Guilt
Author's Note: I do not own The Hunger Games. I do, however, own Edgar
Guilt. The one word that rages through your mind when you've survived an experience that involves killing pre-teens and teenagers, all for sadistic leaders' ideas of entertainment. Sure, both sides of the War in the Dark Days was as bad as each other, but all I wanted was to live in peace. Of course, things changed that July day a year after the Capitol's victory over the Districts. An event, called "The Hunger Games", was to take place in the Capitol. A boy and a girl, from each of the Twelve Districts, were to be sent to an Arena in the Capitol and fight each other until one person is left. Elizabeth Oates, a pretty girl my age, was selected as the female Tribute from District 1. I was to represent District 1 as the male Tribute. Elizabeth and I, upon arrival to the Capitol, were locked in stables along with twenty-two other Tributes, until the Games began. We were abused and neglected, starved even. Most of the Tributes in my Games perished through injury, infection or starvation. My District Partner died of infection. Only three Tributes in my Games died at the hands of another, including Rocky Turner from District 2. I am ashamed of having to kill Rocky, he was just a kid like me wanting to go home.
The Second Games wasn't much better, and both District 1 Tributes died, the girl starved to death and the boy killed in his sleep. It was a boy from District 8 that won that year. The Arena was the same one I was in, and I felt a sense of "Deja Vu".
The Third Hunger Games was the same, and both of District 1's Tributes died, the girl killed by the boy from District 5, the boy starved to death. Like the other two Games before it, the City Arena was used. A girl from District 11 won those Games
The Fourth Hunger Games' also took place in the City Arena, and at the time, was infamous for a number of events: the "weaker" Tributes killed by the stronger Tributes early into the Games, an alliance between the Tributes of Districts 10, 11 and 12, and the fact every Tribute that died during the Games was killed by another Tribute. The District 1 Tributes had a reputation around the District for "Criminal Activities". Jack, the male from the Fourth Games, was killed by the boy from District 10 when he and Oliver Shields from District 2 attempted to ambush the boys from Districts 10 and 12. I was half expecting the Seam boy to die from Oliver, but the boy wasn't like the Seam kids from the three earlier Games. He looked a lot stronger than I expected, and this was Oliver's fatal mistake. Amethyst was killed on Day Eight, killed by the Seam boy who took out Oliver after the District 1 girl killed the boy's ally, the girl from 11. Amethyst didn't learn from Oliver's death, and ended up dead. The District 2 girl was determined not to repeat the mistake that took her District Partner's life, and with her last arrow, shot the District 12 boy in the chest, killing him. She didn't expect the District 10 boy to kill her and return as a Victor.
The Fifth Games was worse than the Fourth, as three of the Reaped Tributes, Bessie Georges, Fig Demaine and Lachlan Hennessey, were siblings to the Tributes in the Fourth Hunger Games. Lachlan Hennessey died in the exact spot his twin brother died at a year earlier, while both Bessie and Fig died in "accidents" before the start of the Games. A girl from District 3 was the Victor that year after she killed Theobald Wong, the male Tribute from District 1, but I couldn't help but feel the Fifth Hunger Games Reapings was rigged in a way similar to the Second Hunger Games. Gemma Turner, Rocky's sister, was Reaped for the Second Games. She returned home in a coffin. That is why I feel guilty, that I killed Rocky in cold blood, and condemning his sister to her death. Shortly after, I was introduced to Horsa Georges, the Victor of the Fourth. He had found out his sister was poisoned after drinking some water, the same water that killed Fig Demaine and another Tribute, Moora Reinhardt from District 12. The girl from District 11 died during the Bloodbath of infection, thus isolating Lachlan. Decades later, I found out that Dr. Gaul had sought to dishearten the District 12 Tributes; Lachlan's twin brother wasn't complete when he was buried, that a piece of him is still in the Capitol. On my visits to the Capitol every year I kept seeing a ghostly Tribute walking around.
The Sixth Games was horrific for District 1, as the boy died in an accident prior to the Games' start while the girl was stabbed to death by the eventual Victor, a boy from District 2. Paris, his name was. Faith Dolman, a girl from District 12, lost her life in the Games, and prior to the Games she spoke about her "lost love" in the Fourth Games. She froze to death, but at least she was reunited with her lover. For years afterwards, Paris had to live with the accusations that he killed his District Partner in the melee at the end of the Games.
Both Reaped Tributes from District 1 starved to death in the Arena during the Seventh Hunger Games, and District 9 won the Games.
The 8th and 9th Hunger Games were just as awful for District 1, as they died in "accidents" before the Start of the Games. Those two Games were won by a boy from District 6 and a girl from District 2 respectively. The latter Games lasted only fifteen hours, and had one of the strangest "pass the parcels" in history, over a single sword. In fact, a poem was written by a Capitolite about the Ninth Hunger Games and the single sword:
First came Llywellyn of Eight
Then the sword was won by Therin of Two
Before Ondine of Four won it
With a single back stab
Hestia of Two, angry at the death of her District Partner
Won it with a stab.
