Trigger warning: Mentions of rape and substance abuse, as well as one character exhibiting masochistic behavior. This is another pretty dark one, as you probably could guess.
Rowan Wilson, District 11
"I'm looking in on the good life,
I might be doomed never to find."
The Shins, New Slang
"On the 25th anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children die because of their choice to initiate violence, every district must hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent them."
-Quarter Quell Card, Games 25
D10F
She was the younger sister of the most notorious dealer in the district. He had contacts in every settlement, every town, even with peacekeepers. He also was infamous for selling bad product, but only bad enough to where anyone who tried it would get hooked. He was good at his job, very good. But he was also nineteen.
And they had to send someone.
Nobody could think of any girls who deserved it, not really. So they voted. And what happened, happened.
She died fifteen seconds into the Games with a sword held by Colossus Marcello's younger brother in her throat.
D3M
It wasn't fair. Not really. He got low test scores. So what? Nobody was perfect. He couldn't help being born in the smartest district in Panem. Just like he couldn't help being born in the district with the lowest crime rate by more than 60%. It was just his luck.
The Careers were shoddy that year, but far from weak. The girl from Four was just as strong as any other year. His ribs found that out very, very quickly.
D6F
Her daddy was one of the most powerful men in the district. He could order anyone to die and they would. She knew when they read her name out on that stage she would come back perfectly fine. Her daddy would make sure of it.
It's a shame no one told that to the girl from Two.
D10M
He's a rebel. A rebel and proud of it. He hates the Capitol, from the bottom of his soul. He would never, ever let them beat him. So when his name is called, he's not surprised. But as soon as he's in the Justice Building, several of his closest contacts arrive soon after to talk strategy. And strategize they do, because he knows that even if he doesn't come back, the fight will live on. Nothing will stop the power of freedom.
In a way, he's not wrong. Fifty years later, the Mockingjay leads a rebellion to finally topple the tyrannical Capitol.
It's a shame that the semi-unhinged boy from One ripped his arm off and shoved it into a place nobody wanted to see. It was possibly the single most painful kill in the Games to date.
But this year was just getting started.
D3F
As soon as she's reaped, she knows it's over. It didn't matter how many people she protested to that it was an accident, that she didn't mean to spill, or how many people told her it wasn't her fault, that she didn't need to blame herself. When the rubber met the road, people voted for someone they didn't feel quite as bad about. Her name simply popped into their heads.
She dies at the hands of the boy from Four, her sword in her chest. It's a quick and painless kill, one that she's grateful for.
One that those poor scientists at her lab would never be afforded.
D8M
He's a rapist.
Out of all the tributes in the Arena that year, his name was the most guaranteed. He is universally hated by almost every single person in his district, and the only reason he's not dead already is the fact that his father happens to be the head of the Peacekeepers.
His own district partner only runs into the bloodbath to kill him. And boy, does she make it count.
D8F
She never knew why she was voted in. The boy was easy, a foregone conclusion. The girl was harder, and eventually, the names just fell where they did. She was barely fifteen, her district partner twice her size. And let's face it, he'd taken smaller girls than her.
It was a shame he didn't know that her older sister had been one of them.
She died right next to him, mere seconds after life had faded from his eyes. The girl from Four took the kill.
She never found out why she'd been chosen. No one else in her district did, either.
D1F
It was a small bloodbath that year. Most of the tributes were either smart enough to bolt or strong enough to keep the Careers away. When the last one runs away, the girl from One thinks it's over.
The boy from Two has other plans.
She was young, not even fourteen. She had dreams of being the youngest Victor ever, and One simply decided they'd rather lose someone like her to a Games they knew they wouldn't win over someone really valuable.
No one else thought she was a real Career. The boy from Two was the only one to prove it.
D12F
She was smart enough to bolt. Smart enough to know that she was nowhere near as strong as most of the tributes there, including her own district partner. When the gong rang, she bolted with nothing but the clothes on her back. It was a shame, really.
A sword could have helped her against the boy from One. The rest of the Careers could still hear her screams as they went to sleep.
D5F
She was just a prankster. It wasn't anything dangerous, just a couple busted pipes here, some graffiti there. It was honestly kinda funny, how she kept getting away with it.
So she thought.
The boy from Four took the kill. He at least made it quick.
D9M
He realized pretty quick into training that most of the outliers were allying. The Elevens seemed to be running things, but the Sevens were in, as well as the boys from Five and Six, and even his own partner. But his father had taught him to never trust anyone, so he stayed out.
As he dies with a knife from the girl from Two in his chest, he realizes, maybe he shouldn't have listened since his father was the reason he was in the Arena at all.
D12M
He puts up a fight. As far as he can tell, he was the first. The Careers seem to be in pretty good shape by the third day in the Arena. He badly injures one and scrapes up at least a couple of the others before the boy from Two guts him like a fish.
As he dies, he wonders one last time what his district was thinking by trying to send in the strongest one they could find. They should have known it wouldn't have worked.
D4M
His leg hurts. A lot. The boy from Twelve put up a solid fight for an outlier. The Careers around him swim in and out of focus, which should be a lot more concerning than it is. He can briefly make out a few words, such as 'mercy,' 'not worth it,' and 'can't leave him.' Again, not as concerning as they should be.
