The Twentieth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
President Lima Xabie-Sombray managed to keep a further hold on the Presidency. To keep herself, her sister, and her children safe from assassination, she increased workload somewhat in the District and enforced taxes that were increased by about .5%. This was not enough to please the Brutalian party fully, but they were placated for the moment. In this year of peace, Lima and Venezuela reformed their base of followers, strengthening the Xabian political party in private. The Brutalians and Xabians had such high tensions and differences that civil war could possibly be brewing on the horizon. Lima did not want the war, so she did all she could to appease her opponents, but she could not give them the Presidency. She knew that the Brutalian party was stronger, and the only way the Xabians were keeping their ground was because her immense position of power. If she lost that, Brutalians would rule the country and no one would be able to stop them. Lima's sister, Venezuela Xabie, returned as the Head Gamemaker, and Caius Flickerman also returned as the host. The Careers were weaker this year, although this was the first year where all 3 Districts provided tributes for both genders. The Careers produced 2 10s and 4 9s. The rest of the tributes had scores between 8 and 4, as usual. There were no volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Tennia Perison, 17 (10) 5-1 and Teao Gemsie, 17 (9) 8-1
District 2: Hibi Shince, 16 (9) 7-1 and Ataque Push, 17 (10) 5-1
District 3: Cable-Anne Sureznik, 16 (6) 22-1 and Datum Neffard, 16 (8) 12-1
District 4: Talisa Adderman, 17 (9) 7-1 and Salton Genesis, 18 (9) 6-1
District 5: Curie Lovelace, 16 (7) 15-1 and Alberto Diaz, 15 (5) 32-1
District 6: Kynaselle Villos, 15 (6) 22-1 and Aran Engineburst, 17 (6) 21-1
District 7: Rowenna Blaise, 16 (7) 15-1 and Grover Elms, 16 (8) 11-1
District 8: Velvetta Concormla, 15 (5) 32-1 and Rollag Emsherte, 16 (5) 32-1
District 9: Gwenyth Bastlor, 16 (6) 22-1 and Eamon Leech, 15 (4) 42-1
District 10: Bulla Mync, 18 (7) 15-1 and Talon Verifies, 16 (6) 22-1
District 11: Caritta Peace, 14 (5) 33-1 and Spud Misses, 13 (4) 43-1
District 12: Brooke Monroe, 15 (6) 22-1 and Cameron Sayne, 12 (5) 35-1
HGBA Odds: 20% on Tennia and Ataque, 15% on Salton, 10% on Hibi, Teao, and Talisa, 5% on Grover, 2% on Datum, 1% on Cable-Anne, Curie, Alberto, Kynaselle, Aran, Rowenna, Velvetta, Rollag, Gwenyth, Eamon, Bulla, Talon, Caritta, Spud, Brooke, and Cameron.
The Games
The tributes arose in a seemingly normal arena. The Cornucopia sat in the grassy clearing, and a large forest made up the rest of the arena. To the north, edible deer-like mutts were common, along with a variety of edible plants. The three ponds in this area, though, were poisonous. Anyone who drank from them without purifying it with iodine would be killed in minutes from the fast-acting poison. To the east, a large river sliced through the forest, clean and healthy to drink from. Flocks of fat, turkey-like birds called grooslings populated this area, and poisonous berries were common in the east, too. To the south was plain forest, with no source of water and the only source of food being some edible beetles and fungi that lived in the dead trees on the forest floor. To the west was also plain forest, with one, healthy, clean pond and abundant flocks of groosling. There wasn't anything very new about this arena, although the tributes were afraid that it might be another eternal night forest like the 17th Games had been. But when the gong sounded, nothing changed. It was just a simple
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The Careers surged forward. They might not have been the most weapon adept Careers, but they were quick and fast, and they reached the Cornucopia before anyone else could. The girl from 4, Talisa, scooped up a bow. She aimed it at the pair from District 6 (surprisingly, neither were morphling addicts this year.) An arrow sliced into the back of the male, killing him, while the female escaped into the woods. This would be the first of 9 kills in this bloodbath.
Aran Engineburst, District 6 Male; 24th, Killed by Talisa, Bloodbath
Tennia grabbed a hatchet, Teao grabbed a katana, Hibi and Salton grabbed tridents, and Ataque scooped up a broadsword. Ataque raced forward, tackling a a frightened girl to the ground and slicing open her throat with his sword.
Velvetta Concormla, District 8 Female; 23rd, Killed by Ataque, Bloodbath
Hibi and Salton teamed up, circling an alliance of two boys from 10 and 12. Hibi darted forward, jabbing her trident into the boy from 12's chest.
Cameron Sayne, District 12 Male; 22nd, Killed by Hibi, Bloodbath
The District 10 boy tried to leap on Hibi and kill her with a small dagger, but Salton stabbed the boy with his trident, and the boy's limp, dead corpse fell off of Hibi as soon as she could shake him off. He lay limply next to his also dead ally.
