THE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
"The Ashes"
INTRODUCTION
Mankind had left a nightmarish legacy for himself. It had withstood the throes of nuclear war not once but twice, but that didn't mean it would be any easier to recover once things cooled down and it was time to rebuild from what was left behind. The confederation of districts remaining after the war was looser than ever, with independent cultures and attitudes developing in each one. Districts quickly formed their own governments separate from the Capitol. The only government that succeeded was that of District 2, which developed a military dictatorship because of the huge supply of peacekeeper guns seized by the vigilante rebel populace. District 8 also found at least some success, with a group of peacekeepers establishing martial law based in the old textile factories in the urban centers of the district. But people were looking toward the Capitol for security and safety more than ever before; the famous propaganda film by President Snow which described the Capitol as the heart of Panem had been aptly spoken. President Stinn Hawke easily crushed the governments that had sprung up across Panem. But then came the job of rebuilding. An entire era in human history details Hawke's funding initiatives to create buildings and new factories in the sections of the districts that had been destroyed by the nuclear weapons. He is truly one of the most legendary rulers in history, and his decades-long rule was far from over; Panem would not see the end of Stinn Hawke for many years to come. Of course, the Capitol couldn't just forgive the districts for the first rebellion more than eleven decades ago, even after the nuclear war – the Hunger Games were slated to continue right on schedule. It was important for strong, healthy youngsters to be chosen from each district – every district's reaping was rigged, with a few weaklings thrown in the mix just to keep up the tradition of the outlying districts providing bloodbath fodder. Garnet Russo, Stinn Hawke's most loyal of cronies, remained head gamemaker, with Ciara Grant keeping up the role of hostess with just as much style as ever. The dream team was back in style after the war, and things were certain to be spectacular in the arena the year of the 111th Hunger Games.
The careers were a remarkable group this year; they got along well and they were all very well-trained and very good-looking. District 1 provided a classically beautiful pair. The boy, Clarity, was a tall willowy thing with smooth brown hair framing a perfect face. The girl, Velvereen, really stole the show, though; she was the trademark blond bombshell, taking the spotlight with an entire arsenal of weaponry under her proverbial belt. She favored the bow, while Clarity liked axes. District 2 provided the weakest pair, making this year an anomaly in this sense. The boy, Homer, was a tall willowy thing with mousy hair, and he used only the sword, keeping him from earning a ten. Roscura displayed a wider range of skills, displaying both sword and bow skills to the gamemakers. She still earned only a nine, though. District 4, overall, provided the most impressive pair. The boy, Tench, was the forerunner this year. He was quiet and stoic and very tanned and muscular, and the audience just gobbled him up. His district partner, meanwhile, was more of a jokester. Her name was Prima, and she nonetheless got along well with Tench and the other careers. They were both spear users – as District 4 tributes were normally trained in those days in case tridents weren't provided in the arena.
The outlier crowd wasn't terribly memorable this year; only a few tributes really stood out. The strongest by far was Secundus from 6. His parents were peacekeepers, and he'd been a big fitness guru for years by the time he was reaped. He could throw and lift huge weights, and he made the tween girls in the Capitol beg their rich parents to sponsor him. Alaric from 3 was another pretty young thing, bejeweled with attractive red hair and a rugged jawline. Alaric earned a seven mostly for his looks, but also because he could wield all manner of knives with tact and skill. The last standout was Cavendish from 11, a dark-skinned farmer boy whose muscle and talent with the brute force weapons earned him a seven. The rest of the tributes scored between six and three, and there were no volunteers besides the careers. Here are the tributes:
District 1: Clarity Singer, 18 (10) 4-1 and Velvereen Winters, 18 (11) 3-1
District 2: Homer Cano, 18 (9) 6-1 and Roscura Areeda, 16 (9) 7-1
District 3: Alaric Damon, 17 (7) 14-1 and Nova Simonds, 15 (5) 21-1
District 4: Tench Piercey, 17 (11) 3-1 and Prima Fridlund, 17 (10) 6-1
District 5: Auryn Lentz, 16 (5) 20-1 and Eliette Paresky, 14 (5) 25-1
District 6: Secundus Ranford, 18 (8) 9-1 and Harper Kagan, 18 (6) 18-1
District 7: Jack Furth, 13 (3) 36-1 and Ivara Guin, 15 (4) 31-1
District 8: Paisley Anderson, 18 (5) 23-1 and Stringer Andron, 17 (4) 29-1
District 9: Zolus Aghayan, 16 (5) 24-1 and Lilium Tardif, 16 (6) 19-1
District 10: Dawson Hollyer, 15 (6) 20-1 and Edith Peskin, 17 (3) 32-1
District 11: Cavendish Levins, 17 (7) 14-1 and Tullia Moore, 14 (4) 34-1
District 13: Idum Curiel, 17 (5) 23-1 and Lena Rosen, 18 (3) 32-1
HGBO Bets: 25% on Tench, 23% on Velvereen, 15% on Clarity and Prima, 10% on Roscura, 9% on Homer, 7% on Secundus, 2% on Alaric, 1.5% on Cavendish, 1% or less on Nova, Auryn, Eliette, Harper, Jack, Ivara, Paisley, Stringer, Zolus, Lilium, Dawson, Edith, Tullia, Idum, and Lena.
THE GAMES
When the tributes rose into the arena, excited or terrified, all they could hear was hissing. All around them was lush greenery stretching to the sky, eerily reminiscent of last year's jungle clock arena. But where was the hissing coming from? This wasn't any ordinary jungle; it was utterly infested with snakes. There were literally millions of the creatures in every part of the arena, large and small, every color of the rainbow and more. The snakes were mostly harmless but turned deadly if their eggs were disturbed or if a tribute was careless enough to tread on one of them. The serpentine monsters were stunningly beautiful, with thousands of prototypes carefully designed by the gamemakers to fill the arena with color and terror. Most of the weapons inside the cornucopia were daggers, machetes, and switchblades, which would be useful in killing the snakes. There were also a handful of swords, placed where Homer and Roscura from 2 could reach them quickly to do their killing during the bloodbath. There was also a single blowgun; Garnet was hoping a tribute would dip the darts in the snake venom to make them extra lethal, an entertaining spectacle. Time would tell whether this would actually happen. It wasn't difficult to move through the rainforest; the real challenge was moving around without bumping into any of the snake mutts. The air was thick with a dense mist produced in the jungle conditions, blinding the tributes somewhat as they wondered whether to run into the fray or run for their lives. Five tributes fled the bloodbath, a shockingly high number. They were Eliette from 5, Jack from 7, Lilium from 9, Dawson from 10, and Lena from 13. The rest of the tributes surged forth as fast as their legs could carry them.
