THE FORTY FIRST ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Aquaria"


INTRODUCTION

With Yarrow's sudden death from a stroke, the position of head gamemaker was vacant. As such, Snow decided to elevate one of the minor gamemakers to the position. The man he chose was named Wisp Glasgow. Wisp had been a gamemaker since the first ever Hunger Games and was one of the most loyal and gifted of the gamemaker team. He was the one that had planned the volcanic eruption of the thirty-ninth, the yarn maze arena of the thirtieth, the dinosaur muttations of the eighteenth, the earthquake of the second, and many other feats that no other gamemakers were skilled enough to accomplish. Now head gamemaker, Wisp quickly got to the job of designing the arena for the thirty-first Hunger Games. Wisp was tasked with the job of modeling an arena after District 4, the district of fishing. The arena would, of course, be modeled after the ocean, but Wisp actually struggled with forming a coherent idea. He didn't want to go with a cliché arena, like an archipelago or lake-filled arena. Time would tell what his final plans were for this year's arena.

Out of this year's batch of careers, it was District 1 that produced the strongest duo. Their male was the strongest tribute in the games. One of Victor Gold Carson's twin sons, this Radiance Clinton boy was the star of the show. He wowed the sponsors with his beauty and his mastery of weaponry, particularly with hand-to-hand combat weapons like the sword and knife. His district partner was nearly as strong if not as strong as him. She was impeccably skilled with the throwing knives and used them with skill that bespoke years of practice. District 2 offered up a pair that were substantially weaker than their counterparts from the luxury district. The boy, a strong and muscular individual, excelled in use of the spear. The girl fancied whips and even requested one from the gamemakers in her interview. She was tall and strong and rather masculine both in form, appearance, and demeanor. District 4 produced a lacking pair, as was quickly becoming the norm. The male was a stellar with the trident, using it to score a cool eight. What held him back was that he wasn't really good with any weapon other than the trident. The female managed a nine with her looks and her talents with the sais. The training scores of the careers were average. In total, two tens, three nines, and one eight were scored.

Outside of the careers, there was a single tribute that excelled above all of the others. Avil from District 11 was a giant, standing at seven feet tall and weighing nearly one-hundred eighty pounds. He could lift fifty pound sacks of fruit in each hand, run ten kilometers in under twenty minutes, and could lift nearly four-hundred pounds on a bench press. He made the sponsors swoon, as he was gorgeous and was a stellar in use of the sickle. He scored a marvelous ten in his private session. His district partner scored a nine, showcasing not only her trap-building skills but also her ability to identify edible plants in a heartbeat and start a fire within the span of minutes. Two eights were also scored, and their earners allied. Alder from 7 was an amazing user of the axe, as he worked as a lumberjack with his two parents and his siblings. His district partner, Viveca also scored an eight, for the same reasons. Halliton from 3, Spool from 8, Harvest from 7, and Chalk from 12 all earned sevens. The rest of the tributes scored between six and two in their private sessions. Although there were no volunteers besides the six careers, there was a standout in the crowd. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Radiance Clinton, 18, (10) 4-1 and Mascara Perdita, 18, (10) 4-1

District 2: Tanaquil Ciacci, 18, (9) 5-1 and Cybele Montilio, 16, (9) 7-1

District 3: Halliton Kipling, 17, (7) 15-1 and Cordelia Masters, 14, (4) 30-1

District 4: Lagoon Vilachansky, 17, (8) 9-1 and Aqua Sankale, 18, (9) 5-1

District 5: Sirius Pane, 13, (3) 50-1 and Marci Bookbinder, 18, (6) 17-1

District 6: Yul Sikes, 16, (5) 24-1 and Thepio Neers, 12, (3) 60-1

District 7: Alder Chadwick, 18, (8) 10-1 and Viveca Dryad, 17, (8) 11-1

District 8: Spool Forsyth, 16, (7) 13-1 and Cashmere St. Thomas, 15, (5) 26-1

District 9: Harvest Overboe, 18, (7) 14-1 and Bundle Khoury, 15, (4) 32-1

District 10: Marshall Reynolds, 14, (4) 33-1 and Vanessa Stone, 17, (6) 20-1

District 11: Avil Lomontagne, 18, (10) 5-1 and Julia D'arcangelo, 17, (9) 8-1

District 12: Chalk Alvaro, 16, (7) 17-1 and Quarry Venables, 12, (2) 80-1


THE GAMES

Wisp settled on a sort of half-beach half-underwater arena. The place was mostly underwater, but the water stood at varying levels. Around the tribute pedestals the water level was lower. The cornucopia was completely submerged underwater. Its supplies primarily consisted of oxygen packs. Each tribute started in the arena with a sort of apparatus strapped to their back. The cornucopia was stocked with packages that could be secured into one of these apparatuses and would provide twenty-four hours of oxygen. In some areas, the sandy ground actually protruded from the surface of the water in a series of swirling islands. The coral in the area was edible, as were most of the brightly-colored fish that swam merrily through the water. Hidden behind a mass of vines at the northern tip of the arena was a luxury home. Its working refrigerator was stocked with food, and the luxury home had a working sink. All of the moss in the arena pointed toward it. Most strangely of all, the arena was littered with boulders. If a tribute leapt atop a boulder, it would zoom around and even leap across the water. It could travel for miles at a time before stopping.

When the gong rang, the tributes all leapt off of their pedestals into the water and swam in their directions of choice with varying degrees of success. The fact that the cornucopia was submerged would make for a puny bloodbath. Only seven souls would be silenced in the opening minutes of the games.

Lagoon was ahead of all of the others by several precious feet. He had elegantly dived off of his pedestal and was now shooting through the water like a torpedo. Lagoon picked up a trident that leaned against the side of the cornucopia and glistened in the light of the overhead sun. Lagoon whirled around and spotted a nearby girl that had picked up an oxygen pack and was trying to figure out how to strap it onto her back. The career boy hurled the trident through the water, watching with satisfaction as it sailed into the girl's neck. She yelped and tried to swim for the surface, but was weighed down by the trident that was wedged into her neck. Lagoon swam over to tear his trident out of her neck once he was sure that she was dead. A red cloud began spreading out from her limp form.

Cashmere St. Thomas, District 8 Female: 24th, Killed by Lagoon, Bloodbath

Radiance had swum all of the way into the back of the cornucopia, where there was an air pocket. He was not the first to discover it; two boys were already hiding inside of it when he got there. Radiance picked up a nearby sword and got to work killing the two boys. The taller and more muscular of the duo picked up a knife off of a nearby countertop and was ready to fight back. Radiance dove toward him, but he sidestepped and tried to plant his knife into the back of the career boy's neck. Radiance managed to reach up and grab the boy's head. He quickly whirled around and threw the outlier against the interior wall of the horn, where he was easy work for him and his sword. The boy was in ribbons by the time that Radiance was done. Radiance had been so engrossed in killing the boy that the other boy had swum away and escaped.

