The First Quarter Quell

A/N: TRIGGER WARNING: This is an absolutely disgusting chapter. Rape, slavery, abuse, sexual assault and self-harm are all mentioned in this chapter. If you do not want to read, I completely understand. I did not like writing this chapter, but I already knew who my tributes were, and my dark imagination just wrote what they all did. Due to the style of story I decided to tell, that meant I had to mention and focus on each thing that happened. I did ensure all the vile tributes died, but bad stuff did happen. Do not worry, I do not have an evil tribute winning he Games.

"On the Twenty-Fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that it was their choices that lead to the Hunger Games, and their children dying, each District will be required to vote on the two tributes that will represent them in the arena. There is no volunteering allowed."

When President Snow read out the Quarter Quell twist, he expected people to by scared or horrified. What he did not expect, was the cheering and celebrations from the various Districts. He was confused, all the way until the reapings happened. Then he realised what the District were doing. Knowing that only one person would come back, all apart from the Career Districts had voted in their most vile and evil children they had. They were using the Quarter Quell to get rid of the people they did not want. Snow hated the fact the District had outsmarted the Capitol this way, and were using the Hunger Games as a way to be happier, but there was nothing he could do about it now. At least it would be a good and entertaining Games for the Capitol, and it would no doubt be violent enough to strike fear into the District citizens.

District One had voted in the two best people from their Academy. Normally, the twelve noble families were the ones who Volunteered. The Victors trained the children, but they were not the people who decided who would get be the final tribute. Instead, one member from each family would enter a model Arena with a flag attached to their back and chest. The last one to loose both became the volunteer for the males, and could pick the female tribute. All but once they had selected a family member. This year however, anyone could be put in. The nobles tried their best to have their kids put in, all determined to get a Victor. However, after a meeting, the four Victors, Angelina, Lana, Luxor and Crystal all agreed that Ruby Poinis and Chariot Yule were the best tributes, and managed to convince most people to vote for them. As the two tribute walked up to the stage, the various noble children all stood there, pissed off and angry that they were not in the Arena. The Head of each noble house were red with rage, but knew they could not do anything, as the Victors were the only ones that they were not richer than. If they tried to mess with the Victors family, they would get revenge. Everyone knew what happened to Gladious Montgomery when he tried to kill Lanas' younger sister.

In District Two, Enobarbus selected the two best tributes, and told everyone to vote for them. He warned them that if anyone did not vote for his tributes, there would be consequences. Just to spite him, Tiberius voted for two twelve year olds. Maximus was a fierce eighteen year old fighter. He was skilled with the sword, and could only be defeated in combat by the four Victors. No one else could come close to defeating him. The female tribute, Wixa, was equally skilled with tomahawks and the spear. Enobarbus was confident in both of the tribute, and that they would provide the District the fifth Victor.

District Three decided to send in two troublemakers. The male, Zircon, was a little hacker who had managed to get into the computers in the various factories, and caused havoc. The District was glad to get rid of him for all the trouble he has caused, and all the people he has gotten fired. The girl, Cadela, was much worse. She was one of the many psychopaths in the Arena. She was a serial killer, who had claimed ten victims in the last three years. Each victim had their intestines removed, and laid out around them, spelling their name.

In District Four, the female, Syren, was a Career from the Academy. She could use the trident like an extension of her arms. She was the most skilled District Four tribute until Finnick Odair in the Sixty-Fifth, and was one of the closest District Four tribute to scoring a twelve for one hundred years. The male, however, was not the Career selected. Instead, he was the captain of a vicious pirate gang called the Golden Spear. They regularly kidnapped young girls right after their final reaping from the District, and kept them as slave on the ship to make new crew members. None of the girls were ever seen alive again. Everyone was glad to see the back of him, and the District had assurance from all their Victors that he would not be coming back alive.

District Five sent in criminals they were happy to get rid of. The boy, Pike, was a kleptomaniac. His parents were some of the most well off in the District, and this boy spent his time stealing from the homeless, and even beating a few of them up for fun. There were more than a few cheers when his name was called. The girl, Adrenaline, had become the manager of a power plant at eighteen through blackmail. She treated her employees horribly, and her power plant had the most whippings out of any in the District.

It was an open secret that District Six was full of drug addicts. Everyone knew that. The people of Six hated it, but they could not change it due to their addictions. There was a good amount kids in the District were born because of one of the various drug lords demanding a daughter or sister as payment for drugs. There younger Victor was one of these girls sold to the drug lords. Everyone hated these drug lords, so the male, Seattle, was voted in, with only 18% of the total District Six vote, the lowest in the country. He was one of the vilest drug lords, having forced over twenty girls, most being younger than him, to be his toys. The girl, Charlotte, was his sister. The people of the District were determined to rid themselves of this family. They knew they could rely on Illinois and Maeve to ensure these creatures never saw Six again.

District Seven viewed the forests as one of the most precious places in the land, due to nature being seen as a God. They did not take kindly to people who damaged their forests and trees. The male, Mangrove, was a pyromaniac. He had caused multiple wildfires that had destroyed loads of trees. His fires had also killed fifteen people, an entire group of lumberjacks. Once he realised what he did, he had turned himself in to the Peacekeepers. However, this was a week after the Quell announcement, and the Peacekeepers just left him, knowing what would happen. The girl, Asha, was another serial killer. She took it a step further though. She killed animals as well as people, cut their bodies up, and put them back together to make human/animal hybrids she dumped in the reaping square. Her vicious ways had killed twelve people.

The District Eight male, Jute, had the highest percentage of votes outside the Careers, at 97%. He was a serial rapist, having violated over fifty girls in the past four years. He had given himself a tattoo for each victim, proudly showing them off when he cornered another helpless girl. Unfortunately, as he was the son of the Head Peacekeeper, nothing was done, until the Quell announcement. The girl, Ester, was the daughter of the mayor. She was a prissy little one, who always got her way, Whenever anyone in the District tried to disagree with her, she went to her father. It was easy for her to fake the tears or hurt herself, and tell her daddy how the person had threatened her or hurt her. All her victims were smiling when she climbed the stage, screaming and crying. No one would save her this time.

