Just a short story I wanted to write about Mags. A good distraction from studying!

Enjoy!

I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES. ALL CREDIT GOES TO SUZANNE COLLINS. ANY CHARACTERS OR LOCATIONS OR PLOT LINES NOT FEATURED IN SUZANNE COLLINS STORY BELONG TO ME.

The 11th Hunger Games

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please help me in welcoming District 4's lovely female tribute, Mags!"

The audience exploded with enthusiasm as fifteen year old Mags walked on stage in her sparkling, turquoise dress. She walked slowly, both from nerves and the outrageous heels her stylists had put her in. Mags was a short girl for her age, but made up for it with her natural beauty. She had been late to puberty, but, unlike many others, once it did hit, the outcome was favorable. Mags had also found that her brown skin and fuzzy hair had made her 'exotic' in the eyes of the Capitol, only increasing her 'desirability' as her escort had told her.

'It'll play great with people! You'll have so much support!' the escort had announced, delighted to have her under his wing. 'Everyone knows that the odds are with beautiful tributes!'

Mags gently shook the hand of Cicero, the Capitol's most famous talk show host and yearly tribute interviewer. He was a loud, flamboyant man who Mags was finding to be more concerned with his image than the tributes. They sat down together, the audience of strange Capitolites staring at them expectantly.

"How are you feeling, Mags?" Cicero asked.

Mags blinked and gave a forced laugh. "Nervous." She muttered, keeping her eyes on Cicero. Her escort had told her to be friendly and to always keep eye contact. Mags wasn't sure she could accomplish the first, but keeping eye contact was easy enough.

Cicero laughed. "At least you're being honest, right folks?"

The audience laughed, a few of them casting stares at the previous tributes to have come out on stage. The District 1 boy blushed profusely while the pair from District 3 smiled awkwardly. Their interviews hadn't gone so well.

"I'm told honest is the best policy, Mr. Flickerman." Mags stated. It seemed like the Capitol liked her honest, so why not continue with it?

"Oh please, call me Cicero! Everyone else does, even my kids!" Cicero said, turning to the audience to laugh. They laughed with him while Cicero directed the camera somewhere else in the auditorium. It zoomed in on his children, the three of them waving happily with their crazy makeup.

"Hi Daddy!" the youngest, a boy, called down from the booth he was in. The crowd awed at the cute child, proud that they could collectively call him their own. The Flickerman family wasn't related to any of them, but the amount of time they spent with Cicero made them feel as though they were.

"Darling, aren't they?" Cicero asked Mags. "My wife's pregnant with another, we're planning on naming him Caesar!"

Mags sat in her chair, agape at what was happening. She was being relegated to a background character in favor of Cicero. He had already burned through almost two minutes of the interview and Mags hadn't even managed to get in a word about herself besides her being 'nervous'.

Realizing she'd have to step up to gain attention, Mags thrust herself into the conversation. "I have kids too!" she blurted out.

The audience fell silent while Mags gasped at what she just said. The audience burst out laughing, enjoying Mags discomfort. Cicero chuckled. "I think you're a little young to be a mom." He pointed out.

"I-I meant I have siblings! But I guess they're like my kids since both of my parents died!" Mags said, trying to repair the damage she had done by doing an info dump on the crowd.

With an overly dramatic flick of his wrist, Cicero silenced the audience. His face grew inquisitive as he sensed an interesting story. A possibly controversial story, but nothing he couldn't spin to the Capitol's favor.

"Well that's unfortunate news, my dear." Cicero said. "How did it happen?"

Mags stuttered. "Actually," She responded quickly. "I'd rather talk about the Games… if you don't mind. I have an excellent strategy that I think everyone can get behind!"

Cicero brightened up. "Ah yes! Let's get down to them!"

BUZZZZZZZZ!

"Oh darn!" Cicero said, feigning anger. "Looks like we're out of time!"

"We can't be!" Mags panicked. "I haven't told you anything yet!"

"Looks like you'll have to tell us in the arena!" Cicero responded. Saddened, Mags walked away from the interview feeling defeated, taking her designated seat next to the girl from District 3.

"He's a self conceited jerk, isn't he?" the girl from 3 whispered. Metrice was her name.

Mags looked at the fellow fifteen year old in surprise, nodding her head slowly. Metrice was a typical District 3 tribute, pale skin, thin frame, and black hair that was cropped at her shoulders. Her looks suggested an ancestry from Asia, a continent that was talked about in hushed whispered. No one was supposed to talk about places outside of Panem.