Velvereen made the first kill. She'd been fighting her way through the dense undergrowth for about half a minute when she wrapped her hands around the glossy wooden crossbow the gameamkers had placed for her in a cluster of pink blossoms – her favorite color. Secundus from 6, the strongest and most popular of the eighteen outliers, fell screaming as the arrows dug into his chest and neck. Unable to believe he'd be the first to die after training so hard, Secundus could do nothing but weep softly as his life left him.
Secundus Ranford, District 6 Male: 24th, Killed by Velvereen, Bloodbath
Only a single trident was provided in the cornucopia this year, and it was a race between the tributes from 4, Tench and Prima, to find and use it. Tench found it first, tucked stealthily near the outer lip of the cornucopia where a snake was snoozing lightly over a loaf of bread. Careful not to disturb the snake, Tench lofted up the weapon and launched it into the chest of the nearest tribute. Edith fell screaming, and her life ended in a matter of moments as Tench grabbed the weapon to do some more killing.
Edith Peskin, District 10 Female: 23rd, Killed by Tench, Bloodbath
Speaking of Prima, she'd armed herself with two machetes and was trying to take down the pair from 8: Paisley and Stringer. Prima was strong, but the tributes were literally fighting for their lives and had enough energy to easily counter her for a limited time. Prima finally went for the proverbial throat, slashing both of the machetes across Paisley's chest with ferocity and vigor. As Paisley fell, Stringer ran quickly into the wood, leaving the bloodbath with no supplies whatsoever in her mad dash to escape.
Paisley Anderson, District 8 Male: 22nd, Killed by Prima, Bloodbath
Homer and Roscura, the tributes from District 2, ganged up on the timid younger girl from District 11, Tullia Moore. Tullia had been fighting with another outlier, Ivara from 7, over a tied napkin filled with dinner rolls. When she saw the careers coming, Ivara ran for her life, straight into the path of Velvereen. Velvereen fired two arrows into Ivara's chest, sending her spiraling downward as she took her final steps. Meanwhile, at the original scene, Homer and Roscura dug into Tullia's flesh with their machetes, relentlessly hacking away at her breast and sending ruby droplets of blood flying in all directions.
Ivara Guin, District 7 Female: 21st, Killed by Velvereen, Bloodbath
Tullia Moore, District 11 Female: 20th, Killed by Homer and Roscura, Bloodbath
Clarity from 1, the only career who hadn't yet landed a kill, zeroed in on the boy from 9, Zolus. Zolus had no idea what was coming, and all of a sudden Clarity leaped out of the underbrush, axe raised and ready to kill. Zolus instinctively smacked Clarity in the mouth, sending her reeling, and that moment of distraction was all Zolus needed to kill him. Zolus plunged a nearby machete into his chest and then ran away into the snake-infested jungle, stopping for a moment to sweep up a little blowgun dropped by Alaric earlier in the bloodbath before disappearing into the thick.
Clarity Singer, District 1 Male: 19th, Killed by Zolus, Bloodbath
Roscura, the young and foolish girl from District 2, was a big fan of Nolan Wrack – the victor in the mid forties who'd won the games by betraying his allies and killing one of them before striking off on his own. Roscura wasn't actually planning to do this, but as the crowd of outliers thinned she made a split-second decision to execute the worst plan of her life. Homer screamed as Roscura suddenly turned on him, plunging her right machete into his heart, and it hit Roscura all at once that she had nowhere to run; the others had all seen her, and she could do nothing but brace for death as the allies paraded inward to execute the traitor.
Homer Cano, District 2 Male: 18th, Killed by Roscura, Bloodbath
"Traitor!" shouted Velvereen, and a moment later there was a crossbow dart sticking out of Roscura's chest. She fell onto her back and led out a loud roar, instantly regretting everything she'd done and wishing she'd just gone along with the games and played her part in the career pack. But it was too late to turn back now. Roscura was taking too long to die, so Tench and Prima finished her off, Tench stabbing her with his trident and Prima slashing open her throat.
Roscura Areeda, District 2 Female: 17th, Killed by Velvereen, Tench, and Prima, Bloodbath
The bloodbath of the 111th Hunger Games had been smaller than average, with only eight deaths; the Capitol could surely look forward to lots of kills and thrills in the coming days as the massive crowds of tributes had to be thinned somehow or other. The Capitol watched the careers with intrigue, unsure how they would choose to proceed with only three members surviving the bloodbath. They came to the decision everyone back home agreed was right: completely abandoning the cornucopia. They gathered all the weapons and food they could carry and dispersed the rest in the underbrush to make it harder for the outliers to find. Sparing a final backward glance at the horn, they set off never to return just around the time noon arrived.
Alaric from 3 had taken a prodigious number of weapons from the cornucopia: three daggers, a few switchblades, and a small purple pellet. Alaric didn't know it, but the pellet would explode into a cloud of violet dust if it was squeezed, instantly fatal to the snakes but harmless to humans. Trying to make sense of the small weapon, Alaric travelled slowly away from the horn for the whole day and practiced using his machetes. His district partner, Nova, was severely injured, with one of Velvereen's crossbow darts planted into his shoulder. The wound was in terrible danger of becoming infected, and Nova was unsure what to do as she crept slowly through the jungle, trying not to be creeped out by the snakes. Auryn from 5 was substantially more scared of the serpents; he'd seen a friend die via snakebite when he was four, and his heart pounded whenever he saw one of the creatures slithering through the treetops. He was careful and sensible and managed his feelings quite well, coming to a stop in a little pool of misty water with the single switchblade he'd taken from the horn. Eliette from 5 and Lena from 13 were allies who'd befriended in the training center and backstage during the interviews – they'd decided to skip the bloodbath entirely, in fact, and they sped off together into the jungle and settled down near a northern river with big pink blossoms along the shoreline – a trademark of this year's arena. They were both scared of the snakes but comforted one another as the day passed, and Eliette found some edible berries to share with Lena once night fell and it was time to settle down. Harper from 6 was stumbling around cluelessly, lost and out of her mind, overwhelmed by the stress of the games. Harper had run into the bloodbath but left with nothing but a small wooden bowl, which she kept laying over her face out of boredom and desperation. Jack from 7 was one of the tributes who'd run from the bloodbath. He travelled through the jungle wringing his hands, shivering in terror as the menacing hissing of the snakes all around him. When night fell, Jack settled down near a watering hole at the south end of the arena and greedily gulped the water as long as he could.
