THE SIXTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Surfs Up"


INTRODUCTION

After Misty's bittersweet victory the year prior, the Capitol was going wild as the concept of each victor being different and unique had fully settled in. Bets were being made left and right as to who would win these games and join the growing family of victors. Head Gamemaker Mellanie Lathmore returned for her second year on the job, and met up with President Wayne. The two agreed to introduce three new ceremonies to the games. The first was the tribute parade, which would see each tribute dressed up in a costume representing their district's industry and being paraded through the Capitol on a chariot pulled by horses. The second new addition was training. Each tribute would be given three days to train and prepare for whatever dangers the arena might hold. The third and final new addition was the interviews. The night before the games, a host would meet with ever tribute and hold a three minute interview. Tickets sold out in the blink of an eye.

Once twenty-four stylists were hired and a master of ceremonies was selected, the games were in business. The arena for the sixth Hunger Games was an archipelago of islands, dotting a crystal clear ocean. Beautiful pink and yellow fish swam through the water and each island had a dock for boats. Several of the islands had hidden caves. The cornucopia was in the very center of the arena as it always was, on an island about half a mile square.

The most peculiar thing about the sixth Hunger Games was the tributes. Inspired by the victory of Sapphire, Molly, and Amelia, there were two volunteers into the career pack, something unheard of at the time! The District 1 female tribute and the District 2 male tribute both volunteered into the games with the hope of winning money and fame and honor to their district. By the time of the ninth or tenth Hunger Games, all six careers were usually volunteers. By no means was the excitement limited to the exclusive career pack, no. The boy from District 5, for example, had not one day in his seventeen year-long life had enough food to eat and so was determined to do anything to win. The District 6 girl was homeless and volunteered knowing she would not be missed. The two District 11 tributes were fifth cousins. As for the training scores, there were a surprisingly large number of nines and tens. Three tens were earned. They were the District 1 girl and the District 2 boy (the two career volunteers) and, surprisingly enough, the District 7 girl who was skilled with an axe and knife from working in District 7 all her life. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Celio Zimmerli, 16, (9) 6-1 and Gemma Paoletti, 18, (10) 4-1

District 2: Devon Marlink, 18, (10) 4-1 and Olivia Seager, 16, (8) 8-1

District 3: Techno Memolo, 15, (4) 19-1 and Dellya Latimer, 17, (6) 17-1

District 4: Lester Burridge, 18, (8) 7-1 and Clariana Tharamel, 14, (5) 18-1

District 5: Nico Lanzoretta, 17, (4) 23-1 and Electra Peralta, 18, (3) 15-1

District 6: Felix Quayle, 16, (4) 27-1 and Zavinia Naftali, 12, (2) 40-1

District 7: Salix Oetinger, 18, (5) 19-1 and Sycamora Waternaux, 17, (10) 7-1

District 8: Atlas Skouras, 13, (1) 43-1 and Alyna Xe, 18, (5) 12-1

District 9: Harvey Swindel, 17, (4) 15-1 and Laurel Calzaroni, 16, (3) 22-1

District 10: Terry Cyders, 18, (6) 18-1 and Chloe Theriault, 14, (2) 30-1

District 11: Tedison Stark, 17, (6) 19-1 and Liosa Meredith, 12, (3) 37-1

District 12: Colton Waxler, 18, (2) 22-1 and Meygen Lintz, 15, (2) 32-1


THE GAMES

With all of the tributes on their pedestals gazing around and taking in the grandeur of the arena, the countdown began. Many of the tributes didn't know they were on an island and were confused by the fact that the cornucopia was filled with collapsible rafts. The bloodbath of these games would claim the lives of eleven tributes, not quite as large as the thirteen deaths of the previous year but still enough to capture the audience's attention.

At the sound of the gong, the majority of the tributes ran forth to loot the cornucopia of its precious supplies. The careers were, of course, the first tributes to reach the horn. The very first tribute to traverse the plain and reach the bounty of supplies was Gemma. She looked around for a bit before setting her eyes on a hatchet that lay on a table not very far away at all. She grabbed the weapon, turning sharply on her heel and hurling it through the air, aiming for a girl who had received reasonably high odds of winning. Her aim was perfect, and the hatchet sank into the girl's skull as she tumbled to the ground.

Alyna Xe, District 8 Female: 24th, Killed by Gemma, Bloodbath

By the time that this happened, all of the other tributes who did not turn tail and flee had reached the cornucopia. The careers were now all armed and ready to do their part in scoring as many kills for the pack as possible. At this time, Devon, seeing a boy less than twelve yards from him that would be an almost laughably easy target, grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be a throwing knife, and chucked it through the air. The weapon lodged itself into the back of the boy's head and caused a spray of scarlet to explode from the wound as his eyes rolled back into his head.

Techno Memolo, District 3 Male: 23rd, Killed by Devon, Bloodbath

Now that Olivia had reached the cornucopia, she bent down and picked up a crossbow that lay on the ground. Pulling an arrow from the sheath and nocking it in the weapon, she aimed at a boy about twenty meters away that would be a fairly easy target. The arrow missed. Cursing under her breath, the second arrow missed as well. However, her third arrow found its target when it lodged itself firmly between the shoulder blades of the boy.

