paradisalogs | Nightmare Plot

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Nightmare Plot

Who: Katniss and You!
What: Welcome to the 77th Annual Hunger Games ...
When: Nightmare plot
Where: The Arena (and for those familiar with it, The Seam.)
Rating: Definitely R for blood, gore, and the death of children.

The first thing you hear booming is the voice, from your glass tube as you slowly rise up from ...where? You're not sure. All you know is that you are trapped in a glass tube and you are going up. And there's that man - that so jovial man calling out over a loudspeaker from somewhere.

"Welcome to the 77th Annual Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor! It's time for the countdown .... "

And there you are, finally, in the light, in a giant semi-circle where the dirt is suspiciously piled high. There's a long, green field, cut off by a fence that says 'High Voltage'. There are woods to one side of the fence, and to the other, a low valley filled with wooden houses. Somewhere, smoke is rising from the coal mines.

"10..."

When you look around - you see ... children. Dozens and dozens of children on similar pillars. Some look scared. Some look determined. Some look ... well you never really thought a child could look murderous. They range from eleven to seventeen, and you might even recognize Clove.

"9...."

On one end, there is Katniss. Looking pale, sick, but there's a fire in her eyes that says she knows what this fight is. When your eyes lock, she looks surprised to see you there, but all she does is tap her nose once, then jerk towards the field in front of you.

"8 ...."

There you will see the cornucopia - a broad, metal one. Filled with supplies, and supplies are spread out all around it. Weapons are right inside, and backpacks are spread in a ever-widening circle around. Katniss nods towards the packs - go for the supplies. She'll get the weapons.

"7...."

She looks to the woods after that.

"6...."

First rule of the Games - always know where to run.

"5 ... 4 ...3 ... 2...1....Let The Games Begin!"

Katniss jumped off the pillar like a gazelle and sprinted right towards the bow and arrows. A large muscled boy came at her from the left; she feints, then jumps, flipping to grab him by the neck with her legs and slam him to the ground, before rolling to her feet and keep running. She grabs a sword, and the bow and arrows, taking the arrow in hand as she sprints back towards you, screaming, "RUN! RUN!"

The Clove-look-alike comes at her from the side, and Katniss doesn't even hesitate, she steps smoothly back and slices her throat open with one smooth, soldierly motion, before running forward again.

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The tributes stopped, or at least the two still moving around did, eying Percy and Katniss. "You mean ... an alliance? Until the others are dead?"

Katniss shook her head, "No. He means against the Gamekeepers. The Capital."

The Tributes stared at them, blankly. One of the tributes on the ground said quietly, "We can't do that. They'll kill our families."

Percy didn't know what was going on, but the others weren't trying to kill them so that was a good first step. He wished he knew more about these Gamekeepers.

"I know how it feels to have a family in danger, believe me. But do you really think killing us is going to make yours any safer? No. As long as those Gamekeeper guys are around, you and your family will always be in danger. But if we take them out, we'll make things safe for everyone."

He took a deep breath. He was a little rusty with inspirational speeches, but he hoped that one was good enough to keep him and this girl alive for a while longer.

Katniss looked to the boy, arching an eyebrow, before she looked at the Tributes, her jaw firming. "Nothing is ever going to make you safe. You or your family. Not while the Capital is in charge. Not while we're killing each other, and not them. The boy's right, even if he's not from around here."

The tributes shifted, back and forth, looking at one another.

It was a lot to ask of kids who were clearly scared and convinced that killing was the only way out. Being the son of Poseidon or part of a Roman legion sure wasn't going to impress them. But he was a leader, and so was this girl.

"I'm not killing any of you," he said. "I'm going after the guys in charge."

It's not entirely sure if they're listening to Percy - or Katniss - or both - but all four of them slowly nod their heads.

"All right ...but how do we fight them?"

"We need to get to the Seam. If we can overcome the Peacekeepers there, we can use their flyer to get to the Capital, and take out Snow." It sounds so easy. Why wasn't it this easy before?

There's something wrong with this. Something wrong that she hasn't figured out yet.

