THE SIXTY SIXTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Glory and Gore"
INTRODUCTION
The race was on for the new head gamemaker after Feodore Elliot stepped down after a truly spectacular ten years in the position. Starting with the RMS Titanic and Ancient Pompeii arenas during his contest with Reyna and James, he'd gone on to carefully craft the Irish countryside arena, the Australian outback, the 1666 Great Fire of London and all that it entailed, the southern town as it was battered by Hurricane Katrina, the Egyptian desert with the great stone pyramids, the Lost City of Atlantis, a creation of Santa Claus' workshop at the North Pole, and the flooding island of the year prior. Nobody was sure if the new head gamemaker would be able to top Feodore's genius, but many were willing to try. Hundreds of auditions poured in, sent by everyone from standard issue Capitol citizens to wealthy businesspeople to even Victor Mason Kittridge. As President Coriolanus Snow began the arduous process of picking someone to steer the Games ship, there was relative joy in the districts. After watching the fourteen-year-old Finnick Odair win the games the previous year, younger children saw it as a ray of hope that perhaps they were not all completely doomed if they got sent into the arena. When reaping day came around, the feeling of despair generally associated with the glass reaping balls was slightly lessened. Of course, Mr. Snow could not have this. He needed a ruthless, unforgiving head gamemaker who could make even the toughest of district rebels cry for mommy. Fortunately, he found what he was looking for. Falcon Thorne had been serving as a minor gamemaker under the retired Feodore ever since his first games, and he knew a thing or two about how to make for an exciting games. Falcon was the one who'd designed the Roman citizen mutts of the fifty-fourth games, who'd planned the locations of all the water sources in the fifty-ninth games—heck, he'd even come up with the entire board game arena concept of the games the year before! He was the obvious choice. In his position of authority, Falcon assured everyone that this games would be the most thrilling yet. He wasn't one to make a games memorable by carefully tailoring the arena or selecting the tributes based on that particular games' needs. He wanted blood, and lots of blood at that. And that was what he would have.
This year had one of the strongest career packs to date. Falcon needed a whole lot of tributes strong enough to use the heavy spiked maces. District 1's tributes were as beautiful as always, and they were both slim and blond. The boy was a stunning, taller boy who had a cute laugh and a great sense of humor. Meanwhile, the girl was very prissy and kempt, and she only acted ladylike, making her a little unpopular amongst her allies. District 2 offered forth one of their strongest pairs yet. The male was a huge, muscular boy with dark hair and eyes that could intimidate any outlier, and he was one of the strongest tributes the academy had trained in ages. The boy was also of heavy Asian heritage, a new look for 2 as opposed to its typical crop of dark-skinned, brown-haired kids. The girl was swift and agile and great with ambush tactics, though she wasn't afraid to dive head-first into any difficult task. Ambition was her middle name, it could be said. District 4 provided the weakest batch, as was typical. The boy was very young and foolish, and he often didn't take time to think before he acted. The girl was his polar opposite: much more careful and calculating. Both had red hair, and they actually could have been siblings. The training scores of the pack were astounding: a total of four tens and two nines.
The outlier group had a lot of standouts. For starters, the two District 3 tributes allied prior to the games. The boy, Link, and the girl, Shard, had been good friends since they could crawl, and they would make a charismatic and dynamic duo without a doubt. The highest score was earned by Omari from 9. Omari's story was ultimately shrouded in mystery, and only pieces were known. He somehow managed to score a ten, but all existing footage of his private session and interview were destroyed shortly thereafter. The exact whereabouts of how Omari scored a ten were never revealed. Poundcake from District 11 was another high scorer, scoring an eight. She had a lot of experience with sickles and scythes from her time working the fields, though she could fight with most weapons well. Poundcake was a girl who was determined and resilient, and she could never spare time for fooling around if there was important work to be done. Sevens were earned by Sparky from 5, Paul from 7, Byssus from 8, and Tindra from 9. The rest of the tributes scored between six and three in their private sessions. Another standout came from District 6. The girl, Mandrel, was the daughter of one of District 6's most infamous drug dealers. She was the only reason her mother had been staying drug-free for eighteen years. She fell off the wagon two hours after Mandrel was reaped. Corbin from 10 was openly bisexual, and he made a speech in his interview about LGBT rights in the districts. He only managed to score a four, but he was still one to remember. There were no volunteers besides the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Richer Nazarian, 17, (10) 4-1 and Beautify Hinnon, 17, (9) 6-1
District 2: Victor Xhang, 18, (10) 3-1 and Lilith Goldstein, 18, (10) 3-1
District 3: Link Yntema, 16, (5) 24-1 and Shard Upton, 17, (5) 27-1
District 4: Eddy Finestone, 16, (10) 5-1 and Vanessa Colburn, 18, (9) 7-1
District 5: Sparky St. Claire, 18, (7) 14-1 and Arza Stumpo, 14, (4) 39-1
District 6: Modello Lombroza, 15, (4) 36-1 and Mandrel Frost, 18, (6) 18-1
District 7: Paul Uccello, 13, (7) 16-1 and Anisa Tiller, 16, (5) 30-1
District 8: Byssus Castro, 17, (7) 15-1 and Piña Rockwall, 12, (3) 56-1
District 9: Omari Ennis, 18, (10) 4-1 and Tindra Line, 18, (7) 15-1
District 10: Corbin Fajtova, 15, (4) 39-1 and Birdie Tenner, 15, (5) 30-1
District 11: Carrot Brooten, 12, (6) 21-1 and Poundcake Carrera, 18, (8) 11-1
District 12: Teo Feather, 13, (3) 55-1 and Phaedra Antoine, 12, (3) 60-1
HGBO Bets: 11% on Victor and Lilith, 9% on Omari, 8% on Richer and Beautify, 7% on Eddy, 6% on Vanessa, 5% on Poundcake, 4% on Sparky, Paul, Byssus, and Tindra, 3% on Mandrel and Carrot, 2% on Link, Shard, Anisa, and Birdie, 1% or less on Arza, Modello, Piña, Corbin, Teo, and Phaedra.
