THE EIGHTY FIFTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Smoke and Mirrors"


INTRODUCTION

President Cassia Obsidian remained perched precariously atop the crumbling marble tower of the presidency. Throughout the last two years, President Obsidian had been targeted by at least a dozen assassins from the Heads political sect, people who were unhappy about her treatment of the outlying districts. As assassinations increased in frequency, a single man stepped out and proclaimed himself the leader of the Heads political party. His name was Stinn Hawke, and he claimed to be directly related to ex-president Snow, though this claim would later be dispelled. Stinn rallied followers from around the Capitol who thought the districts should be treated much more harshly and stormed the presidential mansion. President Obsidian managed to escape into a hidden cellar with herself and much of the mansion's staff, and by the time they were rescued nearly half of the mansion had been burnt down. Terrified of further assassination attempts, Obsidian drew into the shadows of her dilapidated palace and rarely emerged except for mandatory events. In interviews, her answers were almost always short and concise. During this time, the president was diagnosed with a number of severe anxiety and depression disorders. Violet Turpin returned for her seventh year as head gamemaker. The Capitol was hoping for a few trailer clips to give their eyes a tiny taste of what this year's arena would be like, but Violet kept every aspect of the games much more secretive this year than some others.

The careers were a pretty stereotypical bunch, but they all scored well. District 1 provided a stunning duo. The boy was District 1's mainstay, the tall, blond ladies' man who liked spears, though he could fight with anything well. The girl slept with one of the gamemakers, seducing him into giving her a ten rather than the eight she deserved; that gamemaker was later tried and fired for his actions. District 2 provided a lacking duo. The boy was tall, agile, and charismatic, but he wasn't particularly strong, while the girl was a dark-haired beauty who was more petite. Both were master swordsmen. District 4 provided the most formidable fighters this year. The boy was a heavily-muscled seventeen-year-old kid with a cool accent, while the female was an attractive dark-skinned girl who was among the best archers the games had seen. The scores of the pack were great: two elevens, two tens, and two nines.

The outliers were a brilliant bunch of memorable tributes. The five strongest outliers teamed together to form the first anti-career alliance in over two decades. They were Rachel from 3, Mikey and Sycamora from 7, Hye from 9, and Bechi from 11. Rachel was on the shorter side, and she had impeccable aim. Mikey and Sycamora were the stars of the show this year, even outshining the careers in some regards. Mikey was a level headed eighteen-year-old kid who always dressed casually, while Sycamora was much more uptight and pragmatic and very pretty. Both preferred axes as their weapons of choice. Hye and Bechi developed a close-knit friendship during training, and they were almost inseparable. The boys were alike in many ways, sharing the same scores and ages, though Hye was best in long-range fights while Bechi could work magic with the blades. Headed by Sycamora, the anti-careers vowed to grapple for control of the cornucopia in the opening minutes. They hoped to kill at least three careers and send the others scattering, but this would not be easy given the high scores of this year's pack. Besides the anti-careers, there weren't many outlier standouts, but there were a few. Matisa from 8 was directly related to a famous family of Capitol officials, and the deep pockets of her family would allow her an extensive supply of sponsor gifts, if she survived the bloodbath. There was a single volunteer outside of the careers: Dasher from 6. He suffered from Tourette's syndrome. At the reaping, his nerves were up so high that he involuntarily shouted the words, "I volunteer as tribute," before he could stop himself. He insisted that he hadn't meant the words, but the Capitol forced him to enter the games anyway, knowing he would be an interesting contender. Here are the tributes:

District 1: Bright Galeotti, 18, (11) 3-1 and Sharrah Clurr, 16, (10) 5-1

District 2: Gravel Rockwell, 17, (9) 7-1 and Astrid Fronteau, 18, (9) 6-1

District 3: Halon Quilty, 16, (5) 24-1 and Rachel Ostensible, 18, (7) 15-1

District 4: Chaplin Borden, 17, (10) 4-1 and Thames Cather, 17, (11) 3-1

District 5: Edison Canterbury, 14, (3) 63-1 and Beth Mongan, 16, (4) 32-1

District 6: Dasher Robelo-Gomes, 18, (6) 20-1 and Scarlet Fran, 15, (3) 58-1

District 7: Mikey Jonah, 18, (8) 13-1 and Sycamora Bromley, 16, (10) 5-1

District 8: Damon Greer, 13, (4) 35-1 and Matisa Conquest, 18, (7) 14-1

District 9: Hye Mauris, 16, (7) 16-1 and Cara Whipple, 14, (4) 36-1

District 10: Ruddy Hassard, 17, (5) 22-1 and Jemima Angel, 17, (5) 24-1

District 11: Bechi Olsen, 16, (7) 12-1 and Dewdrop Tiltree, 12, (2) 69-1

District 12: Kenneth Waldon, 14, (3) 58-1 and Missouri Londor, 13, (2) 64-1

HGBO Bets: 21% on Bright, 20% on Thames, 9% on Sharrah and Chaplin, 7% on Astrid, 6% on Gravel, 5% on Sycamora, 4% on Mikey, 3% on Rachel, Hye, and Bechi, 2% on Matisa, 1% or less on Halon, Edison, Beth, Dasher, Scarlet, Damon, Cara, Ruddy, Jemima, Dewdrop, Kenneth, and Missouri.


