THE NINETY SECOND ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"The Compromise"
INTRODUCTION
A bulky cement building loomed out of the darkness. Tall smokestacks were lined neatly onto the ceiling, spiraling off into the heavens. The air was filled with a terrifyingly heavy morning fog. The town sprawling out around the facility had been abandoned for nearly five years, but it already looked like it hadn't been touched for centuries. Basements were flooded with water. Some building had collapsed. The central research facility towered over the rest of the town like a watchman who sits silent and still, unmoving. Wearing gas masks, the research team busted down the front door and slowly walked inside. They pulled out their maps of the half-destroyed complex. The entire east half of the cement building was caved in, and the research team knew they would have to dig through the rubble for several hours to find what they were looking for. It was nearly a week before they found it; the original steel case holding the original vials of the pathogen, labeled "Extreme Contagion". Comparing the original strain of the virus to more recent strains was a surprisingly effective tactic as far as the development of the cure was concerned. By February, the team had actually begun their first prototypes for the cure. Due to the nasty side-effects, it was far too early for actual deployment to begin. President Stinn Hawke kept the residents of Panem under his strict totalitarianist and theocratic rule. Pretty much everybody outside of Districts 3, 6, 8, and 9 accepted that the new religion of Panem was just a fact of life, but people from the aforementioned four districts said no-no to sacrificing their own beliefs and values for a man who wasn't even fairly elected into the presidency. Riots in these four districts were again innumerable, particularly in District 8. If the government was doing one thing well, it was keeping the pathogen out of the Capitol. The isolated city was located hundreds of miles from the nearest town, a small jewel-mining village on the outskirts of District 1, so it wasn't exactly difficult to prevent infection as long as none of the citizens were allowed to leave and as long as all imports were carefully inspected. This had to be done because factory workers in District 8 were intentionally shipping infected blankets to the Capitol out of rebellion. Maddox Courval returned to the post of the gamemaker, Titanus and Dexter returned as the charismatic hosts, and the games team remained the same this year with the exceptions of a few minor gamemakers.
This year had one of the strongest career packs in a while. The male from 1 was older and great with a bow, and he was a strikingly fast runner. The girl was shier than most, but she managed the games' only eleven with her beauty and her mastery of weaponry, particularly with bows and axes. District 2 put on another solid showing. The boy was the fourth of the Talbot siblings to enter the games, and he was 2's stereotypical, uber muscular sword fighter. The girl was the youngest this year at only fifteen, but she still attracted quite a bit of attention via her stellar public speaking skills. Both of the 4s were more solitary and quiet, and both were dark-haired and brown-eyed. The boy was a master fisher, and the girl was a master sailor. The scores of the pack were great: one eleven, three tens, a nine, and an eight.
There was also a relatively healthy, strong group of outliers to give the careers some competition. The anti-careers consisted of Riker and Lulu from 6, Salix from 7, and Tarun and Theodora from 9. Riker and Lulu were similarly outgoing and good-humored, and they were the same age, while Salix was older and skilled with an axe whereas they liked knives. Tarun was the strongest member of the anti-careers, having scored an impressive eight with his swordplay skills, while Theodora was weaker physically but attracted most of the Capitol's attention via her charm and her looks. These games also saw District 12's strongest tribute to date: Arnold Scruggs had muscles like steel cords, and he was one of the fastest runners that District 12 had ever seen. He was the careers' number one target, and also the sponsors' number one target. He was the first District 12 tribute to score a ten in history. The only other standout was the boy from District 3, Ravest. Nobody knew it at the time, but he was infected with the virus. Knowing his days were numbered, he planned to infect as many of the other tributes as possible before the end of his life. There were no volunteers outside of the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Grandeur Flash, 17, (10) 5-1 and Levanna Moonbeam, 16, (11) 3-1
District 2: Jupiter Talbot, 17, (10) 4-1 and Wystella Knapp, 15, (10) 6-1
District 3: Ravest Holdrege, 15, (5) 26-1 and Deliva Curtin, 12, (3) 44-1
District 4: Rhine Townsend, 18, (9) 7-1 and Isley Hopkins, 16, (8) 10-1
District 5: Colloid Deegan, 13, (3) 41-1 and Coasa Risher, 15, (4) 30-1
District 6: Riker Corbello, 17, (7) 15-1 and Lulu Redbelted, 17, (6) 19-1
District 7: Salix Levkoff, 18, (7) 14-1 and Rosa Hilliard, 18, (5) 23-1
District 8: Madras Chintz, 16, (6) 20-1 and Lacey Stitch, 17, (4) 28-1
District 9: Tarun Absom, 18, (8) 10-1 and Theodora Knowles, 17, (7) 15-1
District 10: Bovine Dulawan, 14, (4) 32-1 and Robina Caite, 12, (4) 34-1
District 11: Zumo Planter, 15, (5) 24-1 and Meadow Terres, 13, (4) 35-1
District 12: Arnold Scruggs, 18, (10) 4-1 and Oda Vign, 12, (3) 48-1
HGBO Bets: 26% on Levanna, 15% on Jupiter, 10% on Grandeur, 8% on Wystella and Arnold, 5% on Rhine, 4% on Isley, 3% on Tarun, 2% on Riker, Lulu, Salix, and Theodora, 1% or less on Ravest, Deliva, Colloid, Coasa, Rosa, Madras, Lacey, Bovine, Robina, Zumo, Meadow, and Oda.
