THE SIXTIETH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Playing With Fire"
INTRODUCTION
The Hunger Games of the year prior had been rather satisfying, if not exactly groundbreaking, and Feodore Elliot was back with his neck and creative mind intact for his fourth year in the position of head gamemaker. Coriolanus Snow ruled the roost for another year, keeping close watch over the nation to ensure it was kept in order. He hoped that the last few games had been intimidating enough to silence the rebellion in districts, but this was not so. In District 6, a man broke into the Justice Building and attempted the murder of the mayor. Luckily, the attempted murderer was caught before he could do any real harm. He and his girlfriend (who had helped a great deal in the execution and concealment of the plot) were turned into avoxes. President Snow rigged one of their fraternal twin daughters into the games, hoping to set an example of the fate of traitors.
The careers were anything but average this year, and their pack had a rather awkward structure. The male from 1 was boastful and a wild overachiever, sometimes acting on whims and taking foolish risks. The female was shier than most, but she was beautiful and a master of blades, similarly to her district partner. District 2 offered up one of their most menacing pairs yet. The male was a giant, burly and strong and extremely handsome. He fancied broadswords. The girl was of direct relation to a wealthy Capitol businessman, who was sure to send her sponsor gifts galore in the games. She was a dark-skinned girl with incredible grace and beauty. District 4 was where the real curiosity happened. The male volunteer, eighteen year-old Euphrates Sepias, was caught out after dark the night before the reaping and shot by a peacekeeper. A reaped boy went into the games, a small and scrawny boy who did nothing but cry in the Capitol. The girl scored an abysmal seven, as she broke her leg in her excitement to get to the stage at the reaping and proceeded to catch serious flu the morning of her private session. This led the careers to snub her from the pack. They knew they couldn't function well with only four members. This led them to recruit Cecelia of 8 as their fifth member. Cecelia had flowing jet-black locks and glistening blue eyes, and sponsors flocked around her like flies around a sugar bowl. Cecelia was a spectacular builder of traps and wasn't the worst with weaponry, and she was a valued member of the career team. The six (or seven if you count Cecelia) scored poorly, with three tens (four if you count Cecelia), one nine, one seven, and one three.
There weren't many standouts among the outliers, though only time would tell which tributes would be prominent characters once the games started. None of them scored as well as Cecelia, but one tribute came close. Boa of 7 was a formidable fighter with axes and had a lot of experience with knives as well, leading her to score a handsome eight. Sevens were earned by Garrett from 7, Amos from 9, and Garland from 11. Kenaf of 8 was another standout. If he was going to die, Kenaf figured he might as well go out with style. At the reaping, he pulled down his pants and mooned the entire nation. The last standout was a sad one. A severely mentally-disabled girl, Eudora of 12, was reaped. She didn't understand the games much and was completely unaware of what was about to happen. There were no volunteers besides the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Gleeson Pontes, 17, (9) 8-1 and Rhubarb Verde, 18, (10) 6-1
District 2: Festus Harris, 18, (10) 3-1 and Justa Bardell, 18, (10) 3-1
District 3: Domain Thackston, 18, (5) 24-1 and Radar Euripides, 14, (4) 41-1
District 4: Arroyo Bronz, 13, (3) 52-1 and Sandy Waterloo, 16, (7) 12-1
District 5: Cap Fellows, 17, (6) 21-1 and Dottie Alhambra, 18, (2) 74-1
District 6: Skyler Klasson, 12, (3) 67-1 and Colma Crysostoma, 17, (5) 22-1
District 7: Garrett King, 18, (7) 13-1 and Boa Xi, 18, (8) 10-1
District 8: Kenaf Rammy, 16, (4) 39-1 and Cecelia Rieffel, 17, (10) 4-1
District 9: Amos Kaligian, 12, (7) 17-1 and Jacoma Smith, 18, (6) 20-1
District 10: Farrow Camilo-Santos, 16, (5) 25-1 and Cat DuCarmont, 12, (4) 45-1
District 11: Garland Cocteau, 18, (7) 13-1 and Violet Braiden, 17, (5) 20-1
District 12: Edmond Langosy, 16, (3) 43-1 and Eudora Iaquinta, 12, (1) 84-1
HGBO Bets: 11% on Festus and Justa, 9% on Rhubarb and Cecelia, 7% on Gleeson, 6% on Boa, 5% on Sandy, Garrett, Amos, and Garland, 4% on Cap and Jacoma, 3% on Domain, Colma, Farrow, and Violet, 2% on Radar, Kenaf, and Cat, 1% on Arroyo, Dottie, Skyler, Edmond, and Eudora.
