Panem Events

Camelot was a well-received victor. While he may not have been the most personable winner, he dominated the Games by securing seven kills and achieving a training score of eleven. This set a new record for kills and training scores in a non-Quell Hunger Games since the Mockingjay Rebellion. Camelot's good looks also made him a favorite within the Capitol. His Victory Tour was uneventful, though he had to memorize all of his speeches to avoid relying on cue cards due to his dyslexia. Afterward, he returned to District One and began working as a trainer at the Career Academy.

In the Capitol, President Pennilo maintained a firm grip on Panem's political and economic spheres. The districts continued to be overworked to meet the Capitol's demands, but there were no major uprisings or riots. Scorpius Fulgence reprised his role as Head Gamemaker for a second consecutive year. He persuaded President Pennilo to increase the Games' budget, resulting in a more elaborate arena compared to last year's. In the days leading up to the Reaping, Scorpius released a promotional poster for the Hunger Games. The design featured a black background with the words "There is light in the darkness" spelled out in multicolored quartz. The poster stirred excitement in the Capitol as many eagerly anticipated the spectacle these Games would deliver.

This year's Hunger Games were already unique due to the absence of tributes under fifteen. The youngest, Kag from District Three, was only four months shy of sixteen. As expected, the Careers were highly trained and performed well in training assessments. The Capitol's favorite was Legacy from District One, the daughter of Stella Knight, the victor of the 82nd Hunger Games. Legacy scored a ten in training—the highest score this year. She was beautiful, flirtatious, and confident, excelling with throwing knives and the bow. Her district partner, Gloss, was more reserved. Many speculated he was chosen to volunteer so as not to overshadow Legacy.

The District Two pair, Justice and Roma, exuded ruthlessness and ferocity. Justice, with his rippling muscles and imposing demeanor, was an intimidating figure. Roma, by contrast, was petite and slim, standing at only five foot one inch. Her weapon of choice was a scalpel chain—a whip-like weapon with blades attached to it. Meanwhile, the District Four pair, Clara and Haddock, seemed more relaxed compared to their allies. Clara charmed the Capitol audience during her interview by sharing stories about her family back home, while Haddock focused on his love of surfing and his eagerness to return to the waves.

Among the outliers, a few tributes stood out as crowd favorites. The District Five pair, Neils and Rayla, both scored sevens in training. In their interviews, they spoke about their close bond, though they had only interacted a few times prior to being Reaped. From District Ten, Carlton and Kinsey exuded confidence, with both performing well in training and asserting that one of them would make it home alive.

An alliance was formed between the tributes from District Eleven and District Twelve, though none of them stood out in training or interviews, and they were largely considered average. Another intriguing tribute was Calex from District Three, the only child of the district's mayor. She scored a mere three in training. Despite being well-fed, Calex admitted in her interview that she wasn't as intelligent as previous District Three tributes. This left the Capitol audience divided, with some believing she was genuinely inept and others suspecting she was downplaying her skills to lower her threat level.

Finally, Hari from District Eight caused a stir with his bold claims that the Hunger Games were rigged. He stated that the Gamemakers predetermined which district would win and claimed to have developed an algorithm that correctly predicted the victors of the 98th, 99th, and 101st Hunger Games. When asked who he believed would win this year, Hari bluntly replied, "Either District Four or District Twelve." His candid admission that he had little chance of victory, despite scoring well in training, fascinated the Capitol audience. As the Games approached, excitement and speculation grew. Everyone was eager to see who would emerge victorious in this year's Hunger Games.

xXx

Tributes

District One- Male: Gloss Pendros, 17 (9) Female: Legacy Knight-Deboys, 18 (10)

District Two- Male: Justice Fland, 18 (9) Female: Roma Scyra, 16 (8)

District Three- Male: Kag Chisp, 15 (5) Female: Calex Calais, 18 (3)

District Four- Male: Haddock Shoals, 18 (9) Female: Clara Flannigan, 17 (9)

District Five- Male: Neils Fermi, 17 (7) Female: Rayla French, 16 (7)

District Six- Male: Grayson Shifter, 16 (5) Female: Allie Bachmann, 15 (5)

District Seven- Male: John 'J.R.' Wattle, 17 (6) Female: Lamina Sullins, 18 (5)

District Eight- Male: Hari Sasaki, 18 (6) Female: Fleecia Callows, 15 (5)

District Nine- Male: Landon Pilsner, 16 (5) Female: Ruthie Vandros, 18 (6)

District Ten- Male: Carlton Frosch, 18 (6) Female: Kinsey Bowlin, 18 (7)

District Eleven- Male: Leon Mock, 16 (5) Female: Ginger Duncan, 17 (5)

District Twelve- Male: Dirk Lettington, 16 (5) Female: Hesta Kolson, 17 (6)

xXx

Day One

The tributes rise on their pedestals into the arena. They all wear simple black sneakers, brown cargo pants, and thin grey long-sleeved shirts with their District number on the left arm. The arena is a mesmerizing subterranean crystal cavern. A light from far above radiates through the crystals and prismatic light fills the cavern. Many of the crystals themselves emit their own glow. Crystalline stalactites hang from the ceiling and large stalagmites burst from the ground. A soft energetic hum resonates from the crystals as the countdown continues. The Cornucopia sits on a flat stone island with a shallow pool of water around it. Tunnels lead off from the main cavern and lead to other parts of the arena. In the lower levels of the arena lie mutts and other dangers for the tributes. Without any evidence of food sources, most of the tributes plan to head into the Bloodbath. The only tribute to run away is Ruthie from District Nine. The countdown ends with a gong and the tributes take off.

J.R. sprints toward the Cornucopia. He spots a green backpack close by and heads toward it when he gets tackled from the side. Justice from Two knocks him to the ground and punches J.R. in the face. J.R. manages to swing a punch into Justice's gut but this only seems to enrage him. In a quick move, Justice jerks J.R.'s head to the side and snaps his neck.

24. John 'J.R.' Wattle, D7- neck snapped by Justice Fland, D2

Legacy sprints to the mouth of the Cornucopia and finds a vest of throwing knives laid out on top of a crate. It seems perfectly placed for her. Legacy takes two knives from the vest and targets a girl running toward her. Legacy easily throws the two knives into the girl's chest.

