dKUiqDEE

1Chapter 1
2
3	I wake up screaming. Sweat comes down in beads across my face, and my hands tremble. At least they aren’t like Wiress’ were, always trembling, never stopping. I calm myself, and I feel Peeta’s hand coming around to comfort me. I feel better when I remember he’s here, his never-changing demeanor masking his frightened thoughts. I start breathing deeply, slowly, trying to stop hyperventilating. Slowly, my hands stop trembling, and I allow Peeta’s arm to wrap around me, anchoring me to the real world. Taking me away from my nightmares and my fears. Secure, but gentle, that’s just how he is. He pulls me into a soft embrace, and I warm to his touch, my fears washing away.
4
5	“What’s wrong, Katniss?” he says in his baritone voice. 
6
7	It’s finally changed, and I know it has. It’s changed from the first time we met, to the second embrace of fate, and now to the third encounter. It was ever-changing before, as he got smarter, but I don’t think it’s doing that now. It’s been unchanging in it’s soothing melody for the past year, a constant in my life. I have been granted that much, at least. Constance in my life, and peace. Not hounded by the government, and not by any unscrupulous members of society. I look in the moonlight upon his muscled chest, his toned arms.
8
9“I was having a nightmare, Peeta. I dreamt of the first Hunger Games, when they used the tributes’ eyes to make wolves that tried to kill us.” My voice lowers as I continue on saying it, dropping to barely a whisper at the end of my sentence.
10Once again, as he said all those years ago, he assures me, he affirms my beliefs that I cannot on my own. 
11“Those weren’t Glimmer’s eyes, weren’t Foxface’s eyes. They were just mutts, made by the Capitol to terrorize us.”
12Capitol, that name evokes fury in just about every man, woman, and child who lived before the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games. The Capitol, the evil, foreboding spectre, that saw it fit to torture us by taking our offspring each and every year, and to make them fight for the death.The Capitol still exists today, and naturally is a hub of trade and commerce, and it isn’t the evil thing that it was before. Major infrastructure projects are being carried out, the occasional scandalous politician makes it into office, and all is as it should be. We’re piecing together what we can about the existence of the Capitol, since no one knows about the disaster that sundered the continent we inhabit. We’ve managed to make contact with two other continents, and continued talks are ensuing to cause migrations, for the purpose of learning. At least they speak what apparently is called English; they also speak other languages too. Ones with exotic names and tones, like French and Spanish and Chinese. I didn’t think anyone spoke anything like we spoke. Our language roots are close enough to English, with a few exceptions. It’s still amazing to be able to communicate with people whom 10 years ago we didn’t even know existed.
13“I know Peeta, I know they weren’t. But still, it scares me just to know that the Capitol had that power. That they were able to create such an abomination if they really wanted to.”
14“Look Katniss, I doubt that talking about it in such a morbid tone is going to help you assuage your fears. How about you just go back to bed and we can worry about all of this stuff in the morning.”
15“Let me ask you something Peeta.”
16“Yeah Katniss?”
17“Were you having a nightmare too? I can never tell with you, you’re such a silent sleeper.”
18“Yeah, I was. Nothing too terrible though.”
19“Oh come on, tell me about it! You know it’s better if we both talk about it. You know... like the doctor told us to.”
20“Sigh... -Quid pro quo- is it now? I just slept in the cave we were in when I was hurt... I dreamt I would never wake up, that I was in a state of perpetual waking and inability to talk. Didn’t they have a word like that in English?”
21“Yeah, they told me about it. Something called a ‘vegetable’.”
22“Mmhmm,” he hums in a sing-song-y know-it-all manner, “That’s exactly what I was. A ‘vegetable’. And you kept trying to wake me, and you couldn’t.”
23“Oh Peeta!” I exclaim, being overly dramatic. “That’s horrible!”
24“Stop it, you sound like Effie Trinket now,” he says this in a solid voice, and I stop at once.
25“Go back to bed Katniss, it’ll be better in the morning.”
26“The same goes for you then!”
27I lie down to try to regain whatever sort of sleep my body will allow me after being woken up so rudely in the middle of the night. Even though Peeta said it would be fine, the nightmare still continues.
28
29 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
30
31	I’m running through a forest. Maybe it’s the one that used to exist outside of the ruins of District 12. Maybe it’s the one that exists outside District 13. Maybe it’s the one that was in the 74th Hunger Games. I never know in these dreams, it’s all just tall trees and trunks and leaves on the ground. I am running, so fast. Nothing can catch me, not even the mutts. They’re barking in the background and it’s making a constant din. Hopefully I’ll make it to the other side, to a safe haven. My subconscious won’t allow; I am immediately pounced on by the mutt formerly known as Glimmer. Right before my eyes she turns back into human form, and opens up her jacket to show me her knives.
32
33“Don’t you like them? They’re all so sharp and pretty. And each one hurts just a little bit differently then the last,” she says this with a relish, a happiness because she will enjoy the pain she inflicts upon me. She feels real, even in my dreams. But I can’t talk either, I don’t know why.
34“Not going to answer me, huh? You’re a bad girl then!” she takes out a particular knife with a long serrated edge, but it is thin and can reach within my mouth. She puts it in and begins to saw off my tongue...
35
36 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
37
38Chapter 2
39
40I wake up screaming. Again. And this time my mouth is bleeding.
41
42“What happened Katniss? Oh my god...” Peeta’s voice drops off as he notices the amount of blood loss. I look too, and there’s a sanguine pool of blood lying on the hardwood floor. Our covers are soaked.
43“We need to get you to a hospital Katniss, you’ll be safe there.”
44“I’m fine Peeta, I’m fine,” except I say this with sort of a lisp, since my tongue has a little indent in it from my bite. It comes out more like, “I’m fthine Ptheeta, I’m fthine.”
45“No you aren’t Katniss. Here, I’ll carry you.” 
46
47	I immediately shoot him a look that tells him to drop the ‘knight in shining armor act’. I think it’s pretty clear to both of us that my legs are still functioning. Still, Peeta drapes my arm across his shoulder and we walk away from the house towards the hospital. It’s not unpleasant, I mean I get to lean on his rock-solid exterior. That’s always a plus. Anyways, we just keep walking down the lane and we take a left, and then a right, and I’ll spare you all the boring details of how many lefts and rights and how many meters we had to walk even though I know you’d all -love- to read the step-by-step instructions to get to the hospital from my house, but we arrive.
48
49	There’s this little girl named Prim here who volunteers every once in a while. She reminds me of my sister, Prim, a lot. Prim was killed in a firebombing by District 13, but that’s all old news. I’m alright with it. Every time I see this Prim though, she seems so happy, so much like my sister. The physical resemblance isn’t there, but the personality and the cuteness is. She’s not here today, and so I just go up to the reception desk, since I know how much the hospital hates me going through the Emergency Room. I mean the last time I trekked through there I was carrying a bloody and torn leg, but I made such a fuss that they’ve pretty much banned me from there now.
50
51	I know the receptionist by name now, at least. Her name’s Moonshae. It’s a nice name. She’s a couple of years older than my mother but she has all the grace and litheness of someone my age. It’s amazing really, she’s so old and has no signs of aging; well, almost none. You can hear it in her voice. It’s rough and gravelly, and you can hear the years of experience penetrate her youthful demeanor. It’s like a sage trapped in a child’s body.
52
53	Sometimes she likes to be silent though, it’s one of those days. She gives us a good once over and gets up from behind her desk. She’s lithe and skinny, but you can tell that if she really wanted to kill you, she might have. In the old days, if she was young, she might’ve been subjected to the Hunger Games. And in the old days, she might’ve won. I think anyone from back then can see it; the willingness, the need to win. She walks out from behind the desk with grace; she exudes all the raw, natural power of something that knows it’s place in the food chain; that place is real high. Maybe like a panther, or like a jaguar. A lithe hunting cat, always on the prowl, always ready at a moment’s notice.
54
55	I let out a noise somewhere between a squeak and a moan, since I’m now in terrible pain from my mouth. Honestly, I think to myself, this is nothing like Peeta had to endure from Cato’s cut. I can’t seem to shove down the urge to cry out from the pain though; I let out a higher pitched squeak-moan this time. Moonshae just starts walking down a corridor, and I follow her. It’s marked “Serious but non-life-threatening injuries”. Gee, that sounds real hopeful. As if the fact that my tongue might just fall off in the middle of this whole ordeal isn’t “Life-threatening”. I look into each of the patients’ rooms that we pass by, but most of them are empty. As we get farther and farther back into the complex the number of patients increases. And just like that, I’m in that room before the operating room. I know it’s got a real fancy name, a legitimate term. But to me it’s just “that room before some doctor decides to operate on me”. I see Dr. Aurelius and wave. He’s the doctor that was assigned to me after the 75th Hunger Games to make me come back to Earth. All he really did was come and talk to me, and when I didn’t want to talk, he slept. It was a good arrangement, and with that daily routine I eventually came back. Then the reaping for the 75th Hunger Games happened, and I was shuttled off again to play in a game of life and death.
56
57	He’s older now, definitely not as young as he was before. He’s not a Moonshae, with all his brilliant greying hair and wrinkles that cover his face. Just as he gets up to greet me, I cough blood onto the floor. Moonshae picks this time to talk, and loudly.
58
59“Get Catherine in here, stat! This girl needs attention damn it, where are you Cathy?” and although she usually has grace and prose when speaking, right now she has just as much grace as a nail against glass.
60
61	There’s a trampling of feet, and a woman runs in. Her hair’s straight, her posture straight, her head up high; she thinks she’s above everyone else. I can’t say that’s wrong; she’s the best surgeon on this side of the Mississippi (’Least, that’s what we -think- the river’s called). And that’s between every new city that’s popped up, every new hospital, and every new graduate coming out of college. And she’s not just the best operator for facial injuries; she’s the best operator for -everything-. For all of her standing up on a pedestal and her holier-than-thou attitude, I like her. She’s got spunk, clout, gumption. Lots of words to say what I think she’s got. Catherine Woodburn is the kind of woman who walks into the room and gets attention, whether people like it or not.