Stringer from 8 had barely escaped the bloodbath with her life, fleeing as her district partner died at the hands of Prima Fridlund. Stringer was moving quietly through the trees a few hours before midnight, scared and angry and flustered by the stressful nature of the games, when she treaded accidentally on a snake. Its bones crunched under her feet, and the mutt hissed in anger, its sparkly red scales losing their glow as the creature's life left it. Stringer screamed as scaly, hissing death descended from the trees, hundreds of the glowing serpents swooping down to inject Stringer with their venom. Stringer screamed and screamed and the snakes bit and bit, sinking hundreds of fangs into every region of her flesh. The gamemakers had to release poison smoke over the area to kill the snakes so they could collect Stringer's body, which was a mutilated mess of blood and gore. Later tests showed her body had more snake venom inside it than blood.
Stringer Andron, District 8 Female: 16th, Killed by snake mutts, Day 1
Zolus from 9 stopped after about an hour of running to carefully examine the weapon he'd taken from the bloodbath: the arena's only blowgun and a set of ten darts. He was apprehensive about practicing with the weapon because it was easy to lose the darts in the thick foliage, and besides, he didn't want them to get lost or damaged. Zolus knew a thing or two about how to use the weapon, though; his parents were indigenous to the continent and lung-powered weapons were an integral part of their culture. Zolus settled down at nightfall near a large waterfall and let the loud roaring water lull him to sleep. Lilum from 9, his district partner, had fled the bloodbath; with no supplies at all, she had to impress the sponsors to get them. She climbed up a mango tree with remarkable speed, impressing a few sponsors into sending her a lemon-flavored cookie and some mango-flavored punch. Dawson from 10, another bloodbath deserter, found an empty water bottle dropped by Nova earlier that day when the pain in her shoulder had become unbearable. Dawson filled the jar with water gathered from a small stream and moved in circles around the arena, lost and confused much like Harper in this dizzying arena. The boys from 11 and 13, Cavendish and Idum, hadn't planned on allying prior to the games, but they saw each other on opposite ends of a long fallen tree around noon and decided to ally for company and safety. They were both well-liked by the audience, who send them a tent, a very expensive but hardy and worthwhile gift. They found a low-lying place out of the way to sleep and relax, peaceful as Day 1 turned into Day 2.
The first half of Day 2 contained lots of movement but little action. Lilium was the first to wake, falling straight out of the mango tree and landing with the most intense pain of her life on the floor of the jungle. Unable to speak or scream or even move for nearly half a minute, Lilium's life flashed before her eyes there on the forest floor. With no hope of going back to sleep, Lilium decided to explore the jungle a bit more. She crossed paths with Auryn that morning, who'd left his hiding place early that morning to gather food. Fortunately, neither of the tributes had the desire to kill, and they simply walked away from each other after giving one another a single friendly nod.
Zolus was also out and about before the sun had even touched the morning sky. There was no reason not to be; the arena was perfectly warm all times of day, and it was safer to move at night. Another tribute was only a few hundred meters away: Dawson, who was swinging his precious jar back and forth between his hands wondering what he'd do if the arena's water ever dried up. Dawson had absolutely no strategy whatsoever; he was thinking minute by minute. Zolus spotted his silhouette moving clumsily through the trees and he rushed forward, heart hammering as he put the blowgun to his lips. Zolus' first dart missed, and the clumsy sputtering noise alerted Dawson that someone was around. Before he could run, though, Zolus fired a second dart, which landed with immense force in Dawson's neck. It wasn't enough to kill him, and Zolus approached and repeatedly thrust the dart in and out of his neck like some kind of bladed weapon to finish him off. The cannon fired, and Zolus stumbled away from Dawson's dead body, unable to comprehend or accept the meaning of what he had just done.
Dawson Hollyer, District 10 Male: 15th, Killed by Zolus, Day 2
Not much else happened as Day 2 drew to a close. Zolus was quickly becoming the most popular outlier; with two kills under his belt, everyone who could afford to wanted to send him at least something, even just a short note of admiration. The careers heard Dawson's screams and ran toward them, but by the time they arrived the site of Dawson's death was nothing but an explosion of blood on the floor of the jungle. Velvereen and Tench were equally vicious but got along well, neither trying to establish themselves as the leader – something which most certainly would have led to conflict and infighting. Prima would certainly side with Tench if this happened. Tensions rose as the careers didn't find any prey for the entirety of the second day. They settled down near the arena's largest stream as night fell and shared the day's rations, not talking to each other as much as they had on the first day. They hadn't found any victims that day, but they would soon.
The outliers stayed pretty still on Day 3, most of them exhausted after moving consistently to avoid the shifting regions densely populated with snakes on the first two days. Alaric was on the hunt; one of the most popular and best-looking outliers, he knew he needed only one kill to elevate him to the level of the careers and Zolus, and he was willing to do so. Alaric was in a good place, hidden in a cave behind a net of thick ivy at the east end of the arena, far away from the careers. Nova was slowly dying from the injury she'd sustained during the bloodbath, frothing at the mouth and dry heaving as her strength slowly left her. The cameras showed her as little as possible because she was simply unpleasant to look at as she slowly, painfully died. Auryn had fallen into bouts of terror over the snakes, scared at every turn that they'd suddenly become vicious monsters and kill him. He moved little and instead curled up on the forest floor, scared and disgruntled by the constant lurking terror. Eliette and Lena snatched a switchblade from the area around the cornucopia and spent the day practicing with it, alternating slashing it into objects and cutting roots and branches. Tensions rose a little bit as the girls worried absentmindedly if the other might betray them when the knife fell in their hands, but Eliette and Lena trusted and liked each other and these worries were not great. Harper was still as terrified as ever – the audience wished she would find Auryn so they could be scared together as the games continued. She didn't move at all, and a generous sponsor warned her that if she continued this behavior the gamemakers would kill her. Scared, she began to move, slowly to avoid crushing any snakes.
Jack was wandering through the trees on the third evening when Eliette and Lena came into view. Rather than fighting or warring words, they allied, the girls allowing Jack to join to create a trio. Jack had an interesting perspective to share, and the threesome got along well. Lilium continued impressing the audience by climbing trees and moving as quietly as a panther through the jungle. She even moved through the treetops like a spider monkey, unsettling the crowds. They were impressed though, and Lilium received lots of water and food. Finally, there was Cavendish and Idum. They were hunting just like Alaric and the careers – both armed with machetes and switchblades, they hoped that over time they'd find victims and boost their standing in the eyes of the crowd. This would happen soon.