THE GAMES

When the arena was finally revealed to all, viewers across Panem had to squint to see what their screens were showing. The air was obscured by a kind of white mist that was cool and pleasant to the touch. If a tribute stood still for long enough, little pieces of water would bead up on their skin. The air smelled like salty sea spray. The arena this year was a long, thin canyon fashioned from bands of grey rock. A swift, freezing-cold river rushed through the canyon. It meandered along its path for several miles before pouring into an ocean to the west. The cornucopia was situated atop a tall, thin pillar of stone. The twenty-four pedestals were mounted onto separate stone pillars, arranged in a circle around the cornucopia. A fraying rope bridge connected each tribute's pedestal to the central cornucopia. There were also stairs carved into each stone tower, allowing tributes to flee once they had gathered the supplies they needed. The north and south were both lost in mist, but if one travelled far enough to the north they would find that the ground was made of rough rock. In this area of the arena, a number of waterfalls plummeted downward into a tributary of the broad river. To the south, there were a number of steaming hot pools, though this steam blended in with the overlaying mist and went largely unnoticed. The tributes this year would largely be feeding themselves off of fish and berries. The mutts didn't seem intimidating at first sight, but they were sure to be deadly. The steaming lakes to the south were swarming with puffins that had razor-sharp beaks reminiscent of the pink bird mutts from the second Quarter Quell. The river at the bottom of the canyon was filled with vicious piranha mutts. The most terrifying mutts, however, inhabited a sturdy wooden cabin to the north. The cabin emitted a warm glow and smelled like vanilla and chocolate, but it was occupied by three grey ghoul mutts. They looked more or less like human women, but they had gnarled hands and faces and hunched backs. Their fingers were clawed. Their eye sockets were empty, and the three ghouls shared one slimy eye that they were constantly passing between themselves.

The bloodbath of the eighty-fifth Hunger Games was, more than anything, a skirmish between the careers and the anti-careers. It would go down in history as the massacre of the eighty-fifth. When the ten-minute bloodbath first aired, it had to be replayed at least six times so that Cadmus and Daria could cover every major detail. It was undoubtedly the most famous bloodbath of the first Hunger Games century, and the Capitol gobbled it up like their exquisite raspberry soup.

When the tributes could see, all they could make out was the thick veil of mist hanging around their pedestals. In time, the tributes with keener eyesight made out the cornucopia far away. Many tributes were courageous enough to brave the fraying rope bridges, but many others were not willing to take the risk. When the gong rang, a total of five tributes fled down the steps on their stone pillars: Dasher from 6, Cara from 9, Ruddy from 10, and Kenneth and Missouri from 12. The other nineteen tributes grabbed hold of their rope bridges and made their precarious ways toward the supply hoard at the cornucopia.

Bright sprinted down his rope bridge and snatched up one of the three bows that the gamemakers were supplying this year. The weapon fit snugly into his grasp like it was made for him. He nocked an arrow and began firing. One of his arrows landed squarely in the neck of a young boy nearby. Shrieking, the boy fell to his knees, dying swiftly from the arrow implanted into his neck.

Damon Greer, District 8 Male: 24th, Killed by Bright, Bloodbath

The girl from 6 was racing down her rope bridge when she suddenly felt the rope snapping and sliding under her weight. Both of her parents were dangerous rebels, so the girl's bridge had been rigged to break easily once she was about halfway across. Her screams slowly faded to silence as she tumbled thousands of feet downward before disappearing under the surface of the rushing river.

Scarlet Fran, District 6 Female: 23rd, Killed by Drowning, Bloodbath

Sycamora, the leader of the anti-careers, found that an axe had been placed at the end of her rope bridge. Her expression remained blank as she picked up the axe and strapped it to her wrist, then swung to the left with all the strength she could muster. The blade of the axe connected with the chest of the nearest boy, and he was gone in moments.

Halon Quilty, District 3 Male: 22nd, Killed by Sycamora, Bloodbath

Now that three deaths had occurred, things were starting to organize. All six of the careers had reached the cornucopia and stood their ground in front of its yawning mouth, ready to defend the supplies with their lives if they had to. Bright, Sharrah, and Thames held the three bows. Gravel had a sword, Astrid had a belt of throwing knives, and Chaplin had a spear. Meanwhile, the anti-careers were assembling just far away enough that the careers couldn't see them through the mist. Mikey, Sycamora, and Hye were all armed, while Rachel and Bechi were defenseless. Suddenly, a seventeen-year-old girl ran straight into Bechi by accident. She tried to stumble to safety, but Bechi's allies had already handed him two knives. Holding one weapon in each hand, he drove the girl to the edge of the narrow stone pillar before sawing the blades into her chest.

