THE NINETY THIRD ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"Locked and Loaded"
INTRODUCTION
The cure was finally perfected after several months of testing on Arnold, Wystella, and Robina. Wystella and Robina had it the hardest; Arnold was given regular breaks from the testing to attend to his victory tour, various interviews with the charismatic games host Titanius, and various other public events. It was a long, hard journey, but all three of the test subjects made it out with their lives. They were physically unscathed, but all of the terrible things the Capitol had done to their minds and bodies would haunt them forever, particularly little Robina. The cure was first broadcasted publically around Halloween. Once everybody in the Capitol and the crucial districts like 1 and 2 was clear of the pathogen, trains carrying loaded syringes were shipped out to all the nooks and crannies of Panem. It was an expensive and chaotic process, but it certainly put Panem on the path toward recovery. The games team this year once again remained the same. Stinn Hawke ruled the roost in Panem; while Arnold's revolutionary win for District 12 had refreshed the districts, losing twenty-three (or so they thought) of their children had once again taken its toll. No major uprisings or riots plagued the districts this year. Maddox Courval kept a firm grip on the steering wheel of the games ship. After the dazzling success of last year's games, the Capitol was anticipating another stunningly beautiful arena. However, Maddox was famously secretive about his arenas, so only time would tell for sure.
This year featured an extraordinary career pack. They were all good-looking and talented and none of them scored lower than a nine. District 1 provided another stereotypical pair; the boy was your usual funny, calming 1 boy, while the girl was blonde and curvy and seductive like many others before her. District 2 provided a decent duo. The boy was the next of the famous Talbot siblings, and he was younger and liked swords, while the girl was much older. Bows and spears suited her lithe form and her quick reflexes. District 4 put on the best showing, however. The boy was a master swordsman and archer, and he was muscular and extremely popular in the Capitol. The girl was similarly attractive, and she was more solitary and quiet, but she had an intriguing sense of mystery plaguing her. Their scores were great: two elevens, three tens, and a single nine.
The outliers scored well, but they were somewhat quieter and more forgettable than usual. Trax from District 6 was the strongest of the bunch. He earned an impressive eight through his skills with brute force weapons including maces. Another eight was earned by Talulah from 9, whose survival skills were impeccable. Trax and Talulah banded together to form the career group, along with Sentra from 6 and Coalson from 12, who both earned sevens. The only other standout was the girl from District 12, who had a very familiar last name. She was Arnold Scruggs' younger sister, and the riches of her family practically ensured she would go far, if she survived the bloodbath. There were no volunteers outside of the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Taj King, 16, (11) 3-1 and Adacha Calder, 17, (10) 6-1
District 2: Saturn Talbot, 16, (9) 8-1 and Rama Pellish, 18, (10) 5-1
District 3: Myphex Burnley, 18, (7) 14-1 and Ezuma Kiernan, 18, (4) 28-1
District 4: Swell Hager, 18, (11) 3-1 and Swan Marsden, 18, (10) 4-1
District 5: Hyphen Skylstad, 14, (4) 30-1 and Intara Witzel, 16, (5) 24-1
District 6: Trax Garland, 18, (8) 10-1 and Sentra Bootshoe, 18, (7) 15-1
District 7: Sapling Morlock, 17, (7) 14-1 and Birchette Saleh, 16, (5) 24-1
District 8: Poplar Westra, 16, (4) 29-1 and Lycra Peller, 16, (4) 30-1
District 9: Delano Benitz, 15, (5) 26-1 and Talulah Okafor, 17, (8) 11-1
District 10: Lowan Killip, 18, (6) 16-1 and Aviana Wruck, 15, (4) 32-1
District 11: Gardner Madore, 16, (4) 31-1 and Ardith Fearnley, 16, (7) 15-1
District 12: Coalson Fires, 18, (7) 13-1 and Sasha Scruggs, 18, (7) 14-1
HGBO Bets: 22% on Swell, 19% on Taj, 13% on Swan, 8% on Adacha, 7% on Rama, 5% on Saturn, 4% on Trax and Talulah, 3% on Sentra and Coalson, 2% on Sasha, 1% or less on Myphex, Ezuma, Hyphen, Intara, Sapling, Birchette, Poplar, Lycra, Delano, Lowan, Aviana, Gardner, and Ardith.
THE GAMES
The newest batch of twenty-four tributes ascended into the arena wearing dark-green, skin tight body suits made of a plasticky material. This was yet another entirely outdoor arena, Maddox's new favorite, and the sheer harsh natural conditions would make this an interesting year for sure. A small life preserver was bound around each tribute's chest; this was another games where it would really help to be able to swim. The murky, soupy swamp water was roughly five feet deep, which meant the tributes could walk across the bottom if they couldn't swim. A thick grey fog hung over the swamp, blocking out virtually all of the sunlight except for a few scant rays. The air was uncomfortably muggy, sticky, and hot. The tributes' pedestals were about a foot below the waterline, and they formed a large circle around the cornucopia, which only housed swords and bows. There was also a single trident, which was placed there specifically for Swell. As the tributes moved farther away from the cornucopia, they wound find small and unstable islands made out of mud, as well as clusters of mangrove trees that rose out of the water in neat rows. The mangrove trees would provide most of the tributes' shelter, as they offered the only sanctuary from the vicious mutts hiding in the murky water. Bright green alligator mutts hid in the depths, and they had razor-sharp teeth ready to tear apart any unsuspecting, defenseless tributes. Larger-than-life snakes, spiders, and other creatures of the dark and damp could be found in plentiful amounts everywhere in the arena. Arguably the most bothersome creatures were the mosquitoes. They flew in swarms that literally looked like dark-grey clouds, and human blood was their favorite snack. Due to the strong career pack, a surprisingly large number of tributes fled from the bloodbath at the gong: Ezuma from 3, Birchette from 7, Poplar and Lycra from 8, Ardith from 11, and Sasha from 12. Due to the low visibility of the arena and the large number of bloodbath deserters, the bloodbath would only claim five lives this year. It was the third smallest bloodbath in history at the time.
Swell lead the opening charge, slicing through the murky swamp water with expert speed. He clambered onto the cornucopia and swept up the only trident, ready to take on the diminished swarm of outliers. Lowan from 10 tried to dive into the swamp water when he realized Swell had spotted him, but it was too late. With one swift thrusting motion, Swell skewered the prongs of the bronze trident through his back. He was gone in moments.
