Victor:
Madina Kerrigan, District 8 (4 Kills)
2nd:
Emrys Kilmer, District 5 (2 Kills)
Lutren and
Blythe, Emrys’ adoptive parents, can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as the
female tribute is announced as the Victor. They loved their son, no matter the
fact that he wasn’t actually theirs, but they also knew that Emrys was unhappy with
them. He didn’t trust them nor their other children. None of them knew how to
get through to Emrys and let him know that no harm would come to him in their
home. Lutren cried into his wife’s shoulder, mourning the child that they wish
Emrys had been allowed to become. His funeral was small, consisting mostly of his
parent’s friends and none of the kids from school. Blythe pressed her forehead
against Emrys’ coffin, praying that her troubled son would finally be happy and
feel safe in a way that he never had been while with them.
3rd:
Airla Drossing, District 2 (4 Kills)
Airla’s
father, Titus, was angry as he watched the two tributes murder his daughter.
Airla was stronger than either of them could ever be, she should have won
easily, but they killed her. He flipped over the coffee table and threw a mug
into the screen, shattering the ceramic as the Hunger Games continued on without
his daughter. It isn’t fair that she didn’t win, Titus believed since she began
training that Airla would be the Victor when she eventually volunteered. She
was a better soldier than the girl who won and he could not accept that Airla
was gone. He called the Capitol, looking for answers but the only thing he
received was his daughter’s coffin on his front step.
4th:
Laurent DiAngelo, District 12 (3 Kills)
Laurent’s
funeral was the most elaborate event that District 12 had seen in years. All of
the employees of his parents’ business were given the day off to attend and the
venue was filled to capacity. Everyone talked in hushed voices, speaking about
the young man without truly knowing very much about him. His parents made
solemn speeches with dry eyes that spoke of his promise as a businessman. It
was the greatest show that the DiAngelo’s could put on for him, but as they
returned home their lives were only minorly changed. Laurent was their child,
but they did not know him. In the years that followed, they took on various
assistants in an attempt to find a new heir to their business but none of them
felt right. As they grew old, they divorced and sold the home that Laurent had
grown up in along with the business they’d nurtured together.
5th:
Valya Debell, District 1 (1 Kill)
Valya’s
mother did the only thing she could think of on the morning Valya was killed,
she started planning. She’s always been a busy person and the only way she
could process this new loss was to keep moving. She auditioned musicians for
the funeral, picked out flowers, and hand-delivered invitations to everyone
within walking distance. On the morning of the funeral, Valya’s father showed
up with a feral kitten that he’d named after his late daughter and attempted to
involve it in the ceremony. Her mother screamed at him for defiling her funeral
with a mangy cat, forcing him to dump it in a nearby alley. That night, the
kitten followed her home and curled up on the doorstep until she finally allowed
it inside.
6th:
Malachi Felder, District 6 (1 Kill)
Hours
after Malachi’s death, his best friend Gwen arrived at his parents’ doorstep. They
welcomed her inside, seeing the tears that matched theirs streaming down her
cheeks. None of them spoke as they got Gwen a cup of water, and they sat around
the dining table as the Hunger Games continued in the background. It didn’t
matter that what happened now; the world had stopped for all three of them the
second Malachi was killed. Eventually, they began to share their memories of
Malachi in more words than the young man had ever spoken. The tears didn’t stop,
but they all felt like he was there with them. Gwen left an envelope of cash on
the seat before she left, hoping that they would use the money if they needed
it but unsurprised when they returned it to her the next morning.
7th:
Milan Fernsby, District 9 (1 Kill)
Andrei,
now the oldest of the Fernsby children, watched his older brother as he lay on
the cave floor and urged him with all his strength to get up and continue
fighting. When the cannon fired, Andrei and the other siblings held each other
and cried until they all fell asleep on the old couch. Andrei tried for weeks
to find work, but no one was willing to hire someone so young and inexperienced.
The money Milan had stowed away lasted exactly two months before it was gone,
and Andrei begged his neighbors for help until he could find a way to feed them
all. The three youngest children went to live in various households, but Andrei
and Laszlo remained behind in their old home. They vowed that as soon as they
were able to, they would bring their siblings back and be together again.
8th:
Zaid Patton, District 2 (1 Kill)
Zaid’s
father squeezed his wife’s hand as the tribute drove his knife into his son’s
throat, unable to look away even as his mind screamed to. His world came
crashing down around him the moment Zaid’s cannon sounded. He’d always been
hard on his son, but it was always meant to come from a good place. He wanted
Zaid to do all the things that he had done and more because he knew how successful
Zaid could be if he just tried. He believed wholeheartedly that Zaid would make
it home to him, but in an instant that was ripped away. He was left with
nothing to do except cradle his wife’s head as she cried into his shoulder.
