THE EIGHTY FOURTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"La Luna"


INTRODUCTION

President Cassia Obsidian returned to her influential position of power. However, she did not feel nearly as secure in the seat of the presidency as she once had, and for good reason. A new political sect was emerging, many of its followers admirers of the late President Snow, that thought the districts should be ruled much more cruelly than Obsidian treated them. The government had to go to any cost to preserve what little was left of the human race, this growing political party argued, and that would entail a much harsher grip than Obsidian was using. In time, this political party began to call themselves the Heads. Meanwhile, Obsidian's supporters, who thought it would be best to rule the districts peacefully, called themselves Tails. Their names were opposites because of their vastly differing political views. The Heads and Tails would remain the two main political parties of Panem for decades. Violet Turpin returned to the post of head gamemaker. Her year-long break had been well-deserved and well-spent, but it was time to return to her post and craft another arena that would wow the Capitol and the districts. Cadmus and Daria returned as the hosts of the games. When asked, Cadmus said he identified as a Tail, whereas Daria aligned more with the Heads party, even though she wasn't entirely fond of some of the methods the late Snow had used to rule the districts.

The career team was outstanding this year; in starch contrast to last year's pack, it was one of the most powerful in decades. Not one of their six members scored below a nine. District 1 offered up the strongest duo. The boy had a silky voice that drew the hearts of the Capitol women like flies to a sugar bowl, and he was a wizard with a bow. The girl scored an eleven. This wasn't nearly as difficult as it once had been, with the newly adjusted training score system that made it much easier to score anything over a nine, but it was still a huge accomplishment. She was even more seductive than her district partner, with skin as stunningly clear as her name. District 2 provided two tributes with unique occupations. The boy was a professional musician, and he had great lung capacity, which enabled him to run long distances, while the girl was a healer with astounding medical skills. District 4's tributes were both supposed to volunteer into the previous year's games, but for different reasons had to put everything off to this year. The boy was tall, thin, and charismatic, and the only trident in the cornucopia would probably go to him. Meanwhile, the girl was one of the most altered tributes the games had ever seen. In almost every level she looked like a cat. She'd had her skin dyed to look like fur, artificial whiskers sprouted from her cheeks, her nails were filed into claws (though these had to be dulled before the games), and she had modified her ears so that they perked up particularly high. The pack scored an eleven, three tens, and two nines.

There was a similarly powerful group of outliers. Cylinder from 6 was built like an ox and one of the strongest tributes the district of transportation had ever seen. He was the first outlier to score higher than a nine since Shocker four years prior. There was also a nine, and it went to Suede from 8. He was similarly striking and memorable; after a long streak of weak, diminutive tributes, the textile district finally had hope of taking one of their tributes home. Sevens were earned by Jackie from 3, Rodrigo and Elora from 9, and Buttercake from 11, and the rest of the tributes scored between six and two in their private sessions. There were two other standouts, both from the same district and the same family. Milk and Honey from 10 were siblings, and Milk had been terribly abusing Honey ever since their parents died four years prior. Honey's stylist even had to cover her face with a veil to cover up the scabbed, bruised marks on her face. There were no volunteers outside of the careers. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Fiddler Calecson, 18, (10) 5-1 and Glass Nordonia, 18, (11) 3-1

District 2: Geoff Dempster, 16, (10) 4-1 and Artemis Malecot, 17, (9) 6-1

District 3: Datum Fusaro, 15, (5) 26-1 and Jackie Burrey, 18, (7) 14-1

District 4: Guppy Rochford, 18, (9) 7-1 and Dock Elizabeth, 17, (10) 5-1

District 5: Corus Pederson, 17, (6) 27-1 and Vivienne Tedlow, 14, (4) 34-1

District 6: Cylinder Gauntlet, 16, (10) 5-1 and Kiara Musto, 15, (3) 52-1

District 7: Timothy Trunks, 12, (3) 54-1 and Juliet Starler, 13, (3) 49-1

District 8: Suede Lindberg, 18, (9) 7-1 and Sylvie Zanger, 16, (5) 24-1

District 9: Rodrigo Talbot, 17, (7) 15-1 and Elora Benore, 18, (7) 14-1

District 10: Milk Sadler, 18, (6) 26-1 and Honey Sadler, 12, (2) 65-1

District 11: Grass Chan, 17, (4) 30-1 and Buttercake Mellon, 15, (7) 17-1

District 12: Borris Gefter, 13, (2) 63-1 and Zoe Giarman, 14, (3) 48-1

HGBO Bets: 24% on Glass, 19% on Fiddler, 15% on Dock, 11% on Geoff, 7% on Artemis and Guppy, 6% on Cylinder, 3% on Suede, 2% on Jackie, Rodrigo, Elora, and Buttercake, 1% or less on Datum, Corus, Vivienne, Kiara, Timothy, Juliet, Sylvie, Milk, Honey, Grass, Borris, and Zoe.