Lowan Killip, District 10 Male: 24th, Killed by Swell, Bloodbath
Rama was the next up. She grabbed a sword and tackled Lowan's ally, who had frozen dead in her tracks when she saw Swell murder her district partner. The girl was too panicked to fight back as Rama shoved her off of her feet. She cut open her abdomen with two heavy chops before splashing away.
Aviana Wruck, District 10 Female: 23rd, Killed by Rama, Bloodbath
Taj took a bow and spotted two allied boys splashing through the chest-high water a few meters away. He fired a volley of two arrows in their direction. The swamp arena was dark and foggy, but Taj really did know how to shoot like a pro, and both of his arrows hit home. The first of the boys was dead instantly after the arrow pierced his skull. The other boy, who was merely unconscious, floated toward Adacha, Taj's district partner, who finished him off with a single blow to the chest.
Hyphen Skylstad, District 5 Male: 22nd, Killed by Taj, Bloodbath
Sapling Morlock, District 7 Male: 21st, Killed by Taj and Adacha, Bloodbath
Swell made the last kill. Trident in hand, he grabbed an emaciated boy by the torso and shoved him underwater. Bubbles streamed from his mouth as he fought desperately against Swell's firm grip. Swell's trident came for him like a deadly fish through the murky water, ending him.
Delano Benitz, District 9 Male: 20th, Killed by Swell, Bloodbath
With the bloodbath at its conclusion, the careers trudged toward the cornucopia. It was terribly hot and muggy, and they were all drenched in sweat. Swan's mentor, Annie, sent her a large box fan. She mounted the fan in the back of the cornucopia with the help of her district partner Swell, and the six careers all crowded around the fan, sighing as the cool air engulfed them. Taj and Rama were sent small inflatable rafts by their sponsors. They blew them up and spent the whole day trying to attach them together. Frustratingly, they couldn't figure out how to attach the two rafts without them buckling instantly under their weight. Swell just laid out a mat in the back of the cornucopia and did yoga while telling stories to the audience. He was cool, relaxed, and unconventional, and the Capitol loved him. The remaining two careers, Adacha and Saturn, just organized the weapons and the food rations. They didn't go hunting on the first day, but they vowed to leave as soon as Taj and Rama figured out how to attach their small rafts together.
The rest of Day 1 was rather quiet and timid. Myphex from 3 had nothing but a coil of rope. He closed his eyes and floated on his back as the whims of Mother Nature carried him away from the cornucopia, hoping nobody would spot him. Ezuma from 3 and Intara from 5 trudged about two miles away from the cornucopia. They stopped when they reached a squishy, unstable island. It was only large enough to fit one of them, so they took turns lying on the small patch of mud. The anti-careers, Trax, Sentra, Talulah, and Coalson, climbed up into the highest bough of a lofty mangrove tree when a duo of alligator mutts attacked them out of the depths of the murky water. Talulah had remembered to grab lots of rope from the cornucopia. She was an expert knot-tier, and she tied all her allies down before tying herself in. Birchette from 7 found three buoyant logs and climbed on top of them like a raft. She rode her makeshift raft several miles away from the cornucopia, sweating and swatting away mosquitoes. Poplar and Lycra from 8 had allied prior to the games. They floated on their backs and drifted slowly through the bog, holding hands like otters. Gardner from 11 was deathly afraid of dark water after a playmate drowned at night when he was five. Mumbling softly to himself to keep from freaking out, he spun his way through the water before dropping down on a small, cushy island of mud. Ardith from 11 fell asleep on her back and willed the water currents and the slight wind to carry her away. When she bumped into a mangrove tree, she panicked, thinking it was an alligator mutt. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ardith grabbed hold of the root and dragged herself upward into the lowest bough. Sasha from 12 swam for her life, spinning through the water at an amazing speed. She could swim extremely well for somebody from District 12, and an impressed sponsor sent her a case of crackers and cheese. She pulled herself upward into a mangrove tree and took deep, even breaths, nervously munching on her food. Things were pretty peaceful as dark turned to pitch dark in the arena.
The next morning, Intara woke to the deafening screams of her ally Ezuma. Intara squinted and moved her hands in front of her to clear away the fog, and her eyes opened wide when she saw what was happening. Ezuma's torso was closed in the bright-green, knobby maw of a large alligator mutt. Intara let out a scream of her own when the alligator mutt closed its jaws with full force. They closed around Ezuma like a voice, and her screams were quickly cut short by her cannon shot. Intara shuffled off the side of the island and spun slowly away through the bog, trying not to panic or splash too much. She escaped to the safety of a nearby island, and she collapsed on the unstable heap of mud, sobbing softly.
Ezuma Kiernan, District 3 Female: 19th, Killed by alligator mutt, Day 2
Ezuma's cannon shot woke the six members of the career pack, who had been sleeping comfortably around the box fan in the back of the cornucopia. Taj and Rama quickly got back to the frustrating process of binding their two rafts together. They ended up succeeding after way too many hours, and then it was time to go hunting. It was Taj's seventeenth birthday, and his mentor Admired sent him a hard hat with an adjustable light affixed to the front. The gift came with a note saying, "You have no idea how expensive this was. Happy birthday –A." The rafts were only large enough to fit two tributes. Rama was exhausted and chose to stay back at the horn, so Taj and Saturn ended up doing the honors. The other four sat down inside of the cornucopia and talked quietly amongst themselves as the two paddled away to thin the crowd of remaining outliers.
Next, the cameras zoomed in to show a lightly snoozing Birchette. She was curled up on the three logs she'd found the day prior, and the water currents carried her slowly in a number of different directions while she breathed steadily in and out. A strong water current spurred on by Maddox moved her toward Poplar and Lycra. Lycra spotted her first, and she and Poplar spent several minutes debating whether to ignore her, welcome her, or kill her. They ended up taking her in, and the three tributes continued their aimless journey over the murky swamp water with their arms linked.
The anti-careers had a near-death experience about halfway through the second day, when a large alligator mutt saw them hanging out in the lofty mangrove tree and decided to crash their party. Its razor sharp teeth grazed Trax's shoulder, and he reflexively smacked it in the maw, knocking it a short distance backward. Trax and his district partner Sentra shook Talulah and Coalson awake, and the anti-careers scared the alligator away using a combination of well-placed fist throws and prods from their weapons.