THE GAMES
The twenty-four tributes of varying heights, ages, and skin tones saw a ground that was consumed by a swath of color, almost like a multicolored carpet. They were standing much farther away from the cornucopia than usual; the sprint to the horn of plenty spanned somewhat more than a quarter of a mile. They were standing in the middle of a rolling green field dotted with wildflowers that were every color of the rainbow and more: there were pink flowers, blue flowers, purple flowers, yellow flowers, and literally anything else imaginable. There were also blossoms of every shape and size under the sun. The field featured a few trees and bushes placed sporadically here and there, which could provide at least some shelter to the tributes that couldn't make it out of the field in the first few days. The flower-filled field stretched on for five miles in all directions, a stellar distance, before it terminated and the forest began. It was not a normal forest, however. Instead of trees, thousands of humungous flowers towered over the tributes, their stems as broad as tree trunks. The forest completely encircled the meadow, and a tall brick wall encircled the forest, keeping the tributes from reaching the force field. There were thousands of butterfly mutts in the arena, every one of them completely unique, and they flew in swarms around the field and the forest. Their long, curly proboscises could suck more things than just nectar. Keeping their blood in their bodies would not be an easy task for the tributes this year. Bumblebees were also plentiful, though not in as enormous a quantity as the butterfly mutts. The only large water source in the entire arena was a sweet-smelling lake just beyond the cornucopia. Maddox hoped that by limiting the arena's water supply, he could keep the tributes within a smaller space. Puffy white clouds dotted a robin's-egg-blue sky. The smell of the millions upon millions of flowers melted together into the most glorious aroma imaginable, so entrancing the many of the tributes stood sniffing on their pedestals in sheer awe and wonder until the first screams pierced the morning quiet. Nine deaths would be claimed in this year's opening bloodbath. This would be a beautiful place to die, no two ways about it.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Levanna lead the opening sprint this year. She quickly swept up a glossy wooden bow and pulled back the string, preparing to fire at the first outlier who came within range. The boy from 8, Madras, froze dead in his tracks when the point of the arrow landed in his chest. Mouth agape, he pulled the arrow slowly from his chest, and he wobbled slightly back and forth for several seconds before collapsing in a heap.
Madras Chintz, District 8 Male: 24th, Killed by Levanna, Bloodbath
Tarun, the leader of the anti-career pack, grabbed a dagger in each hand and tackled the blonde-haired girl from 11. Meadow lashed out and punched him in the mouth, and Tarun faltered long enough for the girl to wiggle free from his grasp. She'd gone less than ten steps when Tarun tackled her from behind, digging his knives into her back and choking her screams with the noise of blood.
Meadow Terres, District 11 Female: 23rd, Killed by Tarun, Bloodbath
Jupiter Talbot was the next tribute to reach the cornucopia, and he swiftly pulled a sword out of the mass of weapons. Deliva from District 3 was zigzagging to avoid attacks from Isley and Levanna as she thundered toward the cornucopia. Jupiter ended her with his sword, tearing open her abdomen with two heavy chops.
Deliva Curtin, District 3 Female: 22nd, Killed by Jupiter, Bloodbath
Wystella grinned as she wrapped her fingers around a hatchet that sat at the midway point of her pedestal and the cornucopia. She closed one eye and tossed the weapon through the air. The blade sank into the nearest boy's back. With a crunch, Bovine fell onto his front, and Wystella rushed forward to retrieve her weapon as her first victim bled out fully.
Bovine Dulawan, District 10 Male: 21st, Killed by Wystella, Bloodbath
Rhine had been chasing Arnold from District 12 around the cornucopia field for most of the bloodbath, while the others picked off the weaklings. Arnold was among the strongest tributes in these games, and Rhine did not want him escaping the initial tussle with his life. Rhine tossed two throwing knives in his direction, and Arnold grabbed the nearest boy off of his feet. Like a human shield, the boy absorbed both of the knives. Arnold immediately let him go, and he twitched slightly before falling still.
Colloid Deegan, District 5 Male: 20th, Killed by Rhine, Bloodbath
Wystella had wrenched her hatchet fully out of Bovine's chest, and she was tackled from behind by the girl from 12, who was armed with a hatchet of her own and hoped to take down competition early. Wystella had her disarmed in seconds. With the first blow of her hatchet, she sent Oda reeling, before lastly sawing out a large chunk of her torso with her deadly blade.
Oda Vign, District 12 Female: 19th, Killed by Wystella, Bloodbath
Rhine had sprinted back to the cornucopia after Arnold disappeared into the field of flowers, and he was quickly attacked by Rosa, the tall girl from District 7. Rhine had an entire belt of throwing knives, but Rosa had a spear, so she wasn't completely helpless. She let out a shriek when Rhine finally managed to lodge one of his knives awkwardly into her chest, and she collapsed like a dying fish. In minutes, she had lost too much blood for her body to keep fighting.
Rosa Hilliard, District 7 Female: 18th, Killed by Rhine, Bloodbath
Rosa's district partner Salix let out a scream of fury when he saw Rosa fall to the flowery carpet. They weren't allied, and there was nothing more than a casual friendship between them, but Salix had promised Rosa that he would try his best to protect her in the games if it came to that. That was a promise Salix intended to keep. Salix sprinted in Rhine's direction, but he was hardly halfway there when Levanna's arrow landed in his back. Salix was dead in moments, and Rhine and Levanna shared a quick smile before sprinting in opposite directions.
Salix Levkoff, District 7 Male: 17th, Killed by Levanna, Bloodbath
Grandeur from District 1 felt strong hands wrap around his neck, and he whipped quickly around, expecting to see a strong outlier like Arnold, Tarun, or maybe Theodora. Instead, he saw Jupiter Talbot. Grandeur stared with eyes agape at the boy he'd thought to be his ally as Jupiter stabbed his sword into his chest, killing him with a single thrusting motion. Jupiter grinned slightly before abandoning the cornucopia and the other careers, leaving the boy from the luxury district to bleed out behind him.
Grandeur Flash, District 1 Male: 16th, Killed by Jupiter, Bloodbath
The careers regrouped at the cornucopia. Levanna and Isley were unscathed with the exceptions of a few minor cuts and scrapes. Rhine was smeared with dirt and drenched with sweat, and Wystella was splattered up and down with the blood of her two victims. The pack was quick to notice the absences of both Grandeur and Jupiter. They walked slowly around the cornucopia field, inspecting the bodies of the dead. Levanna stumbled upon Grandeur's lifeless corpse, and she called the others over. Wystella, Rhine, and Isley gathered around her, and Levanna quickly flipped Grandeur over, revealing the blatant sword wound in his chest.
"Traitor," Levanna sighed hollowly. The four careers marched back to the cornucopia and quickly geared up. Wystella felt the most betrayed; she'd developed a deep friendship with Jupiter during the years they'd trained alongside each other at the academy, and the betrayal was like a knife lodged into her gut. Isley was the most miserable, though. She was terribly allergic to pollen, and her eyes had been red from the moment she'd entered the arena. Sniffling regularly, she helped the careers out with their post-bloodbath rounds and volunteered to stay behind while the others went hunting.
