Assistant Gamemaker, Aphrodite McKennon
Aphrodite is hunched over, looking at the screen where the Games mash-up is being created. Felix has created the video, rather than the real Video Manager, who was in the hospital for a sickness. The video covers two weeks in just mere hours. He covered everything from the Reaping to the victory. He even placed something in the video for all the people who loved the boy from 4. Aphrodite continues to watch the video, smiling and nodding with every frame that passes. Felix looks up to her, trying to read the emotions on her face. He has never gotten any emotion that went over Aphrodite's face. By the smiles and the way her teeth shone, she was very impressed with his work.
Felix has been working on this video for days, since Sheila has stabbed Caden in his chest. To be honest, Aphrodite wasn't happy that Sheila took the crown. Who knows what it could have been. Maybe, just maybe, it was the way Sheila pulled off the kill of Predator from 4. A mercy kill. She showed mercy for that boy because he was mangled? Then again, Aphdrodite was more than pleased when Farro lost his life to the mutts. Having a boy taking place of another boy could have been dangerous. Another rebellion could have started because of the switch that took place in District 9. Luckily, that boy is long gone and his brother 'Farro' may just as well take his place.
The video wound down with a shot of Sheila crying over Caden's dead body, awaiting a hovercraft to take her back to the Capitol. Felix fixed his eyes to Aphrodite, who has a smile plastered on her face. The video overall was only two hours and thirty-seven minutes. There wasn't a ton of video on Sheila, due to the attention being on the District 2 siblings. She looked to the Arena Manager and opened her mouth to speak. "Felix, I really like what you have done. Personally, I don't think anyone else could have done a better job." His eyes began to glisten, taking in every word of Aphrodite's praise. A muscle near Aphrodite's mouth twitched. A smile creeped up on her face. For some odd reason, whenever Aphrodite was near Felix, her mouth involuntarily made a smile appear.
"Thank you so much, Miss McKennon." He says, copying the movie to CD. Once it finished copying, he marked the CD 'Sheila Carwell, 176'. Aphrodite watched him work. She loved the way his muscles moved as he put the CD in its case. As he handed her the case to hand off to Dusk Shine, his pale fingers grazed her tan ones, making her feel a tiny spark. She turned around, heading for the stage where Sheila would be interviewed in just under an hour. She walked up the chrome stairs, her heels clicking off the walls. She could feel eyes burn into her back, but she walked on to give the movie to Dusk. Aphrodite opened the doors to the Game Center and was greeted with a sunken face and paper white hair. Words were trapped in her throat as she realized who the man was.
"Hello, Aphrodite." President Rector says, his voice shaking. He coughed into his hand and looked back to the Assistant Gamemaker. His eyes were more unreadable than her own. "I was very pleased with these Games, Miss McKennon. You know how Chal has unfairly handed you the reins while he partied away his job." He paused. Aphrodite didn't remember Chal partying. However, since the Games began, she barely left the Game Center. "I think a smart, brilliant woman such as yourself deserves a better position than assistant." He snarled at the last word.
Aphrodite's heart jerked forward. She has been waiting for President Rector to say this to her since she signed on to be a Gamemaker when she was seventeen. She embraced for the moment to come and expected a good feeling to wash over her.
Sheila Carwell, District Seven Victor
A girl in a long, pure white dress stood before Sheila. This girl was a beautiful darling. Her hair was placed in a French twist and it shone under the lighting. She had very little make-up on her face and she had the look of a newly redone person. This girl, with the pure white gown, in front of Sheila wasn't a mirror image of her. It was a girl who never did compete in the 176th Hunger Games and committed the murder of four innocent people. It was just a girl who looked very similar to Sheila, but will never be Sheila. She twirled around in circles, awing at how the dress fit her body. Then again, this wasn't Sheila.