Taj and Saturn weren't able to come across any victims on Day 2, but they did come close on at least one occasion. Saturn caught a glimpse of Sasha from 12, and he grabbed the paddle and started steering in her direction. Sasha escaped without much trouble, and Taj pegged Saturn as a lunatic who'd seen something that wasn't even there. Sasha knew she could have been killed if she'd timed her escape a second slower; shaken, she pulled herself up into a mangrove tree and tried to get some more sleep.
The next day, the careers had better luck. The Birchette-Poplar-Lycra trio had still yet to settle on any solid landmass. They were simply drifting wherever the water currents carried them, feeding themselves on Birchette's tin of crackers and other sponsor foods. Unbeknownst to them, Taj and Saturn were nearby. Saturn had the hard hat tied firmly to his head, and he adjusted the light, illuminating the sleeping tributes. The beam of light glanced off of Lycra's tribute token, a thin silver bracelet, and this spelled her doom. If she'd concealed the token better, she and her allies might have been able to escape without being spotted. Taj drew his bow and ordered Saturn to keep the light steady as he fit an arrow into the tight string. The arrow landed squarely in Lycra's chest, killing her in moments. Cue pandemonium.
Lycra Peller, District 8 Female: 18th, Killed by Taj, Day 3
The instant Lycra's cannon shot fired, Birchette and Poplar threw all forms of caution out of the metaphorical window and started swimming for their lives. Taj leapt off of the raft to swim after them, and Saturn quickly dropped the small anchor before following. Birchette wasn't the best swimmer in the world, but she could recall a few strokes her older sister had taught her back home in 7. Poplar couldn't swim to save his life (which was exactly what he had to do) and the only reason he had survived this far was the blow-up life preserver strapped to his neck.
The next few minutes passed without a single drop of blood being drawn by either side. Taj and Saturn didn't want the two outliers to escape, but they were also reluctant to place too much distance between themselves and their raft; it was their only source of sanctuary from the alligator-infested swamp water whenever they were away from the cornucopia, and it was also their chief method of transportation. A nearby swarm of mosquitoes scattered when Birchette turned and smacked Saturn in the jaw, and he cursed, momentarily losing his rhythm long enough for Birchette to shove him under.
Saturn panicked and took in a large gulp of water, and he was pretty much doomed from there. Swallowing down the small amount of bile that had built up in the back of her throat, Birchette turned and swam after Poplar while Taj screamed for reinforcements and Saturn drowned swiftly.
Saturn Talbot, District 2 Male: 17th, Killed by Birchette, Day 3
Birchette and Poplar had no idea how quickly reinforcements would come. The four other careers were relaxing at the cornucopia. When they heard Taj's yells for help, they sprang to their feet and dove into the water like firefighters rushing to put out a fire. Adacha stayed back to guard, and she stood anxiously in the back of the cornucopia, waiting for her allies to return.
Rama, Swell, and Swan arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes, and they used Taj as the fourth member of their square to encircle Birchette and Poplar. Swell's trident was the most efficient weapon there, but the 4 boy had sustained a minor injury to his ankle that morning which seriously reduced his swimming speed. He ended up handing his trident to Swan and taking her twin daggers in return (a sponsor gift from earlier that day).
The careers quickly closed in on the two allied outliers. Birchette knew it was risky to put her head under the water, especially considering how murky and unclean it was, but she really had no other choice. Birchette disappeared into the muck and swam as far away as she could before poking her head back up for a quick breath. The stench was foul, and the feeling of being fully submerged in the muddy water was disgusting. She ended up escaping while Swan thrust the prongs of Swell's trident into Poplar's chest. Without any physical obstructions in the water arena, Poplar's screams carried for miles. They returned to the horn quickly after his life force faded fully.
Poplar Westra, District 8 Male: 16th, Killed by Swan, Day 3
Myphex was one of the least popular tributes at this point in the games. The only sponsor gift he'd gotten was a small lemon-flavored cookie, and even that had contained only a few calories. He'd also thrown up multiple times; during his week in the Capitol, he'd eaten an extremely unhealthy amount of food in preparation for the so-called Hunger Games, but the stench of the arena had caused him to throw it all up back on Day 1. On Day 3, he finally gave in to drinking the swamp water without any sort of filter, and he soon came to regret that decision when his stomach cramped up from the almost toxic swamp water. The entire point of this year's arena was to encourage the tributes to make bloody kills in their desperation for clean water, but Myphex still refused to actively search for outliers. He mostly floated aimlessly around the bog as the dirty water worked its way slowly out of his system.
Birchette had rocketed upward on the popularity list after killing Saturn and escaping the other careers without a scratch, and her wealthy and impressed sponsors sent her a mosquito net and a thermos of clean water. She downed about half of the thermos' contents before continuing her float away from the sight of her allies' death, draped in the net. At nightfall, she pulled herself up into a tree for safety and quickly fell asleep.
On Day 4, the cameras mostly focused on the careers and the anti-careers. In the morning, the five remaining careers regrouped at the cornucopia to restock on supplies. Their sponsors sent them a second raft that could house two tributes. Adacha and Rama headed out on the first raft, while Taj and Swan paddled away on the newer one. Swell stayed put at the cornucopia; at that point, he was like the hinge that was holding the two halves of the pack together, and he sifted through the cornucopia' supplies, quickly growing bored with the task.
Adacha and Rama headed north, a flashlight tied around each of their necks with a thin cord. The mosquitoes were particularly heavy in the north part of the arena. That didn't stop them from hunting ravenously, but it did piss them off. The tiny little bugs landed on their arms and necks in entire rows. One of Rama's sponsors sent her a half can of bug spray, which she hurriedly sprayed on herself and Adacha. It didn't do a whole lot to deter the mosquitoes, but it did lessen their numbers, if only slightly.
Speaking of mosquitoes, they were making the anti-careers miserable. The quartet sat on the lofty branch of their original mangrove tree, swatting away the little bugs as they descended in their swarms. They were apprehensive about leaving the tree because of the alligator mutts encircling them. On Day 4, the gamemakers drew the mutts away to allow them to escape; the Capitol didn't enjoy their inactivity any more than they did. They escaped about a mile westward before settling down on a small island. Sentra had it the worst; the mosquitoes seemed to be in love with her blood. She was covered all over with little red spots, and she scratched each of them until they bled. They were dangerously low on clean water, and they were miserable in every sense of the word. They were now desperate to hunt down a victim and make some kind of splash to impress the sponsors.