The outliers spread themselves across the arena. The deserter, Jupiter from 2, sprinted through the central field before arriving in the forest, one of the first tributes to do so. His first priority was to search for water; unbeknownst to him, the sweet-smelling lake just beyond the cornucopia was the arena's only water source apart from the cornucopia, sponsors, and rain. When night fell, Jupiter laid down in a dried-up riverbed and stared at the towering multicolored blossoms that rose into the sky like trees. He had a sleeping bag, which helped him keep warm throughout the cold night. Ravest from 3 raced away from the cornucopia in a zig-zag pattern, touching and spitting on everything he could find. He wanted to get as much infecting done as possible before he started showing symptoms and the gamemakers were forced to terminate him. Coasa from 5 was chased all the way to the forest by a swarm of brightly-colored butterfly mutts. A few of them nipped the back of her neck, but she was ultimately unharmed. She climbed into the light-purple flower and pulled the petals inward, trapping herself inside like a wrapped gift. The anti-careers stayed in the central field rather than heading to the forest. They correctly guessed that the central lake was the only water source in the arena, and they didn't want to stray too far away from it in case dehydration started calling their names. Riker and Tarun stayed close together as they walked, as did Lulu and Theodora, and they eventually settled down at the lakeside in the shadowy valley between two large hills. Lacey from 8 settled down in the forest after a whole day of alternating between walking and jogging. She smeared herself and her only pack with mud; the dark, airy soil of the arena stuck to her skin like a dream. Covered with the essence of Mother Nature, Lacey crouched down in a thick area of the forest and hoped her natural camouflage would keep her from being spotted. Robina from 10 was the only twelve-year-old left in these games, and her small body wasn't strong enough to reach the flower forest in one day. Despite her lacking physical prowess, Robina was extremely level-headed and composed. Sweating, she sat down in a rare cluster of trees and tried to get some sleep. Zumo from 11 was similarly too weak to travel all the way to the forest. He piqued the interest of the audience with a rather unique method of shelter building. He'd gotten a pack of rubber bands from the cornucopia, and Zumo bent clusters of the waist-high wildflowers together before binding them together at the tips. Soon, he'd created a kind of low-roofed shelter large enough for him to fit inside. Arnold from 12 sprinted to the forest and took a quick moment to sort through his supplies before heading on the prowl. He had a pack filled with beef strips and a bowl of fruit, a high-end medical kit, at least five knives, and much more. He was the most well-stocked outlier, and he knew the only way to increase his supply stock even more would be to make kills and slaughter tributes. Arnold was prepared to do so. Things were pretty peaceful as day turned to night in the arena.
The morning of Day 2 was pretty tame and relaxed. Most of the tributes let themselves relax after the long physical and psychological stress of the day prior. However, Zumo from 11 got up bright and early to expand his shelter even more. Using his rubber bands, he'd created a whole network of flowers bent toward each other, giving himself a little more elbow room when he crawled into the empty space between. A sponsor sent him a thermos of water, impressed by his efforts, which eliminated Zumo's need to head back toward the lake for the time being.
The three careers that were hunting (Levanna, Wystella, and Rhine) broke camp at dawn and quickly sprinted back to the cornucopia for a supply restock. Rhine felt somewhat off, though he couldn't exactly explain how. He wasn't particularly dizzy, but everything he saw and heard felt somewhat more distant. These were only the first symptoms of the disease taking root in his body. Wystella was the most observant of the group, and it didn't take long before she noticed something was up with the boy from District 4. She didn't say anything, however. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions and get herself killed.
What is often considered the defining moment of the ninety-second Hunger Games occurred just before noon on Day 2. Nobody can call themselves a games fan who is unable to describe the following events in detail. Having left Rhine behind to guard the cornucopia, the three hunters picked up on the 12 boy's gruff snores. Grinning as wide as the moon, Levanna pointed upward. The others followed her gaze and saw Arnold sleeping soundly on a soft yellow petal. The three crept forward, brandishing their weapons, and they quickly rushed into formation, surrounding him on three sides. It was oddly reminiscent of the second Quarter Quell, where Lavish, Cognac, and Estelle had surrounded Mr. Abernathy.
Something snapped under Isley's foot, and Arnold's eyes shot open. Levanna gave the command to charge. Arnold Scruggs was quite possibly the strongest tribute the mining district had ever seen, and he executed his plan in the blink of an eye. He used his left hand to smack Wystella heavily in the mouth, and the 2 girl fell off of the flower, roughly ten feet to the ground. She wasn't injured, but she was in too much pain to move for several seconds. Using his other hand, Arnold pulled a sturdy rope out of his pack and swung it around Isley's abdomen. Isley let out a scream as the 12 boy wrapped it repeatedly around her chest and then tied it off with one heavy knot.
Arnold hadn't forgotten about Ms. Moonbeam, however. Levanna was behind him, and Arnold leapt off the side of the petal when she pounced. Levanna made hard contact with the rope suspending Isley, hitting it with enough force to push it upward to her neck. Isley immediately fell perpendicular to the ground, and with a short crunch and a short groan, she was dead. Arnold had escaped by the time that Levanna and Wystella regained their bearings. Now it was just the two of them and the lightly swinging body of their friend from 4.
Isley Hopkins, District 4 Female: 15th, Killed by Arnold, Day 2
Robina was the only other point of note as Day 2 came to its conclusion. The second day still wasn't enough for her to reach the forest, but it was enough to bring her close. When night fell, she camped out about a mile from the first line of "trees" and curled up for the night. A few sponsors pooled together their funds to send her a pair of red hand warmers to help her through the cold night. Robina was one of the most popular outliers despite her youth and her low score, and things were looking pretty bright for her future at that point.
The careers continued to be short on luck in the first half of Day 3. Wystella was getting more and more suspicious about the behavior of Levanna and Rhine. They would randomly stop to scratch themselves, and this would suddenly trigger dozens of little spots around their bodies to itch. Sometimes they froze dead in their tracks and their eyes drooped. They sneezed regularly. Wystella refused to go near the others, and she started to take serious precautions to keep from getting infected, like washing her hands and face regularly. Their hunt through the forest was fruitless, and they returned to the cornucopia at dusk in low spirits.
