The 44th Hunger Games:
INTRODUCTION
Immediately before the reapings of the forty-fourth annual Hunger Games were set to begin, a scientific discovery was made in the Capitol. A woman (a young woman, in fact, only twenty-five) named Caelinia Gadsby was experimenting with different trees. She was hoping to find a cure for the whooping cough that was on the rise in the Capitol and in the primary districts like 1 and 2. This Caelinia fellow ended up discovering a revolutionary method for headache treatment. Although nobody knows exactly where these brain waves came from, Caelinia made a concoction primarily consisting of birch and willow sap as well as caffeine and a few other chemicals that was the fastest headache curing method known to medicine. She fashioned her new invention into a tablet and began selling it to those who habitually suffered from headaches, especially migraines. Many businesses, seeing potential in Caelinia's new product, pestered her for the rights to sell it in their stores, but she refused. She knew that if she let any store sell it that the prices would skyrocket partly due to corporate greed. Caelinia continued to make these tablets and kept on selling them. Soon, they morphed from treatment for those with severe headaches to recreational headache treatment for use in everyday life. Caelinia was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine that year.
Wisp Glasgow returned for another year as head gamemaker. This year's arena would be modeled after District 7, and since the revolutionary new medicine was fashioned largely from trees he wanted this year's arena to be modeled after two things… trees and medicine. The entire arena was a mammoth oak tree. Falling off meant certain death. The cornucopia stood in the center, with the tree's limbs sprawling out in every direction. Fashioned out of wood and decorated with whimsically lime-green leaves, the horn was low-ceilinged and rather humble in appearance. Although the limbs of the titanic tree seemed to be randomly scattered at first glance, they were distinctly bunched up into four groups. Each quadrant represented one of the four the north, the winter quadrant of the tree, the wood was tough and sharp and the twigs were completely bear. To the east, spring held a luscious scene of brilliant green leaves and flowery blossoms, teaming with life. The south embodied summer, and its leaves were sturdy and a settled green color. The west, autumn, had leaves that fluttered and whirled around. They were all of the colors you'd expect from fall leaves, but heightened: valiant, crimson red; marvelous, vibrant orange; and delectable, golden yellow. The feature of the games associated with medicine… well, that'll be introduced momentarily.
This year's careers were slightly stronger than usual. The career districts all knew that District 7 was the strongest outlying district, and they knew that in an arena fashioned in their favor they would be more powerful than ever before. As such, academy training was on overdrive as the career districts were determined to whip up a batch of six strong kids to counteract the likely strength of those from District 7. District 1 had two natural beauties as always. The male was the son of a famous District 1 painter whose work sold throughout the district and even in the Capitol. The boy himself wasn't the most formidable fighter in the world but was more determined and tenacious than any tribute that the academy had seen in a long time. The female went with the archetype of a pretty girl. It was often considered that District 1 females could either be fighters or beauties, not both, but this girl managed to pull both off. District 2 offered up a pair of formidable fighters, the two most powerful tributes this year. The male was as cold as ice and hard as stone and was a wizard with the dagger. The female was a beauty particularly with her soothing voice. Back in District 2, she had a job using her calming voice to make listening books for blind children. She was a great fighter, though, menacing alongside her district partner. District 4's male had a sort of exotic beauty to him, and many a sponsor was drawn to his looks like a fly to a sugar bowl. The District 4 girl was caught bribing one of the top gamemakers into giving her a nine instead of an eight. The girl herself received a thorough scolding, and the gamemaker that had accepted her bribe was fired and hanged for his actions. In total, the training scores of the careers were higher than average, with three tens and three nines.
Outside of the careers, the batch of tributes was much more diverse, if not groundbreaking, than usual. Two nines were scored outside of the careers. Rye Boyum of District 9 was the son of Victor Barley Chisolm. Put into the games via a rigged reaping, this Rye fellow managed an impressive nine with not only his talent but his elegance. With a single swipe of his sickle he could wow the audience with his grace. Sumac Scalia from District 11 was the only other outlier nine scorer. Sumac had mastered the throwing knives, and his effect on the audience was monumental. There were no eights scored this year. Train from 6 and Rayon and Lycra from 8 were the only tributes to score sevens. Train was a girl with a brain who used her intellectual ability to score a seven. The District 8 tributes were neighbors and close friends. Rayon had substantial practice with the knife, whereas Lycra liked swords. The rest of the tributes scored between six and three in their private sessions. Mae, District 12's girl, was a standout to the audience. Mae was a highly religious girl who preached love and acceptance in her interview. There were two volunteers outside of the careers: Tilly Wright from District 5, who volunteered to save her sister; and Cilla Whitaker from District 11, who volunteered for her girlfriend. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Beret Miracle, 18, (9) 6-1 and Sephora Kallinger, 17, (9) 7-1
District 2: Amadeus Severus, 18, (10) 3-1 and Jade Resnik, 18, (10) 5-1
District 3: Daemon Carter, 14, (4) 30-1 and Unix Lesdale, 15, (5) 21-1
District 4: Sunken Ivette, 16, (10) 4-1 and Allison Zaleskas, 16, (9) 7-1
District 5: Archard Decker, 18, (6) 18-1 and Tilly Wright, 13, (3) 46-1
District 6: Locomotive Cantor, 17, (5) 20-1 and Train Le Blanc, 17, (7) 12-1
District 7: Albin Braudel, 14, (6) 23-1 and Laurel Sase, 18, (5) 21-1
District 8: Rayon Corduroy, 18, (7) 11-1 and Lycra Madaline, 14, (7) 20-1
District 9: Rye Boyum, 16, (9) 8-1 and Bushel Riordian, 13, (3) 39-1
District 10: Fawn Lamberger, 12, (4) 47-1 and Yara Karabell, 14, (4) 45-1
District 11: Sumac Scalia, 17, (9) 8-1 and Cilla Whitaker, 17, (5) 22-1
District 12: Ember Seaborg, 15, (5) 25-1 and Mae Leccee, 13, (6) 25-1
HGBO Bets: 8% on Amadeus and Sunken, 7% on Beret, Jade, and Allison, 6% on Sephora, Rye, and Sumac, 5% on Train, Rayon, and Mae, 4% on Archard, Albin, Laurel, Lycra, and Cilla, 2% on Daemon, Unix, and Locomotive, 1% or Less on Tilly, Bushel, Fawn, Yara, and Ember.