There was a burst of action the next day; three deaths occurred on Day 4. The first was caused by the careers, whose hunting efforts finally came to fruition just as the sun was rising on the fourth day. They were just about to stop for a bathroom break when Prima perked up; she saw the forms of Eliette, Lena, and Jack flitting through the gaps between the trees on the horizon. The careers crept toward them, with Tench in the lead – he had the best eyesight and was the best tracker once the outliers had left the scene and all that was left were their footsteps and the breaks they'd made in the foliage. Eventually, the trio settled down to rest, and their families were screaming at their television screams begging them to keep moving as the careers came closer. Velvereen, Tench, and Prima rose up over a nearby hillock and raced downward, not wanting to hesitate because it was getting dark and soon pinning them down would be more difficult. Tench was the one who made the kill. Lena screamed as Tench came down the hill and tackled her like a football player, knocking her into the ground and skewering the trident into her chest with so much force she was completely winded. Lena screamed for Eliette and Jack to run with all their might, and her two allies escaped into the dark jungle as Tench finished Lena off with a trident thrust that broke her ribs.
Lena Rosen, District 13 Female: 14th, Killed by Tench, Day 4
The careers left the scene quickly and continued scouring the rainforest for prey, eager to thin the outlier herds roaming the arena. Two tributes had close calls with the careers; first was Alaric, who was out eagerly hunting when the trio of careers came near him in the night. He was eager to land a kill, but he sure as hell wasn't going to attack the careers; that would have been suicide. Alaric slunk into the shadows and waited for the careers to pass. A few hours later, they passed by Harper, who was sleeping in a field of heavenly reeds next to one of the jungle's largest watering holes. She didn't even notice as the careers passed her right by, and she woke up with no idea her life had come within an inch of ending.
Garnet Russo had put a blowgun in the arena for a reason; he wanted its owner to dip the darts in the snake venom, making them instantly ultra-deadly. He hinted at these in some public speeches, and instantly Zolus was overwhelmed with cryptic messages advising Zolus to capture a snake and extract its venom somehow. The jar he'd taken from Dawson's dead body was perfect for these means. Zolus' hands shook as he painstakingly placed the jar over one of the arena's smaller snakes. He quickly shut it inside the jar and watched with pleasure as the creature spat out a layer of poison that filled the bottom of the jar. Then it was a matter of waiting for the mutt to die of asphyxiation in the jar. Then he carefully removed the creature and dipped the darts in the venom. It was time to go to work.
For now, though, the cameras cut to Alaric, who'd been hunting for two days now and was finally about to make his first kill. He'd been following a small animal path which he called a deer path, and, as luck would have it, another tribute was on the path. It was Nova. She'd been completely still for an entire day, groaning quietly in agony from the wound in her shoulder that was slowly killing her. It wasn't even bleeding anymore, but her body couldn't replenish the blood fast enough and Nova was powerful to do anything besides hope and pray as her life left her. Alaric found her weeping softly at the base of a broad tree and plunged the dagger straight into her chest. There was a short utterance of "thank you" from the dying girl, and then Nova Simonds was no more.
Nova Simonds, District 3 Female: 13th, Killed by Alaric, Day 4
The cameras suddenly cut back to Zolus, who was drinking slowly beside a stream. He had a vague inkling that the careers were nearby; the sponsors had hinted that a threat was nearby, but were unclear where it was serpentine or human. Velvereen, Tench, and Prima had decided to split up for the day; they were started to regret abandoning the tried-and-true strategy of using the cornucopia as their home base, and they moved slowly and inefficiently in such a large group. Tench headed north, while Prima and Velvereen headed south, then split apart after an hour or so, travelling separately. Prima saw Zolus early in the morning, but he escaped easily, splashing across a stream and disappearing into the wilderness. She didn't want to risk throwing her machetes, so Prima decided to slowly stalk down Zolus on foot and rise up from the position of least liked career by killing the most popular outlier.
Zolus, meanwhile, was ducked down in the underbrush, dipping the tips of his darts in the snake venom. Prima saw him, the machete came flying, and he lifted the pipe to his lips and blew as hard as he could. The wooden tip, stained with light-purple fluid, went flying into Prima's left arm, and she just laughed – not even her throwing arm. As Prima prepared to end Zolus' life, an invisible hand seemed to grab her, throwing her to the ground in bouts of shaking and wheezing as the poison worked its way through her bloodstream. Zolus retrieved the dart from her body, careful not to touch the tip, and whispered, "More, please," to the audience. They were more than happy to comply.
Prima Fridlund, District 4 Female: 12th, Killed by Zolus, Day 4
Day 5 was filled with little but the continuation of the various hunting expeditions happening around the arena. The cameras especially focused on Cavendish and Idum, who'd been unable to land a kill yet but were nonetheless very popular in the Capitol. The outer districts were rooting for them as well, wanting to see a tribute from an outer district take home the Victor's crown. Cavendish was a stoic counterpart to Idum's thoughtful personality, and the audience loved their dynamic. The other outlying hunter, Alaric, did not find himself satisfied with killing Prima; she'd been on death's door anyway, and killing her was more out of mercy than anything. The more lost tributes, like Harper and Auryn, seemed as though their time on earth was drawing to a close; the snakes were becoming more violent, and soon they would begin to attack, unprovoked, the least active tributes. Meanwhile, the duo of Jack and Eliette found themselves increasingly creeped out by the behavior of the snakes; they were more ominous by the hour, raising their heads to stare into the tributes' faces with eyes that were weirdly human. They were living not far from the place where Auryn were hiding. Harper was also nearby; many were hoping the two would meet, but fate did never ordain this to happen.
Jack and Eliette were walking quietly through the trees in the early morning of Day 6 when a small tribute's snoozing form came into view: it was Lilium. The acrobatic girl-next-door character who'd won the hearts of the Capitolites would live or die depending whether Jack and Eliette dared to kill her. If they decided to do so, there would be absolutely no obstacle. Eliette pulled out her switchblade, and it became apparent in that moment that she was willing to do the deed. Jack stood back as Eliette crept toward Lilium's sleeping form, the form that had jumped so elegantly through the trees for the first four days of the games. She'd only slept on the forest floor that night because she was too exhausted to climb after a long episode of being chased by Tench and Velvereen, from which she narrowly escaped with her life. Now, her luck had run out. The blade went straight into her throat, and she woke up coughing up blood and thrashing her arms wildly. Eliette was in tears, and she turned around to see Jack in a similar state. She patted him gently on the back and then beckoned him to leave. They couldn't afford to tarry; Eliette knew Velvereen and Tench were near, and it wasn't a good idea to stay still any longer.
Lilium Tardif, District 9 Female: 11th, Killed by Eliette, Day 6
The rest of Day 6, like the entirety of Day 7, was deathless. Velvereen and Tench were invigorated by seeing the crowd of tributes thinning at a normal rate; for a while, it had been unclear whether this was destined to be a short games or a long games. Tench speculated the games would end around Day 12 if tributes continued dying at this rate, meaning finding a solid source of water before it was too late was a good idea. The streams of the arena were beginning to dry up, and it was more difficult to find water as Day 7 passed.
