The Stars

by Takai No Hibiki

Series of oneshots. In District 3 there is a nameless group of people whose crimes go unpunished because their interests coincide with that of the Peacekeepers. They were thieves, hired hands who sometimes killed, but they were the closest thing to a family Pyro had. When one of them is sent to the Games, the rest are forced to come to terms with the nature of their job.

7. Heaven

The Stars

Title: Heaven

Characters: Pyro, Syarnark, mentions of the others

Word Count: 324

Warnings: Atheism, discussion of religion related topics of heaven and hell

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games and the inspiration for these characters comes from another series entirely.

Notes: Very short, just a drabble probably. Again, the timeline skips between chapters.

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007: Heaven

Pyro didn't believe in heaven.

Syarnark didn't, either.

Life might have been easier, nicer even, if they did believe in such a peaceful, benevolent place. It was where the good and the faithful went to spend their eternities in a restful sleep.

Pyro believed in hell.

Syarnark didn't believe in hell, either.

Even if he didn't believe in the lofty heavens, Pyro knew that hell existed. Not that he'd ever seen the place for himself or had known anyone who did. Not at all.

But hell had to exist, even if it was hell on earth and others called it karma or justice or whatever. Pyro knew what hell was because he was living it every day and he hoped that someday, Cuan and Syarnark and even Sche or Penka would join him.

He didn't feel guilty thinking such thoughts. Cuan had even listened to him rant about it, had calmly discussed with him the notions of heaven and hell.

There were people like Syarnark, who didn't believe in an afterlife, and there were people who relished in the knowledge that a sin free life would end in heaven.

Maybe Pyro was just being contrary. Maybe he didn't believe in heaven because of what he'd done, because of who he kept as company.

When his parents had died and he'd buried them in the ground, he'd cried his tears of sorrow and turned around, never to look back again. They were dead, soon to decay in the earth, and he didn't believe in heaven then, either.

Syarnark went into the Games and suddenly, Pyro found himself wishing that the older boy had been right and that there was no afterlife, no heaven or hell, even though he knew that hell had to exist.

He didn't quite know what to believe anymore.

Because everyone who sinned - everyone who committed murder no matter the age - had to go to hell and be punished for their crimes.