THE SIXTY FIRST ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Eye of the Storm"


INTRODUCTION

After the kills and thrills of the previous year, much of the Capitol was curious to see how Feodore Elliot would follow up his masterpiece. Many were quickly growing a liking toward his "natural disaster" arenas, and there was little doubt that this year's arena would follow the same formula. President Coriolanus Snow ruled Panem for another year, poisoning whoever objected him. While previous years had had their fair share of rebellion, the sixty-first year post dark days passed with almost no disobedience in the districts whatsoever. Feodore must have been doing a good job subduing the districts and distracting the Capitol to keep the nation so calm.

The careers were back to normal, reverting to the typical six-career model after the insanity of a pack the year prior. District 1's tributes were more supple and graceful than anything else. The male was shier than most and preferred to lie back while the stronger careers did the dirty work, though he liked to ambush and outsmart his prey. He was also one of the few openly homosexual tributes. The girl had a playful and chaotic aura to her. She was also incredibly beautiful and preferred knives, while her partner fancied swords. District 2's tributes were both fierce fighters that were confident and boastful enough to get the attention of the audience. The male was cocky and a massive overachiever, though he was the youngest career and only scored a nine. His youth didn't hold him back much, as one might expect. The girl was steely and icy-cold and didn't seem to give a crap about the pre-games festivities. She was mysterious and intriguing, making much of the Capitol like her. After providing two atrocious tributes the year before, District 4 was back at the task of putting forth two of their strongest fighters. The boy was your typical assured and confident career, though he preferred brass knuckles, a unique weapon. The girl had a very exotic beauty to her. She liked whips and tried to flirt with some of the career boys in training. She came off as a bit of an air-head to the audience, but she still earned a spectacular ten and four-to-one odds. Their training scores were average enough: two tens, two nines, and one eight.

There were only a few outlier standouts this year, but they were good ones. Itsuki of 7 was a karate master that had earned a black belt, and she was skilled with katanas and hatchets. Vulpini of 10 was a fantastic warrior with knives. Though he wasn't as cocky as the careers, he would still put up some of the strongest competition during the games. Two eights were scored as well. Sylvan of 7 had a playful smile and was silly and charismatic, and he liked serrated knives. Danton from District 12 was massive and muscular. He was one of the District 12's best chances at winning in ages, and many hoped he could take home the victor's crown. The rest of the tributes scored between seven and three in their private sessions. There were no volunteers besides the careers. Here are the tribute:

District 1: Goldton Philips, 16, (10) 4-1 and Annalace Stanton, 17, (9) 6-1

District 2: Cliff Hester, 15, (9) 7-1 and Valerie Easton, 18, (10) 3-1

District 3: Technetium Hiremath, 18, (7) 14-1 and Via Pass, 17, (5) 21-1

District 4: Everest Cedargren, 18, (8) 9-1 and Kathleen Shostakovich, 18, (10) 4-1

District 5: Henry Mellon, 13, (7) 19-1 and Ohma Schoon, 16, (4) 33-1

District 6: Paxton Arduini, 16, (6) 20-1 and Izzy Williamson, 18, (7) 15-1

District 7: Sylvan Kale, 18, (8) 10-1 and Itsuki Kerezaki, 18, (9) 7-1

District 8: Azlon Gemberling, 17, (4) 31-1 and Venice Martin, 15, (3) 46-1

District 9: Domino Mullaly, 18, (7) 16-1 and Lyra Presnell, 18, (6) 19-1

District 10: Vulpini Fletcher, 17, (9) 6-1 and Cowa Benn, 17, (6) 18-1

District 11: Wattle Mohanram, 16, (5) 23-1 and Kimbra Zitkus, 14, (4) 34-1

District 12: Danton Vale, 18, (8) 11-1 and Cessair Thomsen, 18, (6) 17-1

HGBO Bets: 11% on Valerie and Kathleen, 9% on Goldton, 7% on Annalace and Cliff, 6% on Everest, Itsuki, and Vulpini, 5% on Sylvan and Danton, 4% on Technetium, Henry, I, and Domino, 3% on Paxton, Lyra, Cowa, and Cessair, 2% on Via and Wattle, 1% or less on Ohma, Azlon, Venice, and Kimbra.