Cavendish and Idum were following Harper in hot pursuit; they'd seen her urinating shortly after noon and instantly ran after her, desperate to track down the girl and make the kill they'd been wanting to land for days. Harper was fast, but her resolve was weak; time would tell when Cavendish and Idum would catch up to her. The other "weakling", Auryn, was actually starting to get his act together; he travelled several miles on Day 7 and even retrieved a machete from the field near the cornucopia where Prima had suggested they scatter the horn's supplies back on Day 1. He wasn't "hunting" by any stretch of the imagination, but he was on the move and the gamemakers no longer planned to target him using the snakes any time soon.
Jack and Eliette, as well as Zolus, stayed completely still as Day 7 turned into Day 8. They were depressed and anxious after killing Lilium, while Zolus was simply exhausted after nearly an entire week of constant movement; the audience thought he deserved an entire day of rest, and the gamemakers agreed. Zolus was running out of poison to dip his darts in, and he'd spilled some of it on accident in the chaotic process of killing Prima; he needed to gather more snake venom sooner than later. Every time he gathered venom, he was risking his life; it wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to. He considered killing a snake before collecting its venom but wondered how difficult it would be to extract it once the creature was dead. Unsure what to do, Zolus wondered deeply as the day passed.
Day 8 arrived with a bang: a cannon shot at eight in the morning. Cavendish and Idum, armed with their machetes and switchblades, had been stalking Harper for more than twenty-four hours at this point. Harper couldn't run forever and foolishly thought she'd lost them, and she came to rest in a small gap between two hillocks that shielded her from view. Cavendish actually did think they'd lost her for a moment, perhaps wanting to give up the chase now that he was tired and hungry and thought hope had been lost, but Idum implored him to keep looking, and moments later they peered over a hill and saw Harper wheezing at the bottom. They went in instantly, savagely wrenching the blades in and out of Harper's body. Cavendish ultimately dealt the most damage while Idum held her down, and it was shocking to see how violent the two of them really were for outliers.
Harper Kagan, District 6 Female: 10th, Killed by Cavendish and Idum, Day 8
Little filled the remainder of Day 8. Some tributes were standing still, while some were travelling quickly, and few were in-between. Velvereen and Tench were hunting more ferociously through the jungle than ever in the aftermath of Harper's cannon shot; they were on the eve of the final eight, at which point – though the tributes didn't know it – Garnet was planning to violently sicc the snakes on every living tribute. Velvereen and Tench still got along well, though their personalities were very different; they would go down in history as one of the gold-star examples of career camaraderie in the games. Alaric was invigorated after making his last kill but laid relatively low, not wanting to get cocky and do something brash that would spell his end. Auryn was also travelling, and he was now moving upward alongside the arena's largest stream. He was hoping to find something at the source of the river. Many were pleased to see him so invigorated after such a long slump, and he was garnering a larger share of followers in the Capitol as the day passed. Eliette and Jack also laid low.
Zolus, meanwhile, was in the process of trapping another snake to extract its venom. This was a risky move; he had to dump the remaining venom out of the jar in order to use it to catch a snake, with no guarantee there would be any payoff. As smooth as silk, though, a snake slid into the jar as he placed it over its scaly orange body. It panicked and sprayed venom against the interior walls of the jar, filling the base with the translucent orange liquid that could kill a human immediately. Cavendish and Idum were hunting wildly through the jungle, finally getting the popularity they'd been yearning for after killing Harper. Throughout the day, they came within a few hundred meters of another tribute not once but twice: first, they passed by the place where Auryn had rested near the river, then they came scarily close to where Tench was (Velvereen and Tench had split up halfway through the day to hunt separately, vowing to re-join near a tall tree near the cornucopia when the sun set). They did just that, meeting as the day ended, while Cavendish and Idum stuck together, covering nearly ten miles over the course of the day before resting in the small cave where Alaric had originally hid on Day 2.
Days 9 and 10 were also deathless: the slowest and most lifeless days the 111th Hunger Games had seen yet. The next day, the gamemakers were planning to unleash the snakes on the tributes, but it wasn't time for that quite yet. Velvereen and Tench decided to split up after ten days of allyship; they'd vowed to both their families that they'd strike off on their own when the final eight arrived, and they wanted to do that without bloodshed, knowing killing each other out of anything other than necessity was a bad look for them. Career infighting was never a popular decision. The outlying hunters – Alaric by himself, and the duo of Cavendish and Idum – stopped these strategies on Day 9 and simply moved slowly around the arena without any definite objectives except to keep themselves in the spotlight. Alaric was sponsored an even better machete by a generous sponsor, a huge present, while Cavendish and Idum went without sponsor gifts as they momentarily fell from grace. Eliette and Jack stayed still, while Zolus was sponsored another jar to catch a snake. He was also given one of the purple pellets – also owned by Alaric – that would instantly kill the snakes around him but was harmless to humans. He didn't know what to do with it but kept it handy – Zolus knew it would be helpful sooner than later.
That left one tribute: little Auryn. He'd actually made quite a comeback in the Capitol, and it was a real shame he was the first tribute to die when the snakes went psycho on Day 11. He was treading softly through the forest as their chorus of hissing began to rise, lifting itself to an utterly deranged chorus as noon arrived. They streaked out of the treetops so quickly that Auryn didn't have time to breathe. Two of them wrapped around him like strings in a game of ladder golf. Auryn broke into a run and tried to force the snakes off of himself, but it was simply impossible; the snakes were everywhere, hundreds of them, rushing out of the shadows and out of the upper and lower foliage in their deranged rush to gore and feast. Auryn screamed as he went down in a mess of sparkling scales. The moment his cannon fired, the snakes rushed away from his dead body; there were more victims to hunt down and more tributes to kill, and they would not hesitate for a single moment.
Auryn Lentz, District 5 Male: 9th, Killed by snake mutts, Day 11
That left the final eight: Velvereen Winters from District 1, Alaric Damon from District 3, Tench Piercey from District 4, Eliette Paresky from District 5, Jack Furth from District 7, Zolus Aghayan from District 9, Cavendish Levins from District 11, and Idum Curiel from District 13.
Throughout the day, every remaining tribute was attacked by the snake mutts. Five tributes would survive the serpentine attack, but three would not. Everyone was excited to see which tributes would fall victim to the horde of snakes. Jack and Eliette woke up screaming when they heard the loud hissing and the snapping of snake scales as they landed on the forest floor. "Get the switchblade ready!" Eliette yelled as they crept into the cave. They couldn't be sure whether to stay in the cave, where they'd only have to fend off snakes from one direction, or to leave, where there were more directions to escape in the event worse came to worst. They eventually decided to leave, Jack tugging a stunned Eliette along into the open. The serpents were tumbling from the treetops in the dozens, less vicious than some mutts in previous games but still very much deadly. Jack lashed out with the switchblade and decapitated two or three snakes, and once Eliette came back to her senses she sent five of them back to hell with an effective flailing episode. It was a long hard fight, but they killed enough of the snakes that Garnet was happy to recall them at that point.