"Thanks." Mags responded, holding out her hand in greeting. "Mags."

"Metrice." The girl said, shaking Mags hand. "And yes, I know it's more of a guy's name. I don't know what was up with my parents when they named me."

Mags laughed softly while her District partner, Moll – as he liked to be called instead of Mollusk - walked out on stage. He was what fit the growing stereotype of the District 4 citizen, tanned and toned with beauty. Cicero greeted him happily enough, but it wasn't long before he was once again talking about himself. Moll did manage to get in a few points about him the Games, specifically his lack of an alliance.

"You're not even allying with sweet, beautiful Mags?" Cicero asked in surprise.

Moll shook his head. "There's no point in getting attached to people. They'll all be dead within a week." He responded.

Moll's interview ended after that to more cheering than Mags received. Both District 4 tributes' eyes locked for a moment, but no more than that. It was enough though for Mags to feel anger towards her partner once more. She had wanted an alliance, reasoning that there was strength in numbers and a greater chance for victory for District 4. But Moll had turned her down.

'We're District partners!' Mags protested.

'That doesn't mean that we'll both survive!' Moll shot back. 'What if we're the last two left, huh? Remember last years Games with the team from District 9? She had to kill her own partner to be Victor! I don't want that.'

Mags tried to not think about it any longer, but it still bugged her. She didn't want to go into the Games alone, she at least wanted someone by her side to face the horrors she would find waiting. Other tributes came out, though only a few of them stood out to her. A nervous boy from 5 who sputtered every other word, the clearly deranged boy from 8, and the heavily scarred District 10 boy, Dixon. Maybe one of them wanted to ally?

It was too late to work on alliances though; tomorrow all twenty-four of them would be forced into whatever hellhole the Gamemakers had created and required to kill each other.

Mags only hoped she didn't die at the start.

'LET THE 9th ANNUAL GAMES, BEGIN!'

The countdown began with the deep, digitalized voice announcing every second that pasted. Sixty seconds on the clock. Mags looked around, trying to steady her breathing at the same time. The arena was a far cry from last year's wide opened, flat plains arena, this year being a massive mountain range. The Gamemakers had placed the Cornucopia, stocked with bountiful supplies, atop a mountain, giving the tributes an excellent view of their surroundings but making escape difficult. Mags felt overwhelmed by the rocky setting, haven't spent her entire life near an ocean.

Once the timer hit zero, the gong rang, signaling the start of the Games. Mags instinctively charged at the Cornucopia, eager to get supplies and escape as fast as she could. She wasn't the fastest though and other tributes passed her, rushing to get the best supplies closest to the Cornucopia.

Fear engulfed every tribute when children began to fall District 2's hand.

It had never been seen before, tributes actively trying to kill other tributes at the start without cause. Most tributes would rush in, grab a bag, and escape without killing. Death would only occur if it was from self defense or an overreaction, not because a tribute was deliberately targeting another. The District 2 tributes began hacking down other tributes, sending gore flying every direction. Mags saw the brutish looking District 2 boy slash open the District 6 girl's chest, blood splattering across her partner's face. Her partner screamed and tried to escape, but District 2 was quicker and he ended the younger boy's life with ease.

Mags was tempted to run away, but the allure of a bag nearby was too great. It was marked as 'climbing equipment', something she would desperately need judging by the arena. She ran too it, grabbed it, and turned to make her escape. A figure fell on her before she could, holding her back with a firm grasp. It was the boy from District 5, a tribute Mags never thought would be aggressive. She struggled to escape the older boy's hold, only doing so when an unknown assailant slammed something into the boy's head.

Mags looked behind him, surprised to see Metrice standing there with a heavy bag in her hands.

"Come on!" she screamed, running away from the Cornucopia. Mags followed closely behind her, looking back at the carnage. The District 2 girl was running her sword through the boy from 12 while her partner chased after the scarred boy from 10. Dixon managed to beat back the boy from 2 and fled with a bag and sword, slicing open the frightened girl from 1 along the way. Five other bodies lay around the Cornucopia, all taken from the world too early.

Metrice and Mags quickly began descending down the mountain. It was steep and rocky, but they managed to move down it relatively safely. At one point, a ledge collapsed under Metrice and Mags barely managed to save her. Other tributes were fairing with mixed success. Some had already escaped the mountain, running across the rocky plain that surrounded it, while others struggled to climb down. One tribute refused to keep climbing down, signing her life over to the pair from 2.

