To Save a Victor

Chapter 1

I opened my eyes to the harsh light of morning streaming through my bedroom window. Forcing myself out of the cocoon of blankets, I padded downstairs to wake Ceder. My crutches had been replaced with a brace last week, enabling me to move quickly and quietly around our house. Now I when I came screaming out of nightmares I could leave the house without waking anyone. It made them worse when Ceder had decided to attend the Career Academy. I had returned from the games about five months ago to the news that my litter sister was training to kill people. I had fought it tooth and nail before I gave in and agreed to pay her tuition. It made her happy I guess but I hated seeing her go every day to train for the Games. The Hunger Games, she was dedicating her life to them. The one thing that I hated most in this world, but I didn't tell her that though. I listened when she came home excited about a new technique that she learned, I brushed my mother off when she said that I should show her some of the things I knew. I pretended like she didn't show up in the visions that plagued my sleep. I kept my head down and my mouth shut to make them happy, so really nothing had changed.

I opened her door and turned the light on, "Wake up Miss Career! Let's go!"

She groaned and rolled over, "Why?"

I chuckled, "You have to go to school,"

She sat up. "Isn't today your birthday?"

I hadn't thought about that, but now that I did the dates seemed to line up. Since I had returned from the Capitol all of my memories hadn't returned, most of them being of my life before the games. Apparently my birthday was one that was still missing

"I think so, but you still have to go."

She swung out of bed and I went downstairs to make coffee.

Life in Victor's village wasn't bad, in the time I had been here I had repainted the blank white walls of my house with my badly done murals. Percy and I were still not speaking, but our mothers either hadn't sensed the tension between us or chose to ignore it. Probably the latter.

We were supposed to go over for dinner this evening and I was trying not to dread it. I scribbled a reminder down on a sticky note and stuck it on the fridge. The coffee maker screeched and my mind went blank.

Rock's head hit the ground. I heard a scream and Electra's headless corpse was coming at me, grabbing for me. It screamed about injustice, how I should have died. Some days I wish I had died. I sunk to the ground and held my head in my hands ripping at my hair hoping the pain would bring me out of this horrible nightmare. My breathing began to quicken, and questions filled my head.

"Where am I? Who am I? Why didn't I die? Why can't I die!?" I screamed as Electra's corpse was replaced by Dakota, his once golden hair matted with blood and dirt.

Three holes in his stomach dripped gore as he approached me, blade raised. Suddenly he was shaking me.

"Sage! Sage! Snap out of it!"

I shook my head and rocked back and forth.

"Dakota, No! I'm sorry! No!" I howled

"Sage, it's Hank. Dakota is gone. It's okay."

His voice was gentle, and my chin was being tilted up to look into clear blue eyes.

Suddenly the visions were gone, it was Hank Bodie. Ash's son. He must have come to pick up Ceder for school early.  He smiled and I felt my face heat up.

"There she is. Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yep, I'm totally fine!"

I tried to stand up but the buckle of my brace had come undone and I would have fallen again if it weren't for Hank catching me. I didn't think my face could get any redder but it did,

"I'm so sorry!"

I yelped as he picked me up like a rag doll and set me on the counter.

"No problem, you get that fixed." He gestured to the brace, "Is Ceder's lunch in the fridge like it always is?" He asked and it snapped me back to reality,

"Yep, it's on the left." I buckled the brace around my leg and tightened the straps down.

He pulled out a brown paper bag. "This?"

I nodded and went to jump down from the counter, but before I could Hank stopped me.

"Whoa, don't hurt yourself even more. I put you there, I'll get you down."

He picked me up from the counter and spun me around before setting me down.

"Thank you, Hank."

"No problem Sage"

We stood there in awkward silence for a while before Ceder came bounding down the stairs,

"Hank is here early," I stated and Ceder looked between the two of us,

"Is he? I'll wait outside." She hugged me and skipped out the door.

"That's quite the kid," Hank said and I laughed,

"She is."

"I should probably go, our drill instructor gets ticked if anyone is late so."

he turned to leave and I grabbed his arm. "Hey, can you not tell Ceder about... you know."

He nodded.

"I wasn't going to. See you later Sage."

"Bye," I said quietly.

He opened the door and gave me a big smile,

"Happy Birthday by the way!"

Then he was gone and I was left alone with the ghosts again.

Hey, y'all so this is the first chapter of the new book! I hope you like it! Let me know what you think and if you haven't read the first book of this series it's called To Save a Girl. I would go read that before you read this. I do not own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does!

All the Love ❤

Buckaroobelle