THE GAMES

This year's arena was similar to the arena of the year prior in that it took place in a human settlement. The arena was modeled after a typical suburban town from southern District 11, in a place once known as Louisiana. The cornucopia was in the town square. Its weapons were sharp and sleek. Roads wound every which way, most of them gravel and only a few properly paved. Houses, most of them one-storied, lined the streets on each side, with bright green lawns. Smaller roads split off from the main streets and led into more secluded areas of the town, hidden by trees. Little did anyone know that a large hurricane was coming toward the town. Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes in world history. It lasted eight days in 2005. The hurricane was responsible for an estimated 1,500 deaths and the damage of billions of dollars' worth of property. The high winds (of which some reached a whopping 175 miles per hour!) weren't the only threat. The flooding that resulted from the hurricane would pose trouble for the tributes as well.

It was an agreeable temperature as the twenty-four tributes rose up into the arena atop their pedestals. Without any human inhabitants besides the tributes, the place seemed strangely quiet and empty. Two tributes fled from the get-go (Via from 3 and Danton from 12). The other tributes made the decision to run head-on into the fray in hopes of obtaining valuable supplies.

Valerie lead the charge by a substantial amount. By the time she reached the horn, she was a good twenty meters ahead of the other careers. She picked up a sword and thrust it upward into the gut of a nearby girl. Valerie twisted the blade to and fro as she drove it through her body, splitting through organs and dislodging bones. By the time she fell to the ground with a loud sound, she was dead.

Lyra Presnell, District 9 Female: 24th, Killed by Valerie, Bloodbath

Goldton, ravenous to thin the crop of outliers, scooped up a spear that lay in grass about thirty yards from his pedestal. It seemed like he was violating his "sit back and let the others do the killing" rule for the bloodbath. Goldton jabbed his spear outward and skewered it through the chest of a small boy. The boy groaned and fell backward, his form limp.

Henry Mellon, District 5 Male: 23rd, Killed by Goldton, Bloodbath

Annalace had collected two knives when she decided to go in for her first kill. Holding one knife in each hand, she quietly approached the weeping boy from District 9. The career girl stabbed one of her knives into the base of the boy's neck. He howled and turned to run, but Annalace lashed out with her other knife, slashing open his upper abdomen. District 9 was now officially out of the running.

Domino Mullaly, District 9 Male: 22nd, Killed by Annalace, Bloodbath

Kathleen grabbed a whip and swung it at her side as she searched for her first victim. Her eyes landed on a girl cowering at the base of the cornucopia, bleeding out from a sword wound inflicted by Valerie. The girl was helpless as Kathleen approached her and slammed the leather whip into her back. The skin broke instantly. Blood drizzled from the girl's raw skin as Kathleen continued to degrade her flesh with the strong whip.

Venice Martin, District 8 Female: 21st, Killed by Valerie and Kathleen, Bloodbath

Everest found the set of brass knuckles he had requested from the gamemakers sitting in an open chest a ways into the cornucopia. He fit them snugly onto his real knuckles and leapt toward the nearest boy. Everest crushed the boy's windpipe with two hard blows of his lethal brass knuckles. The boy choked and clawed at his throat, but it was to no avail. He died swiftly after the 4 boy rammed the brass knuckles into his head, sending severe trauma through his skull and brain.

Azlon Gemberling, District 8 Male: 20th, Killed by Everest, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Goldton chased a tall girl away from the cornucopia with his spear. She ran for almost half a mile before Goldton caught up to her. With all of the strength he could muster, the 1 boy cast the spear into her back. Screaming, she fell against the wall of a nearby house, dragging her blood down the exterior wall as she quickly died from organ failure.