District Nine loved their Victors. In fact, District Nine was the District that had the most respect for their Victors, after Two and Four. The Victors were the ones who sorted out conflict, helped feed the hungry and would let the homeless sleep in the spare bedrooms of their houses under the pretence that they were working for them. That is why anyone who messed with the Victors were hated. The male, Corn, had bullied Laurel for years, even going as far as to break into her home after she won the Games, and attempt to rape her. Thankfully, she had fought back and Mizar, who had been sleeping in her house, heard the commotion and helped, and he had been taken to jail. He was kept alive at Mizars request, to be the tribute for the Quell. The female, Gwenith, had murdered Mizars brother and entire family when his nephew broke up with her. It was an easy vote for the people of Nine.

District Ten hated anyone who hurt any living thing. The male, Buller, consistently attacked animals. He would sneak onto farms, late at night, and carve up one animal each night. He would remove most of the internal organs, and leave them littered about the town the farm was closest to. Sometimes, pieces would never be found. This was because Buller would sometimes eat the pieces he took. The female, Mare, was a cannibal. In the main city, Dallas, there was a lot of homeless people. Many of these died on the streets in the oppressive heat in the summer. Mare would sometimes be caught eating the remains of these people.

District Eleven had gangs on top of gangs. The number of gangs in Eleven rivalled the number in Six. However, there were two gangs that were undoubtedly the worst. The male, Thistle, was the leader of a highly misogynistic gang. They raped and murdered most girls they found. A few were kept as 'entertainment' for the gang members. The girl, Spring, was the second in command of her mother's gang, who lynched as many males as possible so that they left two schools entirely devoid of male alumni.

The male from Twelve, Rooker, was another serial killer. He was a miner, and had used the cramped spaces and dark areas to kill many miners. His victims were only discovered when the mine went to expand, and found the bodies of eighteen people. The female, Poppy, was another thief. She was from the merchant area, and she went to steal from people in the Seam. This made the population of the Seam banded together to get rid of her.

The Tribute were all ready to go into the Arena. The outlier Districts were all happy with their choices, and hoped to watch the little monsters suffer a painful death. This year would be the only year ever where every District was cheering for a Career. Watching the reaping recaps, Syren was nervous. She turned to Chloe, her mentor looking obviously uneasy.

"Take it easy Syren. These people will not be able to beat you. They are criminals. The Capitol will not allow you to be hurt by them," she said.

"Shut the fuck up Chloe," replied Molly. "In Maeves Arena, there was a criminal. He almost won. Maeve only just managed to kill him. He tortured and killed ten tributes. The Capitol loved it, and let him hurt them all."

"But they did not let him win, Molly," Chloe replied.

Mags just shook her head, and just told Molly to stop, as there was no point. Syren turned back to the screen, trying to ignore Nautilus and Mesudia in the corner.

Steer Johnson sat down on his seat at the District Ten station. He booted up the two screens, to keep an eye on his tributes. If he was honest with himself, he did not want either to win, although one was much worse than the other. He hated to admit it, as it went against every belief in his body, but the only five tributes he would be happy with winning were the pairs from One and Two, and the girl from Four. Everyone else was a evil person. He did not understand how so many people can be so cruel so young. He supposed it must be something to do with growing up watching the Hunger Games. He watched his two tributes rise into the Arena.

"Fuck" he heard from Laurel next to him. He agreed with her assessment. The Arena was a garbage dump. He knew that the Capitol must produce a lot of garbage, and he had heard of the trucks and hovercrafts flying far away and dumping all the trash in giant piles. He did not think the Capitol would ever put tributes in there. Obviously he was wrong. There were burning piles of trash all over the place. Interlaced throughout the Arena were pools of stagnant and toxic water. Even worse, though the camera tour of the Arena, Sawyer could tell there was no clean water, and only mouldy bits of food left over. There was a pile food and water at the Cornucopia, but nothing else. No weapons of any kind. He looked over at the Careers, and could see the pissed off look on the faces of Enobarbus and Chloe. None of the other were very happy, but he viewed the fact that Enobarbus and Chloe were annoyed as very good. They both viewed the Capitol as perfect and all knowing, while the rest of the Victors knew there were flaws, even if the Twos had to pretend different.

Steer turned back to the screens, and watched as the countdown reached its last ten seconds. The gong sounded, and the twenty-four tributes sprung forwards. It took a few minutes for them to realise that there were no weapons at the Horn itself, and several tributes ran towards piles of trash. Steer watched the boy, Buller, grab a shard of glass from a pile and run towards the girl from Three. Sawyer grimaced, as he knew from Pluto she was dangerous. The Three girl heard Buller, and dived to the side to avoid him. She then picked up a rusted metal bar, and smashed it down onto Bullers leg. The boy screamed in pain, and tried to shuffle backwards, away from his attacker. The girl did not allow him however. Grinning, she walked forwards, and brought the metal down onto Bullers' other leg, then each arm. Buller was crying at this point, and was begging the Three girl to kill him. The girl finally let him die, by bringing the bar down onto Bullers' head.

Steer looked back up at the screen after throwing up for the third time this year already. He stared in shock at the mutilated remains of Buller. He was not a huge fan of the boy, but no one deserved a death like that. He shook his head, before looking at the female tribute, who had managed to escape from the battle after realising that there was only food and water.

Mags Flannagan hated this. When the twist was first announced, she thought that most Districts would send in the best tribute possible. Instead, all District apart from One, Two and Four and used this opportunity to send in the violent criminals and vile people they had. It had been close in Four as well. The female tribute, Syren, was the best person at the Academy, but a lot of people voted for the leader of the "Blood Reapers" who were a group of pirates terrorising fishers. The leader was seventeen, and already one of the most violent and cruel people the District had ever produced. The Victors choice however managed to win. The male was a different story. The male actually voted in was an eighteen year old criminal called Nautilus. He was the leader of a different group of pirates. These ones regularly kidnaped young girls from the District, and kept them as slaves on the ship. This was one tribute Mags was not miss. If anything, she hoped he would die. She knew that was wrong, but could not help it.

