Marlin Mount 6th Games

I am positively sick of my Districts performance in the hunger games.

It's not right to say that sort of thing but I really truly am. For half a decade we have had two people go and die and by now at least one of them should have come home.

I can forgive Matty and Dolly in the first games. I mean Julius Monaldo carved through 11 people like a knife through butter before he even looked at them.

At least Matty managed to one up the bastard with the hospital joke.

Peter and Siobhan have less of an excuse.

Actually Siobhan has an excuse because she ended up duelling both 1s at the same time and nearly came out on top.

Yeah Siobhan's excused.

Peter isn't though because he died to a bloody rock to the head like an idiot from the girl who's now engaged to marry the President.

How screwed up were the second games!

The third games were a bloody embarrassment all around. Fred and Roberta died like morons after a decent show at the bloodbath.

I mean drinking dirty water that causes you to fall ill and getting your head caved in by a thirteen year old is bad and I'm sure Roberta would agree.

If she wasn't you know dead.

Fred's death though was somehow even more stupid than Peter's from the second games. Choking to death because of tripping over a tree root with a vine caught round your neck well that's a very special way to die.

So chalk the third games up to a learning experience as for what a 4 tribute shouldn't do in the games.

The fourth games we gave a good show. I'll confess that and give props to Moira and Boyd because they did a pretty damned fine job.

Moira duelling the girl from 2 to a mutual kill was pretty cool and she made the final six in a classy way.

Boyd was up against an absolute powerhouse in Chester and got unlucky in that Oakley managed to dodge the pike as well as he did. Chester took on three tributes at once and still came out with both limbs attached and with far less emotional scarring than anyone except Smith although no one with any sense counts her anyway on that score.

That smile from her interview still creeps me out.

And now she's marrying The President.

I think she might actually be a worse person than he is.

So Chester winning we can chalk up as a bad luck of the draw for our tributes and at least he's sane.

Well mostly sane.

On the other hand "Oakley carved her head in twain 17 seconds into the game" is one of the lyrics in that song from the Capitol about how he won so maybes he's not someone to point too as a stellar example of sanity.

Though Ashley probably did have it coming.

And he was definitely awesome at fighting.

Watt and Coil from 3 were definitely insane with that Bolt gun thing so I don't blame Edna or Patrick for not making it out.

I mean Vespasian has to walk with a cane after they started beating on his leg like it was a Piñata at a Capitol barbecue.

All of what happened in the past five games though means that 4 still has no Victor yet. So we're just like seven of the other districts in Panem.

This year I'm going to change that.

If a 1 can volunteer and a 2 can volunteer then why not a 4?

I've worked on the boats since I was eight years old and frankly I know I'm good. I'm very good. I've practised in the wrestling rings and win way more than I lose. I started knife throwing after the third game embarrassment and I've won more credits from bets than I really should have.

If there's a spear, pike or trident in the arena then I've already won.

Which is why I'm standing and looking directly at Cavanaugh Crane in his stupid Capitol wig as the Treaty of Treason is read out.

I understand they needed to show up most of the Districts after the Rebellion.

They didn't have to make the damned treaty so bloody boring though.

He's reaching the final bit now. Soon it will be my time to shine.

Damn the man he's heading to the reaping bowl for the girls first.

She's a standard tribute for us. A competent if lovelier looking than usual fisher girl who'll hopefully get a couple kills from the scrawnys in the bloodbath.

She's called Plaice though which is stupid. Naming your child after a fish because we live in a district where our main export is fish is just tired, unoriginal and leads to your child getting mocked in school.

I should know.

Fortunately for me Marlin managed to traverse into regular use as a first name long before Panem existed so I've managed to just about avoid the worst of it. That fish names are so common is just amazingly depressing for our district and we've been lucky so far that all our other tributes had normal names.

So maybe it's right that we've hit the jackpot with fish names this year.

Now Crane is moving to the boys.

I'm going to let the drama play out more than Vespasian did last year.

It's some twelve year old who's crying. Damn this must be frightening for the little dude.

He shouldn't worry though because a handsome hero is coming to save him.

I'm about to do my thing when Crane gives me the best set up in history.

The Capitol learns fast man.

"Do we have any volunteers?"

"I volunteer as tribute."

The crowd turns to me and gasps. Crane looks like his face is going to tear open with that smile. The little kid actually comes and hugs me as I climb onto the stage. I hug him back tightly.

Oh yeah gonna milk that for the sponsors.

"So do you know little Jack" Crane asks.

I put on my hero face.

I've been practicing it for months.

