The Thirtieth Annual Hunger Games


Introduction

Baenlas Curvanith had only been on the Presidential throne since the 22nd Annual Hunger Games, but it already seemed like he had ruled Panem for decades. He only really ruled for 8 years, as one month before the 30th Annual Hunger Games, he decided to take a vacation to the beaches of District 4 and was murdered by a local malcontent group that lived outside of Panem's borders. Really, a quartet of Snow's men managed to tail Curvanith during his top secret, much needed vacation. Three of the assassins were killed by the President's personal guards before the fourth managed to shoot the President in the head. It seemed Snow would easily rise to the occasion, but he had several competitors. The first was 22 year old Cartagena Sombray, daughter of the late President Narciso Sombray and the now leader of District 13, Lima Xabie-Sombray. Whilst Lima, Venezuela, and Malfos escaped to 13, Cartagena had been left behind accidentally. Wanting to correct some wrongs the Brutalian party had inflicted on Panem, she vied for the Presidential title, and the Xabian party went through a new rebirth. There was also Curvanith's other adviser/apprentice, 49 year of Rufio Wassambi, who had a majority of the remaining Brutalians backing him. And then there were those who wanted Burtlas, the Head Gamemaker and Baenlas' brother, to take the title. Burtlas did not want anything to do with the Presidency, but hundreds were practically begging for him to run, so he did. Panem was not a democracy, but there was so much unrest that a neutral group of Capitols designed a voting system. For the next two years, the nominees would campaign throughout the Capitol, trying to garner as much support as possible. One month before the beginning of the 33rd Annual Hunger Games, the new President would be announced after several stages of voting during the month prior. Through all of this chaos, Burtlas managed to remain calm and composed. He took a step off of the campaign trail to lead the Gamemakers for the 30th Games. He had continued his District theme so far. The 26th had been District 8, the 27th had been District 7, the 28th had been District 4, and the 29th had been District 5. This year was District 6's turn. Also, Caius Flickerman, the host, was ailing, and he barely managed to struggle through the Pre-Games ceremonies. He would die peacefully in his sleep two weeks after the 30th Annual Hunger Games, and his son Caesar would easily replace him during the 31st. In the manner of tributes, the Careers were a bloody bunch this year. Florianna, Victor of the 27th, from District 2, had become the Headmistress of District 2's Academy in full, and she set harsher rules and taxed the prospecting tributes past their limits before pushing them even further. From only a single year of harsh training, District 2 turned out its most menacing pair yet. Districts 1 and 4 also made quite a showing in with their tributes, and their scores were insanely high. There were 2 12s, 3 11s, and 1 10. Besides the Careers, there were no other volunteers. The rest of the tributes scored between 8 and 3. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Silvette Rainja, 16 (11) 6-1 and Admired Roslinn, 18 (11) 5-1

District 2: Tacita Sylva, 17 (12) 3-1 and Tarquinius Isselhardt, 18 (12) 3-1

District 3: Routera Kylverjax, 18 (6) 21-1 and Chip Luiz, 15 (5) 33-1

District 4: Selene Sul, 18 (11) 5-1 and Wade Vagts, 17 (10) 8-1

District 5: Calixa Perkins, 17 (6) 22-1 and Korey Mugnai, 15 (6) 24-1

District 6: Kia Reeves, 16 (6) 23-1 and Trax Shapiro, 16 (7) 16-1

District 7: Birchette Crawley, 14 (5) 34-1 and Wilson Tuggs, 13 (4) 42-1

District 8: Lonnie Bridger, 16 (5) 32-1 and Threader Barnes, 18 (8) 12-1

District 9: Marcia Klary, 15 (4) 41-1 and Robb Thoe, 13 (3) 52-1

District 10: Hula McAda, 12 (5) 35-1 and Bobcat Tarsh, 15 (7) 15-1

District 11: Florida Ganges, 17 (6) 21-1 and Tyrone Presley, 15 (7) 1601

District 12: Iza Powders, 16 (6) 22-1 and Keith Loas, 17 (6) 22-1

HGBA Odds: 25% on Tacita and Tarquinius, 15% on Admired and Selene, 10% on Silvette, 4% on Wade, 1% on Routera, Chip, Calixa, Korey, Kia, Trax, Birchette, Wilson, Lonnie, Threader, Marcia, Robb, Hula, Bobcat, Florida, Tyrone, Iza, and Keith


