Title is based off the song Lightning by The Wanted, check out the song on YouTube, read the lyrics and you'll see why I found the song fitting for this fanfic. Warning my story may not follow the Hunger Games plot entirely. I may add a few things and be gentle when reviewing; it's been awhile since I read the books, though I am re-reading them and am extremely pumped for the movie! Enjoy, and may the odds be ever in Selena's favor. :D
My hands shook nervously as my lab partner/ex-boyfriend handed me a wire for the radio transistor we had to put together. I really wish I wasn't stuck being his partner, but back when we were together we made the stupid choice to sit next to each other, hence how we were now stuck as lab partners even though we broke up. I didn't really mind all that much. I still like Nico, even if he was mad at me. I still don't see why he was so angry with me. I never cheated on him and I can't believe he would think such a thing. He really rather trust some rumor than listen to me, his girlfriend. Then again he's always been thickheaded and a complete pig at times. It only made me more confused that I still wanted him and how he can sometimes be real sweet to me. I let out a low sigh as I took the wire gently in my left hand and tried to figure out where to connect it.
I plugged it into a seemingly correct opening on the transistor and felt a rush of electricity filtered throughout my entire body. I let out a scream and I heard Nico do the same. Suddenly everything was black and I felt the air rush around me quickly. My eyes were in pain as vibrant colors replaced the blackness and it felt like I was in a blender, but without the blades. I was spinning around and around trying desperately to grab hold of something, but there was only air swirling around me. It was surprising I didn't get sick.
I tried to open my eyes to see what was happening, but all I saw was the swishing colors and then I felt my back hit the ground. "Ah!" I screeched and felt a sudden snap. I cried out from the pain that now flared up from my wrist and my ankle. Something was definitely broken. I search for my eye sight again and finally found it.
Colorful green trees were standing tall and strong all around me. I was lying back on dewy grass and I managed to pry myself up into a sitting position. I looked around and saw him. Nico, he was lying limp on the floor, groaning in pain. I manage to force myself to call over to him. Poor Nico, he looked terrible. His dark brown hair fell into his deep blue eyes and he had a pale face despite his tan complexion. I kept pushing my body to crawl, even though my wrist and ankle screamed in protest. "Nico, are you alright?" I asked, even if it was a pathetic question. Of course he's not alright Selena! His leg is bleeding and his arm is twisted in a sickening arrangement. I scolded myself mentally.
Nico was definitely not fine. "Does it look like I'm okay?" He asked me credulously. Good old Nico just had to make a joke about this. He always made jokes when things went wrong. It was his way of dealing with sticky situations.
"No, you do not look okay. Here I'll go get some help." I whispered, close to the verge of tears. I've never been quite that strong, except around my brother Zane.
"Don't go Selena, just stay." He mumbled and reached for my hand.
I sobbed. "You're not dying, are you?"
He chuckled. "Me? Of course not, I just want you to stay with me."
I smiled and squeezed his good hand gently. The other one, which was still twisted, was battered with cuts. "Where do you think we are?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Probably some parallel universe, where zombies eat stranded humans like us."
I glowered at that. "Not funny."
He reached out to wipe away my tears from my cheeks. Nico smiled at me. "I'm sorry for being an ass. I really was just pissed at myself. I know you're too good for me."
"Don't say that Nico. People are just going to hate and I know Jasmine wants you." I replied, slightly jealous I wasn't willing like her. I want Nico, sure I was no prude. I just want to wait and not be such a slut like the other girls at my school. They could leave a completely vulnerable with their ridiculous short shorts.
He laughed. "Yeah, but she's nothing compared to you. I could care less about her, you know I love you."
I ignored him. He was just saying this to get me to forgive him. I decided to lie down next to him anyway, but that's because I was scared that he might be right about the parallel universe crap. I didn't want to think about zombies popping out either and devouring us. My thoughts were suddenly answered and that's when I heard voices.
"I think we've got plenty, Catnip." A deep voice said. The sounds were probably a few feet away. I looked at Nico and he looked back at me.