THE GAMES
Before the tributes entered the arena, they were brought together in a circular rom. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all starch white, and it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Around the perimeter of the circular room, there were twenty-five doors. They were almost completely flush with the wall. Twenty four of the doors were marked with the name of one of the tributes. The twenty-fifth door, however, was blank. Each door led to one of the launch rooms. Before the games began, Wisp Glasgow had some business to take care of with the tributes.
In the room, the tributes stood in silence for a few minutes. Then, the blank door burst open and in came Wisp, escorted by two peacekeepers. One of the peacekeepers closed the door behind them. Wisp set down a large suitcase that he was carrying, unlatched it, and opened it. Inside were twenty-four syringes, each filled with electric-blue liquid.
"Come forth, tributes," Wisp instructed. The tributes all gathered around him, the careers eager to get to the front and the outliers falling into the back. All of them waited to hear what he would say next.
"I will call you up in district order. When your name is called, you are to extend your arm and accept one of these syringes. Once I tell you to do so, you will go through the door marked with your name," he said. His voice was laced with sticky sweetness that made many a tribute feel like vomiting. He had already learned much from the venomous President Snow. "Mr. Miracle, you are first."
Beret Miracle, District 1's male, stepped forward. He pulled up his sleeve and extended his arm. Wisp reached into his open suitcase, pulled out the first syringe, and stuck the needle into Beret's forearm. He twitched slightly with pain as Wisp pressed down the plunger and injected the electric blue liquid into his body.
Wisp called for Sephora from 1, then Amadeus and Jade from 2, then Daemon and Unix from 3, then Sunken and Allison from 4, and so on. Shaking Mae from District 12 was the last to be called up, her arm trembling with fear as Wisp pressed the liquid from the final syringe into it. All of the tributes fiddled nervously around the room, waiting for further instruction from the gamemaker.
"The poison I have just injected into each and every one of you will kill you suddenly and instantaneously in exactly twenty-four hours," Wisp barked. At the word poison, the outliers were jostled with terror. Even the careers' hearts raced.
"Throughout the arena, small vials of medicine will be hidden. Some will be in plain sight. Others will be more hidden. These vials of medicine are to be consumed by mouth. Each vial will be labeled with how many hours it will delay the poison. For example, a vial labeled with the number seventy-two will extend the amount of time it will take the poison to kill you by seventy-two hours, or precisely three days. Some vials are labeled as little as one or two hours, and some, though few and far between, may be labeled for up to one-hundred hours. Any tribute may consume any vial that he or she finds, and until then all bets are off. You may cheat, steal, lie, manipulate, or kill to reach the vials of medicine," Wisp told.
"Now enter the door marked with your name. These will take you to your launch room, where your stylist and mentor will say some final words to you as usual. Then, as always, you must enter your pod and rise up into the arena. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The tributes all scrambled to their doors. Once everyone was in their pods, they began rising up into the arena. They were instantly greeted by the chirping of birds and the rattling of woodpeckers. In the mammoth oak tree, life was plentiful, with the exception of maybe the winter quadrant. Even the winter quadrant, however, held a few tame arctic foxes and cardinals.
The gong rang, and tributes burst forward and backward. Many tributes, enticed by the natural bounty of the arena that surrounded them, ran away at the very beginning. There were five of them, and they were Daemon from 3, Train from 6, Fawn and Yara from 10, and Mae from 12. The other tributes went to the cornucopia either to gather supplies or thinking that it might hold at least some medicine to postpone the killing process of the poison. The moment that the outliers realized that the cornucopia was empty of medicine, many of them turned around and fled the scene. This, combined with the large number of tributes that scattered at the very beginning, made for a pathetic bloodbath. The bloodbath only hosted six deaths.
Amadeus was off of his pedestal the second the gong rang, leaping and bounding over roots and tearing through the foliage. Amadeus picked up a serrated sword that lay almost completely buried under a pile of leaves about fifty yards from his pedestal. Meanwhile, young Albin from 7 kept running and raced into the cornucopia to look for a hatchet. Albin found one. When he raced out into the light, he was greeted by the bite of Amadeus' sword in his gut. Grinning, Amadeus tore his sword out of Albin's body and then ripped his hatchet out of his hand. Amadeus held a firm grip as he slammed the hatchet into Albin's head, nearly cleaving his skull completely in half. Now wielding a sword in one hand and a hatchet in the other, Amadeus stalked off to look for more prey.
Albin Braudel, District 7 Male: 24th, Killed by Amadeus, Bloodbath
Seconds before, Sunken had picked up a smaller boy and thrown him to the ground. The pitiful boy crumpled into the underbrush like a torn paper doll as Sunken picked up a trident and went in for the kill. The boy lay on the ground with his mouth open like a fish's, the air crushed out of his lungs. As the gleaming prongs of Sunken's trident descended upon him, he inhaled a huge gasp of air and leapt to his feet. The boy kicked Sunken in the groin with all of the force that he could muster. Sunken moaned with pain but chased after the boy, eventually seducing him by sliding the prongs of his trident into the back of his neck.
Archard Decker, District 5 Male: 23rd, Killed by Sunken, Bloodbath
Beret scooped up a knife just in time to spot a small and lithe boy darting past, his arms wrapped around a backpack that he was clinging onto for dear life. Beret dove toward the young boy and raked his knife across his back. The boy let out a yelp and dropped the backpack, running for his life. Beret had already grabbed the back of his neck, though, and he skewered his knife through the boy's head after a few seconds of watching him squirm desperately.
Locomotive Cantor, District 6 Male: 22nd, Killed by Beret, Bloodbath
Amadeus, duel-wielding his two weapons, saw a girl on the ground, taking inventory of the contents of an orange backpack. Amadeus ran toward the girl, but she saw him. The girl jumped to her feet and tried to run, but Amadeus had already grabbed the back of her necklace (her tribute token). The necklace dug into the girl's throat before snapping with a pop. She tried to run, but Amadeus barked, "Oh no you don't," and tossed his hatchet toward her back. The hatchet flipped end over end before burying its blade into the girl's back. She stopped running and fell forward so hard that she literally flew a few yards and landed on her stomach.