She sighed as she sat back in her seat. Chloe and Mesudia were the two mentors this year. Mesudia was the only male Victor, so he was still mentoring the male tribute. Chloe was favoured by the Capitol due to her loyalty. It shocked Mags of the loyalty of Chloe, as neither Mags, Mesudia or Molly were loyal, but there was nothing she could do. Mags bit her lip as she watched Nautilus, holding a metal disk, attack the pyromaniac boy, Mangrove, from District Seven. He grinned as he sliced the boys genitals apart, before slicing down his leg. Mangrove screamed in pain. Nautilus ignored him. He just carried on cutting at the Seven boy. Mags could hear Emily from the Seven station crying hysterically, with Sawyer trying to comfort her. She looked over sadly. Emily had lost everything since winning, as she refused to be sold by the Capitol. Her entire family and all her friends had been killed, or turned into Avoxes. Mags knew from Sawyer that Emilys' old boyfriend and her sister were the two Avoxes on District Seven floor. Not wanting to think about it anymore, Mags looked back to the screen and almost threw up.

Mangrove was now dead, but his body was barely recognisable. There were bones that had been ripped out, and stabbed back into the body. Limbs were only hanging on by a few tendons and his intestines were fully ripped out, and splattered all around the body. Nautilus then grabbed the Twelve girl, who was frozen in terror, and dragged her into the centre of the clearing. Mags threw up again, knowing what he would do to that girl. Mags walked over to Coalette to apologise for what was about to happen.

Coalette Snowdrop was wanting both her tributes would die. The male had killed so many people, include the person her eldest daughter had gone on a date with a week before his disappearance. After his body was found, she remembered holding Parsley tightly, as she cried her eyes out. The girl was just heartless. Stealing from people who had nothing. Rooker was walking towards the Nine girl. She could hear Laurel telling the girl to not look around and die. Laurel ended up getting what she wanted, as Coalettes' boy grabbed the Nine girl by the neck, and dragged her over to a pile of trash. Gwenith struggled against Rookers' grip. Rooker laughed, and smashed Gwenith against the side of a pile of trash. After a few smashes, Gwenith was groaning and bleeding from her head. Rooker let her drop to the ground, and walked away.

Coalette tried to keep in her lunch, but failed when the monster from Eleven found Gwenith, and took her behind a pile of trash and did the deed. Orchid was throwing up next to Coalette, begging the boy to stop, and Coalette lost her lunch.

"Please tell me this is some kind of nightmare," pleaded Coalette, wiping her mouth.

"I really wished it was," muttered Orchid back. "I thought it would be great to get rid of some troublesome people, but this is just.."

Coalette was about to reply, when Thistle finished with Gwenith, and slit her throat. Coalette sighed in relief, before recoiling in fear again, as Mare from Ten slinked over, and sunk her teeth into Gweniths body. Meanwhile the girl was being raped by Nautilus. The poor girl screaming, as the Four boy didn't even hide what he was doing. After he was finished, he left her there crying. To make matters even worse, the boys from Six, Eight and Eleven found her, and dragged her away together. They refused to kill her, no matter how much she begged. They tied her up, and carried her away. Coalette, knowing what was going to happen to her, fled the room to find the nearest bar. She needed to get drunk.

Enobarbus Orums was questioning the Capitol for the first time in his life. Why would they have done this? Surely it was obvious what those filthy outlying Districts would do. They did not see the honour in the Games, so they would send in people they do not want. He really hoped for Two to win this, so he could prove that they were the best. It would also mean the outer District would respect Two for ending their monsters, and therefore, would respect the Hunger Games! That was probably why this twist was announced. President Snow knew that the outliers would use this, and this would make them enjoy the Hunger Games. He watched as Maximus killed the girl from Five, severing her head completely with his sword. He turned when he heard the girl from Eight let out a bloodcurdling scream. Enobarbus looked, and stared along with Maximus. Nautilus, Asha, Cadela, and Rooker had grouped together in an alliance, and had the mayors daughter form Eight by each limb, and were pulling her in opposite directions. She was screaming in pain, as all her limbs were pulled off. Mare then joined them, and beat her to death with her own arms. This alliance then turned, and saw Maximus frozen with shock. Asha giggled, before charging towards him. Maximus turned, and tried to run away with his allies, but Rooker hurled a pickaxe at him. Maximus fell with a pickaxe sticking out of his leg, and screamed. He saw Ruby, Chariot, Wixa and Syren on the closest pile of trash, running away. Wixa turned back to him at his scream.

"Just run! Leave me and run! Go!" Maximus shouted. With tears in her eyes, Wixa turned and sprinted away with her allies.

"Traitors!" roared Enobarbus. "How dare they leave Maximus. They are not true Careers."

"Shut up boy," said Illinois. "Only one can survive. It is better for them to run away than risk their lives."

Enobarbus just snarled in response.

The nightmare alliance surrounded the Career boy, and dragged him towards the home. There, they began the longest torture session in the history of the Games. The five of them kept Maximus alive for ten hours, slowly peeling all his skin off, and cutting almost everything off, that can be wile keeping him alive. When Maximus finally died, he had his fingers, toes, hands, feet, arms, legs, nose, ears, eyes, tongue and privates had all been cut off. He also had no skin, and was just a mound of red flesh. All Victors apart from Enobarbus and thrown up in that time, including Chloe.

