The Twenty Eighth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
Baenlas Curvanith's rule remained steadfast and unshaken, although tiny cracks were appearing in the foundation of his rule as members of his original supporters began to die off from mysterious causes. Baenlas eventually realized Coriolanus, his apprentice of sorts, was in charge of previously named assassinations, but he had grown to be the beloved child of the Capitol, and his death would cause political uproar so large that the entire Presidential Palace would be wiped clean; even the Avoxes would be replaced. So, begrudgingly, Baenlas watched one by one as his Brutalian buddies started to die off, and a new race of politicians, the Snows, grew like a fungus, with their merely 28 year old leader at the head of the operation. Baenlas knew it was only a matter of time before he, too, would be deposed. Burtlas again returned as the Head Gamemaker, and the design of his arena for the 28th Games solidified the idea that all of his arenas were being based off of different Districts. Caius Flickerman returned as host, although he became sick part way through the Pre-Games, and his young son Caesar, barely 18, hosted the interviews with so much joy and fervor that he would host the 31st Games and onward after his father would fall permanently ill and waste away into nothing. In term of tributes, the Careers were not the vicious pack they had been the previous year. There was 1 11, 1 10, 2 9s, and 2 8s. The rest of the tributes scored between 9 and 2. The two irregularities were Mercedes of District 6 and Hickory of District 7, who both managed to somehow get 9s despite their Outer-ish District homelands. There were no other volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Glamour Jesetta, 17 (9) 9-1 and Brave Jockey, 18 (9) 10-1
District 2: Cora Clayne, 16 (10) 6-1 and Slate Court, 18 (8) 11-1
District 3: Chippa Sale, 14 (4) 44-1 and Pad Nemrose, 15 (6) 24-1
District 4: Anemone Clarence, 18 (11) 3-1 and Coren Pryptt, 16 (8) 12-1
District 5: Francine Drake, 16 (5) 31-1 and Bolt Matu, 17 (6) 23-1
District 6: Mercedes Benson, 16 (9) 10-1 and Baden Trains, 17 (7) 19-1
District 7: Galla Crisis, 16 (8) 14-1 and Hickory Feign, 18 (9) 10-1
District 8: Tapestry Billings, 17 (7) 18-1 and Mesh Forthrow, 13 (3) 53-1
District 9: Sierra Lowsteam, 15 (3) 54-1 and Erikk Valcetto, 14 (2) 67-1
District 10: Mare Bestress, 16 (6) 24-1 and Johnnie Claim, 14 (3) 51-1
District 11: Wildflower Evans, 13 (7) 19-1 and Darrick Ross, 18 (8) 14-1
District 12: Dandelion Kike, 12 (4) 46-1 and Burnie Kestrowe, 17 (6) 23-1
HGBA Odds: 27% on Anemone, 23% on Cora, 15% on Glamour and Brave, 6% on Slate, 5% on Coren, 3% on Mercedes, 2% on Hickory, 1.5% on Galla, 1% or less on Chippa, Pad, Francine, Bolt, Baden, Tapestry, Mesh, Sierra, Erikk, Mare, Johnnie, Wildflower, Darrick, Dandelion, and Burnie.
The Games
The tributes arose in an arena suited for the tribute with the highest score this year; it seemed Burtlas' District theme this year was District 4. The arena was a large, tropical archipelago, with thirteen large, jungle filled island that sat in shallow, warm ocean water. Each island was for a District, and, if that District stepped foot on their island, they would be attacked by mutts or a natural disaster, and, if they survived, they were given a small weapon or food or water for their victory. If the tributes did not step foot on their island by the 10th day, that island would sink.
The first island, the largest, housed the Cornucopia. The Career pack that year was made of everyone from 1, 2, and 4, and it also included Mercedes of 6 and Hickory of 7, who had received 9s and the Careers did not want to risk going up against them.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The tributes burst forward; it would be a 9 kill bloodbath.
The first to fall was a tiny girl who Hickory hacked apart with his twin tomahawks.
Dandelion Kike, District 12 Female; 24th, Killed by Hickory, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Mercedes swiftly turned on her Career alliance, picking up her bow and arrows and then proceeding to shoot a Career in the head.
Brave Jockey, District 1 Male; 23rd, Killed by Mercedes, Bloodbath
Mercedes, Hickory, and three other of their secret allies, Wildflower, Galla, and Baden, had planned to be an anti-Career alliance. They all grabbed weapons and started to run from the bloodbath.