Karina Beta sat on the couch, watching as her victor tried to see that it really was her who was wearing the wonderful gown she made. Never did Karina think that having her tribute return as a victor would feel this bad. Sheila wanted to believe that it was her wearing the dress, but Karina could tell that she was having trouble connecting to reality. The more she looked at Sheila in the dress, the more she wanted to shake her shoulders and tell her what was going on. Do all victors struggle with this? She pushed some of her purple hair from her eyes as she continued to look at her victor. Sheila twirled in her dress, seemingly not recognizing the girl in the mirror. Karina cleared her throat and Sheila's attention turned to her stylist. She stood up and made her way to Sheila. "You look amazing in that dress, sweetheart. The Capitol will love you!" She tried to make her feel a bit more cheery for the Recap Night, but Sheila just looked in the mirror.
Maybe Karina was right. Even though she lost her tribute, Katrina came in to help her sister design the Recap dress, and the final interview dress that Sheila will wear tomorrow night. Karina allowed her to wear the leaf pendent necklace from her district on her neck, and it stood out against the white. The gown reached the floor, pooling around her feet and covering up the golden flats she wore. The neck is shaped into a V, with her necklace in the center of it. The sleeves of the dress reached to the palms of her hands and they flared like bird wings. Around the waist was a golden belt, giving her more shape. She looked like a princess, but she couldn't feel the same way. The girl who wore the dress wasn't an angel or a princess. She was a killer and she took lives of innocent children. Why did Karina dress her in something so angelic when she feels demonic?
A stagehand walked into her room and looked at his clipboard. "You're on stage in twenty minutes." He ignored Sheila's pained expression and walked out the door. Sheila turned to Karina, and she saw the tell-tale signs of an oncoming sob. Around Sheila's eyes turned red and she started to sniffle. Karina took Sheila's cold hand and led her to the couch. She handed her a tissue as she cleared her throat. "Honey, can you tell me what's on your mind? You seem a little..." She gestured her hand to the side and back. "What's wrong?"
Sheila took the tissue and dabbed near her eyes, careful not to harm the make-up. She tried to calm the sobs trapped in her throat, but she couldn't help it. When she opened her mouth to speak, everything came out at once. "I just feel like I am not the girl I was two weeks ago. I couldn't even kill a fly without crying over it. Now, I killed four innocent kids and I can't stop seeing their faces in the mirror. They are right behind me and, no matter how hard I try, they will never leave. The girl from Eight, Predator, and the siblings from Two. I can't go on that stage, watching the past two weeks of my life play over again. What do I do?" Her sobs became loud and uncontrollable. Karina looked to her, wondering what to do. None of her victors...well, this is her first victor. How can she calm her down?
She placed a hand on Sheila's shaking back, hoping it would make her stop crying. But the sobs continued to come and she could not get Sheila to calm down. She picked up Sheila's head by her chin and made her look into her eyes. Sheila's eye make-up has run down the sides of her cheeks and she looked like a dunked raccoon. Karina wiped it away with another tissue. "I am not good with these things. The only person I talk to, besides my tributes, is Katrina. But, I want you to go out there with your head held high and confident. Whenever you feel like crying, find me in the crowd and count to ten. It will hold you until the Recap is over. Do you think you can do that?" Sheila nodded slowly, unsure if she was able to pull it off.
"Miss Sheila, you are on in ten minutes." A female stagehand walked in, catching Sheila in tears. Karina gestured with her head for the stagehand to leave. The door shut and Karina mimicked the stagehand, making a silly face while she mouthed ten minutes. The corners of Sheila's mouth twitched and they turned up in a smile. Maybe she can pull through for one night.
Paige Tamar, District Four
The television in Paige's home was turned on to the Capitol station where the Recap is being shown. The Tamar family all gathered around the screen, only because of Sheila. Paige still replayed Predator's death and the look in Sheila's eyes when she ended his life. She could still hear the promise Sheila made to him, and she has to wait six months to hear it spoken from Sheila's lips. Since her talk with Shark, she has tried to put the death out of mind. But how could she? He was a big part of her life. He had a crush on her, something he didn't openly admit to his friends, but she could feel it. Now, sitting on the couch and waiting for Dusk Shine to introduce Sheila and her team, Paige's heart pounded in her ears. Tomorrow, the district will have to bury two of their citizens, one of which should not have been dead.
