Note from author:
As I read the Hunger Games, I kept thinking about what would cause America to be so depopulated in the future? What is going on in the other parts of the world? Why does no one flee the Districts?
What if they had gone through a world wide nuclear war? It would explain things. When I was a kid, I was a fan of a science fiction series that also dealt with a post nuclear world that was just as dystopian, if not more so than the Hunger Games. It was called, Logan's Run. The more I thought about it, the more I realized these stories could mesh well.
Since Logan's Run is an old TV series, I need to give you a basic synopsis or my story will be hard to follow. Two hundred years after the nuclear war, near Washington D.C, sits a large city that is totally under a series of domes. Within, most people live a leisurely life. Most don't work very hard. There is plenty of food and water. Almost everyone has a nice apartment. You can do almost anything you want,...except have your thirtieth birthday.
Logan Five is a policeman or Sandman in the City of Domes, whose duties, in addition to normal police work, include tracking down and killing Runners, people who do not believe that there is renewal, a type of reincarnation that the State promotes. Logan questions renewal. When he meets Jessica Six who is helping a Runner escape, he knocks out his partner, Francis Seven and is forced to flee with the woman. The series is about their travels, with Francis Seven and other Sandmen in pursuit.
The TV series is kid friendly, the movie not so much. The tv series is recommended for nine to thirteen year olds. You can rent the series at your local video rental store. Pay particular attention to the episode, "Man Out of Time." It really shows the kinds of fears people had of nuclear war back then.
I have never seen another LR fanfic. That is why this story is not in crossovers.
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Caesar Flickerman had been the interviewer for the Hunger Games for a long time. Usually, when the winning Tribute was interviewed, they were devastated by what they had been through. He was used to seeing the guilt in their eyes, hearing the pain in their voices. He had learned to hide from his conscience by repeating a mantra, this is important. This is important!
The winner this year didn't look distraught; He looked like he wanted to kill Flickerman. The announcer was sure that the only thing keeping him alive at that moment were the four Peacekeepers that were out of camera range and who had guns pointed at the young man.
Nels Four from District Eight had never even seen the Hunger Games before, yet he had the highest number of personal kills on record. It had been the shortest Hunger Game at barely seven hours.
Disappointment with the results mixed with the public's insatiable curiosity about the winner. At six foot two, he had long legs. He was fit but not overly muscular with curtly black hair and deep blue eyes. There was a touch of arrogance in those eyes, Flickerman glanced at the guards before the stage manager furiously signalled for him that they were seconds from being on air.
"Welcome to the Post Hunger Games Show. I am Caesar Flickerman. I am here with this year's amazing winner, Nels Four of District Eight."
"I am from the City of Domes," the young man said. He spoke with an exotic accent that according to the polls, the females found alluring.
What Flickerman did not find alluring was being corrected. "Yes. Well, you represented District Eight."
"I may have represented District Eight, but I am from the City of Domes as were Bertram Nine and Arvid Six," Nels said, referring to the Male Tributes from Districts Seven and Eleven."
"Yet, no one believed you personally had a chance. The odds of you winning were thirty to one. Let's look at the footage when you met the boy from District Four." Flickerman said, trying to ignore talk of the City of Domes.
The large tri screen lit up. It showed the early meeting of all the Tributes before the grand procession. The boy from District Four walked up and shoved Nels Four in an obvious attempt to intimidate him and Nels shrank away. As Bertram and Arvid stared, Nels waved his hands as if to defend himself before the Peacekeepers intervened.
"You were signaling them!" Flickerman exclaimed, realization dawning on his face.
"Yes, I was. I said, 'don't say anything. Cubs' " Nels Four answered.
"How would they know what you meant? Did you know them when you were in your City of Domes?" Flickerman asked. He kicked himself. He shouldn't have said that name!
"I knew them. In the City of Domes, when you are born, you are given your time flower," He raised his left palm in which was an embedded a small glowing crystal, white as snow. "From birth until seven, you live in Nursery. From seven to fifteen, you live in school. At fifteen you are considered an adult. Arvid, Bertram and I attended a special school called the Sandman Academy, Sandmen enforced all of the laws of the City. I am seventeen and so was Bertram. We were fully trained and experienced. Arvid was a senior trainee."
"Are you saying that you and the other two were comparable to Peacekeepers and you didn't want the other Tributes to know it?" Flickerman asked to the gasps of the crowd. They were just now realizing how thoroughly the three young men had deceived them.
Nels Four just smiled. The crowd started to boo. This young man had robbed them of their Hunger Games. The voices got louder.
"We are going to a commercial break and we will be back in a moment," Flickerman said as the camera panned over the crowd.
At the intermission, Flickerman heard the program manager say, "Make him the villain. Show the Sandmen as ruthless killers. We have to salvage these Hunger Games. We can't let him win."
When the cameras came back on, amid the booing, Flickerman began, "It is traditional to follow your story from the moment that you are chosen. You volunteered for the Hunger Games, correct?"
"Yes I did," Nels Four.
'Why? Were you looking for an easy payday?" Flickerman said with an air of disgust as the boos got louder.
