Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. The body paced the floor of the emergency airport hanger. The hands had nothing to do.

Not a single sign of fidgeting or the slightest twitch. The hands of this nervous wreck of a man stayed still as stone. It was as if the hands themselves had been frozen in fear. What would they do when presented with over a half-century-old sin they had committed?

They didn't know.

He didn't know.

"Where is he?!" A man yelled from across the hanger.

A Peacemaker pointed the man toward the pacer.

"President Snow!" Coriolanus' Head of Security approached him briskly. "What's going on?!"

Coriolanus was left gaping like a fish. He still couldn't entirely process it himself.

"I can't let you leave when the Districts are on the brink of all-out war! It's too dangerous! I'm taking you back to the Justice Center." He tapped his wrist and started speaking into it. "Get me a full escort to Hanger 4."

"Last I checked, I was the President of Panem, Hoskins." Snow finally spoke. "So I will go wherever I please, whenever I please."

Hoskins pressed his argument. "It's too dangerous! What is this trip even for?! From what I've heard you're going past even District 13! You'll be a fish in a barrel if they find you out!"

"If they find out." General Ford entered the argument. "The rebels still haven't cracked the Capitol's firewall, so I doubt they'll be able to detect much less target our convoy as long as we keep our distance from the District itself."

"General Ford." Hoskins saluted his superior. "What is this mission for?"

"That's classified, Hoskins." The General stated.

Hoskins shook his head in confusion. "More classified than the inevitable war?"

Ford glanced at Coriolanus then back at Hoskins. "Yes."

The Head of Security took a step back from the unexpected answer. "I still would feel better if I went along."

"That won't be necessary, Hoskins," Coriolanus said. "General Ford will accompany me on this… mission."

"If those are your orders, sir," Hoskins said, finally defeated.

A specialized hovering ship landed in front of the men and a few Peacekeepers inside signaled that it was safe for the President to board.

Snow gave Hoskins one last look. "I trust that you'll be able to handle things here while I'm away?"

"Of course, sir. Would I be handing Mellark as well?"

"For now."

Coriolanus turned away and stepped onto the ship. As it lifted off, he could only hope that it would take him to a place where he could finally receive the closure he so desperately yearned for.


The crackle of the intercom system sounded in Coriolanus' ears. "Passing over District 7 Airspace. Our E.T.A. is 40 minutes."

General Ford switched his intercom to a closed channel between him and the President. "We don't have confirmation that it's Lucy Gray due to the limited records we have of her, sir. But she matches the age and physical description."

"I'll know," Coriolanus said.

"From the report, it looks like we found her on a ground sweep." Ford tapped on a tablet to pull up more information. "Her primary residence is a makeshift teepee with a secondary cave where she stores most of her belongings." He turned the tablet toward the President to show him campsite pictures.

"She stayed in the thick of the forest which explains why we never picked her up from aerial or satellite scans. Her main source of food seems to be-"

Ford put his hand up to his headset to hear better. "What? Send it through to me."

"What is it, general?" Snow asked.

Ford didn't seem sure himself. He looked up at the President. "We're picking up an unscheduled broadcast from District 7."

"More rebel propaganda?" He assumed.

"Yes…" Ford said unusually unsure. "We're flagging it for a takedown right now."

"Put it through to me," Snow said. He wanted to know what was making Ford so confused.

Ford hesitated for a few seconds but nodded. "Put the broadcast through to the President."

There was a click in Coriolanus' ear and the next instant the rebel voice of Katniss Everdeen flooded his head once more.

-his love to flee?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

The metal aircraft melted away as the simple voice of his arch-nemesis rendered him defenseless once more.

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where I told you to run so we'd both be free?

The tips of his fingers tingled as he ran his hands through the long grass of a peaceful meadow.

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met up at midnight in the hangin' tree

He breathed in and the soft sweet smell of nature rushed into his lungs. The slightest sound of a guitar found his ears.

Are you, are you comin' to the tree?

Wear a necklace of hope side by side with me

There she was. Lucy Gray.

She sat in the grass under the shade of a looming tree beside her. Her wooden guitar sat in her arms as she sang the morbid song. The locks of her long black hair flowed down her back, concealing her face from him.

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met up at midnight in the hangin' tree

Coriolanus walked quietly behind her, wanting to surprise her. She hummed the tune of the song unaware of her surroundings. Right when he was behind her as if on cue, a branch snapped under his foot.

Lucy Gray turned to see who it was with a small hint of fear in her eyes.

"Sorry. Still got one foot in the arena." She said.

"Yes, it leaves quite an impression," He said with a smile on his face.

She returned his smile and they sat together under the tree soaking up each other's company. Lucy Gray rested her head on Coriolanus' shoulder as he rubbed her hair in between his fingers.

"Where did you go?" Coriolanus asked.

"It wouldn't be much fun if I told you, now would it?" She teased.

Coriolanus knitted his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Why did you leave me?"

"You chased me away," She said solemnly.

"I loved you, Lucy Gray." Coriolanus almost choked.

Lucy Gray sat up and looked him in the eye mischievously. "You did a lot of things to me, Coriolanus Snow. But Loving me wasn't one of 'em."

"I- I did."

She smiled and shook her head. "Maybe you did later on, but when I knew you… what you loved was power. You can't love two things at once, Coriolanus."

Lucy Gray started to stand up to leave him again.

"Wait, Lucy Gray," Coriolanus said desperately. "Don't go."

"You have to choose, Snow." She laughed softly as if it was an inside joke. "You have to let go if you want to hold me. Can't leave unfinished business in the Old Therebefore."

"I choose you." A rouge tear slid down his cheek.

"It might be a little too late for that I'm afraid." Her smile toned down but didn't disappear.

"Lucy Gray, please stay with me. You're- You're the only one who can fill me." Coriolanus admitted.

"You realize that you're giving up everything for this?" She asked him seriously.

Coriolanus nodded. "I choose you, Lucy Gray."


The ramp lowered, letting in the bright daylight of the great north blind Coriolanus as he waited impatiently to leave the ship.

A few Peacekeepers hopped off first, pointing their guns around the area as if an army could burst from the woods at any moment. General Ford left next and discussed something with one of the soldiers who was already there.

"The perimeter is secured, Mr. President," Ford said.

"Where is she?" Coriolanus said a little too eager for his taste, but he didn't care when he was this close.

The camouflaged Peacekeeper Ford spoke to, nodded at him. "Right this way, sir."

They hiked uphill for less than a minute until they arrived at a clearing. The soil terrain was replaced with a flat slab of rock that dropped off suddenly after a few feet. The cliff had a breathtaking view of the infinite pine sea below, the flowing blue sky above, and the strong snow-capped mountains on the horizon.

And sitting patiently on the cliff's edge was a gray-haired woman. She passively kicked her feet over the steep drop below. Taunting fate.

Coriolanus took a step forward.

Absolute silence.

He took another step.

Not a beat of the heart to be heard.

A few more steps and he was one final step away from her.

He looked down at his hands.

He had promised himself he would take back what he'd lost, but could he trust these hands to hold them once more?

Could his sins be forgiven?

He'd already made his choice. It took him 84 years to realize that power meant nothing. He no longer cared if he won or lost the war. He couldn't last one more day without closure. His time in the Old Therebefore was coming to a close.

Coriolanus took the final step and the woman turned to see him.