THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Orchard Walk"
INTRODUCTION
Head Gamemaker Lorenzo Chastain returned for his third year on the job, praised by the nation for the success of the games the year prior (which, of course, were played out under his watch). The arena for the seventeenth Hunger Games was a rolling meadow filled with apple and orange trees, resembling an orchard that one might travel to in order to gather fruit to eat. Grass as tall as the tribute's knees covered every square inch of the place, and deer roamed the landscape munching on the flowers that dotted the floor of the meadow, every color of the rainbow and more. Long, swift rivers scissored across the area. The abundance of clean water coupled with the fact that the tributes were always less than twenty yards from a fruit tree would certainly cut down the number of natural deaths. The entire arena was a bowl shape, with the cornucopia at the bottom and walls that very gradually angled upwards to create a full bowl. The force field, of course, surrounded the arena on all sides to prevent the tributes from escaping the arena. The Capitol was absolutely blown away by the array of tributes, and they were all so ridiculously overpowered that Capitolites were making bets like crazy, analyzing whom would emerge victorious from the strong crop of fighters.
Firstly, there were the careers. The District 2 boy was noticeably the strongest member of the alliance and demonstrated impeccable skill with many weapons, particularly knives, swords, and axes. His district partner received the same training score as him, as both of them walked home with a ten in training. She earned her ten by displaying her talents with the crossbow and baton, as well as her survival skills. The District 1 male was the only other career to earn a ten, and his outstanding skill with the 'brute force' weapons—such as batons, pickaxes, and hammers—earned him the admiration of many people in the audience, including lots of sponsors. The District 1 female was noticeably weaker than her district partner, mostly focusing on her one signature weapon, the bow and arrow, and not focusing much on anything else. If anything, however, this paid off for her because she scored a nine in training. District 4, as was quite standard, put on a much less stellar showing than the other two career districts. Their boy earned an eight via his talents with the trident, and the girl earned a six (the lowest of the career pack) by demonstrating her throwing knife use.
Outside of the careers, there were two alliances! One was formed between the District 9 male, District 9 female, and District 10 male. Earning an eight, a nine, and a ten respectively, they wowed the audience with their skills in the throwing knife, scythe, and hoe. Upon the District 10 male's earning of a ten, he became the first ever non-career district to earn a double digit score since before careers existed. The other alliance was formed between the two District 7 tributes, who were impeccably skilled with the axe and hatchet from laboring away in the lumber district their entire seventeen year-long lives. They both earned tens, a fact that flabbergasted the sponsors. The crop of tributes was extremely overpowered. This, of course, was to be expected from the fact that the reaping was completely random. Sometimes the crop of tributes was very weak and so the games were long and boring. Sometimes, the crop of tributes was very powerful and so the games were thrilling and exhilarating. Perhaps this was taken to the ultimate extreme by the fact that six tens, two nines, and three eights were scored. Despite the very overpowered array of tributes, there were strangely no volunteers outside of the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Shimmer Galaxia, 16, (10) 14-1 and Floria Dawson, 17, (9) 14-1
District 2: Nero Esslemont, 18, (10) 10-1 and Amelia Bankston, 18, (10) 11-1
District 3: Brian Gadge, 16, (3) 38-1 and Brea Serfling, 17, (3) 35-1
District 4: Marlin Casacchia, 17, (8) 16-1 and Sedna Randolph, 15, (6) 22-1
District 5: Astro Gilmore, 16, (5) 30-1 and Hellen Spark, 18, (7) 17-1
District 6: Thalesyn Esposito, 18, (3) 24-1 and Visten Plewis, 14, (2) 59-1
District 7: Larix Yeliosen, 17, (10) 12-1 and Forenya Davis, 17, (10) 13-1
District 8: Weaver Margon, 13, (2) 71-1 and Lacey Twill, 15, (3) 50-1
District 9: Barric Nox, 16, (8) 18-1 and Elanore Edmond, 17, (9) 15-1
District 10: Ty Brice, 18, (10) 12-1 and Creselda Loy, 17, (8) 16-1
District 11: Ramonita Humphries, 14, (5) 42-1 and Kirby Delmon-moingeon, 15, (5) 40-1
District 12: Mercedez Rowley, 16, (2) 51-1 and Janey Piper, 13, (1) 101-1
THE GAMES
The sweet smell of crisp apples and morning dew was fresh in the air when the tributes rose up into the arena. The tributes inhaled deeply, savoring the delectable scent that wafted through the summer air that made their mouths water feverishly. Around each pedestal was a cluster of flowers, every color of the rainbow and more. The arena was breathtakingly beautiful, and many of the tributes stood taking in its splendor until the moment the gong rang signaling the start of the games.
