The Fifty Fourth Annual Hunger Games
Introduction
After yet another successful Games, Cyndala Clargy still seemed to be on top of the Gamemaking world, and she was indeed the Head Gamemaker for the 54th Hunger Games as well. However, Cyndala knew that her time was running short with plenty of young Gamemakers trying to dethrone her, and she wanted to retire on her own terms before she was fired. For her final year, she cooked up a truly brutal natural arena that she had resisted doing before because she knew it would probably get her fired for the lack of action it would cause. However, as she was retiring, Cyndala did not care, and she decided to execute her most painful arena yet. She had always longed to punish the tributes in a simply terrible natural arena. The only clip she released to the public was a small chunk of ice slowly drifting through a frigid sea while snow drifted down from the pale gray skies. It seemed as if the tributes were heading somewhere cold and frozen, and many Capitolites were worried about how extreme temperatures would affect the Games. President Snow was not fond of the arena at first, but after uprisings in several outer Districts began to bubble, he agreed to it, also knowing it was Cyndala's final Games as Head Gamemaker. He knew this truly brutal arena would punish the Districts into submission, and he respected Cyndala's creative effort and allowed her this final treat. Claudius Templesmith and Caesar Flickerman were less thrilled with the idea of a tortuously frozen arena, but they did not complain and instead tried to make the public as excited for it as possible. They knew it was Cyndala's last year and tried to pump up the arena excitedly while the search for the next Head Gamemaker began. The Careers this year were a bit stronger than usual. District 1 produced two stunning beauties; the girl was sensual and tall, with great bow and arrow skills and glossy dark hair. The boy was far and away the favorite; he had a shocking handsomeness, and he had a riotous personality that the Capitol fell in love with during the Pre-Games. He was also a skilled fighter, excelling with a spear and a sword equally. District 2 produced two strong sword wielders as was customary; the girl was the strongest fighter this year, with amazing sword skills, but she was rather quiet and struggled in Pre-Games interviews, leaving the Capitol wanting more from her. The boy was the only 17 year old Career this year and the lowest scoring; he felt he was out of his league but kept trying to impress. District 4 produced two strong tributes; they both were great with tridents and spears, and the girl was darkly mysterious while the male enjoyed flaunting his six-pack in the Capitol. In terms of Outliers, this year was a heavy disappointment, especially compared to the prior Games. No tribute managed to score higher than a 7, and only two tributes acheived this feat. Roger of District 5 was proficient with traps and had some muscle on him, while Willough from District 7 had shown proficiency with axes and hatchets during her training. The rest of the tributes scored between a 6 and a 2; it seemed as if the Careers would be able to run these Games if they didn't mess anything up. Roger attempted to bring together an Anti-Career alliance like the one that had succeeded the year prior, but failed to get anyone to ally with him besides his District partner Virnea. These two hoped their alliance would be able to stand up against the Careers. There were no volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Tiffany O'Reilly, 18 (10) 6-1 and Chaise Schauwen, 18 (11) 4-1
District 2: Tullia Garber, 18 (11) 3-1 and Orion Boorstin, 17 (9) 9-1
District 3: Synthia Clounde, 18 (6) 23-1 and Erney Lillson, 16 (5) 38-1
District 4: Delta Cha, 18 (10) 6-1 and Shore Amoral, 18 (10) 5-1
District 5: Virnea Somers, 16 (6) 21-1 and Roger Geltman, 18 (7) 16-1
District 6: Kaliselle Hernby, 14 (2) 64-1 and Mortimer Polk, 16 (5) 34-1
District 7: Willough Parker, 17 (7) 16-1 and Kash Rauden, 16 (6) 24-1
District 8: Thila Quinn, 18 (5) 36-1 and Dott Lewing, 15 (4) 45-1
District 9: Bailee Mint, 12 (4) 48-1 and Jaysan Chou, 13 (4) 49-1
District 10: Peg Lapierre, 16 (4) 43-1 and Rigby Morrison, 12 (6) 26-1
District 11: Pepper Beyla, 12 (3) 57-1 and Ralf Courtney, 14 (4) 45-1
District 12: Saige Gurney, 14 (3) 52-1 and Ryker Callis, 16 (5) 39-1
HGBA Odds: 26% on Chaise, 19% on Tullia, 14% on Shore, 12% on Tiffany, 11% on Delta, 6% on Orion, 3% on Roger and Willough, 1% or less on Synthia, Erney, Virnea, Kaliselle, Mortimer, Kash, Thila, Dott, Bailee, Jaysan, Peg, Rigby, Pepper, Ralf, Saige, and Ryker.