62
63“Ah, who’ve we here. Katniss again? What kind of a mess have you gotten yourself into little girl? Got into a scrape with a bear... tried to save a cat from a tree... what was your last excuse? Tried to protect a lady from a robber? Got part of your cheek blown out for that... Enough harassing, let’s see what we’ve got here.” she hastily pulls on her coat, which is longer than her usual one. I think this is the one she uses when something’s really serious. She opens her mouth. Her voice is calmer now, at least. Not by much, but it’s something.
64“Aurelius, how about you make yourself useful? Ready up the OpRoom lights. Moonshae dear, fetch me a scalpel, forceps, and a good ol’ flashlight. And you there, injured girl. Sit down in that chair and make yourself comfortable, you never know how long you’ll be in here. And boyfriend, sit over there.” Peeta sits down in a chair that I think is reserved for her while she operates.
65“No, not that one you fool! The other one!” and with that Peeta settles into an uncomfortable looking folding chair.
66
67	She’s really getting to me right now, messing with us both. I can’t articulate my frustration with my mouth, but I’ve learned how to do that with my eyes. It’s a skill I learned from Haymitch; speaking through my face. It’s pretty fun actually, you can have secret conversations without anyone else realizing you’re talking with another person. I just give her a look that says, “Shut up, or I’ll rip your throat out.”
68
69“I know you will honey, it’s a deal.” I shoot her another look that says, “Holy crap...”
70“Yeah, I know what you’re saying. Comes from a lifetime of staring death right in the face. And little girl, don’t you think for one second that everyone stays sane by doing nothing. We all have our own coping mechanisms. This is mine, laughing in the face of death and destruction.”
71
72	Surprisingly, I get it. Something I learned to do in the Hunger Games, I guess. And right after Prim passed on. I learned it from Finnick; even if he’s dead and wasn’t totally sane, he stayed relatively sane. He tied knots, knots of all kinds. Knots that would make a regular guy just look on in awe as he tied complex knots in seconds. I started doing it too, it helped. I got to do something with my hands, it made it easier on me. Finnick’s not here anymore though. I stifle a tear and try to come back to the present, but it doesn’t work. I think they’ve got some kind of a sedative. I fall back into a dreaming sleep, awaiting the nightmares that plague me...
73
74 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
75
76	Fire. Everywhere. Charred corpses on the ground. Children running around in a dance of death. Is this what they meant by girl on fire? I snap back to reality for just a second, realizing this is what killed Prim. Maybe I’ll be able to catch her in her last fleeting moments of death. I hope at least. I look around on the ground, Gale calls out to me.
77
78“Katniss! It’s not safe!”
79“I’ve got to find Prim, Gale!”
80“It’s too dangerous, come on don’t be so stubborn for once Catnip!”
81We yell out these things to each other, and I make a comment that seems to sober him.
82“Damn it Gale, if it was Rory you lost in this thing you would be looking for him too!” and with that slightly spiteful comment I start looking again. Crawling on the ground, trying to avoid the gaze of those not yet dead. I’m looking, and everywhere there are bits of gore and flesh strewn about. It’s as if a meat grinder came through here and cut a swath of direction for a direct path to the Mayor’s house. In my mind I know I should be looking for Coin, trying to kill her for the treachery, but I continue on looking for Prim. I think I see her, and she’s not dead! I get up and run hastily to her, but as I get closer and closer my scenery changes.
83
84 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
85
86	I’m back in the forest again, and I look at Prim. She looks me straight in the eye, gives me a knowing smile, and then she turns into Glimmer.
87
88“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, tentatively, unknowingly.
89“The same thing as you, trapped within a creation of my subconscious.”
90“You’re dead, how the hell are you trapped within your own?”
91“What’s yours is mine, honey.”
92	
93	I quickly realize that I’ve got my bow strapped to my back, and I bring it forward and nock up an arrow. I line up my shot so to hit her even if she will dodge; I quickly wonder why Beetee never gave me homing arrows, but I push the thought away.
94
95“Oh oh oh, is little Katniss Everdeen going to shoot me? Do you think that’s going to solve all your problems girl? ‘Cause it’s not. I’m here for a reason, and one you’re too afraid to admit to. You know what that is?”
96“No, and I don’t need to know.” My fingers let go of the arrow, the string goes slack. It travels straight and true, shearing through her chest and coming out the other side, leaving a trail of blood behind it as it flies and buries itself in the trunk of a tree.
97“You’re gonna need to learn soon girlie, time’s running out.” How can she still talk? How can -it- still talk, since I’m now convinced whatever my subconscious thinks I need to confront, it definitely isn’t from this planet. I quickly nock up 3 arrows in rapid succession and I fire at the exact same place. She catches the first arrow, moves so the second goes through her already gaping hole, and lets the third completely miss her and fall to the grass.
98“You think you can hurt me? I can hurt you.” she smiles with a relish again. Where have I seen this before?
99“Here, we’re going to have a little fun today. I’ll cut off your arm, I’ll hollow it out. And I’ll wear it, and you can watch as you strangle Primrose Everdeen, and everyone else you’ve ever loved. How does that sound?”
100“Horrible!” I manage to scream out, and at that moment Glimmer throws a dagger into my arm, and my eyes roll backwards from the pain.
101“A pity, I wanted the right arm to be undamaged. Ah well, I can wait till next time.” I hear her say, just as I fade away...
102
103 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
104
105	I’m strapped down when I wake up. I thrash, but then I hear Peeta’s voice. I’m still under the effects of the sedative though; I can’t hear him. I just hope Doctor can manage to fix whatever I did to my tongue.  I can’t open my eyes to see what’s happening; but I feel something on my tongue. I can’t tell what it is in this dream-like state. I fall asleep again, hoping that this one time that my dream will be happy.
106
107 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
108
109Chapter 3
110
111	Now we’re in an urban street. I’ve got my uniform on, and a gun instead of my traditional bow. I can hear orders shouted at me to get down, but I also see a giant oil barrel just begging to be exploded. Decisions, decisions. Then, I see Boggs watching from high-up in a viewing room. This is my test. I remember it. The Room. I quickly get down and another man shoots the oil barrel. The exercise is finished, and I have passed. This time though, I try to find my way up to the viewing room to watch Johanna. It takes a good 5 minutes but I finally find it. When I walk in, it’s as if I’m invisible. No one notices me, and that’s just the way I’d like it to be. I’ve made it just in time for Johanna Mason to face The Room.
112
113	I watch on in silence, as she’s shuttled in. Immediately, you can tell it’s not a group exercise. There’s no one anywhere, not even enemy soldiers.
114
115“What the hell is going on here? I thought I was supposed to be doing something!” And just like as if it is a cue, water floods the alley way. She doesn’t scream. She just stands there, cowering in fear. This is her great fear then, water? I remember she fails this, though. I decide to take a trip through District 13, wondering what my subconscious has left for my semi-conscious mind to discover. 
116
117	I walk down familiar corridors, familiar hallways. The lights flicker on and off in this one just like they always have. This hallway is always slippery from the drainage. Here is where Prim used to play with Buttercup. There is the one that leads to the Hospital. From here I can reach everyone’s room. From there I can reach the bunker. The memories flow back through me like an inexhaustible power source. I keep walking, unsure of my direction. I’d say that I know every part of District Thirteen by heart and by soul, but then I’d be lying. There’s a part of District Thirteen the kids have taken to calling, “The Dark Ways”. It’s never light in there, and the corridors are lit by candles, not by anything electric. 
118
119	The smell of burning that permeates each hallway is ever-present, never leaving. It’s the kind of smell that stays in your nostrils long after you’ve left it’s area. It’s persistent, as if to say, “Don’t forget what happened here. I am a reminder.” I wonder to myself, a reminder for what? I have no answers for myself, none at all. I continue down the hallways and the floors get damper and damper. The leaking that was only faint in the other corridors seems to become omnipresent, always at the edge of my sight and hearing. Echos of waterfalls and raindrops crash against the walls, as if coming closer, closer. I’ve decided to come down here though. I’ve got a feeling that I’ll meet Glimmer again. Maybe I’ll learn something about my subconscious, maybe I won’t. But this is where I am most unfamiliar. Where I don’t know what to do, where to go, what to see. I start off from the only entrance to this place I know; the one behind a removable panel in my room. It reminds me of the house in the Capitol where Castor led us down into the sewers. I go through, not bothering to close the panel behind me.
120
121 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
122
123	It’s dark, really dark. I’m alert though, if my apparition of Glimmer comes, I won’t be off guard. I move silently through the corridor, taking a left just before a wall smacks me in the face. Geez, it’s really dark down here. Again, again. No direction, no thoughts. I just keep on moving, never stopping. My echoes fly off the wall, and they are never joined by anyone familiar. Then, silence. I realize Glimmer is following me, since she’s stopped walking too late. Even for all her silence the sound rebounds off the walls. I realize I need to have a battlefield prepared that I create though; we’re not going to fight on her terms anymore. I stumble into a room accidentally, but I realize it’s the best chance I’ll get. It’s pretty tall for what I can see, considering it’s about 3 me’s high. There’s a giant tapestry I can hide behind, and a few sets of silverware that I could probably use to defend myself. I pick up a few knives and rearrange the setting so that it seems there was no intruder. I quickly slip behind the tapestry, thankful that the whole room is made out of dark stone, and that the chandelier is not lit. I hear her now. She sounds clumsy compared to me, even though we’re both as silent as hunting panthers.
124 
125	She slips in, knowing that there is a battle soon. Just to let her know I’m here I call out. Towards the opposite edge of the tapestry though; the echo makes it seem as if I am everywhere at once. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to trace where the noise came from. Glimmer stops now, but not with fright. She stops with relish, and again she shows me her transformative powers; she turns into a cat. I see the irony in this, the simple cleverness.