Cessair Thomsen, District 12 Female: 19th, Killed by Goldton, Bloodbath

Cliff and Valerie of District 2 teamed up to kill their next victims. Cliff watched as two young girls climbed into a chest and closed the lid behind them. Cliff and Valerie sprinted in their direction and threw open the ceiling of the chest. They screamed and leapt to their feet. Cliff killed the first of the two girls in mere seconds, flinging one of his throwing knives into her chest. The other girl was a bit harder to kill. The two careers had to corner her against the interior wall of the horn, after which they ran forth and tore her apart with their weapons.

Ohma Schoon, District 5 Female: 18th, Killed by Cliff, Bloodbath

Kimbra Zitkus, District 11 Female: 17th, Killed by Cliff and Valerie, Bloodbath

Meanwhile, Annalace chased a boy in circles with her knife, laughing and taunting him as tears ran down his cheeks. The boy finally tripped and fell to the ground with a thud. Annalace thundered toward him and flung the first of her knives into the back of his head. Just for good measure, she buried the second knife into the small of his back.

Wattle Mohanram, District 11 Male: 16th, Killed by Annalace, Bloodbath

Everest made the final kill. He rammed his brass knuckles into a strong boy's chest, bringing several of his ribs close to cracking. The boy careened backward with shock and was unable to move as the 4 boy flattened his windpipe and crunched the bone in his neck.

Technetium Hiremath, District 3 Male: 15th, Killed by Everest, Bloodbath

The career pack was unscathed, unlike some years in which they had faced losses during the bloodbath. The allies regrouped at and took hold of the cornucopia. Kathleen hunted the nearby streets just to make sure there weren't any nearby outliers to ambush them or take their supplies. Meanwhile, Annalace and Valerie sorted the weapons in the cornucopia. Annalace was trying to be casual and make conversation with Valerie, but she refused to respond and stayed steely and focused on the task at hand. Cliff and Everest sat in the horn and talked about the kills they had made. They started organizing the food rations once they ran out of things to talk about. Goldton was supposed to be pillaging the dead bodies of their supplies, but he got bored and ventured away into the town. He didn't return until hours later, after the careers had left to go hunting. They had left Cliff behind to guard the horn, and Cliff and Goldton did yoga and chatted about their lives back in the districts.

The outliers, of which there were eight, scattered across the arena. Via ran down one of the broader streets before coming to a stop in front of a large brick house. Via ducked into the doorway and hid behind a bookcase that was tucked diagonally into a corner of the living room. Paxton secured a belt of throwing knives around his waist and wove between buildings. At nightfall, he found himself near a house with a large green lawn. Paxton strolled into the house, climbed down into the basement, and placed furniture over the door so nobody could get to him. Izzy had received a bountiful turnout from the bloodbath: a meat cleaver and dagger as well as a packet of medicine. She travelled for a couple of hours before climbing over a fence into the town park. Izzy exercised on the jungle gym before climbing into the cylindrical slide to sleep. Sylvan and Itsuki of 7 had allied prior to games. With a nine and eight going for them, they received several sponsor gifts before the day was out. By the time night fell, the duo had two axes as well as a few liters of clean water. Sylvan and Itsuki walked into a convenience store and stuffed their faces with chips and flavored drinks. Vulpini's collection of supplies consisted of a knife, rope, and night-vision glasses. He made himself at home in a small corner restaurant in the men's bathroom. Cowa had firewood and matches, but her mentor Margaret sent her a note to refrain from starting a fire unless it was absolutely necessary. Wanting to place as much distance between herself and the careers as possible on the first day, Cowa jogged until she arrived at a small cluster of trees. She was too exhausted to move on and slid down against a thick-trunked oak tree. Danton walked into a small one-storied house and climbed a ladder into a rickety and dusty attic. There was complete peace in the arena as day turned into night, but that would change very soon.

The morning of Day 2, Vulpini woke up to an unpleasant surprise. A few hours earlier, the gamemakers had caused one of the toilets in the men's bathroom to overflow, causing the bathroom to flood with toilet water. Vulpini got to his feet, his clothes sopping wet, and trudged out of the bathroom. The second he was out of the bathroom, the 10 boy heard footsteps from outside the diner. In a panic, he ducked under one of the tables. The tablecloth hung over the edges of the table enough to conceal him underneath.

