Following the highly successful (Albeit short) 4th Hunger Games from the previous year, The Capitol citizens were hungry for much more action. Because the previous games were barely a day and a half, President Bering Snow came and visited Toris some time before the games.
He asked her if she could make the games last much longer. He wanted suspense, not just action. The games needed to be hard to watch of their children. Their weren't many rebel children to pick through anymore (Some families went into hiding while others had children that were too old to be reaped) so now the tributes would be mostly picked from regular families.
Though it seemed like a simple task, Toris was very worried about pulling it off. However, this year would prove mostly suspenseful while also keeping the blood the Capitol wanted. The 5th Annual Hunger Games were to be scary...
As the tributes rose from their pods the day after interviews... they were surprised to see ocean waves. The District 4 female gave a sigh of relief. Years of working in the water was about to pay off...
Most of the other tributes would probably be unable to swim, thankfully though, one of the other Gamemakers suggesting fitting the arena gear with something that could keep the tributes afloat while also making sure that land wasn't very far behind the tributes. The arena was a bunch of small islands connected by small [almost invisible] paths in the water. The cornucopia was in the center of it all, on a small island.
"GOONG!" The piercing whistle shrieked through the air as the tributes all ran to the cornucopia. Really, this year only one alliance had really been planned out pre-games and this was between the District 12 tributes (Lillie and Rye). The tributes all raced to the cornucopia, jumping through the waves. Though many of the tributes ran away this year, being unable to swim and all.
The District 4 Male (Orbis) was the first to the cornucopia and immediately grabbed a trident. Right as the District 1 female was reaching the island, he stabbed her in the chest before pushing her bloody body back into the water. He looked around for any more tributes. His District partner (Shella) was busy looking for a weapon while the District 2 Male was getting to the island right then.
He aimed his spear at him, ready to strike. However, he was knocked down by the only other tribute there, the District 9 Male. The District 9 Male wasn't exactly armed with anything other than a small sickle (which he had picked up) which was short ranged unlike Orbis' trident. He quickly smacked the 9 boy with his weapon before stabbing him in the chest.
"Watch yourself!" He yelled over to Shella. She scowled at him. They weren't in an alliance. Unlike the District 12 pair not very far away. The District 12 Male (Rye) had randomly managed to stumble upon a a very dry part of the water that they could use to get to the cornucopia. Since they weren't on the side of the fastest tributes, they managed to sneak from the other direction.
Right as they made it to the cornucopia, Rye grabbed a sword while Lillie grabbed a few knives before stuffing them in a backpack. Shella (District 4 Female) caught wind of the two but chose not to stop them, knowing they were avoiding them and likely wouldn't be able to survive much further (Though she was hesitating since it seemed as they both swam without them noticing).
The District 12 pair then ran away from the cornucopia without getting caught by District 4. Though the District 2 male... wasn't so lucky.
"SLISH!" Blood splattered into the water. "BOOM!" "BOOM!"
The canon rang for the only two deaths that year. "Well that was surprising. Not many deaths." Orbis admitted, dissatisfied with the amount of deaths. "I can fix that..." Shella walked up to Orbis. He turned around... to a knife to the chest.
She quickly pushed his body into the water, not wanting to think over the fact that she just killed her District partner...
"BOOM!"
The District 3 Male stared down at the salt water. Only 3 deaths for the bloodbath. At least he wasn't one of them. Being from District 3, he wasn't expected to know how to swim nor would he actually bother trying to reach the cornucopia. Though the downside for that meant no weapons or items to help him. However, it only took him a while to realize that most of the backpacks had been actually spread around the cornucopia.
Secretly, Toris thought that someone would most likely set up their base at the cornucopia so it'd be funny if most of the items were far away from the cornucopia. A backpack laid not very far from the spot the District 3 Male sat. He grabbed it and looked inside to check its contents.
However, he was disappointed to see that their was only one real item in the bag. A canister of water though. Useful for the arena. Considering how the water was salty, death by thirst would come quickly...