One of the tributes nearby descended to quickly and lost his footing. The rocks gave out underneath him and he was soon plummeting to his death. Mags felt tears in her eyes when she heard the boy's screams of horror and saw his eyes begging for help that would never come. Metrice forced her to keep going though, knowing they had no time to spare.

They escaped the mountain and continued running away into the unknown arena.

The Capitol anthem blared through the arena at dusk, drawing every tribute's eyes to the sky in dreaded anticipation. The first to appear was the District 1 girl, followed by Metrice's District partner. The rest of the faces came quickly one after another: both tributes from 5, both from 6, the boy from 7, the girl from 10, and the pair from 12.

Ten dead already. It was an unusually high number for day one as most tributes ignored one another the first day. But the canons sounding throughout the day and the fallen list only confirmed the horrid fact. Day one was barely even over and already the arena was a bloodbath.

"It must be District 2." Mags stated, both her and Metrice of the same mindset.

"Probably," Metrice mumbled as she usually did. "They did both get tens in training."

Mags sighed, thinking of her measly score of five. four had showcased her ability to weave and tie ropes together, trying to start with her strongest skill before attempting the weapons station. It was the wrong call however as the Gamemakers quickly lost interest with her. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't do much else. She never had time to learn how to fight in between taking care of her siblings and trying to make money. She had a small time job at the docks, weaving together fishing nets for boats. It was tougher than it looked and she only received a small compensate for her efforts, but it was still something.

Looking to Metrice, Mags finally felt comfortable enough to ask what had been on her mind since the start of the Games.

"Why did you help me?" Mags asked softly.

Metrice looked at her new ally, shrugging in response. "You seemed nice." She responded.

Mags rolled her eyes at Metrice's dismissive answer. "How could you figure that? We only talked once and not for very long."

"Are you upset that I helped you?" Metrice said pointedly, her black eyes narrowing.

"Not at all, I'm just confused, I guess."

Metrice sighed herself, "I guess I didn't want to go alone. I mean, be by myself in the arena. Felicity, the District 2 girl, offed my partner at the start and I saw you needing help… so I helped."

"Thank you, then." Mags replied, offering a bright smile before changing tones. "And I'm sorry about your partner."

"I had known him from school." Metrice said. "We weren't friends, but we knew of each other. He didn't deserve to go out that way."

Mags laid a comforting hand on Metrice's shoulder. She didn't even know what had happened to Moll. He had been on the opposite end of the starting plate line, only looking her way once. She thought she saw him rush into the Cornucopia, but maybe not.

Metrice suddenly scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Felicity… such a Capitolite name. But I guess you'd expect it from a District 2 citizen. Freaking lap dogs."

Mags balked at that, surprised by Metrice's outspoken words. "I'm sorry about your partner." She said, not wishing to comment on Metrice's previous words. Mags wasn't dumb enough to insult the Capitol in any form, even if it was second handed.

"I don't want to think about it." Metrice said quickly. "And we should keep moving before we settle down to rest. This part of the mountain is too exposed and the last thing we need is Felicity and her partner running into us while we're asleep."

Both tributes got up and continued traversing the rugged terrain, allowing a comfortable silence to fall upon them.

Four days had pasted in the arena, each slightly tougher than the last. During that time, Districts 7 and 11 had fallen, presumably to District 2, leaving eleven tributes alive.

While the arena's terrain wasn't exactly hospitable, Mags and Metrice had been fairing rather well. Metrice's bag had come with a can of dried food, a few bottles of water, sun screen, toilet paper, a box of matches and flint, and a sleeping bag. And thanks to the climbing equipment Mags had grabbed, moving about had becoming easier and less dangerous. The bag had contained a grapple gun with a single climbing axe that was attached to Mags's belt loop. Plenty of rope had come with it, which Mags had expertly weaved together as extra line for the gun.

The gun itself was bulky and the girls had to take turns carrying it, but otherwise it presented no other issues. Luckily the gun was advanced tech that made up plenty for the user's lack of skill. There had been a few incidents early on, but both tributes had successfully figured out how to use it thanks to the gun's simplicity and Metrice's knowledge of basic angles. Their only other trouble had been their hands blistering up from climbing, but they had figured out a way to deal with that by tearing off parts of their clothing and fashioning it around it their hands, forming rudimentary gloves.

Not that they always needed to use the guns to move around. The tributes had discovered a complex set of caves that ran through the mountain, giving them easy cover and protection from the harsh sun and a wandering tribute's eye, though at the expense of maneuverability. A mix of natural light and what seemed to be glowing crystals lit the caves, allowing the girls easy sight. Best of all was the water running through the caves, giving them an easy water source. Mags was mistrustful of the water though and always demanded to boil it before either of them consumed it. It was tedious work and the water tasted horrible afterwards, but it reduced their chances of getting poisoned or sick.

