AUTHOR'S NOTES: And so ends the "Golden Age" of the Hunger Games... at least in this story. There is actually another decade that qualifies for similar reasons, but it's a ways off, so no worries. Obviously we know who wins next year's Hunger Games, so there's also that, but I had that chapte rwritten a while ago in advance. As mentioned on my profile, a lot of the immediately upcoming chapters are yet to be written, so I can't promise a faster update schedule just yet, but I will keep you wonderful people posted as my progress continues. In the meantime, I lvoe your feedback, for better or for worse, so reviews are welcomed and encouraged. That said... Game 49. Here we go!
Happy reading!

The 49th Annual Hunger Games

While sometimes a game had different themes depending on the year, a lot of it was dependent on not just the arena, but also who the head Gamemaker was, and who was under him or her. The tributes also mattered a lot. The previous year's games wouldn't have been considered to have a theme if it weren't for the daunting tributes that had shown their faces from the shadows of District 11 and District 12. The games a few years back wouldn't have had night as a theme if it weren't for how the tributes navigated during that time.

Whatever the case, the 49th Annual Hunger Games didn't appear to have a particular theme with the arena, although there were tributes that would certainly keep it exciting. The careers always made sure that things stayed intriguing, and lately, districts like 11, 3, and 12 had also done their part in adding a level of pizzazz to the games. From the careers this year, there were no more DiFronzos, no more Aranais, and no one related to past tributes or victors this time around. A few eyes were on District 3, which produced Kuro Sinnai and Chip Sangster. While neither one looked very physically strong, both of them appeared to be cunning little gadgeteers that their district was notorious for. Across the country in District 1, the pool of volunteers was still as lively as it had always been, and from the crowds, Risha Shenhua emerged. Less than a minute later, her partner-to-be, Bjorn Tulak, reached the stage. A beast of a man, everyone knew at once that he was going to score high. His darker, slenderer partner would specialize more in speed and stealth, and as careers, it was practically expected for them to score high at this point in time.

Over in District 2, Hector Lombardi and Lucina Dragmire were another solid reminder as to why their district produced so many victors. While neither one were at the same ends of the physical spectrum that their District 1 counterparts were, neither one of them had any trouble proving themselves in the training center over the next few days.

Determined not to let their record of high-performance tributes falter, District 11 and District 12 once again produced pairs of promising individuals. Serving as a reminder of their terrifying predecessors, District 11's Emryk Savage and Lelani Takamatzu were smaller than most of the working farmers that the district usually produced, but their bodies were marked in elaborate, almost unnerving ways that made their stylists that year present them to the Capitol wearing almost nothing. Normally this was seen as a bad idea (as a District 12 stylist pair could attest to, given the sorry results of one year's mistakes), but with how intricate the markings on their bodies were, they didn't really need much adorning.

District 12 managed to one-up this using their tributes Zadok Sakai and Liberty Mežkiel. While they too had similar tribal-style markings like their District 11 kin, they were also pockmarked with some rather unsightly scars whose origins neither tribute was willing to disclose. Their already brown skin was made even darker with Capitol makeup, giving it a blackish grey coloring. This color scheme accentuated the scars and markings, and their stylists even managed to give it a fluorescent effect that made the intricate and asymmetrical markings glow in that chariot parade that evening. Incidentally, neither tribute was fazed by their lack of clothing for this part. With glowing eyes and makings thanks to the effects of their stylists, they singlehandedly stole the show.

Of course, for egotistical tributes like the careers, this just would not do, and so they made themselves a few new enemies that day. Zadok and Liberty both proved that they were not just all show and no go, however. Swords seemed to be their specialty—beyond the usual knives and daggers their subversive natures usually offered, anyways. They both allied themselves with Emryk and Lelani from District 11, and when training scores came around, they managed to impress everyone. Lelani scored a 10, Emryk and Zadok both scored 11s, and Liberty scored a 12.

Not to be outdone, both Hector and Risha scored 12s, while Lucina and Bjorn scored 11s. Chip and Kuro from District 3 both scored 8s, and didn't take sides between Districts 1 and 2 and Districts 11 and 12. Whether or not this would cost them their lives remained to be seen. Despite their scores, there were others clamouring to become their allies. Their geeky gadgetry and uncanny talent of being able to weaponize just about anything they could get their hands on made them desirable partners. Despite this, they did not ally themselves with anyone but each other, which also earned them some fierce rivals. What this led to in the arena remained to be seen.

As the tributes rose from their podiums, they got a glimpse of their surroundings: overgrown cliffs and mountains, with vines and flora overtaking what appeared to be ancient ruins. The air was humid and the sun was shining, although most of the tributes wondered how long that would last.

9 tributes died in the cornucopia that morning, but districts 4-10 were the only ones that suffered casualties. Kuro and Chip snatched up a great deal of useful supplies, and it was clear from the distribution of cornucopia items that it was meant to be a creative lunge for survival. Almost immediately, both District 3 tributes disappeared under the radar, so to speak, much like some of their predecessors. They found a nice, undisturbed part of the arena in the remote reaches, and then immediately got to work using their supplies to make weapons.

In the meantime, the careers trekked around the arena, hunting for food and water, and keeping a close eye out for the enemy alliance that consisted of Zadok, Liberty, Lelani, and Emryk. They had no such luck for at least four days, where they (and presumably their enemies from '12 and '11) killed a combined total of 3 more tributes. Despite their combat prowess, Zadok and Liberty spent most of their time building elaborate traps throughout the arena, leaving danger in their wake.

Day 5 saw heavy rains pour down upon the place, flooding the lower parts of the arena for a time. The ruined tower that Chip and Kuro had holed themselves up in managed to survive the onslaught, and while no tributes were killed from this flood, it did knock out almost everyone's camps, as well as a lot of traps made by the District 11 and 12 pairs.

In the wake of the rains was a heavy mist that settled in, limiting visibility greatly. This led to nearly no action on day 6 or day 7, and only one tribute died on day 8, leaving 11 still alive. Food was growing scarce, and it seemed that the Gamemakers were not about to relent with the haze. Naturally, the first ones to take initiative were the careers. They trekked cautiously through the foggy ruins and wilderness until they came across what could only be described as a massive temple.

"Stay wary," Lucina warned the others, "The grass here looks disturbed. Someone—or something—has been here."

It didn't take them long to find out at least part of what had been here. Corpses of large different-colored tiger mutts littered small areas of the temple, their remains still coursing with fire or electricity, depending on the color.

"This seems to be a great vantage point, as long as we can keep the tigers at bay." Bjorn suggested.

"It seems pretty easy to scout out," Risha nodded in agreement, "you can see a lot of the arena from here I'm sure… well, when the fog finally leaves."

"There doesn't seem to be any more of those mutts here right now…" Hector mused, "although that still begs the question of what killed them. There's no sign of District 12 or any of them…"
"This place is pretty vast." Risha reasoned, "maybe we haven't explored it all?"
"We've got a pretty good grasp of the size of this thing by now I'd assume," Hector reminded her, "although when we're all the way up here it's hard to see very far into the fog."

The careers agreed to make camp here, and the evening was quiet. Only one other tribute (a District 10 girl) was unaccounted for. The District 11/District 12 alliance was somewhere out there, and the District 3 pair were out in some remote corner of the arena out of sight. They didn't even know the temple had existed up to this point—but they were about to find out.

Morning 9 introduced one of the wildest upsets and plot twists the Hunger Games had seen in a while. While the careers slept, Emryk, Lelani, Zadok and Liberty had been deep within the temple at its base, planting explosive devices (some sponsored, most homemade) in vital support points with the full intent of bringing the entire structure down. They began setting off some of the bombs, which woke the careers from their slumber, high above them at the top of the temple. Right as they got their feet however, the massive stone structure collapsed in on itself, crushing all four of them in one fell swoop. The rumbling was heard all through the arena, and the four cannon shots for Bjorn, Risha, Hector and Lucina fired only moments after the noise had subsided. The 11 tributes had just been cut down to 7, and the career pack was gone. Perhaps it was coincidence, or maybe it was planned, but whatever the case, it was later that afternoon that the thick fog surrounding the arena had vanished, leaving the view rather clear once again. This of course, meant it was time to hunt.

Shortly after killing the District 10 girl the next day, Zadok and Liberty decided to part ways with Emryk and Lelani, agreeing to hunt the District 3 pair down but also warning each other that if they crossed paths again that they would initiate combat.

The District 11 pair were the first to come across Kuro and Chip at their camp, which was unsurprisingly surrounded by rigged-up traps, including some of the mines from the cornucopia. Kuro was armed with a brilliantly-crafted homemade shield that was actually surprisingly useful for blocking projectiles and attacks, while Chip was armed with a small cylinder on his right arm that was essentially a "rock-cannon". Chip managed to effectively wound Emryk, and Kuro finished him off. Unfortunately, before she could stop Lelani, she drove her sword through Kuro's gut. She staged back, forcing herself to pivot one last time as she bashed the larger girl with her shield. Chip used this brief moment of stunning to take down Lelani and bring himself one step closer to winning the games.

However, there was still District 12 to worry about, and it seemed that they got closer and closer to a victory each year. Eyes were on Zadok and Liberty this year for their power and cunning, considering that they had essentially built bombs from scratch before getting sponsor gifts. Chip knew that he wouldn't last 18 seconds against the two of them, and so had to devise a plan to split them up.

Day 14 marked the time when he finally found their camp. They were enjoying a meal by their fire, unafraid of Chip despite seeing Kuro, Lelani, and Emryk in the sky an evening ago. They figured it was just traps, and laughed about how they would be more careful than that.
This proved to be true, but Chip's stealth was what earned him the prize that evening. He took Zadok's sword as well as Liberty's, and when they noticed, they accused each other of trying to secretly backstab one another as Chip remained out of sight. They began coming to blows, much to Chip's amusement. However, his reign of triumph was brief. After misstepping backwards on a rock, the noise caught Zadok's attention, and even Liberty stopped to see who or what it was. Upon noticing Chip with both of their swords, they charged him, knowing the boy couldn't really life weapons that large and be very effective. They disarmed him quickly, although overlooked one trick that he still had up his sleeve: the rock cannon. He launched projectiles at them both repeatedly, before taking a pair of knives and plunging them fatally into both of the tributes almost simultaneously. His heart still racing, Chip shrugged off his equipment and weaponry as the reality of his situation sunk in. Chip had just become the 5th victor from District 3, and the 49th victor of the Hunger Games.

He claimed that it wasn't necessarily skill, and while he boasted a somewhat confident and intellectual exterior, in truth he was traumatized and afraid just like all the rest of them. He had seen and experienced terrifying scenes and moments, and would never wish to repeat such things in his life. He did continue inventing and building things as a hobby—perhaps as a contrast to the subversive and destructive natures of District 11 and District 12. He respected his enemies, but that didn't mean they hadn't scared him. All in all, it was a rite of passage that he had completed—but would never, ever want to have to go through again.

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)
49HG: Chip Sangster (#5, District 3)