The bloodbath of these games would be, simply put, an all-out massacre. Thirteen lives would be claimed in the bloodbath, and the tributes blood spilled across the terrain like water. When the gong played its familiar note in the distance, the tributes leapt off of their pedestals and zoomed across the plain, bowling towards the cornucopia. Only a few tributes ran away at first, perhaps realizing that their chances of death in the bloodbath were higher given the fact that there were three powerful alliances instead of the typical one. Of the others, they surged forward and began scooping up the supplies they needed.
The first tributes to reach the cornucopia were the duo of Larix and Forenya, and there was little question as to what weapon they were searching for. The instant they closed their eager fingers around two menacingly sharp axes, they were in business. Forenya searched the clearing for a bit, and when she spotted one boy running past her she hurled her axe thirty yards, letting it sink into the boy's hip as he fell to the ground amidst an explosion of scarlet blood. Larix finished the job when he approached the writhing boy and bludgeoned him in the chest, finished him off as the bloodbath began in earnest.
Weaver Margon, District 8 Male: 24th, Killed by Forenya and Larix, Bloodbath
The careers were not far behind the two District 7 tributes. The first of the bunch to actually pick up a weapon was Shimmer, who wrapped her dexterous fingers around a pickaxe that lay on the ground fifty yards from her pedestal. Shimmer picked up the pickaxe and, running over towards a girl that looked to be an easy target, slammed the tool into her head, denting her temple and shattering her skull. She died before she even had time to scream.
Hellen Spark, District 5 Female: 23rd, Killed by Shimmer, Bloodbath
Once Nero reached the cornucopia and spotted a whimsically curved sword leaning against its interior wall, he ran to retrieve it. When he turned around, he spotted a girl with a blade of her own attempting to kill him, hoping to eliminate competition early. However, Nero slashed her across the chest, sending her to the ground with a hollow thump as her eyes glazed back into her head.
Janey Piper, District 12 Female: 22nd, Killed by Nero, Bloodbath
Barric, Elanore, and Ty were eager to make their first kill in order to prove to the audience that they were capable of living up to the hype they had instilled in the Capitol by all earning eights and above. As such, when Elanore caught a glimpse of a boy running past her she whipped her head and speared him through the torso with her spear. Elanore called for her allies, seeking help in killing the boy. Barric finished the job Elanore had started when he smashed the boy in the chest with his scythe, slicing open his essential organs and sending them spilling out of his body.
Thaselyn Esposito, District 6 Male: 21st, Killed by Elanore and Barric, Bloodbath
The careers, seeing the powerful alliance of Barric, Ty, and Elanore as a threat to their survival, all came to the conclusion that they needed to eliminate them. As such, all six careers met up and waited until their prey were all in the perfect position. Then, after a long moment of tension, the careers lunged at the tributes. Floria and Marlin, the two tributes who had been assigned to kill Barric, pounced upon him and pinned him to the ground. Floria aimed for Barric's chest with her bow, ready to shoot. However, before she could release her arrow Marlin speared his trident through Barric's heart, killing him quickly.
Barric Nox, District 9 Male: 20th, Killed by Marlin, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, the other careers had managed to kill Elanore. Amelia had pinned Elanore to the ground, and despite her thrashing she could not escape. Amelia raised her baton high into the air and brought it down upon Elanore's forehead, denting her skull with a loud crack and severely damaging her brain.
Elanore Edmond, District 9 Female: 19th, Killed by Amelia, Bloodbath
Then, the only member of the alliance remaining was Ty. Ty was the only one of the group that had managed to escape the wrath of the careers, and he stowed away in a crate inside of the cornucopia, waiting for some prey of his own to wander in. When Sedna began rummaging through supplies in the cornucopia, Ty was in business, stabbing her in the back with his knife.