The Games
The tributes arose onto a larger, perfectly circular hunk of ice. The ice floe was not moving, floating on top of a nearly-frozen, chilly sea. 24 spindly, snow covered paths led out from the stationary Cornucopia ice floe. They crossed the nearly-frozen ocean and led to the surrounding land, which was just purely snowy, frozen tundra. Inches of snow and ice blanketed the ground. There were no available sources of food except for some scraggly lichens scattered here or there, buried under the snow. There were no mutts, not even tiny rodents or birds. There was little landscape besides a few rolling hills and boulders, all covered in snow and ice. The entire arena was just a bitterly cold hellhole, and everyone watching across Panem and every tribute standing on their pedestals knew that this would be one of the most punishing Games yet. A few of the tributes were already sobbing as the countdown flickered towards 0. They were all dressed in thick boots, snowpants, and parkas, but already the tributes could feel the cold whipping through their clothes and chilling them down to their bones. Many of the tributes had been planning to run away as they were weaker, but they realized that the only way to survive was to get supplies from the Cornucopia to keep themselves warm. Indeed, inside the Horn, portable heaters, parkas, snowpants, blankets, gloves, scarves, and more were piled, but there were precious few. Dozens of sharp swords, spears, tridents, daggers, and throwing knives glittered between the warming equipment, alongside a singular bow for Tiffany. However, the Outliers knew they had to take the risk to survive, and because of this, 12 deaths would occur in the opening minutes of the Bloodbath.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The frail girl from 6 tottered away from the Cornucopia, almost slipping off of her little icy trail as she made a break for it, knowing she would die in the Bloodbath. The other 23 tributes rushed in, with the Careers all taking the lead. Tiffany scooped up her bow and arrows, while Chaise grabbed two spears, the 2s grabbed swords, and the 4s grabbed tridents. And then the slaughter began.
An already shivering boy leaped for a portable heater hungrily, having run faster than most of the Outliers, but Shore spotted him and smashed his trident's prongs into the boy's head, killing him. Shore picked up the portable heater and tossed it deeper into the Horn as the boy bled out fully and the Bloodbath truly commenced.
Erney Lillson, District 3 Male; 24th, Killed by Shore, Bloodbath
Chaise could be seen grinning as he twirled gracefully with his two spears on hand. A screaming girl ducked his first blow, but she wiped out on the icy snow, and Chaise was able to bury one of his spears in her throat, killing her swiftly.
Saige Gurney, District 12 Female; 23rd, Killed by Chaise, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, a plump, rich merchant girl from District 10 was sobbing as Tullia made a quick yet bloody show of her, carving her open from her sternum to her belly button. The girl shuddered as her guts spilled across the ice, and Tullia polished her off with a deep stab to the heart.
Peg Lapierre, District 10 Female; 22nd, Killed by Tullia, Bloodbath
Orion chased after a boy who had grabbed two extra coats. The young boy shrieked, throwing the coats at Orion, but he swatted them out of the air before stabbing the boy in the back three times and then stepping on his neck with his heavy boot.
Jaysan Chou, District 9 Male; 21st, Killed by Orion, Bloodbath
Nearby, Jaysan's tiny District partner wept as Shore slammed her against the side of the Cornucopia until her skull cracked. He then finished her off, stabbing her twice with his trident before moving on for more kills.
Bailee Mint, District 9 Female; 20th, Killed by Shore, Bloodbath
Tiffany had been waiting until tributes began to run away from the Bloodbath before loosing any of her precious yet murderous arrows. She spotted the first girl trying to make a swift exit, the long legged 18 year old from 8 who was weeping as she stumbled away with an extra coat wrapped tightly around her. Tiffany's first arrows slammed into her shoulder, making her stagger, and the next hit in the base of her skull, killing her.
Thila Quinn, District 8 Female; 19th, Killed by Tiffany, Bloodbath
Delta, meanwhile, had been fighting the strong boy from District 5 while the other Careers made their first kills. The boy had picked up a spear, and fended off Delta's attacks as his ally Virnea waited near the edge of the ice floe with a pack full of extra clothes. She bolted the moment she saw Roger not duck quickly enough. The trident tore a rift across the top of the boy's head, and he was dead before Delta stabbed him again in the side.
Roger Geltman, District 5 Male; 18th, Killed by Delta, Bloodbath
Chaise was grinning as he slammed his spear into the leg of a running tribute. The boy stumbled and fell to the ground, weeping openly as Chaise stabbed him in the back four times in quick succession. The 7 boy gasped as the blood pumped out of him quickly, and he could do nothing but groan as he died.
Kash Rauden, District 7 Male; 17th, Killed by Chaise, Bloodbath
Tiffany fired her arrows after another girl trying to make an escape. This time it was a pair of younger tributes, allies from District 11. The girl screamed as an arrow buried itself in her back, and her District partner abandoned her with their supplies as she bled out.
Pepper Beyla, District 11 Female; 16th, Killed by Tiffany, Bloodbath
Near the mouth of the Horn, Tullia had been dueling with the 7 girl for a long time. Willough was best with hatchets and axes, but as there were none in this Games, she was making do with a sword. She was slow and poor with it, but Tullia drew out the fight, wanting to provide entertainment. When Willough managed to nick Tullia's shoulder, however, the 2 girl went beserk. She quickly disarmed Willough, and buried her sword in the girl's neck as she tried to run away.
Willough Parker, District 7 Female; 15th, Killed by Tullia, Bloodbath
Delta made another kill, cornering a sobbing boy behind the Cornucopia. He tried to make a break for it, dodging past Delta and leaping into the frozen ocean, trying to paddle away. Refusing to go in the cold water, Delta threw her trident, and it slammed into his back, killing him as he flopped around like a dying fish in the water.
Ryker Callis, District 12 Male; 14th, Killed by Delta, Bloodbath
Tiffany spotted a final Outlier in range, and she fired her bow. The arrow smacked into the back of his right knee, making the little 12 year old boy topple. He screamed as he slipped off of the little path he was running across and into the frigid water. The Careers chuckled as the cattle boy, unable to swim, thrashed and drowned, his blood coloring the water around him red.
