Cayenne Botani, 15

District Eight Female


Games: The 190th Hunger Games

Arena: Luscious Rainforest

Tributes remaining: Subaru Danton D6M, Cayenne Botani, D8F

x

This might just be the most awkward final two in the history of the Games. Not only did Cayenne manage to plummet down a gigantic tree that covered the whole rainforest with its branches that seemed to expand into the distance further than the eye could see but she also got herself into quite the entanglement, literally. The only thing preventing her from crash-landing on the ground were the vines wrapped around her body, keeping her in mid-air. Even better, the last remaining tribute beside her, Subaru, who's also the one who rammed her down the overarching tree, is in the exact same predicament only a few feet away from her.

'Well, this is... ' he breathes heavily, giving it one last attempt to free himself. '...weird,' he says as he sighs and rests his muscles. It was pointless, both of them were aware of that.

'Don't worry, the Gamemakers will make sure that one of us dies, no matter what.' Cayenne says with a smile. 'They could probably cut one of our lifelines whenever they want. They're just curious to see what we're going to do in this scenario. Situations like these don't happen all too often in the Games.' Cayenne ads.

'No sugar coating with you, is there?'

'Sometimes reality is just better. It doesn't give you false hope and without false hope, you won't have false expectations.' Cayenne looks at her belt. As far as she knows, he hasn't noticed her key to victory yet. The slim, glimmering blade attached to her side is the only way she's going to get out of this alive.

'I guess you're right,' Subaru exclaims from the other side. Cayenne snaps back to reality. 'How old are you, by the way?'

'Fifteen.'

'Oh, fun, so am I' By the look of his face, the boy from Six has probably realized that Cayenne was scheming. 'I should probably be doing what you're doing, planning and all. I guess I do want to win after all. I mean, it would suck for me to die now, you know?'

Is he serious? Why is it that she is the one who is thinking and strategizing while he hangs there like a sloth waiting for nothing. Nothing…

He can't be waiting for nothing, he isn't that stupid. Subaru had an 8.3 as a score. He was a smart kid, she saw him during training.

Out of the blue, Cayenne feels a certain tug at the end of one of her vines. Quickly, she glances over, eyes widening with shock as she witnesses her vines being torn apart by Araxoids, which were gigantic tropical spiders crawling all over the arena.

'Ah, you noticed. Was hoping to distract you until it was too late. But I guess it is more fun watching you accept your fate or should I say… your doom.' he chuckles. Subaru is a lot more wicked and ruthless than she had anticipated. Typical kids from Six. Always the ones to keep an eye on.

'Bitch,' she mutters under her breath.

It is only a matter of time until the Araxoids tear completely through all of her vines. Cayenne has to think quickly. She has managed to prove time and time again during training that she was horrible at throwing knives and yet it was her only escape ticket. She slips the blade out of its sheath and holds it up high.

'Ah, I see she has some tricks left up her sleeves.' he's trying to keep his composure but Cayenne won't let herself be fooled twice.

'Yes, she certainly does.' With one quick flick of the wrist, she lets the knife sore through the air, only to miss the boy by inches.

'Oh no, poor you, seems like you just wasted your only chance at winning. Boohoo.' he says it all with that damn smile on his rotten face. 'All your family and friends are going to watch you die on live television and you can't do anything about-' he stops. 'Why are you smiling?'

'Goodbye.'

'What? I don't-' he realises it now. He feels it now. He feels the vines loosening around his waist, around his thighs, around his chest. He sees the blade that missed him by inches buried in the tree trunk behind him and how it left a trace of severed vines behind it. 'No, that can't be…'

In a split second, the vines give in and he releases his last breath before gravity bashes him against the underlying surface.

'Congratulations, to the victor of the 190th Hunger Games, Cayenne Botani!'


Cerulean Vi, 18

District One Male


Games: The 176th Hunger Games

Arena: Giant Racetrack

Tributes remaining: Cerulean Vi D1M, Jane Croft D9F

x

Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a racetrack as an arena? Cerulean can't help but miss the old days when it was just a simple, perhaps bland, Forrest or some mountaintops but now racetracks? Absolutely ridiculous.

The careers decided to turn on each other a little early this time around, probably because, just like him, they were tired of walking along the seemingly endless crossroads. As a result, Cerulean Vi from District One is the only career left in the Game.

