Hunger Games: All-Stars

Chapter 6

Erwin Jackson POV

I could never be sure what my children thought of the Capitol. Every time I came back it brought me nothing but painful memories. For them, it was a vacation. They were celebrities and Games mascots. People stopped to coo over them and give them candy. I was torn over whether to stand constant guard over them or to give them a break from my intense emotion. They sensed that I didn't like it here and they acted like they wanted to stay out of my way. I hoped I didn't drive them away from me and closer to the Capitolites.

We had company at the moment. Shogo was busy being interviewed and debriefed, so Kanu was wrestling with Arora while Brux and Levi rode a model train. I was thankful that I could be the vigilant one so they could enjoy childhood, but I knew it wasn't enough. I couldn't protect them from the only think I was afraid of.

At any moment I'd be called away to supervise the resurrection of the Tributes from Five. I already let them die once. One of us gets a miracle. I don't think it will be me.

Daniel Mondins POV

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Sarla. I immediately sat up to defend her, since there's no good explanation for a little girl naked in a tank.

"What did you do to her?" I yelled as I stood between her and the people milling about the room.

"Daniel?" I heard her ask behind me.

"Don't worry," I said. I snatched the gown a woman held in her outstretched arm and passed it to Sarla.

"You died," Sarla said. I remembered it.

"What's going on?" I asked. The woman passed me another gown.

"You two have both been selected to compete in the All-Stars Hunger Games," a smiling doctor chirped.

"All-Stars? You mean..." I spoke my worst nightmare. "Sarla died too?" I slumped against the tank. She was all that mattered. The only important thing was keeping her safe, and I'd failed.

Sarla Mondins POV

"It's okay, Daniel. I'm back now," I said. My big brother, the one I thought I'd never see again, was with me, and I was as overjoyed as he was devastated. I took his arm and tried to pull him up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't save you," he said. I'd never seen him cry before.

"You did save me. That's how you died," I said.

"But so did you," he said brokenly.

"You did everything you could. You couldn't have done anything more. You gave everything for me," I said. I wanted to cry too, and to shake him into realizing he was still my hero.

"What are we going to do?" he asked. When I couldn't pull him up I sat down next to him.

"I don't know, but I'm not scared. I don't have to be scared as long as I have you."

Adair Outridge POV

I looked at my chest and arms. They should have been hanging in tatters. I expected the pain to come flooding back at any second and the anticipation terrified me. I thought it wasn't my body when I saw there was no damage.

Why did they bring me back? My body was smooth and free of the shreds and rips that had hacked the life out of me, but they couldn't put me back together. Could they even tell which one killed me? I knew where I was supposed to be. At least then it didn't hurt anymore. Why would they make me do it again? Was Alex back too? Would it happen over and over, a neverending cycle of resurrections and mutilation? I was too broken to react.

I thought things would get better when my mentor entered the room, but Erwin was locked away in his cold mode. His tattoo was stark against his face, and I knew he didn't have any room for my pain.

"Welcome back," he said without looking at me.

"It hurts too much," I blurted out. I expected him to brush me off or tell me to stop whining. I was surprised I was brave enough to say it.

"Don't feel it," he said as coldly as ever. "Don't feel anything."

Daniel and Sarla overlap so much I almost gave them one POV, but this worked. I also noticed I hardly mentioned previous Victors except Peppermint, so I revisited our sole male Victor.