Didn't abandon this, Lianne. Just took a while to get it out, as it's the longest ever Games by a wide margin and I've been busy enjoying my summer outside :) Like your name by the way. Now, with that out of the way, I present...


The Fiftieth Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell


Introduction

The Second Quarter Quell was on the minds of all as soon as Lyme Harriott snapped little Phil's neck during the finale of the Forty Ninth. Rumors of the twist ran rampant throughout the nation, festering in the Capitol and infecting the Districts in slow succession. Everyone had their favorite speculations, but no one knew for sure until the envelope would be opened. Cyndala thought it would be widening the age gap, while both Caesar and Claudius hoped that the Quell would require only a single gender or District to participate. The one to come closest to it was the fiery Organza White, Victor of the Thirty Fifth. She snarkily replied to an inquiry of a sneaky paparazzi, "I bet you hope they put more kids in to die. That's probably what they'll do." Weeks later, everyone watched the mandatory viewing. Snow opened the box and announced to the entirety of Panem that the number of tributes for that year had been doubled to forty eight; two tributes of each gender would be Reaped in each District. The Capitol was abuzz with excitement. Head Gamemaker Cyndala Clargy and her team had to enlarge the arena to make room for more tributes. This excited Cyndala immensely; with double the tributes, there was no way that this Games would not clock out as the longest ever, and she couldn't wait to exert her power and painful splendor on the tributes. Hosts Caesar and Claudius worked overtime to prepare the Pre-Games festivities to accommodate the larger pool of contestants. Their tasks included lengthening the interviews process and streamlining it, along with hiring extra stylists and prep teams, as well as buying larger chariots and more horses. President Snow watched smugly as his loyal Peacekeeper force crushed a small uprising the rose in District Eight in response to the new Quell. He made sure to rig Eight's Reaping so at least one rebel would be forced into this nasty Quell. One would have suspected that the Careers would not respond jovially to having to have more competition, but the Career Districts responded with vigor to the call for double the amount of volunteers. In fact, all twelve slots this year in Districts One, Two, and Four were filled by volunteered Careers surprisingly enough. District 1 produced, overall, the strongest batch. The first girl was the weakest of the four, a lesser in weaponry but a stellar temptress and manipulator. She even seduced one of the top Gamemakers, earning her a 10 instead of an 8. That Gamemaker was later fired and executed for his actions. The other girl was the star of the show this year; one of Victor Ivelisse Horner's twin daughters, Ivory Hester stole the show with her beauty and extreme mastery of weaponry, especially with bows and axes. The males were both neighbors in fact, and good family friends. The first was younger, and he preferred a sword, while the older one was taller and stronger. He preferred the halberd, although he could fight with anything well. District 2 produced a less stellar showing, all of their tributes scoring 9s and 10s. Both girls were dark haired and more solitary and quiet. The older girl fancied whips, while the younger one, the youngest Career this year at 15, chose throwing knives. The males were both extremely handsome and popular in the Capitol. The first was your usual all-in-it-for-the-honor 2 Career, making the Capitol swoon with his wit and his sword abilities. The other male was more laid back and unconventional, and he liked spears better and was pretty skinny for a Career. District 4 had a varied showing. Their first female was one of the strongest tributes, with an exotic beauty about her and enthralling sense of mystery plaguing her. The second female was a place filler, scoring the lowest out of the Careers this year. She was shy and a little awkward, but in a cute way. The boys were very different. The first was weaker and overly self confident, cracking lots of jokes and not taking anything seriously. The other was a very serious and tactical creature, and he had been plotting his strategy for years. With such a huge pack, tensions quickly cropped up. Sects started to form in the giant alliance, which would contain a stunning fourth of the forty eight tributes. Ivory proposed a deal; the pack would have a no kill deal during the Bloodbath, and anyone that betrayed that would be killed. Then they would split into a few different, smaller packs, and then the Games would truly begin. The plan was favored by a majority of the Careers, and three separate packs formed. The first was the most laid back, headed by the charismatic Laureate. In its ranks were Splendour, Coast, and Isley. They were all a little weaker than some of the others, and they got along well. The second was the largest pack, made up of Alistair, Noble, Thama, Emmanuel, Nazca, and Port. It was the closest thing to a traditional pack, and while the members were not great friends, they worked well together. The third was the smallest: Ivory and Wystella pledged to stick together as a duo, and they trusted each other. With so many divisions in the Career pack, there was a strong chance that one of the thirty six Outliers might be able to come out on top due to the splintered network of the trained killers. There were many higher scorers this year, with a plethora of 6s and 7s. In fact, seven 7s were scored in this Games! They were earned by Tarinth and Brinn of District 7, Strapson of District 8, Yul of District 9, Hydrangea of District 11, and both Maysilee and Haymitch of District 12. Brinn of District 7 was extremely sexy and comical, and he became a Capitol favorite. Hydrangea from 11 also intrigued the viewers, being so young yet scoring so well. The highest Outlier score was an 8, earned by the charismatic, lithe, and beautiful Adelaide Meining of District 6, who quickly became a Capitol favorite for her charm and looks. With such a huge group of tributes, betting was on overdrive. Just one note: since there were double the tributes, the odds were doubled as well. For example, if a tribute earned a 4-1 in a normal, 24 tribute Games, they would be given around an 8-1 in these Games. There was a single volunteer besides the Careers: the mentally ill Larke Pedroia of District 10. She'd been abused most of her life and her sanity had broken. In a rare moment of clarity, she sacrificed herself for her half-sister, knowing her life had little worth left. The rest of the tributes besides the 7 and 8 scorers got between 6 and 2 in their private sessions. Here are the tributes:

District 1 Females: Splendour Rochford, 17 (10) 17-1 and Ivory Hester, 16 (12) 6-1

District 1 Males: Alistair Lodes, 16 (10) 16-1 and Noble Gusten, 18 (11) 12-1

District 2 Females: Thama Rockwell, 18 (9) 19-1 and Wystella Knowles, 15 (10) 16-1

District 2 Males: Laureate Mathers, 18 (10) 15-1 and Emmanuel Raffod, 17 (9) 18-1

District 3 Females: Lina Kemper, 12 (2) 83-1 and Codi Tristan, 16 (6) 44-1

District 3 Males: Silicon Hanley, 14 (5) 52-1 and Socket Ibes, 16 (5) 49-1

District 4 Females: Nazca Cillate, 18 (11) 11-1 and Isley Handall, 17 (8) 23-1

District 4 Males: Coast Hinnon, 18 (9) 19-1 and Port Cheser, 18 (10) 14-1

District 5 Females: Irene Verbeck, 17 (5) 50-1 and Dorothea Jordan, 15 (5) 55-1

District 5 Males: Ivan Spartin, 14 (3) 73-1 and Nelson Pannell, 17 (3) 66-1

District 6 Females: Milandie Nirae, 16 (5) 46-1 and Adelaide Meining, 18 (8) 24-1

District 6 Males: Chevy Iglesi, 16 (2) 78-1 and Jacobi Armsten, 12 (3) 71-1

District 7 Females: Aria Dauphine, 14 (4) 59-1 and Tarinth Cartley, 17 (7) 28-1

District 7 Males: Brinn Redwood, 18 (7) 26-1 and Dylan Molina, 16 (5) 54-1

District 8 Females: Lissa Chintz, 15 (4) 62-1 and Chenille Harden, 17 (4) 63-1

District 8 Males: Strapson Irving, 14 (7) 30-1 and Damask Dupioni, 18 (6) 34-1

District 9 Females: Annabelle Reeves, 14 (6) 45-1 and Olivea Etheridge, 15 (5) 52-1

District 9 Males: Yul Chan, 18 (7) 29-1 and Kenneth Weber, 13 (3) 69-1

District 10 Females: Larke Pedroia, 17 (4) 65-1 and Jemima Angouleme, 18 (6) 42-1

District 10 Males: Antoine Howley, 16 (3) 67-1 and Steer Drudgers, 18 (6) 38-1

District 11 Females: Talula Okafor, 13 (3) 72-1 and Hydrangea Ansel, 12 (7) 31-1

District 11 Males: Bechi Ulson, 15 (4) 57-1 and Vine Lilard, 14 (3) 73-1

District 12 Females: Maysilee Donner, 17 (7) 28-1 and Sorcha Callaghan, 18 (5) 53-1

District 12 Males: Carlo Guarini, 15 (4) 63-1 and Haymitch Abernathy, 16 (7) 27-1

HGBA Odds: 13% on Ivory, 10% Noble and Nazca, 8% on Port and Lauerate, 7% on Alistair and Wystella, 6% on Splendour, 5% on Thama, Emmanuel, and Coast, 3% on Isley and Adelaide, 2% on Brinn and Hydrangea, 1% or less on Lina, Codi, Silicon, Socket, Irene, Dorothea, Ivan, Nelson, Milandie, Chevy, Jacobi, Aria, Tarinth, Dylan, Lissa, Chenille, Strapson, Damask, Annabelle, Olivea, Yul, Kenneth, Larke, Jemima, Antoine, Steer, Talula, Bechi, Vine, Maysilee, Sorcha, Carlo, and Haymitch.


The Games

The arena this year a true, stunning, majestic beauty of a place. Cyndala had outdid herself for the Quell, and the results were so enthralling that there would be a good number of tributes who would still be standing on their pedestals in awe after the gong rang. A sweet, sugary smell wafted through the pleasantly warm air of the arena. The Cornucopia, surrounded by a larger than normal ring of 48 pedestals, sat on a huge circular meadow made of plush green grasses and pockmarked by dozens of various other beauties, like clusters of bright flowers and flocks of cotton candy pink birds that bobbed through the robin egg's blue skies. The meadow was six miles in diameter, a stellar distance, making this arena the largest ever. On the western half of the arena, an exotic and awe inspiring forest made up the last half mile before the force field appeared. On the eastern half of the arena, a huge mountain, towering a staggering mile high, loomed over the rest of the arena. It was surrounded by several smaller crags, and then a series of foothills. Dozens of crystal clear brooks gurgled through the arena, and natural seeming food, along with flora and fauna, was abundant. There was one catch to this heavenly paradise, however: everything natural was toxic. The ripe, fuzzy, orange fruit that hung from the trees in the forest would kill in moments if bitten into. The flocks of puffy pink birds with thin, stabbing beaks, the packs of golden squirrels, the clouds of lazily floating butterflies, the cute little bunnies, and the herd of unicorns, modeled after those from the Fifth Games, were all lethal. The water from the brooks would make a person slowly die from a virus eating away at their insides or give them intense stomach cramps, while breathing in the flowers too much would cause the lungs to close up and the breather to suffocate. Everything beautiful was dangerous, and the only trustworthy things were the mounds upon mounds of food and water stocked inside the Cornucopia. It was much more plentiful than normal, even on proportion. The golden Horn, enlarged to house more supplies, was bursting at the seams with food, water, and various weapons. Anything and everything imaginable in terms of food and weaponry was tucked inside the Horn, and tons of things were scattered around the field between the pedestals and the Cornucopia. Many of the things were close to the pedestals, so close that a tribute could easily snatch something and run off without going all the way into the Bloodbath. This, along with the fractured pack, would lead to 18 deaths in the opening minutes. This wasn't bad; it beat out the 14 kill record of the Twenty Seventh by a wide margin. But in proportion to current Games, one would guess that they would be getting 20 to 24 kills. However, Cyndala was pleased with 18 kills; it was still a lot of bloodshed, and with still more than the regular 24 tributes to mess with after it was done.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

A number of tributes ran away immediately. They were Lina from 3, Ivan and Dorothea from 5, Chevy from 6, Talula and Vine from 11, and Sorcha from 12. They all turned tail and fled while the other tributes rushed in to battle it out and try and take some of the mounds of supplies that had been amassed in and near the Cornucopia.