Angelina Moonbeam was not enjoying this year. While she knew that Ruby and Chariot were easily the best two people they could have chosen, she wished they were not in there. After seeing the Bloodbath two days ago, she would not wish this on anyone. She looked at all her fellow Victors. There were very few in the room, as many of the outliers were not here as they were refusing to mentor. She did not blame them. Most tributes were vile. Ruby, Chariot, Wixa and Syren were all together, hiding from the alliance of psychopaths. Zircon had run into them the day before, and had joined them, after reasoning that out of the nineteen people left in the Arena, they were the only five that deserved to win. He was currently fiddling with something he had made with scrape electronics from around the Arena. Caleda was with her allies, Nautilus, Asha, Mare and Rooker. They were looking around the Arena, trying to find victims. So far, they had not been successful in any way. It was all Angelina could hope that they would die soon, and the Careers could win. Pike was hiding in a pile of trash near the Horn. He had seen the group leave earlier that day, and was now creeping towards the food that was there. After being careful, and moving in between the traps, he finally got there, and grabbed some food and water, before carefully returning to his hiding place. Adrenaline was walking through the Arena, trying to find some where to hide. Unfortunately for her, she walked close to the Careers. Wixa, who was guarding their hiding place at the time grabbed her. Adrenaline was taken back to the hideout, and offered a place in the alliance. She agreed with this, and said she would go out find the nightmare alliance, and keep tabs on them. The boy from Six, Angelina did not want to think about. Seattle, Jute, and Thistle had the girl from Twelve tied up in their hideout. They only untied her when they forced her to cook. All they called her was 'slave' or 'bitch'. Their respective mentors (Illinois, Woof and Orchid) kept on sending notes to them, begging them to stop, but the three of them force fed Poppy the notes. Coalette had tried to send Polly a sponsor gift, but Jute had taken the bread, and ate it in front of her. Charlotte was lying by a pile of trash. She had fallen down it a few hours before, breaking her leg along the way. She was crying, unable to move without throwing up in pain. Corn was in another bad situation. Spring had found him, and had him tied up in her hiding place. He had him gagged, and was slowly killing him. She was determined to make it last a few days, as she said to the cameras. As, if anyone found her, she could leave the boy behind and escape, sacrificing him. All of the tributes were in bad situations, and Angelina could not wait for this year to be over. She had already agreed with all other Victors, that the Victor was one of the nightmare alliance tributes, then all Victors would work together to 'deal with' the Victor, even Enobarbus and Chloe. If the Victor was a Career, or one of their allies, then they would be respected by all Victors, due to the other tributes in the Arena.

Mizar Aljoy watched the boy from Nine die. Laurel was next to him, smiling as Corn died. Mizar did not blame her in the slightest. He himself had smiled slightly when Gwenith had died, although he did throw up when she was raped, and then feasted on. Now Corn was dying, Laurel was the one smiling. Corn had stalked her for years, and asked her out several times, even after being told no. After Laurel had finished her Victory Tour, he had broken into Laurels house, and tried to force himself on her. Thankfully, Mizar had been in the next room, and had heard Laurels screams. Nizar ran in, and threw Corn against the wall. Corn had tried to claim that Laurel should be his, so her can do what he wants. Mizar had dragged him down to the Peacekeepers headquarters, and dumped him at their feet. The news was spread fast, and two days later, the Quell was announced. Laurels smile faltered.

"Why do I not like this. He tried to rape me. I should be happy he is dying, but does it really have to be like this?" she asked Mizar.

"She is a second in command of a vicious gang at home. The gang has killed over fifty males in the past six years," said Orchid, overhearing Laurel. "This is much worse than anyone deserves. You are not wrong for feeling both happy he will not hurt you again, and disgusted that he is dying."

Mizar indicated Orchid. "I have found Orchid to be the wisest of us. Listen to her, she knows what she is talking about." Laurel nodded, as Corns heart rate flatlined. Mizar stood up, and pulled Laurel up. "It's time to show you around the Capitol. We are going to try and get some sponsors for one of the Careers or the boy from Three."

Shocker Martina watched the two screens intently. His boy was being a fairly decent tribute. He was manging to get past the flimsy traps set up around the Cornucopia and continue to steal food. He was hiding deep in a pile of trash right outside the clearing, watching the alliance come and go, taking food whenever he could. The respective mentors (Pluto, Mesudia, Sawyer, Steer and Coalette) refused to tell the alliance that they were being robbed each day. Adrenaline meanwhile was stalking the pack. She watched them from afar as they tried to hunt. However, the Arena provided a lot of hiding spots. So it was hard for them to find anyone. Unfortunately for Adrenaline, she was not as secure in her hiding place as she thought. The pile gave out under her, and she tumbled down the pile, towards the alliance. She came to a stop at their feet, and they all grinned. Asha held her shard of glass, and brought it down towards Adrenaline. Before the glass made contact, a sharpen metal pole came flying through the air, and stabbed through Adrenalines' head. She stopped moving instantly. The nightmare alliance turned and looked up at Ruby, who was holding a second 'spear'. They all five charged at her, and Ruby turned and sprinted away, jumping over trash, and whipping around piles, eventually losing the alliance. She quickly headed back to her allies, and sat down next to them. Shocker sighed. He did not like the girl much, but still she did not deserve to die. At least Ruby had saved her from a torturous death.

Maeve Anderson was staring at the screen displaying Charlotte without seeing it. She had managed to acquire some morphling, and had gotten high, to tune out the Games. She hated doing it, and Illinois tried to help her, but she had always been addicted. Her mother had been an addict, and had sold Maeve to a drug lord to receive a stable supply of the drug. Maeve had been a slave from nine to seventeen, when she was reaped for the Games. In that time, she had been forced to give birth twice. Her kids lived with her in the Village, and she made sure not to use morphling in front of them, and had even gotten them clean with Illinois' help. They spent several nights at Illinois' house whenever she ended up high. It was only really after the Games or and the Tour she was high for about a week, before she got it under control. They then came back to her. She had not wanted to mentor at all this year, as both tributes reminded her of her slavery. However, she could not opt out of mentoring until the got a third Victor, so she 'mentored' Charlotte. In reality, she told her to die quickly, and got high in her room. Charlotte was now bleeding out at the bottom of the trash pile, her vitals slowly dropping. Meave did not care. Instead, she looked at her two kids, seven-year-old Austin and five-year-old Carlow. As far as she was aware, the Capitol was not aware they were her kids, just kids she rescued from the drug lord, which made her and them popular in the Capitol. Maeve was shaken from her thoughts by Illinois, who told her Charlotte was dead, and she could leave. He promised to take Austin and Carlow for two weeks once they got back.