Day 5 was deathless. Myphex was growing steadily more and more miserable. He had no choice but to keep consuming the filthy water that constituted most of the arena. He tried filtering the water through the material of his shirt; while this took out most of the dirt, it did little to keep out the microorganisms living inside. Filth spouted from both ends of his digestive system, and Myphex continued his aimless float around the arena, weeping without weeping. Intara had been swimming in circles ever since Ezuma's death back on Day 2. She used a bit of sponsored rope to tie herself to a tree with a trunk too broad for her to climb. The anti-careers kept up their hunt for outliers, desperate to make a kill. They were in desperate need of clean water, a mosquito net, or at least some bug spray. Birchette stayed put on a small muddy island draped with her mosquito net, feeding herself on sponsor foods and her largely-empty tin of crackers. Gardner stayed as still as a stone on his tiny island. His phobia of the dark water surrounding him kept him from moving an inch. His fears were justified, as dangerous alligator mutts inhabited the water, but he had to take a risk sooner than later or the gamemakers would force him to. Like Myphex, he was taking in large quantities of the unclean swamp water out of desperation. Ardith climbed around her mangrove tree. She was a surprisingly good climber; she had a firm grip and a good eye, and her regular relocations kept the Capitol from growing bored, even if she never left the throes of the large tree's expansive branches. Sasha survived off of the large stock of supplies sponsored to her by the rest of the Scruggs family, including cases of her favorite foods and several weapons she didn't even know how to use. She was chased up into a tall tree by a pair of vicious alligator mutts, but she was fine past the initial trauma; her flow of sponsor supplies could have lasted for weeks if she needed it to, so entrapment wasn't a huge concern for her.
In the early morning of Day 6, a cannon shot went off, causing the murky swamp water to ripple slightly. The anti-careers had gotten up "bright" and early to keep up their hunt for outliers. Their resolve was quickly disappearing, from Sentra most quickly of all, and hope was all but extinct for the group. They had wound along a path of about half a mile when Coalson felt something close around his left leg. The others scrambled, shocked, and they could all see the cloud of blood spreading out from his severed limb despite the fact that the water was practically mud.
The eyes of the alligator mutt protruded from the surface. Talulah splashed away, trying not to make too much noise. Sentra froze in her tracks, dumbfounded with terror as the alligator mutt tore into Coalson's abdomen. Trax tugged her away. Sentra wondered if the attack would be fatal, but a cannon shot beat her to it.
Coalson Fires, District 12 Male: 15th, Killed by alligator mutt, Day 6
The remainder of Day 6 was uneventful. The anti-careers were more desperate than ever. They were all thinking the same thing, and Talulah was the first to say it out loud. She suggested they head toward the cornucopia and try to raid as many supplies as they could. They would die if they didn't and there was a chance they could die if they did, and they all preferred the latter option. The mosquito mutts continued attacking Sentra in the largest numbers. The pain all over her body was like fire, but she managed to keep from complaining. A sponsor who admired her resolve sent her a thermos of clean water, which she shared with Trax and Talulah. You know you're in the Hunger Games when two cups of clean water looks like Thanksgiving dinner.
The outliers didn't do much. Ardith kept up her frequent moves around the branches of the lofty mangrove tree. The gamemakers sent down a few lightning strikes to scare her into sprinting faster, and this set about half of the tree on fire. Ardith managed to crouch down and remain still until the fire naturally put itself out. Unfortunately, the lightning strikes also attracted the attention of Taj and Swan, who were drifting on the newer raft about a mile away. Time would tell if Ardith would be spotted by the pair of careers.
Sasha similarly remained still. She blocked out the snapping of the alligators' jaws using a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, the thousandth sponsor gift delivered to her by her rich family. Her family actually had to send her a cardboard box to store all of the old silver parachutes.
On Day 7, Taj and Swan arrived at the half-destroyed tree where Ardith was roosting, crouched precariously yet delicately at the end of one of the long, droopy branches. Swan took the paddle and steered the raft in the direction of the tree's base. Conveniently, a number of vines hung from the lowest branches. They pulled themselves upward, and they were about halfway up the vine when it snapped. Swan fell into the swamp with a loud splash, and Ardith woke with a start.
Trying not to panic, she sat back down and slipped off the side of the branch. She fell about ten feet before landing in the water, and her leg struck a rough rock beneath the surface. She hissed in agony while her leg grated against the rough surface. She was quickly tackled from the side by Swan and from above by Taj, who jumped off of the branch a few moments after her.
Ardith Fearnley, District 11 Female: 14th, Killed by Taj and Swan, Day 7
That was the biggest fight of the seventh day. The thirteen remaining tributes were all in pretty bad shape, particularly with lack of clean water. Halfway through Day 7, the heavy fog pulled away ever-so-slightly, revealing a canopy of dark grey clouds high above. The freezing-cold rain began falling with the first clap of thunder. Not only did this dilute the muddy swamp ever so slightly, it let anybody with a container collect water for later consumption. The careers hunted more feverishly than ever before, particularly Adacha and Swan, who hadn't made a single kill since leaving the horn back on Day 3. With the fog slightly clearer than normal, their visibility greatly increased.
Swell was sleeping lightly in the back of the cornucopia when the first crack of thunder rumbled over the arena. Grinning, he took out literally every container in the cornucopia and placed them outside to collect the cool, clean water. He ended up taking most of the weapons out of their cases just to clear them up for water collection. Afterward, Swell shut off the fan and leaned against the exterior of the cornucopia, savoring the sensation of the cool drops hitting his skin.
Myphex, Intara, and Gardner didn't have much of a reaction; Myphex and Intara continued their aimless floating, and Gardner remained stubbornly still on the small island. The muddy island started collapsing and sinking with so much new running water; it decreased in size by at least half over the course of the storm. Now, there was only enough room for Gardner to sit cross-legged without the terrifying dark water touching him.
Sasha stayed up in the tall mangrove tree as alligator mutts snapped their jaws and tried to climb upward, toward her. Legitimate fear was starting to set in; she knew the gamemakers would make her move sooner than later. It only she could fashion some kind of hang glider to get herself away safely.
The anti-careers continued their journey toward the cornucopia. The raindrops provided some refreshment, but they were still desperately thirsty and hungry. They were expected to reach the horn late Day 8 or early Day 9 if they kept up their current pace. Sentra was most glad for the rain because it kept away the mosquitoes.
