THE THIRTY THIRD ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Trick or Treat"
President Coriolanus Snow was disgusted at the outcome of the games the year prior. The victor having died before the hovercraft could retrieve him pleased the districts immensely. It highlighted a weakness of the Capitol. It proved that, no matter what, there was a part of the games that the Capitol couldn't control. Riots sprung up around the nation, most prominently in District 3, where Wyatt, last year's victor, hailed from. District 3 was the first to rebel, with Districts 8 and 9 jumping onto the bandwagon soon after. Districts 12 and 6 joined in on the cause. Soon, even District 4, one of the most loyal districts, had begun rebelling. Peacekeepers were summoned. People were killed in the thousands. After sixteen days, the miniature rebellion was stomped out by the Capitol. President Snow could not have the man who caused the whole thing to go unpunished, and so it was that head gamemaker Augustine Hummel paid the ultimate price at the hands of an assassin sent by Coriolanus himself. The position of head gamemaker was left vacated, and with the nasty end of Augustine there was nobody quickly willing to take his place. After about a month or so, auditions for head gamemaker began pouring in. It was as if the nation had forgotten about Augustine's fate. Such was the way of Panem. President Coriolanus Snow, now in his ninth year as president of the nation, selected a beautiful young man named Yarrow Dawnbloom to take the position. Yarrow was a hit among the Capitol; he was young, handsome, elegant, graceful, and had a marvelous sense of humor. Yarrow set up a daily talk show with the master of ceremonies. As the time for the thirty-third Hunger Games rolled around, the construction of Yarrow Dawnbloom's first arena began.
President Snow, wanting the most exciting games possible, interviewed some of the career victors about what they thought made a career great. The most prominent themes were skills in close-combat, and the most prominent weapon was the knife. They also had to be the perfect mixture of grace, elegance, and destruction. This year's careers all met Snow's requirements, and they were sure to be some of the best that the academy had seen in a long time. District 1's tributes were as beautiful as always, their tall stature and ocean blue eyes a sure sign that they were from District 1. Their male, a steadfast classic, chose the sword, whereas his partner chose throwing knives. The male scored a ten because, even though he focused on the sword, he could also use other weapons such as the axe and halberd well. District 1's female, though talented with the throwing knives, was also adequate for close combat, particularly with the crowbar or baton. District 2 produced the strongest batch. Their male seemed to be in the games less for the honor of winning and more for the joy of killing. Some even suspect that he received a sexual high from killing other people, but this could never be proven. Because of how he liked to draw out his kills, he greatly preferred the whip and baton over other weapons. The District 2 girl was from a lineage of peacekeepers. As such, she was skilled with the bow and arrow as well as several unique weapons, like the Warhammer and the awl. District 4's male, a wizard with the trident, was a shockingly beautiful boy. He was strong and confident. However, he did sometimes take breaks to be funny for the audience, but in a somewhat cute way. District 4's female, Molly Soltan, was the star of the show this year. She had trained at the academy for nearly ten years. She really stole the show with her knockout beauty and her mastery of weaponry, particularly with throwing knives and axes. Nobody objected when she appointed herself leader of the career pack.