The 10th Hunger Games was horrific, as both Facet and Velvereen were killed by the Peacekeepers in the carnage that followed the Bombing of the City Arena. The Games was won by a girl from District 12, named Lucy Grey Baird. Shortly after, Lucy disappeared.
Decades later, I started to lose interest in the Games, though there were a number of standout Victors: the girl from District 4 in the 11th Hunger Games, Imogen from District 6 in the 19th Hunger Games, who managed to take down an entire Career Pack from the upper floor window of a house. Then there was the Jungle Arena for the 24th Hunger Games, when Huyen of District 3 managed to outrun a flock of cassowary Muttations and the District 2 girl to win. Three years later, Huyen brought the boy Tribute she was Mentoring home to District 3, after he killed the District 1 boy who killed his District Partner, who was his cousin. The Arena in those Games was bizarre to say the least, being in the form of a giant sewing box, so Tributes was using the various items such as scissors and pins to kill each other. Beetee Latier won the 36th Games by shocking the entire Career Pack, and Porter Millicent Tripp won the 38th Hunger Games despite suffering from a broken neck. Seeder won the 39th Games by going without food the longest. Chaff won the 45th Games in a hand-to-hand fight with a boy from District 2, despite losing a hand in the process. Haymitch Abernathy won the 50th Hunger Games, despite the fact his stomach had been sliced open by Emerald Rickards, the second of the District 1 females in the Games. Emerald was killed when she tried finishing him off, and as I learned recently, Coriolanus Snow was not happy with Haymitch's stunt of using the Arena as a weapon, so he ordered for Haymitch's mother, brother and girlfriend to be killed while he recovered.
The 63rd Hunger Games saw Gloss Ritchson return to District 1 as Victor, becoming the sixth Victor of the District. During this time Virgil Barde, Ginny Canova and Horsa Georges have passed away, the Victors of the Second, Third and Fourth Hunger Games respectively. My own health isn't that good, and I have turned to drink. I still feel guilty about killing another Tribute, and I fear young Felix will end up like me, a Killer.
The 64th Hunger Games also saw another District 1 Victory, this time, Gloss' twin sister Cashmere. Felix is thirteen now, and so far, he hasn't Volunteered for the Games. I could see my younger self in both Gloss and Cashmere, as the two joked.
The 65th Hunger Games was memorable, as a fourteen year-old boy Volunteered from District 4. His name was Finnick Odair, and he quickly became a fan favourite for his good looks, which his Stylist seeked to exploit during the Chariot Rides. Finnick and his District Partner, Luna, stood out the most. Finnick made several kills in the Arena with his Trident, the most notable being Richard Wilde from District 6. When he arrived at District 1 on his Victory Tour, I saw how easygoing he was.
The 66th Hunger Games was infamous for being Titus' Games. Titus Mitchell, of District 6, was Reaped. During the Interviews he decided to impersonate several Capitol celebrities, leading to laughs everywhere. But in the Arena, Titus snapped. His District Partner, Katrina Wilson, was speared through with a sword, and Titus saw it. This moment led to him turning to cannibalism. As soon as he killed a Tribute, he would start eating them. The District 1 girl, Maia, was amongst his victims. He was eventually killed by the Gamemakers with an avalanche. The Games was won by a boy from District 8, Derry Cribbins.
The 67th Hunger Games was won by Augustus Braun, from District 1. Aged seventeen, he promised to unite the Districts if he won, and his personality quicky won Panem over. Buzz Swain, of District 6, was different to Titus, being quiet. Augustus at least gave him a quick death, a slit through the throat, to spare him from being tortured by the Gamemakers or by the other Careers. He also gave Buzz's District Partner, Ivy, a quick death as well, as neither Tribute gained Sponsors due to the reputation Titus gave District 6.
The 68th Hunger Games was horrific, in that my own grandson, Felix, Volunteered. He refused to take part in the Career Alliance, and defended the District 6 Tributes, Nigel Vonheli and Locomotova Weiss, against allegations of cannibalism. Neither Nigel or Loco lived to see the second day, as both Tributes froze to death in the frozen wasteland Arena, two of the seventeen Tributes to lose their lives on the first day. Felix died on Day 6, when he got caught up in a fight between his District Partner Pearl and District 2's Agammenon. All three Tributes ended up killing each other, resulting in Ada Burns of District 3 as the Victor. Ada's technique was inspired by the long-lost customs of people that lived in the Arctic, in that she used everything from the animals she hunted during the Games. The fur she used for clothing, the sinews for thread, the bones for needles and the flesh for food, and that was how she survived. District 1 mourned Felix and Pearl, and I wished I stopped my grandson from going into the Games.