Spool Forsyth, District 8 Male: 23rd, Killed by Radiance, Bloodbath

When the gong rang, Vanessa from 10 had fallen off of her pedestal into the water. She could not swim and resorted to thrashing around to try to make her way to the surface. This failed miserably, and all she did was make her body lose oxygen faster. She began to panic and whirled wildly in circles in search of a nearby oxygen pack. She didn't find any. In fear, she took a sharp and involuntary inhale, filling her lungs with water. Vanessa's world began to fade to black as she briskly drowned to death.

Vanessa Stone, District 10 Female: 22nd, Killed by Drowning, Bloodbath

Avil had attached a large oxygen pack to his back and, after picking up a sickle that sat atop a black crate inside of the horn, went in for the kill upon the nearest boy. Avil pumped his feet behind him and swam toward him. The young boy thought that the water would be poisonous and had closed his eyes in fear of it entering his body. With his eyes closed, the boy was easy prey for the District 11 boy. Avil slashed his sickle across the boy's chest. He retched into the water and opened his eyes. The boy was greeted by the sting of his own vomit in his eyes. He tried to make a break for the surface, but Avil was a faster swimmer than him and cut him off, burying the edge of his sickle into the side of the boy's neck and polishing him off.

Sirius Pane, District 5 Male: 21st, Killed by Avil, Bloodbath

Mascara was in business when she caught a glimpse of a harpoon sitting humbly in a dark corner of the cornucopia. Mascara's favorite weapon, throwing knives, weren't in sight, but they would be useless underwater anyway. A harpoon was next best, and Mascara smirked as her chorus of eager fingers closed around the body of the weapon. Aiming for the first sign of movement, she fired. The harpoon glided through the water and lodged itself between the shoulder blades of a girl who was swimming away from Tanaquil, who had a knife. The girl sank to the bottom of the ocean, where Tanaquil buried her knife into his forehead to finish off the job that his ally had started.

Quarry Venables, District 12 Female: 20th, Killed by Mascara and Tanaquil, Bloodbath

After wrenching his sickle out of Sirius' neck, Avil looked around for his next kill. He spotted Cybele, the District 2 girl, inside of the cornucopia and looking over an array of weapons. Avil swam toward the career girl and used his sickle as a stabbing utensil. Avil skewered the sharp tip of his sickle through Cybele's torso. By the time her body sank to the sandy sea floor with a thud, she was dead.

Cybele Montilio, District 2 Female: 19th, Killed by Avil, Bloodbath

Radiance made the final kill. He saw a rather young boy swimming away from the cornucopia with an air package strapped to his back. Radiance hurled his knife through the water. He watched as the knife sank into the boy's packet and popped it. The air all floated to the surface in a chorus of bubbles. The boy hadn't realized that his package had filled with water. When he took an inhale, he was shocked and panicked. He had swallowed lots of water. He involuntarily coughed it up, but after the cough he inhaled a ton of liquid. He struggled for a few minutes before reaching peace and floating slowly to the sandy sea floor.

Marshall Reynolds, District 10 Male: 18th, Killed by Radiance, Bloodbath

The careers began preparing for their hunt the second that the seventh and final cannon shot faded away fully. Radiance practiced with his knife while he waited for the others to get ready. Mascara traded out her harpoon for a belt of throwing knives after she finally found one. Lagoon held onto his trident. Tanaquil took a rapier. The quartet began swimming away from the underwater horn. Aqua tried to follow them, but they all swatted her aside. They saw her as weak, as she had made no kills in the bloodbath. They left her to guard the supplies at the cornucopia.

Alder and Viveca swam alongside each other away from the cornucopia. Viveca had gotten two oxygen packets from the cornucopia, one of which she kept for herself and one of which she handed over to Alder. Both District 7 tributes were great swimmers, and they were able to swim for nearly thirty minutes before they needed to take a break. They swam for the next few hours. In fatigue, they swam toward the nearest blot on the horizon, which happened to be a small island sporting a single tree. The two tired allies dragged themselves onto the island and shared their spoils with each other. Alder had managed to snatch a hatchet, a bowl, and a harpoon from the bloodbath; Viveca, a case of crackers and a packet of small bandages. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Yul had managed to grab an oxygen pack and a canteen of fresh water from the cornucopia. Given the saltiness of the water that made up the arena, it was paramount that Yul make sure none of the water leaked into his canteen. Yul ended up on an island that sported a boulder covered with coral that fed off of the ocean's salty spray. His only source of food, Yul ripped the coral off of the boulder and set it into his jaw. He squinted his eyes with disgust as the coral crunched in his mouth. He had to chew until his jaw was sore before swallowing the tough material. Avil, having made two kills during the bloodbath, had no plans to stop. Having retrieved a sickle from the cornucopia, he began hunting immediately after finding a place to call home. He had found a plot of land that had extended high above the rest of the sea floor but just wasn't high enough to poke up from the surface. Avil set up camp, grabbed his sickle, and went. He swam to the nearby islands in search of prey, but returned to his camp a few hours later with no blood on his weapon. Chalk was one of the few tributes that hadn't gotten any air packages from the cornucopia. As such, he had to swim on the surface and could only go a few feet down. Chalk ended up on an island that housed a field of thick reeds. He began crafting a raft out of the reeds. Albeit clunky, his skills in creating the raft were substantial. Julia hadn't gotten any oxygen supplies from the cornucopia either. She eventually found an island and settled onto it. She quickly got to work making a raft of her own. Her skills were much more elegant than Chalk's, but even after she finished the raft she did not use it. Instead, she stayed on the island for the night. No need wasting her energy paddling around the ocean when she could be saving it for a later date. She knew that a time would come when her energy could be put to better use.

Marci paddled awkwardly with her arms, unable to swim well. She found an island that had several fruitful trees and stood there for the night. Marci had gotten a roll of duct tape from the horn and spent the next few hours making a container out of the strong adhesive material. She set it out beside her camp to catch any rain water, if it should come. Thepio had gotten a waterproof sleeping bag from the cornucopia. She had to devote one hand to holding the sleeping bag, so she only had one hand with which to paddle through the water. When she needed to rest, Thepio laid out her sleeping bag and was pleased to find that it floated on the surface of the water. She went into the sleeping bag, and it remained just as buoyant. Thepio took a rest and ended up falling asleep. She awoke to the sound of waves lapping against a shore. She was on the coast of a rather large island. She rubbed the sleep from her ocean blue eyes and dragged herself onto shore along with her sleeping bag. She spent the rest of the day in a bend in the side of a hill, staring off into the distance and thinking of home. Harvest swam toward a blot in the distance and found himself ashore on a long and narrow island, where he gathered berries from the several bushes that were scattered across the banana-shaped body. Halliton had reached an island around noon. After warming himself up for a bit, Halliton began setting up traps. He had gotten a shovel from the cornucopia. Halliton dug a square hole in the ground and covered it with leaves, disguising it. Cordelia, Halliton's district partner, landed on the same island mere hours later. She began setting up traps in the same exact manner as Halliton. The two District 3 tributes didn't even know that they were on the same island. Then, there was Bundle. Bundle had virtually no swimming experience, and he hadn't gotten any oxygen from the bloodbath. All he could do was tread water and hope for some miracle that would get him out of his sticky situation.

