The Thirty Eighth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
Coriolanus Snow faced the first of many hurdles in his Presidency as he was faced with minor to major revolts in Districts 6, 8, and 9. He tried the tactic of airing the Hunger Games in those Districts to subdue them, and it worked momentarily. The death of Syracuse from the previous year especially and forcefully placated District 6 for a handful of weeks. But minor uprisings still managed to crop up in different corners of these Districts. In District 6, the non violent protests were mostly based in the northern reaches of the Districts, called the Rail North due to its extensive railroad system and mass production of cargo trains. In District 8, the rebellion was widespread but weak and flimsy, and it was easy to put out the dozen or so factories that were set alight by revolutionaries. In District 9, rebellion was centered in the barley fields of the southwestern portion of the large Grain District. Fields were razed and two Peacekeepers killed, another tortured. The rebellion was by far the worst in 9. This lead to the deaths of 31 in District 6, 157 in District 8, and 311 in District 9. Snow eventually upped taxes and increased Peacekeeping force. This quieted 6 and 8, but 9 still simmered, still spurting sparks onto their crops. Snow aired every excruciating moment of District 9's lengthy history of tribute death (72 dead to be exact over the course of 37 years), and this, combined with increased status quo, raised taxes, lowered incomes, an influx of Peacekeepers, and several public and excruciating executions, would quiet the Grain District for quite some time. The cherry on top to Coriolanus was that the Reapings were rigged in 9, and two scrawny, unrelated 14 year old rebels' children were Reaped. Burtlas Curvanith was the Head Gamemaker for the 13th year in a row, and after this Games he would declare his retirement from Head Gamemaking. He showcased the ruin-like arena of District 13, and it was a rather intriguing arena and a nice way to go out in style. Caesar Flickerman was the host for another year, and he ran the Games as he always did, with prowess and amiability. In the terms of tributes, the Careers were decent this year. From District 1 were two strong and seductive Careers. In fact, the girl even slept with one of the Gamemakers, which lead to her blown-out-of-proportion score of 11, when she really deserved about a 9. From District 2 were a pair of attractive and rugged Careers with presumably good weapon skills. From District 4 came only a male Career; a female volunteer neglected to do her duty, so the pack was cut down to 5 this year, a beanpole 17 year old girl going in the Career's place. The Careers scored 1 11, 2 10s, and 2 9s. The rest of the tributes were rather standard, although there was one exception, the female from District 5. Porter Tripp was the 18 year old daughter of District 9's first Victor, Dillon Tripp, and his District 5 wife, Carree Tripp. Porter was a rather strong tribute, and there were rumors that she had been secretly trained by her father along with her older siblings. This proved to be plausible after she scored an impressive 9 in training. The Career pack recruited her and she quickly joined their ranks, which would either be a blunder or a good decision. The rest of the tributes scored between 7 and 2, and there were no other volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Sharrah Clurr, 17 (11) 4-1 and Platinum O'Lenyd, 18 (9) 8-1
District 2: Lucia Shylle, 17 (9) 8-1 and Hector Cambrand, 17 (10) 5-1
District 3: Iua Lanni, 13 (4) 43-1 and Plato Cortez, 13 (4) 42-1
District 4: Lynnta Calygy, 17 (6) 22-1 and Shoreson Jacques, 17 (10) 5-1
District 5: Porter Tripp, 18 (9) 8-1 and Felix Lasesity, 15 (5) 31-1
District 6: Nicole Connelly, 16 (5) 32-1 and Valter Mencher, 12 (4) 43-1
District 7: Ree Cornering, 16 (6) 21-1 and Dez Ellis, 18 (7) 17-1
District 8: Magda Bover, 14 (5) 33-1 and Dwight Khee, 15 (6) 23-1
District 9: Jannette Matheson, 14 (3) 55-1 and Asaf Laninga, 14 (2) 63-1
District 10: Krysten Nave, 17 (5) 32-1 and Mirek Zanetti, 16 (5) 34-1
District 11: Karin Plamondon, 16 (5) 33-1 and Carlo Wuopio, 16 (5) 31-1
District 12: Mairenn Hepburn, 16 (4) 44-1 and Lehi Alberighi, 14 (6) 23-1