His death hurts a lot less than it should. Maybe he was just numb at that point. He would never know.
D7M
When the faces show that night, the first thing he realizes is that he's in the top half.
The second thing he realizes is that the only people left are his own alliance, and the Careers.
The girl from Eleven, who runs everything, tells them that now is the chance. We have them two to one, she says. The boy knows she's right. He's in a gang himself, one of the most feared in the district. He was the youngest, the only one eligible. That didn't stop him.
The ambush is quick, but far from silent. The girl from Four is on watch. He makes a single misstep, a twig cracks under his foot.
Only then does he find out exactly how good a shot with her knives she is.
D6M
No one thought he would make it this far. He's heir to the throne of the most powerful crime empire in Six. He doesn't know fighting, only managing a crime family and keeping his enemies in line.
He's honestly quite proud he managed to last as long as he did against the boy from One before he finally collapses.
D2F
She's a convicted murderer.
She didn't tell any of her allies. The only one who knew was her partner, and he talked even less than his brother.
She didn't know exactly why she was chosen, but she fought her best, which wasn't bad. It's a shame the Elevens were such good friends. Two against one wouldn't have ended well for any of them. As she dies she whispers a final prayer that her partner will come home. His brother died honorably. Her own partner doesn't deserve death at all.
D9F
She'd burned bigger targets than the boy from Two.
Problem was, he was the only target who fought back.
D1M
He never found out why killing people gave him a sexual high. It didn't matter who, not gender, or age, or even how he killed them. He just got a rush from it. No one knew why.
People called it creepy. Masochistic, they said. He didn't care. He only did it to feel good. How was it any different from a junkie getting their next hit?
The final fight of the second bloodbath was between him and the boy from Eleven. Most of the others were either dead, had fled the scene with their lives, or, in the case of his opponents partner, decided to spectate.
Eleven got in a good hit. One didn't like that. Problem was, he couldn't really fight back with his ribs shattered. He collapsed to the ground and waited to die.
D11M
He only volunteered because the girl had done it first. He saw the tribute reaped and decided, why not? One last middle finger to the Capitol.
He'd hit it off with his partner from the start. He just felt natural around her, as if he'd finally met someone that understood him. It wasn't love, nothing so commonplace as that. No, it was more than that, it was friendship, real friendship, something that wasn't easy to come by anymore. But it came with a double edged sword. Only one of them would ever see the other side of the Arena. As he lay dying from a solid hit from the boy from One, he said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods were listening that it might be her.
D5M
He sprinted away from the fight as soon as the boy from Six died. He knew he was doomed to die ever since his name was called. He knew how to survive on the streets, but in a death match, he didn't stand a chance.
Almost 24 hours passed before he happened upon the boy from Two. As soon as he sees the boy, he decides that 5th place was high enough. He charged the boy.
Many people would wonder later if Two even noticed the Five boy, the swing of his arm that crushed his ribs was so natural.
D4F
She was the strongest. Everyone knew that. It wasn't arrogance, it was simply true. Being chosen for the Quell was almost a certainty. It didn't take long for the rest of the district to catch on.
No one knew why the girl from Eleven volunteered. When she saw the outlier girl, she knew it was her chance to take out possibly her biggest opponent.
She vastly underestimated how strong the girl actually was.
D7F
As far as she knew, she was the only tribute who actively campaigned for votes. She was homeless, just another face in the crowd to most of the district. They saw the posters and said, What the heck? Who better to vote for?
When the Elevens started that massive alliance, she knew she would join. That part was easy. How she made the top three was a bit harder to determine. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. After the girl from Four died, her ally turned to her, sword still in hand. She mouthed one word.
Sorry.
It was the last thing the girl would see.
D2M
His brother should have won. He was the strongest in the Arena, even stronger than his ally. The girl from Six had cheated, backstabbed him. He didn't deserve to die. When his name came out of the reaping bowl, and he knew it would, he vowed to be the one to take his brother's rightful place in the Victors Village.
When he looked up and saw the girl from Eleven with her sword at his throat, he knew he didn't have a chance. It was over. Colossus would go unavenged. He died with honor, his head held high. He heard the trumpets ring for the Victor as he breathed his last. At least it wasn't one of the serial killers.
D11F
She was a rebel, like the boy from Ten. Unlike the boy from Ten, she was much better at hiding it. She had a network that canvassed the district, decoys, plans within plans, and a thousand other things set in place to cover her tracks. She only volunteered because one of her decoys was reaped.
When she got home, however, she found, not the district she'd left, but a place fortified by Peacekeepers and almost her entire network destroyed. Something had happened, and she didn't know what.
Nor would she ever. The Head Peacekeeper, Eridion Cartier, is a brutal man, one not to be trifled with in any way. She almost immediately attempted to resume her rebel activities, but Eridion had eyes and ears everywhere. She thought she had immunity, since she was a Victor.
She was wrong. She died in her bed, ambushed by peacekeepers. Her home in the Village burned, a symbol to rebels everywhere. The message was clear.
No one was safe.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Quell. Bit of an interesting change in format, and definitely quite a bit longer than many other Quell fics out there, but I liked it.
And with that we are officially one-third of the way through. I hope the next one will go much smoother than this last one.