Birchette had been lying low under the protection of the mosquito net for far too long now, and she figured it was time she fashioned some kind of raft. Her sponsors weren't allowed to send her an actual raft, but they were more than happy to send her the parts she needed. A small metal case delivered her the materials needed and a booklet with cryptic instructions, along with a few tools she'd never seen before. Birchette was daunted by the task, and she knew deciphering the instructions would not be easy, but she was prepared to give it her best shot if it meant staying relevant in the deadly reality television show.
The anti-careers arrived at the cornucopia at seven in the morning on Day 8. They were weak, and they were disheveled, but they had nothing to lose, and that made them extremely deadly. Swan and Swell were waiting at the cornucopia at the time, while the other three careers were hunting. Adacha had accidentally popped one of their inflatable rafts, meaning that only three tributes were able to hunt rather than four. Rama was nearest the cornucopia, while Taj and Adacha were farther away.
Trax, Sentra, and Talulah charged out of the darkness. Talulah carried a sword, Sentra carried a bow, and Trax carried nothing but two sharp stones. He quickly discarded these in favor of a stubby sword that was meant for stabbing rather than slashing. Swan and Swell scattered to the left and right, and the anti-careers faced a quick moment of indecision as to how they should split up. Talulah ended up going for Swell, while Trax and Sentra fought against Swan.
Talulah dueled with Swell with a remarkable degree of success. He had the only trident, the best weapon in the arena, but Talulah was strong and healthy and wasn't one to let down her guard or her resolve during a fight. Swell lashed out with his trident, and Talulah swerved so the blow intended for her chest hit her in the side. Talulah hissed as the weapon grazed her shoulder, and the fight went on for about two minutes with no major wounds being dealt.
When she was drawn closer in by a stray arrow fired by Swan, Talulah slapped him in the side of the head; Swell cursed and stumbled backward, and Talulah smacked him in the chin, sending him reeling.
Trax and Sentra managed to take down Swan in a matter of minutes once Talulah joined them. After Trax hit her in the waist with his stubby sword, Swan loosened her grip on her bow ever-so-slightly, and Trax tore the weapon out of her hands. He snapped the wooden bow in half, and Swan gasped with grief, her chief weapon now in shambles. Talulah tackled her, and the point of her sword connected with her chin; Swan died just as nearby Rama heard the commotion and started paddling back toward the cornucopia.
Swan Marsden, District 4 Female: 13th, Killed by Talulah, Day 8
Rama arrived in minutes. Sentra heard her splashing out of the water and whipped around, and she yelled in a phlegmy voice for her allies to be prepared as Rama charged, holding out her sword. Taj and Adacha were also on their way, but they were not expected to arrive at the cornucopia for several minutes, by which point the fight would likely be resolved. It was now three against two; though Rama and Swell were outnumbered, they had trained for years, and they would not go down without a fight.
Trax, Sentra, and Talulah stepped backward with virtually every blow in their direction, and they quickly reached the edge of the cornucopia island. In moments more, they were knee-deep. Swell grinned, brandishing his trident; this was his element. Swell splashed through the water and grabbed Trax by his upper abdomen.
A dazed Sentra and a furious Talulah helped wrench Swell off of him, and Trax immediately felt the bite of Rama's sword in his side. He instinctively turned and thrust the point of his sword into her chest. Rama gasped once before collapsing into the water. She spun and turned in the current for several seconds before floating to the surface.
Rama Pellish, District 2 Female: 12th, Killed by Trax, Day 8
Now it was Swell's sole objective to keep the anti-careers occupied long enough for Taj and Adacha to arrive. Swell was an excellent swimmer and the strongest tribute out of the original twenty-four, but he was still outnumbered three to one, and he didn't fail to sustain a few nasty injuries. The worst blow was dealt by Trax, who tore open the middle of his chest with a heavy scrape of his strange knife-sword weapon. Swell momentarily stumbled, hissing in agony, and he almost fell onto his bottom before he regained his footing and prodded Trax and nearby Sentra with his trident, keeping them away for the next few moments.
When Taj and Adacha arrived, they hastily dragged their raft onto the cornucopia island and raced toward the scene to help out their ally Swell. The anti-careers quickly realized they were outmuscled and outgunned by a significant margin, and the three of them tackled Swell in unison. Talulah managed to knock him in the head, sending him spiraling into unconsciousness, and the trio splashed away from the island with the 1s close behind. They were quickly lost in the thick, soupy mire. Taj and Adacha were in low spirits as they stormed back toward the cornucopia. By the time they got back, Swell had regained consciousness. He still had quite a bit of healing to do, as did Taj, whose wrist had been scraped by one of Sentra's stray arrows; they didn't risk going hunting that day. They just rested inside of the cornucopia and let themselves heal.
The anti-careers continued their trudge away from the cornucopia as Day 8 turned into Day 9. They were finally sponsored their highly coveted mosquito net around noon on the ninth day. It was large enough to drape over the three of them, and the relief of the bothersome mosquito swarms was such a simple pleasure yet such an enormous one. It was far too late for one tribute, however. Throughout the hundreds of bites she'd sustained, Sentra had contracted malaria, and it was slowly killing her without any kind of help in sight. Talulah was bleeding heavily, and Trax was terribly achy and sore from so much travelling. They ended up binding themselves to the trunk of a mangrove tree on Day 9 using Talulah's rope.
Intara had been floating aimlessly around the outskirts of the arena for an entire week now. The gamemakers had given her her fair share of chances to redeem herself, but to no avail. She awoke to the hissing of an alligator mutt around sunset. She screamed and started violently thrashing her limbs when she saw the alligator's eye protruding from the murky surface, the color of a rotten pair. Intara lashed out and slammed the alligator's heavily-armored mouth. She was aiming for its eyes, but she kept missing, and that just annoyed it more.
The next moment, the mutt closed the two halves of its maw around her abdomen, and blood started spewing from gaps in its two overlapping rows of teeth like a series of sprinklers. The alligator sent her off the same way it had sent off her late ally Ezuma. It swallowed down a large chunk of her torso before spinning away through the thick water.
Intara Witzel, District 5 Female: 11th, Killed by alligator mutt, Day 9
Days 10 and 11 were deathless. The careers were feeling particularly humiliated after the anti-careers' escape, and they left to hunt as soon as they were healed enough to do so without risking their health further. Taj and Swell boarded the one raft that was still in-tact and paddled away from the cornucopia in pursuit of prey. They hunted eagerly and efficiently, but the screaming and general ruckus of the Day 8 encounter had scared most of the remaining outliers away, clearing their hunting ground of potential victims. Adacha stayed back at the cornucopia, mindlessly sifting through the supplies. Taj and Swell were much more popular in the Capitol that she was, and she could already tell she was going to be the third wheel of the pack from there on out. All of the rainwater Swell had collected back on Day 7 kept her hydrated, however warm and gross it may have been after so many days going stale in the hot, muggy arena.
