Chapter 30: Seeder Crue
A/N: Well, here we go again with District Eleven! Another canon Victor, and one that didn't last long in the Quell, even though I honestly thought she would :( Oh well, at least she lasts the longest in this chapter! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! Enjoy! Cheers:)
P.S. Thanks to Ice that falls like snow for giving the idea for the arena! It's based on Scotland btw:)
"Seeder, she was so gentle, so kind, I wanted her as an ally," Katniss muttered, gazing at the Victor from Eleven's face. "Do you know who killed her?"
"Gloss, I think," Peeta told her. "Snow forced me to watch footage from the Quell. But Gloss looked reluctant to kill her. It was as if he'd been forced to do it."
"Well, the Victors were friends," Katniss noted. "It's got to be hard killing someone you've known for so long."
"Yeah. But why would anyone want to kill Seeder?" Peeta wondered. "She's so nice."
"Rebellious, maybe?" Katniss guessed. "Did Sprout make it out? Maybe we can ask him."
Peeta nodded. "I guess we'll know later."
Seeder Crue
District 11
Aged 17
4 Kills
District Fourteen was facing yet another disaster. Not a blizzard, no. But an attack. It turned out, they weren't alone in Alaska. A tribe of warriors from the Far East had crossed the Bering Strait and entered the Alaskan territory. They viewed the cabin chain as hostile and had begun attacking it at all costs, firing arrows and hurling grenades at the District's hunters and foragers that came out to gather food for the people. Oakette had made a wise decision to establish a hydroponic farm and underground meat lab in the District. But they were trapped, cooped up inside the buildings. The worst part was, they could never see the attackers. They were masters of stealth and cunningness, like sly, quiet foxes that attacked in the blink of an eye and disappeared just as quickly. The grenades couldn't penetrate the tough material Fourteen called 'Herculean steel', without any intended reference to Hercules Nichols, who was plainly amused about this during Oakette's last call with him. However, the windows weren't indestructible. They were made of another engineered material called 'Titan glass', which, while pretty strong, could break if hit by more than four consecutive grenade attacks. One window was already broken and had to be quickly replaced. But the biggest problem was the disruption of the underground network intended to whisk able-bodied rebels to safety. Their recruitment levels, usually at a good rate of twenty new rebels per year, in addition to the annual average of three new babies born in the District, was severely hampered. Only five people had been successfully recruited ever since the attacks began. Oakette sighed, considering the alternatives. Randomly blowing stuff up wasn't an option. If the glacier collapsed, well, they were pretty much all screwed. Negotiating a peace treaty? Not an option. They didn't seem to be in the mood to negotiate. It seemed like an impossible scenario, one that would leave both sides in a horrible deadlock for years to come. She slunk into her couch, switching on the TV. As if the matter at hand wasn't depressing enough, now she was tasked with watching the Hunger Games! She had to search for potential rebel candidates, after all. She had sponsored Laurel that sickle, although she didn't expect her to go into a frenzy and slice off those poor boys' legs. At least she didn't do the final deed. She'd tried to sponsor the pair from Four to Victory in Flash's Games, but alas, the drunken hooligan was simply too strong. This year, she hoped for a preferably non-violent Victor, a pacifist if possible. Twenty-nine Games, twenty-nine murderers. The odds of one coming out with zero kills were pretty bleak. Oakette was the only 'Victor' to come out with zero kills to her name, and even she had never been crowned or even entered the arena to begin with. Still, though, there was a first for everything. Ash and Plasma sat on either side of her. "Think Twelve might finally have a Victor?" Ash wondered.
Plasma bit her lip. "According to the Capitol's top betters, there's a ninety percent chance both from Twelve will be bashed to death in the Bloodbath."
"Well, according to them, I died in my Games," Oakette pointed out.
"True, but that's a trick you can't repeat. Besides, the Twelves don't exactly have much of a winning mentality," Plasma remarked.
Ash sighed, taking a sip of his wine. "Can't argue with that."
The Ones were up first, as usual. The girl, Bliss Ashton, was another noble volunteer. That fact alone was a good enough reason to rule her out. Her snooty noble attitude would almost guarantee her death. And a painful one, at that. Last year, that moody boy from Four had butchered both nobles, leaving them to die over an entire, hellish hour. It was a ghastly sight, all that blood trickling out of every part of their body, as they lay in agony, awaiting the grim reaper's certain arrival. The boy, Majesty Montgomery, was Franc and Crystal's nephew, although he claimed he hated the pair of Victors with all his heart, soul and mine. "I'll show them how a real Victor wins," he vowed. "I'll be the one to restore honour to the Montgomery clan! Heck, I'll break the kill record!"
