A Hundred Victors
The First Annual Hunger Games
Harriet Twine, 15, District 8's POV
I crouch in the tree, watching the girl below through the leaves. She's from Nine, I vaguely remember her being seventeen and called Maia. She's sat, wiping blood off of her sword and humming to herself quietly. I hope she hasn't seen me. I don't think she has, despite being directly below me. I focus on making as little noise as possible, muffling my breath against my jacket sleeve. Her head snaps up suddenly, and I freeze. Has she seen me? Heard me?
But she jumps to her feet, completely oblivious to my position above her, sword raised. My heart sinks. A boy comes into the same clearing as us, eyeing Maia. My heart pangs as I recognise him - Lucas Read, sixteen, my District partner. He's gripping a spear, his knuckles turning white, and glaring at Maia. Not a single word is spoken, and I'm paralysed. I know a fight scene will unfold, and I know I don't want to watch, but I can't drag my eyes away from the screen.
We three are the only ones left. I've made it this far without a single kill, without bumping into a single tribute until this morning. When Maia set up camp below mine. It is her who makes the first move, swinging her sword at Lucas's neck. But he easily blocks it with his spear, and throws it to the side. Maia doesn't hesitate to whip her scythe out of her belt. She's from Nine, she uses these all the time. Lucas knows this, glancing down at the scythe will a pang of worry. And then, the real fight begins.
It's brutal and bloody, and takes longer than I thought. At one point the leaves hide my view, and all I see is a splat of blood flying through the air and onto the tree trunk next to me. By the end of it, Lucas is missing three fingers and has a deadly wound to the neck, and Maia has a stab wound to the thigh and a long wound down her cheek. She finally overpowers him, straddling his waist, her retrieved sword in both hands, raised over her head. I hear a barely audible, "sorry", and then she brings it down, over and over, stabbing his chest and sobbing loudly.
And then, she gets up, turns around and makes eye contact with me.
Maia Rye was the first ever Victor. The arena this year was a basic forest, with a clearing for the cornacopia and one large, forest. She camped out near the Cornacopia, it was her property and nobody dared go near her. Until the fourth day, when the first ever alliance - Zero and Dot from 3 - ambush her. They were her first two kills. Scared it will happen again, Maia moves to the forest. The other tributes quickly begin to drop like flies - starvation, thirst, and several by accidentally colliding with a force field. The games only lasted 6 days this year, with only 5 deaths being at the hands of other tributes. Maia married and had 3 children. She mentored for 43 years, and then caught a terminal illness and died aged 60.
AN
This is just a side-project whilst I try to figure out what the hell is happening in the 57th Games. It will not be my main focus and updates will probably be a little slow. But anyhow, hope you enjoyed! What did you think of Maia?