Amongst the seven remaining outliers, there was a lot of movement, but little action. Myphex was more emaciated and weak from dehydration than ever, and he still had no choice but to keep drinking the dirty water provided by the arena itself. By that point, he was too weak to actively hunt for victims even if he wanted to. Now, it was just a matter of watching dehydration slowly wrench him from this life. Trax and Talulah stayed still in the lofty mangrove tree they'd chosen as their home. They didn't know it, but it was their original mangrove tree, the one they'd discovered all the way back on Day 1. They just fed themselves on sponsor foods and watched Sentra slowly but surely slip from life. Her sponsors sent her a few blue pills to numb the pain; Trax placed them under her tongue while Talulah watched with a grimace. Birchette had finally finished her do-it-yourself inflatable raft after several days of deciphering the strange instructions. She rode around the arena, using the torn branches gripped tightly in each of her hands as paddles. The alligator mutts finally drew away from the tree where Sasha was hiding. She slowly lowered herself from the tree and splashed through the water until she came to the small island where Gardner was curled up, staring at the pulsating dark water with eyes agape, quivering.
"How long have you been here?" Sasha demanded, shifting her bulging pack of supplies slightly.
"Since the beginning… of the games," Gardner's voice warbled.
"Stop crying," Sasha said. "There are three careers left. We'd better team up. We'd last longer."
Sasha didn't realize just how terrified Gardner was of touching the dark water. His quivering turned to flat-out shaking when Sasha pulled him off the side of the cushy, unstable muddy island, and he quickly burst into tears. Sasha forced him about a mile away before they settled down on one of the more concrete islands. The blood rushed back to Gardner's face the instant he stepped onto dry land. The Capitol was expecting Sasha to kill Gardner in his sleep, but she didn't; despite her victor background, she was strictly against killing, and she couldn't bring herself to take the life of her hesitant new ally.
A cannon shot fired a few minutes after midnight. The amount of water in Myphex's body had been gradually depleting itself over the weeks, and dehydration finally claimed him on the twelfth morning. He'd been completely immobile for several hours by that point, and the pitiful boy barely felt it.
Myphex Burnley, District 3 Male: 10th, Killed by dehydration, Day 12
The dark clouds started rolling in about an hour after Myphex's death; sooner than later, the freezing-cold rain was pouring down onto the nine remaining tributes. At the cornucopia, Adacha pulled out all of the empty containers and placed them in the flattest parts of the cornucopia island to collect the rain water. With so much clean water readily available, it was the first time Adacha had been truly able to wash herself since leaving the Capitol. She didn't take all of her clothes off or anything, but scrubbing the dried mud off of herself helped her get back some of her 1-ly dignity, which significantly boosted her morale.
Trax and Talulah stayed put in the high-up mangrove tree. By that point, Sentra was nearly unconscious from her malaria. Trax and Talulah debated whether they should kill her out of mercy. Trax was adamantly against this; however selfish it may have been, they would be able to use Sentra as a kind of human snack in case some kind of mutt or predator attacked them for dinner. Birchette floated around the arena on her completed raft. She'd opened up her waterproof metal case, which collected the raindrops slowly but surely as she cruised along. She wasn't actively hunting for prey, but she was moving, and that did at least something to keep her from fading into the background.
Taj and Swell dropped their anchor when the cool raindrops started falling. They were both sweaty and exhausted, and they took a quick moment to relax with the cool drops hitting their skin. They got back to their hunt after a few minutes; they didn't want the Capitol to think they were getting any lazier now that the tribute count was dwindling down to single-digits.
Gardner and Sasha's alliance wasn't an alliance as much as it was a pact not to kill each other. Sasha hardly ever spoke to Gardner; she knew she would have to kill him sooner than later if she ever wanted to see her family again, so she didn't want to get too attached to him. Gardner was constantly looking out for ways to help Sasha; she'd chosen not to kill him, and he wanted to show how grateful he was.
Taj and Swell disembarked from the foggy outer edges of the arena. Instead, they floated back toward the center region, where the weaker and more cowardly tributes would likely be hiding. Gardner and Sasha were also planning to travel closer to the cornucopia, and Gardner suggested that he scout the nearby areas in search of dry land or some other kind of shelter. He was able to stow away his phobia if it meant paying Sasha back for deciding not to kill him. Gardner was roughly a quarter mile away from Sasha when Sasha's screams tore over the bog. Taj and Swell had found her; Swell dropped off of the raft and swam to Sasha's either side, trapping her. Taj lunged, and Sasha leapt in Swell's direction to avoid his fists and his arrows. Swell thrust the prongs of his trident into her chest, and she screamed and shook as she bled out in under a minute.
Sasha Scruggs, District 12 Female: 9th, Killed by Swell, Day 12
That left the final eight: Taj King and Adacha Calder from District 1, Swell Hager from District 4, Trax Garland and Sentra Bootshoe from District 6, Birchette Saleh from District 7, Talulah Okafor from District 9, and Gardner Madore from District 11.
Gardner heard Sasha's screams and ran in her direction out of impulse. Taj and Swell saw Gardner sloshing through the water, and they hid behind a nearby mangrove tree. Gardner wept soundlessly as he grabbed Sasha's dead body, checking her vitals even though her cannon shot had already sounded. Gardner didn't see the careers behind the broad trunk of the mangrove tree. Taj fired a volley of three arrows into his back; Gardner's mouth opened wide before he fell still.
Gardner Madore, District 11 Male: 8th, Killed by Taj, Day 12
Taj and Swell arrived back at the cornucopia on the morning of Day 13. Adacha was snoozing softly in the back of the cornucopia, and the boys scared the living daylights out of her; she thought they were outliers, and she almost shot them both before they stepped out of the shadows. Taj and Swell had been looking forward to standing in front of the box fan, but it had run out of battery several days prior. The cornucopia was filled with hot, stale air. They guzzled down a small amount of the rain water Adacha had gathered the day prior before lying down to rest.
