The Sixty Second Annual Hunger Games
After two successful Hunger Games in a row, Rufana Halispell returned for her third year as the Head Gamemaker. Many people had been thrilled with her war-zone arena riddled with trenches, and Rufana was avid to continue pleasing audiences with her dystopian arenas. This year, she planned her most grand and exciting arena yet, hoping it would stun the audiences and continue to give her wide acclaim as a Head Gamemaker. President Coriolanus Snow was happy to keep her in power as she had no interest in politics, and thus this allowed him to feel no threat from the older woman. The President himself yet again remained in power, and there was relatively little chaos in the Districts. Tensions were simmering, with a few small outbursts from a few small rebels sects, but nothing serious or large-scale seemed to be imminent as Coriolanus Snow maintained his dominance over Panem. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith reprised their roles as the announcers of the Games yet again, as much of a staple in the Games as ever as they continued to entertain audiences and spread intrigue over what arena Rufana would cook up next. The Careers this year were a very interesting bunch, as almost all of them scored a 9, but there was one extremely strong Career. Neither of the 1s this year stood out very much. Chalice, the female tribute, was tall and slender with light brown hair, and she was a talented flirt. She also had a great skill at throwing spears, but she seemed a bit ditzy, and many of the Capitolites were convinced she was unintelligent despite being pretty and athletic. Her District partner, Narcissus, was the weakest Career of the year, and he came off as very cocky and self-absorbed to the audience. He was indeed rather attractive with sharply chiseled features, and despite not being the strongest, he still had an adequate skill with a bow and arrows. District 2 produced the most stunning pair of the year. The female tribute was the star of the show before the Games began, becoming one of the most popular tributes in ages. Enobaria Faine of District 2 had volunteered two years early, a rarity for District 2, as she had beaten out all of the other volunteers at age 15, and again at age 16, so they had allowed her to enter the arena over the best 18 year old candidate. Fierce and bloodthirsty, she was skilled with a variety of weapons, although she preferred a classic broadsword, and she was also wildly independent. She made history as the first person to score a 12 in the Games since the scoring system had been adjusted after the Second Quell. The Capitol clamored over her, which caused many of the other Careers to become jealous of her. Her District partner was the other stronger tribute; he managed a strong 10, and would have been the strongest tribute in a normal year without someone like Enobaria. Secundus was a towering mountain of muscle, and he was skilled with brute-force weapons such as maces, and he also had a strong sense of leadership. Two volunteers came from District 4; the female tribute, Barnacle, revealed that they were actually non-binary after their Reaping and that they went by they/them pronouns. The first notable tribute to have this distinction, it coincided with an explosion of conversation about gender in the Capitol, and Barnacle became very polarizing despite only scoring a 9. The Capitol agreed to change their designation to "District 4 Tribute" for official records, starting a trend of allowing tributes to alter their official titles to align with their true genders. Barnacle's District partner, Silas, was much less interesting to the Capitol; he was standard fare from the fishing District, with a talent with a trident and an average looking face. He had a rough type of comedy from growing up with fisherman that endeared some of the audience, however. While the Careers were an interesting group this year, Rufana's best arena yet also had the luck of being filled with a strong cast of Outliers as well, exciting the Capitol for a potentially enthralling Games. An alliance formed between the tributes from 3 and 5: Keyna and Corden from 3 and Astra from 5 all scored under a 6, but Solaris from 5 managed to score an 8 for his intellect and skill with traps, and he enlisted his District partner and the 3s to help him so that they could form a formidable team in the arena. Solaris was extremely charming and witty, while Astra was fiery, Keyna was kind and likable, and Corden was very shy. Overall, they formed a dynamic alliance that thrilled the Capitolite audience. Another notable alliance was the agreement between Swallow and Sorghum of District 9. They had scored a 7 and an 8 respectively, as Swallow was very swift and agile and had lots of survival knowledge, while Sorghum's muscle mass rivaled that of many Careers' from his time working in the fields. They were both quieter tributes, so the audience was not as enamored with them, but they provided more opposition for the Careers which caused extreme interest in these Games. Besides these tributes, the rest scored between 6 and 3, and there were no volunteers besides the Careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Chalice Bernstein, 18 (9) 10-1 and Narcissus Peale, 18 (9) 12-1
District 2: Enobaria Faine, 16 (12) 3-1 and Secundus Corsi, 18 (10) 7-1
District 3: Keyna Ball, 17 (5) 30-1 and Corden Turing, 16 (4) 45-1
District 4: Barnacle Andersen, 18 (9) 10-1 and Silas Hemery, 18 (9) 11-1
District 5: Astra Gavrill, 15 (6) 22-1 and Solaris Joyner, 17 (8) 13-1
District 6: Mallory Swain, 16 (3) 54-1 and Paddy Atkins, 16 (5) 32-1
District 7: Elowen Sharp, 13 (4) 45-1 and Reed Nishimura, 15 (5) 37-1
District 8: Chenille Reading, 16 (5) 36-1 and Logan Piper, 15 (4) 42-1
District 9: Swallow Peters, 14 (7) 18-1 and Sorghum Asche, 18 (8) 14-1
District 10: Winnie Ernest, 15 (4) 48-1 and Ogden Beatty, 12 (5) 32-1
District 11: Cherry Abdullah, 17 (5) 31-1 and Jeeter Crawley, 14 (6) 25-1
District 12: Sallie Henderson, 18 (4) 46-1 and Francis Zimmell, 16 (5) 38-1
HGBA Odds: 24% on Enobaria, 16% on Secundus, 13% on Barnacle, 11% on Chalice, 10% on Silas, 8% on Narcissus, 6% on Solaris, 5% on Sorghum, 2% on Swallow, 1% or less on Keyna, Corden, Astra, Mallory, Paddy, Elowen, Reed, Chenille, Logan, Winnie, Ogden, Cherry, Jeeter, Sallie, and Francis.
The Games
As the tributes of the Sixty-Second Games rose up on their pedestals into the arena, they were all seen dressed up in vintage streetwear from the first half of the 2000s, mainly sweatshirts, jackets, and pants that provided mobility. The Outliers did not have the awareness of history to understand that this is where that fashion was from, but many of those educated in the Capitol recognized it. As the arena came into view, it was clear why they were dressed in pre-apocalyptic outerwear. The entire arena was sent in the ruins of an ancient metropolitan city that had fallen apart during the chaos of the early 2000s. The tributes' breaths were taken away once the pedestals clicked into place. The Cornucopia sat in the center of the city in a small, overgrown park, the golden Horn gleaming in a cleared patch of the grass. The tributes could see the tangle of undergrowth around them and the skyscrapers looming beyond, realizing how much space they had to hide as the buildings crowded towards the horizon. Their eyes widened as the hundreds of jagged, broken skyscrapers rose up around them. Beyond the park, an orderly grid of streets crowded with rubble and burned out cars stretched, with numerous ruins of towers and other buildings crowding the area. Hundreds of abandoned storefronts, half-collapsed office buildings, creaking apartment complexes, and two large stadiums were all visible in the ruins of the city. The air was choked with smog, making several of the tributes cough as the countdown went on, and it was clear plenty of horrors were awaiting the tributes out in the arena. There were thousands of places to hide, along with numerous Gamemaker mutts and traps that were not readily apparent but would be revealed as the Games went on. However, many of the tributes also saw that there would many places to hide and find supplies in such an urban arena, similar to the many useful supplies found in the landfill arena. With such a large arena with so many traps awaiting in it, Rufana had wanted the Bloodbath to be small in order to have more tributes to explore it. She had spent plenty of time and money crafting this spectacular arena, and she did not want it to go to waste. Thus, she had filled the Cornucopia with dozens of different weapons and only small rations of food and water. This caused many of the tributes to settle their minds on fleeing. This, combined with other factors, would lead the Bloodbath casualties to only numbering at 8.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The moment the gong rang, an astounding 9 tributes ran away from the melee immediately. The 3s and 5s (Keyna, Corden, Astra, and Solaris) all knew a city full of trap-making supplies awaited them, so they ran away without going in for weapons. They knew that it would be too much of a risk for them to go in for minimal rewards, as they were most definitely on the radar of the Careers since they had not been able to conceal their alliance during the Pre-Games. The boys from 6 and 10 and the girls from 7, 11, and 12 also ran away when the gong rang to avoid the initial fighting once they saw how much waited for them outside of the Cornucopia field. Thus, only 15 of the tributes ran into the center of the Bloodbath to fight for supplies once the Games had begun.
Both Swallow and Sorghum were able to keep pace with the Careers as they rushed to the center of the arena to gather supplies. Swallow and Sorghum quickly grabbed sickles and packs before attempting to make their way out without any confrontations. Meanwhile, the Careers scrambled for weapons as well. Enobaria was the fastest of them, and she rushed into the Cornucopia and picked up the sharpest sword she could find lying among the pile of weapons. The moment it was in her hands, instead of darting towards the Outliers frantically sprinting through the open park around her, she lunged right towards the tributes that were supposed to be her allies.
The nation was aghast as Enobaria grabbed Chalice by the ponytail as she was stooping to pick up a brace of spears. The 2 girl knew that her allies did not trust her and were threatened by her immense skill, and thus she had agreed with her Mentor Kyla that the best plan was to abandon the pack altogether so that they could not team up on her. They also agreed that it was smartest to take out a couple of her competitors on the way out, too, so Enobaria knew she had to take down a couple of her "allies." With one flick of her wrist, Enobaria's sword sliced a deep red smile into the 1 girl's neck, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as Enobaria dropped her to the ground. Enobaria chuckled slightly once Chalice's shaking body was on the ground, swiftly sprinting towards a pile of packs to gather herself more supplies. Chalice twitched for a couple of moments on the ground before falling still, the 1 girl's death stunning everyone watching the Games.
