The Forty Second Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
With Games fever becoming a regular, lasting fad in the Capitol unlike the body glitter and bright florescent colors of the previous year, the responsibilities and burdens of this year's Hunger Games crew swelled even more as the millions of Capitol and District residents anticipated these Games to be even better than the previous year. The Hunger Games Betting Association (HGBA) revolutionized the act of betting and increased the amounts of bets this year by twenty four percent. Previously, the only way to bet was to travel to a HGBA establishment and interact with workers to place your bets on the tributes. Now, the HGBA had produced three hundred booths in the factories of District 3, and brought them to the Capitol and placed them in the most trafficked parts of the Capitol. One could step inside the booth, and they would be met with the faces of the twenty four tributes. They would select the tribute they would like to bet on, and then type in the amount of money they were betting on that tribute. There was also a button to bet a certain amount of dollars on every tribute, and a button to randomly select a tribute for you to bet on. The booths were also outfitted with information about each tribute, and an overview of what this information would mean in the arena in correlation to what had happened to tributes with similar scores, looks, or skills. With the HGBA raking in more money, the Gamemakers were able to up their game and would have even more funds to make a better arena and a better set of opening ceremonies. After all, the HGBA was a government run agency, and the President had the power to take as much money as he wanted from the HGBA program and place it wherever he wanted in the system of Panem. Speaking of the President, President Coriolanus Snow ruled for another year with an iron fist and a steel heart, unrelenting and malicious. He would not let the tributes or Panem rest this year, and he would put them through rigorous, taxing ordeals that would most likely leave the Victor heavily scarred. Ilius Turum was again the Head Gamemaker of the Hunger Games, and he promised to provide another tantalizing arena and thrilling Games to sate the crazed Games thirst of the Capitol and to beat down the still rather rowdy Districts. He and his team had cooked up what they thought would be quite the showstopper, but only time would tell if their thoughts were correct. Caesar Flickerman was again the main commentator of the Games, but this year he decided to add a good friend to his crew to help him present and commentate the Games. The man, Claudius Templesmith, was a famous talk show host in the Capitol. He owned his own brand of psychotherapy and his own brand of signature wigs, and he was infamous for his wily, nearly insane obsession with the Hunger Games. His talk shows had twenty minute segments every day dedicated to the Victors, reviewing past Games, and scoping out the new arena, the new Gamemakers, and, around Hunger Games season, the new tributes and Victor. Claudius was the Capitol celebrity of almost the same caliber as the Victors, President Snow, and Caesar himself, and he would make a lovely, cherished addition to the Hunger Games team in the Capitol. The Careers this year were rather strong, and had better odds of winning than the previous year's batch all around. The pair from 1 were your classic Careers, strong and seductive and attractive, pulling in sponsors like flies to honey. The pair from 2 were immensely strong, and battle ready, with tactics and weaponry maneuvers swimming in their brains. It happened that the female tribute selected this year out of District 2 was named Agrippina Renoro, and she was the daughter of Fitore Renoro, the Victor of the Twenty First Hunger Games. The two volunteers from 4 were the weakest overall pair, as was becoming the norm, but they still had muscles and looks and great enough odds for their faces to be clicked aplenty in the HGBA betting booths. There were three notable Outlier tributes this time around. The first was a young 13 year old girl out of 11. Her name was Poppy Brookeway, and she somehow managed to score an 8 in training. It was later revealed that Poppy had great edible plants skills, and had great amount of knowledge about poisons, resembling Indigo Arnett, the previous year's Victor. The other two were the Canterbury twins out of District 10. Elaine and Edison Canterbury were 18 year old twins who both had the great unluckiness to be Reaped. The only other time siblings had been Reaped was when Dillon and Cilla Tripp of District Nine were both chosen in the Second Games. Dillon emerged from that Games the Victor, so maybe Elaine or Edison would survive just like him? But anyway, Elaine and Edison were both mounds of muscle that scored impressive 9's for the strength and hand to hand combat skills. The rest of the tributes scored between 7 and 2, and there were no volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Anastasia Ropling, 18 (9) 7-1 and Principality Melvin, 18 (11) 3-1
District 2: Agrippina Renoro, 18 (10) 5-1 and Derrick Calhoun, 18 (9) 8-1
District 3: Betsie Netium, 16 (4) 43-1 and Idgar Wallos, 14 (6) 22-1
District 4: Melarri Juven, 17 (9) 8-1 and Hudson Arrnolds, 18 (10) 6-1
District 5: Mitta Spirk, 14 (3) 53-1 and Surge Tomlin, 15 (4) 44-1
District 6: Melody Boughte, 16 (4) 44-1 and Buster Trundle, 17 (6) 21-1
District 7: Aspen Spore, 16 (7) 19-1 and Nieco Kualm, 15 (5) 32-1
District 8: Daniette Corver, 16 (6) 23-1 and Crochet Uan, 15 (5) 33-1
District 9: Linda Patrie, 17 (5) 31-1 and Ruddy Absom, 17 (6) 21-1
District 10: Elaine Canterbury, 18 (9) 8-1 and Edison Canterbury, 18 (9) 8-1
District 11: Poppy Brookeway, 13 (8) 13-1 and Sixto Herrera, 15 (5) 34-1
District 12: Oda Vign, 15 (3) 51-1 and Mik Susurrus, 13 (2) 63-1
HGBA Odds: 16% on Principality and Agrippina, 12% on Hudson, Elaine, and Edison, 11% on Hudson, 7% on Anastasia, 4% on Derrick and Melarri, 2% on Poppy, 1% or less on Betsie, Idgar, Mitta, Surge, Melody, Buster, Aspen, Nieco, Daniette, Crochet, Linda, Ruddy, Sixto, Oda, and Mik.
