The Fifty Seventh Annual Hunger Games


Introduction

Despite Blight Jonson's thrilling strategy in the previous Games, they were regarded as remarkably safe and average in the Capitol. Creon Baxter knew that after the disaster of Titus and then a medicore year, he needed to bring forth a truly unique and creative arena in order to satiate the hunger of the Capitol and keep his job as the Head Gamemaker. Thus, he devised a cunning arena that had not been explored yet in the history of the Games, and he released clips of the arena for the first time in his career. They consisted of a rickety well, overcast skies, and a cobblestone road, causing the Capitol to become incredibly interested. President Coriolanus Snow was thrilled with Creon's new arena, as the past several Games were seen as grotesque or lackluster by the Capitol, and he was excited to have a good Games now that the Districts had been completely reminded of their place in the pecking order of Panem. The Districts resisted little after Blight's Victory, and Snow was pleased that the country seemed to have given up on rebellion for the meantime. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith remained the announcers of the Hunger Games, and with Creon's new, exciting arena, they had plenty to talk about on their pre-Games talk show. Creon was lucky, as a diverse crop of tributes turned out this year to fill his new arena. The Careers were a pretty strong group for the Fifty Seventh Games. The girl from 1 was the first of several girls in her family, the Rayboulds, that would compete in the Games. She was a curvy blonde bombshell, and many Capitolites fell in love with her during her flirtatious interview, the most openly scandalous one in years. She loved archery and hoped to use a bow in the arena. Her District partner was silent and brooding; he was extremely muscular, having the hulking build of a typical Two male, and he was the leader of the pack this year with his sound strategic reasoning. District 2 produced the strongest pair as usual. Their girl was especially vicious, and she was skilled with all types of knives, from daggers to throwing. She terrified the other tributes, and she could not wait to get into the arena to begin slaughtering. Her District partner was unusual among District 2 tributes; he was quiet and calm, preferring to keep an air of mystery about himself instead of boasting his skills. However, he still received a high score due to his exemplary skill with a spear. District 4 managed to produce two volunteers this year; however, their girl was the weakest of the pack. She was small and skinny, and did not seem like a Career at all. However, she seemed very optimistic about her chances despite having the lowest score of the Careers, and this kept many intrigued about her gameplan. Her District partner was mostly standard District 4 fare; he was muscular and loved swimming, and his favorite weapons were tridents and spears. He worked on the fishing boats when not training, and his dream was to own his own trawler if he won the Games. While the Careers had produced an interesting group, the Outliers were just as intriguing. The Anti-Career alliance came together for the first time since it had been successful for Brandy four years earlier. It was headed by the two 18 year old boys who had earned 8s in training; Leander of 8 and Panther of 10. Leander had a great natural aptitude with a sword and had a good physique, while Panther was slim and fast, outpacing even the faster Careers, and was skilled with a dagger. They brought in the girls from 7 and 8, Kenna and Ramona, as well as the boy from 9, Omri, who all scored a 6 or 7. Kenna had a dozen younger siblings to support back home, while Ramona was newly married and Omri came out as gay during the interviews. This Anti-Career pack was charismatic, and the Capitol fell in love with their dynamic. They were ravenous to see the two big alliances full of interesting characters go head to head. There was also an Outer District volunteer this year; Peach from 11 volunteered to save her crippled neighbor from going in the Games. None of the other tributes left much of an impression on the Capitol, and they all scored between a 6 and a 2. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Glisten Raybould, 18 (9) 8-1 and Hermes Kaspar, 18 (10) 5-1

District 2: Ferra Kaine, 18 (10) 5-1 and Terrance Mosby, 18 (10) 6-1

District 3: Cayble Cratch, 13 (4) 45-1 and Donovan Blaise, 17 (5) 36-1

District 4: Coralie Hasak, 17 (8) 11-1 and Stern Shimada, 18 (9) 8-1

District 5: Emmeline Corinth, 15 (3) 56-1 and Hyde Tanner, 15 (6) 25-1

District 6: Hedwig Barrow, 14 (4) 48-1 and Dirk Tautson, 16 (4) 44-1

District 7: Kenna Marley, 18 (7) 17-1 and Oake Farlen, 14 (3) 52-1

District 8: Ramona Binns, 18 (6) 22-1 and Leander Scruggs, 18 (8) 12-1

District 9: Jeanie Collin, 16 (5) 34-1 and Omri Calderon, 17 (7) 18-1

District 10: Izzey Lamone, 15 (4) 41-1 and Panther Kansan, 18 (8) 12-1

District 11: Peach Gangley, 17 (6) 28-1 and Kooper Root, 16 (5) 33-1

District 12: Lilia Pettigrew, 13 (2) 64-1 and Coaler Poach, 17 (4) 42-1

HGBA Odds: 17% on Hermes, 16% on Ferra, 14% on Terrance, 13% on Glisten, 10% on Stern, 8% on Coralie, 6% on Leander and Panther, 2% on Kenna and Omri, 1% or less on Cayble, Donovan, Emmeline, Hyde, Hedwig, Dirk, Oake, Ramona, Jeanie, Izzey, Peach, Kooper, Lilia, and Coaler.


The Games

The moment the tributes finished rising into the arena, they looked around curiously. They were set in the center of a medieval village, and all of the tributes were dressed like medieval peasants. The medieval village was decently expansive; the Cornucopia sat in the central square, while about five dozen huts, a church, and a crooked grid of cobblestone streets made up the rest of the village. The huts had mud walls and thatched roofs, and most contained beds and supplies. However, they were close to the Cornucopia, which could prove to be dangerous for tributes attempting to hide from stronger competitors. The village sat on an elevated plateau, and the ground sloped downward for about a mile on all sides after the village ended. This part of the arena was just green, grassy fields with few places to hide beyond a couple of piles of boulders. To the east and west, the sloping green grass flattened to bare dirt fields that had yet to be planted which provided little to no shelter. To the north sat a misty evergreen forest. While this would provide the most cover, it also contained the lair of a dragon mutt that would destroy any tribute that disturbed it. To the south was a wide, rushing river, which was the only substantial source of water in the entire arena. There was a single bridge across it to more fields on the eastern side of the river, but it was guarded by a troll mutt that would attack anyone attempting to cross. Overall, this was a unique and interesting arena. The Cornucopia had less supplies than usual; Creon wanted the drama to drag out in these Games, and wanted more tributes to avoid the Bloodbath. Thus, 10 tributes would perish in the opening minutes despite the inevitable clash between the two alliances.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

When the gong rang, the girls from 3, 6, and 12 and the boys from 6 and 12 ran away from the Bloodbath immediately while the other nineteen tributes headed into the fray. Panther from 10 took the lead in the opening sprint, blowing away the other tributes. He immediately began gathering as many supplies as possible, as his alliance had decided to try and get in and get out as swiftly as possible. However, as his allies and the Careers arrived and gathered up weapons, it became obvious that a clash was inevitable between the two groups of tributes.

Terrance had managed to grab a spear right next to Panther and lunged at him with the weapon moments after the gong, intent on gutting the lithe cattle boy. Panther dodged his attacks, and he shrugged off the packs he was carrying so he could fight back better with his dagger. The two danced for several moments, and the whole nation gasped as suddenly Panther ducked underneath Terrance's spear and carved open his stomach with two deep slashes of his dagger. The 2 boy fell to his knees and croaked as he died, the shocking first casualty of the Games.

Terrance Mosby, District 2 Male; 24th, Killed by Panther, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Panther's allies were gathering up supplies and trying to escape, and the Careers were intent on slaughtering as many tributes as possible. Stern had a trident in his hands, and he lunged at the nearest girl, using the butt of the weapon to slam her to the ground before shoving the prongs of his weapon into her skull. The girl could barely scream before she was dead on the cobblestones.

Emmeline Corinth, District 5 Female; 23rd, Killed by Stern, Bloodbath

Hermes, the defacto leader of the pack, had swept up twin broadswords, and he swept into the crowd of tributes, growling as he whirled his blades around dangerously. He spotted a tiny girl digging through a pile of rations in a wooden crate, and he attacked her, his blades singing through the air as they chopped into the back of her neck. The girl was dead almost instantly from the blow as Hermes tugged his swords free.