THE GAMES

The tributes this year would find themselves in a location they'd seen in pictures but never actually been to; in fact, it was a place only a handful of humans had ever visited. The arena was a rolling expanse of crumbly, light-grey stone. The cornucopia, fashioned out of the same stone, was situated in the very center of the lunar landscape. The only weapons were a number of knives, two bows, a single trident, and a few other weapons the careers had specially requested. The sky overhead was pitch-black and scattered with stars, and instead of the moon there was a glassy blue marble that all of the tributes recognized. During the day, it was more than bright enough to see, whereas during the night it was so dark the tributes may as well have been wearing blindfolds. For this reason there were a number of flashlights in the cornucopia. In reality, days on the moon are about thirty days long, but in these games the sun would rise and set every twenty-four hours, just like on Earth. The moon was not completely empty of life, however. The landscape was inhabited by several rovers that ranged in size from mice to cars, and their deadly appendages could inflict extreme bodily harm on any tribute. There were also small structures carved out of the stone that looked like houses; this was where the slimy green alien mutts lived when they weren't terrorizing the tributes.

The first thing the tributes saw when the entered the arena was the inky-black, starry cosmos. It took a few of them several seconds to realize they weren't completely surrounded by the black soup; the ground underfoot was made of crumbly grey stone. They weren't actually on the moon, so space suits weren't necessary; the boys wore white tuxedos with black bow ties and dress pants, while the girls wore black vests and pencil skirts. Their outfits would stand out from the light-grey landscape, making it difficult to hide.

When the gong rang, three tributes fled the bloodbath: Jackie from 3, Kiara from 6, and Elora from 9. The other twenty-one tributes sprinted in the direction of the cornucopia, hoping to gather useful supplies in the opening minutes.

Glass lead the onrush, her golden-blonde hair rippling behind her. She scooped up a hatchet that lay on the stone ground twelve yards from her pedestal. A nearby boy fell to his knees as the blade of her hatchet buried itself into his head; Glass ran to his side to retrieve her hatchet as the other tributes thundered past.

Datum Fusaro, District 3 Male: 24th, Killed by Glass, Bloodbath

Geoff, another fast runner, grabbed hold of two throwing knives and then tackled a dark-haired boy with a bad case of acne. The boy flailed his limbs, trying to punch Geoff in the face, but he was strong enough to pin his limbs to the ground as he messily sawed his knives into his chest.

Timothy Trunks, District 7 Male: 23rd, Killed by Geoff, Bloodbath

Dock scooped up the metal claws she'd requested from the gamemakers and fit them onto her fingertips; her whisker-covered lips curled into a smile when she realized they fit perfectly. The claws looked rather natural with the rest of her look. She snuck up on a nearby girl, and she let out a yelp as the sharp chorus of claws cut across her back, tearing open her arteries like soil being pulled up by a rake.

Zoe Giarman, District 12 Female: 22nd, Killed by Dock, Bloodbath

Fiddler gritted his teeth as he fired arrow after arrow. He had his eyes set on Zoe's district partner, but the boy was so agile he easily managed to dodge his arrows. Infuriated, Fiddler lunged forward, snapping the young boy's neck in one fluid motion with a grin on his handsome face.

Borris Gefter, District 12 Male: 21st, Killed by Fiddler, Bloodbath

Glass fluidly made her second kill. Having cleanly wiped Datum's blood off of her hatchet blade, she tackled a girl who was lying on her back and staring into the cosmos, slowly bleeding out from gashes inflicted by Dock. Glass buried her hatchet into her head, slicing her skull straight down the middle. She was gone in moments.

Vivienne Tedlow, District 5 Female: 20th, Killed by Dock and Glass, Bloodbath

Artemis snatched up a bow and threw the quiver over her shoulder. She raced over the stony ground with all the grace of the moon goddess after whom she was named. Her first arrow flew true, and the nearest boy's screams were already choked by the sound of blood. Artemis looked up to see one of her arrows sticking straight out of his abdomen.

Grass Chan, District 11 Male: 19th, Killed by Artemis, Bloodbath

Artemis made her next kill in rapid succession. Grass' ally, a shorter girl with pigtails, stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of his dead body. The girl tried to run, but she wasn't fast enough; Artemis had already fired, and her arrows were almost immediately lethal at that close range.

Sylvie Zanger, District 8 Female: 18th, Killed by Artemis, Bloodbath

Guppy had yet to make a kill, but as he surveyed the quickly emptying cornucopia field, a trident in one hand and a knife in the other, he spotted the perfect victim. Seconds earlier, an outlier girl had tripped and fell onto her face; bleeding heavily, she now struggled to get back to her feet. Guppy went in for the kill, thrusting the prongs of his trident through her back as though he were spearing a marshmallow.

Juliet Starler, District 7 Female: 17th, Killed by Guppy, Bloodbath

Glass had been chasing a boy in circles around the cornucopia for several minutes, and he finally found the energy to break free of the repetitive track and run for the hills. Glass took a leap of faith and threw her hatchet through the air; it flipped end over end before lodging itself into the back of his neck, killing him instantly.

Corus Pederson, District 5 Male: 16th, Killed by Glass, Bloodbath

Dock made the final kill. She knocked a strong boy to the ground and enlisted the help of Fiddler and Guppy to hold him down while she tore open his chest with her claws. Blood was dripping down the 4 girl's arms by the time she was finished, and she purred softly as the ten cannon shots echoed over the arena before fading into silence.