Glamour, distraught by the death of her District partner, brought out her wrath on the nearest tribute, a smaller boy who was picking through a crate of knives, stabbing him with her sword.
Mesh Forthrow, District 8 Male; 22nd, Killed by Glamour, Bloodbath
Anemone, picking up her trident, tried to throw it at the escaping anti-Career alliance, but it instead hit a girl who ran by at an unfortunate time.
Francine Drake, District 5 Female; 21st, Killed by Anemone, Bloodbath
Little did the Careers know, Mercedes had split from her alliance and was sneaking around behind them. She fired another arrow, this one taking down another male Career.
Slate Court, District 2 Male; 20th, Killed by Mercedes, Bloodbath
Cora saw Slate fall, and thought it was Darrick who'd killed him, because Darrick's blade was bloody from unsuccessfully trying to kill Sierra; her leg was now cut, though. She slammed her dagger into his chest.
Darrick Ross, District 11 Male; 19th, Killed by Cora, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Anemone cut down a smaller, very weak girl with a limp.
Chippa Sale, District 3 Female; 18th, Killed by Anemone, Bloodbath
Mercedes was attacked by another girl who desperately wanted her bow. Mercedes easily emptied an arrow into the girl's skull.
Mare Bestress, District 10 Female; 17th, Killed by Mercedes, Bloodbath
The final kill came was caused by Glamour; she'd trapped a tall boy in the Cornucopia, and, even though he put up a fight with a machete, she succeeded in slicing open his chest with her sword.
Burnie Kestrowe, District 12 Male; 16th, Killed by Glamour, Bloodbath
Only District 12 had been fully eliminated, and Mercedes' anti-Career pack had escaped, unscathed and having killed two Careers and two other tributes.
Day 2, a wounded girl wandered onto the District 8 island with only a small throwing knife, a loaf of bread, and some rope. As jaguar mutts descended on her, the only thing she could do was weep in terror.
Tapestry Billings, District 8 Female; 15th, Killed by jaguar mutts, Day 2
Day 3 was deathless. Day 4, the disgruntled and disorganized Career pack made their first kill; they found Baden of Mercedes' alliance alone, wounded. The alliance had stumbled upon the District 6 island, and they had fought of monkey mutts. Baden had been badly injured by the mutts. Mercedes received ten extra arrows for fighting off the mutts, and they abandoned Baden, unable to get him to walk because of his injured legs. Coren shoved his mace into Baden's face, killing him.
Baden Trains, District 6 Male; 14th, Killed by Coren, Day 4
Day 5, the District 3 boy stumbled onto District 3's island. The island flooded, going underwater. The boy panicked, tangling himself in some vines on the forest floor. As the island sunk, he was trapped, and he slowly drowned.
Pad Nemrose, District 3 Male; 13th, Drowned, Day 5
Day 6 was deathless. Day 7, Anemone found Mercedes' little alliance again, and they hacked apart Wildflower as the others escaped. Now only Mercedes, Hickory, and Galla remained in the alliance.
Wildflower Evans, District 11 Female; 12th, Killed by Anemone, Day 7
Day 8, the small boy from 10 wandered onto District 10's island, and he could not evade the falling trees; he was swiftly crushed.
Johnnie Claim, District 10 Male; 11th, Killed by falling trees, Day 8
Days 9 and 10 were deathless as the Careers searched relentlessly. Day 11, the Careers found a weakened target, wounded from a run in with parrot mutts on his island, District 9's island. He'd gotten medicine as a reward, but he was still healing and he'd drifted off to sleep. The Careers quickly ended him.
Erikk Valcetto, District 9 Male; 10th, Killed by Cora, Day 11
Day 12, the District 5 boy staggered into a clearing to find Mercedes, Galla, and Hickory there. Galla leaped forward and buried her dagger in his chest.
Bolt Matu, District 5 Male; 9th, Killed by Galla, Day 12
That left the Top 8: Glamour Jesetta from District 1, Cora Clayne from District 2, Anemone Clarence from District 4, Coren Pryptt from District 4, Mercedes Benson from District 6, Galla Crisis from District 7, Hickory Feign from District 7, and Sierra Lowsteam from District 9. It was the Careers vs. the anti-Careers, with 3 members each, and one little hider.
Day 13, the anti-Careers found the hider, Sierra. Her wounded leg had mostly healed. They brought her into their alliance, even though she was very useless with weapons. If anything, they could us her as a human shield. But they knew numbers were an advantage.
Days 14 and 15 passed without death, the two alliances playing cat and mouse, both playing both roles at the same time. Finally, Day 16, the Gamemakers became frustrated and used large tsunamis to push the tributes together.