Izzey Lamone, District 10 Female; 22nd, Killed by Hermes, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Ferra had noticed Terrance's slain corpse, and saw the bloodstained dagger in Panther's hand as he tried to escape with the rest of his alliance. Roaring in utter fury, she chased after the 10 boy with pure anger coursing through her veins. This allowed her to catch up to the quick boy and tackle him. She slashed open his throat over and over again; Ramona screamed for him, but Leander forced her to keep running away as Ferra cut his face and throat until it was all a mushy, bloody mess.

Panther Kansan, District 10 Male; 21st, Killed by Ferra, Bloodbath

Glisten had managed to find the single bow in the arena tucked at the back of the Horn, and she sprinted out into the open, nocking an arrow and firing at some of the tributes that were trying to escape the Bloodbath. Her arrow struck home, slamming into the back of the head of a girl who had a large clay jug of water in her arms. The jug shattered on the cobblestones as the girl spasmed for several moments before falling still.

Jeanie Collin, District 9 Female; 20th, Killed by Glisten, Bloodbath

Back by the Horn, Hermes was intent on slaughtering more tributes, and his broadswords frightened any of the tributes still lingering near the center of the arena. The lanky boy from 11 screamed as one of Hermes's blades raked across his right shoulder, dropping the supplies he had grabbed in a desperate attempt to run away. However, Hermes wouldn't let the boy escape, and his blades sliced the boy open as he roared in glee.

Kooper Root, District 11 Male; 19th, Killed by Hermes, Bloodbath

Stern had been chasing a screaming boy with a limp as he tried to escape into the nearby maze of medieval huts, toying with him and letting him outpace him to make the chase more satisfying. However, he became tired as the boy neared the edge of the ring of pedestals, and he stopped running and threw his trident with force. It slammed into the back of the boy, slamming him to the ground. He screamed as Stern ran over and ripped the trident free before slamming it into the back of his neck, killing him.

Oake Farlen, District 7 Male; 18th, Killed by Stern, Bloodbath

Glisten continued to fire her arrows at tributes trying to escape the Bloodbath, turning her attentions to where the four remaining members of the Anti-Career alliance were escaping with a good amount of supplies. She started firing, and one of her arrows dug into the temple of the newly-out boy from 9, Omri. The boy fell to the ground, dead almost instantly, and Leander and Kenna had to drag a screaming Ramona away as they all narrowly avoided being skewered by Glisten's arrows as well.

Omri Calderon, District 9 Male; 17th, Killed by Glisten, Bloodbath

Ferra found her second victim, tackling the strong girl from 11 who had volunteered to save her crippled neighbor. Peach fought back bravely, slashing open Ferra's cheek with a throwing knife she had grabbed from the Cornucopia. However, Ferra easily overpowered the weaker girl, and she giggled with malice in her eyes as she slashed open Peach's chest and stomach with a wickedly curved dagger until the girl stopped struggling and fell still about ten minutes later.

Peach Gangley, District 11 Female; 16th, Killed by Ferra, Bloodbath

The Cornucopia clearing seemed cleared out, but the cannons did not fire, so the Careers began to comb the clearing. They found the slim boy from 3 huddled inside of a crate inside the Cornucopia with wires and batteries in his arms, hoping to sneak away in the night. Coralie from 4 was the only Career still alive who had not made a kill yet, so the other Careers forced her to do it to prove herself or else they'd kick her from the Pack. She acted nervous about it, but as she slit screaming Donovan's throat with a dagger, she flashed a devilish smile at him before slipping back into her spooked state as he bled out inside of the crate he'd been hiding in.

Donovan Blaise, District 3 Male; 15th, Killed by Coralie, Bloodbath

Once Coralie had finished off the 3 boy, the Career pack began to assess their losses. All five of them were incredibly shocked at the loss of Terrance, as he had been one of their stronger members despite his quiet demeanor. While Ferra had been able to finish Panther, his murderer, they were all still wary about the possible skills of the Anti-Career pack even though they had been shaved down to only three members. Brandy's Victory from a similar situation only four years prior was heavy on their minds. However, the pack put these worries behind them as they worked together to sort their supplies for a bit before Ferra brought up the idea of going hunting. They all knew that the trouble with the pack in recent years had been its tendency to lapse into inactivity, and they all agreed they needed to try to be more proactive and violent this year in order to satiate the Capitol's thirst for bloodlust and ensure one of them would win. Thus, the Careers all agreed to form a hunting party and try to pick off any of the weaker tributes who had dared to hide within the medieval village that surrounded the Cornucopia. Glisten played guard at the Cornucopia since her long-range weapon would not be as useful in the jumble of closely huddled huts while Hermes led a party of himself, Ferra, Stern, and Coralie into the village.

While the Careers were suiting up for their hunt and beginning to go on the prowl, the other tributes were beginning to explore the arena. Little Cayble had fled from the Bloodbath immediately, too terrified to try to run into the opening melee. Her pedestal had been on the western edge of the ring, and thus she had fled immediately in that direction. She tumbled out of the village and down the grassy slope until she reached the barren stretches of untilled farmland. Unsure of where to go, Cayble eventually found a farming hoe laying among the dirt. She used it to dig a furrow in the ground where she could hide, and she packed dirt over herself to disguise herself. She cried herself to sleep, utterly terrified knowing she had no supplies and was basically hiding in the open. Hyde had managed to make it out of the Bloodbath with a spool of wire and a pack that contained several packs of jerky and a full water bottle. While he had initially fled west, he discovered the empty farmlands and looped northward once he caught sight of the misty evergreen forest in the distance. He slept near the edge of the forest, hiding among the upturned roots of a fallen evergreen, planning to find somewhere else to hide in the morning. Hedwig had ran from the Cornucopia in absolute terror after being frozen on her pedestal for almost fifteen seconds after the gong rang. Having a panic attack, she collapsed in a random hut in the village and sobbed for a long time. Once she gathered herself, it was late at night, and she made herself get up and try to escape the village, knowing the Careers would be coming soon. Her District partner Dirk also stuck to the village, but he took a different approach, deciding to stay there permanently. Dirk had been anxious all of training, and he had found comfort at the camouflage station as it seemed calming as opposed to the survival and weaponry stations. Not wanting to venture into the wilderness, he searched through several huts before finding some powders and pastes inside them. He used these and dust and mud outside in order to camouflage his skin into the color of the huts, hoping it would help him hide in the village. Meanwhile, the Anti-Career alliance had fled immediately north after escaping the Bloodbath, knowing that staying in the village was too dangerous for them. They made it to the forest before any other tributes, and they traversed rather deep into it in case the Careers were pursuing them. They settled in a small clearing where they could set up camp and organize their supplies; they had all grabbed packs with food and water, while Leander had grabbed a machete, Kenna had grabbed twin hatchets, and Ramona had gotten a dagger. Ramona was an emotional mess after the Bloodbath, but Leander and Kenna helped calm her down so they could all rest for the night. Lilia was the only Outlier to go south by chance, and she was exhausted by the time she reached the bottom of the grassy slopes and arrived at the southern river. She was not in sight of the bridge, and she did not know how to swim. Thus, she decided it was too dangerous to try to cross the river and settled by its bank, covering herself in grass and mud in hopes of being able to hide throughout the night. Finally, Lilia's District partner had also surprisingly survived the Bloodbath, which was a rarity for 12. Coaler went north once the Bloodbath started, avoiding the chaos entirely, and he also ended up in the misty evergreen forest when he thought it would provide adequate cover despite its spooky atmosphere. While walking through the forest, he tripped over a rotten log and twisted his right ankle. Angry, Coaler ended up sleeping on the ground within some bushes nearby after dragging himself there, upset that he had no supplies and already had injured himself.