126
127“I am the cat, you are the mouse,” she purrs in a voice, changed. “You’ll run out of places to hide, and I’ll find you.”
128“Not if I can catch you first, Glimmer.” I think to myself. 
129She prowls around, unsure of where I am. She can’t know where I am; my hiding place is too great, even for someone of her tracking caliber. Even though she keeps stalking, looking, I am hidden.
130“Come out, come out. You know we can’t play this forever, Katniss. This isn’t even the real thing, just come out and we can play this out the way it should be played out. You’ll die, and you’ll learn what I want you to learn. It’s a good thing, don’t you realize?”
131“What the hell does she want me to know that she needs to kill me for? What the hell is my subconscious trying to tell me by resurrecting a dead girl who I’ve only seen four times in total?” I think to myself. She breaths, and purrs. I take this as a signal to begin battle; I take out a knife and ready it into a throwing position.
132
133	I slip out of the opposite side of the tapestry and I throw a knife at the wall; confuse her, make her think I am everywhere at once. She doesn’t take the bait; she is alike in so many ways, and yet so different. Glimmer licks her lips in anticipation; hopefully she hasn’t figured out where I am yet. I duck down under a table that’s conveniently placed near the tapestry, and wait for her.
134She slips behind a table, and I lose my line of sight on her. I’m afraid now; she knows where I am, and I don’t know where she is. I am good enough though, I can take her out if she faces me one on one. I sit there waiting, the sweat quickly beading on the back of my neck. Not a hot sweat, but a cold one. 
135
136“I’m here, little girl.” she breathes down my neck, “You can’t hide anymore. I’ve found you.” and I scream. Louder than anything I’ve ever heard before; I scream. She clamps her mouth down on my mouth and puts her tongue into my mouth. It takes me a second but I realize she’s trying to kiss me. Ah, what the hell is this? I try to maneuver my mouth out of the way but I’m unsuccessful; her tongue keeps playing games with me. It’s been a few minutes, and I think I might be starting to like it.
137No, I think to myself. If I start liking it, then what the hell am I to Peeta? A cheating bi-sexual? I can’t like it, for Peeta.
138And as if she can read my thoughts, she responds, “Peeta will never know. This can just be between you and me Katniss. This can all just be a secret.” and when she lifts her mouth up for that brief respite, I spit in her face.
139“Bad girl!” and she slaps me, hard. I can already feel a welt coming up on my cheek, and a lone tear starts making it’s way down my face. 
140“Oh, already crying? When I’m done with you you’ll wish you knew what the true meaning of pain was.” and she slaps me again, this time on the other cheek. She smiles delightedly because she realizes this has elicited a reaction out of me.
141“Keep shivering, girl. We’re going to be here for a long time at this rate.” Glimmer hits some nerve that I didn’t even know existed; maybe she did when she was alive. I mean, she was the Career of District 2, and she definitely stood the highest chance of winning. She brought a freaking ring with a button that would inject a deadly poison that was confiscated! All I brought was a mockingjay pin. I’m immobilized now, I can’t move. I have no idea what Glimmer has touched to make my body react like this, but it’s working.
142
143	She turns back into human form, and I think she might be taller than before. She’s clad in nothing but a nightshirt and slippers. Suddenly, as if she realizes I’m contemplating why she’s wearing so little, a whip appears in her hand. I’m still looking when she whips me on the back, making a red mark appear. I scream a little from the pain, but I keep it to a grunt. She knows I’ve done this though, so she whips me again. And a third time. And a fourth time. Finally, on the fifth lash, I let out a scream. It’s better than nothing, and Glimmer decides to back off. She begins to lead me towards the tapestry, for what reason I don’t know.
144
145	We get behind the tapestry and she depresses a stone in the wall, and a hidden room appears. This one is lit by fluorescent lighting, there’s electricity in this place? The room is full of what a medieval torture chamber would probably look like, plus a few things from modern times. What seems the most out of place in this room though, are the racks of outfits. There are shoes, boots, tops, bottoms, gloves, hats, jeans, capris, tube tops, dresses, blouses. It’s like a wardrobe without the wardrobe, without the closet. Racks of whips line the walls, along with what I suppose would be what someone would use if they were masturbating. I’ve got no idea, I just use my fingers and go. I see floggers and a slew of other medieval torture materials, the pear, the gallows, the stretcher. It’s a scary place to be, and it’s scarier since there’s a girl in only a nightshift and slippers who looks at home here.
146
147“Do you like it? I designed it myself. Well, I mean, you designed it. I’m just here to carry out it’s usage.”
148“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
149“You don’t get it? Didn’t I explain this earlier?”
150“Explain what earlier?”
151“I am you. Whatever is in here was made by you.”
152“Why the hell would I make this?”
153“I never said it would be your conscious mind.”
154“So my subconscious wants me to be tortured by a girl who can turn into a cat.”
155“I can’t just turn into a cat, my dear.” When she says my dear, she mimics the voice of Effie Trinket. It’s dead-on. She walks over to the rack with high heels even before the transformation is complete, and picks off a pair of ridiculous 6-inch white heels. I’m not even sure how she’s going to walk in those. After that she grabs a white pair of wrist gloves and slips them on. I can’t tell if she’s trying to turn me on, since my vision is already blurred from the slaps. I think she is though, and I make it a point to look away. This earns me another lash from the whip.
156“I’m just trying to make you... happy. Why can’t you accept that?” she’s almost completely turned into Effie now, the only thing left is her face. And then she puts on a ridiculous sunhat, which covers her face. When she takes it off, she’s Effie. Right down to her feet, right up to her face. It’s her, it’s Effie.
157“Mmm, what fun are going to have here today Katniss?”
158“None, I’ll make sure of it.”
159“Oh, you’ll regret that. And don’t forget, let the odds ever be in your favor!” She laughs maniacally at the end of her last statement, something I thought I’d never hear Effie do. It’s her voice though, she does it. It may be the scariest thing I have ever heard. And I’ve heard a lot of scary things.
160“Let’s see what we’ve got in store for you today Katniss... I promise it won’t hurt; much.” Even with that, she’s lying through her teeth. Pearly white from the treatments that the Capitol gave her.

161	Effie goes over to a rack of swords and picks out what I think is called a dirk. It’s got a curved edge and a straight edge. She walks over to me seductively, clicking her heels as she walks. She sashays her backside and does a little twirl for me; hmph.
162
163“Do you think this is sexy, Katniss? A girl in high heels coming to torture you? Especially when she was your etiquette mentor for the Hunger Games. Doesn’t it just turn you on to think that she’s such a naughty girl? Naughty lingerie and everything, mmm. I know that turns me on, and since I’m you...” and she lets the thought trail off. She brings the sword close to my face, ever so slightly dragging the sharp edge across the bridge of my nose. A fine line of blood appears and it starts coming down my face. I can’t cry though, I can’t show weakness. I can only show strength now, and I say nothing.
164“Ugh, why don’t you do anything right? Emotions, reactions, something! It’s not good torture if you’re not screaming and getting turned on at the same time, damn it!” and with that, Effie slashes my arm down the side. A gash opens up and blood is flowing freely. I let out a squeak of pain, hoping she won’t do more.
165“Oh, did that hurt?” she says in an innocent voice, “I’m sure it didn’t. This won’t hurt either then!” and she slashes my left arm open too. There’s blood pooling at my feet, and I am in pain. I look on my right and I see the bone, the stark white contrast of it. On my left the cut isn’t nearly as deep but it’s large.
166“Need some triage?” she says, and then with a flick of her wrist all my wounds disappear. The pain is still there though.
167“This is great, I can make you feel pain twenty times over and then just make the wounds go away.”
168“This is terrible! How can you delight in torturing human beings like this? They’re just like you!”
169“And in turn, just like you.”
170“Jeez, I wish you would stop doing that! I’m not you, you’re not me! We’re two separate entities, and I’m not sure how you got into my mind, but I’m pretty sure that even my subconscious wouldn’t want me to see this.”
171“Are you really sure about that?”
172“Dead sure, dead sure. My conscious would’ve given me a happier picture.”
173“You leave nothing but destruction and death in your path. You’ve already been shot twice. You think your subconscious is going to he happy with you?”
174“Maybe, maybe n---agh!” and she’s plunged her dirk right through my chest, through the space between my breasts. I’m not even sure if there’s a name for this place, but it hurts so much. A whole sword through my bosom. That’s it, bosom. It hurts more than whatever I’ve ever felt ever.
175“You can take this pain, can’t you?” She’s right. I have been shot twice. That definitely isn’t going to prepare me for what she, or as she would like to say I, have prepared for myself. I’ve already almost fainted from her sword wound. At least she hasn’t done anything interesting by torturing standards yet. She slashes me again a few times on the arms, on the chest. She lets the small nicks sink in, their full pain and shock registering in my mind. Then she makes another, and another. I’ve got a crisscross pattern of superficial cuts all over my body. Am I turned on by this, the pain? No, what kind of person would be like that? I feel a wetness coming on, but I try to convince myself that it’s just the blood.
176“Getting turned on, finally. Something from you. It’s not the blood girl. And if you’re convinced it’s the blood, I’m sure I can convince you otherwise...” and she plunges her gloved finger into my cunt. Now it’s sopping wet, and she keeps bringing it in and out. Ack, how am I enjoying this? This is rape, I try to convince myself. She is molesting me, and I am enjoying it. But it is still rape, no matter how I spell it. She starts increasing her tempo now, and I feel myself panting quicker than before. Oh... am I going to cum? I feel like I’m about to, my cunt tightens around her finger. And then, nothing. They loosen; she removes her hand.