The Games
The tributes rose up into an intriguing arena indeed. Twenty four tall basalt pillars reached up into the sky, and a tribute stood on each. A single simple supply, like an empty water bottle, a box of matches, or a coil of rope, sat on each pillar. Rickety rope bridges connected each pillar to a large center pillar, where the Cornucopia, made of basalt, sat, more boxy and angular than usual. Inside were ponchos, tents, pickaxes, throwing knives, daggers, glaives, and javelins, along with an average amount of food and water. Technical materials were lacking in this Cornucopia, so the tech savvy pair from Three this year seemed to be at a disadvantage. On each pillar, there were rough handholds hewn into the basalt that led down the taller-than-natural pillars to the ground. The ground was obscured by mist and the tributes had no idea what lay below. What did lay below was a field of much smaller basalt columns, like the natural ones, with mist roiling across them. To the east a bitter, ice cold ocean frothed, the ground dropping off suddenly where the basalt columns stopped and the vicious sea began. To the north was plain basalt columns, with a couple of small wooden huts spread out evenly, providing some sort of shelter. To the west, there was another ocean, but this one was smaller and less crazed, and was a reasonably warm temperature. The basalt columns sloped down gently to this body of water, and it was brackish, unlike the full-salt of the other ocean. There was a small fishing village on this side of the arena, full of fishing supplies. Fish were abundant in this western ocean. To the south was plain basalt columns, a little harder to traverse than their northern brethren. There were a handful of huts here as well, and at the far south area of the arena was a soaring cave. The inside of the cave was studded with luminous crystals that bathed the cave in a warm orange glow. Inside the cave, four women-like creatures tended to a cauldron. Sweet smelling smoke and the smell of delicious potato soup poured from the cave to attract the tributes. It turned out that the creatures in the caves were banshees, and one touch would have your soul transported into one of the glowing crystals on the cavern walls. But for now the tributes stood on the basalt columns, battered by the wind and a hard, freezing rain. They shivered, and many prepared to head away from the Cornucopia. Because of this, only seven tributes would die at this year's Bloodbath, and would lead to a long and exciting Games full of hunting.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Many of the tributes looked around their pillars and began to climb down after grabbing the small amounts of supplies on their pillars. Fourteen tributes (the Careers and nine other tributes) ran across their rope bridges, hoping that they would not collapse underneath their weight. They did not, although if one was not careful they could fall down to the ground ten stories below. Nine tributes began to climb down their basalt pillars if they weren't going to the Cornucopia. The fastest climber down was Sixto from Eleven. He was agile and had great dexterity, and he quickly zipped down the basalt pillars. He also had gotten a pair of textured leather gloves on his pillar, and those helped him climb down faster. Melarri was the fastest Career, and she swept up a glaive as the other tributes arrived and clustered around the Horn, grabbing supplies and starting to initiate fights.
Melarri hoisted the long pole like sword weapon called a glaive through the air, twirling it like an over sized baton. She lunged at the twins from Ten, Elaine and Edison, who were quickly deciding between glaives or pickaxes. Melarri was unpracticed with a glaive, however, and her swing was wide. The Canterbury twins moved out of the way after grabbing pickaxes, pushing the minuscule girl from Five to the ground in their haste. Melarri pounced on the exposed girl, and slashed open her chest thrice with the glaive until the blade and the basalt beneath the girl was stained red.
Mitta Spirk, District 5 Female; 24th, Killed by Melarri, Bloodbath
Mitta's ally, Oda from Twelve, squealed as her ally's blood splattered across her face. She turned tail to flee, and in her terror smacked right into the side of the basalt Cornucopia. She staggered away, dazed, and Elaine Canterbury used this opportunity to try out her pickaxe. She heaved it into the frame of the lithe girl and ended her rather swiftly. Elaine and Edison tromped away, attempting to leave the center pillar as Oda died.