HGBA Odds: 20% on Hector and Sharrah, 18% on Shoreson, 15% on Porter, 12% on Platinum and Lucia, 1% or less on Iua, Plato, Lynnta, Felix, Nicole, Valter, Ree, Dez, Magda, Dwight, Jannette, Asaf, Krysten, Mirek, Karin, Carlo, Mairenn, and Lehi
The Games
The tributes arose in an arena that was quite peculiar. Most years, an arena was usually either urban or natural. Most years, natural arenas dominated the scene, with forests and plains taking a majority of the arena count. There were also the urban arenas, modeled after cities or urban areas from the past, that were chock full of metals and other hazards. This arena, quite like the arena of the 31st Hunger Games, was a mix of both urban and natural. The tributes found themselves circled around a metallic Cornucopia that glowed minimally in florescent yellow. Several bins, orange and marked with faded biohazard signs, lay around in the Cornucopia cement field, punctured open, fluid contents spilled this way and that, even dripped on some of the supplies. The Cornucopia sat on an open cement square that was about a quarter mile by a quarter mile, and the Horn was full of all types of weapons and food, along with lots of water. Cement ruins, complex, crumbling, and full of traps and hiding places, surrounded the flat opening area. Past the broken down city center were power plants, graphite mines, and science labs, all cloaked in vegetation likes vines, trees, and bushes. The buildings slowly faded into overrun forest which was so overgrown that it was hard to move about in it. All in all, this arena, along with its tributes, had cooked up to be an interesting year so far. Only time would tell if Burtlas' last Games would be one for the books or just another decent Games or, Panem forbid, a flop. Areas of the arena were good for almost all of the tributes, so everyone seemed to have a fair-ish chance terrain capability wise. Iua from 3 and Asaf from 9 prepared to run from the bloodbath while the others headed in.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The Careers shot forward. Porter scissored forward with them, and she swept up her weapon of choice, a spear, and she threw two packs over her shoulder before running. Lucia saw this and threw a tomahawk at her. It dug into her shoulder, but Porter zigzagged and avoided further advances from Lucia as the other tributes ran for supplies and the other Careers started to kill.
Hector made the first kill, swinging his mace into the skull of a nearby tribute. The girl crumpled immediately, and Hector grinned as gore flew through the air. This would be the first of 10 bloodbath kills.
Mairenn Hepburn, District 12 Female; 24th, Killed by Hector, Bloodbath
Moments later, Shoreson kicked Carlo from District 11 to the ground. As Shoreson buried his knives in Carlo's chest, Carlo flipped him with his last bits of energy. Carlo died as Shoreson landed in a puddle of murky green biohazard soup. He spasmed and screamed as the acidic and poisonous combination ate through his skin and killed him in under twenty seconds.
Carlo Wuopio, District 11 Male; 23rd, Killed by Shoreson, Bloodbath
Shoreson Jacques, District 4 Male; 22nd, Killed by Carlo and biohazard puddle, Bloodbath
Platinum kicked a tripped girl in the ribs with a smile, and then he shoved his sword into her side, sawing into her and killing her messily.
Krysten Nave, District 10 Female; 21st, Killed by Platinum, Bloodbath
Moments later, Lucia, enraged that Porter was out of her range, dug her tomahawk into the skull of a scrawny 14 year old girl. The tribute barely had time to react before her body shut down and she fell to the ground, limp and dead.
Jannette Matheson, District 9 Female; 20th, Killed by Lucia, Bloodbath
The minuscule boy from 3 was the next to fall as Hector smashed his mace into a second tribute.
Plato Cortez, District 3 Male; 19th, Killed by Hector, Bloodbath
Lynnta, the Reaped girl from 4, had noticed how the biohazard fluids killed tributes quickly as she stared at the pulpy, liquidy remains of her District partner. She was fighting with the girl from 11, Karin, over a backpack. Lynnta kicked her in the crotch and pushed her into the liquid. The girl screamed and spasmed, dying in a similar fashion to Shoreson from a minute or so before.
