Chapter 1: The Reaping
Phoenix Flammia had a goal for himself. District 1 suffered from the war many years ago, leading to increased poverty and suffering for those not so lucky. His mother, however, was a part of the lucky ones. His mother landed a great job as a lawyer until she lost her job at the firm when Phoenix was only one years old. This led to Phoenix's childhood being filled with poverty and neglect. His family and peers both never seemed to have much time for him, with his own sister leaving him behind to rot in indigence.
But they no longer mattered. He would show everyone they would be sorry for looking down on him throughout his childhood. Nothing mattered except for this moment. July 4th, The day of the Reaping. Phoenix dressed in a navy blue collared shirt, khaki pants, and a fashionable black tie. He was the chosen volunteer for the 98th Hunger Games from his hard work and made sure his looks played the part.
"I volunteer!" Phoenix nearly lunged out of the crowd before quickly heading down the aisle. He grinned from ear to ear as he looked at his peers, who were now cheering as he made his way to the stage. The same peers who used to bully him when he was younger are now under his thumb and nearly worship him. The boy walked onto the stage and was greeted by District One's escort, Laurentina White. This was her fifth year escorting District One. The woman had a bright purple afro that looked like a beehive, with flowers weaved throughout it. Her porcelain skin was a huge contrast to her bright makeup and hairstyle. Phoenix thought that the bright colors were horrendous.
"What's your name, handsome?" Laurentina giggled as she batted her long eyelashes at the young boy.
"Phoenix Flammia!" He boasted as he scanned the crowd, keeping a smile on his face and holding his posture near perfectly.
"A beautiful name. Now for the ladies." Laurentina reached her hand into the female bowl that contained thousands of slips, picking one on the top without mixing it much.
Before Laurentina could even fully say the name, a girl from the 16 year old section shouted the words that everyone knew too well. The girl quickly made her way out of the crowd, and once Phoenix put his eyes on her, he realized something. She wasn't this year's chosen volunteer, and all hell was about to break loose.
He watched as an older but slightly shorter girl walked down the aisle and grabbed the younger girl on the arm before promptly punching her in the face. The older girl was the chosen volunteer, her name being Veronica. Veronica and Phoenix were somewhat friends, if you could call it that. Veronica came from a wealthy family and invited Phoenix to the elite parties from time to time. Phoenix never got to experience that growing up and loved the attention he got from being within the "elite" group.
Phoenix couldn't help but snicker as he watched the younger girl drag Veronica by her fiery red hair and slam her into the concrete. He was sure that Veronica was so upset because this was her last year to shine, and now it was ruined by some baby-faced blonde who most likely had no clue what she was doing. The blonde girl walked upon the stage with blood on her fists and a bruise on her delicate nose. Her pretty little face was now ruined for the cameras.
"Oh my, what is your name, darling?" Laurentina nearly jumped out of her heels as she looked at the female volunteer. Phoenix rolled his eyes at her excitement.
"Princess Royce." Princess proudly answered as she twirled her blonde curls with her left hand.
"You have mighty fighting skills; I can't wait to see you in the arena." Laurentina doted on Princess before turning to the crowd and announcing the two volunteers to the entire district.
Phoenix wanted to scream when he heard Laurentina talk about Princess. For one, if she was so good at fighting, she would've been the chosen volunteer, like him. Phoenix listened to the claps and cheers of the crowd of district citizens beneath him. He then was escorted into the Justice building by Peacekeepers.
Now Phoenix was alone in a small room, sitting in a chair and waiting for his friends and family to give their goodbyes before he was finally off to the Capitol, where he could make his dreams come true. He wasn't looking forward to speaking with his family, his father seemed to be opposed to his desire to volunteer, and his mother was less like a mom and more like a principal in a school building. He hadn't seen his older sister in 2 years, and he wished it would stay that way. Unfortunately, she was nothing more than someone else who made his life a living hell when he was younger, and his parents turned a blind eye to it, too busy with their own lives to care.
Phoenix's parents soon walked into his room. His father had a sorrowful look on his face, his eyes sunken deep, and a frown on his face as he looked at his son. His mother didn't have as much of an emotional response on her face.
"I'm proud of you, son..." His father glanced at his wife before looking at Phoenix. "We both are." He patted Phoenix on the shoulder and gave his son a soft smile.
Phoenix didn't know exactly what his dad was thinking, but he could tell he wasn't the happiest about him becoming a tribute. "Thank you." He said without much emotion before crossing his legs.
"I'm just going to miss you. I know you'll be back, but you'll still be gone for approximately a month." His father said as he held back a sniffle.
"It won't be too long," His mother said as she gave Phoenix a slight smile, which was a scarce sight for someone as stone-faced as her. He can't remember the last time he saw his mother smile before the reaping day.
Phoenix didn't smile back at his parents. He didn't hate either of them, but their emotional connection was practically nonexistent, especially with his mother. During the silence, awkwardness rose up in the room quickly, but Phoenix wasn't significantly affected by it. He had already prepared himself for this as neither Phoenix nor his parents were the sentimental type. However, his dad hugged him a few minutes after the silence began, taking Phoenix off guard. He slowly hugged his father back, and it was the last thing they did before the Peacekeepers came inside the room and told them their time was up.
As he waited for the rest of his visitors, he thought about his parents. Phoenix felt like the only reason his mother smiled at him was because once he became a Victor, his parents would never have to work a day in their lives. His mom had worked herself beyond the bone to no avail, leaving them in poverty compared to many of their fellow District 1 citizens. Although, he wasn't doing this for his family. He was doing this for himself. His whole life, he'd been spit on by those around him, and now he would be the one doing the spitting.