Talon Verifies, District 10 Male; 21st, Killed by Salton, Bloodbath
Tennia pushed a tall, skinny girl to the ground and dug into the girl's neck with her hatchet, killing her.
Gwenyth Bastlor, District 9 Female; 20th, Killed by Tennia, Bloodbath
Talisa had her sights pinned on a group of three tributes. They were the weak re-rendering of the Lower Alliance; both tributes from 11 and 12 had been in it this year, as well as the male from 10. The female from 10 had refused to join. Now the boys from 10 and 12 lay dead nearby, and the weak, gimmicky alliance lost its third member when Talisa released an arrow into the head of the District 11 girl.
Caritta Peace, District 11 Female; 19th, Killed by Talisa, Bloodbath
Ataque had been sword fighting with a scatterbrained boy from 8, playing with him. When the boy managed to get a small cut on Ataque's left shoulder, however, Ataque went beserk, knocking away the boy's sword and beheading him.
Rollag Emsherte, District 8 Male; 18th, Killed by Ataque, Bloodbath
The District 3-5 alliance had reformed yet again, and Hibi and Salton were determined to cut it into pieces. They scared the four tributes into two clumps, District 5 running to the west, District 3 running to the east. Salton, chasing the District 5 tributes, managed to spear the slower boy while the girl escaped.
Alberto Diaz, District 5 Male; 17th, Killed by Salton, Bloodbath
The District 3 tributes managed to evade capture from Hibi. The final kill was made by Talisa; she released another arrow at the now 2 member Lower Alliance, killing the girl from 12, and leaving the weakling boy from 11 to escape, alone, into the woods, his 4 other allies dead.
Brooke Monroe, District 12 Female; 16th, Killed by Talisa, Bloodbath
Districts 8 and 12 had no more tributes, and no one in Districts 1-4 or 7 had perished. The Careers settled down at the Cornucopia, waiting to go hunting until the morning came around.
Their attempts Day 2 proved futile; no blood was split. Day 3, however, was a different situation. They'd been tracking little Spud from 11, who'd gotten a knife wound from the girl from 7, Rowenna, and had left a blood trail. They found where the trail ended; at the base of a tree. They looked up to see the tributes from 7 and little Spud nestled in the high up branches. Spud was weeping, and they watched as the tributes from 7 pushed him off of the tree. Only too late did Teao realize that the District 7's ally, the girl from 10, Bulla, was behind the Careers. She dug her dagger into Teao's skull as Spud crashed to the ground. The Careers didn't realize Spud was dead until Bulla, Rowenna, and Grover had all escaped.
Teao Gemsie, District 1 Male; 15th, Killed by Bulla, Day 3
Tennia quickly leaped onto the struggling little boy, grinning as she buried her hatchet in his skull.
Spud Misses, District 11 Male; 14th, Killed by Tennia, Day 3
Day 4 passed, deathless. Day 5, the sneaky tributes from 7 and Bulla from 10 made their next attack on the Careers. Talisa was scouting, and Grover dropped out of a tree, burying his axe in her skull, before grabbing her bow for Rowenna and sprinting away.
Talisa Adderman, District 4 Female; 13th, Killed by Grover, Day 5
Days 6 and 7 passed, deathless, as the Careers, now infuriated, searched for the 7-10 alliance. But their searches were futile; they could not find the cunning tributes. On Day 8, the clueless, yet un-addicted girl from 6 wandered into the trap ridden campsite of the tributes from 3 and the girl from 5. She was caught in a trap and killed by it moments after she activated it and became ensnared. Now only one loner, and these three larger alliances, remained.
Kynaselle Villos, District 6 Female; 12th, Killed by Datum, Cable-Ann, and Curie, Day 8
The 7-10 alliance made another vicious kill on Day 9, sneaking up to the Cornucopia while the Careers slept. Rowenna, using her newly gained bow (courtesy of Tennia's corpse), fired an arrow into the girl from 2 as she slept before sprinting away to meet her allies deeper in the forest.
Hibi Shince, District 2 Female; 11th, Killed by Rowenna, Day 9
The Careers, enraged to be cut down to only 3 members, stormed the forest on Day 10, even lighting portions on fire in their anger. One of the forest fires neared the 3-5 camp. The Gamemakers were retaining it from fully spreading, but the fire spooked the girl from 3. She ran from the camp in fear, and into the waiting arms of the remaining Careers. Her screams echoed through the arena as Salton buried his trident in her chest.
Cable-Ann Sureznik, District 3 Female; 10th, Killed by Salton, Day 10
The fire also scared the only remaining loner, Eamon from 9, into the open. Ataque felled him with two sword cuts to the abdomen.