Chalice Bernstein, District 1 Female; 24th, Killed by Enobaria, Bloodbath
The other Careers were shocked as they saw Chalice fall to the ground and watched as Enobaria scooped up a pack full of food and water and made to escape just like Sorghum and Swallow were already doing on another part of the field. The remaining Careers felt the Games quickly slipping out of their hands as the 9s swiftly disappeared out of sight, and they knew they had to do something before they would be put at an even more severe disadvantage. Secundus and Silas both rushed after Enobaria in an attempt to stop her while Narcissus and Barnacle both began slaughtering the other Outliers best they could in order to make sure that they got some down during all the chaos.
Barnacle did not have a preference for weapons, and they scooped up the nearest blade, a gleaming machete, before leaping forwards at a boy who was trying to get out of their way. Francis from 12 screamed shrilly as Barnacle's machete slammed into his chest, the tip of the weapon poking out of his back between his shoulder blades. Barnacle drew their weapon out of Francis with a wet noise, wrinkling their nose in disgust as Francis's corpse collapsed to the ground.
Francis Zimmell, District 12 Male; 23rd, Killed by Barnacle, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Narcissus had snatched up the bow waiting for him hung on the curved wall of the golden Cornucopia. Snarling, the 1 boy was eager to prove himself as he was seen as the weakest link in the group, and he slid the quiver over his back before scanning the field of Outliers around him. He spotted where two girls were fighting over a bag, and he decided to set his sights on them. He drew back his arm and fired, watched as his arrow spiraled through the air and hit true. Chenille from District 8 gasped as the girl she was fighting, Winnie from 10, staggered away from her, an arrow skewered through her neck. Winnie made a small bleating noise before collapsing to the ground, and Chenille attempted to flee in fright.
Winnie Ernest, District 10 Female; 22nd, Killed by Narcissus, Bloodbath
On the other side of the Cornucopia field, Silas and Secundus were chasing after Enobaria as she attempted to flee from the scene of the action. The Capitol favorite seemed bothered but not worried about the two men chasing her, and she slowed down a bit so that they could catch up to her. Silas had a trident in his hands, while Secundus gripped a mace tightly. The 2 boy tried to tell his District partner to fight him, but before he could finish his sentence, Enobaria quickly darted towards Silas while he was focused on Secundus's words. The 4 boy didn't even make a sound as his head flew from his shoulders, Enobaria's sharp blade decapitating him cleanly and swiftly. As Silas's head hit the grass, Enobaria winked cruelly at a stunned Secundus before dashing off into the undergrowth.
"I'm saving you for later," she snarled, bearing her teeth at her District partner before disappearing from sight.
Silas Hemery, District 4 Male; 21st, Killed by Enobaria, Bloodbath
As Secundus roared in anger at a second ally dead and his own District partner escaping his grasp into the undergrowth, Barnacle was hard at work making sure that they took out as many tributes as they could manage so that the Capitol would not be too displeased with their efforts to start off the Games. They spotted a boy running around the Cornucopia with two packs stuffed with food over his shoulders, and the tribute from 4 dutifully gave chase, quickly catching up to the fleeing boy. Reed from 7 screamed as Barnacle's machete sliced off his right arm with a hard chopping motion, causing him to drop one of his packs onto the ground. Reed plead for mercy, but Barnacle did not listen to him, quickly shoving their machete into his throat before they could cry any louder for help.
Reed Nishimura, District 7 Male; 20th, Killed by Barnacle, Bloodbath
Enraged by the betrayal of his young District partner, Secundus turned and stormed towards the nearest tribute in order to enact his rage onto them. The malnourished girl from 6, Mallory, screamed in fear, tears slipping down her pale cheeks as Secundus slammed the spiked head of his mace into her stomach. She crumpled like a piece of paper, not even fighting back at the Career boy as he struck her with the weapon several more times, bashing her gut and head until she stopped twitching and was dead.
Mallory Swain, District 6 Female; 19th, Killed by Secundus, Bloodbath
Back by the Cornucopia, Narcissus had been attempting to shoot down the girl that had been fighting the other girl he had killed earlier. Chenille from 8 was weaving around the open expanse of grass as she dodged several of his arrows, trying her best to make it past the pedestals and into the undergrowth that would lead her to the vast city ruins beyond. However, she got unlucky, as Narcissus was able to steady himself and drive his next arrow directly into the back of her skull. Chenille went down hard after that, just like a bag of rocks, her brain quickly shutting down from internal bleeding due to the piercing arrow buried in her skull. Narcissus chuckled to himself in pleasure as Chenille gave her last gasp sixty feet away near the ring of pedestals.
Chenille Reading, District 8 Female; 18th, Killed by Narcissus, Bloodbath
After murdering Mallory, Secundus surveyed the Cornucopia field around him and saw that almost every tribute was already gone. Enraged even further at how poorly his pack had done, he spotted one of the last stragglers, the boy from 8, trying to slip away into the overgrown park with a dagger and a large plastic jug of water. Logan started yelling at Secundus to leave him alone as the 2 boy sprinted after him, but it was no use, as his desperate cries only egged the ravenous Career on. Knowing it was most likely the last death of the insufficient Bloodbath, Secundus was determined to make it last. He threw his mace to the ground and tackled Logan to the ground like a linebacker. He easily dripped the dagger from the 8 boy's hands and started cutting into him while restraining him with the other burly arm. Logan could only moan and weep in terror and pain as Secundus tortured him for over twenty minutes until enough blood leaked out of his body that he had fallen still.
Logan Piper, District 8 Male; 17th, Killed by Secundus, Bloodbath
Once Secundus had finished off Logan, the 2 boy stood, slathered in blood, and sighed in defeat. His remaining allies, Narcissus and Barnacle, walked over to him, and they discussed what would happen next. They all vented over Enobaria's desertion, and when they moved the bodies of Chalice and Silas to the edge of the Cornucopia field for the hovercraft to retrieve, they made sure to proceed with extra care and caution. Both Secundus and Barnacle were seething at the murder of their allies; Narcissus was mostly unbothered, as he had not liked either of his dead allies very much, but he pretended to be weepy over Chalice so that the other two would not begin to distrust him for not being broken up over the loss of their allies. After the removing of the bodies were done, the three counted up their supplies and found that they had very little food and water left, but plenty of steely weapons. They were all frustrated at how badly they had it now, with the first girl to score a 12 in a decade rampant in a giant urban arena alongside twelve Outliers. Still, they forced themselves to collect themselves, and they agreed to go hunting in the small park around the Cornucopia to make sure it was clear of tributes.
As the Careers began to explore the overgrown park for anyone that dared to hide so close to their outpost, the other thirteen tributes spread out in the arena. Enobaria was feeling cocky and victorious after cutting down Chalice and Silas and escaping the wrath of her towering District partner. Sponsor gifts of steaming hot food and energy drinks floated down to her, and Enobaria feasted on them eagerly. Instead of attempting to hunt down the Outliers scattered throughout the city with her, Enobaria headed towards the tallest building in the arena. She wanted to gather a good view of the entire arena, and thus after about two hours of running along the rubble-strewn streets, she arrived at the tallest skyscraper. It was near the rim of the massive arena, but she knew from its top she would be able to see everything. Thus, she ascended the steps once she broke the locked glass doors until the steps gave out, and then she began to climb. A talented rock climber back home, she made it near the top of the mostly intact structure before she settled and looked out over the arena. Satisfied with her view of the park, the two stadiums, and the thousands of other buildings, Enobaria studied the arena in detail before climbing back down to the more sound floors where she slept in the padded chair of a CEO's still-pristine office.
While Enobaria had made her survey of the arena, the Outliers had spread out as swiftly as they could, eager to find good hiding spots in such a large arena with innumerable hiding spots. The alliances in the Games specifically took their time searching for the perfect place. The alliance of 3s and 5s were eager to find trap-making supplies in the city, and they began to explore every building they found. As they looked through a crumbled apartment complex, Corden triggered a trap that collapsed the walls around him. However, he was able to escape unscathed with the rest of his allies, and they quickly left the area due to the loud noise of the collapsing building. After scouring the streets for a few more hours, they eventually found a large manufacturing warehouse that was full of various things they could deconstruct to make traps with. Solaris was pleased with the location, and he set up a rotation with one ally guarding the entrance while another would work on gathering up trap supplies and the other two would sleep. Thus, the 3s and 5s made much of their first night in the arena, gathering plenty of supplies to prepare them for the Games to come. Meanwhile, Swallow and Sorghum from District 9 had made it away from the Bloodbath with their preferred weapons, sickles, as well as a bounty of food and water. Excited that they were stocked up on supplies, they agreed to stay closer to the center of the arena. They knew there were only three Careers left in the pack, and they were both very willing to take on conflict in order to make the Capitol root for them more. Thus, they only walked a couple of blocks past the park before settling in an abandoned old record store. They were both fans of music, and they were intrigued with the antique records and CDs, spending much of the night listening to the few ancient discs that worked and dancing happily to the pre-apocalyptic songs that sounded foreign to their young ears.