Soon, both of Phoenix's friends walk into the room. His friends are named Amiah and Draydon. He met his closest friends at the training academy when he was young, all three training amongst each other. While Amiah only wanted to train to make herself less of a weakling, Phoenix knew that Draydon was close to him in combat capabilities. Phoenix had that slight edge over him, making him the chosen volunteer for the 98th Hunger Games. Draydon is one of the few people Phoenix sees as an equal and respects, unlike Amiah.
"That cat fight was insane," Draydon laughed loud enough to feel up the quiet room which caused Amiah and Phoenix to smile.
"Yeah, it was. I feel bad for Veronica, though. She worked hard to be picked this year." Amiah said as she frowned slightly.
"Well, she shouldn't have gotten beaten by little Princess that couldn't even make it into the top five," Phoenix responded to Amiah's statement sarcastically as he snickered.
Volunteers in District One are ranked on a number scale, with the top 50 being in the final selection for The Hunger Games. This is why it is such an honor to be chosen, with many parties and celebrations happening around the district. After Phoenix was selected for the boy's spot, he was invited to a prestigious party in the Victors Village, where he got to talk to a few of his potential mentors. He didn't remember seeing Princess there; not that it mattered anymore since she went against the rules anyway.
"I guess…" Amiah trailed off as she crossed her arms.
"Hey, let's not do this. Phoenix, you're about to slay it. Literally and figuratively." Draydon grinned as he fist bumped Phoenix and nudged Amiah.
"Mhm. This year is going to be exciting to watch." Amiah nodded in response to Draydon and rested her arms by the sides of her body.
Their words filled Phoenix's ego meter up even more, but it also increased the expectations he already had for himself. He knew everyone was watching, some hoping he would fail, and others hoping he would make noise. It only made him want to exceed expectations and leave no doubt that Phoenix Flammia is the rightful and finest Victor that District One has seen in years.
After a few more minutes of the three friends conversating, Peacekeepers entered the room, and the two visitors left after wishing Phoenix luck. Phoenix was quickly ushered into a train car along with Laurentina and Princess…
Chapter 2: Train Ride
Phoenix walked into the train car, which was filled with luxurious and premier items. He knew that The Capitol had the best furniture and appliances, but it was still surprising for Phoenix to witness, especially since he came from extremely humble beginnings. Nevertheless, he kept his composure and didn't show his amazement as he had a persona to uphold. Instead, he watched as Princess sat at the dining table, crossing her legs and applying chapstick to her lips before making a pop noise with them.
Phoenix watched as Jaylee sat in front of Princess, eying her down with her dark, brooding eyes. "Why did you volunteer? You weren't chosen for this year, and you aren't even 18." The older woman interrogated Princess.
Phoenix couldn't help but roll his eyes as he walked over to sit on the couch with another Victor, Ruby. Ruby had curly blonde hair that made her unmistakable, which was a trademark for her when she competed in the games. Ruby didn't win in the way that Phoenix could see himself doing because she wasn't a career in any capacity, but he partially knew that she was essential to his entire game plan. Ruby would get him sponsors and more publicity in The Capitol as he did the rest.
"I'm your mentor this year. I'm Ruby, and while Jaylee is dealing with Princess, we can watch the Reapings from other Districts." Ruby said in a somewhat professional and emotionless tone as she turned on the TV. Phoenix knew they wouldn't be able to watch every Reaping as they were roughly only a few hours away from the Capitol and the last District to hold the Reapings, which led to him speaking up.
"We won't be able to watch them all, though. So we should watch the other Career Districts to see who my potential allies are." Phoenix said as he looked at his mentor.
"Our potential allies, you mean?" Princess said abruptly, causing Ruby and Phoenix to promptly turn their heads back to look at her.
"Yes. Our." Phoenix corrected himself before turning his head back towards the hologram projection. Phoenix wouldn't usually correct himself, especially for someone he disliked. However, he still knew there was no point in getting on Princess' bad side right now as they would be future allies, even if he found her incompetent and underserving of being in the Hunger Games. Instead, he needed to learn her strengths and her weaknesses. Well, he already knew one… and that's terrible decision making skills.
"Um, unfortunately, the recap starts with District One all the way to District Thirteen. So I won't be able to just pick a District out." Ruby said as the Reapings for District One played out on the TV.
Phoenix found that super annoying but said nothing as he relived the Reaping that he just went through, watching Princess blindside Veronica by taking her spot to volunteer. He saw himself on the stage looking shocked and annoyed at the same time as the two girls fought. Part of him hoped they'd skip over the girls fighting and move onto District 2, but he'd have to realize that the Hunger Games is a reality TV show for those in the Capitol.
Princess seemed amused at the replay and even snorted when she made Veronica bleed. This caused Jaylee to roll her eyes and take a sip of her bourbon whisky as she narrowed her eyes at Veronica. Phoenix could recall that Jaylee personally helped Veronica with her training. It wasn't uncommon for Victors to volunteer to assist trainees. In fact, it was essential since District One was no longer a Career District for a while after the war and produced average tributes at best. Most of the District One victors alive at the time of the 98th Hunger Games were non-careers.
After Phoenix and Princess walked into the Justice building, the District Two Reapings were next up. Their escort plucked a white card from the girl's bowl first, and before she could even finish the girl's name, a relatively muscular looking lady jumped out of the 18 year old section to volunteer. There were no cat fights, thankfully.
"My name is Calypso Ashwind, and I am excited to compete," Calypso said with a smile as her escort handed her the microphone. Phoenix took note of her features. She had tanned skin, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes; her body was toned and muscular. She looked very healthy and had almost perfect skin. Phoenix felt that she would turn out to be a good ally, and hopefully, he wouldn't hate her, but he already banked on hating everyone. Princess didn't help with that, either.