Beside him, Bliss snorted. "Nah. I think you'll be chopped to death by some kid from Five or Seven. You're just a walking corpse, you know that right?"
Oakette rolled her eyes. "So are you," she murmured.
The Twos conjured up an interesting pair this year. The girl was sixteen, the youngest volunteer in Two's history. Her name was Hippolyta and despite her age, she promised to tear apart at least seven tributes. She was a sadistic one, that girl. Her arrogance might just get her killed, Oakette was certain. Maybe another army of mutts would drain the life out of her? The boy, Kublai, was mute. Hippolyta scoffed as he marched up the steps confidently, hissing, "Avox boy!" Kublai gave her a withering glare. He mimed tearing her apart with his fingers, which only made Hippolyta cackle cruelly at him. "Ha, you think you can kill me? Wait 'till I slit your throat in the finale!" Oakette winced. Yep, those two were certainly not rebel material. But then again, who would've thought Scipio would be sympathetic for their cause? The Games had a queer way of traumatising poor, little kids in unimaginably painful ways, twisting them towards rebellion against the oppressive tyrant Snow.
"I wish we could just skip the Careers," Plasma groaned.
The Threes weren't too interesting, just two poor, bespectacled programmers. Oakette felt something tugging her heartstrings when the pair of twins were called up, both bone-thin and donning leg casts. They wouldn't last very long. The Fours were a dark horse this year, she knew. Marina had launched her very own version of the Career Academy after a whole lot of bribery and help from the Ones and Twos. There wouldn't be any volunteers from the fishing District, but at least the kids would be skilled. This year, the pair both claimed to be excellent with throwing knives and spears, having trained with them every day. "You think they might win?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.
Oakette nodded. "You can't rule them out for now."
None of the other tributes stood out in particular for her, except maybe the boy from Eight, Denim, who was tall and muscular, something that might work in his favour, and Seeder, the girl from Eleven. It was nothing, in particular, just a strange gut feeling that Oakette had that made Seeder, a tall, lean girl who barely had much muscle, stand out amongst the group of tributes. There was just that feeling that she had that bit of cunningness, maybe that hint of intent, or maybe it was the way the other kids gasped and murmured worriedly when her name was called. Then there was her cool and calm expression, her confident words, her brave smile. And how could Oakette miss the look of hope in Orchid's eyes? It was as if she was certain she would finally bring home a Victor. At any rate, Oakette found herself rooting for Seeder. "I like her," she explained to Ash and Plasma, who seemed baffled by her decision.
"Oakette," Ash implored. "Dominica and Bali would be far better investments, for lack of a better word."
"Well, let's just wait for the Games to begin," Oakette told him. "Then we'll see."
The following day, Oakette had a rather rude awakening. The shattering of glass and loud screams. She jolted upright, only to notice that a shard of glass had cut her hand. She winced in pain, pulling it out with a loud yelp of pain. But how had it got there? She turned and saw that her window had been blasted open and arrows were flooding in. One lodged itself into her desk, another smashed into that ugly vase she had always wanted to get rid of. "What the heck?" she exclaimed, ducking behind her covers as another arrow sailed over her head.
"They're attacking!" Felix shouted and in no time, Oakette could hear loud gunfire and even more screaming. But soon, the gunfire stopped. Oakette took the opportunity and bandaged her finger, but there was something off about that last scream. It had been that of a little boy. She stared out the window and saw the District Fourteen medics race to the scene, where a group of child archers stood in a circle around a boy, lying facedown on the floor, bleeding profusely. Oakette raced out into the open, not caring that it was bloody freezing.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"We shot them," Ash exclaimed. "But they, uh, they're-" He gestured to the screaming kids, who were flailing about as the medics tried to save the injured boy. The youngest child was probably about ten, the eldest maybe seventeen. They were dressed in brown leather clothing with blue headdresses. Wrung around their necks were silver necklaces adorned with pearls and leaves, a spiritual symbol maybe? Oakette approached the boy, who was moaning in pain.
"Will he be alright?" she asked one of the medics, Aspen, a former healer from Seven and Oakette's older cousin.