Alongside him in the finale is Jane Croft, if he is correct. Sadly, he can't remember a single thing about the girl. She was so unmemorable and insignificant in the pre-games. Literally every other tribute had something, even if it was something very small, that stood out. Jane, however, nothing. He has little to no leverage over her and as much as he hates to admit it, he's worried.

Then he hears it. The roaring sound of an approaching car. Cerulean runs. There is nowhere to hide and facing a racecar head-on was completely out of the question. He can't outrun a car but he could buy himself time and time is what he needs.

At this point it feels like the bumper of the car is about to touch his heels. His instincts immediately take over and he throws himself to the side, evading the looming car. Quickly, he gets to his feet again, keeping the car in his view as it drifts full-circle, only to be facing Cerulean once more. The vehicle starts moving towards him again but this time slower. Cerulean slides his blade out and wields it in front of him, anticipating his opponent's next move.

Slowly Jane emerges from the inside of the car, holding a crossbow. A helmet, together with big, wind-blocking glasses cover her face. With one foot on the steering wheel, she points the crossbow at Cerulean and takes her aim. The arrow cuts through the wind until finally reaching Cerulean's blade with which he blocks the shot. This was a piece of cake for Cerulean. Arrow blocking is one of the basic skills they learned at the academy.

He deflects another shot, and another, and another. Jane who starts to realize that it is pointless disappears in her car again and tries to build up speed and momentum. In no way whatsoever was Cerulean going to let her have the upper hand again. He dashes at the car with full-speed, leaps into the air at just the right moment and lands with his two feet on the trunk of the car. He grabs the District Nine girl and hurls her onto the floor.

It was time to end these dreaded Games. Wasting no time, Cerulean bounces off the racecar and lifts his sword high into the air. Jane, still on the floor, throws her legs behind her head and rolls backward, evading the sword. She takes out her curved dagger with extreme speed and jabs it into Cerulean's thigh. 'Fuck!' he shouts.

Cerulean grips Jane's arm and pulls the dagger out with it. He then proceeds to twist her forearm, causing the weapon to drop from her hand. She throws a punch at Cerulean's face, breaking his nose. He growls in pain but doesn't let go. Jane turned out to be quite the slippery one. She's more lethal than he had expected and if he releases his grip she'll weasel away and wait for another opportunity to strike.

He slams the hilt of his sword against her head. Dazed, Jane staggers back but before she can recover and swoop in for another attack, Cerulean embeds his sword into her stomach. The girl tries to speak but closes her lips before any sound comes out. Not long after, do her muscles relax and her eyes roll to the back of her head as she plops to the ground.

'Congratulations, to the victor of the 176th Hunger Games, Cerulean Vi!'


Valhalla Göransson, 18

District Ten Female


Games: The 161st Hunger Games

Arena: Indian Rice Fields

Tributes remaining: Sinclair Preacher D1M, Griffith Max D2M, Bai Honeycove D4M, Valhalla Göransson D10F

x

Val was never more disgusted and horrified in her entire life as she witnesses her loved one being beheaded by the District One male.

The careers were complicated this year. All the males were rather dominant and took the lead, leaving the females to follow them without a voice. One of the careers, however, was not going to let her voice and her liberty be taken away from her. Val and Veronyka were allies out of convenience. Veronyka needed new allies after deciding that she wasn't going to join the alpha male pack and Val found Veronyka to be the most attractive girl she'd ever seen so she just rolled with it. It wasn't long before a romance blossomed between the two as they became more than just convenient allies.

'Veronyka…' Val utters as she keeps her eyes focused on the ground, tears trickling down her face.

The career boys had gotten rid of the females in their pack around mid-game because they thought that they were slowing the group down. And so the trio Sinclair, Griffith, and Bai dominated this year's Games and took out all the big competition.

'This is getting ridiculous and boring too.' Griffith stretches his arms out and yawns. 'Bai, go finish the other one off.'

'Don't tell me what to do.' Bai gives Griffith a threatening look.

'Just do it for God's sake!' Sinclair shoves Bai forward.

They probably thought they could just duke it out between themselves after everyone's gone since they were so elite and so precious.

'Any last words before I kill you? Maybe you want to say something to your girlfriend...oh, right. She's dead.' he grimaces.

It is official. Cockiness is going to be the death of that boy

'You better watch your fucking mouth.' Val tightens the grip around the stem of her weapon.