The careers scored rather average scores, with five tens and one nine among them. Outside of the careers, scores were rather average. The highest score outside of the careers was scored by the District 11 boy, who worked as a vine cutter and so was a greater with the knife. Two outliers earned eights, a pretty average number. The first was Meadowlark, the District 7 female who was very skilled with the axe and knives. The second was earned by Vivian, the District 11 female who worked magic with the sickle. The rest of the tributes scored between seven and two in their private sessions. There were no volunteers besides the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Vuitton Trillick, 16, (10) 5-1 and Melody Sloane, 16, (9) 7-1
District 2: Triguer Hammock, 16, (10) 5-1 and Ralts Peacekeeper, 17, (10) 4-1
District 3: Jethro Zubiaga, 15, (5) 25-1 and Aetheria Mitten, 15, (5) 25-1
District 4: Hydra Agrawal, 15, (10) 8-1 and Molly Soltan, 18, (10) 4-1
District 5: Magnus Dupioni, 18, (6) 18-1 and Astruviope Clutch, 17, (4) 24-1
District 6: Bertram Masson, 16, (6) 21-1 and Ambrose Lariviere, 13, (3) 50-1
District 7: Spruce Barnes, 15, (7) 14-1 and Meadowlark Tread, 18, (8) 10-1
District 8: Ulrike Bowser, 12, (2) 80-1 and Klara Kinkling, 15, (3) 60-1
District 9: Vincente Proctor, 18, (7) 12-1 and Amberly Whelan, 16, (6) 16-1
District 10: Milford Motley, 18, (7) 12-1 and Olivine Commers, 12, (7) 29-1
District 11: Baron Gardini, 17, (9) 8-1 and Vivian Cornering, 18, (8) 9-1
District 12: Gale Tanouye, 16, (6) 16-1 and Aqua Luberoff, 14, (4) 53-1
THE GAMES
Although Panem was virtually void of religion or superstition, people still did celebrate some holidays. Most notably was Halloween. On the last day of October, kids in the Capitol would dress up as monsters or princesses or superheroes and venture out to get candy from their neighbors. Halloween originated in a far-away land to celebrate the end of the harvest season, but it still existed then in a very different form. Yarrow's first arena revolved around this holiday. The arena was a spooky Halloween nightmare. The arena's ground was stone. Covering the ground were pools filled with dark water. Mist rose from the dark pools containing strange visions. Trees, bare, rose from the ground like the hands of skeletons. Thunder and lightning danced in the sky. The cornucopia stood in the very center of the arena, made of bone. To the north was a huge mountain. The mountain dominated the landscape, but it contained the most mutts. To the south was a graveyard. The west, well, nobody really knew what the west held. It was just filled with a strange, dark fog. Any tribute that entered the fog never emerged alive. It was permanently night-time. The only light came from the powerful flood-lamps that were mounted atop stiff poles periodically throughout the arena. The tributes threw long shadows as they walked through the poorly-lit arena, making it even more terrifying and more difficult to hide. The cornucopia's weapons were sleek and sharp, not unlike those of the year prior. They were the color of bone.
Fingers of ice ran down the tribute's spines as they rose up into the Halloween nightmare atop their pedestals. It was a terrifying place. The cornucopia, made of bones that seemed to be rattling in place, emanated warmth soothed the tributes. The cornucopia's warmth was such a huge contrast to the cold that, when the gong rang, every single one of the tributes decided to battle it out at the horn.
Triguer sprinted at the head of the onrush. He was several precious strides ahead of the others, bolstered on not only by adrenaline but by the sight of the whip he had requested from the gamemakers. He swept up the whip. The handle fit snugly into his grasp. Triguer cackled with glee as he lashed down the whip upon a nearby boy who was zigzagging to dodge attacks as he raced toward the cornucopia. The boy screamed as the whip wrapped around his arm. Triguer ripped the whip out of the boy's arm. The boy screamed as his entire right arm was ripped off. He collapsed to the cobblestone ground, sobbing as he quickly bled out.
Spruce Barnes, District 7 Male: 24th, Killed by Triguer, Bloodbath
Molly, another fast runner, had run all the way into the cornucopia for a belt of throwing knives. She began throwing them the second the belt was securely clipped around her waist. Molly threw two of the knives at a nearby outlier. The girl screamed as the knives cut into her neck and chest. She moaned and gurgled, spasming on the damp ground as blood pooled up in her mouth.
Astruviope Clutch, District 5 Female: 23rd, Killed by Molly, Bloodbath
Vuitton's favorite weapon fell firmly and snugly into his grasp. He leapt to his feet and swung the sword into the nearest boy. The sword decapitated him in one clean slice. His head tumbled to the ground, splattering the stones an evil red.
Vincente Proctor, District 9 Male: 22nd, Killed by Vuitton, Bloodbath
Having ripped the sharp teeth of his whip out of Spruce's arm, Triguer fluidly attacked his next victims: two girls who were grappling over an axe less than ten yards away. Triguer slammed his whip into the back of the older girl as the other girl sprang to her feet and tried to run away.