Nels Four shrugged. "I liked what Bertram said when you interviewed him about why he volunteered."
What did Bertram say? Something about avenging the City of Domes? Everyone had mocked the young man, but second to Nels, Bertram had the highest kill rate with Arvid right behind him. If Bertram and Arvid hadn't each taken an arrow in the neck from the girl from District Four in the first five minutes, Flickerman had little doubt that it would have probably been two of the three Sandmen at the end.
"Maybe you should replay his interview." Nels Four said. The boos got louder.
Flickerman eyes became unfocused as he listened to the voice in his earpiece. "It really doesn't matter what he said. He is dead." Flickerman said in a taunting voice.
Though Nels was sitting properly in the chair, his voice suddenly exploded, "Bertram said that you killed most of four hundred thousand people in our city! The only ones who were armed were Sandmen, Cubs and Vagabonds, the adult gangs. When the domes came down it was like shrapnel in the old wars! Why! Why did you attack us! If I can ruin your precious game, I'll do it even if it gets me killed! That is exactly what Bertram said. Why did you attack the City of Domes?" The crowd's voice suddenly began to mute.
"We are not here to answer for our leaders decisions. We are here to analyse the Hunger Games," Flickerman said.
"Analyse away," Nels Four said while crossing his legs.. For the first time, Flickerman started to wonder about the outfit that Nels Four was wearing. Nels Four asked for the outfit specifically before he left for the Games. His handlers arranged for it as doing a request for a presumed dead man. He was wearing black pants and boots with a mostly black long sleeved pullover shirt with a strip of cloth across his chest that was silver with a matching collar and wrists. It couldn't be? It could. Flickerman knew in his heart that he was looking at Nels Four in a replica of a Sandman uniform.
"After our next commercial break, we will analyse the initial battle. Don't go away."
Flickerman was sweating bullets. He knew that this young man was fully willing and capable of snapping his neck at a moment's notice. He also knew that President Snow might make him disappear. He had to tread carefully.
Call him a coward, the voice in his earpiece said as the lights came on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will watch the first battle in real time. Roll it." Flickerman said.
The camera focused on Nels Four as the timer went to zero. To his right was a little girl from District Six. To her right, were two careers, the Boy from District Two and the girl from District Three.
When the countdown reached zero, instead of going for a weapon or satchel, Nels Four exploded off the platform and with his long legs, accelerated towards the District Two boy. Within five seconds he had caught the boy and broke his neck, He then accelerated to the girl from District Three. Realizing her danger, the girl turned to face Nels Four, empty handed.
Nels Four slowed and instead of trying kill her, he snapped a kick that injured her knee.
As she went to the ground, he turned and quickly surveyed the battle scene. The boy from District Five, sword in hand, charged him. Nels Four stopped and let him come. At the last minute, he dodged to the left,. The young man could not stop his momentum. Nels grabbed the boy's right forearm and pulled him forward. He then threw a karate chop to his opponents throat. The Sandman quickly reached around and snapped the other boy's neck. Leaving the sword, he accelerated and scooped a satchel. Using it as a shield, he bent down and made his way to the woods zigzagging to avoid any arrows.
As soon as he was out of sight, he dropped down and froze. After twenty seconds, he glanced in the satchel, pulled out a lighter and put it in his pocket, leaving the satchel where it lay. He then began to make his way to the back end of the clearing. Just as the cannon started announcing the number of dead, he hunched down and got as close to the clearing as he dared. As soon as the aircraft came to collect the bodies, he stood and began to briskly walk into the clearing. The cornucopia structure blocked his view of all but two Tributes. The noise of the aircraft drowned out his approach as the two Tributes the males from Districts One and Four stared at the collection of the bodies. Nels Four quickly slipped behind each of them and snapped both necks. The announcer tried to warn them but the volume of the PA speakers was set too low to override the noise of the aircraft.
He ignored the sword that the first boy had, instead, took the smaller knife of the second boy . As he picked up another satchel, he could see that a couple of other Tributes could see him. Turning, he again hunched down and using the satchel as a shield, scampered into the woods.
"You seem to enjoy attacking people from behind, Sandman," Flickerman said.
"I was there to survive, not amuse you." Nels Four answered, to boos from the crowd.
As the film continued to roll, the boys from District Two and Six followed Nels Four into the woods. His long legs had given him a head start. When the two boys, both about fifteen had entered the woods, they couldn't see him. They chased him for a few seconds, then they both slowed down as the tried to guess where he might be . They were making a lot of noise as the tromped down a slope.
Seeing the bag Nels Four had carried, they rushed towards it As the passed a large huckleberry bush, Nels Four quietly and quickly rose. He had been hiding in a depression by the bush.
Nels Four was on the first boy, breaking his neck before he could react. The second boy spun arrow cocked. Nels dropped behind the slain boy's body, which took the arrow right in the chest. Before he could reload, Nels threw the knife at the archer's chest The boy tried to turn away from the attack and managed to take the knife in the left arm, dropping the bow. Nels Four closed on the boy and quickly broke his neck, killing him.