The anti-careers had better luck. After two days of stubbornly staying in the field, they filled their thermoses from the lake and then moved to the forest. Suddenly, the gamemakers played the sound of rustling leaves, and the anti-careers rushed toward the noise, expecting to see a tasty squirrel or other small animal. Instead, they saw Ravest from 3 in the worst condition they'd ever seen a human in. He was curled up on the ground, and his face was sunken. His eyes were hollow and lifeless. Ugly red hives covered his face and neck.
Lulu, the most squeamish of the group, fell backward while the others crept slowly forward. Tarun ordered Riker and Theodora to keep their distance from the slightly twitching boy. Ravest knew he was an inch from death, but he also knew he'd done what he set out to do, and he felt satisfied about that. Riker pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose and crept slowly forward to kill the boy with his spear. He washed his hands immediately afterward, but the extremely contagious virus had already latched onto him. Time would tell if he would spread the infection to the other anti-careers.
Ravest Holdrege, District 3 Male: 14th, Killed by Riker, Day 3
The remainder of Day 3 featured a single exciting moment. Jupiter and Arnold had been camping out at the lakeside for several days, but they'd managed to avoid seeing each other because the landscape was hilly and uneven. Also, the ground was covered with such a swath of different colors that the tributes' multicolored clothing blended into the landscape like a dream. Jupiter stopped on the picturesque shore of the lake for a midday nap, and Arnold stumbled upon him mere minutes later. Jupiter's chest slowly rose and fell with his even breaths.
Arnold crept across the side of the lake to meet him, and Jupiter woke up to the noise of his light footsteps. When Arnold grew close enough, Jupiter lashed out, grabbing Arnold's ankle with his right hand. Arnold fell straight onto his bottom, and when Jupiter jumped to his feet he was almost pulled completely upside-down. Their duel lasted for about ten minutes. Arnold ended up lodging one of his daggers into the career deserter's chest, distracting him long enough for him to escape. Arnold ran for his life, and he was quickly lost in the land of rolling green hills and perfectly-formed, colorful flowers.
Day 4 was deathless. The behavior of both Levanna and Rhine was getting increasingly stranger. They hadn't yet begun to show severe physical symptoms, but the degenerative pathogen was sending them farther and farther to bat-shit-crazy-town. Wystella's efforts to keep from becoming infected were paying off significantly. She knew she was using up huge amounts of water to keep herself clean, and she highly considered abandoning the others multiple times, but the mistakes of tributes past always held her back. The last career deserter to win the games was Mags Flanagan all the way back in the eleventh games. The pack kept up their hunt through the forest, and they disembarked from the forest about halfway through Day 4 in favor of the more open field.
Jupiter had been apprehensive to move away from the lake for several days, and he only left once he'd built up enough sponsored water to last for several days. He did end up returning after a few hours, however; he knew that the lake would be like a magnet for the weak outliers, and he made the decision to camp out for a little while and wait for prey to come to him rather than actively search for it.
The outliers weren't up to anything very exciting. Coasa remained relatively still in the forest before the gamemakers forced her into the field with a swarm of bumblebee mutts. They weren't nearly as powerful as Tracker Jackers, but their stings did have at least some hallucinogenic power to them. Coasa thought she heard a small boy's screams, and she searched feverishly for the source of the sound. Of course, she never found it. Lacey remained pretty still in the forest. With her natural camouflage, she managed to remain safely out of the sight of the others. Robina, who had finally reached the forest, was starting to get extremely worried about dehydration. Her nerves lessened slightly about halfway through the fourth day, when the first rain clouds started rolling in. Her mentor, Alexander, sent her a note instructing her to stay put in the forest and rehydrate herself with the rain water rather than risk her life by heading to the lake. Zumo was chased away from his shelter by a swarm of poisonous bumblebee mutts. They were no ordinary bumblebees—they were the size of mice, and, like the ones that had attacked Coasa, they could cause hallucinations. He dropped from exhausted about two miles away from his shelter, and he dragged himself back over the course of several hours, muttering softly to himself. Arnold camped out at the lakeside, moving gradually along the shoreline as the day progressed. He was remaining just a tad too still for the Capitol's taste, but the gamemakers didn't send any mutts in his direction; he was one of the Capitol's favorite tributes, close behind Levanna, and they didn't want to risk scratching him up this early in the games.
Lulu, Tarun, and Theodora were quick to notice that Riker was acting funny, and Tarun didn't hesitate to break away. The group woke up on the fifth morning to find Tarun completely missing along with most of their supplies. Lulu was absolutely miserable; she hated watching her friend Riker slowly break down. Theodora was similarly terrified, and was immensely relieved when she realized that Lulu was just as terrified as she was. Both girls were considering following in Tarun's footsteps and breaking away from the infected boy.
They were talking quietly over breakfast when Riker tackled Lulu from behind and wrapped his hands firmly around her neck. Theodora gasped and stumbled backward, screaming with terror as she watched Lulu writhe and gasp in Riker's strong grip. Lulu quickly fell still, and Riker looked back up, a crazy glint in his eyes. Theodora was paralyzed with terror. She'd never known just what the virus could do to people.
Lulu Redbelted, District 6 Female: 13th, Killed by Riker, Day 5
"You!" Riker shouted, pointing at Theodora. "It's your fault! You said you were curing me, but it didn't work! I'm still sick! You lied to me! You… you killed me!"
Theodora staggered backward, confused and terrified. Riker continued his seemingly insane ramblings. "They're gonna kill us all! They're gonna kill us all except for the one who works! Every else is gonna die!"
As it turned out, Riker wasn't completely insane. The Capitol had done something to all twenty-four of them, and Riker was the only one whose anesthesia hadn't worked properly. He was the only one who had memories of the things the Capitol had done to him.
The ninety-second Hunger Games was very different from any other games before or after. All twenty-four tributes were infected with the virus, and the Capitol had given them each a different prototype of the cure. The knowledge of how the tributes' mental and physical processes functioned in the high-stress situations of the games while under each of the different possible cures was paramount in perfecting the single cure that worked the most efficiently.
