Peacekeepers: The 49th Annual Hunger Games

Lead

Mason

Training had gone well, and I was the top in my group. There were two other guys from my class who weren't from District Two, like all the other Peacekeepers were. Like me, those two had been sought out by President Snow himself, but they never went into detail about their meetings.
It was a month later when Coriolanus Snow pulled me into his office and said, "Mr. Bridges, you're doing an excellent job here. And I am not one to look past excellence. I would like to appoint you Head Peacekeeper." My jaw would have hit the floor, but I'd given myself enough composure in three weeks to refrain from doing so.
"Thank you sir," was all that I managed to say as I was handed my new uniform by an Avox. She looked familiar; small, red hair. She couldn't have been older than 18. I thanked her, and Snow laughed.
"My dear boy, you haven't a need to do that. You're better than them. You're one of us now." He smiled at me. Those words sent shivers down my spine, you're one of us now, and I thought back to one of the last things Evangeline said to me. How could you become one of them?
The people that beat us, that tortured us, that sent us to the reaping. But now, maybe I'd be able to protect them. I was about to leave when Snow said something else.
"Oh, and you should know that I want you to keep an eye on that Evangeline girl of yours. She's been up to no good, and I won't stand for it. Surely, you could convince her to be more well behaved." His smile was wide across his face, the scent of roses lingered through the room, but it seemed natural here, just like the smell of cinnamon is natural at Evangeline's house, and Eva smells like apples each day from working in the field.
"Of course sir," I replied as I left. It was no surprise to me that Eva had been up to no good, but I had no idea what to expect later that night when I was sent back home to District Eleven.
I never expected her to kiss me like that, with that desperate pleading in her kisses. It caught me off guard. We hadn't had a kiss like that in what felt like forever. I wanted to kiss her back just the same, but she pulled back before I got the chance, and disappeared back into her house.
I knew what she was thinking. She thought that I'd become too good for her. Now that I was technically of a higher class than her, it meant I'd leave her. And she only wanted to keep me close. I knew that she needed me just as much as I needed her.
I sighed and walked back to my new house, closing my eyes. Surprisingly, my mother was already in there, and by the looks of it, sober. She rushed over to me and embraced me into a tight hug.
"Mom? What are you doing here? I didn't invite anyone in."
"President Snow came to show me the new house!" She said excitedly. "Fully furnished. He said my son was the head Peacekeeper now!"
"Yeah, mom, that's me..." I mumbled. "But you do know that this is my house, right? Not yours? Why on Earth would I want to live with the woman that spent all our money on alcohol rather than food. The reason Blossom's name was pulled from the reaping bowls."
I could see in her eyes I'd hit a tender spot, an area of her heart that everyone else had tottered around when she was sober. I knew that she was not strong. That's why she drank. To give that appearance that she was. The same reason I used to escape out into the woods with Evangeline; so that I could feel like myself without owing anyone an explanation and needing to live up to some standard.
But now, everything was different, and I'd be okay. And to do that, I'd need to rid myself of negativity. I took a deep breath and faces my mom again.
"I want you out." I said firmly. "President Snow was wrong to show you around the home, and I would like you gone. Now. Stay out of my life."
Her eyes were broken as she reached up and cupped my cheek, with her bony frail fingertips, and it was only now I actually realized her age. Her eyes were a deep grey, her hair was once red, but was turning grey, and her skin was paling in color naturally. She had age spots on her neck and hands, wrinkles around her eyes and lips from when she'd smile around my dad. I looked like him more than my mother. Dark hair, green eyes. Blossom was small and strawberry blonde before she died. Her hair would have turned red with age, just like Mom's had. It was part of the reason Evangeline had started to call her Berry. Because of Blossoms strawberry hair and Evangeline's love of the strawberry fields.
"I want to fix all that I've done to you." Mom whispered. "Please... I'm sorry." I shook my head, her hand falling slowly.
"Get out." I growled. She started crying as she turned and slowly walked out without another word. I was doing the right thing, right?
I looked around my new home. It was as big as one of the homes in the Victors Village, maybe even bigger, with a fully stalked kitchen. I smiled to myself, thinking of the look Evangeline would have on her face when she realized none of her family would have to work another day because of me. They should have been thanking me. I was going to help everyone here.
My bedroom was huge. Evangeline and I could put five of her old bedrooms in here. Wow. This was going to be an absolutely perfect life.