THE GAMES
This year's games was going to follow Feodore's original formula of being based after a disaster from history. So far, he had faced his tributes with a ship sinking and a volcanic eruption, and the Capitol was eager to see how he would follow up those games. Seeing the popularity of fire elements in recent games, Feodore decided to recreate the Great Fire of London of 1666. The arena was modeled after old London. The cornucopia was nestled snugly between two buildings in the center of the city. Its supplies were contained in leather bags and burlap sacks. The girls wore long dresses and aprons. The boys found themselves in shirts with puffy sleeves, knee-length pants, and tights. Houses, shops, and churches sprawled out in all directions, most of them dirty and unclean, as the arena was set in a time before decent sanitation. The wide, brown River Thames spiraled through the city, traversed by the ever-famous London Bridge. White swans glided over the water. The scenery looked very empty without any people. Creating realistic human mutts for the games got very expensive, and the gamemakers weren't willing to create thousands of them that likely wouldn't add to the games at all. It was a beautiful city, but disaster would soon strike…
Even though the tributes knew that anything was possible with Feodore's dynamic and ingenious arena designs, they were still shocked to see tall buildings surrounding them in every direction. They searched around frantically for the cornucopia. Violet of 11 was the first to spot it, tucked between two brick buildings nearby. She pointed it out to her nearby district partner. Other tributes saw it and began pointing it out to their partners and friends, and before long all eyes were fixed on the horn and the supplies within. This year had one of the smallest bloodbaths, due to a large amount of tributes that would run away and a weaker career pack. The upside: this left Feodore with a whole lot of tributes to mess with once the bloodbath reached its conclusion. Seeing the splendor of the arena that surrounded them or not wanting to risk their lives at the horn, a whopping four tributes turned around and fled from the get go. They were Skyler from 6, Jacoma from 9, and Farrow and Cat from 10. The rest of the tributes ran head-on into the fray.
Justa lead the charge this year, sprinted toward a bow that lay about halfway between her pedestal and the horn. Her first arrow missed Dottie of 5 by only a few inches. Justa's second arrow landed squarely in the heart of Dottie's district partner, who was running nearby. The 5 boy fell to the cobblestones wheezing out nonsense for the few seconds of his life remained.
Cap Fellows, District 5 Male: 24th, Killed by Justa, Bloodbath
Meanwhile, Festus armed himself with a sword and slashed it into the neck of a nearby boy. The boy had been holding a pack of wire, and Festus didn't want him escaping the bloodbath to assemble some electrical contraption that would higher his odds of winning. The boy screamed as the blade dug a good half inch into his neck, and he collapsed, still clutching the pack of wire, screaming for help. But help did not come.
Domain Thackston, District 3 Male: 23rd, Killed by Festus, Bloodbath
After dislodging her arrow from Cap's heart, Justa sprinted nearer to Dottie so that her arrows would be more effective. Dottie yelped as her first arrow landed in her calf. Subsequent arrows found homes in her hip, waist, abdomen, neck, and shoulder. How many arrows did the 2 girl need to use?
Dottie Alhambra, District 5 Female: 22nd, Killed by Justa, Bloodbath
Rhubarb snatched up the blade she had requested from the gamemakers. It was as long as her arm and curved into the shape of a semicircle. Nearby, a girl was bending over as she sprinted away from the horn, hoping this would mean keeping out of the sight of the careers. Rhubarb slammed down the blade of her weapon into the girl's back. She roared with agony and fled, but Festus was there. She ran right into Festus' sword, and the weapon protruded from her back. Only four kills had been made, yet both Districts 3 and 5 were already out of the running.
Radar Euripides, District 3 Female: 21st, Killed by Rhubarb and Festus, Bloodbath
Cecelia hadn't made a kill yet, but she was determined to do so soon to prove herself to her career allies. She grabbed a machete and chased a weeping boy to an area of the clearing where the other careers could see the kill being made. Cecelia cast the blade into his hip. He scuttled in the opposite direction, hoping to escape into the dark alley between two tall brick apartment buildings. However, he was clumsy in his pain and tripped in the first three steps. Cecelia shoved the weapon into his back to polish him off.
Edmond Langosy, District 12 Male: 20th, Killed by Cecelia, Bloodbath
Gleeson knew he was the weakest of the careers, and he hoped that doing them all a favor would cause them to see him in a higher light. Sandy of 4 was nearby, kneeling on the ground and taking inventory of the contents of a burlap sack. Sandy had technically trained for the games but was injured and sick and would be of no use to them in the weeks to come. Gleeson sawed the knife into her abdomen, sending searing pain through her body. She fell forward onto the sack, so dumfounded with shock she was unable to move. She took her final breath just as Gleeson's knife dug into the base of her neck.