As the 9s let themselves celebrate their survival, the other tributes spread throughout the rest of the arena, mostly picking places to hide for the night. Paddy from 6 had fled the Bloodbath without any supplies, and he quickly tore through the overgrown park and out into the city at large. Coming from a messy urban District, he was used to the maze of streets and cement, and he quickly became more comfortable in the shadowy alleyways. He found a broken lamppost with a sharpened edge where it had broken that he carried as a makeshift spear, and by nightfall he decided to rest inside of a large apartment building, knowing it would take forever to check every room. He slept on a large bed in one of the middle floors, sure no one would find him yet. Elowen from 7 had also fled at the gong without supplies, and while she was tempted to stay among the familiar trees and avoid the intimidating city ruins, she knew it would be foolish to stay so close to the Cornucopia. Thus, she jogged into the maze of buildings, quickly becoming overwhelmed and lost. She eventually settled into an old coffee shop, where she feasted on stale pastries and found some water to drink before curling up to sleep behind the counter. Ogden from 10 was another that had fled at the gong, and the little 12 year old was terrified as he wandered through the city streets on his own. He had no idea what to do, and he had to stop and cry in the middle of the street when the anxiety became overwhelming for him. However, as night began to fall, the dark streets terrified him more than the buildings, and he eventually entered one of the skyscrapers. He ran up dozens of stories until his little legs gave out in exhaustion, and he crawled into the nearest rotting cubicle and fell asleep without surveying the floor any further. Cherry from 11 had nothing from the Bloodbath, and while her only city experience was being in the Capitol, she was focused on making sure that she did not get intimidated. She decided to find a restaurant for food, water, and possibly a knife for weapons before finding a better place to hide in the morning. She eventually settled on an old Olive Garden nestled far from the center of the arena, where she dined on the canned food that was not absolutely atrocious as well as some old bottles of stale water. She also found two rusted butcher's cleavers in the kitchen which she grabbed before locking herself in the break room to sleep for the night. Cherry's District partnet, Jeeter, had managed to get a broadsword and a pack containing food, water, and gauze from the Bloodbath. Jeeter had grown up in 11's capital city, which was more urban than the rest of the District, and he had been a part of its ruling gang. While he was still young and inexperienced, he was pretty muscular and could heft the broadsword, and he also was comfortable in a more urban setting. Deciding on a place where he didn't think anyone else would go due to its obvious size, Jeeter settled himself in the crumbling baseball stadium, hopping the fence and eventually exploring the whole stadium. He gathered up some food and water before climbing up to one of the old lounge suites where rich people would watch the game, and he slept on a leather couch in the lounge peacefully.
Back in the park at the center of the arena, the Careers finished their sweep of the area soon after the anthem flashed through the sky, showing the faces of the dead. Secundus and Barnacle were both newly enraged once Chalice and Silas's faces flashed above them with the six Outliers they had killed, and they were even more frustrated when their hunt came up empty. They found a rusted playground, a dried up cement fountain, and plenty of overgrown plants, but nothing more. However, as they returned to the Horn to rest for the night, they quickly discovered that there was still more fun to be had. Sallie from District 12 had been hiding out in the undergrowth just outside of the Cornucopia, as she was terrified by the massive urban arena and wanted to gather up some supplies before trekking out into the ruins. Once the Careers had left, Sallie had waited to make sure they would not return before sprinting into the golden structure and gathering up as much food and water as she could. However, she was not fast enough in her selections, as just when she was about to flee into the night with several packs bulging with rations on her back, the Careers returned from surveying the park. They set their eyes on her and quickly lunged.
Sallie screeched horribly, tossing her supplies down and trying to flee, but one of Narcissus's arrows speared her in the hip and caused her to stagger. Both Barnacle and Secundus were on her then, Barnacle slashing at the 12 girl with her machete while Secundus bashed at her ribcage with his mace. Sallie screamed and moaned horribly as the two Careers tortured her brutally, making sure to draw out her unlucky death in order to satisfy the Capitol and quench the roiling feelings of anger and bloodlust they had after their lackluster Bloodbath performance. After about six minutes of the two Careers torturing the whimpering girl from 12, she finally slipped away, mercifully bleeding out from her dozens of wounds sustained at the hands of the Careers.
Sallie Henderson, District 12 Female; 16th, Killed by Barnacle and Secundus, Night 1
Once Sallie's cannon fired, Barnacle and Secundus worked together to carry her bloodied, mangled corpse away from the Cornucopia so that the hovercraft could retrieve it. Then, satisified with their work and hoping they had done enough to impress the Capitol for the night, the three Careers gathered in the mouth of the Horn and laid down to sleep, taking shifts watching guard. While none of them had liked each other particularly well before the Games had begun, the three began to bond closer than many packs over the oddness of their situation and the clear-as-day fact that if they did not work together well, they would be in major trouble. Thus, the three Careers all slept easy, knowing that their allies would not dare betray them with the state the Games were in at the moment as the first night in the arena wore away.
The next morning, the tributes all awoke as the sun rose over the ruined urban arena and made all the rusted metal gleam. Enobaria was the first tribute up, waking up before the sun was even over the arena, as back home she always woke up at dawn and was not used to sleeping in. As the sun rose, she surveyed the urban arena again, remembering all of its landmarks well. Then, once she had built a clear mental map, she climbed down the tallest skyscraper in the arena. She checked each floor as she went down for any other tributes, knowing the tallest building in the arena might be a landmark that Outliers would flock to, but her search turned up empty, and by noon she was on the streets, exploring carefully for tributes as she explored the bombed-out streets with curiosity.
As Enobaria began to hunt, her ex-allies got up and decided to head out and explore the streets. They planned to explore the northern stretches of the city, as they were taking the well-worn strategy of splitting the arena into quadrants to hunt through. However, it soon became clear that the city's ruins were complex and it would be difficult to stick strictly north. The trio realized that it would be hard to find the Horn again. Before they could get more lost, they returned to the Cornucopia and took as many supplies as they could before burning the rest of it so no one else would get anything. With that completed, Secundus led Narcissus and Barnacle out into the ruins, meaning everyone would be out in the buildings now. As they hunted just like Enobaria, they began to understand the true staggering proportion of this arena. Checking a single apartment building took an hour or two, and there were hundreds of them in the arena, and tributes could go into areas they had already searched once they were gone. All four Careers set their jaws and got to work, doing their best to hunt hard. Despite their efforts, none of them came anywhere near the twelve Outliers, displaying how this stunning arena might lead to a drawn-out battle of hide and seek.
The two alliances got to work doing their best to impress audiences and show that they were here to play. Swallow and Sorghum were tuckered out after their dance party in the record store the night prior, and they agreed they had been a bit reckless doing that even if it had softened their shy, serious images in the Capitol. After resting for the first half of the day, they began hunting through the streets like the Careers, hoping to run into some other Outliers to kill and show off their skills against. They too came up empty. Meanwhile, the alliance of the 3s and 5s had collected a vast array of trap-making supplies by sorting through the warehouse all night, and they set to work rigging a multitude of traps around the warehouse under the direction of Solaris. By nightfall, the warehouse was already a fortress surrounded by numerous traps meant to kill and maim, and the 3s and 5s followwed their rotation of the day prior, gathering more supplies in the night to continue to make their hiding spot even more impenetrable.
Spread throughout the rest of the arena, the lone Outliers did not do much for the most part. Paddy explored his apartment building throughout the day, eventually settling in one of the rooms on the corner of the building that had two big windows overlooking much of the surrounding area. It also was one of the bigger rooms with nice, if dusty, amenities, and thus Paddy lounged here with his lamppost spear while being able to keep an eye out for any assailants. Elowen felt uncomfortable staying in the coffee shop, so she began to wander the streets for a better place to hide. Eventually, she spotted an giant candy store, and she could not keep herself from going inside. While many of the candies were stale or decaying, many of them were still edible, and Elowen explored the four-story candy store in awe, vowing to stay in it as long as she could. Cherry also felt uncomfortable staying in the Olive Garden; she sensed the arena was massive, but she wanted to find a better place to hide. Thus, she gathered up some food and water in a pouch before leaving the building. When she got outside, she spotted an open manhole cover in the street and suddenly thought of the idea of hiding in the sewers. She slid herself in, finding that they were mostly clear of waste after many years of rain and obvious disuse clearing them. While some of the passages were collapsed in or blocked by rubble, Cherry soon found herself comfortable navigating the dank system of channels underneath the ruined city, feeling as if no one would find her down there. Her District partner Jeeter was rather immobile, staying inside the baseball stadium. He wandered around many of the seats, and he also went down to the field and started hitting balls for fun through the field before retreating back up to his lounge, feeling playing more ball so openly would be tempting fate.
While everyone else was having a good day, Ogden was obviously suffering. He awoke from some horrid nightmares screaming his head off, and he fled from the skyscraper instinctually, feeling terrified being so high up. When he reached the ground floor of the building, he was absolutely exhausted and out of breath. He caught his breath before jogging outside, feeling creeped out by the massive skyscraper and wanting to find somewhere better to rest. As he navigated through the arena, he soon stumbled upon the remnants of an old zoo. The place was very small with only a few enclosures, but it was overrun with plant growth, and Ogden felt safe hiding in such a place, not thinking any of the animals could have survived this long. It was there that he was sorely mistaken.
Ogden slowly walked through the overgrown zoo, settling on the carousel in the center. The thing was broken and did not spin, but Ogden felt calmed sitting atop a fake horse, as he rode horses back home in 10. As he sat on the painted wooden horse, he suddenly heard growling from the undergrowth behind him. Ogden twirled in fear just in time to see the three wild jaguars prowl from the tangle of weeds and vines. Rufana had not engineered these creatures herself; they had somehow survived in the abandoned city on their own for many years, and they did not need any training to attack tributes. They were starved from years in this empty, rubble-strewn city, and they were hungry for live prey. Thus, they all leaped at Ogden as he screamed and tried to run away. The 12 year old did not stand a chance, his screams filling the air as the three jaguars pounced on him and tore him to shreds with their talons. Within a minute, Ogden was dead, his cannon firing ominously as the three starved jaguars devoured his corpse with vigor.
Ogden Beatty, District 10 Male; 15th, Killed by jaguars, Day 2
Besides Ogden's death, nothing else occurred on Day 2. The next two days that followed were also rather quiet. Both Enobaria and the remnants of the Career pack hunted from sun up to sun down for tributes, continuously coming up empty on their searches. They were all getting incredibly frustrated with the arena and the lack of kills; Enobaria began begging the Gamemakers to give her someone to kill, promising to torture them for hours. Secundus, Barnacle, and Narcissus were all worn out but bonded over the experience instead of letting it divide them. Sorghum and Swallow also hunted, although with less energy and consistency than the Careers, letting themselves take breaks and explore buildings for good hiding spots and supplies. They had a good banter between them that made the Capitol start to like them more than they had when they seemed shy and closed off during the Pre-Games.
