," She leans back and sniffles, "You're the best tribute an escort could ask for!"

"And you're the best escort," I say, forcing a smile onto my face, "I couldn't ask for anyone better."

She smiles and sniffles again before hugging me and letting me into the train. I sigh in relief when I'm separated from the cameras and reporters and it's just me and Jake in the train. Jake stumbles off somewhere while I go into the main room. It's the same as I remember and I sit down, turning on the television.

There's nothing much on, so I ask one of the attendants if they have any videos that are worth my time. I'm surprised when he hands me a disc and it's labeled "The 5th Hunger Games". I narrow my eyes and wonder why the attendant brought me this out of all things. Then I realize, this is Jake's Hunger Games.

I glance behind me to make sure he isn't around before I pop it in and begin to watch. I'm met with the Reaping in District 11. The woman on the stage isn't Sarina, but another escort. The mayor is still the same, I'm not at all surprised by that, but there is no mentor. The woman reaches into the girls' bowls and calls out the name Nova Darnell.

Nova is a small girl, probably the same size as me but looks a bit older. I'm guessing she's either 12 or 13. She has dark brown hair that falls to her shoulders, a bit shorter than mine and a different color. She has much darker skin than I do and has blue eyes. She walks up to the stage as the woman goes to the boys' bowl.

It's not a surprise when she calls out the name Jake Gold. I'm surprised by how Jake looks. He's much older than Nova and is probably 18 now. He's very handsome at his age and I now see what the Hunger Games and 20 years can do to you. He reaches the stage and shakes Nova's hand before they go to the interviews.

Jake acts cool and remote, not showing much emotion but letting everyone know that he's tough. It's not Caesar Flickerman addressing him, though; instead I think it's his father. After the interviews they go right to the Games.

I'm surprised when they come up in a rainforest. They're in a very small clearing deep in the forest and the Cornucopia is tangled in vines. They must have to cut the vines to get to the prizes inside the Cornucopia. So when the gong goes off, Jake runs towards it, ripping the vines from it. The Careers are on him soon, but with no weapons all they can do is knock him to the ground before ripping at the vines.

That's what everyone seems to do until the vines break loose. Then it's total chaos with people diving for everything. Much more people are killed in the Bloodbath than in my Games. Jake manages to get a whip and an odd looking sword. He runs off into the forest, but he doesn't get very far. The Rainforest is filled with so many different plants there's no clear path. Jake soon realizes, though, that the sword is also meant for cutting plants so he can get through.

He does that and he walks through the forest. They go to other tributes for a while and I see that Nova has gotten off well with a knife and some food. When the Bloodbath finally ends, 10 canons go off. So 10 people were killed. I shiver and think how only 4 people were killed in our Bloodbath.

The days go on like that with Jake scavenging for food and the Careers hunting down tributes one by one. But when Jake approaches one tree, something happens. I now realize that mammals aren't the only thing that can be mutated. The tree practically comes to life, swinging it's branches, trying to strike down on Jake.

It slams to the ground with great force, sending Jake, only a foot away, into the air. He slams down and just barely misses the next branch as he runs off. It goes on like that for the other tributes and him. Some run into plants that will actually bite you until you die. Some choke you with their vines and others have razor sharp leaves that will cut your body in half.

After a couple of days, Jake is left wounded severely and it looks like he's just about ready to give up. That is, until two people come. He's on the ground, practically bleeding to death, when Nova and another boy come into view. The boy has ashy-colored hair and is just slightly tanned, like Jake. He leans down and pulls out a first-aid kit while Nova grabs some herbs from the forest.

Together, they heal Jake. I soon learn that the boy is named Storm. He's around 15 years old and is from District 10. All three of them become allies and it reminds me of when I teamed up with Nyla and Sabine.

A couple of more days past and Storm is killed by one of the Careers, but that Career is soon killed by an odd plant that seemed to whip it's vines so hard it could crack your bones. The next day though, Nova is also killed.

"Why should we battle the Careers?" Nova asked Jake as he was heading back to the Cornucopia, "Maybe we should just let them kill themselves."

Jake looks at her and says, "Then these plants will just kill us."

"But there's 6 Careers left," Nova argues, "It's suicide!"

"We have to do it, the sooner we get out, the better," He says.

Nova sighs, but she doesn't seem to argue with him anymore. She follows him and when they reach the Cornucopia the battle begins. Jake manages to kill two of the Careers and Nova gets one. They're still outnumbered, but that soon resolves. A nearby tree topples over, ready to crush all of them, but Jake, Nova, and one Career get out. This Career is a boy from District 4.