177“That annoy you, that feeling? About to cum, and you can’t. It hurts, it’s called edging.” at this point I decide to decide that she isn’t me. I have no idea how she’s in here, but she’s not me. I had no idea what edging was, and she did. If she really was my subconscious then I’d know what edging was too.
178“Are you sure? The subconscious always knows more than the conscious mind, more than the unconscious mind. It’s the sweet spot in between, where you know everything that goes on around you, and it can’t act upon it; mostly. There are always those times when it breaks through, when it needs to break through. Especially when the person is stubborn, it needs to tell them something. It’ll do something drastic like this. Make an apparition of a hated one, make them do outrageous things. Dreams, hallucinations.” Is that what this is, a hallucination? I’m not even sure anymore. “So, do you understand what the message is now? Do you?”
179“No, no I don’t. I might not ever understand.”
180“Good, I’ll still have fun torturing you then.” And she starts rubbing my sopping snatch again, and I moan. I’m moaning, that’s not a good thing. But it feels so good...
181“Just remember, I’ll never let you cum. Ever. And I’ll enjoy every last bit of feeling I manage to get out from you, and it’ll feel good. Because I’ll force you to make me cum, and you won’t be able to. Does that turn you on, my exercising power over you? I know it turns me on. Now you’re my slave, little girl. You’ll do everything I say, won’t you?”
182“Yes, I will Glimmer.” My mouth makes the shape, and my throat blows the air to cause the sound. It’s a deadpan voice, there’s no inflection in it whatsoever. Gah, why am I saying this?
183“Ah, but I am not Glimmer.”
184“Yes, I will Effie.” Why, oh why.
185“But now, I’m not Effie either!” she exclaims in Prim’s happiest voice. And before I know it, she’s grabbing a new outfit off the shelves. 
186
187	I’m determined to keep my eyes closed but she’ll open them by painful force anyways and I keep them open. Prim was rather small, so she’s grabbing small things. A pair of thigh-high boots, a corset, leather gloves, another whip. Glimmer strips, sexily. I shouldn’t be turned on by this, but I can’t kid myself here. This woman here knows how to play my desires. First, her feet and legs turn into Prim’s, right down to the little scar she carries on her right calf. She pulls on each boot slowly, as if savoring their feel. Or maybe she’s just trying to look sexy, to seduce me. I’m not even sure anymore. Her body changes next, breasts shrinking, arms growing thinner, shorter. Glimmer pulls on the gloves just as she pulled on the boots, even going so far as to smell them and moan in pleasure. She reaches down and plunges a finger into her pussy and it comes out moist. Then, comes the corset. She clamps it on and Prim’s breasts instantly become that much perkier. Then she spins around; once, twice, three times. When she turns back to face me, it’s a sexualized version of Prim. It can’t be her, herself. It’s Glimmer trying to trick me. But she looks so...
188
189“Real? I’m as real as it gets, Katniss. I’m Primrose Everdeen, who was chosen in the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games. My sister took my place, and I helped take care of my mother while she was away. I became a nurse, to help everyone. I looked death in the eye every day, and I mourned for all who passed away under my care. Then, I was killed by a firebomb sent by District 13 to make everyone sympathetic to the cause. But I’m back, Katniss. Aren’t you happy? Your only sister is back to life right in front of your very eyes.”
190“You look like a girl that lives on the streets, servicing men...”
191“I am, Katniss. Aren’t you proud? They call me a ‘prostitute’ and I’m such a happy girl. I love pleasuring people, men and women. Boys and girls too, it gives me pleasure. Here, I can give you pleasure.” again, there’s that Glimmer-smile-on-someone-else. Prim smiles sadistically, maniacally. She starts fondling her breast through her corset; it seems twice as large when it’s pushed up.
192“Aaaaah, aaaaah. It feels so good sis, I love it. You should do it for me too.”
193“No.”
194“What? Don’t you want me to be happy?”
195“You’re not her, you can’t be her. She’s gone, and I have to accept that.”
196“What are you talking about? I’m right here sis.”
197“I can’t believe that.”
198“What will it take sis, I’m really here. I’m not a lie, I’m real. How do I convince you?” 
199
200	Gah, she seems so sincere. I’m not sure what to do, how to make her convince me. I know she’s fake, that she’s Glimmer. But there’s that hope, that she’s still alive. That she’s alive now, that she’s real. Why can’t I take this chance? Am I weak for hoping that it’s Glimmer, that there’s no way it’s Prim? But I saw her turn into Prim before my very eyes, try to seduce me. How, how, how. What am I supposed to say now, I’m not even sure what kind of a face I’ve got on now. Am I showing my emotions to her, is she going to play off this? Does she know I’m not sure what to do right now? Why can’t this just stop, does my subconscious hate me?
201
202“I’ve got no idea. None at all.”
203“See, this is why I stopped liking you. You’re weak. You can’t figure out how to make me prove I’m me. And you give up.”
204“I haven’t given up. Just...”
205“Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t forget; I’m still your mistress.”
206“I understand mistress.” I’m doing it again.
207“I’m not just your mistress. I’m Mistress Prim. Address me as such, slave.”
208“Yes, Mistress Prim.”
209“Now, would you like to help me cum? I know you do, because when I cum you might cum too.” I know it’s a lie, but in my current state I can’t do anything but believe her.
210
211	I crawl over to her, not of my own accord. My body is on autopilot, and I’m just watching from the sidelines. There’s nothing, I’m broken. I am standing, and she is too. We both sit down at the same time, and she spreads her legs. They’re both crooked behind her, so that her twat is exposed to the open air. A heady aroma comes from there; I think it’s the cum that’s already dripping down her thighs. It looks so good. I bend down at the waist, ready to service my mistress. I begin the process.
212
213	My tongue darts out of my mouth, and towards her golden hole. It flits in and out, teasing her sometimes, and giving her what she wants the next. Never stopping, always going. I didn’t even know I could be this good at this kind of stuff, I mean I’ve never done it before. Prim seems to be liking it though; she keeps moaning in pleasure and telling me to eat her out even more. I let my self-control ride shotgun as I move one hand towards her breasts and one hand towards her pert little ass and start groping.
214
215	Pert? What’s gotten over me that I’m using such a lewd adjective? I don’t even know anymore...
216
217 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
218
219“We’re losing her, paddles, stat!”
220“What Cathy? Such an early stage?”
221“We can’t afford to lose her, and you know it Moonshae.”
222“We might lose her with the paddles, damn it!”
223“I’m the doctor, listen to what I say, damn it!”
224“And I’m many years your senior, I know where I’m coming from.”
225“And I’m the best anywhere in the world, we’re using the paddles.”
226“I hope that you’re right Cathy. For all our sakes.”
227“I’m always right.”
228
229 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
230
231	Glimmer is shifting, changing. Her form is becoming ethereal, non-solid. It’s changing between everyone I’ve ever known, Gale, Prim, Moonshae, Catherine, Peeta, what’s going on?
232
233“What the hell is going on here?”
234“Does it look like I know, if I don’t know you sure as hell don’t know!”
235“I thought we agreed that I wasn’t you!”
236“I thought we agreed not to lie to each other, Miss Everdeen.” and she changes into Snow.
237“Well played whoever-the-hell-you-are. Well played.”
238“Thank you.”
239
240	I’m slipping away again, my vision is blurring at the edges. I’m fading to black...
241
242 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
243
244“Is she back? Is she?”
245“I don’t know, the paddles take a while to work.”
246“Why the hell did her heart stop?
247“Does it look like I know? I thought this surgery would only take a few minutes anyways, let alone a few hours!”
248“Isn’t it your job to plan for every contingency?”
249“This one had a less than 0.01 percent chance of happening. 0.01 percent!”
250“But it was the most drastic, wasn’t it?”
251“I’ve not seen this happen for years.”
252“You’ve seen it happen before?”
253“Once, a few months after I started practicing. I was prepared before, I prepared for everything. Very careful.”
254“Why not now?”
255“I got better. I got quicker. I got stronger. I didn’t see a need to plan for a contingency that wouldn’t happen on my watch because I was so good. So I haven’t.”
256“Is it working? Is she alright?”
257“I think she is... Shit! She’s slipping away!”
258“I need a pint of O-Negative, stat! She’s losing blood!”
259“Oh no, oh no...”
260
261 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
262
263Chapter 4
264
265	I wake up in a torn down building, not really sure where I am. My head hurts, I don’t see Glimmer. I don’t see much of anything really, my vision is blocked by a cabinet. I muster up the strength to push it away, then I collapse...
266
267 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
268
269“Why did she just put her hands up?”
270“Why would I know? I don’t even know how she managed to react to the anesthesia like that. She seemed fine too!”
271“Is it the O-Negative blood?”
272“No, and she’s O-Positive anyways. It’s got nothing to do with blood type.”
273“An unknown allergy maybe?”
274“What are you turning into, my consultant? I don’t know what’s wrong, and I don’t know why I don’t know. I figured out what was wrong the first time.  I learned each and every outcome of it. This isn’t one of them.”
275“Off the books? We’ve had ten years to figure this stuff out, and it’s been out of clinical trials for eight years!”
276“And there were only twenty recorded outcomes of negative reactions to the drug.”
277“Only twenty? How the hell can you say that with such calm emotions?”
278“Trust me, inside I’m just a pile of mush. I’ve royally screwed up this operation and there’s no way to fix this.”
279“Come on, there has to be. You didn’t go to medical school for that long for nothing!”
280“I never went to medical school.”
281“You never what? How the hell are you licensed to practice then?”
282“I started operating when I was eighteen, and I learned everything as I went along. I read books upon books in my spare time.”
283“That still doesn’t explain how you got the diploma.”
284“I synthesized multiple treatments and some... unconventional methods to save a high-up government official who was suffering from an ailment that no one had a cure for.”
285“Hell, they should make you the chief doctor or something like that.”
286“They were too scared of the public backlash if they appointed a woman to such a high position.”
