Chapter Text
The 102nd Hunger Games
Disclaimer : this story contains some violence and gore. If you like it, you should watch Tales of the Hunger Games by Christian Blanco on Youtube (The Original creator)
After the disappointing ending of the 100th Hunger games, and the numerous riots happening in the Capitol, many high-ranking officials, including The Snow and Ravinstill families, fled. Of the remaining Officials, most were killed during the following weeks, while the Measles epidemic devastated all Panem. The 101st Hunger Games took place the next year, but were a total carnage, with 5 tributes dying of the Measles before the games, a record number of 6 suicides, and an arena malfunction that killed the 4 remaining tributes on the 3rd day. With the Capitol weakened, the districts violently took their independence and elected democratic leaders.
However, the districts had never been autonomous. Their hyper specialization led to many conflicts, and each had to rely on the others. Without the supervision of the capitol, Panem soon descended into chaos. Famine, diseases, and war reigned for years. Many Former victors allied and tried to help the best they could, but most ended up taking refuge in the former district Twelve, now called Virginia, and later to the European countries. This afflux of refugees in Virginia led to a worsening situation but could not yet be compared to the rest of Panem.
On the other side of the ocean. Coriolanus Snow II, slowly gained more power and territory, seizing control of the South of England. After 20 years, he came back with a fleet of former Capitolites and his army of Englishmen. They brought food, medicine, and technology, but didn't invade the districts. They only returned to the Capitol. The surrounding wildlands were rehabilitated, and rebuilt in a spirit of self sufficiency. For the next five years, the new Capitol flourished, and their expertise in many fields attracted the districts, that were impoverished.
In the year 137, a new treaty was signed, unbeknownst to the European nations that were too occupied by their own infighting. Once again, all districts agreed to give up their autonomy in favor of a better management and the reinstatement of the Hunger Games. However, this time, president Snow decided to be careful. To avoid any discontent, he promised to rise the standard of living, and offered many advantages. The feeble outcry engendered by this news was not reprimanded. This apparent lack of violent action led the presidents of the districts to give their trust to Snow, and the next year, he presented the 102nd Hunger Games.
As there was no winner in the 101st Hunger Games, and other victors had now fled the country, the task of conducting the reaping was given to the new game-makers for this year, Alina Snow and Helion Cardew, freshly arrived from London. The reaping was morose. While Alina and Helion tried to bring energy to the event, everyone else looked exhausted. Even the newly reinstated peacekeepers looked emaciated, and there was an air of resignation to the public.
The first reaping had occurred in district 11 without a hitch. In district 10, the sweltering heat made the atmosphere almost unbreathable. However, both game-makers soldiered on. Alina first picked a name from the bowl of female tributes. When she called for 14 years old Carin Ferreira, a scream was heard, and two peacekeepers had to restrain the young girl. She was very small for her age, but her tangled blonde hair and aggressive demeanor made her quite intimidating. She was brought to the stage, while Helion called for 18 years old Leon Reed. The tall gentleman walked by himself to the stage, in a calm and dignified manner. He was sturdy and very handsome, with a wide frame and shoulder-length golden hair.
Both tributes were led to the city hall, where they could meet their families before leaving. Carina's parents were in hysterics, which led to peacekeepers escorting them out before they could destroy any more property. Leon was met by his two older brothers, who wished him good luck. After a warm embrace, Leon was taken with Carin to the hovercraft, as train tracks to these districts had not yet been repaired.
As they arrived at the Capitol, the reaping proceeded on. The last one occurred in district 1. However, in the 25 years of chaos before the rebirth of Panem, the training academies of both districts 1 and 2 had disappeared. This led to only one person to volunteer in district one. The young man was called Cormac Davenport. At 18 years old, he was very tall, with pale hair, skin, and eyes. He stoically shook the hands of both game makers, before Alina proceeded to call to the stage 16 years old Satine Rivalta. She clumsily climbed to the stage, but it was obvious that she was terrified. Her brown curls were dry and dusty, and she looked quite unattractive.