"Oh, she's pretty. But not prettier than me." Princess said with a grin, causing Phoenix to side-eye her. Personally, Princess was not his type because she was too damn annoying. Instead, Calypso is the type of girl he could see himself with based on her looks.
"Even though you're an… interesting character, you are gorgeous…. You both are. That can be your angle." Jaylee muttered before taking another sip of her brown alcohol.
Phoenix smiled at Jaylee and nodded his head in agreement. He didn't mind playing the gorgeous boy from District one card as he knew it would help him get sponsors if he could use the beautiful and deadly angle. He just wanted to be memorable for years to come, like a beautiful beast slaying his prey in the arena with no mercy. With the amount of training, effort, and tears he's put into getting to this point - no one was stopping him from becoming a legend.
Next up was the boy from District two, who had a chiseled jaw-line and dark honey brown eyes. His eyes were slender, and he had a look of determination. As usual, the tributes from District 2 appeared to be strong contenders. Some things never change. Phoenix found both tributes from District 2 to be rather attractive as they clearly dedicated their lives to making their bodies as muscular and efficient as possible.
"Congrats to Fung and Calypso. This fine young man and woman are District 2's tributes for the 98th Hunger Games!" District 2's escort shouted to the cameras as the large crowd of boys and girls screamed in admiration for this year's tributes. District 2 had a few thousand more children than District 1 present at their respective Reaping.
"The rest of the Career tributes are looking magnificent this year. I wonder how District 4 will be." Laurentina said in a high-pitched accent as she adjusted her large afro wig. After the Mockingjay Rebellion, District 4 lost its status as a Career District for a long time. The tributes from District 4 were still strong as their fishing industry naturally prepared them for the Games, but nothing can top training for your whole life to fight. In recent years, Volunteers have been typical but not guaranteed. The reaped tributes are often trained despite this.
"There's no telling," Ruby said softly as the screen switched from District 2 to the technology district.
"I'm so happy to see your lovely faces again!" The escort exclaimed as the jewels all over her shoulders and thin arms radiated in the hot summer sun.
That wasn't received well amongst the people. Nobody in the crowd responded, appearing more upset and afraid to see her instead of happy. Phoenix held back his laugh as he felt second-hand embarrassment for District 3's escort.
The escort's face turned slightly red as she held a forced smile and reached her bony bejeweled hands into the female reaping bowl. The escort was a newcomer, being an escort for less than 5 years. Newer escorts tend to struggle to hold their emotions back on their face, especially with the pressure of the entire country watching them. Nevertheless, the reaping bowl contained thousands of slips, and the young woman fatefully picked one.
"Giga Donovan!" She yelled into the microphone, loud enough for the cameras and the entire crowd to hear.
The cameras scanned the crowd, and no girl came out for thirty seconds or so.
"She's hiding. Watch it be a little kid." Princess said in Phoenix's ear before sitting on the couch next to him.
Phoenix's eyes followed Princess as she sat down on the couch next to him and their eyes connected for a few seconds as he responded. "Perhaps. That'll just make it easier for us then." His eyes went back towards the screen as Princess nodded in agreement.
Of course, killing a little kid sounds horrible to many people. Phoenix wasn't one of those people. Life is cruel and harsh; Phoenix knew this very well through his own personal experiences. Except he's been drilled to do this since he was twelve, that it was all part of the process and just a sacrifice one has to make to be a tribute and to go on to be a victor. Nobody would get in his way, including whatever kid gets reaped from the poorer districts.
Finally, a girl walked out of the 17 year old section as Peacekeepers started looking around for Giga. The girl had glasses, long scraggly brunette hair, and gray wires on her teeth. She looked like she was going to cry as she walked toward the stage. A peacekeeper stood on every side of her during the long walk to ensure she didn't try to run for it.
"Well, she's not a little," Princess commented as Giga walked up the large silver stairs and held her head down towards the earth as she stood next to her escort.
The boys were next. A brown-skinned boy was called up to the stage, which went a lot smoother, with him looking shocked as he made his way towards the stage. He scanned the crowd and frowned. He also had glasses, but his were larger than the Gigas. Once the boy was up on the platform, the two shook hands and were led into the justice building.
Phoenix wasn't very impressed by the two tributes from District 3. Both of them looked physically weak, and the girl looked like she would be a bloodbath. Perhaps they would both be brilliant, but he wasn't concerned with that for now. He hoped to see if any of the tributes had anything special from the Reapings, but it's hard to tell for now.
"This is the last district we will be able to watch for now. We will be in the Capitol in about 35 minutes. We can watch the rest in the 3 days you both have to train." Jaylee announced to the group as the program switched over to District 4.
District 4 chose their male tribute first. The boy was petite, coming out of a crowd of 13 years old as he confidently stood on the stage. His hair was auburn and curly, with his skin sunkissed from the hot weather. He was very skinny but did not look malnourished.
"Any volunteers?" Their escort asked, almost pleading. The young woman's white hair and black futuristic eye makeup were relatively tame for the Capitol's standards.
No one in the boy's section seemed to move a muscle, while a girl in the 16 year old section looked rather distressed. The cameras peered at her as tears filled her eyes before switching back to the stage.
"Well, this is a letdown," Laurentina grumbled and squinched up her nose as she stared at the curly head boy on the screen.
The girls were next, of course. "Mackenzie Reeves." Thankfully, an older girl began to make her way up to the stage, with no one looking inclined to volunteer. She looked muscular compared to her district partner, Ray. Her arms were tanned and toned, her face covered in freckles, and her fiery red hair was tied up in a white bow.
Phoenix didn't have much of an opinion on the other tributes so far. Other than District two looked like muscular brutes, the glasses-wearing tributes from three appeared to be weak but potentially intelligent, and the redheads from four looked like they would throw a wrench into the alliance.