Signature stars and music filled the screen. An announcer called out Dusk's name and she pranced out on stage, her purple and pink dress illuminated by tiny flickering lights attached to it. The audience called her name, chanting for their Master of Ceremonies, whom they adore. She takes her bows and her smile lights up her face. She holds a microphone to her lips and begins to butter up the crowd. "Hello everyone! My name is Dusk Shine and I am pleased to welcome you Recap Night!" The audience cheers for her and she silenced them with one hand. "And I am pleased to welcome our sole victor from District Seven. She overcame every challenge in the arena, even performing a mercy kill. Please, help me welcome Sheila Carwell!"
Paige sucked in her breath as Sheila walked across the stage to Dusk. She looked at Sheila's dress and tried not to gasp in awe. The way the white dress fit her made her look like an angel, not a person who had to kill to be on that stage. Her hair was in a twist that Paige couldn't name. The way she walked across that stage made her appear more angelic than human. She floated her way to the host. Sheila hugged her and sat in the comfy chair next to Dusk, who had a screen with the Panem seal across it. The smile across Sheila's face looked almost plastered on. Paige ignored that detail and sat in silence to watch the Games all over again.
"Sheila, it is nice to have you back on this stage again." Dusk started. Most Recaps always start with bantering for about ten minutes before the movie starts up. "I can't say who was my favorite, but I wanted you back here since you made the top four."
Dusk smiled but Sheila couldn't answer. Something unreadable crossed her face that Paige couldn't pinpoint. Dusk and Sheila bantered for a few more minutes before Dusk began the Recap. And Sheila looked like she would pass out at any minute.
The three hour video started off not with the Reaping, but with the 172 Hunger Games. Sheila's face was shown in the upper right hand corner. Her hand fluttered to her mouth, holding in the whimpers. The camera zoomed in on a boy's face, and his face looked similar to Sheila's. Under his face, the words 'Rivet Carwell, 172' were spelled out in blood red letters. The gong sounded and the words faded out. The camera stayed focused on Rivet as he was stabbed in the chest by a girl from 2. His scream faded away as the shot changed to Sheila's Reaping. Her name sounded amplified as Berry Punch read the name in the Reaping bowl. After Linden volunteered, the shot changed to the Tribute Parade. The camera ignored Linden and only focused on Sheila. The camera took in every way Sheila moved for the crowd. Suddenly, the shot changed to Sheila's headshot with a five under her face. Then, the interviews took over the screen. Sheila was talking to Dusk about Rivet's death. Before long, the arena was shown and the bloodbath was taking place.
With each part of the Recap, Sheila continued to look strong and seemed to find someone in the crowd and her face seemed to return to normal. When Sheila was in a tree when Violet died, she looked like she was about to cry. The Games carried on, finally slowing down when the major battle took place, when she killed Flim from 8. Paige looked at Sheila's face and saw how upset she was getting. After the battle, the video showed the family interviews and Sheila started to tear up. Seeing her brother must have hit a nerve. A stray tear slid down her face when Jacob left the shot.
Everything happened so fast that Paige couldn't keep up. She only grasped certain events, like Sheila getting her sword and the avalanche. Then, she heard a voice she has known for forever. Predator was asking for Sheila to kill him. When Sheila sat beside him, Paige's eyes began to well with tears. Seeing Predator alive made her remember all the times when he was around the district. Before she could calm herself down, Sheila's sword struck Predator's heart and his cannon sounded in the distance. The camera zoomed in on Sheila and her face being stained with tears. Then the shot changed. Dark clouds filled the arena and heavy raindrops hit the ground. The final fight was on the screen, and Sheila's face had an expression of fear. She wouldn't look at the screen when Kleo jumped on Sheila's back, when Kleo's head cracked on the ground, or when Caden allowed her to kill him in cold blood. When Caden's cannon sounded, the last scene was when Sheila was crying over Caden's dead body. The video ended, and Sheila couldn't look at Dusk or the crowd. It was too much for her.
And it was too much for Paige. She broke down crying and no one can calm her down. She felt for Sheila and her pain.
A/N: The ending was rushed and I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry for how late this is, but I was busy with school. We have a few more chapters until the end of the story. :) Please take the poll if you haven't already. I submitted my own vote, but you'll have to guess who I voted for. :D