The Thirty First Annual Hunger Games


Introduction

The first year of campaigning passed without any major violence or assassinations, although that would probably not last very long. In preliminary polls, it seemed that Snow and Cartagena were the front runners, with Burtlas close behind, and Rufio not far behind Burtlas. Coriolanius Snow and Cartagena Sombray were both campaigning the hardest, and they both had the largest base of loyal followers who helped out on their campaigns. Burtlas Curvanith eventually did become very interested in the Presidency, but he also loved his job as the Head Gamemaker, and his District related arenas were all the rage. Rufio Wassambi had a meager amount of loyal, close followers, but many older folks knew him from the early days of post-Dark Days Panem, and they liked him, so those votes were the only reason he was still in the race. While all the large politicians vied for the Presidency, a temporary board of 12 of Baenlas' closest advisors acted as the main governing force. They were varied, with a few Xabians and Snows among them, though most were Brutalians. This board, which would rule Panem for the 31st and 32nd, governed the nation better than anyone had since the Dark Days, but no one was keen on keeping the board around for whatever reason. Political drama and intrigue entertained the darkened Capitol of that time, after all, so they decided to opt for instability and drama instead of stability and dullness. Burtlas remained as the Head Gamemaker, though he couldn't be totally in charge all of the time since he was busy on the campaign trail. He decided to go with the theme of District 12 this year. With the untimely death of Caius Flickerman the year prior, his young son Caesar Flickerman took Caius' role as the sole host for the Hunger Games. He was energetic, enthusiastic, sympathetic, and could make even the worst of interviews a memorable, good experience for the audience. He was truly gifted, and was often revered as the best host of the Hunger Games to date. Had he been born in a different time, after the Renaissance...but no matter. Caesar was an instant hit with the Capitol, as he had helped out his father in previous years and they were acquainted with him. The Districts also learned to appreciate him, since he could make the most dismal of interviews, particularly for the young, sobbing children, a good event. In the way of tributes, the Careers were decent this year, though they were underwhelming compared to the mass showing from the previous year; Career packs like that only happened about once a decade. Anyway, District 1 produced two good looking tributes that scored well, and Florianna's pair for this year were vicious and stone cold, but nowhere near as high scoring as their predecessors, Tacita and Tarquinius, from the prior year. And a rarity happened in District 4; the female volunteer was rather strong and all, but the male volunteer chickened out at the last moment. As a result, a random child, a destitute 16 year old orphan, was reaped. This disgraced District 4 immensely. The Careers had 1 11, 3 10s, and 1 9. There was a single volunteer from the outer Districts; Valerian from District 10, who volunteered to save his fiancee. There were plenty of strangely high scores from the outer Districts; previously mentioned Valerian somehow managed an 11, while Eura from 5 and Aurelio from 6 scored 9s. None of them seemed to be working together, however, so an anti-Career pack similar to Mercedes' anti-Career pack from the 28th seemed unlikely. The rest of the tributes besides these high scorers scored between 8 and 3. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Ivelisse Horner, 16 (11) 3-1 and Timeus Gray, 17 (10) 6-1