Amberly Whelan, District 9 Female: 21st, Killed by Triguer, Bloodbath
The other girl, the one who had been fighting with Amberly, was a fast runner, but in the end she could not outrun the trained career. Triguer slammed his whip down upon her back, watching with satisfaction as the sharp teeth dug into the girl's back. She fell to the ground with a loud noise. Ralts, Triguer's district partner, polished the girl off with her baton before returning to the horn.
Aqua Luberoff, District 12 Female: 20th, Killed by Triguer and Ralts, Bloodbath
Melody gritted her teeth as she dueled with Vivian, the girl from District 11. To Melody's great dismay, the girl was actually a fantastic sword-fighter. After a thirty second-long duel, Melody threw all caution to the wind and charged forward. Vivian, shocked by her sudden burst of energy, couldn't sidestep fast enough before the sword buried itself into her chest and protruded from her back.
Vivian Cornering, District 11 Female: 19th, Killed by Melody, Bloodbath
Melody pulled her sword out of Vivian's limp form and fluidly attacked her newest prey: a weak girl who was crawling low to the ground with hopes of staying out of the sight of the careers. Melody made eye contact with the girl, and she froze in place, paralyzed with terror and quivering in Melody's wake. Melody charged forward and slashed her sword into her side, watching as blood flowed from the wound like water.
Ambrose Lariviere, District 6 Female: 18th, Killed by Melody, Bloodbath
Ralts smirked when she saw two girls running into the cornucopia together, probably allies. Ralts beckoned for her ally and close friend, Hydra. The two charged toward the mouth of the cornucopia, trapping the two girls inside. Ralts disemboweled the taller of the two girls with her baton, smashing her in the head until her skull cracked in two.
Klara Kinkling, District 8 Female: 17th, Killed by Ralts, Bloodbath
Hydra was quick to go in for the kill upon his prey, spearing her in the chest with his trident. Ralts and Hydra shared a high-five at the sight of their two limp forms.
Olivine Commers, District 10 Female: 16th, Killed by Hydra, Bloodbath
Molly, wanting to make a splash to impress the sponsors, removed two throwing knives from her belt and threw them at two different tributes at the exact same time. Miraculously, both throwing knives found their targets. The first to bleed out was a dark-haired boy whose head had a knife sticking out of the nape of his neck.
Gale Tanouye, District 12 Male: 15th, Killed by Molly, Bloodbath
The other throwing knife took significantly longer to kill its target, simply because the knife landed in its victim's shoulder and not somewhere more vulnerable.
Bertram Masson, District 6 Male: 14th, Killed by Molly, Bloodbath
Triguer made the final kill. There was only one outlier left at the cornucopia: young Ulrike from District 8. Triguer gave him only two lashes. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. The other careers gathered around to watch him die. They soon grew bored, however, and requested that Triguer finish him off so that they could get hunting. Triguer obeyed, growing a little bored himself, by burying the sharp teeth of his whip into the boy's chest and then peeling off his skin.
Ulrike Bowser, District 8 Male: 13th, Killed by Triguer, Bloodbath
With the bloodbath at its conclusion, the twelve remained tributes swelled out across the arena. Six of them were careers and six were outliers, a blend that wasn't ideal per se but could still work if Yarrow managed it right. He would have to make sure that the deaths of careers all were cancelled out by the deaths of outliers, or else the games would be short and boring.
The careers instantly began hunting. Multiple divisions seemed to be forming in the careers, primarily in the district partnerships. District 1's male and female, District 2's male and female, and District 4's male and female all seemed to be sticking together and keeping apart from the other districts. When they had thrown together their favorite weapons, they began hunting immediately in pairs of two, the two tributes from each district in each group. Time would tell if this strategy would be efficient. The District 1 tributes were good friends, and so that group worked. District 2's pair weren't the greatest cronies, but they did coordinate well. The tributes from District 4 had virtually identical skill sets, and so they worked well together. They went their separate ways, the District 1 tributes heading for the graveyard, 2 for the mountain, and 4 for the forest.
