AUTHOR'S NOTES: The "Wild 80s" continue with a couple plot twists and odd trends not really seen anywhere else. This is also when District 12 starts really becoming a dangerous force, after being spurred by recent victories such as Katniss and then Vigo. But we'll see plenty more of their antics as we approach the next Golden Age.
Happy Reading!
The 85th Annual Hunger Games
The fear of back to back games with arenas designed every tribute's worst nightmare like they had been a few years ago, had mostly subsided, and luckily for them, the Capitol was more creative than that without being outright diabolical. Not to say they were terribly concerned for the well-being of the tributes that went into these arenas, but the screams and the pitch darkness made it extremely difficult to tell what was going on.
As such, the arena design for the 85th Annual Hunger Games was much more conventional, similar to most of the other years before it. On the other hand, it also produced something that no one had ever expected to see in Hunger Games history.
Fuelled perhaps by some sense of bravado from the previous year's victor, Lutz Parsons volunteered and approached the stage, standing next to his partner Velouria Chang, who had also volunteered. A decade ago, this would have been seen as suicide, but one look at the appearance of these tributes spelled trouble. Their dark brown skin was decorated with shades of red—giving them the affectionate nickname "Painted Tributes".
This was not the first time Painted Tributes had entered the arena. Incidents of these boys and girls popping up in various Hunger Games was not unheard of, although this was the first time that both tributes had been volunteers. No one was really sure who they were or how they became such competent fighters despite their unfavorable living conditions (for it was clear that neither Lutz nor Velouria were very affluent if their dirty faces and secondhand clothing were any indicators), but at this point almost anyone knew that if District 12 produced one or more Painted Tributes in a year, that they were going to be formidable. If they were volunteers, it would mean even more trouble.
Their potential allies in District 11 also showed promise. Suki and Anthony were a pair of strapping workers whose strength translated well into combat as well. It naturally made the other tributes uneasy when these four formed an alliance. They were considered a threat even moreso after they roped Trexler and Cogg into their alliance, 'stealing' the District 3 pair from their normal career buddies.
Wind Hallowell and Resin Balthezar might have served as the saving grace of the career pack that year, pooling District 7's strength in with Districts 1 and 2. In terms of scores, they all scored 9s and 10s, including Resin who scored a 10 and Wind who scored a 9. However, after Lutz scored a 10, Suki and Anthony scored 11s, and Velouria scored a 12, the career pack knew that they would be faced with a challenge this year.
The arena seemed to support a District 4 or District 7 victory: the tributes were in a fairly shallow watery clearing, with patches of shallow water leading to the Cornucopia, but also occasionally laced with drop-offs that would catch an unsuspecting tribute if he or she was not careful. The cornucopia was on a small beach-like island in the middle of the
The supplies that year contained ample weapons, although there were a particularly large number of bows this year. Wind and Resin grabbed hatchets, and had to dodge and duck their way away from the fray as the Painted Tributes and their District 11 allies stormed the cornucopia and nabbed the bows. All four of them proved to be competent archers, and they contributed 6 of the 10 arena deaths that year. The real upset and shocker that morning was that both tributes from District 1 and the boy from District 2 were among the dead in the bloodbath. Wind, Resin, and Alexis escaped as the tributes from Districts 11 and 12 took control of the cornucopia for the first time in a very long time.
"I don't think they're going to stay still though," Alexis warned later on that evening as the anthem played, showing the faces of the dead tributes from that morning. "They're not that type."
"How do you know?" Resin tilted his head, "they acted enough like the usual careers."
"Because Painted Tributes never stay put," Alexis warned, "and neither does District 11. They're hard workers the same way you or I am, except while we deal with lumber and stone, they deal with harvests and ore."
"Didn't take you for a mason," Wind raised an eyebrow.
"We can't all be militant Peacekeepers," Alexis shrugged. "Now let's find ourselves a vantage point and get some sleep so we're awake and alive to scope this place out when the sun comes back up."
Almost as if she had jinxed it though, the sun did not rise the next morning, but the bright moon lingered overhead. A midnight beach anywhere but the Hunger Games would have been quite the romantic scenario, but the 14 surviving tributes knew better than to assume that there would be anything romantic here.
"Day" 4 (or rather Night 4) rolled around, and Resin woke up to find that his ally had deserted him. Wind was still sound asleep next to him, but Alexis was nowhere to be found, and most of their supplies were missing. He woke up his partner and warned her that Alexis had turned traitor.
They initially thought that she had gone to try and appeal to the enemy alliance that was now patrolling the arena, but they had a run-in with Suki, Trexler, and Cogg, who attacked but didn't manage to kill either of the District 7 pair.
"Don't know nothin' about any Alexis in our ranks," Suki shrugged, "watch your step though, '7."
The only reason they let the pair go was because Resin and Wind had the high ground and so the trio knew they were at a disadvantage.
The District 4 girl died on Night 5, while her partner and a girl from District 5 died on Night 6. Alexis had been responsible for one of these deaths, but the other two had been teamwork from Lutz and Velouria, with the former luring the victim away from their camp and Velouria attacking. They split the kills, Velouria letting Lutz take the first one and she took the 2nd one.
In the meantime, Alexis began her attack on the enemy alliance that had slaughtered most of her pack. The night after the District 5 girl's face showed up, she stealthily made her way to the cornucopia, staying in the water just deep enough to not arouse suspicion. She drew her bow and with what was and still is considered one of the finest trick shots in Hunger Games history, she nocked two arrows at two slightly different angles and let them fly. The first arrow struck Trexler only seconds before her partner Cogg was struck by the other one. The two cannon shots did not faze the pair from District 11, who continued their hunt into the next 'morning', taking down another pair of tributes as well.
By Night 10, that only left 7 tributes: Alexis from District 2, Wind and Resin from District 7, Anthony and Suki from District 11, and Lutz and Velouria from District 12. Wind was doomed to take 7th place after Anthony landed a fatal shot on her right in the sternum. Resin was shaken, but not about to run off and give up, and so he gave pursuit. Resin helped take down Lutz, and then Suki while Alexis made Anthony's kill clean and effective. The advantage had come from a few recent sponsor gifts directed at Alexis both for her looks and strength in the arena, and towards Resin for his cunning. These had helped them turn the tide against three of the remaining tributes, although after they took out Velouria, Alexis and Resin fully intended to turn on one another as well. After getting her bow disarmed, the District 12 girl lunged at Resin, knocking him dizzy before she spun and turned on Alexis, pulling a knife and slashing her across the chest. The wound was light, but stung phenomenally more than a knife wound of that size should have. She thought little of it as the tributes grappled. Eventually Alexis topped Velouria, forcing the girl underwater and holding her there until she eventually stopped struggling from fatigue and lack of oxygen. She died a moment later and Alexis turned on Resin, who seemed to have been waiting for the moment Velouria's cannon went off to attack. He wanted to make sure Alexis successfully killed the other girl before turning on her.
The two clashed with mostly their fists, although Resin pulled a knife out and Alexis followed suit after remembering that Velouria had had one earlier. It was only after a few minutes that Alexis realized why the slash across her chest stung so much. It was a poison of types, and she could feel herself growing weaker as the scuffle continued. Eventually she fell onto her back and submitted.
"End it swiftly," she requested, although knew that it was out of her control. He could be as brutal to her as he wanted.
Fortunately for her, Resin was a fairly merciful young man who made one swift slashing motion across Alexis' throat to put her out of her misery and end the games. It was nothing personal despite her earlier betrayal; just business. These actions led Resin Balthezar to become the 7th victor from District 7, and the 85th victor of the Hunger Games.
Resin kept a level head before and during the games, and remained that way afterwards as well. He was uncomfortable around water, for he did not admit that seeing Velouria's lifeless body floating among the waves had been rather discomforting, and that had Alexis tried it on him, she might have succeeded if she had not been weakened by the poison. Whatever the case, he had won, and that was that.
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)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Derrick James (#7, District 5)
52HG: Chaff Mitchell (#5, District 11)
53HG: Brutus Gunn (#10, District 2)
54HG: Tiffany Waxler (#2, District 10)
55HG: Zak Dreggite (#4, District 4)
56HG: Zoroka Chandaki (#9, District 1)
57HG: Cecelia Sanchez (#4, District 8)
58HG: Meili Meisha (#5, District 6)
59HG: Zhin Lyautey (#6, District 3)
60HG: Lucas Drazen (#10, District 1)
61HG: Kara Petersen (#5, District 7)
62HG: Enobaria Taos (#11, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Zianja (#11, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Zianja (#12, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#5, District 4)
66HG: Elroy Trujillo (#12, District 2)
67HG: Varric Svenja (#6, District 11)
68HG: Carver Tabris (#2, District 9)
69HG: Bethany Shanza (#8, District 5)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#6, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#6, District 7)
72HG: Immanuel Cox (#3, District 10)
73HG: Paige DeSiete (#5, District 8)
74HG: Clove Kazera (#13, District 2)
75HG: Katniss Everdeen (#3, District 12)
76HG: Johnny Stallings (#9, District 5)
77HG: Ikki Ortolani (#7, District 3)
78HG: Ryuka Satoru (#6, District 6)
79HG: Nailah Zoraki (#13, District 1)
80HG: Zenzi Tallarico (#7, District 11)
81HG: Kaede Raiden (#14, District 2)
82HG: Katsuo Raiden (#15, District 2)
83HG: Mandy Ikezhen (#7, District 4)
84HG: Vigo Zakatau (#4, District 12)
85HG: Resin Balthezar (#7, District 7)