Chapter 7: Ringo Alvarez
A/N: So here's Ringo! District Ten at last! Hope you enjoy, and if you have any ideas for me, I'd really appreciate it if you review or PM me! Cheers:)
Katniss wasn't quite sure what to make of Ringo. Riding a horse to victory wasn't that interesting, especially since Sterling rode a dragon to victory. But still she wasn't quite sure how a horse could end up in the Hunger Games.
"You mean like a horse mutt?"
Peeta shook his head. "No, a real horse. Someone sponsored him a horse."
"They sponsored him a horse." Katniss stifled a giggle.
Peeta grinned. "No kidding. The Careers must've been stunned."
Ringo Alvarez
District 10
Aged 16
4 Kills
10 REASONS WHY RINGO LOVED HORSES
1:
The first time he went horse riding on his own was when he was five. He'd left a cookie jar in the barn and his parents wouldn't let him get it until morning. Which was a shame, because he was hungry. So, at midnight, he snuck out the window, and onto the roof. He was about to make his way down the side of his house when he slipped on some bird poo (one of ten reasons why he hated birds), and fell. "Well, this sucks," was all he had time to say, before he tumbled to the ground. He expected to hit hard, rocky ground and end up at the medic's but instead, he landed on something soft. He mustered the courage to open his eyes, and saw that Bucky, his personal favourite horse, had galloped towards him, and saved him from potential death. He grinned. His grin only got wider when Bucky swiftly, but silently headed for the barn. Ringo slipped off. "Thanks, Bucky," he whispered. The horse seemed to give a nod and Ringo crept in, and snatched the jar. Unfortunately, he'd woken up the chickens. "Oh, come on!" he groaned as the chickens began clucking all at once. He dashed towards Bucky, who swiftly led him to his bedroom window, before riding off and whinnying loudly, causing a distraction that led to Ringo being ignored as his parents tried to slve the horse and chicken problem. Ringo grinned to himself as he tossed a cookie into his mouth. "Ah, I love horses."
2:
Ringo got bullied a lot in school. The worst of the bullies was Billy Hoofer, a large, burly cowboy who would punch him whenever he walked by. Oh, and did he mention the wedgies? Oh, those were the worst. His parents tried to complain, but the school waved them away. It was humiliating. Every day, on his way home, Billy and his mates, Lisandro and Galloper would stop him in his tracks and hang him by his underwear on a tall tree for all to see. It got so bad that by the time he was eleven, his parents had to personally pick him up from school, which only made him a bigger laughingstock. The only person he could talk to about it was not, in fact, a person. It was a horse. More specifically, Bucky.
"I wish they'd just leave me alone, Bucky," he sighed, clutching his beloved horse. "I just want to go home safely." It seemed, Bucky could hear him, and wanted to avenge the young Ringo.
The following day, like routine, Billy, Lisandro and Galloper met him at the gate, ready to give him his daily hanging wedgie.
"Scared, Ringo?" Billy mocked in a singsong voice.
Ringo winced. "Please, Billy. Just leave me alone. Why do you hate me so much?"
Billy snickered. "You're just a weak target. You don't deserve mercy."
They approached him, bust just then, they heard galloping. Loud, angry galloping. Before they could react, Bucky had crashed straight into the school gate, and knocked all three bullies over, leaving them groaning and screaming in agony. Ringo couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Bucky. I love horses."
3.
Ringo hated peacekeeper attacks. To 'integrate' with the locals, they used bullwhips to attack random people off the streets. One day, they were targeting him. They came running over, laughing and sneering as they cracked their bullwhips, ready to torture the poor boy. Ringo just screamed and ran off, shouting frantically for help. Most people just shrunk away, not wanting to be in the peacekeepers' line of fire. People had died from these attacks before, and they didn't want to be next. But Bucky wasn't a person. So, upon hearing his master's desperate cries for help, he'd dashed over, galloping at full speed, and barreled straight into the peacekeepers. For good measure, he kicked their bullwhips away and crushed their helmets. The smarter peacekeepers turned and ran, but one of them, Kingsley, tried to put up a fight. He had a reputation to maintain, after all. If he ran, he'd be a district laughingstock. He could get fired! The district scumbags wouldn't fear him anymore! Not after seeing that! So, he charged at Bucky, who simply nonchalantly pushed him hard with his hoof. Then he ran.
Bucky trotted up to Ringo, who was panting heavily from all the running. Bucky nuzzled the boy playfully. Ringo gave him a tired grin. "Thanks. That's why I love horses.
4:
The Dark Days were rough for everyone. After the wars, though, the Capitol bombing didn't stop. At least not in District Ten. Ranch bombings were common. The excuse was the same: "You're a rebel and you're under arrest for treason." Unfortunately, these bombings were almost always poorly conducted, and almost always hit neighbouring ranches. Which was exactly what happened one late summer night.
