Pike Everton
District 4 Male
77 HG
Looking back now, there was a lot that Pike Everton wished he could have done differently. He just wished he had realized it before he was trapped under burning debris, heat searing into his lungs and into his skin. Before there was emptiness where his
legs used to be and blood pooling around him.
The building twisted and groaned and an explosion roared through the air. Or was that a cannon?
Pike coughed and his heart sank when he saw the red specks hit the smoking wooden floor.
He was going to die here, alone and in pain, all because of a choice he made.
He killed the girl from Twelve's ally. He didn't have to, but he did. He pushed her to her breaking point and she had snapped.
Had he known she would have set the arena on fire, he would have thought twice about attacking.
Had he known about the wild grief that would burn in her eyes, he would have taken her out in the bloodbath.
Had he known...
How deep did this rabbit hole go?
All these things he could have done to save himself... And now he'd never go home. Pike never should have left.
Gems, why did he volunteer to begin with? Was it for glory? Was it for the reward?
Another cannon.
He hoped the girl from Twelve could live with herself. At the rate things were going, she'd be the last one standing if she got herself to safety.
Would he had been able to?
Pike doubted it. The pain he had inflicted, he was now feeling it tenfold. And it was all for nothing. He bought into the lie of honor and glory when in reality, he was just another weapon.
A weapon wielded against the districts so that the Capitol could win. A victory that wouldn't have been his even if he had survived.
He couldn't go home again, but maybe...maybe someone would see what happened to him and think twice about making the same mistakes he did.
The ceiling above him began to crack, the floor below him gave way and he began his final descent.
He carried that final wish with him as he crashed into the ground.
"For nothing..."
xxviii - Can't Return Home
This was definitely one of the more tragic chapters, especially since Pike's final wish won't be granted for a long time, if ever. He was the one who killed Kaia's friend and caused her to snap and set the arena on fire, and he grows to regret it.