The three packs took varying strategies. The largest pack, which became known as the Standards, aimed to take control of the Cornucopia and focus on that, so kills weren't their highest priority. The middle sized pack, which became known as the Party due to their antics, planned to take a large berth of supplies and make a splash, killing a decent number, and finding a nice place to settle. Finally, the duo of Ivory and Wystella plotted to take few supplies and kill as much as possible. Instead of finding a place to set up a camp, they would move constantly, and hunt day and night.

Ivory sprinted at the head of the onrush, her golden blonde hair rippling behind her. She picked up a hatchet that laid in the grass twenty five yards from her pedestal. She turned sharply on her heel and chucked the weapon at a nearby boy, who was zigzagging to avoid attacks as he stormed towards the Cornucopia. Ivory's aim was perfect, and the throwing axe buried itself in his head. He slumped to the ground, and Ivory sprinted to his side to rip her weapon out of his head, as the Bloodbath began in earnest.

Strapson Irving, District 8 Male; 48th, Killed by Ivory, Bloodbath

Port, another fast runner, picked up a four pronged trident that was leaning against the side of the Horn, glittering in the warm light of the round, gem of the sun. He turned swiftly and planted it in the chest of a girl who was trying to off him with a spear of her own, hoping to eliminate competition early. She slumped to the ground, gurgling and dying quickly from the grievous chest wound she's sustained.

Annabelle Reeves, District 9 Female; 47th, Killed by Port, Bloodbath

Laureate picked up a smaller boy and tossed him through the air like he was nothing as he ran towards the Horn, watching as he crumpled against the grass like nothing. Laureate's ally and love interest, Splendour, finished the job, stabbing a dagger sitting in a cluster of pink blossoms near him into his chest.

Carlo Guarini, District 12 Male; 46th, Killed by Laureate and Splendour, Bloodbath

Wystella had run all the way into the Horn to get a full belt of knives. The moment she had them clipped to her waist, she pulled out two and threw them at a nearby Outlier. The girl screamed as they both dug into her chest, and she staggered to the ground, coughing up blood.

Chenille Harden, District 8 Female; 45th, Killed by Wystella, Bloodbath

Having wrenched her hatchet out of Strapson's skull, Ivory fluidly attacked her next victim, a dark haired girl who was tussling over a pack with another girl a foot away. The girl screamed as the blade of the hatchet buried itself in her right calf, and Ivory finished the job with a blow to the back of the head while the other scrambled to her feet and tried to sprint away.

Codi Tristan, District 3 Female; 44th, Killed by Ivory, Bloodbath

The insane Larke had tackled the slim boy from 9, Kenneth, whose pedestal had been next to hers. She had been bashing his head against the metal edge of his pedestal for the past half minute or so, and finally his skull cracked and blood and bits of brain gushed forth as Kenneth fell limp against the girl. She wriggled out from underneath him and hopped to her feet, looking around eagerly as she swept up a dagger laying in the fuzzy grass.

Kenneth Weber, District 9 Male; 43rd, Killed by Larke, Bloodbath

Ivory quickly assaulted the other girl trying to escape, the one that had been wrestling with Codi moments earlier. She grabbed her long auburn ponytail and threw her to the ground. The girl wept as Ivory hacked into her exposed throat with her weapon mercilessly.

Irene Verbeck, District 5 Female; 42nd, Killed by Ivory, Bloodbath

Wystella threw another knife, watching with satisfaction as it buried itself in the back of a running boy's head. He fell to the ground, knocking another tribute to the ground in his swift descent. By the time his body hit the grass with a loud sound, he was dead.

Antoine Howley, District 10 Male; 41st, Killed by Wystella, Bloodbath

With 8 tributes already dead, things were starting to organize. The Standards had all armed themselves and started to try to surround the Cornucopia and keep away offenders. The Party and the duo were weaving through the crowds of running tributes, slicing down any that they could. Nazca, Alistair, and Noble took the job of clearing out the four tributes trapped within the Horn now that the Standards were attempting to barricade the front. Nazca made the first move; her bow and arrows were instantly lethal at this close of range. The girl fell to her knees soundlessly as she died, the arrow protruding from her left eye and having pierced her brain.

Jemima Angouleme, District 10 Female; 40th, Killed by Nazca, Bloodbath

As Nazca let go of her bowstring, the other three tributes trapped inside, all of the tributes from District 7 excepting Tarinth, banded together to try and escape. They all had axes or hatchets, and they rushed the three Careers. Brinn pushed Alistair to the side momentarily and pushed Aria out into the open, but not before Alistair grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tossed him back into the Horn. As Brinn tried to crawl to his feet, Dylan screamed, Noble's blade through his chest. Aria sprinted away and Brinn prepared to fight the three Careers as his friend bled to death beside him.

Dylan Molina, District 7 Male; 39th, Killed by Noble, Bloodbath

The moment Aria stepped out of the Horn, Thama was on her like a hound. Her special whip that she'd requested from the Gamemakers had been found near her pedestal and sat snugly in her grip. Aria screamed as Thama wrapped the edges, lined in thin, small spikes, around her left arm. Aria screeched as her left arm, from the elbow down, was torn off. She fell to her knees, and Port finished the job, jabbing his trident into her back.

Aria Dauphine, District 7 Female; 38th, Killed by Thama and Port, Bloodbath

Ivory made her fourth kill of the day as a boy tried to worm his way past her carrying a canister of metallic batteries and a coil of copper wire. Ivory threw her hatchet twenty feet, and it sunk into the front of his face, splitting his head in half. He died almost instantly.

Silicon Hanley, District 3 Male; 37th, Killed by Ivory, Bloodbath

Brinn had managed to swat away the advances of Nazca, Alistair, and Noble for the prior ten seconds or so, but Alistair made a devious move, showing his entire sword very far left. Brinn tried to lunge and take advantage of his open side, but he had to step so far that he lost his balance. He crashed to the ground, and his last sight was Alistair's rosy, cackling face as the Career buried his sword into the 7 boy's chest.

Brinn Redwood, District 7 Male; 36th, Killed by Alistair, Bloodbath

Wystella made her third kill. She and Ivory were leaving the Bloodbath with two packs and their weapons when they crossed paths with a girl who had two heavy packs slung over her shoulders. She was staggering and out of breath, and Wystella quickly whipped out a knife and tossed it. It buried itself in her forehead, and she fell to the ground. Wystella grabbed one of her packs before sprinting after Ivory.

Olivea Etheridge, District 9 Female; 35th, Killed by Wystella, Bloodbath

Emmanuel had been unable to land a kill yet, but as he surveyed the quickly emptying Cornucopia field, a spear in each hand, he spotted a girl hobbling through the grass just outside the ring of pedestals, holding her left side and wheezing. Blood leaked plentifully through her fingers from a wound that Coast had given her a minute earlier. Emmanuel took his throwing position and watched with a grin as his weapon arced through the air, flying thirty yards until it planted itself in the girl's chest. She fell to her knees, dead, and Emmanuel felt proud. He had killed the rebel's daughter, and would be favored in the Capitol.

Lissa Chintz, District 8 Female; 34th, Killed by Coast and Emmanuel, Bloodbath

The last District 9 tribute, Yul, decided to make a splash in an effort to get more sponsors. He saw that a girl, the overweight Dorothea from 5, was being pursued by the weakest Career, Isley, hesitantly. All three of them were about a dozen yards from the outer edge of the pedestal ring. He held a sickle in his hands, and he attacked her in hopes of killing her. He scraped his blade across her right shoulder, and she whirled. Dorothea escaped while the two battled. After two minutes, Isley finally managed to bury her dagger in his throat, sawing it open.

Yul Chan, District 9 Male; 33rd, Killed by Isley, Bloodbath

Coast had been crouched over a smaller girl for twenty minutes. All the tributes excepting the Standards, a bounty of dead bodies, and one other tribute, still bleeding out, were left near the Horn. He had been slowly cutting away at the girl while she struggled. She'd managed to cut open the inside of his left arm with her dagger before he'd disarmed her. He wasn't the most memorable, and he was trying to make himself more memorable than the crowd of other Careers. His alliance had left him, waiting nearby until he was done. Finally, Nazca approached him, telling him that the truce was now broken, and that if he didn't leave right then, she would end him. Coast quickly picked up his supplies and darted off, leaving poor Hydrangea laying there, her entire body bloodied and broken. Nazca polished her off before returning to the Horn.

Hydrangea Ansel, District 11 Female; 32nd, Killed by Coast and Nazca, Bloodbath

The final Bloodbath death died five and a quarter hours after the gong had rang. Poor little Jacobi had gotten his chest shallowly carved by Noble's halberd, and he was hiding in a small, empty crate on the field, barely moving as he slowly died. The Standards were confused about why the cannons signaling the end of the Bloodbath had yet to come, and they started surveying the corpses for the one tribute still left alive five hours after the start of the Games. Fifteen minutes later, Noble finally discovered the little boy and finished the job he'd started over five hours prior, burying his halberd into the boy's skull and splitting it open. He had been only moments away from death from blood loss, and the pitiful little boy barely felt it.

Jacobi Armsten, District 6 Male; 31st, Killed by Noble, Bloodbath

With the Bloodbath at its conclusion, the large number of 30 tributes swelled across the screens. It was hard to cover them all. The cameras mainly focused on the fractured Career pack. The Standards paraded around their Cornucopia, sifting through their supplies and swiftly becoming bored with the task. All of their sights floated towards the impressive peak rising high above their heads in the distance, and by nightfall they were preparing to go investigate the entrancing feature in the morning. The Party wandered aimlessly through the falling night, looking for a place to settle. Once, their eyes landed on a stocky girl, Tarinth from 7. Tarinth ran as fast as she could and escaped. She collapsed next to a small stream in the woods. The Party finally settled atop a small hillock in the southeast area of the arena. The duo of Ivory and Wystella headed straight for the woods after departing the Bloodbath. They knew that the mountain and the forest would attract most of the tributes, as the meadow, while beautiful, was soon realized to be dangerous, and it was too open for anyone to feel safe in without others keeping watch or some form of cover. They climbed up into a tree and rested there for the night, itching to get hunting as soon as possible.

The tributes either stayed in the meadow or forayed to the woods or the mountain. Those that stayed in the meadow were certainly trying their luck, but there were several of them. The diminutive duo of Lina from 3 and Ivan from 5 had allied prior to the Games, and they stayed together as they searched for a hiding spot. Their smaller bodies were too tired to make the entire trip to their destination, the woods, in a single day. They settled by a small pond that was crystal clear and smelled sweet. Lina prepared to drink it, but then they watched a rodent sip at the water and keel over, dead. They backed away, and slept in the reeds with no supplies. Larke from 10, fresh off of her killing spree, wasn't in her right mind as was usual. She prowled through the meadow, stalking shadows and pouncing on movements caused by the wind, thinking them to be assailants. She wasn't doing very well mentally, but she seemed capable physically. She also had two stocked packs and a useful dagger. Her fellow surviving District partner, Steer, had gotten his left calf cut up during the Bloodbath by Coast. He hobbled along towards the mountain, determined to make it there, but he collapsed and passed out about a half mile from the formation. He'd had a mace and a pack while walking, but he'd become so tired that he'd left behind his mace and half of the things in his pack so he could move faster. Maysilee of 12 also stayed in the meadow. She actually was heading for the woods, but she spotted Ivory and Wystella walking around the fringe, looking for a campsite, when she arrived. She hid in a thicket of thorny bushes until they were gone, and then she crept away until she found a lone fruit tree in the meadow. The fruit was neon yellow, and Maysilee steered clear of the fruit, knowing it was probably poisonous due to its bright coloring. She rested in the thick boughs, hidden from sight, with her supplies: a blowgun, a bowl, some dried beef, and a backpack of rope.