Rodrigo Talbot, District 9 Male: 15th, Killed by Dock, Bloodbath

The careers hung around at the cornucopia, their group unbroken unlike some other years. Fiddler quickly got to sorting the weapons; there were more weapons around the cornucopia field than inside of the horn this year, so it was quite a bit of work piling them into one place, but he turned down the help of the other careers as he separated them into piles based on blades and sizes and such. Geoff and Guppy found a large tarp in the back of the cornucopia and lined the ground with it; the pesky grey moon dust was sticking in layers to their supplies. The tarp did at least something to prevent this. Artemis and Dock sat in back sorting out the food rations; there was an excess of food and water this year, as they were almost inaccessible anywhere else in the arena. Glass, the strongest tribute in these games, did the traditional first hunt; she returned to the cornucopia in minutes reporting that there were no outliers waiting nearby. The pack left quickly, leaving only Artemis to guard the supplies.

The outliers sprinted in all directions. Jackie raced in the direction of the blue marble hovering in the sky, and she quickly came to a long ditch filled with sweet-smelling purple liquid. She was tempted to drink the liquid, but decided against it, not sure if it was edible. She laid on her back and named a few of the stars, which warranted a bag of dinner rolls from an impressed sponsor. Cylinder, carrying a backpack filled with knives and medical supplies, sprinted onward for nearly an hour and came to a field of craters with lots of places to hide. Cylinder ducked down into the deepest crater, hoping he'd be able to haul himself back out quickly if disaster struck. Kiara was miserable; she had absolutely nothing but the clothes on her back, and she was all by herself in the middle of literally nowhere. The girl traipsed in circles around the center of the arena, exhausted and terrified, before collapsing onto her front, unable to move any farther. Suede, carrying an apple and a belt of throwing knives, travelled in a single direction and arrived at a cloud of purple dust. He knew it wasn't the best idea to come any nearer, but his curiosity got the best of him, and Suede stepped into the cloud. It didn't obstruct his breathing at all, and it hid him from the sight of the others, so he decided he would stop there for the day. Elora settled down in one of the crudely-built stone houses. The slimy green aliens that inhabited the structure were away, so the girl didn't know she was in any danger as she lay down inside and tried to sleep. Milk and Honey, carrying a backpack that contained various supplies, settled down between two large boulders near the edge of the arena. This early in the games, it wasn't common knowledge that there was abuse involved in their brother-sister dynamic, but eyebrows were raised when Milk screamed for Honey to keep moving whenever she collapsed from exhaustion. Buttercake had one of the cornucopia's two bows, having snatched it from an obscure corner of the cornucopia when the careers were occupied. She'd only been running for a few minutes when she spotted the first alien mutt; tall, thin, and completely green. She followed the mutt back to its home before shooting it dead. A sponsor note told her that the slime was edible, and Buttercake dug in. It had an oddly satisfying taste, once she got past the thought that she was eating a dead alien. When day turned to night, absolute darkness settled over the arena, so complete that the tributes couldn't see their hands if they put them an inch in front of their faces.

Day 2 was just as uneventful. Jackie had been stealing glances at the mysterious river for several hours, and she finally decided to drink it. She put her lips to the lavender liquid and shivered from the sweet taste. It was delicious; the girl greedily gulped down the liquid for several minutes before falling back, belching. Cylinder was on the prowl; holding a knife in each hand, he looked formidable. He'd smeared the grey dust onto his white tux to blend into the landscape more easily. Once Kiara finally found the energy to get moving, she got to her feet and traipsed lazily around the cornucopia. There was a kind of lifelessness in her eyes that was creepy, terrifying even. Suede stayed put in the cloud of purple dust. He didn't feel the effects right away, but the dust was doing terrible things to his mind. He just laughed as the colors twirled and spun around him. Strange tingling sensations danced along his skin as the drug slowly shut down his brain. Elora stayed put in the pre-built stone structure, carving doodles into the ground with her fingernails. The aliens who lived there were drawing closer and closer, but Elora was blissfully unaware of the threat. Milk and Honey started assembling a shelter out of the moon stone, or at least Honey did. Milk had grabbed a book about weapons from the cornucopia, and he cracked open the volume, put his feet up, and screamed that Honey had to assemble a shelter by nightfall or she'd be in trouble. Honey worked feverishly. At one point she literally collapsed from exhaustion, and Milk threw rocks at her until she got back up. By the end of the day Honey was crying so hard she couldn't speak. Buttercake was on the hunt for more aliens; she not only liked the taste of their slime, she also knew that having something to focus on would do at least something to keep her from going crazy. The 11 girl didn't have a permanent home, though she favored low-lying areas like crater fields where there were plenty of places to hide.

The careers had gotten along well throughout training and throughout the first day, but their personalities were now starting to grate against one another. They returned to the cornucopia around noon to restock on supplies, and there was so much argument about how they should be hunting and how the pack should be run that they didn't even get around to leaving before nightfall. The pairs from 2 (Geoff and Artemis) and 4 (Guppy and Dock) banded together, each pair taking a passionate disliking for the other. Glass remained the big bad boss, shouting commands to the others, and none of them dared challenge her. Glass herself was irked that there was so much fighting going on; she found everything so annoying and petty. Fiddler tried to remain neutral, knowing that it would be dangerous to pick sides, but he ended up siding with Glass out of district loyalty and fear. The six careers slept as far away from each other as they could that night, scowling.

On the morning of Day 3, an older girl's screams shattered the utter silence and stillness of the arena. With so few physical barriers, the screams carried over for miles. Elora was sleeping soundly inside of the mysterious stone structure when the two aliens who lived there arrived. Elora felt a burning pain in her shoulder and jumped to her feet. Each of the aliens had pulled a tiny gun out of their silvery costumes, and they were now training their burning red lasers onto Elora's body. The girl struggled for the exit as her clothes began to smolder, and suddenly she was on the ground, thrashing and screaming as bolts of pure electricity danced up and down her body.