I rest my hand on little Jack's shoulder.

"I have never met Jack here in my life Mr Crane. When I saw him up here I knew that District 4 needed a hero to help him. If no one else was going to do it than that hero needed to be me."

Winning smile at the cameras.

Grateful smile from adorable little boy.

Cheers from the crowd.

This is going even better than planned.

The Train to the Capitol

Dionysius understood immediately.

The man very nearly injured me with the bear hug he gave me on the train.

"I know what you're doing boy." He smiled giving me a conspiratorial wink.

"I heard from some of the lads who like the wrestling matches that you're a popular man to bet on if you want a near sure fire thing." He gives me a playful nudge.

I respond with my best aw shucks lil ol me look.

"I heard some of the other lads saying that they have a beef with you because a 4 boy's not meant to be that good of a knife thrower. If you win they're going to want to attempt to earn their money back. " He carries on with a playful mock frown.

At this I smile.

"Wait till they get a load of what can I do with a pike, a spear or a trident."

Dionysius gives a solid laugh at that and I laugh along with him.

Cavanaugh Crane comes over after talking to Plaice who's looking pretty damn unhappy at myself and Dionysius' camaraderie.

Dionysius goes over to calm Plaice down and Crane starts talking about strategy and PR.

Lo and behold the dude's actually really helpful at that. Gets the angle I'm working with completely and gives me further pointers on how to milk the Capitol for those sweet sweet sponsorships.

Crane seems a decent enough guy for a Capitol after that.

His wigs still stupid though.

Me and Plaice smooth things over later after I point out to her If I play this thing right then we're both good to go because both of us can use the sponsorships I'm bringing in. If she makes a couple kills in the bloodbath she can probably bring us in even more. After all neither of us is leaving "The Alliance" until the last 10 or so.

"The Alliance" as a name is stupid and needs to be replaced for the regular gang of six.

Even after that we'll still pair up until it's just the two of us.

If everything pans out like it should she has a 50/50 shot at going home.

Well if she's as good a fighter as me it's 50/50 but I don't say this to her.

After that conversation Plaice and I are pretty tight.

Before too long we'll get to the Capitol and the second stage of the games begins.

Because as any clever tribute should know the games is far longer than just the Arena.

The Parade

Plaice and I are absolutely owning this parade.

We can't take all the credit though.

Elagabalus Lovejoy is an absolute blessing of a man.

It's his first year at 4 and he took the lead over his fellow designer whose name I have already forgotten because she had been made a footnote for El's ideas before we were even on the train.

Plaice and I look like something out of mythology on the chariots. A God and Goddess of the sea. It helps that Plaice is nearly as good looking as I am.

Which incidentally is very.

The Crowd absolutely love us.

At my suggestion the strategy after seeing how the other tributes look is that we play to the fact that we have hotness where as everyone else but the 1s are far more average looking than in previous years.

Hey like Chester said back in the 4th games sometimes the odds are in your favour.

I'm going to work that odds thing in at the interview as well because it should give me a cheer at least.

Now the President is giving his speech.

Behind him Sarah Smith is sat dressed in something that looks like it costs enough to feed most of District 12 for a year whispering to the Head Game Maker Gabriel something or other who she looks awfully chummy with.

She's not into the extreme Capitol stuff like surgery or skin dyes or ugly ass wigs.

In that expensive dress and with those empty emotionless eyes though she looks like a perfect consort for the man on stage.

Oh damn she just caught me looking at her.

Ok this smile actually seems half real because it sort of does reach her eyes. I'm pretty sure it's because she's sensed prey.

The look she gives me is like a hawk about to hunt down a rabbit.

She is absolutely loving this situation.

Yeah she is definitely worse than the guy on stage. I think they might actually be soulmates.

Training

Trainings fun actually. Mostly it's like what I've heard from previous years. Guys and gals in the Pack (way cooler name) are all chill. Boy from 2's pretty impressed when I beat him in an arm wrestle, Girl from 1 is impressed when I throw the knives and neither of their partners seem to disagree with their reactions.

I don't practice with the spear though because who doesn't love a little surprise.

The days pass pretty quickly. Seems I'm the only one in the pack this year with a semi real name as well.

Wonder and Magnificent from one are particularly unlucky with their names.

Marble and Granite aren't much better.

They agree with my point on this and even Plaice admits she's sick of flatness jokes about her appearance especially because they're so blatantly untrue.

I say to Granite that at least he wasn't called Concrete.

The others laughed but I'm not sure Granite found it as funny.

Near the end of the third day the big surprise no one knew was coming came.