After a brief goodbye to her family, Satine rejoined Cormac, as he had stated that he didn't want to see anyone before leaving. In the hovercraft, Satine tried to start a conversation with her fellow tribute, but he didn't utter a word for the entirety of the short trip. When they arrived in the Capitol, they were quickly taken to their accommodation quarters. As the former tower had been destroyed, the tributes were brought to a brand-new complex that housed all the different tribute accommodations, training center, Auditorium and even a brand-new viewing square.
At their quarters, Carin and Leon were presented to their mentor, Alan McFarlane. Alan had been a leading force in President Snow's army and was a very intense strategist. He appeared to scare the tributes while talking about all the deaths he had provoked, and subsequently caused Carin to run to her bedroom. Leon stayed, however, and when his mentor asked him what he could do, he replied that he had been dealing with bulls for his entire life and knew how to avoid them. Alan proceeded to warn him that, even though they weren't as strong, other people were way more intelligent than bulls. After that, he retired and left both tributes rest.
Satine and Cormac soon met their own mentor, Pilar Dundee. Pilar was originally from district 1, where she had originally been training to fight in the hunger games. She was not selected, and then went on to be one of the surviving peacekeepers to leave for England. While Cormac didn't seem interested, Satine kept on asking questions, mentioning in passing that back in district 1, she used to wrestle with her siblings, and that she could fight. Pilar then asked Cormac if he could defend himself, and he replied that he was in the militia before Panem was reborn, and he had seen his share of fights. Pilar seemed disturbed at his expression, and decided to not ask further question, suggesting instead that they rest for the next day's parade.
This year's parade was quite different from former games. Due to the lack of resources and personnel, Tributes were fitted with more traditional clothing, yet still fitting the theme of their district. Cormac and Satine were first, wearing a red suit and gown decorated with pearls. Behind them, the tributes for district 2, Aurelia, and Damon, caught the eye of the public with their golden togas and crowns. At the back of the parade were the tributes from district 11, wearing matching clothes made of orange fabric with a leafy pattern. The burly Clementine struggled with her tight sleeves, and her fellow tribute Maxim helped her undo the knots. Leon and Carin's outfits were underwhelming, consisting of blue jeans pants and leather vests. However, Leon's good looks helped the duo garner some attention.
On the next day, training started. While they were practicing in the spear area, Aurelia and Damon came to Cormac and Satine. They practiced together, Aurelia showing her knife throwing skills while Damon taught them about toxic plants. They struck a rapport very easily and agreed to an alliance. Capitol citizens were quite happy to see the return of the career pack, even though they were not trained.
At first, Leon tried to practice his axe throwing skills, but he soon abandoned when he saw Woody (7) chucking them with incredible speed and accuracy. He then decided to practice in the battle simulator by himself.
On the other side of the training facility, Carin had first tried her luck at the electronics station, but she was soon shooed away by Morris and Electra (3). She then ended up with Clementine and Maxim in the survival station. They spoke a little about their life in the districts, mostly about the poverty and unrest. Maxim cited that one of his great aunts had once participated in the games. They were also joined by a tearful Brian (9). The 12 years old little boy decided to follow the group for the rest of the training.
The scores for the assessments were incredibly low. Only Woody (7), Cormac (1) and Aurelia (2) received a score of 8, with Satine and Leon getting a 6. Carin was at the bottom with a 2, as it was rumored that she had thrown a knife at the assessors. Fortunately, she aimed very badly, and no one was injured.
The young Urania Whimsiwick was the host for the 102nd edition of the tribute's interviews. She was quite young and nervous but managed to find her confidence. She was accompanied by Helion Cardew, who put the tributes at ease with his radiant smile and humor. Cormac's interview was quite awkward, as he didn't show any emotion. When asked what his motivation for volunteering was, he stated that he wanted to "do something". Satine, on the other hand, had a lot of success, thanks to her easygoing and cheerful nature. Helion later stated that she didn't seem "mature enough" while Urania said that she was "easier on the heart that she was on the eyes".
