Epilogue: One Rose for Another

– DATA ARCHIVE –

(The most recent entry of President Coriolanus Snow)

It is most unfortunate. The rebels now have successfully infested the very heart of District 2.

A regrettable loss. But a necessary one.

All in all I believe this was a victory for us. When I first heard that the rebel forces had split into two factions I feared we would have to fight a war on two fronts. However, this problem seems to have worked itself out all on its own. Especially now that the two leaders of these rebel factions are strung up high for all of Panem to see.

Yes, Coin and Paylor fought admirably, but now their time has come to an end. This begs the question. Who will the rebel traitors follow now? Katniss Everdeen? I must say her performance was impressive. But the girl can barely keep herself alive, let alone an entire rebellion.

Not that the girl doesn't have her uses. If it were not for her, then Coin would never have met such a tragic fate. And although it did not happen as intended, it happened nonetheless.

I know most of us were hoping that Miss Everdeen would kill Alma herself. However, what she did proved just as useful. In fact I'd say she gave us the next best thing. She obliterated Coin's hope.

I do believe thanks are in order. If Katniss had not abandoned 13 in its hour of need, then I can't imagine Coin would have led that suicidal attack on the Capitol. And then we would not have been able to capture and kill her ourselves.

I should send Miss Everdeen a gift. Something to show my appreciation. Some roses perhaps.

After all it's wonderful to see someone who shares my enthusiasm for dead rebels. If you can even call these animals rebels. I've seen wild dogs show more restraint than some of these 'oh so noble' Districts.

Here they are fighting to end the games. Fighting to protect the children. And how do they do it? By murdering more children. Dropping bombs over them. Breaking into their homes and slaughtering them in their beds like they did with my poor Rosie. My only granddaughter.

That was my darkest day.

I wanted so much for them to pay for what they'd done. My hatred nearly blinded me. Thankfully my dear friend Aurelius helped open my eyes. If it had not been for him I would have killed Miss Everdeen along with her entire squad the day they were captured. For that I am most fortunate. Besides Aurelius was right in the end. A hijacked mockingjay is of much more use than a dead one.

At first our precious little mockingjay resisted her treatment. She fought and she screamed, and then she screamed some more. However, it wasn't long before we found her some proper motivation. I suppose we can thank the late Commander Coin for that. Sending Primrose Everdeen right to us the way she did.

Of course we had to rescue the poor girl first. Rescue her from those secret bombs that we were not supposed to know about. Not that the information was difficult to come by. Some prisoners are just easier to crack than others. Particularly the two known as Boggs and Hawthorne.

At the time I thought I had the perfect solution. Killing the sister of the mockingjay seemed almost like poetic justice in way. Especially after the murder of my only granddaughter. But I was a fool to want her dead. Aurelius helped me see that.

It seems the good doctor has a curious obsession with tracker jacker venom. In fact he once told me that it was the solution for all of the world's problems.

A bit unorthodox I will admit. But Aurelius has not failed me yet. And after his last experiment I'm beginning to understand his fascination.

When he first proposed keeping Primrose Everdeen alive I thought him mad. Muttering incessantly to himself over and over. "She's the answer… She's the key."

But he was right. She is the key. The key to everything I had lost.

All it took was a simple memory replacement. A way to wipe the slate clean and bring my granddaughter back to me.

The mockingjay will not be pleased. This will undoubtedly shatter her world. But by the time she finds out it will be too late.

There is no more Primrose Everdeen.

Only Rosamund Snow.

END OF BOOK FOUR

End notes:

I have finally finished the Inferno Series in its entirety. I now ask you to tell me what you think, so please show your support by leaving a review.

My goal was always to find a way to continue SC's original trilogy. To bring the story back to life and keep it alive and burning. However, from the very beginning I intended to leave Inferno open-ended so all the other fans could have their own interpretation. I want to leave readers with unlimited possibilities and an ending fit for each person's imagination. I want to thank you all for sticking around until the end, but now I leave it up to all of you to continue the adventure for yourselves.

M. Cooper Jinks