Sandy Waterloo, District 4 Female: 19th, Killed by Gleeson, Bloodbath
Festus and Justa stayed close together as they chased the crying 7 boy away from the cornucopia. He was a speedy runner but quickly came to a dead end. The boy had no weapons on him and was helpless as Festus thrust his broadsword into his neck. He slid down to the ground, gurgling and moaning as blood pooled up in his mouth. Justa shot an arrow into his forehead to finish him off before returning to the horn.
Garrett King, District 7 Male: 18th, Killed by Festus and Justa, Bloodbath
The pair from 2 returned to the cornucopia, only to find the clearing empty of outliers. But there was a sixth tribute in the vicinity besides the five careers. The disabled Eudora from 12 was sitting cross-legged in front of her pedestal. She wasn't giving any attention to the death that was going on around her. Instead, she was pointing at a group of birds nesting in the bough of a nearby tree, smiling and giggling softly. The five careers all walked toward her at once, unsure of what to do. Cecelia, the most emotional of the group, wiped a tear from her eye and sat down beside Eudora, hugging her and whispering words of comfort. Gleeson steeled himself for the difficult task ahead and approached the disabled girl. In the blink of an eye, Gleeson buried his blade into the girl's shoulder. She screamed and fell backward onto her pedestal, unable to comprehend what was happening. Cecelia wept and sang the girl an old District 8 lullaby until she fell asleep.
Eudora Iaquinta, District 12 Female: 17th, Killed by Gleeson, Bloodbath
Trying to put the thought of killing somebody so young and innocent out of their minds, the careers went about their business. Festus and Justa searched the nearby buildings to make sure there weren't any tributes waiting to raid the horn once they left for their hunt. Gleeson sorted their food rations. Rhubarb, a perfectionist, started arranging the weapons in the cornucopia alphabetically by name and by size. The other careers told her she was being ridiculous, but she continued. Rhubarb didn't rest until the items starting with "Z" were all in their places. Cecelia was heartbroken after watching Eudora's death. She pretended to be sorting rations but was actually crouched down in the shadows crying. Rhubarb found her and whispered her words of comfort, which helped, but it was ultimately up to herself and herself alone when to get up and act like a career. They all understood when Cecelia chose to guard the horn that day, as she wasn't prepared to go hunting with grief in her mind.
The outliers scattered, going outward, inward, and upward. Arroyo knew he would be at the top of the careers' kill list. He ran through the stuffy streets until sundown, wanted to get as far away from the horn as he could with the energy his little body held. At nightfall, Arroyo ducked into a post office and buried himself under piles of mail. Skyler and Colma walked beside each other despite never speaking a word to each other in the pre-games. It started when Colma walked into the building Skyler was hiding in. Instead of killing each other, they decided to ally. They got up and trekked across the street to a restaurant where they feasted on ingredients from the kitchen and slept under the sink. Boa's axe swung at her side as he tried to find the tallest building in the arena. With the exception of the clock tower, the tallest building she could find was the church. Boa climbed up countless stairways before staggering into the bell tower and collapsing from exhaustion. Kenaf picked up on an aroma that made his mouth flood with saliva. In mere minutes of walking, he found where the smell was coming from: a bakery with freshly-baked goods in the window. Kenaf broke into the locked shop and stuffed as many donuts and cupcakes into his mouth as he could. Amos found a florist near the outskirts of the city and fit through the window. Inside, shelves of flowerpots and cups of beautiful plants lined the walls. He ducked behind the cashier's counter and sorted the money to occupy himself. Jacoma found her way to a tavern and ducked under one of the tables with her bag of supplies. Farrow discovered an old, abandoned barber shop near the clock tower. In the shop, Farrow hid in a back closet filled with bottles of shaving cream, staying quiet so nobody would hear him. Cat walked for a few hours and found a theater. She walked inside (without a ticket, mind you) and went backstage. Cat had been a lover of fashion her whole life and tried on the various outfits supplied. Garland stopped for the night in a fortune shop, where he waved his hands around the crystal balls and asked questions about his future. Around midnight, he dropped one of the glass orbs, creating a crash that could be heard for about a quarter mile radius. A few tributes heard him, but none decided to investigate. Violet's mother was an eye doctor back in District 11, and the girl felt right at home in an optician that she found about a mile away from the horn. Violet had fun trying on the different lenses and guessing which ways the letters were pointing. There was completely peace in the arena as day turned into night, but that would soon change.