As the Careers searched throughout the medieval village on that first night, they soon heard some nearby scuffling and decided to go investigate. Ferra was the first to round the corner and spot Hedwig from 6 weaving down one of the cobblestone streets anxiously, trying to leave behind the village after having recovered from her frenzied panic attack. Hedwig did not even notice the Careers until Ferra started whooping to tell her allies to join her in the chase. Then, the willowy little girl began to scream bloody murder and sprint away as fast as she could. However, the 6 girl was seriously malnourished and was no match for the older, stronger tributes pursuing her. Since Ferra had spotted her, the other Careers let her have the kill, falling back as Ferra closed in on the screeching Outlier. She tackled Hedwig hard, the girl's head cracking sharply against the cobblestones and disorienting her. Ferra would not let her off easily however, wanting to put on a show, and she spent about twenty minutes carving Hedwig's face and chest to ribbons before the girl's cannon finally fired while her allies jeered wildly and vuglarly. They high fived as they walked away from her corpse, showing how this Career pack was intent on putting on a gory, enthusiastic show this year.

Hedwig Barrow, District 6 Female; 14th, Killed by Ferra, Night 1

After murdering Hedwig, the Careers continued to sweep the village, intent on claiming as many victims as possible on the first night and wanting to prove their mettle to the Capitolite audience. However, their searches turned up empty; Dirk's camouflage allowed him to hide in the shadowy corners of one of the huts, and when Stern checked inside that hut, he overlooked the hidden boy. No other tributes were left in the village, and late at night the hunting party returned to the Cornucopia to reunite with Glisten. Their sponsors sent them a large opening night feast of steaks and mashed potatoes for all of them to share after showing how they were more willing than previous packs to get to work on hunting down the Outliers. The Careers gorged on this and talked raucously, enjoying their first night in the Games. Only Coralie remained more reserved, not partaking in the more bloody banter and keeping to herself, but no one took much note of this, assuming the girl was just shier than most. Once their feast had concluded, the Careers gathered up the sleeping bags hidden in the Horn and got their well deserved rest.

In the morning, the Careers awoke early and immediately agreed to go on the prowl once more. They swept through the village again in order to make sure that no tributes were hiding among the collection of huts. They again missed Dirk; during the evening, he had quietly stalked through the streets until he made it into one of the huts on the edge of the village. Inside, he had found a stack of bags of flour, and he had buried himself among them, adjusting his camouflage to blend in with the canvas bags better. The Careers glossed over his hut when Dirk made no noise after Hermes entered, and thus the 6 boy's camouflage skills helped him survive another day in close proximity to the Career pack. After finding no one else in the village, the Careers agreed to go hunting in a different direction after a lunch break, choosing to investigate the southern quadrant of the arena once they had refreshed themselves.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tributes began to explore during their second day in the arena. Cayble dug herself out of the furrow in the dirt field she had buried herself in and began scrambling farther west, believing she would find somewhere to hide if she kept running. However, she came up empty, collapsing after running a mile and a half through the dirt fields and finding nothing else. She fell to the ground, sobbing, curling up with the gardening hoe she had found earlier, only a short ways away from the force field due to her extensive fleeing. After she stopped crying, she set about using her hoe to dig around the field, finding some tubers that she forced herself to eat. Hyde used the wire he had gotten from the Bloodbath to make a few simple wire traps, and they were pretty well constructed as he set them up throughout the western edge of the misty forest. He managed to catch a squirrel by the end of the day; unsure of how to cook it, he ended up eating some of the meat raw while saving the rest to hopefully cook when he figured out how to start a fire. The Anti-Career pack set about exploring the misty forest in depth after waking up. Ramona was still emotional but held herself together; she was a bit nervous about exploring the haunting forest, but she also did not want to seem like more of a weak link. Meanwhile, Kenna and Leander were eager to explore; Kenna climbed several of the evergreen trees to see the size of the forest, and the trio worked together to gather edible berries and nuts. They also constructed a lean-to out of younger trees in order to give them shelter, wanting to establish a base camp and avoid the Careers for the time being. Coaler was also in the misty forest, and his ankle was still throbbing with pain when he woke up. Extracting himself from the bushes where he had rested, the boy attempted to make a splint for his ankle but struggled to do so. Giving up, he began to hobble through the forest, swiftly becoming hungry and thirsty but not knowing the plants well enough to chance eating any of them.

Coaler's little District partner, Lilia, was the only tribute in the southern sector of the arena where the Careers had decided to hunt once they had finished their lunch break. She had been hidden on the bank of the fast rushing river, and she removed herself to explore the area after drinking from the crystal clear waters in order to sate her thirst. She was not very hungry as she was used to hunger from living in the Seam, but she wanted to look around and try to find a better hiding place. Thus, she was walking along the length of the southern river, plainly out in the open as the Careers packed up their things and started to head southward in order to hunt. They left behind Coralie to be the guard as she had expressed less interest in hunting, while Glisten was eager to get out into the rest of the arena. The Careers excitedly exited the village, eager to explore the rest of the arena that they had yet to see. As they jogged down the mile-long slope of green grass, they soon heard the rushing of the southern river and picked up their pace in order to investigate.

Soon, they reached the bank of the river, and they drank up their canteens before refilling them in the river and popping iodine tablets inside just in case. Excited to have found a main water source in the arena, the pack also knew that at least one tribute had to have discovered the river as well by now. Thus, they split up into pairs, with Hermes and Glisten heading east while Ferra and Stern headed west in order to explore the river and see if they could find any tributes or any easy ways to cross the quickly-running river. As Ferra and Stern picked their way west, their search turned up empty. However, as Hermes and Glisten began to traverse the eastern half of the bank, they soon spotted Lilia crouched by the water, drinking heartily. The girl freaked out and ran farther east, prompting Hermes and Glisten to pursue her while they signaled loudly for Ferra and Stern to join them.

While Ferra and Stern raced to catch up to their allies, Glisten and Hermes pursued the scrap of a girl from 12 as she tried to run as fast as she could, running along the only part of the bank she had yet to explore. Soon, in the distance, she spotted the stone bridge which was the only way to cross the river. It was surrounded by a variety of tall, thick reeds and boulders, which seemed like the perfect place for something to be hiding. However, Lilia did not stop to think about the shadowy area beneath the bridge, seeing it as her possible salvation. She sprinted towards it while Glisten and Hermes closed in on her. Glisten stopped when they were in range, nocking her bow and firing an arrow at Lilia. It slammed into the girl's right shoulder, making her scream loudly as she began to dash more madly for the bridge. Glisten's next two arrows missed as Lilia managed to zigzag until her feet were slapping across the stones of the bridge.

Hermes was only a dozen steps behind Lilia at this point, his twin broadswords lofted high as he prepared to go in for the kill. However, he and Lilia both stopped dead in their tracks as they heard the guttural groaning emanating from beneath the bridge. Already halfway across the long, arcing stone structure, Lilia began to scream as she made herself run towards the other side while Hermes watched from the bank, Glisten catching up to him. The 1s watched in horror as a shuffling, hobbled over creature with sagging gray-green skin peppered with warts and boils emerged from the shadowy underside of the bridge. The creature roared, gnashing its yellowing teeth as it reached over the side of the bridge, waving its arms angrily at Lilia as she desperately ran for the other end. However, Lilia was much too slow despite her small size to dodge the troll's attacks, and soon one of its massive, gnarled paws swept her up and crushed her like a rag doll as it dashed her against a boulder one, two, three times until her cannon fired menacingly.

Lilia Pettigrew, District 12 Female; 13th, Killed by troll mutt, Day 2

The troll mutt turned its attention to Hermes and Glisten on the bank of the river, snarling at them wildly. The 1s shared a look and backed away, knowing that engaging such a strong mutt this early in the Games was a recipe for disaster. They also knew that there was no way any other Outliers had crossed the bridge or made it through the rapids of the southern river to the other side of the fields. Thus, they began sprinting west down the bank to avoid a confrontation with the troll mutt until they met up with Ferra and Stern. The 1s filled in Ferra and Stern about the mutt, and they agreed that there was little chance that anyone had been able to cross the wide river. Thus, they combed the rest of the close bank of the river before returning back to camp, not wanting to risk drowning or a clash with the troll mutt to investigate the grassy fields on the opposite bank. After the Careers returned to camp, it was nearly dusk, and they reported their findings to Coralie, who nodded with indifference at the mention of the troll mutt. The rest of the Careers were a bit confused by her meekness and lack of interest in the going-ons of the Games, but they left her be and continued to gossip and chorus loudly throughout the night about their kills and the troll mutt.