"Got that right, we'll have a feast tonight." A girl's voice replied. Her voice wasn't as high pitch, but more mellow.
I gripped Nico's hand and he rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. "Don't worry Selena, there probably just passing through."
That's when an arrow struck the bark of the tree that was right above our heads. I let out a sharp scream and Nico even shrunk back some.
"Who are you and what are you doing out here?" The guy's voice boomed at us. The boy and girl were both standing next to each other. They had a gallon filled with strawberries and some other foods? I wasn't going to question them about their food either, but it looked different from store bought food.
Nico was first to speak up. "Nico Cortez and this is Selena Marts. Are you from around here, it sure looks like it to me? Could you help us?" He asked and gestured to the gash on his leg.
I felt him wrap an arm protectively around me. He knew that these two had no mercy and you could see it in their gray eyes. I gulped myself and that's when the guy's eyes caught mine. He shook his head once and then looked at the girl. She had her bow raise, as if she would strike me with one of her arrows. "Let's go Catnip."
"What?" She asked, stunned at this comment.
"Let's go. They obviously will keep their tongue about us hunting. Let's leave them be, we need to get back to the Hob anyway."
I felt my throat get dry. "The Hob?" I asked.
I felt Nico nudge my arm. He wants me to shut up now. "You have strange names." The boy commented.
"Not really, what kind of the name is Catnip?" I snapped back. These two were beginning to get on my nerves. Did they think it was fun to shoot arrows at people who were hurt? Did that make them feel tough and badass to make fun of other people's names? Well I surely didn't think it was funny. I also didn't like the glare the girl, Catnip, was giving me.
"It's Katniss; Gale just can't seem to lose his little nickname for me." She muttered, obviously annoyed with me too.
Well two can play at this game, bitch. "So you think your badass then?" I shot back. Nico nudged my arm again. I ignored it though. I wasn't going to let this Katniss get the better of me. "Where do you even get off? You shot an arrow at two people who are injured? Did your daddy not raise you better?" And there were the words. I couldn't seem to hold my tongue, too bad for Gale.
"Don't you dare—" She replied furiously. Katniss reached for a bow but Gale stopped her.
"Katniss, relax. She has a point about the bow thing. Sorry, it's not a good day." He said sincerely and he actually sounded sincere.
"Since when are you all nice?" Katniss retorted.
"Look at his arm Catnip. Selena and her friend need our help. I'm not heartless like the capitol." He replied and this shut Katniss up.
Capitol, I definitely did not want to know where this place is. If we were in D.C. then perhaps we might be safe, but that can't be true. This is too crazy if it is. Arizona is way too far from Washington D.C. Katniss's snarky retort broke me away from my thoughts.
"Fine," She muttered and the two of the came over to us.
"We're going to help both of you. I'll carry him," Gale said to us. He lifted Nico up and Nico didn't complain at this. I couldn't blame him I suppose. He did have that nasty gash in his leg and the sickening twist on his arm.
Katniss helped me to my feet. "Catnip!" Gale seethed at her. I gasped at the pain on my ankle.
"Sorry," She muttered and carried me in her arms. They left the food behind and managed to take us a wired fence. "You will have to crawl." Katniss whispered to me. "Can you do that?"
I nodded. "Yeah I think so."
She set me down gently this time. "Sorry about before. I let my temper get the best of me." She mumbled so bad I could barely make out her words.
I bet she didn't like to apologize. "It's okay." I replied.
She didn't say anything, but simply crawled under the chain linked fence. I mimicked her movement and slid under the fence easily. Nico and Gale were next to cross over. Nico barely managed because of his leg, but he proceeded across. Katniss picked me back up in her arms and Gale did the same with Nico.
"Your place or mine?" She asked.
"Yours, I your mom can patch them up." He replied. My eyes widen in surprise as I took in the surroundings. The houses were small and a dull gray color. Smoke rose up from several houses away. It looked utterly depressing in my opinion, not to mention dirty from, what is that, coal soot?