The 3s and 5s spent Days 3 and 4 absolutely barricading themselves into the warehouse, leaving only a small gap in their defenses for them to exit from in order to relieve themselves and gather food and drink. They were able to find jugs of water and some non-perishable food in a restaurant a block away from their warehouse, and they brought it back to their hiding spot before rigging even more traps around it. Thus, the 3s and 5s seemed to be in an almost impenetrable position, with many in the Capitol believing it would be impossible for the alliance to be broken up unless it was by the Gamemakers. The rest of the Outliers did little throughout the two days. Paddy stayed in his apartment building, while Elowen spent all day devouring ancient candies until she felt sick. Cherry continued to explore the sewers under the city, travelling great distances and building a strong mental map of how to manuever them. Jeeter did not leave the baseball stadium either, spending more and more time inside the executive lounge where he slept each night.
On the morning of Day 5, Elowen had blown through eating most of the still-edible candies in the candy store, but she still desired more sweet treats. She began to try to eat some of the expired candies, and they made her unbelievably ill. Not wanting to vomit inside of the store where she was living, Elowen ran out of the store and crouched in the alleyway next to the building where she puked for several minutes until her body was completely exhausted. She let herself rest against the pavement after relieving herself for a while to regain her energy. As the young 7 girl picked herself up after feeling satisfied with her rest, she spotted movement on the horizon. Terrified, she quickly began sprinting the other way. The 7 girl certainly made the right decision, as the tribute on the other end of the street was in fact Enobaria. The 2 girl grinned rabidly, excited to see her first tribute since the Bloodbath, and she swiftly gave chase to the screeching girl.
Elowen did her best to run away from Enobaria, having quite the lead on her. Many tributes may have been able to shake the 2 girl off due to the messy nature of the city ruins. However, as she was running, Elowen was hit by another wave of nausea, and she was forced to stumble to the ground and hurl up more of the expired candies she had eaten. Once she was done, Elowen tried to get to her feet to stagger away, but Enobaria was only yards from her. The 2 girl kicked her in the side, sending her sprawling back onto the ground right into the puddle of her sick. Elowen blubbered for mercy as Enobaria pinned her to the ground, but the 2 girl just shook her head and told Elowen with venom in her voice that this was not going to be over anytime soon. Elowen wept pitifully as Enobaria took her sweet time, using the tip of her sword to make tiny gashes all over Elowen's body as the girl struggled and fought. However, she could not get free, and soon she gave up as Enobaria continued to painfully torture her. The 2 girl made it stretch for almost two hours until Elowen's cannon finally fired, the 7 girl nothing more than a heap of soggy, bloodied flesh underneath Enobaria's concise, tortuous blade.
Elowen Sharp, District 7 Female; 14th, Killed by Enobaria, Day 5
Once Elowen's cannon fired, Enobaria stood up, completely slathered in blood and gore. Enobaria wiped herself clean with a towel from a sponsor before also being sent an elaborate meal of juicy steak, mashed potatoes, and collard greens to feast on. Enobaria ate it up greedily, tired out from her show of slaughtering Elowen, and then she thanked the Capitol profusely. She was far and away their favorite despite the diverse, strong cast of tributes this year, and Rufana was eager to have such a popular tribute in her arena, knowing it would add even more notoriety and fame to a Games that many were already calling the most interesting and exciting for many years.
Nothing else happened on Day 5; the other Careers as well as the pair from 9 continued to hunt all day. The alliance of 3s and 5s had a close scare when they ventured out into the arena to gather more food and water rations so that they could barricade themselves into the warehouse almost completely. Wild wolves had also overrun the city once its collapse, and they came out to investigate now that people were in the area. They were all mangy, grisled, and above all starving, and they tried to attack the 3s and 5s. However, Solaris led his allies back to the warehouse before the wolves could attack them, and the alliance of four watched with pleasure as their traps injured and killed most of the wolf mutts. The stragglers limped off, and the 3s and 5s removed the dead wolves from the traps so that their hiding place would not be so obvious. The other loner tributes did little else; Paddy explored the buildings around his apartment complex for food and water but did not wander far. Cherry remained in the sewers, only emerging occassionally to forage for food and water, while Jeeter was completely set up in the baseball stadium and showed no signs of leaving anytime soon.
On Day 6, the only tributes who experienced resistance were the remainders of the Careers. Narcissus, Secundus, and Barnacle had set up their camp in one of the many apartment buildings for the night, and when they emerged from the morning to go hunting, the remaining wolves were herded towards them by Rufana via a flurry of electrical pulses. The fight was not something spectacular; many of the creatures were injured from the traps of the 3s and 5s. The trio noticed their injuries as they fought, and thus they were able to dispatch most of the wolves without much effort. However, the three Careers slaughtering a dozen rabid wolves did entertain the Capitol and gave the antsy trio something to do instead of wandering aimlessly. By the time the fight was done, all the wolves had been butchered, and none of the Careers had sustained any serious injuries. They allowed themselves to return to the apartment building to rest for the day after their encounter. Meanwhile, the rest of the tributes did little of note, not changing their positions much.
On the morning of Day 7, Solaris and Keyna woke up to horrid screams in the warehouse. They were horrified as they watched Corden kneeling over where Astra was laying, writhing wildly on the ground. The 5 girl had heard noises in the night while on guard duty, and she had went to investigate while Corden continued disassembling old machines for trapmaking parts. As she had tried to peer out of the warehouse for intruders, she had accidentally triggered a trap consisting of a leather strap studded with old rusted nails, and they were all buried in her abdomen. The alliance all attempted to tend to her, removing the nails as Astra screamed. They did their best to clean the wound and wrap it with gauze after the supplies were sent by sponsors who wanted to see the cunning alliance stay intact. Astra survived the night, but she was still in rough shape, and her allies were worried about how long it would take for her to heal, or if she'd manage to heal at all.
While the 3s and Solaris tried to help Astra survive her wounds, the rest of the tributes all roved about the arena. Cherry spent all day continuing to build her mental map of the sewer system, while Jeeter began to wander the entire stadium in boredom, doing long laps around the top rows of seats. Enobaria, the remaining Careers, and the 9s all hunted throughout the day. Enobaria came up empty exploring several office buildings, and Secundus led a fruitless expedition into the unpopulated football stadium on the other side of the arena. However, Swallow and Sorghum had more success as they combed the streets for victims. They spotted some movement in the upper windows of an apartment building, and they agreed to investigate, guessing it was either a lone mutt or Outlier. Either way, the 9s were prepared to make a splash and take down an adversary in order to advance themselves in the Games.
Sorghum led the way up the stairwell, Swallow darting behind him. Both hefted their sickles as they walked down the hallway to the last door, which they assumed connected to the room where they had seen movement. Indeed, Paddy from 6 was locked inside, and he had seen them coming through his wide picture windows. Shivering on the other side of the door, Paddy held his lamppost spear in his hands nervously, hoping he would be able to fend off the 9s with it. Sorghum rattled the locked door handle for a moment before using the hilt of his sickle to crack the knob off. Then he shoved the door open to find Paddy charging at him. Sorghum quickly stepped out of the way, and Paddy could not stop his forward momentum, slamming into the hallway wall. Before Paddy could get up and Sorghum could orient himself, Swallow attacked with surprising speed and grace, using her sickle to slash open Paddy's throat in one fluid movement. The 6 boy gurgled pitifully, clutching at his sliced throat before slumping against the wall as his cannon fired.
Paddy Atkins, District 6 Male; 13th, Killed by Swallow, Day 7
Sorghum high-fived Swallow once Paddy was dead, congratulating the 14 year old on her kill. Swallow seemed a little perturbed by the murder, but she was able to hold herself together and put on a vicious smile for the cameras. The 9s were sent a sponsor gift of water jugs and fresh bacon, Swallow's favorite food. They devoured the bacon eagerly and re-hydrated themselves. Then, they decided to spend the night in the apartment building where they'd killed Paddy, longing to sleep in a real bed for once. They also knew the Gamemakers would not bother them there, so they took the biggest rooms on the top floor and slept in their own beds, relieved to get a moment of respite from the horrors of the Games.
Little occured on the eighth day of these Games. After spending all day exploring the massive football stadium and turning up empty, Secundus, Narcissus, and Barnacle were all exhausted, desperate to find a tribute to fight and kill. They continued to stalk the streets with little luck. Enobaria allowed herself a day of rest after her body began to become tired faster than usual, using sponsor gifts of energy pills to help replete the stamina she had spent searching the ruins ravenously for victims. Swallow and Sorghum awoke early from their night of rest in the apartment building, also returning to their prowl on the streets for other tributes, unsuccessful once more. Cherry spent a surprising amount of the day above ground, collecting a large amount of rations from several stores and restaurants before returning into the sewers. She placed her resources in a central part of the sewers she had chosen to be her home base. Jeeter was getting restless in the baseball stadium, making plans to leave it behind soon and try to find somewhere else to hide. While things were uneventful for most of the tributes, this was not the case for the alliance of trap-makers in the warehouse.
By the morning, it seemed as if Astra's condition had worsened. The 3s and Solaris were desperately trying to heal her, giving her more than her fair share of food and water while also letting her sleep all day. However, it seemed that no matter how well they'd cleaned her wound, Astra was still sick. While her allies had no idea what was going on, in the Capitol they knew that Astra had contracted a mutated form of tetanus that was deadly and swift acting. Shyanna decided to make the sacrifice of not wasting all of their money to save her with medicine that had an iffy track record of working on the mutated disease. Instead, she transferred all of Astra's denarii to Surge's account for Solaris so that their strongest tribute would have a better shot. Thus, with no other help, the mutated form of tetanus quickly worsened throughout the day. By the evening, Astra was barely alive, and her allies had recognized their efforts were fruitless. Keyna played with her hair constantly, while Corden tried to tell bad jokes to pass the time, and Solaris just cradled Astra in his arms and cried occassionally. Astra seemed calmed by all of these comforts, and before the sun dipped over the horizon, she fell still, her cannon firing ominously throughout the sorrowful warehouse.