Elora Benore, District 9 Female: 14th, Killed by Alien Muttations, Day 3

Elora's screams woke the nearest tribute, Cylinder. The strong boy broke camp and quickly continued his hunting journey. Mere minutes later, he spotted the form of a small girl moving quietly over the terrain: Kiara from 6, his district partner. If Cylinder had recognized the girl as his district partner, he might have had second thoughts about killing her, but the distance between them was too great for Cylinder to make out anything but her height, and even that estimate was screwy. Cylinder stayed about half a mile behind Kiara, stopping when she stopped and moving when she moved. Kiara never peered over her shoulder or stopped to listen for any reason, so stalking her wasn't hard.

At the cornucopia, Glass was the first to wake. Geoff had fallen asleep during his shift. Rather than dutifully standing guard, Geoff was slumped against the exterior wall of the cornucopia, snoring quietly to himself.

"What do we have here?" Glass asked, arms folded. "Sleeping on your shift?"

Before Geoff could respond, both Dock and Artemis had gotten out of their sleeping bags to see what was going on. Fiddler and Guppy sat up in their sleeping bags, listening intently.

"Sorry. Just forgot to set my alarm. Won't happen tomorrow, I promise," Geoff responded, a note of fear in his voice.

"You'd better hope it doesn't happen tomorrow," Glass said, holding up her hatchet so that it glinted in the first rays of the rising sun. "Now get up. We have work to do."

Several miles away, Milk and Honey were both sleeping. Milk had fallen asleep reading his handbook on weapons, and the volume was now spread out on his chest, rising and falling with his light breaths. Several feet away, Honey was curled up, trembling softly in the cool of the morning. Suddenly, a whirring sound reminiscent of a spinning drill sounded, and Honey slowly opened her eyes. Three rovers, roughly the sizes of small dogs, were rolling noisily toward the shelter Honey had assembled the day prior. Honey scrambled to knock them away, but they'd already caused the shelter to collapse. Clouds of dust and shards of stone flew here and there as the home crumpled to a heap.

"What the hell is this?" Milk demanded, pointing at the ruins of the shelter.

Honey froze to the spot, eyes wide open, dumbfounded with terror. "I… it's not my fault… they just…"

Milk grabbed Honey by the side and pulled her to the ground, slamming her in the head and the torso repeatedly. Honey screamed and tried to escape, and Milk shoved her away after nearly a minute and went back to his reading. He yelled that she'd better have a new home built by nightfall or she'd be sleeping in a coffin.

The first thing the cameras showed on the fourth day was Kiara's dead body. Her limbs were sprawled out in all directions, and red ooze dripped out of her torso through an obvious knife wound in her chest. As soon as the sun rose, Cylinder's mentor Apollo sent him a note that Kiara was off guard and too exhausted to do any fighting. Cylinder sprinted the half mile between himself and Kiara and tackled her in her sleep. Kiara was only awake for a few seconds before she was sent spiraling back into unconsciousness, having lost too much blood for her little body to keep fighting.

Kiara Musto, District 6 Female: 13th, Killed by Cylinder, Day 4

The remainder of Day 4 passed with a pinpoint peak of action. At the cornucopia, Geoff had fallen asleep on his shift for the second night in a row, and Glass decided she had finally had enough. All six members of the career pack were still alive, so Glass didn't see any harm in making the split, even if it was pretty early in the competition.

"You," Glass shouted, pointing at Geoff with her hatchet. "Leave, now."

"You can't just break up the pack like that!" Artemis shouted, running to the side of her district partner, Geoff.

"Oh, so you want to fight me?" Glass barked. "I'll show you why I earned that eleven. And for that matter, Artemis, there's nothing stopping you from leaving with him. Then you can be with your boyfriend all by yourself."

All of the cameras in the immediate vicinity were trained on the scene. Geoff and Artemis 2 stayed close together, holding out their weapons. Fiddler moved to Glass' side. Guppy and Dock from 4 were off to one side, watching the scene play out. Guppy was swinging his foot lightly back and forth. Dock was fiddling with her whiskers.

"Artemis," Geoff whispered, nudging her. "We have to leave. She'll kill us if we don't." And that was the end of that. Glass allowed the duo one minute to gather up all of their supplies. Then Geoff and Artemis from District 2 turned around and started away from the cornucopia, angered.

Out of the blue, Artemis whipped around and smacked Glass in the face, and all hell broke loose. Glass whipped out her hatchet and swung it back and forth, scraping her allies and tearing their clothes. Artemis tried to fire arrows back, but Fiddler had torn her bow out of her hand and snapped it under his feet. Her chief weapon now useless, Artemis turned to run, but she found herself face-to-face with Guppy, who was throwing fists left and right. Dock hissed and clawed at the others. Finally, a life was lost. Artemis, her precious bow in ruins, was helpless when Glass found her in the crowd and swung her hatchet in her direction. Artemis was decapitated in one clean slice. Her head fell with a thump onto Dock's foot, and the 4 girl reeled, cringing.