"You take the lead, Katniss," Percy invited her. "I'll bring up the rear." Not that he didn't trust these kids, but he'd been stabbed in the back before.

Katniss gave him a wry look - oh goodie - now she'd get to get stabbed in the back instead - but still. She nodded and moved to the front, preparing to lead them through the woods to the Seam itself.

From the distance, there were the sounds of explosions ...

Explosions were not a good thing. Wasn't it enough that kids were killing each other? Did they seriously have to explode stuff too? Percy wished they had one more ally so he could get reports on what was happening. But since no one else was around he even knew, he just pressed the others to go a little faster.

You know, so they could avoid exploding, too.

Well, congratulations, Percy ... no one is going to avoid exploding.

Because when they walk through the next clearing - they're suddenly on the Capital streets - and the rebellion is in full swing.

Katniss's eyes go wide, as she looks around, her voice going soft, "... I know this street ... "

"Okay...?" Percy eyed her expectantly. "I'll bite. Where are we?"

"Well, you said you wanted to go to the Capital. So let's go to the Capital. Watch your step, there's a war on." Katniss laughs, but it sounds strange, even to her.

"..huh. Short walk," Percy commented. There was something weird going on here. Like Paradisa odd. Which made him start to wonder about all this. He shifted the shield to his other arm.

Great. Another war. At least during the last one he knew the terrain. He hated giving up the lead. Plus the large group was making him a bit nervous. Maybe it was the Greek in him remembering how groups larger than three were unlucky.

Katniss was also looking at the group, who looked downright terrified, before she looked over at Percy. Pointedly. She also remembered what happened the last time she led a large group of people through these streets.

"We should go on alone."

Funny how they were on the same wavelength on this. Or maybe not so funny; maybe she went through some bad stuff before herself.

"Try not to die," was his advice to the other kids.

Oh yes. In fact she'd been through this version of the Games about four or five times already. And each time it was different.

She started down the slope, calling out behind her, "Mind the sidewalk ... there's a black goo trap here."

Yeah. She knew the score here a little too well. "How do you know that's exactly what the trap is?" Percy questioned her. "Is this exactly how it happened back in your world?"

She stopped where she was walking, and closed her eyes tight, and started to point.

"There is where the Sarge was killed. There is where we ran to get away from the black ooze. There is where Peeta lost it to the tracker-jack poison again and tried to kill me. There's where one of our troop was cut clean in half ..."

She opens her eyes, and looks at him bleakly, "The difference now is - it's just us. No more innocents to get killed in my war."

So his thought about her was right. He didn't know what "tracker jack" meant but the rest of it he could totally relate to, in one way or another. Percy touched the beads around his neck. One of them had names etched around it: all the lives lost in his war.

"I'd rather not get killed either, if I can help it. So let's get going and end this."

"Yes ... let's finish this."

She murmured quietly, opening her eyes and turning to look at him. His expression though - she knew that face. So as they walked, she said quietly. "You've done this before, too. Just not here."

Was he that obvious? ... Yeah. He probably was. "I was. There was a war back in my world. Took place right in my home city." He couldn't imagine going through that over and over again. It would be a nightmare.

"You say you've been through this same thing five times? Like it repeats itself?"

She nodded her head with a quiet sigh. "I don't know what's going on."

"Paradisa is what's happening, Katniss," Percy said gravely. "It's doing something to us." Percy wasn't the type to blame the castle for every bad thing that happened. But this? Why else would Katniss relive something she feared over and over again.

"How did it end the other times? Maybe if we change the ending, we can break out."

"I die." She's frank about this - even though a shadow of something like terror flickers through her gaze. "I get the person out - somehow - but I die. Every single time."

"Well, this time you're not going to die," Percy said with confidence. And he wasn't just trying to be chivalrous, because he knew girls were just as capable as boys. But reliving one's death over and over sounded like something straight out of the Fields of Punishment. He didn't wish that kind of torment on this girl.

"Going to promise that one, are you?"

Katniss said wryly, but he did get a hint of a smile.

Nightmare Plot

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