Aspen nodded. "We'll get him fixed in no time. But what about the other kids?"
Oakette glanced at the other children, now unconscious after being jabbed with syringes. "Put them in an interrogation room. And err, we'll try to communicate, somehow."
The foreign children were still knocked out, so Oakette decided to watch the Tribute Parade instead. She had called Orchid the night before to talk about Seeder. "She's an orphan," Orchid had told her. "But she's a brilliant girl. She practically runs the orphanage these days. Oh, and she's already a part-time teacher. The kids all love her." Meanwhile, Mags had complained that Bali was a pirate, just like those awful kids during the Quell. Dominica was a nice girl, but Mags had told her she wasn't exactly the smartest of tributes. It only affirmed her decision to support Seeder in this year's Games. But she wanted to wait until the Bloodbath was over before making any snap decisions. The Tribute Parade began to play on her screen, occasionally crackling due to the poor connection. Ash and Plasma weren't with her today. Ash was waiting for the children to wake up and Plasma was fixing the window in her room. Watching the Hunger Games alone was a daunting task for Oakette, the mental strain of watching kids cry just days before their death shattered her. She often relied on others being there for her in order to maintain her sanity.
"Guess it's just me then," she muttered as the Capitol anthem blared over the sounds of the cheering crowd. Over the years, Oakette had learnt to just straight up ignore the Ones and Twos unless Marina saw rebel potential in them. There was no point staring into the eyes of trained serial murderers. She paid some attention to the Threes, but for the sake of her own sanity, didn't want to focus on their downpour of tears. The Fours, by contrast, seemed like the life of the party. They were dressed as the king and queen of the ocean and were soaking up the attention, waving and cheering on with the crowd. "Maybe Ash's right," Oakette tried to convince herself. "I should sponsor Dominica." It seemed like the most straightforward decision she could ever make, until Seeder came out in her long, flowing purple gown and wreath of velvet flowers. But what made her stand out wasn't her costume. It was what she was doing. Instead of waving or smiling at the crowd, she was juggling six small, red balls in quick succession, her face twisted with concentration as she did so. She dropped one of the balls after her chariot jerked slightly to the left, but she caught it with her foot and kicked it straight back into the juggling procession. Oakette let out a shocked laugh. "How did she do that? I thought she's a part-time teacher, not an entertainer!" But the audience was loving her, chanting her name like crazy, like she was the latest celebrity hit. Oakette was so caught up with her eye-catching performance, she didn't even notice Aspen bursting into her office, calling for her attention. She had made up her mind. It would be Seeder for the win.
Oakette watched her monitor as Ash tried to communicate with a seventeen-year-old archer girl. Unlike the others, her necklace was made of gold and aside from that, she also wore jade bracelets and topaz earrings. She bore a lofty and bemused expression, staring directly into Ash's eyes as he spoke. "Where are you from?" Ash asked, a little halfheartedly.
The girl raised her chin and muttered something underneath her breath. Oakette turned to Aspen. "Does she even speak English?"
Aspen shrugged. "Plasma's trying to find an English-speaking child. They all just kept on pointing at her. She's probably their leader or something."
"Do you speak English?" Ash asked slowly.
The girl mumbled something else, then made a few gestures with her hand, ones Oakette didn't recognise, but Ash certainly did, because his eyes lit up and he began moving his own hands. A smile crept on the girl's face, and she gestured back. "What are they doing?" Oakette asked, baffled. She hadn't a clue what they were doing, some sort of District Twelve ritual that the girl recognised?
"It's sign language," Aspen realised, gasping. "I had a classmate who was deaf. He used those gestures!"
Oakette couldn't quite understand what the heck was going on, but hey, if Ash could talk to the girl, that was good enough. Throughout the 'interrogation' Aspen tried to fill her in from what little sign language she could understand. "Her name is, uh, I think it's Cheyvyene. She's the daughter of a king and she likes punching spears? Wait, that last bit can't be right," Aspen told her, fumbling with her words as she spoke.
At long last, Ash stumbled out of the room, looking rather bewildered by what Cheyvyene had told him. Oakette rushed up to him, hands on her hips. "Well?"
"She's the leader of the hunters. Her father's the chief of a large tribe. They're from a land they call 'Kamchatka' and crossed an ancient sea to get here. I think they want to settle alongside us, but they demand some form of trade," Ash blurted out.
