Haze
The 100th Hunger Games SYOT
All spots are filled up and the story has officially begun! Enjoy.
Prologue
Dean Halloway, Dictrict 7- Victor of the 94th Hunger Games
Six years. Has it really been so long? I still remember everything so vividly, as if the events had been etched permanently into my memories. That District 2 boy running at me with a knife through the grasslands of our arena, the District 6 girl being torn apart by those lion mutts, and then there's the worst of them all. Watching my own hands swing an axe into the head of that Dictrict 4 boy. The time that has passed since then seems so surreal, almost as if I have just been dreaming this whole time. Or maybe it wasn't dreaming. Dreams are good, these were more of nightmares.
When they called my home in the Victor Village of District 7, I was told that I had been chosen as a mentor for this year's games. It wasn't until I arrived at the Capitol that I realized this year was a Quarter Quell. The revelation had left me with both a sense of dread and curiosity.
Now, alone in the small but luxurious room that I had been given overlooking the Capitol's City Circle, I rise to my feet and smooth out the tan slacks that I'm wearing. President Leer will be annoucing the Quarter Quell in just a few moments. It is playing on the large TV in the center of my room, but I can see the whole thing first hand from my window.
Crossing the room, I can hear our country's anthem playing from the TV. I try to tune it out as I place my hands on the enormous glass windows that make up an entire wall of the room. It is almost frightening to stand so close to the edge, but my mind quickly shuts out the fear as it always has.
Scanning the over-crowded City Circle, I am easily able to spot where the President is moving across the stage toward a podium. He is a thin, gangly man with a shiny, bald head and sharp grey eyes. Even from here, several stories in the sky, his head seems to reflect the sunlight.
The Capitol citizens are estatic; cheering and squeezing together in front of the stage until the whole City Circle just looks like a blob of moving colors. I blink and focus on the President as he clears his throat and taps the microphone to get everyone's attention.
"Welcome to the announcement of the fourth Quarter Quell," he begins once the Capitol people have quieted down. His calm and controlled voice floods from the TV behind me, but I'm still staring out the window. My eyes linger on the small wooden box that is positioned on the podium in front of him. It is only a speck from where I'm standing, but I know that it holds all of the Quarter Quell twists within in.
"On the 25th aniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every District was made to hold and election and vote on the tributes who would represent it. On the 50th aniversary..." President Leer continues his speech, but my mind seems to automatically tune him out as he reminds us of the 50th and 75th games and the rebellion that came with it. He regards the rebellion as 'small', nothing but a riot that was quickly put to rest. I hadn't even been born at the time and no one ever seemed to talk about it these days, so I could only believe what he said.
My attention snaps back into focus when President Leer reaches for the small box on the podium and opens it carefully. His fingers sift through the yellow cards within it before swiftly plucking the correct one and holding it tenderly in his finger tips. The air is tense and everyone is silent. I can even hear the card being opened from the TV's speakers.
"And now, on the 100th aniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that fighting amongst eachother can only lead to demise, the tributes for this year's games will be put into groups of three so that they must learn to work together to survive," the President announces clearly.
The silence only lasts a moment longer before the Capitol people erupt in cheers of excitement.
"Groups," I mumur thoughtfully, my breath causing a spot on the window to fog up. I stare intently at the spot, idly noting how similar it is to my thoughts. Both the window and my mind are lost in a haze; waiting for some kind of miracle to clear it away.
Quarter Quell Details-
The tributes will be placed randomly into groups of three the day before training begins, so they will have time to meet eachother/strategize/etc. Before the games, they will be injected with a substance that 'ties' them to their groups.
Effects- If the partners start to stray away from eachother, they will feel a sharp pain in their heads. The further they are from eachother, the more they hurt until their body shuts down for good. If one partner dies, but two remain, they are safe. However, if only two remain and one dies, the remaining partner's body begins to shut down. The partners will also feel hints of eachothers' pain. For example, if one partner gets stabbed in the shoulder, the other two will feel pain in the same spot, but not as severe.