THE GAMES
The tributes would rise in the ovular throne room of a giant crystal palace. The crystal, which made up virtually everything in the arena, was a sparkling blue color—almost translucent. Many suspect this was so that the blood splatters would stand out more to the cameras. The cornucopia, also made of crystal, housed only one type of weapon this year, and this kind of weapon had a reputation for being one of the most despicable in games history—spiked maces. Also made of the arena's signature crystal, the maces had thick handles that would fit snugly into any average-sized tribute's grasp. The spikes were made of a shiny black metal that looked whole shades of intimidating. All of the packs and supplies were spiked as well, meaning that virtually anything supplied at the horn could be used as a weapon if its user was creative enough. The palace was shaped like a wagon wheel, with eight high-ceilinged hallways spindling off the central throne room. The palace had virtually every kind of room one could imagine: kitchens, bedrooms, lounges, reading and writing rooms, sitting rooms, bathrooms, closets, servants quarters, armories, and so much more. The mutts of the arena were titanic chess pieces the size of pickup trucks. The queens and kings mostly stayed at the ends of the hallways, whereas the rooks, knights, and bishops moved around more. The pieces moved fast and had a fair bit of artificial intelligence built into them; they would surely be lethal. Given the crystalline theme and ultimately stately atmosphere, the District 1 tributes would surely have an advantage this year, though it was anyone's guess which of the twenty-four tributes would walk home safe and sound.
Disbelief reflected on the faces of the players as they gawked at the giant crystal palace arena for the first time. The crystal was hard and shiny, and if the tributes caught the light just right they could actually pick up on their reflections. The two empty crystal thrones sat at the opposite end of the room, far away from the cornucopia, casting a sense of foreboding over the already tense scene.
BOOM! Anisa from 7 had been fidgeting nervously with her tribute token, a small wooden ball. With about four seconds left on the countdown, she mistakenly dropped the token. It hit the mines, and she was being blown against the wall with smoke issuing from everywhere on her battered body before she even knew what had happened. Anisa's tribute token had led to her downfall.
Anisa Tiller, District 7 Female: 24th, Killed by Land Mines, Pre-Bloodbath
When the gong rang, only one tribute avoided the bloodbath, Arza from 5. While the arena was beautiful, it didn't look like it provided anything useful; the other twenty-three tributes figured heading into the bloodbath was their best bet.
Lilith sprinted at the head of the onrush, her brunette ponytail thumping against her back. She wasn't the fastest of the careers, but adrenaline was enhancing her movements such that she was running faster than she'd ever thought was possible. Lilith grabbed the first spiked mace she came across and dove toward a nearby boy. The career girl lifted the hideous spiked mace by its handle like a baseball bat and slammed it into the boy's head. There was a loud crunch and an awful moaning as his skull was bashed in; his brain couldn't keep running for very long after experiencing the intense trauma.
Carrot Brooten, District 11 Male: 23rd, Killed by Lilith, Bloodbath
Victor ran right into the thick of the fray. The 2 boy wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and he was in fact a little jealous of Lilith, as he had his heart set on being the one to make the first kill. He would make up for it by making his first kill as gory as possible. Victor grabbed a mace with a longer handle and admired the way that the spikes glistened in the light of the crystal lamps overhead. He swung suddenly to the left, slamming the mace into the upper neck of a nearby girl with all of the strength he could muster. Her head was literally blown off of her neck, and strings of flesh and sticky blood were sent flying, staining the clothes of her killer. At least it was a quick death, her mentor later told the press.
Mandrel Frost, District 6 Female: 22nd, Killed by Victor, Bloodbath
Beautify had spent the first few minutes of the bloodbath carefully searching for a mace that she liked. When she finally found one that she liked, she glided toward the boy that would become her first victim. Beautify swung the mace into his side, muttering all the while about how un-ladylike maces were and how she wished there were at least a few bows provided at the cornucopia. The boy screamed and collapsed to the ground as Beautify beat him a few more times. The last sounds he ever heard were Beautify's rants coupled with his own screams.
Paul Uccello, District 7 Male: 21st, Killed by Beautify, Bloodbath
Beautify screamed as she felt two enormous weights hit her back. Lilith and Victor, the strongest tributes from District 2, knew that this year's pack was one of the strongest yet, and they figured the games would play out best if at least one of their members died before the end of the bloodbath. Lilith and Victor stepped away from the prissy 1 girl they'd come to dislike. They watched as Beautify slid to the ground, panting, before Victor finished her off with one more blow to the head, bashing in her skull.