Chapter 3: The Capitol
Phoenix didn't sleep well the first night in the Capitol. He ate luxurious foods like oysters, steak, vegetables, and all the types of slices of bread he could ever want. His stomach wasn't too used to the food. It made his stomach toss and turn all night, the richness of the food contrasting from the beans, rice, and vegetable soup he was used to all of his life. He never went hungry and had enough to eat, but it's nothing similar to what he's experiencing now. Of course, the trainers at home told him this. He expected it. Although, it's a lot different when you experience things firsthand. His stomach wasn't the only reason he couldn't bring himself to sleep the entire night. He was anxious about his first public appearance in the Capitol, what would set precedence for the rest of the games. This was out of his control. He knew that District 1 got high quality stylists, and the likelihood of them messing up his outfit was rare. It still bothered him. Unable to sleep, he sat on the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes as he looked at the night sky. The moon was filled halfway and illuminated the large buildings in the city. A crow soon landed on the window sill, its black feathers shining in the moonlight.
Phoenix took this as a good omen for the Chariot rides. He smiled graciously at the crow before laying back down in his bed. Crows were his favorite animal, and he loved their mysterious look. It was the coolest animal he'd ever seen. Finally, he felt himself drifting to sleep and let the wave of tiredness overcome him.
"Wake up; breakfast is ready," Princess said as Phoenix slept.
Her voice woke him up from his sleep, and he slowly rubbed his eyes before putting his eyes on his district partner. She had her blonde hair in two long twin braids and no makeup on, unlike her appearance at the Reaping. Phoenix climbed out of bed and passed by Princess, who held the door open as he passed by.
Phoenix cleaned himself up in the bathroom mirror and got the crusties out of his eyes. Then, he washed his face with soap and water as he hummed quietly to himself. During this, he couldn't help but think the number of buttons was ridiculous. They seemed to never end and don't even get him started on the shower. He was used to just hot and cold, but they had every setting beyond his wildest imagination.
He was greeted by Laurentina, Jaylee, Ruby, and Princess. He sat next to his mentor, Ruby. "How'd you sleep?" The blonde woman asked as she cut her eggs up into minuscule pieces.
"Okay. Could've been better." Phoenix yawned as he grabbed a bowl of produce filled with any tropical fruit his heart could've wanted. He knew to eat healthily, but abundant the days leading into the arena, his body was like a machine, and you wouldn't want to put junk in a car.
"As you two know, the Chariot rides are tonight," Laurentina said as she grinned from ear to ear, her teeth as white as paper.
The Chariot rides are all Laurentina talks about for the rest of breakfast, claiming it's her favorite part of the games besides the bloodbath. Phoenix listened to her, but he mostly found her irritating since she seemed to favor Princess more than him. On top of that, her accent made his ears want to bleed.
Once Laurentina was done going on her tangent about Chariot rides, Phoenix's mentors take him and Princess down to their stylists. Several other tributes were already there, and Phoenix recognized Ray, Giga, and Calypso. There were a few other tributes he didn't know the name or districts of. The room they were taken into looked similar to a hospital, and he was soon separated from Princess. Ruby brought him to a medical operating table.
"Undress, and your stylist team will be ready for you." His mentor told him and promptly listened to her. He covered himself up with a mint green hospital gown before laying down on the table. In a few short hours, he would be on national TV and finish another chapter in his journey to becoming a legend.
Phoenix was separated from the rest of the tributes by baby blue curtains. All he could see was the form of another tribute on the other side waiting to be taken care of. The wait was well worth it; nearly every part of his body was washed and cleaned up, from his hair to his feet. He didn't have to go through as much waxing as the female tributes, thankfully.
His head stylist was a middle-aged man, which Phoenix assumed to be in his early 20s from how young he looked. His look was all about fire, flames on his face from makeup, and the ends of his curly hair being an orange gradient that turned into a red flame at the end. He looked tame compared to his stylist team. Phoenix and the stylist were friendly with each other and got along well, with Aeolus having a big vision for him in the parade. With Phoenix being part of District 1, their outfits were expected to be amazing every year.
Phoenix's outfit was beautiful. Princess and Phoenix were moon gods/goddesses. He wore a chiton tunic, with stars and the symbol of the moon embedded throughout the outfit. His curly brown hair contained small clips of the galaxy, his body was covered in silver glitter, and the costume showed off his muscle by not covering it up for the audience to see. Princess, on the other hand, looked beautiful also. Phoenix had to admit that both of their stylists did terrific jobs. Princess had a long flowy dress instead of a chiton tunic, and her color theme was gold instead of silver.
Phoenix waved to the crowd, loving every cheer yelled by the Capitol citizens as they rode through the city circle. He didn't pay much attention to anyone else's outfits, not enough for him to remember them once he went to sleep that night. He was too busy basking in the cheers from the crowd and being shocked from seeing the president in person. He wasn't a sympathizer of the Capitol by any means. He just wanted to improve his life and make himself known. The games were the only path he saw fit to achieve that goal.
The training days muddied together. On the first day of training, everyone went through the necessary tests required by the trainers and gamemakers. He wasn't sure if the tests were made to humiliate the weaker kids in the beginning by having them fail miserably for the gamemakers' amusement or if it was for the kids at the top of the food chain to show off. And oh boy, he planned on showing off.
Once everyone was done, District one and two had to make a decision.
"I'm going to declare myself as the leader. If anyone has a problem with that, too bad." Calypso said as she stood in the middle of the group of 4. The girl had a profound but calm expression as she casually told her words.
Phoenix couldn't help but smirk at Calypso's words. He had no problem with her being the pack's leader as he knew it would only make her a big target. When the time came, he planned on making this pretty girl's life a literal hell in the arena. That all comes later, though. For now, they had other things to worry about.