The tributes that fled to the forest faced the most coverage, but also faced the most possible horrors, from mutts to the proximity with many other tributes. Tarinth, after escaping from the Careers, had collapsed near a little brook. She took a tiny sip of the sweet smelling water and spit it out when she tasted its acidic, tangy flavor. Her stomach began to cramp and her muscles ached, but she hadn't consumed enough to die from it. She lay curled up on the river bank, slathered in mud, groaning softly from the pains. Bechi from 11 fled to the forest and was one of the first there. Upon entering, he was attacked by a giant golden squirrel. He used the short sword he'd grabbed from the Bloodbath to decapitate it, but not without getting two large slashes across his left cheek. He was sent bandages to cover them for his show with the slaying of the mutt. Haymitch from 12 had a pack full of things, and he found an area where several trees had fallen around a ditch. He settled in the ditch, protected by his wooden walls and nearly invisible once he piled leaves and mud on top of himself to disguise himself as he slept. Adelaide was on the prowl; she had fetched a collapsible spear, a bag of dinner rolls, and medkit from the Bloodbath, and she was determined to earn more to help herself; her heart was set on armor to protect herself. The only way to get that was to get sponsor gifts, and the only way to get sponsor gifts was to slaughter mutts and murder tributes. Adelaide was ready to do so. Nelson and Dorothea were from District 5, and the District partners had readily allied for company and safety. Once they reached the woods, their mad sprint slowed to a creep as they ventured into the forest. It was dark and the strange jewel colored birds that looked so pretty in the day trilled terrifyingly. The two held hands as they walked. Damask of 8 was the last member of the forest crew. He'd grabbed a crowbar, a pack of food and water, and night vision goggles from the Bloodbath. With his goggles strapped on only an hour or two into the second day, he spotted the pair from 5 moving slowly through the trees. His agenda was similar to Adelaide's. He crept up behind the two and struck, bashing the sharper, curved end of the crowbar into Dorothea's skull. She screamed and fell to her knees as Damask continued to slash with the inefficient weapon, and Nelson fled in terror, falling down a ravine and too tired to move from the dry river bed her laid in. A cannon fired a few minutes later as Damask's continued strikes with his crowbar managed to squash the lifeblood from young Dorothea. Damask staggered away, lathered in her blood, a crazy glint in his eyes. Already someone had broken. Many more were to come in this terrifying Games.

Dorothea Jordan, District 5 Female; 30th, Killed by Damask, Day 2

The third region seemed rather inhospitable, but as the largest shape on the horizon, it of course attracted several tributes to its gravelly slopes and numerous caverns. There were plenty of places to hide, but there was little life, and it was bitter cold. Also, there were lichens that acted like alive velcro, grabbing onto anything that touched them, and of course, the mountain really was a volcano waiting to blow. But the tributes who went there knew none of this; they were just looking for a haven from the Careers where they could hide. Talula and Vine from 11 were the best example of this. The two, huddled together with a single park around them, their only supply, waddled up the mountainside. Deathly afraid of the Careers, Talula made Vine climb two thirds of the way up the mountain. At that point Vine collapsed from exhaustion, and the two squatted inside a small crevice nearby that kept them out of sight but was very tight. Milandie looked for signs of water on her ascent, and followed a row of scraggly bushes that trailed up the western side of the crag. Walking past a lichen coated rock, her entire right calf, bare, became stuck to the lichens. Screaming, she had to tear away her flesh to free herself. Then she hobbled up the slope to where the bushes ended, a small, shadowy alcove where a crystal clear pool of water, one of the only clean ones in the arena, was collected. Milandie washed her wound in it after drinking heavily, and she rested on an outcropping perched above the pool, swiftly falling sleep. Socket from 3 camped out at the base of the mountain, finding a small network of tunnels that ran through the base of the peak. It was then that he discovered the fiery heat burning within the mountain, and he fled the tunnels and took refuge in a grove of trees near the base of the mountain, afraid that if he stayed in the hidden tunnels that the lava would push through there and burn him in his sleep. He was a smart youth to leave the mountain. Chevy from 6 aimed to make it to the peak, but on the way up he spotted Sorcha of 12 climbing towards the summit as well. He crept behind her, and accidentally slipped and fell down quite a distance, sending many rocks cascading. Sorcha whirled, pulling out her dagger, and she slowly approached Chevy, who was already sobbing in fear, curled up in a ball. Sorcha felt pity for the boy, and she offered to ally with him. The two quietly trekked up to the very top of the mountain, which was mysteriously mostly flattened out. They hid behind the very tip, bundled out of sight. Sorcha played guard while Chevy slumbered, tired out extremely from the fear.

The dawn came with a bang in the form of a cannon. It came from the meadow, and it awoke most of the tributes and creatures in the arena. However, some of the mutts were already awake. The famed carnivorous unicorn muttations of the Fifth Hunger Games had finally made their return, and they hunted in the meadow throughout the day, attracted to the scent of blood, ready to gore and feast. Steer, who had passed out, had a bloodied leg from the Bloodbath that had caused him to pass out in the open. The unicorns caught his scent and tromped through the wide open meadow, crushing candied flowers and plush grass under their hooves as they closed in on their prey. Steer awoke when the first one's horn stabbed itself through his right shoulder and drew out, coated in blood. Steer screamed in agony and tried to crawl away, but then all five of them were surrounding him, stabbing and biting and stomping. Soon his body was broken and still beneath their eager hooves, and his cannon was the one that started the day. The unicorns were driven away by the Gamemakers after devouring some of Steer's carcass, off to look for more victims.

Steer Drudgers, District 10 Male; 29th, Killed by unicorns, Day 2

The second day wasn't greatly eventful with only one more death. The Standards spent most of the day deciding who would guard the Cornucopia and who would go to the mountain for the hunt. Nazca decided that she would stay back alone and guard despite the protests of her allies. However, they were all hyped to go hunting on the mountain, and they did not object. They suited up and sorted their supplies, planning to leave at noon the following day. Wystella and Ivory traveled through the forest, hunting. It was a large area, however, and while they passed the place where Haymitch was hidden, they did not see him and did not discover any of the other tributes, returning to their camp out spot before nightfall.

The Party was attacked by a flock of candy cotton-like birds with thin, straw-like beaks that could puncture and slice like a blade. The Party managed to slaughter most of them and scare them away, but by the end they were coated in blood, scratches, and pink feathers. Coast, Isley, and Laureate didn't care that much, scrubbing off as much of the stuff as possible with their hands. Splendour was mortified however, and she set off to look for a place to bathe, inserting that she wouldn't get as many sponsors if she didn't look pretty for them.

They finally found a crystal clear pool surrounding by heavenly reeds with two swans swimming on the one side. Those dangerous mutts were forced by the Gamemakers not to move, as they wanted to see what Splendour would do first. Her allies hung back and turned as she shed all of her clothes except her bra and underwear. Coast was peeking the whole time, and when he quietly whistled, Isley hit him.

Splendour sunk quickly into the water, and almost immediately she began to scream as the burning, poisonous water entered through the various cuts on her body. She struggled about and tried to drag herself onto the shore; her allies were running down the hill to save her. However, the swans beat them to her, tugging her into the center of the pond. One jabbed its razor sharp beak into her neck, sending spurting blood across its pristine white feathers. Splendour's cannon boomed, and her allies quickly left the scene, confused and mortified by the events that had transpired. They now knew to steer clear of water, however.

Splendour Rochford, District 1 Female; 28th, Killed by poisoned water and swan mutts, Day 2

On Day 3, the Standards set out on their trek to the mountain with only Nazca staying back at the Cornucopia to guard their supplies. They should have been able to make the walk by nightfall, but they got sidetracked when Alistair jokingly picked up some flowers and smelled them sweetly, imitating the dead Splendour's mindset of the Games. Suddenly his lungs started to close up, and it took some time for him to recover, having nearly choked. They were about a half mile from the mountain by nightfall, and they set up camp on a small knoll for the night.

The Party, shocked by the loss of Splendour, stayed far away from any bodies of water. They know understood the dangers of everything in the arena, even if it had cost them the life of one of their allies, and they traveled carefully after that. They didn't have a ton of supplies, and what they had had been overrun by the vicious bunny mutts while they were away with Splendour's bathing expedition. They received sparse sponsor gifts to keep them fed and watered, but they didn't seem to be in too good of shape.

Ivory and Wystella disembarked from the forest, its mysterious interior too risky for the both of them to explore on only the third day. Instead, they trekked out into the meadow, preying on those they knew would be weaker and easier to put on a show with. It wasn't hard for them to find their first targets. Ivan and Lina were determined to reach the forest, even if it had taken them this long to get there. They settled near a small brook about a quarter mile from the forest, preparing to make the quarter mile sprint through the open to the safety of the trees. Ivan suggested that he go scout, trying to be a brave little hero, and Lina agreed. Ivan marched off, running along the edge of the area until he was out of sight of Lina. He went over a hill, and at the bottom, Ivory and Wystella were walking by. Ivan squeaked and tried to turn, but he was already running downhill, and he just wiped out and tumbled down the hill. Ivory eagerly bounded towards him, hatchet raised. Ivan screamed for Lina as Ivory slammed the weapon into his abdomen. Blood spurted, and Ivory slashed once again, this time across Ivan's forehead. The boy moaned and whimpered Lina's name as he bled out in under a minute.

Ivan Spartin, District 5 Male; 27th, Killed by Ivory, Day 3

Lina heard Ivan's pitiful screams, and out of impulse she went running towards him. She hid behind some bushes at the top of the hill, hunkering down as her friend's cannon fired. Tears gathered in her eyes and she wiped them away. Ivory and Wystella were crouching behind a large boulder at the bottom of the hill, but Lina could not see them. She crept down the slope and then ran to Ivan's corpse, holding it and sobbing terribly.

Ivory sneaked around behind her. Wystella watched, shocked and realizing how unfit she was for these Games. Her heart hurt terribly for the little girl, but Ivory was smiling softly as she approached Lina, hatchet lofted above her head. A small leaf crunched underneath Ivory's foot when she was two strides from Lina. The little girl's head slowly turned, and she looked the vicious Career in the eyes. She continued to bawl, and she tried to stumble away, but Ivory was on her, cleaving open her skull with her hatchet. Moments later, Lina's cannon fired. Ivory wiped the brains on her weapon on the grass before beckoning a stunned and worried Wystella to follow her. The 2 girl followed dutifully, feeling utterly vulnerable now that she had realized what she had.

