Markus
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.
Sometimes his sister scared him.
Sasha tended to make people nervous; they just didn't always know what to do with her. She was a fiery-headed ball of ambition and determination wrapped up in pure muscle and a loud voice. She didn't care who she pleased or who she offended. At the Academy, she held the record for the most nights spent in the penalty cell in the basement.
Sometimes Markus worried worried about his sister so much it hurt. He'd never say that outright, though.
(He also loved her so much that it hurt, but would never say that outright, either. She'd punch him.)
He didn't used to. Back in the old days, when they lived in a mine housing apartment and had to share a bed, she was the one who would wake him up from nightmares and whisper assurances in the darkness.
"Someday we'll be away from here."
(Someday they'd be away from the noise of the mines and the coughing from dust lung and the parents who resented them.)
She'd been the one who came up with the plan to train for the Academy. It often took money to get accepted, but poorer kids like them could test into it, if they were strong enough.
Of course Sasha did, at age twelve, and then she helped him train to get in a year later, when he turned twelve. Others started younger, but they made up for it. No one could outwork them.
He didn't mind the training or the fighting, but he would have followed her there anyway.
(The killing part didn't come easy to him, but you could learn to deal with just about anything if you tried hard enough. Sasha taught him that.)
Day One of the Games went as expected. He made three kills in the first ten minutes, from outer districts, all male. District Twelve, District Five, District Three.
(Asher, Lucas, Tommy. You weren't supposed to learn the names. He couldn't help it.)
Only the first one gave him much of a fight.
Sasha got the District Nine and Five girls, the District Six boy. (Vika, Maya, Cogs.) Marius killed his own district partner, Sofia, who wasn't supposed to even be there. Going after her lost him a bunch of kills; he only got the District Four boy. (Nate.)
Alana, their unexpected ally, didn't kill anyone. Markus wasn't surprised. She was hot and smart, but not a killer. Not at all.
(Sasha called her a sissy behind her back.)
He wasn't surprised when Anelle from Eight popped out of the Cornucopia while they were sorting supplies. In training, she had been vicious. They let her join them because, as Sasha said, "You're good with a knife, and we're still short one pack member out of the optimal six."
(Markus knew Sasha left out, "I also don't want to know what you'll do to us if we don't accept you and you somehow get away.")
They were all surprised the next morning, when they caught up to the boy from Eight. They only found him so fast because the District Twelve female pretended she wanted to ally with him, then built a smoky fire when he was asleep and broke his leg with a heavy rock so he couldn't run. When the pack arrived, she stepped back and let Anelle take the kill.
"I want to join you," she told them. "I'm resourceful."
They kept the conversation on whether or not she should join going longer than necessary, because Eight girl took so long to kill her district partner. And after he was dead and they had accepted Callie into the group, Anelle said, "I'll catch up. I need to get his eyes."
(His name had been Brian.)
The next day, a cannon fired early, far from them. That afternoon, they caught and Markus killed the District Ten boy. His face was in the sky that night with the girl from District Three.
(Ian. Josie.)
"You want this one?" he asked his sister and Marius when they caught the District Nine boy the next morning. Markus had grabbed him first.
Marius stepped forward eagerly, but Sasha stopped him. "You caught him, you kill him. We can wait."
(Ty.)
The Arena was big, and cold like a mountain winter. The Cornucopia was filled with supplies for killing and warmth, not so much for eating. They got some sponsor gifts of food, and Callie filled in the gaps with gathered plants and trapped rodents.
They didn't find anyone for two whole days. On Day Six, they made it to the ocean. Alana managed to catch some fish for dinner, but they were small and bony.
"The cold's not so bad, compared to home," Sasha murmured to him as they lay back-to-back that night. The others weren't comfortable enough to take advantage of that possible source of warmth. "The wind's not nearly so bad. The lack of food is going to get us, though. Especially with so many…" She paused.
"You want to kill some of our allies."
"We don't need Alana or Anelle. They'll be easy to get rid of. Callie is useful, though."
"Marius?"
"Need him still, just in case. There's a couple strong tributes left. The District Sevens. District Eleven."
(Benjamin. Lizbeth.) "The boy? He's...simple." (Herb. Nice guy.)
"Just 'cause he isn't smart, doesn't mean he isn't strong. Not worried about the girl."
(Salvia. She smiled a lot. Except when she looked at nothing with sadness. Which was also a lot. She had pretty eyes.)
"Okay. We'll deal with it tomorrow."
"Okay. I'm not worried about the other two."
(Phoebe. Ava.)
"Got it."
She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Got your back, little brother."
"Got yours, big sister."
He woke up while everyone else was on the beach trying to get more fish, and he woke up to multiple sets of wolf teeth in his legs.
He didn't have legs for much longer. The wolf mutts didn't have lives for much longer than that.
Sasha was screaming, loud and harsh enough to scare a god.
He was begging.
(It hurt so, so much.)
She was a red-gray blur above him, but he could see the glint of the sword in her hand as she lifted it.
He choked out, "Love you, sis."
(Fitting last words, for him.)