— ANDY CLIFFORD —

"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Aiden looks up at me.

He lets out a piercing scream.

And I don't understand why, but I smile once again.

— GWYNETH —

I hear Aiden scream from the other side of the hallway. Cadence starts to move towards the boys' room, but I pull her back.

"No time to waste. They're depending on us."

Cadence joins me as our fingers fumble against the sockets, pressing all the buttons imaginable.

And finally, they find their target.

The life support machines turn back on, and thus follows a long pause of silence. Before the machines start beeping all over again, and the heart monitors turn green.

I sigh in relief. We weren't too late. They're alive right now, and that's all that matters.

For a moment, I don't remember that I killed some of the people right here with my own knives - and that they're all laying here. I don't care if they forgive me or not.

I quickly turn my attention back to the tributes.

Charlotte's eyes flutter open, and my face is damp with tears.

"I.. I'm sorry," I croak.

Charlotte looks around the room in confusion.

"W..where am I?? WHERE IS NATHAN?"

"Shhhh, Charlotte, everything will be explained to you later. But all I want you to know is sorry. I'm so so sorry."

— ZOEY —

Everyone is ushered into three different hovercrafts, while the six of us board our hoverhouse. Yes, I came up with that name.

All of the tributes are alive now. Some of them confidently walk in, others need assistance. I watch proudly as they all board the hovercrafts.

This time, only the six of us are travelling in the hoverhouse. It seems scary to have the stylists with us when we came, yet not when we're leaving. But Natalia, Ophelia, Sophie, Emma, and Marius will be accompanying the other tributes since they're more comfortable together.

A smile drafts itself onto my face. I link arms with Kunboss once again and feel that fairylike feeling cascade through my veins, and we board the hoverhouse.

— KUNBOSS —

Despite all the horrors we went through, my wish came true.

I remember the day we wished on the shooting star.

To be safe, unite, and reunite, whilst having success in Mission Thirty-Nine was my wish.

Yet that wasn't my only wish.

That night in bed, I saw another shooting star fly by. And this time, I made a selfish wish.

I wished that Zoey would know how I felt.

This wish hasn't come true, yet selfishly speaking, I'd rather this be true than my first wish.

The last of the tributes board the hovercrafts, and we take off.

The TV connects to a video call, and Natalia's face appears wide and big.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

— CADENCE —

Rylie is alive. Ariana is alive, and so are Hayli, Kacey, Andros, Tze Kiu and Ariel. And Hilary.

I have nothing to worry about anymore.

Natalia is still explaining the situation to all the revived tributes.

"...and they have rescued you all, and we really hope that you can unite and build a new life from the ashes. The Hunger Games is over, and we want everything to go back to normal," ends Natalia.

I stare at my best friends through the screen.

Everything in the Hunger Games is left behind.. Yet the things I feel for them, our pure friendship, and all the memories we shared have not been.

They seem skeptical, like they don't believe Eunice, Gwyneth, and the other victors.

I add, "We should learn to trust each other no matter the circumstances. That was to survive on our own, but now we have to survive together."

Their eyes flew in my direction, and I wave playfully at my friends gawping at me. Then I give a firm nod, and watch as one by one, the suspicion in my friends' eyes transform into relief and acceptance.

— GWYNETH —

Mission Thirty-Nine has been accomplished.

The six of us talk and chat with the revived tributes via personal meetings using our Macs, and soon the four-hour long trip ends.

The hovercrafts touch down in the middle of the woods, and all forty-something of us make our way back to the Adelaide Woods.

A crowd is gathered there, and breaks into commotion as soon as we arrive.

"..The New Regime is gone, but will not be forgotten. In order to unite and leave all our grudges behind, we must learn from our mistakes," says Cadence.

"We were overwhelmed with guilt. We had no choice, yet felt like all of us deserved to survive. All six of us are genuinely sorry for how we treated you in the arenas. But all of this is over now," adds Kunboss.

"You are here, and we are here too. Let's build a new, better life from the ashes of the place the Adelaide Woods was under the rule of the New Regime," I intone, and see Charlotte and Laine in the crowd.

They nod at me with sheer pure emotions in their eyes.

I'm forgiven.

Once our speech ends, some of the revived rush onto stage.

Charlotte. Laine. Nathan. Fung Fung.

Cadence's friends.

Andy. Tristan.

Everything left behind. Everyone forgiven.