287“Eh? Why would they be afraid of any backlash at all?”
288“People in power naturally want to stay in power. People in power want to appease the greatest amount of people for the least amount of effort.”
289“You think I don’t know this? I’ve lived three times longer than you, I’ve seen governments rise and fall. I’ve seen revolutions fizzle out and destroy everything in their path.”
290“And for all you’ve seen, you’ve never involved yourself in any of the politics. None of it at all, you stay a coward on the sidelines and still let every higher-up make their decisions unhindered while you with the experience sit down here. Content.”
291“Content? Hardly. No one could be content at this point, having seen as much grief and death as I have.”
292“I’ve seen more death and grief in five years than you have in your entire life!”
293“None of those people have been close to you.”
294“What are you talking about?”
295“You’ve never felt real anguish, real remorse. Your choices might’ve killed some nondescript government official, might’ve killed some random passerby on the street who happened to get something requiring an operation. But none of your choices have ever resulted in the death of one you loved. None of your choices have ever resulted in the death of a loved one, and saved another one.”
296“Shit, I don’t have the time to argue about this.”
297“We’re losing her again Cathy!”
298
299 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
300
301	I’m awake again, on my feet. My strength is back, I’m feeling better. Now I can see that I’m in a room. It’s not an interesting room, there’s a giant hole in the right wall. I see a bow and a quiver full of arrows; not mine, but they’ll do. Then, there’s a nice pair of leather boots and gloves, as well as a better, not ripped top. I’m kind of wondering what I’ve planned for myself right now. I’m kind of wondering if this is actually my subconscious mind trying to communicate. It’s not good to think that hard though; I push the thought away.
302
303	Quickly I slip on the boots and gloves, looking around the room for anything useful. The cabinet I pushed off myself is empty but there’s a desk in the corner that’s got a note in it. Not stopping to read it, I put it in my pocket. Then, I realize that I still haven’t looked out the window.
304
305	Outside, it’s an apocalypse. Everything is in ruins or smoking, the horizon is red. I’m five stories up in what looks like an apartment building, and I see a form sprawled out on the ground. I don’t know who it is, but I’m going to help them. At least there are good hand holds on the side of the building, so I quickly climb down the side and land lightly on the ground. I kick up a little smoke when I land, and there’s a metal clank. I realize I’ve alighted on a street marker. “31st Street”. I’ve never heard of anything like it. I run towards the prone person and I stop quickly, realizing it’s Glimmer. I’m not really sure what to do. On one hand I could kill her, but then I’d never learn what I need to learn. On the other hand I could keep her prisoner, but then she’d escape before I could learn anything. That’s considering she would even say anything. In the end I decide to be humane, not even take her prisoner. If the world is in such a state, I think I’ll need all the help I can get. In the distance a boom sounds, the ground shakes. I wait for a few seconds for the vibrations to stop, then I pick her up. She’s still wearing what she was wearing when she was transformed into Prim; the clothes are scaled up though. She has a gun in her hand, and a pack on her back. As if on cue, she opens her eyes abruptly.
306
307“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
308“Helping you Glimmer, seeing as you might be just as confused as me.”
309“Me? Confused? Hardly.”
310“This isn’t my mind, is it?”
311“If I told you that, where would the fun be?” I slap her on the cheek, opening a sealed cut. She’s already pretty scratched up, she’s got tears in her gloves and her boots. Her top is torn too, and part of her breasts are hanging out.
312“That didn’t hurt one bit.” I slap her again, harder this time. She’s definitely hurt; she lets out a grunt of pain.
313“Gah, fighting will get us nowhere. We’re not in my mind. I don’t know where we are.”
314“My mind?”
315“Do I really need to explain this every time? I am you. You are me. But I’m mostly you.”
316“If we’re not in my mind, how the hell are you still here and existing?”
317“I’m not really sure at this point. I mean, I’m not even sure why I was suddenly on the ground.”
318“Does that gun have ammo?”
319“I don’t know. Check what’s in my bag while I check my ammo cache.” There’s a whole bunch of clanging as Glimmer fires off part of a magazine, and then an explosion as she checks her grenade launcher. I check her bag and don’t find anything interesting; a few cans of rations, extra ammo, extra clothing. Then I stumble upon a portable computer. I take it out to look at it.
320“Don’t touch that! Put it back in the bag!”
321“Why, what’s in it?”
322“A lot of things that you can’t see. Put it back!”
323“You’re making me want to open it even more.”
324“Whatever, it’s got a triple password lock on it anyways. You’d never be able to get in.” I’m pretty sure she’s not lying, and I put the laptop back in the bag. I hand Glimmer her bag and fire an arrow into the nearest building’s wall, and it cuts a small hole right through the whole wall and stops just shy of the other end.
325“How the hell did my arrow do that? I’m not that strong.”
326“But your arrow tips are filled with depleted uranium. It’ll go through anything, provided it has the force to begin with. You can cut through anything like a hot knife through butter.”
327“Is this another one of those things that my subconscious has managed to pick up but my conscious mind has no idea about?”
328“If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then yes, probably.”
329“You ready? We need to move out before anything happens.”
330“Let’s go.”
331
332	I pull out an arrow and notch it up onto my bow and hold it at the ready; Glimmer holds her gun steady in front of her, turning every so often to cover our backs. We’re walking slowly, our footfalls echo against the tall, broken, walls. A few buildings have doubled over in the middle and crush the apartment on the other side. It’s a terrible scene, viewing the world broken like this. I hope I never have to see it like this again.
333Then, a noise. Glimmer tenses up and steadies her gun. I look around for the faint tell-tale shadow of someone who is following us; I can’t find anything. There it is again, a noise made from touching something. I think we’re paranoid, but I have a feeling that that’s just a rationalization for what’s going on right now.
334
335“We have to be ready for anything.”
336“I’m Glimmer, you think I’m not ready for everything?”
337“I killed you with tracker jackers because that was one of the most unexpected things that could’ve ever happened.”
338“And here I am again, back to life. You think I’m not ready for everything?”
339“I could kill you right now with no repercussions.”
340“Are you really so sure about that? You’d have a shock going through your mind, things would break, insanity would overtake you.” Sigh, she might be right. I can’t take any chances, especially at this point. We’re both confused and I’m not even sure who she is anymore; I don’t think she’s sure anymore either. Hopefully we can stick together long enough for some kind of a solution to pop right out at us.
341“There it is again, the noise.”
342“Do you have a flashlight?”
343“You’re the one who checked my bag, do I?”
344“Did you check your pockets?”
345“I feel nothing.”
346“So, how are we going to kill whatever is following us?”
347“You might need to bait it by walking out farther in front of me.”
348“And if it manages to kill me while you stand by laughing?”
349“Well, if you died, the subconscious holding me would die, wouldn’t it?”
350“That’s true.”
351“How good of a shot are you?”
352“Well, it’s your skill added to Glimmer’s knife-throwing skills. So I’d say pretty good.”
353“Can you explain that?”
354“Explain what?”
355“The fact that you’re me and Glimmer combined.”
356“It’s difficult to explain, especially since you don’t get it. If you got it I’d be able to explain it to you. But you don’t.”
357“You can’t even provide any hints as to why you exist?”
358“If I knew, I’d probably have told you by now. But my sole purpose up till this point was to tell you my message.”
359“And what is that?”
360“I have no idea. It was subtly encoded in the way I acted; hopefully you caught it, but I don’t think you did.”
361“Does my subconscious just love playing silly games with me?”
362“I think it does.”
363
364	I walk forward, far ahead of Glimmer. My boots pad silently across the torn up concrete. My eyesight shifts from the soles of my shoes to the top of my vision, the sky obscured by the broken buildings. I still can’t see anything suspicious that would tell that anyone is following us. I’m about to say we’re both paranoid when I finally see something of consequence, another form. It’s a shadow, too faint for me to make out any distinct features; but I see it, and that’s enough for me. I quickly string my bow and shoot off three arrows in it’s general direction. From here I can see that it flinches, afraid. That’s good, it’s got a brain at least. How intelligent that brain is however remains to be seen.
365
366	I give Glimmer the hand signal to get ready. She confirms and scales an apartment building. She seems like a cat, leaping from ledge to ledge. I keep an eye on the perimeter and the shape still hasn’t moved. I think we should flank it, it’s probably our best shot at this point. An opponent we know nothing about following us is dangerous. She finally gets into position and starts moving up toward the shadow. I quickly jump up onto a first floor and keep going up until I reach close enough to the form to see it. It’s got its back turned to me, but right as I reach it it leaps away.
367
368“Hey, do you still have special powers?”
369“Not really sure, considering we’re out of your mind. I’ll try.”
370“Try turning into Prim, I’ll feel more comfortable partnering with her.”
371“Even with the slut outfit?”
372“She’s still my sister. Nothing can change that.”
373“Let’s see here...”
374“It’s not just an instant thing?”
375“I’m not even sure how to do it outside of your mind.”
376“Any ideas?”
377“Not really.”
378“Let me see if I can transform you...”
379
380 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
381
382“She’s not responding to external stimuli.”
383“Copy that. We are monitoring her heart rate, O2 levels, and blood pressure as you speak.”
384“You’ve tapped into our network?”
385“Child’s play for someone with my expertise.”
386“That’s right, what is it, fifty years?”
387“Fifty-two.”
388“It’s good to have you back Major.”
389“It’s good to be back. What’s her condition?”
390“Not sure. She might be in shock. Her eyes are open but empty, she’s unconscious by my measures.”
391“Is she now?”
392“An hour or so ago she put her arms in the air for some unknown reason, then she put them down. We saw nothing from her after that until this.”
393“Do you have any preliminary theories for this?”
394“None at all, she just went blank.”
395“Do you have any equipment to monitor brain waves?”
396“None.”
397“This is a tough call, what have you attempted?”
398“Absolutely nothing. We cannot risk damaging the cargo.”