Beautify Hinnon, District 1 Female: 20th, Killed by Lilith and Victor, Bloodbath
Eddy went on a killing rampage as soon as he got his hands on one of the spiked maces. He was racing through the droves of outliers and swinging his mace every which way in hopes of hitting some random tribute and killing them. About a minute later, a very small girl felt the weight of Eddy's mace hit her chest. The spikes dug into her abdomen: perfect entry points for blood to flood into her lungs. The girl fell to the crystals, coughing up blood, and Eddy watched by with a smile until she died.
Piña Rockwall, District 8 Female: 19th, Killed by Eddy, Bloodbath
Poundcake from 11 wasn't completely on board with the idea of killing, but she knew she had to do it to attract sponsors and increase her chances of winning. She grabbed a heavier mace, its weight deterring her movements slightly, as she scouted the throne room for worthwhile prey. She eventually decided to attack Eddy from 4; he seemed to be moving rather randomly and not taking note of his surroundings. Poundcake sprinted toward him and swung her mace into his back. Eddy gasped with shock and whipped around, at which point the 11 girl smacked him in the face. The spikes opened up holes in his forehead and chin; the career collapsed, dying, and Poundcake fled the scene before any of the other careers noticed.
Eddy Finestone, District 4 Male: 18th, Killed by Poundcake, Bloodbath
Victor made another kill soon after. For about three minutes, he'd been chasing a crying girl around the room. Finally, the girl collapsed behind one of the tall thrones, crying into her hands and begging that Victor make her death quick and as painless as possible. One blow of his mace sent her scuttling out from behind the throne, and Victor bashed in the young girl's skull with ease.
Phaedra Antoine, District 12 Female: 17th, Killed by Victor, Bloodbath
Vanessa grabbed a spiked mace and attacked her first victims. She was one of the only careers left without any kills, but she was determined to make one or two before the bloodbath ended. Vanessa was standing right behind Link and Shard of District 3, preparing to kill them both with one broad swing of her mace. But the girl stumbled and cursed, and the allies turned around slowly, eyes widening as they saw her. Link and Shard fled, picking up maces of their own along the way, and they faced off with the 4 girl. Vanessa swung her mace lightly, just as a warm-up, and the two tributes easily knocked it out of her hand. Her abdomen was a pulp by the time they were finished. Now only three of the careers remained.
Vanessa Colburn, District 4 Female: 16th, Killed by Link and Shard, Bloodbath
The feisty Richer, wielding one smaller mace in each hand, spotted a boy gathering supplies in an unoccupied corner of the cornucopia. Richer ran with surprising speed for someone bearing so much weight. The boy turned around with a gasp as Richer thrust several of the spikes into his back. Before he could scream, Richer quickly bludgeoned him in the stomach. Several of his ribs had cracked from the blow, and the boy was left immobile and incapable of much thought until his death half a minute later.
Modello Lombroza, District 6 Male: 15th, Killed by Richer, Bloodbath
Lilith was on a roll, and she made her third kill as soon as the opportunity came about. Hyped on adrenaline, she swung her spiked mace, letting it slam into the side of the nearest boy. He fell forward, the wind knocked out of him, unable to move or make a single sound. The adrenaline-crazy Lilith squashed his head into an awkward shape over the course of the next few minutes as the bloodbath began to dissipate around them.
Corbin Fajtova, District 10 Male: 14th, Killed by Lilith, Bloodbath
Omari of 9 was the last tribute to die during the bloodbath. The gamemakers really didn't want him to win the games. He was the boy they'd deleted from the private session and interview footage, and who'd scored a ten. As he began his sprint out of the throne room, he saw a massive fireball firing down one of the hallways toward him. Omari blanched and turn to run, but the fireball blasted him to smithereens before he could move a single step.
Omari Ennis, District 9 Male: 13th, Killed by Fireball, Bloodbath
The career trio had a lot of cleaning up to do after the twelve cannon shots faded away fully. Smoke from the site of Omari's death was beginning to build up in the halls and the throne room. Richer's sponsors sent him a few fire extinguishers, and he did his best to get rid of the flames issuing from the gaping hole in the floor of the crystal palace. Meanwhile, Victor and Lilith stayed in the horn to sort supplies, Victor mainly specializing in food and such while Lilith organized the weapons. They were a very close-knit duo, and their strictly platonic relationship was cute and greatly loved throughout the Capitol. Once Richer completely extinguished the flames, he returned to the throne room for a quick nap and to rehydrate. They left soon after to hunt, leaving Victor behind to guard the cornucopia.