The next morning, the Careers awoke early once more, intent on continuing to thin the herd as swiftly as possible. After doing a cursory check of the village, once again overlooking where Dirk was hidden within a pile of flour sacks, the Careers agreed to invesitgate the eastern portion of the arena. As they had not explored all of the river in the south since they had not gone past the bridge guarded by the troll in the southeastern part of the arena, they believed the river might also run along the eastern part of the arena. Therefore, it could be home to another bridge or various hiding spots for tributes. Thus, they suited up and headed out to hunt in the eastern part of the arena, once again leaving Coralie to guard to Cornucopia. They spent all day combing the grassy hills and then the expansive, untilled dirt fields, turning up empty on their search since none of the other tributes were staked out in the eastern part of the arena.

Back in the village, Coralie seemed to be waiting until her allies were certainly out of the collection of huts surrounding the town square. Once some time had passed, the 4 girl could be seen wandering away from the Horn to search among the huts for things, gathering herbs and flowers she found in the homes for an unknown purpose. She made sure to check back at the Horn every fifteen minutes to make sure no one was around, and after several hours she had amassed several handfuls of herbs that she packed away into a small pouch she kept tied to her waist. While Coralie was away from the Horn periodically, Dirk could be seen creeping back into the town square. He noticed the pattern of her movements and timed his raid of the Cornucopia accordingly. He knew to only take what would not be missed, snatching up a half-full canteen as well as a handful of granola bars and an apple. He then methodically returned to his hut on the outskirts of the village, using his camouflage to blend into the sides of the huts and stopping for long amounts of time to make sure Coralie was not passing nearby before moving again. Eventually, he returned to his hut safely and was able to eat his first real meal since the beginning of the Games.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tributes besides little Cayble, who continued to dig for tubers and hide herself within a mound of dirt, were gathered in the northern evergreen forest. Hyde's wire snares were working better and better as he spent more time tinkering with them, and he managed to catch two more squirrels by the end of the day. For his efforts, his Mentor Surge was able to send him a flint to make fire with. Hyde considered his options, knowing it was risky to keep eating raw meat as his meal yesterday had given him strong stomach cramps. He eventually decided a fire was an alright risk, as the forest was cloaked with mist, and a little bit of smoke would blend right in. Thus, he lit a small fire with the flint after some trial and error and cooked his two and a half squirrels over the flames before gorging on the roasted flesh happily. Meanwhile, the alliance of Kenna, Leander, and Ramona continued to build up their campsite in the center of the misty evergreen forest, strengthening their leanto and also deciding to build a small fire for warmth as it was beginning to get colder in the arena. Leander managed to kill a rabbit that hopped into their clearing, and they gorged on the meat. While the Capitol was still interested in the most obvious resistance in the Games to the Careers, their interest was starting to wane as the trio had yet to do anything of note since the Bloodbath. That night, the three agreed they needed to start exploring more of the misty forest, especially the deeper, thicker portions that they had yet to traverse into. They knew this area probably contained some dangers, but they also knew it might offer better cover, and that they also needed to add some drama for the Capitol before they would get tormented for inactivity. Coaler continued to struggle in the forest, becoming disoriented from the consistent throb of pain in his ankle as well as from his nagging hunger and thirst. He eventually ate some berries he was pretty sure were safe; however, the berries made him incredibly drowsy and caused him to pass out in the open on the forest floor. Luckily for the 12 boy, however, he would go undiscovered and was able to regain consciousness by the time of the anthem that night.

The next morning, the Careers agreed it was time to head north for hunting. They knew that arenas often mimicked each other at opposite poles, so they assumed that the western portion of the arena was similar to the barren fields they had explored the previous day to the east. Therefore, the alliance agreed that there had to be something of note to the north, since besides the southern river there did not seem to be any significant landmarks besides the village, and there were still plenty of Outliers that had yet to be found. Coralie asked to go hunting this time, and the alliance agreed to let her come as they were contented that Coralie was starting to show more interest in the bloodier parts of the Games again. In reality, Coralie seemed to be satisfied with the contents of her pouch and no longer needed to play guard. Glisten had tripped over a rock during the hunt the day before and had tweaked her knee, so she agreed to stay back at the Horn to rest up while the other four went exploring the northern reaches of the arena. With this settled, the Careers set off immediately, not even bothering to check the village as they trekked north.

Soon after they got a ways down the grass slope, the misty forest soon came into sight, and the Careers knew they had discovered the place where many of the tributes would be congregated. They excitedly raced towards the sea of evergreens, eager to shed more blood and whittle away the number of Outliers left in the Games. Hyde was on the fringe of the forest checking one of his snares when he spotted the foursome of Careers prowling across the grassy fields and heading straight for the forest. Terrified, the 5 boy immediately began running east until he was at the very eastern fringe of the forest and he could no longer see the Careers. He waited for a while before beginning to creep out of the forest and towards the dirt fields of the eastern part of the arena, unwilling to continue to reside in the forest while the bloodthirsty Careers were combing through it.

The other tributes in the forest were not as attentive, however, especially Coaler. He was still drowsy from the berries he had eaten the day before, and he was going a little mad with a dry throat, an empty stomach, and an aching body with no supplies. He stumbled loudly through the forest, weaving through the thinner areas closer to the village, and the sounds he made while travelling were resounding. The Careers had reached the forest minutes earlier, having fanned out to explore the area more in depth. Hermes was closest to where Coaler was wandering, and he quickly closed in on the disoriented 12 boy, moving quietly through the evergreens with his twin broadswords clutched tightly in his hands. The mist made everything more haunting, and when Coaler's shuffling form suddenly appeared from the mist, Hermes struck out of instinct instead of trying to drag out the kill as was his plan. One of his broadswords swept Coaler's head from his shoulders neatly, his cannon booming before his decapitated head could even hit the group. Hermes groaned good naturedly about how he had been too fast to the trigger as Coaler's headless corpse collapsed to the forest floor with violent spurts of blood.

Coaler Poach, District 12 Male; 12th, Killed by Hermes, Day 4

After Coaler's cannon fired, Hermes signaled to his allies that he had taken someone out and that none of them had gotten into any trouble. Then, the four Careers continued to trek through the misty evergreens, intent of searching as much of the area as possible. It became hard to completely know which direction was which in the haze of the forest, but the Careers continued to hunt swiftly through the trees, knowing most likely that the Anti-Career alliance was nestled somewhere in these trees as it seemed to be the most defensible place in the arena they had discovered thus far.

In fact, the Anti-Career alliance was still deep inside of the forest, having planned to go explore the deepest regions of the forest that day. As Leander was out checking their traps, however, he heard the far off chatter of Ferra and Stern as they hunted, and he rushed back to camp, alerting Kenna and Ramona of the fact that it seemed as if the Careers were in the forest. They quickly disguised their campsite as well as they could before gathering all the supplies they could carry and trekking off into the dense inner forest where dangers other than Careers lurked. Minutes after the Anti-Careers had disappeared from their campsite, Ferra and Stern stumbled upon the clearing. Their training immediately led them to notice the remains of the lean-to that the alliance had hastily undone along with the half-buried coals of their fire. Knowing that such a big campsite could only accomodate one group of tributes left in the Games, Ferra and Stern swiftly turned back and called out for Hermes and Coralie. Soon, the other two arrived, and Ferra began leading the group deeper into the forest as she was the group's strongest tracker.

Thus, an intense chase began as the Careers pursued the Anti-Careers through the increasingly thick forest. The mist was soon obscuring almost everything, and the trees became taller and wider. The Anti-Career trio was about five minutes ahead of the Careers, with the gap between them closing rapidly. They also knew that they would soon reach the edge of the arena, and they were desperately looking for anywhere to hide or a defensible spot to fight for their lives from. So when they stumbled upon the rocky formation nestled at the very northern edge of the force field, touching the force field, they knew that this could be their chance to escape or fight. Thus, the three tributes scrambled swiftly towards the pile of boulders with a gaping cavern between them, hoping to hide within the cave or fight from the high ground. However, none of them could have anticipated what would emerge from that cavern as they all heard a slow, grumbling growl drift out from the darkness between the boulders.