23. Allie Bachmann, D6- knives thrown into the chest by Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1

Clara finds a bow and a quiver of arrows leaning against the wall inside the Cornucopia. She puts the quiver over her shoulder and then goes to the mouth of the Cornucopia with an arrow drawn. She sees a girl, Hesta from Twelve, running frantically as she tries to dodge other tributes. Clara releases her arrow and it impales Hesta in the back and she falls to the ground.

22. Hesta Kolson, D12- arrow shot in the back by Clara Flannigan, D4

Haddock finds a spear and immediately scans the area for a target. He sees the small girl from Eight, Fleecia, digging through a crate. She doesn't even hear Haddock run up behind her and it's too late for her to run when he stabs the spear into her back.

21. Fleecia Callows, D8- stabbed in the back by Haddock Shoals, D4

Gloss duels Grayson from Six. They each hold a sword and swing them back and forth at each other. Gloss is on the offensive and continues to hack and slash with the sword as Grayson tries his best to keep out of reach. Grayson swings his sword upward and it parries Gloss's attack. Grayson continues to lunge forward and manages to cut a slash into Gloss's forearm. Gloss roars in pain and kicks his leg into the side of Grayson's knee. Grayson drops to a knee and yelps in pain. Gloss then hacks his sword downward and nearly decapitates Grayson.

20. Grayson Shifter, D6- sword slashed into neck by Gloss Pendros, D1

As Gloss watches Grayson's body fall to the ground and the bright blood spurt from his neck he feels a sharp pain in his side that catches his breath. He looks over to see Carlton from Ten standing beside him. Carlton had embedded his axe into Gloss's side. Gloss tries to slash his sword at Carlton's face but he has already lost so much blood. Carlton rips his axe out of Gloss's side and leaves him there to bleed out as he falls to the ground.

19. Gloss Pendros, D1- axe hacked into side by Carlton Frosch, D10

Legacy sprints across the Bloodbath field in search of her next target she sees Leon from Eleven standing in the middle of the chaos. He seems to be looking for his allies. Legacy throws one of her knives and it pierces the skinny boy's chest and almost knocks him backward onto the ground. Leon stumbles a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

18. Leon Mock, D11- knife thrown into the chest by Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1

Landon is digging through a crate and stuffing a backpack full of packaged food when he looks up to see Roma sprinting towards him. She has her classic scalpel chain in hand. Landon gets up and runs away. He races by Lamina from Seven and shoves her to the ground in the hopes that she will become Roma's new target. However, Roma continues to chase after him. Roma whips her chain and it wraps around Landon's arm. She jerks on the chain and it cuts large gashes in his arm as it pulls him backward. Roma throws out the chain again and this time it cuts across his face and chest. Landon yells in pain as blood drips into his eyes and he blindly stumbles. Roma pulls a knife from her belt and finishes him off by slashing it across Landon's throat.

17. Landon Pilsner, D9- throat slashed by Roma Scyra, D2

Haddock saw Landon shove Lamina to the ground. Even though Roma wasn't interested in Lamina, Haddock has made her his new target. Haddock rushes over to Lamina before she can even make it back to her feet. Haddock kicks Lamina in the side and she drops back to the ground. Haddock then stabs his spear into her chest.

16. Lamina Sullins, D7- stabbed in the chest by Haddock Shoals, D4

Clara is on the backside of the Cornucopia looking for any fleeing tributes. She spots the heavy-set girl from District Three, Calex, running away with two backpacks. Clara aims at the back of Calex's head when she feels a blade slash across her left shoulder. Clara releases the arrow and it whizzes away nowhere close to its target. Clara looks to see Rayla standing beside her with a bloody dagger. Before Clara can react, Rayla stabs Clara in the chest and rips the dagger down toward her naval. Rayla sprints away before Clara even hits the ground.

15. Clara Flannigan, D4- stabbed in the chest by Rayla French, D5

Justice chases after the last remaining outlier, Ginger of Eleven. Ginger hurdles over giant crystals that lie across the tunnel's path, but Justice easily follows behind. Ginger is beginning to tire and she tries to climb up a nearby orange stalagmite. Justice catches up to her, grabs her by the ankle, and jerks her down to the ground. Ginger screams in fear as Justice stabs his sword into Ginger's chest.

14. Ginger Duncan, D11- stabbed in the chest by Justice Fland, D2

Eleven cannons boom as Justice returns to the Cornucopia and meets back up with the surviving Careers; Legacy, Roma, and Haddock. The other tributes continue to flee from the Cornucopia. Ruthie from Nine fled from the Bloodbath without any supplies. She scampers deep into the cave system and comes across a small stream creating a channel in the rocky ground. Ruthie finds a large, softly glowing orange crystal to squeeze behind as a hiding place. Kag stayed on the outer edge of the Bloodbath and got a small backpack that only contained two sleeves of crackers, an empty twelve-ounce water bottle, and a pocketknife. Kag sprints away from the Cornucopia until he finds a shallow cave about fifteen feet above the ground to crawl into for the night. Calex managed to get two packs from the Cornucopia but soon got winded and had to walk and take her time climbing over the large crystals in the cavern. She takes a short break to dig through her packs and finds a wool blanket, net, and a vest of throwing knives in one, and in the other was an empty canteen, two packages of jerky, a package of trail mix, and a small loaf of sweet bread. Calex resists the urge to devour all of the food and instead continues walking. She doesn't stop walking until late in the evening and she crawls under a purple glowing crystal to sleep.

Neils and Rayla from District Five both got an ample amount of food and water from the Cornucopia. They even got their preferred weapons; Rayla's being a twelve-inch dagger and Neils's being a mace. They run together until they find a shallow pool of water with bioluminescent lichen growing on the edges of it. They find a small cave nearby to stay in. Neils finds a black tarp in his bag which he uses to camouflage the opening of the cave. Hari from Eight managed to get a pack along with a spear. He sprints through the caves and heads down a steep slope. He eventually finds an alcove behind three large crystals to hide in for the night. Kinsey and Carlton of District Ten find a ledge overhanging over a dark abyss. Carlton convinces Kinsey it's a smart idea to camp here since they won't have anyone sneaking up behind them. Kinsey doesn't love the idea of being out in the open, but she doesn't want to anger her ally. The remaining tribute, Dirk from District Twelve, lost all of his allies in the Bloodbath. He only grabbed a small knife and a loaf of bread from the far outer edge of the Bloodbath. He scampers along the rocky path before settling into an aperture in the cavern wall for the night. After the faces of the fallen tributes are projected on the cave's ceiling, the glowing crystals all slightly dim to simulate nighttime.