Bushel Riordan, District 9 Female: 21st, Killed by Amadeus, Bloodbath
Sephora smirked when she affixed her gaze to a whip that sat on a crate a few yards from where she was standing. The leather grip fell snugly into her hand. Instantly, Sephora lashed down the whip onto the nearest girl. The girl screamed as the leather strap wrapped around her arm. The career pulled, and the girl's entire limb was torn off. She screamed as Sephora lashed her whip again, ramming it into the keening girl's back. As the metal teeth sank into her back, Sephora became freckled with blood. But Sephora kept whipping, and the girl kept screaming, and she died from blood loss a few minutes later.
Cilla Whitaker, District 11 Female: 20th, Killed by Sephora, Bloodbath
That was the end of the bloodbath… or so it seemed. The outliers had all scampered away from the horn, leaving only the sound of birds chirping in the clearing. The bloodbath cannons weren't firing. The careers immediately began searching around for the tribute that they knew must be hiding somewhere. Sephora and Amadeus took to the actual horn, and the other four careers searched through the clearing for any hiders. When they found no tributes and the cannons still hadn't sounded, they figured that one of the "dead" tributes must not actually be dead. Allison from 4 was the first to test this theory. Allison strolled over toward the bloodlathered corpse of Cilla, who had died mere moments prior. Allison kicked her in the face. She moved a bit, but didn't react to the pain at all, a sure sign that she was dead. The careers continued this for about a minute, with no results. However, a bit later, Jade found Unix from District 3 on the ground. Jade kicked Unix in the neck with all of her might. Unix squeezed her eyes and winced a bit from the pain. She had done a good job of masking the fact that she was still alive until then. Jade picked up the nearest katana and speared it through Unix's heart before she could get to her feet and run. Six cannon shots shattered the natural peace of the arena.
Unix Lesdale, District 3 Female: 19th, Killed by Jade, Bloodbath
The outliers scattered. There were eighteen remaining tributes, which was something that Wisp hoped for. He knew that the poison element of this year's games would cause the crowd of tributes to be thinned very quickly, so a small bloodbath was just what he needed. Wisp hoped to have an uneventful beginning and to crescendo into a chaotic and rocking finale that would leave the nation dumbfounded with awe. The careers didn't have much to do at the horn, and with so many outliers they figured that it would be a good idea to get hunting early and pick off a few that were off-kilter after the bloodbath. They split into two groups of three: Amadeus, Sunken, and Allison in one group; and Beret, Sephora, and Jade in the other. With stronger tributes, the former covered more ground. The quadrant of the tree representing winter was certainly the least hospitable and least attractive of all. With its bare branches and frost-coated twigs, it looking unwelcoming to many a tribute. Despite this, two tributes headed into it. Lycra wove through the branches for a bit. Eventually, she found an area where several branches had been caught by one another and had grown around each other, creating a hollow space inside. Lycra crawled into this space and unearthed the towel that she had snagged from the horn. Lycra threw the towel around herself and sank to the bottom of the wooden ditch, trying to get warm. Never mind finding medicine for the poison, her biggest concern was not freezing to death. Faun also headed for the winter quadrant, but in pursuit of medicine. He figured that, as the quadrant that would attract the least tributes, he would have more medicine to himself than he would if he had embarked on any of the other seasons. Searching meticulously through the dry and snapping twigs, Faun caught a glimpse of something colorful. Faun ran toward it and found a metal cup bolted to the base of a tree. Inside of the cup was a crystal-clear vial. And inside the vial was a yellow liquid. Faun rejoiced, but when he reached down to pull the vial out of the cup his fingers slid off of it. Frustrated, Faun tried again. No matter how hard he tried, his fingers slid off of the slippery glass whenever he tried to pick it up. Then, Faun remembered a puzzle that his father had shown him back in District 7 when he was a youngster. Faun blew over top off of the cup, and the vial instantly leapt out and into his waiting grasp. Faun made out the number "24" labeled on the side of the vial before tossing the liquid into his mouth. It tasted disgusting, and Faun gagged. With the poison delayed twenty-four hours, he could finally rest and find a place to call home. The sun was already setting, and so he made camp in an area heavily populated by red cardinals. He would find a better place to live in the morning.
Spring, with its pink blossoms and luscious fruit, naturally attracted the most tributes. Five tributes ran there at the conclusion of the bloodbath. They were Daemon, Train, Laurel, Rye, and Yara. Daemon had run away from the bloodbath with only his bare hands. He spent the rest of the day alternating between walking and jogging down the tree's thick branches. Daemon was quick to realize that the pink blossoms were edible, and he munched contentedly on them every once and a while when he got hungry. Daemon was jogging through an area of thick underbrush when he heard a crunching sound underfoot. Daemon looked down and saw that he had just stepped on a vial of liquid. Daemon tried to pick up what little remained of the vial, but as he did he shifted his foot just enough to knock the shards of glass and medicine and sent then hurling downward into the oblivion below. Daemon cursed himself for his stupidity and devoted himself toward finding a bit of medicine. Luckily, he found a vial underneath a web of ivy less than an hour later. Daemon reached down into the ivy, but the hairs of the ivy latched onto his hand and wouldn't let go. Daemon grabbed the vial from underneath and tried to run when a searing pain began shooting up his arm. Daemon yelled with pain as the poison ivy ejected its toxic oils. Daemon finally managed to tear his arm out of the mass. He threw the medicine (labeled "48") into his mouth and fled the scene. His arm was beginning to puff up in reaction to the poison ivy, and small yellow spots were beginning to form. At least he had delayed the poison by two entire days. Train was another one to seek spring's natural bounty. With no food from the horn, Train had to set up some traps of her own. She ended up fashioning a snare out of plant fiber. Resourceful Train was able to fashion at least ten sister snares within one hour. She leaned against the nearest sturdy branch and waited. Eventually, Train heard a snapping sound. She ran toward it and found a beautiful golden squirrel, its foot stuck in her trap, flailing around and hanging in the air. Train slit it to death with a sharp rock. She originally contemplated starting a fire. She was out gathering firewood when she realized that if a fire got out of hand it could spell disaster in big, flaming red letters. Train ate the meat raw, and she had to chew and chew until her jaw was sore. Laurel was a sort of hunter-gatherer for most of Day 1. After fleeing the bloodbath with a knife, she ran as fast as she could and eventually collapsed beside a small pool. Laurel slurped down some water to ease her raging thirst and then continued on, finding a patch of strawberries amidst those pink blossoms. She gathered a huge clump of the blossoms and strawberries and feasted on them before moving on. She hopped around, not only because it was a more efficient strategy for survival but because it would make it harder for her to be tracked. Rye had gotten a sickle from the horn and spent the rest of the day practicing with it. He started off by just hacking it into branches, but he quickly realized that that was just dulling the blade and so he started chopping up shoots and roots and leaves. Yara was walking through the arena, seeking medicine for the poison that she knew was creeping up on her, when she spotted the flick of a deer's tail from around a nearby branch. Yara began walking closer toward the deer, and, in her distraction, stepped on an area where there were no branches, just a mass of foliage. Yara slid and fell. She desperately flailed around her arms and tried to grab hold of something, but Yara could ultimately do nothing as she slipped through the underbrush and fell down… down… down into the endless oblivion below.