The District 10 Male came across this problem real quickly. He'd ran from the other tributes back at the cornucopia and was overall very tired. As he rested against a palm tree on an island south of the cornucopia, his head hurt a little. He was going to die of thirst if he didn't conserve his energy. Hunger Games tended to not go past the 3rd day so hopefully he could conserve his energy while the others killed each other.
Though that would matter on how quickly the others were. The District 12 tributes had that in mind as well, considering they were right behind him. Rye gave Lillie a quiet sign and they quietly snuck behind the District 10 boy. As the sun finished setting, Lillie threw her knife at the boy, ending him there.
"BOOM!"
Four tributes. Not many for the first day but hopefully it would get even bloodier from there. It would... Toris thought to herself. What could she do to improve upon the first day? Though she wanted to use mutts, she decided to hold back on it and wait out to see what the tributes would do.
The anthem began playing after the sun set.
District 1 Female (16) - Trident to chest - 24/24 - Killed by District 4 Male
District 9 Male (14) - Trident to chest - 23/24 - Killed by District 4 Male
District 2 Male (17) - Stabbed multiple times with trident - 22/24 - Killed by District 4 Male
District 4 Male (18) - Knife to chest - 21/24 - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
District 10 Male (15) - knife to skull - 20/24 - Killed by District 12 Female (Lillie)
After the sunset, it seemed like a good cool down period after the first day. However, many of the other tributes who had just found items randomly on the islands decided to go hunting throughout the night.
The District 2's female tribute (Chrona) in particular. Noting how quickly the District 4 tributes made it to the cornucopia, she refused to swim across the water over to the cornucopia. Later on though, she had discovered a weapon inside a backpack. A two handed sword. Though a bit heavy, she could probably get used to it.
However, she didn't want to make herself an open target in the darkness so she decided it'd be best to only kill when people came across her. Thankfully, nobody did during the night. However, as time went on, the District 4 Female went hunting for other tributes.
Compared to the other tributes who weren't used to swimming, Shella was pretty fast on the water. She practically hopped from island to island looking for tributes. The District 7 Female was resting in a palm tree when the District 4 Girl came running by. However, Shella quickly noticed the girl and began to push the girl out of the tree by shaking it.
The District 7 Female quickly noticed the girl before falling to the ground. Shella quickly went in for the kill.
"BOOM!"
The canon boomed as Shella pulled her spear from the dead girl. She shook her head. Why didn't I hesitate? The question rung in her head. Was she becoming a monster as well?
Well, meanwhile the District 1 Male (Price) was busy "playing" monster. He had spent most of the day hiding away from other tributes but after finding a bag that had a long sword attached... he was ready to begin taking down as many tributes as he could. Knowing how previous victor Sira (2nd Hunger Games) and close ones like Ava (4th Hunger Games) and Perca (1st Hunger Games) had become very popular names to throw around due to their unstableness, he knew he needed to lose it in order to get home.
Maybe then would people like him...
He quickly searched for people to pry on. This led him to the District 6 female who was busy sleeping near the shore of one of the smaller islands. He quickly slit her throat with his sword.
"BOOM!" The canon boomed for the girl.
However, Price retched as the blood began spilling from the girls throat. He was being weak, and he couldn't afford that. As he picked up his supplies, he failed to notice the District 6 Male (Turner) watching from a distance, his face unemotional as his District partners body was lifted off.
Though he now had less dead weight, he was still going to kill the District 1 boy when he'd get the chance. He was definitely going to die by his hands. The District 12 pair had begun moving to one of the northeastern islands in the arena. It was much smaller in scale but had a very wide forest. People would be unable to find the duo in there.
Nobody but the already hidden District 5 Female. He had a short knife, but he was ready to strike. As the District 12 pair reached the shores, he jumped through the bushes and attacked Lillie (District 12 Female). He attempted to stab her in the chest, however he missed her as she quickly dodged. Rye quickly tackled the District 5 Male.
However, the District 5 Male managed to overpower the boy and pushed him to the ground. He stabbed Rye across the legs, injuring him. Before he could go in for the finishing blow though,
"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase watch your back?" The District 3 Female asked, distracting the District 5 Male. She ran and hit the boy across the head with her backpack before Rye ran in and sliced the District 5 Male.