Rigby Morrison, District 10 Male; 13th, Killed by Tiffany and drowning, Bloodbath
The Careers cleaned their weapons and organized their supplies as the twelve cannons fired. As they began to organize however, electrical shocks begin to prick across them. The pack was momentarily surprised, but they remembered that the Capitol wanted them to move away from the dead so they could collect them. Usually, the hovercraft would collect the bodies of the dead while the pack wandered off nearby and waited before returning to the Horn later in the day. It was never much of a big deal. Expecting this, the Careers picked up a few supplies to bide their time with. Then, they headed off of the ice floe, picking their way across the circular patch of frozen sea and onto the tundra. They waited at the edge as they spotted the hovercraft coming in, and thought nothing of it. What happened next was unexpected by everyone except Coriolanus Snow, Cyndala Clargy, and the upper crust stationed in the Gamemaking Center.
The Head Gamemaker grinned as she pressed several buttons. Immediately, the ice floe on which the Cornucopia sat started to sink. The Careers all began to shout and scream as they watched the ice floe quickly crack, the bodies of the Bloodbath deaths slipping off and into the water. The hovercraft began to pluck up the dead bodies as the ice floe disappeared underneath the water. The golden Cornucopia sunk like a rock, taking down all of their supplies with it. The Careers watched, open mouthed in horror, as the last of the Bloodbath casualties were picked up by hovercraft. Then, the chilly patch of ocean began to freeze over until it was covered by a very thick slab of ice, able to support a tribute's weight. Most importantly, the thick sheet of ice blocked the Careers from recovering any of their sunken supplies. Now the entire arena was just ice and snow, and almost no one had sufficient anything. Every tribute left alive was prepared to slowly lose their minds for however many days Cyndala Clargy and Coriolanus Snow wanted to extend their suffering.
The Careers had only grabbed a couple of packs of food and water to snack on as well as their weapons from the Cornucopia. They relentlessly searched through their supplies until they discovered that Chaise had grabbed a pack full of parkas instead of food and water. They ripped it open, and discovered that there were only 3 parkas inside. Immediately the pack began to brawl over who would get them.
Tensions had already been taut in this pack. Tullia wanted to be the leader, but she was too blunt and lacked charisma to bring the team together. She got along with Delta, and Orion stuck by her out of District loyalty, but the other three hated Tullia with a passion and had bonded over that hatred. As Tullia reached for one of the coats held in Chaise's hands, Tiffany raised her bow and aimed the arrow right between her eyes.
"It's Chaise's bag," Tiffany hissed. "He can decide who gets a parka, and who gets hypothermia."
Already, the sun was beginning to set, and the arena was getting chillier than ever. Tullia unsheathed her sword, saying she would fight for the parka fair and square, and challened Tiffany to a duel. Tullia told the girl she knew she could take her in a fight, and that she should just hand over the parka and spare her life.
The 1 girl cackled and loosed the arrow, and it hit true at point blank range, slamming into Tullia's skull right between her eyes. The girl staggered backwards, shocked that Tiffany hadn't been bluffing, before crumpling on the ice. Delta rushed to her side, looking up in shock and rage, while Orion took the message and began to run from the 1s and Shore with just his sword and pack full of jerky. As Orion ran away and Delta shook with fury, Tullia's cannon fired, the arrow having pierced her brain.
Tullia Garber, District 2 Female; 12th, Killed by Tiffany, Night 1
"Just kill me," Delta spat, narrowing her eyes at Tiffany, Chaise, and Shore from where she was crouched over Tullia's corpse. "I know I won't make it out there without extra layers."
"The Gamemakers won't have any fun if you're not there to freeze to death alongside Orion," Tiffany pouted.
"We don't want to take away the Capitol's fun, do we Delta?" Chaise chuckled, sidling up to Tiffany and leaning against her as he smirked brilliantly.
"Delta, just go," Shore told her.
"If you insist on dying, we'll have to make it long and painful..." Tiffany mused as she picked at her nails, and Chaise nodded along.
"Only the most gruesome of deaths for my loyal sponsors," Chaise grinned, beaming at the cameras that were undoubtedly poised on him.
"I'm going," Delta finally grunted, picking up her trident and loping away into the tundra quickly. As she disappeard, the 1s continued to crack jokes and laugh, still standing very close to each other, obviously trying to display their sexuality to the Capitol audience despite the freezing temperatures. Shore grimly smiled but was happy his District partner was alive, and he grinned as the three of them shrugged on extra parkas. Then, two silvery parachutes fell, one for each of the 1s. Inside each was a small portable heater. Grinning, the three remaining members of the pack settled down on the tundra and turned on their heaters, huddling around them for warmth as the sun continued to dip below the horizon. They would sleep safe and sound tonight, the heaters and extra coats keeping them warm. They were safe and warm, for now.
The rest of the tributes would not be so lucky.
The moment Delta escaped her fellow Careers, she sprinted after Orion and flagged him down. The boy was spooked; tears were pooling in his eyes from Tullia's death as he'd been incredibly loyal to her, and the Games were wearing him thin. He held back the tears as he said he would work with her because they were both probably screwed anyway. The two knew that they would need a massive stroke of luck to win now; they had no extra supplies except their weapons and a pack full of jerky that Orion had nabbed before escaping. They shared a pack of jerky as they huddled in the snow by some frosty boulders and night began to drop in on them.