399“So we’re referring to her as cargo now?”
400“This line may not be secure. I am trying my best to use vague wording.”
401“I see. Good call.”
402“Have you checked her chemical levels?”
403“No biopsy has been performed. Commencing now.”
404“Thank you.”
405
406 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
407
408“Did it work?”
409“Hi Sis!”
410“Don’t do that.”
411“Why not? I’m trying to be more like her, that’s what you want, isn’t it? I dropped the whole slut and mistress act, even though I know it makes us both hot when you think about it...”
412“I don’t know. I just don’t think Prim would be this happy right now. I’d think that if she was still alive she would’ve gained a wealth of experience.”
413“You mean like this Sis?” her voice is immediately much more serious, tempered with a few years of staring death in the face.
414“Yeah, exactly. “
415“Want me to keep up the hot scene?”
416“I don’t want to be distracted at a time like this... we can continue it later, OK?”
417“OK!”
418“I thought I told you to quit the bright and cheery act.”
419“You never said it explicitly, Sis.”
420“Fine.”
421“You ready, Prim?”
422“As I’ll ever be.”
423
424 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
425
426“The hell was that?”
427“Major, do you copy?”
428“Major, over. State your situation.”
429“She just disappeared.”
430“What the hell are you talking about?”
431“We’re not really sure. There was a flash of light...”
432“I thought you said we couldn’t risk damaging her!”
433“I never said we were the cause of the damage.”
434“You people have no idea what happened?”
435“She freaking disappeared! Does it look like we’ve ever seen that happen?”
436“Have you?”
437“That was a rhetorical question Major. For all of your ability to get into a high military position, wit is lost upon you.”
438“I don’t give a damn. I need a report on the situation.”
439“Subject #75: Katniss Everdeen, has disappeared from the premises. It is unknown what has occurred at this current moment. She was supposedly disappeared in a time frame of about one millisecond, possibly shorter. Her whereabouts at this point are unknown, and her tracking chip has ceased to function. Awaiting further orders, over.”
440“Take all necessary precautions to isolate her if she comes back. Ready a security force and monitoring equipment, stat!”
441“Anything else?”
442“No. Closing comm. link now.”
443“Comm. Link being closed sir.”
444
445 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
446
447“You are now on a Secure Communications Link. Please await communication from your partner.”
448“Your Secure Communications Link has been established. Opening channel, now.”
449“Channel has been opened. These communications are encrypted with AES-512 bit encryption. This encryption is the same used within Swiss Banks. We thank you for using SecComm for your communication needs. Please enjoy your conversation.”
450
451 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
452
453“Major.”
454“Colonel.”
455“How secure is this line?”
456“Secure enough for me to say your full name, Major Michael M. Morris of the United Panem army.”
457“And to you, Trenton Eisenhower Woodward, Chief Secretary of Security for the United Panem Government.”
458“What is the situation, Major?”
459“Relaying the exact message as recorded, now.”
460“Subject #75: Katniss Everdeen, has disappeared from the premises. It is unknown what has occurred at this current moment. She was supposedly disappeared in a time frame of about one millisecond, possibly shorter. Her whereabouts at this point are unknown, and her tracking chip has ceased to function. Awaiting further orders, over.”
461“I see. What did you suggest?”
462“I gave orders to isolate her and to bring in a security force with monitoring equipment.”
463“No further orders were given?”
464“None sir.”
465“Did you suggest a specific security force?”
466“No sir.”
467“Establish a comm. link again. Give orders to bring in the Bluestars of the 75th Brigade.”
468“Are you sure?”
469“We’re going to need all the help we can get on securing Miss Everdeen back.”
470“Copy. Breaking SCL now. Re-establishing in 10 minutes.”
471
472 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
473
474“Your Secure Communications Link is being disengaged. Please await complete disengagement from both ends.”
475“The Link has been broken. Please have a nice day.”
476“We hope you use SecComm’s services again.”
477
478 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
479“Mark.”
480“Major?”
481“Bring in the Bluestars. This is a Code Alpha Red situation. They are being given direct orders from the Chief Secretary of Homeland Security. They are not to disobey orders. When Katniss Everdeen comes back, they are to attempt to communicate with her. If she is not placated within five minutes, they have orders to tranquilize her.”
482“Copy.”
483“Breaking Comm. Link.”
484
485 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
486
487“You are now on a Secure Communications Link. Please await communication from your partner.”
488“Your Secure Communications Link has been established. Opening channel, now.”
489“Channel has been opened. These communications are encrypted with AES-512 bit encryption. This encryption is the same used within Swiss Banks. We thank you for using SecComm for your communication needs. Please enjoy your conversation.”
490
491 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
492
493“Trenton.”
494“I copy you, Michael. Over.”
495“Have the orders been handed out?”
496“Yes, what would you like to be done about the potential media link?”
497“Lock down the hospital with a Code Blue quarantine warning. Inform everyone that there has been a potential quarantine disease that could be transmitted to anyone, and that they should stay calm.”
498“That doesn’t address the issue.”
499“It feeds them false information.”
500“Is that good enough?”
501“I’m not even sure, I mean she disappeared. We’ve never had something happen that was of such a large magnitude. I really hope to God that I’m handling this situation properly.”
502“Don’t worry Trent, you’re handling it beautifully. I don’t think I could do any better, and I’m twenty years your senior.”
503“If you’ll permit me to ask you a question sir.”
504“Shoot.”
505“What was your occupation before the New United Panem was established?”
506“I had none.”
507“None, sir?”
508“It wasn’t a great life. My expertise was wasted.”
509“And how would you know you had expertise?”
510“My grandfather archived books by Vauban, Machiavelli, and others. I read them. I understood them. I made strategies for the Capitol that would be much more effective than the Hunger Games. I was just never able to tell them to the Capitol.”
511“How did your grandfather manage to archive such high-level thinking by military standards?”
512“No idea. He was an old geezer.”
513“And do you think your expertise right now is wasted?”
514“Probably. The president knows shit-all about what he’s doing and I could do stuff better than him.”
515“And would you suppress the people?”
516“If that was what it took to keep the majority safe, then yes.”
517
518 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
519
520“Your Secure Communications Link is being disengaged. Please await complete disengagement from both ends.”
521“The Link has been broken. Please have a nice day.”
522“We hope you use SecComm’s services again.”
523
524 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
525
526Chapter 5
527
528	We’re walking, we’re not talking. There’s not really anything interesting to talk about, considering we are both each other, at least that’s what we think. I’ve given up hating her, I’ve given up thinking she isn’t me. We’re too alike not to see the differences. There’s so much debris on the ground, it’s amazing. All this destruction, it makes you wonder what caused this. Not good to dwell on the past, not good to dwell on the present.
529
530	Past! That’s it! We’re here, in the past. At least, I think it is. I’m still not sure yet. I have a feeling this was the disaster that’s talked about in the history books. The “Nuclear Armageddon” that happened so many years ago. This is what made Panem have the need to exist; to rise up out of the ashes of whatever this place was. As we keep walking the destruction lessens, but not by much. There aren’t as many half-bent buildings, there aren’t as many rocks on the ground. Some of the buildings are even whole on the outside; that’s to say nothing for the inside however. It’s been roughly an hour when I manage to spot the shadow.
531
532“There!”
533“I’ve got it in my sights.”
534“Go, go, go!”
535
536	I think it’s limping, but I’m not going to take any chances. Prim uses her hands to signal me to go to the left, while she flanks it to the right. From this angle I think the shadow is limping; it could all be bait though. And that thought, that it might be smarter than I anticipated, it makes me more alert. My bow is ready with an arrow and I move steadily towards the shadow. We’re getting closer, I don’t thin it can bolt. I have a feeling that I’ve seen those legs, those hands, before. They’re slight, not large. The shadow turns around, I’ve seen that face before. I can’t remember her proper name though, the only one that I ever gave her was “Foxface”.
537
538“Uh, Foxface?”
539“Who’s Foxface? Who are you? What’s going on?”
540“What’s your name?”
541“Ushio Tanzaki.” The last name sound familiar.
542“If you had a child, what would you name her?”
543“Younha.” That’s it.
544“We’re here, Prim. In the past.”
545“This is... interesting.”
546“What are you talking about?”
547“It’s difficult to explain. How hard would it be to believe it if we said we were from the future?”
548“Pretty hard.”
549“We don’t even know how we got here, anyways. Just woke up, and here we are.”
550“You’re serious?”
551“I wouldn’t lie at a time like this.”
552“You’d be surprised. I’ve had to avoid many men already. One almost caught me and defiled me.”
553“Well, do you have a weapon?”
554“It’s a katana, I know I lost it somewhere here.”
555“Prim, spread out and look for it.”
556“Got it.”
557
558 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
559
560“Status report.”
561“No panicking has happened, luckily. Peeta is confused, and so are Moonshae and Miss Woodburn. We should be fine however.”
562“Over and out.”
563“Copy that.”
564
565 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
566
567“Daniel Whaler, Assistant to the Homeland Security Secretary.”
568“Michelle Kuroshima, Defense Secretary.”
569“Welcome, both of you. We have a situation.”
570“What’s up Trent?”
571“Please, call me Trenton. We may be tapped at the moment.”
572“You don’t check your room for bugs? This is like college!”
573“Oh, shut up. Like New West Point was anything special.”
574“Will both of you stop arguing for one moment?”
575“We weren’t argu---.”
576“This situation is a Code Alpha Black.”
577“It was escalated in the past ten minutes?”
578“Katniss Everdeen has not come back for hours. I think this is a matter of national security.”
579“And why do we care so much about this girl?”
580“Because properly used, she could be used to spark a rebellion anywhere in the States.”
581“There has to be another reason. We could just kill her.”
582“But that’s the reason. It’s a double edged sword.”
583“Are you sure there isn’t another reason that you’re hiding from us?”
584“Yeah, you sure?”