As the District 5 boy fell to the ground, his eyes turning pure white, Rye stood back in shock. The District 3 Female also had a very small look on her face.
"BOOM!"
"Uh... well I thought you'd need some help." The District 3 Female said, swinging her backpack back onto her back. She held out her hand for a handshake. "Nett. District 3." She told them.
Though a little skeptical, the District 12 pair and Nett formed an alliance at that hour of the night.
The day ended with a fair amount of blood that kept the Capitol audience quite interested for the second day. Hopefully, it would not be the finale.
With the sun rising up on the islands, things seemed a bit more peaceful on the islands though. Though many of the tributes were scrambling around for items or fresh water (Food wasn't particularly scarce at the moment, most tributes found them in their backpacks), the day would go on to seem as a breather day.
Though the District 1 boy though otherwise. Being the southernmost tribute at the moment, he was the first to notice the skies darkening over in the distance.
"A storm. What else could it be at a time like this..." He said to himself, watching out from the trees. He knew he needed to be prepared. However, where would the best hiding place be?
The District 11 Male (Tork) knew for sure. He was hiding in a cave he had spotted. He was pretty sure nobody else could notice it. The shade of the trees had camouflaged so he was lucky enough to have found it. The clap of thunder boomed above him. He knew something was about to go down. Thankfully, he wouldn't really have to be apart of it in the cave.
Meanwhile, the District 12 pair (and Nett) were still hopping islands. However, with the storm approaching, they would need to stick to an island and stay for most of the storm.
By the time it hit noon, the storm had hit the islands. A mini-hurricane hit the point. Right away, trees were blown back as if an explosion had happened or something, killing the District 3 Male.
"BOOM!"
At this point, Tork (District 11 Male) was glad to have hidden in his cave considering the high amount of deaths this storm could cause. The District 12 pair (and Nett) at this point where scrambling around, looking for a hot spot.
By this time, the storm made landfall and all hell broke loose. Trees flew all over. Tributes were blown away like leaves in a small wind. Rain splattered onto the sand like missiles in a war.
"BOOM!" "BOOM!" Tributes were like targets, being hit by flying debris. The District 12 tributes (And Nett) managed to find an uninhabited cave and stayed there while the canons boomed.
The District 1 male... well...
He was scrambling over for places to hide still. However, he couldn't see through all the rain. However, being on a treeless island gave him a sort of advantage. He had hopped to another island not very far from the coastal one. This one had less trees in comparison to the other islands.
However... he wasn't alone.
"SO IT SEEMS THE WIND BROUGHT ANOTHER ONE OVER HERE!" Shella shouted over the wind. The District 1 male turned his head to the girl. She was most likely the only other tribute standing in her way at this point.
So how am I going to defeat her in all this... hurricane?
He stopped questioning himself as The District 4 girl came charging at him with her spear. Jumping back, he felt a sharp pain enter his side. She had just barely cut him.
He gripped his sword, thrusting it forward. It hit her, but she just grit her teeth through the pain and smacked the District 1 boy across the head with her spear. Right after, she thrust her spear down... into his chest...
"BOOM!"
The District 1 boy was now dead. Shella hated herself for not hesitating on that kill. Am I becoming a monster as well... I need to keep myself together!
She watched as the surge came in. Oh shit, not now!
The surge came in and carried her away like a boat in a storm. Meanwhile, the District 11 boy was still hiding in a cave. As the rain pounded against the ground, he thought of each passing second. Every single one of them becoming worse and worse. But the game makers know I'm in here. They're definitely going to do something about it...
As the thought repeated through his head, a giant splashing wave came running into the cave. "Me and my big mouth!" He shouted as the wave of water flooded in...
"BOOM!" His canon boomed.
By then, most of the other tributes had been swept away or hit with debris. Though, the District 9 Female had it worse. She was on her way, crossing the small paths between islands to a hopefully safer one when she was suddenly struck by lighting.
"CRASH!" The lightning bolt hit her head on, however she wasn't dead from it. No, she fell straight into the water... and drowned.
"BOOM!"
Eventually, the eye of the storm came in, giving the tributes some time to breath as well as an update on the dead.