9th:
Koda Aengus, District 3 (0 Kills)
After
watching his son in the arena, Koda’s father was unable to look at his workshop
the same way. On every shelf he saw the makings of the bombs that killed Koda. A
month after his funeral, Koda’s father returned to his workshop but was reduced
to tears within moments of stepping inside. He handed in his resignation an
hour later and curled up by a fountain outside the building. Everything in
District 3 reminded him of his son, but he found some comfort in a bar far
outside of the factory’s reach. Koda’s memory couldn’t touch him there and the beer
numbed his mind enough that he could go home to sleep off the hangover.
10th:
Ainsley Kipp, District 7 (0 Kills)
It was
difficult not to notice Ainsley’s absence the second she left on the train to
the Capitol. Her spirit was everywhere, running between the venders of the
square and hanging around the old parks. No one could believe that the girl who
had been so full of life would never be coming back. On the day that she died, the
Suns showed up at the Kipp’s doorstep with a beautiful arrangement of peonies. Ainsley’s
father took the flowers up to her room and curled up on her bed the way he did
when she was a child. He fell asleep with the scent of peonies surrounding him,
hoping that she would be there when he woke up but knowing that she wouldn’t be.
11th:
Eleni Ingris, District 12 (0 Kills)
Eleni’s
family watched in silence as she bled out into the muddy puddles of the arena
floor. Florence was the first to stand, leaving to sit in her room alone and no
one moved to follow her. Eleni’s parents stared at the screen for several
minutes before they shut it off, drawing their curtains in as was customary. Her
mother went to pick through her funeral clothes, knowing that it would come up
quickly after Eleni’s body returned home. The days that followed passed in an
orchestrated dance of obligation, but few tears. They could feel the hollow area
of their home where Eleni should be, but none of them could say that their life
was much different without her in it.
12th:
Orienne Elthin, District 3 (0 Kills)
The house
is much quieter without Orienne, none of her family knowing exactly what to say
in her absence. Her younger sister, Volta, soon took to spending a lot of time
alone in Orienne’s old bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed most nights with
a science textbook on her lap, tears dripping onto the crisp pages. Many
nights, her mother would find her asleep on the rug in front of Orienne’s bed. As
the weeks went by, Volta’s grades began to slip further down but she couldn’t
bring herself to care. Her sister was gone, and no amount of studying would
bring her back. It seemed pointless to even try anymore so she didn’t.
13th:
Aneira Veillard, District 4 (0 Kills)
Aneira’s
mother sat in front of the screen, holding her two younger daughters as they
watched Aneira’s life drain away. Her father came home late that night,
refusing to talk to any of them and retiring early to the extra bedroom. For
days, her mother mourned in silence as her husband continued his life as if nothing
were even missing. She looked through pictures of Aneira, noticing that her
husband was present in none of them and that Aneira’s smile paled as the years
went by. On the morning Aneira’s coffin arrived, her mother and sisters left
the family home while her father was at work. He came home later to an empty
house and once again slept early in the extra bedroom.
14th:
Elior Vasco, District 11 (0 Kills)
Edna, the
next oldest Vasco child, shielded her siblings from having to witness Elior’s
end. She saw what was happening before Elior did, but Edna forced herself to
watch every second. That is what he did for her during their parent’s execution
and she felt obligated to do the same. On the night of his death, she sat on
the floor with a full drawer of his clothes in front of her. Edna picked a
piece for each of her siblings and a pair of boots for herself, stuffing socks
into the toes to make them fit. Months later, Edna found that she still could
not sleep through the night. She was unable to quiet the thoughts that raced
through her mind when she dared to close her eyes.
15th:
Vervain Sun, District 7 (0 Kills)
The first
morning his parents went back to their flower shop after Vervain’s death, they
found the doorstep covered in petals. His mother cried into her husband’s
shoulder, seeing her son in every delicate fold of the flowers. His father
worked for hours creating arrangements for his funeral, each one brimming with
the most beautiful flowers he could find. Vervain’s funeral was colourful and
brought a sad smile to every teary face as they remembered him. Elaborate
bouquets hung on every doorstep until the petals wilted, bringing a little bit
of happiness as the district people mourned the young man.
16th:
Mercury Padalka, District 1 (2 Kills)
Mercury’s
father was at work when his son was murdered. He collapsed to his knees in the
mine, reaching out for his son who just weeks ago would have been there with
him. He had known that training was a bad idea, but the offer of another income
was too much to turn down. Even if he tried to talk Mercury out of it, he’s
sure his son wouldn’t have listened but it feels so much worse knowing that he
didn’t even try. The rest of his world crashed down around him the moment he
was told Mercury was gone. He went home that night to a darkened house, their
lights shut off months earlier. A week later he received the final payment from
Mercury’s training along with the coffin that contained his son.