Harvey Swindel, District 9 Male: 22nd, Killed by Olivia, Bloodbath

Noticing that there was still a bounty of arrows remaining in her crossbow and that there was a girl less than thirty feet away from her, she placed an arrow in the weapon and pulled the trigger. The arrow flew through the air at an uninterpretable speed before sinking into the girl's neck.

Zavinia Naftali, District 6 Female: 21st, Killed by Olivia, Bloodbath

Clariana, the District 4 girl who was skilled with a trident from working in the fishing industry for most of her life, spotted a boy very close to her and so blindly lunged at him. The boy took his final breath before tumbling to the ground. Perhaps Clariana should have examined her victim before pouncing upon it, for it was too late when she realized she had killed her very own district partner.

Lester Burridge, District 4 Male: 20th, Killed by Clariana, Bloodbath

Celio, the District 1 boy who was thirsty to prove himself since he had made no kills so far, grabbed a rope from the field in front of the cornucopia, snuck up behind a girl in a vulnerable position, and yanked the rope around her neck, tying it in place and rendering her unable to breathe. As soon as Celio left her to die, Gemma strolled over to her thrashing body and smashed her in the heart with her hatchet.

Meygen Lintz, District 12 Female: 19th, Killed by Celio and Gemma, Bloodbath

Perhaps allured by the fact that killing as much as possible would increase his chances of winning, Tedison picked up a sword off of the ground, brushed it off with his shirt, and snuck up behind a boy. The sword easily cleaved apart his tiny frame.

Atlas Skouras, District 8 Male: 18th, Killed by Tedison, Bloodbath

Little did Tedison know that standing behind him was Olivia. Olivia nocked an arrow in her crossbow and pulled the trigger, allowing the arrow time to sink into the back of his chest. Tedison howled in pain before falling to the ground in death.

Tedison Stark, District 11 Male: 17th, Killed by Olivia, Bloodbath

By the time eight kills had been made, Gemma thought back to how, the year prior, Elanor had hid in the cornucopia and ambushed any tributes that snuck in. Gemma did the same exact thing, hiding behind a red crate filled with packets of dried fruit and waited. It was too easy. Within five minutes she had made a whopping three kills. All she had to do was wait for a weary tribute to wander into the darkness of the horn, then quietly leave her hiding place and bludgeon them in the back with her hatchet.

Salix Oetinger, District 7 Male: 16th, Killed by Gemma, Bloodbath

Chloe Theriault, District 10 Female: 15th, Killed by Gemma, Bloodbath

Colton Waxler, District 12 Male: 14th, Killed by Gemma, Bloodbath

At the conclusion of her third kill, Gemma wandered out of the horn with the intent of scouring the clearing for the last few stragglers to round up. There were none, and instead she found her fellow careers stupidly scrambling around trying to round up those last few. After about five minutes of searching, they gave up and instead began the laborious task of clearing away the bodies of the dead, including one of their very own. It would not be until many years later that a hovercraft would come to retrieve the corpses of fallen tributes.

The evening of Day 1, the careers were determined to make at least one or two more kills before calling it a day. They all had their own weapons; Gemma wielded her hatched and Celio had his rope. Devon had his throwing knives while Olivia had her crossbow. Clariana wielded her trident. It was a miraculously short period of time before Celio stumbled upon a girl sitting hunched behind a tree and rummaging through a backpack she had received from the cornucopia. She barely had time to scream before Celio tied his rope firmly around her neck and her face turned purple.

Laurel Calzaroni, District 9 Female: 13th, Killed by Celio, Day 1

As the careers prowled tirelessly though the arena the night of Day 1, a very clever Liosa set out on a plan to kill one of them. She snuck into the cornucopia while the careers were all away and grabbed a knife. Liosa hid, crouched behind a crate in the mouth of the horn, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. The first of the careers to wander back in to restock on his water supplies was Devon. Liosa brandished her knife, snuck up soundlessly behind Devon, and stabbed him in the back. He howled in pain. Liosa, worrying that his howling would alert to his allies that he was in danger, ripped the blade out of Devon's back and fled across the plain, hopping into a boat and sailing off far away. Devon bled out twelve minutes later.

Devon Marlink, District 2 Male: 12th, Killed by Liosa, Day 1

The night of Day 1 and the morning of Day 2 passed void of death. However, around noon on Day 2, two deaths occurred within twenty minutes of each other. The first was from an unskilled tribute that killed and ate a very poisonous crab.

Terry Cyders, District 10 Male: 11th, Poisonous Crab, Day 2

The second death occurred at the hands of Clariana, who stumbled upon a sleeping tribute and stabbed her in the chest with her trident.

Sycamora Waternaux, District 7 Female: 10th, Killed by Clariana, Day 2

In the early morning of Day 3, a tribute died of dehydration.