It took Oakette a whole, rather awkward minute to process the information, which was only interrupted when Plasma rushed in, calling her to watch the interviews. As she followed Plasma, Oakette was lost in her thoughts. Contrary to what the Capitol claimed, there was civilisation beyond Panem, bands of survivors and groups of tribes. They weren't alone after all.
Oakette could barely focus as she watched the interviews. Her mind was still spinning from what Cheyvyene had revealed to her. The Careers all had their interviews, but she found herself zoning out for much of their segments. The only thing she could remember was Bliss singling out Seeder as a threat. Oakette had blinked momentarily at this. After all, Seeder's score of seven wasn't too impressive compared to some of the others, but those thoughts were quickly drowned out by Ash's constant mumbling about the hunters. She regained her focus during Dominica's interview, but she quickly lost it again when Dominica tried to make some pretty lame jokes. "You need some sleep?" Ash asked, concerned.
Oakette shook her head. "No, I need to see Seeder's interview."
Ash frowned. "You're going a little crazy, you know that, right?"
Oakette threw her hands into the air. "Yeah, sure! I'm going crazy because I want an underdog to win a deathmatch! Look, I told you, I can't explain it. I just have this feeling that she's going to win!"
Ash shrugged. "Whatever, I guess."
Finally, it was Seeder's turn. The mature, clever girl from Eleven spoke in a quiet, but confident voice, talking about her fellow orphans in Eleven. "They get scared at night, so I juggle and show them some magic tricks to calm them down. If you want, I can show you now."
Neptune giggled excitedly. "Definitely! Someone get her a deck of cards!"
A man tossed one at her, and she proceeded to show the audience some card tricks. That feeling continued to tug at Oakette's heart. She's going to be the Victor, her mind yelled at her. Sponsor her! Oakette didn't know it yet, but her decision to slap three hundred dollars worth of sponsor funds into Orchid's sponsor bank that night would prove a wise one.
Seeder was terrified. As she rose into the arena, she could feel her heart pounding against her chest like the beating of a loud drum. She thought of the orphans and the students in her class. No other teacher could understand their learning needs quite like her. If she died now, their futures looked quite bleak. "I'm coming home," she told herself, balling her fists as her launch pedestal clicked into place. She looked around her. The Cornucopia was located in the heart of a clear lake, with spokes connecting the pedestals with the Cornucopia and the shore. The lake itself was surrounded by grass-covered mountains. Dirt paths led to other lakes surrounded by even more mountains, some with old castle ruins perched on their peaks. The sky was dark and cloudy, the air cool and moist. Seeder wore a chocolate brown, ankle-length skirt, a white blouse and a black vest with a chocolate brown sash over it. The boys, on the other hand, wore checkered skirts. The sight was almost laughable. It seemed like an oddly foreign attire, one that even her stylist had been confused with. But the most puzzling feature was the time stamps. Before she was launched, a Peacekeeper had stamped something on her wrist. It looked like a timer, indicating five hours. When she entered the arena, the timer had begun to tick. Glancing around her, she could see that the other tributes had identical time stamps on their wrists. What could it mean? she wondered, frowning at it for a couple more seconds. Fifteen seconds left. She shook her head, regaining her composure. Running towards the Cornucopia would be suicide. She wasn't very fast and couldn't match up against Bliss or Kublai. It seemed like her only option was to bolt away as quick as she could. Seeder turned her body to face away from the Cornucopia, and towards the shore. The gong rang and she ran off, her feet flying across the spoke. Behind her, she could hear the agonised screams of tributes and the sound of blades clashing. As she neared the shore, Seeder made the ultimate Bloodbath mistake. She looked back. The horrors would haunt her for the rest of her life. Her poor, frail District partner, Damian, was being skinned alive by that horrible girl Bliss. Damian's screams, his pleas for mercy, rang like alarm bells in Seeder's ears. Damian had been one of her favourite students. She had promised to protect him at all costs, but now, in his final, excruciating moments, all she could do was gaze pitifully as he met his horrible end. "Damian," she choked out. Bliss spotted her and readied her bow and arrow. Seeder didn't need another sign. She was already on the shore and bolting through the mountains.