Ringo was having a nighttime ride on Bucky, a ritual around town to help children sleep. A weird one, yes, but surprisingly effective. Well, usually. Tonight though, Ringo knew something was wrong the instant he saw the planes. He'd seen them fly over in the Dark Days. It was hard not to forget. "Oh, gosh," he gulped. "Bucky, run."
What followed could've been shot straight out of a Capitol dram movie. Bucky galloped away s the bombings continued, each time the bombs landing closer and closer. One time a piece of shrapnel hit Bucky's leg, and the horse whinnied in pain.
"Bucky!" Ringo screamed. But the horse didn't stop running. Boom! Boom! All around them, things, ranches, everything was getting bombed. Fire engulfed them, but Bucky simply jumped over the flames. Until another piece of shrapnel lodged itself in Ringo's back. It was pain like never before. Bucky knew something was wrong even before Ringo's screams of pain. He'd dashed straight to the hospital. He'd galloped in, knocking past confused doctors and nurses, and dumped Ringo in their care. Ringo smiled weakly as the nurses carried him off to the surgery room.
"I love horses…"
5:
The next time the bombings came round though, Ringo wasn't so lucky. He'd been at his friends house for a birthday party, when the bomb dropped in their living room. Ringo had been sent flying against the wall along with some chairs and the couch, pining him underneath heavy furniture and rubble.
Bucky, however, knew something was wrong, and he'd raced right to the scene, using his hooves to push aside debris and pull out Ringo and his friend Jose. He'd slung them onto his back and for the second time that year, galloped straight into the hospital. This time, though, the staff were prepared, and didn't run off screaming. They wheeled the boys into the ER. When Ringo woke up, he found Bucky staring down at him. He smiled faintly. "Bucky, have I ever told you that I love horses?"
6:
When Ringo was reaped, he knew he was going to die. It would take a miracle for the young ranch cowboy to survive. Billy and Lisandro had both gone into the Games and died, so what chance did he have? He tried his best to put on a brave face as he walked up to the stage, all eyes on him. His parents were wailing in the distance, but still, he tried to block them out. If he was going down, he would go down fighting, just as Billy and Lisandro had.
In the Tribute Centre his parents came to visit him. He promised to try to stay alive and win, although they all knew it was hopeless. He didn't expect anyone else to come and visit him. Oh, how wrong he was! Because just seconds after his parents left, the peacekeepers began screaming as Bucky barged right in, whinnying and screeching loudly. Ringo gave him a hug.
"Hey, Bucky. How are you?"
Bucky glared at him, as if to tell him, "You better come home, or else."
Ringo couldn't resist smiling at his horse, and he whispered in Bucky's ear. "Don't worry. I'm coming home." This time, he meant it. Throughout the training sessions he trained hard as he could, and in his spare time, did push-ups and tried to gain some weight. His promise to Bucky still rang in his ears. He was going home. That fire in his eyes stunned his district partner Rita, a tiny girl who couldn't seem to stop crying.
"Why are training so hard?" she sniffled. "It's hopeless!"
Ringo stared firmly at her. "I made a promise. It's never hopeless."
That motivation, was why he loved horses so much.
7:
His parade costume was pretty standard. A simple, classical cowboy costume with fake pistols, bullwhips and lassoes. He wasn't going to stand out. Unless…
He grinned when he saw the horses. "Hey, Rita. I've got an idea."
Bartomeus squealed with excitement as the District One and Two chariots rolled out. The Ones were dressed as mythical royalty, their dresses sparkling brightly. The Twos were dressed as gladiators, complete with sharp gladiuses and replica victor's crowns. The other tributes were irrelevant. Until he saw District Ten. "Giddyap!" the male tribute's voice shouted. For the first time in his life, Bartomeus was left speechless as the District ten tributes, riding on their horses, shot right through the track, racing circles around all the tributes. And to add on to the effect, smoke bellowed out of their chariots, knocking the other tributes off guard. As the horses circled the Ones, the girl stamped her foot in rage and screamed a rather nasty result. The boy simply threw his lasso and lassoed her off her chariot. The crowd cheered wildly, screaming, "District Ten!" They threw roses at the riders, which the boy smacked out of the air with his bullwhip.
Bartomeus laughed, clapping his hands like a little kid on Christmas morning as he boomed out, "I love it! Brilliant from District Ten! Especially the boy, erm," He checked the tribute list. "Especially Ringo Alvarez!"