Day Two

After a quick breakfast of bread covered in strawberry and plum jams with eggs and bacon, Legacy states her plan of dividing the Careers into two groups. As the daughter of a previous Victor, she quickly became the de facto leader of the Careers. She plans to have one person stay at the Cornucopia while the others go on an expedition to hunt for tributes. It's a plan she proposed during training and now no one else argues against it. The idea is to have one group hunting the outer parts of the arena so that they do not have to come back every night for supplies. Meanwhile, the one person would guard the Cornucopia and hunt for nearby tributes. Legacy asks for volunteers to stay at the Cornucopia. No one raises their hands and Roma offers the idea of random chance.

"Okay let's try to find some sticks to draw," Legacy states.

Haddock chuckles as he reaches down and picks up a small smooth rock. He spits on one side of it, "Wet or dry? If you get it right you will be in the expedition party."

Everyone looks warily at him. Legacy rolls her eyes, "Okay wet."

Haddock tosses the rock in the air and allows it to fall back down to the ground. The wet side is facing up, "Good job. You're part of the expedition which I bet you're happy about."

Legacy nods her head before grabbing the stone from the ground, "Now, you guess," she says.

Haddock calls out dry as the rock falls to the ground with the dry side up. "I was feeling lucky," he says with a smile.

Eventually, everyone takes a turn guessing whether the rock would land dry or wet side up. In the end, the expedition group consists of Legacy, Justice, and Haddock. This leaves Roma behind to guard the Cornucopia alone. "Why do I have to stay here while you all get to hunt for tributes the next three days?"

"It wasn't up to us. It was the rock gods," Legacy says with a shrug.

Roma's eyes widen and she has to bite her tongue to prevent herself from smarting off. She knows it wouldn't be wise to be against one of the Capitol's favorite tributes. Roma sits in angry silence as she watches Legacy, Justice, and Haddock gather three days' worth of supplies and head away from the Cornucopia to hunt for tributes. Roma spends the day mostly muttering under her breath as she continues to organize the supplies.

Legacy, Justice, and Haddock head north to search for tributes. They spend the day traversing over large crystals, peeking into narrow apertures, and even crawling into small caves. They head further north and find a sloping path leading deeper into the cave system. They come across a wide cavern with small pools of water covering the floor. Within the pools are blue and pink luminescent salamanders about six inches long. They swim within the pools and cast a soft glow. Justice squats down to touch one but it unhinges its jaws and snaps its teeth at Justice's finger. He falls back with a yell. "Watch out buddy, them little suckers are feisty!" Haddock says with a laugh. The group continues walking before finding a large alcove in the rock face to camp in for the night.

Many of the other tributes stay hidden either within caves or behind large crystals for most of the day. Ruthie from Nine fled the Bloodbath without any supplies and her stomach is already starting to gnaw at her with hunger. She drinks heavily from the small stream a few meters away from the crystal she hides behind in hopes that the water will fill her up. Carlton and Kinsey from Ten continue to stay camped out on the ledge overhanging the dark depths in one part of the cavern. Kinsey tries to convince Carlton that it is smarter for them not to stay out in the open especially being so close to the Cornucopia. However, Carlton shoots down any thought of moving. "If we move around that just makes it more likely for us to run into the Careers." That evening, Kinsey struggles with the idea of ditching her district partner but eventually decides to stick it out one more day.

Day Three

Most of the tributes awaken early when the glowing crystals intensify to imitate the rising sun. A few tributes stay hidden for most of the day. Kag from Three stays hidden within a cave hidden on a cliffside about fifteen feet above the ground. He has already eaten the two sleeves of crackers and drank most of his water bottle. He will soon have to leave the safety of the cave to find food and water. Ruthie from Nine stays hidden behind a cluster of large purple glowing crystals she didn't grab any supplies from the Cornucopia and her stomach is aching from the lack of food or water. She finds a small stream and periodically leaves her hiding place to drink from it. Dirk from Twelve is another tribute that stays hidden. He remains squeezed within a crack in the cavern wall that is shadowy and dark. He quietly nibbles the last bit of his bread throughout the day.

Hari from Eight is on his own in the arena but he doesn't stay hidden. He is convinced that he has no shot at winning these Hunger Games. Instead, he is focusing on spending his time exploring the crystal cavern. He travels deeper within the cavern passing an array of stalagmites, varying colored crystals, and pools of water filled with bioluminescent lichen and salamander mutts.

The Career pack of Legacy, Justice, and Haddock continue hunting in the arena's northern portion. They are supposed to return to the Cornucopia by the end of the day to rendezvous with Roma. Justice leads the group while Legacy brings up the rear. She has an arrow already nocked in case they find any tributes. Suddenly, Justice stops walking and holds up a hand, "Do you smell that?"

Legacy and Haddock look at each other. "It smells like smoke. I think it's coming from this way."

Justice shuffles down a path leading to the right. Legacy and Haddock follow behind him. They reach an overhand and down below are two tributes sitting beside a small fire. Legacy recognizes them as the District Ten pair, Kinsey and Carlton. "They're trapped with nowhere to go," Justice says pointing to the ledge that the pair sits on and the dark abyss below them. "Haddock and I can charge in first. You should take it Legacy when you have a good shot on one of them." Legacy and Haddock nod their heads in approval.

The Career pack slowly and silently makes its way closer to the District Ten pair. Kinsey and Carlton are completely oblivious to the looming attack. Kinsey stokes the fire as Carlton rummages in the pack to pull out his water bottle. Carlton is the first to hear the footsteps and looks to see Haddock and Justice running towards him. "Kinsey run!" he shouts.

Carlton dives for his axe as Haddock and Justice approach. Carlton swings the axe at Justice. Justice easily leaps out of the way. This allows an opening for Haddock to plunge his spear into Carlton's chest. Carlton howls in pain and a splatter of blood burst from his mouth.