Eamon Leech, District 9 Male; 9th, Killed by Ataque, Day 10
That left the Top 8: Tennia Perison from District 1, Ataque Push from District 2, Datum Neffard from District 3, Salton Genesis from District 4, Curie Lovelace from District 5, Rowenna Blaise from District 7, Grover Elms from District 7, and Bulla Mync from District 10.
The Careers finally happened upon the 7-10 alliance on Day 11. Salton, angered because they had killed his District partner Talisa, chucked his trident all the way up twenty feet into the tree where Rowenna sat. She fell, the trident buried deep in her abdomen. She died moments after hitting the forest floor. Her allies managed to escape unscathed.
Rowenna Blaise, District 7 Female; 8th, Killed by Salton, Day 11
Days 12 and 13 passed, deathless. Day 14 rolled around, and the Careers charged the camp of Curie and Datum. Tennia threw her hatchet over the line of traps and into the head of Curie, killing her in moments.
Curie Lovelace, District 5 Female; 7th, Killed by Tennia, Day 14
Datum managed to escape, and he met up with Bulla and Grover. Being the only non-Careers left, they teamed up to take out the Careers once and for all.
Day 15 was silent, without any action, although the 3-7-10 alliance seemed to be planning something. And plan something they did.
Bulla cried out Grover's name, as if she were hurt, near the fringe of the forest. The Careers, on instinct, leaped towards the noise, pursuing the girl as she lead them to the poisonous ponds. She went around them, but they leaped in. Suddenly Grover and Datum threw a net over the Careers, attempting to push them into the water. Tennia and Salton swallowed some of the water as they tried to stay above the surface, and they died minutes later from the poison as the 3-7-10 alliance ran. Only Ataque had managed to escape alive.
Tennia Perison, District 1 Female; 6th, Killed by Bulla, Grover, and Datum, Day 16
Salton Genesis, District 4 Male; 5th, Killed by Bulla, Grover, and Datum, Day 16
Ataque managed to free himself from the net, and, roaring in fury, he chased down the alliance by Day 17. Brandishing his sword, he beheaded Bulla swiftly while Datum and Grover narrowly escaped his wrath. Now only males remained.
Bulla Mync, District 10 Female; 4th, Killed by Ataque, Day 17
Day 18, Datum and Grover, who'd split, were herded to the Cornucopia by fireballs. Ataque was waiting for them there. He had a bow, a weapon he was decent with. he shot two arrows into Datum's chest as he appeared in the clearing, killing him.
Datum Neffard, District 3 Male; 3rd, Killed by Ataque, Day 18
"7, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ataque roared, looking around the clearing. Little did he know that cunning Grover had crawled on top of the Cornucopia while Ataque had been focused on shooting and killing his ex-ally, Datum. As Ataque neared the mouth of the golden Horn, Grover leaped down, burying his axe in the Career's skull.
Ataque Push, District 2 Male; 2nd, Killed by Grover, Day 18
"Grover Elms of District 7, you are the Victor of the 20th Hunger Games!" Caius called into the arena in a sing song voice. Grover just crawled off of Ataque, growling, his mouth twisted in a wickedly mean frown.
Aftermath
District 7 was happy to have its second Victor. They were a stronger District who often made it to the Top 8, only to be cut down early on. Grover was great Victor, celebrity, and Mentor material; cunning, skilled with weapons, strong, fast, and handsome. Most of the Districts did not mind him, though District 2 was ticked off that their third Victor had escaped them. Districts 1 and 4 were fine with his Victory; if Ataque had won, all 3 Career Districts would have the same number of Victors. Grover would be a cunning Victor of dozens of axe-wielding tributes, and he would also help out at Ishania's axe clinics.
Grover would live to age 73, dying three months after the 77th Hunger Games from a brain tumor. He would turn to alcohol to quiet his demons, and he would not marry and would have no children.
The payouts for his Victory were good, as only about 5% bet on him.
His Victory Tour wasn't anything special, though he got ample applause in Districts 10 and 3 for working with their tributes, and in 1 and 4 for delaying District 2 from catching up to them in the Victor totals.
Fun Fact: If Ataque had won, District 2 would have been the first District to have back to back Victors, and also the first Districts to have back to back Victors of the same gender.
Victor's News
Grover moves into the Victor's Village of District 7, in the house next door to Ishania's.
Dillon has his fourth child, a daughter named Porter Millicent.
Vissarion has his third and fourth children, twins, named Kia and Lia.
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)
19th: Romulus Armidale, District 2 (2, 1 Male)
20th: Grover Elms, District 7 (2, 1 Male)
A/N: So, what do you think of our past three Victors; Deana, Romulus, and Grover? Thanks for reading, as always! Don't think I won't finish this story, or at least give an admirable effort at doing so; I will try and finish this story, it will just take a while, and I hope you all decide to stick around and reading the next 480 Hunger Games! The very 1st Quarter Quell looms on the horizon...
Until next time,
Tracee