Yara Karabell, District 10 Female: 18th, Killed by Falling out of the Tree, Day 1
Surprisingly, the summer quadrant of the arena attracted only two tributes. The first was Sumac. Having scored a nine, a sponsor that liked him sent him a razor-sharp blade that he practiced with all day. Eventually, Sumac found a vial of medicine for twelve hours tucked under the root of a sapling and tore it out, chugging it down. Mae ran as fast as she could, and when she could run no longer she set up camp. It was a humble abode, merely a little cove behind a curtain of moss, but it was surprisingly cozy inside. Mae spent the rest of the day praying for the tributes that had passed on that day, and a sponsor soon sent her a copy of the bible for her to read from.
Fall's quadrant caught the eyes of three tributes. Tilly, only twelve, was too weak and small to travel down the entire length of the tree in a single day, so she only walked two miles or so before sitting down around a pool of rainwater. Tilly was fascinated by the swirling colors around her. Tilly got to her feet to search for resources when she saw the tiniest sparkle from underneath the murky puddle. Dumbfounded, Tilly reached into the puddle and pulled out a glittering vial of golden liquid, labeled "18". Tilly drank the liquid and discarded the vial. Relieved that the time until her death from the poison was lengthened, Tilly began setting up shelter near the pool. She was rather paranoid of fire, and that was perhaps one reason why she chose home as next to a body of water. Rayon didn't find any medicine, as he was creative, if not exactly intelligent, and he searched in the weirdest and most obscure places for the medicine. In failure, he slept tucked away in a copse of bushes where he hoped nobody would be able to find him. Ember travelled to the autumn quadrant and instantly produced a pot that he had gotten from the cornucopia. Ember filled the pot with dirt and then found a puddle of rainwater. Gently wetting and folding the dirt into mud, Ember was ready. He splashed himself with the bucket. Ember put the bucket of mud above him and tipped it upside down, letting the glob of earth consume him. Covered with mud, he began attaching leaves and sticks to his body to camouflage himself. Covered with the essence of Mother Earth, Ember slept against a sturdy sapling, reassured that nobody would be able to see him with heis new look.
On Day 2, the immediacy of the circumstances at hand sank in to many a tribute. The day saw a mad dash for the tributes to find medicine to delay their deaths. The threat of the poison that each tribute knew was creeping up on them was just as big of a threat as dying from natural cause or in combat. The prime source of chaos was in the ranks of the careers. They had spent most of Day 1 hunting for tributes and not enough time hunting for medicine. Amadeus, Sunken, and Allison were searching feverishly for a glint of golden liquid. Allison was tearing up roots and trying to find a vial. All seemed hopeless until she reached into a mass of moss and felt her fingers touch glass. Making sure that none of her allies were looking her way, she sneakily drank down the antidote and discarded the vial. Selfish, but it was the career constitution to survive as long as possible and to be merciless for others. Allison hadn't checked the number on the side of the glass contained, but it was 30. And a good thing indeed. At the time she drank it down, she had only four hours left until the poison became lethal. Her allies continued to hunt down the elusive stuff, with varying degrees of success. Amadeus was trying to tear bark off of one of the branches in hope of trying to find some of the heavenly antidote underneath it. Amadeus was running his hand across a shelf of bark when he encountered a panel of smooth metal. The career pulled open the small door and saw a glass of medicine inside, labeled "50" in carefully penned handwriting. All stood still as Amadeus' mouth hung open with shock. Sunken saw that he was holding the vial and darted toward him. Sunken tacked Amadeus and snatched the vial out of hands. Sunken was about to slurp down the shimmering liquid when Amadeus kicked him in the groin. He reeled, lost balance, slid down, and began falling from the tree. Sunken flailed around his limbs, trying to grab hold of a branch or twig. One of his flailing hands caught onto Amadeus' shoelace, which he clung onto for dear life. Amadeus was instantly ripped off of the branch alongside screaming Sunken. The two careers plummeted downward on and on and on until Allison only saw them as two little ants before disappearing entirely into the misty
Sunken Ivette, District 4 Male: 17th, Killed by Himself and Amadeus, Day 2
Amadeus Severus, District 2 Male: 16th, Killed by Himself and Sunken, Day 2
There was much more success in the trio of Beret, Sephora, and Jade. Beret was the first to find some of the medicine after sliding back a thin sheet of papery bark from a rotting limb. Beret chugged down the liquid, and even after that he kept searching. Mere minutes later, Beret found another small vial tucked away between two twigs. He handed it to Jade, his nearest ally, who thankfully gulped it down. That left only Sephora having not found any of the antidote. Sephora hunted feverishly, and when she couldn't find any medicine she began panicking. Shaking more than ever, she breathed heavily and bowled through the arena, tearing apart whatever she could find in desperate search of a that precious gold glint. Suddenly, Sephora's struggles were silenced. The poison had set in, just as Wisp had promised. Sephora's body clenched before going completely limp. Her cannon shot fired as she crumpled like a paper doll at the feet of her allies. Now, only three careers remained.