Oda Vign, District 12 Female; 23rd, Killed by Elaine, Bloodbath
Agrippina Renoro was the unanimous leader of this year's Career pack, despite Principality having scored higher than her in training. She was a born leader, and would make sure her pack would survive to the best of its ability. They circled around the edge of the Cornucopia basalt pillar, blocking exit for the seven tributes remaining at the Cornucopia. Elaine and Edison Canterbury used their immense strength to push past the rather light and fragile Anastasia, wounding her shoulder before stumbling across a pair of rope bridges. Anastasia threw a throwing knife Elaine's way, and it scraped the girl's left calf. The Canterbury twins began to descend, and no other tributes dared try to escape so viciously.
The six Careers were like vipers circling the five remaining Outliers, and Agrippina was the head of the snake. She shot forward first, twirling her glaive around expertly, as the glaive was actually one of her favored weapons. She buried its blade ten inches deep in Mik's chest, and the boy could only gargle nonsense. His corpse slumped off of Agrippina's glaive as the other Careers continued to pace around the edge of the pillar. At this point, most of the tributes who had skipped the Cornucopia were on or near the ground, and the Canterbury twins were a third of the way down.
Mik Susurrus, District 12 Male; 22nd, Killed by Agrippina, Bloodbath
The four remaining tributes huddled in the mouth of the Cornucopia. Betsie grabbed a javelin, too weighty for her. Aspen swept up a glaive, Nieco took two long daggers, and Melody trembled as she chose a glittering throwing knife. They sloppily tried to coordinate a quickly thrown together attack, with Aspen, the strongest of the four, leading the charge. As Aspen attacked Hudson and Nieco took on Derrick, Betsie hesitated, and Melody just ran further into the Cornucopia and buried herself underneath a pile of ponchos inside a small wooden crate. Nieco was quickly felled by Derrick, who used a javelin to pierce the boy from 7's brain via his eye. Nieco fell dead quickly, and Aspen stopped in shock at seeing her District partner, decent friend, and ally die.
Nieco Kualm, District 7 Male; 21st, Killed by Derrick, Bloodbath
In her moment of hesitation, Aspen was taken down by Hudson. He tackled her and carved her to ribbons with his daggers, watching as her blood and flesh pooled together beneath him long after she was dead and gone. The other Careers advanced on the Cornucopia, where Betsie had retreated and Melody was unsuccessfully hiding. It was obvious of her hiding spot, as the girl didn't fit fully in the crate she had taken refuge in.
Aspen Spore, District 7 Female; 20th, Killed by Hudson, Bloodbath
Anastasia threw a knife at point blank range perfectly into Betsie's forehead, and the girl died in a couple of seconds. The Careers stepped over the girl from 3's corpse and circled around the crate Melody was half squeezed into. They pretended to not notice her, as they wanted to have fun with this tribute.
Betsie Netium, District 3 Female; 19th, Killed by Anastasia, Bloodbath
"Let's go hunting guys, I can't believe that Six Girl got away!" Principality exclaimed loudly. They all pounded their feet against the ground and continued to talk, but in quieter voices, to make it sound like they were all walking away. After a sufficient couple of minutes, Melody peeked her head out from under the pile of ponchos piled atop her in the crate. Her tear filled hazel eyes met the malicious, glittering icy blue ones of Principality, and she just whimpered quietly as he grabbed her by her long brown ponytail and bashed her head against the ground dozens of times until she was finally dead. It was a rather thrilling and satisfying kill for the audience in the Capitol, and the Boughte family in Six started a mini uprising in retaliation for Melody's death. Of course, all of the Boughte's were either killed or arrested. Snow would not tolerate acts of rebellion during Games season, especially not from the families of fallen tributes.
Melody Boughte, District 6 Female; 18th, Killed by Principality, Bloodbath
Seventeen tributes remained alive at the end of the day, a larger number than usual. That would certainly up the length and enjoyment of the Games in the Capitol. The Gamemakers could also play with the tributes more. The seven faces flashed through the sky that night, and a snapshot of how every tribute was faring was taken by Caesar and Claudius. They went through the states of the seventeen remaining tributes as usual.