The Outliers had quickly spread to the farther reaches of the arena, not wanting to be visible from the Cornucopia and be easy targets for the Careers. However, sound carried far, and many of the Outliers had noticed the Cornucopia sinking into the sea, and the Careers fighting and Tullia's cannon sounding. This gave them hope, but as night began to fall, the chilly temperatures soon dropped to punishing cold, and they all began to struggle. Synthia had managed to make it out with an extra parka and an extra pair of snowpants along with a pack of crackers. She slid on the extra clothes after collapsing about a mile and a half from the center of the arena from exhaustion, and hoped it would be enough. Virnea was devastated to lose Roger in the Bloodbath, but she had made it out with a pack that consisted of a garden spade, a box of matches, and a sleeping bag. Virnea slid into the thick orange sleeping bag at the base of a small hill and began to shiver. She tore her pack to shreds and wrapping it around her head to try to keep her head warm. Both 6s had made it out of the Bloodbath alive, but they were in bad condition. Little Kaliselle was frail and malnourished, and had nothing but her starting outfit; as the temperatures dropped, she began to experience the first pangs of hypothermia. She had made it barely a mile from the center of the arena and collapsed in the wide open snow a la Synthia. Her District partner Mortimer had managed to grab a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a thin silver blanket, but he still shivered heavily. He, however, made it far from the center of the arena, almost to the force field, before collapsing. Dott from 8 had been the only Outlier to grab a weapon instead of going directly for the warming supplies. He had a long, serrated dagger as well as two thick quilts he had stuffed in a pack. He wrapped himself in the quilts and slept behind a pile of boulders not too far from where Delta and Orion were resting. The last Outlier, little Ralf, had only grabbed an extra parka and a hat, but it was so large it covered most of his body. He collapsed in the snow about two miles from the Horn and slept in the open, too terrified and tired to go farther.
By the morning, one of the tributes was already gone. Synthia, Virnea, Mortimer, Dott, and Ralf all managed to make it through the night, although Mortimer and Ralf both became very cold and were going through the harder throes of hypothermia. The temperatures during the day were around 0 degrees F, but at night they reached -20 to -25 degrees F, and most of the tributes had begun the stages of hypothermia. Delta and Orion were very close to death, as they had nothing besides their starting clothes to protect them. However, huddling together provided just enough warmth to keep them alive, although they were ragged and struggling to keep their hearts beating. Little Kaliselle also had nothing, and she had no one to snuggle with for warmth. In the dark early morning hours of Day 2, little Kaliselle, long frozen through like a popsicle, crawled in confusion through the snow under the clutches of hypothermia. She had been confused all night, but as the condition worsened she had slid off her parka and snowpants as was common in people in the severe clutches of hypothermia. This only brought her fate swifter, and her cannon awoke every other tribute if they'd managed to fall asleep.
Kaliselle Hernby, District 6 Female; 11th, Killed by hypothermia, Day 2
As the sun dawned on the arena, the three Careers left in the pack stood and set out hunting. Still in great shape due to their extra clothing and portable heaters, they were able to move pretty normally, and they were also well armed unlike most of the tributes. As Chaise, Tiffany, and Shore began to hunt across the snowy expanses of the frozen arena, the rest of the tributes struggled to even move, not to mention hunt. Delta and Orion could do nothing but cling to each other and defrost just a bit, still deeply destroyed by the cold. While it was warmer in the day, it was still bitterly cold in comparison to what the tributes were used to, and their bodies were struggling to recover. The rest of the Outliers had differing levels of success getting up. Neither Mortimer or Ralf could move an inch, too damaged by hypothermia. They laid in the snow and hoped no one would find them. Synthia managed to get onto her hands and knees and crawled around a bit in an attempt to find a better resting spot before giving up and collapsing in the open snow. Virnea was in the best condition of the Outliers, as her thick sleeping bag was specially designed by the Capitol to ward off the cold, and had kept her in great shape. She trekked out deeper into the arena, stopping at a small hill. She began digging through the snow at the base at a point that she recognized as a cave due to the way the snow fell there. She crawled into the cave after scooping the snow from the entry and went back inside her sleeping bag to rest. Dott was in decent shape, and as he woke up and began to move about, he spotted Delta and Orion shivering and prostrate behind boulders near his. The boy was shocked to see two of the Careers separate from the pack and ran away swiftly, not realizing they were defenseless and he could've done them in with his dagger.
As Dott sprinted away, he soon spotted new assailants on the horizon. He had run close to Chaise, Tiffany, and Shore, and the three spotted the boy staggering around on the horizon. Unsure of what to do as he felt trapped between two groups of Careers, Dott bolted in a direction where he thought no one else was. Meanwhile, the remainders of the pack gave chase, eager to make another kill and earn more supplies from the Capitol. They had enough rations to last a few more days, but they knew it probably would not be enough for the length of the Games, and they were excited to make kills before the snow and hypothermia would kill all of the cannon fodder for them.
Tiffany managed to shoot arrows at Dott when they got in range. The first sailed over his head, but the second hit the back of his right calf, making him fall into the snow. Screaming, Chaise was soon on top of him, and with his spear, he stabbed the 8 boy over and over until the snow was drenched with blood and Dott had fallen still beneath him. Chaise grinned at Tiffany and Shore as Dott's cannon fired.
Dott Lewing, District 8 Male; 10th, Killed by Tiffany and Chaise, Day 2
The Careers wanted to continue to hunt, but soon it began to blizzard heavily into the arena. The snow began to pile up, and night approached, the sun beginning to set over the horizon. They didn't want to waste their energy when the night would be even worse this time around. The remainders of the pack settled by some snow covered boulders and set up a small camp, using their portable heaters to melt the snow and have a place to sleep. As the Careers slumbered peacefully, the snow falling around them melting upon coming in range of their heaters, the rest of the tributes began to suffer further.