Astra Gavrill, District 5 Female; 12th, Killed by tetanus, Day 8
After Astra's death, Solaris was torn up, mad that one of his traps had backfired and taken her out. Keyna and Corden comforted him, telling him it wasn't his fault. They all grieved for the night, setting Astra's body outside on the pavement for the hovercraft to retrieve after saying their goodbyes. With that, Solaris began to deconstruct some of the traps set up on the insides of the warehouse. Keyna and Corden both protested, saying they were a good last line of defense, but Solaris insisted they could not risk any of them being hurt by them again. Thus, by nightfall, the only protections left on the warehouse were those that the alliance had built on the outside. They were still protected well, but under an attack, it would be easier for an assailant to make it inside compared to before.
On the morning of Day 9, Solaris awoke early, rousing Keyna and Corden in order to get them to help him. He brought them outside the warehouse with a variety of trap-making supplies, saying that now that they had taken apart traps inside of the warehouse, they needed to fortify the outsides better. The 3s were scared to be out of their safe place for so long, so they attempted to work quickly. As Corden was setting up one of the traps, however, a shard of metal nearly sliced open his throat. The 3 boy was unscathed, but he let out a blood-curdling scream that travelled throughout much of the arena. Solaris quickly herded Keyna and Corden back inside of the warehouse, unwilling to risk anyone coming to investigate the sounds. Unluckily for them, several tributes were in earshot, and they all began to speed towards the sound of the screams, eager to find its source.
Secundus, Barnacle, and Narcissus had all fanned out to explore several different apartment buildings a couple of blocks from the warehouse where Solaris, Keyna, and Corden had been staying. Secundus was the one who heard Corden's earsplitting scream, and he quickly shouted for his allies. Together, they dashed in the direction of the sound, making good time as they neared the gloomy warehouse within twenty minutes. Unsure of the exact source of the sound, the three Careers began to search the shop fronts and apartment buildings down the street from the warehouse. Meanwhile, Solaris peered from a hole in the warehouse's wall and watched as the Careers gradually closed in. The trained killers took their time searching each place as they neared where the three were crouching in worry behind their traps.
After a few tense hours, the trio eventually approached the looming warehouse. All three's instincts were quickly put on alert, and they slowed their walk as they neared the place. They discussed that the area had an aura about it, and they suspected it was a place where a tribute was hiding or where a Gamemaker trap had been rigged. They slowly approached the front of the warehouse, taking careful steps as they neared the stacks of crates and debris around its front. As he was walking, Secundus spotted a small silvery tripwire on the ground, with charcoal hastily rubbed on it in order to conceal its gleam. Secundus opened his mouth to warn his allies that there were traps rigged in the area, but suddenly he heard a defeaning scream and knew it was too late.
Narcissus howled in pain as he staggered backwards from where he had triggered a trap similar to the one Secundus had nearly set off himself. He had staggered across a rusted tripwire, sending an old plank of wood studded with glass into his chest and stomach. Barnacle and Secundus both attempted to make their way to their ally to help him, but they were forced to walk slowly in order to avoid setting off anymore traps. By the time Barnacle was able to get to Narcissus's side, the 1 boy was barely breathing, his eyes already glazed over. They held his hand firmly as the last bits of blood leaked out of his body, bowing their head in recognition of their ally's loss once his chest stopped rising and his cannon fired.
Narcissus Peale, District 1 Male; 11th, Killed by Solaris, Keyna, and Corden, Day 9
Secundus managed to make his way over to where Narcissus's corpse was laying, and together he and Barnacle lifted it and carried it out onto the street so that the hovercraft could retrieve it with ease. The two talked it over and agreed to leave the warehouse alone. They contemplated the idea that the place was a Gamemaker trap, and that the scream had been manufactured to lure them in. More likely, the two probably knew that Solaris and the 3s were hidden inside, and with only two of them left, they were unwilling to invade what was obviously a fortress of traps. Thus, writing the place off as a Gamemaker-designed hellhole, they paid their last respects to Narcissus's body before leaving the area to go hunt in another sector of the ruined city.
Solaris, Keyna, and Corden were all immensely relieved to see Narcissus dead and his allies deserting the area, thinking themselves safe. They all hugged each other in relief and celebration, letting their shoulders drop. Solaris allowed them all to dine on extra rations as the day started to wear away further and no more action occurred. The three were as happy as they'd been since Astra's death, and they managed to keep the spirits high through telling stories and jokes. Feeling safe, they even agreed to go to bed early as the sun began to set over the arena, with each of them taking a guard shift.
What the alliance did not know is that they had not escaped notice yet. Enobaria Faine had also heard the screams from the warehouse, as she had begun to track her old allies out of boredom and was near to the other Careers when the screams happened. She tailed them to the area to see what they discovered, watching as Narcissus was killed by a trap at the warehouse and the other two abandoned the area. Enobaria knew instantly that the alliance that had threatened her most, the 3s and 5s, had barricaded themselves inside the building. She also knew she was getting immensely bored, and that someone would eventually have to crack them out of their hiding spot, so why not do it now? Thus, she had hidden in a nearby storefront, cooking up a plan as her targets continued on in the warehouse as if they had escaped their fates.
Eventually, Enobaria stumbled upon an idea of how to break into the warehouse without triggering any of the traps. She climbed up the side of the store where she had been lying in wait until she reached the roof. The sloped roof of the neighboring warehouse was higher than the building, but Enobaria knew she could jump high, and she also doubted that the 3s and 5s had rigged traps on the ceiling. Thus, after some plotting, Enobaria was ready. She threw a dagger she'd gotten as a sponsor gift into the metal side of the warehouse near a row of broken windows, pleased as it made little sound. She then used a spool of rope from the building below to build a small lasso, throwing it over onto the dagger until she was able to tighten it around its hilt. Once Enobaria was sure it was as steady as it was going to be, with a deep breath she launched herself off of the roof and onto the warehouse with a running start.
The dagger quivered and almost fell from where it was stuck deeply into the warehouse roof, but it held under Enobaria's weight, and she was able to hang onto the rope against the side of the warehouse. No traps were triggered, and with a grin on her face she swiftly climbed up the rope until she was near the top of the warehouse roof. She was then able to pull herself over to one of the broken windows, mindful of avoiding the shattered glass as she crawled through the opening and perched on the edge to overlook the warehouse floor below. Enobaria watched with pleasure as Solaris and Keyna slumbered while Corden sleepily sat in front of them with a jagged piece of rusted metal in his hands, having not heard Enobaria's entrance. The 2 girl did not believe her luck, and she leaned back against the window frame behind her and waited for the ideal moment to attack the tributes that had been able to barricade themselves inside the warehouse.
By the time it was one or two in the morning of Day 10, Corden roused Keyna to take over the guard shift from him. His District partner only grunted as Corden curled up next to Solaris to sleep. Within minutes, Keyna was asleep as well, too tired out from the stressful day of almost being found by the Careers to stay awake. With this, Enobaria began her descent, careful to make as little noise as possible as she crawled down the metal framing on the walls of the warehouse. Once she was near the ground, Enobaria observed the shadows with practice until she was able to make out a couple of the tripwires on the ground below her. With great force, she hurled herself off of the metal beam she was standing on, clearing the tripwires and landing on the cement with a loud slap. Keyna instantly awoke at the sound, while Solaris and Corden also began to stir, but it did not matter now, as it was much too late for them all to escape Enobaria Faine as she drew out her sword and began to chuckle cruelly.
Keyna screamed, shrill and high pitched, as Enobaria rushed her head on. The 3 girl stumbled to her feet, trying to block Enobaria's attacks with her own flimsy piece of sharpened scrap metal. She was able to avoid Enobaria's first few blows as she attempted to run away, but then the Career girl was able to land a long gash across Keyna's left hip down to her knee. The 3 girl staggered to the ground, her leg buckling under her, knowing she had little chance of survival. She screamed for Solaris and Corden, who were both groggily getting to their feet, to run as Enobaria delt the killing blow. The 2 girl did not hesitate as she swung her sword down into Keyna's chest, quickly murdering her as her allies attempted to make their escape.
Keyna Ball, District 3 Female; 10th, Killed by Enobaria, Day 10
Solaris and Corden both were running away swiftly, attempting to escape Enobaria by slipping out of a small section of the back of the warehouse that they had left bare of traps. As Enobaria drew her sword from Keyna's bloodied corpse, she knew she only had time to take out one of them. Thankfully for her, the choice was easy; a sniveling boy from 3 who had scored a 4 was nowhere near as threatening as the charismatic Solaris who had scored an 8. Thus, Enobaria rushed towards Solaris, forcing the boy to use his shard of metal to defend himself. Corden watched in horror as the two duelled, but instead of helping his ally, he turned tail and fled, his survival instincts taking over. Corden was able to sprint away down the rubble-strewn alleyways behind the warehouse as Solaris and Enobaria clashed eagerly inside.
The 5 boy surprised Enobaria greatly, as she had expected his thin frame and pale skin to betray his weakness. She had assumed he had only skill with traps, but Solaris was rather swift and graceful as well, dodging many of her attacks and even daring to slash at her with his own weapon. Enobaria knew she was much stronger than him, however, and she toyed with him, dragging out the fight as long as possible without either of them landing a blow on each other. Solaris began to become desperate, as his stamina was running out, and he flung himself at Enobaria in one final attempt to distract her and kill her. However, the 2 girl was expecting this foolish move, and she quickly stepped out of the way. Solaris sprawled out against the floor, and before he could turn over, Enobaria had already brought her sword down on his neck. She smiled grimly as the 5 boy's head was severed cleanly from his body, his eyes blank in shock as his head rolled across the cement. His cannon fired as blood pumped from the ragged stump of his neck, and Enobaria simply wiped her blade clean of gore as the blood rushed out of her victim's corpse.
Solaris Joyner, District 5 Male; 9th, Killed by Enobaria, Day 10
That left the Top 8: Enobaria Faine from District 2, Secundus Corsi from District 2, Corden Turing from District 3, Barnacle Andersen from District 4, Swallow Peters from District 9, Sorghum Asche from District 9, Cherry Abdullah from District 11, and Jeeter Crawley from District 11.