The six Careers had yet to venture down from their lofty basalt perches. They organized some of the supplies in the Cornucopia and plundered all of the remaining supplies on the starting pillars, collecting it and rationing it. Agrippina lead them in this effort, and made sure to set up ration guidelines along with a strict and even sentry rotation so the Careers would be on alert at all times. Idgar had been one of the tributes to flee to Bloodbath initially. On his platform had been a small bag of batteries, and he tinkered with them as he wandered through the dark in the northern stretches of the arena. Surge was another tribute who had run from the Bloodbath. His only supply was what had been on his platform, two blue-green gel packs that were made mostly of water and also contained protein for energy. Surge ate one of his gels as he settled in the biggest fishing hut in the fishing village of the west. Surge was crying the entire time, the fright of the Games and the oppressive mist and loneliness evoking a tearful response that usually only appeared in 12 or 13 year old girls faced with the blade of a Career during the Bloodbath. Buster from 6 wandered aimlessly in the eastern stretches of the arena. He had been so spooked rising up onto his platform atop the basalt pillar that he had not grabbed the small Swiss army knife on his pillar. See, Buster had an extreme fear of heights, and he wanted to get down as fast as he possibly could. Halfway down he slipped and fell for about a story before getting his footing back. In doing so, he rolled his left ankle. Now Buster was stumbling along ever closer to the sudden drop near the eastern ocean. About an hour after the faces filled the sky, Buster found himself pawing at open air as he walked blindly off of the edge in the dark. He fell six stories to the rocky ground below. He broke both arms and his left leg and was bleeding all over, but he was still alive. It did not seem like he'd last more than a day or two, however, due to the grievous injuries he'd sustained from his long fall. Daniette traversed the northern stretches of the arena, her pillar gift, a stopwatch, held tight in her right fist. She kept doing random timings and kept clicking the timer button insistently. She settled in one of the huts by night fall, and found a sprig of berries she recognized as edible inside a small porcelain pot in one corner of the hut. Daniette's District partner Crochet traveled southward, where he settled in one of the huts just like his District partner had, except in the opposite side of the arena. He was far enough away from the banshee den that he would not be lured in yet, but a mile or so further and he would be caught in their trap. Crochet had received a thick, rather blunt metal knitting needle on his pillar, and he set to work sharpening it with a fragment of basalt rock. Linda from 9 and her younger, stronger ally Poppy Brookeway from 11 settled in the fishing village to the west. They spotted Surge stumbling into the largest house weeping, and let him be, deciding not to bother him. They amassed fishing supplies and planned to go fish the next day. Linda had received a wooden hair comb on her pillar, while Poppy had gotten a shaker of salt. Ruddy, the male from 9, settled in the southern stretches of the arena in a dilapidated shack, dangerously close to the banshee cave. A tenth of a mile closer, and Ruddy would be drawn into the cave and meet his death. With him he had a couple of strips of jerky from his pillar. The Canterbury twins camped out rather close to the central circle of tall basalt pillars, actually camping out at the base of the Cornucopia pillar. As the Cornucopia pillar went further up, it flared outwards, so the twins from 10 were sheltered by a ceiling of solid basalt, and were hidden out of sight of the Careers above. They planned to ambush the Careers when they descended for their first hunt. Sixto went to the east, towards the dastardly drop off cliffs that had practically eliminated Buster from 6 from the Games, leaving him broken and helpless on the freezing black sand shore. Sixto crept carefully, and found the edge on his own. He scaled it expertly, and once he reached the slim slice of beach, he probed the thick basalt walls of the cliff until he found a secure, dry cave filled with puddles of water and moss. Sixto settled down, took off his climbing gloves, drank and ate the edible types of moss, and then slept in peace, something almost all of the other tributes could not do.
The next morning a cannon shattered the stillness of the misty, almost ethereal arena. Sixto awoke and wiped the grogginess from his eyes. He scampered to the mouth of his little cavern and watched as about a quarter mile down the beach, wreathed by mist, the hovercraft's claw descended slowly and wrapped its metal talons around a limp corpse. It turned out that Buster had gotten some severe internal bleeding from his fall, and he died quicker than most of the Capitol watchers had thought he would. The hovercraft disappeared into the misty gray skies like a silvery angel, and Sixto watched, perplexed, still in a sleepy stupor.
Buster Trundle, District 6 Male; 17th, Killed by falling off of basalt pillar cliffs, Day 2
The rest of the second day passed without much of a hitch. Agrippina had her troops rest up and organize all of the supplies in the Cornucopia, and Elaine and Edison Canterbury still sat in wait at the base of the Cornucopia basalt column, hidden from sight. Most of the other tributes did not move around much. However, Poppy and Linda in the small western fishing village decided to try and approach Surge to see if he wanted to join their alliance. He fled from the largest fishing hut the moment Poppy and Linda approached its door, wailing and crying uproariously. He sprinted down the wide band of black sand beach, running into the mist and disappearing from Poppy and Linda's sight. The two looked at each other, shrugged, and then headed out to the beach to try and fish for food in the tepid ocean.