At the conclusion of the bloodbath, the mountain seemed to be the most alluring feature in the arena. It dominated the arena, like a sharp piece of rough metal sprouting from the earth. Completely fruitless, it had lots of great hiding places. It was almost perpetually shrouded in darkness. The mountain seemed to be popular among the outliers. After grabbing supplies and running away, Milford ran toward the mountain and began scaling it. The ground was slick; he often needed to walk slowly to keep from sliding across the rocky floor. About halfway up, he camped out for the night in a small crevasse. Aetheria and Meadowlark had allied before the games. They had opposite skillsets, which meant that one always had a skill that the other lacked. Aetheria was a lesser in weaponry but was an impeccable wilderness survivalist, able to identify the edible moss on the mountain. Many could see the fighter in Meadowlark's eyes. It was true; she was a fantastic warrior and wasn't worried about getting her hands dirty if she needed to. The two allies trekked up the mountain, huddling close to each other to keep warm. Aetheria's spoils from the bloodbath included a bowl and a coil of rope. Meadowlark had an axe and two knives, one of which she handed over to Aetheria for whatever horrors the arena may hold. Hunger and dehydration were beginning to take in as they trekked up the mountain. Finally, they saw something almost heavenly: candy! Candy corn and lollipops and taffy dotted the floor. In unspoken agreement, the two girls lunged forward and munched down the candy, abandoning all caution as to the fact that it could be poisonous. It wasn't. The two girls feasted on the stuff. That night, they huddled together for warmth in a small cove.
The graveyard had only one human inhabitant by the end of Day 1. Each gravestone provided a place to hide. Additionally, the place was constantly shrouded in darkness and so really anywhere could be a hiding place. Baron, the strongest tribute outside of the careers, sought out refuge in the graveyard after escaping the bloodbath with a backpack that he had stuffed with weapons. He hid behind a huge gravestone and fell asleep almost immediately. The names on the graves were the names of dead tributes from previous Hunger Games. Of course, their bodies were not buried there, they were all in the tribute vaults, but it added a sensation of queerness and spookiness to the scene.
The forest, while it had the most coverage, also had the most dangers, particularly mutts. Magnus went there after the bloodbath, seeking its darkness. One would have expected the number of inhabitants in the dark forest to be higher. Perhaps the tributes were just too scared to enter. Magnus trekked on and on, as if it was broad daylight and he wasn't in an environment in which he could die at any second. Perhaps that was what he was pretending. Perhaps that was what made him not so scared. Jethro from 3 also hid in the forest, seeking its shelter. He had escaped the bloodbath with everything electronic he could find. He instantly began work on some kind of project. He had little food or water. As such, he had to manage his food and water sources wisely. He licked condensed liquid off of the stepping stones, and he ate the edible moss that clung to many of the trees. Nobody was quite sure how far he would make it. He was weak, but he was an impeccable survivalist and worked magic with his machines. Time would have to do the talking. After the bloodbath, the rest of Day 1 passed in peace. Every tribute went to their hiding place and stuck there. Perhaps there was a sort of comfort in having a place to call home. Once a tribute found their place to stay, they stuck to it and perhaps only ventured out a few hundred yards for food or water.
From the "morning" until "noon" of Day 2 (there wasn't really day or night because it was always dark) there was a lot of movement but little action. Aetheria and Meadowlark left their little crevasse and went out searching for food. They were growing fed up with the disgusting moss. They ended up finding some of the candy that was scattered around the arena. They gathered up lots of candy corn and put it in a pan that they had received from a sponsor a few minutes prior. They were apprehensive about starting a fire, primarily because any sort of light would stick out like a sore thumb in the foggy darkness of the Halloween arena. The two girls barricaded themselves into a cave. They used saplings that had taken root in the mountain for firewood. Then, they melted the pot of candy corn into a thick liquid. They doused the fire before waiting for the melted candy corn to re-harden. When it did, they turned the pot over and out fell a "pancake" of sugary deliciousness. They all dug in, enjoying their meal. Other than Aetheria and Meadowlark's pancake expedition, the morning of Day 2 was rather dull. It wasn't until the evening of Day 2 that things really started picking up.