We get to be given scores on how well we do after a private session with the game makers.

Can I get an enthusiastic Yay from the audience?

Thought not.

I'm actually excited though because apparently it's best out of twelve.

Only really it's best out of ten because an eleven is apparently insanely difficult to get and a twelve is basically impossible.

I go in. I do my thing and then it's upstairs to wait for the scores.

All of the pack get an eight or above and then I get the shock of my life.

Apparently insanely difficult to get is something I got.

My eleven is discussed at length and the discussion eventually bores me to tears.

Plaice is pretty hyped with her ten though and it's hard not to blame her.

Plaice is apparently far more skilled than I thought.

That could make the final showdown tougher than I expected if it's just the two of us.

It might actually be 50/50 at the end.

For the first time this games my sleeps a little bit disturbed.

I might not actually win this.

The Interview

Lights! Camera! Action!

It's interview day and after how well me and Plaice have been doing so far we basically end up chilling with Crane and Dionysius till it's time to head to the studio.

Elagabalus Lovejoy etches a permanent place in my heart for knocking it out of the ballpark once again. The guy's an absolute genius with clothing.

Even if his skin is dyed a hideous flamingo pink.

The 1s and 2s know the score and pull off some decent interviews. Surprisingly the 3s manage to do very good as well. Given that both 3s scored a seven they could be dangerous. Fortunately though Plaice and I convinced the pack that the 3s needed to be eliminated sharpish this year along with the 7s.

It didn't take much convincing after that 5th games debacle.

Plaice is giving a really good showing up there with Octavius while Magnificent the girl from 1 is giving her dagger eyes because Plaice is stealing the 1s typical sultry and beautiful angle with remarkable skill.

Yeah I've underestimated Plaice big time.

Now it's me though and it's time to make clear who they should be rooting for from District 4.

Octavius is a massive help with my hero angle and the empty headed majority that make up the Capitol are almost crying over how brave and selfless I am. Then it's down to the final 30 seconds to leave the airheads chomping at the bit.

"At times like this Octavius I can only remember what Chester Oakley our magnificent Victor from 7 said at the start of the 4th games to Beryl from 1 and some personal thoughts of my own. . "

"Go ahead." Octavius encourages. Octavius knows when to let a tribute lead.

"To all my competitors in the arena this hunger games I want to wish them the very best for tomorrow."

Crowd starts to get to their feet.

"May the odds be ever in your favour!"

Crowd starts to applaud quietly before they realise I have one thing left to say.

The next line comes to me in a flash of inspiration.

"And a very happy Hunger Games!"

Crowd goes absolutely mental.

The Arena

"Dun, Dun, Dun" silence "Dun, Dun, Dun" silence "doodly do doodly do doodly do do do do"

That tune stuck in my head is the start of the overture to some opera called La Forza Del Destino which apparently translates to The Power of Fate which seems appropriate for the situation.

Music stuck in my head at a time like this where I'm about to appear in my arena.

Nerves can be a funny thing.

Ok I'm done as I've finally come up onto my pedestal.

Are you kidding me?

JACKPOT!

I start laughing as I look around at the arena and the weapons in the cornucopia. I hear someone else laugh a little further away and quickly spot that it's Plaice.

Which isn't surprising because we're in a ruined city that's almost entirely flooded by the ocean.

The Cornucopia has swords, maces, daggers and your standard supplies.

Oh and two glittering tridents.

Clearly the Arena came way before I volunteered or Plaice and I scored so highly.

The tridents are no accident though.

The odds are definitely in our favour this year.

I take a glance at the 1s and 2s to see all their faces are looking pretty angry.

Oh bugger they've realised it as well.

I make eye contact with Plaice and nod in the direction of Marble next to her.

Plaice gives the slightest nod back.

Yeah there's not gonna be a Bloodbath Pack this year.

Not that the other four know that yet.

The countdown hits zero and then its game time.

Plaice grabs a trident and Marble's dead after 25 seconds having distracted herself killing the girl from 3.

I gut Wonder a few seconds later after he was distracted killing the boy from 7.

By now the other members of the "pack" have realised what's happening

Plaice takes down Magnificent who really didn't live up to her name.

Unfortunately Granite does and the strong quarry boy takes me more than a minute of 1 vs 1 duelling to take down.

The 11s have decided to run or swim away as did the 12s.

They never do well in the games with the exception of Mindy from 12 who somehow managed to make 4th in the second games.

Yeah the Second games really were that screwed up.

