Hey guys, nothing much to say here. I'm leaving a tribute list at the end of the chapter, because a few spots are starting to get filled. I'll be posting stuff like this to keep this story where people will find it (around the first two pages) and I'll be updating this fairly often, considering I've hit a bit of a wall with my other two stories. Also, be sure to tell me how you like my idea of the Forbidden Zones (explained in Chapter One—the arena is divided into sectors. Twice a day, a different zone will be selected; if a tribute steps into it, they will be blown up. The idea comes from one of my favourite novels of all time—Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. Great read if you ever feel like it… The Hunger Games is a lot like it—I'm saying it this way because Battle Royale was released in 1999, long before THG). Anyway, just read on!
Disclaimer: No matter how much I disagree with what Suzanne Collins has done with The Hunger Games series, I will never own it. End of story.
August 21st, 21:45 – The Capitol
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you your victor of the Seventy-fifth Annual Hunger Games, Finnick Odair!"
"Wha—we're under attack! Save the whiskey!" slurs Alexandre Ivre, rolling off the couch. "Muh…? What the… oh, still here." he mutters as his eyes adjust to his now dark living room; looking at his television screen, he sees the handsome face of one of the last Victors of District Four (in the twelve years that passed after the Seventy-fifth Games, there have only been two—Tanim Neptune in the Eighty-second and Moss Darya in the Eighty-fifth). He didn't remember much of those Games, except that Haymitch Abernathy of Twelve, Finnick Odair and Brutus Marullus of District Two were the final three; Brutus stabbed Haymitch in the back while the latter and Finnick were preparing to duel, and then Finnick speared Brutus with his trident; Ivre wasn't president then, so of course he was drunk 99% of the time (he had finally stopped drinking after three straight days when the final battle occurred) and missed most of the Games.
Fumbling around for the remote, the president finally finds it under the couch (where else does it ever go?) and stands up, staggering slightly; falling back on the couch, he presses the fast-forward button on the remote. After some boring-looking stuff about how significant the Seventy-fifth Games were (at least, that's probably what it was), Ivre stopped right at the beginning of the Seventy-sixth Games.
The tributes are positioned in a circle around a pile of supplies; there is no real Cornucopia this time around. The camera zooms outward to get a bigger view of the area; the pedestals for the tributes sit on a decent-sized plain of grass, with six sandbars extending into a massive sea; the ridges are roughly a mile or so long each and connect to islands about the size of a city, each covered in dense forests. There is nowhere for the tributes to go but there, really.
"Ten… nine… eight…" an uncaring robotic voice drones out; several tributes drop into a stance to prepare to run. "Seven… six… five…"
Focusing in on a girl with long white hair and fair skin, the countdown continues; "Four… three… two…" The girl is wearing a black jacket, like all the others, and matching black pants and boots. Around her neck is a necklace with a raindrop pendant on it; her eyes are brown like tree bark; this is the female tribute from District Eight—Bernadette; no last name for her was ever found in the orphanage's records. She stands resolutely still, her eyes fixed on the island directly across from her; a large tower extends up from its overgrown depths—she's sure there has to be something there.
"One." A gong sounds out, and the tributes take off in a dead sprint; the Career tributes from One, Two and Four are the first to reach the pile of supplies—the blonde girl from District One grabs the hood of Bernadette's District partner and drags him to the ground, slitting his throat with her curved poniard. She smirks as his blood spurts out; her partner, a tall boy with brown hair by the name of Blaise is currently fighting with a large boy from Twelve over a spear.
Anton from District Two, a short, though bulky boy of fourteen is battling Linus from District Six with his bare fists; Linus is much taller than Anton, though of a much thinner build—a strong kick to the ribs from Anton knocks Linus to the ground and gives the Career boy the upper hand; grabbing a small axe and kneeling over Linus (though not pinning his arms to the ground) he brings it high over his head and swings it in a downward arc, slicing into… grass. Linus moved his head to the side and grasped a small rock; his longer arms became his advantage, because he uses them to slam the rock into the short boy's temple, pushing him off of him. He slams the rock into Anton's head several more times, causing many bloody wounds. Anton's partner, a tall, willowy blonde by the name of Diana sees this as she's pulling a throwing knife from the pile; she throws it in a straight line at the boy from Six, and it sticks into his back like a nail.
Linus falls face-first to the ground in pain, right onto the blade of the axe he stole from Anton; it cuts into his chest painfully. Diana stalks over to Linus and forces the knife in farther, twisting it with a cruel smirk; "Do you enjoy pain, Six? I hope so, because it's the last thing you'll know," says Diana fiercely. She draws the knife back from his wound and moves away from his body—she has better people to kill. Looking back around, she sees that Blaise has slain the boy from Twelve; the two from Four, Crest and Cove, killed Linus's District partner and then the two from Three.