District 2: Jessenia Elmond, 18 (10) 5-1 and Giorgino Apellino, 15 (9) 8-1

District 3: Genesis Trask, 14 (6) 23-1 and Jivoniy Rezch, 13 (3) 53-1

District 4: Ilona Crame, 17 (10) 6-1 and Seamus Esox, 16 (5) 32-1

District 5: Eura Cousins, 18 (9) 12-1 and Abdalla Ikray, 15 (7) 19-1

District 6: Atasia Leyce, 16 (8) 15-1 and Aurelio Casmis, 17 (9) 13-1

District 7: Anselma Corridio, 14 (7) 19-1 and Dorato Amish, 16 (7) 19-1

District 8: Maia Deyte, 12 (4) 43-1 and Valentinus Arkin, 16 (6) 22-1

District 9: Paulina Kryke, 13 (3) 51-1 and Warin Toblere, 15 (5) 33-1

District 10: Elina Ong, 15 (6) 22-1 and Valerian Regale, 18 (11) 4-1

District 11: Julie Walker, 16 (6) 22-1 and Manuel Zech, 15 (5) 31-1

District 12: Dusana Camre, 14 (4) 44-1 and Philippo Seer, 15 (5) 32-1

HGBA Odds: 25% on Ivelisse, 20% on Valerian, 15% on Jessenia, 10% on Timeus and Ilona, 6% on Giorgino, 4% on Eura, 3% on Aurelio, 1.5% on Atasia, 1% or less on Genesis, Jivoniy, Seamus, Abdalla, Asnelma, Dorato, Maia, Valentinus, Paulina, Warin, Elina, Julie, Manuel, Dusana, and Philippo


The Games

The tributes arose in an underground chamber. Several dusty, rusty pieces of mining equipment lay around the edges of the excavated cavern. Four wide pathways side up to the surface, which had a small cluster of gray slum buildings covered in coal dust, mimicking the Seam. The tunnels led into the Seam-like area. Around the Seam-like shanty, there was miles of sparse forest, filled with deer, mockingjays, squirrel, crows, rabbits, groosling, and wolves. There was a pure water fountain hidden in the Seam area, and there were three rivers in the sparse forest. There were also 8 smaller, thinner tunnels branching off of the Cornucopia cavern, which led deeper into the earth. These mining tunnels were unstable but secluded, and only smaller tributes could fit in most of them. There were no food or water sources in the thin mining tunnels, although pickaxes could be found along with extra clothing and miner's helmets. The Cornucopia itself was stocked with food and little water. There were all types of weapons, unlike previous years, but there were a dozen or so pickaxes, the most pickaxes ever to be located inside the Cornucopia in the history of the Games. Many tributes headed to the bloodbath, unsure of what lay above.

5, 4, 3, 2, BOOM! 1.

The orphan boy from 4 had eaten too much that morning, and he threw up, queasy, just before the gong rang. His bile hit the ground, and he was blown sky high as the 31st Hunger Games began in earnest.

Seamus Esox, District 4 Male; 24th, Stepped off plate early, Bloodbath

The Careers quickly assembled, and they would make 10 other kills, making the bloodbath's total death count end up being 11. Ivelisse took a bow and arrows, Giorgino took a spear, Ilona took a trident, Jessenia took two daggers, and Timeus decided to try out one of the pickaxes. Jessenia made the first move, tackling the scrawny District 3 male and stabbing him in the chest with the longer of her two daggers.

Jivoniy Rezch, District 3 Male; 23rd, Killed by Jessenia, Bloodbath

Moments later, Ilona tripped Jivoniy's District partner, 14 year old Genesis, and shoved her trident through the unsuspecting girl's back.

Genesis Trask, District 3 Female; 22nd, Killed by Ilona, Bloodbath

Valerian had managed to grab his weapon of choice, a butcher's knife. Timeus from 1 was chasing his sprite-like District partner, Elina, and Valerian managed to slice his butcher's knife into the neck of the surprised Career. Valerian took a pack and dashed away before Timeus' allies noticed, and Elina also escaped safely with a small tarp and a dagger.

Timeus Gray, District 1 Male; 21st, Killed by Valerian, Bloodbath

Ivelisse saw two tributes, Julie from 11 and Dusana from 12, grappling over a tent nearby. She notched an arrow and shot it into Julie's head, killing her immediately.

Julie Walker, District 11 Female; 20th, Killed by Ivelisse, Bloodbath

Dusana grabbed the tent and started to run away, but Giorgino heaved his spear forward and watched with satisfaction as it sliced through the chest of poor Dusana. She fell to the ground, spasming on the ground for a moment before falling still.

