AUTHOR'S NOTES: and now we approach the close of the "Golden Age" of Hunger Games. Some of the characters in this chapter, including the victor, have been mentioned or even cameoed in some of my other fics, and as such, those who have read them might see a few familiar faces here. Not all tributes are fodder, and not all dead tributes ever get fully forgotten. Just something to think about.
Happy Reading!
The 48th Annual Hunger Games
While the previous year's games had still technically been a hit, and the victor remained a popular individual, the games in question had been fairly slow compared to some of the others. Intending to rectify this, the Gamemakers got to work that year to put some serious consideration into what they had planned for the 48th Annual Hunger Games. If they had to give a one-word answer for what the theme of this year was, all of them knew what it would be: Fear.
The Aranai Sisters from District 2 had been on some hard luck lately. The eldest sister, Roxanne, had been a tribute 3 years prior, and had been followed by Zakura, the 3rd eldest, the year after. Ikiza, the 2nd eldest sister, was beaten out by Alana the year prior and was now too old to volunteer, leaving only the 4th and youngest sister, Layla, to try and bring honor and glory to their family name.
She managed to succeed in this department, and was joined by Ryker Szasz, son of Luca Szasz and grandson of victor Naisha Szasz from 44 years ago. Both of them were only 15, a rarity among District 2 volunteers, but the small tribute pair was not to be underestimated. Coming from District 2 meant they had gone through the district's rigorous "reaping", which meant they had outrun and outmuscled dozens of other boys and girls in an attempt to get the bid.
Sheen Hendrick and Jewell Shar from District 1 had some pretty large shoes to fill after the two perfect-scoring tributes that had come the year before. With Aurum as the victor, both Jewell and Sheen figured they might be able to join District 2 in scoring two successful victories in a row. Ryker and Layla allied with them not in some covert attempt to take them down, but more because the traditional career alliance was extremely effective, and because despite their own ages they still knew they had a chance. Dayta Diamond and Buzz Coronado from District 3 joined the career pack as they often did, providing some brains for the operation to augment the brawn the District 1 and District 2 kids usually brought.
While District 1 might have joined Ryker and Layla on principle, District 3 joined them usually based on strength or skill. While they were some of the youngest careers since Leto Irizari 13 years ago, they were both very adept at what they did, and even the cunning District 3 had recognized it. However, underneath their cool and confident displays, both Ryker and Layla, particularly Layla, were anxious and a little afraid. They trusted their career allies, even the pair from District 3, but some of the other tributes were rubbing them the wrong way already.
The tributes from District 11: Kamau Tesat and Kana Loreziah, were covered in markings that looked like war paint or tattoos, and the way they were physically built was also enough to cause alarm. Their proficiency with axes, clubs, and other heavy weapons meant they would certainly be a danger as well. But, despite their strengths, they were not even the ones Layla and Ryker thought were the scariest. Hailing from District 12, the brown-skinned Fenris Murdock and the black-skinned Zefira Saratoga were like smaller, less predictable versions of their District 11 allies. Cool and confident, they seemed more savage than the usual lot, probably due to their unkempt appearances (especially by Capitol Standards), all the markings on their bodies, and that all four of them were barefoot.
What really terrified the careers though was that all of them scored dangerously high. Fenris, who scored the "lowest" of the four, still took home a 9. Kana took a 10, little Zefira scored an 11, and the gigantic boy Kamau scored a perfect 12 doing goodness-knows-what in there. The careers all scored between 9s and 11s except little Layla, who also scored a 12, but of the two, it was clear that Kamau was much more confident in his victory.
Fear was something the Gamemakers planned to prey on this year, and as the tributes were launched from the underground catacombs back up to the surface in the cornucopia semicircle, they realized that this was going to be a hostile arena at once. The dark green wetlands promised that poisons and disease would likely be common ailments this year, and some tributes trembled to think of what else might lurk in the growth or in the water.