The third day dawned in the arena. Agrippina decided to keep her pack calm and in check for one more day. Her plan did make sense, and it had merit. She wanted to keep the Outliers feeling safe for several days and lull them into a false sense of security. Everyone agreed with her plan except Principality and Hudson. These two boys were rowdy and bloodthirsty and wanted to get hunting right away. Anastasia, who had been good friends with Principality at the Academy of One when they were training together, managed to placate the bloodthirsty man and get him to wait out one more day. But Hudson was too anxious to get going. Carrying a dagger and a javelin, at the crack of dawn he crossed a rope bridge and climbed down one of the basalt pillars.
Once he was close to the ground, Hudson felt a sharp tug on his ankle. He looked down quickly and saw the brutish face of Edison Canterbury twisted in an ugly grin as he laughed at the Career boy. Edison threw Hudson to the ground, where he sprawled out, groaning softly in pain. Edison buried his pickaxe in Hudson's back several times until his cannon fired. Elaine and Edison raided the Career boy's corpse for weapons and supplies, and then they sped off to the north as the cannon awoke the other thirteen tributes still in the arena. The Careers awoke, groggy and perplexed, to find Hudson disappeared. They soon realized he was dead, and they had varying reactions to the loss of the first Career in this year's Games.
Hudson Arrnolds, District 4 Male; 16th, Killed by Edison, Day 3
The entire Career alliance agreed to go hunting after realizing Hudson was dead. Melarri spear headed this effort. She had a one sided sort of attraction with Hudson, and she was bitter after losing her boy crush. Agrippina, Anastasia, Derrick, Melarri, and Principality all armed themselves to the teeth before climbing down the basalt pillars and going hunting. They fanned out and swept west. Soon enough they spotted the haphazardly put together fishing village on the horizon. They marched forward towards it and soon arrived at the small collection of huts.
There were around a dozen huts. Agrippina used her tactics and leadership skills to direct what was solidly becoming her pack. She had the five Careers including herself circle the fishing village and slowly get closer. Suddenly they all burst forward together, and started ransacking the huts like crazy. They breezed through the huts, and Principality found a slumbering Poppy curled up in the corner of one of the fishing huts, a dense net draped over her frail body. He guffawed and knelt beside the girl. He tugged the net she was using as a blanket off, and then he proceeded to butcher the girl. The others waited outside the shack where Poppy was sleeping until the cannon fired and Principality emerged, a smile on his face, his javelin smeared with blood. It seemed that the thirteen year old girl from 11 who had scored an 8 would not get to showcase the special skills that had earned her such a nice score for a girl so young.
Poppy Brookeway, District 11 Female; 15th, Killed by Principality, Day 3
Poppy's ally Linda from 9 had gone out to go fishing for their breakfast alone on the beach. She heard the cannon, and paused in her tracks. She was knee deep in the warm water, a net in her hands with a couple of silvery fish inside it. She saw the Careers milling around the fishing village nearby, and she paled and tried to hide. But Anastasia had already spotted her, and she sprinted towards Linda. Linda squealed and started tumbling down the black sand beach, but Anastasia was faster and more agile. She also had a throwing knife, and all Linda had was a heavy net with fish. Linda dropped her load and slogged through the ocean, and Anastasia threw her throwing knife expertly. It slammed into the back of Linda's skull and ended her.
Linda Patrie, District 9 Female; 14th, Killed by Anastasia, Day 3
The Careers headed northward, and started to sweep through sections of the north. Surge was hidden well in the mistiest section of the arena in the farthest northwestern corner of the arena, where there were a few pockets of air between the pillars to hide in. Idgar from 3 spotted the Careers coming from where he was squatting, and he sped away through the mist as fast as he could southward. Agrippina spotted the boy running, and she chased after him, signaling for her allies to keep searching. She saw the small 14 year old and thought nothing of hunting him down. It would be rather easy, wouldn't it?
Idgar had surprising endurance. As the other Careers unsuccessfully hunted in the north and returned to the Cornucopia basalt pillars, Agrippina pursued Idgar through the evening and through the morning of Day 4 as he zig zagged unpredictably around. While his whole path was uneven and jagged, he was gradually heading due south. At around noon on Day 4, the smell of sweet smoke and potato soup met the nostrils of Idgar and Agrippina. They both slowed down to a stupefied walk, Idgar about twenty yards in front of Agrippina. They both stumbled mindlessly forward, and by one they were by the cave. Idgar staggered into the cavern and knelt in front of the four women, two dressed in red, two dressed in green. He stretched his fingers outwards, and they brushed against the navel of one of the banshee women. Idgar turned stony gray and slumped onto the ground, his soul sucked out of him. A new crystal sprouted out of the cavern wall, glowing brashly orange and bathing the four wailing banshee women in a darker orange glow.