'I'd say you be the one who better start to tread carefully or I'll make sure your death is as painful as it-' Val swipes her arm to the right, pulling the morning star, attached to the end of the chain, with her. It happened all so quickly but here Bai stands, eyes wide, lower jaw missing. Blood gurgles out of his throat before Val pushes him aside. The morning star swings like a thundering tornado around Val's head. Sinclair and Griffith look at each other and nod in seriousness. They understand that they might have underestimated the situation.

They both sprint towards Val making sure to keep their distance as not to get hit by the wrecking ball swinging around her like a force field. Griffith remains in front of Valhalla while Sinclair sneakily lurks in the back, slowly disappearing from Val's peripheral vision.

They are two while she is on her own. This wasn't going to be easy but there was no scenario in Val's head where she was going to lose against these two brutes.

Griffith keeps trying to distract her by dashing forward just to stop in time and retreat to his former position. Val is going to wait for the exact moment when the boy gets one step to close in his attempt to confuse her and slam the spiked ball into his skull.

There it is. The sound she was waiting to hear behind her. The liquid surface of the rice fields allowed for Val to hear anyone who tried to sneak up on her. That is the reason why she didn't go after Sinclair when he disappeared. She knew she was going to catch him in time.

And she did. Just as the District One career tries to swing his axe at her, Val, turns 360-degrees around her own axis, pulling the chain behind her. The morning star embeds itself in Sinclair's side, sending him sprawling across the field.

'Bitch!' Griffith cries. He tackles her while she tries to get her weapon back into its swinging motion. Both of them splash onto the floor. Griffith, on top of her, tries to puncture her skull with his blade but misses every time, as Val struggles to dodge the attacks directed at her. He wraps his hands around her throat and starts to press. The soothing tone of death whispers into her ears as her body longs for its supply of oxygen.

'This could have gone quickly. You could have died painlessly. I should thank you, actually. Now I don't have to go up against these two baboons once you die.' He continues to press as he moves in closer. 'So, thank you. Now die.'

Not missing the opportunity that has just presented itself, Val shoots her head against the career boy's skull causing him to loosen his grip and shout in pain. The blood gushes over his eyes, blinding him temporarily. Griffith wipes the blood from his eyes and prepares to go in for another attack. There is no chance in hell that she going to let him do that. With all her limited power left, Val jolts at the boy and slides her pocket knife deep into his chest, making sure to twist it nice and slow as the shock on Griffith's face turns into a solemn expression of acceptance and defeat. There was no voice congratulating Val on her victory after the boom sounded so she focuses her attention on Sinclair, still lying on the wet field where she sent him flying.

'This is for your stupidity, for your selfishness, for your ignorance, for your hubris, this is for all the girls you didn't think were strong enough to keep up with you, this is for all the girls you dismissed as being unworthy of your time. This is for you taking away my love…'

Sinclair tries to speak up but fails, letting out only a wheeze followed by a cough of blood. 'Goodnight.' Val slides the pocket knife across his throat.

'Congratulations, to the victor of the 161st Hunger Games, Valhalla Göransson!'


Dodge Choi, 13

District Twelve Male


Games: The 182nd Hunger Games

Arena: Poisonous Swamps

Tributes remaining: Queenie Le Karl D1F, Falcon Evans D2M, Meara Squid D4F, Zenith Flailer D4M, Theodora Dru D9F, Plum Reyes D11F, Viva Cortez D12F, Dodge Choi D12M

x

This is going to be one of the biggest massacres in the history of the Games. Dodge doesn't like the idea. He'd rather stay back, lurking in the shadows and see what happens but being the youngest in an alliance with three older girls who all have their fair share of strong opinions, leaves him being too scared to voice a concern.

Their eyes are on the careers. 'I, honestly, think this is the best idea.' Viva says. 'They're just standing there, laughing. They probably think that we're all dispersed somewhere in the arena waiting to be picked off one by one.'

'I agree.' Theodora exclaims. 'They won't see it coming. We have the upper hand here and I think we should use this advantage while it lasts.'

'Plus, it means we wouldn't have to go up against each other because, at this point, I, sadly, don't think I could stab any one of you in the back, as much as I'd like to.' Plum ads. The other two chuckle.

'Dodge, are you good with this?' Viva lays a hand on his shoulder. His heart is beating ten times the normal amount. He feels like his chest is about to burst from fear. Do they all have a deathwish? This is not some kind of joke. This is life and death and these girls just want to have one big brawl with trained killers, thinking that one of them will come out victorious.