The rest of the interviews went on relatively smoothly. Except from the boy from 4, who seemed to get very angry and threaten to "punch Helion's face in" when asked if he was excited to participate in the games. Leon seemed at first intimidated by the lights, but he soon gained confidence, and responded to Urania's questions in a very amicable way. He even joked with Helion and was soon given very good odds of winning. Carin tried her best to appeal to citizens of the Capitol, but her interview was not memorable. Maxim ended his interview by stating that he would love to move to the Capitol if he won, as it was full of pretty ladies.
On the next day, tributes were dressed in light pants and t-shirts, and placed in their respective tubes. Pilar came to encourage Cormac and Satine and warned them about the tributes from district 2, as they were dangerous opponents. On the other side Alan Tried clumsily to console a bawling Carin and shared a solemn handshake with Leon. It was then that the podiums started to slowly rise.
This year's arena was relatively small. It was mostly composed of large vineyards that undulated towards the perimeter. The cornucopia was situated in a central clearing, with dirt paths passing through and flowing towards the perimeter. A few old ruins were scattered around, but there was very little protection from the scorching sun except from some wooded areas closer to the perimeter. Alina said in an interview said that she was inspired by the French countryside where she had stayed in her youth to create this arena.
As the podiums rose, all tributes were blinded by the light, and the heat of the arena hit them. They looked around, slowly getting accustomed to the strong light. Cormac shared a quick look with Damon, Aurelia and Satine, the later of whom responded with a conspicuous wink. They kept scanning around the cornucopia, noticing the small number of weapons and diverse materials. There was no food present, only water bottles.
Leon noticed Woody, to his right, intently staring at a hand axe inside the cornucopia. He tried to make eye contact with Carin, but she was looking back to the closest way out of the clearing. Next to her, Myriam (7) seemed to have a complete breakdown and sobbed uncontrollably.
Day 1 :
The game makers wished all tributes a good luck, and as the countdown came to an end, all tributes jumped towards the cornucopia. Leon ran as fast as he could, knocking down Pluto (5) on the way to the cornucopia. He managed to grab a knife and a small backpack, but he soon left when he saw that Woody had grabbed an axe. Leon rejoined with Carin, Clementine, and Maxim who were waiting. On the other side of the cornucopia, Satine had immediately jumped off her podium to her left, and quickly managed to strangle the girl from 9 while Aurelia threw a knife directly through the brains of Pluto, who was helplessly crawling away. Cormac and Damon joined Aurelia and Satine, and they grabbed as much resources and weapons as they could, while most tributes fled towards the vineyards.
Leon and Carin's group were about to exit the clearing when they heard the cries of Brian (9). Their small hesitation led to the boy from 4 attacking the group. However, Leon easily avoided his trident, before pushing him. The boy fell violently against the nearest podium, breaking his neck on impact.
Brian's screams soon quietened when Cormac transpierced his heart with a sword. All the tributes subsequently vacated the clearing and started to explore the arena.
Maxim, Clementine, Leon, and Carin had decided to quickly run to an old windmill, which was close to the perimeter. However, due to the sweltering heat and the rocky ground, they had to stop often. The shared the two water bottles they had managed to pick from the cornucopia, but soon became hungry and tired. They then decided to pause under the shade of an oak tree. Maxim and Leon spent their time sharpening sticks into makeshift weapons, as all they had to their name was a knife and a trident. As the day went on, five cannons sounded, announcing the deaths of the boy from 4, Pluto (5), Myriam (7) who viewers had seen being bashed with a rock by Fuchsia (8), and both Brian and the girl from 9. The bloodbath this year was relatively safe, with still 17 tributes remaining.
The group from districts 1 and 2 had made their way to the other side of the arena, and they had decided to camp there for the night, and to start hunting the others the next day. Damon managed to find out which grapes were edible, and the group managed to eat them. They did not speak much, except for Satine, who seemed very enthusiastic at getting the "first kill". They decided to sleep in shifts but were soon awakened by a cannon.
As the night set in, the outlying pack had started to fall asleep. While they were all seemingly asleep, the foliage from the oak started rustling, and it was shown to viewers that Dean (6) had been hiding there since the beginning of the day. As he tried to stealthily descend from the tree, a branch cracked, which started to awaken the tributes sleeping under. Dean could have survived this encounter if he had fled immediately, as the others were not aware of his presence. However, he decided to try and steal a water bottle.