"My mentor said the girl from 13 is trained and volunteered to be in our alliance," Calypso said as she eyed the girl from District 13, Windy. Windy was throwing her spears into dummies with pretty impressive accuracy, so Phoenix thought it would be a good idea to have the girl on their side, at least in the beginning.
"Both of the tributes from 4 are trained too," Fung added to Calypso's commentary as Phoenix's eyes trailed over to Ray and Mackenzie. The district 4 tributes were making fishnets and laughed together as they did so.
Phoenix knew where this was going, and he was right. It was time to ask the tributes if they wanted to join. He let Calypso take the lead with invites, starting with the girl from 13. She seemed overjoyed that the careers even asked her to join and happily accepted the invitation. After that, the now five-man alliance went to the fishing tributes to ask them if they wanted to join the group. The boy and the girl agreed, which meant their partnership had 7 tributes in total. Phoenix figured the careers would be unstoppable with the extra bodies this year, unlike previous years where the number of careers would be as low as 4 at times.
Over the following two days, Phoenix spent time getting to know his allies. Unfortunately, he didn't really like any of them that much. The only person he truly enjoyed being around was his friend Draydon, and while he was stuck between the training center's walls grasping stainless steel machetes around, he couldn't help but think about how he missed his company. Their rivalry, his jokes, and how he never let Phoenix go too off the rails with his meanness. His allies had none of that. Calypso was the only one he found okay, but she barely spoke besides telling the group what to do or discussing strategies. She was mysterious, and it intrigued him. What was she hiding?
2 tributes, in particular, caught his eye during training. The pair from seven, everyone knew about the boy being the mayor's son. He didn't do much besides plant stations with the girl the entire time, but Phoenix felt he wasn't as weak as he seemed. The mayor's son had to have a trick up his sleeves. He didn't pay much attention to the rest of his fellow tributes during training. Instead, he spent most of his time getting to know the rest of the careers and intimidating the weaker tributes.
Then it was time for the private session. Phoenix did what he was told from 12 years old to now: try to get a high score to appeal to sponsors. Nobody wants to be the weakest tribute in the Career pack as things get ugly quickly when the alliance starts splitting apart. He spent his training session showing off his weapon skills, namely how bad he could ruin a dummy with his machete. He also spent the last few minutes sparring with a trainer and successfully won that fight. The gamemakers looked impressed, from what Phoenix could tell. His efforts earned him the score of 10 and odds of 3-1 going into the Games.
The legend was slowly coming true and slowly being written into history. Phoenix already claimed his spot as one of the few tributes to get odds that high, and he had the highest odds out of everyone so far, including those within his alliance. But beyond himself, he couldn't help but feel surprised when Princess scored a 10. He expected her to achieve an 8 or a 9. Phoenix didn't think she would get the same score as him and the third highest odds in the games. All he knew was that he was happy Princess didn't totally steal his thunder like she did at the reaping ceremony.
"Phoenix Flammia, from District 1! The moon and star god!" The gamemaker yelled from the stage as Phoenix strutted across it.
One of the benefits of being in the first district of Panem was that you got everything over in the beginning and didn't have time to let your nerves get to you too bad. Phoenix was excited to be on the cameras again with how well his first appearance went at the chariot rides. He sat down in the chair next to Austin. His hair this year was jet black, with no inkling of any other color in his hair. Phoenix was a fan of the dark hair as it was a nice change from the amount of eye bleeding neon he's seen the past several days.
"Hello, Austin! I am so excited to be here." Phoenix said loud enough for the crowd to clearly hear as he kept a charming smile on his face for the masses and viewers at home. His suit was silver colored, just like his chariot outfit, which nicely complimented his light brown skin.
"That's great to hear. So tell me, Phoenix, how is the career pack this year?" Austin asked in a loud and curious voice, raising his eyebrows as he waited for an answer.
"Well, I can't say too much." Phoenix chuckled as the crowd booed in disappointment. "But I can say that we are a lot stronger this year than years prior." The crowd livened up when they heard that and cheered at the sound of a powerful career alliance.
The rest of the interview went just as Phoenix could hope. The crowd seemed engaged, and Phoenix felt proud to have made it this far. He knew he had the wealthy capital sponsors in the bag with his score and interview; now, he could enjoy the reap of his hard work in the arena…
Chapter 4: The Arena
The countdown started at 60. Much to the boy's dismay, the water and slides filled the arena. Additionally, Phoenix was stuck in gold bathing suit trunks with no top. He was hoping that the arena was cool or cold, but nope, the gamemakers decided to place him in a sweltering hot arena. Phoenix was sandwiched in between the boy from 12 and Windy. The girls wore one-piece bathing suits that changed color depending on their district. Windy's one-piece was completely white. The outer district career seemed eager to jump off the pedestal as the countdown slowly went down. Phoenix took his eyes off her and kept his eyes forward to the golden horn in front of a pool of water, with sprinklers all throughout. Like something that was made for children to enjoy. He saw a large steel machete in the middle, made perfectly just for him.
The countdown went down to 30. Phoenix looked around the Cornucopia some more, his eyes noticing the duffle bags on the outskirts closer close by the bodies of water. He wasn't worried about them; he was more concerned about the items and weapons in the middle of the Cornucopia.
The countdown went down to 15. Phoenix now thought about his first kill. Will he kill the boy from 12? Take him out of his misery before his allies do it? Maybe. He didn't care who it was or what district they came from. His first kill would be another chapter in the legend of Phoenix Flammia. All he needed was that one kill, maybe another, but he had his allies for that.
The countdown ended. Most of the tributes ran towards the golden horn, including Phoenix. He didn't notice a few of the others that ran in the opposite direction, as he was only focused on that one machete.