Birchette needed a break after piloting her do-it-yourself raft around the arena for several days. When she arrived at a tree that looked promising, she slid under the roots. The roots formed a canopy above her, and she tied the raft to several of them to ensure she wouldn't float away before passing out. Birchette didn't know how to climb a tree; she'd tried once, around her eighth birthday, and she'd been sent to the medical ward with a broken arm. There wasn't a chance she was trying that again.
By Day 13, it became apparent that Trax and Talulah had made a decision regarding Sentra. She was completely unresponsive, and they had no idea how she was still alive. Her heartbeat was faint and very uneven. Trax and Talulah packed up their mosquito net and other supplies. They were making their preparations to paddle away from the tree when a cannon shot fired. Talulah put her fingers to her neck to check for her heartbeat. There was nothing.
Sentra Bootshoe, District 6 Female: 7th, Killed by malaria, Day 13
Trax and Talulah swam slowly away from the site of Sentra's death for most of the day. They were moving parallel to the cornucopia, which seemed counterproductive, but it was actually a smart idea; they were able to cover a good part of the circular arena's diameter without ever getting nearer to the cornucopia. Besides the careers and the anti-careers, the only tribute left in the arena was Birchette from 7, and she was the anti-careers' main target at the time.
A cannon shot fired on the fourteenth morning. Birchette didn't know it, but her knots had been slowly slipping over the course of the night; she was no Talulah, and her knots weren't exactly the best. She started slowly drifting away from the mangrove tree around midnight, and she was about one hundred fifty meters away from the place she'd fallen asleep when she woke up at seven in the morning.
When she did wake up, however, it was the last thing from peaceful. The water had become more and more choppy and uneven over the night, and a particularly strong wave created by Maddox caused the raft to capsize. Birchette was thrown off of the side and plunged down into the water. By the time she rocketed back to the surface, the raft was several meters away. When she finally caught it, she tied herself down to it so she wouldn't fall off again. It was a stupid idea, but she wasn't exactly thinking clearly given how close she'd come to death a few moments earlier. Big mistake.
The next big wave made her capsize again, and this time she didn't drop off the raft. She'd tied herself to it too tight. She was now bound to the upside-down piece of plastic, completely underwater. She tried to flip the raft back over or untie the knots, but Birchette was doomed despite her best efforts to save herself. The Capitol had quite a bit of trouble untangling the rope and the raft from her body after she was carried into the hovercraft.
Birchette Saleh, District 7 Female: 6th, Killed by drowning, Day 13
Days 14 and 15 were deathless. Progress slowed to a crawl, and they were the most boring days the ninety-third Hunger Games had seen yet. Taj, Adacha, and Swell stayed put at the cornucopia. Taj dug around the back of the cornucopia and found a bottle of bug spray that Adacha had somehow skipped over in her several rounds of sorting the supplies.
Swell was sponsored a clear plastic sheet, and he pinned it over the mouth of the horn with Adacha's help. Once, Swell came dangerously close to tumbling off the side of the cornucopia, but he regained his footing at the last moment.
The careers were in a really awkward place; the only other tributes were Trax and Talulah, and they knew they would have a much higher chance of beating them down with three members. Even so, all three careers were tempted to betray, no matter how loyal that had once been to each other. This was the Hunger Games, and every friendship in the games had to be tested at some point or another.
Trax and Talulah spent the two days training. On Day 15, they discovered one of the more concrete islands, a patch of tightly-packed dirt protruding several feet above the water line. They both had swords, and they fought friendlily against each other for almost two days straight. They were both glad to be learning, but they were also nervous they were just teaching the other how to kill them. Their frequent practice battles were the reason the gamemakers were able to get away with two deathless days this late in the games. Tensions were rising in both alliances, and there was no sign of them lowering in sight.
In the early morning of Day 16, the careers awoke to the bloodcurdling screams of the girl from 1. Taj and Swell grabbed their flashlights and shone them on the source of the screams. A thickly-armored alligator mutt had the two halves of its maw closed around Adacha's left arm. The alligator was quiet and stealthy, and Adacha hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. Her screams crescendoed to a deafening level before lowering to a small whine as her body gradually stopped working.
Adacha Calder, District 1 Female: 5th, Killed by alligator mutt, Day 16
Taj and Swell proceeded to fend off the alligator mutt over the course of about twenty minutes. It made for Swell first, and he prodded it at the end of its mouth with a heavy thrusting motion of his trident. The mutt hissed with fury and lunged forward, and Swell leapt out of its path, causing it to crash into the wall of the cornucopia, hurting its snout.
It turned around with its mouth wide open, letting Taj fire two arrows into its vulnerable inner mouth. It was somewhat comedic to watch as the deadly reptile disappeared under the bouncing water, choking and shaking as bubbles streamed from its mouth. They dragged Adacha's body out into the open for the hovercraft to collect before going to sleep.
Moments later, Taj woke to the bite of Swell's trident in his. He immediately leapt to his feet and grabbed his bow. Swell had his trident grasped in both hands, and it was pointed in his direction. Taj fit an arrow into his bow and drew back the string. He would only fire if Swell decided to continue firing at him, which he did. Taj swerved so that the trident intended to hit him in the chest clanged into the silvery wall behind him, and he danced out of the way of Swell's next few blows. In only a few more moments, one of Taj's arrows landed in Swell's shoulder; he cursed and tore it out. The blood started pouring instantly, and this reminded Taj just how injured he was; the three holes in his back were still drizzling blood and were unlikely to let down without sponsor help.
The duel went on for about ten minutes, with the tributes inflicting minor cuts and scrapes, but nothing major. Swell didn't want to risk throwing his weapon and missing, leaving him defenseless against the onslaught of Taj's arrows. Finally, Swell hit Taj in the palm of his hand with the leftmost prong of his trident. Taj lashed out in a bout of fury, smacking Swell in the mouth hard enough to throw him off of his balance. Swell was dead by the time Taj had landed three arrows in his neck. Taj King just grinned delicately, the only career left in the ninety-third Hunger Games.
Swell Hager, District 4 Male: 4th, Killed by Taj, Day 16
Day 17 was deathless. Taj remained completely still at the cornucopia, nursing his two most severe injuries; the trident wound in his back, and the nearly-severed pinky and ring fingers on his right hand. Taj was-right handed, and he was at a significant drawback now that his dominant hand was injured. He managed to close up the holes in his back with the help of a jar of yellow cream he was sponsored. His hand was a different story. The wound was already beginning to take on an ugly yellow color; Taj wasn't a medical expert, but he could tell that some sort of infection was taking root.