17th:
Colm Raeve, District 10 (0 Kills)
Colm’s
family gathered around the screen on the morning of the Hunger Games, none of
them willing to voice their growing fears. He’s only a child, his mother
had said all week, this isn’t right. When the District 3 boy pulled Colm
away from the initial fight, his mother dared to hope that they would find a
wave to survive together. Days later, his coffin arrived at their house and his
mother coated it in tears. She insisted that he be buried with his favourite
stuffed animal from his childhood, even if a year ago Colm said he was too old
to keep it. A neighbor slipped the bear into his coffin so that Colm’s family
could look away and remember him whole.
18th:
Harland Rowe, District 8 (0 Kills)
His
parents were working when his older brother, Seth, saw Harland die. He almost
couldn’t believe it had really happened or that Harland’s district partner had betrayed
him so readily. Seth threw his plate at the wall behind the screen when she won,
shattering it into a hundred shards. It wasn’t fair that this girl would return
when Harland was now dead because of her. Seth knew that Harland would never do
something like that to someone from home. He hated seeing Madina’s image
glorified around the district and tore down every poster he came across. She
was a disgrace that killed his brother, the kindest soul Seth had ever known. She
didn’t deserve to live.
19th:
Ike Beltran, District 4 (0 Kills)
His sister,
Maia, screamed when she saw what the tributes did to her brother. When his
coffin arrived at their door, Maia collapsed into their tattered couch and
covered her father’s shoulder in more tears than she thought possible. Her
father held his little girl, patting the back of her head like he did when Maia
was a baby, and thought of his son. The funeral was small and quiet but filled
with almost as much love as Ike had been. The neighbors allowed Maia to pick
fresh daisies from their garden and she laid them across his grave. The flower,
bright and innocent, had always reminded Maia of her big brother.
20th:
Nara Burnett, District 11 (0 Kills)
Han held
his infant daughter close as he watched the Hunger Games begin. He knew that
Nara was strong and that she would stop at nothing to get home to them, to Ava.
Han had never been the boyfriend that he should have been, but he couldn’t have
known he had so little time left with Nara. Tears fell as he watched the
countdown fall to zero, pouring all of his strength into Nara through the
screen. When that boy took her life, Han pulled Ava into his chest vowing to
protect her. It wasn’t until Ava turned nineteen, when the Hunger Games could
no longer touch her, that he finally told her about Nara.
21st:
Landen Torben, District 6 (0 Kills)
Landen’s
parents didn’t know how to explain to their other children that Landen wasn’t
likely to come home. Some part of them hoped that she would win so that they wouldn’t
have to try. Scotty, her youngest sibling, didn’t understand and continued to
ask when Landen would be back for days even after her death. The morning
Landen’s coffin arrived on their doorstep, his mother finally sat him down and
told Scotty that she was gone. As years went by, Scotty tried to emulate his
sister in everything he did. At sixteen, Scotty took a job at the daycare
facility that Landen once worked at hoping to feel closer to her.
22nd:
Weylyn Boyer, District 9 (0 Kills)
Weylyn’s
parents beamed with sad pride every time they saw their daughter grace their
screens. They knew that she would be treated well in the Capitol and that even
if she didn’t return home, Weylyn wouldn’t die for nothing. Her father squeezed
his wife’s hand as their daughter sobbed into the snow, blood pooling around
her. For the first time in his life, doubt flickered in his mind and it wasn’t
easily pushed away. He didn’t dare share his hesitance with his wife, and every
new Hunger Games brought the uncertainty back to the surface. Is it possible that
he’d been wrong all these years?
23rd:
Sena Cantrell, District 5 (0 Kills)
In the
days leading up to the Hunger Games, the Cantrell household was veiled in an
unnatural silence. Sena’s brothers both did the dishes without a word between
them, and her mother sat glued to the television waiting for any sign of her
daughter. On the first morning, when she saw Sena standing alongside the other
tributes, she dared to hope her daughter would find a way out. Her age and size
never stopped Sena before, so why should they now? In seconds all that hope
bled from her body as Sena’s life bled from hers. Weeks became months and their
house started to echo with noise once again, but every silence still serves to remind
them of her passing.
24th:
Chana Mueller, District 10 (0 Kills)
Chana’s
brother, Aron, immediately knew that the girl shown on the screen was not his
sister. When the coffin showed up at his door, Aron refused to even look in its
direction and it sat on their steps for days until Peacekeepers finally toted
it away. He knew that his sister was not in that box. Rumours spread through
the streets of District 10 that Chana hadn’t died and that she had somehow
escaped into District 1. Aron waited by the door for weeks hoping that Chana
would return home, but she never did. Years later, Aron chooses to believe that
she has a new life far from District 10 and that perhaps she is finally happy.