"This is where you live?" I asked Katniss a bit appalled, once we came to a halt at the house.
She didn't answer me but called out a name instead. "Prim open up the door!"
The wooden door opened and a girl with blonde hair popped up. She looked nothing like Katniss. Her hair was blonde and pulled back into pigtail braids. She had striking blue eyes to match and looked adorable as well. She must be about eleven or twelve. She was definitely older than Zane. Zane, my younger brother, was seven. The girl's eyes widen. "Mother!" She called out.
Katniss and Gale carried us into the house. They set us down on a couch type thing. It looked different than any furniture from my home. I was used to having nice furniture. My prestigious father, or so my mom calls him, was a famous actor. I was the daughter of Anthony Marts. He lives with us half of the year and kind of reminds me of the anti-snowbird, since he only lives with us in the summer, which makes no sense due to the excruciating heat. My mother moved my brother and me from L.A a long time ago, so we wouldn't be exposed to the Hollywood environment. We did okay I guess, but it sucked that my dad upsets my mother when he's gone. He loves her; I know this because of how he looks at her. I just simply hate his job. Another person appeared. She had the matching features of Prim.
"What happened?" The woman asked and I presumed she was their mother.
"We found them out while hunting for game." Katniss said.
Her mother looked at us. "What are your names?"
"Selena Marts." I said.
"Nico Cortez," Nico responded.
"Are they from the capitol?" Prim asked.
They all stared at us then and real long too. "Washington D.C.?" I asked, slightly confused.
"That's capital," Nico replied. "They mean something else."
"Washington D.C.?" Katniss question.
"Um yeah, it's been the capital of the United States of America since; well I'm not that good with history."
They stared us down even more. "They have to be spies." Gale replied.
"We are not spies!" I replied and clutched Nico's hand. "What year is it?"
Gale shrugged. "Who knows?
"Okay, then who's the president?"
"President Snow, how can you not know this?" Katniss replied exasperated.
I rolled my eyes at her attitude. "No it's not. Stop fucking around. President Obama is who currently is in office." Nico snapped.
I felt my blood run cold. "Nico, that transistor, that's when this must of happened."
"Come on. It couldn't have zapped us to the future." He replied, trying to find some logic in all of this.
"Well we are definitely not in 2012." I stated and let go of his hand.
Their mother seemed to be the one who was currently sane. "Set him down on the kitchen table. I need to clean his wound."
Gale was next to being brought back from the lethal staring contest.
"Right, well I better get back home. Have to look good for the games."
Games? What games could he possibly be talking about? I pondered this and realized that he had said it sarcastically. Gale disappeared out the door and Prim closed it gently. She moved to her mother's side to assist if needed. Katniss went out of the room and I wasn't sure why. I sat in one of the chairs by the kitchen table. Gale had moved me here so I could be close to Nico. Nico winced as Katniss's mother cut his jeans and was applying some clear liquid to it.
"Shit!" He cussed and shut his eyes.
Yeah, that liquid didn't look so appealing. I grabbed his hand and let him squeeze mine. Poor Nico, he didn't deserve this pain. I tried my best to ignore the pain flaring from my ankle and wrist. Prim began checking my wounds. "Her arm's broken mother."
"Go and get the extra supplies from my room." She told Prim and then pulled out a cloth. She cleaned Nico's wound and applied another liquid to it. She noticed me staring in wonder. "It's just to stop infection from spreading."
I nodded my head. "So what did Gale mean by games?" I asked her.
"The annual Hunger Games of course." She replied and gave me a wary look. "You are not from District 12 are you?"
I shook my head no. "I'm from Arizona."
She gave me another bewilderment expression. "It's a state. The United States of America is composed of fifty states. Arizona is in the south-west portion." I clarified.
She mulled that over before replying. "Well now we go by districts. There are no states."
"No states?" I exclaimed. "Okay, we're definitely not in America."
"Oh you are. These are the ruins of Northern America."