Idgar Wallos, District 3 Male; 13th, Killed by banshees, Day 4
Agrippina was powerless to stop her death. She too fell to her knees, cutting them open on the rough ground of the cavern. She waggled out her fingers, bracing herself on the cauldron as she scooted around to touch the skirt of one of the banshees. Her hands slipped off of the banshee's emerald green skirt, and landed on her bare, veiny feet. The banshees' song once again reached a feverish pitch as Agrippina died, her body losing its color. A crystal sprouted out of the wall next to Idgar's crystal, and the two crystals glowed brighter than the others.
Agrippina Renoro, District 2 Female; 12th, Killed by banshees, Day 4
That night, Derrick, Anastasia, Principality, and Melarri watched in horror as Agrippina's face preceded that of the little squirt from 3. They resolved to be more careful with their hunting. The next morning, on Day 5, they put on everything in the Cornucopia that was remotely armor-like. They made shields and chest plates of wood from the crates, and used strips of plastic from the ponchos to make protective gloves and the like. Outfitted in a strange assortment of their arena uniform, wood, plastic, bandages, and extra clothing, the Careers set out to hunt again. Principality took over as the leader, with more vicious, less tactical attacks on his mind. They headed north again. Daniette from 8 and the Canterbury twins from 10 had set up shack in the north. They found no one since halfway through their search, they chased shadows through the mist towards the west, when those shadows were just clouds passing overhead. The Outlier tributes weren't struggling that much with dehydration, but they were still decently thirsty, and true hunger was starting to hit a couple of the tributes. Daniette was nearly unable to move from the paralyzing hunger. She came from a richer merchant family in 8 and was not used to going hungry. Sixto was well fed off of his mosses, Surge managed to eat some earthworms and beetles he found that he recognized as edible, and Ruddy had trapped two mice and was eating them sparingly. Crochet was also hungry, but he was used to severe hunger since he was an orphan from the streets.
Day 6 arrived, and it was more of the same, with the Careers heading east this time. They found nothing, and Daniette was so hungry that she could do nothing. She quickly became dizzy from dehydration, and her days seemed to be numbered.
Day 7, halfway through, as the Careers combed the west again, a cannon boomed ominously. A hovercraft descended to the north, extracting Daniette's emaciated corpse from her tiny shack. Unable to move due to her hunger, she had died from dehydration. Daniette's death further motivated the Careers to continue to hunt and narrow the field down to the Top 8 as quickly as they could.
Daniette Corver, District 8 Female; 11th, Killed by dehydration, Day 7
The Canterbury twins became restless and instead of hiding, they began to hunt themselves on Day 8. They swept through the north, not searching very well and leaving muddy footprints and scuffs on the basalt unintentionally. As the Careers combed the northeastern area of the arena, they found some of the marks left by the hapless movements of the Canterbury twins, and began to follow. Derrick was the best at tracking, and he lead the pack forward. By the evening of Day 9, the Careers found the sleeping place of Edison and Elaine. The twins were sleeping in one of the shacks strangely close to the center of the arena. The Careers surrounded the Canterbury twins and attacked. Edison sacrificed himself for his older-by-two-minutes sister, plowing down Melarri and leaving his body exposed. Elaine sprinted away with a glaive and their supplies as the Careers ganged up on Edison. He lashed out with a dagger and his fists, but didn't do any significant damage besides some bruises and scrapes before Derrick ended him with a javelin to the back of the neck.
Edison Canterbury, District 10 Male; 10th, Killed by Derrick, Day 9
On Day 10, Crochet left behind his shack, tired and dismayed. He was in the southern area of the arena, and he wandered aimlessly, his concave stomach too much even for a starved orphan like himself to handle. As he searched for food, any food, he caught a wiff of sweet smoke and the scent of potato soup. Within twenty minutes Crochet was genuflecting before the banshees. His hungry mind managed to fight the illusion for a moment and scoop some of the delicious soup into his mouth before he wiped his hands on one of the shrieking banshee's dresses and then grabbed their cheeks sluggishly. His soul was sucked away, and a third pulsing orange crystal joined the crystals of Agrippina and Idgar.
Crochet Uan, District 8 Male; 9th, Killed by banshees, Day 10
That left the Top 8: Anastasia Ropling from District 1, Principality Melvin from District 1, Derrick Calhoun from District 2, Melarri Juven from District 4, Surge Tomlin from District 5, Ruddy Absom from District 9, Elaine Canterbury from District 10, and Sixto Herrera from District 11.
Days 11 and 12 passed without any major occurrences. The Careers took Day 11 off to rest and recharge, and their hunt was unsuccessful on Day 12. Surge was prodded out of his hidey hole by the Gamemakers via a trio of annoying ravens. The boy began to weep after one bit his pinky, and he moved a whole thirty feet south, hunkering down in another hidey hole. Ruddy migrated farther north, safely out of the range of the banshees. Elaine plotted and recharged, feeding herself on sponsor gifts of food and water, staying healthy and witty. Sixto remained as quiet and sly as ever, holed up in his little cavern full of water and mosses.
