Alright, this is the last chapter of A Very Hungry Games! I hope you like it! Thank you to every single person who has followed, favorited, reviewed, or read my story- it means a lot.

Disclaimer: I don't own StarKid or the Hunger Games. But I do own Teana!

PART 4: THE VICTOR

LAUREN LOPEZ, D5, 15
The whole world has suddenly become white. So ghostly, blindingly white. It radiates off of my skin as I walk, aimlessly, with no sense of direction or time. I can see the silhouettes of people I know in the distance... or maybe I don't know them... but whomever they are, they're getting farther away. And then, I realize that they're all the other tributes.

"Nick! Joe! Meredith!" I shout, but my voice is muffled... They don't seem to hear me.

"Jaime! Brian! Megan! Any of you! Can't you hear me?"

I walk closer, but they don't move. Still unmoving, however, they seem to move farther away. I'm running now, shouting, "Come back! Come back to me!"

I wake in a hospital room. A very white hospital room. My left hand and lower arm are in a cast, but the rest of me is spotless. My shoulder wound and all my other cuts and bruises are completely gone.

How? HOW?!

It's so disgustingly white and clean and... I don't know, CAPITOL in here. I've won, now can't I just get out of this horrid place and back to District 5?

After a little while, a nurse, also dressed in white, enters the room and sees me. She smiles kindly.

"Ahh, Lauren, you're awake! Congratulations, victor!"

She seems nice enough, so I give a weak grin. "How long was I asleep?"

"About a day. We were nearly afraid you would miss your interview... It's tonight, so we'll get you to your stylist as soon as you're finished here!"

After a few last minute checks, she frees me and a Peacekeeper escorts me back to the training building. I'm let go at the elevator and I step inside, pressing the number 5. Finally, there's a "ding" and the door opens.

I'm practically ambushed by my escort, mentor, stylist, and prep team.

"Lauren! Congratulations!" Kyra squeals.

"I knew you could do it, kiddo. I have a mentoring buddy now!" says Teana, my mentor and until now, District 5's only victor. She gives me a hug.

"Thanks, Tee," I say, using the nickname she previously insisted we call her.

With greetings from my stylist, Markus, and my prep team, they prepare me for my interview tonight. I'll be interviewed by Caesar Flickerman, then we'll watch the recap of the Games, then I'll be crowned victor and sent home tomorrow. Honestly, I want it over so I won't have to think about the whole ordeal anymore.

My prep team curls my short brown hair, paints my nails a pale green and applies minimal makeup to my face. Markus finally shows me my outfit... a lavender, one-strap, knee-length dress of soft, flowy material. It swishes around my legs as I pull it on.

I slide into simple, sparkly flats and am carted away for my interview. Before I know it, Caesar is shouting, "Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome our newest victor, from District 5, Miss Lauren Lopez!"

I step out onto the stage, smiling, and give a little wave. Teana instructed me to act like I'm happy about it all... This way, the Capitol won't have anything to use against me in the future.

After the applause has died down a bit, Caesar and I sit.

"Well, firstly, Lauren, congratulations!" Caesar smiles warmly (and I mean VERY warmly... his hair and eyebrows are still fiery orange) and I receive even more applause.

"Thank you, Caesar," I say, twirling one of my brunette ringlets.

"Now, Lauren," he continues. "How does it feel to be a victor from a lower class district, winning the Games at only 15 years old?"

"Oh, Caesar, it feels amazing. I wasn't so sure of myself at first, but as the Games progressed, I gained confidence, and well... here I am!" I chirp.

"And what were you thinking within those last minutes of the Games, when Meredith had been killed, and it was just you and Dylan facing off?"

"Well..." I begin, really thinking. "I knew that within the hour, I would either be a victor, or I would be dead. If I won, I would do my District proud. If I died, I would be dying for my country. So, either way, I would have been winning!" I'm way too enthusiastic now. I was mostly lying in what I've just said, but bits of it were true, and I didn't want to mention Meredith.

"And before that, when Nicholas Lang told you to run and save yourself, you hesitated. How did you feel, leaving him behind?"

"Oh, Caesar," I say, my eyes tearing up with real tears. "I-I didn't want to leave him. We were allies, and he was so small, but so brave— I only left because it was what he truly wanted, and I knew from then on that I had to win. For Nick and for my district."

