A/N: We're at four hundred reviews, so special thanks go to Ancrazyhyperawesomeidiot, beauthg, Kman528, RealFiction, NewbornCrown15, District4girl, richards25, Deedledum and charliesunshine for reviewing!
After having no Internet last week, I'm back now, and I hope to be writing the 74th Games by the end of this week :)
This chapter has been written on request of District4girl, and features a character from one of her own stories. This is merely my version of events, based on the information given to me in a review almost twenty chapters ago.
Also, District4girl chose the song :)
I hope you enjoy today's chapter :)
P.S. We're so close to 100,000 words! :D
"Dreaming dreams with happy endings
In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords
But now we've stepped into a cruel world
Where everybody stands and keeps score."
- Taylor Swift, 2012.
The 71st Annual Hunger Games
Victoria Marino (18), District 4 Female
Taylor Swift - Eyes Open (2012)
"Nice to see you again, District Four," Anna taunts, twenty yards from me across the water. I don't doubt for a second that the girl from District 2 is pleased to run into me.
"I guess it's lucky I ran into you, too," I say with bravado coming from deep within that seems to appeared out of nowhere. Two weeks ago I'd be turning to run, but now my time in the arena has given me courage. Well, it's either that or rendered my brain a complete mess, and the line between bravery and stupidity has been unintentionally crossed.
"Everything alright at your end?" Anna taunts, but I shrug casually as a reply.
"I've been better," I say, but I know that she can see that for herself. My right hand still hides away within the sleeve of my jacket to prevent any further damage. My feet and lower legs are absolutely sodden from spending too long in the murky waters of the swamp that makes up our arena. I know that it's a risk (there are all sorts of terrifying creatures lurking in the water), but that's better than being an open target above ground, especially considering my ability.
I was never trained as a Career back home in District 4. I'm just an average fisherman's daughter. Not poor enough to need to take tesserae, but by no means rich, either. But my age and healthy physique was enough to convince the Careers that they needn't volunteer this year. Even if they have trained for the Games, why risk their lives when I stand a decent chance of winning myself?
It's an odd system, but it's the way that our district works.
So I went into training with nothing but whatever natural talent I could coax out of myself. I managed to pull a seven out of it somehow, from showing good physical ability, knowledge at survival stations and some ability with knives that I picked up during the three days of training. It was enough to earn me a place in the alliance with the tributes of Districts 1 and 2 along with my district partner, who was a trained Career.
The Games started well, but not for long.
All six of us survived the cornucopia bloodbath as nine of our number perished on the first day. However, the Gamemakers immediately tried to knock us down a peg, wiping out nearly all of our supplies when they flooded the arena on the third day. The boy from One and my district partner died in the flood, too. You might not expect a boy from District 4 to drown in a flood, but the Gamemakers had unleashed a force so powerful that it uprooted dozens of trees that scattered the arena, and provided most of the landmass where muddy soil had clung to their roots. Pinned beneath the water by a tree, he had no chance of survival.
All three of us girls survived easily, though, and along with Anna and Madeline (the girl from District 1) we formed a new, smaller alliance. We found the boy from District 2 again the next day, but he was already on his way out by the time that we reached him. He was my first kill in the arena.
In the week that followed, I did my best to disguise my inabilities with weapons while remaining an active member of the group, although my efforts weren't entirely successful. My district partner and I never admitted that I was untrained, although Madeline and Anna started to get suspicious once the food ran out on the seventh day. Careers never spend too long learning survival skills in all their years of training. They are always heavily dependent on the cornucopia supplies. I was the only one who properly knew what to do without any supplies, but I was careful not to reveal too much. We survived from sponsor gifts for a couple of days, but then the money started to run out.
We split when we ran out of water on the tenth day. Madeline died the next day, presumably from dehydration. I've coped on my own, knowing how to scavenge food from what little foliage there is in this desolate, watery arena, and with my latest sponsor gift; iodine solution useful for purifying the swamp water. I'm depleting the supply of it quickly, but for now, I'm safe.
By the time we had split up, the arena was really starting to thin out; just eight of us were left. In the four days that followed, three more of us have fallen; Madeline, the girl from District 6, and the boy from District 10. I ran into the boy from Ten a couple of days back, but neither of us were heavily armed. I had one knife, he had a scythe. Somehow, I killed him. It was the first time I'd ever fought anyone who could actually offer any resistance themselves. Luckily, I delivered a fatal blow when I plunged my knife deep into the boy's chest, but not before he caused serious damage to my right wrist and hand with his scythe. It's lucky that I'm left handed. I fled after that; it was two or three hours later when the boy's cannon finally went off.
And now, two days later, I am about to face off with my former ally. We both stands on small islands of muddy ground, held in place my the mangrove trees that extend over our heads. Between us lies fifteen yards of dark, muddy water; a natural barrier, which has lead to this stalemate. Both of us are armed with melee weapons, as Anna has an axe, whereas I hold the sickle I took from the boy from District 10 in my left hand. Neither of us dares to make the first move towards each other, for the fear of getting bogged down in the swamp. The immobility that would follow would render either of us helpless.
"Should we just get on with this?" Anna calls out impatiently, breaking the silence.
I reply with a nod.
"Yeah."
We both dive at each other at once, flinging ourselves into the swamp. For a moment, my body seems to freeze in the cold water, but I quickly recover control, trying to swing my weapon at my adversary. The water hinders movement too much for the sickle to be of any use, and I soon find myself in a weaponless grapple with my former ally. We tussle with each other, trying to throw the other beneath the water. For a desperate few moments - time seems to lose meaning, it could have been minutes - we are almost even, catching breath whenever possible. I'm taller than Anna, so I find it easier to reach for breath, but she is stronger. Eventually I feel a fist collide with my neck, causing my windpipe to throb with pain, disorienting me for a moment as another fist collides with my skull, knocking me backwards. Disoriented, I feel a hand grab my hair and yank my head below the water. I kick out in desperation, and somehow find my target, catching Anna in the stomach. As she releases her grip, I take advantage of Anna's misfortune and drag myself towards the bank. I start to crawl up the muddy slope out of the water with my left hand when I feel my sickle beneath my fingertips. I grab it and flip onto my back as I lose balance, just as Anna dives at me.
The sickle impales her body just below the breastbone, pushed onto her by the momentum in her own actions. For a moment, we stare into each other's eyes, and for a brief moment I feel pity for my former ally. Then she falls backwards into the water, sickle and all.
I lie on the bank staring for a few moments before I get my sodden body to its feet and turn to run, never looking back.
The 71st Games only lasted two more days after the showdown between the females of Districts 2 and 4. With four tributes remaining, the Games were almost over. The boy from District 11 died on the same day as Anna due to dehydration, and the girl from District 9 was killed the following day, leaving just Victoria and the boy from District 3 alive in the arena.
The two never came face to face in the arena, as the Gamemakers chose to finish the Games by introducing alligator mutts the day after the girl from Nine died. In attempting to escape these creatures, Victoria Marino became a victor just as Annie Cresta had done before her; by being the better swimmer.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed :)
I hope that this lived up to District4girl expectations, as I may have altered some things a little :/ The original story can be found on their profile, if you're interested in seeing the original version of this character (which I'm sure will be very, very different).
P.S. I've added the non-winning competition entries from the second story to '75 Games, 75 Victors, 75 Oneshots: The Competition Entries', if any of you want to check those out :)
P.P.S. Now that the second competition is over and this story has just a few chapters left, do any of you out there fancy a community project based on this? :)