On Day 13, a Feast was announced. It would be held at the fishing village in the west. The Careers' weapons were starting to rust or become dull. Surge was in need of some water, and Ruddy could use some food. Elaine had an infected wound, and Sixto's special climbing gloves were torn from an accident. Sixto opted out of the Feast while the others headed there to claim their prizes.
Surge had enough smarts to hide in wait in one of the shacks. The table with the bags rose up right in the middle of the dozen or so fishing huts, and Surge darted forward, grabbing his bag. Elaine had the same idea, and she grabbed her bag and tried to chase after Surge, but he was already gone. Ruddy arrived ten minutes later, just ahead of the Careers. His stomach was aching and he needed some food. He grabbed the pack labeled 9 and turned tail to flee, only to find the small village encircled by the four Careers. Principality made the first move, and gutted the boy with an especially sharp glaive.
Ruddy Absom, District 9 Male; 8th, Killed by Principality, Day 13
Principality began to laugh, turning away from the ruined corpse of Ruddy, when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Elaine Canterbury roared in laughter even louder as the strongest tribute of the Games fell with a throwing knife sticking out of his gullet, courtesy of the Canterbury twin. Elaine galloped away as the other Careers stood, stunned by the fact that Principality was dead.
Principality Melvin, District 1 Male; 7th, Killed by Elaine, Day 13
The Careers set out in chase of Elaine, triggering a five day game of cat and mouse that would cost the Careers and Elaine dearly. Sixto and Surge sat in wait, hiding out as the attention of the entire nation was drawn to the crafty Elaine running from and toying with Derrick, Anastasia, and Melarri.
On Day 14 and 15, Elaine simply avoided the Careers. But on Day 16, she outran them and beat them back to their camp, the Cornucopia. She settled there, and as they tried to ascend to take her out, she attacked back, throwing knives and javelins at them. One lucky javelin smacked into the chest of Anastasia as she neared the top of her ascent up on of the pillars. The girl slumped, dying quickly. Her corpse fell a few stories down, and Derrick and Melarri abandoned the climb for that day, not wanting to be skewered in the same fashion as Anastasia.
Anastasia Ropling, District 1 Female; 6th, Killed by Elaine, Day 16
On Day 17, the tributes all rested. It was an uneventful day, although it was obvious Elaine was concocting a final plan to take out Derrick and Melarri. Sixto and Surge were forgotten by nearly everyone excepting their families as everyone waited, anticipating the next move from Elaine to be a dastardly one that would end the Games, since Sixto and Surge were easy for Elaine, Derrick, and Melarri to take out since they were weak cannon fodder who'd just managed to scrape by and survive. On Day 18, Elaine enacted her plan. It wasn't the craftiest plan, but it should get the job done.
Elaine acted as if she was wounded, leaving behind the Cornucopia in favor of a dilapidated old shack in the south. Her moans of pain were loud and clear, and Derrick and Melarri followed their training and headed towards the apparent sounds of pain and death. They entered the shack cautiously only to find no one inside. Elaine had sneaked out the back entrance. She lit a match and threw it on the old tinderbox.
Melarri managed to escape with minimal burns, but the wooden, flaming structure collapsed on top of Derrick before he could emerge to safety out of the smoldering wooden hut. Melarri squared up, wielding a glaive, which she was now good with, as she and Elaine circled one another. As they began to fight, a cannon pierced the air. Neither of the two were distracted. Derrick had been dead since the shack collapsed in their minds.
Derrick Calhoun, District 2 Male; 5th, Killed by collapsing, burning house/Elaine, Day 18
Melarri might have been burned and tired and perplexed, but she had tactics and refined skill on her side. She and Elaine fought hard and well, and it seemed to be a decently fair fight between the last two female tributes in the Games. Glaive met glaive, and in the end the outcome in the battle was not determined by will or emotion, but by tactic and knowledge. Melarri took advantage of one of Elaine's simple slip ups, placing her foot down wrong, and managed to end the girl. Melarri tried to disarm Elaine, but not before Elaine struck out one last time. Elaine's glaive buried itself in Melarri's side, but she kicked Elaine between the legs, making her crumple and lose her grip on the glaive still buried in Melarri's side. Melarri groaned and buried her own glaive in Elaine's skull, killing the other Canterbury twin and ending 10's best chance at Victory in decades. 10 was not happy with this girl from 4.