Katniss's mother continued to work on Nico's leg. She was stitching it up with a needle and thread. Nico winced again, biting down on a cloth and squeezed my hand tightly. I didn't complain though, I'd probably be crying if it were me. "So what happened exactly?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well obviously everything has changed since 2012. How did the Hunger Games start and what are they?" I questioned.
She sighed. "The games were created to keep people in the districts from rebelling. District 13 wanted change and so the capitol destroyed them. They created the games as a reminder that we are weaker than the capitol. Every year the districts must send a boy and girl from the ages twelve to eighteen to the capitol to participate in these games. The games are a fight to the death on live TV."
I gaped at this. "That's seriously sick! Who would do that to their children?"
She looked at sad. "It's not our choice. We have to do this. This is the fourth time Katniss will be in the drawing for tributes. Tributes are what we call the participants of the games. Unfortunately this will be Prim's first year."
I felt my stomach lurch. I was going to be sick. I made it to a basket type thing and threw up acidic liquid. It hurt my throat, but I couldn't stop it. Besides it must be from not eating for two whole days. I wasn't hungry anymore after looking at the semi-vomit. This has to be some kind of sick joke. Maybe Nico and I were on some reality game show. Maybe, just maybe, this was an episode of Punk'd. I knew I was hurting my wrist, but at this moment I couldn't even think straight. I felt someone rubbing my back. I turned my head and saw Prim. She saw the tears in my eyes. I was scared. I know I don't know her but she reminded me of my little brother. "Oh my god." I sobbed. "How can this be real?"
She gave me a sad face. "It's okay."
I cried some more but eventually stopped. I knew I had to be strong for Nico. He was in pain right now and crying wouldn't help the situation. "Sorry," I said to Katniss's mother. "I'll clean it up."
"Don't worry about it." She replied. Nico was bandaged up now and his arm was being worked on. "I'll have to break it back in place before I can put a brace on."
Nico nodded. "Go ahead, just make it quick."
She broke his arm and I covered my ears to muffle his shout. "Sorry," She said and bandaged up his arm.
"Mother, where are we going to keep them?" Katniss had suddenly come into the room.
"I'll keep them with me." She said giving Katniss a wink. "Go ahead and get dressed, both of you."
Prim and Katniss disappeared into a room, which I was assuming was their bedroom. "Now it's time to work on you."
I ignored the pain that occurred as she patched up my wrist. It was broken, but my ankle was only twisted. "Do we have to participate in those games?" Nico asked.
"No. The two of you will stay by my side. The peacekeepers are more focused on the possible tributes. They won't even notice the two of you." She assured.
Both Nico and I would have to use a crutch. Katniss's mother seemed to be a pro at this. She explained about how her parents owned an apothecary shop. Once I was patched up myself, I had the courage to ask some questions. "So there's really nothing anyone can do about the games?"
She shook her head slightly. "This sucks. How the hell would this have happened?"
"That's easy. Our government is so corrupt I'm not surprised." Nico responded. "I bet it was a massive war or pollution."
"Do you know what happened to the Earth?"
"No but, I know that the environment was destroyed because of your people." Katniss seethed. She was dressed in a velvet blue dress.
That was a drastic change compared to what she had on before. I picked her for a tomboy alright. "Katniss," Her mother chastised. "That's not a kind way to treat guests."
She rolled her eyes and disappeared out the door. "What's her problem?" I mumbled.
Katniss's mother responded then. "Ever since her father perished in a coal mining accident, she's been angry with me. I can't say I blame her. I abandoned my children for my own selfish reasons."
I felt myself tense up. "I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know."
She gave me a weak smile. "It's not your fault."
Nico used his crutch to come over to me. "Are you sure they won't notice us with these?" He questioned her.
She shook her head. "No, the peacekeepers tend to keep their attention focused on the tributes."
I glanced at Nico and could only hope we would go unseen.
Hate it, love it? Let me know what you all think in a lovely review. Oh and sorry for any grammar mistakes, unfortunately I'm not a gifted grammar prodigy.