Trax and Talulah continued their difficult journey toward the cornucopia. Their mosquito net made travelling much more comfortable than it had once been. However, trudging through the thick, soupy water was still an uncomfortable and miserable process. They were finally on the move after several days of training, and the gamemakers sped up the process further with the help of a few alligator mutts. They were expected to arrive at the cornucopia late Day 18 or early Day 19; if it took that long; these games would likely show up on the leaderboard for the longest games in history. The fifty-third games had lasted nineteen days, and the first games had lasted thirty-one days.
Day 18 was a beautiful sight. After seventeen consecutive days of thick grey fog, the fog finally drew back, revealing an azure blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. The temperature of the arena plummeted from the nineties to the fifties in a matter of half a day, and the fog was replaced with a cool mist that was pleasant to the touch.
Trax and Talulah resiliently trudged toward the cornucopia, quickly closing in the distance between themselves and their final opponent. They were in an area of the bog that was particularly thick, and they needed extensive persuasion to keep their sights set on the cornucopia rather than sleep. About halfway through the day, one of the alligator mutts spun out of the water, and they fended it off over the course of about five minutes. Both Trax and Talulah escaped unscathed.
Taj woke on the eighteenth morning and stretched to full height. The temperature drop in the arena was jarring, but that wasn't what had woken him up. A small, beeping silver parachute sat just outside of the cornucopia. The carriage held a single slip of paper.
Look at the time on your right. It's not doing well –Admired
When Taj pulled up his sleeve and saw the condition of his right hand, he almost gagged. His entire hand was a gross greenish-yellow color, as though the injury had been gradually spreading across his hand under the skin. The skin around the wound was yellow and squishy, and it oozed tendrils of watery puss whenever he moved too suddenly.
It didn't matter how hard be bit down on the leather handle of the knife; he couldn't control the unbearable pain as he sawed back and forth, slicing off his hand over the course of a slow and extremely painful ten minutes. He tossed it off the side of the cornucopia island and immediately covered the bloody stump with a bundle of cloth to stop the bleeding. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he tried to staunch them, but he knew he'd just made the best decision for himself, even if the immediate prospect had been extremely unpleasant.
Trax and Talulah let their arms go limp on the evening of the eighteenth day. They'd been trudging onward for an entire day, and there was now less than a mile between themselves and the moss-choked cornucopia. Unfortunately, they'd chosen a really bad place to stop for the night. Trax woke up a few minutes later to the sound of Talulah's screams.
The thickly-armored alligator mutt had already risen entirely out of the water; the surface of its skin was rough, knobby, and rock-hard. His sword wasn't getting through that. Trax gently paddled away, trying not to make too much of a splash. The alligator had to completely tear her abdomen in half before her cannon sounded; by that point, Trax was a safe distance away. He didn't sleep a wink for the rest of the night.
Talulah Okafor, District 9 Female: 3rd, Killed by alligator mutt, Day 18
Trax arrived at the cornucopia in the early morning of Day 19. Taj was lightly snoozing in the back of the cornucopia at the time. He sprang to his feet when he heard Trax splashing onto the cornucopia island. Before charging, the career boy risked a quick peek under his bandages. The bandage was staunching the flow of blood rather well, and the wound itself had at least begun to close up. Still, he was left with only his non-dominant hand to slaughter the boy from 6, which would not be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.
Taj's first few blows were surprisingly effective. With only one hand, he managed to bury the blade of his sword into Trax's side. He stumbled backward, dislodging the sword from his skin, but the blade wiggled and shifted a lot in the process, drawing more blood. Trax retaliated with a single thrusting motion of his sword; he missed entirely, and Taj almost managed to smack the weapon out of his hand before he stomped on his foot, shocking him enough to make him loosen his grip.
Now that the duo was evened out rather fairly, the duel reached its climax. Taj was forced to fight with only his left hand, while Trax had access to both hands but had the less efficient weapon and the lower training score. After a few minutes, Taj buried his sword into Trax's lower abdomen. Trax let out a shrieking scream, and he thrust the point of his blade into Taj's waist with the last ounce of his energy. The boys collapsed beside each other, and the hovercraft descended, ready to pick up the victor the instant that one of them succumbed to blood loss. Both boys clung onto life for a surprisingly long time. In the end, Trax's injury proved more severe. The boy from 6 bled out as Taj clung onto his life, leaving him the only tribute in the arena.
Trax Garland, District 6 Male: 2nd, Killed by Taj, Day 19
"Taj King of District 1, you are the victor of the ninety-third annual Hunger Games!" Titanus shouted.
Taj just shifted slightly on the unstable cornucopia island, fighting with all of his energy to remain conscious as the hovercraft lowered its claw to collect him.
Taj King, District 1 Male: Victor of the Ninety-Third Hunger Games, Day 19
AFTERMATH
District 1's last victor was Admired four years prior, and they were glad to see the emergence of their sixteenth victor. Taj was another walking stereotype, the tall, blond-haired patriot from District 1 that the Capitol loved. He was the first victor to actively sever a part of their own body since Meredith, and the Capitol would go on to replace his severed hand with a prosthetic. He was also the first victor to celebrate their birthday during the games since Annie. Furthermore, he had the shortest name of any victor thus far, a record that had been held by Lucy Said for almost six decades. He was clearly revolutionary in more ways than one, even if he played in to all of 1's stereotypes perfectly. Taj spent much of his life in the modeling industry, and he turned to several art forms like painting and drawing in his retirement. He respected the Capitol and they respected him, and he enjoyed his life in the Victor's Village. He was always glad to return and mentor when the Capitol called his name.
The payouts on his victory weren't good, as 19% bet on him.
His victory tour was pretty average, and nothing of note happened during it.
Taj would live to age seventy-eight, dying from respiratory complications around the time of the one-hundred fifty-fifth Hunger Games. He would marry and have twin sons.
NEWS
Taj moves into the Victor's Village of District 1, next door to his mentor Admired.
Arnold Scruggs marries a Capitol businesswoman named Portia Sylver.
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)
93HG: Taj King (#16, District 1)
A/N: A few days ago I split open one of my fingers and there was blood and everything. So I had to type the majority of this chapter with nine fingers rather than ten, which was an interesting experience to say the least. I've tried to take out all the spelling errors I could find, but if there's a few stray mistakes left behind, I hope you'll forgive me one day.
Any thoughts on the arena and the victor? I had some fun with Taj, I really gotta HAND it to him.
Okay I've leave now XD