Elaine Canterbury, District 10 Female; 4th, Killed by Melarri, Day 18
Melarri staggered about and fell to her knees. The glaive slid out of her side with a wet schlop, and Melarri laid there for several hours as night fell and it became Day 19. The blood leaked out around her, pooling underneath her slim, tired body. By the dawn of Day 19, Melarri's body had lost too much blood, and the girl from 4 let go, slipping away. Her cannon meant that the two underdogs, Sixto from 11 and Surge from 5, two hiders, would have to fight for the title of Victory. It was a surprise not only to the Capitol and the Districts, but to the tributes themselves.
Melarri Juven, District 4 Female; 3rd, Killed by blood loss/Elaine, Day 19
Sixto and Surge were nudged out of their hiding places by torrents of angry ravens. Surge began to cry quietly as they flocked around him, and Sixto almost fell twice scaling the cliff face as the ravens pestered him. Neither tribute had a weapon, and neither tribute had yet killed another tribute. Two parachutes fell from the sky, one for Sixto, one for Surge. Sixto received brass knuckles, while Surge received a pocketknife. Both weapons were inefficient, and this would be a bloody finale for sure. They might have two lackluster choices for Victor, but the Gamemakers would not let the finale be lackluster as well.
Sixto and Surge met. They were both weary, downtrodden, weak, and tired, and when they saw each other they were immensely surprised. It was still Day 19, and they expected to be facing Melarri, not each other, since the dead had yet to be broadcasted for that day. Sixto gained hope and quickly leaped at Surge. Surge sidestepped, and Sixto crashed into the ground, banging his head. He tried to stagger to his feet, but Surge awkwardly tackled Sixto and flicked open the small blade of the pocketknife. He dug it again and again and again into the struggling boy's arms and chest and stomach and back and skull while he bawled, tears pouring down his face in epic amounts. Once the cannon finally sounded and Sixto was fully gone, Surge was weeping so much, and the doctors had no idea how he had so much water left in his body after nearly three weeks of being nearly dehydrated.
Sixto Herrera, District 11 Male; 2nd, Killed by Surge, Day 19
"Surge Tomlin of District 5, you are the Victor of the 42nd Hunger Games!" Claudius and Caesar roared together. Surge just sat there next to Sixto's corpse, sniveling silently, wiping the snot and tears from his face and trying to look somewhat presentable.
Afterwards
District 5 was surprised by Surge as a Victor. He was one of those almost purely luck Victors, quite like Deana Mitchellson or Seeder Howell, who didn't do much until the end, or didn't even do anything at all but run and be lucky. Of course 5 was pleased to gain its 5th Victor, somehow tying it with District 4, but they were not thrilled with the sniveling, wimpy disposition of their newest Victor, Surge, who quickly garnered the nicknames "Crybaby" and "Waterworks". Surge did not like these nicknames but they stuck fast and would live with him for the rest of his life. Surge was a pretty awful Mentor at first, as he didn't really do much in his Games and had no clue what he was doing at all. But overtime, he learned to become better, as his tributes needed him to care for them and bring them home. Surge managed to stay away from drugs. His addiction was crying, really, and he had frequent emotional meltdowns.
Surge would live to age 68, dying soon after the 94th Hunger Games from an undiagnosed illness. He would marry and would have one son.
The payouts on his Victory were awesome, as only about .24% bet on him.
His Victory Tour was a mess, with him crying at nearly every stop.
Fun Fact: Surge had the second lowest training score ever of a Victor so far, a 4. The only tribute to have a worse score so far was his fellow 5 Victor, Tugra Ertra, who scored a measly 3.
Victor's News
Surge moves into the Victor's Village of District 5, in the house next door to Porter.
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)
39th: Seeder Howell, District 11 (3, 2 Female)
40th: Zion Alvarra, District 1 (6, 3 Male)
41st: Indigo Arnett, District 6 (3, 2 Female)
42nd: Surge Tomlin, District 5 (5, 2 Male)
A/N: Go ahead. Please, seriously, yell at me. What the heck, Tracee?! What's with the near month long wait for an update!? Don't you know we love this story to pieces and want to see it updated!?
I'm sorry guys, I truly am. I've just been busy with school, and I've also been focusing a lot on BMO, my new SYOT. I haven't had much time to work on this story, but I did for the past couple of days, and I churned out one behemoth of a chapter, and longest yet, just barely over the 8,000 mark. I hope this long, thrilling, twisty turny suprising chapter made up for the so insanely long wait for a new chapter, my amazing friends. Updates will still be slower than they were in the summer, but hopefully they will not this slow ever again.
If you read any of my other stories, you know that Blogs are my current addiction, and I may or may not made one for this story? Go ahead and take a peek, I'm adding each Victor to it as we go :) Here it is: 500yop . blogspot . com
Thanks for reading as always, guys. You're all so supportive and I love you all. Please review and tell me what you think :)
Until Next Time,
Tracee