The situation couldn't be worse for Vulpini. He peeked through a hole in the tablecloth and saw the four hunting careers come inside. Annalace, Valerie, Everest, and Kathleen set down their supplies and made themselves at home in the diner. All the while, Vulpini was paralyzed with terror underneath the table.

"I think it's time we eat breakfast," he heard Annalace say. And the careers all sat down… at the table he was hiding under.

Vulpini made himself as small as possible so that none of their feet would touch him. He was scared out of his mind as the four careers ate and chatted all around him, unbeknownst to his presence. Nearly ten minutes later, Vulpini lost his balance and toppled sideways onto Everest's feet. Everest yelped with surprise and backed away from the table. Vulpini rolled out from underneath screaming.

He leapt to his feet to run, but Everest was faster. The career boy slammed his brass knuckles into his neck. Vulpini reeled, clutching his throat. He couldn't breathe for several seconds, and he recovered just as Annalace's knives entered his chest. He collapsed, wheezing and coughing up blood, and he was dead in minutes.

Vulpini Fletcher, District 10 Male: 14th, Killed by Everest and Annalace, Day 2

Not much happened as Day 2 wore on. Paxton left the basement he was hiding in and started combing through the streets in search of valuable supplies. At the end of the day, he couldn't find his way back home and settled in a storage closet in a different house. Sylvan and Itsuki walked out of the convenience store and hunted for outliers with their axes. They came across Cowa around six in the evening. A long chase ensued. During the chase, Cowa dropped her firewood and matches, and the District 7 allies were happy to pick them up as their own.

The first half of the next day, Day 3, passed without incident. Sylvan and Itsuki were disheartened after Cowa escaped them the day before, and they were ravenous to find at least one other outlier before the day was over. A few minutes after noon, Sylvan and Itsuki came across the park that Izzy was hiding in. The 6 girl was swinging across the jungle gym, sometimes stopping to hang from her legs and rock back and forth. Sylvan and Itsuki lofted their axes overhead and sprinted toward Izzy. Izzy screamed and fell off of the jungle gym, landing on her head. This sent her into a daze, and she was unable to see for a few seconds. She just picked a direction and sprinted over the grass as fast as she could. Luckily, she was a few precious strides ahead of the Sevens, but they were gaining quickly.

Once she couldn't run any further, Izzy turned around to face Sylvan and Itsuki with her meat cleaver and dagger. Sylvan pounced toward her, swinging his axe through the air. Shaking with terror, Izzy thundered out of the way. Sylvan threw himself at the empty ground like a fool and came skidding to a stop. Before Sylvan could get back to his feet, Izzy leapt beside him and drove her meat cleaver into his back. Sylvan's blood sloshed down his sides and over the ground, dying swiftly and leaving behind his ally to face Izzy alone.

Sylvan Kale, District 7 Male: 13th, Killed by Izzy, Day 3

Enraged, Itsuki chased after Izzy for nearly an hour. But Izzy finally managed to escape, shinnying up a tree nimbly, like a squirrel. But it turned out that the girl hadn't thought her plan through. Itsuki planted her axe into the tree three times.

The tree started to tip sideways. Before either of them knew it, the tree was toppling like a domino. Figuring she had better abandon ship, Izzy leapt off of the falling trunk. She landed right next to a frozen Itsuki, and, before the 7 girl could fight back, planted her dagger into her neck. Itsuki roared and fell to the ground. She tried to swing her axe, but it was too heavy for her to man with so little energy. Izzy had killed two of the strongest outliers in the span of less than two hours.

Itsuki Kerezaki, District 7 Female: 12th, Killed by Izzy, Day 3

As Day 3 came to a close, a light rain shower swept over the town. None of the sinks in the arena actually worked, and many were relieved to have their thirst finally quenched. There was no flooding, as the houses were sealed well and there wasn't much rain anyway. Annalace, Valerie, Everest, and Kathleen were reminded by the shower of how low their supplies were, and they ventured back to the cornucopia. They arrived at nightfall and met up with Goldton and Cliff, who were engaged in conversation as they sorted supplies.

