Epilogue

Maximotus' mother was enraged when her son had died. He promised he wouldn't volunteer, so why was he reaped? Did he purposely take in as many tesserae as possible? She sobbed during his funeral, and the days that followed. Though his younger brothers were upset, they didn't feel repressed and scared anymore. A darkness that had loomed in the house had finally been vanquished.

Liane's father and mother both took her death as one big shock. They thought the odds were in her favour. She was skilled, beautiful- perfect. Liane's mother had been baking a cake for her returning party, and when she discovered her daughter was dead she never recovered from the shock. Her father carried on as normal. The show must go on - and he still won the annual election. Deep inside, he knew he'd rather his daughter back instead of his position.

Tristan's many ex-girlfriends felt karma had gotten to the boy who had played them after his death, though they were almost sure they had seen the boy they fell for actually falling for somebody. His family were upset, of course, and often visited Tristan's and Katie's grave - because Tristan would've wanted them to say goodbye to both of the District Two tributes who fell for each other.

Katie's sister, Sally, had never felt more alone. She had lost both her parents and her sister. She tried to carry on and pre-occupy herself with a job as an assistant for a successful businessman. Since her sister had gone she had to be more independent; she even did a cooking course so that she could do what Katie had done for many years. Sometimes she cooked two servings, though deep inside she knew one would be left to go cold and stale.

Sarah-Elizabeth's grandmother felt like she had nobody to turn to after his death. Terrified of living alone, she stayed with her son and only remaining relatives. After six months she died peacefully in her sleep, joining her family in a blissful slumber. Frida attended both Sarah-Elizabeth's and his grandmothers funeral. She knew visiting the former's was wrong; he shouldn't had died so young, but who was she to question it?

Bethuny's parents had lost the light in their life. There were no colourful clothes or bright smiles that illuminated their household. Everything seemed dark. Their house was bombarded with flowers and ribbons. Bethuny, the girl who was unpopular in school, was suddenly a local hero because of her generosity and her bravery. She didn't have to win to be seen as the victor.

Kyliena never managed to move on from Krindle. She felt the love of her life was gone forever- and that was the case. After considering suicide many times, she discovered a new reason to live when she found she was pregnant with his child. She'd never let her baby forget its father. Jang constantly felt guilty. It should have been him dying - not Krindle. He continued trying to live life to the full, so Krindle's sacrifice was not in vain.

Selena's family tried ploughing on as usual. Her parents never acted the same again - it was almost as if their hearts had stopped beating. Two gone from their large family because of the Games. Both Selena's aunt and her mother sobbed for days. Selena's parents, after much consideration, visited Krindle's - they wanted to thank the parents who raised the son that comforted their daughter as she died, and, as a gift, gave them as many free fish soups as they wanted

Brydyn may have been the quiet one in his family, but when he died the household he had lived in seemed to go even quieter. His Uncle and Aunt often visited his grave to lay flowers, and the same question haunted their mind every day: Why did such an innocent, sweet boy deserve to die like that?

Rayann's mother was so proud. The daughter she had found a disgrace had finally proven herself by becoming the winner of the Hunger Games. But then something else shocked her to the core completely- Even Victors weren't safe. Rayann's siblings wept as they anticipated her return home, but then the newsflash that she had overdosed on pills shattered their dreams completely. It seemed nobody lived to tell the tale of the 202nd Hunger Games.

Nobody wept for Ellis. He was an orphan child, no family and very few people who cried for him when he died. He was laid to rest in a lonely grave, and the books he had read in the orphanage were left to collect the spider webs.

Lyla's father, Troy, felt so isolated when his daughter had died. How had he managed to convince himself his daughter had a chance when there were psychotic Careers in the arena? He turned into a workaholic. He needed to escape his depressed thoughts and channel them into something more beneficial for his community. Naturally, this took a big blow to his marriage.

When Falrey died a lot of people were shocked and upset. With his confident smile and witty approaches he wasn't somebody you'd expect to be a bloodbath tribute. His brother, Jang, needed somebody to look up to. He had lost the brother who he had admired for so many years, and he felt like he had lost something truly irreplaceable.

When Vivienna died not many people were shocked. She was the nasty girl who stormed around the place with an attitude problem, after all. Her Aunt and best friend, Marcella, knew Vivienna had a softer side. Her mother never visited Vivienna's grave, scared that she'd regret choosing her work over her daughter.

Soonta's parents missed their son so much. They knew they had a pretentious, nasty child but he was still theirs. They still missed and needed him. They vented their anger out on the many workers who worked for them, often making them work many hours and making many people in need of money unemployed. Though not many people mourned him, Soonta's death affected so many innocents.

Layana's mother had reached the end of her tether once she had seen the blood spray from her daughters head on live television - if she had the ability to see she'd have possibly survived. With her views changed completely Layana chucked her husband out of the house. The horrible drunk had destroyed her daughter's life, and he wasn't going to spit on the pieces.