Once Solaris was dead and her blade was clean, Enobaria carefully walked out the back of the warehouse, following the route Corden had taken. She explored the alleyways behind the warehouse before trekking off in a different direction, not bothering to track down Corden. She knew he was the weakest tribute left in the Games, and she decided not to waste her energy on hunting down the scrawny boy who was now all on his own in the arena. Instead, she trekked across the arena back to the tallest skyscraper in the entire city, where she had scoped out the arena from the beginning of the Games. There, sponsor gifts rained down on her even harder than they had before. The Capitol was completely enamored with Enobaria now after her show of murdering Keyna and Solaris. The Career girl lavished herself in the rich foods and other supplies her sponsors flooded her with, making sure to promise the cameras she would spill even more blood to make up for such decadent gifts.
Meanwhile, many of the other tributes were beginning to struggle as the sun rose over the arena and Day 10 began to wear on. Over 80% of the Capitol was rooting for Enobaria at this point according to opinion polling, which was shocking giving the diverse, exciting crop of opponents left in the arena. However, Enobaria was outshining them all, and none of the other Mentors could gather enough funds to send their tributes any sponsor gifts. Thus, many of the tributes were beginning to run out of food and water, and Rufana had begun to remove many of the normal sources from the arena in order to up the suffering of the tributes.
Noticing the lack of supplies and sponsor gifts, Secundus and Barnacle began to hunt harder through the streets as their supply of jerky and water from the Cornucopia began to dwindle. Meanwhile, Sorghum and Swallow were completely out of food and only had half a jug of water left, and they were hunting ravenously too, eager to find another tribute to kill to earn them back more support. The other Outliers who were on their own were affected in various ways. Corden was absolutely terrified on his own, and he was able to find no food or water, also too scared to go back to the warehouse in case Enobaria was still camped out there. Thus, he huddled in an old technology shop, hopelessly trying to use the parts inside to create a weapon and failing at it. Surprisingly, both Cherry and Jeeter were in better positions than most of the other tributes. Jeeter had amassed a good stockpile of old ballpark food that the Gamemakers couldn't take from him, while Cherry had been entertaining the Capitol with her running of the sewer mazes. She had also gathered up a good supply of food and water as she continued to memorize the sewer system.
Days 11 passed with similar inaction, with nothing of note occurring in the arena. However, on Day 12, things began to become even more tense in the arena. It began to rain harshly from the moment the sun rose over the arena; the sun was quickly hidden behind an army of dark clouds, and sheets of cold water poured down hard on the ruined city. Many of the tributes were tempted to take shelter. Jeeter stayed crouched within the insides of the baseball stadium, deciding to delay his departure from the area another day. Corden also stayed in the tech shop, having given up on making any traps and just simply hoping to go by unnoticed. However, everyone else was on the move throughout the day, unwilling to stop their hunting due to the harsh weather.
Secundus and Barnacle found a row of warehouses similar to the one that the 3s and 5s had rigged with traps, and they spent much of the day exploring them to no avail. Enobaria had been wandering through the city, and she eventually found herself back at the overgrown park in the center of the city. She walked to the center, resting in the Cornucopia to avoid the torrential rains for the rest of the day after making sure that the area was clear of tributes. Swallow and Sorghum were unrelenting in their searches, only pausing to collect water in their now empty jug before moving on. They had no food, and they were both growing irritable and weakened from the lack of nutrition. Cherry was also highly affected by the rains; the sewers had been dry up to this point, but with the water flooding the tunnels, it quickly washed away most of her supplies. Cherry was able to salvage some of them, clinging to a ladder that led out of the sewers to avoid the rushing rivers of water that soon were pounding through the tunnels below her. By nightfall, her arms were shaking with the fatigue of clutching a ladder for hours straight, and she was forced to leave behind the safety of her sewers and settle in a nearby apartment building to sleep.
While no lives were ended during the torrential rains of Day 12, when they ceased on the morning of Day 13, action began to pick up notably. Several of the tributes who had done little throughout the game resumed their normal routines. Corden stayed inside the tech shop, toggling with random pieces of ancient technology but doing nothing productive, often breaking down in tears randomly from the stress of the Games. Jeeter remained within the baseball stadium, having been there so long that he was now too intimidated by the rest of the arena to leave it unless he was forced. Cherry waited much of the day until she was sure most of the water was out of the sewers, and then she gathered the few supplies she had left and returned there to hide out for the rest of the day. There was still some water in the tunnels, but it was not terrible, and Cherry did not feel safe anywhere else in the arena since she had learned the maze of sewers so well.
The other tributes began to hunt fervently, however. Secundus, Barnacle, Swallow, and Sorghum had all run out of supplies, and they began to search the streets with added vigor. Enobaria was still well fed, but she also knew her favor would being to wane if she rested on her laurels. Thus, she also began to hunt around for tributes as they day wore on, leaving behind the overgrown park. Enobaria would turn up empty on her search, but the other four hunters would not. At around 4 in the afternoon, Secundus spotted Swallow and Sorghum emerging from an apartment building they had just searched for tributes. The 9s instantly spotted Secundus and Barnacle when the two Careers began rushing towards them, and their instincts took over. While they were eager to find victims, they were also worried about facing two trained Careers on their own. Thus, they attempted to flee as Secundus and Barnacle chased them through the rubble-strewn streets.
Within ten minutes, the Careers were able to catch up to Sorghum and Swallow as they were attempting to climb over a pile of debris from a building that had fallen across the entire street. Barnacle had a spear alongside their machete, and they threw it hard at the two tributes. It barely missed skewering Sorghum in the neck, and the two 9s tried to climb as quickly as they could. Once they were at the top of the pile of rubble, however, they whispered quietly and agreed to hold their ground as they watched Secundus and Barnacle scramble up the climb to them. They agreed they had to face the Careers now, and their advantage of height might help fend them off.
Once Secundus and Barnacle were in reach, Sorghum and Swallow began slashing at them with their weapons, Sorghum engaging Secundus as the 2 boy was a stronger fighter while Swallow swiped her sickle at Barnacle. Both Careers held their ground below the 9s, stabbing and slashing at them eagerly as they were both happy to have a fight. The 9s quickly realized that they were struggling in the fight, as Swallow barely avoided Barnacle's machete and Secundus was good at dodging Sorghum's sickle. Suddenly, however, Secundus was able to slam his mace into Sorghum's sickle, causing the blade to break into pieces. With no weapon left, Sorghum tried to scramble away, but Secundus was able to slam his mace into the 9 boy's knees. With surprising speed, Secundus vaulted himself up onto the top of the rubble pile, slamming his mace down into Sorghum's chest as the 9 boy tried to dodge the blow. It was too late; the weapon sunk home, and Sorghum's chest crunched sickeningly before his cannon fired.
Sorghum Asche, District 9 Male; 8th, Killed by Secundus, Day 13
The moment Swallow saw Sorghum's sickle break, she knew her ally was screwed, and she quickly took off, surprising Barnacle with her swift abandonment of the fight. The 4 tribute tried to chase after Swallow, but the smaller girl was much quicker and more agile, quickly disappearing down the shadowy alleyways after leaping off of the pile of rubble. Barnacle watched her go, knowing they would not be able to catch her, before turning to Secundus and high-fiving him after the 2 boy drew his mace from Sorghum's corpse. They agreed to keep hunting as the sun began to set over the arena, hopeful they might be able to catch Swallow or find a different tribute to take down before the day was done.
As Swallow fled from the fight with Secundus and Barnacle, she found herself running towards the center of the arena without realizing where she was going. By the time the sun had set over the arena, Swallow found herself near the central park where the Games had began. Feeling frightened to be on her own for the first time in the Games, she decided to hide in the only natural place in the arena, hoping it would provide her some comfort and remind her of the farms back home. Thus, Swallow slid into the tangles of undergrowth with only her sickle on her person, her breath steadying as the plants calmed her. She sat down in a small clearing in the tangled overgrowth and immediately began to doze off, completely exhausted from the day's events.
Unfortunately for the spry girl from District 9, she would not be able to rest yet. Enobaria had heard the girl tearing through the undergrowth in fright as she had escaped Secundus and Barnacle. The 2 girl quietly stalked through the tangled vines and fallen trees until she found where Swallow was curled on the ground, her chest rising slowly as the 9 girl was nearly asleep. Wanting to elongate the fun instead of polishing her off easily, Enobaria began to scrape the blade of her broadsword against tree trucks and rocks on the ground, making louder and louder noises. One particularly grating screech against a hunk of mossy cement caused Swallow to jolt upright, looking around fearfully for the source of the noise as she snatched up her sickle to defend herself.
Enobaria leapt from the shadows then, brandishing her broadsword wildly as she rushed at the frightened 9 girl. Swallow screeched as she stumbled to her feet and attempt to run away from Enobaria. All of her bravado and willingness to fight and hunt was gone now that Sorghum was not pumping her up, now that Sorghum was dead. The fourteen year old felt very small and alone, unwilling to engage Enobaria. The 2 girl was disappointed that Swallow would not put up a fight, throwing down her sword as she chased the girl through the overgrown park in exchange for the dagger strapped to her thigh. With ease, she was able to catch up to Swallow, tackling her to the ground hard. Swallow tried to slash at Enobaria with her sickle, but the Career girl disarmed her with ease before pining her to the ground. Hungry to make a long-lasting, bloody death, Enobaria began the torture many Careers had completed before her, carving off bits of Swallow's flesh as she screamed and thrashed. Swallow began spitting in Enobaria's face once her entire front was bloodied, and Enobaria became annoyed with the girl's futile efforts. Instead of dragging out her torture, Enobaria carved open Swallow from her throat all the way down to her belly button. The 9 girl gaped as her guts flooded out of her body, and she was dead in moments as Enobaria stood, snarling and wiping the Swallow's spittle from her cheek indignantly.