The golden light of the sun was thrown over the water in a stunningly beautiful way as it rose into the sky on the morning of Day 2 like a magnificent gem. The hunting careers (Radiance, Mascara, Tanaquil, and Lagoon among them) all travelled back to the cornucopia to restock on supplies. When the sun rose, they went hunting immediately. Tanaquil had been swimming when his backpack slid off of his back and sank to the bottom of the ocean, where he and his allies could not find it no matter how hard they searched. Tanaquil had had some of the careers' most important supplies on him at the time. Lagoon, of course, swam ahead of the others, and he reached the cornucopia several hours before everybody else.

Yul remained on his boulder island. The disgusting coral was his only food. It was difficult to eat and was agonizingly painful passing through his body and coming out of the other end. In a testimony to his tenacity, Yul dutifully fed himself three meals on Day 2. Alder and Viveca decided that they wound save the four fruits remaining on their fruit tree for later. However, looking at the sun on the waves had begun to make Alder sick, and he vomited. Viveca, who had been splashed with some of the bile, promptly threw up with disgust. Their stomachs had been drained by a substantial amount, and they were queasy for the rest of the day. Avil went tribute hunting again. He was swimming through the water when a bright yellow fish suddenly came up from behind him and bit into the side of his torso. Avil smacked the fish away, but it had clung to his body too tightly. Avil treaded water with his feet as he reached down and tried to peel the fish off of him. His muscles tightened and he gritted his teeth as the fish's razor-sharp teeth were picked out of his body one by one. This displayed his strength to the audience. It wasn't a minute later before a much sleeker sickle that fell much more smoothly into Avil's grasp came down in a parachute. Chalk, who had been out on his raft for the whole night, came ashore on a different island. This one had reeds just like the one from which his raft had originated, and he took the opportunity to repair the battered and damaged flotation device. Julia spent the day basking in the sun on her island. She had a steady supply of water from a spile that a sponsor had delivered to her, and food was no problem with the fish that swam around the island. She lay on the beach and let the heat of the sun warm her back. If she was going to die, she reasoned, she might as well fill her last moments with pleasure.

Bundle had been treading water for Day 1, and on Day 2 his body began to give in. It became increasingly painful for him to stay afloat. It was either he use up his energy to tread water or he sink to the bottom and drown. Every movement for Bundle was filled with agony, and soon his body gave in. His heart suddenly couldn't handle the work. He sank quickly, and his few supplies floated away from him after his entire limp form had bobbed to the surface.

Bundle Khoury, District 9 Male: 17th, Killed by drowning, Day 2

Harvest was on his little island when he spotted a single black eye staring at him from a few yards away. He pounced toward the sign of life and found his hands wrapping around a furry body. It was a rabbit. Harvest started a fire by chipping wood off of the only tree he had in his immediate vicinity and crafting a bow from some sturdy twigs. The cooked rabbit was surprisingly delicious, and his stomach was thankful for the fresh meat. Marci had begun to grow bored of waiting for it to rain and so decided to tell the audience a story. Marci had been writing a novel back in District 5 prior to being reaped, and her manuscript would go unfinished if she died in the games. With hopes of giving the book she had worked on for so long a sort of existence in publication, she told the story to the audience from start to end. Marci lay against a bed of moss and started at the very beginning. She needed to rest after a while, and when she did she was sure to end on a cliffhanger just to keep the nation on its toes.

On the island that both Halliton and Cordelia were on, it was only a matter of due time before the two District 3 tributes met. When that happened, it was in the worst possible way. Cordelia circled her island in search of more materials to strengthen her trap. Simultaneously, Halliton was out hunting for material to make rope. Suddenly, the ground gave out under Halliton and he fell straight into Cordelia's trap, landing squarely on his bum. He hissed as bolts of pain shot through his body before he regained himself. He tried to get out of the hole, but the walls were too steep and high for him to get anywhere. Cordelia returned about an hour later and was a little shocked to see a panicked Halliton inside of the whole that she dug. Cordelia took out a tube of gasoline that she had gotten from the cornucopia that she had originally intended to use as lubricant for any machines that she might build during her time in the arena. Cordelia began sprinkling the gasoline into the hole that Halliton was inside of. Halliton had no idea what was going on. He screamed with terror when Cordelia produced a single match, swiped it across the inside lid of its container to light it, and then tossed it into the hole. Halliton screeched and wept as he burned to death, dying from the raging embers in due time. Mere minutes later, Cordelia was peering over the hole when she tripped and fell into it. She was immediately scorched to death by the fire, killed by her own trap.

Halliton Kipling, District 3 Male: 16th, Killed by Cordelia, Day 2

Cordelia Masters, District 3 Female: 15th, Killed by Herself, Day 2

Thepio had begun to grow bored around Day 2. After finding a solid way to get food and water she had begun to get bored and longed for something to fill the empty days to come. Her interest was piqued when she decided to bathe in the sea for a few minutes to cleanse herself of the grime that her body had accumulated. She noticed that underwater, on all of the rocks, the algae all pointed in the same direction. Thepio grabbed her supplies and swam in the direction that the algae was all pointing, knowing that it wasn't a coincidence and they must be lining up with something.

Day 3 would offer lots of excitement in the arena, as two tributes would die. Avil's confidence and sureness-of-self was boosted significantly after he had gotten the sponsored sickle. Knowing that only one career would probably be at the cornucopia, Avil began the trek an hour or so before the first songs of dawn began. Avil swam toward the cornucopia, his sickle in hand, and spotted Aqua inside of the horn, sorting through a box containing several different bottles of pills. Avil swam forward as fast as he could and slammed the butt of the scythe into Aqua's back. Aqua whirled around and grabbed her trident, and their fight began. Even though Aqua had a nine in training, Avil had a cool ten, and it at first seemed that Avil had a head over the District 4 female. Aqua charged forward with her trident. She was at an advantage because of the hydrodynamy of her weapon. Avil ran backward and swung his scythe around him with elegance and flair. The fight lasted for a few minutes, with the tributes delivering each other cuts and scratches but nothing major. Suddenly, Avil managed to corner Aqua against the inside wall of the cornucopia. Aqua made a break for the surface, but Avil swam on top of her, trapping her under the water. Avil thrust down his scythe and drove its sharp tip into the top of the career girl's head. Her last breath took the form of a gurgle as she died. Avil grabbed a few things from the cornucopia before swimming away, eager to not be at the horn when the others returned and knew that he was the only suspect for Aqua's death.