13. Carlton Frosch, D10- stabbed in the chest by Haddock Shoals, D4

Kinsey runs without looking back even after she hears the cannon boom. She runs along the edge of the abyss. Legacy watches Kinsey as she runs away. Legacy aims her bow and follows Kinsey's path. Legacy releases the arrow and it pierces the back of Kinsey's neck and she topples forward onto the ground. Her cannon sounds seconds later.

12. Kinsey Bowlin, D10- arrow shot into the back of the neck by Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1

The group pilfers through the supplies but doesn't find anything of value. They toss the supplies into the deep abyss to prevent other tributes from taking the supplies. Satisfied with their two kills they decide to start making their way back to the Cornucopia and regroup with Roma.

Day Four

Roma wakes early and eagerly cooks breakfast for the rest of the Careers. Legacy, Haddock, and Justice returned late last night and she was so jealous of the stories they told her about the arena and the killing of the District Ten pair. She is ready to be a part of the action. The smell of bacon cooking stirs the other sleeping Careers. Justice is the last to rouse but wakes up in time for Roma to fix him a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. "I was hoping that we could leave early this morning," Roma says with a beaming smile.

"I'm still sleepy. Let's rest a bit more this morning before leaving," Justice says with a mouth full of food.

Roma glares at him. Haddock almost chokes on his food at the reaction. "Well maybe you should guard the Cornucopia for the next few days while the rest of us hunt for tributes," Roma states putting her hands on her hips.

Justice simply shrugs his shoulders, "Sounds good to me."

Roma huffs and stomps away to gather her supplies. A few moments later she's standing at the mouth of the Cornucopia fully prepared. Haddock and Legacy quickly gather their things and share a few annoyed glances at each other. "Everyone ready? Okay great," Roma starts leading the group south. Justice lays down on his sleeping bag, folds his hand behind his head, and closes his eyes. "I'll see you guys in a few days."

Once Roma has led Haddock and Legacy over the outer edge of the Cornucopia field and out of sight of Justice she turns to the pair and says, "I can't believe he is so lazy. It's like he doesn't even want to win these Games."

"I think he's just tired. We did a lot of walking the past few days," Legacy says.

Roma looks at Legacy with a raised eyebrow. Roma holds her tongue, not wanting to get on the bad side of a Victor's daughter. Roma turns back around and leads the group further away from the Cornucopia.

Rayla and Neils from Five hunt together to find any tributes. They search through a large portion of the western part of the arena. They come across a large expansive gravel field. Ahead of them are about fifty geysers. Each one spews hot gas and scalding water at what appears to be random times. The field ends about a hundred yards ahead before the crystals restart and the cave turns out of view. "I'm not going to risk passing through there for no reason," Neils says. "Sounds like a good plan to me. No point in risking it right now," Rayla replies. The duo leaves the field and continues to hunt for tributes elsewhere.

Calex from Three is already running low on food. She ate her loaf of bread and bag of jerky. The only food she has left is a few bites of trail mix, of which she picked out all of the raisins. She refills her water bottle in a stream and notices the bioluminescent lichen growing. She scraps the lichen from the dark stone and places the lichen in her mouth. She immediately spits it out in disgust, "Oh my! That is horrible!" Her whole body shakes and she scoots away from the pool. "Daddy! I know you're watching. Please send me some good food to eat! I promise not to eat it all so quickly this time." Calex looks up at the sky in silence; expecting a parachute of food to come down at any moment. Fifteen minutes pass by and she almost gives up when she notices the beeping red light coming down. Calex rips the parachute from the sky and opens up the container. Inside she finds a small plastic bag of dried fruit and a package of peanut butter crackers. Calex huffs, it's not as delicious or extravagant as she was hoping but it's better than nothing. She puts the food away in her pack before heading back to her hiding place.

Many of the other tributes stay hidden throughout the day. Jag from Three stays hidden in his cave, he still has a few crackers left to eat. He only eats one throughout the whole day. Ruthie from Nine hasn't eaten since the Games began. It takes so much of her energy to go to the pool of water to drink. Dirk from Twelve has run out of his food but he doesn't dare to leave his hiding place yet. Hari from Eight continues to travel deeper into the caverns. He comes across multiple dead ends but continues exploring the arena.

Day Five

Dirk wakes up early with his stomach growling with hunger. He crawls out from his crevice in the rock wall and starts searching for anything edible. He comes across a series of small pools with the salamander mutts. The six-inch creatures swim slowly in the shallow water. Dirk is unsure if the creatures are mutts or actually natural. He has never heard of the things being described in the coal mines back in District Twelve. Dirk finds a large rock and throws into a shallow pool hoping to squash one of the creatures. The mutts dart of the way of the rock. Dirk picks up the rock and smashes it into the water again. He does this over and over before finally smashing one of the mutts. Black mutt blood seeps into the pool of water. Dirk looks in disgust but tries to grab the dead salamander mutt. A separate salamander mutt bites his hand and Dirk yells in pain. He manages to rip the mutt from his hand and throws it against the cave wall.

All of the commotion catches the attention of the nearby Career pack. Roma leads Legacy and Haddock towards the sounds. Roma spots Dirk first and runs through one of the shallow pools toward him with her scalpel chain whirling around her. She is unaware of the salamander mutts and they leap out of the water at her. A few manage to bite into her legs and Roma yells in pain. The pain distracts her long enough for Dirk to realize what is going on. Dirk immediately turns to run away. Legacy quickly strings her bow and shoots an arrow but it flies over Dirk's shoulder by mere inches. Roma quickly rips the salamander mutts from her legs as blood trickles down from the wounds. The three chase after Dirk. Dirk is unsure of where exactly he's heading but he comes across a group of tightly intersecting crystals. He quickly climbs and crawls under the crystals as the Careers appear. Haddock is too big to squeeze through. Roma shoves Legacy aside and starts making her way through the crystals. Dirk is small and nimble enough to make it through the other side which opens up into a corridor that forks to the left and right. He starts sprinting towards the left before Roma appears. A few moments later, Roma crawls over the last crystal and yells in anger that she missed her chance at a kill. She returns to Haddock and Legacy furious.

"Maybe we should eat some lunch before going on?" Haddock says trying to break the silence.