Once Seeder had reached the edge of the mountains, hauling herself up the dirt path, she took one final look at the Bloodbath beneath her. The tributes were still fighting one another, spilling blood all the way. The pair from Three, Amiga and Solaris, were being cornered by Hippolyta and Bali, who, against Draco's stern warnings, had been admitted into the Career pack. Several chops of their limbs and a simple toss into the lake was all it took to kill both children. Their bespectacled, terrified faces reminded Seeder of Spring and Springer, two bespectacled twins from her orphanage who feared almost everything. Seeder wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve as she crossed the mountain path. She felt a tingle on her arm. Looking down, she realised that her timer had been reset back to the original five hours. It only took her a couple of seconds before she realised its purpose. "I'm only allowed to spend five hours in one place," she murmured. "Damn it." That effectively ruled out hiding the Games out. Seeder walked towards a tower not too far away, once part of a larger castle, now ruined. Her first priority had to be food and water. Running away from the Cornucopia had left her without either of those things. Seeder had gained several pounds while in the Capitol, so she wouldn't die of starvation, at least not for nine days by her calculations. But water, she couldn't last long without it. She doubted the lake was safe to drink from. Water couldn't be that easy to find, could it? As she approached the crumbling tower, she heard a splash beneath the clear waters of the lake. But gazing into the water, she could only see her reflection. Nothing more. Seeder frowned. She could feel something was wrong, like there was a missing link somewhere, but for some reason, she couldn't quite figure it out. "I'll figure it out soon enough," she decided, entering the tower, hoping there wouldn't be a brood of winged snakes waiting for her inside. There wasn't, just a pile of hay, a bagpipe and a small ball. Seeder fiddled with her own small ball in her pocket. Her token. It was her mother's final gift to her when she was six. Her final memory of her biological family. The mere memory threatened to bring forth a downpour of tears from Seeder. She sighed wistfully. "I'm going to win. I'll make everyone proud. I promise." Just as she said those words, she heard the familiar beeping of a parachute. She whirled around, stunned. She hadn't done anything to warrant her a sponsor yet, but the parachute with its '11' was unmistakable. She reached for it and opened the container. Water! She almost cried out in joy when she saw the five bottles of water placed neatly in a backpack with a small knife and a packet of crackers. She was going to live! She was so elated, she nearly missed the note that came along with it.
Beware Nessie
-Orchid
Seeder scowled. "Who's Nessie?" She had never heard that name being used before. And she was certain it wasn't another tribute. She'd learned all their names. Nessie certainly wasn't another human. Perhaps it was a mutt? Seeder stashed the note in her pocket, muttering to herself. "Maybe Nessie's some sort of clown mutt? I mean, everything's possible, right? Or is Nessie a Gamemaker?" She couldn't quite tell, not until she saw Dominica, filthy and covered in blood, jump into the lake, giggling as she did so. She scrubbed off the grime whilst swimming around happily, seemingly forgetting where she was. Then something happened. A large monster leapt out of the water. Seeder had never seen anything like it. It was like a large whale of sorts from Seeder's fantasy books. But it had longer limbs and had a long, slender neck with a comparatively small head. Its tail was long and flexible, like that of a snake. She couldn't quite explain what she was seeing, as the monster chomped up Dominica in one big gulp. Seeder was left to gape at it as it sunk back beneath the waves. Suddenly, her time stamp was back in the picture. What if, this monster, which, judging by its acrobatic leap, was designed to eat anyone who went past the five-hour rule? She gulped. "The Nessie mutt might eat me in my sleep."
Oakette groaned when she saw the Nessie mutts. They were from some old fairytales about a mystical land called Scotland. It was described as having a lake, or a loch, as the natives called it, containing a large beast they called 'Nessie'. And here she was, in all her glory, swallowing up Dominica right in front of her eyes. "Oh, gosh," she gasped.
Plasma gritted her teeth. "That's one heck of a mutt. How many are there?"
Oakette counted the number of lakes. Twelve, plus the one with the Cornucopia. Twelve Districts and a Capitol? "Thirteen, I think," Oakette replied. "Assuming each loch only has one Nessie mutt."
Plasma shook her head. "Those Capitolians are crazy. Dragons, cockroach mutts, and now this? Jeez, they're hopping mad!" As Aspen called Oakette over to discuss a peace deal with the chief, who had arrived at their cabins, unarmed and with blue face paint, she couldn't help but agree.
The five-hour mark was nearly over. Seeder had to get a move on. She decided to head away from the lake with the Cornucopia, just in case those Careers were still hanging around waiting for tributes to come into their area. Heading east, she found a slightly darker lake with a castle next to it. But that wasn't what caught her attention. No, it was the pair from Six, Chrysler and Spyker, who were bolting in her direction, knives in hand. Seeder drew out her knife, expecting a fight, but they weren't looking at her. In fact, they hadn't seemed to even notice her. They were staring back in fright. A split second later, Seeder saw exactly why. A huge Nessie mutt came charging out of the water, and with one big chomp, bit Spyker's head off, before swerving back and diving into its lake. Seeder looked away, horrified. The blood gushing out of Spyker's headless body, it was just sickening. Even worse was Chrysler, who was screaming at the top of her lungs, as she ran straight into Seeder's outstretched knife. Seeder yelped, stumbling forward into the Nessie mutt's lake territory, just before her timer hit zero. But she wasn't concerned about that. Not when she had literally just killed Chrysler! The girl lay slumped on the ground, as two cannons boomed in the distance. Seeder let out a guttural scream, dropping her knife in an instant. She had vowed to be the first-ever pacifist Victor but on the very first day, she'd broken that vow right off the bat! "Oh, gosh, Chrysler," she whimpered, regaining her knife and backing away from the Sixes' bodies. "I-I'm so sorry..."
The night was hell for Seeder. Not only was she plagued by nightmares, but she also had to wake up at midnight to move to another location. A shame, because the castle ruins provided good cover for her in the middle of the night. Plus, now she had to stumble her way through the darkness, fumbling through to the next lake, where hopefully a Career pack wasn't waiting to chop her to bits. Another cannon boomed, another tribute who had spent too much time in one location. "Nine tributes left," Seeder uttered. "This was way faster than I expected." Then again, no one could've expected Nessie mutts to be in play. Upon reaching the other side of the mountain, her timer reset to five hours. Unfortunately, someone else had lit a fire on this side of the mountain, illuminating the entire lakeshore. Seeder shook her head. "No way I'm going there." So, instead, she turned on her heels and headed back to the castle, her timer resetting as she did.
The next few days were torturous for Seeder. Her timer kept on running out, meaning she was on the constant scramble for her life. After all, she didn't want to end up like Kublai, who was gobbled up by another Nessie mutt, or Jet, the boy from Twelve, who was slaughtered by the Careers. She learnt to bide her time well, only making the switch close to the final ten minutes, and staying far from the entrance to other territories, where tributes would congregate and definitely pose a threat. In her spare time, she juggled three balls that were sponsored to her, hoping to put on a good show for the Capitol. Every time she did so, she would receive a packet of beef jerky in return. To be honest, take away that one time she was forced to flee from Bliss and Bali, and that other time a forest fire ravaged through a castle ruin she just so happened to be camping in, oh and that one other time her timer was one second away from running out, plus that teensy little problem of her almost losing her step while walking along the shore before using the principle of moments to regain her centre of gravity, she could survive here for quite some time. Life here was just like in Eleven, a constant struggle, but she was used to it. That was, until she ran into Denim. Actually, Denim had run into her. She was staying in that tower with the bagpipe, trying to bandage a cut on her palm, when Denim walked right in, unarmed, but still ready to fight. He had that crazed look in his eyes, as if the Games had ruined his mind. Then Seeder saw his arm and gasped. it wasn't there. Just a bloody, bandaged stump. The Nessie mutt had chomped it off the night before, it turned out. But even with one arm, Denim was still a menace, one Seeder could barely fight against. "Look away, kids," she pleaded. "Seeder's going to handle some business." She whipped out her knife and dodged an attack, slashing Denim's other arm off. He roared in agony, sticking out a foot and sending Seederflying backwards. She could feel her ribs crunch. The pain was simply incredible, like a burning, molten fury of rage burning inside her. Denim hobbled towards her, but she wasn't giving up. She had experienced pain before in Eleven when she was whipped at the age of thirteen. This wasn't new to her. However, Seeder's biggest advantage was her being a teacher. She knew exactly where to kick to induce pain, and how to produce the hardest hits. Within ten seconds three cannons had boomed and none were for Seeder. Two were for Majesty and Hippolyta, who were chowed down by Nessie mutts, and the other for Denim. Dead by Seeder's knife, which she dropped immediately as she ran off, slinging her backpack around her shoulders and crying out her agony. Two. Two kills. That was even worse than some of the Victors! She had broken her vow, become what she swore to never become. A monster.