Aqua Sankale, District 4 Female: 14th, Killed by Avil, Day 3

Aqua's cannon shot was the starting point of Day 3 for many a tribute, as its hollow booming sound was able to wake up the deepest sleeper. Alder and Viveca awoke and began setting up a shelter, centering it on the fruit tree. It was set up like sort of a grassy hut. They used the leaves of the tree to cover the roof and keep out potential rain or other precipitation. Julia ended up creating a paddleboard of sorts. It all started when she was bored and was throwing stones into the ocean for fun. She had picked up a rather light and airy rock and was surprised to find that it floated gracefully atop the water. Julia grabbed two of these stones, one in each hand, and dipped into the water. She was held up by the stones. With only her eyes above the water, she could float through the currents. She ended up drifting a bit too far away for comfort, though, and paddled back to shore. After getting a sip of water and a bit of food, Marci continued unravelling her tale for the audience to hear. She did not actually finish, though. She had divided the story evenly into three parts, one of which she would tell each day. The careers hunted, and at this point in the competition their different personalities began to emerge. Radiance was the most durable of the lot. He trekked through thick and thin and never uttered a word of discomfort. Mascara seemed not to be as hardy as Radiance but was elegant and graceful in her movements. Tanaquil seemed to be taking up a hit-and-go kind of tactic, spastically alternating between sedentariness and activity. Lagoon seemed to be the jokester of the batch, and he regularly got on his allies' nerves just for the fun of it. They had heard Aqua's cannon shot, but since it wasn't night yet they didn't think that it was her who had met her end.

Chalk's supplies were beginning to dwindle dangerously low. His supply of water was nearly depleted. His only other method of getting water was evaporating it and allowing it to condense onto a plastic sheet. This method was highly inefficient and provided less than a third of his daily watery needs. There was only one way to get sponsors, and that was to kill. Chalk had gotten a knife from the cornucopia, three days had he had it, and three days he had refused to use it. Something clicked in Chalk's mind at that moment that made him think that the games were an every man for himself kind of thing. If he wanted to win the others would have to die anyways. Chalk, knife in hand, searched the arena but found nobody and felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when he was forced to settle for the night on a cold barren stony island with nothing but his own wits for comfort and company.

Harvest had eaten his rabbit all of the way down to the bone. Long discarded, he needed to search for more prey. Harvest quickly discovered that the island on which he was housed held a large population of rabbits. It was a long time, strangely, before he found one, and an even longer time before he caught one. He cooked it just as he had before. The first time he lit a fire, he had done it in a closed-off area by the water so that it could be doused at a moment's notice and the smoke would remain relatively hidden. Harvest had begun to grow reckless with time, and this time he started the fire out in the center of the island. The nearby careers saw the trail of smoke rising from his fire and began travelling toward him. He was on a rather isolated island and it took a while for Harvest to realize that he was being pursued.

When he spotted the familiar forms of the careers coming toward him, Harvest panicked. He couldn't hide. They knew he was there, and when they did find him they would just make his death extra-long. He had used up all of his oxygen packets. Harvest didn't bother to leave anything tidy behind him as he leapt into the water. His foot banged against a sharp rock. He screeched with agony as blood drizzled from the scrape and clouded the water around him bright red. Harvest tried to continue on, but his next footstep was met with the same results. Every step over the rocky ground was immensely painful. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. The careers had arrived. Harvest abandoned all caution and leapt forward. He tried to coherently swim away, but he was so scared that he couldn't coordinate his limbs and couldn't form full thoughts. He was about twenty feet from the island when Mascara did the honors. Mascara's allies cheered her on as she lifted one of her knives into the air and hurled it toward Harvest. The knife glided through air and then through water before skewering itself through Harvest's torso. His cannon shot closely followed. When Mascara pulled her rapier out of Harvest's torso, clumps of stringy blood flew messily.

Harvest Overboe, District 9 Male: 13th, Killed by Mascara, Day 3

The final point of excitement on Day 3 occurred around eight o'clock in the evening. Yul was venturing away from his hiding place to gather driftwood for a fire when he saw a long string unfurling behind him. This was a monkey's tail. Yul, intrigued, touched the furry tail. The muttation shrieked and charged at Yul, and he scrambled for his dagger, ready for a long fight. The monkey swiped at his chest, and Yul hissed as he ran forward and planted his knife into the monkey's chin region. It screamed as black muttation blood burbled forth. As one final hoorah from the muttation, it reached out a single paw and smashed Yul in the torso. Yul keened in pain, winded, and emptily gasped for air. At that point, the monkey was dead, and he had sufficient medicine to care for his wounds from sponsors that had liked his skill in slaying the monkey mutt.

Later on Day 3, Thepio discovered that following the algae hadn't led her nowhere. All of the algae in the arena was pointing toward a very nice luxury house on the north tip of the arena. Thepio threw open the door of the house and walked inside. Inside was a living room with a couch and ottoman as well as several countertops, bookcases, and potted plants. There was a working bathroom, kitchen, and more. Thepio set up camp in a closet off of the living room. He was able to see because of the sunlight filtering through the bottom and top of the elegantly crafted wooden door.

Day 4 held a mixture of excitement and boredom in the arena. The careers finally returned to the horn after seeing Aqua's face in the sky the night before. After seeing Aqua's fate, none of the careers were eager to take her place as watchman of the supplies. The stronger ones (Radiance and Mascara) ended up just picking the weakest one (Lagoon) and instructing him to stay at the horn. He obeyed, and the other three continued to hunt. They actually split up, with Radiance and Mascara in one group and Lagoon in the other. Lagoon was able to cover much more ground than the others because of how fast of a swimmer he was. He mostly stayed in the water, whereas District 1's tributes hopped between islands.

Chalk finally gave up tribute hunting on Day 4. After finding no prey for two consecutive days he was growing greatly discouraged. He ended up setting up camp on an island that was home to a single willow tree and a boulder. Over at the luxury home, Thepio figured out that the house had a burglar alarm system. She activated it and felt very comfortable in her place of residence. But, she wasn't the only one with ideas about the place. Avil had also noticed that all of the algae was pointing toward something, and he was intent on finding it. Marci finally finished her story, and she ended it with an unspeakable plot twist that made everyone's jaws hit the floor. Marci had proved to be an amazing storyteller. Julia didn't have much to do and so she spent most of the day on the shore of her little island admiring the colorful fish that swam by. The peak of excitement on Day 4 occurred around six o'clock in the afternoon. Dark clouds began to roll in. The birds stopped singing overhead. Everything went quiet. The world waited for the storm. With the first crack of lightning and roar of thunder, the storm began. Thepio was safe and sound in her home, but the other tributes were not so lucky. Those that were at sea at the time needed to get back to their islands immediately lest they be killed by the ocean's roaring waves. For many, the storm didn't mean an obstacle into victory. It meant water. The tributes rushed to fill whatever container they had with the clear rainwater and greedily gulped it down. Yul, whose island housed a plant with curved leaves, was able to tip the end of a leaf into his mouth. The water all slid off and into his waiting mouth. The storm died down around midnight and peace returned to the arena.

Day 5 followed. The careers hunted, as they had been doing since the start of the games. The careers needed a break around noon. They had been taking turns carrying their backpack of snacks, and Mascara threw off her backpack, opening it to reveal its edible contents. Radiance didn't eat much, though, as he was beginning to grow a bit nauseous from watching the endless waves of the ocean reflecting the light of the brilliant sun. Mascara couldn't blame him as she easily got sick, and she catered to Radiance's request that they hunt lightly until he was feeling well.

Over in the luxury home, Thepio began to grow hungry. She threw open the pantry and found it stocked with delicious snacks. Bored, Thepio decided to bake herself something. Back in her district, her sister was a baker, and she decided to do something that reminded her of home. It showed that a bit of Thepio's sister's talent had rubbed off onto her, and the audience was fascinated with the way she perfectly measured the flour and sugar and butter and used a plastic baggie to spread the cupcakes with candy floss pink frosting once they were finished baking. She feasted on the cupcakes rather messily.

On the morning of Day 5, Avil immediately began the long trek toward the thing that all of the algae in the arena was pointing at. His eyebrows rose with intrigue when he spotted the home coming into view on the horizon. Avil crawled off of his raft onto the land, grabbed his two scythes, and threw open the front door. The burglar alarm immediately sounded. Thepio, who was stuffing her face with one of the cupcakes on the kitchen table, looked up and immediately scrambled for the closet. Avil had already seen her. Thepio leapt out of the closet, wielding her menacingly sharp knife. Avil hadn't expected Thepio to have a weapon, and he was a bit taken aback. Their fight mostly consisted of Avil trying to deliver blows to Thepio's vital arteries, whereas Thepio seemed to be playing an offensive game of getting as far away from the District 11 boy as possible and hitting him while he was charging. Their duel lasted for several minutes before Thepio managed to make her way to the front door. Avil saw that she was about to make a break for it and reached out to slam it shut. Thepio managed to squirm into the outside world the instant before the door slammed closed with a bang. Avil fumbled with the handle and tried to open the door back up, and by the time he did Thepio had already ran behind the house and dropped down into a lake surrounded by heavenly reeds. Avil couldn't find her and staked a claim to the house. Thepio had nowhere to go and nothing on her but her knife. Thepio just swam away from the island as fast as she could and hoped for the best.

Another moment of excitement occurred mere minutes later in the arena. On his bare island, Chalk began making use of what he had. He ripped the bark off of the single willow tree and used it to form a sort of blanket. After working for a while, he managed to weave a pillow from the lush reeds that were sprinkled along the water line. Meanwhile, Marci, having finished her story, left her island with her few supplies, picked a direction, and swam. She knew that moving around would introduce a sort of excitement into her story and make the gamemakers leave her alone.

After swimming for a bit, Marci spotted an island. She briskly swam toward it and found Chalk on it. Marci pulled out her knife, as did Chalk, and a battle began. Marci's blows were fast, and she seemed to be a bit of a speed demon at first. Her first blows were powerful, one of which even grazed Chalk's chest and incited a respectably quick flow of red blood. Chalk seemed to be playing a defensive game as well but was much more calculating in his movements. When Marci had drove Chalk against the island's single boulder with nowhere to run, Chalk had only one option. He turned around and climbed up the rock. Marci was close behind him. The instant that they were both on the big rock, it began moving. The thing began to pick up speed before flinging itself off of the island and flying over the water, leaping up and down and skidding across the sea like a thrown stone. The two panicked and fell to their feet, gripping the rock with all of their might. When the rock slammed into another island and stopped, the two tributes got to their feet. Chalk had been severely battered, Marci not so much. After taking a quick second to get back to her own senses, Marci didn't wait around for Chalk to do the same. She thrust forward her knife, looked away, and crinkled her face with disgust as she drove the blade straight into Chalk's heart. His cannon shot was immediate.

Chalk Alvaro, District 10 Male: 12th, Killed by Marci, Day 5

Allies Alder and Viveca had begun to grow a bit fed up of swimming in the water whenever they needed transportation. As such, they began work on a raft after Chalk's cannon shot. The sound of the death had spooked Alder and Viveca out of going anywhere, and they needed a raft anyway. The reeds of the island on which they resided were sturdy, and they made progress fast. After his encounter with the monkeys, Yul stayed in his hiding spot for the entire day. He ended up spending the hours fashioning a container out of reeds with which to gather water. He spent a long time meticulously ensuring that there wasn't a single area from which water could leak.

The gamemakers had begun to grow rather tired of Julia. She had done virtually nothing, and at this point in the games she wasn't contributing at all to the competition. When Julia began wading in the water and savoring the feeling of sand in-between her toes, the gamemakers saw a perfect opportunity. A swarm of colorful fish swarmed around Julia's feet. She shook with shock and fear as a swordfish skewered its long sword through her leg. Julia fell, a dark cloud spreading out around her like a squid's ink, as a very spiky purple fish shot out three spines and let them bury themselves into her other ankle. The fish kept delivering her rather horrific wounds. Julia finally managed to drag herself back to shore and began the long process of tearing the muttations' various weapons out of her body. Her wounds weren't that bad unless they got infected, she reassured herself.

Day 6 started off with a bang. Over the course of the night, Julia's wounds had begun to grow worse. Her mentor Seeder had sent her a few bandages, but they did little to prevent the infection that was taking root in the grievous wounds that she had sustained. On the morning of the sixth day, Julia was in extreme pain. Several of her wounds were severely infected and drizzled pus whenever she moved too suddenly. Julia was practically begging for death when Mascara and Radiance spotted her island. They found the girl screaming out in throes of pain on the beach and weren't about to resist the opportunity to rack up another kill. Radiance's sword cleaved through her torso cleanly, and just for good measure Gold Carson's son chopped apart her body. He enlisted the help of Mascara with this duty, and by the time that Julia was just a heap of bits on the ground they marched away smugly. In the records, the kill was considered to be Radiance's alone; Mascara had not laid a finger on the girl until after her demise.

Julia D'arcangelo, District 11 Female: 11th, Killed by Radiance, Day 6

Yul had been fascinated with water for the past few days. After perfecting his water collection basket, he set out on a creative way to gather water. He had gotten a bucket from a sponsor had used it to collect the rain that had happened on Day 2, but that was running low. Yul asked his mentor Barley for a plastic sheet, which he used to condense gaseous water onto to be clumped together and dropped down into a cup. This would efficiently separate the sea water and the salt that it contained. This method was sufficient in providing Yul's water needs, at least for now. Marci had begun residence on the island that the boulder that she and Chalk were on had ended up on, and she spent the day crafting jewelry from the colorful stones she found on the rocky shore. Avil didn't hunt and lounged around on the couch of the house, even flicking on the television when he was bored. Later on Day 6, allies Alder and Viveca received a strange eel muttation. It was nearly ten feet long and was electric yellow. They didn't know what made the eel dangerous until it bumped into a mouse that was munching contentedly nearby. The mouse's hair stood up on end and it quickly died from electrocution. This was an electric eel. Viveca got to work with her axe, trying to chop the creature in half like parsley, while Alder began throwing rocks (his and Viveca's island, like Marci's, had a rocky coast) at the eel. One particularly large rock landed on the back of the eel and pounded it to the ground, where it was easy work for the sharp blade of Viveca's axe. Thepio didn't do anything. She literally sat against a sandy hill on a sand bar that she had discovered, stared into the distance, and only got up to use the bathroom for nearly fifteen hours.

Day 7 passed, deathless. It was the most lifeless that the forty-first Hunger Games had seen yet. Thepio did exactly the same thing that she did the day before, sitting and doing absolutely nothing. Avil decided to go tribute hunting once more. He found an inflatable raft in the closet of the house and blew it up with his mouth. He exited the house and went into the raft, steering it by kicking his feet. Marci continued working on her rock jewelry. She was hoping to turn out as a repeat Nylon Manger, getting sponsors by selling her artwork. This didn't happen, as her jeweling skills weren't the best by any means. Yul just lolled around on his island, waiting for his creation to purify more water. The only exciting part of the day was late at night. Alder and Viveca had started a campfire with driftwood. Always the good storytellers, they began telling ghost stories to each other. Alder was the first to begin. "My old house was totally haunted. There was this one corner that was always so cold. Even with a heater we couldn't heat it up. The ghost kept stealing things from us. Whenever my mom lost her keys or something, she'd just say 'ghost, give it back', and she'd find it in the next three seconds. It was the creepiest thing."

Unfortunately for them, they left the campfire going for a little too long. When it was time to sleep they spread out the logs and waited for the embers to peter out and die. However, this didn't happen, as this just gave the fire more oxygen. Mascara, Radiance, and Lagoon were on an island nearby when they spotted the light of the fire and the trial of smoke that trained out from it. They grinned as they hopped in their rafts and sailed for their next prey. On the island, the two allies were sleeping. Lagoon was ahead of the others by several strides once on land. He skewered his trident through sleeping Alder's torso before he woke up, and he was dead after a short and quiet moan of pain.

Alder Chadwick, District 7 Male: 10th, Killed by Lagoon, Day 8

They didn't see Viveca, as she had fallen asleep on guard and was outside of their camp. The careers scampered into their raft and left immediately after Alder's cannon shot. Lagoon didn't get in the raft and instead swam back toward their home island as he always did.

It was mere minutes later when the second and final death of the day occurred. Avil was out at sea on his raft, asleep, when a gust of wind came and blew the raft over. Avil plunged into the water, which was icy cold in the night. He screeched and tried to make it to the surface, but he had been so shocked by the whole situation that he took in a huge gulp of water. He choked and screamed for air, but he was already several yards below the surface and in no shape to get back to the top. Loss of oxygen slowly sedated him, and as he slowly sank to the sea's sandy bottom a cannon shot boomed across the arena.

Avil Lomontange, District 11 Male: 9th, Killed by Drowning, Day 8

That left the final eight: Radiance Clinton and Mascara Perdita from District 1, Tanaquil Ciacci from District 2, Lagoon Vilachansky from District 4, Marci Bookbinder from District 5, Yul Sikes and Thepio Neers from District 6, and Viveca Dryad from District 7.

The rest of Day 8 was deathless. Thepio didn't have much to do and so she spent much of the day reciting nursery rhymes that she remembered from her childhood to herself. Yul had exhausted his island of its resources and swam to the nearest one. On it, there was a tree with a single fruit. Yul promptly ate the fruit, but it was poisonous. He fell to the ground and convulsed with pain, trying to quiet his labored breathing as he willed the burning poison to work its way out of his body.

Marci's flow of sponsor gifts began to pick up. The audience was impressed and enraptured by her story, and it had already been transcribed and sent out for publication. She was sent a loaf of District 5 bread (nutty and cinnamon glazed), a spear, and a canteen of water. She grinned and ran for the supplies, grateful for the feeling of the bread in her mouth and the feeling of cool water sliding across her tongue.

The last exciting event of Day 8 didn't happen until late at night. It was nearly nine o'clock when the three careers were returning to the horn for the first time in several days. The water level was so low in the arena that they were in that they could just wade, and they took turns carrying the raft behind them. Suddenly, a huge swarm of fish closed in around the careers' feet. As soon as the fish began slashing and biting and stabbing, the careers began fighting back. Lagoon's trident was incredibly effective against the fish, as the weapon was aerodynamic by purpose. Mascara's throwing knives meant that she was only able to target one of the fish at once. The fish weren't really pursuing her anyways, so she mostly dug her knives into large fish that looked to be a threat to her allies. Radiance's sword shot through the water with stunning elegance and precision. He stabbed and slashed fish after fish, and after the encounter he was the only career completely unscathed. Mascara and Lagoon looked at Radiance (and the pile of dead fish that surrounded him) with dumbfound and maybe a little envy.

The instant the first part of the sun rose above the east horizon, the familiar voice of Head Gamemaker Wisp Glasgow rang over the arena.

"Congratulations to the final eight tributes of the forty-first Hunger Games. At noon tomorrow, a feast will occur at the cornucopia. I am well aware that many of you will not know where the cornucopia is. That issue will be solved now." Wisp snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the cornucopia shot out a beam of light that shone into the sky and illuminated the arena. "I am also aware that you will not know when it is noon. That problem will be solved now." Wisp snapped his fingers once more. In the sky, a countdown appeared, counting down to the feast that would occur the next day. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

With that, each tribute began forming decisions on whether or not to attend the feast. Thepio decided to go to the feast. Her supplies were running very low, and there could well be something at the feast that could save her life. Marci decided not to go to the feast and instead decided to lie low until the tribute count dwindled just a little more. Viveca was originally deciding not to go to the feast. Mere seconds later, Viveca tripped on a rock in her walk. She face planted into the ground. For several seconds she felt nothing at all. Then, a searing pain began to bolt out from her ankle. She hissed and bit her lip as she crawled to her feet and saw her foot, lopsided, its ankle twisted awkwardly in its socket. Viveca's eyes widened with fear when she remembered seeing Almond sprain his ankle during the thirty-ninth games. Viveca had to go to the feast. She would rather risk her life than end up like him.

Yul had decided to go to the feast. Additionally, he would go to the feast… early. He picked up his knife and was on the prowl toward the horn. The careers always left their weakest member at the cornucopia, Yul knew, and the weakest remaining career was Tanaquil. When Yul reached the cornucopia and spotted Tanaquil in the cornucopia's air pocket sorting through a few supplies, he took a deep breath. He was ready. It was now or never. Yul leapt into the water and swam toward the horn. He didn't ever stop to rest; the audience was impressed by his tenacity. Yul reached the cornucopia and, ensuring to always stay out of Tanaquil's sight, swam on top of the cornucopia. Then, he found the area of the ceiling directly above the air pocket and began sawing a hole into it with his knife. It was a tough job. Inside of the cornucopia, Tanaquil heard the scraping and thought that it was some mutt scraping against the side of the horn of plenty. He stayed in the air pocket, safe from the "mutt".

When a circle of the ceiling fell through, water began pouring in quickly. It instantly splashed into Tanaquil's lap. He struggled for his oxygen pack, but it had been washed away by the current of the initial splash of water. Not having much time to form wise decisions, Tanaquil tried to swim out of the horn and into the outside world. Yul was waiting for him, of course, and by the time that Tanaquil saw him Yul had already buried his knife deep into his chest with expertise and perfection. Tanaquil fell, blood burbling from his wound. The second that his cannon shot sounded Yul ripped his knife out of Tanaquil and swam away. He wouldn't want to be at the scene of the crime for any longer.

Tanaquil Ciacci, District 2 Male: 8th, Killed by Yul, Day 9

That was all that happened on Day 9. On Day 10, the day of the feast, there was lots of commotion in the arena. The countdown in the sky read 00:00:49. The feast would start in forty-nine seconds. Radiance, Mascara, Lagoon, Thepio, Yul, and Viveca stood crowded around the horn as a vocal countdown began at forty-five seconds. This was it. The timer in the sky hit zero. The gong rang. The six feasters surged forward and began scooping up supplies.

Radiance and Mascara were both playing an offensive game, swimming around and trying to kill without a coherent strategy. Lagoon was more of a hider, ducking behind crates and such and waiting to pounce out whenever an outlier came near. Viveca was just racing toward the horn without looking back. Nearby Radiance had been arcing back and forth in front of the cornucopia's yawning mouth. When Radiance spotted Viveca hurdling through the water, he charged toward her. Radiance stabbed her sword toward Viveca, but she whirled around and cut through the water with her axe. The fight wasn't very long. In her whirl, Viveca had knocked her foot on a rock and quietly cursed with pain. Radiance took advantage of her instant of disorientation and charged toward her, abandoning all caution. Viveca, shocked and overwhelmed by his sudden burst of energy, couldn't sidestep fast enough before Radiance speared his sword squarely through her torso. Her eyes rolled back into her head as Radiance reveled in his kill.

Viveca Dryad, District 7 Female: 7th, Killed by Radiance, Day 10

Meanwhile, Thepio was zigzagging through the crystal-clear water to avoid attacks and disorient her predators. Suddenly, Mascara ran up behind her. Thepio had no idea that the career was behind her, and by the time that Mascara's sharpest throwing knife wormed its way into the back of her head she only had time to open her mouth slightly in shock before dying.

Thepio Neers, District 6 Female: 6th, Killed by Mascara, Day 10

Yul made the final kill. He was leaning over to pick up a crate when he felt a sharp prick in the back of his neck. Yul whipped around and instinctively thrust forth his knife. The knife buried itself into the neck of Yul's attacker, Lagoon. Lagoon had been trying to drive one of the prongs of his trident into the back of Yul's neck, but Yul had managed to turn around before the weapon could travel deep enough to do any real damage. Lagoon clawed at his throat and tried to tear the knife out of his neck. Just for good measure, Yul grabbed a nearby hatchet and popped Lagoon's air packet in one swift slice. Yul swam away with the axe, his knife, and the other things that he had gathered from the feast, leaving Lagoon to die.

Lagoon Vilachansky, District 4 Male: 5th, Killed by Yul, Day 10

No other deaths occurred that day. Radiance and Mascara, the only remaining careers, stayed at the horn and tended to the scrapes and such that they had gotten during the feast. They didn't hunt as they weren't in the condition and the day had already had enough death anyway. Yul had escaped the feast with a package of granola bars, an axe, a sword, and the knife that he had had since Day 1. He rationed his granola bars carefully and only ate one for the rest of Day 10. Having finished her manuscript, Marci began telling the audience a new story that had just popped into her head as she was finishing her old one. She didn't get any requests to write this one down, as within hours of the previous one being published it had been queried, bound, and sold in stores all through the Capitol. With only four tributes remaining, the games would probably be a short one. However, Wisp didn't want a short games. He decided to draw out the rest of the games only slightly, such that there would be an ideal blend of action and calm.

Day 11 passed completely deathless. Radiance and Mascara hunted. Marci was running low on food, and she had gotten a spear from a sponsor that had loved her story. She managed to spear a colorful fish that was swimming by her island, and she roasted it over a fire that she started in a hidden location. The climax of Day 11, however, was much more sinister than expected. Yul had once more exhausted the island that he was on and so moved to a different island that held a single tree. Yul shinnied up the tree and began making camp atop a strong branch. Mere minutes later, he tumbled off of the branch and fell to the ground with a loud noise. Yul hissed as a sharp pain began exploding through his neck and spinal cord. He had broken his neck. All of his food and water was left in the tree. The nation watched with earnest as he slowly but surely died from dehydration.

Day 12 was almost deathless. The careers hunted, and Marci continued telling the audience her vivid and imaginative stories. Yul was once again on the ground, completely helpless to do anything and just waiting in suspense for his death. That afternoon, death finally came for him. Yul had gone unconscious from his broken neck a few hours before his body finally succumbed to dehydration. With only three tributes left, things were sure to escalate quickly.

Yul Sikes, District 6 Male: 4th, Killed by Dehydration, Day 12

Days 13 and 14 passed with little conflict and no death among the three remaining tributes. Marci didn't have anything to do with her second story finished and so she just swam between islands so that the gamemakers would leave her alone. The careers didn't hunt, as they wanted to draw out the games and they knew that Marci would come to them one way or another. On Day 14, Marci kept swimming between the scattered spits of sand in the ocean to shake up her story and keep herself safe from gamemaker threats. The careers hunted and returned to the horn at the end of the day.

On Day 15, Wisp knew that he needed to induce some action. Radiance and Mascara went hunting once more. They returned to a rather picturesque scene at the cornucopia. To the left of the cornucopia was an island with fuzzy green grass and several trees that burst with beautiful pink blossoms. Rows and rows of chairs were set up, each one occupied by a formally dressed person. Everybody was facing the front of the island, where a woman in a long white dress and a man in a sharp looking suit were being wed by a judge that stood between them. It was a wedding. The bride and groom, and in fact the entire audience, were muttations that would flip to bloodthirstiness at the sight of a tribute.

When the careers returned, they had no idea why a wedding would be going on in the arena. When Radiance and Mascara went forward to investigate, the groom suddenly ran toward them and opened his mouth, displaying two rows of fangs. After tearing off the train of her dress, the bride was soon to follow. The judge and the first couple of rows began throwing their chairs and books at the two careers, who were slashing away at them with their weapons. Radiance tried to back away from the onslaught of wedding guests, but soon he was trapped against the side of the gazebo in which the ceremony had been taking place. Radiance slashed his sword across the chest of his closest pursuer, a woman with a red dress and a flower woven into her hair. She fell and knocked a fellow guest down like a domino. With them on the ground, Radiance tried to escape. He ran around the gazebo and saw his ally Mascara trying desperately to fend off her pursuers with her throwing knives.

Radiance dove forth to help her, stabbing and slashing away at the wedding guest muttations. Abruptly, the crowd all parted and the bride and groom became visible. The two mutts ran toward the careers. The groom twisted the wedding ring on his finger and out popped a long and poisonous spike. The bride did the same. With the two newlyweds running toward the careers, they began to fight. Radiance tried to slash away at the side of the bride's torso, but she batted away his sword with her spike. Suddenly, the bride turned her attention toward Mascara, who was fending off the groom. Both of the newlyweds began running toward Mascara, and they got to her before Radiance could come and help her. The bride slammed forth her spike. It drove into Mascara's upper abdomen. Her blood splattered the bride's pristine white dress. Mascara tried to turn tail and flee, but the bride had already grabbed her by her shirt. Mascara reached around and tried to tear off her shirt, but the bride had already buried her spike into the back of her body. The poison immediately entered her bloodstream, sedating her. She fell to the ground, dead, reducing the tribute count to two. The instant that Mascara's cannon shot faded away fully, the entire party (the bride, groom, judge, and guests) all turned to dust and were blown away by the wind.

Mascara Perdita, District 1 Female: 3rd, Killed by Newlywed Bride Muttation, Day 15

With only two tributes left, Wisp was eager to crown the victor. Day 16 passed deathless as the tributes prepared for the fight. Radiance stayed at the horn and began practicing for the final fight. Marci, with her knife, practiced as well, raking it across rocks and such to sharpen it. Day 17 would prove to be the final day in the arena. Marci woke up to a strange sound. It was the sound of suction cups being ripped off of a flat surface. She got up from her little sleeping bag and saw a huge pink starfish with a legspan of nearly ten feet scuttling toward her. Marci panicked and grabbed her weapon and then she went. She scurried into the water and swam anywhere to get away from the starfish. The starfish followed her into the water. It was, of course, driving her toward the cornucopia, where she would face off with Radiance.

Marci dragged herself onto the shore of the wedding island and found Radiance there waiting for her. Their final fight began.

Marci's knife seemed to be doing a great job of fending off Radiance. She could slash away with it and couldn't do a great amount of damage but could keep her adversary from getting too close. Meanwhile, Radiance, always the good career, swung around his sword with ferocity, flair, and exact precision. Their battle was relatively short, only fifty seconds long. About twenty seconds in, Radiance thrust forth his sword and gored it through Marci's eye. Marci screamed as her eyeball tumbled out of her head. She wept with agony and clutched her empty eye socket, hoping to staunch the flow of blood that was oozing from it. In this state of distress, it was easy for Radiance to deliver the blow that would end Marci's life. He threw his sword forward and watching with satisfaction as it wormed its way through Marci's torso and protruded from her back. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she had lost just enough blood and had had just enough organs destroyed to be pronounced dead. Her cannon shot promptly fired, and the cheery voice of Wisp Glasglow trumpeted into the arena.

Marci Bookbinder, District 5 Female: 2nd, Killed by Radiance, Day 17

"Radiance Clinton of District 1, you are the victor of the forty-first annual Hunger Games!" Wisp proclaimed.

Radiance set down his sword and held up five fingers, proudly displaying his number of kills for all to see.

Radiance Clinton, District 1 Male: Victor of the Forty-First Hunger Games, Day 17


AFTERMATH

District 1 welcomed its sixth victor with open arms. Radiance was the second ever legacy victor (the first being Freya), and his father Gold was overjoyed when he returned home as a victor. Gold's tears of joy as he watched his son be crowned victor marked the only time that he was ever seen crying. The Capitol loved Radiance, and he would develop into a great example of a victor. He would make debating a hobby and would frequent debate clubs.

He settled into District 1's Victor's Village, the sixth victor to do so.

His victory tour was rather ordinary and nothing unusual happened during it.

Radiance would live to the spectacular age of one-hundred, dying from lung disease around the time of the one-hundred twenty-third annual Hunger Games. In his lifetime, he would marry and have quadruplet sons.


NEWS

Radiance settles into District 1's Victor's Village, the sixth victor to do so.

Flux Stafford marries his fiancée Silicon.

Brandi Coyne and her husband adopt twin sons named Gleam and Wonder.

Odius Ruttler has his first and only child, a baby boy named Cato.

Grover Handa, a single father, adopts a baby girl, Eve.

Velvet Farrow, the victor of the tenth annual Hunger Games, dies from a seizure. A public funeral is held in her memory.


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)
34HG: Grover Handa (#1, District 7)
35HG: Troy Stiles (#6, District 4)
36HG: Lana Voltaire (#10, District 2)
37HG: Lucy Said (#7, District 4)
38HG: Porter Tripp (#3, District 5)
39HG: Penelope Turek (#8, District 4)
40HG: Beetee Latier (#6, District 3)
41HG: Radiance Clinton (#6, District 1)


A/N: Holy cow! I remember when I was writing 3,000 word long chapters with no description at all.

Anyways, Radiance! In the long run, who do you think will have more victors, District 1 or District 4? If you've got any speculations I'd love to hear them. Thank you all so much for reading, and expect the forty-second games soon! :D