The 34th Hunger Games

Victory Tour

 One Day Before

Mark sat in bed, dirty, cold, ragged, having worn the same clothes since the day he got back. After about an hour of sitting, he decided it was time he went to Emma's families house, to talk to them, to anyone. The walk there was short. She was the mayor of twelve's daughter. Their house was nearby to victor's village. Their discussion was short, and finally he left the house, dejected by the grieving that surrounded him wherever he went. There was no one else in Victor's Village, since most of the victors from twelve were dead, and the only one left was his and Emma's old mentor, but she was working out the Victory Tour details with their guide Lister. Mark went back to his house, and sat back down in bed. After a couple of minutes, he went to his closet and pulled out the bag he had hidden in his clothes after the Capitol grabbed him from the arena. He rummaged through it and pulled out Lily's bag. He rummaged through that too, and pulled out the only thing he had not yet looked at. Lily's letter to him.

It read...

To Mark, his family, my family, and anyone else it may concern
I got this idea from Ellie, and her note, that you will find wrapped in the fabric underneath this.

I can't bear to say goodbye to you in person Mark, and I need to say goodbye to my family, so I'm writing my final words, or at least close, down.

I can't bear to see anyone else die. Not Mark, not the tributes I will be forced to mentor, not the kids they would end up killing, and definitely not my family. My family, for those who don't know, consist of me, my nearly crippled mother, two young brothers, and toddler sister. My dad died in a harvesting accident when I was ten. If at all possible, protect them. I love them more than anyone else. I worked in the orchards, and it wasn't that bad. Mom, make sure to have Patrick, Ezekiel, and Liberty work there too. They'll like it. Back to why I'm doing this. In the last week, it was a week right because it feels like a year, I have watched people stabbed, blown up, hung, and impaled over and over again. All of my friends have either been blown to bits or died while falling off of the cliff. I can't bear to see Mark's face in the sky, or hear his cannon go off. I can't bear to fly away to the capitol to be worshipped while their bodies are being shipped to the districts in wooden boxes. If this ever makes it into the hands of the tributes families, here is a little something for the ones I cared about, or even admired. I'll start small.

I looked up to Eaden. We spoke rarely, and the only times I saw her in the arena was at the bloodbath, her death, and in the sky. She ended up killing Ellie, and I think Gabe too, but I still feel bad for her. She is the fiercest competitor in this game, and is so young too, I mean, compared to Devan and them. I'm sorry she died such a pointless death, hanging there, limp.

Before I met Mark, I had a crush on Gabe. He was strong, brave, and smart. He also cared about me. He spared Sam for me, and I am very thankful for that.

Now for my teammates.

I never knew Mary very well. She kind of scared me actually, but I cared about her. She risked her life to save Liam, and I like her for that. She even jumped on him to try to save Liam, and ended up both dying. That is really honorable. She deserved an honorable death.

I have always admired Liam. He is my age, yet so much braver. He has always been kind to me, and the rest of the team. He definitely knew how to fight, and I owe him my life. He sacrificed his life for us, as I plan to do for his brother. I thank his family for raising a boy who could probably be training as a Peacekeeper, but instead sacrificed his life for me, a girl from eleven. He didn't deserve to die.

I really liked Sam. He was the gentle giant of the team, the one who kept our morale up. If I respected any of my team, trusted them, it would be him. He listens to our problems, sympathized with our stories. I really liked him. He died trying to save Kade, who tried to kill us multiple times. He didn't want anybody to die in these games, and did all he could to save everybody. He shouldn't of died, not for trying to save another's life.

Ellie. I love her. She was my best friend in here. She is the best friend someone could have in a place like the arena, or anywhere for that matter. Like Sam, she sacrificed her life trying to save an opponent's life. She is both brave and smart. I couldn't survive this long without her, and am so glad she chose to team up with us, and me. I have been told I am difficult to live with. Too emotional, too talkative, to caring. Elhas dealt with all of that, and more. When she died, I died inside. If she hadn't died in my arms, I might have dealt with the pain of her death, but I couldn't, not after seeing her lifted into the sky in the Capitol's cold, dark claws. All in all, I made it this far because of her. It ends now, also because of her, but also for the good of my family. She didn't deserve to die, not that way, not any way actually. Goodbye Ellie. See you soon.

Finally, I want to say goodbye to Mark. Man, you definitely deserve to win the games. You never killed anyone, and are going to be the youngest ever to win. Tell my family goodbye. Rebel, don't give the Capitol what they want! Never! But, you know, also stay safe. Don't take any risks that would make what I'm about to do pointless. I care about you, and am doing this for you. Be safe. Don't Die. Say goodbye to the ones I love. Including you.

I need to go. Goodbye. I love you all, and am doing this for you. All of you. For the ones I'm about to see, and their families, I'm sorry, and I can't wait to see you. See ya. :(

-Lily