AUTHOR'S NOTES: Considering that I have outlines of the full-length version of this chapter in the works, this chapter will obviously also contain spoilers for that fic when it comes. Otherwise, This is another major-player victor that proves to be a ruthless killer. It is also one of my favourite characters.
That said, Happy Reading!
The 95th Annual Hunger Games
No one was complaining about the exotic and exciting arrays of tributes, arenas, and game hazards that were cropping up during the most recent decade of the Hunger Games, and this era's batch of Gamemakers might have found the way to push the Hunger Games into their prime and their glory days. Ratings were higher than ever, and not just because of Panem's naturally increasing population. Sure the games might have been a mandatory watch, but in the Capitol, ratings were also literally that: ratings. Various Capitol citizens of considerably high importance actively judged and compared the games to one another, highlighting this or that about one game or another, and so far, the last few games had been considered among the best.
It was compliments like these that inspired the Gamemakers to continue in their holy crusade to make the most thrilling Hunger Games in history, and so as they drew up plans for the 95th Annual Hunger Games, there was a general attitude of overall excitement and even some hushed whispers circulating through Panem and the Capitol inner circles.
There was no real controversy during the reapings this year, but there were a surprisingly high number of volunteers. A girl named Sable Ogawa volunteered for District 7, and both tributes in Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 all volunteered, bringing a total of nine volunteers to the games this year. An oddity here was that the District 4 pair: Lars Holiday and Nina Holiday, were siblings, and their erratic tendencies made them both unforgettable and also as individuals to watch out for.
The real intrigue, however, emerged from District 1. Malcolm Fletcher had the same gung-ho tendencies that were often seen in District 2, but his partner, Lux Calameda, seemed to be a new kind of tribute all on her own. The first thing everyone noticed about her was that she was completely silent. She either refused to speak at all or simply lacked the ability to. A tall, beautiful, golden-haired model of a girl, her silence was not the only thing turning heads her way. However, true to what many men might say about a woman that beautiful, her personality left a lot to be desired. Fiery and hostile similar to the District 5 victor from the year before, Lux was a fierce, antisocial creature that preferred solitude to the point where it was unclear if she was even going to join the career alliance.
While there were 9 volunteers this year, not all of them intended to form the same alliances. Lars and Nina stuck to themselves, and Lux didn't even associate much with the other careers. She could not verbally communicate with them, but made it clear that she would leave them alone in the early games so they could pick off other tributes without disruption. While this was completely true, the other careers did not realize that it was exactly part of Lux's scheme. She'd let them go after the other tributes while she planned ways to take them down at the end of the games. After all, no matter how friendly allied tributes became, they all betrayed one another out of selfishness or necessity by the time the games were over two or so weeks later.
While District 11's Lincoln Domingo and Mariah Santiago formed the typical 11-12 alliance with Colton Lasiere and Anna Shrike from '12, there was a 3rd alliance that sprung up this year barring the eccentric twins from District 4 (who could very well be considered the 4th alliance, appropriately). Sable Ogawa, the volunteer from District 7, teamed up with Linus Takamatzu and Glitch Montezuma from District 3, and the three of them proved to be a menacing little trio by the time all was said and done.
Training scores showed who was dangerous and who might not be as frightening to run into once the games started. Sable and Glitch scored 11s, and Linus scored a 12, becoming the ringleader of that alliance. Lars and Nina both scored 9s, while the tributes from District 11 and District 12 all scored between 8 and 10. The career pack scored 10s and 11s except for Lux, who also took home a 12. Beautiful and dangerous, Lux earned the nickname "The Silent Killer" before the games even started. She found the title to be rather amusing, and when asked about it during her interview, she gestured that she would make sure to live up to her title.
The tributes found themselves in a meadow as they rose from their podiums and awaited the 60-second countdown. As they analyzed the cornucopia, they could all see plenty of weapons, but there didn't seem to be much else this time around. This was definitely going to be an exploration arena, and after four years of dynamic arenas, the tributes expected that this one would change in some way or another after a couple days.