Lina Kemper, District 3 Female; 26th, Killed by Ivory, Day 3

One more death would come that day. On the mountain, Chevy and Sorcha started to hear faint rumbles, but they brushed them off, dismissing them as sounds from their empty stomachs. Sorcha was sent a sleeve of crackers and a note cryptically telling her to move down the mountain, but she didn't read into the note and discarded it. The two feasted. Others on the mountain felt the rumbles of the volcano, but they all remained in their places out of fear that it was mutts or the Careers trying to flush them out. Cyndala was hoping that the mountain would wait several days longer before it blew, but that seemed to not be the case. The arena had been fully built around the active volcano, as such a marvel was out of even the Gamemaker's scope at that time. They could have done it, but it would've taken most of their time, and the rest of the arena would have been lackluster. It was also enjoyable to know that the volcano could blow at any given time. It seemed to be on schedule to blow in the next few days, but one never knows with such things for sure.

In the woods, Nelson had discovered one of the trees with the fuzzy orange fruit on it. He touched one, and leaped back yelping, his skin sizzling from the acidic surface. He knew the thing was probably poisonous, too. His eyes opened wide and then he grinned a little. He put on a pair of gloves, the only thing he had gotten from the Bloodbath along with a thermos, and picked a few of the fruits. Hands protected by the gloves, he squeezed the highly acidic juice of the fruit into the thermos and twisted on the cap before hunkering back down in his ravine.

Adelaide was still hunting, and she was looking for a waterway to follow, hoping that doing so would lead her to a victim or two. She wanted to pick off an Outlier or two to strut her stuff and attract more sponsors than she already had. While she'd spent all of her energy to scavenge a silvery bow from the Cornucopia along with a fully equipped quiver, sponsors had already supplied where with several loaves of District Six bread and a large metal jug of water. She was excited to increase her stores when she discovered the small river that Nelson had been hiding by; in fact, the boy was hidden in the bushes six dozen feet away, trying to keep quiet. He had heard her approach and had hidden to stay safe. He had only had the time to grab his thermos of poisonous juice. The rest of his stuff (the gloves and a sleeve of crackers) were collected at the ravine, and Adelaide spotted them. She hiked up and away to go hunting for whoever had left these things, thinking that the scuff marks from Nelson falling into the ravine were actually from someone climbing out desperately. In her haste, she left behind her food and water. Nelson was salivating over the bread, but he stopped himself, instead unscrewing the caps of Adelaide's jug and his thermos. He poured half of his thermos' contents into Adelaide's half full jug. He put the cap back on and shook it heavily before putting it back down and hunkering back down in the bushes, concealing himself even better. When Adelaide was dead, he could eat her bread.

Adelaide returned to the ravine forty or so minutes later. She was sweating heavily, having chased one of the large golden squirrel mutts, slaughtering it to show off for the sponsors. A parachute fell with a dagger inside, and the note from her Mentor Mercedes cryptically warned her about the water. However, Adelaide didn't even read the note, too excited by the prospect of a new weapon. She fooled around with it for a moment before reaching down to her water jug. She took off the cap and poured it across her face and into her mouth to cool off. She immediately started to screech as the highly acidic solution ate away at her throat, lungs, and face. She fell to her knees and laid there, gasping and shaking. Nelson grabbed her bread and his other supplies along with her dagger. He cut her bowstring and trampled her arrows. Then he ran off as Adelaide, tortured, continued to grip life weakly for two or so more hours until she finally slipped away. Now only half of the tributes remained.

Adelaide Meining, District 6 Female; 25th, Killed by Nelson, Day 3

As soon as the sun was up on the fourth morning, the Standards made their final trek to the mountain. They reached the base, and they broke off into two groups. Emmanuel and Noble both weren't quite fond of heights, and they decided to scope out the low to middle region of the mountain for tributes. Meanwhile, the trio of Thama, Port, and Alistair would climb to the top of the peak and go down from there, knowing more tributes would be nestled in the loftiest areas for the safety. They began their ascents, and it was about midday when the calamity occurred. The trio was near the peak, while Emmanuel and Noble were picking around about halfway up the slopes.

A loud pinging filled the Gamemaking Center back in the Capitol as dozens of monitors installed inside and outside the volcano designed as a mountain sensed something. The volcano was about to blow its lid. Cyndala was disappointed; they were already halfway, and they were moving a little too fast for her tastes. She knew that this eruption would off quite a few other tributes, and she was hoping she could make sure these Games would last a much more substantial time. However, it was too late and nothing could be done to dissuade the giant feature from blowing. Everyone gathered to watch the show as it began.

Sorcha and Chevy were awoken by loud, loud rumbles, too loud to be pegged as tummy problems this time. They both looked at each other uncertainly, and they picked up their very meager belongings and sneaked out across the flat top of the mountain, searching around for what was making the sound. Sorcha had tow sharp stones in her hands, while Chevy hid behind a large boulder, quivering in fear.

The first plume of lava that broke through the plate of rock on the top of the mountain was mere feet from Sorcha's face. She screamed the word LAVA! to Chevy, and the boy watched, dumbfounded, as the top of the mountain began to collapse, boiling hot lava erupting forth. Sorcha screamed again as another plume exploded inches from her face, the spray burning her face. The ground beneath her feet was liquefying and there was nowhere to run. She hoped in a short prayer that Chevy would make it away as the ground fully gave way and she dropped like a stone into the heart of the volcano as the first true eruption was about to occur.

Sorcha Callaghan, District 12 Female; 24th, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

Chevy was shell shocked as he watched Sorcha disappear into the fiery depths of the volcano's inner hell. Her cannon, along with the ground starting to break around him, urged him out of his blank eyed trance. He stumbled to his feet and tried to skid down the side of the slope, going carefully and therefore slowly. He wasn't even twenty feet from the top when the first giant explosion shook the arena to its foundations. Plumes of ash shot into the air as lava exploded across the sky and poured down the sides of the now active volcano. A cannon fired amidst the initial explosion; Chevy was there one moment, gone the next in the giant explosion, incinerated instantly. A quick way to go at least.

Chevy Iglesi, District 6 Male; 23rd, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

The entire arena fell silent as the volcano coughed up load after load of lava. Everyone in the woods and in the meadow was happy to be far away from the destruction. Socket, perched just outside the mountain, ran for his life as the others on the volcano attempted to escape. However, it was difficult, as much of the slopes had already been swallowed up by gushing lava, and it was a hard climb anyway.

The trio of Thama, Alistair, and Port had been near the top of the mountain in their hunt, and they had found nothing. When the eruption occurred, they were all knocked backwards. Thama and Port picked themselves up and stumbled down the slope as the lava rushed down towards them. However, Alistair had broken his right leg in the fall nastily, with bone and all sticking out. He tried to drag himself away as his allies fled in terror, but he was swiftly engulfed by a hungry lava flow.

Alistair Lodes, District 1 Male; 22nd, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

As Thama and Port trundled down the slope desperately, doing anything possible to avoid the onslaught of lava, they neared the crevice where Talula and Vine were hidden. The two spooked, curious youngsters had crawled out of their secure hiding spot and were shocked at the sight of tons of lava pouring down the slopes of the volcano towards them, and two trained killers sprinted down towards them as well. Talula screamed and broke out into tears and Vine squirmed and darted off, trying to drag Talula with him. However, she was immobile, and he fled without her.

Always the good Career, Port threw his spear at the girl as they tumbled towards her, only a few precious strides ahead of the lava. Thama took a slight lead on her ally as he paused for a moment to wrench his weapon out of the abdomen of the stunned girl. She keened in pain and terror as the Careers and her ally disappeared down the slope, and the lava was burning all over her. Her cannon boomed menacingly, announcing the fourth tribute claimed by the eruption.

Talula Okafor, District 11 Female; 21st, Killed by Port and volcanic eruption, Day 4

The three were sprinting down the hill, the two Careers sort of chasing the frightened Vine as they all tried to evade the lava. Meanwhile, the other three inhabitants of the mountain were starting to notice the eruption. Emmanuel and Noble had been climbing the slopes to meet the other group towards the top for lunch, and they'd paused to rest in a deep cavern. Once they came out, they saw the lava streaming down the slopes and their allies and the little boy cartwheeling down the slope frantically to avoid death. Shocked, the two set off down the mountain, not too far ahead of the lava themselves. Milandie, meanwhile, had spotted the eruption and was a good distance from it. In her little chamber, she hunkered down, submersing herself in the water, knowing the lava couldn't hurt her if she was underwater. She stayed, there, only nose and eyes above the water, safe and sound.

The next death came from a simple accident. Thama's shoes had not been tied well that morning as she'd groggily and swiftly prepared for the trek up to and onto the formation, and they came loose. One fell of completely. The girl hopped, half barefoot, down the rocks, yelping in pain. However, the loose shoe was not her doom at that moment. Port, a stride behind her, tripped over the shoe and landed sprawled out. He tried to climb to his feet, but the lava was pooling around his left ankle. Port screamed and dragged himself away, but it was too late. The lava was all over him, consuming him in due time.

Port Cheser, District 4 Male; 20th, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

Thama did her awkward hop down the slopes, her bare foot bleeding profusely as the sharp rocks stabbed at it. Vine was only strides ahead of her, and she lost her footing and tumbled forward due to her lack of sufficient footwear. She landed on top of him. The younger, smaller boy squirmed beneath her as they felt the heat of the lava lick at their toes. They couldn't escape it now, and Thama would take the boy down with her. She held him to her chest firmly, refusing to let go even in death as the lava flowed freely over her and the boy encased beneath her. Thama's life was sapped out first because, while holding Vine down, she acted as a body shield of sorts. They died moments apart on the lava strewn slopes, seared alive.

Thama Rockwell, District 2 Female; 19th, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

Vine Lilard, District 11 Male; 18th, Killed by Thama and volcanic eruption, Day 4

Seven were dead from the deadly eruption, and three were left on the mountain. Noble and Emmanuel ran side by side down the volcano's treacherous slopes as the lava approached swiftly, the gap between the two parties shrinking ever so quickly. Lava started to drip into Milandie's safe little haven, but she was safe under the water, although a little scalding droplet did burn her nose a little. The lava flowed over and only a little leaked in; Milandie seemed as if she was going to survive the eruption whilst still on the mountain, and she might end up being the only one to do so.

The two final Standards who'd ventured to the mountain continued to race to the bottom. They were now about two thirds of the way down to flat ground. The lava was closing in, and Noble made a very ignoble move. In an almost archaic sacrifice to the Gamemaker gods, Noble pushed his ally Emmanuel into the lava, as if that would slow its flow. Emmanuel screamed and thrashed as his skin was burned away, and he died in under a minute.

Emmanuel Raffod, District 2 Male; 17th, Killed by Noble and volcanic eruption, Day 4

Karma's a bitch, especially in the arena. Noble didn't even make it ten more steps before a torrent of lava burst through the rock and engulfed Noble's left arm. The boy screamed and skidded down the slope, losing control, bumping and careening hopelessly as his blood leaked everywhere. He finally came to rest on a shelf of rock near the bottom of the volcano. However, he was too tired and weak from blood loss to move, and several minutes later lava was pooling around him, encasing him and snuffing out his life force with its hellish, death bringing hands.

Noble Gusten, District 1 Male; 16th, Killed by volcanic eruption, Day 4

No other deaths happened that day. The mutts were more complacent without prompting, and almost no one moved around much, utterly frightened by the eruption and the nine cannons that had followed it. The crowd had already been thinned down to a mere fifteen tributes. It was still a hefty number to be left at that point in the Games, but most had expected much more to stick around much longer. However, the drama of the volcano was a cherished moment and one of the best massacres in Games history as everyone ran for their lives, and the sole survivor, Milandie, effortlessly floated in her pool of water. The girl stayed there even after the lava stopped and cooled, refusing to leave her hiding spot, now the only tribute within a mile's radius of the volcano.