Dellya Latimer, District 3 Female: 9th, Dehydration, Day 3

That left the final eight: Celio Zimmerli and Gemma Paoletti from District 1, Olivia Seager from District 2, Clariana Tharamel from District 4, Nico Lanzoretta and Electra Peralta from District 5, Felix Quayle from District 6, and Liosa Meredith from District 11.

Another tribute succumbed to dehydration mere moments later, too scared to kill himself and leave the world in a faster way.

Felix Quayle, District 6 Male: 8th, Dehydration, Day 3

On Day 4, a boy who had survived far longer than he should have by catching and eating snakes and spiders while hiding in a tree died of dehydration.

Nico Lanzoretta, District 5 Male: 7th, Dehydration, Day 4

The gamemakers wanted to wait for two more kills before forcing the final tributes inward for a bloody showdown. The first of these deaths was on the morning of Day 5, when a tribute died of dehydration.

Electra Peralta, District 5 Female: 6th, Dehydration, Day 5

The second of these deaths occurred around three o'clock in the afternoon on Day 6. Liosa, the only remaining tribute outside of the career alliance, wielded her knife and hid behind a tree when she saw Clariana walking by. Taking infinite care, she snuck out from behind the tree and stabbed Clariana in the back of the neck with her menacing weapon. At the sound of Clariana's cannon, most of the tributes suspected it was time for the final fight and so began retreating to the cornucopia.

Clariana Tharamel, District 4 Female: 5th, Killed by Liosa, Day 6

All four of the remaining tributes were on the central island, the one with the cornucopia, and so it was easy for the gamemakers to force the tributes inward. They simply lit the grass of the plain on fire, forcing the tributes inward as the fire spread. Additionally, they caused the fire to excrete noxious purple smoke that would kill any tribute who breathed it. The smoke and fire was only a few feet high, of course, so the top of the cornucopia would be safe. Once all four tributes were on top of the horn of plenty, the final showdown began.

The first death of this final showdown occurred at the hands of Gemma. Wielding her hatchet, she prowled towards Celio and forced him closer and closer to the edge of the cornucopia. Celio looked rapidly back and forth between Gemma's hatchet and the noxious purple smoke and fire surrounding the cornucopia. Finally, Celio formed his lips into a solid line and jumped off of the horn into the swirling vortex below.

Celio Zimmerli, District 1 Male: 4th, Suicide, Day 6

The three tributes remaining were Gemma, Olivia, and Liosa. Gemma and Olivia decided to team up together and kill Liosa. Gemma hurled her hatchet through the air, and the blade lodged itself into Liosa's heart as she opened her eyes and mouth wide before tumbling backwards off of the horn. A panicked Gemma received her hatched from the corpse to use in the final battle against Olivia.

Liosa Meredith, District 11 Female: 3rd, Killed by Gemma, Day 7

The final battle of the sixth Hunger Games was between Gemma Paoletti of District 1 and Olivia Seager of District 2. They walked to opposite ends of the platform on top of the cornucopia, Olivia brandishing her crossbow and Gemma holding her hatchet.

First, Gemma lunged forward with the intent of smashing Olivia in the stomach. However, Olivia dodged the attack and moved out of the way at the last moment. Olivia then nocked an arrow in her crossbow and lifted it up to shoot. She placed her finger over the trigger. The exact moment that the arrow was sent flying through the air towards Gemma's heart, Gemma hurled her hatchet through the air before it lodged into Olivia's waist. The two both collapsed to the ground, laying there in silence and slowly dying from the horrible injuries they had given each other. For almost an hour they lay there. But, in the end, the impact of Gemma's axe into Olivia's waist was no match for the arrow Olivia had lodged in Gemma's heart. Gemma slowly closed her eyes as her cannon rang through the arena.

Gemma Paoletti, District 1 Female: 2nd, Killed by Olivia, Day 7

"Olivia Seager of District 2, you are the victor of the sixth annual Hunger Games!" Mellanie exclaimed into the arena as the chorus of trumpets sounded.

Olivia did not respond; she just lay on the cold surface of the cornucopia as a team of medics were summoned into the arena to put back together the mess of a person that was their victor.

Olivia Seager, District 2 Female: Victor of the Sixth Hunger Games, Day 7


AFTERMATH

The Capitol adored Olivia; upon her victory District 2 became the very first district to obtain multiple victors. She was the second victor from the district of masonry.

Her victory tour went fairly well. However, District 11 gave her the cold shoulder, for it would be many years before a tribute from District 11 came as close to victory as Liosa had.

She moved into the victor's village of District 2, in the house adjacent to Amelia's.

Olivia would live to the spectacular age of one hundred, dying from heart disease around the time of the ninetieth annual Hunger Games. Olivia would marry once in her lifetime, at age forty-two to a man one year younger than her.


NEWS

Cordin Frey, the victor of the first Hunger Games, marries his only spouse, Jesyka. They will remain married until Cordin's death.

Olivia moves into the Victor's Village of District 2, the second victor to do so.


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)
5HG: Misty Sablone (#1, District 12)
6HG: Olivia Seager (#2, District 2)