In an instant, Clementine, who was holding a previously made sharp stick, threw her weapon at Dean's neck. Some blood splattered onto Clementine's thick afro, while Dean spluttered and fell to the ground, sounding his canon a few instants later. The group awoke, and they agreed to take turns keeping watch. At midnight, the portraits of the boy from 4, Pluto (5), the boy from 6, Myriam (7) and both tributes from 9 were shown, which left 16 tributes alive on the first day.
Day 2:
On the second day, most tributes awoke thirsty and tired. They started roaming around the area while keeping their distances. Due to their knowledge of edible fruits, Clementine and Maxim were able to show their allies the difference between the edible grapes and those infected by mold, that were highly toxic. They rationed their water and set off in the direction of the perimeter, while being careful of not being seen by others. They almost ran into Fuchsia and Timothy (8), but the duo kept hidden, presumably because they were outnumbered. Carin also noticed that some areas of bushes were quite noisy with buzzing, so the group decided to stay away from these just in case.
However, as noon was approaching and the heat had begun to rise, the outlying pack went in search of a shaded place. Carin almost ran towards a small, wooded area that she could see, while her allies tried to make her slow down. Maxim called for her, but it was too late. She ran down the path and disappeared, before screaming, and her cannon subsequently sounded.
Viewers were aware that during the first night, Morris and Electra (3) had set up a trap with a battery and copper wire they had taken during the bloodbath. Multiple wires were dangling from branches in this wooded area, and any tribute that touched them would be badly electrocuted. As Carin fell to the ground convulsing, Electra carefully stole her stick, and hid back with her district partner.
Meanwhile, Leon, Maxim and Clementine had run back the way they came, knowing they couldn't do anything. Fortunately for them, Clementine and Leon held their most precious items, the water bottles. They stopped by a tiny river to fill them back up, and Leon comforted a trembling Clementine.
On the other side of the arena, the other big group were looking in vain for other tributes. Unbeknownst to them, most tributes were currently in the southern part of the arena, with only the girl from 6 camouflaged between two rocks a few hundred meters away.
When they heard a scream followed by the cannon, they immediately jumped up. Aurelia encouraged the others to go investigate, as there would surely be other tributes around this zone. When they arrived later in the day, they saw the death claw struggling to pick up Carin's body through the thick branches. They waited some more for the hovercraft to leave before entering the woods.
Fortunately for them, Damon suggested they did not take the path, but instead they walked through the undergrowth. This way, they unknowingly avoided a death trap. In the middle of their walk, they suddenly stopped after hearing some movement. They spread out, and Aurelia stumbled directly into the district 3 tribute's camp. There was a short pause, where no one moved, but when Cormac and then Damon appeared behind Aurelia, both Electra and Morris jumped to their feet and ran. Cormac threw his sword, but he missed and managed only to graze Morris's ear. However, Electra tripped on the battery and fell to the ground. Aurelia did not waste any time and stabbed her right in the forehead, which sounded her cannon immediately. Satine ran after Morris while the other stayed back and raided the camp for anything useful.
Morris ran through the path, while staying low so that none of the wires could touch him. Satine, on the other hand, was not aware of them, and when she pushed one out of her way, she seized up and started convulsing. It took almost two minutes for her cannon to sound. The rest of the group had been looking for her, and when they heard the cannon, they ran to congratulate her on killing Morris. When they couldn't find her, they started to worry, even if Cormac seemed to just want to leave Satine. They finally found her later in the afternoon, because they heard the crackling of wasps getting electrocuted and investigated the source of the noise.
As night approached, Clementine insisted on holding a wake for Carin. She started talking about how she was a girl with character and a good heart. Maxim tried to lighten the mood by reminiscing about the time before the games, but it seemed to make his allies mood even more somber. They stayed up inside a roofless house until the portraits of Satine (1), Electra (3) and Carin (10) lit up the sky, then slowly went to sleep, this time not forgetting to keep watch for other tributes.