585“No, but what I’m hiding from you may or may not change the outcome of the human race.”
586“Are you serious?”
587“He can’t be serious.”
588
589 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
590
591	We spend a few minutes looking for a katana when I finally spot a sword coming out of a rock a few meters away from where we started. I pull it out and look at it’s craftsmanship; there are runes of what I think is Japanese engraved on the blade and it’s balance is beautiful. The handle is embroidered and resembles the maw of a dragon, and the blade is sharper than anything I’ve ever touched.
592
593“Hey, Ushio?”
594“Yeah?”
595“Is this it?”
596“Yes, it is. It was my grandfather’s sword... thank you for finding it. I am forever in your debt.”
597“I hope you tke good care of it.”
598“I’ve taken care of it for years, I’m not stopping now.”
599“Prim, status on the perimeter!”
600“There’s nothing moving in my sights, it’s like everything is dead.”
601“That’s because everything is dead, isn’t it?”
602“I don’t know. Wait, shit! Something’s moving!”
603“What the hell? Description, stat!”
604
605 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
606
607“Where the hell is my girlfriend?”
608“I do not have sufficient security clearance to know that information.”
609“You and I both know that’s bullshit.”
610“I am not quite sure you understand the situation, Ms. Woodburn.”
611“Oh, I sure as hell understand what’s going on here.”
612“Please, enlighten me, the glorious conscript of New Panem.”
613“My patient is missing and it has something to do with the government.”
614“Cathy, don’t step to conclusions so qui---”
615“I’m right, and you all know it! Something’s wrong with Katniss and it’s the government’s fault.”
616“Hang on, you’re telling me the government has something to do with my girlfriend’s disappearance?”
617“Mmmhmm...”
618“Please do not spread false rumors about the situation, Ms. Woodburn.”
619“I’ll do whatever the damn hell I want! I’m a citizen of this country.”
620“I want to know where my girlfriend is. Right now.”
621“And if I don’t tell you?”
622“Then I’ll knock you out and see if you can still talk then.”
623“Try me.”
624
625 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
626
627	It’s moving. I think. Not really, it’s more like twitching. I’m not even sure what it is, maybe a fragment of an arm? It seems like it was shorn off at the shoulder, judging by it’s size.
628
629“What is it?”
630“I’ve got no idea Prim.”
631“It’s a part of one of them.”
632“One of them?”
633“Aye, one of the infected.”
634“What are you talking about Ushio?”
635“You don’t know?”
636“All I know is that in my time something catastrophic happened to the United States of America and the whole world. Our nation is named Panem, for the Latin word bread. That’s pretty much it. No one’s old enough to remember what happened. No one was smart enough to record anything. We don’t know what happened at all, it’s like the pages of history are blank.”
637“Hang on, I might be able to enlighten you. My grandmother, she knew Patient Zero. I say knew because they were able to decapitate him... not before he had infected scores of Americans. They all fell into his hellish legion of whatever-they-were’s, one by one. He amassed an army, and when he died another took his place.”
638“What’s a zombie?”
639“It’s a... it’s a person. Except they’re dead, and the only thing left of them that is them is their body. But even that is not theirs. They are inhabited by the sole need for infection. Even if one host is killed, there are thousands, even millions, to take their place. I think they’ve already moved on from this point, though. That’s why we’ve only seen that thing on the ground.”
640“Wait... if they’re already dead... how do you kill them again?”
641“Easy. You take off their head.”
642“That’s disgusting!”
643“You find another more effective way, you tell me. The brain is still the nerve center of the shell, and if you get rid of that you get rid of the motor powering the abomination. I found out the hard way, when I had to decapitate my brother.”
644“I’m... I’m sorry Ushio. It was a bad idea to bring this up.”
645“It’s alright. I never liked him anyways. But he was my brother, you know? Even if we didn’t get along we were still family. I never did find my parents. Every day I look out on the horizon and wonder if they’ve already joined the death squadron.”
646“Aaaah... at least I know what happened to my s---”
647“Hey, do you have any food? I’m starving.”
648“I thought you we---”
649“Shush, sis,” Prim whispers in my ear under my breath, “I don’t want her to be any more confused than she is right now. Try not to do anything to alert her to my condition.”
650“What are you two whispering about?”
651“My sister was wondering if she could borrow clothing...”
652“Uh, I don’t have any. I think there’s a warehouse or something near here though; that’s where I’m going.”
653Always walking... never stopping... I think back to my ordeal with Glimmer in the Dark Ways. I’m amazed that she’s reconciled to me so quickly.
654“Another one? That’s strange.”
655“I smell death in the air...”
656“Don’t be so dramatic, Prim.”
657“I hear screaming! It’s to the east. Let’s move!”
658
659 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
660
661“She went back in time?”
662“Shit, what?”
663“Like I said. Ms. Everdeen has gone back in time to what we can only coin as the Dark Ages. The time before Panem, that none know about.”
664“And how did you manage to figure this out in the past hour?”
665“It’s speculation, we’re not even sure. It’s the best theory we’ve got.”
666“And... why do you think this happened?”
667“Now that... we have no idea why. We’re blank in this situation, completely kaput.”
668“So how do you propose we fix this?”
669“The thing that we’ve managed to dredge up from ages of history books and other recorded texts is that the human race was wiped out by some kind of highly contagious virus. We have to quarantine her.”
670“What if she has no virus?”
671“Yeah Trent, what if?”
672“EIghty Percent is a reasonably high chance, I think it’s possible.”
673“This innocent little girl is like your guinea pig. You can’t do this to her Trent!”
674“She’s not innocent.”
675“Regardless! How do we know that the government didn’t just send her back in time?”
676“Because, we’ve not developed that technology.”
677“You told the public you hadn’t developed the Lockheed’s latest jet. It’s definitely in testing.”
678“Some lies are necessary to perpetuate---”
679“I don’t want any bullshit Trent. There is a girl. And she is in danger. And I want to know if we can extract her.”
680“Why?”
681“Because she’s a girl.”
682“Ah yes... I forgot you were a raging feminist.”
683“I told you not to call me that again.”
684“I’m sorry Michelle.”
685“Now... do we have the means?”
686
687 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
688
689Chapter 6
690
691	Damn it, I swear to myself. The screaming probably started while I was talking to Prim. I should’ve been more alert.
692
693“Let’s move!” I shout, and we’re running. As fast as we can go. Another scream pierces the empty air, carried by unseen winds. I ready up my bow, running while holding an arrow at the ready. Ushio is in a battle ready stance, dancing upon her toes, ready to perform a deadly dance of death. Prim unlatches the safety and holds her gun at the ready.
694
695	Everything we run past is a blur. I see even more broken buildings, even more rubble. But now I see other things too. Crawling things, things that look vaguely humanoid. Their faces, they look normal. They look completely normal. Everything about them, normal. Going about their daily business in a wasteland. But I look into their eyes. It’s the look of blood lust. I don’t know what they are... I don’t know who they are. But they’re in my way.
696
697“Let us pass!” I shout, as we almost bump into a wall of them. “We mean no harm!”
698“You need not be violent...” one of the women says. I think she’s trying to be seductive. Her clothing looks almost like Prim’s, like a mirror. “You can come with us. We will show you the way. You can become one of us soon. All the pain, all the suffering will be over. You need only serve the hive. It’s such a pleasurable experience.”
699“What the hell are you talking about?”
700“Prim, hold your gun steady. Don’t shoot.”
701“Don’t listen to them, Katniss. Once they cut you, it’s over. You’ll slowly turn.”
702“Into what?”
703“Something better than the human race... now let us consume your body and your mind.”
704“Shit, they’re moving Katniss!” I get calm. I get ready. This is just like the Hunger Games. Except with a lot more people.
705“When I count to three,” I say under my breath, “Aim for the head. Just like Ushio said.” Everyone’s ready to kill.
706“One... Two...Three!” I shout, and it’s almost all over before it starts. Prim is brilliant, single shots to the head like nothing I’ve ever seen. I rack up a few kills, but Ushio is really the one that shines. She’s all over them, dancing. Never touching the ground, always jumping. Her katana is a whir, just a silver blur. Round and round and round it goes... where it stops, nobody knows. In a matter of minutes we’ve decimated all of them.
707The shrill scream comes again.
708“We have to go!”
709
710 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
711
712“You are now on a Secure Communications Link. Please await communication from your partner.”
713“Your Secure Communications Link has been established. Opening channel, now.”
714“Channel has been opened. These communications are encrypted with AES-512 bit encryption. This encryption is the same used within Swiss Banks. We thank you for using SecComm for your communication needs. Please enjoy your conversation.”
715
716 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
717
718“Status report Trenton.”
719“The only thing we’ve got is that she’s somehow traveled back in time.”
720“She’s done what? And you’re completely sure about this.”
721“Not at all sir, but it’s the best lead we’ve got at the moment.”
722“And who came up with this bullshit theory?”
723“I wouldn’t be so quick to call it bullshit, sir.”
724“Come on, I’d believe fucking aliens before this stuff!”
725“We’ve not been able to find the existence of extra-terrestrial life for years, sir.”
726“That’s because if it exists we haven’t got the goddamn technology to find it!”
727“Are you sure sir?”
728“Are you trying to say you know more than me? If you are, spill it. Or I’ll have you sanctioned.”
729“On what grounds?”
730“With holding intelligence pertinent to the security of the nation.”
731“And how would you know that?”
732“Because I have reason to believe that you know something that I don’t.”
733“And how would you know that?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know it, I just need justifiable cause.”
734“There is no way you can do this to me.”
735“I can, and I will. Now start talking. I’ve got the head of the SpecOps on speed dial.”