Swallow Peters, District 9 Female; 7th, Killed by Enobaria, Day 13
Once Swallow's cannon fired, Enobaria strode back to the Cornucopia, cleaning the blood spatter off of herself as she reclined inside the golden structure. Only a few small sponsor gifts came, but Enobaria was not worried as she snacked on the small rations from her rabid fans. She had agreed with her Mentor Kyla that they would hold back on supplies when the numbers got slimmer in case she needed something more down the road, like a new weapon or medicine. Thus, Enobaria contented her with the salty pack of jerky and jug of water Kyla sent her before resting up, eager to go hunting again and finish of the Games quickly.
On the morning of Day 14, every tribute was up and moving except for Corden, who remained stubbornly immobile inside the same technology shop he'd been in since Enobaria had slaughtered his allies. The rest of the tributes all had active days. Enobaria left behind the overgrown park to prowl for more victims, coming up empty throughout the entirety of the day. Down in the sewers, Cherry raced around all morning until she was certain she had finally mapped the entire layout in her head. Feeling satisfied, she then began to construct a weapon out of a length of broken-off copper pipe and some sharp pieces of rock she found in the sewers, hoping whatever she was able to build would be able to defend her against any attackers.
By the baseball stadium, a clash was set to occur. Secundus and Barnacle had been waiting to explore the other stadium, as they had wasted an entire day searching the football stadium to no avail. However, they agreed that it was another notable landmark that had been silent all Games, and they agreed it was worth a look. Thus, Secundus and Barnacle climbed the fence into the structure and began to search through the lower tiers of seats. Simultaneously, Jeeter had woken up from his sleep and had decided to abandon the stadium once and for all, feeling too cooped up there with so few tributes left. As he was walking down the hallways, however, he spotted Secundus and Barnacle picking their way through the seats far below. Terrified, Jeeter searched desperately for a place to hide, keeping his broadsword in his hands as he ran.
Eventually, Jeeter stumbled upon a room that he had yet to enter. It was a large training room, a place where the players would've lifted weights and worked themselves out before a baseball game. Seeing the bounty of weights, yoga balls, and machines, a fledgling plan began to form in Jeeter's mind. Hurriedly, he set his broadsword down in the training room and began to carry as many weights and other things at once towards the top of one of the stairwells that led down to one of the tiers of seats. He began constructing a pile until it towered over the entrance down to the seats, and then he began to scream loudly, his broadsword clutched tightly in his hands.
Secundus and Barnacle both heard his yelling, creeping slowly up the tiers of seats to where they heard the sounds coming from. They knew a trap was most likely set for them, so they moved slowly, unsure of what was going on. By the time they reached the bottom of the tier of seats, Jeeter had stopped his screaming, crouching behind the pile of training equipment and watching silently as the two Careers prowled closer. He waited until they were at the bottom of the stairwell where his stash was piled. Barnacle was the first one to spot it, opening their mouth to tell Secundus, but suddenly the entire pile began to move as Jeeter gave it a heavy push. Barnacle screamed, tugging at Secundus to get him to move as dozens of weights and machines tumbled down the incline towards them.
The two Careers rushed out of the way. An entire rowing machine smashed into Barnacle's left shin, causing the 4 tribute to stagger to the ground. As they crawled out of the aisle where the equipment was falling down, Secundus dodged many of them, racing up the steps towards Jeeter. The 11 boy was terrified, picking up the last weights he had not thrown and tossing them at the 2 boy. Secundus dodged most of them easily, chuckling as he neared the 11 boy without a scratch on him. Suddenly, however, Jeeter faked Secundus out, pretending to throw towards the left but instead tossing it to the right. Secundus swerved right, and the entire nation was aghast as the thirty pound weight that Jetter had tossed slammed right into Secundus's skull, leaving a bloody dent. Jeeter was horrified, quickly sprinting away in order to escape the baseball stadium all together as Secundus crumpled to the ground, clutching the bloodied dent in his head.
Barnacle crawled up the steps once the deluge of falling training equipment had fallen still. A nasty bruise was on their left shin, and it ached to walk for the moment, but otherwise they were alright. However, when they reached Secundus's side, they swiftly realized their ally was not in a similar condition. Secundus couldn't even speak, and his skull had been completely crushed by the thrown weight, blood and bits of brain leaking from his dented head. Barnacle cradled his bloody head in their lap, trying to comfort him as he bled out, wiping the tears from their eyes as Secundus let out his last ragged breath and left them all alone.
Secundus Corsi, District 2 Male; 6th, Killed by Jeeter, Day 14
Picking themselves up once Secundus was dead, Barnacle staggered up the last few steps and began to hunt through the stadium for Jeeter. However, they peered out of a window as they were exploring the baseball arena and spotted the 11 boy dashing through the streets a couple stories below. Knowing he was out of reach for now, the Career from 4 simply sighed and began to pick their way out of the stadium as well, disappointed to have fallen for such a trick and to have lost their final ally to a lone Outlier. Within an hour they were back on the streets, and they found an apartment building to rest for the remainder of the day, unwilling to overexert themselves any further. No further action occured on the fourteenth day of the Games, as all fell still soon after the sun set.
The action restarted once Day 15 began, however. Corden remained foolishly inside the tech shop, refusing to move an inch despite the fact that he was wasting away without any food or water. He was severely dehydrated, but his terror of the outside world and being found by Enobaria was so immense that he preferred the pains of dehydration, soon becoming dizzy and hallucinatory from the lack of water. Barnacle searched the streets throughout the entirety of the day, moving a bit slower due to the fatigue they had built up during the horrors of the day prior in the baseball stadium. They did not find any other tributes that day, stopping their search early when they discovered the ruins of a luxury hotel where they knew they would be able to rest splendidly. Jeeter had refused to rest much after narrowly escaping death in his clash with Barnacle and Secundus. He was shocked to see Secundus's face in the sky, however, realizing he had most likely killed him. This realization made Jeeter swell with pride, and he began to brag about the kill. The Capitol loved this new underdog hero, viewing him as a potential opponent to Enobaria outside of Barnacle. Because of this, Chaff was able to scrounge up enough sponsor money to send Jeeter some food and water to keep him in good health as he continued to prowl through the arena, now brave enough to seek out more confrontations.
The mega-popular girl from District 2 was also out on the hunt. As Enobaria was searching through the streets that morning, she spotted that one of the sewer covers was askew. Enobaria briefly remember walking down this street several days prior, and she knew that the sewer covers had all been in place if her memory served her correctly. Curious, Enobaria realized there might be a tribute hiding in the sewer system below the city, grinning at the ingenuity of the idea. Certain one of the remaining Outliers was camped out in the sewers, Enobaria began to crawl down after Kyla sent her a flashlight as a sponsor gift to help explore the gloomy tunnels. Thus, Enobaria pulled the manhole cover aside fully and pulled herself into the sewers below, beginning to hungrily hunt her way through the confusing maze.
Enobaria swiftly got lost, having no idea where she was, but she also knew there were plenty of exits in every corner of the city, and she could exit the area whenever she pleased. Thus, the 2 girl pressed on, beginning to jog through the damp tunnels as she searched for the tribute she was certain was hiding down there. In fact, Cherry was still in the sewers, having once again set herself up at a base camp in a central chamber. She had less food and water than before, but the 11 girl knew there were only four other tributes left, and she was terrified of leaving behind the maze of sewer tunnels she knew so well. While Seeder had warned her that too much inactivity, especially towards the end of the Games, would lead her to become unpopular, Cherry had not heeded her advice. In fact, Rufana had been plotting to fill the sewers with snake mutts to kill Cherry if she had not gotten moving within the next day or so. Luckily for the Head Gamemaker, it seemed Enobaria Faine would take care of the job for her.
By midday, Enobaria stumbled upon the central chamber where Cherry was resting. The 11 girl instantly twirled when she heard the sound of Enobaria's feet slapping against the damp cement, screaming and snatching up her makeshift weapon made of pipe and shattered cement. Enobaria chuckled darkly at the shoddy weapon, dancing around Cherry as the girl desperately brandished it at the Career girl who was taunting her. Enobaria let her keep the shitty weapon for a minute or two before quickly disarming her and then cutting off the hand that had been clutching the contraption. Cherry wailed pitifully as her dismembered hand hit the ground, clutching the stump of her arm to her chest and sprinting away desperately, hoping to lose Enobaria in the maze of sewers she knew so well. The 2 girl was tempted to elongate the chase, but she also suspected that Cherry knew the sewers much better than her and could most likely shake her off of her trail. Thus, Enobaria bound forward with lightning speed, cutting down Cherry with a single wide sweep of her sword that seemed to almost cut the 11 girl in half. Cherry's cannon fired before she even hit the ground.
Cherry Abdullah, District 11 Female; 5th, Killed by Enobaria, Day 15
Enobaria just shook her head once Cherry's gory remains collapsed on the ground, irritated that she had been unable to draw out the slaughter much longer. However, knowing there were only three other tributes left, Enobaria let the irritation fade as she thought about killing her remaining opponents. With seven kills under her belt, she had already put on an astounding show, and the Capitol was eager to see how she would finish it, as most agreed that no one could stop the vicious murderess from 2 after how hard she had been playing the Games so far.
As Enobaria climbed out of the sewers and continued to hunt around above-ground for more victims, another tribute was suffering greatly. As the day leaked away, Corden found he was so dehydrated he could barely move. His survival instincts managed to press through his terrible fears of the other tributes, forcing him to crawl out of the technology shop for water. However, his body was too weak to move much, and he collapsed in the street before he could find anything to drink. Corden fruitlessly tried to keep crawling, but he could not move. Eventually, he gave up and laid in the open street, knowing he was going to die. Unluckily for him, no tributes stumbled upon him, and Corden was left to dehydration. A couple of hours before midnight, Corden's body finally stopped struggling, and his cannon fired as his twitching body fell still in the open street.
