THE SEVENTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Cave of Wonders"
INTRODUCTION
The Capitol was unwillingly forced to bid their Head Gamemaker Mellanie Lathmore adieu when she retired from her job in favor of becoming a stylist for the tribute parade, wanting to spend more time with her family and friends. As her replacement, President Cornelius Wayne appointed a man about Mellanie's age, with a keen and clever build and curious eyes. His name was Magnus Zenobia, and the instant he walked into the gamemaker's lab he set to work planning out an intricate and exhilarating arena that he promised would be the most exciting yet. The president was then set to the difficult job of hiring twenty-four stylists for the tributes. Out of the thousands of auditions, President Wayne selected his two dozen favorite and set them to the work of decorating the tributes in costumes representing their district's industry.
The arena for the seventh Hunger Games was a massive cave system. The ground of the arena was flat and rough, and it was peppered with huge holes that the tributes could crawl into and navigate the entire arena without ever seeing the light of day. The cornucopia stood in the very center, on a stone platform with stairs leading up to it on all sides. It was filled with the typical commodities, of course, but there was something in the cornucopia that had never been seen in the games before. Flashlights and batteries. Almost half of the cornucopia was dedicated to piles upon piles of flashlights and entire cases and barrels of batteries to give the tributes the aid of sight in the darkness of the underground caves. It was also filled with weapons of every type imaginable.
As for the tributes that would be competing in this spectacular arena, the array of teenagers was not at all unlike that off last year. Of the six careers, three were volunteers. They were the both of the tributes from District 1 and the boy from District 4. The District 1 pair was actually very similar. In fact, one might mistake the two for a brother and sister pair. Both had the same tall stance, and both had the same sharp glow and form of their faces as well as long arms and wide, flat feet. The District 2 boy was very tough and intimidating, and his district partner was much less skilled in the physical aspects of battle as she was in the mental aspects of battle, such as outsmarting your opponent. The District 4 pair both had similar appearances, with jet-black hair sprouting out of their heads and caramel colored skin. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Jasper Stolberg, 16, (8) 8-1 and Vivian Ferrauto, 17, (8) 7-1
District 2: Boaz Rheem, 18, (9) 6-1 and Imperium Konheim, 17, (9) 8-1
District 3: Flux Stafford, 16, (6) 22-1 and Pyxell Holden, 14, (2) 38-1
District 4: Garbh Spinrad, 15, (8) 10-1 and Farah Adaur, 18, (9) 6-1
District 5: Plover Calvino, 18, (5) 17-1 and Amira Randel, 16, (3) 32-1
District 6: Brunel Ryavec, 13, (1) 56-1 and Severa Peishel, 18, (6) 19-1
District 7: Jack Huxley, 12, (2) 78-1 and Cedara Latoura, 17, (7) 15-1
District 8: Calicio Breyan, 14, (1) 35-1 and Lacea Arangio, 16, (2) 29-1
District 9: Nathan Miller, 18, (4) 25-1 and Aluma Wypij, 13, (5) 38-1
District 10: Sable Lohmilller, 16, (4) 28-1 and Belinda Glimp, 15, (1) 41-1
District 11: Reggy Clendenning, 18, (2) 20-1 and Rewolfa Kruegler, 18, (6) 15-1
District 12: Burnet Hopper, 14, (5) 30-1 and Veridie Lillith, 16, (5) 21-1
THE GAMES
The bloodbath of the seventh annual Hunger Games set a new record for the number of deaths in the first ten minutes; a whopping fourteen tributes would die in the initial fight! This was when the nation first saw what truly embodied the term 'bloodbath': tributes running rampant and avoiding those more powerful than them, hastily grabbing supplies in a fractured scene of total chaos. It truly was a bloodbath. And it made the Capitol audience go crazy with excitement.
When the tributes arose in the arena, some were confused. All they saw was a rocky plain stretching out as far as the eye could see. It took some tributes longer than others to spot the network of holes and tunnels in the ground and to realize that the true splendor of the arena was underground and not aboveground.