There was one problem though which had no clear solution, food. While the human body could go a long time without food, that didn't mean it was a healthy choice. Especially when they both spent their entire day and most of the night moving around and climbing. Their one can of food didn't last long, and each day the girls could feel themselves becoming slower.

Mags desperately searched every water source they came across, hoping to find marine life they could eat. Nothing was ever in the water though. In fact, the arena had no animal life to speak off. Not even birds. Besides the tributes, there wasn't any life to be found anywhere.

Except for the insects.

Cockroaches, scorpions, spiders, and all manner of critters moved across the mountain and through the caves. Mags grew uncomfortable when she saw them while Metrice remained calm, used to the insects from living in such an urban setting. The scorpions were a new one for her though.

It was from that experience that on their fifth night Metrice made her proposal.

"We can eat the insects."

Mags looked at her ally, wide eyed. "You're kidding, right?" she asked.

Metrice shook her head.

Mags laughed uneasily. "I think I'd rather starve." She said.

"Look, I know they look disgusting but they can also really help us!" Metrice argued. "They're easy to catch and their full of nutrients that we need. Cockroaches specifically, which have a ton of protein in them."

"I think I'm going to barf." Mags said, imagining the squirming insect descending down her throat, its hairy legs scraping the sides.

"You don't have anything in your stomach to barf up." Metrice pointed out.

A few minutes later, Metrice was handing Mags a few dead insects. "Two cockroaches, a spider, and a beetle. At least I think it's a beetle…"

Mags shivered and gasped when Metrice downed one. She tried to look brave, but Mags could still see the disgust on her face. "Yummy." She forced herself to joke.

Mags looked at the insects in her hand, luckily all dead. She grabbed one at random and closed her eyes to try and shield herself from the creature. She placed the insect in her mouth quickly, gagging and moaning in discomfort as she crunched down on it, its hair and wings tasting weird against her taste buds.

She downed the rest of it quickly, taking a quick breather before continuing onto the next. The next one tasted the same, though a sudden feeling of movement sent her into a panic. Mags screamed and spit the insect out, throwing the other two from her hand.

"I can't do it! I can't do it!" She shouted, tears threatening to run down her face.

Metrice ran to her ally, wrapping an arm around in her in support. Both of them sat next to each other, recuperating from their forced ordeal while the Capitolites viewed them as the vermin they were.

Two more days passed with no canon blasts, leaving the Fallen still at thirteen. Hunger continued to consume Mags and Metrice, who hadn't attempted to eat any more insects. Metrice - against Mags advice - had tried to gouge herself on water to trick her stomach into thinking it was full, but only succeeded in giving herself watery runs. She had used the water stream and toilet paper to clean herself, but the smell never fully went away.

An opportunity presented itself on day seven while stumbling around the caves. Both of them heard panicked screaming, followed by deranged laughter, coming from up ahead in the cave. Mags and Metrice ran back the way they came, ducking behind a rock piling in a larger cavern that was lit by blue crystals.

From the mouth of the tunnel came the horror-struck figure of District 9's female tribute. Even in the low lit cavern, Mags could see what little body fat she had before had completely disappeared. She appeared skeletal under the light, while her fearful face only made her look demonic.

Suddenly another figure appeared from the tunnel, this one larger and more intimidating. It was the District 8 boy, tall and stronger looking than the girl. His face was covered in splotches while his body was hunched over heavily.

"You stole from me!" he hissed at the girl.

The girl from 9 cried to herself. "Please, just let me go! I didn't take much!"

"It was a enough to make me chase you down!" the boy shot back. "It was a enough for me to possibly starve!"

"Please… I just… I just want to live!" the girl cried, her voice cracking with every syllable.

The boy's eyes twitching sporadically. He began moving towards the girl, who started backing up quickly, only making the boy increase his pace. "I'm going to make an example of you!" he shouted. It was odd phrasing, and forced Mags to suddenly think about hostile Peacekeepers in her own District. Was the boy suffering from previous trauma?

The girl screamed and tried to run away, but the boy's longer legs allowed him to catch her. From his jacket, the boy pulled out what appeared to be a cut off stalagmite, which he gripped tightly before plunging it into the girl's chest.

It cut through the girl easily and she gasped in horror as blood left her. Mags was biting her hand, forcing herself not to make a sound. Meanwhile, the boy was enjoying moving the rock around the girl's chest, cutting it up entirely. Eventually the girl expired, her canon blast echoing throughout the caverns.