'Y-yes, of course…' he stutters. 'It's the only way, right?' he laughs nervously.

'Exactly, Dodge. The only way…' Viva seems to have trailed off with that sentence before snapping back to reality. 'Alright, Theo, ready your arrow and aim at Meara, the girl from Four. She seems to be completely unaware of her surroundings. She's least likely to see the shot coming.'

'You mean the one wearing the beanie?' Theodora asks as she pulls her arrow back.

'Yup,' Viva confirms. 'You guys ready?' she looks back at Plum and Dodge. 'This is it. This is the final battle. I just… I just want you all to know that I love you so much.' Dodge can tell that she's trying to hold back tears. 'The friendship I had with you guys was stronger than anything I had back home. I wouldn't sell a single one of you out, even if it meant I'd have to sacrifice myself.'

'Don't say that.' Plum interrupts. 'Just… don't say that.' Viva nods and turns back to Theo. 'Shoot.' And with that Theodora lets the arrow fly. At first it seems like the arrow is getting closer and closer. There's hope. This is really working. It is about to make its mark on the back of her neck. Until…

'Meara, watch out!' Falcon, the boy from Two, jumps in front of the girl, holding a shield close to his chest. The arrow that seemed to carry so much potential at first is defeated with one simple deflection. 'There they are!' he points at Dodge and the girls.

'ATTACK!' Viva screams, taking out her short-sword. Plum readies her dual axes while Theodora places another arrow on her bow. Dodge keeps his dagger close to him and takes one last breath before they charge into battle.

Then it all goes blurry and hazy. There are screams everywhere. The sound of metal clashing against metal fills Dodge's ears. The scent of fresh blood protrudes into his nose, the distressed facial expressions of everyone around him is stuck inside his head. Dodge looks around hectically.

The District One girl, Queenie, has two arrows stuck in her legs, leaving her with a limp. She's having difficulties evading and blocking Viva's aggressive and persistent attacks.

On the other side of the battlefield, Plum has her eyes set on the pair from Four who circle around her like two wild animals.

Theodora is doing a good job of shooting arrows at the District Four pair who have Plum outnumbered. But where is Falcon? Dodge's heart makes a halt. Blindly and without hesitation he runs in Theo's direction only to realize that Falcon had already reached her, ramming the girl with his shield. Theo lets out a scream for help. 'NO, THEO!' Dodge claws himself onto the career's back as he leaves Theodora's corpse behind. Smoothly he gashes and slashes Falcon's back with his dagger, finally sticking it into the side of the male's neck.

When Dodge returns to the other's his head is even dizzier. The smell of the blood won't leave him be. His eyes burn and it is getting increasingly harder to walk through the mucky wasteland.

His memory and everything he seems to have known disappears. Queenie is dead, and so is Plum. Viva shouts for help as the girl from Four disarms her and holds her back while the boy from Four punctures her stomach with his spear. This was it. Everyone died. Maybe he's dead too and doesn't even know it. Maybe he didn't even win against the career back there. Maybe Theo is still alive. Meara and Zenith pierce Dodge's soul with their flashy and deadly eyes as they throw his district partner's body onto the ground. 'Hello, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Death...' Dodge mumbles before the cornucopia explodes next to the District Four Pair, sending Dodge flying against a tree stump. He can't see anymore. It's all black. He can only hear.

'Congratulations, to the victor of the 182nd Hunger Games, Dodge Choi!'


Okay, so we're back with our first batch of mentors: Cayenne, Cerulean, Valhalla, and Dodge. I decided to split the victor introductions into three parts because I didn't expect each POV to get so long but oh well... what can ya do? I'm trying to make each mentor story as unique as possible so it stays interesting for you guys to read. Anyway, so two more mentor chapters and then one more subplot chapter.

Subs are still open! I have plenty of spaces that need to be filled and I'd love to have a tribute from anyone who is reading. The submission deadline will stay until end of September/beginning of October and I'll be releasing the three prologues left, weekly. So, I am really trying to get as many submissions as possible since I do want to have an interesting cast of characters to work with. I've already received some great submissions which I am so happy about and hope to receive even more.

What I could use: Racially diverse tributes (!), Tributes with offensive superpowers (that can be convenient for combat)

After the next chapter, I'll probably close some spots where I think I have what I need so people can focus on the other spots

I'd love to know which story out of the four was your favorite!

Anyway, see everyone next time! Bye!