Amos woke up before the sun on Day 2. A growling noise was coming from the corner of the florist. He knew the sound wasn't a good sign and that it would be best to flee, but his curiosity got the best of him. He brushed aside a curtain of vines and couldn't believe his eyes. Mounted in a large flowerpot was a huge red blossom as tall as he was. But where the petals should have been, there were snapping jaws with razor sharp teeth. Amos stumbled backward but tripped on a bag of fertilizer.
Like tentacles of giant sea monster, plants all over the room began coming miraculously to life, feeling the air and snapping with their pincers. Amos scurried to his feet and ran for the door but found it blocked by the curling limbs of a grass-like plant. The plant extended its death-bringing tendrils and restrained him without hope of escape. Amos thrashed, struggled, and screamed as loud as he was able, but he was helpless as all of the nearby plants dove into their newest meal.
Amos Kaligian, District 9 Male: 16th, Killed by Animate Plant Muttations, Day 2
Amos' cannon shot started many of the tributes awake and served as an alarm clock to the arena's entire human population. Not much happened for the first half of Day 3. Jacoma left the tavern and found a pump where she could collect water. Admittedly, it tasted horribly metallic and unclean, but it was water nonetheless. Cat woke up in the theater dressing room surrounded by inside-out outfits that she had tried on the day before. She stuffed them all back into their cases and started exploring the theater. Cecelia had finally stopped crying and got to work actually patrolling the cornucopia. She dutifully drilled in circles around the horn, waiting for her allies to return. The four careers from 1 and 2 were doing quick checks of each building, hastily checking obvious hiding spots for prey and then leaving. Skyler and Colma were practicing with their weapons in the kitchen of the restaurant when they heard the careers' footsteps. They quickly shoved themselves into a cupboard and stayed dead silent as the career pack walked right past.
It was near nightfall, and it seemed as though it was time for the careers to go to bed, when they heard a small sound. They whipped their heads toward it and grinned. Kenaf was poking his head out of a nearby bakery, seemingly frozen to the spot at the sight of the career pack. The 8 boy ran into the bakery, slammed the door behind him, and piled enough furniture in front of it that the careers couldn't get in.
Kenaf thought he was safe, but he was sadly mistaken. Justa and Festus were sneaking around the side of the bakery, while Gleeson and Rhubarb stayed in front of the door in case Kenaf tried to make a run for it. Justa crawled through one of the windows and dropped down into the bakery; Festus followed. Kenaf screamed as the pair from 2 approached him with their weapons. He sped to the kitchen and grabbed two large knives. Justa's first arrow was mere inches from his face. In retaliation, Kenaf hurled one of the two knives like a projectile. Justa ducked underneath the knife while Festus ran into close range with his broadsword.
Festus thrust the broadsword into Kenaf's chest. He screamed and fell to his knees, and - with his last ounce of energy - he cast his knife upward and buried it into Festus' neck. Roaring with agony, Festus collapsed in a heap. Bloodthirsty until the very end, Festus continued to hack away at Kenaf's neck and upper torso until he died.
Kenaf Rammy, District 8 Male: 15th, Killed by Festus, Day 2
By that point, Gleeson and Rhubarb had finally broken down the door to investigate what the blazes was going on. Festus was rolling around on the ground, weeping softly as his blood spread around him in a dark pool. While several sponsors sent medicine to help him, the others weren't able to supply it because the 2 boy wouldn't keep still. He bled out less than an hour later, the last tribute to die on the second day.
Festus Harris, District 2 Male: 14th, Killed by Kenaf, Day 2
Days 3 and 4 passed with no major events. Gleeson, Rhubarb, and Justa returned to the cornucopia and met up with Cecelia. The pack of four shared breakfast and went back hunting quickly, this time leaving Rhubarb to guard the supplies. Arroyo left the post office and found his way into a bookshop. He hid himself under the counter and read almost nonstop for the whole two days. Skyler and Colma searched through the stores in the restaurant and found a stale wheel of cheese. Skyler consumed several bites of the cheese and thought nothing of it until he starting vomiting and passing frequent bowel movements a few hours later. Colma couldn't go anywhere until the bad cheese worked its way out of Skyler's body, so she read the menus to entertain herself. Boa explored the church; it was so large, it seemed like she could walk forever and never see the whole thing. Admiring the stained glass windows and superb stonework, a few sponsors that liked her taste in art sent her bites to eat. Jacoma found a bucket in the back of a shop and filled it with water from the pump. The bucket was cumbersome to carry, so Jacoma tried to find some animal to kill to impress the sponsors enough to give her a thermos. Farrow stayed still in the barber shop and sprayed all of the shaving cream into one bucket. He figured that if an invader arrived, he could throw the bucket over their head and cover their face with shaving cream so they couldn't see (not that Farrow hoped ever to use it.) Cat left the theater and went into a shop filled with old dolls. She turned around to leave but found that the door was locked behind her. Vowing to find a way to leave in the morning, Cat went to bed. It took her forever to fall asleep with all of the dolls staring at her, though. Garland kept asking the crystal balls questions about his future, and he was shocked when they started speaking answers back to him. Violet locked herself in the back closet of the optometrist and kept playing with the lenses.
