A Hunger Games series in which we will follow the life of Brooke Harper, a girl from District 4. Doing the one thing she trained all her life for, she entered the 64th games prepared for battle. Watch as she comes to question her reality and values...
AN: I think I finally have a plan for my posting schedule for this fic. Just as a warning updates may be slow the next 2 weeks as I have a ton going on IRL but I've pre written through the rest of Season 1 and part of Season 2 at this point. Lmk what y'all think so far!
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I wake up three days after being lifted from the arena. The capital doctors told me I had a bad infection in my arm that spread to my organs and also radiation poisoning. Nearly all the tributes who weren't killed by the careers died to the arena.
Looking down at my left arm, I admire my shiny new prosthetic. The arm was not salvageable so the doctors had to remove everything from the cut down, leaving me with not much bellow my shoulder joint.
They decided do congratulate me on my victory by preserving my blackened severed hand in a glass box; a reminder of my fight for my District.
My new arm functions identically to how a biological arm would but it's not as comfortable to sleep on (of course I'm a side sleeper) so I am able to take it off at night. It's also not entirely waterproof so I'll need to remove it to shower or swim.
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Adrian comes to collect me once I am released from the hospital. I have to get ready for my interview and crowning ceremony before I will be on the train back to District 4.
"Congratulations Brooke," he says as he greets me.
"Thanks for all the training Adrian," I reply. "I couldn't have done it without you."
He takes me to Tiberius who is waiting with my prep team. They're all gushing over how cool my arm is and how it will save them prep time as they don't have to wax it.
"I was originally going to give you sleeves," Tiberius states, "but I think we should show off your new arm." He pulls out a black strapless dress with shiny pearls all over it.
"I like that," I smile at him. "Did I tell you that they gave me my old hand to keep?"
One of the prep ladies gasps and drops the hair brush she was holding. The capital is weird but I guess keeping your severed hand is too weird for them.
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As Tiberius puts me in my dress, I get a good look at the rest of my body post-arena. Adrian told me I was pretty malnourished when I came out but the doctors were able to put some meat back on my bones so I didn't look like a skeleton. I wouldn't mind being that skinny though.
Something still seems off with me but I can't put my finger on it. Did I get taller? Did I hit a new round of puberty?
Noticing my puzzled expression, Tiberius gives me an explanation.
"Oh honey I almost forgot to tell you! We had the capital surgeons give you a slight breast enlargement to better fit your post-arena proportions."
"Oh uh they look nice," I tell him. I don't know why a 15 year old needs a boob job but maybe there was something wrong with the way they looked before. I suspect they also did something to my butt but I don't ask Tiberius any more questions as he gets started on my makeup, opting to leave my hair down.
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The post-games interview goes really well. Caesar is fascinated by my new hand and says I should become a hand model in the capital. The crowd is also shocked when I tell them I have the old hand but Caesar thinks that it should go in a victors museum.
Watching the games back is odd. Caesar has me recount my train of thought during different moments and I also get to see what happened in other parts of the arena.
It turns out the whole city was post-apocalyptic with radiation from a nuclear weapon that was dropped a hundred years ago. The game makers thought it would be an interesting setting for the games and the arena was so deadly they didn't even release any mutts.
I finally saw that Crey killed Khan and injured Honey when they found him after the alliance split up. This was at the time when I was huddled up in some bushes trying not do die of infection. Honey ended up dying to the earthquake on the last day as her wound had become infected in her leg.
Crey seems to have completely lost it after that fight. Khan slashed the side of his neck which caused the infection I saw but something in Crey snapped when he killed Khan. It's like his world came crashing down and he collapsed on the ground crying. Caesar asked me what I thought about this reaction and I said he must have been suffering from the delusions caused by the radiation. He was clearly insane.
Overall, watching the games back makes me feel a bit sad, which is unexpected. In the moment, killing people seemed like nothing but looking back at it I ended the lives of a lot of people. I can't let myself be sad for them or angry at myself. It's just a game.
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After the interview, there is a quick crowning ceremony before I am taken by car to the train station. I wave goodbye at the capital crowds as we pass by, thankful to be finally going back to 4.
Tiberius, Apple, and my prep team join me, Mags, and Adrian on the train home. The capital has sent a camera crew ahead to capture my return home so I need to get out of my interview outfit and into a more casual but still chic District 4 outfit.
My prep team take off my elaborate interview makeup and give me a more natural look. They also gift me a bag full of makeup supplies so I can look my best around the district. The old clothes I had don't fit my new body so Tiberius has curated an entire new wardrobe for me.
I'm so excited to see my new house. After sleeping in what essentially is a janitor's closet at the academy for a few years I cannot wait to move into Victors Village.
Adrian and I discussed the academy and he hired me as a trainer starting in the fall. He's hoping this will attract more kids to the academy as enrollment has been slowly declining. We feel optimistic that District 4 has a winning streak on our hands.
