AUTHOR'S NOTES: And now after the brief 'interlude' where we caught a breather, we return in this chapter to the crazier games where things really do get more intense from here on out. The closer we get to the next "Golden Age" the more intense the games become.
Happy Reading!
The 87th Annual Hunger Games
After a slightly less eventful games such as the last one, the Gamemakers felt further motivated to up the ante of their games once again. This was the most common reaction to a slower Hunger Games, and so it was unsurprising that the Capitol heralded the 87th Annual Hunger Games as a newer and more exciting game that would be better than any and all games that came before it.
Of course, no one really bought that so much anymore apart from accepting that this year's game would not likely be as slow-paced as the other one. Even this many years later, there was still an essence of trial and error as the Gamemakers attempted to be innovative while still keeping the same excitement (among the Capitol, at least) as their predecessors. They might not have expected to match up to the Golden Age of the 5th decade, but a Hunger Games could still easily be exciting notwithstanding.
While some districts such as '1 or '2 were notorious for their powerful tributes considering their years of training, other districts such as '11 or '12 had this kind of training somewhat unintentionally, there was also the mysterious reputation from District 5, and the sinister reputation from District 8, where rebellious citizens covertly trained their children in the event that their names were drawn from the reaping. It was not unheard of for the Capitol to fix a reaping to send a kid to his or her death as a warning to their parents (usually for anything the Capitol viewed as an infraction), and so technically the kids from '8 were not careers. While many of them were trained to fight, they almost never volunteered, except perhaps to save someone that wouldn't stand a chance—but even that was rare.
A slew of brilliant minds entered the games this year, from the cunning Boyd and Marci of District 3, to the cold and mysterious Rolf and Miriam of District 5, to the rebellious District 8 duo: River Frio and Connor McIrish. They would be up against the usual career tributes: Sheen and Gwendolyn from District 1, with Jeremy and Olivia from District 2. Oddly enough, both the District 2 tributes seemed much shyer than usual, leading people to wonder if it was an elaborate ruse, or if they made up for their lack of social prowess with combat talents.
The latter seemed to be the case as the tributes honed and showed off their skills in the training center over the next week. Jeremy was an extraordinary knife-thrower, while Olivia could only really be described as a legitimate swordmaster. The way she so elegantly danced with her blades as she avoided the holographic assailants and targets in training actually had several people turn their heads.
They were not the only ones turning heads, however. Connor and River both proved to be frighteningly skilled archers, which, depending on the nature of the arena, could mean trouble.
This translated to some rather impressive scores at the end of the week: River scored an 8, while Connor took a 9. Rolf and Boyd both scored 9s; Marci took an 8, and Miriam took a 10. These days, there was always at least one tribute that scored a 12. This year, Jeremy and Olivia did exactly that, while their comrades in District 1 both scored 11s.
The arena was so dazzlingly beautiful that year that when the tributes rose from their pedestals, many of them spent most of the 60-second countdown gazing around in awe at the beautiful cherry blossom forests around them, from the lush, green grass to the sapphire skies to the serene sound of a brook flowing nearby.
But of course, in the cruel ironic nature that the Capitol thrived on, soon this beautiful arena was stained with the blood of 8 different boys and girls that would call this tragically beautiful place their grave.
The bright, almost festive colors of this arena made the dark-colored uniforms the tributes wore stand out a lot more, and so many of them had to disappear into hiding or develop camouflage to prevent being spotted by other tributes. They also quickly learned that the beautiful red birds that circled overhead were as dangerous as the warier tributes had assumed from the get-go, for they would dive-bomb unsuspecting victims and spew fire at them. An unlucky fellow from District 9 learned this the hard way on the 2nd morning.
Boyd and Marci teamed up with Rolf and Miriam early on, serving as a fighting force to stand against the careers, who used the lush orchards and swaying fields to their advantage. They stayed near the brook, which also helped reduce the chance of burning t death, and since they had fresh water and fruit trees all around them, they didn't really need to camp out at the cornucopia between raids. Besides, there hadn't really been much in the ways of supplies there—just lots of blades, bows, and other weapons.
The careers were responsible for 4 of the 5 kills that happened over the next few days, and also responsible for drastically thinning the 'phoenix' population as they slew and cooked those fiery bird mutts. Olivia was the first one to suggest it, and then they realized that the birds actually tasted rather nice, which in turn began a hunt. Fruit was delicious, but after 6 straight days of eating almost nothing but it and a few crackers, some fresh meat was quite welcome.
While everyone feared the careers for the usual and obvious reasons, the real threat that year was in River and Connor from District 8. They let the attention fall to districts 1, 2, 3, and 5, while they struck from the shadows, causing cannons to go off that the career pack didn't do.
They knew it was something to watch out for when Rolf, Boyd, and Marci's faces all appeared in the sky. Whoever these renegade tributes were, they were taking the pack's kills, and since they didn't think Miriam would betray her own alliance this early, that only left River and Connor.
Their subversive tactics did not end there, however. At one point, Connor snuck right into the careers' camp, stabbed Gwendolyn, and smattered a few flecks of blood onto Olivia's right arm and hand to make it look like she had been the killer during the night. Sure enough, a few hours later, Sheen and Jeremy blamed Olivia for the death, claiming she wanted to destroy the career pack from the inside out. Perhaps if she had been more charismatic she would have been convincing, but her stuttering shyness, which had not been feigned during the interviews or reaping ceremony, made her seem that much guiltier, even if she was truthfully innocent.
She did, however, remind them why she earned a 12 in training, and her nearly flawless sword skills enabled her to come out on top in the 2-on-1 battle, even if she sustained a few injuries. Without hesitating, she immediately went on the prowl for the last three tributes, taking up the weapons of her former allies and arming herself to the teeth. Connor let her go for now, but noticed she moved with a slight limp in her left leg. He would have to capitalize on that later on. River actually pursued her, and whatever went down caused her death a day later. Connor wasn't sure if it was phoenix mutts, Olivia, or if Miriam had come back from wherever she had hidden and surprise attacked her, but at this point, it didn't really matter. It made it easier for him since he didn't want to have to fight his partner, and since she was dead, that just left two girls that he would be okay with ending the lives of if needs be.
Olivia actually ran into Miriam by chance, and didn't hesitate to throw a spear through her gut and kill her immediately. It was down to just her swords and Connor's knives. While the battle would have easily gone in Olivia's favour if she was in (near) perfect health the way Connor was, she was injured from her rampage where she had gone and killed Miriam, and also from the assault she had suffered at the hands of Sheen and Jeremy. As such, when Connor confronted her, the two of them were about equally matched. Connor performed surprisingly well compared to what people were used to seeing from District 8, but even with her injured arm and her slight limp, Olivia's mastery over the sword was still a dazzling sight to behold.
Ultimately, however, Connor capitalized on her injuries by attacking her uninjured leg, causing her to go into an even more awkward limp, significantly reducing her speed and allowing him to gain the upper hand and eventually also finish her off. Her cannon meant that Connor had become the 6th victor from District 8, and the 87th victor of the Hunger Games overall.
Like many from his district, Connor was rebellious and subtle about it, and despite the fame and fortune the Capitol 'benefactors' now threw at him, he was dissatisfied with his lot in life, and he aspired for change. How soon or not that change would come, however, remained to be seen…
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)
86HG: Marian Greene (#3, District 9)
87HG: Connor McIrish (#6, District 8)