Aurelia, Damon, and Cormac had come back to the central clearing after the death of Satine. They searched for anything that could have left behind. They discussed about the locations where other tributes would be, and Cormac stated they should probably walk around the perimeter on the next day.
Day 3 :
On the third day of the 102nd Hunger Games, there were still 13 tributes alive. They were all awoken early in the morning by the sound of a cannon. It was revealed to viewers that the girl from 4 had encountered Woody, and that he had chased her until she had run directly into Morris and Electra's trap. She had been electrocuted, the decapitated by Woody. Helion jokingly stated that he was "sad to see such a pretty girl go this way".
In the vineyards, the buzzing had intensified. Tributes could see small yellow wasps buzzing around them. Alina explained that they were a new species of Tracker-Jacker wasps, created by the Capitol to be faster and provoke intense hallucinations with their stings. However, most tributes continued their day as usual. Both alliances spent their day circling slowly around the perimeter, avoiding wasps as they could. However, as there was no action for the entire morning and the crowd was getting impatient, Game-maker Snow decided to increase the wasps aggressivity.
The first to be stung was Leon. He appeared to swat away a wasp, but it stung him on the hand. After the intense pain had set in, he started to get extremely confused, asking his allies who they were, and where he was. He was sweating and breathing erratically. Maxim and Clementine exchanged a perplexed glanced, and as they were approaching Leon, a cannon sounded that startled the group. Leon started running away, but he did not see the tree in front of him and knocked himself out. Viewers had seen that the cannon belonged to Timothy (8). As he had been stung in a few spots and started to cry loudly, Fuchsia had grabbed another rock and bashed his brains. She then quickly ran away when more wasps started to arrive.
Cormac, Aurelia, and Damon too were running away. They fortunately weren't stung, but they had to spend the rest of the day hidden away in a partially collapsed cellar. While Aurelia practiced her knife throwing skills, Damon tried to engage a conversation with Cormac, talking about his girlfriend back in district 2. However, Cormac barely listened and kept polishing his sword.
Two more tributes died that afternoon. Morris (3) succumbed to the tracker-jacker's stings after running headfirst into a nest. The girl from district 6 was only stung once, however, the hallucinations she suffered from led her to jump from the tree she was sitting in. The fall broke one of her legs, and she laid there barely conscious until Woody (7) put her out of her misery.
Clementine and Maxim had managed to pull Leon with them into a small thicket of trees, and they avoided being stung any more by covering themselves in very fragrant leaves that Maxim knew were insect repellents. Leon woke in the evening. His hand still hurt quite badly, but the hallucinations had gone away. He described them as "nightmarish visions", telling his allies that he thought they were monstrous bulls.
The wasps eventually went back to their nests, and tributes could finally get out of hiding. At midnight, the portraits of the fallen showed Morris (3), the girls from 4 and 6 and Timothy (8) had died. This left only 9 tributes within the arena.
Day 4:
The morning of the fourth day went on quite slowly. Most tributes kept hiding, in case the wasps had come back but Game-Makers Snow and Cardew had brought them back out of the arena. Only Cormac and the tributes from district 2 were roaming around, hunting for others. It was shown at one point that they walked right under the tree where Woody (7) was hiding, but he decided it was wiser not to attack the group.
However, as no real action was happening and spectators were getting quite bored, an announcement was made by Alina Snow. She congratulated the surviving tributes on their tenacity, then told them that a feast would be held at noon in the cornucopia. Tributes were at first confused, as they were not familiar with the concept, but Alina explained that supplies they desperately needed would be offered to the tributes.
Almost all tributes decided to attend the Feast, most of them hoping for food, as some were starting to feel the effects of malnourishment. Clementine was very adamant on getting there first as to avoid meeting their opponents. She encouraged Maxim and Leon, who were hesitating, and the trio set off.
Aurelia, Damon, and Cormac were also hurrying to get there, even if there was still an hour of waiting. They hid behind a row of grapevines a few meters away from the clearing. A few minutes later, people in the viewing square started to hold their breath, as eight of the nine remaining tributes were all hiding, in close proximity to each other. It didn't take long for them to notice each other, but nobody dared to attack first.