Sephora Kallinger, District 1 Female: 15th, Killed by Poison, Day 2
Over in the winter quadrant, Lycra was beginning to have second thoughts. She had originally chosen to flock to winter because of reverse psychology, but it was just so cold that she couldn't bear to stay any longer. Lycra shivered, and the chattering of her teeth was bone-chilling to hear. The worst pain, though, was the one deep down in her stomach. Starvation and frostbite weren't nonexistent threats in the arena, and Lycra decided once and for all to evacuate the winter quadrant in favor of a warmer season like spring or summer. In the end, the road was too precarious to reach either of those seasons, so Lycra had to head toward fall. Although it was cool in the fall quadrant, it was so much warmer than winter that she cried out with relief. Lycra hugged herself and allowed herself a few hours to get accustomed to the new lifestyle before hunting for medicine. Lycra got up from her hiding spot against a sturdy rock and didn't have to hunt at all, for a glimpse of gold could be seen wedged in between the stone and the ground. Lycra pushed the stone a few inches out of the way and snatched up the antidote. She sipped down the medicine gratefully. In the winter quadrant, Faun was having more luck. He had gotten a bow and arrow from the horn and had managed to shoot down one of the cardinals that flew around the region merrily. Faun caught the bird and tore off its feathers before roasting it over a fire that he made in an area that was rather wet from melting snow. He had a bucket of snow nearby to douse the fire at once in case it should get out of hand.
Over in the spring quadrant, there was a mania of finding more medicine. Rye practiced with his sickle, swinging it between the branches and snapping twigs and whatnot. As the son of a victor, Rye needed to always keep sharp and always impress the audience. When slashing around his sickle grew a bit boring, Rye began doing backflips. A vial of medicine he did find around nine in the morning, growing out of one of the merry pink blossoms. Lasting forty-eight entire hours, Rye was set for at least two days. Train's snares continued to pour out their bountiful outputs. One of train's traps caught a chipmunk that was rather feisty, hissing and flailing around until Train killed it with her knife. Still vehemently against introducing fire into the competition, Train put her jaw muscles to good use once more. The only medicine she got was that which was in plain sight. Her biggest find was of a vial of antidote marked for thirty hours, which she quaffed before returning to check on her snares.
Laurel was in a flurry of fright on the morning of Day 2. She hadn't found any medicine at all, and she knew that she would die soon if this continued. Since she was in the spring quadrant, Laurel figured that it was that the spring quadrant had less medicine than the other quadrant. She was naturally drawn to the autumn quadrant, as perhaps she associated the golden leaves with matching the antidote. The only problem was that, in order to reach it, she had to cross the cornucopia. Laurel was willing to do this if it meant saving her life, and she picked up her limited supplies and began running. Laurel was less than a hundred yards from the horn when she heard an arrow singing behind her. Sephora, Beret, and Jade had gone back to the horn and were now scavenging the lands around it to search for prey. Sephora prepared to fire another arrow, and Laurel ran, shooting through the foliage. Her shoes both came off, but never mind that. All of the sudden, her toe caught a root, and she was flying. She landed with a thud on a heavy slab of wood, where Sephora unleashed yet a third arrow. This one struck home, landing straight in Laurel's thigh. Sephora called over her allies, who wasted no time finishing her off. Jade made the move, spearing her katana through Laurel's neck. She blubbered and wailed nonsensically as Sephora finished the job that she had started, firing a volley of two arrows into Laurel's torso. As she died, the careers relished.
Laurel Sase, District 7 Female: 14th, Killed by Sephora and Jade, Day 2
Summer saw little of conflict on Day 2. Sumac and Mae, its only human residents, were happily acquainted with their new surroundings and didn't have any intentions of moving any time soon. Sumac found a gaping hole into a tree. He threw a few rocks inside to make sure that it was empty, and when nothing came scuttling out he crawled into the tree. Dehydration wasn't an issue, as he had gotten a nice water supply from the horn. Mae kept her copy of the good book close at hand, always leaving it within her sight for fear of losing it. Mae found a branch that had curved up so high that it was nearly vertical, and she slunk to the ground behind a curtain of vines that veiled the scene.
Similarly, the fall quadrant didn't have much to boast for the day. Tilly had become so paranoid of fire in the arena that she had set aside her water-sensitive items and sank down into the murky puddle, with only her eyes and nose above the water. Finding medicine was easy, as no other tributes had been there before her and most of the medicine was in plain sight. Down in his copse of bushes, Rayon figured around noon on Day 2 that he needed to get up. He tried to, but it was as if his arms were stapled to the ground. Rayon struggled and found that he had picked up a large number of burrs that clung to anything they touched like velcro. Rayon struggled to peel the burrs off of his skin, and in his panic he nearly stumbled out of the tree several times. After finding his daily dose of the antidote, he slunk into a dark area with despair. Ember was content, wrapped up mud and leaves and sticks. Reasoning that milling around would just go to expose himself, he stayed still and only got up once or twice to find medicine. Lycra took a while to get used to her new home in the fall quadrant, but she came close to dying from poison around two in the evening. She came the closest to death that any tribute had gotten yet; she was less than ten minutes from the poison becoming lethal when she slurped down a vial of the gold antidote.
Day 3 hosted the peak of the forty-fourth Hunger Games' excitement. For years to come, whenever anyone thought of the forty-fourth Hunger Games, they would think of this moment. Out in the spring quadrant, Train had become fed up of eating her kills raw. As such, she decided to risk starting a fire. Train gathered a few stray logs and arranged them in a pile which she surrounded by stones. Crafting a bow, the dry wood caught on fire quickly. She nurtured the growing ember, and soon a blazing inferno was rising up on which Train roasted the outputs of her snares. After that, Train walked away to check on her traps for yet more prey.
Train walked away. The fire gave a roar. A spark flew and landed in a pile of leaves a few feet away. Immediately, the leaf caught fire. It turned black, crumpled, and in its dying breath it transferred its flame to its neighbor. That leaf caught on fire, and the fire spread to at least three other leaves before it died out. After a minute, an area of nearly a square yard was on fire, producing a thin trail of smoke that descended into the heavens. Thrill was about to ensue, the entire audience knew.
After reaping the dead animals from her traps, Train was jogging back to home base when she suddenly recoiled. A wisp of smoke had floated to her and was now stinging her eye. She instinctively cried a few tears to expel the smoke, and when she finally wiped it away her eyes widened with horror. Less than a hundred yards away, a huge cloud of smoke was forming over the mess of foliage and underbrush. Below the plume of pulsating smoke, a blazing red inferno.
