Chapter 2: Tribute
This year's Cornucopia sat upon a broad dais of cracked stone amid a massive circle of crumbling ruins reminiscent of those from ancient Rome or Greece. Beyond the half-missing walls, a rugged, windswept landscape stretched to towering gray cliffs that marked the edge of the Arena.
During the Bloodbath, Haymitch Abernathy was the first mentor to leave his station in the Mentor Room, his tribute being the first to fall. He didn't leave the room entirely, however; he only moved over the next station to join Katniss Everdeen, pulling out a flask as he went.
Both of Three's tributes fell next, Beetee and Wiress leaving together without a word. Colt Tanner of Ten punched the nearest wall and stormed out as his tribute fell, soon followed by twenty-year-old Lee Anders as both Sixes went down. District Six's other two living Victors, Linus and Axela, were nowhere to be found that morning. The last mentor to leave that day was Percy Jules from Five.
As the death recaps finished playing and the bodies were finally collected, Clytemnestra and Brutus exchanged pleased smiles. Crete had killed both Threes with little more than one blow, and Eve had not only had the first kill of the Games, but had taken down the potential threat of the District Ten boy and two more besides.
The Ones had only taken down one tribute each, something Clytemnestra was happy to remind arrogant Gloss Beaumont and his pet Elegance Devereaux of. "Allura must not be that motivated...a single twelve-year-old outlier before she moved on to the supplies? How bold ." She chuckled to see Elegance clenching her jaw.
She didn't bother to gloat to Four's mentors; their tributes had almost managed to take down the boy from Eleven before he fled, after all. If the girl hadn't taken that blow from the Eleven and the boy hadn't gotten distracted by the Sevens…
While the Careers patched up their few injuries and began sorting their supplies, Clytemnestra allowed herself another smile. Seven dead. Not a terrible Bloodbath. And Eve proved herself today. I was right.
With the support of Crete and Prince, Allura convinced the pack to start the hunt northward first.
Eve wanted to go south after the trail of the District Eleven boy, but relented in order to prevent a fight, despite the implicit backing of Tide and Siren.
The Capitol commentators had a so-called "field day" with that situation.
A few hours into Day Two, Katniss got up from her mentoring station and walked out, stone-faced, as her thirteen-year-old tribute gasped out her last tortured breath.
"Allura got to take out another helpless child without a fight," Clytemnestra muttered, just loud enough for Elegance to hear. She got an icy glare in response.
Eve did get a good, bloody, brutal fight from the District Eight boy the Careers found the next morning. Her district partner got the girl from Five a few hours later, before the pack circled back to the Cornucopia for supplies and rest.
Day Four saw the death of both Sevens, both ripped to shreds by twisted, gray-skinned "demon" mutts near the western edge of the Arena. Meanwhile, the Careers finally went south, crossing a crumbling bridge over a shallow river than ran more or less west to east across the Arena's diameter. On Day Five, Eve easily took down the girl from Ten along that river's bank; hours later, after Siren had gone ahead alone to scout, the male tribute from Nine took them by surprise and managed to stab Crete before Prince took his head off with a swing of his sword.
Eve was helping Crete with his injury while the others set up camp under a twisted pine tree when another cannon went off. A short while later, the anthem played and Siren's face was in the sky.
District Four's mentors were not happy. Siren had volunteered to go scouting, and had managed to cross path with Ruta Acres from Eleven, who had been working his way north along the Arena's eastern edge, easily killing a few demon mutts along the way. He quickly finished the job he had been unable to at the Bloodbath.
Despite being displeased at her tributes losing an ally so early, Clytemnestra couldn't help but feel a bit smug as well. Eve was right: They should have gone after the Eleven boy first.
Day Six was a day of no casualties; the Careers spent it returning to the Cornucopia and regrouping. Early on Day Nine, as they headed west, a cannon fired for the girl from Eight, killed by mutts. Later, Eve and Prince took down the allied girls from the Nine and Eleven, respectively.
They camped in a grove of pines further north that night, but none of them slept well.
No one left in the Mentoring Room slept, either.
Allura got up first the next morning and stabbed Crete in the back.
The choking noises he made as he died woke the others up in seconds, all reaching for their weapons. Panicked, Tide attacked Prince, injuring him before falling himself. Eve slashed the suffering One boy's throat before turning to Allura.
It was a longer fight than Two's Victors would have wanted, and a shorter fight than One's Victors would have liked.
The "core rivalry of the Games", as the Capitol commentators had taken to calling it, ended prematurely as Eve walked away from the fight, mostly uninjured, wiping her twin swords clean of Allura's blood as another cannon fired.
Day Nine dawned with only two Victors left in the Mentoring Room: Clytemnestra Cairn and Chaff Fallow. The Gamemakers turned the skies gray with clouds, only allowing the sun to shine down on a single cluster of boulders and trees between the remaining tributes' positions, marking a clear spot for the finale.
"May the best tribute win," Clytemnestra said graciously to Chaff as both Eve and that Eleven boy approached the boulders.
The one-armed Victor just snorted and took a swig of alcohol from the bottle he held. Ruta was well-armed from the Cornucopia and still going strong; thanks to several sponsors, including a particularly generous and anonymous one, he had not wanted for food or other supplies during the Games. He had a better chance than many of Eleven's Reaped children.
But Eve had years of training behind her, and she was slightly more agile. She did take several blows.
Yet Ruta took more.
The voice of Claudius Templesmith's daughter rang through Panem."Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Victor of the Ninetieth Hunger Games! I give you...Eve Charades of District Two!"
Back in the Capitol, watching her battered tribute being helping into a hovercraft, Clytemnestra laughed out loud. Finally! We have another worthy Victor.