Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
Radiance Sterling, 17
The spear came down on his chest, breaking through his depowered armour.
PLAYER FIFTEEN, RADIANCE STERLING. GAME OVER.
Radiance cursed, opening his eyes to the cold hum of his pod.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH THE REST OF THE GAME?
He sighed and hit the confirmation button. A moment later, he was plunged back into the simulation, though this time it was only as an observer, watching the important points like those outside. Apollo Gilmore was taken out by the same spear wielding boy that had knocked out Radiance, which was satisfying to watch. Iridescence took the boy out with her bow – ranged weapons for the win – but was then knocked out by Artemis Gilmore, who lost to a girl with yellow hair. Which meant they were now all out of the running.
Well, that sucked.
The winner, ultimately, was a muscular boy with a neon blue mohawk.
VICTOR: PLAYER SIX, SETHOS DARLIN.
His pod buzzed and slid open.
Radiance groaned as he disconnected himself. Outside, Luminescence and Apollo Gilmore were already arguing.
"What was that, Sterling? You went down in tenth place!"
"Top half. Which is better than your brat brother!"
"And I did better than all of you!" said a girl's voice from somewhere.
"Shut the fuck up, Summerfield!" shouted the Gilmores in stereo.
Radiance stumbled from his pod, blinking in the blue light. "What'd I miss?"
"Just your siblings being sore losers," said Apollo.
Radiance raised a fist. "I'll show you a sore loser–!"
"Please, no reality fighting in The Game room," said a worker. "Take it outside, boys."
Iridescence reached out to catch Radiance and Luminescence's wrists, pulling them back. "Come on, let's go. They're not worth it."
"Sore losers!" Apollo shouted after them.
Hortensia Chrysalis, 18
VICTOR: PLAYER ELEVEN, HORTENSIA CHRYSALIS!
"Yes!"
The ground she was on raised beneath her, placing her on a pedestal, and computerised confetti fell around her. There was no victory tour in The Game of course – the devs decided that would be boring for the players – so Hortensia flashed the camera a smile as it beeped.
A moment later she was back in her pod, blinking in the cold light.
The door slid open, and she pulled her hands from the gloves before reaching up to remove her goggles. The excited chatter of voices from outside greeted her. A worker appeared in front of her pod. "Do you need any help?"
"No thanks. I'm fine."
They moved on and she stepped out into the cold air of The Game centre. The girl in the pod next to her startled and laughed. "Good play! Nice going!"
"Thanks!"
Her strategy had worked out nicely for her after failing so spectacularly in the ice cold arena of the Fifty Seventh. Even in the Capitol, players overlooked those that hid away.
She changed out of her Game jumpsuit and made her way to the front desk to collect her Victor badge. They were trinkets, really, but something to display.
"Congratulations on your win, Player Eleven," said the worker on desk.
She smiled. "Thank you."
Outside, the warm air was a contrast to the cold of the Game Centre. Hortensia smiled to herself as she pinned her badge to her jacket. A few other kids noticed and gave her thumbs up. She blushed and tapped it before turning away.
Victor.
When The Game had first been released, she had known she had to play. The Hunger Games, with their wonderful arenas and extreme competition, were fascinating, and a change to enter herself wasn't something she could decline. She had entered the first Game at Bluewatch, it had really only been a matter of time before she hit the Victor rank.
Now she just had to show she could do it again.
Ares Gilmore, 15
Both Sterling boys came straight after him in the bloodbath. Ares snatched the nearest weapon and managed to do some minor damage to clone two's armour, but clone one had already managed to get his hands on an axe, which he smashed into Ares until he went down.
PLAYER SEVEN, ARES GILMORE. GAME OVER.
Ares cursed. Apollo just had to go and piss them off in the last Game, didn't he? He couldn't have just left them be, nooo.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH THE REST OF THE GAME?
Ares sighed and hit the confirmation button. He might as well. Hopefully Apollo and Artemis would do better than him.
(Artemis had also gone down in the bloodbath, taken out by two nicely placed arrows from Iridescence Sterling)
Apollo made it to seventh place before being taken out by a bigger boy. Luminescence Sterling reached fifth place and went down to the same boy, leaving the spot of Victor to be taken by said boy.
Ares stumbled from his pod and remembered his anger, shoving past the two younger girls in the pid next to his to seek out the fucking Sterlings.
He found them in the next aisle over, where they were fawning over fifth place.
"You three!" he snapped. "What the fuck?"
"Oh, is there a problem, Gilmore?" asked one of the boys, the one with longer hair.
"You know what the problem is! You targeted me!"
They roared with laughter. "Well yeah! That's the point of The Game!"
Ares took a step forward, glaring at the three. "Oh, you are so on. This isn't over."
Silverie Erilea Amarendaje, 14
"Congratulations!" Silverie squealed, wrapping their arms around Emeria. "You did it!"
Emeria kissed them, long and hard, and they parted panting. "I couldn't have done it without you taking that spear for me."
"Oh, that was nothing." Silverie waved a hand. "I wasn't about to let him do you like that."
Emeria clasped her arm. "I still owe you."
They made their way through to the changing rooms to change from their Game suits and peeled it off. The twenty four stalls were already mostly occupied by excited teens chattering about their most recent achievements and wins in the Game. Silverie swiped their card at the locker to retrieve the rest of their belongings before ducking into one of the remaining empty stalls. Emeria took the one next to theirs. Once done, the two of them made their way to the Victory room to receive their prizes.
The pins were trinkets, really, especially when one compared them to the riches of the real Hunger Games, but they were something to show off and gloat about. Silverie fixed it to their jacket.
"I do hope you come again," said the worker on desk with a wink. "If you come next weekend, you might have even more fun."
Silverie grinned. "We'll think about it."
Emeria put her pin on her collar, pride of place. "Oh, definitely."
The two of them left hand in hand, passing through the humming blue light of the door and onto the noise bustle of the street.
"So," Silverie said after a moment. "Next weekend?"
Hortensia Chrysalis was created by Victoria the Bipolar Tribute!
Silverie Erilea Amarendaje was created by WritingArtGenius!
Ares Gilmore and Radiance Sterling were created by me!