I'm surprised, really, when the District 4 boy grabs Nova. He holds up his knife to her neck and tells Jake that if he kills him, he'll kill her. It's an impossible situation, but Jake is obviously thinking that he would rather let this boy kill her than to let himself kill her. So he throws the knife.

But the boy slices open Nova's neck and she falls to the ground with him. Jake runs over to Nova who is miraculously still alive. He holds her hand and begs her not to blame him, that he did what he thought was best. He looks like he's about to cry, but Nova just shakes her head.

With the life bleeding out of her, she just barely manages to say, "Take care," And in Jake's arms, she dies.

Her canon goes off and Jake is announced the victor. I shut off the TV, quiet and unsure. I hear footsteps, and I wonder if it's the attendant, ready to take back the video. But when I turn around, it's Jake.

"I figured you would look at it," He says with a slight shrug.

"I was curious," I admit.

He nods and says, "Most people are. When you mentor people who weren't alive for your Games, don't be surprised when they start looking at your tapes."

"I know," I nod and lean back on the couch as he comes over to sit by me. He's drinking a soda and seems ok about me taking a look at his Games.

"She was a good person," He says after a while.

"Who, Nova?" I guess.

He nods, "She saved my life, and guess what I did," He laughs hollowly, sadly, "I gave her the death sentence."

"I don't think you're the only one," I sigh and say, "I let Sage die, I let Nyla die, I let Sabine die."

"Sage and Nyla chose death though," He looks at me, "Because they wanted to get you home. Sabine was foolish, but she was thinking of you two at the same time."

"I think Nova chose death," I say after a bit of silence, "I think she wanted you to come home, because she couldn't bear the thought of killing you."

Jake shrugs and says, "I'll never know."

I nod and murmur, "I guess so."

After a while Jake gets up and leaves and I return to my own quarters. I go to my mirror and look at myself for a long time. I realize how different I look, with empty eyes and an unreadable mask on my face. My District token, my mother's ring, still hangs on its chain around my neck. Sage's token hangs on my neck also.

Nothing will ever be the same again…

I wake up to the sound of Jake telling me we're almost to District 11. I sigh, knowing I should be excited, but the only part I look forward to is seeing my family again. My father, Jay, Thimble, and Rose, I'll be able to see them all again. And then I'll see Sage's family also, his mother and father, and his sister Millie. I wonder how they've been taking his death.

I get up and change into some nice pants and a shirt. I brush my hair and rest my hand on mine and Sage's district tokens before I walk out. Jake is standing by the door as I feel the train begin to slow down. I look out the window and see the familiar electric gates, the Peacekeepers, the Plantations, and the plants that grow everywhere. People working out in the fields lift their heads up as they see our train come into the station.

I turn away and walk over to Jake. He looks at me, wondering if I'm ready, and I just give him a slight nod. And when the doors open, I'm met with the warm breeze of District 11 that I've wanted to feel for so long. But I don't want to see the people, I don't want to see the people who sent Sage to his death and sent me into the arena. I don't want to see the people who have done this to me.

I walk out with Jake beside me. More cameras flash, but I don't bother in smiling this time. This time, I'm looking for my family. And there they are. My father is wearing a nice blue shirt with black pants while Jay is beside him in a black shirt and jeans. Thimble is holding my father's hand with a white shirt and jeans. Rose is holding Jay's hand and is wearing my old red colored dress with flowers on it.

The first real smile comes to my face and I race away from Jake. My father opens his arms and I leap into them, crushing into him with great force. He holds me tightly and I feel part of my loneliness go away. I'm with my family again.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," He whispers in my ear and it's just so great to hear his voice once again.

"Thanks, Dad," I murmur.

We hold onto each other for a bit longer before I hear, "No hug for your big brother?"

I smile a bit more when I hear Jay's voice. I let go of my father and wrap my arms tightly around my brother. Oh how I've missed him so much. He hugs me hard and I know he's trying his best not to cry, but I think I feel one drop on my shoulder.

I let go and then lean down a bit and ask Thimble and Rose, "No hug for your sister?"

They laugh and release my brother's and father's hands and they race into me. They almost knock me over with the impact as they wrap their arms around me and I hold both of them tightly. I'm glad I could come back for them, they've already lost a mother, they don't need a dead sister too.

When I let go, I stand up straight again as Jay takes my hand.

"So," he says, "are you ready to start your new life of luxury?"

I shrug and say, "The most I can be."

He smiles at me and says, "If you can win the Quarter Quell, you can do anything."

I smile back at him and I think, for the first time in a very long time, he might be right.

The End

A/N: Don't think this is the end of Iris' story! I'm planning a sequel to this, called The Threatening Abyss. It should be out in a couple of days, so stay tuned! And I hope you liked the story, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading!