The Eighteenth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
Ex Head Gamemaker and ex First Lady Lima Xabie-Sombray stayed in the post of President for a second year in a row. Showing she was not just a pawn sitting on the throne like so many others, Lima decreased workloads in the Districts and eased taxes. This radical move spawned the second main political party that would dominate Panem for decades to come; the Xabians. From this year forward, Xabians and Brutalians would grapple over the Presidential title for centuries. Lima would keep her sister Venezuela as Head Gamemaker for that year, and she would replace the clueless and a bit clutzy host Cadmus Liseti with a close, enigmatic follower named Thorra Flamboyant. Thorra was a frequent news anchor in the Capitol, where she mainly worked on gossip and rumors. She would fit well in the speculation and statistic based world of the Hunger Games, where she would be working. Careers were from Districts 1 and 2 and the male from 4 was also a Career this year. The Careers didn't seem as strong this year as they had been in previous years. There was 1 10, 3 9s, and everything else was 8 or lower, with nothing lower than a 4. The only volunteers were the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Glitter Rykehart, 17 (9) 7-1 and Kylo Daarsiaak, 16 (9) 7-1
District 2: Lorena Georgetown, 18 (8) 9-1 and Adrian Hauffex, 17 (9) 6-1
District 3: Lesbosanna Hills, 16 (6) 22-1 and Technetium Gravitas, 18 (8) 10-1
District 4: Kendra LaMoura, 15 (6) 21-1 and Ross Spectat, 18 (10) 3-1
District 5: Volta Vendack, 14 (5) 34-1 and Collin Rettabelboud-Ngiws, 16 (6) 22-1
District 6: Axelle Hyndricc, 13 (4) 45-1 and Oiler Conbara, 15 (5) 33-1
District 7: Maplea Naidanac, 16 (6) 22-1 and Sequoia Canopies, 18 (7) 15-1
District 8: Cottonia Veeble, 15 (5) 33-1 and Grady Semblance, 16 (5) 34-1
District 9: Deana Mitchellson, 16 (5) 32-1 and Vickie Curglonn, 12 (4) 46-1
District 10: Nina Newrose, 16 (7) 16-1 and Kite Nerrid, 15 (6) 22-1
District 11: Patricia Ulysses, 17 (6) 21-1 and Vonn Pollock, 15 (5) 35-1
District 12: Meagan Carte-Air, 16 (5) 34-1 and Bennie Comeback, 13 (4) 45-1
HGBA Odds: 25% on Ross, 15% on Adrian, 10% on Kylo, Lorena, and Glitter, 5% on Technetium, Sequoia, and Nina, 2% on Kendra and Patricia, 1% or less on Lesbosanna, Volta, Collin, Axelle, Oiler, Maplea, Cottonia, Grady, Deana, Vickie, Kite, Vonn, Meagan, and Bennie.
The Games
The arena this year would suit the tributes from 9, 10, and 11; it was a giant abandoned plantation. Dozens of barns and small huts dotted the landscape, and one giant mansion overlooked the hundreds of acres of unruly crop fields that had grown out of control. To the north sat the imposing mansion, several stories high and painted light blue. It had over seven dozen different rooms inside, many of which were booby trapped by the Gamemakers. If the tributes survived the brutal traps inside the mansion, they would be rewarded with small prizes, like a small dagger or a loaf of bread. For most of the rest of the arena, there was unending fields of grain and corn, hundreds upon hundreds of acres wide. To the east, as the fields ended near the edge of the arena, there were several barns and empty animal pens, along with a contaminated well that tributes would have to clean with iodine. To the south was just plain, endless field, up into the force field; a tribute could wander into the force field easily and be shocked to death almost immediately. To the west, a small forest sprung up after the fields ended, and a small, clear, clean brook ran through the wood. The Cornucopia sat in a large circular clearing in a large barley field. The tributes took in the arena as the countdown neared its close.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The tributes burst forward. Many, after seeing the abundant sources of food and cover around them, ran into the fields without a second look back. Because of this, and the lesser skills of the Careers this year (9s and one 10 weren't bad, just not as good as the usual Careers scored), so only 7 tributes would perish in the bloodbath as opposed to the usual 9, 10, or 11.
The first kill came to Lorena after she swept up a mace. She tackled a stronger girl who'd been trying to escape the bloodbath with a crossbow. Lorena smashed her head in with one sweep of her deadly weapon.
Nina Newrose, District 10 Female; 24th, Killed by Lorena, Bloodbath
The next to go down as a wily 15 year old girl who had been trying to escape with some food and water. Glitter and Adrian cornered her, slicing her to bits with their long, sleek swords. Her body was in ribbons when they were done.
Cottonia Veeble, District 8 Female; 23rd, Killed by Glitter and Adrian, Bloodbath
The next to fall was a girl who would be right at home in this arena. She'd been running into the fields of grain, but Kylo had picked up the crossbow from Nina's corpse, his favorite weapon, and fired two bolts into the girl's back, killing her just as she entered the field.
Patricia Ulysses, District 11 Female; 22nd, Killed by Kylo, Bloodbath
The fourth to fall was yet another female, a young morphling addict who'd stayed on her pedestal, looking around dreamily. Kylo shot a bolt into her chest, ending her life in a matter of moments as the grin on her face disappeared.
Axelle Hyndricc, District 6 Female; 21st, Killed by Kylo, Bloodbath
Axelle's District partner was the next to die as Ross swept up a trident and speared the boy, also an addict, in the abdomen. Now District 6 was out of the running.
Oiler Conbara, District 6 Male; 20th, Killed by Ross, Bloodbath
The next to go was a short, stocky boy who Adrian had been chasing relentlessly. He managed to trip the kid and chop of his head. Now District 8 was also out of the running.
Grady Semblance, District 8 Male; 19th, Killed by Adrian, Bloodbath
Kylo took out the last one, aiming his crossbow at a retreating, tiny figure that was running into a cornfield. Two bolts in the back, and the small figure fell, dead.
Bennie Comeback, District 12 Male; 18th, Killed by Kylo, Bloodbath
The 7 faces, all from District 6 or lower, played across the sky. Then night came and blanketed the arena.
The next morning, the Careers went hunting, leaving Glitter and Kylo to guard the Cornucopia. The alliance of the tributes from District 7 and the girl from District 12 crept into the clearing to steal supplies. Kylo spotted them and shot the male from 7 in the chest with a bolt.
Sequoia Canopies, District 7 Male; 17th, Killed by Kylo, Day 2
Glitter threw throwing stars at the two running girls. One dug into Sequoia's District partner's head, killing her.
Maplea Naidanac, District 7 Female; 16th, Killed by Glitter, Day 2
Meagan escaped the clearing, only to run into the path of the returning Careers. Ross cut her down with his trident.
Meagan Carte-Air, District 12 Female; 15th, Killed by Ross, Day 2
Days 3 and 4 passed, deathless. Day 5, the alliance of Lesbosanna and Technetium from 3 wandered into the large mansion. Lesbosanna traipsed into one of the booby trapped rooms. Knifes we flung down at her, and the dug into her chest, killing her. Technetium left the mansion before he could be killed by a trap, too.
Lesbosanna Hills, District 3 Female; 14th, Killed by booby trap, Day 5
Day 6, the Careers found a small boy camouflaged in plain sight in one of the clearings. Before he could escape, Adrian dug his blade into his head.
Vonn Pollock, District 11 Male; 13th, Killed by Adrian, Day 6
Day 7 passed, deathless. Day 8, the Careers investigated the mansion after seeing Kendra from 4 scamper in there (she'd safely found trap-less rooms on the upper floor.) The Careers began to check rooms, with the pair from 2 at the lead. Adrian and Lorena ducked into a room to see Lesbosanna's crumpled body. Before they could move, the trap reactivated, and their bodies were filled with knives. The other three Careers fled as their friends' cannons boomed ominously close together.
Adrian Hauffex, District 2 Male; 12th, Killed by booby trap, Day 8
Lorena Georgetown, District 2 Female; 11th, Killed by booby trap, Day 8
Day 9, the boy from 5, Collin, perished. He and his partner, Volta, were building traps around their camp like tributes from 3 and 5 usually did. He accidentally set up a trap wrong, and so when a bear mutt triggered it, the knife flung at him instead of at the bear. Collin quickly bled out as Volta ran to escape the mutt.
Collin Rettabelboud-Ngiws, District 5 Male; 10th, Killed by his own trap, Day 9
Day 10 was deathless. Day 11, the Career pack ran into Technetium from 3. Before they could kill him, the boy blasted Kylo with a flame-thrower like weapon he'd crafted from Cornucopia supplies, sponsor gifts, and things in the arena from the traps in the mansion. Kylo was roasted to a crisp, and the other two Careers, Glitter and Ross, ran before Technetium could torch them.
Kylo Daarsiaak, District 1 Male; 9th, Killed by Technetium, Day 11
That left the Top 8: Glitter Rykehart from District 1, Technetium Gravitas from District 3, Kendra LaMoura from District 4, Ross Spectat from District 4, Volta Vendack from District 5, Deana Mitchellson from District 9, Vickie Curglonn from District 9, and Kite Nerrid from District 10.
The first to go, on Day 12, was Kite. The boy had been hiding out in the hayloft of one of the larger barns, but the two remaining Careers swiftly discovered him Day 12. He was speared on Ross's trident as he slept.
Kite Nerrid, District 10 Male; 8th, Killed by Ross, Day 12
The other tributes had seemed to have disappeared from sight. Technetium and Kendra had been the only ones besides Kite that the Careers had seen since the bloodbath. Volta had holed herself up, deep in the wooded area, with traps surrounding her, and Deana and Vickie, weaker tributes from the grain producing District of 9, had become instant allies and had melted into the familiar arena. Even the Gamemakers weren't sure what the outcome was going to be of this Games.
Days 13, 14, and 15 were all deathless as the Careers searched restlessly for the remaining tributes. They eventually spooked Deana and Vickie out of their wheat field fortress by setting it ablaze. Vickie was caught in the fire and burned to death, but Deana managed to escape under the veil of smoke.
Vickie Curglonn, District 9 Male; 7th, Killed by Glitter and Ross, Day 16
As Glitter and Ross searched the smoky area around the field for Deana, Kendra made a sudden appearance, wielding a javelin. She saw movement in the smoke and threw it. The weapon sliced through Glitter's abdomen, and she died several minutes later. Kendra managed to escape before Ross could see her. Now only one Career was left.
Glitter Rykehart, District 1 Female; 6th, Killed by Kendra, Day 16
Ross stayed near the ruins of the wheat field that night, in a corn field. He woke up Day 17 to see flames blazing around him. Technetium had torched the field with his flamethrower after Kendra had tipped him off to Ross' location. The final Career in the Games slowly burned alive.
Ross Spectat, District 4 Male; 5th, Killed by Technetium, Day 17
Days 18 and 19 were deathless. Most Games had not lasted this long in recent years, and the Capitol was getting restless, eager for a Victor. The Gamemakers were prepping to push the final four together in the Cornucopia clearing when one of the girls, chasing Volta, got caught in her booby trapped campsite, and was killed.
Kendra LaMoura, District 4 Female; 4th, Killed by Volta, Day 20
Day 21, the final 3, Volta, Technetium, and Deana, converged in the center of the Cornucopia. Technetium blazed the entire clearing with his flamethrower, incinerating Volta's left leg and Deana's long, flowing, mousy brown hair. Volta managed to pull one last trick, picking up a small container of fuel that she'd received as a sponsor gift to use in a contraption. She chucked it Technetium's way as she bled out. It got caught in the flames of his flamethrower, and Technetium was absorbed in the following blast.
Technetium Gravitas, District 3 Male; 3rd, Killed by Volta, Day 21
Deana watched, pale and afraid, as Volta slowly bled out. She just chuckled, the sound bloody and gurgling.
"Lucky girl..." she hissed at Deana. "Not even one kill..." Volta fell still, having lost too much blood.
Volta Vendack, District 5 Female; 2nd, Killed by Technetium, Day 21
"Deana Mitchellson of District 9, you are the Victor of the 18th Hunger Games!" Thorra boomed into the arena. Deana just shivered, frightened.
Aftermath
Two Victories from lower Districts, especially traditionally "weaker" Districts, was a shock to the nation. The Capitol and the upper Districts were infuriated. District 3 and District 5 had lost two brilliant tributes to a "weakling" like Deana, who hadn't even touched a single weapon during the 3 week entirety of her Games. District 9 was pleased to be one of the first Districts to receive two Victors and Victors of both genders, but even they were a little underwhelmed by Deana. She was a private and elusive girl, even before the Games. She would not turn to any addictive materials like most Victors from this point forward, but she would ease her PTSD and flashbacks by gardening and tending to her own farm, although she would never grow wheat or corn on her farm because of the flashbacks. She also had her light blue house repainted yellow so it wouldn't remind her of the arena's mansion. She would Mentor dozens of tributes that would usually perish in the bloodbath and score on the lower end of the spectrum in training.
Deana would live to age 78, dying five months after the 80th Hunger Games from brain cancer. She would not marry but adopt a single girl, her sister's baby, after her sister would give up the child for adoption.
The payouts for her Victory were great, as only about .68% of the bets were on her.
Her Victory Tour was nothing outside of the normal, although she was showered with ill will in Districts 3 and 5.
Fun Fact: Deana is the Victor, as of the 18th Games, with the second lowest training score, a 5. The lowest was Tugra Ertra, District 5 Female, of the 3rd Games, with a measly 3.
Victor's News
Deana moves into the Victor's Village of District 9, in the house next door to Dillon's.
Ishania has her second daughter, name Oakleigh.
List of Victors
1st: Kelan Thather, District 4 (1, 1 Male)
2nd: Dillon Tripp, District 9 (1, 1 Male)
3rd: Tugra Ertra, District 5 (1, 1 Female)
4th: Noor Tuskararus, District 2 (1, 1 Female)
5th: Ishania Patel, District 7 (1, 1 Female)
6th: Guild Tonneroy, District 1 (1, 1 Male)
7th: Chaplin Nastaro, District 3 (1, 1 Male)
8th: Irmentrude Marley, District 5 (2, 2 Female)
9th: Vissarion Chamantel, District 11 (1, 1 Male)
10th: Greason Trails, District 6 (1, 1 Male)
11th: Mags Flanagan, District 4 (2, 1 Female)
12th: Salandra Valour, District 1 (2, 1 Female)
13th: Barcelona Sepias, District 10 (1, 1 Female)
14th: Freeha Indepp, District 11 (2, 1 Female)
15th: Clermont Lackrey, District 1 (3, 2 Male)
16th: Bex Martin, District 4 (3, 2 Female)
17th: Jaguar Crusoe, District 10 (2, 1 Male)
18th: Deana Mitchellson, District 9 (2, 1 Female)
