THE FOURTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Tis the Season"


INTRODUCTION

By the time of the fourth annual Hunger Games, the entertainment factor of the competition had been fully developed. After seeing the different ways the Capitolites reacted to the three very diverse victors so far, the gamemakers decided to make the Hunger Games less of a fight to the death and more of a reality television show. Even better, they decided to make it interactive by allowing Capitol citizens to submit legal bets on who they believed would win. Capitol citizens who wished to bet would receive a form in the mail on which they would guess who they thought the final eight would be and who would win. This momentous Hunger Games needed a momentous arena, and such the president called up Leto Spitz and requested that he design and build the arena.

After several weeks of planning and working out the kinks of things, construction on the arena began. The arena was, in a sense, a model of the four seasons. The north half of the arena was an icily cold and barren landscape churning with bitingly frigid wind. The south portion of the arena was a swelteringly hot desert riddled with snakes and scorpions. To the west was a lovely fall forest, with gold and orange leaves fluttering from the trees and joining their brethren on the ground. To the west was a rolling green field, bursting with flowers that were every color of the rainbow. Sheep roamed the area. The gamemakers did not provide the tributes with a great water source, believing that the games would be more interesting when the tributes were forced to find creative methods of obtaining it.

The array of tributes was much like last year; the six careers from 1, 2, and 4 were all trained prematurely and therefore earned the highest scores. The Capitol was also intrigued by the single volunteer; the boy from District 8 who sacrificed himself for a boy one year older than him who was allegedly his best friend since childhood. The six careers, inspired by the way the careers allied the year before in the middle of the games, shook hands as allies before the games even began. They made a deal to slaughter as many tributes as possible during the bloodbath and then meet up in the mouth of the shimmering horn of plenty once the feast of death was over. The Capitol was also intrigued by the District 7 girl, who received the highest training score and the highest odds. She had lots of experience with using an axe and a knife from working in the lumber industry for most of her life, and so was expected to make a handsome number of kills in the arena. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Joules Talbot, 16, (7) 7-1 and Jasmine Giaman, 17, (7) 6-1

District 2: Ryker Slane, 18, (9) 5-1 and Amelia Spangler, 16, (8) 6-1

District 3: Cyber Bodreck, 16, (4) 21-1 and Byte Revlin, 13, (2) 38-1

District 4: Aaran Walsh, 17, (7) 6-1 and Eillen Driks, 18, (6) 9-1

District 5: Alarix Sande, 15, (4) 27-1 and Irie Cogmen, 14, (4) 31-1

District 6: Thanh Mayers, 16, (3) 19-1 and Kaetlyn Wilkes, 12, (2) 40-1

District 7: Dewitt Veal, 14, (3) 27-1 and Ciera Wilcome, 18, (9) 5-1

District 8: Elton Emmons, 17, (2) 25-1 and Catrice Lacy, 16, (4) 25-1

District 9: Erna Mattingly, 15, (4) 34-1 and Fiona Duarte, 13, (1) 39-1

District 10: Coulette Robinson, 16, (7) 19-1 and Verla Durand, 17, (5) 20-1

District 11: Odell Jordon, 18, (6) 18-1 and Hanna Fortner, 12, (3) 32-1

District 12: Trey Naranjo, 14, (2) 29-1 and Krissy Justus, 17, (3) 34-1


THE GAMES

The instant the gong rang, the exhilarated careers scissored forward and began scooping up their favorite weapons. The first to reach the mouth of the horn was Ryker. Ryker leaned over and picked up a spectacular curved sickle that glistened in the light of the sun overhead and brandished it in his left hand.

Not far behind Ryker was Jasmine. Jasmine slung an orange backpack over her back and then picked up a bow and arrow that lay on an ornate glass table concealed in the darkness of the cornucopia. Nocking an arrow in her bow and closing one eye, she aimed her arrow at Trey's back. Trey was an easy target as he was running in a straight line away from the bloodbath into the fall sector of the arena. Jasmine released her arrow, and the projectile sank into Trey's back as the bloodbath began in earnest.

Trey Naranjo, District 12 Male: 24th, Killed by Jasmine, Bloodbath

At this point, the duo of Ryker and Jasmine was joined by Joules, Amelia, and Aaran, who all sported their own menacing weapons and were prepared to do their part in landing the career alliance as many kills as possible. They all spread out and created as much space as possible, each one patrolling a different section of the clearing around the cornucopia. The next kill was carried out by Aaran. Aaran spotted a panicked Kaetlyn storming away from the bloodbath. Aaran darted up behind Kaetlyn and stabbed her square in the stomach with his machete. Repulsed by the sticky spray of blood squirting out of the girl's mouth, Aaran removed the blade from her corpse and began searching for his next kill.