The next morning, the morning of the fifth day in the arena, the remaining fifteen tributes were much more active. With much slimmer numbers, more tributes were willing to go hunting and change positions. A good strategy many Mentors had recommended was to lay low until there was around the same number of tributes there were after the Bloodbath of a normal Games, and they were at that point now. Tributes began to hunt and search for resources more openly.

Nazca was shocked by the loss of every single one of her allies in the destructive eruption of the cloaked volcano, but she hadn't been emotionally attached to them so she wasn't depressed. She was just worried that, now on her own, she might be overwhelmed by attackers looking to loot the Cornucopia. She didn't want to leave the Horn, but she knew she would have to soon. She also knew she couldn't leave behind the supplies to whoever stumbled across them next. So she plotted when to leave and what to do with the supplies as the fifth day wore on.

In the meadow, things were changing swiftly. Everyone was moving about. The Party and the duo of Ivory and Wystella were invigorated by seeing the copious amounts of dead Careers, and they both began to go about hunting, eager to get the show on the road. Hairline fractures were forming in both alliances like in all alliances in the Games at this point, but they remained together. Their hunts turned up fruitless. Larke was attacked by a duo of fuzzy little bunnies with razor sharp fangs. One bit onto her right foot, and she screamed, cleaving off its head with ease. Then she leaped onto the other one and diced it to pieces. Slathered in blood, she stood, giggling softly as she skipped away from the carnage. It was one of the highlights of the day. Socket stayed in his spot for the most part, watching the lava on the volcano cool as the last few weak spurts ceased and things fell still. Maysilee picked up her supplies and headed off in the direction of the forest, wanting to find a more secure place to hide where she could also start hunting for others to further herself and garner sponsors.

In the woods Maysilee was heading for, much was abound. Nelson was half traumatized from poisoning Adelaide, and he was hyper alert of all sounds. He slept little and was always moving, not feeling secure enough to hole up in even the most defensible places that he discovered in the woods. The remaining poison he held tightly in his hands as he crept along, hoping he could use it to save himself if it came to that. Tarinth had finally fully recovered from sipping at the poisoned waters of the forest, and she started to rig traps for wildlife for her to eat, one of the few tributes not searching for conflict with others, content with hunting for food, not fellow teenagers. Damask patrolled a fourth of the forest, searching relentlessly for prey. Nelson spent a good deal of time in his area, but luckily for the 5 boy, he was out of sight of Damask during his rounds. Bechi had settled in a small hollow carved out at the base of a giant oak tree, having covered the entrance with wood, branches, and leaves. He was laying low now, but had shown his strength earlier in the slaughtering of one of the large squirrel mutts.

Haymitch had finally removed himself from his little den, also preparing to hunt like many of the tributes. He wore his pack, which contained ample amounts of food and water, and he also had a belt of three different daggers. One was a small one, almost like a throwing knife. Another was cleaver-like, and the third was the longest, with an erratically serrated edges. Haymitch selected the wickedly serrated one and stalked through the woods.

As he was strolling along, he spotted a small vole struggling in one of Tarinth's traps. He narrowed his eyes and noticed some of Tarinth's tracks around the spot of the snare. He followed them along to another trap, and then the footsteps from there led to the beech tree where Tarinth was spending her nights and spare hours. Just as Haymitch arrived at the tree, the girl appeared from the opposite side, holding a dead raccoon that had gotten caught in her great series of traps. She blanched and fumbled for her hatchet, and by the time she had it out, Haymitch was a stride away from her. She hacked at him, but in her nerves went wide and stumbled. Haymitch kicked her in the chest, sending her sprawling and her weapon falling out of her hands. He flew forward, landing on his knees on her abdomen with a crunch. Tarinth moaned loudly in agony, and Haymitch sawed into her bare neck as she writhed beneath him. When her cannon boomed, Haymitch stood, panting crazily. He flicked the blood from his blade, and in his angst he threw Tarinth's hatchet into the beech tree and stalked off, a torrent of emotions filling him after his first kill of the Games.

Tarinth Cartley, District 7 Female; 15th, Killed by Haymitch, Day 5

Haymitch didn't destroy Tarinth's traps, planning to use them to his advantage to attract other targets and to garner more food to keep himself healthy. The area where the traps were set up were near the southern fringe of the forest, and Haymitch carefully walked on the treeline, destroying the two traps that Tarinth had set up in plain sight as to not attract any other tributes. As he was crushing the second one, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eyes and whirled, drawing his serrated dagger.

The Party's remaining members (Laureate, Coast, and Isley) were trooping along, heading for the woods now to hunt. None of them saw him, as they were quite the distance away and absorbed in conversation. Haymitch took off into the woods quietly, not wanting to be spotted. Meanwhile, his District partner, Maysilee, was tracking the trio of Careers, planning to ambush them while they slept, killing one or two of them and taking their supplies.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. The Party set up camp just inside the forest, near where Haymitch had smartly removed the animal traps, as they would have attracted the Careers immediately. However, as the sun began to rise, Isley spotted some of Haymitch's tracks and pointed them out to Laureate, who was stellar at tracking. The trio immediately set off to look for whoever had left behind the footprints, and Maysilee followed at a spacious distance. Her dart gun, the darts poisoned using poisons from a deadly bunch of magenta orchids she'd found, was in her hands, ready to shoot.

It didn't take long for the Careers to come upon Haymitch's network of traps that had been set up by Tarinth. They destroyed every one they came across while still hunting for the boy. They eventually found their way to the old beech tree which was at the center of the network of snares. Haymitch was perched twenty feet up, hidden in the foliage. The trail seemed lost as so many footprints filled the clearing, and the three decided to settle under the beech to rest.

It was about an hour later, around two o clock, that Laureate realized that the footprints might have disappeared because the tribute was hiding in the tree they leaned on. He took about scaling the beech, moving agilely up the trunk, his sword strapped to his hip. He sat on one of the lower branches, about ten feet up, and drew out his sword. He looked around, and then suddenly a body was colliding with his. He dropped his sword in shock, and Haymitch sawed his serrated dagger deep into Laureate's throat with two even swipes. The 2 boy fell out of the tree, dead, as his cannon fired.

Laureate Mathers, District 2 Male; 14th, Killed by Haymitch, Day 6

Isley screamed and panicked, running without her weapon. Haymitch dropped from the tree and chased after her, managing to catch up and shove her to the ground. The 4 girl slung a rock at him, and it hit him in the shoulder. Haymitch winced but planted his boot on Isley's chest, holding her in place as she squirmed. He stabbed the sharp tip of the blade into Isley's throat, killing her with vigor, as she screeched.

Isley Handall, District 4 Female; 13th, Killed by Haymitch, Day 6

Haymitch turned to feel Coast's spear point on his forehead. He was knocked to the ground, laying on top of Isley's corpse, and Coast hovered above him, keeping him in place just like Haymitch had kept Isley in place moments before, with a boot on his chest. Revengeful, the 4 boy cackled as he started to press the sharp point into Haymitch's skin. The skin broke, and blood bubbled up, and as Coast was about to push it all the way in, he felt two sharp pricks on the back of his neck. He was instantly dizzy, and he staggered away from Haymitch, dropping to his knees as the fast acting poison filtered through his veins. He succumbed after a couple of minutes, and his cannon made Haymitch climb to his feet to look around for whoever had saved his life, his forehead still trickling blood.

Coast Hinnon, District 4 Male; 12th, Killed by Maysilee, Day 6

Maysilee stepped out of the trees, jaw set and mouth in a firm line. She extended her hand to Haymitch, and he took it. They were both dirty and Haymitch was splattered with blood everywhere. The two hesitantly sat by the roots of the beech tree, talking about how the Games had gone and such softly, both alert and looking around for any approaching enemies. They had gotten along well before the Games had begun, and as night began to fall, they didn't part as they'd agreed to do when the anthem played. They stayed together in the clearing, taking rotations for guard duty, unspoken allies for the time being.

The seventh day was the least eventful thus far in the Games with no deaths. Only two major events occurred. The first was out on the meadow. Wystella and Ivory had been grating against each other for some time, with Ivory being stronger and more bloodthirsty, while Wystella's morale and motivation had broken and she was scared out of her wits, wanting to play it safe like an Outlier. Wystella wanted to rest while Ivory wanted to hunt, and they got in a large spat. Eventually things cooled off, but the hairline fractures in the alliance had deepened, and their alliance was soon to end it seemed. Ivory had planned to kill Wystella at the Top 8, and Wystella seemed ready to bolt and abandon ship. Only time would tell how they'd break apart, or if they'd beat the odds and last to the end.

The other major event of the seventh day happened on the now still volcano. The Gamemakers had given Milandie a grace period for not perishing in the volcanic eruption. They let her hide in her little shaded pool on the slope. However, she was one of the few tributes not doing anything period, and she showed no indication of moving at all. Cyndala sent a small landslide going towards the pool. However, it went drastically wrong, and it became a giant torrent of rock. Milanie was napping, and she was hit by the onrush. She screamed as rocks tore up her shoulders and one thunked her hard in the head, nearly sending her unconscious. She dragged herself out of the pool onto a ledge overlooking it and passed out. She bled profusely and fell asleep for tiredness.

The eighth day was much more eventful. Nazca woke up early, and decided that it was time to abandon the Cornucopia. She collected two packs full of the most useful supplies she could find in the Cornucopia, along with a full quiver and her bow slung across her back. And then her Mentor, Syren, sent her something extremely useful. A tiny little explosive that could be turned extremely deadly with supplies in the Cornucopia. Surprisingly enough, Nazca knew basic electronics, and she strengthened the explosive with the wires and tools in the Cornucopia. By midday, her project was finished, and she planted it inside of the Horn. She triggered it and ran with her supplies, and twenty seconds later, when she was a good distance from the Cornucopia, the entire Horn was blown up. Everyone else in the arena immediately turned to the volcano, expecting a second coming of the epic eruption, but they saw the plume of debris at the site of the Horn instead. Puzzled, most went about their day, while Socket picked himself up and crossed the meadow to see what the destruction was about.

Meanwhile, Ivory knew that the explosion was definitely caused by Nazca. Ivory and Wystella had been planning to storm the Cornucopia next and take down the girl and take the bounty contained in the structure, but now that would be impossible as the Cornucopia no longer existed except for a few blackened scraps of gold metal. Wystella was spooked by the explosion, and she sat down on a stump. Ivory implored her to get up and get moving, and Wystella shakily said no.

"I want to strike off on my own. We need to split up, it's already late in-" Wystella began, quivering.

The last part of her sentence was never heard as Ivory whipped out her hatchet and planted it in Wystella's skull, nearly cleaving it in half. Her cannon fired immediately, and Ivory wrenched the weapon out of her old ally's head. If Wystella had tried to desert before the Top 10, Ivory had planned to kill her as well. Now there was only one other Career left, and Ivory felt confident that she could take Nazca.

Wystella Knowles, District 2 Female; 11th, Killed by Ivory, Day 8

Socket arrived at the smoking remains of the Horn, shocked to see the entire thing fully destroyed. However, he hadn't given up hope quite yet. He poked around the debris, looking for any usable metal, wires, rope, and other things to build traps and such. He found an ample amount of things, and he collected them in four large packs. He then strapped the packs to a long length of rope, and dragged his supplies towards the woods, planning to start building traps to ensnare the other nine remaining tributes, therefore ending their time in the Games and earning himself sponsors.