The good news, at least for the careers and stronger tributes, was that weapons were ample at the cornucopia this year, as were certain medical supplies, but food was scarce and that presented a problem. It meant that sustenance would have to be obtained from the wilderness—which may have also explained the abundance of iodine as well.
While the career pack scored some of the 9 kills in the bloodbath, most of theirs were clean and simple; standard fare. Zefira was the one to shed the first blood by snatching up the nearest metal object and using it to decapitate the boy from District 10 from a distance. Kamau managed to terrify people mboth in the games and those watching, after he killed a tribute by literally punching him hard enough in the chest to collapse his sternum. This was a vicious trick that had been used by one of Kamau's predecessors from District 11, which was part of why Adrianna Meyrick from two years ago had been nicknamed "Smash".
Navigating this treacherous wetland was an ordeal all on its own. While heavier tributes like Kana and Kamau just trudged on through it without a care in the world, lighter and more dexterous tributes such as Layla, Fenris, and Zefira managed to stay fairly graceful and walk over the mushy soil with ease. Dayta was able to identify a lot of the growth, some of which was in fact poisonous. One misstep and it would be over for a careless tribute. The water, while gross in appearance, seemed otherwise okay to trudge through, and Layla's luck ended here as she fell in, becoming coated with grime and muck.
"I really hope this isn't poisonous…" she groaned.
"It's not," Dayta leaned over and poked Layla to get a sample of the substance on her finger. "gross, sure, but not poisonous."
"It seems our options are either safety or dry land though," Ryker pointed out, "I don't think we have any choice besides one or the other."
They decided to risk the dry land, finding patches of it not covered with poisonous flora. It was still dangerous because other tributes also likely used it for the same logical reason, and while some folks like the District 7 pair or the District 11 duo might not exactly be stealth experts, District 8's Scarlet Morrowson, as well as both kids from District 12, would be formidable spies.
Dayta managed to temporarily take leadership of the career pack, but only to lead them to an actual watering hole rather than stagnant swamps. They did use some of their iodine to make the water more suitable for consumption, but otherwise they simply made camp and decided to wait it out. In her boredom, Layla jokingly shouted out for her mentor to sponsor her a pair of dice. Nothing happened for several minutes, but then perhaps comically, mentors Niles and Leto sent her a sponsor gift which was little more than a pair of dice and a funny note:
"Let it not be said that we lack a sense of humor, kid."—L
The first night was eventless, and the 2nd night like unto it. Only one other tribute had died that day, and so silence crept back over the swamp for the rest of the evening.
Morning 5 was when the next bit of action occurred. The careers, not wanting a repeat of the lack of action from last year, decided to have Buzz rig up their camp but otherwise leave it looking fairly inviting, and then move on. They did exactly that, only to find a peculiar shelter during the afternoon's travels. It was nothing to write home about, but it was inviting, which, to the career pack, almost guaranteed that it was rigged. They went into hiding nearby, to see if anyone returned to it with the hopes that they could ambush said individual.
Layla felt like they were being watched, and she swore multiple times that she saw Scarlet in some of the nearby bushes, but either Scarlet didn't see them or it wasn't Scarlet at all, and she didn't want to give away their position especially when people like Zefira were still on the loose.
In a way, her patience paid off, even if it also partially frightened her. later that evening, the pair from District 5 appeared, as well as Scarlet. The careers watched from their hiding place, only to see weapons thrown that could only really be described as electric grenades. The real scary one, however, was Zefira herself, who threw a powerful smoke grenade the obscured the area. The careers bunkered down, weapons drawn, but all that happened was two cannons fired, and after the smoke cleared, hovercraft were coming in to remove the corpses of the two district 5 tributes. Half the tributes were now dead; and half of them remained.
Day 6 saw the death of the District 7 boy after Zefira lobbed another grenade at him, this time an explosive. The careers continued their hunt, trying to catch her and her elusive alliance, so that they could square off in a final duel. Ideally confronting them sooner rather than later would be beneficial to the careers, because while they were all alive, that would put the odds at 6 against 4, which meant that Ryker and his little group would have a fighting chance against these rebellious saboteurs.