Woof Caponata loathed his tribute. He was a vile person, and was the first person Woof had ever wanted to die. He and his allies had been hurting poor Poppy. Coalette had told him that she stole from the poor, but she still did not deserve this. Jute had ignored all his notes, and force fed them to Poppy or pissed on them. Sometimes both. He had stopped sending them, and was just hoping for something to happen, and Jute to die. He watched as Jute went outside the base to look for food. He then saw something Jute didn't. Zircon and the Careers were nearby, and Zircon was fiddling with his invention. It emitted a beep, and Zircon smiled. He crept to the top of the trash pile, and pointed it at Jute back. He pressed a button on the side, turned a dial and then pulled the trigger. A beam of electricity shot from the device, and hit Jute. He screamed in pain, and shook for a few seconds, before falling still. His pulse vanished and Woof was done for the year. He thanked Pluto, and left, determined to drink and read to try any get rid of the memories of this year.

Emily Brodden just was staring blankly at the screen in front of her. She saw no point in caring, as she was planning to die soon. She had lost everything and everyone since she won. No matter how much Sawyer tried to help her, he could not replace her family. Seeing her old boyfriend and her sister every year in the training centre was the worst part. She could not reveal she knew them, as they would be punished in front of her, as she had learned in the Twenty-First Games. She saw no point in carrying on with life, and this Quarter Quell had driven her to the edge. Originally, she was planning to wait until they had another Victor, but she could no longer do that. Asha was making everything worse. The pack were wandering around the Arena, trying to find Ruby, after she killed Adrenaline before they could. They did not find the Careers, but eventually found Spring. As she no longer had Corn tied up, she could not escape the wrath of the pack. She ran as fast as she could, and darted around a pile of trash. Asha was first around the corner, and ran face first into Spings' glass shank. Asha gargled some blood, before falling back. Her allies literally ran over her, breaking several bones and they continued chasing Spring. Asha died right afterwards, and Sawyer gently lifted Emily up, and took her up to District Nines floor. Mizar and Laurel had said that anyone can use their floor if needed, and Sawyer did not want Emily on District Sevens floor.

Orchid Fieldgreen watched as the nightmare alliance raced after Spring. Orchid did not want to be in the Mentor circle as she hated both her tributes. However, she felt it was her job, so she must be there, no matter how much she hates it. As much as she hated Spring, she did not want her to die at the hands of these lunatics. They would torture her for hours, and possibly let Nautilus rape her. Eventually though, Spring tripped and fell down a pile of trash. She was laying still in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the pile, as Nautilus, Mare, Rooker and Cadela came over the top of the hill. They ran down, and dragged Spring over to a pool of flaming liquid. Rooker laughed, as he shoved Spring into the pool. Spring screamed as she crawled out of the pool, her skin melting off as she moved. Mare laughed, and walked towards Spring. Mare grabbed Springs' head, and bashed her against a ruined car, denting Springs' skull. Spring was wheezing, her heart was beating very slowly. Mare bit into Springs' neck, and began feasting on Spring. Spring gargled for a few further seconds, before falling still, dead. Mare then ripped out part of her neck, and started feasting on Springs body.

Lupus Cato watched the scene before him in disgust. Mare was still feasting on Spring. Her allies had abandoned her due to their own disgust at her. She did not care, and just carried on eating Spring. The hovercraft arrived, and Mare growled. She pulled out her glass shank, and cut off Springs' arm, and ran with it to hide. Once she found somewhere to hide, she carried on eating the arm. Every single Victor, who was still in the room, had thrown up since she started eating. Lupus was alone at Twos' station, so he did not know how his fellow Victors felt. Thankfully, it was obvious that the Capitol was starting to get disgusted by her actions as well. Vents opened near her, and gas started to come out of it. Mare ignored it at first, before she started coughing. Then she ran out of hiding, leaving the arm behind. She ran as fast as she could, but the Gamemakers continued to release gas, driving her towards the Careers. At the time, Syren was outside, guarding the hiding place. She saw Mare coming towards them, and Syren hurled her metallic disk at Mare. It sailed through the air, and sliced into Mares' head. Syren quickly ran over, and yanked the disk out of Mares' head. Lupus could see the look of disgust in Mares eyes as she saw the blood around Mares mouth.

"Evil bitch," she muttered. "So glad you're dead."

Molly Sparks threw up for the hundredth time this Games. It had been two days since Spring and Mare had died, and it was now the night of Day Six. Molly was one of the only seven Victors in the room. Crystal, Boudicca, herself, Illinois, Sawyer, Laurel and Orchid. The cameras had just cut to Seattle, Thistle and Polly. Seattle was asleep, and Thistle had just freed Polly, just to have his way with her again. Polly could not even bring herself to cry about it anymore, as it had been done so many times. This time was different however, Polly reached out while Thistle was distracted and grabbed Thistles' metal rod he had had since Day One. Using all her strength, she swung it at Thistles' head, smashing it in. Thistle fell of her, and Polly brought the bar down onto his head repeatedly. Thistle was knocked unconscious with the first hit, so could not even scream. Polly kept smashing Thistles' head in until it was a bloody pulp, and the cannon fired. The cannon woke up Seattle, and Polly just ran. She sprinted away from Jute. She ran for an hour, losing him in the maze of trash. Was she was sure she was safe, she curled up, and bawled her eyes out. Laurel, who was looking after her for Coalette, finally sent her a sponsor gift. Polly had received a lot of support due to what Seattle, Jute and Thistle had been doing to her. Laurel sent her a fresh change of clothes, water, food, rope, a knife and rat poison. Molly was hoping Polly would be the one to kill Seattle, as she definitely deserved to.

Crystal Ashton watched Nautilus hunt through the Arena. It had been five hours since Nautilus had left the nightmare alliance. He walked through the Arena, calling for 'pretty little ones' to 'come out for some fun'. His entire demeaner made Crystal want to take a hot shower, and scrub her skin red raw. Eventually, he came near the Careers. Three hours ago, Zircon and Ruby had headed out, to try and find some more food. Nautilus however, found Chariot, Wixa and Syren. Wixa and Syren were asleep, and Chariot was guarding them. Nautilus licked his lips, and crept towards them. Seattle held his brick high, and brought it down onto Chariots' head. The boy collapsed, and Seattle continued to smash his head in, until the cannon sounded. Nautilus then walked into the hiding place of the Careers, and quickly hit both Career girls over the head, knocking them out. Crystal knew what was about to happen, and sent a note to Ruby, telling her what was happening. Ruby threw up when she read the note, and her and Zircon turned, and ran straight towards their camp, hoping to get back quickly, and stop Nautilus doing anything horrific.