The Games

The tributes arose in the hull of a giant balloon airship. It was rather steampunk-ish. They wobbled on their pedestals as the engines flared to life and the airship prepared to take flight. The Cornucopia was in the pit of the curved hull, stocked with lots of food and water. The only weapons were wrenches and warhammers; it would certainly make for a bloody Games. Besides the tributes and the Cornucopia and the slight downward tilt towards the Cornucopia, the hull was featureless. Four different sets of stairs led up to the second of three floors. The second floor was full of bedrooms, and had a few decks without any rails; tributes could fall into oblivion if they fell. The third floor had the kitchens, the dining room, a few larger bedrooms for the captain and his family, as well as prominent passengers, and a large ballroom. Then there was the giant balloon that lifted the entire contraption into the air; it was triple the size of the entire living portion of the airship. The balloon could not be popped or broken because the Gamemakers did not want one stupid tribute to kill every single tribute left alive by making the airship crash into the ground. Just in case, several full fleets of hovercraft floated beneath the airship just in case it decided to fall. There were several entrances into the balloon, and once inside gravity switched off and you would float around. The inside walls were coated in spikes, and it was unlikely you would escape alive. If you somehow managed to float out of the bubble into the pilot's bubble atop the balloon, you would find a surplus of food and water as a reward for surviving.

The airship glided into the air, but one girl became nauseous. Moments before the Games began, she tumbled off of her pedestal, blowing up to bits.

Calixa Perkins, District 5 Female; 24th, Stepped off plate early, Bloodbath

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The other tributes burst forward. A good deal went towards the Cornucopia, sliding down the slick metal slope that lead down to it. The Careers tumbled to the front of the sliders, and they tried to turn, but it would already be too late. A tribute's only chance was to get to the Cornucopia before the Careers. After that, as previous years had proven, things were not good for those who were trapped around the Cornucopia. 12 kills would be made because of the steep, slick metal tributes had to climb to get out, as well as the fact that the Careers were stronger than they had been in years.

Tarquinius took two wrenches and immediately bashed in the head of the nearest tribute, the tall, strong boy from 8, Threader, who was running at Tarquinius with a warhammer raised menacingly. Tarquinius flicked the guts from his wrenches as Threader collapsed, dead. Tarquinius had made the second kill of the 12 kill bloodbath.

Threader Barnes, District 8 Male; 23rd, Killed by Tarquinius, Bloodbath

Tarquinius' District partner, Tacita, quickly made her first kill, using a warhammer to break the skull of a willowy girl from District 7.

Birchette Crawley, District 7 Female; 22nd, Killed by Tacita, Bloodbath

Threader's ally, the short yet sturdy Bobcat from 10, rushed at Tarquinius, blinded by rage. It was much too easy for Tarquinius to smash one of his wrenches into the 15 year old boy's throat, ending his life.

Bobcat Tarsh, District 10 Male; 21st, Killed by Tarquinius, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Silvette was having trouble lifting her chosen warhammer. She abandoned it for a set of small, sharpened wrenches. She threw them at an escaping duo, and they surprisingly sliced into the two tributes like throwing knives, killing them in moments. Silvette went to go retrieve her throwing wrenches while the bloodbath continued.

Tyrone Presley, District 11 Male; 20th, Killed by Silvette, Bloodbath

Keith Loas, District 12 Male; 19th, Killed by Silvette, Bloodbath

Selene managed to grab the girl from 6 by her long, wavy golden locks. She bashed a warhammer into the girl's throat, killing her.