Roma says nothing and instead says nothing before stomping away ahead. Haddock shrugs his shoulders and Legacy stifles a small laugh but they follow along behind Roma.

In the evening, Ruthie's stomach pain is so strong she has to crawl to reach the stream. She chugs the water hoping that it will fill her stomach enough to make the pain go away. She doesn't have enough energy to crawl back to her hiding place and instead passes out from exhaustion right beside the stream.

Day Six

Neils and Rayla are hunting for tributes when they come across Ruthie's body by the stream. The pair inches close to her, but she doesn't appear to even be breathing. "Do you think she's dead?" Neils asks.

"She can't be. The hovercraft would have taken it by now," Rayla whispers.

"Oh right," He says solemnly.

Neils nudges Ruthie with his foot and she doesn't stir. He nudges her harder and she moans softly. He uses his foot to roll her over and she sprawls out on the ground limply. "I'm not going to kill her with this," Neils says holding up his mace. Rayla nods her head in agreement; it would be a bit aggressive. Rayla takes her dagger and stabs it into Ruthie's chest and impales her heart. A few seconds later her cannon booms.

11. Ruthie Vandros, D9- stabbed in the chest by Rayla French, D5

The Career pack of Roma, Haddock, and Legacy head back to the Cornucopia to regroup with Justice. Roma is not pleased that they did not get a single kill and the one tribute they did see she had gotten away. "How'd it go?" Justice asks when they get back.

"Don't ask," Roma spats out. Haddock and Legacy shake their heads when Justice looks at them in confusion.

Dirk spends most of the day finding a new place to make camp. He finds a cluster of red crystals to hide behind. He also received a small bowl of vegetable and beef soup as a sponsor gift. Elsewhere, Calex stays hidden within her cave. She has rationed her food much better in the past few days and still has some dried fruit and crackers left. Kag also stays hidden in his cave but has run out of food. He plans to search for some in the morning. Hari continues exploring the depths of the cavern. He also received a sponsor gift of a loaf of bread covered in sweet plum jelly. His conspiracy of either District Four or Twelve winning is still possible and a growing community in the Capitol is supporting him paradoxically.

Day Seven

Kag wakes up early to search for any source of food. He travels through the crystal cavern and finds a narrow crevice that he crawls through. On the other side of the stone wall, he finds a large open room. A large, deep pool of water borders the edge of the room. There are fewer glowing crystals in this room so Kag is unable to see the other edge of the water. He hears a large splashing sound far out into the water. Kag's heart starts to race and he turns around to crawl back through the crevice. The splashing sound intensifies. Kag looks back to see monstrous mutts crashing out of the water onto the dark gravel ground. The mutts are six-foot-long white lizard mutts. Their skin is slick and slimy. They have four-inch dagger-sharp teeth and huge claws. The most frightening part is that they have no eyes. One of the mutts makes a gurgling noise as the others crawl towards Kag. Kag tries to squeeze into the crevice but one of the mutts manages to wrap its strong jaws around Kag's leg and pulls him out. Kag screams in agony as the mutts claw and bite at his body until his cannon booms

10. Kag Chisp, D3- eyeless lizard mutts

The sound of Kag's cannon interrupts the Careers eating breakfast. "How the hell are those losers able to kill each other and we haven't killed anyone in days!" Roma says frustrated.

"They probably starved to death. Not much food in a cave," Justice says with a mouth full of food.

"And what do you know about foraging for food?" Roma scoffs.

Justice rolls his eyes but Roma doesn't notice. Legacy and Haddock both keep their mouths shut. After a few seconds of silence Haddock says, "Well I can volunteer to guard the Cornucopia while you guys hunt for tributes."

"Well we should get ready to leave soon," Roma stands and goes to get her supplies and Justice soon follows.

"Now how am I supposed to survive the next few days with Ms. Psycho and Mr. No Brains," Legacy chuckles.

"You should have been quicker to volunteer. Besides you have a lot more patience than I do. I'd probably end up killing myself or watch them kill each other," Haddock laughs, "You will survive. It's only for a few days."

"You're the surfer dude. I thought nothing gets on your nerves."

Haddock shrugs, "I thought so too, but she's more prickly than a leopard-spotted sea urchin."

Day Eight

The day passes without any action. Legacy, Roma, and Justice hunt in the eastern portion of the arena. Calex stays hidden in her cave to preserve her energy and continues to ration the last bits of her food. Rayla and Neils hunt for tributes in the northern part of the arena without any luck. Hari continues to roam the arena and has started to discuss his algorithm for predicting who will win the Hunger Games. He is still adamant that either District Four or Twelve will win. With a tribute from each District still in the Hunger Games his theory seems plausible to many in the Capitol. Dirk roams through the arena as well to not stay in one spot for long and make the audience bored of him.

Day Nine

Legacy, Roma, and Justice are hunting in the eastern portion of the arena when Legacy notices a shadow past by a glowing crystal about a hundred yards ahead of them. "I think that was a tribute!" she says quickly.

Roma immediately starts sprinting with Justice and Legacy trailing behind. Roma turns a corner and sees Dirk running a few paces ahead. Roma unhooks her scalped chain from her belt and swings it in the air. Dirk looks over his shoulder with a look of fright.

"It's the rat from District Twelve again!" Roma shouts.

The Careers continue to chase Dirk. Dirk reaches the open field of geysers shooting up out of the ground. He hears Roma hollering not far away in the cave behind him. Dirk decides to risk it and starts running through the geyser field.

Roma reaches the field and stops. Legacy and Justice soon catch up to her. They watch as Dirk precariously sprints across the field as the hot geysers burst from the ground. "Shoot him!" Roma hisses at Legacy.

Legacy raises her bow, "There's too much steam. I can't get a clear shot and he's running too sporadically."

Roma then shoves Justice forward, "Don't be a coward go kill him!"

Justice looks back confused, "I'm not going out there?!"

"Don't be a disgrace to District Two."

Justice's face blanches. He swallows hard and starts running across the geyser field.

"No Justice wait!," Legacy yells at him and then turns to Roma, "What the hell are you thinking?"