Karin Plamodon, District 11 Female; 18th, Killed by Lynnta, Bloodbath
The boy from 10, Mirek, pulled a stunt as he tried to push Lucia into one of the acidic/poisonous pools. Lucia reacted by pushing him to the ground and burying her hatchet in his chest thrice until he was long gone.
Mirek Zanetti, District 10 Male; 17th, Killed by Lucia, Bloodbath
Sharrah made the next kill as she used her bow to land an arrow in the base of Magda from 8's neck. The girl fell silently to the ground, bleeding out in under a minute.
Magda Bover, District 8 Female; 16th, Killed by Sharrah, Bloodbath
Platinum made the final kill as he pushed the little 12 year old to the ground. He shoved the boy's left arm into an acidic pool and watched him scream and struggle before slashing open his abdomen and letting him bleed out slowly. Twenty minutes later, all of the blood had trickled out of Valter's body and he was dead.
Valter Mencher, District 6 Male; 15th, Killed by Platinum, Bloodbath
The four Careers, Sharrah, Platinum, Lucia, and Hector, amassed their supplies in a pile at the mouth of the Cornucopia, and then they poured toxic sludge around it. They had a plank hidden behind the Cornucopia that they could retrieve, lay down, and use to cross the poison moat. It was a rather good idea, hatched from the min of Lucia. The other tributes spread out as all four Careers went on the prowl.
That night, the faces of Plato from 3, Shoreson from 4, Valter from 6, Magda from 8, Jannette from 9, Krysten and Mirek from 10, Karin and Carlo from 11, and Mairenn from 12 played across the sky as the surviving 14 tributes settled in for sleep or a long night of walking or hunting.
As the sun dawned on Day 2, the Careers were returning to the Cornucopia to refuel when they spotted the corner of a tribute's jacket flying around the corner of a building as they ran away. The Careers split into two groups. Sharrah chased the tribute while Platinum, Lucia, and Hector circled around to intercept the tribute. Their plan worked, and three minutes later, the three Careers jumped out in front of Nicole Connelly of District 6. She screamed weakly, her eye glazed over from withdrawal. Lucia's tomahawk found itself in her skull as Sharrah skidded to a stop beside her allies.
Nicole Connelly, District 6 Female; 14th, Killed by Lucia, Day 2
Several hours later, a sparse rain shower rolled over the southern sector of the arena. It poured out acidic rain. The two tributes inside were affected differently. Porter of 5, the Victor's daughter, was hidden safely inside an abandoned laboratory, tinkering with some chemicals that she seemed to know from school or something like that from her time in 5. The other tribute however, little Asaf, was eaten up by the stinging rain until he was a pile of mush and his cannon finally sounded.
Asaf Laninga, District 9 Male; 13th, Killed by acid rain, Day 2
Day 3 passed without incident, although acid rain clouds peppered the western sector, and Felix from 5 was nearly caught in one of the rains. On Day 4, the Careers ventured past the ruins, into the overgrown power plants, mines, and labs. They discovered Lehi from 12 camped out in one of the mines, which he found familiar from home even if he had never worked in a mine in 12. He managed to puncture Platinum's left foot with a pickaxe before Platinum's sword was through his stomach.
Lehi Alberighi, District 12 Male; 12th, Killed by Platinum, Day 4
On Day 5, a girl died from dehydration and heat exhaustion. She'd gotten trapped in one of the labs the day before, in a special temperature room. She thought the heat knob was the exit key, and she turned it all the way to super hot. She was cooking alive, and all the water and sentience was broiled out of her by the time she died halfway through the fifth day.
Iua Lanni, District 3 Female; 11th, Killed by dehydration and heat exhaustion, Day 5
Meanwhile, the axe wielding pair from 7 swept through the northern forests, slicing through the underbrush, looking for food and water. Late at night, they happened upon another tribute, Felix Lasesity from District 5. His skin was burned off in places from acid rain, and he was blind in one eye. He was weak from hunger and dehydration. Dez hacked into his side, and he and Ree left the boy to bleed out. He bled out in the wee hours of Day 6, and he was relieved when he finally slipped away.