Every other tribute was filled with fear as it began to snow. Virnea did her best to keep the mouth of her cave open, not wanting to get blocked inside by a huge snow drift. The rest of the tributes had nothing to melt the snow, and they could only huddle with their warming gear and hope it would be enough to protect them as the snow began to build up around them. Synthia managed to move every now and again to make sure she wouldn't get buried as the temperatures continued to drop into the night. Meanwhile, the rest of the Outliers as well as Delta and Orion were too frozen to move from their places, and futilely tried to scoop away the snow that piled up around and on top of them. Mortimer and Ralf were very cold and beginning the stages of hypothermia, but seemed as if they might manage to survive the night. However, Delta and Orion were both near death, and they both knew it. They tried to find things to give them more shelter, but it was useless as they could barely move and were very confused and disoriented.
Eventually, Delta put together a plan in her fractured mind. Picking up her trident, she speared Orion in the back as he shivered next to her. Screaming, he looked at her in fear, too weak to fight back as Delta used the last of her energy to stab him again. As Orion slowly bled out, Delta could not muster enough strength to stab him again, and she just laid there completely exhausted. She silently wept, her tears freezing on her frozen cheeks as Orion's cannon fired.
Orion Boorstin, District 2 Male; 9th, Killed by Delta, Day 2
That left the Top 8: Tiffany O'Reilly from District 1, Chaise Schauwen from District 1, Synthia Clounde from District 3, Delta Cha from District 4, Shore Amoral from District 4, Virnea Somers from District 5, Mortimer Polk from District 6, and Ralf Courtney from District 11.
As Delta had been hoping, the sponsors in the Capitol delighted at her desperate betrayal of Orion and his gory, messy death. Her Mentor Flotsam was able to scrape together enough funding after her kill to send her a thick white quilt with warming pads stitched inside. Delta wept openly at the sponsor gift, praising Panem and President Snow and the Capitol as she wrapped herself in it and began to defrost. She slowly began to return to her former self.
Meanwhile, Synthia, Mortimer, and Ralf all began to struggle to survive the harsh snowstorms combined with the biting cold. Synthia had tired herself crawling through the snow and had fallen asleep in the open, and snow began to pile up around her, threatening to suffocate her. Meanwhile, Mortimer and Ralf were beginning to worsen in their stages of hypothermia, and they were unable to do much to save themselves. Their Mentors did not have sufficient funds to save them either. However, they were lucky that Cyndala Clargy had a preference for long, grueling Games. She was upset that her final Games had already been whittled down to 8 tributes only 2 days in. While she knew that the public already was not a fan of this Games besides being fans of the Careers, she wanted to stretch it out into gruesome lengths. Thus, she stopped the snowstorms and lessened the cold. No one would die from hypothermia. Not yet.
The next 3 days were cold, long, and ultimately boring. Synthia, Mortimer, and Ralf used the grace of Cyndala Clargy to begin to recover in the warmer temperatures; it was still well below freezing, but it was warm enough that they would not die. They all began to become very hungry, however. They avoided any other tributes in the expansive snowy tundra. Synthia continued her strategy of just crawling around the open snow, while Mortimer hid behind some boulders and Ralf rested behind a small hillock. Virnea remained in her little cave, and discovered some of the edible lichens inside of it that she used to feed herself. Delta had her heating quilt, and over the course of the 3 days her health was restored alongside a small hot drink full of electrolytes that Flotsam managed to send her. By Day 7, she was pretty close to prime shape, and was ready to take on the Outliers and prove herself. Shore, Chaise, and Tiffany continued to hunt through the tundra, but Cyndala did not want them to find any tributes for a while, wanting them to suffer. She made the areas of the arena they were in colder and have harder, more frequent snowstorms, making their hunts harder. Eventually, the pack was spending most of its time with its portable heaters to maintain their strength. They were continually lashed by the Gamemakers who were trying to punish them and make the arena hurt everyone.
While Cyndala would've been perfectly happy to let the slow deterioration of the tributes in the tundra happen for another week, the Capitol was restless for more action. Cyndala did not want to release any mutts into the arena, but she also knew that she needed a death to happen or her legacy would be entirely tarnished. She eased her attacks on the pack on the morning of Day 7 once they neared where little Ralf Courtney was hiding behind his hill. They all took this as a sign that they were near a tribute, and began to fan out and track down their victim. Ralf was napping at the base of the hill, hidden from the Careers at first. However, Chaise was the first one to discover him, and he skewered him through the back, waking up the boy with a scream. The 11 boy tried to crawl away, and Chaise let him, chuckling and putting on a show for the Capitol. He knew they needed their bloodlust sated, and he walked slowly behind the boy as he cried and tried to crawl away. Shore and Tiffany joined in on the torture, taunting the boy and throwing snowballs at him as he wept. However, they let Chaise have the true torture, as they had decided on a "finders keepers" rule for hunting. Chaise stabbed the little boy every now and again over the next hour as he futilely tried to crawl away, and he finally died from blood loss and exhaustion almost an hour and a half after he had been discovered.