Roma only stares out at the field as Justice chases after Dirk. Dirk manages to reach the other side of the geyser field. The drops of hot water boils on his skin and his lungs burn from the toxic gas. He stumbles out of the room and into the nearby caves out of sight. Justice continues to run through the geyser field. He sees Dirk disappear and stops to turn back to Legacy and Roma. At that moment a hot flash of steam erupts below his feet. His skins is immediately scalded and flakes from his skin. He screams in agony as he collapses to the ground. His eyeballs and throat feel like they are melting. He groans as the pain is turned into numbness and his nerves are burnt. Legacy and Roma watch in horror as Justice rolls on the ground and tries to get to his feet before collapsing again. Justice gasps for air until his cannon booms a few minutes later.

9. Justice Fland, D2- scalded by gas geyser

"Are you stupid?" Legacy yells at Roma.

Roma's eyes widen, "You better shut your mouth, Princess. He was stupid enough to go out there."

Legacy turns away in fury, "Only because you manipulated him. I'm going to keep hunting for tributes and then go back to the Cornucopia. You do whatever you want."

Roma doesn't say anything else. She attaches her scalped chain to her belt and follows behind.

This leaves the Final Eight: Legacy Knight-Deboys of District One, Roma Scyra of District Two, Calex Calais of District Three, Haddock Shoals of District Four, Rayla French and Neils Fermi of District Five, Hari Sasaki of District Eight, and Dirk Lettington of District Twelve.

Day Ten

Head Gamemaker Scorpius makes an announcement early in the morning, "Tomorrow at noon a feast will be held at the Cornucopia. All tributes are invited and remember may the odds be ever in your favor."

The tributes are shocked to hear the announcement of a feast but many are eager at the opportunity for supplies or food. While a few tributes are eager for a fight. The tension between Legacy and Roma has died down and they head back to the Cornucopia and meet Haddock there. Legacy debriefs the events of Justice's death. They don't bring it up to Roma and Roma acts like nothing even happened. The group then prepares for the feast in the morning. They don't want any of the other tributes to ambush them. Neils and Roma try to create a plan for tomorrow that will give them the best opportunity to survive while getting supplies. Dirk and Calex each make their way closer to the Cornucopia to be fully prepared for the next day. The only tribute not planning to attend the feast is Hari.

Day Eleven

Hari continues to travel deeper into the caverns as the rest of the tributes formulate their plans for the feast. Legacy, Roma, and Haddock wake up early at the Cornucopia to prepare for the feast. They each hope to get at least one kill. Rayla and Neils head toward the Cornucopia and plan to ambush any tributes from the backside of the Cornucopia. On their way to the Cornucopia, they chat in hushed tones when Dirk leaps out from behind a wide green crystal.

Dirk slashes out with his knife and attacks the nearest of the two, Rayla. Rayla easily dodges out of the way. Dirk is completely emaciated and covered in grime. He coughs and hacks up a glob of phlegm before spitting it on the ground. Rayla looks at him in disgust. Dirk takes a few steps toward her but Neils is faster. Neils swings his mace and it collides into the back of Dirk's skull. Blood, bone, and brain matter splatter the crystal walls. Dirk lets out a small whimper as he slumps to the ground and his cannon booms. "Thanks for that. He acted so feral I thought he was a mutt at first," Rayla says softly.

"Let's get going. The other tributes will start to get even more paranoid if cannons are going off before the actual feast," Neils says leading the way.

8. Dirk Lettington, D12- skull smashed by Neils Fermi, D5

The cannon before the actual feast does make the Careers paranoid as they wait at the mouth of the Cornucopia. "Do you think mutts are leading them here?" Roma asks.

"Maybe the tributes just ran into each other on their way here?" Haddock replies as he grips his spear tighter.

They stand there in silence until a portion of the field in front of them slides away revealing a pit from which a ten-foot-long steel table emerges. Upon the table are piles of different pastries, cakes, pies, and other desserts. There are glass and silver bowls filled with an assortment of candies and chocolates. "What the hell is this?" Legacy says with a huff.

"I don't want this. This isn't nutritious or going to help me do better," Roma says frustrated.

Haddock picks up a red jellybean and plops it into his mouth, "At least it's kinda fun though."

Roma jerks her head to the side, "I think I just saw movement over there." Legacy and Haddock go quiet as Roma nods her head toward the backside of the Cornucopia. The group inches their way to the side of the Cornucopia to get a better view of the back. Along the outer rim of the field; crouched behind a large blue crystal are Rayla and Neils. Roma immediately starts to run toward the District Five pair.

Roma swings out her whip and whirls it around her head. Rayla and Neils both charge toward Roma. In a matter of seconds, Legacy draws her bow and shoots an arrow into the back of Roma. Roma flips forward and she lands in a heap. Rayla and Neils stand in shock. Haddock is completely bewildered as well.

7. Roma Scyra, D2- arrow shot into back by Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1

Before anyone can react Legacy has already drawn another arrow and releases it. This one lands in the center of Rayla's chest. She lets out a cry and falls face-first onto the rocky ground. Neils is forced out of his shocked state as his legs propel him away from the Cornucopia.

6. Rayla French, D5- arrow shot into the chest by Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1

Legacy draws another arrow but just before she releases it she quickly turns on her heels and aims it right at Haddock. Except for Haddock is no longer standing beside her. She rapidly scans the area for any sign of him but he seems to have disappeared. "Oh Haddy, where are you?" she coos. She creeps back to the front of the Cornucopia with her arrow nocked. She makes it to the front of the Cornucopia but he is still nowhere to be seen. Even Neils has disappeared past the crystals. Legacy hears a step behind her and she whips around. Haddock is standing there with his spear. She tries to release her arrow but at the same time, Haddock swats her bow with his spear and the arrow flies off towards the right. It takes only a moment before Haddock stabs his spear into her chest. Tears well up in Haddock's eyes. Legacy cries out in pain as she crumples to the ground. Blood pools from her chest and drips from her mouth as she coughs.

"Tell my momma...I'm sorry I didn't win. I...I...thought this was the only way I could beat you," Legacy lets out one last gasp before her cannon booms.

5. Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1- speared in the chest by Haddocks Shoals, D4

Haddock doesn't stay at the Cornucopia for long. He packs a bag full of food, a few water bottles, a sleeping bag, and some extra knives. He walks by the feast table and takes a bowl of jelly beans as he leaves the Cornucopia behind.