The gong rang once the countdown reached zero, and the tributes all stormed forwards towards the bounty of supplies. It was less than forty seconds before the first kill was made. Amira, who had reached the cornucopia and was shuffling through a crate of tools in a panic, was very distracted. Boaz took advantage of this moment of distraction by picking up a knife off of a table and sneaking up behind the girl. Amira heard the sound of Boaz's hand whistling through the air, and so grabbed a club from the crate and smashed Boaz in the skull, leaving a dent in his temple.
Boaz Reehm, District 2 Male: 24th, Killed by Amira, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cornucopia an exhilarated and energized Vivian picked up a bow and arrow off of the cold ground and pulled the bowstring back, aiming at a boy that looked to be an easy target. Vivian released her grasp on the arrow and it flew through the air, sinking into the side of the boy's head.
Nathan Miller, District 9 Male: 23rd, Killed by Vivian, Bloodbath
Nocking a second arrow in her bow, Vivian aimed this time for a girl who had just run into the mouth of the cornucopia. Vivian's aim was perfect, and the arrow lodged itself into her calf as she fell to the ground and clutched the wound. A spray of scarlet exploded from the site of the puncture and she screamed in pain, but it was no use. Her eyes rolled back into her head less than twelve minutes later.
Belinda Glimp, District 10 Female: 22nd, Killed by Vivian, Bloodbath
A knife tucked into his pocket, Garbh treaded as silently as possible towards a boy who was standing in a prone position to the left of the cornucopia. Garbh pounced upon the boy and forced him down, pinning him down to the ground. Garbh reached for his knife only to realize that it was not there. Confused, he wrinkled his face and fumbled for the weapon.
What had actually happened was this: clever Flux had snuck up behind Garbh and pulled the knife out of his back pocket while he was trying to pin down his opponent. Flux lifted the blade up and killed Garbh and the boy Garbh had failed to kill in rapid succession.
Garbh Spinrad, District 4 Male: 21st, Killed by Flux, Bloodbath
Reggy Clendenning, District 11 Male: 20th, Killed by Flux, Bloodbath
Less than five seconds after Flux made his two debut kills, a duel came to a brutal end in another location near the mouth of the cornucopia. It was between Farah and Sable, and the clanging and banging of metal against metal had long filled the air when Farah stabbed Sable squarely in the stomach and she went completely limp.
Sable Lohmiller, District 10 Male: 19th, Killed by Farah, Bloodbath
Next, Imperium wielded an axe she had retrieved earlier and prowled into the cornucopia. She found one tribute hiding inside who was hoping to wait the bloodbath out. Imperium's axe easily cleaved apart the girl's tiny frame.
Pyxell Holden, District 3 Female: 18th, Killed by Imperium, Bloodbath
Then, the careers made their routine meet-up at the mouth of the horn. The four that remained all stood close together and discussed their strategies and goals, assigning weapons and tasks and such. Once their gathering was over, they all pranced off to carry out the tasks assigned to them.
The next kill was made by Jasper. Firmly clutching the machete he had retrieved from the cornucopia, he ran up to a girl who had slung a backpack over her shoulder and was now darting away from the horn. Jasper chased the girl for a very long time, but in the end the girl could not run from him. Jasper decapitated the girl in one clean swipe of his machete, something that both fascinated and terrified the Capitol audience.
Cedara Latoura, District 7 Female: 17th, Killed by Jasper, Bloodbath
When Vivian spotted an easy target barreling away from the cornucopia, she hastily reached over her shoulder and grabbed an arrow from her quiver, setting it in her bow and releasing it in that order. The arrow whistled through the air and landed in the tribute's hip, sending her plummeting to the ground as she thrashed and attempted to remove the arrow from her body. She bled out soon after and passed away.