Ralf Courtney, District 11 Male; 8th, Killed by Chaise, Day 7
After Ralf's thrilling and tortuous demise, Cyndala knew that she had bought herself more time and that she could stretch the Games out even longer. The Careers hunted throughout the rest of the day but discovered no one else, and set up camp on the hill where Ralf had died to get a better view of the arena. One of their heaters broke that night, but they managed to survive with just one, although they had to all huddle closer and were all colder. Delta had hunted throughout the day as well, but got tired faster than the other Careers, her body still not running at full capacity. Virnea remained in her cave, while Synthia continued to crawl through the snow, and Mortimer slumbered behind his boulders, his body completely exhausted. Synthia had managed to discover the edible lichens to sate her hunger, but Mortimer was running on fumes and his body was wracked by starvation.
Nothing happened on Day 8, as Delta's hunting and the pack's hunting came up fruitless, and Virnea, Synthia, and Mortimer remained in the same positions. On Day 9, Cyndala was about to bring a large blizzard and lower the temperatures dramatically to freeze out a couple of tributes, but then the two Outlier girls collided paths. The entire nation watched, rapt and focused intensely, as the second confrontation in a week in the Games occured.
Synthia had been slowly crawling closer to the cave where Virnea was hiding out, and Synthia spotted the 5 girl using her garden spade to shovel away snow from the entrance to her cave. Cyndala had made it start snowing softly before she would have brought on her blizzard, and Synthia was desperate for better shelter. Seeing Virnea's relatively cozy cave and her sleeping bag, the 3 girl continued to crawl towards her, intent on claiming the space for herself.
Virnea spotted the 3 girl quickly crawling across the snow towards her and blanched. She quivered as she held up her garden spade, hoping to use the blunt mental blade to fend off Synthia as she neared. Synthia was older and taller, and the 3 girl believed she could take Virnea rather easily. She leaped onto the 5 girl, and although Virnea smashed her garden spade against Synthia's back, the older girl ripped it out of her hands and threw it away. Synthia wrapped her hands around Virnea's neck, attempting to throttle her to death. Virnea uselessly gasped for air underneath the 3 girl's larger weight, but then Virnea was able to close her hand around a softball sized rock at the mouth of her cave. She wrapped her fingers around it, and lifted it up to bash it into Synthia's head.
The 3 girl screamed loudly as the hard, bumpy stone smashed into her head. She stumbled back, dazed, and touched the back of her head. When she pulled back her hand, it was slick with blood. It was now Synthia's time to try to escape. She tried to crawl away back into the snow, losing concentration as blood poured down her back. Virnea was scared to pursue her, but she also knew she needed to differentiate herself. She staggered after the 3 girl and bashed her head again and again and again as she screamed and thrashed in the snow. Virnea sobbed as she kept smashing the rock down until Synthia's cannon fired.
Synthia Clounde, District 3 Female; 7th, Killed by Virnea, Day 9
Virnea wept as she crawled back into her cave and slinked back into her sleeping bag. Shyanna was able to send the girl a hot bowl of pasta for her efforts, but Virnea could not make herself happy as she slurped up the warm delicacy. She was traumatized by her messy killing of Synthia, and she resolved to not kill or leave her little cave unless she was forced out of it by the Gamemakers towards the end of the Games.
The next morning, Cyndala let her blizzard hit the arena. The temperatures dipped to the levels they had been on the first night as the snow came down in thick drifts. The pack was still together, although there were tensions forming between the three strongest killers in the Games as they now made up half of the remaining tributes. However, they stuck together, huddled around their once remaining portable heater. It kept them safe through the blizzard. Delta was angry she had been unable to find anyone hunting, and tried to go through the arena during the blizzard to find any weakened tributes. However, she was soon overcome by the blizzard, and hid behind some boulders with her heated quilt to protect her from the bitter cold and snow. Virnea managed to make it by in her cave, although it was hard to keep the snow from piling up outside the mouth of her cave, and she had to content herself with only carving a small hole for oxygen to come in through. Meanwhile, Mortimer was not as lucky as any of the other tributes. Starved nearly to death, the boy was barely clinging onto life before the blizzard began. With insufficient protective material and an already very weakened body, the hypothermia and starvation mixed together into a deadly cocktail that took him out as the sun began to set over the arena.
Mortimer Polk, District 6 Male; 6th, Killed by hypothermia and starvation, Day 10
Before the sun rose again on the arena to begin Day 11, Chaise woke up before Shore and Tiffany. The handsome boy had been content to crack jokes and show off his physique through his heavy winterwear alongside making a couple gory kills. However, he knew the Games needed to end soon, and he didn't want to be teamed up on by Tiffany and Shore for being the strongest fighter left and the most popular. Devising a wicked plan to turn the two against each other, Chaise pulled out a small knife he had concealed from the rest of the Careers, did his dirty work, and then went back to sleep.
In the morning, Tiffany woke up first to find the bowstring of her bow sliced apart. She screamed, waking up the boys, and turned to them angrily, asking who had destroyed her only weapon. Shore immediately declared it wasn't him, while Chaise acted similarly, saying it must've been Shore. Shore insisted he hadn't, but Chaise then pointed to where a small knife could be seen sticking out of his bag. Chaise asked him where the hell he'd gotten a knife, and Tiffany's eyes bulged as she believed that Shore had used the knife to cut her bowstring and was attempting to blame Chaise.
Tiffany cussed at Shore, and the 4 boy knew that they were going to kill him. Only picking up his trident, he made a run for it, trying to get away before wasting his only weapon. Before he could turn around to throw his trident, however, Chaise had already lofted his spear through the air. The 4 boy screamed as it sliced through his back and the spearhead poked out of his chest. He fell to his knees and was dead before he fully hit the ground.