Of course, for them to actually learn if any of their theories were true or false, they had to get past the bloodbath, and so when the gong sounded, they all raced in to get some of the action. Lux opened the show by grabbing a large axe and throwing it so swiftly that it actually cut the boy from District 10 cleanly in half, thus kicking off the real bloodbath.
The tributes from District 11 and District 12 scored a couple of kills before fleeing south into the wilderness, and the alliance between Sable, Linus, and Glitch proved fruitful as well, although they headed east. Surprisingly, the twins from District 4 were killed in the opening minutes as well, both of them rushing a heavily armed Lux while unarmed themselves. She didn't even think twice before making quick work of them, not even thinking twice as to what their motives might have been for rushing the girl who was easily considered the most dangerous tribute this year. The careers picked off a few more tributes, bringing the total death count for this year's bloodbath to 10 once all was said and done. With no food or water at the cornucopia this year, the career pack did a little exploring of their own, heading northwest. Lux headed north-northeast to get a look at what kind of terrain she was dealing with.
A couple days of exploring revealed to her that Sapphire Adara was the next victim of the games, her life claimed by Sable. Lux had laid low to prevent being seen, and so the alliance went on with their business without ever realizing that Lux had been less than 10 feet away.
The arena was humid, much like a wetland. Unlike most grimy, murky swamps that tributes in wetland arenas had experienced, however, the lakes and low-lying ponds were surprisingly clean. Lux knew there had to be a reason for it, but that didn't stop her from practically bathing in one of these delightfully cool pools. She had removed her shoes and socks, but otherwise had jumped in fully dressed, even leaving on those plated gloves that were a standard part of the tributes' uniforms these days.
Incidentally, the first tribute that she crossed paths with was Anna Shrike, who despite her name, didn't swoop in and try to impale Lux the moment she saw the larger girl. Instead, she raised her arms, not wanting to start any aggressive conflict.
Anna actually made a comment that Lux genuinely appreciated. She seemed aware that Lux was very much an introvert, and, also wanting to save her own hide, she complimented Lux's admiration of solitude, and as such, Lux allowed the girl to leave peacefully, provided she didn't make the same mistake twice and come wandering through the same area again. Incidentally, a cannon fired hardly an hour after this encounter, but later on in the evening, it was not Anna's face that appeared in the sky, but that of District 8's Logan Montiel, marking his death as the only death on day 3.
While most people suspected that the three alliances would be the primary contributors to the deaths in this game, they didn't count on District 5's Tracer Lestrange. She didn't exactly have a plan, and it wasn't entirely on purpose, but she accidentally raced through the 11-12 alliance camp on day 5 while being chased by tiger mutts, causing them to run after her to flee for their own lives. Tracer caused Colton's death by tripping him up as he tried to race past her, and she managed to give the others the slip as she vanished back into the trees. The surviving three tributes gained a vantage point over the mutts and managed to kill them, although they also vowed to take down Tracer if they saw her again.
Incidentally, the careers had a similar idea. While Lux foraged off the land, the careers were fine with waiting for other survivalist tributes to make camp before raiding it, and once they saw Tracer getting to work on that later in the afternoon they knew they would want to close in on her.
Surprisingly, the career pack was rather patient, although they did not know that while they were secretly watching Tracer, Lux was secretly watching them. The tall, lithe beauty was deceptively subtle, and at the moment, was also hooded and covered in mud, which blended her in against the dark browns and blacks of the evening landscape.
She would not be doing any killing tonight, however, and nor would the careers. Instead, the next victim of the 'games would be Mariah. Early the next morning, the pair from District 2 broke off and attacked the camp, with Zack successfully taking down Mariah as the others closed in on the alliance. Tracer thought she could capitalize on this conflict, but her interference only cost her life as Lux sprang in out of nowhere and bashed her head in with her shield. Realizing they were outnumbered 4-2, Lincoln and Anna retreated into the wilderness, and the other careers decided not to give chase when they had the now abandoned camp in front of them to plunder.