Phoenix heard a boy scream and glanced over quickly as he grabbed his machete. The boy from District 8 was lying in a pool of dark red blood, doubled over as he held his stomach wound. His intestines were threatening to spill out of his body. Phoenix looked up from his body and saw Windy holding a bloody knife as she stepped over the skinny boy's body. Both tributes from 8 were sickly this year and not predicted to make it very far. The predictions appeared to be correct.
Phoenix gripped his machete with his right hand as he looked for his closest victim. The boy from District 12 was the first one that came up in his vision. Phoenix's eyes were locked only on that boy as the screams and chaos surrounded him. He was about to become a crucial part of Phoenix's legend, whether he liked it or not.
The scrawny boy grabbed a large duffel bag as he was approached by Phoenix. The boy spotted Phoenix and attempted to run away before tripping over something, which turned out to be the body of the little girl from 6. The petite blonde girl had a deep cut sprawled around her neck, nearly decapitating her. At least she went out quickly, with not much pain.
Phoenix grabbed the boy by his arm and threw him into one of the wooden crates with a pirate aesthetic. The boy's face slammed into the crate, causing him to spit out a few teeth as blood poured out of his mouth. So far, everything was going perfectly in Phoenix's mind. If he could, he would smile. But he felt so determined that he kept a straight and emotionless face as he kneed the boy in the face, breaking his nose and getting blood all over his swimming shorts. Thankfully, they were already red.
The boy cried out as he weakly kicked Phoenix, causing him to pick the small boy up by his neck as he scowled in anger. Phoenix didn't struggle much with holding the boy as he was around 80 lbs less than him. It felt like lifting up a child. He felt the boy's pulse and how he began to panic as his air supply quickly ran out. During the struggle, Phoenix sent his machete straight through 12's body. He threw his body onto the ground as the boy continued to gurgle up more blood before slicing at his head with the machete, cutting through his skull with ease and exposing his brain, which finished him off for good.
After his machete was covered with 12's blood, he helped his allies gather supplies. He handed Princess a cutlass sword that was propped up against a wooden crate. He noticed that most of the tributes were gone now, with the surviving ones running away deep into the water park.
"I counted 8 tributes." He yelled to his allies as he counted the bodies. Some of them were horribly mutilated, like the boy from 12. But others seemed to be dying or already dead from deep stab wounds. The boy from 12, The girl from 6, The boy from 8, The boy from 11, The girl from 8, The girl from 5, The girl from 10, and the last body he counted, the boy from 3. The blood from all eight dead tributes began to seep into the water surrounding them, turning the crystal blue water into a red sea. Phoenix ignored this and rummaged through supplies for a small snack, as he only cared about the kill he got a few minutes ago.
Phoenix didn't care about taking life. While the tributes that unfortunately got put in the arena with him did nothing to him, they weren't the ones that changed his life forever as a child. He didn't care. Every other tribute in that arena with him was a means to an end, and that's just how it was.
During the next few hours in the arena, Fung said they should look for other tributes. The cannons for the bloodbath hadn't gone off yet as it took several hours for them finally to. So now they had to pick between who watched the supplies and who would go hunt. Phoenix would personally rather go hunt as while that puts him in danger, legends aren't made by choosing the easy route.
"I want to go hunt," Ray said as he held onto his spear. The steel spear was almost taller than him, which Phoenix couldn't help but laugh inside his head about.
"No. You're staying behind with Windy to watch." Calypso said as she rolled her blue eyes at Ray.
"Why me? I don't want to be stuck with him!" Windy cried as she looked down at Ray with disgust. Ray scoffed at Windy and rolled his eyes as the grip on his spear got tighter.
"It's only fair. Next time it'll be someone else. You wanted to be a career, and this is what comes with it." Calypso said coldly, barely able to hide the annoyance for Windy and Ray.
At this moment, Phoenix realized that Calypso seemed to dislike all of them. It made sense because most of the time, whenever she talked, it was short and cold. She didn't speak much and was quiet. Instead, she spent most of her time just honing her skills and focusing on herself, oddly making Phoenix feel drawn toward the District 2 girl. Everything about her, the confidence she radiated, her golden brown skin, her bright determined blue eyes, and long brown hair that she wore in braided pigtails in the arena.
The group of five careers walked around the arena on Day 1, searching for any signs of another tribute. They passed many water slides and sprinklers that looked like they were made for a child during their search. The arena was weird, but at least it wasn't a plain forest. Phoenix wanted something more exciting, and he got what he asked for.
Soon they found wet footsteps implanted in the gray concrete. The footsteps led to a small lifeguard's hut at the edge of the water park.
Calypso drew her lance and slowly moved towards the wooden shack. The careers followed closely behind her, with Phoenix keeping his eyes out in case anyone came up behind them. He had his bloodied machete drawn and was fully mentally prepared to add another tribute to his list. Just another kill, just one more.
The wooden shack contained nobody at the time they entered. Or so it seemed. Backpacks were sitting on a white bed with thin sheets in the hut. Yet, despite that, no one could be seen in or around the shack at first glance.
"Someone is still here," Mackenzie said as she held a butcher knife close and peered around the cabin. She looked in the closet, and Phoenix joined her in the search. It may be a potential waste of time, but it was only the first day. They didn't have much to lose by looking around for a tribute in a small shack. Soon an idea popped up in his head. Where would he hide when he was younger whenever playing hide and seek? Under the bed.
This was a crueler version of hide and seek. Phoenix reached his arms underneath the bed, grabbing two slender ankles before yanking them out. The reasonably strong girl from 9 locked eyes with him, her dark brown eyes filled with terror. The girl screamed her lungs out and cut Phoenix's arm deep enough for it to start bleeding profusely. He scowled and let go of the girl, roughly dropping her as he looked at his arm.