Cavendish and Idum woke up screaming when the snakes came flying out of nowhere. Cavendish had been supposed to be keeping guard at the time, but he'd fallen asleep, and Idum roared at the sheer injustice of it all as the serpents came crawling over him and his ally, digging their fangs into their flesh. Early that morning, Cavendish had been sponsored one of the purple pellets, but his mind went black of everything – even his instincts – when the snakes came swimming over him.
"The pellet!" Idum screamed, reaching into Cavendish's pocket for the little purple sphere. He squeezed it and the lavender haze exploded in all directions, killing the snakes, but it was too late; both Cavendish and Idum were full of poison, and their bodies were already shutting down from the sheer strength of the venom. Idum and Cavendish seemed to be quietly talking to each other as they died; words too quiet to be picked up by the camera microphones. It was weirdly poetic to watch their voices become quieter and quieter until they finally died. Two cannons fired within moments of one another.
Cavendish Levins, District 11 Male: 8th, Killed by snake mutts, Day 11
Idum Curiel, District 13 Male: 7th, Killed by snake mutts, Day 11
Alaric certainly had the easiest time killing the snakes. He'd been unsure what to do with the purple pellet since the start of the games, but when the snakes came pouring out of the treetops he knew at once what it had been put there for. Alaric squeezed the pellet and coughed violently in the resulting violet cloud. When the dust cleared, Alaric was surrounded by the bodies of nearly four dozen dead snakes. Just like that, he'd eliminated the threat. The other tribute who owned one of the purple pellets, Zolus, took longer to figure out how to use it. He'd dispatched four or five snakes using his sponsored dagger when the pellet accidentally exploded in his pocket, sending purple dust exploding through the air. The entire snake horde was instantly killed, and Zolus could afford to breathe a sigh of relief.
The final tributes attacked were the careers, Velvereen and Tench. They were privy to the information the snakes were about to attack because of extensive sponsor notes; the audience loved their friendly dynamic and how their personalities didn't grate even though they were very different, which was delightful to see. The snakes couldn't hear the careers, but they could sense their footsteps the loudest, and they were more than just eager to kill; it was the only reason for their existence.
The audiences watched in suspense as the snakes overwhelmed the careers. Velvereen readied her crossbow and dispatched five serpents before she realized how inefficient that strategy really was. She tugged the dagger out of her shoe and rejoined Tench in the fight, whose trident was effective at spearing the snakes en masse. Velvereen came close to death a few times, but Tench ultimately had the closest call, nearly perishing from the snake venom before he tugged the venomous viper off his ankle and slammed its bright green body like a flail into a nearby tree. The cameras switched away from the careers to show something Zolus was doing, then the similar movements of Eliette and Jack and then those of Alaric. All of a sudden, a cannon fired, and everyone immediately wondered whether it belonged to Tench or Velvereen. One of the careers had clearly been killed by the snakes, but nobody was sure who until the cameras showed.
So, who had died, Tench or Velvereen? The snakes crawled away from the dead body of the tribute, and everyone could see the bloated, frothing dead body of the muscular surfer boy the Capitol had grown to love. Tench died slowly and painfully, and Velvereen decided to make a run for it while the snakes were distracted killing her "ally". The boy from 4 was no more, and the snakes of the arena suddenly became passive, slipping back into the shadows and into the upper foliage. There were only five tributes left, and Garnet didn't want the snakes to kill any more tributes. That was for the tributes themselves to take care of.
Tench Piercey, District 4 Male: 6th, Killed by snake mutts, Day 11
The remember of Day 11, and all of Day 12, were deathless. On the morning of Day 12, Velvereen was walking along the top of a tall rocky ridge, the arena's widest river rushing below her. She screamed as the ground gave way under her feet, and she tumbled into the stream, gasping for breath in shock and fear. Some thought it was karma for abandoning Tench to die at the fangs of the arena's snakes. Velvereen had swallowed a little too much of the water, and she spent the next two days completely still, shuddering and coughing up the muddy liquid. The floor of the jungle offered good shelter, and Velvereen managed to stay hidden for the entire time she was out of combat.
On Day 12, Alaric and Zolus began a tense rivalry. They'd been in the same part of the arena for several days, but the snakes had chased Alaric even closer in Zolus' direction, and now they saw each other: it was two P.M. on Day 12 and Alaric looked up from doodling absentmindedly in the dirt to see Zolus charging toward him, dart gun raised to his lips. Alaric screamed and ducked into the underbrush, escaping Zolus narrowly because he was a few precious strides ahead of him. Alaric hid in a dense area of foliage and hoped Zolus had lost him, but Zolus was determined to track down and kill Alaric, and he would not leave the area until he had done so.
Also on Day 12, Eliette and Jack officially vowed to stick together as long as they could. Outlier alliances had been very rare in recent years; Jack and Eliette thought they could keep the audience's attention by sticking together even though they both longed to strike off on their own. They were moving toward the cornucopia, figuring they'd better do it on their own accord rather than be chased there by the snakes once it was really time for the finale.
Day 13 was also deathless. The audience was alarmed to see that Velvereen seemed to be slowly dying; horrible cramps overtook her after swallowing the pathogens in the muddy stream. It was a foul river with foul contents. Velvereen was confident the poison would work its way out of her body within a day or so, but audience members weren't sure, and her family and friends were vey paranoid; nobody could be sure Velvereen would survive, and even if she did, her range of motion in combat would be drastically hindered by the pains.
Day 13 saw little but the continuance and – eventually – the morbid resolution of the Alaric-Zolus conflict. It wasn't until nighttime that they finally faced off, Zolus meeting Alaric mere meters from the force field where the jungle dropped off into plain white sand and then spotless blue ocean; the arena really seemed to be a circular island. Zolus had seen Alaric again early that morning and had stalked him literally all day, through valleys and hills and in and out of the trees for fourteen hours before he finally "pinned him against" the force field. Alaric had nowhere to run as Zolus pulled out the dart gun, and all of a sudden Alaric made the decision to commit suicide. The sponsors had hinted at him that Zolus' darts were poisoned. Rather than die slowly from the painful venom, Alaric jumped into the force field. His family screamed as the sparks flew, and Alaric's bloody blackened body landed with a thud in the sand. At least it was a quick death, his friends and family would remember forever.
