Victors' Purge

Moss Girardeau

The dark afro that he once had became a gray patch in the top of his head, still healthy as he had chosen to let it go gray instead of dying it decades ago. He reminisced about the days in his youth when he came back to district 11 as a victor while going through an old diary of his. The excitement and proudness in his then girlfriend's eyes as he was escorted by home was one of the most memorable moments in his life, only days later engaging her. Not many were in favor of their engagement, especially his family as he had taken down the mayor's daughter's offer in hand in exchange for more money and better life in the district but he was madly in love with Othella. Since his wife's death due to tuberculosis, he spends most of his time with his three children: Magnolia, the oldest; Tasmanio, the largest and Dwayne, the younger one. Magnolia married and had three daughters herself, one of them already with a three year old son named Geranio, his only great grandchild so far. Magnolia took care of his meals everyday, with Saturday's being her special day to spend with her elderly father and children. Tasmanio had become a manager of one of the field workers in District 11, a quite respected one that had been mayor for several decades before deciding to come back to the field and live a quiet life, similar to his fathers. He had two children out of wedlock and despite his best efforts, he was almost a stranger to them most of their lives due to their mothers badmouthing their father throughout their childhood. It wasn't until one of the mothers died that he didn't rekindle his relationship with one of them. And Dwayne was the last one standing in his victor's village home. He never married, never had kids and never left his parents' sides, taking care of them throughout the later decades as their health deteriorated and after his mother's death, which definitely left Moss in a deep state of depression.

Moss heard the main door open and close in a rush and the steps of a frantic, fifty year old Dwayne that in less than a minute was knocking on the bathroom door loudly, as if his father had forgotten his hearing aid as many other mornings. However, the victor took his time to close his journal, tie it up, hide it behind his bathroom bide and make the toilet sound as if he had been using it. He did all this very meticulously, taking his time despite his son's demands to hurry up that later on turned into pledges which alarmed him a bit if he was honest.

— Tasmanio called me at work, there are rumors around the town hall of peacekeepers purging all the victors, Dad. One of his old colleagues let us know in advance, we have to hide.

Those were the first words that came out of the son as his father walked out the bathroom in his bedroom, slowly taking a seat in his bed as his knees were not made for walking or standing up for too long. He had not tuned in to watch the games since the last time he had to be present in the second quarter quell, however this year was different and Seeder told him about the victors plan to save the 'Mockingjay'. He was well aware of what this meant for the rest of their kind, the victors. Maybe the 1's and 2's may be spared but he was certain he was not going to be one of those. He knew what he had to do but was well aware that Dwayne would never let him go if he seemed like he was giving up, even at his old age.

— Go to Magnolia's house, tell her it's time. She'll know what to do, Tasmanio will bring some men to carry me out of the district.

Dwayne nodded as loyal as he always was he listened to his father and before he left the room, Moss grabbed his arm and gave him a small hug, hiding his tearing eyes as he pretended to get his clothes ready. Once he heard the main door close, he went back to the toilet and grabbed his journal, reading through it for the next twenty minutes. Pages and pages of his many lived years, including his mentoring years where victors like Guillaume and Bluebell, who both struggled with their previous families in district 11, had developed a paternal relationship with him. Even Seeder and Chaff, who had the pleasure to meet him after winning their games, were like children to him. He was the father figure in the Victors' Village of his district, as he was the oldest amongst them but the last one standing. As the peacekeepers started calling out his name and forcing their entry to the house, the victor took out of the last page a nightlock pill that Seeder provided him before the reaping, in case anything went wrong and the Capitol tried to torture him out of information. At the same time the phone rang with the oldest of the boys on the other side, Tasmanio, who had come to realize his father's plan when his brother came to his house claiming they knew what was the plan to get their father out of the district.

With the same parsimony as before, filled the glass of water in the sink and took the nightlock pill to his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. There were no tears in his eyes, no sadness or overly bad feeling as he was reliving all the memories and moments that he remembered in his life thanks to that journal he kept throughout the decades. He even knew that despite the initial sadness, his younger son would benefit from the hold he had over him, and be able to eventually live his life in a new Panem, one without Ravinstill, Snow or the Hunger Games... As the peacekeepers finally managed to open the bathroom door, there it laid the body of Moss Girardeau, Victor of the 6th Hunger Games, with his journal laying on top of his body, a smile in his face and lifeless eyes looking towards the roof. All the pages of his journal were burned on site, with all the records of what was the life of Victor completely erased from history and only those who were lucky enough to be told by himself, were able to narrate some of his life experiences.