And just like that, Ringo had become the Capitol's favourite tribute. His odds of winning skyrocketed, above even the girl from One, Fantastica, who was absolutely livid at Ringo and tried to attack him, only for Ringo's horse to smack her out of the way. Ringo grinned as her district partner, Alexandrite, had to drag her away, screaming and making herself look like a huge idiot.
"See, Rita?" he grinned at his district partner. "That's why I love horses."
8:
It was the third day of the games. The arena was an old District Ten ranch, and the tributes had to wear cowboy costumes. The only weapons were bullwhips and shovels, so the Bloodbath had been pretty bloody. Ringo hid in a tiny saloon overlooked by the other tributes. He drank from a small well nearby and ate pork chops that he had gotten from the Cornucopia. But his luck couldn't last forever.
The door to the saloon creaked open. Cod from Four strolled in, shovels in hand. "Come out, come out wherever you are," he tried to taunt, but Ringo could sense the uneasiness in his voice. He crouched underneath the counter, holding his breath. Cod edged closer. Ringo closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to look.
Just then, he heard a loud crash! Cod was sent flying high into the air as a herd of horse mutts charged straight into the saloon, tearing it apart, but for some reason sparing the counter. A horse mutt made eye contact with Ringo, but then shook his head and galloped on. Cod's cannon came soon after. Ringo's heart skipped a beat. Those weren't technically horses, but they still looked like horses. Whatever the case, he figured he loved them just as much as regular horses.
9:
The only tributes left on the final day were Ringo, Rita, the Ones and the Twos. Rita fell into a well and died soon enough, so it was up to Ringo to battle it out with the Careers. He glanced nervously from his hiding spot as he eyes the Careers listing out a hundred different ways on how to put on a good show with his death. "If only I had a horse…" he sighed. Lady Luck was, thankfully, able to hear him, because no sooner had he said it, a dashing, white stallion had appeared right beside him with a note attached to its hoof.
'From the people of District Ten, ride to victory!'
He smiled, grabbing his bullwhip and getting on the stallion. Time to finish this.
The look on the Careers' faces were simply priceless as they gaped at the white beast charging straight at them. Fantastica was trampled by the horse while Ringo slashed his bullwhip at the boy from Two, Gaius, who crumpled to the ground, quickly bleeding out. Alexandrite and Drusilla put up a bit of a fight, but they were no match against the wild cowboy and his deranged horse. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Four cannons sounded, and the trumpets rang. Ringo smiled weakly, disgusted by the bloodshed, but still grateful he'd made it out alive. "Yeah, I think I love horses."
10:
He was allowed to take Bucky on his Victory Tour. He would ride his horse around the districts, putting on good shows and generally making his tour a lot better than Reyna's the year before. In District Four, while riding his horse along the coastline and lassoing a flock of geese together ("We don't have enough quality entertainers," Marina told him), he caught a glimpse of a young girl begging for food. He frowned. "Go up to her, Bucky."
The girl looked up, and gasped when she saw Ringo approaching her on top of Bucky. "Erm, hello," she stammered, eyes wide in panic.
Ringo grinned as he tossed her some coins and bread. "What's your name?"
The girl looked into his eyes, and a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Mags Flanagan."
District One, however, did not like him. Sapphire was welcoming, but the people weren't. They threw tomatoes at Bucky and had to be subdued by peacekeepers with water guns and riot shields. Ringo couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Tough crowd, huh?"
Sapphire shook her head sadly. "They hate you. Especially after you humiliated Fantastica. I think you should…" She yelped as a man flung a glass bottle just inches from her face. "Saph! You okay?" Ringo asked, glaring at the man.
Sapphire nodded, but looked visibly shaken.
Ringo narrowed his eyes. "Let's show him how we do things down in Ten, Bucky."
Oh, he loved horses.
Haymitch walked into their train car again, this time a lot less sober. He held a bottle of beer in his hand. Katniss covered her nose. She couldn't stand his breath.
"So, Ringo, eh?" Haymitch slurred. "Ah, yes, nice little lad. Always told stories to us younger victors! Did you know, Ten was once called Texas?" He gave a toothy grin, before passing out.
Peeta rolled his eyes. "I'll take him to his room."
He grabbed Haymitch's arms, wrinkling his nose at his foul breath, and dragged him away. Katniss scooped up the notebook. She flipped the page. "Shocker Crimson. The tough killer who ended up stuttering for the rest of his life. What on earth happened…"
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4)
District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)
District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7)
District 12-Axel Millar(3)
A/N: So I hope you liked the cowboy from District Ten! This was a fun one to write, but the next one probably won't be. As usual, pls review and let me know any ideas you have (arenas, victors, tributes, storylines, weapons, formats, etc) and tell me what you think! Stay tuned for Shocker, the psychopath who started to regret his actions during the Games! Cheers :)