The career pack departed at noon on Day 4, leaving Annalace to guard the supplies. Cliff and Goldton were happy to be hunting once more after so many days of inactivity at the horn, though they began to grow exhausted as they weren't used to the physical strain of the entire day of hunting.

The pack was about to stop for their noon meal when they heard footsteps from nearby. They bolted to alertness and tightened their grasp around their weapons. A young face poked out of the doorway of a nearby building. Paxton had heard the careers approaching and barely had time to duck into the building before they saw him. But he was so panicked that he collapsed in a very awkward position, and he could only stay still for so long. His shuffling into a more uncomfortable pose was what the careers had heard. They bolted through the door and trapped Paxton inside, and there was no escape.

Valerie sprinted at the head of the onrush. She chased after a weeping Paxton with her sword, up stairways and through hallways. Less than half a minute later, Paxton came to a dead end. Valerie held her blade straight outward and ran forward. The sword was driven into Paxton's stomach. He collapsed, moaning and gurgling. The other careers caught up to Valerie just as the boy died. They took a quick moment to pilfer his throwing knives and water supply before leaving the building to search for more victims.

Paxton Arduini, District 6 Male: 11th, Killed by Valerie, Day 4

On Day 5, there was a lot of movement but little action. Via raided the kitchen of the house she was hiding in. It didn't hold much food, but it was enough to keep her satisfied for the time being. Via's inactivity was beginning to peeve the audience, and her mentor sent her a note to move soon. Izzy was rather inactive after her killing of both Sylvan and Itsuki. She stayed put in the women's bathroom in the park center. Cowa had zero supplies; she had dropped them while Sylvan and Itsuki were chasing her a couple days before. Knowing she had little chance of survival if she tried to make do by herself, Cowa set off to hunt. Her only weapon was a medium-sized rock, but it was better than nothing. Danton stayed as still as a stone in the attic of the large house he was living in. The gamemakers wanted him to move, so they rattled the house back and forth, causing plaster and dust to rain down from the ceiling. Danton was too stubborn to heed their warnings. This would ultimately spell his downfall.

That evening, a particularly strong shaking of the house caused small pieces of debris to flutter to the floor of the attic more than ever before. Danton coughed as he inhaled the dangerous stuff. The dust continued to fall, filling the air and making it so he couldn't breathe. Danton fought his way to the exit, but he couldn't make it fast enough. Soon, he collapsed to his knees and elbows, gasping and choking. It was a rather un-flattering death for the boy who was District 12's best chance at victory in ages.

Danton Vale, District 12 Male: 10th, Killed by Suffocation, Day 5

As Day 6 came about, the first signs of the quickly approaching Hurricane Katrina came into sight. The tributes all reacted to these differently. The career pack (of which all six members were still surviving and thriving) made their way to the horn as soon as possible. Many of their mentors sent them notes that intense flooding would be coming their way. Wanting to preempt the flooding, they created six rows of touching crates and put their sleeping bags on top. They also gathered their most water-sensitive supplies and placed them on top of boxes and cases to keep them from getting wet. A sponsor sent Via an urgent note. The note instructed her to get to high ground as soon as she could. Heeding the warning, Via left the house she had been hiding in for nearly a week and took up a search for the tallest building in the town. She found a library near the outskirts of the town and climbed up its staircase to the second story. Izzy saw the swirling vortex of clouds barreling her way and frantically ran to shelter. She slipped into the visitor's center of the park and barricaded the doors with benches to keep them from opening during the storm. Cowa requested a small heavy ball from the sponsors. She placed the ball on the ground. Whichever way the ball rolled, Cowa walked the other way. In this way, she could find the place of highest ground in the arena. She rested on top a hill at nightfall, bracing for the worst.