The sun rose on Day 5, but Cat still couldn't get out of the shop with the creepy dolls. When she finally accepted there weren't any windows, she tried to bust down the door with no luck. That night, a terrifying thing happened. One of the dolls moved. It didn't touch her or even make sound, but it was enormously creepy as it paced in circles around Cat.
By the time Day 6 arrived, the amount of living dolls had sextupled. Six of the dolls were moving around Cat, some of them even getting close to her face and whispering out unintelligible words. Finally, at noon on the sixth day, Cat had had enough. She grabbed a knife that had been sponsored to her a few days earlier and jammed it into her wrist. Blood poured from the opened vein, and Cat begged for the blood to come out faster as the haunted dolls swarmed around her. She had killed herself to escape the demons.
Cat DuCarmont, District 10 Female: 13th, Killed by Herself, Day 6
On Day 7, allies Skyler and Colma received a note cryptically warning them that the careers were near. They misinterpreted the note, thinking it said there was a gift for them outside. The duo poked their heads out the door just as Gleeson, Justa, and Cecelia came into sight.
"Get back inside!" Skyler hissed, pulling Colma back. They crammed themselves into the nearest cabinet, but the pack thundered inside before they could both cram into the small space.
Surprisingly, Cecelia was at the front. She had gotten over Eudora's death and was prepared to prove to her allies that she was no weaker than they were. She yanked open the door of the cabinet and thrust her machete into the face of the closest tribute, Colma. Trying not go gag, Cecelia drove her blade farther and farther through Colma's flesh. She was dead as soon as the tip of the weapon pierced her brain.
Colma Crysostoma, District 6 Female: 12th, Killed by Cecelia, Day 7
"He's escaping!" Gleeson shouted. He was right. In the time it took Cecelia to kill Colma, Skyler had managed to wiggle out of the cupboard. They saw him just as he left through the door. The careers chased after Skyler, around buildings and through allies.
Finally, nearly two hours later, Skyler fell against a tall brick apartment building, unable to run any farther. Gleeson slashed his curved blade across his chest. Blood splashed from the wound like water as he slid down against the building. Moments later, Justa fired an arrow into Skyler's neck to deliver the blow that ended his life for good.
Skyler Klasson, District 6 Male: 11th, Killed by Gleeson and Justa, Day 7
Days 8 and 9 passed, deathless. Gleeson, Justa and Cecelia returned to the cornucopia and met up with Rhubarb. Rhubarb's mentor sent her a note cryptically warning her to head north. The warning was written in cipher. Despite the four careers' best efforts to decode the note, they couldn't figure out what it meant. Arroyo found a hidden compartment under the desk of the bookshop that led to a storage cellar. He brought a few books inside with him. He left the door propped open, however, fearing that it might lock behind him and he would be trapped inside. Boa and Jacoma ran into each other on Day 9. Boa chased Jacoma with her axe for nearly four hours. In the end, Boa gave up and proposed an alliance with Jacoma. Farrow's mentor sent him a note that his playing with the shaving cream was coming off as childish. Heeding the warning, Farrow left the barber shop and wandered through the streets without a goal in mind. Garland and Violet found each other, but they decided to band together instead of killing each other. Garland insisted they go hunting for tributes, but Violet was unsure of her stance on killing in the games and wanted a day to rest. Not wanting to cause a huge disagreement that would end their alliance so soon, Garland gave Violet her way; they rested together behind the principal's desk in one of the schools.
Shortly after midnight on Day 10, disaster struck. Just as it had played out in real life nearly five centuries earlier, a small fire started in the bakery on Pudding Lane. The nearest tribute, Arroyo, smelled smoke and left the bookshop to investigate. What he saw made his heart stop. The bakery was a column of flame, spewing smoke into the starry night sky. Several nearby buildings, including a restaurant and bank, were beginning to flame at that point.
Arroyo started to the nearest water pump and filled the bucket with as much water as it could hold. The 4 boy tried to make a circle of water around the three burning buildings, therefore trapping the inferno inside. But the boy couldn't do that fast enough, and before he knew it the entirety of Pudding Lane was on fire. Without hope of extinguishing the fire, Arroyo turned around and ran, screaming as loud as he could for the others to run for their lives. The fire was right behind him, burning away at the wooden buildings like paper.