Yarrow, wanting to get the ball rolling towards an exciting games, unleashed the first hoard of muttations. They were bats. About two feet in wingspan, the creatures gathered in swarms of nearly a hundred. Their only features visible in the darkness of the arena were their blood red eyes, mirroring the color of the blood that they craved for so much. The bats attacked three main targets: the careers, Magnus, and the duo of Aetheria and Meadowlark.
The careers received the largest swarm of bats. Their eeking was so loud that they had to repress the urge to slam their hands over their ears and drown out the screeches. They were so caught off-guard that for several seconds it was all they could do to swat them away and run in the general direction of their weapons. Vuitton and Melody both had swords, which were the most useful weapons against the monsters that also preferred close-range battle. Triguer's whip worked somewhat, but it was rather inefficient against the creatures that didn't seem to feel pain. Ralts' baton and Hydra's trident worked. Molly, however, ditched her throwing knives in favor of a crowbar. At first, Melody seemed to be doing most of the damage to the bats. She was the most agile of the careers. That, coupled with the fact that she was a wizard with her sword, allowed her to subdue many of the bats with ease. The strategy that she found most helpful was to sweep her sword across her entire field of vision, knocking off several bats, and then motioning for one of her allies to take out the ones that were disoriented from the slash.
Vuitton quickly joined in with his sword, slashing and stabbing away at the bloodthirsty creatures. However, the cloud of bats was growing so big that he soon couldn't see where he was going. He made a wide slash with his sword. Vuitton's sword cut through the air, along its path, and buried itself into nearby Melody's head. Melody screamed as she dropped to the ground. All of the bats lunged toward where she lay. Melody screamed in agony and thrashed around as the bats hooked onto her and began sucking her blood.
Melody Sloane, District 1 Female: 12th, Killed by Vuitton and Vampire Bat Muttations, Day 2
A good three-quarters of the bats were now devouring Melody, and so it was easy for the other careers to slash away at the bats and kill them now that they weren't moving as much. Soon, the careers had slaughtered all of the bats. They had succeeded. At least, five of them had. They all looked at each other in earnest as they pushed away Melody into a corner of the clearing before she started to smell.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Magnus was facing a group of about five bats on his own. He seemed to be doing well. Magnus eventually outsmarted them by standing right in front of a wide-trunked tree. Then, when the bats were right about to hit him, he dove out of the way. The bats all smacked into the tree, where they fell to the ground. Magnus quickly dug a hole with his shovel and buried them, where they suffocated to death under the weight of the dirt.
Those tributes had been able to, at varying degrees of success, defend against the vampire bats. Aetheria and Meadowlark, however, was kind of a different story. They had retrieved a blanket from a sponsor a few hours prior. It was just in time. When the bats came for the two girls, they buried themselves under the thick blanket and covered their faces, waiting for the swarm of bats to pass. When the bats lifted the blanket off of them, they knew that they had no choice but to fight. Meadowlark certainly had the advantage. Her axe cut through the air, taking out one or sometimes even two bats with each wide breadth. The fight lasted nearly an hour, with no side winning. Eventually, the bats were recalled by the gamemakers. After all, they didn't want to shake up the tributes too much. They wanted them to be at least somewhat prepared for the much greater horrors that were to come.
The other tributes, the ones that had not been targeted by the vampire bats, were rather spooked by the attack. They had heard the screeching of bats and the screaming of tributes, but they didn't know what the threat was. Many of the tributes barricaded themselves into hiding just in case the threat came for them. Even the mighty careers needed to spend the rest of Day 2 nursing their wounds at the cornucopia before they could go hunting. The only real event that happened after the bat attack was in the duo of Aetheria and Meadowlark up on the mountain. They asked for some glue from sponsors, which was an extremely cheap gift. Then, they got to work. It took a long time for the glue to dry because of how damp the arena was, but eventually the glue did dry. They had fashioned themselves a sheet of rock that they would slide in front of the entrance to their cove in case of emergency. They demonstrated how it would work to the audience. The sheet of rock could easily be slid to the left to cover the entrance in case those vampire bats, or anything else for that matter, should return again.