Train dropped her things and she ran. She didn't bother to hold on to any of her supplies. The fire was spreading faster than she was running. Train had only run for about a mile when the fire was only a few dozen feet behind her. Suddenly, a large plant behind her caught fire. The blazing plant fell down and landed in front of her with a crash, catching the foliage in front of her on fire. Train was trapped between two walls that were so bright she couldn't even look directly at them. The air was so hot and thick that she was sweating bullets and whenever she breathed she was sure to cough soon after. The two walls were spreading toward her, and she could only wait in agony for the fire to consume her as the chaos was about to begin.
Train Le Blanc, District 6 Female: 13th, Killed by Herself, Day 3
The other tributes in the spring quadrant could now hear the roaring of the fire, the evil, all-consuming rage of the embers being spat out in rapid succession from the mother conflagration. When Laurel heard the rumbling of the fire, she picked a direction and ran. Laurel had run less than a hundred yards when her ankle landed in a small hole, perhaps one dug by a rodent or other small mammal. Laurel hissed as a cracking sound came from below. Laurel assessed her wound. Not broken, that was for sure, but sprained. Laurel hobbled away from the fire as it continued on in its unsatable rage. Rye was practicing with his sickle when he smelled foul smoke. He turned sharply on his heel and saw the evil fire racing toward him, and Rye was off and running with his sickle. Rye eventually came to an area where there was a small hole that had filled with murky water. Thankful, the District 9 boy leapt into the puddle and sank below. The fire roared over him. Then, Rye considered something he hadn't before. He would need to breathe. Once his lungs were screaming for air, he raised his head above the water for a tiny second and took a quick breath. His lungs filled with the noxious smoke, and he coughed a few times before retreating back under the surface of the water. Daemon was working to try and craft a snare when he heard the whining of the fire from far in the distance. Reassuring himself that the fire couldn't possibly get to him, Daemon wasn't up and running until it was too late. Daemon saw the fire on the horizon, churning through the autumn foliage and leaving a black, charred lunar landscape in its wake. Daemon leapt to his feet and ran nimbly across the branches. When he could run no farther, he got into a muddy area and got to the ground. He hoped that the fire would pass over him because heat rises. That was what happened. The all-consuming, furious flare rushed over him. Daemon wasn't touched by the fire's licking flames, but the temperature grew extremely hot underneath it. Soon, Daemon was near crying from the one-hundred and twenty degree temperature underneath the fire. Soon, that number rose to a hundred and fifty. At about two hundred degrees, Daemon passed out, and he died from heat stroke mere minutes later. His cannon shot fired, and the fire continued blazing through the mammoth oak tree in its rampage.
Daemon Carter, District 3 Male: 12th, Killed by Train, Day 3
Meanwhile, the people in the other quadrants of the arena were beginning to notice the fire that was taking place. At the horn, the careers were all woken up the vicious churning noise of the fire and high-tailed it to the autumn quadrant, which was opposite the spring quadrant. Allison and Jade were ahead of Beret, for he had taken slightly longer to realize the immediate danger and get up. At this point, the fire had spread to the summer quadrant, whose lush wildlife was perfect kindling for the monster that Train had created. The group of three careers stumbled upon a clearing in the autumn quadrant in which two pools of water stood side-by-side. One of the pools was empty. A snoozing Tilly slept peacefully in the other pool. Always the good career, Allison produced her bow and deftly shot a single arrow into Tilly's head. Tilly woke with a screech before dying, and Allison ran forth to claim the refuge of the puddle of murky water.
Tilly Wright, District 5 Female: 11th, Killed by Allison, Day 3
Allison darted forward, shoved the dead Tilly out of the pool, and leapt into it, quickly sinking under. Jade took the other pool, leaving only Beret out in the open. The clearing in which they were standing was being closed in upon, with very few places to run. Beret knew that his only hope of survival was to get into one of those puddles. Beret ran toward the pool that Jade was in and picked her out of it, throwing her to the ground a few feet away before slinking down into the pool. Out in open, Jade tried to get back into the puddle of water, but didn't have enough time. A burning branch fell from above her and landed straight on top of her head. Jade wept and tried to fit into one of the murky puddles, but the foliage underfoot had already caught on fire and she couldn't move anywhere. Jade just screamed for help that would never come as the flames caught her clothes on fire and swallowed her down.
Jade Resnik, District 2 Female: 10th, Killed by Train, Day 3
The two inhabitants of the summer quadrant immediately began fleeing when they saw the swirling conflagration on the horizon. Sumac jumped out of his vine-hidden place and went toward lower ground, knowing that fire spread faster uphill than downhill. Sumac darted down into a little valley, but less than halfway down his foot caught a root and he was flying. He landed with a thud in the base of the valley and screeched when he saw the fire rushing down toward him.
Nearby Mae was darting toward the safety of the winter quadrant when she heard Sumac's screams of fright. Mae was a highly religious girl with a clear set of morals. She wasn't about to let another human die. Mae screamed for Sumac to keep screaming. Sumac, relieved that help was coming, kept screaming as loud as possible, and soon running Mae came into view. Mae ran down and grabbed a battered and scared Sumac by the arm. Mae pulled him to his feet and then dragged him away from the fire. Mae originally tried to keep him in as comfortable a position as possible, but as the sea of flames spread toward her she just bounded over the ground, dragging the weeping boy behind her. The games had never seen such a noble and heroic tribute as Mae.
Mae ran and ran and ran, never looking back and never loosening her firm grip on Sumac. Eventually, Mae stopped herself. She was standing on the very end of a thick branch. About twenty feet of empty space past was another branch. They would never make it. Mae just crawled down so that she was at the eye level of sobbing Sumac. The two tributes clung onto each other and cried as the fire engulfed them. Mae was certain that she was heading off to her heaven.
Sumac Scalia, District 11 Male: 9th, Killed by Train, Day 3
Mae Leccee, District 12 Female: 8th, Killed by Train, Day 3
Seven tributes remained. Mae had died so swiftly after Sumac that there wasn't enough time to carry out the final eight family interviews and such, so this year had a final seven: Beret Miracle from District 1, Allison Zaleskas from District 4, Rayon Corduroy and Lycra Madaline from District 8, Rye Boyum from District 9, Fawn Lamberger from District 10, and Ember Seaborg from District 12.