Ramona began to scream shrilly while Kenna and Leander were both dumbfounded into silence as the large off-white dragon with flecks of forest green in its scales crawled from between the pile of boulders, its long, waxy wings stretching out and forcing the evegreens nearby to bend and snap. It was about thirty feet long, with a long, narrow snout that had rows upon rows of razor sharp, yellowed teeth and a lashing pink tongue that flicked out of its mouth like a snake. Its yellow reptilian eyes were dilated with rage, and its large wings and winding tails thrashed about anxiously as it lets loose a bone rattling roar. Without even thinking, all three of the Anti-Careers began to flee in the opposite direction as the dragon mutt shot a plume of sizzling flame into the air before beginning to lurch towards them.

The Careers had been closing in on the clearing where the dragon's boulder lair and the Anti-Careers had been, but they all slowed as they heard the screams of their approaching victims and the roars of the dragon mutt. Knowing that this was probably some counterpart to the troll mutt, the Careers agreed to fall back and prepare to defend themselves in case the beast came for them. Thus, they held their ground while the three Anti-Careers were screaming for their mothers and the dragon mutt closed in on them nearby. Kenna was incredibly swift, dropping everything but her hatchets to run, and Leander was not far behind her. However, Ramona was by far the slowest of the alliance, and her hysterical sobbing did not help her move any faster. Vision blurred by tears, she tripped over a root, and it was over from there. The dragon roasted her in a blast of fire that roasted her into an unrecognizable shape and made her cannon fire before snapping up her burned corpse into its maw, shredding the body between its rows of fearsome teeth.

Ramona Binns, District 8 Female; 11th, Killed by dragon mutt, Day 4

Kenna and Leander were so fearful that they ran in opposite directions, breaking up and trying to escape the dragon. Kenna wound west anxiously, while Leander seemed to head northeast. The dragon ended up pursuing Leander, as he was headed towards the Careers more closely than Kenna, and Creon Baxter wanted the Careers to have to face the dragon as well. Thus, the 7 girl was able to run and run and escape with her life. She was able to climb up a tall evegreen tree at the western fringe of the forest where she hid and let herself finally cry, knowing carnage was occuring in the other side of the arena that she had been lucky enough to escape.

Meanwhile, Leander was crashing through the evergreen trees in a panic, the dragon scorching trees around him and barely missing setting him on fire as he raced towards the Careers. The Careers could see the trees shaking and trembling from a distance as the dragon closed in, and they also heard the panicked screams of Leander as he reaches them. The Careers knew that they had to stand their ground, forming a tight cluster as they prepared for whatever was about to emerge from the undergrowth and assault them.

Their eyes all opened wide as Leander tumbled out of the evergreen trees and into their sight shrieking, one of his arms caught on fire. The Careers are more shocked by the giant white-green dragon that volleys a violent torrent of fire into the air upon nearing them, however, Coralie screaming a little at the sight. Leander screeched for help and kept running right at the Careers, expecting them to work with him to take down the monster out of pure fear. He preferred to run towards the other humans that his panicked brain saw as familiar than face the dragon all alone. However, the Careers all shared a look and agreed to take Leander out quickly before he could escape and the dragon could turn its attentions on them. Thus, Ferra took out one of her throwing knives from the bulging belt at her waist and flicked it at Leander expertly. The blade buried itself hilt deep in the 8 boy's neck. His eyes opened wide in shock as his hands shot up to scratch at the wound before he collapsed, his cannon firing quickly after that while the Careers prepared to fight the dragon mutt.

Leander Scruggs, District 8 Male; 10th, Killed by Ferra, Day 4

Once Leander was taken care of, the Careers quickly set to work collaborating to take down the dragon mutt, knowing that this task was not going to be easy for them. Hermes had the best weapons to murder the dragon and was the one who would do the job, while Ferra planned to help him do so and the 4s acted as a distraction. Coralie spent all of her time shrieking like a frightened little girl and waving her dagger at the dragon, but she seemed to really enjoy the battle, her devilish smile creeping out as her allies were occupied otherwise. Meanwhile, Stern was even more aggressive, throwing insults at the dragon and stabbing at its wings and paws with his spear. The dragon was infuriated, blowing torrents of fire at the 4s, but they were agile enough to avoid them working together. While the 4s were distracting the beast, Ferra helped Hermes climb up the mutt's leg and onto its back before backing away to help confuse and distract the monster with the 4s. The dragon felt Hermes on its back and began to thrash about, but Hermes stabbed both swords deep into its hide and held on. Becoming panicked, it tried to take off and fly away, but Stern quickly used his spear to stab the joint between its wing and body, leaving one of its wings immobile.

In utter anger, the dragon lashed out with a taloned paw at Stern, and the 4 boy screamed as his right arm was torn cleanly off, flopping to the ground next to him. He swooned from the shock, staggering away, while Ferra and Coralie both screamed and tried to help defend him from the dragon. While the dragon had been focused on attacking Stern, however, Hermes had been able to rip his swords free and sprint his way up its back. When he reached the neck, he plunged his swords in again, causing the dragon to roar pitifully as blood poured out of the gaping holes in its neck. Hermes stabbed the swords down a second time and then a third time until the dragon staggered and fell onto its side, almost crushing the 1 boy beneath its weight. It let loose a few heaving roars and snorted several harsh puffs of fire before falling still, the beast slain. Hermes ripped his blades free from the monster and ran over to where Ferra and Coralie were crouched around the injured Stern.

The 4 boy's stump of a right arm was pumping out blood, and Ferra had torn off her shirt in order to wrap the wound. A tinkling parachute with a roll of extra-durable bandages and fast-acting antibiotics flew down from Stern's Mentor, Flotsam, whose sponsor funds had ballooned after the dragon had been murdered. However, Stern was barely clinging to life after the antibiotics and bandages were applied and the blood flow stopped. The group agreed that they needed to transport Stern back to the village, but they were unsure of how to do so. He was much too weak to walk, and he was the biggest Career besides Hermes. Eventually, they gingerly picked him up with Hermes supported his head and neck and the girls each taking a leg. Thus, they slowly progressed through the forest and back across the grassy fields before arriving back in the village late at night. Glisten was shocked by the number of cannons that had fired, having feared for her allies' lives. However, she helped them care for Stern and listened aptly to their war stories about the tributes they had killed and the battle with the dragon, ravenously jealous at having missed out at this chance for valor. It was obvious that even with Stern's severe injury, the pack was still tightly knit and willing to continue dominating the Games now that there were only four Outliers left to exterminate.

On the morning of Day 5, the Careers awoke early to see that it was raining torrentially in the arena. They agreed that they needed a day of respite after the turmoil yesterday that had killed three Outliers and had injured Stern, and a rainy day was the perfect day for it. The group agreed that they had put on a good enough show to give them a break for the day, and thus the alliance agreed to hang out around the town square and recuperate, treating their small injuries and boosting morale. Coralie remained pretty remote from the alliance but was still friendly, while Ferra, Glisten, and Hermes all continued to bond very tightly and take care of Stern with great attention. The 4 boy was still incredibly weak and unable to walk, but he was able to speak and think more clearly now, showing he was beginning to recover and that the sponsored medicine might be helping him heal.