Leon, Maxim, and Clementine were discussing their attack strategy. Clementine volunteered herself to distract the others, but Leon replied that they were too many, and that they would need to cover each other. On the other side of the clearing, Cormac suggested that their group spread out around the cornucopia, in order to catch fleeing tributes. His allies agreed and readied themselves.
After what felt like days to the tributes and viewers alike, the podiums started rising, with seven bags appearing into view. Everyone waited a few seconds, trying to guess who would be the first to run to the bags. Leon started to count to three, but Maxim immediately ran towards the one with an 11 written on the side. The rest happened very quickly. Clementine and Leon followed Maxim, while Damon and Fuchsia ran towards their respective bags. Maxim was the first to grab his bag, but as he turned around, he saw Woody chucking an axe in Clementine's direction. However, before Maxim could scream, the axe had hit her right in the heart and her cannon subsequently sounded. Then, five seconds later, another cannon sounded, and it was revealed that Fuchsia had impaled herself on Cormac's sword as she was running away.
Leon and Maxim quickly grabbed the bags from 10 and 11 and fled, narrowly avoiding one of Aurelia's knives. After dislodging his axe from Clementine's chest, Woody grabbed the bags from 6 and seven and ran away too, leaving only the tributes from 1 and 2 to grab their and Fuchsia's bag. They settled for a moment around the cornucopia and checked their contents. To their disappointment, the bags only contained water bottles, as well as a little food.
When they were certain to be far enough from the danger, Maxim and Leon searched for a place to rest. They shared the food that was gifted at the feast and reminisced about Clementine. Maxim appeared on the verge of tears, but Leon quickly reassured him and told him that she had saved him, and that there was nothing more they could do but move forward. This speech consolidated Leon's place as one of the favorites from this year's Hunger Games.
The afternoon slowly went on, with most tributes staying put. In fact, only the alliance from 1 and 2 roamed the arena. They managed to find Tammy (5) hiding within the ruins of a house. She looked emaciated and couldn't even get up anymore. As Cormac was approaching, she started whimpering, but before he could stab her, she shoved a handful of berries in her mouth. Knowing she would be killed, Tammy had decided to commit suicide, and the grouped watched as she convulsed for a moment before dying. A lot of Capitol viewers were shocked by this scene, as they deemed it "not at all fair play".
As the evening came, the atmosphere between the tributes from 10 and 11 got slightly tenser. The glanced at each other quite often. Urania correctly guessed that, as the number of tributes had dwindled, it had become rather clear to Leon and Maxim that the end was approaching. Yet, they decided to stay together one more night, before going their separate way. They didn't speak much that night, and Leon soon feigned sleep. Viewers could see him holding on tightly to his knife. Maxim appeared in two heads, but he did not act for the first part of the night.
A few minutes before midnight, a cannon sounded, quickly followed by another. The last viewers who had remained in the viewing square could see that the first cannon belonged to Damon (2). He had inadvertently walked into a trap set earlier by Woody, which had him suspended in the air by his foot. Cormac attempted to cut the rope with his sword, but a cracking branch alerted him to a presence, and he looked around. Woody appeared from behind a bush and slammed his axe into Damon's body, almost cutting him in half and sounding his cannon immediately. He then tried to lunge at Cormac. However, he had not noticed Aurelia coming from behind, and she jumped on his back. Woody fell to the floor. There was a moment where both tributes were wrestling, with neither of them winning. Cormac watched curiously, and Helion commented that he was "definitely odd".
The fight ended when Aurelia grabbed the axe laying on the floor and planted it into Woody's shoulder. He screamed in pain, and Aurelia shut him up by stabbing a knife into his right ear. Immediately after his cannon sounded, the portraits of the fallen were shown, displaying the faces of Damon (2), Tammy (5), Woody (7), Fuchsia (8), and Clementine (11). Only 4 tributes were left in the arena, which meant that the showdown was imminent.