Jemima Angel, District 10 Female: 21st, Killed by Bechi, Bloodbath

The six careers had been waiting in front of the cornucopia for nearly a minute now, and the anti-career pack hadn't come to them. They finally decided to split up: Bright, Astrid, and Thames stayed in front of the horn, while Sharrah, Gravel, and Chaplin spread across the flat top of the stone pillar to search for victims. Gravel had been running for mere seconds when he stumbled straight into the midst of the anti-careers. He raced back toward the cornucopia to alert the careers that he'd found them, but a now-armed Rachel had already speared a javelin through his back. Sharrah and Chaplin heard Gravel's screams and raced to his side just as the life faded from the 2 boy's body.

Gravel Rockwell, District 2 Male: 20th, Killed by Rachel, Bloodbath

Now it was five against two: anti-careers Rachel, Mikey, Sycamora, Hye, and Bechi versus Sharrah and Chaplin. The two groups lunged toward each other. Best friends Hye and Bechi ganged up on Sharrah and knocked her bow straight out of her hand; it clattered over the stone ground before tumbling off the edge of the pillar. Meanwhile, Mikey and Sycamora were occupied warding off Chaplin's arrows, and Rachel was nowhere to be found. In fact, she was dead. Bright, Astrid, and Thames, who were guarding the cornucopia, abandoned their post and hastened to join in the deadly brawl. Astrid threw her throwing knives into the back of the first tribute she saw. Rachel let out a single gasp before tumbling off the edge of the pillar and dropping into the mist-veiled canyon.

Rachel Ostensible, District 3 Female: 19th, Killed by Astrid, Bloodbath

The four anti-careers stumbled backward as Bright, Astrid, and Thames stepped out of the mist. In unspoken agreement, the five careers and four anti-careers involved abandoned all forms of caution and lashed out with their weapons, struggling to take down anyone who belonged to the opposite group. The careers were desperate to keep the anti-careers away from the cornucopia, but the anti-careers were even more desperate to gain control of the arena's main vantage point. The first of the competitors fell as Hye and Bechi slowly backed away, hiding themselves in the mist. They appeared out of nowhere right behind Thames, and the career girl whipped around just as Hye's throwing knives entered her chest. She was so shocked that she dropped her bow. Thames scrambled to pick the weapon back up, but Hye had already kicked it out of the way, leaving room for Bechi to cut open the side of her abdomen with two heavy chops.

Thames Cather, District 4 Female: 18th, Killed by Hye and Bechi, Bloodbath

Another tribute fell mere seconds later. Sycamora and Mikey from District 7, both armed with axes, decided to gang up on the nearest tribute, Astrid. Astrid just chuckled as they stepped out of the mist, twirling her throwing knives in her hands. Astrid made a valiant attempt to ward off the 7s, but she'd severely underestimated their abilities. This spelled her doom. Her plan was to throw a number of throwing knives to the tributes' left, causing them to move to the right where she could easily off them. When Mikey and Sycamora didn't fall for her trick, her moment of confusion was all that was needed for the outliers to gash open her abdomen messily.

Astrid Fronteau, District 2 Female: 17th, Killed by Mikey and Sycamora, Bloodbath

At the other end of the stone pillar, a girl not affiliated with either pack met her end. Carrying a pack containing loaves of bread and a water bottle, she grabbed one of the rope bridges and slowly made her way toward safety. She was less than halfway across when one of the ropes snapped. In seconds, the entire complex of ropey strands had unwound like a yarn scarf, and she dropped like a stone to the base of the canyon where she was helplessly swept away.

Dewdrop Tiltree, District 11 Female: 16th, Killed by Drowning, Bloodbath

The brawl between the careers and anti-careers claimed a fourth life. Bright from 1 had a plentiful supply of arrows and wasn't concerned about wasting them. He fired left and right, not paying much attention to who was in his path as long as they moved. Bright cringed at the sound of his ally Chaplin's screams; unbeknownst to him, Chaplin had been in the path of one of his arrows.

Chaplin Borden, District 4 Male: 15th, Killed by Bright, Bloodbath

Shaking with fury, Bright and Sharrah finally accepted that they had no choice but to retreat. They were all that was left of the once-powerful career pack. The duo from 1 just bowed slightly and then raced down the nearest rope bridge after piling as many supplies as possible into the arms. The 1s were humiliated and angry that they were submitting to a group of four untrained outliers, but they knew it would be insanity to keep fighting. At the cornucopia, the anti-careers reveled in their victory, whooping with their hands in their air and jumping up and down. They though the bloodbath was over, but they were wrong. Less than ten meters away, a small boy had stuffed half of his body into a large backpack in a pathetic attempt to take cover. Now he was shaking back and forth, whimpering softly. Sycamora ended him with a hatchet blow to the chest, and he barely felt it.