Alaric Damon, District 3 Male: 5th, Killed by himself, Day 13
Day 14 was the last full of these games. There was a lot of commotion as the tributes assumed the finale was drawing nearer and nearer by the hour, and by the time the sun set every tribute was travelling toward the center of the arena. Velvereen had mostly recovered from her muddy splash; filth was no longer spewing from both ends of her digestive system, but she was nonetheless very slow and clumsy, and her vision swam and she frothed at the mouth as she moved through the arena. When push came to shove, it didn't seem like Velvereen would be as prepared as she might have been a few days earlier.
Zolus was building a vast array of poison darts on Day 14, growing his collection to nearly three dozen. He'd tried his best to recover the darts from the scenes of his attacks, but it wasn't always possible to retrieve them; he had to rely on sponsor gifts, which supplied him with one or two more darts each day depending on what his mentor Sickle (District 9's only living victor) could afford. Eliette and Jack, meanwhile, were the closest to the horn; they were travelling the fastest because they weren't hindered by sickness like Velvereen or more intricate plans like Zolus' current task gathering more darts. Every water source in the arena was completely dry by this point, and they were the first to notice; it was time for the finale.
They found their path inward hindered by a new threat: vicious muttation monkeys. They were borrowed from the previous year's games because they'd been a crowd favorite, and when Jack heard the screaming of the mutts he grabbed Eliette by the shoulders and yanked her down into the shadows, awaiting further developments. As he did so, the cameras showed Velvereen and Zolus, also being chased by the mutts. Zolus started at the first cry of the monkeys and shot a poison dart into one of them, dispatching him instantly. As the creature fell into the underbrush, Zolus came to the decision there was no sensible way forward but to run toward the cornucopia. Velvereen was doing the same thing, stumbling in the direction of the horn as quickly as possible. She vomited thrice as she travelled, struggling to ignore the pain coming from all over her body; it was rare to see a tribute who scored an eleven in such disgrace.
Jack swung with immense force using his machete, nearly decapitating one of the mutts in one fell swoop. Eliette fumbled with her switchblade, thoughts whirring behind her eyes, and in a single moment Eliette decided to betray her ally. She grabbed Jack by the shoulders and held him up in some archaic sacrifice to the gamemakers gods, beckoning the monkeys toward them. The first dug into Jack's body, tearing him in pieces on the ground, and Eliette ran for her life, escaping as the vicious creatures gored and feasted behind her. She wept in guilt and shame as she ran toward the cornucopia; she'd killed her ally to survive. Such was the way of the Hunger Games.
Jack Furth, District 7 Male: 4th, Killed by monkey mutts, Day 14
It was with shock and horror that the audiences realized the monkey mutts were made of the reanimated bodies of the dead tributes. This scheme was previously used in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, but had been phased out because it just a little bit too disturbing for popular taste. Garnet Russo was trying it again, though, and the audiences responded better this time. The mutts chasing Velvereen consisted of the mangled body parts of Clarity and Homer, two of her deceased career allies. Eliette's pursuers were her district partner, Auryn, and Paisley, the boy from 8 who'd died in the bloodbath. Zolus was chased by the forms of the pair from District 10, Dawson and Edith – the former killed by Zolus himself back on Day 2.
Of course, the monkey mutts were chasing the tributes toward the cornucopia. Zolus was the first to reach the horn, ducking inside and waiting quietly with his blowgun. He'd dispatched both of the mutts chasing him by that point; there was nothing to do but wait to live or wait to die. More pragmatically, wait to see what the best choice would be once other tributes grew near. The first to reach the horn was Velvereen, the tortoise who had won the race against the hare that was Eliette; she'd been moving slowly but consistently for the entire day, and Zolus knew right away what he had to do. He put the blowgun to his lips and fired a dart out of the darkness. It landed in Velvereen's chest with a dull thud, and she fell immediately, spasming and dying from the deadly snake venom as it coursed through her body. A cannon fired, the hovercraft descended, and then there were only two tributes remaining.
Velvereen Winters, District 1 Female: 3rd, Killed by Zolus, Day 15
Eliette arrived four hours later, bloody and covered in scabs and bruises, and Zolus remained crouched inside the horn. His mastermind plan was falling into place as perfectly as dominoes cascading in a line. Eliette had seen the hovercraft lift up Velvereen's corpse from roughly this region of the arena, indicating Zolus was somewhere near. Smartly, though, Eliette had crept up on the cornucopia from behind, knowing if Zolus was hiding inside he could fire a weapon out of the darkness and she'd be as good as dead before she knew what had hit her.
Eliette reached the back end of the horn and put her ear up to its wall. It conducted sound with incredible detail and profundity; she could even hear it creaking slightly in the wind. She could also hear Zolus breathing softly inside. So he was hiding in there! Eliette crept across the horn's side and waited behind the lip for nearly ten entire minutes, procrastinating the moment she'd have to burst around the corner and face her final competitor.
She did it quickly and effectively. After steeling himself for half an hour, Eliette jumped sideways and then tackled Zolus, sending the blowgun spinning in circles out of hands. Zolus cursed to see his favorite trusty weapon gone, and a long fight ensued, lasting nearly two hours as the tributes grabbed and pounded each other against the inside walls of the horn. Zolus quickly managed to disarm Eliette of her machete; without it, it was a battle of brute strength.
At long, long last, Zolus triumphed. He'd managed to force Eliette against the wall of the cornucopia in the exact same spot the machete had landed on the floor. Zolus pulled away from a quick moment, and, as Eliette made a run for it, he grabbed the dagger and hurled it into her back. She fell in bouts of screaming and crying, and Zolus ran to retrieve the dart gun. There was no reason to prolong Eliette's death in any way. He unscrewed the jar of snake venom and poured it straight into Eliette's mouth. Her cannon shot fired instantly, and then the crafty young man from District 9 was the only remaining tribute.
Eliette Paresky, District 5 Female: 2nd, Killed by Zolus, Day 15
"Zolus Aghayan of District 9, you are the victor of the 111th annual Hunger Games!" Ciara Grant cheered.
The victor fell against the interior wall of the horn and buried his face in his hands, lost in thought.
Zolus Aghayan, District 9 Male: Victor of the One Hundred Eleventh Hunger Games, Day 15
AFTERMATH
Zolus' victory was a breath of fresh air for President Hawke; after a year filled with chaos and rebellion, Zolus was seen as a classic reminder of how the games were "supposed to" go, and many looked at his victory as a sign that things were going back to normal. It's worth noting that at this point in Panem's history, virtually everybody accepted the Hunger Games as a fact of life in Panem, much unlike the earlier days of the first Hunger Games century when the games were widely reviled. They were a deep-seated part of human society, something mankind would never forget, and everybody had to accept that. Zolus was a bit overwhelmed by all the celebration and was merely looking forward to going home to his family and friends. He was the beginning of a streak of "classic" victors; those whose games and lives ran similarly to those of the early days of the games, back before the nuclear war and before the rebellion resulting from the fourth Quell.