Veridie Lillith, District 11 Female: 16th, Killed by Vivian, Bloodbath
Perhaps it was a mistake to include grenades in the cornucopia. When Imperium was rummaging through the piles of supplies, she stumbled upon a grenade, complete with instructions for activation. Imperium chuckled as she pulled out the pin, discarded it, and tossed it into an area densely populated by panicked tributes. The deafening boom left a ringing sound in the ears of the tributes. That is, those who survived the blast. Four tributes were killed instantly.
Brunel Ryavec, District 6 Male: 15th, Killed by Imperium, Bloodbath
Calicio Breyan, District 8 Male: 14th, Killed by Imperium, Bloodbath
Aluma Wypij, District 9 Female: 13th, Killed by Imperium, Bloodbath
Burnet Hopper, District 12 Male: 12th, Killed by Imperium, Bloodbath
When the rest of the careers all ran into the cornucopia to grab grenades of their own and slaughter other tributes, the weaker tributes from the outlying districts all concluded that it was time to go; the careers would rat them all out with their grenades if they stuck around any longer. They all dropped whatever they were doing and fled away as fast as they could. The careers only got in one more kill before the cornucopia was empty of victims: Vivian just managed to shoot a tribute in the back with her bow.
Rewolfa Kruegler, District 11 Female: 11th, Killed by Vivian, Bloodbath
An eerie silence was left around the cornucopia as the last few weaker tributes had scurried away into the underground network of caves.
The rest of Day 1, and of Day 2, were void of conflict. It was to be expected that the deaths would be more spaced out from now on because of the massive number of kills during the bloodbath, but it made the Capitol audience impatient anyways. When days 3 thru 5 passed void of any conflict at all, the gamemakers concluded that it was time to shake things up a little. It was time for some action.
In a synthetic lab in the Capitol, a group of scientists began working on a new project. At last, they discovered a way to create huge, spliced and monstrous animals that they named muttations. When the head gamemaker requested that a horde of star-nosed mole muttations be made, the scientists got to work, and they were completed soon.
The pack of bear-sized moles was sent after the career pack around the evening of Day 6. Screaming in terror as the creature's pink feeling organs chased after them through the darkness, the allies were forced to scatter and drop whatever weight they were carrying in favor of running faster. The creatures would only be satisfied when they made a kill. It was made about thirteen hours later, when Vivian was so incomprehensively exhausted from running for half a day straight that she had to stop to rest for a few minutes. The mutts took advantage of this and pounced upon the petrified girl, mauling apart her bloody corpse apart and smothering her screams.
Vivian Ferauto, District 1 Female: 10th, Killed by Star-Nosed Mole Muttations, Day 6
A dehydration death occurred on Day 7. It would be the only death of dehydration in the games.
Severa Peishel, District 6 Female: 9th, Dehydration, Day 7
That left the final eight: Jasper Stolberg from District 1, Imperia Konheim from District 2, Flux Stafford from District 3, Farah Adaur from District 4, Plover Alvino and Amira Randel from District 5, Jack Huxley from District 7, and Lacea Arangio from District 8.
On Day 8, the fractured career alliance stumbled upon Jack curling up into a ball and shivering in the horrible cold of the cave system. It was too dark for him to see what was going on before Farah stabbed him in the stomach with her sword.
Jack Huxley, District 7 Male: 8th, Killed by Farah, Day 8
The gamemakers decided that it was time to drive the final tributes in for the finale after Jack's demise. So, they began filling up the cave system with water. It seeped into the cave through the walls and began piling up on the cold ground. It was very slow at first, and many tributes suspected it was just a typical flow of moisture. But, sixteen hours later when the water was up to the tributes ankles, the walls all burst and water began flooding in at an immense rate. Within a minute it was up to the tribute's waists. This was no natural buildup of condensation. The tributes scrambled in panic and desperately searched around for the nearest exits from the cave system that was now up to the tribute's chests in water. Of the seven remaining tributes, five made it out of the cave system into the desolate rocky plain alive. Two were not so lucky.