736
737 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
738
739	It’s all a blur, we’re running. It’s been 10 minutes, 20 minutes. Two miles, three miles. The screaming, it’s getting louder. Carried across the windswept ruins, it’s hampered by nothing but air. I see remnants of battles left behind, severed arms, severed heads. Empty cartridges, empty guns. Dead men, women, and whatever these zombie things are. They scare me. They’re just like us... but they’re not us, They inhabit the bodies of the ones we loved, and they become a twisted version of them. They’re perverse in every way possible, changing what we’ve ever thought about the world. 
740
741	How do I know this? No idea, it’s just speculation. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve spent hours in this dark world with no hope of getting out, Maybe it’s because I’ve thought about it before. I’m not really sure at this point, life is just as confusing as when I was in my own mind. There aren’t any straight paths to follow, and if there are they’re lined with briars and shards of glass that discourage me from ever walking upon them. I’m wondering how Peeta feels right now, and it occurs to me that I haven’t actually thought of Peeta once during this whole time.
742
743	Peeta. So many memories from that one name, it’s amazing. He’s the one who’s carried me through thick and thin, believed me, watched me as I matured. He’s a good man, good as they come. I don’t think I’ve known anyone who’s morals aren’t tainted; he’s clean as a whistle. I try to remember all the things I’ve shared with him. Preparing for the Hunger Games, infiltrating the Capitol, watching firebombs rain down, fighting against patriotic rebels, helping me find out I could sing, being with him for the surgery.
744
745	The surgery. To remove his tracker jacker influences. It turns out that the antidote to remove the damned stuff was created and even distributed until the Capitol locked down on it. Not really sure why you would remove that drug utterly and completely just to perform a few torture stunts, but hey, I’m not in the government. Honestly it amazes me that people like this are elected every year but there’s nothing we can do. The serum was pretty simple too, nothing major. It just involved a breed of plant we didn’t have. When we ventured to the other side of the giant snowcapped peaks to our west however, it was easy to find the iceflower. Of course, we had to hike up, but that wasn’t that difficult. Four days in cold weather is nothing compared to a week without food. Sigh, what I wouldn’t give to feel those arms around me one mor---
746
747“Lock on!”
748“I’ve got him in my sights!”
749
750	Dear god, was it already over? It was a gruesome scene. A tall man stood in the middle of what looked look like it had been a horde of zombies. I say had been because he had obviously been tough enough to hold his own. There were severed parts everywhere, mostly severed heads. They all looked rotted beyond repair, nothing like the ones I had seen before. I don’t know why, but they seemed a lot more like zombies than those other things did. These were grotesque, disgusting, rotting; giving off the odor of sulfur. The others seemed so normal... it was unnerving.
751
752	The guy standing in the middle was panting. His hair was in a tousled mess on his head, most of it matted by sweat. He looked like he hadn’t had a clean shower in days. He carried what looked like a two handed sword in one hand, and in the other he held what looked like spikes. His feet were planted solidly on the ground, definitely a good fighting stance. His pack was strapped securely to his back, and he looked towards us.
753
754“Three angels? I must be in heaven.”
755“Don’t hold your breath boy.”
756“Mmm, feisty. Just how I like it.”
757“You want me to shoot you?”
758“I can dodge your bullet.”
759“You want to take that chance?”
760“Ushio, stop arguing with him!”
761“U-u-ushio? Of the Tanzaki clan?”
762“The one and only... how do you know my family’s namesake?”
763“Forgive me, I’ve been looking for you for days.”
764“And who the hell are you again?”
765“An old friend. A very old friend. From your parents.”
766“My parents? Don’t tell me bullshit.”
767“They’re both dead, they were turned while I watched from high above.”
768“Why did you let them die? Why should I even believe you?”
769“I have this.” the guy held out his hand for all of us to see, and something caught the glint of the setting sun and shined in my eye. He threw it up into the air, whatever it was. Ushio dove to catch it, scratching her pants on the rough ground.
770	It was... beautiful to say the least. It was really a work of art; something to be proud of. A dragon was intertwined with a tiger in fierce battle, as a fire raged on from below. The amount of work that would have went into it seemed amazing; even to my untrained eye... I felt like I was in the presence of a god. The dragon was made of solid gold it seemed; it’s scales, on fleeting glance, shimmered in the twilight. The tiger was made of diamond, or a similar mineral. It’s stripes were carved into the diamond, giving it an otherworldly look.
771“It is the family’s artifact, is it not?”
772“Y-y-yes... this is ours. Definitely ours. How did you get it?”
773“Like I said, I am an old friend.”
774“That doesn’t matter, we can get introductions done later. Why couldn’t you save my parents?”
775“They were infected from the start. It’s amazing that you haven’t been infected; I think the gene that makes you resistant to it was recessive until your generation. I then made one of the worst decisions of my life, one that your parents would never have wanted me to make.”
776“That is?”
777“I shot as soon as they turned.”
778“A noble end.”
779“And then I had to run from all the goddamn zombies. It was a stupid idea, your parents would never have wanted me to do that.”
780“You’re talking as if my parents are your parents.”
781“In a way... they are.”
782“I’ve only had one brother.”
783“I’m telling you that you had two.”
784“You cannot be serious about this.”
785“Just let me explain.”
786
787 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
788
789“We’ve had the technology to go to Mars. Again? And we haven’t because...”
790“It would be a public relations fiasco. Horrible. Everyone would be all over our throats.”
791“Why?”
792“We have the technology to get us onto Mars and still 20% of our population is starving. Why can’t we feed them?”
793“Haven’t we always had this problem?”
794“It’s got wider-reaching consequences now that we’ve seemingly ‘advanced’.”
795“That certainly dripped with sarcasm.”
796“We’re nowhere near our technological peak. Before we had flying cars, we had powerful missiles, we had transportation that was as fast as we could get it. Then, this. The dark ages. And we tried to come back. We’re at our technological peak when our race was about 2000 years from the birth of Christ. Do you understand that? I’m telling you that we, the government, have the technology from when our race was 2100 years from the birth of Christ.”
797“It’s only one hundred years...”
798“A lot of things can happen in one hundred years. New computer chips come out. New biological advancements are created. The human race becomes more and more reliant on technology. We break down. We’re not ourselves anymore. I don’t want that to happen again.”
799“What makes you so sure it’ll happen again?”
800“History repeats itself.”
801“So your reasoning for never revealing this fact is...”
802“Survival of the fittest.”
803“One for the good of many?”
804“As Kant would like to say.”
805“So you are a closet intellectual.”
806“I try not to showcase the fact.”
807“Who else have you informed about the situation at this point?”
808“The Homeland Security’s PA and the Defense Secretary.”
809“Kuroshima? She’s a ticking timebomb!”
810“Did you ever think the Homeland Secretary and the defense secretary’s PA were a better choice?”
811“The Homeland Secretary is securing relations with the country known as France. The Defense Sec’s PA is off somewhere in the remote corner of the world making sure that we don’t get bombed by every new country we’ve learned about.”
812“And so you enlisted the help of two of the most unreliable people in our business.”
813“They were elected for a reason. They’re both competent. I went to school with Michelle. I went to college with Daniel. If I said I thought there was anyone more able to handle this situation, I would be lying. They’re the best. After they stop bickering, they get down to business. It’s amazing what the two of those can do.”
814“What do you mean?”
815“Do you remember the terrorist plot to bomb that middle school?”
816“Last year? Carried out by the cell ‘Brick and Mortar’ in what used to be District Two, yes.”
817“And do you recall how long we had until the bomb exploded?”
818“Precisely seven minutes and thirty four seconds.”
819“My, my, you do your research don’t you?”
820“I’ve got nothing better to do when I’m sitting around. I peruse all the reports that I don’t care about, and some of them actually interest me.”
821“We knew about the bomb two days before we defused it.”
822“Two days?! How the hell did you not defuse it in two fucking days?!”
823“No one had any idea how to crack the code. The bombers provided it to us. They wanted to see if we were smart enough to break it.”
824“And we were.”
825“Not without those two working in tandem.”
826
827 | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | 
828
829“Japan had a one child rule. It was only enforced upon certain families. It was said to be for the greater good. They sounded like North Korea. But we’re the Japanese, we trust in our government. It wasn’t that great, but it wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t on the scope of the Chinese, murdering kids left and right. It made sense. We were overcrowding the tiny island. We needed a population limiter. And it wasn’t like the families didn’t know or anything. If they really couldn’t the government wouldn’t do it. It was a random lottery, it was completely fair. And then your parents had me. You were young. You couldn’t have been able to figure out that your mother was getting bigger. You were two, maybe three years old. Now you’re twenty seven. Now I’m thirty. Our parent were unlucky. They had me late. They had to hide me. Then they realized you would say something about it. Away I went into military school, never having contact again. I didn’t learn about this until sixteen. When I did, I was discouraged from making contact. I buried myself in my work, hoping to one day reunite with you all and have everyone be proud of me. Then, the virus started spreading... I think you know where it went from there.”
830“So, they’ve not...”
831“They’re dead twice over. Don’t worry sister.”
832“T-t-t... thank you.”
833“No brother? Really?”
834“I’ve never had a brother... and you’re claiming you’re mine?”
835“Pretty much, yeah.”
836“If Japan had a one child rule, why did I not learn about it in school?”
837“Like I said, it was a random lottery. A silent, random, lottery. Regardless if the family agreed to give up their child or not they were still bound under law never to tell anyone about the somewhat subversive process.”
838“The... the government sanctioned random people?”
839“If you want to look at it in that way, yes.”
840“And if everyone is supposed to be sanctioned about it, how do you know about it?”
841“What do laws matter when the government is dead?”
842“Boy, aren’t you the cynic.”
843“I try, I try.”
844“My parents... they’re dead...”
845“It’s hard to lose someone like that Ushio. Be strong. Put it out of your mind.”
846“How can I do that? They’re really gone...”
847“Pretend they’re alive until you’re ready to accept otherwise.”
848“I cannot change reality!”
849“You can change your perception of it.”
850“It seems difficult...”
851“You have to try, for your family.”
852
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