Corden Turing, District 3 Male; 4th, Killed by dehydration, Day 15
With only Enobaria, Barnacle, and Jeeter left in the arena, Rufana decided to call a Feast for the next day at the center of the arena, as a Feast had not been called in many Games. Her Games had been full of plenty of intrigue and conflict, and with over two weeks of it in her beautiful arena, it was time to call it to an end. Claudius Templesmith announced into the arena that at noon the following day, a mandatory Feast would occur at the Cornucopia in the park at the center of the arena where the Games had begun. Enobaria, Barnacle, and Jeeter all immediately began to suit up for the confrontation, all knowing that this Feast would mark the end of these Games.
Both Enobaria and Barnacle opted to rest for the night before the final fight, knowing that they needed their stamina for the final fight and also knowing that the Gamemakers would keep any traps or other tributes away from them due to the Feast happening the next morning. However, while the last two Careers slept on opposite sides of the arena to charge up for their final fight, Jeeter fled right to the center of the arena without another thought as night fell. He was unwilling to miss the Feast and be dispatched by the Gamemakers, and he also thought that getting to the Cornucopia before the stronger tributes might allow him the time to come up with a plan to outwit them. As Jeeter paced around the Cornucopia field, his mind was blank on ways to save himself against two trained killers, and he ultimately huddled in the back of the Horn anxiously, too nervous to fall asleep. He clutched his sword tightly in his hands, waiting for his opponents to arrive.
As the sun began to rise over the arena on the sixteenth and final day of the Games, both Enobaria and Barnacle were already awake, stretching and preparing themselves for the final fight. Then, both of them began to trek out towards the Cornucopia. They both arrived near the park an hour or two before noon. Enobaria found an old coffee shop and went inside, making herself some coffee and snacking on some food she found to energize herself. Meanwhile, Barnacle kept hiking to the center of the arena, crouching in the undergrowth and watching the Horn. They spotted Jeeter crouching nervously inside, and they debated approaching him and trying to get him to fight with them against Enobaria. They knew that working with an Outlier might make them look weak, but they also knew they'd need help in fighting Enobaria. They were about to stand and ask him when they heard rustling behind them, and suddenly Enobaria appeared in the clearing with them.
Jeeter perked up at the sounds of clashing blades, and he snuck out of the Cornucopia to spot Barnacle and Enobaria duelling nearby through the undergrowth. While the 11 boy had been terrified before, he put on his confidence he'd learned to master on the streets of 11's capital in the gangs. Oozing swagger, Jeeter talked to the cameras about how he was gonna murder whoever won. Suddenly, the Feast table arose next to him, bearing a bowl of fruit and cheese. Jeeter feasted himself while watching as Enobaria and Barnacle backed out of the undergrowth and continued to fight in the Cornucopia field.
Barnacle was putting up an admirable fight with their machete, ducking and weaving around Enobaria as the 2 girl fought ruthlessly. However, Enobaria was eager to end the Games once and for all, unwilling to drag out fights with Victory so close. She began to fight incredibly hard, shocking Barnacle, and she was able able to disarm the 4 tribute, sending her machete soaring into the bushes. Barnacle ducked Enobaria's next blow, now weaponless. Desperate, they did a roundhouse kick and succeeded in sending Enobaria's own sword flying into the undergrowth. Preparing to fight hand to hand, Barnacle leaped at Enobaria, not seeing that the 2 girl had drawn her dagger from the sling on her thigh. The Career from 4 was shocked as Enobaria sliced open their chest with two precise strokes of her dagger. Barnacle collapsed on the grass, wheezing for a couple of moments before falling still at Enobaria's feet.
Barnacle Andersen, District 4 Tribute; 3rd, Killed by Enobaria, Day 16
Enobaria reached down to grab her dagger from Barnacle's corpse, but she heard movement behind her and saw Jeeter rushing her. The 11 boy knew his only chance to defeat the girl who had scored a 12 was to take her by surprise while she was still weaponless, and he used both arms to swing his sword at her head like a baseball bat. Enobaria was barely able to duck the blow by rolling across the grass, but she was now far away from any of her weapons, with Jeeter and his broadsword standing between the Career and her blades. Jeeter began to cackle as he rushed Enobaria eagerly, believing he had been able to disarm and defeat the 2 girl. However, Enobaria would not go so easily.
As Jeeter rushed her, she jumped to her feet and tackled his legs as his sword swept through the air above her head. Jeeter screamed as Enobaria slammed him to the ground, his sword flying from his hands. Enobaria held the 11 boy down on the ground as he wriggled desperately, and it was obvious that the 2 girl was in a completely animalistic warrior mode. Unwilling to stop to grab a weapon and give Jeeter a chance to escape, the entire nation gasped in shock as Enobaria opted to use a weapon never before seen in a Hunger Games finale: her teeth.
Within moments of pinning Jeeter to the ground, Enobaria clamped her teeth around Jeeter's dark, fleshy throat as the 11 boy screamed in absolute terror. He could not make a sound for much longer, as Enobaria's teeth sunk so deep into his throat that she was able to rip it all out with a toss of her head. Jeeter gasped breathlessly, unable to suck in any air, as his mangled throat gushed blood all over himself and his final opponent. The 11 boy's eyes rolled into the back of his head as Enobaria spat Jeeter's soft, bloody throat from her mouth, and his cannon fired as she turned back to bite into him again if necessary to finish him off.
Jeeter Crawley, District 11 Male; 2nd, Killed by Enobaria, Day 16
"Enobaria Faine of District 2, you are the Victor of the Sixty Second Hunger Games!" Caesar and Claudius cheered excitedly into the arena as the trumpets blasted triumphantly to celebrate the Victory of one of the Capitol's favorite tributes in years. Enobaria roared in joy and pride as she stood up from Jeeter's bloodied corpse, ecstatic to have finally won the Games. She made sure to show the gore still clinging to her fangs as she pulled back her lips in a roar and celebrated her Victory, pumping her arms in the air as the hovercraft descended to retrieve her.
Aftermath
District 2 was extremely thrilled to have such a popular and infamous Victor return so soon after their last. Enobaria was a symbol of how strong District 2 had become in the Games. She was only sixteen, but she had scored a 12 and broken the kill record for females in the Games by making 9 kills. She had managed to break her Mentor Kyla's record for kills, showing how truly lethal 2's Careers could be. Enobaria was one of the most popular tributes in years, as she was a vicious Career who would haunt the dreams of plenty of District children and also excited the bloodthirsty Capitolite audience with her show of gory slaughter. Enobaria did not run from this fame, as she had gone into the Games with the goal of becoming a feared Victor. She leaned into it, acting just as ruthless and violent out of the arena as she was in it, often partying wildly. She even had her teeth sharpened and covered in gold to remind everyone of the notorious way she had won her Games, by ripping out the District 11 boy's throat. Enobaria was the first truly legendary Career of the 60's, which is a notable decade for its production of memorable, awe-inspiring Career Victories. As Enobaria basked in her fame, she was hugely popular with the other Career Victors, as many of them respected and even feared her for how strong she had been in her Games. She was widely reviled by the Outlier Victors, but most of them were terrified of her, and thus Enobaria rarely spoke to them, preferring to stick to her crowd of rowdy Careers. As Enobaria was widely popular in the Capitol and also exceedingly patriotic, she was a favorite of President Snow. I have been able to find evidence that she acted as a personal assassin to the President, taking out his political rivals and other insurrectionists in return for being excluded from his Victor prostitution business. Enobaria would spend the rest of her life obsessed with the Games, becoming extremely involved in the Academy. Unlike her Mentor Kyla who was selective on who she chose to Mentor, Enobaria loved the Games so much that she was willing to act as a Mentor for whatever tribute performed best in the trials. She was much too violent and bloodthirsty to make a good leader of the Academy, but she was an active Mentor and trainer throughout the rest of her life. Fittingly, Enobaria chose sword dancing as her talent, allowing her to practice the thing she loved most in the world: fighting.
Enobaria would live to age 83, dying from unspecified causes around the 129th Hunger Games. Enobaria would stay single throughout much of her life, although as she settled down in her 40s, she eventually married a rowdy Peacekeeper from the Nut. However, Enobaria's closest connection was always her best friend Kyla Burks, and she died only months after her Mentor did.
The payouts on her Victory were poor, as 24% of the bets were placed on her.
Her Victory Tour is about average; while Enobaria was a fine speaker, she was incredibly ruthless and violent in her speeches and showed little remorse towards the families of the nine kids she killed. She was hugely unpopular with the Outlying Districts, even moreso than most Careers, and this put a damper on an otherwise decent Victory Tour.
Victor's News
The illicit, drug-aided affair between Ibiza Tran and Dirk Tautson is publicized across the nation, ruining Ibiza's cherished image in the Capitol.
Chaise has his second child, a daughter named Sonoma.
Lyme marries her husband, Rocko Harding.
Cecelia marries her husband, Bridel Castro.
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 (12 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), Kyla Burks (58), Enobaria Faine (62)
District 3 (4 Victors): Chaplin Nastaro (7), Calculata Fenceley (26), Beetee Latier (33), Wiress Furuya (46)
District 4 (7 Victors): Kelan Thather (1), Mags Flanagan (11), Bex Martin (16), Dorsal Rance (24), Flotsam Bresten (34), Syren Calanthe (43), Ibiza Tran (61)
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 (4 Victors): Woof Parsons (23), Organza White (35), Tex Hannon (52), Cecelia Lahren (59)
District 9 (4 Victors): Dillon Tripp (2), Deana Mitchellson (18), Enzo Faithlen (48), Brandy Hooper (53)
District 10 (4 Victors): Barcelona Sepias (13), Jaguar Crusoe (17), Elaine Canterbury (Aux. 46), Annley Tobias (60)
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: Here's the newest chapter! This one was a doozy, I just love Enobaria so much, the other tributes were fun as well, and I haven't done a ruins arena in a very long time, so this chapter just became exceedingly massive. This is the longest chapter excluding the 50th, which is just insane, but I had fun exploring this arena and these characters, and making Enobaria legendary like she deserves. I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and I hope you're excited to see the other canon Victors we have lined up. Next up, the Seville twins from District 1! Let me know what you guys think in a review!
Until Next Time,
Tracee