Edison Canterbury, District 5 Male: 14th, Killed by Sycamora, Bloodbath

The rest of Day 1 was deathless. Bright and Sharrah sprinted down one of the rope bridges and then climbed down to the ground, bickering back and forth. They were both ashamed and humiliated at having to surrender control of the cornucopia. In between their arguments, they formulated a haphazard plan to sabotage the cornucopia and reclaim control of the horn of plenty. The duo from 1 eventually settled near one of the steaming hot pools to the south. The anti-careers hung around at the cornucopia. They weren't the first anti-career alliance the games had ever seen, but they were the first to succeed in gaining control of the cornucopia, so there was literally no precedent for them. They figured they should run through the stereotypical career routine, at least for the first day. Sycamora and Mikey sorted the weapons. The district partners got along well, and their friendship played well with the capitol. The other pair, Hye and Bechi, sorted the food rations in the back of the cornucopia. They were similarly jokey and amusing. Sycamora warned the others to be on the lookout for the careers; if they returned, they would have to be ready to fight back. Mikey later went on to cut several of the rope bridges to minimize the other tributes' ability to reach them at the arena's main vantage point. There were seven tributes that weren't a member of either pack. Beth was on the move; despite her youth, she was fast and resilient. She had her heart set on reaching the bottom of the canyon by the end of the day. The mist was much thinner down there, so Beth could easily make out her surroundings while being veiled from above. Dasher scrambled down his stone pillar and raced north, where the land was rocky and uneven. He was deathly afraid of heights, and it had taken every ounce of his self-control to keep from vomiting off the side of his pedestal before the gong. When night fell, Dasher settled down between two large boulders, hoping the mutts and other tributes wouldn't spot him in his makeshift hiding place. Matisa was showered with so many sponsor gifts she didn't know what to do. Her rich family sent her items from everywhere on the spectrum of practicality: a knife, a sleeping bag, a pack of dinner rolls, a pillow, a teddy bear, and a bowl of mashed potatoes. She settled near the steaming hot pools, dangerously near to the careers, though she couldn't see them through the mist. Cara was feeling extremely queasy from the heights of the arena and came to low ground as quickly as possible. Her nausea instantly melted away when she picked up on a warm, comforting scent wafting from the wooden cabin about a mile away. Cara turned in the direction of the pleasant aroma, not knowing about the three ghoul mutts that lived inside. Ruddy had a grappling hook, which worked wonders for his survival, as it kept him from slipping around on the slick stone from which the canyon was fashioned. He settled about ten meters from the edge of the ginormous chasm and quickly fell asleep. Kenneth and Missouri from 12 had allied prior to the games. They'd both been among the tributes to avoid the bloodbath, and they were some of the first tributes to find shelter. The 12s settled in a roomy cave that overlooked the sea and the setting sun, and all of a sudden Kenneth grabbed Missouri and kissed her on the lips. Missouri was shocked but didn't try to draw away. Kenneth actually had feelings for her, but Missouri was only pretending to like him back knowing it would attract the sponsors like butterflies to a dish of sugar. There was relative peace in the arena as day turned into night.

A cannon shot kicked off the second day in the arena. Matisa woke up bright and early with the help of a tin alarm clock, the millionth sponsor gift sent to her by her wealthy family. She felt surprisingly well-rested despite having slept for only a few hours. Matisa washed in one of the steaming pools and then moved in the direction of the ravine, hoping to find victims. She was much less squeamish and germophobic than the rest of her rich family and she didn't mind killing. Matisa had only been walking for a few minutes when she perked up. She moved in the direction of the soft snores and came to the place where Ruddy was sleeping, mere meters away from the edge of the canyon. Matisa knelt down and gave Ruddy's sleeping body one hard push. He woke up just as he toppled over the edge of the gorge, tumbling hundreds of feet down. His brains were bashed and his spine was snapped the instant he hit the bottom of the canyon. Matisa took his grappling hook and then left quickly.

Ruddy Hassard, District 10 Male: 13th, Killed by Matisa, Day 2

At the cornucopia, the anti-careers shuffled nervously about, preparing for their first hunt. Bechi's sponsors sent him a package of lettuce and some dressing, which he mixed with a few peppers courtesy of Hye to create a kind of salad. After the group was finished with breakfast, Mikey and Sycamora left to hunt, while Bechi and Hye stayed behind to guard the cornucopia. When the cornucopia was controlled by the careers, it was enough for only one tribute to keep guard, but the less-skilled anti-careers required two guards because of their comparatively lacking weaponry smarts.

Only one more exciting moment occurred before Day 2 was over. Bright and Sharrah didn't have control over the cornucopia, but that didn't stop them from hunting. Around six in the evening, just as the sun was beginning to disappear under the surface of the churning grey sea, Bright and Sharrah spotted Matisa from 8 moved quietly amongst the pools of steaming hot water. Matisa knelt beside one of the pools for a drink, and she spotted the careers in the reflection on the surface. Trying not to scream or be too reckless with her movements, Matisa hurried toward safety. The careers chased after her, but she was lost quickly in the visibility-reducing mist.

Day 3 was deathless. After several days of playing devil's advocate, Bright and Sharrah prepared to head back to the cornucopia. They would do anything to reclaim control of the horn. Sycamora's mentor Meredith sent her a note cryptically warning her that the careers were nearer than ever. She and the other three tributes struggled to decode the ciphered note without success. By this point, the different personalities of the anti-careers were really starting to show. In the beginning, the others hadn't been particularly fond of Sycamora's control freak attitude, but now she was acting too witty to be cocky and too flexible to be considered stingy. Mikey was the comedic relief, cracking jokes left and right and never taking anything seriously. Hye and Bechi tried to sustain their friendship, but it was getting more and more difficult as the games progressed, especially as disagreements broke out between them more and more frequently. The stress of the games was getting to them like it did to all allied tributes at some point or another, and they were taking it remarkably well despite their occasional speed bumps.