The boy removed the stalagmite from the girl's chest and grabbed the items she was carrying. "My food… my food… show everyone that this is what happens when you steal from me, Capitol!"

He then ran back the way he came, not sparing a second glance at the girl he had just killed. He was clearly insane, making Mags remember a crazy theory someone had told her in the past. The theory claimed that the Capitol intentionally drove a single tribute crazy before entering the arena so they would have someone to start the killing process. That way the audience would have at least one tribute to root for and give them some entertainment until the other twenty-three tributes cracked and began killing too.

The theory made sense to Mags due to how one tribute every year seemed to be insane, or at least prone to violence. Besides, Mags wouldn't put it beyond the Capitol to try and do something like that. They were already condemning children to death, why would they have a problem with driving one insane?

"We should follow him and take his food." Metrice said quickly.

Mags looked at her ally; unable to form a coherent sentence to express why that was a bad idea. Metrice realized this and defended herself. "He said he had food! We need food now or we're going to starve!"

"We can go longer without it." Mags countered.

"If we were just sitting around all day, maybe. But not at the pace we're going." Metrice said. "Look, we don't even have to kill him for it! We can steal it from him while he sleeps. Besides, there are two of us and one of him, those are nice odds."

"I guess." Mags responded, suddenly warming up to the idea. Wanting to justify something herself, Mags quickly began stating arguments for. "He's insane too, so it's not like we're stealing from a good person or anything."

"Exactly!" Metrice said happily, clearly happy for the justification they could hide behind.

Before long, the team was following the insane boy from 8. They followed him for hours, waiting for him to tire and fall asleep. After almost ten hours of following him though, it seemed like there was no end to his energy. Every move he made was sporadic, ranging from walking and running to calling out random names and gibberish at odd times. Both girls thought about just attacking him, but neither had the courage to voice that idea to the other.

Finally though, the boy did fall asleep and the girls descended upon him. Unfortunately, they were not as quiet as they thought they were and the District 8 awoke to find his supplies being taken.

Mags fell underneath the boy, who tackled her with ease and caused her to drop the climbing axe. He was about to kill Mags until he gasped harshly and fell to the side, the axe stuck in the back of his head. Behind him stood Metrice, looking in horror at what she had done.

"I-I had to help you…" she breathed.

In a response far to calm for the situation, Mags nodded her head in understanding and they both gathered the supplies they had come for. Neither of them wanted to linger on what had just happened and they quickly left the area.

On day ten, the caves collapsed.

The entire world seemed to be shaking as Mags and Metrice struggled to escape the cave system. Mags thought she heard a canon blast, but the collapsing cave was making too much noise to be sure. They made it out just in time as the cave closed behind them, leaving them on the edge of a tall cliff, looming over a massive drop.

"I wonder if they got the District 8 boy's body out… or the girl from 9's…" Metrice said quietly.

Mags wrapped a supportive arm around her friend, a routine they had familiarized themselves with over the past few days. They still hadn't spoken about Metrice's kill and Mags felt as though they never would. It was the Games, murder was expected to happen. Mags couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that it hadn't been her that killed the boy though, no matter how dangerous he was.

Later, the face of the District 9 boy appeared in the sky, confirming that Mags had heard a canon blast. That another child had vanished from the world.

Eight tributes remained.

On day twelve, the tributes of the 11th Games received a surprise announcement.

'A Feast!' The announcers voice exclaimed. 'Prepared just for you final eight! Obviously it would be difficult for all of you to attend if it were taking place near the Cornucopia, given it's on top of a mountain!'

The announcer began to laugh, before clearing his throat.

'So the Gamemakers have generously allowed for it to take place at the base of it. Please be in attendance tomorrow at dawn as the Gamemakers have prepared special gifts for each of you! Happy Games! May the odds be in your favor tomorrow!'

The Capitol anthem played as soon as the announcer finished, followed by silence. Mags and Metrice looked at one another, their faces contemplating their options.

"Who's left?" Metrice asked first.

"The boy from 1, both tributes from 2, you, me, Moll, the girl from 8, and Dixon from 10." Mags said. "I'm only worried about the pair from 2. They'll be going in to slaughter everyone and I know we can't take them with just a climbing axe."

"Might be best to not even go." Metrice threw out. "We still have food left. Not much, but enough."

"We don't have any water though. With the caves buried and gone, so is our water source." Mags said. "And besides, apparently we all have a special gift waiting for us."

