116th – Hera MacKay, District Two
…
Hera is sweet. Hera is kind. Hera is a little kid, and Hera shouldn't be here.
Winona isn't from a Career district. She only sort of knows how it works. But she's seen enough Reapings to know that in Career districts, someone always volunteers. It always made her jealous of the Career districts, because you didn't have to fear the Hunger Games unless you wanted to. Kids in Career districts didn't get thrown into this. The only kids they gave up were the ones who wanted to fight.
Except for Hera. Thirteen years old, sensitive and compassionate, she never should have been here. Hera told her that she never trained, never wanted to, never would have been good at it.
Hera's here now. Winona remembers seeing the chaos on the train, when the girl who stepped forward to volunteer dropped dead of a sudden aneurysm. In the ensuing madness, no volunteer was chosen, and Hera was made to fight. Everyone wrote her off. The Careers wouldn't accept her, of course. Most of the other tributes didn't want anything to do with her. But there was something about her…well, Winona couldn't stand to watch her nervously wander the training center all alone.
And she kinda sorta really got attached. Hera's just such a good kid, okay? She wants to help everyone and everything. She wouldn't hurt a fly. She shouldn't be here, but she is. And Winona decided she had to protect her.
But she never thought it would go this far. Winona assumed that Hera would die at some point. At some point, they would run into the Careers, and one of them would pick her off. It would be horrible, but Winona would make it through. She would assure herself that she had done everything she could, but Hera just wasn't a kid who became a Victor.
Yet, here they are. It's just the two of them left. Winona took down the girl from District One, and she has to figure out what to do next.
There's two issues here:
One. Winona can't kill Hera. There is absolutely no way that Winona could look that girl in the eye and end her life.
Two. Hera won't hurt anybody.
Winona makes a decision. Ultimately, it will hurt Hera, but Hera will live. It was never supposed to come to this, but now that it has, Winona sees it so clearly. She isn't coming out of this alive. She doesn't need to.
"Hera," Winona says. "You have to kill me."
"What?" Hera says.
"Kill me, and you'll go home," Winona says.
"I don't want to do that."
"You have to," Winona says. Because just as much as she can't kill Hera, she can't turn the knife on herself, either. There's only one way that this ends.
"I…" Hera says. "Okay."
She reaches into her backpack and takes out a knife. It looks so wrong in her hands. As she approaches Winona, her hands start to shake. She shuts her eyes and takes several deep breaths. "You're going to be okay, right?" Hera whispers.
"Of course," Winona says. "Because you'll be okay."
Hera screws up her face. "It's going to hurt."
"I know," Winona says. "But you're worth this, kid. You're going to contribute more to the world than I ever would."
All in one swift movement, Hera steps forward and slits Winona's throat. In an instant, Winona is on the ground, hands instinctively pressed against the wound.
"I'm sorry," Hera says suddenly, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't—I don't—I'm sorry."
Winona wants to tell her that it's okay, but the only thing that comes out of her mouth is a burble of blood. Hera cries harder. She throws herself on top of Winona, hugging her tightly.
"Thank you," she says through her tears. "Thank you. Thank you…"
When Winona drifts off, she knows she did the right thing. Hera was worth protecting.