Though Kieran always felt like he received the least attention and love in his family, his mind would have changed if he saw his whole family reacting to his death. His family even wished that another sibling would have been sent in - Kieran's brother Caspian had a much better chance at winning. From then on Kieran's parents let their children know how much they meant to them, just in case they were also taken away.

Felicia's father sat there stunned as he watched the spear go through his daughter's chest in the Bloodbath, and the girl he raised for fifteen years was gone in the blink of an eye. It seemed like such a waste that a bright, loveable young girl would just die like that just for entertainment, but so was the Games. Nothing would ever be the same.

Blaise's grandparents lived on through Blaise's death. They knew everything happened for a reason - they pitied the girl that killed him instead of hating her. They felt trapped, having lost their child and their grandchild, so as a cure they resorted to adopting. Three orphaned children became theirs, and for once Blaise's grandparents saw a glimmer of hope through death.

Monk's death seemed almost inevitable from the moment she was called out at the Reapings, but her family still carried some kind of hope... That hope was shattered. Monk was always the lazy child. The one that blended into the mundane background of the house and complained, but since she left everyone could unanimously agree that the place that Monk once called home was quiet the moment her cannon had fired.

The moment Spyglys' cannon fired his father was full of regrets. The regret of not giving his son the care he needed. The regret of giving Spyglys the illusion that he did not want him. The regret of leaving Spyglys full of angst from the day he was born until the day he died. Though the first few months were silent, Spyglys' passing drove his parents together - their marriage was stronger, and Gashe Dorn swore to himself that if they had another child, he wouldn't give himself those regrets again.

Metsey's family had lost two children to the Games now. For the millionth time they felt that luck was against them - what if another child got Reaped? Despite living with that lingering fear their family were safe, for another year at least. They could only hope and pray that a third Jazgo child wasn't flung into the Games.

Alec's family had so many repressed emotions trapped inside them, mainly anger and self doubt. What did Alec do to deserve dying? Out of all twenty four tributes, they felt Alec deserved to walk out the most, he never had a bad bone in his body. Even the most innocent people can fall victim to the Games.

Kathleen's dad was arrested soon after her death, after monitoring the conversations Kathleen had before the Games the President suspected that there was something fishy going on in that family. Despite feeling broken the family lived on - all of the them found jobs, and made money. All they knew was that once they had raised enough for themselves, they were going to run away forever.

The President was pleased. Another Games passed, another twenty three (or four) families shattered, no rebellion whatsoever. His daughter, Natalya, thought otherwise. She knew she was paranoid but she knew something was happening behind her aristocratic family's back, and she planned to stop it.

Jynx hated District Two. The people there were so skinny and miserable. Her house in the Victors Village had no grand view of the skyline and she had to search the market everywhere for purple hair dye. Luckily she'd be back in the Capitol next year for the Games - she'd get to be a mentor and interviewer, and Jynx was going to do that with style.

Tobias tried to like his life. His family were happy and safe for another year, he was paid a lovely amount for his unique arena and the Games had been legendary. Though there was always this guilt hanging over his dead, a guilt he couldn't understand... Maybe his new arena wasn't good enough or something.

Ruth continued to live on in her grand apartment. Though she had no-one to share it with, just two cats and a really old gerbil. She was growing tired of the Capitol. Little did she know that the daughter she longed for was in the apartment next to her, longing for her mother to look into her eyes and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

Charity was lucky that her mother hadn't been caught. The whispers of rebellion were soon getting louder, and her mother had over one hundred supporters that were going to take down the Capitol. Shanae kept her mouth shut, for Aurora's sake, but now she had the biggest piece of blackmail material ever, and her nasty mind intended to use it.

Portia and Lillian both began doubting their jobs. Portia learnt that even powerful Career Districts could lose a child, and Lillian knew that the children that she'd reap next year were destined to die. A rebellion was never going to happen, they surmised that from hearing people like Leena Prinz or Fi-Fi Pendanski being more concerned over what dress they wore or whether or not they were gaining weight.

Aurora's parents were shocked. Their daughter was gone - dead, and they knew that her death was suspicious. They were one of the Capitol citizens who listened to River Virtage's rebellious words and joined her group. Leein Malpin knew what happened - he had snook into the President's private office and retrieved tapes which were solid evidence that Aurora's death was no accident. He was torn between his love for Ruth and the love he held for his country.

The Districts stayed silent, never planning to rebel again - it had been tried many times before, and it was going to fail many times after. Though one girl from District Four had other plans. The Capitol was tranquil, though there was a rebellion gaining momentum the President made it difficult for a flame to start.

There wasn't going to be any drama-

Not until the Games began again.

Didn't take you all long :) Here is the epilogue! Enjoy! And the hurt or be hurt intro will be posted tomorrow, excited? I am. Please review chapter 54... And this one, for me?

Going to put the complete sign next to this... Weird.

~Toxic

Question: Favourite part of the story?