Kaetlyn Wilkes, District 6 Female: 23rd, Killed by Aaran, Bloodbath

Only a few tributes remained at the cornucopia, and, after realizing that their current strategy wasn't working, the careers all called each other over to the mouth of the cornucopia. They used their bodies to form a barrier at the mouth of the horn, trapping two tributes inside. The two trapped tributes knew that their lives would be over very soon. The first of the unlucky duo to be killed was Cyber, who was killed by Amelia when he was shot in the neck with an arrow.

Cyber Bodreck, District 3 Male: 22nd, Killed by Amelia, Bloodbath

The second tribute, now sporting a horrified expression on her face, was slashed in the side by Joules with a sword.

Verla Durand, District 10 Female: 21st, Killed by Joules, Bloodbath

An eerie silence now hung in the air as the careers searched around the cornucopia for any final tributes to round up. There were none. Confused as to why the bloodbath cannons had not fired yet, the careers began throwing aside crates and the like in the cornucopia in an attempt to find the tribute they knew was hiding somewhere. They found it twelve minutes later; Jasmine threw open a crate to find a completely helpless Erna quivering in terror inside of it. When Erna caught sight of the girl looming over him, he screamed in terror and attempted to escape, but it was no use. Jasmine shot Erna in the neck with her bow. Erna clutched at his neck as scarlet liquid spilled from the wound onto the ground. He collapsed, dead, a few minutes later.

Erna Mattingly, District 9 Male: 20th, Killed by Jasmine, Bloodbath

Five kills had been made in the bloodbath, a number that the career alliance was very proud of. They set up a camp inside of the horn that they would return to each night after their daily killing spree.

The tributes watched gravely as the faces of the five tributes that had died the first day were projected into the sky on the night of Day 1. It was not until around noon on Day 2 that the next kill was made. You see, the morning of Day 2 each career took a backpack filled by commodities for the day and went out into the arena to search for their unlucky next kill. Aaran found Catrice lying in a ditch in the spring sector of the arena, covered with a bed of leaves and sticks to conceal her body. Aaran snuck up behind Catrice and leaned over her. She was too stunned to scream before Aaran stabbed her in the heart with his machete.

Catrice Lacy, District 8 Female: 19th, Killed by Aaran, Day 2

The evening of Day 2, Irie was walking along in the spring section when she stepped over a ditch covered with a layer of leaves and fell in. It was a trap set by the gamemakers. Irie tried every strategy she could think of, to no use. She was trapped in the hole. A few hours later, Joules noticed the pit with the girl trapped inside. It was the easiest kill he made so far. Joules shot Irie in the shoulder with an arrow from his bow, killing her.

Irie Cogmen, District 5 Female: 18th, Killed by Joules, Day 2

On Day 3, Joules took the risk of attempting to kill Ciera. Ciera had hoarded the audience's attention after receiving both the highest training score and the highest odds, and so Joules, in an attempt to eliminate the biggest threat to his survival, snuck up behind Ciera and attempted to stab her in the back, believing that she was weaponless. However, Ciera turned sharply on her heel and revealed that she was holding an axe. The girl rammed the weapon into Joules' chest, effectively killing the career.

Joules Talbot, District 1 Male: 17th, Killed by Ciera, Day 3

Two dehydration deaths occurred on Day 4. Day 4 was very uneventful and nothing of note happened.

Dewitt Veal, District 7 Male: 16th, Dehydration, Day 4

Hanna Fortner, District 11 Female: 15th, Dehydration, Day 4

On Day 5, a second attempt to kill Ciera was made. Amelia, brandishing her curved sickle, snuck up behind Ciera. What happened next was very similar to what happened with Joules, but this time Amelia escaped unscathed. Day 5 was deathless.

On Day 6, two more dehydration deaths occurred. The gamemakers realized that they made a bad decision assuming that the tributes could get their water through other means than directly from a water source. They resolved to always include large bodies of water in future arenas.

Coulette Robinson, District 10 Male: 14th, Dehydration, Day 6

Krissy Justus, District 12 Female: 13th, Dehydration, Day 6

The morning of Day 7, a kill was made by the careers. Ryker, a curved blade in hand, snuck up behind a snoozing Fiona and slashed her in the torso.

Fiona Duarte, District 9 Female: 12th, Killed by Ryker, Day 7

The evening of Day 7, an additional dehydration death occurred.

Alarix Sande, District 5 Male: 11th, Dehydration, Day 7

The morning of Day 8, Elton was exhausted from dehydration. He knew that the only way he could be snatched from the claws of death would be by a sponsor. He believed that making a kill would be a good way to up his chances of getting sponsored. So, just after noon, Elton mashed up a handful of poisonous berries and mixed them into Thanh's food while he was away. Thanh died after eating the poisonous substance.

Thanh Mayers, District 6 Male: 10th, Killed by Elton, Day 8

Unfortunately for him, Elton's pleas were not heard. He died of dehydration on the evening of Day 9.

Elton Emmons, District 8 Male: 9th, Dehydration, Day 9

That left the final eight: Jasmine Giaman from District 1, Ryker Slane and Amelia Spangler from District 2, Byte Revlin from District 3, Aaran Walsh and Eillen Driks from District 4, Ciera Wilcome from District 7, and Odell Jordon from District 11.