The outliers weren't up to anything exciting. Beth remained hidden in the depths of the canyon, moving along the foaming demon of the river every morning for her daily relocation. She was unnerved by strange flashes of movement in the water. Once, when she reached her hands into the river for a sip, something nipped the little finger on her left hand, spooking Beth enough to keep her away from the river whenever possible. Matisa relocated to the dastardly cliffs overlooking the sea. The sponsor gifts kept on keeping on, but their flow was slightly diminished as prices for gifts rose higher. Cara stumbled mindlessly in the direction of the warm wooden cabin at the north end of the arena. She was under the control of the chocolatey fragrance as though by a kind of magic spell; at her current rate, she would arrive at the cabin in mere days more. Kenneth and Missouri's romance progressed from their first kiss to holding hands everywhere they went. Kenneth was already head over heels in love for his district partner, and Missouri wasn't sure what to do. She felt only platonic affection toward Kenneth, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings and she knew that the sponsor gifts would only increase with more time spent together. Missouri ended up deciding that she would break the news to Kenneth at the final eight—that was if they survived that far, and she tried not to think too hard about the alternative.

The first death of Day 4 occurred around nine o'clock in the morning. Bright and Sharrah had settled less than a mile from the edge of the canyon the night prior. Now, all they had to do was trek to the bottom of the canyon, find one of the pillars topped with a pedestal, and then climb up and across to reach the horn. However, they were intercepted by a group of two puffin mutts with razor sharp beaks. The careers expertly killed off the two birds, but they were both covered with blood. Bright wasn't fazed by the blood, and he halfheartedly scrubbed it off of himself before urging Sharrah to follow him to the horn. However, Sharrah was devastated about the stains on her crystal-clear skin. She had to stop for a wash, and she added that she wouldn't get nearly as many sponsors if she didn't look pretty for them.

Bright sat cross-legged facing the opposite direction as Sharrah took off all of her clothes excepting her bra and underwear and slowly sank into one of the steaming hot pools. She spent several minutes relaxing in the pool before she began to scrub the blood off of herself. Unbeknownst to her, three more puffin mutts were standing still a few feet away, ready to attack at the gamemakers' command. Sharrah screamed as the first of the puffins drilled its razor-sharp beak through her chest. Bright leapt to his feet to help her, but the puffins beat him to her. They dragged the thrashing girl to the center of the pool and tore open her chest, splattering blood across their pristine white feathers. Nobody would be drinking from that pool any time soon now that it was tainted pink with her guts.

Sharrah Clurr, District 1 Female: 12th, Killed by Puffin Muttations, Day 4

Bright clenched his hands into fists and grumbled as loudly as he dared. This was among the worst years to be a career in history: there were eleven tributes left and Bright was the only career. Now he would have to pull off his attack on the cornucopia all by himself. Despite being one against four, Bright wasn't enormously discouraged. Bechi and Hye had sevens and Mikey had an eight, and even Sycamora's cool ten couldn't compare to his outstanding eleven. Sponsor gifts started pouring down to help him, and Bright put off the attack until the following day, wanting to milk every sponsor gift he could out of the audience before he began his do-or-die mission.

At the bottom of the canyon, Beth had a near-death experience. Despite her constant attempts to relocate herself, the Capitol was getting fed up with her refusal to leave the canyon, so the gamemakers sent a torrent of rocks down to kill her or at least spook her into getting on the move. She dodged the torrent of falling rocks with nothing more than a cut on her forehead, and she stumbled straight into the violently churning river. Beth was strong enough to avoid being swept straight off of her feet, but a sharp trill of pain ran through her leg seconds later. A piranha had latched onto her leg, and she could clearly make out its sparkling orange scales through the rippling surface of the river. Beth tried to stumble to shore, but at least ten piranha mutts had grabbed onto her ankles. When she finally dragged herself out of the river, the air-hating piranhas flopped away from her. Beth was bleeding heavily, and both of her legs were in extreme pain. She tore off parts of her shirt to wrap around the wounds like bandages, but without sponsor help she would be doomed to death from blood loss or infection in due time.

The remainder of the day trickled past uneventfully, and for a moment it seemed as though the death of Sharrah would be the only death of the day. However, moments before sunset, a girl's shrill screams shattered the silence of the mist-veiled canyon arena. Cara had been moving in the direction of the small wooden cabin for several days, and she finally stumbled over the threshold toward the end of the fourth day. She immediately froze to the spot as the three ghoul mutts came into sight. Their skin was gnarled like tree bark and they wore thin silver cloaks that seemed spun from moonlight. One of the ghouls, the one carrying the single eye, held up a clawed finger and pointed at Cara. The girl tried to run, but the door had locked behind her. As Cara pounded at the nearest window, screaming for help, the ghouls drew daggers from the insides of their cloaks and ended her.