Sedna Randolph, District 4 Female: 18th, Killed by Ty, Bloodbath
Meanwhile in the field in front of the cornucopia, Shimmer was busy fending off Forenya and Larix with her pickaxe. In fact, Shimmer was so distracted that he didn't even notice Lacey sneaking up behind him. Once Lacey had a distance of less than a yard from Shimmer, she wrapped her rope in several tight loops around his neck and tied the ends into a tight knot, rendering Shimmer unable to breathe. He died from suffocation one minute and forty-one seconds later, marking Lacey's first kill.
Shimmer Galaxia, District 1 Male: 17th, Killed by Lacey, Bloodbath
Then, Amelia made another kill with her baton, bringing it down upon the nearest boy's head and cracking his skull.
Brian Gadge, District 3 Male: 16th, Killed by Amelia, Bloodbath
Whilst rummaging through supplies in the cornucopia, Floria threw open a crate and found a helpless girl shivering and shaking inside of it, hoping to wait out the bloodbath and come out once it was all over. However, she had no such luck and her life was ended when Floria brought down her axe, splitting her head open and literally slicing her brain in half.
Visten Plewis, District 6 Female: 15th, Killed by Floria, Bloodbath
It was then and there that the careers suffered their next loss. You see, the duo of Forenya and Larix had blocked off the entrance of the cornucopia and were walking inward, trapping Floria inside. By the time Floria noticed the two, she was less than twenty yards from the solid metal back of the horn, with no way to escape. However, she was not about to go down without a fight and so she hurled her axe through the air. Miraculously, the axe found its home in Forenya's chest, digging into her ribcage and tearing apart her lungs.
Forenya Davis, District 7 Female: 14th, Killed by Floria, Bloodbath
However, now that Floria no longer had her axe with her, she was an easy kill. Larix swing his axe towards her neck, decapitating Floria in one clean slice and sending her head tumbling to the ground with a thump.
Floria Dawson, District 1 Female: 13th, Killed by Larix, Bloodbath
Then came the time that came every year, when all of the tributes had scrambled away into the arena and left an eerie silence hanging over the cornucopia. The careers managed to make one more kill while they were at it, Amelia smashing one boy in the chest, shattering his ribcage.
Ramonita Humphries, District 11 Male: 12th, Killed by Amelia, Bloodbath
Thirteen cannons rang through the arena, symbolizing the thirteen lives that were claimed during the bloodbath. Nero, Amelia, and Marlin, the only remaining careers, then got to the busy and laborious task of rounding up the thirteen corpses and piling them in a far-away corner of the clearing, savoring the fact while they could that they didn't stink. Then, they set up a little camp for them to return to each night, with a sleeping bag and a lantern allotted for each career. Right outside of the clearing, Larix hid in the bough of a strong apple tree, scrunching up to hide himself from the view of the others as much as possible, while also conserving body heat. He clutched his axe so hard his knuckled were white, slightly traumatized after seeing his district partner be slaughtered by Floria a few minutes prior. That night, he secured himself to the branch with a rope as to keep him from tumbling out of the tree. Brea, the only remaining District 3 tribute, settled down for the night in a sort of cove next to the arena's longest river, reasoning that it would always be easy to get water if she lived right next to the river. Lacey followed a similar line of thinking, burying herself under a layer of dirt and leaves on the bank of the river, hoping to wait out the night without being spotted by any of the others. Astro and Creselda both went with the immediately obvious strategy of hiding out in trees, each one moving to the far-out edges of the arena and hiding in trees that had lots of their leaves and could hide them from sight. Mercedez went with the rather ridiculous strategy of digging a hole in the ground, climbing inside, and piling dirt back on top of him, placing a cloth over his nose and mouth so that the dirt wouldn't flood into them. That was an extremely stupid idea, and at around midnight that night the cloth slid out of place, making way for the dirt to flood into his mouth and choke him. He clawed at his throat and attempted to climb out of his hole but was so weak from lack of oxygen he could not do so. He died of suffocation inside of the grave he had unknowingly dug for himself.
Mercedez Rowley, District 1 Male: 11th, Suffocation, Day 1
The careers all woke up bright and early in the morning of Day 2, picking up their weapons and divvying up the arena amongst them. Nero went off to the north portion of the arena with his knife, firmly grasping it in his hand. Amelia went off to comb through the southeast sector of the arena, holding her baton and searching for any stray tributes to call her next prey. Marlin scoured the southeastern section of the arena, eager to put his trident to use once more.