The hurricane made landfall shortly after midnight on Day 7. The torrential rainfall began immediately. Sheets of cold rain pelted toward the earth. The world was like a sponge, absorbing the rain and keeping any real flooding from occurring. But even the earth has a limit of how much water it can absorb.

As Day 7 turned into Day 8, water began to build up in the lower areas of the arena. The careers woke up at dawn on Day 8 to an unpleasant surprise. The land surrounding them had flooded with a good foot of cold water. The six trained tributes rolled up their sleeping bags and gathered their supplies. Valerie pointed toward a two-story house that was nearby. They trekked through the strong wind to the house and walked inside. Annalace wanted to sleep on the living room couch, reasoning that it was closest the exit and they would be able to cut down intruders quickly. Valerie interjected, however. If any greater flooding occurred, she suggested, they might drown in their sleep. Cliff pointed out a stairway, and the six sopping wet tributes climbed up the steps. After one step, the water was barely up to their knees. Another step, and only their ankles were submerged. One more stair upward, and they were out of the water. They settled in a game room on the second floor. Everest played a combat simulation game on the gaming computer while his allies tried to sleep. Eventually Goldton told him to stop because he was making too much sound, and he was forced to turn off the game and sleep just like his allies.

The three remaining outlier girls were facing immediate trouble. Water started seeping into the library Via was living inside of. It was in one of the lower-grounded areas of the town. By the time Day 8 came to a close, the entire first story was flooded. Winds howled their horrible songs, and growls of thunder shook the building. Pretty much all of the town had lost electricity. In the pitch-black of the library, Via read books with a flashlight to keep herself occupied. It seemed that Izzy hadn't thought her plan through that well. Water was leaking into the visitor's center of the park despite Izzy's best efforts to keep the waters out. Vowing she would find a better place to live after a good night's rest, Izzy slept on top of a table. Out in the open, Cowa was miserable. The wind blew raindrops into her face that stung like bullets, and she was so chilled and wet she looked just about ready to explode. Cowa trudged through the floodwaters and found a house with multiple stories. One of the walls had caved in from hurricane damage a few hours earlier. Cowa locked herself in a small office and spun on the green wheelie chair until she fell asleep.

The career pack was sleeping relatively peacefully the wee morning hours of Day 9. But, around five, Annalace woke up screaming. Through the night, the floodwaters had risen by several feet, weakening the structures of buildings and trees. A nearby tree was toppling sideways and was mere seconds from hitting the house when Annalace's screams finally woke her allies. Annalace scrambled to a safer area of the house just as the heavy tree trunk broke through the ceiling. Goldton and Valerie scrambled to their feet and leapt out of the way of the falling trunk.

Kathleen was not as lucky. She didn't notice the coming danger. Kathleen didn't even flinch as the falling tree trunk crushed her to a pulp, breaking all the way through the two stories of the house. Once the games were over, the gamemakers would have to gather her remains in little bits and pieces to be sent home to District 4.

Kathleen Shostakovich, District 4 Female: 9th, Killed by Falling Tree, Day 9

That left the final eight: Goldton Philips and Annalace Stanton from District 1, Cliff Hester and Valerie Easton from District 2, Via Pass from District 3, Everest Cedargren from District 4, Izzy Williamson from District 6, and Cowa Benn from District 10.

With so much of its structure destroyed, the house the careers were in began to collapse. "Run for your lives!" Goldton screamed, bolting toward the stairway. Annalace, Cliff, Valerie, and Everest followed. As they ran down the stairs, nails popped beneath them like gunfire. Walls collapsed and were swept away by the floodwater. The waters rushed in to fill the gaping wound. Cliff leapt off of the stairs and landed with a splash in the neck-high water. Cliff swam to the exit as fast as he could. Valerie followed, and the District 2 tributes clutched onto each other as they navigated their way through the disaster scene. Everest popped himself out of a window and swam expertly to safety. Annalace and Goldton were trapped back inside of the house as it collapsed on top of them, sending out huge pulsing waves of displaced water. They were buried under the wreckage and died fairly quickly.

