Return of the Mockingjay

Chapter 63

It's been 3 months since the war finally ended at the Mutt farm in District 1. To begin with Peeta and I were still busy trying to repair the mental damage to the country. Poverty and starvation were rife throughout with many having lost their homes in the fighting. To be honest there wasn't much we could do but just for the people to see us touring the districts seemed to give people heart, that they hadn't been forgotten and that we were still there for them. Ellie has finally taken control of the country with help and guidance from Plutarch, Peeta and her advisors.

There was some opposition from the hardline rebels who were unhappy at the thought of another Snow taking the presidency but when they got to see her humility and efforts in trying to put the country back together those soon receded and she's turned out to be extremely popular. possibly even more so than Peeta was during his spell as leader. The remaining four Rapiers act as her security team and both Peeta and I attended Lyndon's burial deep in the forest in District 13. The Rapiers have no family and so he was laid to rest alongside Sulla who was killed in a Dropship crash some months ago. I get the impression that when the time comes all six of them will be buried in the same small clearing deep in the forest.

Scar completely destroyed the Mutt farm. His Mutt army wrecked everything, from the tubes themselves to the buildings which they literally pulled to pieces. The only thing that survived was the underground Central Park arena. I'm told that half of it was burned to the ground in the fires that I set but that the southern half survived the inferno. Ellie has a plan to make it into a garden of some sort to honour the hundreds of tributes who died during the days of the Hunger Games. Maybe one day I'll return to see it, when Rue is older and I can somehow explain to her this madness that the country put itself through.

Everything to do with Odin Wolfe and the war was destroyed. The drill was buried in the forest where it broke down and his imprisoned soldiers were sent to District 2 to help in the rebuilding of the town which seemed to be a good idea to me. They had followed a twisted madman in a doomed attempt to take control of Panem and in the course of this thousands had died. Some of these soldiers were at least responsible in some part and to put them to work repairing some of the damage was the least they could do.

For the last few weeks we'd travelled the country attending memorial services at many of the districts. We'd already attended a huge gathering on the training ground at District 13 to honour the dead who died in the fire bomb attack. Thousands turned out with many travelling from other districts just to 'be there'. The monument that Ellie wanted wasn't finished and so a life size wooden figure of a young boy trainee looking into the distance at the setting sun was hastily carved out to stand in its place. I have a feeling that the nameless boy statue will stay and Ellie's elaborate monument my never come to pass. Many of the mourner's who filed past seemed captivated by the lonely statue, many just looked up at the boys face, a look of determination and focus carved out in wood. That expression alone said a thousand words for many people, that Panem would never be beaten either by a dictator such as Snow or a mad man like Wolfe.

From there we travelled to the ruins of District 2. The whole town is a construction site but we just went to lay flowers by the train tracks that led into the the once military stronghold under the mountain. The decision has been made that the mountain will never be opened up. It seems fitting that the thousands who died who lay entombed under they mountain stay where they are to rest forevermore in another monument to the human cost of war. And from there we continued on to the Capitol where a huge memorial has been built in the city circle. Haymitch, Peeta and I attended along with Plutarch, Alek and Ellie and it was grand affair with the circle and surrounding streets packed with thousands of people. A huge Black stone pyramid sits in the centre of rows and rows of silver walls that make up a sort of maze around it. As you walk round the maze you can see the names of the fallen carved neatly into the stone walls. Peeta and I spent hours walking round the maze searching for the names of our friends who died during the fighting and when I found the names of each of them my heart sank slightly at the sorrow of it all. Strangely enough we found their names grouped closely together on the same section of wall. Luke Gomez, Elaine Gibbs and Lyndon Ross we found easily but it was Peeta who stumbled on a young red haired girl with a young boy who could be no older than 3 years old gazing at a name on an adjacent wall. I walked over to them to see Peeta looking over the shoulder of Annie Odair who was gazing at the name of her husband carved into the wall. Peeta took her hand and guided her fingers to the stone carving and at her touch a three dimensional holographic image of a smiling Finnick Odair appeared in front of her eyes. Her head drops as the silent tears fall and my own eyes start to well up. I turn away to wipe my eyes and once again look down at the names of my friends. I reach forward tentatively almost afraid as to what might happen if I touch their names. An image appears of a laughing Elaine Gibbs, no doubt from a happier time before the war. She's wearing a dress, something I never got to see when I called her my friend. I slowly slide my finger along to the next name and an image of Luke materialises. I can see it's from sometime ago, he looks so young and full of energy in his cadets uniform. And then my finger reaches Lyndon's name and an image appears of a young man no older than 18. He's dressed in what can only be described as a tribute training suit from the academy he attended before he was passed over for selection for the games. He looks sharp and focused which is just how I remember him. The professional army Captain who trained me to be a leader and who will forever be with me in my thoughts.