"I would say we should play it by ear, but considering they're putting us in the middle of an open canyon, I don't think we can afford the luxury. We'll have to be quick and get out fast." Metrice said. Suddenly, Metrice began to look uncomfortable.

"What is it?" Mags asked.

"There's a good chance that Moll will be there." She said.

Mags paused, letting that sink in. "I haven't thought about him a while…" Mags admitted. He had become a name to Mags, nothing more. But now that their paths could overlap, she was forced to confront him again.

"Do you think you could kill him?" Metrice asked.

"No." Mags responded, without hesitation. "I don't think I could."

The usual silence fell between the two of them as an unanswerable question hung in the air. Could they kill each other? They were in the final eight now and it wouldn't be long until they would be forced to turn on one another. Metrice had attempted to broach the subject of splitting up the previous day, but stopped herself before she could get the proper words out. Mags had been thankful for that.

"Do you have family?" Mags asked suddenly. Of all the things they had talked about, they had both carefully avoided discussing family.

Metrice stared at her ally hard. "I don't want to talk about it. And I don't want to hear if you have one. It will make what comes later easier, wouldn't it?"

"No, it won't." Mags replied. "Not a bit."

Metrice ignored her statement, knowing it to be true. "We should start moving towards the Cornucopia so we can get ready." Metrice said, walking away before Mags could respond. Mags followed, ignoring a sudden feeling she had. A feeling she shared with Metrice.

The feeling that they wished the other would die at the Feast so they wouldn't have to kill each other later.

Dawn of day thirteen was greeted with the soft hum of the hovercraft, lowering down supplies for the feast. Six bags lowered, each with a golden number on them to represent a District. The hovercraft disappeared from sight and silence filled the space.

"We should run in now." Mags said.

Another tribute had already beaten them to it. From the left, the girl from 8 was running quickly. She looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion, but she still willed herself forward. From the opposite side, the boy from District 1 rushed in, looking just as tired as the girl.

Without wasting another moment, Mags and Metrice charged forward as well, adrenaline fueling them as they charged into the upcoming fray. They had left their grapple gun behind in favor of quick speed, though Mags still held onto her climbing axe.

There was a scream from the left and Mags turned to see the District 8 girl overrun by the District 2 boy. The boy, much larger than the small fourteen year old, grabbed his opponent by the hair and pulled her into his sword. Blood erupted from the poor girl's chest as she collapsed, eyes wide with fear of the coming unknown. Her canon sounded before she even hit the ground.

Mags was scared beyond rationality and focused all her energy on reaching the District 4 bag. She could see District 1 being tailed by Felicity, sandwiching him in between the District 2 team.

She was too distracted by the pair that she didn't even see Moll charging in front of her.

Their hands grasped the District 4 bag at the same time, causing a battle of strength and will. Mags struggled for the bag, knowing that Moll would not allow her to have it. Just looking at him, Mags could tell that thirteen days in the arena had changed him as well. Most frightening though was his eyes, which were all too similar to the look Metrice held when she killed the District 8 boy.

Desperate, Mags raised her axe and slammed it into Moll's arm. Blood erupted from it and he screamed in pain, though refused to let go of the bag. On the right, District 1 was attempting to fight back against Felicity. He managed to get a blow into her chest, but she shrugged it off and tore the dagger from her chest, showing a pristine set of armor. Felicity returned the weapon by stabbing it into the boy's throat. The boy's eyes rolled back and he gagged as he began to suffocate on his own blood.

"Let it go, Mags!" Metrice called to her ally, already moving away from the Feast. Mags looked to her and then at Moll, reluctantly releasing the bag and chasing after Metrice.

Mags heard the screams from Moll, but refused to turn back to see the Career's slicing open her partner. She had never been close to Moll, but hearing his canon blast still upset her and made her feel even more alone.

Another canon blast sounded, though fourteen days in it did nothing to disturb Metrice and Mags. They wait for night to arrive where they see the scarred face of District 10's Dixon, who had been absent at the Feast the previous day.

A Feast for hardly anything. Metrice's bag was filled with supplies for one along with a short sword. Metrice had claimed ownership of the sword and both girls now had weapons. The food and water that had come with it was good as well, filling their stomachs for the first time in almost two weeks, but it wouldn't be long until it ran out.

"District 2 must have chased him down." Metrice muttered, stating the obvious.

Mags nodded her head. Absentmindedly, Mags began to wonder about the dark boy from 10. "How did he get those scars?" she asked aloud.