Day 3 passed, empty of conflict. All of the surviving careers were now well enough to go out hunting. When they did, they all went to the mountain, reasoning that many a tribute would feel safe there. They returned to the cornucopia that night without making any kills. The next day, they would look in the forest for more prey.
But, they need not look for prey. Prey was brought to them when a werewolf muttation awoke from its slumber in the forest. It could smell blood nearby. It could also smell smoke. It eventually found Magnus hiding in a ditch. Several trees had fallen around the ditch. Magnus was rather safe and snug inside of his wooden fortress, warming himself by a fire. Magnus yelped with panic when he saw the werewolf's eyes gazing down at him. Magnus grabbed his sword, got to his feet, and ran. The werewolf chased him toward the cornucopia, where the careers were about to receive a nasty surprise.
The careers woke up and grabbed for their weapons as Magnus bowled into the clearing, the werewolf right behind him. Not spotting the werewolf at first, Molly flung one of her throwing knives toward Magnus. In her sleep-addled state, Molly's aim wasn't the best, but the knife still found its target. Magnus slumped like a stone, the werewolf slurping his blood and then throwing him aside like an empty juice box.
Magnus Dupioni, District 5 Male: 11th, Killed by Molly and Werewolf Muttation, Day 4
The werewolf's perpetual hunger could not be sated by Magnus; the werewolf went for the careers next. In recent games, the gamemakers had given the careers many more trials and tribulations that just having them go out hunting. Mutts had attacked the careers galore, a trend that Yarrow intended to continue for as many years as he might remain head gamemaker. The wolf barreled into the clearing and grabbed the first career that it saw: Hydra of District 4. Hydra couldn't see the creature because of how black its fur was. The werewolf grabbed Hydra and slammed it into the ground, crushing his insides to a pulp and then goring on his blood.
Hydra Agrawal, District 4 Male: 10th, Killed by Werewolf Muttation, Day 4
With the warewolf engrossed in feasting upon Hydra, the other careers ran towards the monster and slew it with ease. They tore off its fur and hung it outside of the cornucopia. They hoped that this would give anybody who wanted to raid the cornucopia second thoughts.
The rest of Day 4 passed, void of conflict. Only one more death to go until the final eight, Yarrow tried to pull away from the gory muttation killing for a few days. Day 4 inched by. The only movement outside of the hunting careers was in Baron, who was walking when he tumbled into one of the dark pools of the arena. One moment, Baron was walking around, looking for food. The next moment, he was struggling to stay afloat in the freezing water. Suddenly, images began racing in Baron's mind. It was like how they show a character having a vision in a film. Images flashed. Distorted sound rushed into his mind. Sounds of screams and death and blood. Visions of monsters and demons and selfishness. Greed and poverty. Gore and hatred. Miserable Baron dragged himself out of the lake, coughing up the cold water and heaving himself dry. Angry mist was steaming up from the pool. It was as if the pool had been feasting on him and was mad that he had escaped it.
The water itself was invented mere months prior, but had not been fully unveiled until that moment. The sensation of the water stimulated particular synapses in the brain responsible for negative emotion. Baron had swallowed a bit too much of the dark water, but not enough to kill him. He dragged himself into a corpse of bushes and tried to quiet his labored breathing as he willed the filthy, horrible water out of his system.
Days 5, 6, and 7 crept by. They were the slowest that the thirty-third Hunger Games had seen yet. Progress had slowed to a crawl. In that time, Jethro, who had previously staked inhabitance in the forest, left and instead travelled over to the graveyard. Atop the mountain, Aetheria and Meadowlark stayed in their little cove. While Meadowlark was teetering on the line of being viewed as a weakling, Aetheria had already tumbled far over it. Her encounter with the vampire bats had traumatized her so much that she refused to leave the cave.
On Day 8, the mountain's top blew. Out came not lava but an evil black liquid. The highly acidic solution worked similar methods to the evil water that Baron had fallen into. This black liquid, however, would kill without moments of exposure. Five tributes were on the mountainside when the black liquid emerged: Triguer and Ralts from 2, Aetheria from 3, Meadowlark from 7, and Milford from 10.