Cara Whipple, District 9 Female: 11th, Killed by Ghoul Muttations, Day 4

Bright was on the prowl. Now that he was the only career left in the eighty-fifth Hunger Games, he burned with fervor, and fury and adrenaline trilled through his veins like ice water. He arrived at the bottom of the canyon shortly before midnight and moved quietly over the stone before he came to one of the pillars that led upward. When Bright finished the climb, he grabbed onto the rope bridge and moved quietly across. In seemingly no time at all, the stone cornucopia was looming out of the mist, and he could hear the anti-careers' soft snores.

Mikey, Sycamora, and Bechi were asleep in the back of the cornucopia, whereas Hye was sleepily standing guard. Bright ducked behind one of the tribute pedestals and took note of their positions and other whereabouts. Bright carefully readied an arrow and fired it in Hye's direction, aiming for his chest. His hope was that the boy would die instantly without waking the others, but this was not the case. Hye whimpered and cried, his screams already choked by the sound of blood. The other three woke instantly and sprang to their feet. Sycamora gave Mikey and Bechi a short pep talk and then the brawl began.

Hye Mauris, District 9 Male: 10th, Killed by Bright, Day 5

For the first several minutes, it was unclear which side would win. Lone Bright was up against three tributes, but none of them were trained nearly as well as he was and he had the most sponsors on his side. Mikey was immediately at the head of the onrush, determined to drive away the attacker, and he pounced so quickly Bright was almost taken aback. Bright fired a volley of two arrows about thirty degrees apart. Mikey deflected the first with his hatchet blade, and the other arrow would have hit Bechi in the chest if Sycamora hadn't thrown a pack through the air to absorb the blow.

Finally, Bright managed to pin one of the other tributes to the ground. With a loud roar like a battle cry, he lunged forward and knocked an unsuspecting Sycamora over like a domino. Bright pressed one of his arrows to Sycamora's neck and pushed it farther and farther into the skin. The skin broke, and blood promptly burbled forth. He was a moment from driving the arrow all the way into her flesh when Bechi and Mikey kicked him in the chest. Bright fell straight off of Sycamora, hissing in pain, and Sycamora whirled around as quick as a flash to bury the blade of her axe into his chest. With a final burst of energy, Bright showed his bow sharply to the right and fired an arrow. Bechi was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and his allies watched in horror as the 11 boy collapsed to the ground, the life already draining from his eyes. Bechi passed away moments before Bright due to his more severe state of bodily distress.

Bechi Olsen, District 11 Male: 9th, Killed by Bright, Day 5

Bright Galeotti, District 1 Male: 8th, Killed by Sycamora, Day 5

Due to the rapid succession of Bechi and Bright's deaths, a final seven was classified this year rather than a final eight. They were Beth Mongan from District 5, Dasher Robelo-Gomes from District 6, Mikey Jonah and Sycamora Bromley from District 7, Matisa Conquest from District 8, and Kenneth Waldon and Missouri Londor from District 12.

The rest of Day 5, as well as the entirety of Day 6, was deathless. By this point, most of the tributes had fallen into their day-to-day rhythms. Mikey and Sycamora rested at the cornucopia and recovered from their physical and psychological wounds. They were all that was left of the anti-careers, and with Bright dead they were now the strongest tributes in the arena. They felt somewhat incomplete without Hye and Bechi, but the boys were gradually forgotten as the 7s went about their business.

At the bottom of the canyon, Beth continued gradually bleeding out from the wounds inflicted by the piranha mutts. A number of sympathetic sponsors sent her medical supplies to help her out, including a roll of gauze and a blue pill to numb the pain. Beth wrapped her legs with the gauze and swallowed the pill. The bliss of the painkiller wore off after only a few hours, and the bandages did little to prevent the infection that was slowly taking root in the girl's wounds.

Dasher had been moving in the direction of the ocean for several days. A sponsored compass helped him out somewhat, but the compass was designed to go haywire for about ten minutes every hour, throwing the 6 boy off track. When he finally arrived at the dastardly cliffs overlooking the churning ocean, Dasher expertly fashioned a fishhook out of an old tin can and some rope. Dasher caught two fish before the day was out, but decided not to eat them for the time being, unsure if they were edible. A few minutes before nightfall, disaster struck. Dasher was lying on his back trying to get some sleep when he heard the high-pitched squawking of several puffin mutts come to spear him with their long, thin beaks. Sleep-addled, he stumbled backward and tumbled straight off the side of the cliff. Dasher fell down two stories and landed on a patch of damp sand, battered and bruised beyond belief. The sand had absorbed the impact of his blow, so only one of his arms had broken, but he lacked the energy to budge an inch nonetheless.

When Kenneth and Missouri woke up on the morning of Day 6, Missouri said she had something important to tell Kenneth. Kenneth insinuated that she could tell him anything. Missouri opened her mouth to tell him that she'd been faking her feelings for him, but before she could utter a single peep she froze in place. A gust of wind carrying the chocolatey smell of the ghouls' wooden cabin had blown in their direction, and the allies both turned their heads in the direction of the aroma, enraptured. Kenneth and Missouri packed up their supplies and sprinted in the direction of the smell to investigate, under its spell. They were remarkably adequate at keeping direction; at their current rate, it looked like they would be able to reach the cabin by the following morning, provided there were no accidents.