Weak Sierra's mostly healed leg buckled as they ran, and she was enveloped by the tsunami chasing her alliance.
Sierra Lowsteam, District 9 Female; 8th, Drowned, Day 16
The anti-Careers arrived back to the Cornucopia first, and they camped out in the bushes at the edge of the clearing. The Careers stumbled in, and Mercedes shot one in the neck.
Glamour Jesetta, District 1 Female; 7th, Killed by Mercedes, Day 16
One of Hickory's now four tomahawks (he'd gained the other two by surviving the District 7 island), flew through the air, burying itself in another Career.
Coren Pryptt, District 4 Male; 6th, Killed by Hickory, Day 16
Anemone, angered, charged, and she threw her trident. It smacked into Galla's body, and she was dead in seconds.
Galla Crisis, District 7 Female; 5th, Killed by Anemone, Day 16
Now Anemone was weaponless, and both alliances had 2 members. Cora had a belt of daggers, and she tossed Anemone one. Mercedes had four arrows and her bow, and Hickory had three tomahawks.
Mercedes shot two arrows in Cora, both hitting her chest. Cora fell, and Anemone realized she was outnumbered.
Cora Clayne, District 2 Female; 4th, Killed by Mercedes, Day 16
But Mercedes surprised her, shooting an arrow into her own ally before stepping out of the bushes.
Hickory Feign, District 7 Male; 3rd, Killed by Mercedes, Day 16
"You deserve it," Anemone whispered.
"Fight me!" Mercedes begged. "Please."
Anemone lifted the dagger and slashed open Mercedes' thigh; the girl immediately saw that Anemone had been putting up an act. She notched and arrow and shot. Anemone tried to swerve, and it hit her in the abdomen. She fell, and Mercedes grabbed a dagger from Cora's corpse and leaped onto a struggling, bleeding Anemone.
"Deceit never gets you anywhere," Mercedes whispered before pushing her dagger into Anemone's chest.
"Little effin' hypocrite," Anemone choked out with her last breath before falling still underneath Mercedes. Her cannon was loud.
Anemone Clarence, District 4 Female; 2nd, Killed by Mercedes, Day 16
"Mercedes Benson of District 6, you are the Victor of the 28th Hunger Games!" Caius howled into the arena, back from his illness and his normal self. Mercedes just tried to smile as she waited for the hovercraft.
Aftermath
District 6 was happy to gain its second Victor (now only Districts 8 and 12 had a single Victor). She was well respected for her fighting spirit and natural talent with a bow in the Career Districts, and the other Outer Districts loved her for her heroism and her bravery, as well as her single handed killing of 5 of the 6 Careers. (The 6th, Coren, was killed by Hickory.) Mercedes was deeply effected by what conspired in the 28th Annual Hunger Games, mostly bothered by the fact that she had made an overwhelming 7 kills, a number most Career Victors could not say they had met or surpassed. She would fall into the clutches of morphling, but she would never become explicitly addicted. She always had a clear mind and did not become a "morphling", a mindless, sloppy addict, like the Victors she would later bring home. Many later Victors from 6 would purge morphling from the Victor's Village, but that was not the case in the first century of the Games.
Mercedes would live to age 86, dying four months after the 98th Hunger Games, from a cold, as the morphling had weakened her immune system. She would not marry, but would have many a lover, and she would have no children.
The payouts on her Victory were nice enough, with 3% of the bets on her.
Her Victory Tour was rather nice, as all 12 Districts respected and appreciated her in some way or another.
Fun Fact: Mercedes, so far, is the Outer District Victor who has killed the most Careers in a single Games, at 5. Calculata Fenceley of the 26th held the record until Mercedes won, having killed 4 Careers.
Victor's News
Mercedes moves into the Victor's Village of District 6, in the house next to Greason's.
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)
21st: Fitore Renoro, District 2 (3, 2 Male)
22nd: Mascara Curler, District 1 (4, 2 Female)
23rd: Woof Parsons, District 8 (1, 1 Male)
24th: Dorsal Rance, District 4 (4, 2 Male)
25th: Venice Grammar, District 12 (1, 1 Female)
26th: Calculata Fenceley, District 3 (2, 1 Female)
27th: Florianna Urnston, District 2 (4, 2 Female)
28th: Mercedes Benson, District 6 (2, 1 Female)
A/N: Here's my last chapter until I head off to vacation! Hope you liked Mercedes! Review, and see you guys soon!
Until next time,
Tracee