Tiberius Silverton was shaking and crying as he watched Nautilus rip his tributes clothes off, and rape her. Tiberius closed his eyes, and looked away, trying hard not to throw up. He had a fifteen-year-old daughter at home, she having been born when Tiberius was fifteen. It made Tiberius sick, imagining what Wixas' parents were going through, watching this vile monster violate their daughter in the worst way possible. He knew that when he got back, he would have to go to her parents, and offer them compensation for what their daughter went through, even if Wixa became the Victor, but Tiberius did not think that would happen. He instead turned his thoughts back to his daughter. Dido had been one of the fiercest competitors in the Academy. She was already pencilled in as the female tribute for the twenty-eighth Hunger Games. Personally, Tiberius did not want Dido to enter the Arena, as he did not want to loose her, but they had been ordered by the President to send in a child of a Victor before the Thirtieth. The only other option was Boudicca's son Monux, who would be twelve during the twenty-ninth, so Dido was the only real option. Tiberius heard a flatline, and looked back at the screen. Nautilus had finally finished with Wixa, and had driven a glass shard through her throat. He then turned to Syren, and crawled over. He ripped her clothes off, and stated doing the deed. Syren was luckier than Wixa however, as eh woke up, and could defend herself. As soon as she was aware of what was happening, she headbutted Nautilus, and then kicked him in between the legs. Nautilus shouted, and went to hit Syren, but a spear came out of his shoulder first.

Mesudia Triller watched Ruby and Zircon run back to their camp, and arrive back just as Syren kicked Nautilus. Ruby saw the bodies of Chariot and Wixa, and stabbed Nautilus through the shoulder with her makeshift spear. Mesudia watched as Syren dived on top of Nautilus and stabbed him again and again with his own glass shank. She cut off his private parts, and gouged out his eyes. She then just slashed at his throat again and again, eventually decapitating him. The entire Victor room went up in cheers as Nautilus died, as one of the worst tributes in the Games was dead, and would never hurt anyone again. The sponsor fund for Nautilus, which had a bit from the worst in the Capitol, the kind that Mesudia had nightmares about after being bought by, went straight to Syren. Mags, who was in the chair at the time, immediately sent Syren clothes, bandages, water and enough food for her and her two remaining allies.

Lana Goldclaw watched the screen as Ruby and Zircon comforted Syren. It had been two days sin ce she killed Nautilus, and Syren was still scared. Lana did not blame her at all. She was sitting naked on a comfy sofa, with a man either side of her. They had bought her company for the night, but it was a little unnerving, as both were only just eighteen. One of them reached over, and turned Lanas face to him, before kissing her, while the other man groped her from behind. Over the next two hours, Lana forced herself to smile and pretend to enjoy it. Afterwards, they gave her a diamond necklace, and Lana left the building. As soon as she got back to the tribute centre, and took a hot shower. She then headed back to the mentor circle, and sat down District Ones' area. Luxor was there, and he just put her arm around Lana, knowing what happened.

"Ruby is about to get a kill if it makes you feel better. Games are nearly over," he muttered.

Lana looked at the screen, and watch Ruby and Rooker fighting. Rooker was bleeding badly from a cut on his shoulder, and Ruby was not even injured. Ruby darted round Rooker, and smashed him in the back of his head with her 'spear'. She then rammed the point through his back, and out the front. The cannon fired, and Rooker slumped to the ground. From the other end of the room, Coalette let out a tired cheer, and called out thanks to the Ones. Lana smiled at her, and nodded.

Sawyer Friel was sitting in the District Nine floor main room. Five further days had passed. Mizar and Laurel were both there as well. Emily was asleep in one of the rooms, and Sawyer was glad she was. Emily had survived her Games, but after telling Ravinstill that she would not be sold to the Capitolites, so the President killed her entire family and all her friends. They also took her sister and boyfriend and turned them into avoxes in the Capitol, and put them to work on District Sevens' floor. Sawyer had prevented Emily committing suicide five times over the past two years, and he knew that these Games would send her spiralling, and he would have to work extra hard to keep Emily alive. Laurel gasped and Mizar swore, which jerked Sawyer back to reality. He watched in astonishment as some of the piles of trash began to move. Giant mutts rose up. They were giant tangled messes of matted fur, with bits of rotting and broken items stuck to them. The commentator, Lucky Flickerman, called them trash mutts.

"Not the most imaginative name ever," mutter Mizar. He put an arm around Laurel, who was staring unmoving at the screen and just whispered assurances in her ear that she was safe and out of the Arena. Laurel stood up, and walked towards the bathroom. Sawyer watched the mutts walk towards the Cornucopia. As they moved, they knocked over the pile of rubbish that Pike was hiding in. He fell and hit the ground hard. He wheezed for a few second, before he state moving. He did not get far however, as one of the mutts saw him, and hurled a car at him. Sawyer heard a scream and a cannon. It took him a second to realise that it was Laurel screaming, not Pike. Sawyer and Mizar both ran towards her, and stopped short when they entered the bathroom. Emily was lying in the bathtub, surrounded by her own blood, with two big cuts on her wrist. Sawyer fell to his knees, and tried to shake Emily awake as Mizar called for Peacekeepers. He then came over to Sawyer, and hugged him.

"She dead. I'm so sorry Sawyer, but she's dead," he said. Laurel stared at Emilys' body for a few more second before she just turned and ran out of the room. Sawyer motioned for Mizar to follow her, as he sat by the bath staring at the body of his first Victor.