The other tributes did not do much on Day 5 either. Cayble had been spending the entire Games in the barren dirt fields digging for tubers, and she was shocked that she had yet to be discovered. She was extremely dehydrated, and thus she welcomed the rains eagerly, letting the water fall into her mouth. After drinking her fill, however, the girl decided to head north nervously. She had heard the far-off chaos of the battle with the dragon; from previous Games, she knew that areas where death had previously occured were often empty in the aftermath, and she was desperate for a better hiding place than a furrow in a dirt field. Thus, she dragged her hoe and all the tubers she could dig up to the misty forest, where she hid among the western fringe of trees. Not very far from the 3 girl, Kenna was perched in one of the tallest evergreens in the area, still absolutely scarred after the loss of her remaining allies the day prior. However, she made herself climb out of the safety of her tree and trek back to their campsite, gathering all the supplies she could scavenge from the destroyed clearing before returning to her tree to hide. Hyde had rested in the eastern dirt fields the day prior after being scared out of the forest when he had seen the Careers approaching to hunt within its confines. Instead of heading back to the forest, however, Hyde decided to do something risky. He still had a half of his spool of wire but was running out of other supplies, and he knew he needed to start taking risks since there were more Careers left than Outliers. Suspecting that the Careers had stopped searching the huts of the village now that the Games had progressed, he snuck through the grass fields and into one of the huts on the eastern edge of the village, where he began planning to set up human snares with his wires. Dirk was also still camouflaged in the village, usually hiding among the stones and sacks of flour. However, tragedy almost befell him; he had assumed the Careers would go hunting again, and had snuck out of his hut in order to pillage more supplies from the Horn. However, he soon noticed that all the Careers were still at the Cornucopia, and he tried desperately to flee. However, he made a scraping noise and was forced to fall still as Hermes went to investigate. However, Dirk's mud camouflage was so impeccable that he was able to blend into the shadowy side of a hut as Hermes walked right past him. Having survived by the skin of his teeth, Dirk rushed back to his hut after Hermes returned to the Horn and sobbed fearfully and silently.

Early in the morning of Day 6, the Careers woke up to the sounds of Stern thrashing and moaning painfully. Coralie was the first to rush to her District partner's side, showing absolute worry as she tried to comfort him. The other Careers gathered around too, trying to get Stern to drink water and calm down. However, Stern was feverish and disoriented, and none of them could tell why. Glisten suggested checking under his bandages, and when they did so, they were all shocked to see that the wound was puffy, bloody, and a strange orange-yellow color. The Careers tried to apply antibiotics and more bandages, but Stern continued to struggle throughout the night. While the 1s and Ferra were very confused about what was going on, Coralie could be seen smiling evilly whenever no one else was around as she watched Stern struggle. The girl had been bullied by Stern and his friends in 4's Academy when they were small children, and while Stern had forgotten this, Coralie had not. Tired of playing the meek role and not getting to enact her sadistic revenge on one of her childhood bullies, Coralie had used some of the herbs she had gathered in her waist pouch to poison Stern's bandages when she had reapplied them the day previous, and her secret poisoning was taking effect immediately. She was eager to see Stern struggle more, and she also wanted to test the efficacy of her poisons. They proved to be strong; by dawn, Stern stopped struggling and fell slack, Coralie's poisons overwhelming his body and killing him in a delirious haze.

Stern Shimada, District 4 Male; 9th, Killed by Coralie, Day 6

That left the Top 8: Glisten Raybould from District 1, Hermes Kaspar from District 1, Ferra Kaine from District 2, Cayble Cratch from District 3, Coralie Hasak from District 4, Hyde Tanner from District 5, Dirk Tautson from District 6, and Kenna Marley from District 7.

After Stern's death, the Careers were shaken, as they were all perplexed outside of Coralie. The 4 girl made herself weep over the death of her District partner, feigning grief and weakness so the other Careers would not implicate her in his death. The Careers bought it; infection was fickle, especially in the wilderness, and they all agreed that Stern had just become extremely unlucky to catch some nasty strain that had made it past the antibiotics. Wanting to take their minds off of Stern's death, Glisten, Hermes, and Ferra agreed to go hunting in the western quadrant of the arena where they had yet to explore while Coralie agreed to stay back at the Horn, pretending to be too broken up over Stern to hunt correctly. However, once her allies were gone, Coralie was grinning devilishly all day, perfecting her mix of poisonous herbs she had gathered from the village in preparation for future attacks.

The other Careers left the village without surveying the huts, wanting to get out and explore a new part of the arena. However, they were let down as they just discovered more and more stretches of dirt fields. They discovered the old furrows Cayble had dug earlier in the Games, however, and thus they spent all day picking over this part of the arena, convinced a tribute was among the fields somewhere. Since Cayble was now in the forest, though, their search turned up empty, frustrating these three even further and starting to heighten the tensions in the pack as they had no outlet for the emotions churning among them.

In the forest, Cayble did little besides stay huddled in the roots of the evergreen she had hidden in the day before, nibbling at the last of her tubers from the dirt field. She was too wary of the misty forest to explore it in depth, staying hidden in fear of any wandering mutts or tributes. Kenna stayed in her evergreen as well; she was a bit shellshocked still by the loss of Ramona and Leander, and seemed to have disconnected somewhat from reality. However, she did not do anything stupid, just hiding in her tree and eating away more of the rations from her old campsite than was smart in the Games due to her disassociative mood. Back in the village, Dirk did not dare move from his hut, too scared of the Careers all still being at the Horn and having a brush with death again like he had had the day before. Thus, even though he had run out of food and water and was dying for sustenance, he forced himself to remain hidden. Hyde did not do this; he began stringing up his wires in one of the more shadowy streets of the village, creating a pretty solid human snare that he hoped would trap a Career well enough for him to kill them and gain a bevy of sponsors.

The next day, little else happened as well; the Careers went south this time, predicting that whoever had been hidden in the western part of the arena had gone south for water and stayed there. They also wanted to check the bridge and see if anyone had crossed over the water to what was relative safety on the other side since it wasn't easily accessible. Coralie elected to go hunting, as she didn't want to arouse suspicion by staying at the Horn too much, while Ferra was growing a bit tired of the 1s and opted to take the guard shift to shake things up for the alliance. The Careers turned up empty searching the river bank, and when the troll emerged from beneath the bridge when they neared, they knew no one else had crossed the river and thus did not engage with the mutt. Cayble explored the forest a little, collecting more tubers and fungi she remembered were edible in the forest floor. Kenna was still a little out of it, but she made herself get out of her tree and begin prowling the forest, as she was convinced in her mind that the dragon would get her otherwise. Thus, the half-crazy 7 girl wandered through the forest mumbling about the dragon mutt, slowly growing worse as she found no victims. Hyde continued to perfect his human snare in the village, setting up a second one once the sun set with the last of his wire in hopes of catching a Career swiftly. Dirk was getting extremely hungry and thirsty, and he eventually noticed Hyde building one of his snares during his rounds. Noticing where Hyde was setting up camp after careful observation, Dirk stole away a couple pieces of jerky and took a sip from his water bottle while Hyde was gone before slipping away. The theft went unnoticed by Hyde, allowing Dirk to continue to glide by under the radar.

On the morning of Day 8, the Careers agreed it was time to hunt in the forest again, as they were convinced the rest of the tributes were hiding there now that their scans of other parts of the arena were turning up with little to no trace of any quarry. Coralie wanted to stay back at the Horn, feigning fear and talking about her memories of Stern's injury there. The other Careers were understanding of this, although tensions were continuing to rise; after several days without any Outlier deaths at their hands, the Careers were getting restless. They also made up half of the tributes left, and their competitive egos were itching to establish dominance. However, they continued to cooperate with one another. Hermes, Glisten, and Ferra trekked north towards the forest in order to narrow the number of tributes left in the Games. Hyde and Dirk were both safely hidden as they left for the forest, the Careers too arrogant to believe any tributes were still living under their noses. They avoided Hyde's snares, however, and continued on easily towards the forest.

Once they got their, they started to survey the western part of the arena, remembering Cayble's furrows they had discovered before. Incidentally, Kenna and Cayble were both in this area of the forest. The Careers quickly closed in on where Cayble was hidden in the roots of a fallen pine tree, and the girl freaked out upon hearing them. She was hidden among the roots and the fallen branches she had amassed around herself though, and she forced herself to breathe incredibly slowly and quietly. The Careers had fanned out, and Ferra walked right past the girl, glancing at her hiding spot but not seeing any movement. Thus, Ferra kept going, and Cayble got to live another day. The little 3 girl wept in utter relief once Ferra was out of earshot, planning to flee for the western fields again as she felt too scared in the haunting, misty woods now that the Careers had been right past her hiding spot.