The rest of the Cannon fodder is standing with their mouths agape at seeing the pack mostly eliminated before most of their useless hides have even been noticed.

The girl from 5 and the boy from 8 are the only ones who make it out of the ensuing massacre.

Plaice and I each get 5 kills more a piece before the Cornucopia Bloodbath is complete.

14 kills between the two of us combined with the two kills that Wonder and Marble managed to get mean we've beaten the second games for kills in the bloodbath at sixteen overall.

We've matched the second games overall bloodbath score between two people if you ignore Wonder and Marble's contributions.

Inevitably there is a veritable rain of parachutes coming down.

Excellent food and there's even two bottles of white wine that look like a very good vintage from the vineyards in district 1.

After setting up some traps for any who might try to attack the cornucopia Plaice and I have an excellent feast and get really drunk when more wine keeps coming.

The next morning (I use the term lightly cause it's close to midday when we wake up) the hangover's are killer for both of us. One last parachute arrives from the Capitol with medicine that clears that up pretty much instantly.

Now it comes down to me and Plaice hunting down the last escapees from the Bloodbath.

As it turns out over the course of the day the Game makers seem determined to make our job easier.

The Girl from 11 is snapped up as she swims away from us by an absolutely massive shark muttation that swallows her in a single bite.

The Boy from 8 we find dead next to the remains of a large crab like mutation which he had managed to kill after it had mortally wounded him.

The Girl from 12 we find in one of the abandoned half flooded buildings with a variety of vicious seagull mutts still feasting away on her.

We dispatch the mutts easily but Plaice and I both realise that our bloodbath rampage has probably cost the Capitol the experience to see the full extent of the mutations on offer as this year's latest game maker innovation.

Oh well guys maybe next year.

The two boys from 11 and 12 we find working together. Neither is particularly good at combat so we each kill one a piece.

As it is only the second day of the games this is the quickest hunger games since the first.

Not our fault that Plaice and I are a cut above.

We are both tied on eight kills each.

The last person left is the girl from 5.

We find her at the roof of one of the tallest buildings looking out over the sea.

She turns towards us.

"I always knew my cousin was a bitch but I never thought this much." The Girl says in a voice barely more than a whisper which I only just make out.

I look at her more closely.

Her last name is different but I can sort of see the family resemblance.

Oh my God.

The girl can see in my eyes that I realise what she's referencing and shakes her head as if to say don't mention it.

"Well Marlin and Plaice. Make sure the duel is exciting. Panem deserves that after such a quick games." Then the girl gives a running leap off the top of the building on the side with solid ground.

A few seconds later the cannon booms.

Two tributes left so it's a 50/50 chance.

After seeing Plaice fight it actually probably will be 50/50.

Plaice and I face each other.

We clasp arms and nod.

We both turn and walk five steps away.

Turn back to face one another.

Then we lunge.

The Wedding Reception

I knock back a double gin and tonic as I talk to Chester and Julius from 2 and 7.

The three of us make quite the trio.

All three of us killed our district partners.

Julius is still overcome with remorse over it.

Chester's actually pretty damned proud of it.

And me?

I'm just glad that I got out. My plan worked in the end. Even if the fight with Plaice was vicious and lasted over ten minutes.

It was very much 50/50 in the end or 51/49 in my favour. Plaice was very nearly here sipping a double G and T in my spot.

At least in the end I escaped uninjured and my original plan would have ended up complete regardless of whether I had lived or died.

District 4 would still have had a Victor.

At the end of the day though I'm here and Plaice isn't.

After talking it over with Diamond and both of the 2 mentors I'm in with their little Tribute training scheme and we should be able to convince President Romanus with all 3 of the Bloodbath Alliance districts having a Victor or more each all on board.

I even think of a cool name to give us.

"The Careers"

The other three "Career" Victors look sceptical but I'll bring them around.

Chester isn't going to participate.

He's not a big fan of his district after the past two years and doesn't see why he should go overboard the entire year to save unreaped kids who hate him plus he says his district is too rebellious anyway to get training programs approved.

When push comes to shove though he still does his best for his tributes when game time hits though.

Ironically so does Smith or should I say Aurelius.

"Sarah Aurelius the First Lady of Panem."

That phrase should petrify absolutely everyone.

She seems to genuinely be enjoying today though seeming to be in her element once again.

To be fair it is her wedding reception I'm currently getting sloshed at.

I'm also pretty sure the reaping was rigged to send her own cousin into the arena on purpose.

Cousin Alice wasn't there by accident. Of that I'm 100% sure.

I won the hunger games though.

I guess its all's well that ends well.

Right?