Caesar asks more and more questions, and finally, when I'm nearly out of fake-happy-energy, we begin watching the Games recap.

It starts by showing my original interview. I internally grin as I see myself in those ungodly heels.

No one else's interviews are shown, and I suppose this is because I'm the victor. Next, the video cuts to us all standing on the pedestals, ready to run. I watch myself glancing around the Cornucopia, trying to find Nick and Joe.

Then, the cannon fires and the bloodbath begins. Every single death is shown practically in slow motion, individually. First, Megan from 7 gets Britney's knife in her back. She's the first to die. Meredith shoves her spear through the girl from 10's heart in self defense, the girl from 4 catches both from 6 with her knives, Joe and Lily from 10 and 11 are killed by the boy from 1 and his sword, the boy from 3 gets a spear through the stomach, and little Joe from 12 gets a knife in the back. Arielle from 12 rushes to him, but the boy from 1 kills her not long after. Finally, Tyler from 8 is hit with the boy from 2's arrow and the bloodbath is over.

For the next few days, no one dies. The video shows us all hunting for food and trekking through the pine forest, until Darren from 9 and Denise from 1 are killed by the Careers.

Next is the part I can't bear to watch— the avalanche. I hear a cannon as Jeff from 7 is crushed, and I hear my heartwrenching conversation with Nick. I close my eyes and try to tune it out.

Of course, with my awful perfect timing, I open my eyes just in time to see Jaime from 8 get her throat pierced through by an owl muttation.

About a day passes, and I watch the softie from 11 and the girl from 3 get killed by the girl from 4. At this point, I just bury my head in my hands until I hear them announce my victory. The crowd applauds, and I stand up as I was instructed beforehand, forcing a bright smile. President Bow places the victor's crown on my head and shakes my hand, and I thank him.

Finally, at long last, the horrors of the Games are OVER.

The next day, I get on the train and sit on my bed, for most of the train ride, thinking. How the hell did I survive this? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did, but... I didn't have a lot of faith in myself. And so many others could have won- that animal from 1, Meredith from 9, the boy from 2, Jaime from 8, even Nick... It's amazing to me that I made it through.

"Hey, Lauren? Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Teana comes in and sits down next to me. "Are you okay?"

"No." I shake my head.

"What's wrong?"

I give her a look. "I just survived the HUNGER GAMES. Everything's wrong!"

"Oh, trust me, I know how you feel. But look at it this way- you're still alive. You get to go home and see your family again, and you guys get to live in Victor's Village! If anything, this made your life better. You'll always have enough food, and the Capitol can hardly touch you."

"I don't want to live in Victor's Village," I answer. "I want everything to be how it was before the Games. I wanna forget about this whole ordeal."

"Sorry, Lopez. The Capitol won't let you forget it."

I nod. "Yeah, I know."

"But you can come visit me anytime, you know that. We'll probably be neighbors."

"I know."

"Oooh, I think we're here!" she exclaims.

It's true- the train is slowing down, and I perk up a bit at this.

When we finally stop, I glance out the window and sigh- the sight of the power plant makes me happy. I'm really home.

As I step off the train with Teana, it seems as though my entire district has gathered to welcome me back. There are cheers and shouts and tears, and I run straight into the open arms of my brother.

"I knew you could do it, Lauren."

My mom and my dad are both on the verge of tears, and I hug them, too. Later that day we move our things into our new home in Victor's Village.

I'm carrying a box from our old cottage to our new house when a small boy of about ten stops me.

"Lauren?" he says.

"Yes?" I reply.

"Um... congratulations," he says quietly.

"Aw, thank you. What's your name?" I ask him.

"Matt," he says, looking down.

"Well, nice to meet you, Matt," I say, trying to cheer him up. He looks so incredibly sad that it makes me wonder if... maybe... that face... Matt... oh my god.

"Lauren?" he asks again.

"Yes?"

"Did Nick die quickly? Or was he in pain?"

"Don't worry. He didn't feel a thing," I say.

"Okay."

My little run-in with Matt Lang really humbled me. I hated those Games so much, but I can only imagine how he and his family must be feeling.

And now, all I have left is the victory tour...

Oh my god, I think I may have lost it while I was proofreading this. Matt Lang... just... asdfghjkl okay sorry please review and thank you for reading!

Lurve, Livvy

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