A dehydration death occurred on Day 10.

Odell Jordon, District 11 Male: 8th, Dehydration, Day 10

On Day 11, the three day long streak of the careers making no kills was broken when Ryker stabbed Byte in the torso with his machete.

Byte Revlin, District 3 Female: 7th, Killed by Ryker, Day 11

At the conclusion of Ryker's kill, the final six had been determined. Once again, Leto continued his tradition of coming up with a method to force the tributes inward to the cornucopia. So, he unleashed a poisonous fog on the outskirts of the arena. Any tribute trapped in the fog would be killed almost immediately as the poison caused their body to shut down completely. The fog crept up Eillen, but she was not at all alarmed because she believed that it was just standard morning fog. She was killed by the poison.

Eillen Driks, District 4 Female: 6th, Killed by The Fog, Day 12

The five remaining tributes were now barreling through the forest towards the cornucopia, where they knew it would be safe because of the high ground. All five made it, and they had no choice but to climb on top of the silver horn and begin the bloody showdown.

The first kill of the finale was made by Jasmine, who unsheathed a knife from her pocket and snuck up behind Aaran, stabbing him in the back and killing him.

Aaran Walsh, District 4 Male: 5th, Killed by Jasmine, Day 12

At this, all of the remaining tributes produced their signature weapons. Jasmine took out her knife and bow. Ryker produced his machete. Amelia pulled out her knife. Ciera wielded her axe. And so the final battle of the fourth annual Hunger Games began.

First, Ryker lunged at Ciera and attempted to stab her in the hip with his machete. But he failed, and Ciera retaliated by smashing him the head with her axe. He slumped to the ground and heaved in pain before slipping off of the cornucopia and dying very soon.

Ryker Slane, District 2 Male: 4th, Killed by Ciera, Day 12

After delivering her blow, Ciera was now in a prone position and needed a few seconds to get situated before she could do anything more. The two others took advantage of this time when she was weak and defenseless. Amelia pounced over to where Ciera stood and stabbed her in the back with her knife. She howled in pain before falling backwards off of the horn, dead.

Ciera Wilcome, District 7 Female: 3rd, Killed by Amelia, Day 12

The final battle of the fourth annual Hunger Games was between Jasmine Giaman of District 1 and Amelia Spangler of District 2. First, Jasmine lunged at Amelia. But, agile Amelia crouched down and dodged the attack. She retaliated by standing back up and attempting to stab Jasmine in the throat, merely striking the flesh and not actually impaling it.

Jasmine, brandishing her machete, crept up upon Amelia in an attempt to corner her and force her off of the horn onto the ground where she would die in the fog that swirled around the horn. However, Amelia lifted her bow and nocked an arrow in less than a fifth of a second, so quickly that Jasmine had no time to react. The arrow landed in her chest, and she collapsed to the ground, her wound spouting blood. Just for good measure, Amelia jumped up and down on top of Jasmine, causing her to cough up blood. She choked on her own blood two minutes later.

Jasmine Giaman, District 1 Female: 2nd, Killed by Amelia, Day 12

"Amelia Spangler of District 2, you are the victor of the fourth annual Hunger Games!" Leto exclaimed into the arena. Amelia just dropped the weapons she was holding and smiled for the audience whose attention she knew was all focused on her.

Amelia Spangler, District 2 Female: Victor of the Fourth Hunger Games, Day 12


AFTERMATH

The nation had mixed feelings about Amelia. She had not done anything spectacular in the arena like Sapphire or Cordin had, so she wasn't extremely exciting or notable. Much of the audience wanted Jasmine or Ciera to win and so they were disappointed by Amelia's victory. However, most everyone eventually accepted the fact that Amelia Spangler was their fourth victor.

Amelia moved into the victor's village of District 2. In her lifetime, she would see the victor's village in the district of masonry extended to include two dozen houses as more and more tributes followed in her footsteps and returned home victorious.

Her victory tour went fairly well, although District 1 was a bit cold at her for killing their beloved Jasmine.

Amelia would live to the age of seventy-five, dying from a seizure around the time of sixty-first annual Hunger Games. She would marry twice in her lifetime, once at age thirty-one and once at age forty. She would have only one child; she would become pregnant at age 32 and bear one daughter.


NEWS

Amelia moves into the Victor's Village of District 2, the first of many victors from the district of masonry to do so.

Sapphire Waber, the victor of the second annual Hunger Games, breaks up with her first boyfriend, Calix. She will never marry or have any more significant relationships from now on.

Leto Spitz, the beloved head gamemaker, is forced to retire after contracting throat cancer.


LIST OF VICTORS

1HG: Cordin Frey (#1, District 3)
2HG: Sapphire Waber (#1, District 1)
3HG: Molly Toliday (#1, District 4)
4HG: Amelia Spangler (#1, District 2)