Dusana Camre, District 12 Female; 19th, Killed by Giorgino, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Ivelisse had spotted another victim. The tall boy from 5, Abdalla, was escaping with a pickaxe he could actually lift, along with a loaf of bread. Ivelisse's first arrow scraped his shoulder, and the second buried itself in the base of his neck, killing him.

Abdalla Ikray, District 5 Male; 18th, Killed by Ivelisse, Bloodbath

Valerian was running up one of the four ramps to the top side of the arena. The boy from 9, Warin, was in his way, limping slowly from an injury sustained from a fight with the male from 11, Manuel, who had already escaped the bloodbath. Valerian quickly shoved his butcher's knife into the wounded boy's back before stepping over his corpse and running out into the daylight and dashing through the maze of the faux Seam.

Warin Toblere, District 9 Male; 17th, Killed by Valerian, Bloodbath

Jessenia had been grappling with the strong male from 6, Aurelio, for about two minutes. He also had a dagger, and they cut up each other minimally as they rolled around on the rocky ground. Jessenia managed to knock his dagger away, but he managed to knock hers away. She grabbed his head and bashed it against the ground. He went unconscious, and Jessenia retrieved her dagger before smashing it into the boy's chest.

Aurelio Casmis, District 6 Male; 16th, Killed by Jessenia, Bloodbath

13 year old Paulina from 9 had managed to snag a small, bright orange pack. She tried to escape through one of the mining tunnels, but Giorgino sent his spear into her back. The spearhead, metal and glinting, protruded from her stomach. She fell to the ground, dead in moments.

Paulina Kryke, District 9 Female; 15th, Killed by Giorgino, Bloodbath

Ivelisse made the final kill. The tiny girl, the only 12 year old, Maia from 8, was trying to run into one of the mining tunnels. Just before she disappeared into the pitch black, Ivelisse emptied an arrow at the girl. It struck her between the shoulders just as she disappeared into the darkness. Her screams were enough for Ivelisse to know that she'd hit her mark, and when the screams quieted down a minute later, Maia was dead.

Maia Dryte, District 8 Female; 14th, Killed by Ivelisse, Bloodbath

The Careers immediately went to work hunting. They were shocked by Timeus' death, but they didn't cry or anything about it; he was going to have to die anyway. Giorgino stayed behind to guard the Cornucopia, while the trio of girls went hunting immediately. Late at night, just after the eleven bloodbath cannons fired, they discovered the girl from 7 slumbering in one of the Seam buildings near the Cornucopia tunnels. Jessenia did the honors, using a sword she'd chosen from the Cornucopia to behead the girl cleanly.

Anselma Corridio, District 7 Female; 13th, Killed by Jessenia, Night 1

Midway through Day 2, the girl from 10, Elina, wandered into a sector of the forest that was populated by a pack of ravenous wolf mutts. They were on her almost immediately, and she barely managed to fend them off for a couple of minutes before they overpowered her and destroyed her, tearing her to bits.

Elina Ong, District 10 Female; 12th, Killed by wolf mutts, Day 2

Day 3, the Careers rested up, and nothing transpired. On Day 4, Ilona stayed back to be the guard of their supplies whilst the other three went hunting. Halfway through the day, they discovered the boy from 8, his left leg mangled from a run in with Eura during the bloodbath, sitting in a tree near the edge of the forest. He was asleep, but he awoke as the Careers cheered. He tried to climb to safety, but Ivelisse easily fired an arrow into his skull as he tried to swing to the tree next to the one he had been sleeping in. He fell to the ground, dead.

Valentinus Arkin, District 8 Male; 11th, Killed by Ivelisse, Day 4

On Day 5, two deaths occurred. The first occurred around nine in the morning. Eura from 5 had been plagued by several rabid wolf mutts, and was moderately wounded and extremely tired. She stumbled into a clearing, where one of the three rivers ran through. As she cleaned her wounds, Dorato from 7 burst from a nearby tree and stabbed her with a flimsy dagger he'd found in his pack. She screamed and fell into the river, painting the crystal clear water red.