Metrice said nothing, turning her gaze back towards to the starry sky. Mags continued to obsess over the question. Was it a farming accident? Was he beaten by Peacekeepers? Was it some freak deformity? All of these thoughts took place against a back drop of what Mags thought District 10 looked like. She could only imagine a big blue sky and endless fields of cattle grazing. Like everyone in the Districts, she had never seen images from the other Districts except for the ones broadcast during the Games, and those were always of the town circles or the homes of the tributes' family.

'Home... they'll have interviewed my siblings by now. And my friends.' Mags thought. 'Do they still approve of me? Do they hate me for allying with Metrice? For stealing from the District 8 boy? For letting Moll die? What about the other families?'

Feelings of despair overcame her as she realized there was so much she never bothered to know about her fellow tributes. Most of their information she had deliberately blocked out, refusing to remember most of their names out of fear that watching them die would send her over the deep end. They were all mysteries to her, even Metrice who had remained guarded about her family ties. In the end, the other tributes meant nothing to her. Their lives meant nothing to her.

They were just numbers. Statistic for the Games. The Capitol had reduced a person's life and soul to nothing.

Just like how Mags felt at that moment… she felt nothing…

And in that nothingness, she found peace for the first time in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Metrice played with her final gift from the Feast. It was a small vial which had kept in her pocket and out of Mags' line of sight. Metrice new what the substance, recognizing it's awful coloring from the training center's poison/toxins station. The Gamemakers obviously meant for her to use on Mags. A similar vial had been placed in the District 4 bag, now claimed by District 2 no doubt.

But Metrice couldn't bring herself to kill Mags, not yet at least. The arena had bonded them, and she wasn't ready to say goodbye yet.

Once more in silence, the two of them sat next to each other, reflecting on the coming end.

The Gamemakers decided to end it on the fifteenth day, corralling the remaining four tributes in a canyon by using insects.

They were giant and disfigured, thanks to Capitol mutations. Mags screamed whenever one of she saw one, remembering the horrible feeling of consuming a much smaller version of the insect. The insects would get close, but they would never try and overtake them. Not that it mattered to Mags or Metrice as they continued running as fast as their legs could carry them.

Eventually, they were boxed in by the insects, who had brought them together with the District 2 pair. Felicity and her partner looked at the weakened girls, feeling very smug about themselves.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that it's you two weaklings we have to fight." Felicity said with a sneer. "It's a nice relaxing end compared to what we've gone through."

"How are you doing this?" Mags demanded, partly out of curiosity and partly to avoid the confrontation for just a bit longer. "How could you be so merciless and cruel?"

The District 2 boy snorted, "Our District is being practical, trai-"

"That's enough!" Felicity said, silencing her partner to some secret. She quickly regained her own composure before addressing Mags and Metrice. "You two are pathetic, as are your Districts. You view the Games as nothing but misery, not the golden opportunity that is presented to us."

"A golden opportunity to die." Metrice muttered.

Felicity shook her head. "I wouldn't expect you to understand." She said, condescendingly. District 3 citizens always like to think themselves smart, but they always seem to lack common sense."

Metrice growled and raised her sword, causing Felicity and her partner to laugh at her. Felicity opened up her jacket, revealing the shiny, if somewhat dented, armor plating on her chest. "Gifts from generous sponsors." She mocked, correctly deducing that the two girls hadn't received sponsor gifts.

"ARMOR, BITCH!" The District 2 boy roared. He then charged Metrice with his sword in attack formation. Before he could land a blow though, Metrice pulled out the grabble gun from the duffel bag around her back, aiming it directly at the boy's chest. With a single shot, the hook caved through the boy's armor, blood exploding from his chest, back, and mouth. He looked wide eyed in shock at Metrice, who looked back coldly as he fell to the ground and his canon sounded.

"Gun, bitch." Metrice replied to the corpse.

Felicity screamed in anger, not wasting a second to mourn. Drawing two short swords, Felicity charged Metrice to kill her. As Metrice threw the now useless gun aside, Mags stepped in with her axe, swinging blindly at Felicity. Fear gripped her, and she couldn't believe she was actually fighting, but Mags was determined not to fall under Felicity's blades. Despite her conviction, Mags couldn't land a single blow against Felicity, who danced easily between the swings without a scratch. Even when Metrice joined the fight, neither of the girls could land a blow as Felicity dodged and deflected their every strike.