His allies ran over to his aid, with all 5 of them surrounding the horrified girl. While the girl from 9 was strong and stocky, she was not prepared to take on 5 tributes at once. That was too many for almost anyone.
"Please don't kill me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" The girl cried out as she backed up into the wooden walls of the shack, crying as she avoided eye contact with the careers'
They could've been merciful, but they weren't. Calypso lets Princess do the honors of killing her. The blonde girl killed the slightly younger girl with a swift stab to the heart. She died almost instantly, with her canon shooting off. Phoenix didn't feel sorry for the girl after she did a number on his arm. The group felt satisfied with the number of dead tributes on the first day and made their way back to the horn of plenty.
"You're a big baby. It isn't even that bad." Calypso said as she cleaned Phoenix's wound. It was nighttime, and the rest of the group was fast asleep in their sleeping bags. Calypso decided to stay up with Phoenix to ensure his wound wouldn't become infected.
"I never complained. You're the one who decided to lose sleep helping me." Phoenix smirked at Calypso as she softly smiled back. Her lips looked wonderful, and he felt himself wanting to kiss them. Just for the sponsors, of course.
Calypso finished patching his arm up and sighed. "You'll be fine. 9 didn't cut you that deep." The brunette stood up and went back to her sleeping bag.
Phoenix kept watch for the next few hours before switching off with Fung. The two talked mainly about the big differences between 2 and 1. Fung came from a wealthy family that wanted more fame to their name, and just like Phoenix, they both had been training from a young age to compete in the games.
The next 3 days went by. At the time, there was only one death on the 3rd day, and Phoenix had no clue how the boy from 6 died. Perhaps another tribute killed him, or it was a mutt of some sort, but Phoenix and his allies had no part in his death.
On day five, things started to get interesting. Phoenix had successfully made Windy and Ray fight by pitting them against each other, which angered Mackenzie. Mackenzie pushed Windy into the deep end of the waterpark's pool after the girl had slapped Ray across the face. Unfortunately, Windy wasn't a great swimmer, and it wasn't made any better once a large whirlpool formed to the right of her. The girl pleaded for them to help and screamed, only causing her body to take in more of the chlorine-filled water.
The rest of the careers just looked on in terror, well, Phoenix's terror was rather fake, but he played the part well. Windy was quickly sucked into the hole in the middle of the pool, her screams being drowned out by the violent surge of water. A cannon soon sounded off, confirming the group's thoughts that she was a goner.
"She started it!" Mackenzie yelled at Calypso, who had a pissed off look on her face as she bit her lip and held back her anger.
"I know she started it. I am not blind! But if you two keep causing trouble, you're on your own." Calypso whisper shouted at Mackenzie as she walked away from the group with her district partner, Fung. Fung rolled his eyes as he followed behind Calypso.
Phoenix smirked slightly as he walked behind the rest of the group. His plan was going perfectly, with the cracks in the career group being solidified with Windy's death.
Soon came the kiss. Phoenix felt himself letting his guard down around Calypso, which made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what spell this girl had on him, but he felt his body being taken over by this weird desire to get to know Calypso beyond just using her like everyone else.
"You're just using me for sponsors." Calypso quipped soon after their lips met. The sun was down, and they were again stuck making sure none of the other tributes got the wise idea to steal from the group.
Was he just using her for sponsors? That's what he told himself to get a decent night of rest on day nine. He didn't want to believe that Calypso intrigued him beyond a friendship, even though he was attracted to her from just the video he saw on the train ride to the Capitol. Although to be fair, he found Fung attractive too. Phoenix wasn't one to discriminate and never saw gender as a big deal when picking a potential partner.
By day 10, 2 more tributes died. One of the tributes to meet their demise was Ray. On the evening of day 9, Ray went hunting with the rest of the careers. The boy was overjoyed to be a part of the group hunting down tributes. Phoenix stayed back that day and enjoyed some dried fruits the group collected from the Cornucopia.
He didn't see what exactly happened to Ray. All he knew was Mackenzie came back in tears, crying about how the large boy from 9 and his ally from 11 killed Ray out of revenge for the girl from 9. No one else was injured in the fight, and the boy from 9 escaped with his ally. Phoenix mentally prepared himself for his partners to die relatively soon, including Ray. There was no way Ray could win with him being nearly the smallest tribute in the arena. The boy had skills but was young and inexperienced compared to the rest of the careers. On top of that, the boy was gullible at times and easily manipulated by Phoenix, leading to Windy's death.
The next death came during the night. A high-pitched scream rang throughout the arena, and a cannon soon followed as the group entered Pirate's Cove. Mackenzie stayed behind to guard as she was still distraught from her partner's untimely demise. The group watched as the girl from District 12's face flashed in the sky. The girl was even smaller than Ray, being less than 90 lbs. Her long black hair always seemed to cover her eyes, and the only time Phoenix heard her speak was during the interviews, and even then, she was quiet. The group pondered what killed her, and their thoughts were soon answered…. Skeleton pirates?
The skeleton pirates began to fight the group. Phoenix kicked one onto the ground, making the skeleton lose his sword. Phoenix stabbed it in the head, hoping to kill it. It's a skeleton, so isn't it already technically dead? Phoenix wondered, but the skeleton stopped moving, so it worked nonetheless.
The rest of his allies seemed to be holding the pirates off, except for Princess. Princess screamed out as her limbs became bloody due to the gashes the pirates gave her from their long swords. They surrounded her, and before her allies could run to Princess to save her, she was overcome by the pirates. One stabbed her in the chest, causing the blonde girl to fall to the ground as blood bubbled out of her chest and spilled out of her mouth. Her hand covered up the deep wound, and Phoenix knew there was nothing they could do to save her.