Shore Amoral, District 4 Male; 5th, Killed by Chaise, Day 11
Upset, Tiffany claimed Shore's trident while Chaise retrieved his spear from Shore's corpse. The two 1s agreed to stick together to share their single portable heater for now and hunt down the last two tributes before turning on one another. Tiffany was nervous, as she knew that without her bow she would struggle in close combat. Meanwhile, Chaise was grinning that his gamble had worked out, and that he was now in the best position in the Games. The rest of Day 11 passed by without consequence; Virnea remained huddled in her cave, while Delta scoured the tundra but turned up empty handed.
On Day 12, the Capitol was clamoring for an end to the Games, but Cyndala would not let it happen yet. Using harsh snowstorms, she was able to isolate the 1s from Delta and Virnea, while steering the other two girls towards each other. Virnea remained hidden in her cave, while snowstorms gradually pushed Delta closer and closer to where the final Outlier in the Games was hiding. By mid afternoon, Delta was close enough to make out small movements from where Virnea was shoveling away snow from her little cave. Delta began breaking out into a sprint, leaving her quilt on the ground before rushing towards the cave.
Virnea saw the Career charging her. Without a true weapon, the girl knew her only chance was to run hard. She darted out of her cave, leaving behind her sleeping bag and the pile of edible lichens she'd collected. She sprinted up the snowy hill where her cave was nestled, hoping to gain an advantage of height on Delta and send an avalanche of snow on her. Virnea reached the peak of the hill and began to push the snow hard towards where Delta was climbing up after her, trident in hand. However, she could not get the snow to pour down and crush the 4 girl as she had hoped. Sobbing, Virnea tried to run away, but Delta was already up most of the snow hill. She hurled her trident, and it slammed into Virnea's side. The 5 girl toppled with a sharp scream, and Delta scrambled to her side, pulling out her trident and this time stabbing it into the girl's skull. The bone cracked, and her cannon fired moments after as Delta drew her trident from Virnea's brain.
Virnea Somers, District 5 Female; 4th, Killed by Delta, Day 12
With 3 Careers left who all had sufficient warming supplies, the Capitol was chanting even louder for a final battle between the three. Cyndala could no longer relent, and 13 days was a sufficiently long Games for her. The next morning, she called a Feast at the center of the arena, and a brand new Cornucopia sprouted from the ground, this one made entirely of clear ice. The Feast would occur at noon, and attendance was mandatory. After Claudius Templesmith announced these terms to the tributes the night of Day 12, they began preparing for their fight the next morning. The Careers all knew this meant that they would be killed by the Gamemakers if they didn't attend, and that it was time for their final battle to see who would get to go home.
As the sun started to glimmer across the horizon, all three tributes started running towards the center of the arena. The 1s had stayed together, and they galloped to the icy Cornucopia from their resting place amongst some boulders. Meanwhile, Delta had slept within Virnea's cave and had eaten all of her leftover lichens, strengthening herself for the final battle against the 1s who she assumed were still allied. She also began to run hard towards the Horn, not wanting to miss the noon deadline and be offed by the Gamemakers.
As the tributes approached the icy Cornucopia, it became noon. A small table rose up, and the only thing that sat on it was a mug of hot cocoa that quickly went cold in the freezing arena. The Feast was not about supplies, so Cyndala had made a mockery of that component. It was about ending the Games once and for all.
Delta had her trident on hand, and she reached the Cornucopia seconds before Chaise and Tiffany. Taking her position, the 4 girl was prepared to fight hard and to the death against the District partners who were running in side by side. Immediately, the two 1s darted at Delta with their spear and trident respectively. Delta used her to block their moves, barely evading the sharp points of their weapons. One prong of Tiffany's clumsily used trident ripped out some of her hair, while Chaise's spearhead slashed across her right thigh. However, she made no noise, intent on fighting to the death against the 1s who had fractured the pack so early. However, it seemed like her attempts to protect herself were just preventing the inevitable as she began to get more and more wounds from the 1s.
Chaise would not miss one last chance to display his cunning and his manipulation skills. As Tiffany slashed her trident at Delta, a move the 4 girl barely blocked, Chaise whispered four little words that threw his ally off immediately.
"I cut the bowstring."
Tiffany paused in horror and shock, and suddenly Delta's trident was through her chest. The 4 girl would not resist the small opening to gain an upper hand in the fight. Coughing up blood, Tiffany staggered backwards and fell onto the Feast table, sending the cold mug of hot cocoa flying into the snow as she swiftly died. Delta and Chaise began to circle each other as Tiffany's cannon fired.
Tiffany O'Reilly, District 1 Female; 3rd, Killed by Delta, Day 13 (Feast)
Delta put up an admirable fight against Chaise, seeing Victory was in her graps now that Tiffany was dead. However, the beautiful 1 boy knew that he had the skills to outwit Delta, and had only distracted Tiffany when he knew Delta was too injured to hold up against him in a long battle. Indeed, the 4 girl began to slip, her torn right thigh inhibiting her as it bled profusely. Another slash at that leg with his spear, and the fish girl toppled involuntarily, her leg too weak to hold her up. She tried to block his next blow with the shaft of her trident, but Chaise stabbed each of her hands, causing her to lose her grip on her weapon. He kicked it far away into the snow before slamming his spear into a non-vital region of Delta's abdomen. She shuddered, knowing he would draw out her death. She shakily grabbed snow in her hand and threw it in his face. Chaise sputtered and spit the snow that got in his mouth onto her face, chuckling darkly before stabbing her over and over in every non-vital place he could. The girl made not a sound as she was tortured for almost fifteen minutes until she had lost too much blood and was dead. Her eyes finally slipped closed as her ragged breathing ceased, and Chaise drew his spear out victoriously as her cannon fired.