You may be wondering what has happened to Bernadette; simple: she ran. Right through the Cornucopia; she grabbed a small pack and a knife and got the hell out of there. Immediately she dashed for the tower, heading into the dense copse of leaves. As for the other tributes… the boy and girl from Eleven, Zale and Jensa, who had already agreed to an alliance, ran to the Cornucopia where Zale, who was quite large and could easily be seen as a threat (much like Thresh in the Seventy-fourth Games), briefly fought with Tyker from District Seven over a large backpack… although Tyker was at a huge disadvantage (Zale had previously found and hidden a dagger in the right sleeve of his jacket); one right-hook from Zale had his face cut and bleeding—another right across the neck had his throat slit. Tyker fell limply to the ground, bleeding out over a black supply crate. Taking the large backpack, Zale sprinted to where his ally was hidden—she had taken a small knife, a bottle of water and a sleeping bag—and grabbed her hand. The two ran off across a sandbar onto an island that had a surrounding perimeter of thick trees, dodging under several branches before coming into a clearing with a small pond—and possibly a few sources of food.
Kirlinn and Cassie from Five had been among the first to make it to the pile of supplies—they were also among the first to die. Blaise and Shimmer (the boy and girl from One) had been on them like vultures to a corpse, cutting them down mercilessly. Devin of Ten had disappeared into a forest island behind him, not taking anything from the Cornucopia. His partner, Alainn, thought it would be a good idea to swim to one of the island; problem was, she couldn't swim worth a crap. As soon as the brown-haired girl jumped into the water, she practically sank like a rock.
Brisbin and Karla of District Nine were the next prey of Crest and Cove; Crest used his sword to cut through Brisbin like butter—and Cove slew Karla with a well-placed needle right in the jugular. The two died as they lived—together. As for Tyker's District partner, Phoebe… she ran away—to the same island that Bernadette had fled to.
Finally, all the Career tributes were at the Cornucopia island, looking over their bounty—and the body count. It was late afternoon now, perhaps about five or six, and there were still several crates to inspect. Cove and Crest had taken guard duty while the rest surveyed the supplies, and also the two doubled as the casualty counters.
And then the Gamemakers begin the cannonfire—the final send-off to the fallen. One, two, three… Crest and Cove are counting and nodding; four, five, six… all the way up to fourteen. Crest and Cove exchange a look—they have each counted twelve. Walking over to the other Careers, the twins ask simultaneously, "Did any of you see two other bodies? We've only counted twelve, and there were fourteen shots."
Blaise shrugs—he truly is of few words. Shimmer shakes her head and Diana thinks for a moment—"I saw the girl from District Ten go into the water. She's probably dead now, and if she's not, she will be before long." Diana gives a thoughtful look, then shrugs; "Either way, let's get the bodies piled up. We're going to need some territory if we ever need to fight. Besides… if the others have less room, that means we've got a bit of a strangle hold on them, yes?"
"Diana, you are a genius," says Shimmer with a grin; Blaise nods, and Crest and Cove just grin. They proceed to stack up the bodies so the Gamemakers can pick them up later; a hiss of hydraulics takes Crest's focus; the boy from District Four looks over toward the ocean, and a mechanical pedestal has risen into the air; he sees a long mane of brown hair hanging over the sides, as well as a stump of an arm, dripping blood… then a large red monster, one that looks much like a crab, with a spiky red shell that looks as hard as diamond, and incredibly deadly-looking pincers, scuttles up onto a sandbar. Two more appear on opposite stretches of land, and they begin to make their way toward the Cornucopia. Right as the creatures get within a spear's throw of the Careers, the picture freezes.
"I'll finish that when I'm drunk," says Ivre quickly. "Not much of a stomach for gore when I'm sober." With that, he stands up and walks out of the living room, toward a small kitchenette that is adjoined to his presidential bedroom, leaving the paused movie with an ending that is probably obvious…
Well, there you have it y'all. This chapter was, as the past chapter also was, a filler. Basically I'm trying to keep this story where people can see it, so I can get more tributes in. Thanks for reading!
~Chase
Tribute list – So far
District 1 – Luxury Goods
Male: Open!
Female: Elizabeth Grace Morgan "Belle" – Rosemarie Benson
District 2 – Masonry
Male: Open!
Female: Reserved – HarryPotterNut1
District 3 – Technology
Male: Open!
Female: Lattice Kerr – GreenApple312
District 4 – Seafood and the like
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 5 – Electricity
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 6 – Transportation
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 7 – Lumber
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 8 – Textiles
Male: Open!
Female: Lacey Spool – Kittens In The Closet
District 9 – Grain
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 10 – Livestock
Male: Open!
Female: Open!
District 11 – Agriculture
Male: Open!
Female: Rebecca Thorne – Comettail76
District 12 – Coal
Male: Aspen Northill – LincsStef
Female: Open!
As you can see, there are quite a bit of spots still open, so make your tributes! Don't cost nothing. Remember, requests MUST be through PM's, and they MUST be in within a week of the request. Thanks!
~Chase… again