Bechi had laid low after his mutt kill on the first day, so the Gamemakers decided to throw something more at him. It began to rain in the forest profusely for a few hours, thundering and lightning galore. Meanwhile, the mountain and meadow stayed sunny and dry. Most of the tributes hunkered down to stay as dry as they could, and so did Bechi. However, one lightning bolt struck a tree, sending it spiraling towards him. He dodged it, and a few other trees fell around him, trying to crush him. The boy managed to outmaneuver them well, and the Gamemakers let him escape the pitfalls.

They also sicced two golden squirrel mutts on Damask, who was bloodthirsty and hunting, but unable to find any prey. They wanted to see him flex his powers and release his rage, even though they'd remove the mutts if they got close to killing him, as they wanted the boy to stay in the game, as he was one of the few that could combat Ivory and provide a stunning inevitable finale between her and someone else.

They attacked him, one from the right, the other from the left, as he patrolled his sector of the forest. He immediately struck his crowbar into the skull of the left squirrel, sending it reeling back. He then stabbed the partially sharp end into the eye of the other as its teeth gnashed at his sleeve. The tip cut into the eye and punctured the brain. He wrenched out the weapon, and that giant golden squirrel mutt staggered away as blood poured out of its eye, dying swiftly. The other squirrel pounced on Damask, biting his shoulder. Damask slammed the crowbar into the soft, vulnerable throat of the creature, and it let go long enough for Damask to pummel it with blows until it died from brain trauma several minutes later. cowering on the ground in fear as it was attacked and in turn killed. Damask cackled as he wiped the blood from his weapon and wiped it under his eyes as war paint, and his eyes were matte with insanity, the intelligent glint in all human eyes put out. The 8 boy had officially turned rogue and insane, and the results would be interesting to watch.

Eventually the rains subsided in the forest, and Haymitch and Maysilee emerged from under the branches of a large maple that had protected them from most of the rain due to its wide branches and large amount of leaves. They immediately went hunting, knowing that some tributes would be off guard after the rainstorm and they might be able to attack them. They had a decent amount of supplies, but their traps weren't working well, and Haymitch's supplies were running low quickly now that two people were consuming them. They needed more supplies, and to get supplies, they would have to loot and kill for them.

An hour later, following the river, they became lucky, while Nelson was not lucky. The boy was bobbing in a deeper part of the river, washing off and relaxing for the first time in the Games, letting his anxiety slip away for an hour or so. He was laughing a little to himself as he dragged himself onto the river bank, and when he settled, Haymitch leaped out with his cleaving dagger, not the serrated one. The boy screamed as the blade buried itself in his thigh. He pushed Haymitch off and ran down the bank. Maysilee also hopped out of the bushes and fired two successive darts at the boy, one missing, the second hitting him square in the back of the neck. He immediately drooped, falling into the river and floating past as the current carried him away. As he bobbed out of sight, his cannon fired, signaling that the 12 alliance had successfully made another kill. They pilfered his meager supplies and went about their day.

Nelson Pannell, District 5 Male; 10th, Killed by Haymitch and Maysilee, Day 8

After Nelson's death, nothing else happened of consequence for the rest of Day 8. Days 9 and 10 were similarly empty of conflict. There was much shuffling and movement, but little action. Larke had mostly been forgotten, but when a duo of rogue unicorns attacked her, she killed one and outran the other, surviving without a scratch, and she reappeared on radars. Socket reached the forest and settled near the edge of it. He found a small hollow in the base of a tree, where he rested, hid, and started to build a trap with the supplies he'd amassed from the rubble of the Cornucopia. Ivory hunted around for Nazca, knowing that she probably wasn't hanging out in the forest, also hoping to catch the few others still out in the meadow to eliminate the competition. She was determined to end the Games as swiftly as she could. Milandie's injuries were serious from the landslide, and she tried to treat them to little avail. Mercedes managed to send her some bandages, but that did little to combat the infection that had taken root in her wounds. She was quickly becoming weaker and weaker as the hours ticked past, and there seemed to be little hope for the 6 girl. Bechi was left mostly alone after nearly being crushed by falling trees during the thunderstorm. However, he was spotted by Damask on the tenth day, and there was a long chase where Bechi sprinted out into the meadow and hid behind some bushes until Damask gave up and returned to his patrol. Bechi then sneaked back into the woods. Haymitch and Maysilee rested for the ninth day and on the tenth day they began looking around for more victims, hoping to get supplies from both those they killed and those others had killed. Nazca wandered through the meadow, stuck on if she should go to the mountain or the woods to hunt for victims. She knew few to no people would be hiding on the mountain after the eruption, but she also knew a smart tribute or two might be hiding there who could slip all the way to the end. She knew she'd have the best luck hunting in the forest, but she also knew that it was the most dangerous zone, and that Ivory was probably hunting for her there. She ended up just patrolling the meadow, fighting off a few minor mutts like the butterflies and bunnies and avoiding conflict to the best of her ability.

With Day 11 came a single death. That morning, Nazca finally got her courageous self into gear and marched towards the forest, determined to start hunting like many of the others and confront Ivory if necessary. She knew bad things would happen if she kept avoiding the snake's nest that was the woods, and she would rather be felled by another tribute than by a mutt or arena disaster. As she made the trip, something bad was happening on the other end of the arena.

Milandie's infection had steadily grown worse, and by noon on the eleventh day, she was tortured by the pain from the large inflamed cuts on her shoulders, arms, and face. Several were harshly infected, dripping yellow pus whenever she moved too suddenly, and she was as pale as a sheet. Her unfocused eyes watched little droplets of water drip from the cave's ceiling, and minutes later she slipped away due to her dire infections, the last survivor of the eruption being eliminated from the Games.

Milandie Nirae, District 6 Female; 9th, Killed by infection, Day 11

That left the Top 8: Ivory Hester from District 1, Socket Ibes from District 3, Nazca Cillate from District 5, Damask Dupioni from District 8, Larke Pedroia from District 10, Bechi Ulson from District 11, Maysilee Donner from District 12, and Haymitch Abernathy from District 12.

The latter portion of Day 11 was filled with little else but Nazca's arrival in the forest. She finished her trek across the meadow to arrive in the shadowy, overflowing swaths of trees. Only about a fifth of the arena was made up of the forest, and yet every single one of the Top 8 excepting Ivory and Larke were there, and Ivory was also approaching the area and would reach it by the morning of the twelfth day. It provided much places to hide, and in turn attracted all the killers. At this point, everyone left was willing to kill and was capable of it; only Socket had yet to kill, and he was more than able.

At dawn on Day 12, Bechi and Damask crossed paths as they both went to the same river to fetch water. They looked up at each other as they knelt on opposite muddy banks of the river. Bechi immediately tried to scramble away, but his side of the bank was steep and slippery, and he was slow moving. Damask cackled and lunged into the river to cross, drenching himself as he slogged through the water in three heavy strides. Then he was hauling himself onto the bank while Bechi was scrambling up the bank, slipping and sliding this way and that. Damask threw his crowbar like a tomahawk, and it pounded into the dirt inches from Bechi's head. He yelped, wrenched it out of the ground, and threw it right back at Damask. It slugged the 8 boy right in the gut, making him fall to the ground, the wind knocked out of him. This gave Bechi enough time to escape and return to his hiding spot where his supplies were amassed.

Damask and Bechi's conflict was not the only one of the day. The Gamemakers wanted to get Larke to go into the forest too, to have all of their tributes in one contained area to cause more fighting and more death and more drama. When the numbers lowered a little more they'd separate them by Cyndala's mandate to maintain the longevity of the Games, but for now they wanted more conflict, and they would have it.

They tried to dissuade Larke from continuing to skip around the meadow, providing the meager entertainment of torturing butterflies, using mutts that had rarely been employed in the Games thus far. It was a flock of fluffy, cotton candy-like blobs. Pink and fuzzy, they were birds, with long, thin, sharp beaks and long, nimble legs. They looked like harmless fuzzballs, but like everything innocent looking in this arena, they were deadly. Four attacked Larke at once. She outran all but one as they herded her near the forest. Larke killed one impressively but got a few gashes on her hands and arms from the encounter. She settled on a small knoll a mere quarter mile from the forest, and that was close enough for the Gamemakers. They let her rest there, unwilling to torment her further that day.

The biggest fight of the day was in the late evening, as the sun began to set and the arena was barely lit. Nazca and Ivory, both combing through the eastern area of the forest for victims, clashed in a bloody and entertaining duel. Their paths crossed when they both heard one of the giant golden squirrel mutts thumping through the undergrowth and thought it was a tribute. At that point they were a quarter mile apart, and they converged on the spot in the bushes where the mutt had once been. However, it had run away, and they were left there, facing one another.

Nazca acted first, drawing her bow and firing an arrow. Ivory swerved so the arrow intended for her abdomen grazed her side. Ivory wouldn't risk tossing her hatchet and missing, then leaving herself defenseless against Nazca's inevitable barrage of arrows. She leaped forward and swiped her weapon through the air in crazy patterns as she danced about, making herself harder to hit. Nazca tried to inch her way around the tribute, and then she fired an arrow. Ivory slapped it out of the air with her hatchet, and threw the broken arrow back at Nazca. The sharp point thunked weakly against Nazca's temple. It didn't do any damage, but it spooked Nazca, and she fell to her feet after she tripped from the surprise. Her bow crunched beneath her, and she swore under her breath, her key weapon now useless. She drew her other weapon that she'd received as a sponsor gift that morning, a machete. The two now would have to fight in close counters, which was Ivory's strong suit.

The battle lasted for a couple of minutes with the two dancing around each other, inflicting a few small cuts and scratches but nothing major. Then Nazca managed to lope off one of Ivory's golden tresses. This might not seem like a major injury, but Ivory's main way of getting sponsors was not only her killing, but also her looks. Her look ruined, Ivory tore into Nazca, abandoning all caution. Nazca was stunned and overwhelmed by the sudden burst of emotion and energy, and she couldn't sidestep fast enough. Ivory's hatchet sailed into her neck, carving out a large chunk. The 4 girl fell to her knees and bled out blubbering unintelligibly as Ivory smugly marched off. She was now the lone remaining Career in the Second Quarter Quell.

Nazca Cillate, District 4 Female; 8th, Killed by Ivory, Day 12

Day 13 came about, and little of consequence happened. Larke was still stubbornly remaining in the meadow portion of the arena. She left behind the hill that the bird mutts had herded her towards, and by the middle of the day she was closer to the now slumbering volcano than the forest. The Gamemakers became a little annoyed with her, and her Mentor sent her a sponsor gift of a blade sharpener and a note hinting she should head the opposite way. Larke failed to get the message and continued to explore the meadow, merrily sharpening her weapons with her new tool, unknowing that her life was hanging in the balance simply because she wasn't in a certain quadrant of the arena, the area the Gamemakers wanted her to be in.