On the outer edge of the field, Calex had watched the whole encounter. She stays hidden behind a stalagmite long after Haddock leaves and a hovercraft comes to take Roma's, Rayla's, and Legacy's bodies. Once her body stops shaking and it seems like no one else is coming back, she sprints across the field to the feast table. She immediately starts to stuff her face with lemon meringue pie. A shoves a handful of chocolate-covered peanut bars into her mouth as well. There are so many flavors that she has never had before. She eats so much sugar she begins to feel nauseous. She pilfers through the Cornucopia but there aren't many supplies left inside. She fills her backpack with three plastic water bottles (she empties a fourth into her empty canteen), along with two packs of jerky mixed with dried fruit. She also finds two canisters of cold vegetable soup to eat for dinner that night. She decides not to stay at the Cornucopia in case Haddock comes back for the night and instead finds a cave not far from the outer rim of the field to hide in for the night.

Neils immediately ran back to his and Rayla's camp after the feast. It didn't hit him until he was alone and sitting on the ground that he realized that Rayla really was gone. Although they had played up their relationship in the pre-Games events, they had developed a close bond in the process. Neils curls up into a ball and cries softly. A parachute lands beside him and he almost doesn't even notice it. He opens the sponsor gift to find a hand-size loaf of golden bread with raisins and nuts. Neils nibbles softly at it but his sadness blocks any hunger from his mind and his stomach is in knots. He folds the bread back up in its foil. He closes his eyes and eventually falls asleep.

Day Twelve

The remaining tributes spend the day traveling through the arena searching for each other. Haddock remains in the northern section and traverses the narrow passageways between the glowing crystals. He periodically eats the remainder of the jelly beans that he took from the feast. Neils searches the eastern portion of the arena. He considers traveling deeper into the caverns but decides to not venture too far from the Cornucopia in case the Gamemakers wish the finale to be there. He woke up with a new spark and motivation to finish these Games strong and to win for Rayla.

Calex is shocked that she has survived to the final four and is completely dumbfounded about how she is going to pull off a win. She tries to stay hidden not far from the Cornucopia, but she begins to feel antsy and doesn't want the Gamemakers to get bored with her so close to the end. She decides to leave her hiding place and ventures through the western portion of the arena. She finds a series of small pools of water and within them is the bioluminescent salamanders. Calex removes her knife and attempts to stab one. The salamander darts away out of reach. Another salamander leaps from the water and clamps its mouth on her outstretched hand. Another salamander bites her leg and its teeth cut through her pants. Calex screams as she rushes backward and attempts to swat the salamanders away. The one on her hand flings off onto the ground and she pulls the one biting her leg off and throws it into the water. Blood trickles from her hand and leg. Her heart races but she gathers herself and hurries away. She makes her way back to the Cornucopia field. She looks around before entering into the open. She doesn't see any signs of other tributes and she quickly makes it to the Cornucopia. She finds a first aid kit to wrap gauze around her wounds. She then starts to go through the materials to try and figure out how she's going to win these Games.

Hari continues to travel deeper into the crystal caverns. The glowing crystals start to become sparse and the darkness and shadows begin to grow. His desire to reach the end of the arena is in full force. He is still fully convinced that he has no chance of winning and so he simply wants to explore the arena as much as possible.

He enters a large cavern with a high arched ceiling. Only a few small red crystals litter the ceiling and their eerie glow doesn't even reach the floor. Hari enters the cavern without any caution as his eyes adjust to the dark. He hears a rustling sound above him and he looks up at the ceiling but it's too dark to see anything. He takes a few more steps and the rustling grows louder. He notices the red crystals start to move and that's when he realizes that they aren't crystals but instead red glowing eyes. Hari's eyes widen as eight-foot-tall bats drop from the ceiling and fly towards him. Hari can only yell in fear as one of the mutts uses its clawed feet to grab him by the shoulders and lift him into the air. Hari screams in pain as the claws rip his flesh. The batt mutt drops him in the air and another mutt catches him. The mutts screech loudly as they fight over Hari. Hari continues to scream as two bat mutts attack him. They claw at him as they try to rip him from the grasp of the other. The bat mutt drops him and he falls ten feet to an overhanging ledge. Hari lands with a hard thud that knocks the breath out of him. He tries to crawl away as the mutts fight in midair. His groans catch their attention and they land on the ledge beside him. Four of the mutts begin to claw and bite at him as he screams in agony. Tears roll down his face. Even though he had already accepted his fate as soon as he heard his name called at the Reaping. A few moments later his cannon booms.

4. Hari Sasaki, D8- killed by giant bat mutts

Day Thirteen

Haddock naturally wakes up early and starts to make his way to the Cornucopia. He eats the last bit of the jelly beans he got from the feast. He discards his heavy pack in case he has to outrun any mutts or disasters. He only takes his spear with him as he casually jogs towards the Cornucopia.

Calex barely got any sleep the night before. She spent most of it anxiously planning and preparing for today. She attempted to set booby traps up around the Cornucopia without much success. She ended up placing most of the weapons in the back of the Cornucopia and threw the rest of the supplies outside. She scattered the supplies out on the ground in the hopes that one of the tributes may accidentally trip over them. She felt completely hopeless as the crystal glow began to brighten to signal the start of a new day.

Neils barely slept as well and leaves for the Cornucopia just as the crystals start to glow brighter. It doesn't take long for him to reach the open gravel field where the Cornucopia sits. He notices all of the supplies strewn out across the ground and is confused. He grips his mace tightly and scans the area for Calex or Haddock. He starts running toward the mouth of the Cornucopia and still is unable to see anyone. He makes it to the mouth of the Cornucopia and finds Calex huddled at the back of the horn.

Calex screams at the sight of Neils. She grabs a large spear and chunks it at Neils without aiming. She quickly picks up an axe to throw at him as well. Neils ducks out of the way to miss the brigade of weapons being thrown at him. He moves to the side of the Cornucopia as Calex runs out screaming. She turns and throws a knife at Neils but misses him by almost a foot. Calex isn't paying attention to where she is going and trips over a small black crate on the ground.

She falls to the gravel ground with a grunt as the air is knocked from her lungs. She silently screams as she tries to crawl back to her feet. Neils feels sorry for the girl as tears roll down her face. Neils easily swings his axe and it smashes her chest. Her ribs fracture and her heart and lungs are pierced by the impact. She falls to the ground dead.