District 7 Female (12) - 19/24 - Spear to chest - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
District 6 Female (16) - 18/24 - Throat slit open with sword - Killed by District 1 Male (Price)
District 5 Male (15) - 17/24 - Sword to face - Killed by District 12 Male (Rye)
District 3 Male (12) - 16/24 - Flying Debris - Killed by Arena
District 11 Female (17) - 15/24 - Drowned - Killed by Arena
District 8 Male (14) - 14/24 - Storm Surge - Killed by Arena
District 1 Male (Price) (18) - 13/24 - Spear into chest - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
District 11 Male (Tork) (16) - 12/24 - Drowned in cave - Killed by Arena
District 9 Female (17) - 11/24 - Struck by lightning before drowing - Killed by arena
As other tributes continued struggling through the arena, the District 12 tributes (And Nett) all got outside and watched as the eye came in.
"Good. We've go a breath of fresh air for once. Luckily for us, the storm surge never came in." Nett sighed, watching the fallen tributes as the anthem played.
Rye and Lillie both turned to each other. Really, they had nothing to say. They were mostly worried about Nett. What was she all about? However, they didn't have time to continue thinking, as another tribute made her ways out of the shadows at that moment...
"Well well well... look at what the storm brought in? 3 freshly fried... tributes." The District 2 Female announced, jumping from her hiding spot. Nett stepped back. Both District 12 tributes ready'd their weapons.
They immediately charged towards the girl and a fight ensued. Though the girl from 2 was greatly outnumbered, she actually did a very good job going head to head with the 3 (Well, Nett was just standing back because she didn't have any weapons).
However, upon noticing Nett standing back and watching with horror on her face, the District 2 female decided to give her a little surprise. After countering one of Lillies thrusts with her sword, the District 2 female ducked under Rye's next attack and began charging towards Nett.
"GAAH!" She shouted as the District 2 female slashed her across the abdomen. "NETT!" Lillie shouted, rushing towards her ally. Rye did the same, though he was aiming for the District 2 female.
"RAH!" The District 2 female shouted, swinging at Lillie. She just barely ducked under the weapon (Some hair even being sliced by the sword) before jabbing her elbow straight into her back. With this opening, Rye ran in and stabbed his sword straight into the girls belly... killing her there.
"BOOM!"
Rye almost felt terrible for killing the District 2 girl, but Nett was lying on the ground dying as he thought. He and Lillie sat next to her, holding her hand as she sobbed.
As she slowly slipped away, she told the two about her family and what if felt like in the cold and gray district she was from. Eventually, she lost all her blood and she passed on. Rye and Lillie had a hard time not showing any emotion from the death of one who had saved them. They both failed to save her...
"BOOM!"
Around this time, the rain and thunder had begun again. It was going to be a terrible night...
As the night passed on, surprisingly only three deaths had been recorded. The District 8 Female and District 7 Male begun a fight when they both came across a bag during the storm. Though the fight was surprisingly even, they both failed to notice the 3rd wheel of the battle: A random wave!
They were both swept away by the storm and perished at the same time. Meanwhile, the District 6 male found himself swept away by a storm surge out of nowhere and he was never seen from again...
"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"
Thankfully, the anthem went on again.
District 3 Female (Nett) (15) - sliced with sword - 10/24 - Killed by arena
District 8 Female (16) - Swept away by storm surge - 9/24 - Killed by arena
District 7 Male (15) - Swept away by storm surge - 8/24 - Killed by arena
District 6 Male (16) - Swept away by storm surge - 7/24 - Killed by arena
By this time, the only remaining tributes were the District 4 Female (Shella), District 5 Female, the District 10 female and District 12 pair (Rye and Lillie). Though it would be best to create some sort of disaster and move them all into one spot at once for the final battle once more, Toris wanted to wait.
She wanted to see if the 5 tributes would eventually cross paths on their own and maybe start a bout that could entertain the Capitol during the night. However, if not then she would just have to create some sort of event that would lead each other to each other.
Though just in case... that event would begin... now.