Allies Boa and Jacoma woke up to Arroyo's screams and the crackling of the fire. Hastily, Jacoma tore a handful of grass from the ground and threw it into the air. Knowing that the fire would spread in the direction the wind was heading, the duo rain in the opposite direction the grass blades flew. By the time they reached high ground, several of the taller brick buildings were on fire. A good ten percent of the city was consumed by the fire, and the hungry inferno was working its way across the city without signs of stopping in sight.
Garland and Violet didn't wake up until it was almost too late. In the locked classroom, the smell of smoke didn't travel, and they weren't awoken until the fire reached the door. They leapt to their feet screaming. Violet fumbled with the lock, but Garland stopped her.
"If there's a fire on the other side, it wouldn't help to open the door and let it in!" Garland screamed over the roaring of the hungry fire.
In seconds, evil black smoke started pouring into the room. Knowing that heat rose, they got to their hands and knees and searched for an exit.
"Here!" Violet shouted, pointing at a nearby window. She turned the crank and broke the window screen with her fist. Violet crawled out of the school and sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her toward the large stone cathedral, which would be unlikely to burn due to its stone composition.
Garland tried to fit through the window, but his shoulders were too broad.
"Violet!" Garland screamed. "Come back!"
But Violet didn't hear him. Garland was completely helpless as the classroom burned to ashes. It wasn't the fire that actually killed him. He had inhaled so much smoke that he died from suffocation long before the flames could lick him with their evil, death-bringing hands.
Garland Cocteau, District 11 Male: 10th, Killed by Smoke Inhalation, Day 10
As soon as he realized the seriousness of the situation, Farrow abandoned all forms of coherent strategy and ran away from the fire, hoping to escape. This was a terrible strategy. He had also failed to a do a good scout of the city beforehand, and before he knew it Farrow was trapped between two walls of fire. They were closing in on him as well, leaving a charred black hell in their wake.
Farrow ran between the closing lines, toward the wide and brown river. He took a deep breath and went ker-sploosh in the Thames.
Though Farrow wasn't the greatest swimmer Panem had ever seen, he knew how to doggie paddle. Through the rippling surface of the water, he saw a sight he would never forget as long as he lived if he won. The vast city of London, once standing grand and proud, was consumed in a rolling mass of fire that curled into the sky and set out puffs of smoke that blocked the stars and the moon. Spurts of fire fired outward from the mother conflagration, lighting additional buildings. He was dumbfounded with shock for a few moments. Then, once he was back to his senses, he turned around and swam for his life.
After several minutes, Farrow dragged himself on the opposite shoreline. He was exhausted from fighting against the current, and he felt as though he couldn't lift his arm without using all of his remaining strength. When smoke began filling the air, the majority of the white swans in the river and swum to the shore. Farrow found himself in the center of their flock. Gray dust had settled on many of their feathers.
Farrow sat cross-legged on the ground and screamed at a loud squawking sound. Two swans were waddling toward him and shaking to get the dust off of their feathers. They must have thought that Farrow was what caused the fire, because they attacked him. The larger swan jabbed him with its beak, splattering blood across its pristine white feathers. The other swan dragged him to center of the group, and he was toast as the vicious birds dug into his body.
Farrow Camilo-Santos, District 10 Male: 9th, Killed by Swan Muttations, Day 10
That left the final eight: Gleeson Pontes and Rhubarb Verde from District 1, Justa Bardell from District 2, Arroyo Bronz from District 4, Boa Xi from District 7, Cecelia Rieffel from District 8, Jacoma Smith from District 9, and Violet Braiden from District 11.
Two more deaths were to occur before the day was out. Cecelia, who was guarding the cornucopia at the time that the fire began, spotted the trial of smoke early and had time to warn the others that danger was coming. They had a head start, but they couldn't outrun the fire once it starting spreading particularly quickly. They soon found themselves trapped on all sides by burning buildings.
The heat was unbearable, and the smoke was making them all cough. Justa suggested they run through a nearby alleyway, but that, too, quickly caught fire. With a creak and a stomach-dropping groan, a tall wooden building nearby had lost too much infrastructure to keep standing. The building toppled like a domino on top of the career pack.
Justa screamed and scissored sideways through the alley, leaping over burning debris and ducking low to avoid the hot black smoke. But Gleeson couldn't move out of the way fast enough, and he was crushed like a bug as the building collapsed on top of him. Once the games were over, it would take hours of digging for the gamemakers to retrieve his body.