By this point in the games, Matisa had discarded most of her sponsor gifts because they were far too heavy for her to carry without her movement being obstructed. Now, all she carried with her was a small pack containing some food, some water, medical supplies, and a backup weapon in case her knives were lost or stolen. Matisa had spent several days moving slowly alongside the shore when she stumbled across Dasher's trembling, dying form. Matisa's heart hurt horribly for the poor boy, and she knelt down on the sand, using her medical supplies to help heal him. Matisa should have known that he was beyond saving. All she was doing was drawing out Dasher's suffering. The next morning, Matisa gave into the boy's quiet pleads to be ended. She thrust her knives quickly into his chest.

Dasher Robelo-Gomes, District 6 Male: 7th, Killed by Matisa, Day 7

On Day 7, Mikey and Sycamora made the decision to go hunting for the first time since Bright's invasion two days prior. Since there were only two of them, only one could hunt while the other would have to stay behind and guard the supplies. They decided to hunt in twelve-hour shifts, but it quickly became apparent how inefficient and terrifying this strategy was, so they vowed to abandon the cornucopia and hunt as a pair at noon the following day.

The night prior, Kenneth and Missouri had collapsed with exhaustion about half a mile from the cabin where the three ghouls lived. They woke up bright and early on the seventh day and quickly finished their journey in the direction of the aroma. Suddenly, the wooden cabin loomed out of the mist. Cozy warm light and heat shined out of the windows, and brightly-colored flowers hung around the front door like a border. They weren't the first tributes to find the small cabin: the blood of the dead Cara from 9 was still splattered over the threshold. But the 12s were too excited by the prospect of investigating their new discovery to pay any attention to that. In all reality, Missouri was terrified of what she might find inside, so when Kenneth volunteered to check the inside all by himself, she didn't object. The moment Kenneth stepped into the cabin, he fell straight back out of the door, three silver daggers planted into his chest, screaming Missouri's name. The ghouls' dagger blades were laced with poison, and he was gone in moments.

Kenneth Waldon, District 12 Male: 6th, Killed by Ghoul Muttations, Day 7

Missouri instinctively ran to Kenneth's side and checked his pulse with her right hand; of course, it was non-existent. Before Missouri could make a run for it, she felt a freezing-cold hand wrap around her wrist. Missouri shrieked and fought to escape, but the ghoul dragged her to the center of the cabin and dropped her to the floor with a thunk. She was surrounded on all three sides. She got back to her feet and tackled the nearest mutt, knocking it backward and toppling a shelf of daggers. Despite her best attempts to escape out the window, the cackling ghouls were on her in no time, planting their weapons into her back and sending her off the same way as Kenneth.

Missouri Londor, District 12 Female: 5th, Killed by Ghoul Muttations, Day 7

Little of consequence filled Days 8 and 9. There were only four tributes left in the arena, and the Capitol was thirsting for a bloody finale; if there wasn't any inter-tribute conflict sooner than later, gamemaker intervention would have been necessary. Beth's infection was gradually getting worse, and by the end of Day 9 most of her scenes had to be blurred out or censored completely. The skin around the wounds on her ankles was pink and unnaturally squishy, and they were streaked with an ugly, dull kind of yellow that oozed pus whenever she moved too suddenly. The pain came in waves from her wounds, and Beth prayed for rescue as she huddled in a small fissure at the base of the canyon, weeping quietly to herself. Mikey and Sycamora abandoned the cornucopia once and for all. They moved the bare necessities to a safe location and then tossed the rest of the horn's supplies into the canyon to be caught in the river and swept off into the sea. By the time they left the cornucopia, all that was inside were a few countertops and bits of rope. They were a stellar and memorable duo, and Mikey's witty humor paired with Sycamora's determined, ambitious mindset of the games made them one of the most talked-about duos in Hunger Games history up to that point. A sponsor note told them that Matisa was hiding somewhere near the steaming hot pools, and they moved in that direction, hoping to find and eliminate the girl with the rich family before her supply of weapons could get too large. Matisa herself expertly climbed back up the rocky cliffs and then wove amongst the steaming pools, stopping once and a while for drinks. Around noon on Day 9, three puffin mutts attacked her, but Matisa effortlessly managed to outrun them. Once, she came across the pool where Sharrah from 1 had been killed several days prior; the girl's blood and guts still lined the base of the pool in chunks, and Matisa left quickly, disgusted.

The morning of Day 10, a cannon shot rolled over the arena. Beth's infection had finally progressed to the point that she was completely immobile, and she was helpless as a large rock fell from the top of the canyon and landed straight on top of her. Beth was killed instantly. Her mentor would later tell the press that she was thankful she'd been given a quick end after so many days of suffering.