The next morning, when I woke, there was a note under the door. It must have been 8 am, meaning Evangeline was already up for work. I smiled as I unfolded it to read: Our place. Tonight. Curfew. -Ev
I bit my lip but ultimately decided that I could spare one night for Evangeline. After all, she was the reason I did all this. It was the least I could do for her, honestly, even if I did have my first official day as Head Peacekeeper ahead of me. I didn't want anything, not even Evangeline, to ruin that.
I made my way through the district, admiring the looks of confusion on all my own friends faces. Surely, they all believed I would change Eleven for the better.
In just the first eight hours of the job, one man was arrested for illegal hunting, one girl was given immunity for not doing her job due to morning sickness from her pregnancy (which was also illegal without a marriage license), and I stopped four men from robbing an old lady of all the food she had, with my gun. I was the best in training, and now I knew why the training was important. I was the best shooter in all of Panem.
The mockingjay's whistle sang through Eleven signaling the end of the work day, and people began to check in their daily quota. I glanced around the crowd for a flash of blonde hair, this time it was hidden under her fathers cap. I grinned to myself and continued counting.
The next three hours were the longest hours I'd ever experienced. I just wanted to talk to Evangeline, to hold her, to kiss her, again. Somehow, I managed, doing useless chores around the house, even though it was already spotless. I lounged around in my bedroom for another hour, watching reruns of old Hunger Games, since the new Games would be coming soon. The new reporter Caesar Flickerman was more than excited to prove himself worthy of being the host of the Hunger Games. His hair was bright orange, nearly matching his skin tone. I sighed.
I hated the Capitol people still. They watched our deaths for entertainment. But President Snow never even mentioned the real purpose of the Games. He only ever mentioned how much potential I'd have as a peacekeeper. How much good I could do for the District. I only wish I could somehow stop the Games.
Finally, the evening bell rang and I stood, pulling on my boots and jacket, and the pin saying I was Head Peacekeeper, and I wore it with pride. I tucked my gun into my pocket, just in case. Besides, I had other plans.
The snow had been thawing, early April now. Evangeline's eighteenth birthday was soon, and then her name would be out of the reaping forever. Maybe, now that I was a Peacekeeper, we could have kids and not worry about their names being drawn for the Hunger Games. We could have the future we always wanted, just the two of us.
I ducked under the fence and rushed to our tree. Immediately, I heard her familiar singing, but her voice sounded like it was breaking... Like she was crying. It took a lot for the girl I love to cry. I frowned and started to climb. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, please don't cry," I whispered when I reached the top. Our initials were carved in the tree, followed by 34 small tally marks. Eva sniffled and looked up at me. Her eyelashes were sticking together from her tears, her blonde hair sticking to her cheeks and her eyes were bloodshot.
Without thinking, I pulled her into a tight hug, allowing her to cry into my shoulder. "You're okay," I whispered in her ear. "You're okay, you're safe, you're with me. I'm here." Her entire body was shaking when she whispered, "you don't love me anymore..." The color drained from my cheeks, and I pulled back, looking at her. But she was no longer crying, she was angry.
"Mason, you aren't even yourself anymore! You kicked your mother out, you killed four men," her voice broke. "You used to be against the Peacekeepers, and now you're one of them. I want Mason back." I could only stare at her face for a minute. She looked much older than I remembered her being- no, not older, but much more mature, though it was hard to determine how.
"I'm right here, Eves," I whispered. "I'm right here."
"No you're not!" She sobbed. "That's Head Peacekeeper Bridges! Where's my Mase? I want him!"
"Eves..."
She shook her head and climbed down from the tree. I followed. "Ev please stop."
"No."
"Eva,"
"No!"
"Evangeline, I love you." I said. "And I'm doing this for us. Our future. So that our children can live without worrying about going to the reaping. So that I can help the District from being hurt over stupid stuff. Yes. I killed people today. But they were robbers,"
"We were robbers at one point, Mason!" She shouted, cutting me off. "Do you not remember that? We had to steal just to survive."
"These men weren't stealing to survive, Eves. They were stealing because it was fun." I sighed, stepped forward and kissed her with everything I had, like my life depended on it. I wouldn't let her slip away. And she kissed back with a sigh, moving her hands up to mine, which were on her cheeks, brushing her tears away, and she held them there. We just kissed for what felt like an eternity. It was enough to restart my heart and remind me why I'm doing this. That was when I pulled back and whispered, "come with me. There's something I want to show you." And she whispered, "Okay."