Meadowlark and Aetheria were closest to the top of the mountain when the flow began. A huge plume of the stuff crashed down mere feet from where they were scavenging. They yelped and ran from the black liquid as fast as their legs could carry them, a few precious strides ahead of the terrible stuff. Milford was at the base of the mountain when the black liquid (a substance nicknamed "Aether" by its inventor) came pouring down toward him. In a panic, Milford shinnied up one of the skeletal trees. The aether rushed under him and weakened the bark of the tree. Milford screamed in panic as the tree toppled right into the torrent of aether.
Milford Motley, District 10 Male: 9th, Killed by Aether Eruption, Day 8
That left the final eight: Vuitton Trillick from District 1, Triguer Hammock and Ralts Peacekeeper from District 2, Jethro Zubiaga and Aetheria Mitten from District 3, Molly Soltan from District 4, Meadowlark Tread from District 7, and Baron Gardini from District 11.
Back atop the cornucopia, Aetheria and Meadowlark ran away from the flow of evil liquid that was following them. Soon, Meadowlark stumbled. She fell to the ground, pushing Aetheria down like a domino with her. The two watched with terror as the aether consumed their bodies and dissolved them until not a single trace of their lives remained.
Meadowlark Tread, District 7 Female: 8th, Killed by Aether Eruption, Day 8
Aetheria Mitten, District 3 Female: 7th, Killed by Aether Eruption, Day 8
Back on the mountain, Triguer and Ralts ran down the mountain face, side-by-side, with roughly fifteen yards between them. Racing down the slick stone, it was difficult to keep from sliding. Unfortunately for her, Ralts slipped on the slick metal and slid right into a plume of the aether.
Ralts Peacekeeper, District 2 Female: 6th, Killed by Aether Eruption, Day 8
A lightbulb went off in Triguer's head. He got down onto his stomach and gave himself a little push. He started off slow, but ended up sliding down the mountainside at a fast rate. It was painful, for if ever a pebble got stuck under his torso it would stay there until he reached down and pulled it away. By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, Triguer's stomach was so scratched and bleeding that it was painful for him to run. He did so nevertheless, making it back to the cornucopia and to Vuitton and Molly, the only surviving careers other than himself. Four lives had been claimed by the aether eruption. The eruption was the highlight of these games. After that exciting event, Yarrow was able to get away with one, two, even three days passing by without any deaths. Days 9 thru 11 had no movement, even among the careers. The others both needed to stay behind and nurse Triguer's cuts and scrapes, a few of which had become infected.
Day 12 would prove to be the last day in the arena. Jethro had been working on a little project of his for the last couple of days. Every day he asked the sponsors for very specific supplies. Puzzled and intrigued, he almost always got them. He had actually taken advantage of the eruption by collecting some of the aether in a jar and screwing on the lid. He used the aether in his project.
Noon on Day 12, Molly and Triguer were out hunting, whereas Vuitton stood guard at the cornucopia. In a leap of faith that would either make or break his odds of survival, Jethro tossed the bomb that he had fashioned straight into the cornucopia. After roughly ten seconds, the bomb exploded. The entire cornucopia was blown to pieces, along with Vuitton.
Vuitton Trillick, District 1 Male: 5th, Killed by Jethro Bomb, Day 12
The cornucopia exploded into a million pieces of debris. One of the pieces of debris smacked into Jethro, killing him.
Jethro Zubiaga, District 3 Male: 4th, Killed by himself, Day 12
The three remaining tributes (Triguer, Molly, and Baron) all diverted their gaze to the cornucopia, which had shot up in a fireball so big that it lit the haunted forest on fire. Baron was in the forest at the time. He tried to escape, but he was not fast enough. The fire was catching up on him. Soon, he was trapped. He was completely surrounded by fire. All he could do was sob and bite his nails and accept his fate as the fire approached him and burned him to death.
Baron Gardini, District 11 Male: 3rd, Killed by Fire, Day 12
That left Triguer Hammock of District 2 and Molly Soltan of District 4 to vie for the crown. The gamemakers forced those tributes toward the cornucopia via fireballs. The entire world was ablaze around the two tributes as they realized that they were the only two tributes remaining. Triguer brandished his whip, while Molly pulled out her crowbar and her belt of throwing knives.