The first kill of Day 2 was made at roughly seven o'clock in the morning, just shy of an hour after the careers had ventured out to do their killing. While Marlin was treading softly through his assigned portion of the arena, he heard a shuffling of grass and twigs to his right. Whipping his head towards the source of the sound, he began prowling towards it. When Marlin threw aside a bush he found Lacey hiding behind it. Lacey screamed as she leapt up into the air and began racing away from Marlin as fast as her legs could carry her. But, with Marlin at her six, Lacey simply could not outrun the career. Marlin hurled his trident through the air, glistening in the round gem of the sun as it sank into her back, killing the girl.
Lacey Twill, District 8 Female: 10th, Killed by Marlin, Day 2
Marlin ripped the girl's backpack off of her back and investigated its contents. A package of dried pineapple, a jug of water, a knife, a mini-boiler, a rolled up pillow, a jar of iodine, and a sheet of paper she had received from a sponsor to check off the names of the dead tributes.
"Not too shabby," Marlin murmured to himself as he looted the contents and began his trek back to the center of the arena to drop the supplies off at the cornucopia.
Around eleven o'clock in the morning that very same day, the careers made their second kill. While combing through her sector of the arena she heard a short squeal to her left, cut short by a clapping sound. Amelia ran around a large rock to find Kirby hiding behind it, and her beating began. Amelia brought down her baton upon her skull, cracking it and rendering her almost entirely dead. It took a hit to her shoulder and ribcage, however, to actually trigger her cannon and kill her. She was carrying nothing with her and as such Amelia abandoned her corpse and moved on.
Kirby Delmonmoingeon, District 11 Female: 9th, Killed by Amelia, Day 2
That left the final eight: Nero Esslemont and Amelia Bankston from District 2, Brea Serfling from District 3, Marlin Cassachia from District 4, Astro Gilmore from District 5, Larix Yeliosen from District 7, and Ty Brice and Creselda Loy from District 10.
The third death of the day occurred at around eleven at night that night. Larix, wielding his axe, slightly insane and driven out of his mind after seeing his district partner be killed, had prowled the arena for the entire day with a lust for the career's blood. As such, that night, when all of the careers were asleep, he bowled into the clearing that housed the bulky cornucopia and ran towards it. The first and only kill he was able to make was that of Nero. Larix bludgeoned his axe into Nero's chest, killing him instantly after the serrated edge pierced his heart.
Nero Esslemont, District 2 Male: 8th, Killed by Larix, Day 2
Larix then ran out of the cornucopia, grinning madly and cackling strange words that nobody could quite understand. There was no doubt what had happened to him. He had gone completely insane. He danced around, hurling his axe into the air with a menacingly creepy smile plastered on his face. No way could the gamemakers let this madman be their victor. As such, the gamemakers blew him up, sending him sky-high as the ground exploded beneath him.
Larix Yeliosen, District 7 Male: 7th, Bomb, Day 2
On Day 3, which turned out to be the penultimate day in the arena, the two remaining careers hunted as a pack, hoping that their kills would be quicker and easier if there were two of them instead of just one. Their suspicions were proven correct when Amelia and Marlin stumbled upon Creselda hiding inside of a hollowed out tree, with a knife as her only weapon against the two careers. Her hopes of survival were diminished when Marlin planted his trident into her chest. Amelia finished her off by smashing her in the shoulder with her baton, cracking the bone in the shoulder.
Creselda Loy, District 10 Female: 6th, Killed by Marlin and Amelia, Day 3
That night, while Astro was wandering tirelessly through the arena, he tripped on a rock and tumbled downwards into a ditch that was filled with very muddy water. The water was filled with specially engineered bacteria that seeped into the cuts all over his body, causing his body to very slowly but surely shut down. He screamed all night long as the poison completely consumed him, and the next morning once he was practically begging for death the infection killed him.
Astro Gilmore, District 5 Male: 5th, Infection, Day 4
With only four tributes remaining, the gamemakers concluded that it was time to drive all of the tributes inward towards the cornucopia for a bloody finale. As such, the gamemakers triggered a sandstorm on the outskirts of the arena that would slowly grow larger and larger as it spread inwards, cutting into the tribute's skin like shards of glass. The moment the tributes heard the eerie howl of the sand collecting itself into one huge wall of death, they began surging forward towards the cornucopia, where they knew they would be safe. Three tributes made it to the cornucopia alive. Brea, however, was not so lucky. While less than half a mile from the cornucopia, she tripped on a loose root and fell to the ground, the force of the sandstorm washing over her and slicing into her skin, tearing apart her back. Once the sand began building up on top of her, she was so weak from all of her cuts that she could not escape. She suffocated on the sand a few minutes later.