The outliers spread throughout the arena. In theory, each tribute had eight choices for which hallway they would run down, though most just chose the one that their pedestal had been closest to. Link and Shard were a little shaken up after killing Vanessa during the bloodbath; they weren't traumatized to the point of being unable to function properly, but they moved quickly out of nervousness and didn't speak to one another except when it was absolutely necessary. They settled in a kitchen, and Link organized some food for them to eat while Shard cleared out one of the cupboards to act as their shelter. Sparky had managed to grab a bunch of mechanical parts from the horn, as well as a mace and a few additional supplies. Being from 5, he knew a thing or two about mechanics, and he spent the night assembling something under a large table in a reception room. Arza, the only tribute who had avoided the bloodbath entirely, fled down one of the hallways until she came to a large lounge. She grabbed a pair of scissors from one of the tables and broke it in half, leaving her with two knife-like weapons. Arza stuffed herself under the couch to sleep the night away. Byssus had snatched a thermos of water as well as a mace from the cornucopia. He found his way to the servant's quarters and slept in a closet that stored servant uniforms. He couldn't fit the mace in the closet with him, so he had to leave it just outside. Tindra found herself in what was possibly the most luxurious bathroom she had ever visited in her life. The bathtub was ornately crafted out of the arena's crystal, and hot water poured from the faucet when she turned the handles. Needing a warm bath to soothe her aching muscles, Tindra removed her clothes (except for her underclothes, for decency's sake) and fell asleep in the tub, leaving the faucet running. Birdie had grabbed a stubby metal rod from the horn on a whim. She found a reading and writing room with desks and chairs strewn about, and she placed the metal rod under the hooked door handle, locking it closed. Birdie slept well knowing that nobody could get into her secure room. The daring Poundcake traipsed into the dark armory. While there were no windows, some light was let in through the crack beneath the door. It was enough light for her to shove herself and her supplies behind a heavy suit of armor for the night. Teo was absolutely terrified of the careers, being a very young boy with a very low score in an arena that was clearly not meant for District 12 tributes. He'd been forcing himself through rooms and corridors for ten hours when Teo realized he was just walking in circles. With no supplies, he collapsed crying in a bedroom and dragged himself under the covers.
The portion of the career pack that was hunting woke up very early in the morning. Richer and Lilith wanted to catch any victims they may find off-guard and sleep-addled, when they would be easier to kill. They didn't need to look for long. Richer and Lilith momentarily split up to cover more ground, and Richer came racing toward Lilith in minutes. He'd found that one of the hallways was flooded with about half an inch of water, and he wanted the 2 girl to help him investigate.
Richer took Lilith to the flooded hallway. Water was creeping slowly across the crystal floor—hot water that smelled pleasant. It was bath water. When Tindra had fallen asleep in the bathtub the night prior, the tub had overflowed and seeped out of the room. Tindra woke as suddenly as though someone had yelled into her ear as Lilith and Richer lightly pushed the door open. She saw their forms silhouetted against the bright backdrop of the hallway and dropped down below the bathwater, hoping the bubbles would hide her from sight. In seconds, her blood was painting the bathwater. Lilith saw the tip of her head above the bubbles and slammed down her mace, rendering Tindra incapable of breathing or moving for several seconds. When the girl composed herself, she fought toward the door, but Richer was standing there. He finished her off with one blow to the abdomen. Her cannon shot was loud, and it was the careers' signal to vacate the bathroom to hunt for more prey.
Tindra Line, District 9 Female: 12th, Killed by Lilith and Richer, Day 2
Not much happened in the latter portion of Day 2. Sparky kept working on his odd electrical contraption. By the end of the day, it shot sparks whenever he flicked one of the levers on the machine. It was obvious to most that he was trying to build some kind of electric stun gun. Sponsor gifts of useful mechanical parts piled on in Sparky's reception room, some he didn't even need but kept in case he did. Byssus left the closet of the servant's quarters, having deemed it too cramped to spend any more time inside of, and hid under a long table in one of the dining rooms. The crystal-colored table cloth hid him and his belongings from sight.
Day 3 was deathless. After a long day of hunting, Richer and Lilith decided to head back to the horn. They were short on supplies, and their shoes and socks were horribly wet from wading in the overflowed bathwater, courtesy of the deceased Tindra. The duo was mere feet from the central throne room when they found their path blocked by a massive figure. It was the first of many giant chess pieces that would appear throughout the games—a knight. It had a wide, circular base that covered its hidden wheels, and its regal horse head was crafted expertly. It let out a hideous screeching neigh, and the duo grabbed their maces.
The knight piece dove toward Richer, and he slid out of the way, bumping into Lilith. They collapsed to the ground in a heap, and they panicked as they noticed the chess piece mutt barreling toward them. They managed to get back to their feet just in time for Lilith to swing her mace, knocking off a good chunk of its nose. The oversized figurine fell toward them like a falling tree. Lilith was able to get out of the way fast enough, but Richer was not. His foot was trapped under the fallen piece, and hundreds of pounds of pressure were being forced down upon it every second. The agony was awful. He enlisted Lilith's help to wiggle out from underneath. Eventually, the gamemakers drew the destroyed knight mutt away, and their worst suspicions were confirmed—Richer's ankle was sprained.
Richer hobbled back to the horn, leaning on Lilith's shoulder. Victor, who had spent the time his allies were away further organizing the cornucopia's supplies, was a skilled healer. With a few sponsored first-aid supplies, Victor managed to correct Richer's broken bone. He was still in horrible agony, but nobody expected there to be any lasting damage. He just needed rest.