The rest of Day 13 trickled by without further violent action. Socket was holed up in a tree, building a taser-like object out of the supplies he'd collected from the Cornucopia. Beetee had sent him a small kit of wrenches and such to help him, and he seemed to be making good progress. However, one could not tell if such inventions could truly work until they were tested in a do or die situation. Ivory, high off her murdering of Nazca, hunted avidly, but came up empty. Damask was officially deemed insane by the Capitol, and he teetered around the forest, devouring the loaves of bread eager sponsors sent him in thanks for his excessive bloodshed. He murdered any living thing in sight, torturing it and causing quite a scene. He and a tribute from the Twenty Third Hunger Games were immediately connected as he continued to devolve into more gruesome activities; Cattail Lasher once again appeared in the public memory. This comparison frightened Cyndala, as she didn't want a Cattail-like character winning her Games like the 11 boy almost had over a quarter century prior. Only time would tell if Cyndala would ruin their fun however and extinguish Damask, or if she would take the chance and see if any of the other tributes could off him.

On Day 14 around noon, the duo of Haymitch and Maysilee (their alliance fittingly nicknamed Haysilee by viewers) traversed the outermost stretches of the forest, coming close to the force field. Maysilee napped as Haymitch studied the area. He could see an exact reflection of the area around him except himself and Maysilee, complete with the woods in the background, and the small stretch of open field until it dropped off into a shallow chasm. He quizzically puzzled over this until Maysilee woke up, and the two trekked back into the forest to look for more prey.

Bechi was frightened after his encounter with Damask, and picked a spot in the forest and stuck in it. Sitting in a large clump of poisonous berry bushes on the bank of a small creek, Bechi blended in well with his surroundings, as his dark skin melted into the mud and sticks, and the leaves he layered over himself helped him blend into the bushes. He would attack others if necessary, but for the moment he was playing a defensive game instead of the offensive one that most of the others were playing.

Larke would not budge from her travels around the side of the meadow that was opposite from the forest, ignoring coded message after coded message from Mercedes in useless little sponsor gifts, like a metal spoon and a toothpick. Two of the birds tormented Larke once again, and she still did not get the message. As evening started to roll in, the Gamemakers were fed up with this girl refusing to play their game, and they sicced the entire herd of unicorn mutts on her.

The girl drew her two daggers with her spoon in her pocket and her toothpick clenched in between her teeth as the herd galloped towards her, whinnying and braying loudly as their eyes grew wide and bloodshot with blood lust. A younger one, a pretty stallion that wasn't fully grown yet, trampled forward first, eager to take down the tribute. Larke managed to dance around it. Being a girl from 10, she had learned how to mount and ride a horse, and she managed to avoid the stallion's razor sharp horn, swinging onto its back. It tried to buck her off, but she stabbed her daggers into its neck as it brayed in pain. Before crumpling to the ground to die, the unicorn bucked her off, sending her flying ten feet away. The wind knocked out of her, Larke tried to get to her feet, but it was too late. The other seven unicorns were rushing at her, and the lead one, the eldest female, gored her clean through the chest thrice before withdrawing. The herd began to bite at her, tearing away strips of flesh to eat, as the matriarch comforted the dying stallion. A minute or so later, Larke's cannon fired, and the Gamemakers sent the unicorns reeling away from Larke's tattered, amorphous corpse with strong electrical pulses so they could collect it.

Larke Pedroia, District 10 Female; 7th, Killed by unicorn mutts, Day 14

On the morning of Day 15, Ivory was walking along the top of a steep ravine. The widest river in the forest rushed along below. She leaned against and tree and surveyed the surrounding area for other tributes from her high vantage point. As she was looking about, the soft ground beneath her feet gave out, and she tumbled fifteen feet down the ravine, plopping in the river. She surfaced, gasping for air, and water sloshed out of her mouth. She paddled to shore, where she lay in a sodden lump, shivering. The cramps in her stomach from the poisoned water immediately began, and she dragged herself into a corpse of bushes before letting herself lay there. She tried to quiet her labored breathing, but it was of no use. She had gotten a pretty sizable amount of the water in her mouth, and had swallowed a little too much. The cramps were violent and the pain seemingly relentless, and the pain would not dissuade by the next morning. Ivory lay there in the throes of pain, just willing the poison to work its way out of her body so she wouldn't be so defenseless and so she could get to work thinning the rest of the herd.

Damask faced an opponent around midday, but it was not human. A fierce fawn mutt attacked him as he was relieving himself behind a tree, sending him spiraling to the ground. He quickly pulled his pants back up and leaped onto the baby deer mutt with its gnashing, devilish fangs. He managed to snap its supple neck after wrenching its head around for a couple of minutes. The creature fell still, and he butchered it, eating some of the meat raw before abandoning the body. His face and teeth garishly streaked with blood, he was quite the sight to behold, and quite the entertainment as well.

Socket finally finished his contraption later in the day, fitting in the last few pieces. It was just in time, too. As he was climbing down his tree to try it out on any animal he could find, Haymitch and Maysilee crested the hill that his tree was at the bottom of. They spotted him, and they set after him with a furious pace. Socket freaked and dashed off, and a deadly game of tag ensued as the two District 12 allies pursued the lone 3 boy.

The chase lasted for about a half hour as Socket evaded the pair that was trying to hunt him down by running rather fast and zigzagging this way and that around several obstacles. His sizable lead was also helpful. However, Haymitch and Maysilee were older and in better shape, and they eventually got in distance for Maysilee to shoot her dart gun. She did so, and barely missed the boy. He took his final stand, aiming his taser at Maysilee and pressing down on the trigger.

The contraption sparked and backfired, spewing smoke as it became hot. Socket dropped it as it seared the skin on his hands. He went to pick up a branch off of the ground, desperate for anything to save himself, but a dart had already found itself in his knee. He gasped and fell to the ground, landing on his left side, and Haymitch finished the job, jabbing his small knife in the boy's gut, twisting it about and speeding about his demise. The duo took his supplies except the failed taser and trooped off, leaving the dead 3 boy and his unsuccessful electronic weapon to steam on the forest floor.

Socket Ibes, District 3 Male; 6th, Killed by Maysilee and Haymitch, Day 15

Days 16 and 17 were the most lifeless and slow that the Second Quarter Quell had seen yet. Progress slowed to a crawl as the remaining five tributes bounced about the forest. Haymitch and Maysilee were the only ones actively hunting, and they struggled to find the other three tributes. Meanwhile, tensions were strong between the two. They were very deep into the Games, at a point where most alliances had either disbanded or crumbled or had been exterminated. Their trust for one another was fraying as paranoia took hold; after all, they made up nearly half of the remaining tributes, and both suspected the other of wanting to betray them. The alliance's days were numbered despite their great teamwork and friendship. Ivory took all of Days 16 and 17 to recover from her poisoning via her dip in the river; by the time of the anthem late at night during Day 17, the cramps and heaving finally eased up, and she was able to drag herself out of the bushes and get back onto her feet. Bechi remained camouflaged as to avoid attackers, still playing defensively and unwilling to actively stir the pot. Damask had fallen deeper and deeper into the abyss of insanity as the hours trickled by, and he spent most of the time sitting on the ground blabbering nonsense, occasionally murdering a stray mutt or forest creature in an inane, revolting manner that was transitioning from entertaining to boring and offputting. The Games had fallen into a stupor so slow it wasn't even to Cyndala's slow and easy preferences, and she hoped something would change and she wouldn't have to employ mutts. The Gamemakers decided to kill the next tribute that ventured out of the forest with mutts to spice things up and hopefully get the ball rolling towards the finale.

Day 18 had a singular peak of excitement; the alliance of Haymitch and Maysilee finally splintered. The last straw on the camel's back for Maysilee was when she found Haymitch sharpening his knives around noon while she had been taking a short cat nap. She had been extremely tired due to sleeping little because of the paranoia that had been plaguing her, and she had nodded off unintentionally. She believed Haymitch was sharpening his knives, planning to kill her while she slept peacefully at the roots of the beech tree where they had taken up residence a number of days prior, twelve days prior to be exact.

Maysilee took out her dart gun and aimed it at Haymitch, threatening to fire if he moved another inch closer with the horrid blades she believed were meant to kill her. In fact Haymitch was just sharpening his blades like he did every day at that time, but the hunger and paranoia were so overbearing that Maysilee wasn't in her right mind. Haymitch wasn't in a strong frame of mind either. Haymitch put his hands up, but kept one of his blades in his hands just in case. The two negotiated, and they both calmed down and put away their weapons. However, they agreed that it was time for their duo to part ways.

Neither wanted to have to fight the other in the finale and kill them. Their friendship, while battered by the stresses of the Games, was strong and it would be costly to damage it, especially by killing the other. They both hoped that the other would be killed before the finale so they would not have to bear such a burden. They split their supplies and headed in opposite directions, Haymitch deeper into the forest, Maysilee out into the meadow. Haymitch had second thoughts and paused for a while and then returned to the old beech, expecting Maysilee to return as well. He wanted to go as far as he could with her, and believed he would need her to beat Ivory. He wanted dearly to renegotiate. However, it was much too late for that.

He went running to her the moment he heard her screams.

He broke through the trees to see her barely twenty feet out of the woods with the candy cotton-like puffs of birds viciously stabbing her with their razor point beaks. They'd already blinded her in both eyes, and her body was peppered with profusely bleeding cuts and stab wounds. The flock of a dozen of so birds parted after Haymitch struck a few down in anger. The Gamemakers sent them away from the too far gone Maysilee so there would be an emotional moment between herself and Haymitch as the 12 girl died.

Haymitch held her for the two hours it took for her to bleed out. He tried to stop the blood flow of her wounds, but they were too numerous and too severe to fix with a half full roll of gauze, weak healing ointment, and strips of cloth from a pack. All it did was prolong her suffering in the long run, and Haymitch felt guilty about that. Maysilee did little besides moan and groan as her life slipped away, and Haymitch wept silently over her until she was gone, her cannon ringing in his ears.

Maysilee Donner, District 12 Female; 5th, Killed by bird mutts, Day 18

After Maysilee's death, little of consequence occurred in the several day stretch between her passing and the death of the next tribute, who would die a long four days after her. Ivory spent the time recuperating and then hunting. Once she was back on her feet and fully mobile again, not a trace of the poisonous river water in her system, she was off to end the Games. With only three opponents left, it was time to shut everything down and take the Victor's crown for her, and she would be happy to kill all three with her bare hands and lose both her eyes if it meant Victory was hers. Bechi remained disguised in his mud and leaves garb, although he did move around a little bit, shifting positions every day just about so the Gamemakers would leave him alone. Damask was still as batshit crazy as ever, and he'd taken to stabbing inanimate objects, dulling his crowbar trying to smash apart rocks and pebbles and trying to "kill" dead leaves and sticks. His insanity had reached uncomfortable levels, but Cyndala wanted to see if he would cause any further drama before snuffing him out.

The most consequential moment in Days 19 thru 21 was when Haymitch returned to the clearing at the edge of the forest and arena where he and Maysilee had visited several days earlier, where he had noticed something off. He picked up a pebble on the ground and approached the force field. He tossed the pebble across the chasm and watched, surprised, as it bounced right back to his feet, landing with a dull thump in the grass. He noted this, and he threw a larger rock and watched as it returned. He chuckled at this. While Cyndala didn't quite like the fact that someone had discovered one of the best kept Gamemaker secrets, that a force field surrounded the arena and could be used to their advantage, Haymitch was the second favorite, very close behind front runner Ivory in terms of popularity, and she wasn't about to kill off her best chance at a successful underdog story.

Day 22, something exciting finally happened. Even Cyndala was becoming so bored that she was about to do something insane, like set the entire forest on fire or send the herd of unicorns on a rampage through the woods to slaughter half of them. Instead, a chance encounter shook things up and lead to the end of the Games coming ever closer finally. Only day a away from the Fifth Games' record for longest Games, these Games seemed as if they would match or beat that Games' record, and now that that was on lock, it was time for things to end.