Plover Alvino, District 5 Male: 7th, Drowned in the Flood, Day 9
Lacea Arangio, District 8 Female: 6th, Drowned in the Flood, Day 9
The five tributes remaining were all sopping wet from the water of the cave. But, they knew the gamemakers had more surprises up their sleeves. All of the sudden, huge meteors started raining from the sky. Where they landed huge clouds of smoke filled the air that made them cough. They watched as a meteor struck the cornucopia and bounced off of it without leaving so much as a dent. The cornucopia was the only safe place. And all five of them had no choice but to seek shelter inside of it, where the final battle would begin.
Flux, seeing that he didn't stand a chance at beating all of the other remaining tributes, ran into the cornucopia when nobody was looking and hid inside of a chest neatly tucked away in the corner. He would thank himself later for choosing this strategy.
The five remaining tributes were the three careers—Jasper, Imperium, and Farah—as well as Amira and Flux. Flux was hiding in a chest, so the others assumed he had died and so dismissed him.
Amira's eyes widened in fear as the three bloodthirsty careers brandished their weapons and prowled towards her, forcing her towards the wall. She was running out of room very quickly, now. Twenty seconds later, her screams reverberated around the closed space when Jasper stabbed her through the heart with a dagger.
Amira Randel, District 5 Female: 5th, Killed by Jasper, Day 9
The three careers believed that they were the only three tributes left, and so shook hands and ended the alliance. They each picked out their favorite weapons from the bounty of supplies, and the fight began. The first of the threesome to die was Imperium, who was stabbed in the waist with Jasper's dagger.
Imperium Konheim, District 2 Female: 4th, Killed by Jasper, Day 9
Jasper and Farah circled each other for a great while, each waiting for the other to make the first move. After about five minutes of dreadful silence, Farah lunged at Jasper and attempted to stab him in the heart with her knife. However, Jasper moved out of the way at the last minute and swung his dagger over his head. He did not do any physical harm to Farah, only slice off all of her hair and send the locks fluttering to the ground. The fight continued for almost twenty minutes, and at long last Jasper bludgeoned Farah in the head with a metal club and dented her skull, killing her.
Farah Adaur, District 4 Female: 3rd, Killed by Jasper, Day 9
At this, Jasper believed he was now the victor. He walked out of the horn and smiled, looking left and right and spreading his arms apart for the cameras. He was confused when the chorus of trumpets did not sound. Taking infinite care to be completely silent, Flux pushed up on the lid of the chest he was hiding in and opened it, crawling out and picking up a dagger as long as his arm off of a nearby table. He crept up behind Jasper, as silent as a mouse. When everything was right, Flux lifted the blade into the air and brought it down, sinking it into Jasper's back. He was too stupefied to do anything; he didn't move or scream or thrash. He just waved back and forth a few times before falling to the ground with a thump, dead.
Jasper Stolberg, District 1 Male: 2nd, Killed by Flux, Day 9
"Flux Stafford of District 3, you are the victor of the seventh annual Hunger Games!" Magnus exclaimed into the arena as the trumpets played their familiar melody in the distance.
Flux did nothing spectacular to celebrate his victory; he just smiled for the invisible cameras he knew were all pointed at him.
Flux Stafford, District 3 Male: Victor of the Seventh Hunger Games, Day 9
AFTERMATH
The Capitol was enthralled by Flux's final kill of the games. He was the first tribute to ever kill their competitor in the final battle via ambush, and many tributes would follow in his footsteps and use the same technique to return home victorious from their games.
His victory tour went surprisingly well, although he did get the cold shoulder from District 1.
Flux would live to the relatively average age of seventy-seven, dying from sudden respiratory failure around the time of the sixty-eighth annual Hunger Games. Flux would marry twice in his lifetime, once at age thirty-six to a woman and once at age fifty to a man.
NEWS
Flux moves into the Victor's Village of District 3, 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)
7HG: Flux Stafford (#2, District 3)