After an hour more of searching, Glisten was the first to spot Kenna from about a hundred feet away, hearing the girl mumbling as she weaved through the misty evergreens, sometimes striking out at the air with her hatchets. Glisten nocked an arrow and waited until Kenna passed in a gap in the trees to fire. The arrow slammed into Kenna's right shoulder, and the girl screamed loudly and indignantly. Her eyes flicked upwards and spotted Glisten, and the 7 girl turned and began dashing in the opposite direction. Glisten shouted for Hermes and Ferra to back her up as she rushed after Kenna eagerly, intent on getting her first kill since the Bloodbath and narrowing the field even further. Ferra and Hermes rushed towards where Glisten's encouraging shouts were coming from, and they arrived quickly enough to watch Glisten pause and fire another arrow. This one buried itself in Kenna's back, making the 7 girl stagger and fall to her knees, mewling from pain and disorientation. Ferra handed Glisten one of her throwing knives, grinning at her at the 1 girl strode over to the fallen Kenna. She carved an arcing cut down the girl's right arm. Kenna kicked and whined, but Glisten snatched away her hatchets and waved over Hermes and Ferra, knowing they all needed to let loose steam. Thus, the three all used small throwing knives to stab and carve at Kenna as she screamed. After about a half hour, Kenna was almost fully bled out, and Glisten made the final kill, cutting open her throat savagely and causing the 7 girl's cannon to boom.

Kenna Marley, District 7 Female; 8th, Killed by Glisten, Day 8

After Kenna's cannon fired, the three Careers had sated their bloodlust, and the tensions between the three relaxed considerably. They did a cursory look-over of more of the forest together before leaving to go back to the Horn, agreeing to search more of the forest the next day. They left as the sun had already set, as they had spent much of the day hunting in the forest and were returning late at night. Cayble crept out of the forest at night, too driven by fear even though logically the forest provided more cover than the dirt fields. She assured herself the Careers wouldn't search there again, making a new furrow for herself that was the deepest one yet and burying herself there as she shook.

The Careers were bantering as they returned to the village around midnight, using flashlights from their sponsors to light their way in order to see the arena around them. Excited and still bloodthirsty, the trio agreed to look around the village before going back to the town square and Coralie, wondering if any tributes could be hidden in the village and coming out at night. Thus, they shut off their flashlights and moved silently in a tight cluster through the village, waiting to see if they would discover any Outliers sneaking about. As they crept along, suddenly Glisten's ankle was snatched up in one of Hyde's traps. She shrieked loudly, protesting as she was hung upside down between two of the huts. Hermes used his broadswords to cut her down, with Ferra catching her, but the Careers suddenly knew that someone else was hidden in the village, and they began to search more fervently.

Meanwhile, Dirk was near where Glisten had gotten trapped in Hyde's snare, and he knew that the Careers were going to be sweeping the village very well. Thus, he slowly crept into the grassy hills, disguising himself under clumps of grass and with green powders he had crushed in his hut, knowing in the night he could blend in with the grass and stay out of the search area of the Careers before creeping back into the village in the morning. This worked, as the flashlight beams of the Careers did not reach far past the huts and Dirk remained in the dark, surviving the night. However, Hyde was not as lucky. He was fast asleep in his own hut near the other snare he had set up, and he woke up when he heard Hermes discovering the other snare and cutting it down angrily. Hyde perked up and peered out of his hut to see if someone had gotten trapped, a sharpened rock in his hand that he had been planning to use as a weapon. However, he was instead faced with Hermes' fuming countenance, and the 5 boy desperately tried to run down the cobblestone streets to escape him. However, Hermes was eager to make another kill, having enjoyed decapitating Coaler earlier in the Games and wanting to try it again. Thus, he quickly gained on Hyde, and with one chop of his sword, he sent the boy's head sailing from his shoulders. His cannon fired instantly as Hyde's dismembered head splattered against the cobblestones, and Hermes chortled at the death as he called out to Ferra and Glisten about what he had done.

Hyde Tanner, District 5 Male; 7th, Killed by Hermes, Day 9

Glisten and Ferra reached Hermes and found Hyde's slain corpse in front of him, and they high-fived him before returning to the Cornucopia to reunite with Coralie. They were overjoyed, believing they had killed the only person lurking in the village and that the other two Outliers were probably hidden in the forest. The mood was high at the Career camp as they ate a dinner meal and prepared to go to bed, but Coralie seemed disconnected from the other three as she was very subdued. In reality, she was growing anxious as she knew she was the weakest fighter of the four and did not want to end up in a situation where she had to face the others in hand-to-hand combat, knowing they would all work together to take her out first since they all had stronger bonds.

The next morning, the Careers agreed to go hunting in the forest again. Glisten offered to stay back and guard the Cornucopia, but Coralie said it was fine and she would stay back so they could do more hunting. None of the other Careers complained, all eager to take out the other Outliers so they could have their final battle and emerge the Victor. Ferra, Hermes, and Glisten bantered all day, joking about fighting and slaughtering each other good naturedly. They also made fun of Coralie, calling her a coward and agreeing to take her out first so one of them who they deemed more courageous and likable would emerge the Victor. They talked about all of this while hunting throughout the forest all day. Their morale lessened as they came across no other tributes since Cayble was hidden in the untilled farmland of the west and Dirk had slunk back into his hut in the village to crouch among the sacks of flour. Thus, they returned to the Cornucopia by nightfall, a bit disheartened as they could not track down the last two tributes who had both scored abysmally before the Games had begun.

While the others had been gone, Coralie had gathered more herbs from the huts of the village and even foraged for some wild ones in the grassy slopes surrounding the huts. She had prepared a chicken broth soup with all of the poisonous herbs she had gathered placed inside, planning to poison her allies once they returned as she knew two weak Outliers were left. Once those two were gone, Coralie knew she was next in line, and poisoning the rest of the pack in one fell swoop was her only chance now at Victory. Thus, she made sure the soup was warm and rich, hoping that her gamble to poison all three of her allies would work out.

As Hermes, Glisten, and Ferra were returning to camp, their Mentors all sent them dinner meals as sponsor gifts, using up the rest of their funds to send lavish steaks, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables. They also sent coded messages intended to warn them of the poisoned soup if their tributes read them critically. However, the three were tired after all day of hunting, and eagerly ate up their sponsor gift meals without reading into the notes. Without anymore funds to send them anything, the other Career Mentors besides Mags as well as the rest of Panem watched in suspense as Coralie offered her soup to her allies, saying she had eaten her fill before they returned. They all agreed their stomaches were not full after and split the soup between three metal bowls in the Cornucopia. The nation watched, rapt in shock as the three strongest competitors in the Games drained their bowls of soup without a second thought.

Everything went along normally for about a half hour, as Coralie cleaned up the dinner area and the other Careers sat around the fire and told jokes and their plans of how to torture Cayble and Dirk when they captured them. However, Glisten was the first to begin show signs of poisoning, complaining of a pounding headache, and soon Hermes and Ferra felt it too. Coralie asked with mock confusion and worry if they were all okay, rushing to give them their canteens to drink from. The other Careers quickly became weak and disoriented, too consumed by the pain and feverish delusions the poison was causing to realize that they had indeed been poisoned. Once they were all moaning, foaming at the mouth, and flailing weakly, Coralie stopped pretending to be kind. She started cackling wickedly, kicking them all in the ribs until they broke and spitting violent insults at them with eagerness. Over the next hour, one by one her allies died from the poison coursing through their veins. Glisten went first since she was the smallest and skinniest, and Ferra gasped her last breaths about five minutes afterwards. Hermes fought hard against the poison, his massive, muscular body taking longer to succumb to the poison. However, it was not long until Hermes too fell still and Coralie was the final Career left standing in the Games.