Bechi was doing his daily relocation, moving about a quarter mile down the creek he was camping beside into a new bunch of bushes. As he was stepping into the bushes, he spotted movement nearby. His first instinct was to drop into the bushes, and he did. He looked around fearfully, drawing out his short sword with shaking hands. Weak and tired from the trials of the past three or so weeks in this sickly sweet arena, Bechi's skills were blunt and sloppy, just like the bashing of his attacker.

Damask leaped up behind Bechi and swung his crowbar down into the boy's head. It banged against the back of Bechi's head, and he screamed as he stumbled out of the corpse of bushes, almost blacking out. He tripped as he tried to escape and fell flat on his face. Damask swung his blunt weapon down against Bechi's head once more as the boy screamed into the muddy bank. He tried to crawl away, flipping onto his back, and Damask smashed the crowbar across his forehead. He blacked out at this one, and Damask kept slamming his weapon against the boy's skull, cackling wildly, until the boy died from head trauma several minutes later. Damask kept hitting his corpse long after Bechi's cannon had fired, and the Gamemakers had to push him away with electrical pulses so he would stop.

Bechi Ulson, District 11 Male; 4th, Killed by Damask, Day 22

The next morning, it was clear that the Gamemakers had made a decision regarding Damask. His popularity had taken a swan dive over the prior week after he had gone fully nutzo, and there were media outlets and people all across the nation calling for the Gamemakers to subdue the insane boy so he wouldn't have a chance of winning the Games. His odds were the worst out of the three anyway, but the Gamemakers were unwilling to take any chances. Cyndala would not let her Quell be a flop. It had been magical up to this point, if a little slow towards the end, and she would not let it end with an insane boy winning.

While a plethora of the giant golden squirrel mutts had filled the forest at the beginning of the Games, a majority of them had been killed off by arena events and the tributes they tried to attack for their flesh. There were six of the muscly, rather terrifying creatures left. The size of wolves and with the same pack mentality and appetite for flesh, they were indeed ready to polish someone off in the arena.

All six of the remaining squirrel mutts were sicced on Damask at dawn of the twenty third day in the arena. Cyndala could no longer ignore her meager conscience or the constant, heavy pressures of the public, and she was forced to reduce Damask to either a severely injured tribute or a corpse in the Games morgue waiting to be sent home to 8. He was half asleep when the first dived at him.

He jerked awake as its sharp teeth raked across his left bicep. He hopped to his feet, grabbing his crowbar and smacking the mutt that had bitten him over the head. It was dazed, but it recovered as its five friends ganged up on him. He fought a losing battle, swatting mutts away for almost a minute, lasting an admirably long time for a tribute so far gone mentally like him. However, while he was focused on fending off the two strongest squirrels, the weakest one that had originally bitten him knocked into his legs, sending him sprawling. He managed to maintain hold of his crowbar, but it did little as they tore the boy to shreds as he sobbed and chuckled together, a strange combination to watch and hear. He spasmed until his cannon fired, and when the squirrel mutts withdrew, he had been reduced to a heap of dark skinned, shredded flesh. There was no semblance of any limbs left, and it was very disgusting to look at. The Gamemakers quickly cleaned up his remains.

Damask Dupioni, District 8 Male; 3rd, Killed by squirrel mutts, Day 23

The Gamemakers had reached their cherished Final 2, and it contained the two most beloved tributes of the year. Ivory Hester was the daughter of one of the 1's best Victors, Ivelisse Horner. She would be the first legacy Victor to ever win a Games if she could pull out the Victory, and that was an accomplishment on its own. She had also made an astounding 8 kills, one of the highest counts of all time. If she won, she would have 9 kills under her belt, which only Brutus Asesino had beaten. She would be tied for second most kills along with the first Career Victor, Clermont from her own District. Meanwhile, Haymitch was the true underdog. District 1 was a powerhouse, pumping out Victor after Victor, but 12 hadn't produced a Victor in 25 years since the last Quarter Quell with Venice. He was from the worst District, yet he had persevered all the way to the very end and seemed like he might be able to pull out the win. It would be a morale boost for his somber District and one of the better underdog stories of the Games that had been executed thus far. It would also keep alive a strange streak of 12 only being able to win Quarter Quells.

Day 24, Cyndala let the world blaze. Fires started on the south and north sides of the forests, quickly spreading. Haymitch was in the north, while Ivory was in the south. They were pushed together by the raging forest fire, and they spotted each other when they were about three hundred feet apart. Haymitch immediately spun on his heel and ran for his life towards the western edge of the forest, near the fringe of the arena in the small clearing by the chasm. Ivory pursued him, not taking the chance of throwing her hatchet through the haze of smoke and then being left without her primary weapon.

Once they were nearing the clearing, the smoke started to clear. Haymitch pulled out Maysilee's dart gun, which he had taken from her body. There had been no poisoned darts left, and he hadn't trusted himself enough to handle the deadly poisons that Maysilee had schooled herself in in training and was masterful at applying to the darts. He fired the last six darts at Ivory as he ran. Four went wide, one hit her right thigh, and the last found a snug place in her left eye. Ivory screeched and pulled out the dart out of impulse, her eyeball tattered. Half blinded, the girl ran with one hand against her ragged eyeball to stop the blood flow, the other clutching her hatchet as she chased down Haymitch.

The final duel occurred on the open field near the chasm. Haymitch had his serrated dagger in one hand and his cleaver in the other, while Ivory clutched her eyeball tightly with one hand while brandishing her hatchet with the other. While Ivory was rather seriously wounded, she was the much better fighter of the pair. Her loss of sight in one eye and the immobilization of one of her arms to stop the blood flow from her eye wound equaled them out rather fairly.

However, Ivory was still a trained killer, and Haymitch was just the crossbreed of a rich merchant father and a Seam prostitute mother who lived with his poor mother and younger brother in the slums after his father had died many years prior. Ivory struck first, and Haymitch barely had the chance to deflect. Her next few blows were powerful, and one managed to knock away Haymitch's beloved serrated dagger, sending it spiraling into the chasm just feet away. They were about twenty feet from the force field now.

The next move disarmed Haymitch of his cleaver, and he was left defenseless. He tried to move out of the way, but Ivory struck hard and clean, slicing open his stomach. Haymitch keened in pain as he held his wound with both of his hands, breathing heavily as he tried his best to holding in his intestines, barely standing. Ivory smirked delicately as she lofted her hatchet high in the air, ready to throw it into Haymitch's skull and polish him off.

She threw, and Haymitch dropped to the ground. The rest is history, one of the greatest comebacks ever in a final fight. The hatchet flew on its path, soaring over the chasm and hitting the force field. It immediately shot back, and a stunned Ivory couldn't move out of the way fast enough. The hatchet buried itself perfectly in Ivory's skull, and she dropped like a stone, slumping on the ground beside a heaving Haymitch. Her wound was more severe than his, and she died while Haymitch clung onto life, the favorite to win dying just one hatchet throw short of Victory. The trumpets sounded in their victorious trill the second Ivory's cannon shot faded away fully.

Ivory Hester, District 1 Female; 2nd, Killed by Haymitch/herself, Day 24

"Haymitch Abernathy of District 12, you are the Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell!" Caesar and Claudius boomed into the arena. Haymitch lay panting on the ground, unable to do much more than smile weakly as medical teams rushed down from the hovercraft to attend to the newest Victor who was in a seriously severe condition. They did all they could on the ground and then transported him into the hovercraft for further urgent care, carrying the second ever Victor from District 12 to the Capitol and to the new fame that would envelop his life.


Aftermath

District 12 welcomed its controversial second Victor with open arms. They were relieved to finally have another representative in the Capitol to help out their tributes, as Venice was wearing thin taking care of so many tributes just on her own. 12 was not the only District to celebrate his Victory. Most of the Outlying Districts cheered for him and his overthrowing of Ivory, and Districts 2 and 4 were happy with him as well. However, District 1 was a somber affair for him. They hated him with a passion, and his visit there on the Victory Tour is the only recorded moment in history where Ivelisse Horner was seen crying. Haymitch fought hard and was much beloved for a time, but eventually he faded from the public eye. After his controversial move in the finale, Snow had him punished by killing his mother, brother, and girlfriend. This broke down Haymitch just as much as killing his victims and watching Maysilee die, and he took up the vice of alcohol to dissuade his demons. He became best friends with fellow alcoholic Victor Chaff, and he swiftly devolved into a rather poor example of a Victor, and he wasn't a very useful Mentor much of the time. However, in his late 50s, he attempted to make a recovery and succeeded, doing so for the girl of his dreams.

Haymitch would live to age 73, dying from liver disease around the time of the 105th Hunger Games. He would marry in his late 50s, but would never have children and never had any other significant relationships after the Games.

The payouts on his Victory were rather good, as about .58% bet on him.

His Victory Tour was rather great and one of the better ones except for his stop in 1, where he was degraded and ignored for the entirety of his stay.

Fun Fact: Haymitch is the first tribute to cause their competitor in the finale to kill themselves, even if it was accidentally.


Victor's News

Haymitch moves into the Victor's Village of District 12, across the street from Venice's home.

Enzo marries his first spouse, a woman named Erella Kitz.

The first romantic encounter between Lyme Harriott and Brutus Asesino occurs soon after the climax of the Quell, and their on-and-off exploits will continue until their accidental son Scipio is born some years later.


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)

43rd: Syren Calanthe, District 4 (6, 3 Female)

44th: Brutus Asesino, District 2 (8, 5 Male)

45th: Chaff Abwenza, District 11 (4, 2 Male)

46th: Wiress Furuya, District 3 (4, 2 Female)

Aux. 46th: Elaine Canterbury, District 10 (3, 2 Female), Caelinia Thatcher, District 2 (9, 4 Female), and Bettyann Pulliam, District 8 (3, 2 Female)

47th: Nefertiti Kouri, District 1 (7, 4 Female)

48th: Enzo Faithlen, District 9 (3, 2 Male)

49th: Lyme Harriott, District 2 (10, 5 Female)

50th: Haymitch Abernathy, District 12 (2, 1 Male)


A/N: Finally, here it is! I am so sorry for the delay! This is the longest chapter yet so of course it took some time, and then there was the loss of writing. I tried to rewrite it a couple of times before this try, and it didn't come out well at the Bloodbath so I restarted and let it sit for a while. This time I think I finally did Haymitch justice, and I hoped you enjoyed reading about one of the most famous canon Games in the series :D

This was crazy long, and I can't really truly believe how long it turned out to be. It clocked in at just over 20,000 effing words! How the heck does that happen?! I remember when I was writing 2,000 word chapters with little to no descriptions. I can't believe how far we've come in detail! Only sucky part is that it takes longer to come out, but I personally think it's worth it :)

What did you think of this one? Who did you like besides Haymitch/Maysilee? Anything surprise you?

I'm going to take another long pause from this story. I extremely need to update my SYOT, and my Survivor fanfic is also calling my name rather strongly. However, the Fifty First and the others have been planned to at least some extent and are on their way, so don't worry :D

Please review, I love hearing all of your feedback! It means so much that so many people read and follow this story, and your comments and criticism mean the world to me, as all I want to do here is entertain and grow as a writer :D

P.S. Guests, I know you love the story, but I haven't abandoned a story unless I post something saying I have, so don't accuse me of doing so ;)

Until Next Time,

Tracee