Day 5:
The tributes did not sleep well that night. Cormac and Aurelia had stared at each other for a long time, before agreeing to keep their alliance until the very end. They had barely closed their eyes, holding tight to their weapons.
Leon, who had unfortunately fallen asleep in the early morning, was awaken by the cracking of a twig. He managed to dodge Maxim's trident, before scurrying to his feet. He looked around, to see his knife had fallen on the ground. Maxim followed his gaze and swiftly kicked it away. Suddenly, the voice of Game-Maker Snow resounded in the arena. She congratulated the top 4 tributes for making it this far. She then explained that the tracker jackers had been once again activated. However, this time they would only target tributes who were not within the cornucopia clearing. She wished the odds to be in their favors and started the 10 minutes countdown.
Cormac and Aurelia ran immediately as fast as they could into the clearing and dissimulated themselves inside the cornucopia. On the other side of the arena, Leon had tackled Maxim and was wrestling him for his trident. He was stronger and heavier than the latter and quickly overpowered him. Maxim managed to plant one of the prongs into Leon's shoulder, but Leon sat on his chest, knees on Maxim's hands and started strangling him in a moment that Urania stated was "Oddly beautiful". The minutes started counting down while both tributes stayed in the same position. It was noticed that both tributes were crying. It took a long time for Maxim to fall unconscious, but when his cannon finally sounded, there were only 2 minutes left for Leon to get to safe ground.
Meanwhile, as soon as he heard the cannon sound, Cormac sliced his sword through Aurelia's head without leaving her the time to react. This greatly shocked the Capitol's audience, who were not expecting this. While cleaning his sword, Cormac kept an emotionless look on his face, the same look that had made him quite unpopular among Capitolites.
Leon ran as fast as he could and managed to enter the clearing only 10 seconds before the end. He was followed by a swarm of wasps, but they did not approach further. Leon looked around, a trident in his right hand and a knife in the left. He had heard a cannon but did not know whose it was. Cormac suddenly emerged from within the cornucopia, choosing to only keep his sword.
The fight that ensued was quite spectacular, with both individuals obviously quite strong. Leon handled the trident as if it was a pitchfork. He tried to hit first but his attack was deflected by Cormac's sword. The latter kept very still, seeming to economize his movement. A few jabs were exchanged before Leon threw his knife into Cormac's shoulder. For the first time since the reaping his face seemed to show an emotion. At first it was pain, but it soon morphed into pure rage. He ran at Leon, grabbing his trident and yanking it away. This made Leon fall to the ground, unarmed. Cormac quickly tried to stab him, but dodged once, twice, three times, until the sword hit one of the podiums and literally shattered.
Leon did not waste any time. He got back up and tackled his opponent to the ground. They rolled around the dust. Both tributes were starting to show some wear and tear, with bruises forming and blood dripping from various wounds. At one point, Cormac removed the knife that was still embedded within his shoulder, but it caused him a lot of pain. Leon was able to get on top and started pummeling Cormac in the face. He tried to get out of his grasp, but each punch brought him closer to unconsciousness. As he was passing out, Leon took the knife and plunged it in his heart, sounding the last cannon. Leon Reed from district 10 was then named the victor of the 102nd Hunger Games and airlifted by the hovercraft as he passed out of exhaustion.
After being examined in Ravinstill hospital to treat any wound, Leon was interviewed by Urania Whimsiwick and Helion Cardew. It went very well with Leon acting in a very humble but outgoing manner. Helion and Urania spent a good chunk of their allowed time flirting with the victor, who seemed quite uncomfortable, but he managed to laugh it off. When it came time to speak about his kills, Leon claimed that he "did what he had to do" and that he was grateful to still be here.
Later, Leon was offered a house in an entirely rebuilt Victor's village, but he rarely lived in it. He was most often in the Capitol, taking part in parties, galas, and conference. He went on to become a renowned butcher and chef, and eventually married Carlene Tappdock, a famous wedding planner.
This year's games and their victor were extremely well received, with a lot of support from the viewers. President Snow promised the citizens of the Capitol that next year's game would happen. To show their gratitude, a lot of more affluent citizens launched donations programs to help the districts get better funding and infrastructures.