Brea Serfling, District 3 Female: 4th, Suffocation, Day 4
Atop the cornucopia, with the sandstorm swirling around them in a whirling vortex, stood the three remaining tributes. Amelia held her baton high above her head, ready to strike. Marlin wielded his trident. And, Ty, the one member of the non-career alliance that had managed to escape the wrath of the careers in the bloodbath, brandished his menacingly sharp knife, ready to strike.
As one could imagine, the careers did not take kindly to being outsmarted. As such, Amelia and Marlin teamed up to take down Ty. Marlin thrust his trident forward towards Ty's chest. But, Ty ran out of the way at the last moment, swiping his sword down towards Amelia's shoulder. However, Amelia ran out of the trajectory of the blade, instead bringing down his baton upon Ty's shoulder. That was the blow that ended up disarming him, sending his knife flipping end over end before landing in the vortex of sand and being washed away. Now defenseless, all it took to kill Ty was a stab in the heart from Marlin's trident, killing him and leaving only two tributes remaining.
Ty Brice, District 10 Male: 3rd, Killed by Amelia and Marlin, Day 4
The final battle of the seventeenth Hunger Games was between Amelia Bankston of District 2 and Marlin Cassachia of District 4. The two shook hands, officially ending their alliance and beginning the final battle of the games.
The first to make a move was Marlin, who lunged forward in an attempt to sink the prongs of his trident into Amelia's chest. But, of course, Amelia was clever enough to see his plan and so sideswiped out of the way and twisted her body sideways as she slammed her baton into Marlin's back, cracking his ribcage and sending him to the ground, writhing in pain.
Amelia stood looking down upon a writhing Marlin, and Marlin was the only thing standing in the way of Amelia and the victor's crown. In one final motion that would mark her as victor, she brought down her baton upon Marlin's head, denting his temple and tearing his skull apart with a sickening crack. She had ended his life, and by the time his cannon had fully faded away the trumpets played their melody in the distance, congratulating their newest victor.
Marlin Cassachia, District 4 Male: 2nd, Killed by Amelia, Day 4
"Amelia Bankston of District 2, you are the victor of the seventeenth annual Hunger Games!" Lorenzo roared enthusiastically as a hovercraft appeared to collect the girl.
Amelia raised her weapons into the air, grinning madly and roaring victoriously, celebrating her first moments as a victor.
Amelia Bankston, District 2 Female: Victor of the Seventeenth Hunger Games, Day 4
AFTERMATH
Amelia was welcomed into District 2's growing lineup of victors with open arms. Upon her victory, District 2 became the first district to accumulate five victors, and as such she was worshipped by her home district before settling into her Victor's Village home. It piqued the interest of many Hunger Games enthusiasts that she was actually the second Amelia to win the hunger games, the first being Amelia Spangler of the fourth Hunger Games. They became the first ever pair of victors to share a name, a rather rare occurrence that would only happen one more time in the first Hunger Games century.
Her victory tour was quite average, except for her stop in District 4 where she was given the cold shoulder and mostly ignored for the duration of her stay.
She moved into the Victor's Village of District 2, the fifth victor to do so.
Amelia would live to the age of eighty-seven, dying from measles around the time of eighty-sixth annual Hunger Games. In her lifetime, she would have several significant relationships, and at age forty she would settle down with a man and have a long and committed relationship with him, just sans marriage. She would never reproduce herself but would adopt a son at the age of forty-one.
NEWS
Amelia Bankston moves into the Victor's Village of District 2, the fifth victor to do so.
Amelia Spangler bears her first and only child, a healthy baby girl that her and her husband Walton name Dhalia Kendall.
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)
8HG: Brandi Coyne (#2, District 1)
9HG: Isaac Crandall (#1, District 5)
10HG: Velvet Farrow (#3, District 1)
11HG: Mags Flanagan (#2, District 4)
12HG: Slate Ogston (#3, District 2)
13HG: Woof Dozier (#1, District 8)
14HG: Blaze Skalnik (#4, District 2)
15HG: Dina Wilmarth (#2, District 5)
16HG: Beatrice Toland (#1, District 6)
17HG: Amelia Bankston (#5, District 2)