A cannon shot shattered the silence of the palace the morning of Day 4. Poundcake was hunting again; she was easily the most popular and good-looking of the remaining outliers. She quietly left the armory and immediately picked up on a soft crying noise. Nearby Teo from 12 was absolutely miserable. The stress of the games was getting to him, and he was hiding under the covers in one of the bedrooms, sobbing into his shirt sleeve. Poundcake followed the crying sounds to investigate, and she had a moral dilemma when she realized the boy she was planning to kill was so young. Trying not to think about killing someone so innocent, she quickly sprinted toward the bed and blew in three of his ribs.
The 11 girl instantly felt awful, but she had inflicted too much pain to turn back now; the best option would be to just deliver Teo from his misery. The spiked mace weapons made it impossible to kill anyone quickly, just what Falcon wanted. The sheets were stained with blood by the time Poundcake was finished. She moved a few rooms over and fell onto a fat sofa, her mind full of thoughts.
Teo Feather, District 12 Male: 11th, Killed by Poundcake, Day 4
Days 5 and 6 were both deathless. At the cornucopia, the careers kept injuring themselves. Richer was still healing from his sprained ankle, and a few additional sponsor gifts sped up his healing process significantly. Even so, he wasn't expected to be back in action until Day 7 or Day 8. After several days of guarding the horn, Victor was looking forward to a long day of hunting with his best friend Lilith. This could not happen, however, as Lilith accidentally hit herself in the leg with one of the maces she was practicing with just before they were going to leave. Lilith screamed as her blood flew everywhere, and Victor had to physically restrain her as he applied her bandages and disinfected the wounds. Victor was now playing nurse to his two rather-severely-injured allies, meaning any possibilities of hunting for the next few days were of the table.
Meanwhile, the outliers weren't doing much except moving around. Link and Shard moved around every day, though they returned to their home in the kitchen every night (they knew when it was "day" and "night" based on the death recaps). Link was supremely bored, and it was Day 6 when he suggested that they hunt to fill the empty hours of each day. Shard gasped, disgusted at his suggestion, and refused to talk to him for the rest of the day. Shard would rather do most anything than kill another tribute, and given how different her views were than those of her ally Link their alliance was essentially built on sand. Sparky was in the final stages of manufacturing his small electric machine. He hadn't left the reception room since Day 1. But that hardly mattered; the audience already had their attention on him because they were all curious to see what would come about of his creation. Arza had a run-in with two chess piece mutts. Having no weapon to fend them off, she ran to the nearest room and barricaded the door with heavy furniture. It was a small bedroom, and Arza hid under the bed until the giant chess pieces went away. Byssus was searching one of the kitchens when he found a cookbook. He curiously leafed through it and found several recipes that he couldn't help but try. The boy wasn't an experienced cook, but by following the concise instructions he was able to make several sweet treats to power him through the difficult games. Birdie didn't leave the reading and writing room for the whole two days. In the early morning of Day 5, she found a romance novel (one of Falcon's wife's favorites) open on one of the sofas and began reading. She was completely engrossed in the novel and read almost straight for the two days, even pulling an all-nighter to finish the book's last few chapters. While she wasn't moving around at all, many admired her love of reading, and the gamemakers didn't send any threats her way. Poundcake took a well-deserved break in one of the bedrooms. She'd made two kills since the start of the games, and she just needed a bit of time to gather her thoughts. There was peace for this two-day period, but this of course could not last. Blood would soon splatter across the crystal.
Day 7 had some action in it. After a bad night's sleep, Arza crawled out from underneath the bed she had slept under and walked toward the door of the bedroom. She knew a few of the giant chess pieces were nearby, but they could have moved a lot over the night and it wasn't worth it to stay in the room and starve out of paranoia. On her sprint away from the cornucopia six days before, she'd seen several faucets; Arza knew with direction to go to get clean water.
She stopped at a burbling water fountain made of crystal and took a quick sip of the water. It was clean and refreshing. Arza had drunk more than she'd ever thought could fit inside of her when she heard a loud grumble from behind her. She spit out of her mouthful of water and whipped around, seeing two large chess pieces approaching her. One was a black king piece, the largest of all the chess piece mutts, and the other was a white pawn. She didn't have a weapon. There was nothing she could do but back away and hope they didn't notice her.
Finally, she broke into a run. Arza ran through hallways, and the chess pieces followed her, groaning as they dragged themselves over the floor of the palace. Finally, she grew too exhausted to keep running. Arza barricaded herself into a small room meant for prayer and hoped that the mutts couldn't break through wood.
But they could break through wood. The mutts busted down the door, and Arza was overwhelmed before she could lift a finger. The king mutt rolled right over her, crushing her windpipe, as the pawn knocked her head over and over until she died from head trauma. After her death, the humungous chess pieces wheeled away, content until they came across another weary tribute.
Arza Stumpo, District 5 Female: 10th, Killed by Chess Piece Muttations, Day 7
The next day, Day 8, Richer and Lilith had both healed fully. Richer could walk on his ankle without feeling any pain at all, and the puncture marks on Lilith's legs were mere crusty spots on her flesh. Victor was glad to be free of the burden of caring for them. Leaving Richer to guard the horn as he practiced using his ankle again, Victor and Lilith headed down one of the spindles of the wagon wheel-shaped palace to search for outliers.