Layla may not have ever been the most fearless of tributes, but she was still pretty stouthearted when she had gone into the games. 7 days in, and she wasn't so sure about that. She was fairly certain as she took the watch shift that night that Scarlet and Zefira were still nearby, but she couldn't ever actually pinpoint them. She wondered if they knew the location of the careers but didn't engage due to lack of numbers. Where were Fenris, Kana, and Kamau then?
Perhaps it wouldn't matter. Layla shrieked as something entered her line of sight, and she knifed it without question. It turned out to be Scarlet, and moments after she was killed, Zefira appeared. She contemplated an attack, but in that moment of hesitation, Layla froze, and Zefira took off after she noticed the other careers stirring. 6 on 1 would not end well for her.
"She's watching us…" Layla stammered, "Zefira knows where we are and she just ran off."
"Well why'd you let her go?" Jewell tilted her head.
"I didn't mean to!" Layla argued, "Scarlet popped up and after I killed her I kind of froze in reaction from seeing Zefira show up so suddenly."
With Scarlet's death, that only left the two alliances: Districts 1, 2, and 3, against Districts 11 and 12.
Unfortunately, the fortune of the career pack began to swiftly go south. While days 8 and 9 passed mostly uneventfully, day 10 saw the death of Sheen after getting speared by Zefira. Jewell did not live to see the evening, and her face appeared in the sky as well after Fenris showed up with Zefira and picked her off after a swift and fierce melee fight while she was keeping watch. The cannon fired, and less than half an hour later her face appeared right after Sheen's.
Buzz spent most of the following day trying to rig up the camp, with the remaining three careers watching intently to make sure that they weren't ambushed—but they still were. Fenris sniped Buzz, who was working with one of Zefira's old electric grenades, and so they scattered to attack the District 12 boy as he attempted to flee. He was joined by Kana, who warded off the remaining three careers and disappeared.
After another day of hunting in vain, the careers knew they had to act. All they had found so far were these weird gator-mutts which were terrifying in their own aspect, given that the noises they made sounded like human screams—almost as if jabberjays had copied the noises and somehow given that noise to these mutts. Dayta and Buzz were certain that this was no coincidence, and that these creatures were engineered using traits from the jabberjays as well.
It was later in the evening when this was really brought to light. Fenris attempted to attack Ryker again, only to be blocked by Dayta. Luckily for him, he had backup, and Kana managed to get right up there and directly snap the girl's neck. Ryker, as one of the two remaining careers, gave pursuit. Layla lobbed a knife at Fenris, killing the boy, but the pursuit of Kana lasted through the night and into the 13th morning. For some reason, Kana stopped and turned to face Ryker, and was about to draw her weapons when Ryker speared her, and then seized his other spear and impaled her again. She staggered back, but even her death was staged at this exact moment. Thundering footsteps answered the District 2 pair's question as to where Kamau was—and here he was, barreling towards them.
Layla scrambled out of the way, although quickly realized that Kamau was not after her. She watched in horror as he pinned Ryker down, and wrenched his spear away, throwing it aside. He was unarmed, but his fists were mighty enough weapons on their own. Layla turned away right as Kamau raised his fist to come bring it down on his adversary, and a moment later, a sickening crunch was heard, followed by a cannon.
Armed with nothing but a poison dart gun, Layla fired rapid shots at the massive boy, who was now charging towards her. He was resilient, and managed to shrug off some of the poison that was starting to crawl through his body, but to Layla's relief, he began to slow down while Layla's speed remained the same, and so miraculously, her hit-and-run tactic worked. As his cannon went off, that left Layla with a brief touch of reassurance, which was followed immediately by a wave of dread. Kamau's death meant that only Zefira stood between her and victory, and the little mute girl was going to be a dangerous fight: She knew all of Layla's fears, and had spent the last two weeks preying on them.