I'm sorry Felix. Those were my last words as I passed away in my sleep. My cause of death was Pancreatitis. My drinking was what killed me. I am a killer, and I regret it. Honeysuckle, Clive, Robert, Xavier, Erin, Hazel, Rachel, Elizabeth, Natasha, Wilbert, Tanusha, Jasmine, Thomas, Wilma, Simon, Samuel, Danielle, Polly, Eric, Stuart, Denzel, Anita, Rocky. The order of deaths of the First Hunger Games, and now I have joined them. My name was Edgar Maxmillian Parlour, and since I won the First Hunger Games at the age of eighteen, I have lived a life of guilt. My death was mentioned in The Capitol's Newspapers as a Front Page headline, yet for many years after the Games my life was peaceful. I had been largely forgotten by The Capitol and by the Districts, so I didn't expect my death to be headline news. Quite a few of the earlier Victors have died as well, and nobody knows if Lucy is alive or not. It is likely she is dead, as she vanished shortly after winning the 10th Hunger Games. Considering she was sixteen when she vanished, her age today would be seventy-six. I never told anyone about the First Hunger Games, as I want to pay respects to the Tributes that died during those Games, but last week I wrote the names and ages of those Tributes as well as their Districts. Elizabeth Oates, 18, my District Partner. Rocky Turner, 18, District 2, and Danielle Andrews, 17, District 2. Both District 3 Tributes were young, Wilbert Horrocks was 15, and Natasha Adams was 16. Thomas Graveson of District 4 never saw his fifteenth birthday, while Polly Lawson died at the age of 13. Eric Odegaard of District 5 will be eternally 16, while Wilma Wilson will always remain 17. Stuart White will always remain 16, while the District 6 girl, Tanusha Armstrong, lost her life at the age of 14. Simon Thomson of District 7 was just 13, while Hazel Haaland never made it to old age, dying at the age of 15. Denzel Wallace was another 13 year old who lost his life in the Games, while Rachel Leith lost her life at the age of 15. Neither of District 9's Tributes, Clive Campbell and Honeysuckle Lewandoski, reached their teenage years. Samuel Plumptre was yet another 17 year old that died in the Games, while Anita Bedford is another 16 year old who will remain that way. Both of District 11's Tributes never reached 18, with Xavier Morgan being decapitated and Jasmine Arnold falling from a great height. Both Robert O'Brien and Erin Grealish will stay 16, one of many 16-year-olds from District 12 whose lives were taken from them. As I got older I realised they were just kids as well. Their names have been forgotten, as my Games have never been seen on television in the intervening years; all surviving copies was destroyed by Dr. Volumnia Gaul in the aftermath of the 10th Hunger Games, the only copy being the "Master Tapes". I hope one day, someone will end this brutal event once and for all. Lachlan Hennessey, the male Tribute from District 12 in the Fifth Hunger Games, showed defiance when he held up a tag with his twin brother's name on it, but despite this, the Games still continued. That didn't stop the Rebellious Tributes from Districts 8, 11 and 12 from trying to make a stand, often dying in the process. Reaper Ash covered the bodies of the deceased Tributes during the 10th Hunger Games with pieces of the Panemian flag, to send the message to the audience that Tributes should be given dignity after death. It's the little acts of defiance that will eventually end the Games. One day, I hope, future Generations won't go through what Virgil Barde, Ginny Canova, Horsa Georges, Mmseyone Musk, Lucy Grey Baird, Mags Flanagan, Molly Frost, Maximilian Jaaskelainen, Imogen Roosa, Huyen Le Duc, Eric Vega, Rheneas Rowe, Beetee Latier, Haymitch Abernathy, Enobaria Golding, Gloss Ritchson, Cashmere Ritchson, Finnick Odair, Augustus Braun, Ada Burns and others like them went through, and what myself went through. Snow's Dictatorship will come to an end one day. It just needs a spark, and I reckon the spark will come from one of the Rebellious Districts. It's a shame I won't be alive to witness it. But my legacy will remain. I was the first Victor of the Hunger Games, a brutal competition that I wished never lasted as long as it did.
The End.
Edgar is an interesting character in his own way, and when I was working out the first version of the first part of the "Vonheli Chronicles" he appeared in a few scenes. Huyen's arc is that she is consumed by guilt at failing to save her brother in the First Quarter Quell, and is determined to make sure that if any Tribute she brings home has a younger sibling, she will try to bring that sibling back. I noticed a slight error that could create a potential plot hole in Chapter 29 of Different Perspectives. The Capitolite poem is supposed to be terrible due to the lack of information about the Ninth Hunger Games, and until Mercedes Vonheli wrote her history book, nobody knew exactly how Therin Lee of District 2 died. Several storylines are hinted at: The "Ghostly Tribute" by the City Arena, Lachlan's anger at the desecration of his twin brother's corpse, Richard's role in the storyline of "The Vonheli Chronicles", the saga of Ada Burns, Imogen and the impact she has on Jessica and Gear and Titus' descent. So you can say this story acts as a bridge between several current and planned Hunger Games fanfiction.