Gleeson Pontes, District 1 Male: 8th, Killed by Falling Building, Day 10
A few seconds after the dust settled, Cecelia managed to climb out of the rubble. She flew in a random direction, breaking away from the career pack for good. Only Rhubarb was left at the site of the fallen wooden building. A falling plank of wood had crushed her leg and another long metal bar was pinning her opposite foot to the ground. Rhubarb was mortally injured, and she would have died soon enough even if the fire failed to spread to her. The fire did reach Rhubarb eventually, and she was unable to run as she was baked to a crisp.
Rhubarb Verde, District 1 Female: 7th, Killed by Fire, Day 10
As the night of Day 10 turned into the morning of Day 11, the Great Fire of London raged on. The six surviving tributes had all found some kind of safety for the time being. Justa ducked into a farmhouse that was far away from the rest of the flaming city, hoping the fire couldn't spread to a place so secluded. Arroyo took shelter in the cold stone cathedral, which he hoped was damp enough to keep the fire out. He locked the door shut and waited for the fire to pass. Boa and Jacoma picked a direction and sprinted as fast as their legs could carry him. The heat from the humungous inferno pulsed against the backs of their necks as they ran. When they reached the more rural areas of the city, Boa and Jacoma collapsed in an area of damp grass and prayed that the horrible disaster would end soon. Cecelia clutched her machete in hand at all times, fearing that she might need it if she encountered any other tributes. Cecelia wound her way through the streets toward the "richer" looking houses. She figured that they would be more well-made and more fire resistant. Cecelia made her home in a large mansion and filled a bucket with water from the sink. Cecelia carried this bucket with her everywhere she went. Violet thundered into the cathedral. Arroyo, who was already inside, heard her coming and shoved himself into a cupboard. Violet went about her business, completely oblivious to the fact that Arroyo was ten feet away shoved in the small storage cupboard.
Day 11 came about with two new deaths. It took the gamemaker team an incredible amount of work to make their recreation of the Great Fire as identical as possible to the original. This required them to extinguish the flames in some places or bolster them on in others to encourage them to spread in the proper patterns and distances.
Violet couldn't leave the stone cathedral and paced around anxiously. She was running dangerously low on water and food and threw open a storage closet hoping there would be some inside. She screamed when she saw Arroyo hidden inside the cupboard.
"How long have you been in there?" Violet demanded.
"Maybe a day," Arroyo estimated. "You're not going to kill me, are you?"
"Not yet. Let's have a truce."
And so they did. They paced around the building, engaged in conversation and trying to distract themselves the destruction and death that was happening all around them. It was both Violet and Arroyo's understanding that the stone structure couldn't be harmed by the fire. However, they were quite mistaken. The building was held up by a wooden skeletal frame, and, as soon as that frame was burnt away…
Arroyo screamed as a stone fell from the ceiling and landed with a thud at his side. Violet and Arroyo both sped toward the nearest exit as the entire building began collapsing around them. The air was filled with dust as pieces broke away from the rocks when they clanged against each other and against the ground. Violet fumbled with the lock but couldn't find the key. She had left it a ways back in the cathedral. She ran back to go grab it, but she never did. A stone the size of a large dog came firing toward the ground.
"Look out!" Arroyo warned. Violet swerved to one side, but she wasn't fast enough. Her torso was crushed under the rock. Blood gushed everywhere like water out of a broken water balloon. Violet was dead in seconds.
Violet Braiden, District 11 Female: 6th, Killed by Falling Rock, Day 11
Arroyo pounded at the door with all of his might, but it wouldn't open; the wood was too strong for his small body to break. In less than a quarter of an hour, poor Arroyo was crushed under the collapsing cathedral just like Violet.
Arroyo Bronz, District 4 Male: 5th, Killed by Collapsing Building, Day 11
Day 12 had two more deaths. Cecelia fled to the countryside, far away from the burning London. It was the only safe place left. Knowing what the gamemakers wanted her to do, she hunted with her machete for the entire day. Boa and Jacoma wandered across the grass, trying to avert their gaze from the blazing buildings to their left. A few minutes before nightfall, the duo came across the farmhouse that Justa was hiding in. Justa saw them out the window and ducked behind a bale of hay, ready to kill them once they entered.
The two allies cautiously walked inside. They didn't have time to breathe before Justa leapt out of nowhere and tackled them. Jacoma screamed and wiggled sideways. Finally free from Justa's grasp, she smacked her in the face as hard as she could. Wincing, Justa got back to her feet. She spun around, but Boa was there. Boa thrust her axe upward, casting it several inches into Justa's torso.
The 2 girl collapsed to the ground, and, with her last ounces of energy, fired a single arrow into Boa's body. Jacoma caught her ally Boa as she fell. Justa fell spread out onto the hay, losing blood dangerously quickly.