Boudicca Gunn was in shock. These mutts were nothing like any of them had seen. They were still moving towards the horn after killing Pike. Boudicca guessed that they wanted to end these Games soon, as it had so far lasted nineteen days. Even the Capitol was starting to get a little disturbed by the Cadela and Seattle who, without being able to find other tributes to kill, had taken to mutilating rats and other animals found in the Arena. Boudicca knew this as in the last few day, the amount the Victors were bought had increased. Luxor, Pluto, Illinois and Coalette were the only four not being sold as they were still under there mentoring duty. Enobarbus also was not being sold, but that was because he had started the VPC. Emily technically was not in it, but Enobarbus had still forced her under the threat of being forced to watch him rape her sister instead. So, Boudicca was not surprised when the mutts attacked the horn, where Cadela from Three was, that they made quick work of killing her. Pluto sighed in relief, before focusing back on Zircon. Just them, Laurel and Mizar burst into the room. Laural had tear stains on her cheek. Mag instantly rushed over to hold her. She tried to speak twice, but shook her head, and started crying again.

"Emily's dead," said Mizar in a flat voice, "She killed herself." We all stared at him. Thankfully, Enobarbus was not in the room. Chloe was, but she just was still and quiet, a battle going on behind her eyes.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"Emily is dead. We just found her," replied Mizar. Chloe swore in response.

"How's Sawyer?" Crystal asked

"How do you think?" Laurel said through her tears.

Pluto Gratin was thinking hard. He knew he had to help his tribute, as Ruby and Syren were probably going to betray him soon. Zircon was guarding the camp while the two girls were sleeping. Pluto was trying to figure out what to send him, but it was difficult. Pluto had cared about Emily. She had quickly killed both his tributes after the Careers had tortured them, and left them to bleed out. Emily had found them a few moments later, and had put them both out of their misery. Pluto respected Emily deeply, and was crushed by the news that she was dead. He focused back on his screen as it made a noise. The sponsor gifts blacked out, and a message showed up, saying that sponsor gift were unavailable for the next twenty-four hours. Pluto stared open mouthed at this message, before looking up. No other mentor currently in the room seemed to have noticed the message.

"Woof," Pluto said. Woof looked up from the District Twelve station, where he was covering for Coalette. "Can you send Poppy a sponsor gift, cause I can't send Zircon anything."

Woof looked down, and gasped. "No, I can't. What the fuck," he said.

Lana and Molly both looked, and realised they couldn't either. They questioned what was happening for a few moments, before an announcement was made in the Arena.

"Attention. Attention Tributes. Well done on making it to the final five of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Hunger Games. In one hour, a feast will be held at the Cornucopia. Fresh food and weapons will be placed there for the taking. Attendance in compulsory. Any tribute who is not there will have their tracker detonated. Thank you, and may the odds be ever in your favour."

Ruby and Syren had woken up at the voice, and the three allies looked at each other.

"Stick together until Seattle and Poppy are dead?" asked Ruby. Syren nodded shakily, and Zircon agreed.

One hour later, the three of them were hiding just out of the horn clearing. As they watched, a table rose up out of the ground, with food, water and bandages on it, as well as an axe, sword, sickle, dagger and pickaxe. Five weapons. One for each tribute. Ruby, Zircon and Syren all ran forwards. Seattle suddenly appeared and hurled three chunks of metal. His aim was perfect. Ruby, Zircon and Syren all collapsed, knock out. Seattle walked over, and quickly stabbed Zircon with the sword. Pluto could tell why, and quickly ran out, not wanting to watch this.

Luxor Clinton covered his eyes, and looked away from the screen. Seattle had Syren and Ruby tied up, and was sitting in front of them, waiting for them to wake up. All Luxor could hope for was Poppy to come and kill him. However, Poppy had seen Seattle, and was frozen where she had been hiding in the horn. Luxor did not blame her, due to what Seattle did to her, but hoped that Poppy would soon shake herself out of her horror, and kill Seattle. Even if she killed Ruby and Syren afterwards, Luxor would not care, as anything was better than what was about to happen to her. Instead of watching, Luxor turned his thoughts back to his wife. She was at home, with his newborn son. He loved his son so much, and would do anything for him. He was five months old, and Luxor had enjoyed so many good moments with him already. His gummy smiles and giggles made him so happy. He took care of him most nights, as he rarely slept after his Games. His ally had tried to kill him in the middle of the night, so he did not like sleeping very much, as he constantly thought that someone would kill him. A canon shot brought him back to the Games. He looked at the screen, hoping that Poppy had killed Seattle, but unfortunately, Seattle was standing over the body of Ruby. Seattle and both girls were completely naked, as Seattle had ripped their clothes off. The atmosphere in the room was tense. Everyone was grieving Emily, and no one wanted Seattle to be sitting next to them next year.

Illinois Katrick was panicking. Maeve was constantly high, in the panic of Seattle potentially returning. While Seattle was not the drug lord Maeve had been sold to, but he still had girls at home who he took from their parents. Maeve had refused to be in the same room as Seattle from the moment he was reaped. The one time they were near each other; Seattle had tried to grope Maeve. Illinois had grabbed Seattle and pulled him off, before throwing him in his room, and blocking it. Illinois heard a collective gasp from the audience which made him look back at the screen. He gasped himself when he saw a shard of glass poking through Seattles' neck. Poppy was holding the glass, and she was breathing heavily. Seattle, with the last bit of energy he had, grabbed Poppys' head, and smashed her onto the ground, into a piece of metal. Seattle then collapsed, and stilled. A cheer went up in the room, as now either Poppy or Syren would return, and we were all happy to accept either one. Sure, Poppy had started out as a thief, but after what she had gone through, everyone was ready to welcome her if she won, and Coalette had promised to look after her, and ensure she did not steal, if she became the Victor. It was now just a waiting game, to see who would become the Victor of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Hunger Games, Syren Hartaline from District Four or Poppy Greenrose from District Twelve.