Glisten Raybould, District 1 Female; 6th, Killed by Coralie, Day 10

Ferra Kaine, District 2 Female; 5th, Killed by Coralie, Day 10

Hermes Kaspar, District 1 Male; 4th, Killed by Coralie, Day 10

That night, Cayble and Dirk were both shocked to see three of the four Careers in the sky, as they had both believed that they were just biding their time until they were discovered by the alliance and slaughtered. Now, both had tiny sparks of hope left in them knowing that they would be going up against who had appeared to be the weakest Career during the Pre-Games. They also knew the be wary, however, since Coralie had gotten an 8 and they both had gotten 4s, and she had survived the breakup of the Career pack. Dirk was still scared out of his mind, refusing to leave his hut in case Coralie was prowling, but Cayble showed much more hope. The thirteen year old let the hope overcome her, practicing swinging her hoe at imaginary opponents and dreaming of getting to go home to her brothers and sisters.

The next morning, Creon decided to get the Games over with and push the three together. These Games were pretty popular with the Capitol, although many were not happy that their champions in Hermes, Ferra, and Glisten had all been poisoned since they were the frontrunners and favorites in the Capitol. However, Creon knew that Coralie was now the favorite as a dark, startling villain type tribute who was incredibly rare, and he wanted to push Cayble and Dirk towards her and let her slaughter them before they could form any ideas or plans to overtake the stronger girl. Thus, on the morning of Day 11, Dirk discovered that his sacks of flour had disappeared and the huts were beginning to quake and crumble around him while the dirt was rippling out in Cayble's field, threatening to overtake her. Both began making their way for the center of the arena, Dirk picking up a loose chunk of the cobblestone road to defend himself while Cayble clutched her gardening hoe close while she ran. Meanwhile, Coralie waited at the center of the arena for them with a wickedly serrated dagger in each hand, ready to butcher the two Outliers and earn her glorious Victory.

As the huts of the medieval village quivered and collapsed into rubble, Coralie's eyes swiveled around the opening area eagerly. She thought she spotted movement and quickly leapt towards it, eager to take down the other tributes as quickly as possible. However, all she found was that a post had fallen that had seemed like a human running past. While Coralie was investigating the fallen pole, Dirk had darted into the Cornucopia, already crying quietly with the hunk of cobblestone in his hand, scared out of his mind to face an armed Career and knowing his chances were slim.

As Coralie began to turn back towards the Cornucopia square, she saw movement from the western edge of the square and saw as little Cayble stumbled onto the scene, her gardening hoe lofted high. The little girl was yelling loudly, ready to fight for her life to the final breath. Coralie quickly sprinted at her, cackling maniacally, and all the fight went out of Cayble as she saw the serrated daggers gleaming in Coralie's hands. She swung at Coralie with her hoe, but Coralie did a roundhouse kick and sent it flying away, also breaking Cayble's wrist in the process. The little 3 girl began to weep pitifully as Coralie tackled her and began to rip her front to ribbons with her daggers, carving deep marks again and again as Cayble fought back weakly. It was no use; Coralie just grinned wider as more blood gushed from Cayble's tattered abdomen and her cannon fired loudly, meaning there were only two tributes left in the arena.

Cayble Cratch, District 3 Female; 3rd, Killed by Coralie, Day 11

Dirk had nervously inched out of the Cornucopia as Coralie had been slaughtering Cayble, knowing his only chance at Victory was to take Coralie by surprise and strike at her before she noticed him. However, he was still a couple of steps behind Coralie when Cayble's cannon fired, and then his shoe scuffed against the cobblestones. Coralie perked up, turning swiftly at the sound, her eyes opening eagerly as she saw her final opponent only feet from her. Without even thinking, she hopped to her feet and lurched forwards towards Dirk, bloody daggers arcing through the air.

By luck, Dirk stepped in the opposite direction of Coralie's lunge, and he dodged the flash of Coralie's daggers. The 4 girl staggered from her missed slash at Dirk, and the 6 boy began to scream as he took his only chance to save himself. Just inches from Coralie, he slammed down the hunk of cobblestone in his hands into her skull before she could turn and hit out at him again with her daggers. Coralie was stunned as the cobblestone connected and dented the side of her head like a melon. Dirk brought the cobblestone down again, and again, and again, screaming and weeping hysterically as he mashed Coralie's skull to a bloody pulp with the rock in his hands until her face was an unrecognizable mess and her cannon fired through the shrillness of his hysterics.

Coralie Hasak, District 4 Female; 2nd, Killed by Dirk, Day 11

"Dirk Tautson of District 6, you are the Victor of the Fifty Seventh Hunger Games!" Caesar and Claudius shout into the arena as the trumpets trill, the shock apparent in their tone as they congratulate the Victor that has truly surprised the nation with his Victory. Dirk just lets the bloody cobblestone drop from his hands with a wet clatter, starting to scream so loud it sounds as if his vocal cords are tearing themselves apart as he falls to his knees and tears streak down his face in thick rivulets, completely terrified by what he has just done in order to survive.


Aftermath

District 6 was shocked to receive Dirk as their brand new Victor; they were still dealing with the shame Titus had brought their District two years earlier, and they had grown accustomed to their tributes being weak and useless in the Games. Dirk had seemed like no exception from this rule before the Games, but his uncanny luck and camouflage skills had allowed him to become the first boy to return home to District Six in forty seven years, much to the gratefulness of his people and his aging Mentor Greason. While Six was happy to have a new Victor for the extra rations and to see one of their own come back, Dirk was widely reviled by most of the nation. The Capitol hated him as the boring, useless Victor of an engaging and noteworthy Games, and the Careers despised him, especially the 4s who had almost had their first Victor in a decade and a half in the cunning Coralie. Few Outliers liked Dirk either; he was extremely traumatized by his Games due to his weaker constitution despite doing relatively less than most Victors did to emerge alive, and it left permanent scars on him. He became a heavy morphling user, swiftly becoming addicted after his Games as it was the only way to keep his pervasive nightmares at bay. This led him to bond strongly with fellow morphling Six Victor Indigo, but it made him disliked by most of the other Victors. Dirk was swiftly forgotten as an undesirable Victor who emerged purely on luck, never prostituted like many others due to his ugliness and poor reception. While he often attended rehab and spent some months clean, he always relapsed, his Games too terrifying for him to face. He would live out the rest of his life as a muddled morphling, sometimes Mentoring when he was lucid enough. However, he was usually too weak to be up to the task and needed assistance, and was overall a pretty messy example of a Victor that exemplified the shoddy state District 6 was in at the time.

Dirk would live to the age of 66, dying from a morphling overdose around the 107th Hunger Games. He would never marry or have children, although he did have a passionate love affair with a later Career Victor from District 4 that was considered quite the scandal.

The payouts on his Victory were extremely stellar, as 0.26% bet on him.

His Victory Tour was a trainwreck; Dirk was constantly crying and screaming, and he had to be tranquilized with morphling and other drugs in order to be calm enough to deliver his slurred, incoherent speeches. Most of the nation did not like him, and one of Coralie's uncles even tried to assasinate him during his speech although the attempt failed and the man was executed.


Victor's News

Dirk moves into the Victor's Village of District 6.

Brandy marries Shalom Lubbock, a rich merchant in District 9.

Tex has his third and fourth children, twins that he names Talia and Trent.


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 (10 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), Lucullus Cuerer (55)

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 (4 Victors): Greason Trails (10), Mercedes Benson (28), Indigo Arnett (41), Dirk Tautson (57)

District 7 (4 Victors): Ishania Patel (5), Grover Elms (20), Pomona McCrea (32), Blight Jonson (56)

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: Sorry for such the wait guys! My school started back up again and I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues, but I got drawn back to this story and I really loved churning out this chapter. I ended up making it crazy long for some reason so I hope it was enjoyable; it was like 14k words which is longer than most of the other Games I've done. I hope you guys enjoyed it; in case it wasn't obvious, Dirk is the Male Morphling from Catching Fire, and I loved writing about him. I wanted him to be pretty under the radar and sort of a luck Victor since we haven't had one of those in a long time, and I also loved the Careers this time so they were really fun.

Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed, and I hope that the next update won't take this long; I know 500 Games is unrealistic at this point but I'm hoping to at least reach Katniss's Games someday so I'm going to keep working at it! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. It's much appreciated, and I love all of your feedback and criticisms so please drop a review!

Until Next Time,

Tracee