Delta Cha, District 4 Female; 2nd, Killed by Chaise, Day 13 (Feast)
"Chaise Schauwen of District 1, you are the Victor of the Fifty Fourth Hunger Games!" Claudius and Caesar roared into the arena as the trumpets blasted their victorious tune. Chaise roared in excitement, throwing his bloodied spear a dozen yards in a show of strength. He then grinned handsomely and gave his thanks to the Capitol for the bounty they had showed him as the hovercraft ladder lowered itself to him.
Aftermath
District 1 was excited for their first male Victor in almost 15 years, and Chaise was a very cherished and celebrated Victor. He showed a brutal cunning that was often lacking among many District 1 tributes, but he also retained his stunning beauty and buoyant charisma. He was a heavily preferred Victor of President Snow for several decades. He was very proud of his District and was a strict Capitol loyalist, thanking them for all that they had done for him. He lived in the Capitol as much as he did in District 1, having no trouble with this prostitution Snow enforced upon him and very much enjoying his playboy lifestyle. He got along greatly with most of his fellow Career Victors, and made great friends with Brutus Asesino and other Career Victors of the 50s. The Outliers detested him but also feared him for his pure strength and cunning, so they did not want to piss him off. Chaise was a powerful Mentor for District 1 and would be responsible for strengthening District 1's standing in Games to come, and he would be a key force in strengthening the reigmens of the IDE (Institution of Defense and Etiquette) as a key leader of the academy in 1.
Chaise would live to age 76, dying from pnuemonia around the 112th Hunger Games. He would marry a Capitolite model and have three sons with her, although none would enter the Games due to their partial Capitolite heritage; two became Peacekeepers, while another became a famous singer.
The payouts on his Victory weren't great, as 26% bet on him.
His Victory Tour was better than most. He was a very strong public speaker and brought ferocity and charisma to every stop on his Victory Tour. While the Outlier Districts detested him and gave him a cold reception, he had a great, flashy show in the Career Districts and in the Capitol.
Victor's News
Chaise moves in the Victor's Village of District 1.
Tex has his first child, a girl named Addison.
Shyanna marries a rich Capitolite businessman named Hector Cansus.
Nefertiti marries her fiance Gleam.
List of Victors
District 1 (8 Victors): Guild Tonneroy (6), Salandra Valour (11), Clermont Lackrey (15), Mascara Curler (22), Ivelisse Horner (31), Zion Alvarra (40), Nefertiti Kouri (47), Chaise Schauwen (54)
District 2 (9 Victors): Noor Tuskararus (4), Romulus Armidale (19), Fitore Renoro (21), Florianna Urnston (27), Tarquinius Isselhardt (30), Januaria Shale (36), Gnaeus Deccum (37), Brutus Asesino (44), Lyme Harriott (49)
District 3 (4 Victors): Chaplin Nastaro (7), Calculata Fenceley (26), Beetee Latier (33), Wiress Furuya (46)
District 4 (6 Victors): Kelan Thather (1), Mags Flanagan (11), Bex Martin (16), Dorsal Rance (24), Flotsam Bresten (34), Syren Calanthe (43)
District 5 (6 Victors): Tugra Ertra (3), Irmentrude Marley (8), Fox Rennolls (29), Porter Tripp (38), Surge Tomlin (42), Shyanna Lowell (51)
District 6 (3 Victors): Greason Trails (10), Mercedes Benson (28), Indigo Arnett (41)
District 7 (3 Victors): Ishania Patel (5), Grover Elms (20), Pomona McCrea (32)
District 8 (3 Victors): Woof Parsons (23), Organza White (35), Tex Hannon (52)
District 9 (4 Victors): Dillon Tripp (2), Deana Mitchellson (18), Enzo Faithlen (48), Brandy Hooper (53)
District 10 (3 Victors): Barcelona Sepias (13), Jaguar Crusoe (17), Elaine Canterbury (Aux. 46)
District 11 (4 Victors): Vissarion Chamantel (9), Freeha Indepp (14), Seeder Howell (39), Chaff Abwenza (45)
District 12 (2 Victors): Venice Grammar (25), Haymitch Abernathy (50)
A/N: This was the canon tundra Games mentioned in the books/moves I don't remember where. I think it said 17 people froze to death on the first night in that one, but I thought Cyndala wouldn't allow that and that sounded super boring LOL so I didn't exactly follow it :)
I hope you guys enjoyed! I know this wasn't the best one and it was shorter, but that was sort of the point. I didn't want this one to be amazing; there's gotta be some duds! And I wanted to show why Cyndala saved this arena until she retired because it made a more boring Games xD I hope you liked it still! What did you think of Chaise, and what do you think of Cyndala's retirement? Excited to see who replaces her?
That's all; hope y'all enjoyed it! There's another canon Games next time, although it doesn't have a canon Victor. When you see the tribute list you'll understand we're in for a...rather gruesome Games ;)
Until Next Time,
Tracee