Artemis Malecot, District 2 Female: 12th, Killed by Glass, Day 4

The brawl continued. Glass swung her now-bloody hatchet here and there. Fiddler and Guppy threw their fists. Geoff tried to break free as he was thrown around in the deadly brawl. Dock scratched and purred in annoyance. Several minutes passed before another kill was made. Guppy and Fiddler, who hadn't been fast enough to grab their weapons before the fight began and had resorted to using only their fists, were having varying degrees of success. Fiddler had no problem keeping the others away with brute force, but it was a different story for the much weaker Guppy. Guppy let out a screech that blended quite elegantly into the roars of the others as Dock's claws raked across his chest, and he fell to his knees, pink spit dripping from his mouth. Torrents of blood were already pouring out of his chest when the others realized what had happened.

Guppy Rochford, District 4 Male: 11th, Killed by Dock, Day 4

Now that two deaths had occurred, the brawl slowly dissolved. Geoff had escaped under their noses, and he was now nearly a mile away; they would never be able to catch up to him. Fiddler, Glass, and Dock walked a few meters away so the hovercraft could collect the two corpses. It was almost comedic how quickly the brawl had ended. It was almost like their hatred for one another had fallen flat on its face and they were now friends again. Such was the way of the Hunger Games, and all of Panem in a larger sense.

Days 5 and 6 trickled past uneventfully. Geoff sprinted in a single direction for several hours, muttering about how he never realized the careers were only eight years old, and then he settled in a field of craters to rest. It was the same field of craters Cylinder had discovered on the first day of the games, but the 6 boy had since abandoned the area and he wasn't returning any time soon, if ever. Jackie remained inactive beside the river of delicious lavender liquid. When a rover about the size of a car came to terrorize her on Day 6, Jackie let out a scream and then raced down the riverside as quickly as her legs could carry her. She didn't collapse, but she looked close; a few minutes before nightfall, she dragged herself into a crater and nodded off. Cylinder continued hunting. He was keeping up the resilient, strong persona he'd established in his interview, and he was by far the top outlier favorite. A number of drones attacked him throughout the two days, but he didn't have any problem "killing" them with his knives. Suede stayed put in the cloud of purple dust. He knew it was terrible for him, but it was like a drug, and he couldn't leave no matter how much his mentor urged him to. Before long he was almost completely paralyzed; every movement felt like he was moving through jelly. Milk continued shouting orders to his younger sister, and a terrified Honey followed all of his directions despite how exhausted she was. After several entire days of labor, Honey finally finished the shelter, and Milk pointed out a small cave nearby and laughed out that they could have just used it as their home all along. Buttercake kept up her hunt for aliens. She managed to shoot two more of them dead by the end of Day 6. Their slime turned to liquid mere hours after death, so Buttercake had to find a new kill every time she got hungry.

As for the careers, their dynamic was sturdy while being somewhat dysfunctional. Glass remained the formidable leader, and Fiddler consistently agreed with her out of a combination of district loyalty and fear. Dock kept her opinions to herself, but she aligned with the views of her ex-ally Geoff in believing that Glass' rule over the career pack this year was a tad too harsh. Dock thought the banter of the others was annoying and unnecessary but she kept her hole shut, not wanting to anger the others this early in the games.

On Day 7, Cylinder spotted a victim, Jackie from 3. A few minutes earlier, Jackie had left the riverside to retrieve the contents of a sponsor parachute, and Cylinder spotted her from about a quarter of a mile away. Cylinder was fast, but adrenaline was powering Jackie's legs forward at an impossibly fast speed. When she couldn't run any farther, Jackie collapsed at the riverside and dragged herself into the shadows. Cylinder ran straight past her.

It seemed like Day 7 might continue the trend of having no deaths, but a cannon shot rolled over the lunar landscape around eleven o'clock that night. The cloud of cosmic dust had been slowly shutting down Suede's body for several days. Now, it finally got the best of him, eliminating 8's best shot at victory in ages.

Suede Lindberg, District 8 Male: 10th, Killed by Cosmic Dust, Day 7

Days 8, 9, and 10 were all deathless, the most lifeless days the eighty-fourth Hunger Games had seen yet. Progress slowed to a crawl. By the end of Day 10, six entire days had been empty of conflict. Even Suede's death, which should have kept the nation on its toes, was so boring and drawn-out that it hardly counted. Fiddler, Glass, and Dock were bored and frustrated. They left the cornucopia every day to hunt, taking turns staying behind to guard the supplies. Glass was mad because she'd been hoping for a more exciting arena and group of outliers. Fiddler was mad because he'd made good friends with Geoff and now he didn't have anybody to talk to. Dock was mad because Glass and Fiddler constantly bickered back and forth, and she felt left out and insignificant. Even being the only tribute with a tail and whiskers couldn't keep her relevant forever.

The outliers weren't up to much. Geoff jumped around the lunar landscape, ducking into caves and fissures at night and staring at the cosmos. He was the most well-stocked tribute outside of the career pack, so he didn't have to worry about dehydration or hunger any time soon. Cylinder continued hunting, feeding himself on sponsor foods and lavender-colored river water. On Day 10, a crowd of rovers as high as his waist appeared out of nowhere and chased him about a mile in the direction of the cornucopia. Tensions were higher than ever in the "alliance" of Milk and Honey. Honey desperately wanted to break away, but she knew she would be safer with her much stronger brother at her side. Even if Milk continued to abuse her that was better than being dead. On Day 9, Jackie was chased away from the river by four identical rovers, and one of them nearly sliced her hand off with one of its mechanical appendages before she escaped. Jackie ran for about two miles and spotted a shadowy figure on the horizon: Buttercake from 11. Seeing Jackie in distress, Buttercake led her into a small fissure in the ground that hid them from the rovers. Several hours passed before Jackie and Buttercake officially announced they were allies.

On the morning of Day 11, the voice of head gamemaker Violet Turpin rolled across the arena, loud enough that it was impossible for any tribute to miss.

"Congratulations to the final nine tributes of the eighty-fourth annual Hunger Games," Violet announced. "At noon tomorrow, a feast will be held at the cornucopia. Though attendance is not mandatory, the items we supply will be invaluable to your survival and eventual victory. May the odds be ever in your favor. This will be the only announcement."

Moments after Violet's voice faded away fully, a scraping sound like metal against metal startled the three careers. Fiddler pointed to the source of the noise, and the others followed his gaze. About fifty meters ahead of them, a small square of ground was opening up as though it were on a hinge. At least twenty rovers the sizes of large cats were pouring out of the hole. The rovers chased Glass, Fiddler, and Dock several miles away from the cornucopia before their removal. When the careers ventured back to the cornucopia, they saw that a tall hedge had been built around it. It was too thick to pass through and far too spiky to climb. The hedge would be lowered at the commencement of the feast the following day.

Geoff decided he was heading to the feast. He wasn't low on supplies, but he wanted to show the careers what he was made of, feeling humiliated and embarrassed at being kicked from the pack by Glass. Cylinder woke up to find his pack empty except for a single knife and a dinner roll. Most of it had disappeared during the night. Scowling, Cylinder vowed he'd attend the feast the next day for a restock. Jackie and Buttercake decided to attend the feast after the sweet-smelling river dried up. It was incredible how quickly the liquid had all disappeared, and they could already feel dehydration setting in like a ferocious fiery monster in their throats.

The morning of Day 11, Honey finally gathered up the confidence to break away from Milk. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her brother; he was fast asleep, chest rising and falling slowly in his sleep. Without a word, Honey sprang to her feet and scampered away. She was limping and groaning with pain from the various bruises and rashes around her body, but she placed enough distance between herself and Milk that he wouldn't be able to find her before the feast. Neither of the siblings decided on attending the feast; they didn't want to risk death for any reason, even for the possibility of fresh supplies.

On Day 12, televisions across Panem displayed a sweeping aerial shot of the supplies hidden inside of the hedge. In front of the cornucopia, there was a long metal table. Both ends of the table were weighed down by orange coolers of freezing cold water. The table itself was covered with knives, packages of food, thermoses, sleeping bags, rope, wire, and much, much more. A cart of scythes sat just beyond the table. At noon, twelve loud bongs sounded, echoing so much that it was hard to distinguish any one of them from the last. By the time the twelfth bong faded away fully, the hedge had sunk fully into the ground. The tributes scrambled out of their hiding places and raced in the direction of the cornucopia.

Glass was at the head of the onrush. She discarded her old axe and snatched up a pair of sharper, sleeker hatchets. Holding one weapon in each hand, she tackled the nearest tribute, Buttercake from 11. Buttercake pulled her backpack off of her back and swung it in Glass' direction. The 1 girl hadn't been expecting the blow, and she would have fallen onto her bottom if not for the support of the supply-covered table.

Glass peered over Buttercake's shoulder and made eye contact with somebody behind her; Buttercake looked behind her just as the point of Fiddler's spear entered her chest. Screaming, Buttercake fell onto her front, bleeding out soon afterwards.

Buttercake Mellon, District 11 Female: 9th, Killed by Fiddler, Day 12

That left the final eight: Fiddler Calecson and Glass Nordonia from District 1, Geoff Dempster from District 2, Jackie Burrey from District 3, Dock Elizabeth from District 4, Cylinder Gauntlet from District 6, and Milk Sadler and Honey Sadler from District 10.

On the other side of the cornucopia field, Cylinder from 6 met his end. He reached the table and grabbed a scythe in one hand and a sword in the other while simultaneously piling backpacks over his shoulders. Nearby Dock from 4 saw her chance. Dock tackled Cylinder, raking her claws across his back. Cylinder dropped everything he was holding and fell onto his back. He wiggled in an attempt to free himself from the heavy packs, but this just worked to cut open his wounds even further. Dock's whiskered lips curled into a smile as she cut open her opponent's neck, staining her claws dark red.

Cylinder Gauntlet, District 6 Male: 8th, Killed by Dock, Day 12

By that point, the feast was largely over. Buttercake and Cylinder had both bled out fully, and Jackie had escaped south with enough supplies to last for weeks. Suddenly, there came the sound of stomping from the roof of the cornucopia. Fiddler, Glass, and Dock craned their necks upward and saw Geoff from 2 standing on top of the horn of plenty, a sword in each hand. They hadn't seen his face in days, but there was no doubt is was Geoff Dempster from District 2.

Geoff jumped off of the cornucopia and made an expert landing on top of the long table. "I'm still alive, bitches!" he shouted, grinning. "Better than can be said about your chances at victory. You hear that, District 1 sluts?"

At the first cry of "District 1 sluts" Fiddler and Glass tackled Geoff, knocking him straight off of the table. Fiddler had punched him in the gut so hard that the force of his falling body cracked the wooden table straight in half. The table caved inward. Food and weapons tumbled off of the sloped wood in torrents, burying Geoff before he could run. Geoff poked his head out of the mass of fallen supplies just as Glass brought down the blade of her hatchet, nearly slicing his head completely in half all the way down to his upper neck.

Geoff Dempster, District 2 Male: 7th, Killed by Fiddler and Glass, Day 12

Those were the only deaths to occur on the twelfth day. Fiddler, Glass, and Dock regrouped at the cornucopia. There were loads new supplies and weapons to sort, and Fiddler volunteered for the job; he was fast and efficient and had everything sorted in minutes. He had a knack for keeping things organized, an ironic quality in a tribute trained to kill in the messiest ways possible. Glass took a few hours to rest; out of the three careers, she was the most exhausted. Glass was drenched with sweat, and she couldn't seem to satisfy her thirst no matter how much she drank. Dock sat in the back of the cornucopia, scrubbing the blood off of her claws, whiskers, and furry tail. She knew that Glass wouldn't be too happy if she found out she was using part of the pack's water supply for cleaning, so she only washed her modifications when Glass was asleep or when she left to use the restroom.

Jackie, the only outlier to survive the feast, sprinted north with a spring in her step. She had a backpack bursting with supplies, and she held a sickle in each hand and a knife in each pocket. Just before the fleeing the feast, she'd busted open one of the two water coolers at the cornucopia, draining its watery contents in seconds. Confident and happy, Jackie settled down in the dried-up bed of the river and fell asleep.

Milk was furious when he found out that Honey had split from him, though he was a bit thankful that she'd decided not to kill him before doing so. Milk's stream of sponsor supplies had plummeted to nothing after everybody saw his less-than-humane treatment of his younger sister, but he was okay to survive off of the food supply he'd grabbed from the horn on Day 1. Honey used Day 12 to place a few more miles between herself and her brother. Her tiny body couldn't make it very far each day before she needed to rest. A sponsor sent her a fold-up tent that was just large enough to fit her body, and this provided her at least some shelter from the rovers, aliens, and messy moon dust.

Not enough though, it would seem. Mere minutes after Honey settled down for the night, she woke up to the smell of smoke. Two alien mutts had surrounded her tent, and they had their laser guns aimed at the silky walls; they were now scorching holes in the sides. Honey curled up on the floor of the tent as red laser beams flew over top of her. About half a minute later, she finally decided she needed to make a run for it. Honey was doomed the instant she stepped out of the tent. With two laser guns aimed on her, holes were already being burnt into her left shoulder and lower abdomen. Her blood hissed and evaporated upon contact with her scalding-hot wounds. After her death, the slimy green mutts left quickly to search for more victims.

Honey Sadler, District 10 Female: 6th, Killed by Alien Muttations, Day 13

Minutes later, another cannon shot rolled over the arena, causing clouds of grey dust to float off of the ground. Milk had been wandering aimlessly across the arena for nearly a day in the shadow of a tall piece of rock like a mountain. Because of the large rock, he didn't see the cornucopia, and he didn't realize how near he was. Milk saw the careers emerging from the shadows just as a spear sailed over his shoulder. He looked to see who had thrown the spear and saw Fiddler slowly lowering his arm, nudging the others and pointing out the 10 boy a few meters away. Milk unsheathed the knife he held in his right pocket and held it in front of him, gripping it so tightly his knuckles started bleeding. His best weapon, his spear, was tucked into his backpack, but he didn't have enough time to grab it. Milk quickly realized that it was hopeless to fight back with only a knife against three highly trained tributes with a number of weapons he couldn't name if there was a gun to his head, which there pretty much was. Milk turned to flee, and of course he couldn't escape. Fiddler's aim was true this time, and his spear punctured Milk's back, cutting open a number of arteries. By the time the others reached him, the boy was dead.

Milk Sadler, District 10 Male: 5th, Killed by Fiddler, Day 13

Day 14 was deathless. Jackie was terrified out of her mind; if her memory was correct, she was up against three careers. Even if she was heavily armed it was enough to make a girl nervous. Jackie stayed put for the entire day and practiced with as many weapons as she could, hoping the knowledge would help her out in the rapidly approaching finale.

The careers returned to the cornucopia. Their group accounted for three of the four remaining tributes; they had no idea how their pack had been doing so well, but they resolved to keep doing what they were doing. One of Fiddler's sponsors sent him a note promising him that the finale would take place the next day. Fiddler showed the note to Glass and Dock. That night, the careers were like children on Christmas Eve.

In the early morning of Day 15, the meteor shower began. Jackie was resting in the riverbed when a meteor about the size of a pebble hit her in the face, landing in her ear. Jackie wiggled the pebble free and held it up to her face to investigate; it was dotted with small holes, and it was light, like a sponge. Just as she was about to discard the pebble, another one hit her in the leg. And another in the stomach. Hundreds of the pebbles were now colliding with the lunar surface, creating a sound similar to that of rain falling back home on Earth. By the time Jackie realized what was going on, the falling meteors had grown in size from pebbles to acorns to marbles. Jackie knew the only shelter was the inside of the cornucopia. Jackie ran for her life and held her pack over her head, praying her energy would last her long enough to reach the cornucopia.

Fiddler slept inside of the cornucopia, while the girls were snoozing just outside. Dock was the first to wake, a meteor having hit her in the cheek, and she roused Glass awake, whispering that she thought something was wrong. Glass and Dock rushed into the cornucopia as soon as they realized what was happening. The sound of the meteors showering down onto the roof of the horn was earsplittingly loud, but they managed to make out the sound of a cannon shot over the din.

A meteor the size of a golf ball hit one of Jackie's hands. Hissing in pain, she let her pack loose, and it fell out of her hands. She was now being pummeled by meteors without any form of shelter, and only a few of them had to hit her in the head before it was lights out.

Jackie Burrey, District 3 Female: 4th, Killed by Meteor Shower, Day 15

The careers glanced silently at each other; the three of them were now the only tributes left in the arena. In unspoken agreement, the finalists grabbed their weapons and broke out into the brawl from which a lone victor was sure to emerge. They were evened out rather fairly in terms of weapons; Fiddler had his spear, Glass had her hatchet, and Dock had her claws.

For the first several minutes, there was no clear cut winner. There was a very brief moment when it seemed Dock was done for at the hands of Glass, but the 4 girl managed to stumble out of the path of Glass' hatchet blade just before she let the weapon fly. The main duel was going on between Glass and Dock, while Fiddler circled, looking for the opportunity to dive in and kill one of the two tributes.

Ten minutes into the finale, Glass met her end. Dock had been gradually inflicting a number of cuts and scrapes onto her body. They weren't very severe, but they added up, and Glass was in too much pain to react quickly when Dock abandoned all forms of caution and lunged forward. She tore open Glass' chest with her claws, and she fell to the ground, sending a pile of wooden crates toppling in her descent. The strongest tribute in the games would not be taking home the victor's crown this year.

Glass Nordonia, District 1 Female: 3rd, Killed by Dock, Day 15

Fiddler and Dock's final duel was short-lived. Fiddler had the early advantage; he'd been on top of Dock when Glass died, so he easily managed to pin her to the ground. In seconds, Fiddler had pinned both of Dock's ankles to the ground with his own feet, and he was now practically lying on top of her. Dock purred and clawed madly at the air, eventually hitting Fiddler's cheek hard enough to make him let go. Dock rolled out of the way and leapt to her feet, and Fiddler was too disoriented to fight back as Dock pulled him back by his hair, revealing his bare throat. Dock slashed and tore at her opponent's exposed neck and upper chest. Fiddler tried to remain on his feet, but he wobbled over and fell straight to the ground despite his best efforts, coughing up blood.

Fiddler Calecson, District 1 Male: 2nd, Killed by Dock, Day 15

"Dock Elizabeth of District 4, you are the victor of the eighty-fourth annual Hunger Games!" Cadmus and Daria announced.

Dock's cosmetic whiskers twitched with triumph as she held her clawed hands into the air, towering over the bloody corpse of her final opponent.

Dock Elizabeth, District 4 Female: Victor of the Eighty-Fourth Hunger Games, Day 15


AFTERMATH

District 4 was happy to take home their victor number thirteen. Dock was instantly memorable for her extraordinary look, and she attracted quite a few stolen glances at the parties celebrating her victory, but she didn't mind; Dock liked being unique, and she loved cats even more. It wasn't a surprise when she adopted several cats immediately after her victory, and there wasn't a day of her life that she didn't wake up to a cohort of feline friends meowing for their morning feed. Despite being mostly introverted, Dock knew how to have fun, and she got along well with the other 4 victors like Annie and Talisa. President Obsidian would go on to use her as a prostitute, but Talisa didn't mind; she was one of the most psychologically and emotionally sound victors, so she wasn't passionately opposed to anything that was sent her way in the first few years after her victory.

She settled into the Victor's Village of District, the thirteenth to do so.

Her victory tour was decent, but District 1 was furious for obvious reasons.

Dock would live to age eighty-one, dying from heart disease five months after the one-hundred forty-eighth annual Hunger Games. She would marry once, but her relationship with her husband would dissolve only a few months later and she would never remarry. She would also get pregnant in her thirties, but she would receive an abortion, not seeing herself as mother material.


NEWS

Dock moves into the Victor's Village of District 4, next door to Talisa.

Apollo Reinold has his first child, a girl named Suzan.

Kasey Slosser marries her fiancé of four years, Kelan Tripp.


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)
67HG: Augustus Braun (#11, District 1)
68HG: Iuna Mosier (#12, District 1)
69HG: Alexander Westlake (#2, District 10)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#11, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#3, District 7)
72HG: Remus Daley (#18, District 2)
73HG: Apollo Reinold (#4, District 6)
74HG: Meredith Powell (#4, District 7)
75HG: Struve Lockman (#19, District 2)
76HG: Porcelain Wing (#13, District 1)
77HG: Router Lowell (#9, District 3)
78HG: Surge Upsdell (#7, District 5)
79HG: Kasey Slosser (#5, District 6)
80HG: Tarquinius Orfe (#20, District 2)
81HG: Talisa Plummer (#12, District 4)
82HG: Poplin Amsden (#3, District 8)
83HG: Pixel Watt (#10, District 3)
84HG: Dock Elizabeth (#13, District 4)


A/N: Eeek! I faced some writer's block with this one, but I'm glad I managed to bring everything full circle and post the chapter without taking weeks and weeks and weeks. Anyway, I thought Dock was cool. I've always wondered how the citizens of the upper district dress and act. I can imagine they're too poor for the ridiculous costumes the Capitolites wear, but a few of them probably have that crazy fashion sense. E.G. this chapter's victor. If you've read the chapter you know what I mean ;)

I'll see all you guys next time with the eighty-fifth games. I hope your lives are all going swell.