Felix Lasesity, District 5 Male; 10th, Killed by Dez, Day 6
On Day 7, the Careers found another tribute, this one driven mad from hunger and the acid rain. He was running to the Cornucopia out of pure desperation. Hector mercifully took him down, swinging his mace into the back of the boy's skull.
Dwight Khee, District 8 Male; 9th, Killed by Hector, Day 7
The Top 8 had been determined: Sharrah Clurr from District 1, Platinum O'Lenyd from District 1, Lucia Shylle from District 2, Hector Cambrand from District 2, Lynnta Calygy from District 4, Porter Tripp from District 5, Ree Cornering from District 7, and Dez Ellis from District 7.
The Top 8 was shaved down after several days of inactivity. On Day 11, after acid rain and some rock mutts had failed to stir the pot, Burtlas had Caesar announce a Feast would occur at the Cornucopia on the 12th Day at around noon. All of the tributes save Porter, who was safely cooped up in her lab with her chemicals, spear, food, and water, decided that they would go.
As the Careers cleared their supplies very early on Day 12 (Gamemakers were known to obliterate supplies that obstructed the Cornucopia during a Feast), Platinum tripped over a rock with his wounded foot, courtesy of Lehi from 8 days earlier. He landed face first in the biohazard moat, and even though Sharrah pulled him out, some of it had already made it into his mouth and nose. It ate through his lungs and killed him in under a moment as Sharrah wailed.
Platinum O'Lenyd, District 1 Male; 8th, Killed by himself and biohazard moat, Day 12
Several hours later, a dismayed Sharrah and two stone cold tributes, Lucia and Hector, camped out inside the Cornucopia. As the table with the bags labeled 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 7 rose up, Lynnta burst into the clearing. Lucia was ready, and she threw her tomahawk at the girl. It sliced into her shoulder, making her fall, and Sharrah reluctantly leaped to her feet and finished the job, running over to Lynnta and slicing open her throat with a dagger.
Lynnta Calygy, District 4 Female; 7th, Killed by Lucia and Sharrah, Day 12 (Feast)
Moments later, Sharrah jerked back, an axe buried in her chest. Hector looked at Lucia, surprised, but Lucia hadn't done anything. It had been Ree and Dez. They burst into the clearing, stepping over Sharrah's corpse as her cannon fire, fingers outstretched for their bags. They hadn't seen Hector or Lucia.
Sharrah Clurr, District 1 Female; 6th, Killed by Ree and Dez, Day 12 (Feast)
Hector and Lucia leaped forward, roaring. Dez turned on his heel and sprinted away with his pack, dodging a thrown tomahawk from Lucia. Ree did not have the same luck. Hector held her against the table where the bags had been placed, and he bashed her head in with his mace until her cannon fired.
Ree Cornering, District 7 Female; 5th, Killed by Hector, Day 12 (Feast)
The last four tributes prowled throughout Days 13 and 14. Lucia and Hector split after a vicious, profane fight, hunting separately. Dez and Porter left their dens. Dez looked around for the others, axe ready to kill, while Porter prepared some strange weapon. It was a metal pipe, and she also had vials of poison she'd crafted in the lab along with her spear. Only her family knew what she was doing, and Dillon scraped together all of her sponsor funds to send her half a dozen darts, and that was all she needed.
She happened upon Lucia on Day 15, drinking from a stream near Porter's home base, the laboratory where she'd camped out for a majority of the Games. She chucked her spear from her spot in the weeds, and it smacked into Lucia's side. The girl started screeching like a banshee. Porter tore the spear from her side and ran. Lucia bled out an hour and a half later next to the stream.