That was when the gamemakers knew it was time to call it quits on the fire. As dark clouds rolled in, the tributes rejoiced. Rain poured down, wetting the leaves and extinguishing the fire that had claimed six lives. With seven tributes left three days in, Wisp would have to be careful to manage things from then on forth, lest Snow see that he was failing. And Snow was always watching.
No more deaths occurred that day. The spring and summer quadrants of the tree were completely uninhabitable. The fire had blown through them and left a charred, eerie black hell behind. Even though it was raining and the fire had been put out, everything was still sizzling hot. The winter quadrant wasn't hospitable either, as it was far too open in the first place for anybody to feel safe without some form of cover. As such, all of the remaining outliers were forced to retreat to the fall quadrant. Beret and Allison were quick to realize that the cornucopia and all of its supplies had been completely incinerated by the hungry fire, and for the first time in as long as anyone could remember the two careers were forced to survive off of their wits in the wild. They didn't hunt, as hypothermia was a more pressing concern. Allison started working on a bonfire, but Beret cut in, vehemently against introducing fire back into the competition. Rayon had managed to pick the last few burrs off of his skin. It was soon revealed to all that he had had some sort of allergic reaction. The places where the rough seeds had once stuck were now growing red and irritated. Whenever Rayon touched them, pain shot through his arm. Finding medicine was slightly more problematic than usual, but in the long run it turned out to be no difficulty. Lycra was the only tribute in the arena that remained completely inconvenienced by the fire. It couldn't hurt her, tucked away down in a ditch of damp soil far away in the autumn quadrant. She just peeked up from her hidey hole and watched with fascination and horror as the fire consumed more than half of the arena. Rye's sickle had sure come in handy, cutting through the foliage whenever it got thick. Having a sharp and nimble blade came with his advantages, and Rye's sickle was his most prized possession at the moment. Ember was rather shaken up from the fire but hadn't received any real injuries. As he used his hands to cleanse himself of the grime that he had collected, he recited poems and songs to himself.
On the morning of Day 4, a cannon shot shattered the peaceful quiet of the arena. Fawn from District 10 had stayed off of radars so much that he had been forgotten by the audience and by Caesar. Fawn had been displaced from his home by the fire, and after it stopped he had endeavored to venture back into the forsaken wasteland to salvage some of his resources that he had to leave behind before fleeing. Once in there, pangs of regret instantly bolted through him. In the burned landscape, everywhere looked exactly the same, and Fawn quickly got lost. After several hours of scavenging the dry, swelteringly hot region for something to drink or eat, he fell dead from dehydration.
Fawn Lamberger, District 10 Male: 7th, Killed by Dehydration, Day 4
The rest of Day 4 was deathless, as was the entirety of Day 5. The careers didn't hunt, discouraged by the destruction of the cornucopia and the embarrassment of being reduced to mere tributes surviving in the wild with hunting as a low priority.
Day 6 was when Wisp realized that his plan for the games was backfiring terribly. He had planned for a small bloodbath slowly crescendoing into a gratifying and seat-rocking conclusion. That was not what he got. The poison aspect of the games was just failing miserably, and with Train's fire less than half of the arena was habitable by the tributes. Hoping to end the boring games quickly, Wisp declared a feast.
"My deepest congratulations to the six remaining tributes of the forty-fourth Hunger Games," Wisp said. "At noon tomorrow, a feast will be hosted on a certain hilltop near the westernmost point of the arena. There will be wonderful and marvelous surprises awaiting you there, so think twice about not showing up." Immediately after he began speaking, a light shot out of the earth in the location that Wisp had described. The beacon of light was visible to all, advertising the location at which the feast would take place.
Every single one of the six tributes showed up to the feast the next day. Beret and Allison didn't have many weapons on them, but they were determined to land a few kills in the feast and hopefully end the games. Rayon's allergic reaction to the burrs was growing severe, and he was so afraid of infection that he decided to risk his life at the feast to find medicine for the infection. Dehydration was Lycra's reason for attending the feast. She was hoping to snatch some water from the feast. Rye had a brain in his head, feet in his shoes, and a sickle in his hand, and he wanted an opportunity to show off his might to the audience. He knew it was the best time to impress that Capitol as well as snatch up some supplies, too. Ember did the math and figured out that by the time that the feast occurred she would have mere minutes until death from the poison. She was beginning to panic when she couldn't find any of it anymore, so she hoped that the feast would have some that she could take.
It came time for the feast, and the tributes all arrived at the hilltop. On top of the hill was a long table such as is used for a banquet. It was covered with backpacks and suitcases and weapons of every kind. At the end of the table were several large pouring glasses of adam's ale, and delicious cakes decorated the tabletop.
The tributes charged forward. The careers were at the head of the onrush, spurred on by the sight of the weapons. Rye was another fast runner. Rye slinked between thick areas of foliage, trying not to stay in the open for too long. Rye was jumping between two ferns when he locked eyes with Beret. Beret darted toward him, wielding his knife, and Rye had no choice but to fight. He slashed his sickle, but Beret crouched down. The blade flew over his head, singing off a few of his stray curls. Beret got to his feet and kicked Rye squarely in the stomach. He reeled and landed with a thud on a heavy log. His vision was growing foggy, but he could just make out the sight of an axe sitting a few feet to his right. Never mind the fact that he could go unconscious at any second. Rye grabbed the axe and scuttled to his feet. Beret wasn't expecting Rye to have so much energy, so he couldn't sidestep fast enough before Rye slammed the axe into his head. It cleaved his skull perfectly in half. Rye wrenched out the axe and ran further toward the hilltop, where more supplies and more prey were waiting for him.
Beret Miracle, District 1 Male: 6th, Killed by Rye, Day 6
Ember had made an error in his calculations. At the time that the feast was going on, he had less than a minute left before the poison took hold in him and he died. Ember didn't even know how swiftly his fate was approaching. Ember was darting across the open field when suddenly the poison began its nasty work and killed him within three or four seconds. With only four tributes remaining, it was almost certain that the victor would be crowned soon.