Ravest hadn't been the "one" infected tribute to spread the disease to everybody else. They were all infected at varying stages, and he had just been the first to break completely. The hoax that Ravest had infected everybody else was just a sham to make the games more interesting. The Capitol could safely rule out the versions of the cure they'd given to Ravest and Riker, as well as Levanna and Rhine.
But Theodora didn't know that. She thought Riker was a madman, and rightfully so. Riker collapsed at her feet, sobbing, murmuring, "They'll kill us all, they'll kill us all, they'll kill us all," under his breath. Theodora thrust a nearby dagger into the back of his neck. Riker moaned and gurgled slightly before his cannon shot sounded.
Riker Corbello, District 6 Male: 12th, Killed by Theodora, Day 5
Robina had been wise to stay in the forest rather than return to the lake, and the rains came about halfway through Day 5. The rain came with its fair share of wind, and it was miserably cold for anybody without a sleeping bag or at least some kind of jacket. One of Robina's sponsors sent her a thin cloth blanket. It did at least something to protect her from the bitter chill, but the 10 girl was shivering nonetheless. The career and anti-career packs wore the cold temperatures rather well, as did Jupiter, Theodora, and Zumo.
Tarun had fled to the edge of the forest after abandoning the other anti-careers. He'd grabbed the quartet's only jacket before he ran, which kept him warm through the cold night. Overall, Coasa and Lacey were the most miserable. The rain washed away Lacey's natural camouflage and drenched her to the bone, and she dragged herself under a flower with big blue petals and curled up in a ball to keep warm. Coasa had been near death from dehydration when the storm struck, and she ran back and forth like a kid in a snowstorm, trying to catch as much rain in her mouth as she could. Arnold was sweaty and exhausted after a whole day of travelling; he'd finally abandoned the lake, and he settled down about three miles away when the first cold drops started falling.
Levanna and Rhine awoke on the sixth morning to find that Wystella had left in the night. After several days of keeping dangerously close to her infected allies, she'd finally gotten up the courage to make a run for it. Wystella didn't know that she was just as infected as everybody else; her version of the cure just worked rather efficiently, keeping the symptoms from plaguing her as strongly. Her frequent hand and face washes weren't actually doing anything, but they made her feel safer and she didn't slow down with them as Day 6 trickled past. Levanna and Rhine had a long verbal quarrel about which of them had killed Wystella, when in reality the 2 girl was safe and sound about four miles away from the cornucopia. When she reached the forest, Wystella found that several of the dry beds had been flooded due to the rainstorm. She camped out near one of the wider streams when night fell.
Jupiter Talbot was relaxing with his feet in the lake. The last few days, he'd been feeling somewhat off. He didn't know why, of course. A smile formed on his face when he saw a boy moving quietly toward the lakeside about a quarter of a mile away: Tarun from 9, whose life had been saved a few days earlier when he decided to abandon the other anti-careers. Jupiter slowly crept in Tarun's direction, and Tarun screamed when he leapt out of the shadows, his sword glistening in the gem of the sun overhead. A nearby swarm of passive butterflies scattered with alarm as Jupiter slammed his sword into Tarun's side and sawed it back and forth several times. Jupiter took a quick moment to pilfer him of his supplies before sprinting away.
Tarun Absom, District 9 Male: 11th, Killed by Jupiter, Day 6
The disease was getting increasingly more intense on both Levanna and Rhine. They were going to heck in an odd kind of synchronization, and they passed all of the major milestones together; losing the capability of speech, breaking out with the first itchy red blisters, throwing up. Two insane careers were much more terrifying than two healthy ones. They quickly dashed across the length of the field and then entered the forest, where several of the outliers were hiding.
Zumo was the next tribute to start showing signs. Oddly, he was only experiencing physical symptoms like coughing, nausea, and vomiting, and no severe psychological ones. This told the Capitol cure researchers a lot about the version of the cure they'd put into Zumo's body. At the time being, he was telling science more information than any of the other tributes, and the gamemakers installed a temporary force field around him with a radius of about half a mile to keep the other tributes away. They'd put a few of these bubbles around tributes like Jupiter and Arnold throughout the games so far, but they had all been inactivated within hours.
Wystella's travels through the forest brought her to the low-lying area between two hills. A few minutes prior, she'd agitated a swarm of deadly butterfly mutts, and she was forced to flee to the low-lying region for safety. The moment she sat down, she heard a human squeak. Coasa was mere meters away, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. It cut the noise short, but she had already been heard by Wystella. The moonlight glistened off of her silver necklace token as Coasa leapt to her feet. She tried hurriedly to run for cover, but she fell to the ground moments later. Wystella had tossed the blade of her hatchet into her back, and Coasa fell with a loud crunch, forcing the blade of the weapon farther into her system. Wystella yanked it out with one sharp tug.
Coasa Risher, District 5 Female: 10th, Killed by Wystella, Day 6
The first half of Day 7 was deathless. Levanna and Rhine returned to the field after a long day of hunting through the forest. They were now rapidly salivating and breathing heavily in and out like zombies in a horror movie. They had far too much energy left to just return to the cornucopia and hunt; they wanted to get in a few hours of hunting time in the central field, particularly near the lake, where they knew the most outliers would be hiding.
Lacey was finally feeling the effects of dehydration on her body, and she disembarked from the forest in favor of the central lake. She was dangerously near the two rabid careers, but she didn't know it. Lacey ended up kneeling at the side of the lake and sipping the water greedily for several minutes before curling up for a short rest. The tall flowers hid her well. She was rather short and petite for her age, meaning it was easy to conceal herself under the natural roof of colorful blossoms. Theodora continued travelling in a spiral-like shape around the cornucopia. She didn't have the energy or the moral flexibility to actively hunt for tributes, but by slowly closing on the cornucopia it was easy to pretend she was on the prowl for outliers. The gamemakers inactivated Zumo's little personal force field and pretty much let him run wherever he wanted. Once, he came just a tad bit too close to Jupiter from 2. The gamemakers promptly drew him away by sending a crowd of the poison butterflies after him.