Shella was having a terrible time. She had gotten swept away by a wave, she didn't have any food, now the arena was slowly flooding in. She was also pretty thirsty. The only other safe place in the arena would definitely be the cornucopia, so she quickly headed their.
The District 5 female and District 10 female also noticed the arena's slow but rapid flooding. They quickly grabbed their items and headed on their way. Along the way, both tributes ran into each other and began a fight.
The District 10 female held a pretty huge edge over her opponent, thrashing her with an axe she had found in her bag. The District 5 female barely managed to hold herself together but she was quick, but not quick enough.
"SLASH" The District 10 female quickly cut her down like a tree. "Alright, I'll have to carry on. I think all that's left is 4 and 12..." She said to herself, heading towards the cornucopia.
"BOOM!"
As Rye and Lillie continued their venture towards the cornucopia, they couldn't help but feel very worried for the coming battle. The moon held up for the midnight hour. This would be an interesting final bout...
After a few hours of walking (Around 5 AM), the District 12 pair had finally reached the cornucopia. Though even before they could try and reach the shore... the District 10 female stopped them.
"And what have you two been up to?" The District 10 female asked with a grin. Rye and Lillie really didn't know what they could do at that moment. Kill her or flee towards the cornucopia.
However the District 10 female charged at Rye, giving little time for reaction. She swung her axe at the boy, but he quickly ducked under it and uppercutted the girl. She fell across the ground.
He got his sword, ready to strike the girl. "AAAAH!" A scream stopped him though. Shella quickly stabbed Lillie in the back with her spear before going after Rye. He dodged the spear before it could hit him.
"L-Lillie!" He shouted towards his district partner who was currently sprawled across the ground. The District 10 female got up and charged at the two tributes.
The District 10 girl quickly slashed her axe down on the two.
"CLING!" However, Shella blocked it with her spear. The two tributes jumped back before charging back at each other. As the two began fighting, Rye quickly ran to Lillie and moved her into some bushes.
Lillie was dying quickly. "R-Rye... sorry I was so... weak." Lillie said as she ran through her breath. Rye hushed her before giving her a kiss to the head.
"BOOM!" Lillie had then perished.
Meanwhile, the District 10 Female and Shella were still both going at it. Though the District 10 female had some pretty good strength, she is swiftly overwhelmed by Shella.
"BOOM!"
The canon goes off for her now. Shella immediately goes charging forward to Rye who jumps back. Though it seems a big fight is eminent, Shella quickly knocks Rye's sword away with her spear before quickly gutting him with it. Rye falls to the ground.
"BOOM!"
District 5 Female (16) - Axe to abdomen - 5/24 - Killed by District 10 female
District 12 Female (Lillie) (17) - stabbed with spear - 4/24 - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
District 10 Female (18) - Stabbed with spear - 3/24 - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
District 12 Male (Rye) (17) - Spear to gut - 2/24 - Killed by District 4 Female (Shella)
Shella stood back and closed her eyes. How many did I kill? She sat and wondered as her name was announced.
"We present to you, the winner of the 5th Annual Hunger Games, Shella Monic."
Being the 2nd victor from District 4, Shella had gotten some popularity. However, she never liked going back to her games. The memories were all too... terrible. She knew she had been fighting to survive during her games, but what she had done hurt her on the inside.
During the interviews, her parents both showed extreme shock at their girls survival of the games. "I never thought Shella had it in her... I mean, she had been extreme but..." Her mother said.
Toris had proven once again that she could do anything when it came to the games. How was the 6th annual Hunger Games going to top this? Only time would tell...
1. Kai Barbana (District 4, Age 16)
2. Sira Hirana (District 1, Age 17)
3. Bucky Barana (District 10, Age 18)
4. Velva Novis (District 5, Age 15)
5. Shella Monic (District 4, Age 16)
I am so sorry it took so long to get this one out. For a while, I took a break after completing that chapter, then testing happened, then I got sick. You know, I just had somethings to do and it took me a while to actually get into writing again. Though I did spend a great deal of time working on the 99th Hunger Games series and it was recently completed.
I had fun writing this chapter. Even when I didn't want to write much, I still enjoyed doing this one. Any thoughts? Thank you.