The girls tired and in their pause, Felicity went on the offensive. She drove Mags back, slamming her fist into the smaller girl's face and breaking her nose. Mags fell back, moaning in agony as blood dripped from her nose. Felicity moved in quickly to end Mags, but Metrice interfered first, distracting Felicity enough to draw her attention away. Metrice was disarmed quickly though and Felicity returned to her weaker prey.

But Metrice wasn't done yet. She charged Felicity, weaponless, and jumped on the taller girl's back. Felicity spun around, trying to get Metrice off of her, howling like an animal as she did so. Metrice, meanwhile, had opened up her vial of poison, splashing her fingers with it. She brought them to Felicity's face, her uncut nails tearing through her opponent's check bone and spreading the poison into her system.

Unable to remove her without force, Felicity dropped one of her short swords and pulled forth a knife, stabbing it into Metrice's thigh. Metrice cried out in pain and fell from Felicity's back, grasping her wounded leg as her opponent descended upon her. Metrice rolled to the side, barely dodging Felicity's remaining sword. She couldn't protect herself from the follow up attack though, was the sword changed direction and sliced across Metrice's should blade and spewed blood across the hard rocks.

Metrice prepared herself for death, but was saved when Mags ran up and swung her axe at Felicity. Instead of aiming it at her chest, Mags brought it down onto the armored girl's elbow, targeting the exposed area. The armor was thick and protecting, but just like a basket or net it had weaknesses and areas that could be exploited. Mags' axe ripped through flesh and muscle, though didn't cut through the bone as Felicity recoiled from the pain.

Suddenly, Felicity began feeling weak. Poison was spreading through her system quickly, wrecking her ability to fight properly.

Weakened, and without the use of her main arm, Felicity was now at a disadvantage to Mags' uncontrolled aggression. Primal instinct had taken over Mags as she continued to slam the axe into whatever part of Felicity's body was exposed. Felicity tried to fight back but the poison was making her vision blurry and limbs feel heavier. Before long, Mags was covered in Felicity's blood, screaming hysterically as the older girl's life left her.

The sound of the canon was the only thing that quelled Mags.

Only Metrice and Mags remained, allies since the beginning for over two weeks. It was exactly how they feared it would end, forced to kill the other. Metrice rose to her feet slowly, forcing all her weight on her unharmed leg. Mags, body and clothing soaked in blood, turned to her ally, her axe held tightly in her hand. Tissue and skin dripped from it, matching Mags's own appearance. Adrenaline had prevented Mags from fully comprehending the horrendous act she had just committed.

"So…" she breathed heavily.

"So…" Metrice breathed back, visibly taken aback my Mags aggression.

A minute passed with no action, until Mags finally made the first move. Mags engaged her ally surprisingly lightly. Their weapons clashed and parried each other softly, both combatants reluctant to fight. But as time went on, they began to become more paranoid. The other seemed to be growing more aggressive, shaking things up and trying to find a weakness. Fear for their own lives overtook their admiration for the other and soon both girls were fighting to kill.

It was Mags who gained the advantage when she slammed her foot into Metrice's wound. Metrice gasped and fell to the ground in pain, opening up her neck for attack. With a scream, Mags brought the climbing axe around and slammed it into the exposed area, puncturing an artery.

Metrice fell over, the axe still in her neck, while Mags backed away in horror. The look on Metrice's face, the look of pure terror, pushed Mags beyond the brink of sanity. She began screaming, her face turning red from the effort. Metrice didn't die quickly though, she continued to cling to life, dying slowly as her lungs and throat clogged up from the blood. She tried to beg Mags to end her suffering, but Mags was too lost in her own mind to even consider what Metrice wanted and needed.

Metrice's canon finally sounded after a minute of slow suffering, followed by a booming and proud voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Panem! Presenting to you the Victor of the 11th Annual Hunger Games, Mags of District 4!"

A hovercraft materialized from the sky, lowering down a ladder for Mags to hold on to. She did so without a thought, eager to escape the arena and the memories of it.

Then she realized she could never escape the memories…

They would plague her for the rest of her life…

Forever and ever…

As the ladder rose, Mags looked at the body of Metrice, Felicity and her partner. The words that Moll had spoken to her what seemed a lifetime ago came back to her, filling her with grief. Moll hadn't wanted to form an alliance for fear of killing someone he would grow to care about…

Mags finally understood why and wished she had been as wise as he had been.

The series is vague about when Mags won her Games but the 11th seemed like an appropriate age based on the information from the Hunger Games wiki.

Also yes, there are no Careers. I have my own theory about their development which I'll pose in later chapters, but my belief is they don't gain their 'Career' status until the 40th Games or later.

Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a review and let me know what you thought!