Eura Cousins, District 5 Female; 10th, Killed by Dorato, Day 5

Five hours later, the hunting party for the day, the pair from 2 and Ilona, discovered the boy from 11, Manuel, leaving behind the forest and sneaking into the Seam-like area to look for food and water. Jessenia buried her sword in between his shoulder blades, killing him.

Manuel Zech, District 11 Male; 9th, Killed by Jessenia, Day 5

The Top 8 was determined. Ivelisse Horner from District 1, Jessenia Elmond from District 2, Giorgino Apellino from District 2, Ilona Crame from District 4, Atasia Leyce from District 6, Dorato Amish from District 7, Valerian Regale from District 10, and Philippo Seer from District 12.

Things slowed down for sure after that. Days 6 and 7 passed without any deaths, although some pesky crows bothered a majority of the tributes, stealing bits of food or smaller supplies like matches or bottles of iodine. On Day 8, Ivelisse, Giorgino, and Ilona went hunting. They'd been unsuccessful in their pursuits the past two days, so they were thirsty for a kill. They found Atasia bathing (with her undergarments still on, mind you) in one of the rivers. Giorgino was appalled and transfixed by the half naked girl, and was nearly outraged when Ilona charged forward and shoved her trident through the shocked, rather pretty girl.

Atasia Leyce, District 6 Female; 8th, Killed by Ilona, Day 8

Day 9 passed, deathless. Day 10, the only tribute who had stepped foot into the mining tunnels and survived past the bloodbath died. Philippo felt oddly at home in the tunnels, because he had taken tours of the mines in school before and they were familiar from his father's stories. He would have felt totally at home if he had ended up going up to the surface and into the Seam like area. Anyway, he had only managed to get a stale loaf of bread, a pack of jerky, and a small bottle of water from the Cornucopia. All of that was gone by Day 6, and he died of dehydration in the morning of Day 10.

Philippo Seer, District 12 Male; 7th, Killed by dehydration, Day 10

The next day, the pair from 2 and Ilona went hunting. They discovered Dorato around four in the afternoon, being chased towards them by a quartet of mangy wolf mutts. They backed off as the boy faced the Careers. He managed to cut Jessenia's arm, nothing major, before Giorgino threw his spear into the boy's chest. Dorato flopped to the ground, dead. Giorgino retrieved his weapon, and the Careers returned to the Cornucopia.

Dorato Amish, District 7 Male; 6th, Killed by Giorgino, Day 11

Day 12, all four Careers searched relentlessly for Valerian. He was secretly tailing them, and he stole supplies while they were searching. They did not find him on Day 12, and they returned to hunting on Day 13. They discovered him in a clearing the woods, armed with two butcher's knives, strong and his wounds from wolf mutts healed from medicine he'd received as a sponsor gift. The finale was beginning.

Ivelisse and Ilona had planned this out; Ivelisse would take Valerian, while Ilona would take the 2's by surprise. They quickly enacted their plan. Ivelisse unsheathed a small machete she had yet to use in the Games and began fighting close range with Valerian, while Ilona quickly twirled, shoving her trident into Jessenia's chest. The girl screamed as she fell, dead.

Jessenia Elmond, District 2 Female; 5th, Killed by Ilona, Day 13

Giorgino put up a decent fight, but Ilona had stabbed him in the right thigh pretty badly before he'd managed to fight her off. After several minutes of fighting, his weakened leg gave out, and Ilona triumphantly shoved her trident into the boy, chuckling as he died.