Oakette couldn't believe her luck. The chief spoke English! The pair had a nice, long chat about their peoples and their history. The chief himself claimed he learnt English after spending time captured in a land known as 'Tasmania' by pirates before sailing his way back to Kamchatka, therefore restoring his honour. When Oakette told him about the Hunger Games and showed him the live footage of the ongoing Games, he scowled and said, "This is barbaric! Never in my life have I seen such horrible cruelty!"
Oakette nodded. "Exactly why we're here. To rebel. To overthrow President Snow and the Capitol."
The chief gave her a salute. "Well, then, Oakette Mason of District Seven, I will help you in your cause. So long as we rule jointly."
Oakette extended a hand, smiling gratefully. "I'm fine with that."
The chief shook her hand and the partnership between Fourteen and Kamchatka would continue long after the Games ended. Eventually, the chief's daughter would marry a rebel from Eight and bear a daughter, who would return to Eight and spur on a revolution, before soon becoming President Paylor of Panem.
Bali and Bliss eventually clashed on the thirteenth day, as Seeder observed quietly from behind a ruined wall on the edge of a mountain. The day before, Mutton from Ten was stabbed by Bali, narrowing the tribute count to three. Bliss seemed to have the upper hand at first, drawing blood on Bali's leg and kicking him back, but Bali seemed to be almost immune to the pain. He jumped back onto his feet and dodged another wave of attacks from Bliss, before punching her in the gut. Bliss doubled back, hissing and reeling from the pain. She jabbed her knife in Bali's shoulder which only made him angrier. He snarled anomalistically at her, baring his teeth. Seeder slowly crept towards them, knife drawn out and ready to attack. When they were weakened, she would strike. She would finish both of them off. She would come home as Victor. Bali kicked Bliss's shin and struck her cheek with a shuriken. She cried out in pain, grabbing her cheek. Bali swung his leg out, tripping her and sending her crashing to the ground. "You're weak," he sneered. Bliss glared back at him and pulled out a knife from her boot, stabbing it straight in his gut. Bali howled, kicking Bliss in the wrist and sending the spare knife flying backwards. "Oh, you'll pay for that with your life!" He grabbed Bliss's throat and began squeezing it tightly. She struggled, trying to punch him, trying her best to break free from his iron grip. But it was no use. Even when he was severely injured, Bali still had some sort of almost superhuman strength. So Seeder decided against taking a chance and stabbed him as he was distracted, before she kicked both Careers into the lake, choking and wheezing as they splashed right in. The Nessie mutt surfaced and chomped on them both, but the cannons had already boomed. The trumpets sounded. Seeder took out the small ball, her token, and gazed at it sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry, guys," she whispered, snivelling. "I became a killer. I'm not the Seeder Crue I used to be."
Katniss and Peeta had their moment of respect for Seeder, neither able to bring themselves to speak for a while. It was Peeta who broke the silence. "You know, she did herself proud. She won't ever be forgotten."
Katniss nodded slowly. "Yeah, just wish..."
Silence followed, only ending when Peeta quietly flipped the page, revealing the next Victor. It was a girl with long brown hair tied in an elaborate braid. Her brown eyes shone with bravery. Behind her, Mags was smirking widely, while Marina had a look of relief on her face. The girl herself seemed satisfied. But what stood out was not her appearance. It was her name, the most un-Panem-y name someone could ever conjure up. "Jolien Fisher."
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14), Crystal Montgomery(21), Sterling Jones(25)
District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10), Scipio MacAllister(17), Freya Carson(22), Hercules Nichols(28)
District 3-Nikola Johnson(13), Gadget Schroeder(24)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11)
District 5-Shocker Crimson(8), Switch Kim(19), Flash Morrison(27)
District 6-Ford Hamilton(20)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2), Jill Wilson(15), Olive Sanchez(26)
District 8-Woof Casino(16)
District 9-Gwendolyn Whitfield(18), Laurel Flamsteel(29)
District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7), John Gatwick(23)
District 11-Orchid Bloom(12), Seeder Crue(30)
District 12-Axel Millar(3)
A/N: Once again, thank you to Ice that falls like snow for giving the arena idea about Scotland and hope you enjoyed Seeder! As I said, I hope I did her justice here, as she never really got much attention in Catching Fire. As usual, pls review and tell me what you think! Up next, we have something pretty special: A District Four marathon is coming up next, starting with Jolien, but what's up with her name? Stay tuned to find out more! Cheers:)