Day 14, as well as the remainder of Day 13, had been spent by Layla trying to hunt this elusive saboteur down. The screams were not helping, but Layla managed to take down the gators when she encountered them, or fled to safety.
Maybe there were actual jabberjays, because there were voices from the trees, sounding almost like they belonged to Fenris, chanting:
"We have you surrounded, Layla Aranai…"
Layla struggled to keep herself composed, but hearing it again and again demoralized her bit by bit.
"We have you surrounded, Layla Aranai…"
"NO!" she roared, and suddenly, she saw a grenade lobbed from the trees right at her. Surprisingly, she caught it and threw it back hardly a split-second later. It blasted Zefira out of the tree, where the girl's wild, manic grin made her even scarier. Seizing one of her own knives, Zefira plunged it right into Layla's right hand, effectively pinning her to the ground for a moment. However, with her free hand, Layla snatched a blade and retaliated by stabbing Zefira squarely in the forehead, and ending her life. After a terrifying struggle over the period of two weeks, Layla Aranai had just become the 9th victor from District 2, and the 48th victor of the Hunger Games.
Once a formidable and courageous little fighter, the games had destroyed and demoralized Layla to the point where she was essentially a coward with a grim outlook on just about everything. Shaken and traumatized, she all but cut herself off from the rest of the world after winning, where she bided her time in silence; trying to recover from the trauma her games delivered her. After all—not even the careers were immune to being traumatized, and Layla was just another name on the list.
VICTORS BY YEAR:
1HG: Fukaya Kerezaki (#1, District 5)
2HG: Lucy Takamatzu (#1, District 11)
3HG: Naseru Litzak (#1, District 3)
4HG: Naisha Szasz (#1, District 2)
5HG: Jade Prima (#1, District 1)
6HG: Cedar Hardin (#1, District 7)
7HG: Susan Jackman (#2, District 5)
8HG: Malcolm Reed (#1, District 6)
9HG: Mags Cohen (#1, District 4)
10HG: Faren Dragmire (#2, District 1)
11HG: Maius Karuha (#2, District 2)
12HG: Iunius Karuha (#3, District 2)
13HG: Hilda White (#1, District 10)
14HG: Minali Otoyome (#2, District 3)
15HG: Willow James (#3, District 1)
16HG: Lark Chandnea (#2, District 11)
17HG: Woof Casino (#1, District 8)
18HG: Leah Holden (#2, District 7)
19HG: Zeruda Mezkiel (#2, District 6)
20HG: Muscida Lee (#2, District 4)
21HG: Kada Lahka (#4, District 2)
22HG: Gleam DiFronzo (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ivette Coronado (#3, District 5)
24HG: Olivia Thurman (#1, District 9)
25HG: Laurel Fox (#1, District 12)
26HG: Daron Armstrong (#5, District 2)
27HG: Cobalt Evans (#5, District 1)
28HG: Lyme Golding (#6, District 2)
29HG: Ash LosDias (#3, District 7)
30HG: Challis Worth (#2, District 8)
31HG: Beetee Latier (#3, District 3)
32HG: Fletch Crossley (#4, District 5)
33HG: Seeder Howell (#3, District 11)
34HG: Price Emerson (#6, District 1)
35HG: Leto Irizari (#7, District 2)
36HG: Jackson Kjelle (#5, District 5)
37HG: Zerviah Hawke (#3, District 6)
38HG: Wiress Plummer (#4, District 3)
39HG: Nephi Lott (#3, District 4)
40HG: Miriam Luxio (#7, District 1)
41HG: Marcelina Kovac (#6, District 5)
42HG: Niles Lincoln (#8, District 2)
43HG: Blight McKay (#4, District 7)
44HG: Sagittaria Svenja (#4, District 11)
45HG: Dezna Meraxa (#4, District 6)
46HG: Alice DeSiete (#3, District 8)
47HG: Aurum Zianja (#8, District 1)
48HG: Layla Aranai (#9, District 2)