Annalace Stanton, District 1 Female: 8th, Killed by Collapsing House, Day 9

Goldton Philips, District 1 Male: 7th, Killed by Collapsing House, Day 9

Days 10 and 11 passed deathless. Hurricane Katrina continued to batter the arena and the tributes. Great arms of lightning shot from the sky and caused the world to rumble violently. The wind and rain were awful, and the flooding only got worse. Cliff and Valerie clutched their weapons and the few supplies they were carrying. The District 2 tributes waded together toward the areas of the town that hadn't been damaged much by the dreadful hurricane. They regularly lost each other, and they had to fight with all of the strength they could muster to keep from being separated by the currents in the water. Everest had been separated from his career allies by the storm. His brass knuckles were also lost, and he spent the days hopelessly searching. He didn't know what he was searching for, but it was better than staying still.

Day 12 came about with a single death. The twelfth day saw the strongest winds yet. Even a few of the sturdiest houses in the town faced severe damage and destruction from the vicious Hurricane Katrina. Cowa was so terrified that she couldn't move. As water sloshed into the small office room she was hiding in, she pulled up her legs onto the green plastic wheelie chair.

The house had already caved in somewhat from the storm, and continual damage caused the remaining areas to face trouble. Once enough of the supports had been worn away, the house crumbled to the ground. Cowa was napping when she felt the world falling around her. She screamed and ran for the exit, but she couldn't make it fast enough before the house crashed down onto the ground. Cowa was sent unconscious instantaneously. The flood swept her limp form away, carrying it downhill and drowning her the rest of the way to death.

Cowa Benn, District 10 Female: 6th, Killed by Collapsing House and Drowning, Day 12

As anyone who has ever learned about hurricanes knows, every hurricane has an eye. The eye is a miniscule area of total calm in the center of the storm. On Day 13 in the arena, the five surviving tributes experienced the passing of the eye. Almost immediately, the rain and wind stopped. The sun poked its way through the clouds and shone its brilliant rays over the world.

Cliff and Valerie didn't let the glorious calm distract them. They took careful advantage of the moment of peace by travelling. They hadn't made a kill in forever and knew that the Capitol would be growing bored of them. They went to high ground, where they hoped the outliers would be, and hunted for the remainder of the eye. The storm had separated Everest from all of his supplies, and he was all by himself as he prowled through the un-flooded areas of the town in search of food and clean water. The only two remaining outliers (Via and I) came across each other at one in the afternoon on Day 13. Instead of killing each other, the two weary girls allied. Via and Izzy scavenged the buildings and gathered weapons. Via gathered steak knives from a kitchen whereas Izzy collected jackets from a closet to keep herself and Via warm.

Cliff and Valerie continued walking through the streets, staying away from taller buildings and power lines for fear they might collapse and kill them. A few minutes before nightfall, they spotted Everest from 4 coming around a nearby corner. Everest was so wet and dirty that he was unrecognizable. The District 2 tributes didn't recognize him as a fellow career as they pounced toward him.

Valerie tackled him to the ground, driving the tip of her sword into his neck. "But… I'm Everest," Everest choked out, but his words were unintelligible. Valerie thrust the blade all of the way into his neck. It was only after the killing was done that Valerie realized she had killed a career. She felt awful but didn't want to ruin her reputation of being steely cold, so she tried her best to put the event behind her as she and Cliff settled down for the night.

Everest Cedargren, District 4 Male: 5th, Killed by Valerie, Day 13

Hurricane Katrina was back in full-force by the time Day 13 fully transitioned into Day 14. The final four tributes were fractured into two groups of two (Cliff and Valerie in one, Via and Izzy in the other). Feodore was hoping to drive all four tributes together for the finale. He increased levels of the floodwater by nearly ten feet. Cliff and Valerie saw the rising waters and knew that it was the gamemakers' sign for them to get moving. They trekked to a single grassy hill near the edge of the arena and set up shelter as they waited for the others to arrive. Via and Izzy needed a fair bit more persuasion. Feodore collapsed several nearby buildings, forcing the two girls to run toward the two District 2 tributes. They couldn't make it all of the way in one day, and they stopped in a small shop to sleep, knowing the finale was on the horizon.