3. Calex Calais, D3- chest smashed by Neils Fermi, D5

Calex's screams prompt Haddock to run faster and he reaches the Cornucopia field as Calex's cannon booms. Neils looks around and spots Haddock on the edge of the field. Neils rushes to the backside of the Cornucopia and Haddock chases after him. Haddock reaches the backside of the Cornucopia and Neils is there waiting. Neils swings his mace at Haddock's head. Haddock ducks and rolls out of the way as the mace ricochets off the metal Cornucopia. Neils roars as he attempts to swing his mace down onto Haddock. Haddock deflects the swing with his spear. Haddock whips the spear around and the staff knocks Neils in the side of the head. Neils looks around dazed as Haddock kicks him in the knee. Neils falls to the ground with a ground. Before Neils can understand what is going on Haddock stabs his spear into Neils chest and his cannon booms.

2. Neils Fermi, D5- spear stabbed into chest by Haddock Shoals, D4

"Congratulations, Haddock Shoals of District Four. You are the Victor of the 102nd Hunger Games!" Haddock raises his bloody spear triumphantly as the national anthem is played.

xXx

Blog: unitedvictors. blogspot. com

Facts about the Victor

Haddock often volunteers to help train at the Career Academy but still spends much of his time as an owner and director at a surfing camp.

Appearance: Haddock is 5'10 and muscular. He has shaggy curly brown hair, tan skin, and green eyes.

Family: Haddock has one older sister and two younger brothers. Haddock marries at the age of 25 and has two sons and a daughter.

Death: Haddock dies due to the repercussions of the War of Four when he is 42.

xXx

Hunger Games Kills

Legacy Knight-Deboys, D1 (5)- (Allie Bachmann D6, Leon Mock D11, Kinsey Bowlin D10, Roma Scyra D2, Rayla French D5)

Gloss Pendros D1 (1)- (Grayson Shifter D6)

Roma Scyra, D2 (1)- (Landon Pilsner D9)

Justice Fland, D2 (2)- (John 'J.R.' Wattle D7, Ginger Duncan D11)

Clara Flannigan, D4 (1)- (Hesta Kolson D12)

Haddock Shoals, D4 (5)- (Fleecia Callows D9, Lamina Sullins D7, Carlton Frosch D10, Legacy Knight-Deboys D1, Neils Fermi D5)

Rayla French, D5 (2)- (Clara Flannigan D4, Ruthie Vandros D9)

Neils Fermi, D5 (2)- (Dirk Lettington D12, Calex Calais D3)

Carlton Frosch, D10 (1)- (Gloss Pendros D1)

Mutts/Other (3)- (Kag Chisp D3- eyeless lizard mutts, Justice Fland D2- gas geyser; Hari Sasaki D8- giant batt mutts)

Victors

76th Hunger Games: Minnie Griffith, 17, TS (6) Kills (4), District Eleven (1 Female)

77th Hunger Games: Luna Sparks, 18, TS (7) Kills (5), District Five (1 Female)

78th Hunger Games: Marley Higgins, 16, TS (6) Kills (3), District Eight (1 Male)

79th Hunger Games: Maverick Sayles, 18, TS (9) Kills (3), District Four (1 Male)

80th Hunger Games: Lorien Hastings, 17, TS (9) Kills (5), District Two (1 Female)

81st Hunger Games: Fiona Dempsey, 18, TS (4) Kills (2), District Seven (1 Female)

82nd Hunger Games: Stella Knight, 18, TS (8) Kills (4), District One (1 Female)

83rd Hunger Games: Ranger Winchester, 16, TS (6) Kills (4), District Ten (1 Male)

84th Hunger Games: Slade DePriest, 18, TS (10) Kills (6), District Two (1 Female - 1 Male)

85th Hunger Games: Kyra O'Brien, 17, TS (9) Kills (4), District Four (1 Female - 1 Male)

86th Hunger Games: Isaiah Harlowe, 18, TS (6) Kills (5), District Eleven (1 Female - 1 Male)

87th Hunger Games: Sega Pirah, 18, TS (3) Kills (2), District Three (1 Female)

88th Hunger Games: Sterling Russeau, 17, TS (9) Kills (3), District One (1 Female - 1 Male)

89th Hunger Games: Milo Bradford, 18, TS (5) Kills (3), District Nine (1 Male)

90th Hunger Games: Leviticus 'Levi' Mitchell, 17, TS (5) Kills (3), District Eleven (1 Female - 2 Male)

91st Hunger Games: Heron Miller, 15, TS (5) Kills (3), District Seven (1 Female - 1 Male)

92nd Hunger Games: Aeriel Cooper, 17, TS (3) Kills (2), District Six (1 Female)

93rd Hunger Games: Laura Lee, 16, TS (6) Kills (5), District Twelve (1 Female)

94th Hunger Games: Nova Battles, 17, TS (9) Kills (6), District Two (2 Female - 1 Male)

95th Hunger Games: Nox Durant, 17, TS (10) Kills (6), District One (1 Female - 2 Male)

96th Hunger Games: Saylor Costa, 18, TS (9) Kills (4), District Four (1 Female - 2 Male)

97th Hunger Games: Lilac Kazner, 17, TS (5) Kills (2), District Eight (1 Female - 1 Male)

98th Hunger Games: Isaac Jules, 16, TS (7) Kills (4), District Five (1 Female - 1 Male)

99th Hunger Games: Louisa Holland, 19, TS (6) Kills (3), District Nine (1 Female - 1 Male)

4th Quarter Quell: Grace Clark, 17, TS (6) Kills (1), District Two (3 Female - 1 Male)

4th Quarter Quell: Diane de Soto, 18, TS (6) Kills (11), District Seven (2 Female - 1 Male)

4th Quarter Quell: Anthony King, 18, TS (10) Kills (8), District Two (3 Female - 2 Male)

4th Quarter Quell: Westley Schwartz, 18, TS (7) Kills (5), District Eight (1 Female - 2 Male)

101st Hunger Games: Camelot Thorn, 18, TS (11) Kills (7), District One (1 Female - 3 Male)

102nd Hunger Games: Haddock Shoals, 18, TS (9) Kills (5), District Four (1 Female - 3 Male)