Justa Bardell, District 2 Female: 4th, Killed by Boa, Day 12
Justa's final arrow had done a great deal of damage to Boa. The once-powerful 7 girl was curled up on the ground, wiggling around and trying to dislodge the arrow from her body. Jacoma stood by helplessly for nearly four hours as she died, praying that her family would be alright.
Boa Xi, District 7 Female: 3rd, Killed by Justa, Day 12
The top two had been finalized, consisting of Cecelia and Jacoma. Jacoma was terrified but practiced with her knife for the entirety of Day 13 to prepare for the finale. Cecelia was a fierce warrior with her machete, cutting up the grass and burying the weapon into tree stumps and hay bales. By Day 14, the Great Fire of London had ended. Where the grand city of London had once stood was an ugly black landscape that looked straight out of a science fiction novel. The few buildings that were still standing looked as if they might fall any second. The silence was complete.
Cecelia and Jacoma met up at the farmhouse around noon on Day 14, and they clashed. Jacoma's adrenaline was forcing her to fight both smarter and harder with her knife. She was trying to catch Cecelia off-guard and then disarm her of her machete, leaving herself free to go in for the kill.
But there was a reason Cecelia scored a ten. She was a much more skilled warrior than Jacoma. In less than a minute, she flung her blade into Jacoma's shoulder. The girl careened sideways with pain, clutching her shoulder until Cecelia tore the knife out. Jacoma fell to the ground and writhed in agony.
Cecelia knelt beside the dying Jacoma and whispered her words of comfort.
"It's going to be alright, Jacoma," Cecelia reassured her softly. "There's nothing to worry about."
Cecelia stopped to think for a second. Jacoma wasn't just a number on the gamemakers' computer screen. She was a real human being. It was the least Cecelia could do to give her a dignified death. Cecelia began to sing.
Deep in the meadow, under the willow,
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow,
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes,
And when again they open, the sun will rise.
Here it's safe, and here it's warm,
Here the daisies guard you from every harm,
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,
Here is the place where I love you.
Jacoma Smith, District 9 Female: 2nd, Killed by Cecelia, Day 14
"Cecelia Rieffel of District 8, you are the victor of the sixtieth annual Hunger Games!" Feodore cheered heartily.
Cecelia just wiped a tear from her eye and stared at the scene of desolation all around her.
Cecelia Rieffel, District 8 Female: Victor of the Sixtieth Hunger Games, Day 14
AFTERMATH
District 8 was overjoyed to finally receive another victor. Their last victor had been Woof of the thirteenth games (forty-seven years ago!) and they were glad to reset the counter to zero. Woof himself was glad to have Cecelia to help him, as he was getting extremely overwhelmed caring for so many tributes.
Cecelia moved into the Victor's Village of District 8, occupying the second house.
Nothing of note happened during her Victory Tour.
Cecelia would go down in history books as one of the most beloved Hunger Games victors of all time. The way she had given such a solemn goodbye to Jacoma, whom she had never interacted with beforehand, warmed the hearts of people all across the nation. As time progressed, Cecelia would become Panem's mother, then Panem's grandmother, and eventually Panem's great-grandmother. She would live to the astounding age of one-hundred thirteen, dying from a stroke a few days into the one-hundred fifty-sixth annual Hunger Games. She would marry and have three biological children, though she would adopt several more before she flowered into old age. Her motherly demeanor would often be compared to that of Mags Flanagan, the victor of the eleventh Hunger Games, and the two women would become the best of friends. Cecelia would go on to play a leading role at Mags' funeral and would even walk several of her adopted children down the aisle.
NEWS
Cecelia settles into her new home in the Victor's Village of District 8.
Lyme Mabbett gives birth to a baby boy, but he dies mere hours into his life.
Lily Eckel bears twin sons, Soy and Peter.
Rye Boyum, the victor of the forty-fourth annual Hunger Games, dies from liver disease.
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)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Lyme Mabbett (#13, District 2)
52HG: Ruby Rayfuse (#7, District 1)
53HG: Lily Eckel (#3, District 11)
54HG: Blight Holzer (#2, District 7)
55HG: Emily Pollick (#5, District 5)
56HG: Sally Vasilia (#6, District 5)
57HG: Mason Kittridge (#14, District 2)
58HG: Margaret Cartmill (#1, District 10)
59HG: Tiger Sterne (#8, District 1)
60HG: Cecelia Rieffel (#2, District 8)
A/N: The sixth Hunger Games decade comes to a close. Here is Cecelia! I hope you've enjoyed reading her. This chapter turned out to be a good thousand words longer than I typically post, just because there was so much to describe with the fire going on and such.
Cecelia later! Sorry for that pun. Okay I'll leave XD