Molly ran forth, lifting her crowbar high into the air and ready to bring it down upon Triguer's head. Triguer sidestepped and ran around the girl. Triguer cracked his whip and smashed it into Molly's hand. Molly screamed as her entire hand was torn off, her crowbar with it. Triguer ripped off Molly's belt of knives. Now, Molly was defenseless. Triguer prowled toward her.
Molly's only weapon was her left hand: her non-dominant hand. Abandoning all caution, Molly realized that she needed either throw all caution to the wind or die right there. Molly lunged forth. Triguer was surprised by her sudden burst of passion; he couldn't sidestep fast enough before Molly slammed his whip away, watching as it flew over its path before disappearing into the inferno. Molly wrapped her elbow around Triguer's neck and squeezed for her entire worth. Her grasp was strong, bolstered further by adrenaline. At first, Triguer thrashed and tried to escape. That just made him use up oxygen faster. Within two minutes, Triguer's cannon shot boomed across the arena.
Triguer Hammock, District 2 Male: 2nd, Killed by Molly, Day 12
"Molly Soltan of District 4, you are the victor of the thirty-third annual Hunger Games!" Yarrow proclaimed, his voice accompanied by a symphony of trumpets.
Molly let go of the once-mighty Triguer Hammock, watching with satisfaction as he crumpled to the ground like a torn paper doll. Molly cheered and threw her hands into the air in celebration of her victory.
Molly Soltan, District 4 Female: Victor of the Thirty Third Hunger Games, Day 12
AFTERMATH
Upon Molly's victory, there became another pair of victors with the same first name. Molly Soltan shared the same first name as Molly Toliday. Molly and Molly met up and became the best of companions. Soon, the two Mollys were like two sisters, or more fittingly a mother and a daughter because of their huge age differences. The Capitol loved Molly's bloodthirstiness. District 4 was elated to receive their fifth victor. They were now tied with District 1 in terms of amount of victors. District 1 was absolutely infuriated at how few victors they were getting. They would be sure to make a real splash next year.
Molly moved into the victor's village of District 4, the fifth victor to do so.
Her victory tour went rather well in most of the districts. During her stop in District 2, she was ignored and degraded for the entirety of her stay. District 11 was also cold about her victory, for it had been many years since a District 11 tribute had come as close to victory as Baron had.
Molly would live to the spectacular age of ninety, falling down the stairs of her Victor's Village home around the time of the one-hundred fifteenth annual Hunger Games. In her lifetime, she would marry. However, she could not have children of her own so she adopted a baby boy.
NEWS
Molly moves into Victor's Village of District 4, the fifth victor to do so.
Isaac Crandall marries a woman named Lucille.
Gold Carson's second child, Glitter, is born.
Magnet Lisagor has her first child with her spouse, a healthy baby boy named Kit.
Barley Chisolm bears a baby boy named Sickle.
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)
18HG: Markus Gardd (#2, District 6)
19HG: Odius Ruttler (#6, District 2)
20HG: Seeder Kaiser (#1, District 11)
21HG: Freya Digard (#7, District 2)
22HG: Gold Carson (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ashlyn Breston (#3, District 6)
24HG: Dayta Albrand (#3, District 3)
25HG: Diamond Griego (#5, District 1)
26HG: Thor Rosner (#8, District 2)
27HG: Magnet Lisagor (#4, District 3)
28HG: Maria Dutra (#3, District 4)
29HG: Discordia Komine (#9, District 2)
30HG: Barley Chisolm (#1, District 9)
31HG: Marlin Coppi (#4, District 4)
32HG: Wyatt Kerdler (#5, District 3)
33HG: Molly Soltan (#5, District 4)
A/N: Here's Molly, our newest victor!
I'm about to ask for some ideas, readers. I need some good names for tributes from Districts 1, 2, 4, and 7. I have plenty of name ideas for the other districts, but I'm super short on names for tributes from these four. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them :D
I'll see you next time with the thirty-fourth games. Until next time :D