Phoenix, Fung, and Calypso fled Pirates Cove as more pirates climbed out of the pool to finish the rest of the alliance off. Phoenix wasn't exactly happy or sad about Princess's death, but he felt a slight twinge of pity for the girl since it took another 30 minutes for her cannon to go off. They all left her to die a brutal and lonely death. Just like the death Princess's mother would likely now have to do her failing to come home. Phoenix remembered her telling him once while they were bored in the early days of the games, unable to find a tribute to kill or things to distract themselves with. The true reason she volunteered. It was to save her mother from the cancer that was killing her. It was the reason she couldn't pour her heart into training like she wanted to; she had to take care of her mother after her dad left once the sickness slowly overtook her body. It made Princess seem more human to him than ever before. She had a great reason to win, but unfortunately, this wasn't her time to shine. It was his.
When they came back to their camp, more bad news was revealed to the group. Mackenzie had left with a good amount of supplies and weaponry in the hours they were gone. They had no clue where she went, but they decided to stick with each other since 9 more tributes outside the alliance were still alive. Although they had a pact for now, Phoenix knew the career alliance was already ruined the moment Mackenzie pushed Windy into the whirlpool, with the extra nail in the coffin now being Ray's and Princess's deaths.
Many days had passed, but now it was time for the feast. The gamemakers decided to tailor each bag to whatever the tributes needed this year. By this time, it was day 15. The games were nearing their end. Phoenix, Fung, and Calypso managed to hunt down the little boy from 13. Phoenix nearly decapitated him with his machete on the morning of day 11, with his body falling into the pool and his blood decorating the water. Day 11 must have been their lucky day because they found where the tributes from 7 were hiding. They hid in a large orange water slide connected to a jungle gym. The boy put up a good fight, mortally wounding Fung with a throwing ax that Phoenix managed to dodge. The girl was then killed by Calypso as the boy managed to escape. Phoenix finished Fung off out of mercy as Calypso couldn't bring herself to do it. That day, they decided to separate as Calypso admitted she didn't want to witness Phoenix's death.
Deep down, he knew he didn't want to see her die either. He didn't want a part of it. He wished she would have a quick and easy death, far away so he wouldn't have to pay attention to it. Phoenix wanted to stay with Calypso and admittedly missed her presence as the days passed. It felt strange as he wanted her to die initially, with death being written all over her once she announced herself as the group leader. It all felt different now.
8 tributes now remained as Phoenix made his way towards the feast. He knew most of the tributes would be inclined to go for the goodies as most of the supplies at the start of the arena now dwindled. Phoenix took cover behind a skinny purple water slide as he watched the girl from 11 and the boy from 9 collect their respective bags. He felt confident enough to take on both of them. He planned to take out the strong one first and kill the weaker one later.
Phoenix didn't expect what happened next. No one did. It was known that the feast was nearly a second bloodbath, but this was something beyond a bloodbath. This was the finale. The curly-haired boy ran through the shallow chlorine water to reach the horn of the Cornucopia. By the time he reached the horn, the boy from 9 was fighting with the mayor's son from 7. The girl from 11 was pushed down by Giga. The girl that Phoenix hadn't seen in 2 weeks. She was a lot skinnier than he remembered, now her frame being emaciated as she reached for her bag.
Not so fast, Phoenix thought as he sliced Giga's forearm off with his machete. The machete cut through the bone and caused Giga to scream as she stood still in pure shock, her gray eyes staring wide at Phoenix. She no longer had her glasses, and Phoenix assumed she lost them one day in the arena. He quickly took his eyes off of her and watched as the boy from 7 killed the boy from 9. The mayor's son was strong and seemed surprisingly prepared for the violent nature of the games. Phoenix knew he had a trick up his sleeve, but he didn't expect this, even after he scored a 7 in training. However, He didn't come out of the fight unscathed. His eye was swollen, completely shut, and blood was all over his face. His tanned chest also had many large gashes on it, the boy from 9 might be dead, but he did a lot of damage to the mayor's kid before kicking the bucket.
Phoenix then heard 2 cannons go off in close succession. The boy from 9's and then Giga's as she quickly bled to death on the wet concrete a few feet from Phoenix. Six of them now remained, and they were all present at the Cornucopia. Phoenix locked eyes with Calypso as she ran to get her bag. Calypso smiled at him once she realized that he was looking at her. He couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He would let her get her bag and focus on killing the other tributes.
Phoenix couldn't remember much of what happened next. All he remembered was hearing Calypso's blood curdling scream as Mackenzie, and the boy from 5 ganged up on her. All he could do was listen to her screams as he fought with the boy from 7. He killed the boy as quickly as possible to help Calypso, but it was done. Her eyes were lifeless. Her pretty face was now ruined, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He blacked out. When he woke back up, all the tributes were dead around him. Many of them had missing limbs and large stab wounds all over their bodies. He looked down at his bloodied hand as blood dripped from the cold tip of his machete. The sound of the blood dripping was the only thing he could hear. Drip, Drip, Drip. He had no clue about what he had just done, but Phoenix Flammia was now the victor he longed to be since he was 12.
As they announced him victorious, he didn't celebrate. Instead, he was as still as a statue as his eyes darted around the bloodied waters around him. He was now the legend he always wanted to be, but was it all worth it? Phoenix wasn't so sure anymore.
The End
Thank you for Phoenix, Art. He was a challenge to write but I soon grew to love him. I love him so much that he will be featured in my future stories and he's now solidified himself as a legend in my verse. I am not the best with writing career tributes, but I enjoyed the challenge and can say this helped me grow as a writer. It was hard to stay within the range of Tier 2 but I hope you love what I have done with him.