Ember Seaborg, District 12 Male: 5th, Killed by Poison, Day 6
Rayon was riffling through the contents of the banquet table when his fingertips closed around something glass. When Rayon pulled out the vial of antidote for all to see, Lycra tackled him. Lycra tried to tear the container of medicine out of Rayon's grasp, and he had no choice but to fight back. Rayon threw a fist at Lycra's shoulder. She let out a mewl of pain and rolled aside. Rayon didn't want to kill, but he knew that he was in the games and if he wanted to win she would have to die anyway. Rayon punched Lycra in the side of the head and hammered her to the ground, where Rayon picked her up and threw her to the side like nothing. Her neck was snapped from the blow, and she died from head trauma soon after.
Lycra Madaline, District 8 Female: 4th, Killed by Rayon, Day 6
Rayon was shocked and disoriented after killing Lycra, but he was jolted back to his senses at the sight of Allison thundering toward him, her eyes gleaming with malice. Allison had picked up an elegantly crafted trident a few seconds earlier, and it was like an extension of her arm. Rayon had just his fist to fend off his attacker. Within seconds, Allison had Rayon on the ground, begging and crying for mercy. Allison slid her trident into his neck, quieting him and leaving only two tributes remaining.
Rayon Corduroy, District 8 Male: 3rd, Killed by Allison, Day 6
Only two tributes were alive in the arena: Allison and Rye. Thrill surged through Allison. If she won, she would bring District 4 its tenth victor. It would be the second district to reach double-digits in terms of number of victors, the first being District 2.
The queer thing was that Allison had no idea where her final opponent was. Allison stalked around the hilly area, looking everywhere and trying to find where Rye was hiding. In fact, Rye had crouched under the table and nestled himself into the midst of a pile of black cases. Rye watched with earnest as Allison walked straight past him.
Once everything was in place, Rye dove out from under the table. Allison looked his way and gave a little gasp of shock but couldn't react fast enough before Rye tackled her to the ground and slashed her across the chest with his sickle. Allison dropped her trident and tumbled backward, landing on the ground with a thud. Rye picked up her trident and shoved it into her heart.
Allison Zaleskas, District 4 Female: 2nd, Killed by Rye, Day 6
"Rye Boyum of District 9, you are the victor of the forty-fourth annual Hunger Games!" Wisp screamed.
Rye dropped his sickle and staggered away from Allison's body, waiting patiently for the hovercraft to come and retrieve him.
Rye Boyum, District 9 Male: Victor of the Forty-Fourth Hunger Games, Day 6
AFTERMATH
District 9 welcomed its second victor with open arms. Barley rejoiced, for her son had survived the horrors of the arena just as she had and just as she had feared he would not. The Capitol liked Rye as a victor, but apart from being District 9's first in over a decade there wasn't much to make him memorable. Many people saw Rye's games as being a big failure, and because of this he quickly faded from the public eye.
Rye moved into the Victor's Village of District 9, occupying the second house.
His victory tour was rather bland. The only district that showed him ill will was District 4, who was hoping to get their tenth victor with Allison.
Rye would live to the age of sixty, dying from liver disease around the time of seventy-eighth annual Hunger Games. Unlike his mother, Rye would turn to alcohol to quiet the rampant memories of the time he served in the arena. Since District 9 made alcohol for the Capitol, the stuff was in plentiful supply, and he became a lesser example of a victor as he wasted away his life over the happy juice. As his mother fell into old age, Rye moved into her house to take care of her. Rye would never marry nor have children.
NEWS
Woof Dozier gets married to his girlfriend, Bobbin Ogannesion.
Porter Tripp weds her fiance of nine months, a man named Thomas Scene.
Radiance Clinton marries Silk Griffin after dating her for seven months.
LIST OF VICTORS
1HG: Cordin Frey (#1, District 3)
2HG: Sapphire Waber (#1, District 1)
3HG: Molly Toliday (#1, District 4)
4HG: Amelia Spangler (#1, District 2)
5HG: Misty Sablone (#1, District 12)
6HG: Olivia Seager (#2, District 2)
7HG: Flux Stafford (#2, District 3)
8HG: Brandi Coyne (#2, District 1)
9HG: Isaac Crandall (#1, District 5)
10HG: Velvet Farrow (#3, District 1)
11HG: Mags Flanagan (#2, District 4)
12HG: Slate Ogston (#3, District 2)
13HG: Woof Dozier (#1, District 8)
14HG: Blaze Skalnik (#4, District 2)
15HG: Dina Wilmarth (#2, District 5)
16HG: Beatrice Toland (#1, District 6)
17HG: Amelia Bankston (#5, District 2)
18HG: Markus Gardd (#2, District 6)
19HG: Odius Ruttler (#6, District 2)
20HG: Seeder Kaiser (#1, District 11)
21HG: Freya Digard (#7, District 2)
22HG: Gold Carson (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ashlyn Breston (#3, District 6)
24HG: Dayta Albrand (#3, District 3)
25HG: Diamond Griego (#5, District 1)
26HG: Thor Rosner (#8, District 2)
27HG: Magnet Lisagor (#4, District 3)
28HG: Maria Dutra (#3, District 4)
29HG: Discordia Komine (#9, District 2)
30HG: Barley Chisolm (#1, District 9)
31HG: Marlin Coppi (#4, District 4)
32HG: Wyatt Kerdler (#5, District 3)
33HG: Molly Soltan (#5, District 4)
34HG: Grover Handa (#1, District 7)
35HG: Troy Stiles (#6, District 4)
36HG: Lana Voltaire (#10, District 2)
37HG: Lucy Said (#7, District 4)
38HG: Porter Tripp (#3, District 5)
39HG: Penelope Turek (#8, District 4)
40HG: Beetee Latier (#6, District 3)
41HG: Radiance Clinton (#6, District 1)
42HG: Technik Hartline (#7, District 3)
43HG: Dylan Levitt (#9, District 4)
44HG: Rye Boyum (#2, District 9)
A/N: Writer's block strikes again! I know this wasn't the best chapter but I hope you still enjoyed it. About halfway through the chapter I knew that there was no way that I could pull off a thrilling games and so I just did the fire and the feast to end it quickly. Better to have a short and exciting games than a long and boring one :D
Anyways… Rye! Always nice to see a victor from an outlying district. Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed recently. You've kept me going through the good and the bad, and I could not be more thankful for what you do.
Expect the forty-fifth games soon! Next chapter we get to see Chaff, another canon victor and a personal favorite of mine. Thanks for reading!