Giorgino Apellino, District 2 Male; 4th, Killed by Ilona, Day 13

Meanwhile, Ivelisse and Valerian had been dueling for about ten minutes. Neither had yet to land a blow on each other. Suddenly Ivelisse struck out, cutting into Valerian's knee. At this moment, Giorgino's chest was punctured by Ilona's trident. Ivelisse leaped backward, quickly scrambling up into a tree. As Valerian struggled to his feet and Ilona pulled her weapon from now dead Giorgino, Ivelisse fired her first of her two remaining arrows. It sliced deftly through Valerian's neck, killing him.

Valerian Regale, District 10 Male; 3rd, Killed by Ivelisse, Day 13

Ivelisse fired her last arrow at Ilona. It struck the girl in the abdomen, and she fell, gasping, bleeding heavily but not dying immediately. Ivelisse leaped to the ground and finished the job, burying her miniature machete into the Fish girl's neck, killing her.

Ilona Crame, District 4 Female; 2nd, Killed by Ivelisse, Day 13

"Ivelisse Horner of District 1, you are the Victor of the 31st Hunger Games!" Caesar yelled into the arena cheerily. Ivelisse pumped her fists in triumph, suppressing a smile as she glanced at the four bloodied corpses around her. No one else knew, but today was her birthday. Ivelisse Horner had turned 17, and on the day of her Victory. A truly spectacular birthday present.


Aftermath

Ivelisse brought District 1's Victor total to 5, catching them up to District 2. District 2 was uneasy with District 1 catching up to them, and District 4 was furious, as it now seemed that they were the inferior Career District; they had only 4 Victors, not 5, and they hadn't even had a male Career tribute in the 31st Hunger Games. The Outer Districts didn't really care much for Ivelisse. Ivelisse wasn't insane by any means, but she had a few screws minimally loose. One example of her minimal nuttiness is the fact that she liked 12 the best on her Victory Tour because it reminded her of her arena, and that she liked her arena. Besides incidents like that, she was mentally sound. The Career Districts respected her well enough, as she'd scored an 11 and had made 6 kills. Her win was District 1's first in almost a decade, so they were relieved to have another Victor. Ivelisse was a great Mentor, one of the best District 1 ever had, if not the best. She would only Mentor tributes like herself, who were more interested in weaponry and winning than being sexy and being loved by the Capitol and being famous. Often, if a District 1 tribute won in the first century after her win, it was because Ivelisse Horner was their Mentor.

Ivelisse would live to age 99, dying three weeks after the 114th Hunger Games from old age. She would marry and have two daughters, one of which would compete in the 48th Hunger Games.

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

Her Victory Tour was decent, although she made several unhinged comments during it, the most notable in District 12, which is stated above.

Fun Fact: Ivelisse was the first Victor to have a birthday during his or her Games, and the third tribute to have that happen to them. The other two tributes were Margo Lyce, District 10 Female, of the 14th Games, who turned 15 three days into the Games, and Cattail Lasher, District 11 Male, of the 23rd Games, who turned 16 the day before the finale that claimed his life.


Victor's News

Ivelisse moves into the Victor's Village of District 1, in the house next door to Mascara's.

Ivelisse marries her boyfriend, Goldson Hetser, age 18.

Tarquinius gets engaged to his future wife, Laria Bussel.


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)

31st: Ivelisse Horner, District 1 (5, 3 Female)


A/N: Yes, another Career, but Careers do win a majority of the Games, so it's more than plausible that they'd win two or more in a row. I actually wrote the framework for this chapter about two months ago! I hope you liked Ivelisse, I certainly did. Who were your picks? My other two picks for Victor would have been Ilona or Dorato, but I decided to go with Ivelisse. Thanks for all of the reviews, they are certainly encouraging, and if you feel like reviewing, feel free to! :)

Also, who do you guys want to win the election? Obviously Snow will be ascending to the Presidency within the next decade, but someone else can claim it before he keeps a decades long grip on it. So who do you like? Cartagena, Rufio, or Burtlas?

P.S. Sorry that this chapter is insanely long in the opening politics part and that this chapter as a whole is insanely long, like almost 4,000 words xD

Until next time,

Tracee