𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗 ✪ 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝙾𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚛

- ȶաɛռȶʏ ռɨռɛ

District 5 male.

District 6 male.

District 8 female.

District 8 male.

District 9 female.

District 9 male.

District 10 female.

District 11 male.

8 out of 24 dead.

Katia had kept the games on the TV anxiously watching, making sure that Willa didn't die. She made sure to keep Axel and Clover out of the room, they didn't need to see where their Auntie was.

"Mama?" Axel sniffled, his hands clutching his blankie. He had a nightmare. Katia quickly turned off the TV, forcing herself to breathe through the panic lodged in her chest. She turned to see Axel standing in the hallway, his small frame trembling, clutching his worn blankie so tightly his knuckles turned white. His pale blue eyes, so much like Willa's, were glassy with unshed tears. She softened instantly.

"Oh, sweetheart," she murmured, crouching down to his level. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Axel nodded, rubbing at his eyes.

"There was a monster in my room," he whispered. "It was big, Mama. I think it wanted to eat me."

Katia's heart clenched.

"Oh, baby," she said, pulling him into her arms. "There are no monsters, I promise. Just shadows playing tricks, that's all."

Axel buried his face in her shoulder.

"But it felt real," he mumbled against her shirt. "Like it was watching me."

Katia closed her eyes for a brief moment, exhaling slowly. She could still hear the distant echoes of the Games in her mind, the sounds of cannons, of screams. The real monsters weren't hiding in Axel's room—they were in the arena. And Willa was fighting them right now. She forced a smile and pulled back, brushing his hair gently from his forehead.

"You know what we do when there's a monster, right?" she asked.

Axel sniffled, thinking. "We chase it away?"

"That's right." She took his small hand in hers. "Come on, let's go check your room together."

Hand in hand, they walked down the dim hallway. Katia pushed open the bedroom door, flicking on the soft glow of the nightlight. The room was the same as always—his bed, his stuffed animals, the little drawings he and Clover had taped to the wall. Nothing out of place. Katia knelt beside the bed, lifting the blanket like a curtain and peeking underneath.

"No monsters here," she declared, her voice light. Axel watched her, still unconvinced. She stood and strode over to the closet, pulling the door open with a dramatic whoosh.

"And none here either!" she said. Axel hesitated, glancing around before stepping forward.

"What about the window?" he asked. Katia's smile wavered, just for a second. She hated that he even thought to ask that. She hated that, deep down, she understood his fear—because she felt it too, every time she turned on that screen, afraid of what she'd see. She steeled herself and walked to the window, peering out at the quiet, empty street beyond.

"No monsters," she assured him. Axel watched her for a moment, then nodded. He climbed into bed, his tiny body curling up beneath his blankets. Katia tucked him in, smoothing the covers over his small frame.