The end of that alliance was drawing near though. While Lincoln stayed back at their new hiding place to nurse his wounds, Anna went off foraging for food in the swamps. Unfortunately, Esmeralda found Lincoln before Anna could return, and on day 7, the District 11 boy's life was over.
It was day 8, however, that Lux noticed what was changing in the arena. The water was gradually rising, and it seemed that toxic plants were growing and popping up more frequently than before. She didn't tell the others because she didn't want to try and find them, nor could she speak or shout to them because she had no voice.
With the 11-12 alliance decimated, however, the careers set their sights on the deadly trio from Districts 3 and 7: Sable, Linus, and Glitch. Lux found herself the target of their treachery the most, but managed to escape with only a few injuries or sometimes even unscathed. While her semi-'allies' raced in to try and take them out, they also didn't realize that they had another helper. Zack followed the careers to where they were planning on ambushing Sable, Linus, and Glitch. They triggered a few of their traps using rocks or sticks, before racing in for another kill. The trio was armed and ready for them, however, attacking Malcolm and Esmeralda. Sable was the largest threat for the moment, and so it was Zack who finally ended her life after putting an axe through her. Shortly after her death, Anna swooped in, firing an arrow with extreme accuracy to take out Glitch. She fired another arrow that knocked Zack down and limited the use of his dominant arm, and as he injured Esmeralda's leg and Malcolm's shoulder, Linus closed in on her and managed to swing his knife and cut the string of her bow. It whiplashed and struck her arm, stunning her for a second—and a second was all Linus needed to cut her throat. Now only five tributes remained.
Since they were all wounded in some way or another, Linus actually proposed an alliance. It was risky considering where he was coming from, as a lone tribute against three careers, but he pointed out an obvious and dangerous truth. Lux was the uninjured one, and she had also earned the highest score apart from him. He was willing to pool his strength with the other careers if they agreed to take her down first. Sure enough, they agreed.
Lux was done trying to be subtle. She was heavily armed and knew that the other tributes were likely banding against her, which was why Linus' face didn't appear on night 11 or 12 either. He did have a plan to take her down though, and he began working on it while the other three careers hunted her down. He made a camp and started building something as well as stockpiling food. The other careers aimed to set out and kill Lux.
Incidentally, when they encountered her, they claimed to be helping Linus, to likely shift the blame. Lux didn't seem overly convinced, but drew her sword and shield without hesitation to counteract their attacks. Despite being outnumbered, Lux handily took down all three of them with her superior skills. It seemed that her hostile, antisocial personality made her have no qualms about brutally murdering other kids her age, and now Linus was next.
The 14th morning was when she finally came across Linus' camp. It was stocked with food just as he promised, although since the careers had never come back, there was no one but him to eat it. Lux knew that the camp was laced with traps, and so it was only careful footing and avoiding Linus' projectiles that finally allowed her to reach him. The two of them fought in melee combat, with Linus proving to be deadlier than his size or district might have suggested. Despite this, and the recent battle she had had with the other careers, Lux emerged victorious, striking Linus down and plunging her blades into his chest. She didn't even bother pulling them out after the cannon fired, for the games were over. Lux was the 14th victor from District 1, and the 95th victor of the games.
Lux was not overly traumatized from the games; just broken and quiet as she always was. She didn't like people, and the games didn't help that at all. Like many other beautiful or attractive tributes, Lux was prostituted out by the Capitol, and she grudgingly fell into line despite a bit of violence at first. She was laying low, but only for now. Lux Calameda was still a very dangerous creature, and only one individual so far was able to get through to her. Their identity, however, was a mystery for the ages…
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)
88HG: Ian Nelson (#8, District 3)
89HG: Kozue Sowa (#8, District 11)
90HG: Gill Wainright (#8, District 4)
91HG: Aveline Togisala (#5, District 12)
92HG: Amy Zavala (#16, District 2)
93HG: Korra Francisco (#17, District 2)
94HG: Cadence Montoya (#10, District 5)
95HG: Lux Calameda (#14, District 1)