On Day 15, Via and Izzy finished their trip toward Cliff and Valerie. They all had some sort of weapon. Cliff had throwing knives, Valerie a sword (together they had a bag of various supplies from the cornucopia), and Via and Izzy held two kitchen knives each. The two duos spotted each other a few minutes after dawn, and they clashed atop the hill, metal clanging against metal.

Via ran toward Cliff, whereas Izzy occupied herself trying to take down Valerie. The duel between Izzy and Valerie was going horribly, and the winner was immediately obvious. Izzy tossed one of her knives like a projectile. Valerie expertly swung her sword and knocked it out of the way. The blade landed with a squishing sound in the sopping grass. Izzy prepared to toss her second knife, but she wasn't fast enough. Valerie lunged forward, casting her sword into Izzy's gut with all of her worldly strength. Her interior organs immediately began flooding with hot blood, and she collapsed, retching, and swiftly dying. Now, only three tributes remained.

Izzy Williamson, District 6 Female: 4th, Killed by Valerie, Day 15

Via and Cliff were dueling. Cliff used his knife like a stubby sword, swinging it through the air and trying to poke holes in his opponent. Via wasn't trained well and swung her knives randomly, trying to drive Cliff farther away from her.

Meanwhile, Valerie was doing something very odd. She was sifting through her bag of supplies, looking for something. After nearly a minute, she pulled out a little jar of purple fluid. Deadly poison. Valerie raised her leg and kicked Via in the hip. The girl screamed and fell backward into the floodwater. Cliff was too shocked to move as Valerie knocked him down on top of Via.

Now that both of her final opponents were in the water, Valerie uncorked the bottle and poured the entire contents on top of them. The poison spread like a cloud through the water, eating away at their skin and causing their skin to turn an ugly green color. Via and Cliff scrambled to safety, but Valerie was there. She skewered her knife through Via's gut before tearing it out and burying it into Cliff's. The poison and sword wounds had weakened them so much that they were unable to fight back. Their blood melted together on the ground and they swiftly bled out, leaving behind a singular victor towering over them.

Via Pass, District 3 Female: 3rd, Killed by Valerie, Day 15

Cliff Hester, District 2 Male: 2nd, Killed by Valerie, Day 15

"Valerie Easton of District 2, you are the victor of the sixty-first annual Hunger Games!" Feodore cried.

Valerie raised her bloodstained sword into the air in gallant celebration of her victory.

Valerie Easton, District 2 Female: Victor of the Sixty-First Hunger Games, Day 15


AFTERMATH

There was no shortage of celebration in District 2. The district of masonry was elated to receive its fifteenth victor, and many would learn to love their Valerie. She was actually one of the less acclaimed District 2 victors in the Capitol, as she hadn't done much out of the ordinary during her games. But she was one of the most physically perfect, and many wealthy Capitol men were more than willing to pay the high victor's cost that Snow imposed.

Valerie's victory tour was nothing out the ordinary, though District 3 was a little sour.

She settled into the Victor's Village of District 2, the fifteenth victor to do so.

Valerie would live to the age of eighty-one, dying from breast cancer around the time of the one-hundred twenty-fourth annual Hunger Games. She would go on to marry a rich Capitol business tycoon, and they would have four children before getting divorced fifteen years afterward. Valerie would grow rather quiet and reserved in her old age. She was a nice enough lady but would ultimately be overshadowed by many of the flashier and more innovative District 2 victors.


NEWS

Mags Flanagan adopts her eighth child, a young boy named Ocean.

Emily Pollick marries her fiancée, a nice man named Verde Salazar.

Mason Kittridge has his first child with his wife, a girl he calls Calla.

Amelia Spangler, the victor of the fourth annual Hunger Games, dies from a seizure.


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)
61HG: Valerie Easton (#15, District 2)