His victory tour was great; everyone was glad to see an outlier win, and many saw him as a beacon of hope that things were going back to normal after the Fourth Great Rebellion.
The payouts on his victory were spectacular, as .5% bet on him.
Zolus would live to age sixty-seven, dying of cancer the year of the 162nd Hunger Games. He would marry and sire one child.
NEWS
Aspen Sprout's second child, Hatchet, is born.
Pluto Talbot's fourth child, Charon, is born.
Nolan Wrack dies from cholera.
LIST OF VICTORS
1HG: Cordin Frey (#1, District 3)
2HG: Sapphire Waber (#1, District 1)
3HG: Molly Toliday (#1, District 4)
4HG: Amelia Spangler (#1, District 2)
5HG: Misty Sablone (#1, District 12)
6HG: Olivia Seager (#2, District 2)
7HG: Flux Stafford (#2, District 3)
8HG: Brandi Coyne (#2, District 1)
9HG: Isaac Crandall (#1, District 5)
10HG: Velvet Farrow (#3, District 1)
11HG: Mags Flanagan (#2, District 4)
12HG: Slate Ogston (#3, District 2)
13HG: Woof Dozier (#1, District 8)
14HG: Blaze Skalnik (#4, District 2)
15HG: Dina Wilmarth (#2, District 5)
16HG: Beatrice Toland (#1, District 6)
17HG: Amelia Bankston (#5, District 2)
18HG: Markus Gardd (#2, District 6)
19HG: Odius Ruttler (#6, District 2)
20HG: Seeder Kaiser (#1, District 11)
21HG: Freya Digard (#7, District 2)
22HG: Gold Carson (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ashlyn Breston (#3, District 6)
24HG: Dayta Albrand (#3, District 3)
25HG: Diamond Griego (#5, District 1)
26HG: Thor Rosner (#8, District 2)
27HG: Magnet Lisagor (#4, District 3)
28HG: Maria Dutra (#3, District 4)
29HG: Discordia Komine (#9, District 2)
30HG: Barley Chisolm (#1, District 9)
31HG: Marlin Coppi (#4, District 4)
32HG: Wyatt Kerdler (#5, District 3)
33HG: Molly Soltan (#5, District 4)
34HG: Grover Handa (#1, District 7)
35HG: Troy Stiles (#6, District 4)
36HG: Lana Voltaire (#10, District 2)
37HG: Lucy Said (#7, District 4)
38HG: Porter Tripp (#3, District 5)
39HG: Penelope Turek (#8, District 4)
40HG: Beetee Latier (#6, District 3)
41HG: Radiance Clinton (#6, District 1)
42HG: Technik Hartline (#7, District 3)
43HG: Dylan Levitt (#9, District 4)
44HG: Rye Boyum (#2, District 9)
45HG: Chaff Korsmun (#2, District 11)
46HG: Nolan Wrack (#11, District 2)
47HG: Klink Byrae (#4, District 5)
48HG: Brutus Cordley (#12, District 2)
49HG: Wiress Freid (#8, District 3)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Lyme Mabbett (#13, District 2)
52HG: Ruby Rayfuse (#7, District 1)
53HG: Lily Eckel (#3, District 11)
54HG: Blight Holzer (#2, District 7)
55HG: Emily Pollick (#5, District 5)
56HG: Sally Vasilia (#6, District 5)
57HG: Mason Kittridge (#14, District 2)
58HG: Margaret Cartmill (#1, District 10)
59HG: Tiger Sterne (#8, District 1)
60HG: Cecelia Rieffel (#2, District 8)
61HG: Valerie Easton (#15, District 2)
62HG: Enobaria Rigatti (#16, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Linden (#9, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Linden (#10, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#10, District 4)
66HG: Victor Xhang (#17, District 2)
67HG: Augustus Braun (#11, District 1)
68HG: Iuna Mosier (#12, District 1)
69HG: Alexander Westlake (#2, District 10)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#11, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#3, District 7)
72HG: Remus Daley (#18, District 2)
73HG: Apollo Reinold (#4, District 6)
74HG: Meredith Powell (#4, District 7)
75HG: Struve Lockman (#19, District 2)
76HG: Porcelain Wing (#13, District 1)
77HG: Router Lowell (#9, District 3)
78HG: Surge Upsdell (#7, District 5)
79HG: Kasey Slosser (#5, District 6)
80HG: Tarquinius Orfe (#20, District 2)
81HG: Talisa Plummer (#12, District 4)
82HG: Poplin Amsden (#3, District 8)
83HG: Pixel Watt (#10, District 3)
84HG: Dock Elizabeth (#13, District 4)
85HG: Sycamora Bromley (#5, District 7)
86HG: Bobbin Chern (#4, District 8)
87HG: Organdy Karat (#14, District 1)
88HG: Sickle Salgato (#3, District 9)
89HG: Admired Thompson (#15, District 1)
90HG: Chipson Harris (#11, District 3)
91HG: Mars Talbot (#21, District 2)
92HG: Arnold Scruggs (#3, District 12), Wystella Knapp (#22, District 2), and Robina Caite (#3, District 10)
93HG: Taj King (#16, District 1)
94HG: Steer Drudgers (#4, District 10)
95HG: Diode Cooper (#8, District 5)
96HG: Pluto Talbot (#23, District 2)
97HG: Vine Lilard (#4, District 11)
98HG: Larke Jean (#5, District 10)
99HG: Poseidon Odair (#14, District 4)
100HG: Rimno Kiely (#12, District 3)
101HG: Aspen Sprout (#6, District 7)
102HG: Dandelion Linwood (#5, District 11)
103HG: Cherry Perlman (#7, District 7)
104HG: Syren Magretta (#15, District 4)
105HG: Fox Sikorski (#9, District 5)
AUX 105HG: Viveca Chatterley (#17, District 1)
106HG: Noble Drazen (#18, District 1)
107HG: Jeeter Castro (#6, District 6)
108HG: Manhattan Osk (#1, District 13)
109HG: Justinius Catcher (#24, District 2)
110HG: Ciana Caltene (#6, District 11)
110HG (Unofficial Survivors): Lamar Zilonis (#16, District 4), Thorn Takahashi (#8, District 7), and Catherine Garner (#6, District 10)
111HG: Zolus Aghayan (#4, District 9)
A/N: Another chapter! It's been terribly cold where I live so we're all trapped inside – us writers know this as the perfect opportunity to crank out a new chapter or two. Thanks for reading. I've been meaning to use this snake-infested arena for a long time and today was finally the day. See you next time (: