THE FORTY NINTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Fodienda"


INTRODUCTION

The forty-ninth Hunger Games was the first time in ages that the Capitol paid any real attention to the tributes. After Brutus' victory the year before, it became apparent that the array of tributes could have just as much of an effect on the games as the arena or muttations could. As the last games before the hotly anticipated second Quarter Quell, Wisp had an idea of the perfect batch of tributes in mind. He wanted a career pack that wasn't too strong, as he didn't want a repeat Brutus this year. Additionally, he made sure that some strong contenders showed their faces in often ignored districts like 5, 6, 9, and 10. Wisp hoped that by evening the playing field amongst all of the competitors, the games would be more exciting by default. Brutus' games had certainly been one of thrill, but there was a certain sort of anticipation that was removed because everyone knew Brutus would win. This year, Wisp wanted just the opposite; for nobody to have a clue who would escape the games alive until the hovercraft appeared and the trumpets began blaring.

Per Snow's orders, this year's careers were considered weak in comparison to their usual. District 1 produced a pair that wowed the Capitol with their looks more than anything else. The male was the son of a famous District 1 fashion designer who was well known in the Capitol. The nation looked forward to seeing how he would fare in the arena. His district partner was a quaint girl, and she was overshadowed by several of her flashier peers. All that she had going for her was a special talent with the crossbow. District 2 was once again up to the challenge of offering up two formidable fighters, and they succeeded once more. The male took inspiration from Brutus Cordley of the year before and chose the sword as his signature weapon. He had an exotic beauty to him that fascinated the audience. The girl was a ruthless warrior, much like her district partner. She had nerves of steel and a brain that ran at the speed of light, though she sometimes did foolish things on her whims. District 4's male was skilled with the knife, a versatile albeit stereotypical weapon. The female was the only tribute outside of District 2 to score the often lusted-after ten. She displayed her mastery of weapons like bows, axes, and tridents to the audience, and she earned the highest percentage of bets. Though the career pack was a bit shoddy, they still earned average scores, with three tens, two nines, and a single eight in total.

The collection of outliers was an impressive one, with many tributes scoring high. A plethora of sevens were earned. In fact, six sevens were earned in these games! Wiress of District 3 had a knack for knives, and, like many other District 3 citizens, had a sharp mind and keen eye. Corona from 5 was determined and hardy, though her skills with weaponry weren't the best. Maize and Avena from District 9 also scored sevens, both choosing sickles. Finally, there was Bezoar and Ramona, the two District 11 tributes. Bezoar had experience with the knife from long days chopping up shoots and leaves back in District 11. Ramona was an expert survivalist, able to make incredible use of even the most basic supplies she may have had at hand. Technetium from District 3 and Sapwood from District 7 scored sixes. The rest of the outliers scored between five and three in their private sessions. There was an alliance outside of the careers: Wiress of District 3 and Ramona of District 11. Wiress was well-enough acquainted with weaponry and well-versed with technology, whereas Ramona's survival skills were exemplary. Time would tell how this alliance would turn out. There was only one volunteer outside of the career pack: Technetium Gil from District 3, who volunteered in place of his brother. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Jet McSmithson, 14, (8) 8-1 and Isabel Carlos, 16, (9) 7-1

District 2: Stego Knox, 18, (10) 4-1 and Tori Comstock, 17, (10) 5-1

District 3: Technetium Gil, 13, (6) 20-1 and Wiress Freid, 16, (7) 13-1

District 4: Shark Cosima, 18, (9) 6-1 and Undine Goldfish, 18, (10) 4-1

District 5: Beacon Littlewood, 17, (5) 22-1 and Corona Fischer, 18, (7) 12-1

District 6: Chassis Williams, 17, (4) 25-1 and Silvia Morse, 18, (5) 22-1

District 7: Pine Meleedy, 15, (4) 28-1 and Sapwood Ayoub, 18, (6) 18-1

District 8: Crêpe Chekov, 13, (3) 50-1 and Chintz Lacroix, 16, (5) 24-1

District 9: Maize Price, 17, (7) 13-1 and Avena Tiffany, 17, (7) 12-1

District 10: Corbin Prestwich, 13, (4) 36-1 and Daqua Louise, 14, (4) 32-1

District 11: Bezoar Drew, 16, (7) 15-1 and Ramona Seed, 18, (7) 12-1

District 12: Culm Fujimoto, 16, (5) 24-1 and Peyton Leter, 16, (5) 24-1

HGBO Bets: 8% on Undine, 7% on Stego and Tori, 6% on Isabel and Shark, 5% on Jet, Wiress, Corona, Maize, Avena, Bezoar, and Ramona, 4% on Technetium and Sapwood, 3% on Beacon, Sylvia, Chintz, Culm, and Peyton, 2% on Chassis and Pine, 1% or Less on Crêpe, Corbin, and Daqua.


THE GAMES

The arena this year closely mimicked District 12, and the Capitol couldn't get enough of it. The cornucopia sat in a huge underground chamber. Its weapons largely consisted of pickaxes. In fact, nearly twenty pickaxes were supplied in the cornucopia, one of the highest numbers in games history. A dozen low-ceilinged corridors sprouted out from the central chamber like the legs of a spider. Placed sporadically throughout the mineshaft were entrances to the world above. As one stepped out of the earth and into the daylight, one would see a neighborhood of gray slum houses, mimicking the Seam. Just like in District 12, a thin layer of coal dust covered everything. The District 12 tributes had gotten used to the presence of coal dust in the air and could tolerate the stuff to an extent, but it would give the other tributes hardship without doubt. Gravel and dirt pathways wound through the uneven rows of homes, the owners of which had seemingly long since given up trying to keep in good repair. Beyond the Seam, there was a dense wood. Inhabiting this forest were animals like squirrels, mockingjays, deer, groosling, crows, opossum, and hares. Three rivers, short and swift, cut through the forest, good sources of water for the tributes and the wildlife. Daytime temperatures could be anywhere from fifty degrees to seventy degrees, whereas in the night temperatures could drop as low as ten degrees. The precipitation also mimicked that of District 12, with frequent snowfall.

The tributes could barely see each other in the poorly-lit central chamber of the mining shaft. They could only slightly make out the form of the cornucopia in the center of the ring of pedestals. Its weapons glowed in the dark like fireflies so that they looked red-hot. The sound of the gong ricocheted around the cave for several seconds before dying away to silence. All of the tributes, uncertain of what lay around them or above, headed in to fight it out in the bloodbath.

Tori was ahead of the others by several strides, bolstered on by the sight of a pickaxe about thirty yards away that was glowing a brilliant electric violet. The handle of the weapon fell snugly into her grasp. Using the weapon as a light source, the career girl soon spotted the silhouette of a boy zigzagging to dodge attacks as he stormed toward the cornucopia. Tori hurled herself at him and wrestled him to the ground. She used the pickaxe to bash in his skull. The boy's head was now a misshapen blob. Tori strolled away in triumph to regroup with her allies.

Maize Price, District 9 Male: 24th, Killed by Tori, Bloodbath

Undine gracefully hoisted a beautiful hatchet into the air. As she bolted toward the cornucopia's yawning mouth, she knocked into another tribute and fell to the ground. The outlier made a break for it, but Undine was grabbing onto his shirt so strongly that he couldn't move anywhere. In one clean slice, Undine planted the hatchet into his torso. Blood exploded from the wound and splattered Undine. Not wanting to get any messier, she ripped the hatchet out of the boy's stomach and fled.

Beacon Littlewood, District 5 Male: 23rd, Killed by Undine, Bloodbath

Stego, wielding three feet of deadly iron, chuckled slyly at the sight of two girls grappling over a backpack containing packages of water. The girls screamed in an oddly melodic harmony as Stego skewered his sword through the shoulder of the taller of the two girls. She let out a soft groan before falling backward. Stego turned toward the other girl. Before he could react, the girl summoned up all of her worldly strength and kicked Stego in the face. He reeled backward, disoriented. It seemed like the girl could escape, but on the way out she tripped on the backpack and face-planted into the damp stone ground. By that point, Stego had regained his bearings. Stego whirled around and hacked away at her abdomen mercilessly. She collapsed beside the other girl, and they both died within a minute of each other.

Corona Fischer, District 5 Female: 22nd, Killed by Stego, Bloodbath

Peyton Leter, District 12 Female: 21st, Killed by Stego, Bloodbath

Shark hadn't made a single kill yet, but this was for good reason. He was more concerned with guarding the cornucopia than playing the offensive game that his allies were playing. One boy spotted just the supplies he needed a few feet behind Shark and tried to slip his way past him. He was clumsy and made a ruckus. Shark heard him, of course, and went to work with his weapon, a dagger about the length of his forearm. The pitiful boy was confetti when the job was done.

Crêpe Chekov, District 8 Male: 20th, Killed by Shark, Bloodbath

A few seconds before, Isabel had managed to corner a crying girl against the exterior wall of the cornucopia. Isabel held a crossbow firmly in her grasp. The girl had no hope of escape. She squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head and prayed that her death would be quick. Isabel raised the crossbow and released a single arrow. The small dart whistled through the air and buried itself between two of the girl's ribs. Her knees buckled, and she fell into a pool of her own blood. Like a real District 1 lady, Isabel tried not to get her shoes wet as she started to the girl's side to retrieve the dart that had ended her life.

Silvia Morse, District 6 Female: 19th, Killed by Isabel, Bloodbath

Tori grinned roguishly and swung her pickaxe anxiously at her side as she crept toward a young boy that was curled up in a ball on the cold ground. The circumstances were getting to him, and the boy was having a panic attack, rocking back and forth and sobbing. Tori bashed her pickaxe into the side of his head. He was immediately sedated, thrown so off-kilter that when he tried to move he just lolled nonsensically. Tori marched away and left him to perish. Nearby Stego finished the boy off, spearing his bloodstained sword through his neck. He died almost instantly, marking the first collaborate kill of the forty-ninth Hunger Games.

Corbin Prestwich, District 10 Male: 18th, Killed by Tori and Stego, Bloodbath

Allies Wiress and Ramona were both armed within the first minute of the bloodbath. They had both gotten knives from the cornucopia's bounty of supplies. The two tributes quietly scuttled down one of the long mining tunnels. They heard loud footsteps from nearby after about fifty feet. Ramona spotted a mine cart and hoisted herself into it, instructing Wiress to do the same. They peeked overtop of the edge of the cart and saw the seventeen year-old Chassis from District 6 about ten yards away, running to and fro. His hands were both clapped to his side, where blood oozed between the fingertips. He had been stabbed by Shark's dagger a few minutes earlier and was close to death.

Chassis saw the eyes of Wiress and Ramona and let out a cry of relief. He stumbled toward them and grabbed onto Wiress' hand, begging for her to help him. If he kept making that ruckus, their position would be revealed. Anyhow, it would be the kindest thing to put him out of his misery early. Wiress offered to do the deed, and Ramona thanked her. She wasn't ready for killing, at least not yet, but Wiress was poised enough. She grabbed Chassis by the hand and quickly slashed her knife across his chest. Chassis screamed and realized that Wiress wasn't there to help him. He tried to stumble away, but he was losing too much blood. Wiress and Ramona watched solemnly as he slid to the ground, never to rise again.

Chassis Williams, District 6 Male: 17th, Killed by Shark and Wiress, Bloodbath

Jet, wielding a pair of wicked-looking curved swords, zeroed in on a girl that was sprinting toward one of the mine tunnels with a heavy black pack. After the girl fully entered the darkness of the tunnel, she slowed to a brisk walk. Jet ran to her side and slammed her in the abdomen with one of his swords. The girl screamed and made a break down the corridor. Jet extended one of his swords and jabbed it through her back, up through her ribcage, and out of her chest. A cry tumbled from her lips, but it was cut short. Jet pillaged her of her backpack before returning to the horn.

Sapwood Ayoub, District 7 Female: 16th, Killed by Jet, Bloodbath

Undine's hatchet swung through the air at incredible speeds. She was doing it solely to impress the sponsors, but when an outlier girl sprinted past her she was more than happy to rack up another kill. Undine stepped in front of the girl. She screeched to a halt and ran in the opposite direction. Undine hurled her hatchet into the darkness. With a thud and a crunch, the blade of the throwing axe buried itself into her skull.

Chintz Lacroix, District 8 Female: 15th, Killed by Undine, Bloodbath

Pine from District 7 was the last tribute to be killed in the opening minutes. He knelt on the ground, packs and supplies strewn around him, picking out things that might be useful in the difficult days to come. He felt around in one shallow plastic pack and removed a flashlight. Pine smiled. A flashlight would be incredibly useful in the arena that year, which was bathed in darkness except for the glow of the weapons. He was so full of adrenaline that he wasn't thinking logically. He gave the flashlight a tester go. He flicked the switch, and a circle of light appeared on the floor a few yards away. In the virtually pitch-black chamber, the light attracted the attention of every single tribute. Two nearby careers—Jet and Stego—leapt toward the light. Pine was overwhelmed before he could even lift a finger. Jet smacked the blade of a sword into his torso. Pine whipped himself around, but he was met with the bite of Stego's sword in his gut. Pine's yelps echoed around the cave like thunder. His screams served as a hint to all of the outliers remaining around the cornucopia that it was time to leave. By the time Jet and Stego had managed to extinguish his life force completely, the chamber was completely empty apart from the careers, sweating and panting from exhaustion and the heat of the underground. Eleven earsplitting cannon shots could be heard.

Pine Meleedy, District 7 Female: 14th, Killed by Jet and Stego, Bloodbath

After the bloodbath ended, the careers sent out one of their members, Undine, to scout the tunnels surrounding the horn. She returned about an hour later, having dutifully sketched a map of the winding corridors. She and Jet worked together to the copy the map onto a larger sheet of paper while the others cleaned their weapons and prepared for the hunt. They left Tori to guard the cornucopia with her hatchet and then wandered down one of the tunnels. As the creators of the map, Undine and Jet walked in front of the other careers and consulted it whenever they were lost. They had also brought a pencil, so they were able to make new additions to the map. However well-planned, their hunt was fruitless. When Undine's mentor Dylan sent her a note saying that they had been hunting for far too long and needed to rest, the quintuplet of hunters set up their camp. The anthem played, little drones showing the faces of the dead were zipped down to every tribute, and everyone went to sleep.

Meanwhile, the outliers scattered. The alliance of Wiress and Ramona crawled out of the mine cart and tried not to gag too much at the sight of Chassis' mangled corpse. They engaged in quiet conversation as they walked down the long shaft. In due time, the pair found themselves at a crossroads. The singular tunnel split into three different passageways, like string cheese being torn in three pieces at once. Ramona wanted to keep moving onward. Wiress, however, wanted to rest for the day. Ramona didn't refuse. She knew that Wiress was a little shaken up, and she welcomed the concept of resting her own tired legs and mind. They set up camp at the intersection. Along with her knife, Wiress had managed some water, a package of jerky, and a small towel. Ramona was not nearly as lucky. She had barely managed to grab a knife of her own. Technetium fled down one of the tunnels. Fortunately, he had grabbed a pair of night vision glasses from the cornucopia. Though they weren't his size, they helped greatly in navigating the maze of tunnels. After a mile or so, Technetium found himself beside a pool of rich-smelling water. He dipped his fingers in the water to test the temperature and pulled them back. That water was boiling hot. He noticed trails of hot vapor trailing off of the surface of the liquid and cursed himself. He tore off a bit of his clothing and wrapped it around the burn to heal it. Technetium sat down and ate a small jar of sliced watermelon he had managed to snatch from the horn. After the container was empty, he filled it with water and waited for it to cool to room temperature. He drank it down afterward and instantly felt invigorated. After one of Isabel's darts grazed her leg about a minute into the games, Avena hobbled through the darkness, weeping quietly to herself. Blood was oozing from the broken skin. Bolts of pain shot up her leg whenever she moved the wounded area too suddenly. Avena collapsed with exhaustion beside a puddle of cool water. Avena used the water to clean out her wound. It was difficult working in pitch black, but soon she had wiped away all of the blood. Her mentor Barley sent her a medium-sized cloth bandage, which helped to quell the bleeding. Daqua held her supplies at her side always as she tiptoed through the mineshaft, scared to make a sound. It was impressive how graceful she was in her movements, and because of that she caught the eye of many a sponsor. She dropped down in a large triangular corridor with small rocks scattered around the floor. Daqua gathered her supplies and lay down against the wall. Then, she revealed her hidden talent to the audience. She began to sing. At first, she hummed simple melodies. Within minutes, however, she was passing the time by belting out beautiful music in her golden voice. The Capitol was blown away, and sponsor gifts would have probably rained down on her if not for the fact that the ceiling of the mine was made of solid stone. Magnet Lisagor's drone was put to use once again to deliver sponsor gifts to her. Daqua received a dagger and a small mirror. She thanked the Capitol for the gifts and then went to sleep, tucking the presents behind her so that she wouldn't lose them. Culm's only possession in the world at the time was a small silver flashlight. He traced the circular beam of light along the facets of the stone walls and through the crannies of the floor to amuse himself as he walked along. Another tribute was nearby: Bezoar from District 11. He had a dagger and wasn't afraid to use it. Bezoar took off after Culm. A long chase ensued, but Culm eventually managed to evade his pursuer by dropping down into a niche in the wall at the perfect moment. Bezoar ran right past. Culm was so exhausted from the run that he fell asleep right then and there. Bezoar was a little upset that he had lost Culm, but he didn't let it keep him from going about his day. Bezoar established a sort of shelter by locating an outcove in the stone wall, climbing into it, and shoving his pack of supplies in front of him. Afterward, he threw a piece of cloth from the pack over him, enclosing him in his fortress.

Day 2 passed with lots of movement but little action. In his sleep, Technetium accidentally rolled into the pool of boiling water. He screamed and scrambled out of the pool, the skin on his leg that was submerged in the water growing thick and taking on an ugly red color. A generous sponsor delivered him a cloth and ice pack. After strapping the cold pack to his leg, he got to work, trying his best to ignore the agony the burn was causing. Avena's strategy of binding cloth over her wound helped to stop the blood flow, but ultimately did little to prevent the oncoming infection. Avena begged the Capitol for medicine, but she was overshadowed by several of her peers and received nothing. She stayed in one spot all day and willed her body to fend off the infection. Wiress and Ramona packed up their belongings and were on the move the "morning" of the second day. A few minutes before noon, the two stopped for a break, and Wiress exposed a plan of hers to Ramona. A Hunger Games arena had to be exciting if the gamemakers wanted an eventful games. A monotonous underground maze was the exact opposite of exciting, and Wiress was sure that there must have been something beyond the mineshaft. At her words, Snow was disgusted. She was thinking outside of the box and understanding the ways of the Capitol. Somebody like that was a good candidate for a rebel. He considered ordering Wisp to smite her at that very moment, but he wasn't about to eliminate his biggest chance at a good underdog story, so he let her live. With her faithful ally at her side, Wiress stalked through the underground labyrinth. They had travelled for nearly an entire day without breaks. The death recap drone was flown down to them, their signal that it was time to rest. They vowed to continue their search for an exit from the mine the next day. Culms' foremost concern was water. In the heat of the mineshaft, he felt a raging thirst. He feared that he might die if he couldn't find anything to drink. With his flashlight, he did a quick sweep of a couple branches of the mine. Hallelujah, he stepped into a pit of cool water. Culm laughed with relief and cupped his hands to collect the clear liquid. He set up his base a few feet away from the pool so that he would have water whenever he needed it.

The careers experienced a bitter defeat around nine at night. The six trained warriors, minus Tori, shushed each other when they heard heavy footsteps from nearby. They quietly prepared their weapons and stayed as still as stone. A tribute was walking toward them: Bezoar from District 11, though they didn't know who it was. Stego charged with his sword, and the others followed behind him. Bezoar screamed and fled. By some miracle, he was able to avoid their flying weapons and stay a few precious steps ahead. After a two hour-long chase, Bezoar found that he couldn't keep running away from the careers forever. He needed to lose them. All seemed hopeless, but then a plan formed in his mind. He stretched out his arms and legs to their full span and pressed them against the sides of the shaft. He waddled upward. By the time the careers reached him, he was a good two feet above their heads. Bezoar fought with all of his strength to silence his moans of exhaustion. The careers passed right under his legs.

Similarly to Day 2, the entirety of Day 3 passed, deathless. Avena was weaker than ever from her infection. Her wound had become horribly festered, with ugly yellow streaks radiating from its core and pus oozing forth whenever she moved. She could do nothing but lie still on the damp stone floor and pray that help would come quickly. Technetium discovered that the stone in the bed of the hot water pool was soft and malleable. He broke some off and chipped away at it to form a weapon. If any predators came, he would be prepared. The careers finally returned to the cornucopia to restock on supplies. They left Isabel as the horn's guard and went hunting down a new shaft that they had yet to explore. Culm was hungrier and thirstier than ever. The pains in his throat and stomach were a million times worse than the pain from the cuts and scrapes that littered his body. As far as he knew, he had no sponsors. He was so desperate that he decided to raid the cornucopia. He packed up his few belongings and retraced his footsteps to the horn. His tired body was too frail to make the whole trip in a single day, and he stopped for the night about halfway through his journey.

Day 3 also marked three tributes' discovery of the outside world. Wiress and Ramona were persistent on their journey to the world above. With time, the floor and walls turned from solid stone to brick. At long last, they found themselves at the base of a staircase. Moss and fungus coated the steps, so it looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. Ramona beamed and pointed at a square of brilliant sunlight filtering in through the entrance. The two giggled with glee and sped up the staircase. It felt amazing to finally be in the outside world after so much time in the musty underground. A cool breeze rustled through the trees and whistled around the slum houses of the Seam. They briskly got to work. After a bit of hunting, Ramona discovered a relatively sturdy house. She worked to set up a home while Wiress went hunting. She managed to cut down a squirrel with her knife. The two sat around a dusty kitchen table in the house that Ramona had picked out to eat her kill.

Unlike Wiress and Ramona who had discovered the aboveground world by actively searching for it, Daqua found an exit purely by chance. Knowing that the gamemakers would not take kindly to her staying in one spot for the entire games, she got up and moved around from time to time so that she would be left alone. Just when she was about to stop for a quick rest, Daqua tripped on a step. She fell forward onto the rest of the staircase. Intrigued, she climbed up the stairway until she felt the crunch of coal dust under her feet. Daqua was in the outside world. She quickly got to work. She gathered water from a faucet located due east of where she had emerged. Afterward, she picked some berries off of a thorny bush and had a feast inside of one of the poorly-built Seam houses.

The morning of Day 4 arrived. In the mineshaft far below, a tribute perished for the first time in nearly three days. Avena was completely immobile from her horrible infection. An evil black color swirled underneath her skin around the wound dealt by Isabel all those painful days before. Sprawled out on the floor of the cave without so much as a groan of pain, she passed away from the infection.

Avena Tiffany, District 9 Female: 13th, Killed by Isabel/infection, Day 4

For those still underground, Avena's cannon shot acted as a major source of anxiety. Technetium was a prime example of this. The stress of the games was really getting to him, and the cannon shot served as a reminder that, even though he had survived the bloodbath without a scratch, there was a high chance that his death was on the horizon. He held himself and rocked back and forth, quietly weeping to himself. He glanced over his shoulder every few seconds. Technetium was terrified. Bezoar awoke to a brushing sensation. Something furry was rubbing against his side. He instinctively grabbed it and found himself holding a wriggling mole. Bezoar smashed it into the wall until it died and then ate its slimy meat like there was no tomorrow.

Culm was less than a mile from the cornucopia. Only Isabel was there, dutifully guarding the supplies with her crossbow. Young and foolish, Culm thought he could easily take down the dainty girl from District 1. He didn't consider for an instant that she had had years of intense training and he had seldom touched a weapon in his life with the intent of injuring somebody. Coincidentally, Day 4 was when the careers decided to head back to the cornucopia to restock and take a needed break. Culm could see the dark form of the cornucopia far in the distance when he heard light footsteps behind him. Culm slapped his hand in front of his mouth so that he couldn't scream and squeezed himself against the wall as hard as he could. The pack of five careers noticed him instantly.

"Look what we have here!" Stego cackled, stepping forward with his sword. He was flanked by his allies Tori and Shark, with Jet and Undine leaping behind him so he was trapped. Culm made a break for it. He tried to slip under Jet's legs, but he shot out a hand to stop him. Culm tumbled backward onto the floor with a crash, rolling to the base of Undine's feet. Undine swirled her body around with enchanting grace before slamming her hatchet into his stomach. The pitiful boy squirmed and gurgled for a brief moment. Upon his cannon shot, they finished the walk back to the cornucopia to meet up with Isabel and recount their new adventure.

Culm Fujimoto, District 12 Male: 12th, Killed by Undine, Day 4

Up on the surface, Daqua was traipsing through the Seam when she spotted two figures in the distance: Ramona and Wiress. Daqua ducked behind a pile of bricks and peeked out from around the corner. She wasn't alone in the outside world. For some reason, this thought terrified Daqua so much that she fled without a second thought. She leapt between the crumbling houses and over the uneven terrain toward the forest about a hundred yards away. As soon as she entered, she collapsed in a pile of leaves and fell asleep, having left all of her supplies behind.

Wiress and Ramona themselves didn't do much for most of the day other than scavenge the neighborhood for supplies. Wiress found a cooking pot in a closet lined with cobwebs and showed it to Ramona. Ramona went out to gather vegetables. The two found a patch of clean snow and melted it in the pot. They then plopped in the vegetables and heated it over a stove. They dug into the hot vegetable soup that resulted, glad to taste something with flavor.

The fifth day wasn't greatly eventful, with no deaths. In the network of underground mining trenches, Technetium received a cryptic note warning him to evacuate the cave soon. He was so terrified that he simply discarded the note. It was only an hour or so later that Technetium realized what importance the note could have had. He searched in vain for it. He eventually found it, but it was printed with soluble ink, and the moisture from the floor had dissolved the writing. He knew nothing except that something big was about to happen. The gamemakers didn't send down notes every day, after all. After returning to the cornucopia, the careers took an entire night to rest. The morning of Day 5, they left Jet at the horn and went hunting. Once again, Undine walked in front of her allies, her trusty map in hand. Bezoar received the same note as Technetium, warning him to exit the mineshaft. He heeded the warning. Bezoar packed up his possessions and was on the run, trying to cover as much ground as possible to increase his chances of finding the exit. Bezoar had been travelling for nearly ten hours and was about to give up when he spotted a deep groove in the wall that stirred up his curiosity. Bezoar reached through the darkness and hooked his fingers around the dent. He pulled his hand back and found that he had opened a door large enough to climb through. Bezoar threw his supplies through and then crawled through himself. He found himself at the base of a winding staircase. By the time he felt warm sunlight on the back of his neck, he was so tired he could have collapsed any second. Bezoar sighed, relieved to see something other than stone, and collapsed right then and there.

Day 6 stirred up the excitement of the Capitol viewers, as it hosted a death. After a much-needed night of rest, Bezoar travelled to the woods beyond the Seam to hunt for food. A sponsor sent him a bow and five arrows, which he always kept at his side as he walked over the foliage. The songs of mockingjays from above kept him motivated to keep moving on, and a few minutes before nightfall he spotted the form of Daqua moving quietly through the trees. Bezoar was taken aback. He glanced down at his bow, then up at Daqua. Could he bring himself to kill another human being? The thought of blood staining his hands was nearly incomprehensible, but the idea of never seeing his family again was far worse. Some people had to die in the games, he told himself, and he walked forward.

Hands trembling, Bezoar aimed at the girl, who had stopped to pick the fruit off of a sturdy shoot growing from the ground. Now was his chance. Bezoar released the arrow. The second that he heard the whistle of the projectile through the air, he turned around and ran. Bezoar heard Daqua's screams behind him. He bit his lip and tried not to cry. Bezoar disappeared into the green, leaving Daqua behind to die. Lying in a bed of flowers, before her death, she vowed to give the world something to remember her by. Something to show everyone that there was a part of her that the Capitol could never control.

She sang. Daqua sang to the mockingjays. She sang about love and trust and mercy and all the things that made life worth living. She sang about peace. She sang about faith and hope and home. At first, her golden voice was merely one among the sounds of the forest. But soon the mockingjays began to take up her song. Their beautiful voices filled up the forest. Soon, all across the arena, the melodies of love that Daqua had sung could be heard. She let out a sigh and said her goodbyes to her friends and family. Then she slowly closed her eyes and died. Arguably, it was among the most beautiful deaths of the first Hunger Games century. In most Capitol stations where the games were airing live, people fished tissues from their wallets and pockets to dry their wet eyes. It really looked like Daqua could have been peacefully asleep in the forest.

Daqua Louise, District 10 Female: 11th, Killed by Bezoar, Day 6

Daqua's cannon shot just freshened Technetium's sense of mortification. Instead of crying, he was absolutely silent, his sharp weapon in his clutch always, his pupils as large as marbles. He was absolutely terrified, able to do nothing to change his fate. The careers, minus Jet, were out hunting when Shark broke off from the pack. The others demanded that he come back, but he refused, saying that he heard something. The other careers thought it silly, but they listened up too. Tori was the first to hear it. One by one, the others picked up on the faint sound. Could it be.. birds chirping?

The quintet searched around for the source of the noise, and Stego was the one to discover the staircase. He called over his allies, and they climbed up the stairs in turn. Though the air of the outside world was filled with coal dust and made them cough like mad, it was far more refreshing than the dank, musty air from the mineshaft. It was easy to get lost in the rows of buildings that all looked the same, so they made it a rule that no career could go anywhere that the others couldn't see him or her. They made camp on the border of the Seam and the forest, atop a circle of gravel with a water faucet. In the cluster of slum houses, Wiress and Ramona were more careful than ever. Ramona was out hunting for food earlier that day when she saw the group of careers walking past. She urgently ran back to Wiress to tell her the news. In their panic, they moved their home to an abandoned house where a shelf of kitchen utensils had fallen across the main window, shielding the inside of the house from view.

Day 7, Technetium and Jet awoke to a faint rumble. They were the only tributes left underground. Technetium was as paranoid as always, not moving unless one counts his terrified quivering. The other careers were so excited to finally be outside that they hadn't even remembered that Jet was left behind at the horn. Technetium had no idea what the rumbles meant. Jet, on the other hand, lived in District 1, which is also inhabited by swarms of jewel miners. He knew that that sound meant that the mine was about to collapse.

He didn't have time to grab any supplies. Jet made a dash down one of the mining tunnels in a mad race to find an exit from the underground complex. He screamed when he bumped into a dead end. A pebble fell from the ceiling. The moment after, a rock the size of Jet's hand plopped to the floor. Small stones were raining down like summer hail. Jet turned around and dashed. He wasn't bothering to make note of what turns he was taking. He was running down a sloped tunnel when a huge slab of rock from the ceiling tumbled down and crashed behind him. Debris flew, impaling the bare backs of the career boy's legs. He ignored the agony and the blood and kept running. The tunnel was literally collapsing behind him. If he stopped moving for an instant, he would be crushed.

Jet ran for almost thirty minutes when he came to another dead end. This time, there was nowhere to run. The mineshaft collapsed on top of him. He was instantly crushed to death under the weight of the ceiling. He was the career pack's first loss.

Jet McSmithson, District 1 Male: 10th, Killed by Mineshaft Collapse, Day 7

By the time Technetium noticed that the earth was crumbling around him, it was too late. A rock about the size of a chicken egg landed at his feet. He let out a whimper, and in moments the entire ceiling was crumbling. Technetium tried to run, but the second he got to his feet a shelf of stone nearly a yard in diameter rained from the ceiling and landed on his head, squashing him to death. The underground continued to collapse until the mine was no more. All that was left was the aboveground, where the final battles of the games would occur.

Technetium Gil, District 3 Male: 9th, Killed by Mineshaft Collapse, Day 7

That left the final 8: Isabel Carlos from District 1, Stego Knox and Tori Comstock from District 2, Wiress Freid from District 3, Shark Cosima and Undine Goldfish from District 4, and Bezoar Drew and Ramona Seed from District 11.

A great amount of excitement had already occurred, but Day 7 would host yet another death. The groans from deep beneath the earth as the cave collapsed had frightened most of the tributes into hiding. Ramona and Wiress received a pair of heating packs from a sponsor, along with a note simply labeled keep warm. This clued them that there was going to be cold weather ahead, so they stocked up on food and other commodities. The well-stocked career pack of Isabel, Stego, Tori, Shark, and Undine hunted the Seam for prey. The found nothing and returned to their home centered around the water pump as night fell.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Bezoar was beginning to grow incredibly chilly. He felt as if he might freeze to death if he didn't get back to the relative warmth of the Seam, and fast. Snow began to fall. Icy wind blew across the arena that chilled him to the bone. Eventually, the forms of the crumbling houses came into view. Bezoar surveyed the area for a nice house to stay in when he heard a sound behind him.

Bezoar spun around at the speed of light and felt the bite of Stego's sword in his abdomen. A few minutes earlier, the careers had seen him moving through the Seam and had gotten up to kill him. Bezoar made a break for it, running between two houses to disorient his attackers. The snow blinded him, though, and the pain in his abdomen was too severe for him to make any real movement without falling to the ground. To seal in his kill, Stego jabbed his sword up through Bezoar's back and out through the front of his neck. After Bezoar's cannon shot, Stego tore his sword messily out of the boy's torso and marched himself back to home with his allies on either side.

Bezoar Drew, District 11 Male: 8th, Killed by Stego, Day 7

Day 8 was one of the more eventful days of the forty-ninth annual Hunger Games. As soon as the sun rose, the careers realized just how hungry they were. They hadn't eaten anything but cold sponsor food in days. They were itching to travel to the forest to collect some unique foot to eat. Undine and Stego volunteered to go hunting in the woods for prey while Isabel, Tori, and Shark stayed behind to hunt in the Seam.

Undine and Stego stayed beside each other as they plunged into the woods. They hunted for several hours before coming to a stop beside a frozen stream. It was freezing cold, and the two huddled together for warmth during their break. Stego managed to kill a deer with his sword. The two started a fire and cooked the meat of the deer. They considered bringing it back to the Seam right then and there, but it was too long of a walk for their cold bodies to make in one day. They set up camp as best they could and slept under the icy winter moon.

Back at the Seam, the careers' efforts to kill more outliers were fruitless, but Isabel did manage to make a find. She shot a grouse perfectly between the eyes with her crossbow, and the others gave her the honor of cooking the meat as they wandered off to do more hunting.

Isabel started the fire and began to roast the meat of the grouse over it. Then, she turned around and walked away, leaving the fire unattended. The fire licked through the air and melted the snow around it. Before long, the grass was on fire. A circle of about five feet around the bonfire was engulfed in flames. At that time, Isabel returned to her fire. She shrieked and grabbed up snow to try to extinguish the inferno, but it was spreading too fast. Within ten minutes, the fire had spread to a nearby house. The poor construction job was perfect kindling for the hungry fire. The house was consumed within half an hour. Isabel screamed for her allies, but they were too far away to hear her. Though she tried her very best to put out the fire of her creation, it was an impossible task. Now, two whole houses were on fire.

Tori and Shark were quick to notice that a good chunk of the Seam was on fire. The air felt heavy with smoke, and a line of grey trailed its way into the heavens from behind them. Fire would spread fast in an environment like the Seam. Tori and Shark dropped what they were doing and bolted away from the fire, entering the forest after about ten minutes. Back at the starting point of the blaze, Isabel gave up trying to put out the fire. She ran. Unfortunately, the buildings behind her were now on fire. On either side, fiery debris had fallen, blocking her path. The safest route would be to go to the left, but the grass beyond was engulfed in red fire. Could she go to the right? There was a single burning slum house in that direction, but it was, all considered, the safest route.

The air was so hot that Isabel felt as if she might melt. The smoke filled her lungs and made her cough, her eyes stinging red and welling with tears. She was mere feet from escape when the single burning house collapsed to smithereens. Isabel had quick reflexes and sidestepped, but she wasn't fast enough. A burning plank of wood landed on top of her and crushed her to the ground. She was sent unconscious immediately, only to die a few minutes later as the Seam burned away around her.

Isabel Carlos, District 1 Female: 7th, Killed by Fire, Day 8

The careers had reached the woods, leaving Wiress and Ramona the only tributes left in the Seam. They were both sleeping when Ramona awoke to the smell of smoke. She roused her ally and said that they needed to leave soon. Wiress agreed, pointing out the trail of smoke far away. They managed to escape into the icy forest before the fire could even touch them.

On Day 9, there wasn't much excitement. With the underground mineshaft collapsed and the Seam a charred hell, the tributes were forced to go about the day in the freezing woods. Tori and Shark hunted for food. The forest was teeming with life even in the cold, and Shark was able to kill a fox. He wanted to roast it over a fire, but Tori was strictly against introducing more fire to the competition, pointing to the wreck of the Seam. Wiress and Ramona made it their goal to get as far away from the Seam as they could in the day. They fell from exhaustion beside a small cave. They threw rocks inside to make sure that the cave was empty before crawling inside.

Now to Undine and Stego. They had been sent out by the careers two days earlier to hunt for food, but had gotten lost in the woods. After seeing the burning of the Seam in the distance, they figured that their career allies had all perished. They were left alone in the cold woods to live by themselves. They had no supplies other than their weapons. The two tributes were glumly trudging through the snow, teeth chattering, when Undine tripped. She fell face-first into the snow and began sliding downhill. Stego tried to grab her and keep her from falling, but she was already sliding down the snowy slope on her stomach like a penguin. Undine screamed for help, but as she travelled down the hill she dug herself deeper and deeper into the snow. By the time she reached a stop at the bottom of the hill, she was completely buried in the snow. Stego ran down to help her, but he chickened out about halfway down the slope. He turned around and abandoned the District 4 girl.

Down in the snow, Undine had no idea which way was up. She fought to escape her snowy prison. To prevent snow entering her mouth and choking her, she made an airspace around her mouth and nose with her hands. She spat into her hands to keep them warm, and the direction the droplets of saliva slid down was, well, down. She knew which way was up! Her hope was rekindled. Undine summoned up all of her strength, but the layer of snow on top of her was too heavy for her to go anywhere.

She couldn't feel her fingers or toes. Her teeth were chattering profusely, and she was shivering with cold. The skin on her face was turning blue. She kept calling for Stego and trying to burrow out of the snow, but her efforts were futile in the end. She died from hypothermia after about ten hours of misery.

Undine Goldfish, District 4 Female: 6th, Killed by Hypothermia, Day 9

The remainder of the day trickled past without any additional deaths. With Undine dead, Stego was afraid that he might be alone in the woods to survive with only his wits. After several hours of combing through the wilderness, he saw his allies on the horizon. "It's me!" Stego called out so that they wouldn't think he was an outlier and attack him. Stego was grateful to be back with his allies, and they worked together to build a shelter underneath a sturdy oak tree. Wiress and Ramona were comfortable in their cave home and only left it to use the bathroom and such throughout the day. Just before nightfall, Wiress ventured out and cut down a squirrel with her knife. Ramona helped her to prepare the meat for consumption.

A cannon shot shattered the peaceful silence of the wood the morning of Day 10, awaking most of the tributes and mutts. However, some of the mutts were already awake. A pack of three silvery wolves stalked through the woods and stumbled across the camp of the sleeping careers. They attacked so suddenly that the careers didn't have time to react. With a single snarl, the largest wolf pounced. Tori was startled awake with a scream. She grabbed her pickaxe and screamed for her allies to wake. They scuttled to their feet and grabbed their weapons, and a fight began. It was man against beast.

A smaller wolf charged toward Stego. He threw out his sword and managed to lop off part of its snout. The monster whimpered and faltered for a bit. While it was still off-kilter, Shark took initiative. He buried his dagger into the back of the wolf's neck. It howled and stumbled backward into the snow, gurgling. One ugly beast down, two to go. The larger of the two remaining wolves was zeroing in on Tori, who was nervously pacing backward with her pickaxe. At the same time, the other wolf was creeping toward Shark. Stego arced around Shark's wolf and plunged his sword into the back of its neck. The wolf was immobile from the pain, but not for long. Shark sped off to assist Tori in defeating her wolf predator, with Stego joining them soon after. The two parties lunged at each other. The careers dealt minor cuts and scrapes, but nothing big. The most successful blow was dealt by Shark, who managed to leap forward and slice his dagger across the wolf's back, opening up a gash as long as his arm.

They though the wolf was done for, but it was really just bidding its time. Shark shared a high five with his fellow careers, and the wolf pounced. He was so startled by its sudden burst of energy that he couldn't sidestep fast enough. Its teeth glistening like titanium, it bit down so savagely into Shark's left leg that it was able to pull off the entire limb the second after. Shark screamed and collapsed to the snow. His allies ran to help him, but the wolf had already dragged him a bit closer and was digging in. The District 4 boy was a goner. Tori and Stego, having no desire to become dog chow, turned around and ran before the wolf could finish devouring their dead ally.

Shark Cosima, District 4 Male: 5th, Killed by Wolf Muttations, Day 10

For the rest of the day, peace reigned supreme over the arena. Stego and Tori had no objective in mind other than to place as much distance as possible between them and the no doubt hungry-again wolf. They were pleased to find that the day was much warmer than those before it. Melted snow dripped from the rustling leaves overhead, and the level of snow on the ground was growing lower and lower as the day wore on. Pleased by the newfound warmth of the arena, Stego and Tori made the decision to create their home in a more sunlit area. After much scavenging, they discovered a clearing about thirty yards in diameter, empty of trees. On the edge of the clearing, they unrolled their supplies and got to work. Wiress and Ramona left their cave in a hurry once they figured out that it had not been empty all along. In fact, they had been sharing the cave with a massive spider with the legspan of a dinner plate. Wiress awoke to the horrible tingling sensation of its fine legs scuttling across her face. She swatted the spider away and sped out of the cave, Ramona trailing behind. They weren't eager to go back into the cave, so they travelled about a hundred yards due south and settled down in a steep valley area.

On Day 11, Wiress and Ramona went out hunting together. Ramona managed to capture a squirming beaver from a burbling river, and Wiress stilled the squirming animal with her knife. The two allies travelled back to their home and decided to start a fire to cook the meat. Ramona helped to gather dry wood, whereas Wiress collected stones to line around the fire in order to contain it. Learning from Isabel's mistake, they never let the fire out of their sight.

They had kept the fire from burning down the woods. But, the trail of smoke had caught the eyes of Stego and Tori. The careers were heading toward the outliers, and fast. There would no doubt be a bloody encounter in the near future. Tori and Stego kept travelling until long after the sun dipped below the west horizon. Knowing that they needed their rest for the fight of the next day, they were asleep by one in the morning, clutching onto their weapons like they were made of gold.

Day 12 finally arrived, and it didn't take many minutes of travel before Tori pointed out the trail of smoke wafting up from the allies' charred fireplace. Wiress and Ramona were soundly asleep nearby, lying against a pair of willow trees about five yards from the fire. The two careers snuck forward, as quietly as mice. Tori accidentally stepped on a stick, arousing Wiress, a light sleeper. Wiress groggily opened her eyes and nearly screamed when she spotted Stego and Tori less than thirty yards away, wielding their bloodstained weapons and hungry for more battle. Fortunately, she was a quick thinker, and she developed a plan.

"Ramona!" Wiress peeped. The careers were too far away to hear her at that point, so it was okay to whisper. Ramona opened her eyes and was about to speak when Wiress shushed her and nudged her foot in the direction of the advancing careers. Ramona and Wiress readied themselves and then pretended to be asleep.

The careers were thirty feet away. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Then, they pounced.

Tori dove for Ramona, whilst Stego chose Wiress. The two outlier girls burst to life and grabbed their weapons. They had the element of surprise on their side, as the careers hadn't been expecting them to already be awake. Wiress was able to kick Tori squarely in the face. She reeled, but she was ultimately able to regain her footing and charge once more. Meanwhile, Stego had Ramona cornered. His sword moved closer and closer to her throat, and, since Ramona was standing with her back to a cluster of trees, she had nowhere to run to.

Wiress glanced over and noticed her ally crying in despair. Wiress leapt toward Ramona and knocked Stego away from her. The career was sent spiraling to the ground. Wiress looked at the dying fireplace, then down at Stego, and hatched yet another clever plan. Wiress urged Ramona to keep Tori busy. While Stego was still on the ground, she used her foot to kick him several times, about one-hundred eighty degrees around. Before he fell, his back had been to the fire. Now, if he stood up, his back would be away from the fire and toward Wiress. Wiress took her time, waiting for Stego to get back up. The second he was on his feet, Wiress shoved her knife into his back with all of her might. Stego toppled forward like a domino… right into the fire.

Stego let out a bloodcurdling scream as his face landed in the hot material. The impact had stirred up many of the dying embers of the fire, and his skin was charred and melted away with seconds of contact. Before his death, Stego managed to look upward at his killer. The last anyone ever saw of Stego Knox was his hideous face, charred and black, blood pouring forth and mixing in with the other horrible colors, skin falling away like sheets of paper, and an unmistakable look of fury in his eyes that nobody watching would forget, no matter how long they would live.

Stego Knox, District 2 Male: 4th, Killed by Wiress, Day 12

Tori ran to Stego's side to see if he was okay, but instantly pulled away. There was no way he could be saved, and his cannon shot confirmed her worst suspicions. As a career, Tori was obligated to avenge the death of her district partner, and she lunged toward Wiress so quickly that she didn't have time to react. Tori wrestled Wiress to the ground and smashed her pickaxe into her head. Wiress screamed and clawed at the wound. For several seconds, her entire world was nothing but pain. Pain so bad her vision was blurry and she couldn't think straight. Tori shouted, "That was for Stego," and readied herself to attack again. Wiress considered giving up trying to fight when a force suddenly shoved Tori off of her. Wiress looked up and saw her faithful ally Ramona with her hand clapped to her side.

What had happened was this. Ramona had seen Tori about to kill Wiress and shoved her off of her. The District 2 girl rolled to the side, but slashed her pickaxe through the air at the perfect time that she buried the sharp tip of the weapon into Ramona's side. Ramona's form went limp and collapsed next to Wiress. Tori had fallen down into a ditch nearby and banged her head on a rock, so she wasn't a concern at the time being. Wiress rubbed her head where Tori had hit her and felt her fingers wet with warm blood. She fought with all of her strength to get up, only to collapse the second later with a groan.

After a few minutes of recovery, Wiress finally managed to make eye contact with her dying ally. Tears welled up in the District 3's girls eyes as she raced over to her supplies. She had no medicine and ran back in despair with her head in her hands. Wiress began tearing off pieces of her clothing to place over Ramona's wounds, but the dying girl shook her head back and forth, a definite "no". The first tear fell from her eyes, and that was what brought on the waterfalls of tears that poured down her cheeks like two waterfalls. Wiress leaned in toward Ramona and felt for her pulse. It was there, but uneven and faint.

"Goodbye, friend," Ramona rasped, managing a smile. Then, her body went completely limp and her cannon shot shattered the calm of the forest.

Ramona Seed, District 11 Female: 3rd, Killed by Tori, Day 12

After Ramona's death, Wiress fled the scene. She tore through the wood and leapt over rocks, trying to place as much distance between herself and her final opponent as possible. After several hours of travel, she arrived in a clearing laden with berry bushes. With a good place to make her base camp, Wiress' priority was preparing for the inevitable finale. She sharpened her knife using a stone. Once it was as sharp as she could get it, Wiress practiced with the blade, lodging it into trees and chopping down the shoots and leaves. After a few minutes of unconsciousness, Tori awoke to the realization that, while she had succeeded in killing Ramona, Wiress had escaped. The knock against the hard stone had taken a toll on her body. For the first few minutes, her movement was wobbly and her vision wasn't quite straight. But, all in due time, she recovered. A sponsor delivered her a note urging for her to keep going strong, along with a package of dried pineapple. After eating half of the pineapple slices and saving the rest for the next morning, she made camp approximately a mile away from the site of the conflict earlier that day.

The morning of Day 13, the weather took to a drastic change. It was warm for once. For the first time in as long as anyone could remember, green showed through from underneath the melting snow that was becoming thinner and thinner. Buds blossomed on the trees, and wildlife was more plentiful than ever. The two remaining tributes made good use of the morning hours. Tori began trekking in the direction she believed Wiress had travelled in. However, she was going the wrong way, and her mentor sent her a note telling her so. Tori turned around and kept on hiking through the forest to meet her final opponent. Wiress was all that was left between her and the Victor's Crown, and she was confident that she could take her down.

Wiress tried to make a splash to impress the sponsors by expertly killing a deer that wandered near her living quarters. Knowing that the final battle was on the horizon, Wisp wanted the two tributes to be more balanced, and he delivered Wiress a chest plate made of a stretchy material that covered most of her torso. It was able to deflect most blows, but there were some weak spots in the armor so that she wouldn't be too overpowered.

Later that day, Wisp lit the world ablaze. Blazing fires started in the east and west, spreading quickly. Wiress was in the east, and Tori was in the west, and they were driven together by the spreading fires. They both spotted each other around two o'clock in the afternoon. They were in a flat clearing with sparse trees and several small plants. To their left and right was burning forest, and with fire spreading from behind there was nowhere for the two girls to go but toward each other.

The two tributes clashed in the middle of the meadow, and at first it seemed that Tori had the edge. Her years of academy training, coupled with her determination to win these games, really fired her up and made her a killing machine. Her first few blows were powerful. One of them nearly disarmed Wiress of her knife. Tori managed to knock the blade out of the hand of the girl from District 3, but she managed to snatch it back with her other hand before it could fly away. She was now fighting with her non-dominant hand against a bloodthirsty girl who had been trained for this moment her entire life. Victory seemed hopeless.

Wiress was playing a defensive game rather than an offensive one. She was only barely able to hold off Tori. Because of her armor, she sustained very few injuries. About two minutes into their duel, Tori managed to hit one of the weak parts of Wiress' armor. The plasticky material broke, and the entire chest plate peeled away like a sticker. Tori reveled in her victory, and Wiress took the instant to switch her knife from her left hand to her right (dominant) hand.

Tori's next move was the most effective yet. She raked her pickaxe across Wiress' stomach. Blood drizzled forward like water from a leaky water balloon. Wiress keened in pain and bent over to quell the bleeding. For several seconds, it really did hurt like the devil. Once the pain went away, she pretended to still be in agony. Wiress pretended to be completely immobile from the physical torment, but really she just needed more time to think. Tori walked toward her, smiling. She had these games in the bag.

Suddenly, so quickly that Tori couldn't lift a finger in protest, Wiress hurled herself at the career girl and knocked her pickaxe out of her hand. The weapon flew for about a yard before plunging to the grass. Tori had no weapon but her bare hands, and Wiress had her knife. Wiress grabbed Tori by the hair and pulled her head back, revealing her empty throat. As if there were no tomorrow, Wiress hacked away at the exposed flesh. After about ten good slashes, Wiress let go. Tori wobbled back and forth. Finally, she fell to the ground. The thud of her body against the dirt fired in perfect synchronization with her cannon shot.

Tori Comstock, District 2 Female: 2nd, Killed by Wiress, Day 13

"Wiress Freid of District 3, you are the victor of the forty-ninth annual Hunger Games!" Wisp shouted across the arena of his creation.

She sighed and backed away from Tori's mangled corpse, waiting patiently for the hovercraft to come and retrieve her.

Wiress Freid, District 3 Female: Victor of the Forty-Ninth Hunger Games, Day 13


AFTERMATH

With Miss Freid added to their growing lineup, District 3 had an astonishing eight victors, placing them securely ahead of all the other outlying districts. Wiress was praised in District 3. After so many years of watching their tributes die, they were elated to receive another victor. The Capitol loved Wiress for her ingenuity. It turned out afterward that she had a knack for machinery, and she would go on to wow the Capitol with many of her own inventions.

She and her family moved into the Victor's Village of District 3.

Wiress' victory tour went rather well. In District 11, she was well-received because of how loyal she had been to Ramona while she was alive. District 2 was absolutely furious. They had been looking forward to gaining a thirteenth victor, and they had been so close with Tori.

Wiress would live to the respectable age of eighty-eight, dying a natural death from cancer around the time of the one-hundred twenty-second annual Hunger Games. She would marry fellow District 3 victor Beetee Latier, and the couple would adopt one son. She opened her own machine shop in District 3 as a hobby, and she also took up the violin as a side thing. However, her musical talent blossomed into a whole world of possibility for Wiress. She became a member of a famous Capitol string ensemble and put on thousands of performances in the many years of her life. As Wiress grew older, she also developed a love of gardening and turned the backyard of her Victor's Village home into an enchanted garden. She had an exciting life that she enjoyed thoroughly.


NEWS

Wiress moves into the Victor's Village of District 3, the eighth victor to do so.


LIST OF VICTORS

1HG: Cordin Frey (#1, District 3)
2HG: Sapphire Waber (#1, District 1)
3HG: Molly Toliday (#1, District 4)
4HG: Amelia Spangler (#1, District 2)
5HG: Misty Sablone (#1, District 12)
6HG: Olivia Seager (#2, District 2)
7HG: Flux Stafford (#2, District 3)
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)
42HG: Technik Hartline (#7, District 3)
43HG: Dylan Levitt (#9, District 4)
44HG: Rye Boyum (#2, District 9)
45HG: Chaff Korsmun (#2, District 11)
46HG: Nolan Wrack (#11, District 2)
47HG: Klink Byrae (#4, District 5)
48HG: Brutus Cordley (#12, District 2)
49HG: Wiress Freid (#8, District 3)


A/N: New chapter! It was a bit of a struggle to get it out by the end of today, but I'm very glad that I did.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of… what, 47 Cannons? That's right, the second quarter quell is up next, with Haymitch, Maysilee, and a ton of others that you'll get to know soon-ish! I've been looking forward to the quell for a while, and my mind is exploding with so many great ideas that I can't wait to get started. Of course, because there are twice as many tributes, it'll take a lot longer to get out.

I know I've said this a billion times, but I love to hear your reviews! They really help me grow as a writer.

Until next time! :D