Arnold from 12 and Wystella from 2 were the only two tributes who hadn't shown any symptoms at all. Wystella was in the forest, while Arnold was at the lake. Keeping the two most prized test subjects as away from each other as possible was paramount for the Capitol's research. Wider varieties of stimuli meant more brain activity and bodily reactions to monitor, which meant more data, and that was always a good thing.
Levanna and Rhine were about a mile from the lake when they spotted Lacey moving quietly through the field of flowers, humming very softly to herself to keep occupied. The careers charged. They didn't even attempt to remain hidden, and Lacey heard them coming when they were several dozen yards away. She had a huge head start, but her speed couldn't compare to the two trained careers. One of Levanna's arrows landed into the small of her back, and Lacey fell backward, screaming in agony and terror as Levanna and Rhine grew closer. She lashed out and kicked Rhine in the shin, and the angry boy launched two throwing knives into her chest. Lacey died quickly, and the careers just stared at her corpse, laughing slightly. The gamemakers sent them reeling with strong electrical pulses so that the hovercraft could collect the body.
Lacey Stitch, District 8 Female: 9th, Killed by Levanna and Rhine, Day 7
That left the final eight: Levanna Moonbeam from District 1, Jupiter Talbot and Wystella Knapp from District 2, Rhine Townsend from District 4, Theodora Knowles from District 9, Robina Caite from District 10, Zumo Planter from District 11, and Arnold Scruggs from District 12.
Moments after Lacey's death, two cannon shots fired in rapid succession. Levanna and Rhine were running for their lives after the strong electrical pulses from the gamemakers, and they quickly came to the central lake. Peculiarly, the careers were showing all of the psychological symptoms, while showing virtually none of the physical symptoms. The duo laid out their crumpled, old blanket at the lakeside and stopped for a short rest.
Unbeknownst to them, Arnold from 12 was less than a quarter mile away. From his area of higher ground, he saw the two tributes, two dark silhouettes against the milky white light of the rising moon. He was under the impression it was only two weak outliers who would be easy kills, but he was wrong. He only recognized them as the careers when he was mere meters away, and then he had no choice but to head in and kill them both or die trying.
Levanna made the first move. Her bow was inefficient in such a brutal fight, and Arnold had tugged it out of her hands in seconds. Arnold threw it to the ground and stamped on the wooden beam until it broke. Her chief weapon now useless, Levanna turned to run, but Arnold had already grabbed her by the back of the neck. He gave her one heavy shove. Levanna staggered away, and her knees gradually weakened until she collapsed in a heap. Arnold pounced and landed both of her knives into her back, and Levanna just moaned incomprehensibly while she died.
Levanna Moonbeam, District 1 Female: 8th, Killed by Arnold, Day 7
Arnold's mistake was forgetting about the boy from District 4 until after Levanna was dead. Arnold sprang back to his feet and whipped his head back and forth, quivering. Rhine was nowhere to be seen. He finally leapt out of the darkness more than a minute later, and Arnold was too stunned to fight back. In an instant, Rhine was on top of him. He had a throwing knife placed on his neck, and Rhine was slowly driving it downward into the skin. Arnold gasped with exhaustion and fear as the skin broke and blood burbled forth.
Suddenly, Rhine fell still, and his canon shot fired. Arnold wiggled out from underneath him, confused. He was under the impression that the killer was some other tribute, the Maysilee to his Haymitch, but there were no tributes in the immediate vicinity. Alongside Wystella, Arnold was one of the most valuable tributes in these games because of how well their different prototypes of the cure were working. It was therefore the gamemakers' goal to keep them alive as long as possible, and Rhine had been far beyond saving anyway. They were able to kill Rhine instantly with a strong pulse of electricity via his tracker.
Rhine Townsend, District 4 Male: 7th, Killed by Gamemakers, Day 7
Day 8 was deathless. The six remaining test subjects didn't do much, to be honest. Jupiter kept up his hunts through the field. No matter how much water he was sponsored, he stubbornly refused to wander too far away from the lake. No number of poison butterfly and bumblebee mutts could drive him to the edges of the field, where most of the tributes were hiding. By this point, the gamemakers were starting to slowly move the tributes away from the forest. Wystella's version of the cure was working absolutely wonderfully; eight days into the games, she'd experienced literally no symptoms besides very minor nausea and a runny nose. Hatchet in hand, she sprinted around the central field in pursuit of victims.
Theodora was terrified; she was starting to experience both psychological and physical symptoms of the disease. She knew that only a rare strain of the disease caused people to spiral downward into heartless monsters, but the fact that she was pretty much doomed to die was too much for Theodora to handle. She ducked down in a ditch near the edge of the field and just cried until there were no tears left in her. Robina once again keep admirably calm and composed despite the high-stress situations of the games. By Day 8, she was the only tribute left in the forest. The gamemakers didn't really have a problem with her, given her popularity, but they planned to drive her out of the forest with force if she didn't leave on her own accord within the next few days.
Arnold finally abandoned the lake for good. The gamemakers had been protecting him at all costs thus far. He correctly guessed that there was something special about him, and that the gamemakers would continue protecting him as the games progressed. Once, he spotted Theodora from about a hundred yards off. A long chase ensued, and it ended with Theodora collapsing in a small valley. Part of her thought she'd hallucinated Arnold, as he'd seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Could she really be going crazy?
A cannon shot rolled over the arena on the morning of Day 8. Zumo was by far the most inactive tribute in the games. For several days, the gamemakers had been shielding him from the others because of the valuable information he provided, but now they'd gotten everything out of him they needed. Zumo woke up screaming to the bites of the first butterfly mutts on his cheeks. Their venom was like fire as it worked its way through his veins. Zumo jumped to his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs, swatting the swarms of butterfly mutts away. They surrounded him like a solid wall and followed him when he tried to run. The collective sound of their flapping wings was the last thing he heard before the crazy hallucinations came.
Zumo Planter, District 11 Male: 6th, Killed by Butterfly Muttations, Day 10
Day 11 was largely filled with tributes moving toward and away from the forest. Robina's mentor Alexander sent her a blank piece of paper. Confused, Robina held the paper up, and she could make out the glossy printed message in the light of the sun. The message told her to disembark from the forest and sprint to the field as quickly as her legs could carry her. It was written in an urgent tone, and it scared Robina enough to get moving on the minute. When she arrived in the field, she collapsed in a bed of pink flowers and stared at the puffy white clouds, too exhausted to move any farther for the time being.