Lucia Shylle, District 2 Female; 4th, Killed by Porter, Day 15
On Day 16, the final three tributes trudged towards the Cornucopia without much prompting. Both Porter and Hector were heading there by their own will, and some acid rain clouds hovering on the horizon sent Dez reeling towards the boxy cement structure. Porter was there first, and she crouched in the shadows of the Cornucopia as Dez bounded into the clearing. As Porter lifted her instrument to test out her blowpipe's skill, Hector also darted into the clearing. As Hector's mace and Dez's axe met, Porter kept changing targets. After ten minutes of fighting, Dez's axe shattered under the weight of Hector's mace. As the mace found itself imbedded in Dez's throat, Porter fired two darts into the back of Hector in quick succession. Dez's cannon fired, and Hector twitched on the ground next to him.
Dez Ellis, District 7 Male; 3rd, Killed by Hector, Day 16
Porter slunk out of the Cornucopia. Hector hissed and punched her in the back as he heaved, gasped, and tried to grab his mace from where it was buried in Dez's head five feet away. Porter screamed, and it would later be revealed that she had gotten a spinal injury from Hector's blow. Screaming in pain all the while, Porter hefted her spear in the air, and brought it down thrice onto the form of Hector until he stopped moving. The Capitol later revealed that the poison had gotten to him before his wounds, but at the time no one was sure which of Dillon Tripp's daughter's weapons had claimed Hector's life. Either way, the boy from 2 was dead, and Porter was left all alone in the arena.
Hector Cambrand, District 2 Male; 2nd, Killed by Porter, Day 16
"Porter Tripp of District 5, you are the Victor of the 38th Annual Hunger Games!" Caesar cheered. Porter just dropped her spear and her blowpipe and crouched on the ground a good distance away from the corpses of Hector and Dez, trying to keep the tears of grief, pain, and relief at bay as pain exploded through her spine.
Aftermath
District 5 now had an impressive 4 Victors, and they were now the best non-Career District in terms of Victors, and also one of the best in terms of performance. Porter was an abnormality; the first Victor's child to win a Games, and she wasn't even from the District her Victor father was from. She actually lived about 90% of her life in 9, and lived about half of her time there after the Games. Districts 5 and 9 were proud of her, and 9 heralded her as a hero even though she really wasn't their Victor. Porter was soft spoken and calm after her Games, and her mobility was minorly effected from the spinal injury that she contracted during the finale of her Games. With two Victors in the family, the Tripp family is a rather well known family even today in both Districts 5 and 9. They are affluent and still important in their Districts even though the two Victors in their family have been dead for more than three centuries. Porter wasn't the best Mentor, but she was good enough to bring a tribute rather far into the Games and maybe even bring home a Victor or two.
Porter would die at age 88, dying from unspecified medical causes about a month after the 108th Hunger Games. She would marry and have two sons.
The payouts on her Victory were okay, as 15% of the bets were on her.
Her Victory Tour was very good. She wore skin tight outfits and a large neck brace throughout the tour and was well spoken.
Fun Fact: Porter is the first Victor's child to win a Hunger Games.
Victor's News
Porter moved into the Victor's Village of District 5, in the house next door to Fox.
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)
32nd: Pomona McCrea, District 7 (3, 2 Female)
33rd: Beetee Latier, District 3 (3, 2 Male)
34th: Flotsam Bresten, District 4 (5, 3 Male)
35th: Organza White, District 8 (2, 1 Female)
36th: Januaria Shale, District 2 (6, 3 Female)
37th: Gnaeus Deccum, District 2 (7, 4 Male)
38th: Porter Tripp, District 5 (4, 3 Female)
A/N: Our first canon Victor since Beetee! From now on there will be a lot more canon Victors. I hope you liked Porter. Originally I thought she was from 8, but a visit to the Hunger Games wiki revealed that she's really from 5. I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you did too.
I'm sorry for not updating very quickly. Life's been crazy lately and I hope this Games was fast paced and interesting enough to make up for a week without updates. Please review to tell me how I'm doing.
Also, thanks to those of you who noted that my verb tenses have been wonky. I have noticed it but I usually don't have time to go back and fix large sections of verb tenses so I've left them. Thanks again for the pointers and all, and thanks again for all of the reviews! :D
P.S. This is also the longest chapter yet, clocking in at over 4,100 words!
Until next time,
Tracee