Meanwhile, Sparky was fitting the final few pieces into his electrical contraption. It looked like a gun, but it was much smaller; Sparky could easily conceal it from sight by closing his fist around it. He requested a creature to test the weapon on, and the gamemakers answered the request. A mouse mutt with bright-pink fur scuttled into the room less than a minute later. Sparky flicked one of the levers on his handiwork, and it buzzed to life. Sparky touched the metal rod to the skin of the mouse. It eeked once and immediately died, its fur sizzling at the site of the contact. Now he just needed human victims.
Fortunately (or, rather, unfortunately for them) two tributes were nearby: Link and Shard of 3. Falcon moved Link and Shard closer to Sparky with a single chess piece mutt. One of the clever boy's sponsors sent him a note that two other tributes were just outside. Sparky poked his head out the door and spotted the two allies walking slowly toward him about a hundred feet off. Shaking with both excitement and dread, he readied his weapon.
When Link and Shard grew near, Sparky leapt out of the room. Shard yelped and staggered backward as he placed the live metal rod onto her hair, singing off one of her locks. The awful smell of burnt hair filled the corridor. She was lucky only her hair was affected; if the contraption had touched her skin, especially in a point so close to her brain and heart, she would have no doubt been mortally injured or killed. As the two allies staggered backward, Sparky wove the electrical machine through the air with admirable grace for a District 5 tribute. They were both weaponless, as they'd left their maces behind in the kitchen. They both decided at the same second that running like mad would be the best way to go. They came to a dead end in no time. Shard turned around just as Sparky placed the live electrical rod onto her neck. She gurgled with shock and slid down the wall, contorting from the powerful electrical current before eventually landing on her knees.
Shard Upton, District 3 Female: 9th, Killed by Sparky, Day 8
That left the final eight: Richer Nazarian from District 1, Victor Xhang and Lilith Goldstein from District 2, Link Yntema from District 3, Sparky St. Claire from District 5, Byssus Castro from District 8, Birdie Tenner from District 10, and Poundcake Carrera from District 11.
Enraged at the death of his ally and thirsty for revenge, Link made a desperate attempt to tackle Sparky and knock the weapon out of his hand. Weaponless, he was no match for the boy who could kill with one touch. The way their limbs were knotted together on the floor was rather gruesome, so Sparky left quickly.
Link Yntema, District 3 Male: 8th, Killed by Sparky, Day 8
The next day, Day 9, was deathless. Most of the tributes were well-armed, and those that weren't didn't seem to have too bright a future ahead of them. However, as it often is with the Hunger Games, only time would tell which of the seven remaining tributes would have their name stamped into the Walk of Victors. Sparky holed up in a lounge, repairing his electric weapon. It had taken some damage during his fight with the late Shard and Link, but nothing his dexterous hands couldn't fix within a day or two of hard work. Poundcake finally started hunting again, after several day of inactivity. Byssus was hiding in a dining room when he heard Poundcake's footsteps, and he ducked under one of the tables just in time that the girl didn't notice him. The portion of the career pack that was hunting returned to the horn, and their relationship was growing very rocky and awkward. Richer, Victor, and Lilith were still allied at the top seven, meaning that almost half the tributes were together whenever the trio met. Each of them suspected a betrayal from one of the other two, and they never really turned their backs on one another if they could help it. Even the amicable Victor and Lilith from 2 felt a bit awkward talking when they knew only one of them could leave the arena alive.
Day 10, Birdie finally completed the sequel to the lengthy romance novel she'd been reading for the last few days. She was a major bookworm, and she felt very sad at the death of a character she'd grown to like throughout the book. Figuring it couldn't hurt to move around a bit to cheer herself up, she left the safety of the reading and writing room, all on her own in the crystal palace.
She hadn't gone ten steps before an arrow flew over her head. Birdie screamed and ducked underneath it. There was an enormous chess piece mutt about thirty meters down the hall: a queen. The queen piece was shooting out arrows dripping with what looked like deadly poison as it moved closer and closer to her. Birdie fled in the other direction, but Falcon had ensured that another chess piece was there to block her way. She ran right into a large rook or castle piece, and she fell to the ground, instinctively apologizing before realizing the seriousness of the situation. The queen and rook mutts were closing in on her with alarming speed. She had to slip past one of them to escape, and she chose the smaller rook mutt.
Birdie tried to calm her rapid breathing as she bolted toward the rook piece. It was now or never. She dove to the left, wiggling between the piece and the ornate crystal wall. The rook moved suddenly to the side, crushing her against the wall. Birdie screamed in terror and struggled to escape as the queen approached. It battered her to a pulp over the course of about an hour. Now only six tributes were left.
Birdie Tenner, District 10 Female: 7th, Killed by Chess Piece Muttations, Day 10
That night, at the cornucopia, Richer stayed up long after his allies fell asleep. He knew he was easily the weakest and least popular of the three remaining careers, and he had no chance of victory unless he managed to kill them both in their sleep. The problem was that tributes tend to scream when being bludgeoned to death with spiked maces; whatever tribute Richer attacked, their screams would wake the other. He had to kill them both at once. Creeping out of his sleeping bag, Richer grabbed up his spiked mace. He wasn't looking forward to the task ahead, but he knew it was necessary. The sleeping forms of Lilith and Victor came closer and closer. He could kill them any second…
But there was something he didn't know. Victor was so paranoid of being betrayed by his allies that he wasn't able to sleep. When he saw Richer grabbing his mace, he knew he was a traitor. Richer brought down his mace, and suddenly Victor leapt to his feet, roaring and shoving the traitor 1 boy to the ground. His thrashing and screaming woke Lilith, who scuttled to the back of the cornucopia, horrified as she watched their skirmish play out from a safe distance.
In seconds, Victor was able to snatch the spiked mace out of Richer's grasp. Before he could grab a new one, Victor swung the weapon into the side of his head. Warm beads splattered everywhere, and Richer was dead in seconds. He shoved his body away and lay back down in his sleeping bag. It was a long time before Lilith could gather the courage to do the same.
Richer Nazarian, District 1 Male: 6th, Killed by Victor, Day 10
The morning of Day 11 passed without much conflict. Victor and Lilith got back along after he explained to her that he only killed Richer because he was a traitor. Unfortunately, this increased Lilith's suspicions that he himself was planning to betray her, and she never fully trusted him despite his constant reminders that he would never hurt her if it was unnecessary.
Meanwhile, the three survival outliers bustled about. All of them wanted to prepare as well as possible for the finale. The strong Poundcake began her journey to the cornucopia, a long one that would take several days at a normal pace. When the death recap played, she crashed in a reception room and placed furniture in front of the door to keep other tributes out. Sparky's hands slipped when he was adding a few very small pieces to his contraption, and he accidentally ruined the whole previous day's work. He was so devastated that he couldn't bring himself to touch the project again, so he let it sit for a while as he relaxed in a lounge. Byssus, undoubtedly the least popular of the five remaining tributes, was trying desperately to gather any sponsors he could get. He was doing cartwheels, jumping onto couches, and even telling corny jokes. The only thing he got was a strawberry-flavored cookie, which he stuffed into his pocket for later.
Mere minutes after noon, Byssus heard footsteps from outside the bedroom he was hiding in. It took all of his willpower to keep from screaming with terror, and he quietly made his way under the bed to hide. The door creaked open. Byssus took a peek and immediately pulled himself back under the bed. It was Lilith. Hours earlier, she'd volunteered to go hunting (while her district partner and ally Victor was guarding the horn).
Lilith sat down on the bed that Byssus was hiding under. The mattress compressed, and Byssus was squished against the floor. His mouth pressed against the mattress, he could hardly breathe, and he gasped with shock as he started inhaling debris from the mattress. Lilith, knowing she was about to make another kill, jumped off of the bed and peeked under it. Byssus immediately made a break for the door, but Lilith caught up to him in seconds. She swung her mace into his side, and the bone in his arm was blown to bits. He collapsed, limp, against a nearby wall, and Lilith made quick work of him from there.
Byssus Castro, District 8 Male: 5th, Killed by Lilith, Day 11
The tributes were getting closer and closer together; given how quickly the games were escalating, it wasn't completely impossible that the games would be over within the next day or so. There were two careers (Victor and Lilith) and two outliers (Sparky and Poundcake) remaining, and betters were going crazy. All four tributes were wildly popular ones, and nobody could tell which of the four would be crowned Victor.
Byssus' cannon shot caused the tributes to move even faster. They all wanted to get as close the horn as possible. There, in close quarters, the finale would undoubtedly take pace.
The next tribute encounter occurred less than an hour later. Sparky and Poundcake had been near each other for the entire games: in fact, their pedestals had been adjacent all the way back on Day 1! Many suspected that the two would meet before long, and this suspicion was proven true. Poundcake was resting in the servant's quarters when she heard Sparky's light footsteps outside. Over the days in the arena, killing had been getting easier for her; she got up without a second thought to investigate the sound.
Poundcake poked her head out of the door, and Sparky was onto her in seconds. She was surprised, of course, but she managed to regain herself quick enough to keep Sparky from hurting her with his electrical weapon. She stared at the buzzing metal device and told herself that she needed to get that thing out of her opponent's hand. Sparky was struggling to press the metal to her skin, but Poundcake was stronger and more muscular than he was so it was extremely difficult. After nearly ten minutes, Poundcake grabbed her mace and smacked the device out of Sparky's hands. The weapon exploded into a million pieces, scattering all over the crystal floor of the palace.
Sparky gasped with shock at the sudden annihilation of the thing he'd poured days of work into, and it was this distraction that the 11 girl needed to make the kill. Sparky's skull ended pretty much like the machine, blown to bits by her mace. After his cannon shot sounded, Poundcake wiped the crystal dust off of herself and continued the last stretches of her journey to the horn.
Sparky St. Claire, District 5 Male: 4th, Killed by Poundcake, Day 11
By that point, Lilith and Victor had both reached the cornucopia. They vowed to stay allied under they managed to kill Poundcake, at which point they would have a true fair fight like true District 2 ladies and gentlemen. Falcon didn't need mutts or devious traps to drive Poundcake toward the horn—she was resilient and brave, and she made the journey on her own initiative.
Lilith and Victor scrambled into their battle positions as they spotted Poundcake's form racing toward them from one of the hallways. As soon as she was in the throne room, a boom louder than any sound they had ever heard blasted through the palace. The eight long corridors spindling out from the central throne room were collapsing. The crashing of crystal rang through the air for minutes. By the time everything settled, there was nothing but the throne room and the three tributes. There was nowhere to run. The finale had truly begun.
Poundcake immediately grabbed a newer and sleeker mace. For the first few seconds, this actually gave her a disadvantage, as she wasn't familiar with the new weapon's properties; however, after a few second of mindlessly swinging it around, she got a pretty good feel for it. She leaped onto a pile of supply crates and grabbed a crate. She hurled it at Lilith, and it hit her in the stomach. Lilith let out a mewl of pain before collapsing to the ground. She wasn't dead, but she was in so much pain that she couldn't move. Victor was all alone to kill the very popular and pretty 11 girl.
Poundcake hurled another crate, and Victor smashed it out of the way with his mace. The crate cracked in half, and the two halves landed about ten feet apart a ways away. In seconds, Victor was running toward the pile of crates and Poundcake, letting out a battle cry. Their maces crashed against each other, and sparks literally flew between the weapons. Victor was one of the strongest tributes District 2's academy had seen in ages, but Poundcake was muscular from years of work in District 11's fields. Only time would tell who would win.
Mace clashed against mace, girl fought against boy, and boy triumphed over girl. Poundcake's main weakness was that she let adrenaline drive her on too much during battles, and that was what led to her downfall. Victor sharply kicked the pile of crates she was standing on, and Poundcake began falling to the ground. She was too panicked and pumped full of adrenaline to reason that falling onto a nearby pillow would be the safest option: instead, she tried to stop the fall with her hands. Her arm splintered sideways into a wooden crate, and she screamed as the long splinter of wood dug into her skin, pain exploding through her arm. Victor quickly offed her with his mace, leaving himself and Lilith as the final two tributes in the sixty-sixth Hunger Games.
Poundcake Carrera, District 11 Female: 3rd, Killed by Victor, Day 11
There was silence as Lilith and Victor faced each other. They had been good friends for years, but now one of them had to die. They each grabbed newer, cleaner, and sharper maces and walked toward each other, sad smiles on each tribute's face.
"A fair fight, then?" Victor said.
Lilith nodded. "May the best tribute win."
They met, and the battle was won from the start. Seconds into the duel, Victor was able to knock away Lilith's mace. She struggled to reclaim it, but it clattered to the crystal about ten meters away. She would never be able to reach it. Lilith was left to fend away Victor's blows with her bare hands. She held out her hands to stop a swing of his mace, and each of her hands was blown messily off. Tears streamed down Lilith's face as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Victor knelt beside her, apologizing for everything and asking her to forgive him.
"It's okay. At least one of us won," Lilith choked out before falling still.
Lilith Goldstein, District 2 Female: Killed by Victor, Day 11
"Victor Xhang of District 2, you are the victor of the sixty-sixth annual Hunger Games!" Caesar and Claudius shouted.
Victor put on a charming smile for the cameras that he knew were all focused on him, trying to ignore the dark pool of Lilith's blood spreading around his feet.
Victor Xhang, District 2 Male: Victor of the Sixty-Sixth Hunger Games, Day 11
AFTERMATH
District 2 was overjoyed to receive their seventeenth victor. They now had seven more victors than either of the other two career districts, a feat that its citizens were enormously proud of. The Capitol loved Victor for his charm and his determination, and many thought he resembled several District 1 victors in many ways. Victor was of course glad for all of the fame and attention he received, and he was happy to bring the honor to his family that he promised to bring them when he volunteered several weeks prior.
He moved into the Victor's Village of District 2, the seventeenth victor to do so.
His victory tour went spectacularly. Everyone loved how fair his final duel with Lilith had been, and even Lilith's mother and father didn't show Victor any hardship, at least not publically.
Victor would live to the age of eighty, dying from oral cancer around the time of the one-hundred twenty-eighth annual Hunger Games. After his games, Victor was a very changed boy. Watching his good friend Lilith die at his own hands during the games and taught him a thing or two about the unfairnesses of humanity, and Victor would dedicate the rest of his life to making the world a better place. He asked all of the relatives of his victims to forgive him, and he would even attend several of their funerals. As an adult, he would dedicate much of his free time to working in soup kitchens; he would also donate much of the profits from his victory to the poor of the district and would even pay for shelters to be built for the homeless around District 2. He would marry another District 2 victor, and they would have a son and a daughter together. His legacy would never be forgotten.
NEWS
Victor moves into the Victor's Village of District 2, across the street from Mason.
Mags Flanagan adopts her ninth child, a young girl named Anemone.
Margaret Cartmill's son, Steer, is born.
Tiger Sterne has twin sons via a surrogate mother, whom he calls Dazzle and Shine.
Valerie Easton has her second child, a girl named Thama.
Cordin Frey, the victor of the first annual Hunger Games, dies from pneumonia.
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)
62HG: Enobaria Rigatti (#16, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Linden (#9, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Linden (#10, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#10, District 4)
66HG: Victor Xhang (#17, District 2)