Jupiter was doing the opposite. After so many days in the field, he was eager to explore the forest. He was about two and a half miles from the first line of "trees" when the gamemakers set off a swarm of bumblebee mutts to chase him back toward the center of the arena. Now that there were only five tributes left, the forest was off-limits. The tributes would have to battle it out in the open field where there was little shelter and very few places to hide.
In the evening of Day 11, the hovercraft descended and began sprinkling chemicals over the field of flowers. The gamemakers wanted the flowers to all wilt and die, which would make it much harder for the tributes to blend in. The tributes woke up on Day 12 to find themselves in an unrecognizable land of greys, browns, and vomit-like yellows. Virtually every single flower in the arena was now dead.
Wystella woke up bright and early that morning to search for victims. She quickly came across the valley where Theodora was sleeping. Theodora had slept through the mass death, so she didn't know just how vulnerable she was. It was difficult to move without making sound now that everything was crumbly and brittle, but Wystella somehow managed it. She really did have a kind of grace that was virtually unprecedented in the games. She crept up behind Theodora and brought down the blade of her hatchet, and Theodora literally never woke up. The blade nearly cleaved her head completely in half, and she was gone in a fraction of a second.
Theodora Knowles, District 9 Female: 5th, Killed by Wystella, Day 12
The rest of Day 12 was deathless. For most of the day, the gamemakers stopped focusing on killing the tributes and started focusing on the mountains of data they were raking in. Jupiter showed the disease the most intensely, but he was only showing the physical signs, not the psychological ones. Zumo from 11 had been in a similar boat, and this allowed the Capitol to pinpoint just what ingredients of the cure were necessary to keep the human mind from going to hell when the disease took root. Robina displayed moderate symptoms, including sweating and coughing. She was also mumbling softly under her breath, the classic first sign of insanity. Wystella and Arnold were once again completely clear of all major symptoms. Wystella was going downhill slightly faster than Arnold; the 2 girl was growing unpredictable in her movements. She alternated between walking very quickly and walking very slowly, and she jumped into the air at seemingly random times.
The tributes didn't do anything very exciting on the twelfth day. Wystella continued hunting in circles, hatchet in hand. Arnold ventured toward and away from the lake with his knives. Twelve-year-old Robina sprinted from place to place and ducked down in the lowest-grounded areas she could find whenever she heard unfamiliar noises. Jupiter stayed more or less near the cornucopia, hunting on and off and feeding himself on flower stems and sponsor foods.
The biggest fight of Day 13 occurred just after noon. Wystella and Jupiter had been growing progressively closer for several hours. Their paths finally crossed when the gamemakers set off a loud banging noise between them. They rushed toward the noise to investigate, and they spotted each other from about an eighth of a mile off. They were now left facing one another, and they both rushed forward.
Jupiter acted first, drawing his sword and lashing out in Wystella's direction. Wystella swerved so the blow intended for her chest landed in her side. She didn't want to risk tossing her hatchet and missing, then leaving her defenseless against the onslaught of slashes and stabs from Jupiter's sword. Wystella largely resorted to moving as much as possible, making herself a more difficult target.
The battle lasted for a couple of minutes, with the two dancing around each other, inflicting minor cuts and scrapes but nothing major. Roughly five minutes after the start of the fight, Jupiter sliced off one of Wystella's golden tresses. Wystella just saw red; her prime method of keeping sponsors alongside her battle tactics were her looks. Her look now ruined, Wystella charged, abandoning all forms of caution out of rage. Jupiter was too shocked to sidestep before the blade of the hatchet connected with his chest. Jupiter was sent spiraling to the ground, and he wept softly as Wystella tore up his neck and abdomen mercilessly with her weapon.
Jupiter Talbot, District 2 Male: 4th, Killed by Wystella, Day 13
On the morning of Day 14, Maddox let the world blaze. Fires started behind each of the three tributes, forcing them inward. Robina was the farthest north, and Arnold was the farthest south, whereas Wystella was nearest the cornucopia. Wystella would have been confident in any other scenario, but she was up against the most popular outlier in these games. In fact, Arnold had been the Capitol's very favorite tribute since Levanna's downward spiral into insanity. Wystella also didn't think Robina would be much of a problem. Robina herself was terrified; she was only twelve years old, and she was up against two tributes who both scored tens in their private sessions. Arnold was in the same boat as Wystella in being nervous against such a strong competitor. The three tributes converged on the cornucopia, and the final fight began.
What happened to the last three tributes was very disputed. The story was pieced together over the many centuries of the Hunger Games, and we will probably never know the full story. The cameras did not show what was happening inside of the cornucopia. Only the sounds could be heard. Robina's young screams were the first to pierce the morning quiet, and the hovercraft's claw dragged her out in the open. Robina had an obvious dagger wound in her chest, leaving the Capitol to suspect she had been killed by Arnold.
Robina Caite, District 10 Female: 3rd, "Killed" by Arnold, Day 14
For the next several minutes, the grunts and groans of both Wystella and Arnold could be heard. The Capitol could assume that a long, difficult fight was transpiring between them. Still, the cameras refused to show anything but the metallic side of the cornucopia. After nearly half an hour, a cannon shot fired. The hovercraft picked up the body of Wystella from 2 and carried her high into the sky.
Wystella Knapp, District 2 Female: 2nd, "Killed" by Arnold, Day 14
"Arnold Scruggs of District 12, you are the victor of the ninety-second annual Hunger Games!" Titanus Lafayette exclaimed. Arnold just sighed, ready to return to the land of coal dust and grey slum houses that he called home.
The day prior, Head Gamemaker Maddox Courval had scheduled a private meeting with President Stinn Hawke. Not even Stinn's most trusted peacekeepers were allowed in the study while the meeting was taking place.
"Good morning, Mr. President," Maddox said in an extremely formal tone. Nobody used any other tone when talking to the president of Panem. "As you know, we have been carefully monitoring the brain activity and bodily functions of our tributes. We have done this because each of them is injected with a different prototype of the cure, and we aim to determine which prototype is the most effective. We also aim to determine which elements of each prototype cause individual symptoms to lessen in the infected."