Kia Reeves, District 6 Female; 18th, Killed by Selene, Bloodbath

Tacita jumped onto the boy from 9 as he struggled on the ground with the small girl from 10, Hula. Hula managed to scramble away to safety while Tacita killed Robb as he struggled and screamed.

Robb Thoe, District 9 Male; 17th, Killed by Tacita, Bloodbath

Admired had yet to make a kill, as he had been searching for the best weapons in the Cornucopia. He discovered a flamethrower nestled in the back of the Cornucopia, inside a large crate. He grinned and torched the nearest tribute to a crisp.

Korey Mugnai, District 5 Male; 16th, Killed by Admired, Bloodbath

Tarquinius managed to make another kill as he chased a quick tribute up the side of the metal bowl-like part of the hull that the Cornucopia was located in. Tarquinius managed to bash the runner's head in after tackling her.

Routera Kylverjax, District 3 Female; 15th, Killed by Tarquinius, Bloodbath

Admired torched another tribute, smiling evilly as she screamed loudly.

Marcia Klary, District 9 Female; 14th, Killed by Admired, Bloodbath

Selene made the final kill. Her District partner, Wade, had trapped the small boy from 7 inside the Cornucopia but was unable to finish the job; he wasn't really Career material, and he'd sadly only learned it now. Selene smashed her warhammer into the boy's skull, killing him, before shooting an annoyed look at Wade.

Wilson Tuggs, District 7 Male; 13th, Killed by Selene, Bloodbath

The Careers assembled their supplies and left Wade to guard while they went hunting right away. They found the smaller boy from 3, Chip, huddled underneath one of the staircases, hoping to go sneak into the Cornucopia and get supplies after they'd all left. Silvette buried one of her throwing wrenches in his chest.

Chip Luiz, District 3 Male; 12th, Killed by Silvette, Day 1

They relaxed during Day 2, simply exploring the hull and finding nothing. On Day 3, they started scouting through the second floor, leaving Selene to guard the Cornucopia. They found the boy from 6, Trax, trying to work some controls on one of the balconies. They chased him up to the third floor, where they spotted the girl from 12, Iza, stepping out of the ballroom. Admired broke off from the group and chased down the girl as the others chased Trax up towards the balloon. Admired sent a burst of flame around Iza's head, killing her.

Iza Powders, District 12 Female; 11th, Killed by Admired, Day 3

Trax burst into the bubble and immediately floated away. Silvette and Wade stumbled into the room and floated away as well; Tacita and Tarquinius managed to keep their footing. Wade tried to paddle around in the air, but he only propelled himself into one of the spikes. It went right through his chest.

Wade Vagts, District 4 Male; 10th, Killed by Trax and spikes, Day 3

Silvette managed to get in throwing distance, and she threw a throwing wrench into Trax's abdomen. He didn't die, but he was severely wounded. He managed to float up to the pilot bubble and escape into there.

Despite her best efforts, Silvette eventually got a spike through the back. Writhing in pain with no way of freeing herself, she stabbed her other throwing wrench into her own neck to the end the pain that rippled throughout her body.

Silvette Rainja, District 1 Female; 9th, Killed by Trax, spikes, and herself, Day 3

That left the Top 8: Admired Roslinn from District 1, Tacita Sylva from District 2, Tarquinius Isselhardt from District 2, Selene Sul from District 4, Trax Shapiro from District 6, Lonnie Bridger from District 8, Hula McAda from District 10, and Florida Ganges from District 11.

The Careers steered clear of the bubble and returned to the Cornucopia. They rested during Day 4. As they woke on Day 5, ready to go hunting, a cannon fired. Trax had died from internal bleeding caused from Silvette's throwing wrench into his abdomen.

Trax Shapiro, District 6 Male; 8th, Killed by Silvette, Day 5

The rest of the day, the Careers also decided to rest up and heal. These Games were going very fast because of the confined space; even though the airship was large, it was about a tenth of the size of most other arenas. Because of this, it was easy, around noon on Day 6, for the Careers to find little Hula huddled in the kitchens, where food and water was abundant. Selene smashed her warhammer into the girl's neck.