Laurel Flamsteel watched the last two tributes of the Quell crawl towards each other, and hold each other close. Both Syren and Poppy had had horrible stuff happen to them in the Arena, and Laurel felt sorry for them both. She was still not sleeping fully after her Games last year, but she knew that, compared to her trauma, either one of them would have much more, and it would be much worse. Thinking about that, launched Laurel in another flashback. She had been in a Arena designed like an abandoned town. There had been a big estate, full of abandoned houses and other buildings, from a church to a doctors clinic to a school. Every day, five buildings were destroyed, reducing the size of the Arena. The Games had lasted twenty days, and Laurel had got three kills, the girl from Five, the boy from Eight and the girl from Eleven. They all haunted her nightmares, and the tributes from this year were now in there as well. She did not use drugs, as she had seen District Six, and did not want to end up like the addicts she saw there. Mizar had also done a very good job of keeping alcohol away from her, even though a lot of it was produced in Nine, where all the barley and maize was. Instead, Mizar had managed to get Laurel to use baking as a form of therapy. She had even started providing baked good to the poor of her District. Per law, she had to charge them, but she made it next to nothing, and always found a way to return the money. Mizar suddenly put a hand on Laurels shoulder, and pulled her out of her Arena. Laurel looked back at the screens were the trumpets were sounding.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the Victor of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Hunger Games, the First Quarter Quell, Syren Hartaline of District Four!" Laurel sighed. It was all over. This nightmare of a Game was finished.

Chloe Irving watched Syren scream and cry as she was lifted out of the Arena, and breathed deeply. Watching these Games had changed Chloe, a lot. At the beginning of the Games, she was fiercely loyal to the Capitol, and believed they could do no wrong. As long as you were loyal, they would not let you be hurt. However, watching the Games had changed this view. Syren had done nothing but show her loyalty to the Capitol while she was there, and they had let her be raped, twice. They would have let Seattle win, if Poppy hadn't woken up and distracted him. If the Capitol was willing to let a violent rapist walk free then they obviously did not care about the citizens of Panem. She looked at her fellow Victors from Four. She knew that they were not the most loyal, but now she was ready to help if they were planning a rebellion. The Capitol obviously did not care about the tributes, and if she was honest with herself, after they sold each and every one of them including her, and after what they did to Emily, they did not care about the Victors either, no matter how much they said they did. Chloe glanced at Enobarbus, who was applauding and grinning. He was too far gone. The smile on his face showed how much he truly loved the Games and what they stood for, while everyone else had a relieved smile or were not smiling at all. Chloe stood up with her fellow Victors, and they all quickly left, to go and see their newest one. Chloe vowed to be there for Syren the entire time, but she had to be careful as she knew she would have to continue being blindingly loyal in the Capitol.

Syren Hartaline stared at the ceiling blankly. She had won, and was now at home in the Victors Village, living in luxury. She would never want for anything again. But was it worth it? She had nightmares every night, repeatedly. One of her parents or fellow Victors was always in the room with her, apart from the bathroom, then they were outside the door. Every shadow was Nautilus coming back to hurt her again, every knife was a weapon, broken glass was a torture device, a pile of trash sent her spiralling back into the Arena. Mesudia was next to her at the time, and Syren just cried, as she curled up into him. Her physical wounds had been healed by the Capitol in a matter of seconds, but her mental wounds. they would never heal. Mesudia, Mags and Molly had all promised to be there for her, as had her parents. Even Chloe had said that she understood why Syren hated her Games, and promised to not force her to become a instructor at the Academy, or mentor unless Syren wanted to in public. In private however, Chloe had told Syren that she would be there for her, and help her in any way she can. Syren was sure that no one would remember her. She would go down as one of the most forgettable Victors in history. Syren Hartaline had lost herself, and did not know if she would ever find it. She saw herself as a broken husk. But the rest of Panem saw her as an angel. The Capitol always remembered how she fought back against and killed Nautilus and fought Jute as well. They praised her for her strong will and determination. Districts One and Two respected her the most of any Victor after their own. The Academies in the two Districts talked about how the students had to be strong, like Syren. A long list of Careers who followed Syren said how they aspired to be like her, from Brutus to Lyme to Gloss. The outer District all hailed her as a hero, for coming out of that Arena and not any of their monsters. She was the first, and one of the only Victors to be honestly welcomed in each and every District on her tour. Districts Eight and Ten loved her the most, as she had contributed to the death of the rapist and cannibal. Woof and Steer quickly became some of Syrens closest friends. Every Victor, no matter the District, always respected Syren for surviving her Games. The Victors all made a pact, and showed any new Victor a recap of the Twenty-Fifth a week after they got home from the Capitol, so they know why every Victor respects and is kind to Syren. Her own District loved her. Not only had she killed Nautilus, who everyone was happy to see go, but she had also come home alive. It showed how strong Four was. Everyone student in Fours Academy tried extra hard in training, aiming to embody Syren, and become the Victor. Syren victory solidified Four as a strong contender, and started the never ending battle between Two and Four over which was the stronger District. Syren may have thought she would be forgotten, but when she died of a stoke shortly after the fifty-third, she left a legacy that would never be forgotten. Even over one thousand years after her death, Syren was still the most beloved Victor from Four. There was never another person named Syren, as no one wanted to do her name injustice as no one though they could live up to the one and only, Syren Hartaline.

District 1 (4 Victors): Angelina Moonbeam (2), Lana Goldclaw (8), Luxor Clinton (15), Crystal Ashton (23)

District 2: (4 Victors): Lupus Cato (3), Enobarbus Orums (7), Tiberius Silverton (13), Boudicca Gunn (18)

District 3: (1 Victor): Pluto Grateflan (12)

District 4: (5 Victors): Mesudia Triller (9), Mags Flannagan (11), Molly Sparks (16), Chloe Irving (22), Syren Hartaline (25)

District 5: (1 Victor): Shocker Martina (14)

District 6: (2 Victors): Illinois Katrick (1), Maeve Anderson (21)

District 7: (2 Victors): Sawyer Friel (6), Emily Brodden (20)

District 8: (1 Victor): Woof Casponta (17)

District 9: (2 Victors): Mizar Aljoy (10), Laurel Flamsteel (24)

District 10: (1 Victor): Steer Johnson (19)

District 11: (1 Victor): Orchid Fieldgreen (4)

District 12: (1 Victor): Coalette Snowdrop (5)

Underlined Victors are dead.

A/N: There we go. The First Quarter Quell. Haymitchs' Games are obviously next. I am looking forwards to writing it, and I know how I am going to write the next seven Quarter Quells. Hope you enjoyed.