Stinn Hakwe nodded, and Maddox continued talking. "Now, our crowd of twenty-four tributes has been whittled down to a final three. Ms. Knapp, Ms. Caite, and Mr. Scruggs now have the entire weight of the human race on their shoulders. The three of them are invaluable as far as cure research is concerned."
"I'm very well aware, Mr. President, that only one victor is allowed from each Hunger Games. I urge you to take my words into consideration, however. We now have three invaluable test subjects from three different walks of life who have all reacted to the virus and the various cures in very different, interesting ways. We have so many experiments left to try and tests left to run. We need to keep all three of these tributes alive."
For the next half hour or so, Maddox showed Stinn hundreds of data tables, automated simulations, and more.
"Very well," Stinn said at last (Maddox breathed a sigh of relief here). "I'll let you take all three tributes out of the arena. That boy from District 12, Arnold—he can be our singular victor. We'll put him on a pedestal and parade him around Panem and make him mentor each year. Wystella and Robina are going to have to take on new names and new identities and new lives. Outside of our research teams, nobody can know that they are still alive. Nobody."
That was all Maddox needed. He thanked the president for his time and quietly left the room.
None of this was known until Stinn died and all of the documents and tapes hidden in the Presidential Mansion were turned out. For many years, Panem thought that Arnold Scruggs was the sole victor of the ninety-second annual Hunger Games. He'd been working himself half to death in the slums of District 12 with his alcohol-addicted brother and prostitute mother after his father died in a mining accident five years prior. He had virtually no family, and he had no friends, but he had the Capitol. They had given him fame and they had given him wealth. He would bow to them forever.
Arnold Scruggs, District 12 Male: Victor of the Ninety-Second Hunger Games, Day 14
Wystella Knapp, District 2 Female: Unofficial Victor of the Ninety-Second Hunger Games, Day 14
Robina Caite, District 10 Female: Unofficial Victor of the Ninety-Second Hunger Games, Day 14
AFTERMATH
Arnold Scruggs
District 12 welcomed their third victor with thunderous applause. They hadn't gotten a victor since Haymitch Abernathy all the way back in the second Quarter Quell, and a good portion of Panem was too young to have ever seen a District 12 tribute win the games. Celebrations were endless in the mining district, and for the first time in over four decades the residents of District 12 went to sleep with stomachs that were not quite so empty. Arnold was happy to be home of course, but he was a very changed boy. As he grew and developed, he would turn into one of the most patriotic victors, a full supporter of everything the Capitol did, not a rebel at all. Seeing such a career-like victor in a place as desolate as 12 was strange, to say the least, but the Capitol loved him and gobbled him up. He was funny, smart, and strong, and he was certainly one of the most beloved victors of the first Hunger Games century.
His victory tour was stellar; all of the outlying districts were refreshed to see a 12 victor after so many years.
The payouts on his victory weren't very good, as 8% bet on him.
Arnold would live to age eighty-three, dying from cancer two months after the one-hundred fifty-seventh Hunger Games. He would marry a rich Capitol businesswoman, and they would have four children together. He ultimately integrated into the Capitol society and enjoyed it.
Wystella Knapp
After the cure was perfected and she was finally allowed to go free, Wystella was given a choice between heading home to 2 and staying in the Capitol. Wystella, who virtually everybody in Panem thought was dead, was smuggled back to District 2 and deposited at the academy, where she set up residence as a trainer. She quickly sought out her old trainer, a fifty-ish year old lady named Amber Bellerose. Wystella was forced to take on extensive plastic surgery to ensure nobody recognized her, and he changed her name to Reece Cinty shortly after her victory. She kept her biggest secret well throughout her life at the academy, training young ladies and gentlemen who had no idea she had actually entered the Hunger Games and lived to tell the tale.
"Reece" would live to age seventy, dying from breast cancer five months before the one-hundred forty-seventh annual Hunger Games. She would never marry or have children; she always said the academy was enough for her.
Robina Caite
Robina returned home to District 10 the instant that the Capitol offered the opportunity. However, she was not allowed to return to her family or her friends, and this led to a long period of immense depression and even a few suicidal thoughts. Having changed her name to Jemima Angouleme, Robina was hired as a maid for the Victor's Village of District 10. She cleaned the houses of both Margaret and Alexander, and all of the other 10 victors who would emerge in her lifetime. Besides Surge, she was the youngest victor in Hunger Games history, even younger than Pixel, and the traumatic experiences of her games shook her like a leaf. For the rest of her life, Robina never seemed to be entirely there, what with lacking social skills and reclusive behavior.
"Jemima" would live to age seventy-nine, dying in a car accident a few weeks before the one-hundred fifty-ninth Hunger Games. She would marry and have two children. For centuries, Arnold was hailed as the ninety-second Hunger Games' only victor. Today, however, Wystella and Robina are both recognized on the Walk of Victors in the Capitol. We can now piece together a more or less coherent picture of these two women's lives.
NEWS
Arnold settles into the Victor's Village of District 12, next door to Haymitch's home.
Wystella moves to the academy of District 2, where she sets up residence as a trainer.
Robina returns home to District 10, where she takes up work as a maid in the Victor's Village.
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)
86HG: Bobbin Chern (#4, District 8)
87HG: Organdy Karat (#14, District 1)
88HG: Sickle Salgato (#3, District 9)
89HG: Admired Thompson (#15, District 1)
90HG: Chipson Harris (#11, District 3)
91HG: Mars Talbot (#21, District 2)
92HG: Arnold Scruggs (#3, District 12), Wystella Knapp (#22, District 2), and Robina Caite (#3, District 10)
A/N: Holy mother of sweet god pearl, this chapter was a whirlwind! I'll admit I was facing some serious writer's block near the beginning, but as soon as I dropped that PLOT TWIST I turned into a writing machine. Seriously, sleep is for the weak, I had a chapter to write!
I'm glad I could fit in another District 12 victor AND another District 10 victor here. And another twelve-year-old victor, of course.
Which of these three kids was your favorite? Any other standouts you found interesting? Please consider leaving a quick review on your way out :D