Beth Mongan, District 5 Female: 4th, Killed by Infection and Falling Rock, Day 10

Little of consequence filled the remainder of Day 10. Mikey and Sycamora continued their hunt for the elusive Matisa. Once, when they were less than a quarter mile from each other, the gamemakers set off a loud banging sound between them. The gamemakers were hoping that the ever-curious Matisa would move toward the anti-careers to investigate, but she fled in terror. When Matisa reached the edge of the canyon, she tucked herself into a copse of dead bushes and hoped that they would hide her from the sight of the other tributes and mutts.

Day 11 proved to be the last day of the games. Unbeknownst to her, a trio of puffin mutts had been on Matisa's trail for several days. Her frequent movements had put the deadly birds off of her trail several times, but they found her sleeping on the morning of the eleventh day and went in for the kill. Matisa woke to see the first puffin's beak inches from her chest, and she slapped it away with her hand, fight-or-flight instinct making her tremble like a leaf. Realizing she was too tired and disoriented to fight, Matisa ran for her life. Of course, the puffins chased her in the direction of the anti-careers, and Matisa stumbled straight into Sycamora, nearly knocking her to the ground. The puffins disappeared into the mist, leaving the last three tributes to fend for their lives.

Matisa stumbled backward, realizing her deadly mistake, and pulled out her two knives. There was a fold-up spear in her backpack, but by the time she retrieved it the others could have easily killed her. She would have to fend for herself with a single blade in each hand. Matisa put up an admirable effort to fend off the anti-careers, but she was ultimately doomed when the 7s whipped out their axes and went in for the kill. Sycamora had buried the blade of her axe into her chest before she could run, and Matisa stumbled backward before landing in one of the hot pools with a splash.

Matisa Conquest, District 8 Female: 3rd, Killed by Sycamora, Day 11

"So I guess it's just us now," Sycamora murmured, somewhat timidly.

Mikey nodded. Neither tribute was particularly glad that it had come down to the two of them. "It's super corny, but… may the best tribute win," he replied.

The 7s backed away from one another. They were both formidably armed and skilled. Mikey had the smaller weapon and the lower training score, but Sycamora had a pounding headache after killing Matisa so they were evened out at least somewhat fairly. Once the hovercraft had retrieved the 8 girl's body, the two finalists clashed. Their duel went on for about five minutes before the first mark was made. Mikey managed to land his hatchet in Sycamora's shoulder, but she slammed the blade away with her own weapon before it could puncture her skin more than a tiny distance. After nearly half an hour, the gamemakers unleashed torrential rainfall onto the arena, and the smaller Mikey couldn't stand his ground as easily as his stronger district partner. Mikey tripped and tumbled straight onto Sycamora's axe; the blade sank into his torso and cut open far too many organs for him to get back up again.

Mikey Jonah, District 7 Male: 2nd, Killed by Sycamora, Day 11

"Sycamora Bromley of District 7, you are the victor of the eighty-fifth annual Hunger Games!" Cadmus and Daria announced.

Sycamora held two fingers to her forehead and moved them to her chin before placing them onto Mikey's chest, a traditional gesture of goodbye from the lumberyards of District 7.

Sycamora Bromley, District 7 Female: Victor of the Eighty-Fifth Hunger Games, Day 11


AFTERMATH

At the time, the 7 girl had no idea what she'd started, but she was undoubtedly one of the most influential victors of the first Hunger Games century. From her games onward, an anti-career pack would form nearly every year, consisting of the four or five strongest outliers. Whether they succeeded in capturing the cornucopia or not, some of the most memorable tributes in history would come from these so-called anti-career groups. Sycamora received a hero's welcome when she returned home to District 7. Together with Johanna and Meredith, Sycamora really helped to put District 7 on the map. Some even considered them above District 3 in terms of the most powerful outlying district. Sycamora was just glad to be home. In every district, she presented detailed eulogies for each of the tributes, interviewing the families of the fallen beforehand to make each speech as heartfelt as possible. She was also responsible for one of the most famous speeches in Panem's history, the eulogy for her district partner Mikey. The speech totaled almost one-thousand words. The first draft of the speech is today preserved in a glass case near her space on the Walk of Victors in the Capitol.

Her victory tour was stellar, memorable, and heartfelt, and even the districts of the tributes she'd killed couldn't be too mad at her.

Sycamora settled into the Victor's Village of District 7, the fifth to do so.

Sycamora would live to age ninety-six, dying from unspecified medical causes days before the one-hundred sixty-fifth annual Hunger Games. After the death of her first husband, she would re-marry, bearing a total of five children in her lifetime.


NEWS

Sycamora moves into the Victor's Village of District 7, next door to Meredith.

Mags Flanagan begins to show signs of epilepsy.

Barley Chisolm, the victor of the thirtieth annual Hunger Games, dies from a heart attack.


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)
85HG: Sycamora Bromley (#5, District 7)


A/N: Another chapter! I hope you enjoyed Sycamora as much as I did. She's certainly one of the most influential victors we've seen so far, what with starting the tradition of an anti-career pack in every games. Mikey was also one of my favorite tributes, but one of them had to die sadly D;

Lots of people have been asking if District 12 will get a third victor any time soon, and the answer is yes. Don't hold your breath though, it's not going to be like next chapter or anything.

If all goes well, the eighty-sixth games should be out soon-ish. Please consider reviewing on your way out if you're able.