Hula McAda, District 10 Female; 7th, Killed by Selene, Day 5

Also, near the end of that day, they found Lonnie from 8 inside the captain's bedroom. Her blood stained the sheets red as Admired tortured her, burning her with his flamethrower, then beating her with a wrench, and then repeating the process over and over until she finally slipped away. Even Tacita and Tarquinius, bloodthirsty tributes who had been told by Florianna to make deaths bloody, were disgusted by this torture. It was rather obvious that Admired's sanity had broken and that he was a murderous creep.

Lonnie Bridger, District 8 Female; 6th, Killed by Admired, Day 5

Day 6, the Careers went searching for the final non-Career. They found Florida smartly hidden inside the closet of one of the servant's quarters after much searching. Tarquinius bashed the girl's skull in quickly.

Florida Ganges, District 11 Female; 5th, Killed by Tarquinius, Day 6

The Careers decided to split and rest up. They all went in different directions. Admired quickly broke this plan, turning to Selene and torching her to a crisp. The girl shrieked, and Tacita and Tarquinius returned to the hallway outside of the room where they'd found Florida. Selene was a mangled, ashy pile, and Admired was giggling manically as he made the flame on the flamethrower go as high as it could.

Selene Sul, District 4 Female; 4th, Killed by Admired, Day 6

Tacita and Tarquinius worked together in a practiced move to attack Admired, but Admired managed to torch half of Tacita's body before Tarquinius bashed in the crazy boy's chest. Admired flopped to the ground, dead, as Tacita writhed on the ground, her breathing ragged as the fire ravaged her body.

Admired Roslinn, District 1 Male; 3rd, Killed by Tarquinius, Day 6

"I'm sorry, Tacita. You will be honored and remembered, my friend," Tarquinius boomed. He squeezed her hand before ending her pain, smashing his wrenches into her back, killing her. She stopped writhing as the cannon boomed.

Tacita Sylva, District 2 Female; 2nd, Killed by Admired and Tarquinius, Day 6

"Tarquinius Isselhardt of District 2, you are the Victor of the 30th Hunger Games!" Caius roared into the arena. He was sounding better, but in two weeks time he would be dead from illness. Tarquinius flexed his muscles as he grinned at the cameras, pumping his arms in Victory.


Aftermath

District 2 had now pulled to the front of the Career Districts with their number of Victors, with 5, but that wouldn't last forever. District 2 revered Tarquinius; it did seem like Florianna's takeover of the Academy had had great results. He was well respected by the other Career Districts, though some loathed him for making District 2 gain the lead in Victor totals. The other Districts and a majority of the Capitol were just relieved that Admired had not won; a crazed, certifiably insane Victor was no fun at all and was actually very scary. He was well respected because of his score of 12, his impressive 6 kills, and his skill with public speaking. He would be a rather good Mentor.

Tarquinius would live to age 72, dying two months prior to the 84th Hunger Games from an unspecified cause. He would marry and have a single son who would opt out of going into the Games.

The payouts on his Victory weren't the best, as 25% bet on him.

His Victory Tour was a work of art; it was one of the better ones of the third decade of the Games.

Fun Fact: This arena was the smallest arena so far, and this Games was also the shortest one so far.


Victor's News

Tarquinius moves in the Victor's Village of District 2, next door to Florianna.


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)

29th: Fox Rennolls, District 5 (3, 1 Male)

30th: Tarquinius Isselhardt, District 2 (5, 3 Male)


A/N: Here is another! I really loved this one, especially the arena, and I hope you did too! Three decades done, 47 to go...please review, and thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! It's very nice of you and it helps motivate me.

Also, some readers (Belle and Declan42 are the ones I know about) try and guess who will win. If anyone else does that, it would be cool to know who you thought was going to win, as I originally had Admired winning this before he went all wacko with the flamethrower! xD

Until Next Time,

Tracee