Six dead and one maimed by the Sandman. The girl had been killed by the Career Girl from District One. Working together, Bertram and Arvid had taken seven out before they were both dead. Their deaths, along with four other Tributes who were killed meant that there were twenty dead in the first half hour. All that were left was Nels and three girls, the Career from District One, the little girl from District Six and the little girl from District Seven.
"The last four that I terminated made their mistakes for the same reason. Would you like to know where they went wrong?" Nels asked in sotto voice.
Amidst the boos, some people started shouting that they wanted to hear what Nels Four had to say. Flickerman smiled inwardly. The crowd's reaction was just what he needed it to be. He might survive this day, after all.
As the crowd settled down Flickerman said."You seemed to have made a lot of enemies. Are you sure that you don't want to quit while you are behind?"
"Well, as I understand it, all of the fights of the Hunger Games have been telecast to the Districts, so that means that the … participants for next year have been watching. They might like to know how not to get themselves terminated."
Let him hang himself. He is arrogant. Make the most of it, the voice in the earpiece said.
"Where did those Tributes that you killed, go wrong?"
If Nels Four noticed the difference in the wording that Flickerman used, he didn't show it as he leaned forward. Looking directly into the camera he spoke in a way that it was obvious that he was speaking to the children in the Districts. Gone was the arrogance and contempt that he showed Flickerman.
"When you go into the initial battle, you are very scared. Your body produces a lot of adrenaline. If you survive, you will be relieved. You will want to stop to catch your breath. The adrenaline has burned off and you are physically at a point where you are down. Psychologically everyone takes the collection of the bodies as a time out. While I was in training, I spent my evenings, reviewing the initial battles in the last four Hunger Games. I saw that happen every time. I knew that if I walked quickly up from behind, the noise of the body collection combined with their current physical state assured me a better than average chance to take them by surprise."
"The third pair saw what I had done. They suddenly realized that there was no time out, that they were in danger. They got scared, were again filled with adrenaline and tried to attack. They didn't think about what they were doing. Coming at me two on one was smart, but they should have calmed down and searched in a methodical way instead of crashing into the woods without any coordination. Sandmen had to have the ability to run fast. We were run every day in school, Once I was in the woods, it was a simple matter of finding a place to hide and letting them come to me."
As Nels Four was giving his explanation, Flickerman was watching the crowd. The boos had subsided. Instead he could sense the growing respect that the crowd was beginning to feel for the young Sandman. He was winning them over. Flickerman suddenly realized that Nels Four was still playing the game and he was winning.
Flickerman decided to try another tack, "You didn't mind letting the girl Tributes do your own dirty work," he said casually. Flickerman made a cutting motion.
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"Ladies and gentlemen , we will now review the most cowardly part of Nels Four plan. Roll film." Flickerman said tersely, hoping to prevent Nels Four from saying anything.
The film showed Nels Four walking back to the Cornucopia. None of the other Tributes were to be seen. He ate and drank his fill then searched what was available to him. He made up a satchel of food, water, a blanket and a pair of binoculars. Holding a knife in one hand Nels Four took the satchel which he had swung on his free shoulder and hid them nearby in the forest. "That was for Plan B," Nels Four interjected. A few people booed, but most of the audience was quiet.
He then gathered more food and a second blanket with a bow and arrows set and put them on top of the cornucopia
He got a hatchet and began cutting firewood. Just before darkness fell, as the full moon began to rise, he started a bonfire, with meat right next to it, so the fire would cook the meat sending the smell into the woods. He went to the cornucopia, jogged around it once to ensure no one was slipping behind him, climbed the cornucopia and waited.
As darkness fell, the sky lit up showing the photos of the twenty dead. A camera focused on Ne;s face as the dead were announced. When the other two Sandmen were shown as dead, Bertram gave a slight nod with his lips compressed in a straight line. It was obvious to the audience that Nels was sorry to see that they were dead.
An hour and a half later, as the fire was starting to die down, the girl from District Seven came for the food. She dived into the meat, eating ravenously. Nels Four, in his hiding spot, spent all his time watching. When the girl was finished, she was knocked to the ground by a vicious hit from the girl from District One.
"That was stupid of you to build such a big fire. Thanks," the cruel girl from District One said. "Thanks for making this easy," The girl from District One ran a sword through the younger girl, to the sound of her death scream.
"Runner! You are in my trap! You better run, Runner!" Nels shouted out as he slowly rose to his feet. The girl spun facing an unseen enemy. Tripping over the body of the girl she had just murdered, One fell into the fire. She screamed as she rolled out with first degree burns on her left hand. She jumped up and ran into the woods, to the sound of the canon confirming the first girl's death, with the video confirmation in the sky.
Seconds later, he heard two screams. As he slid down from the cornucopia, the canon boomed again, announcing a death. The picture of the girl from District One appeared in the sky. Six must have killed One and she had been injured.
Nels Four began to make his way to the sound of the cries. He founder her screaming while holding her stomach. The video shut off.
We can't afford to play anymore. Work him, the voice said to Flickerman.
The original broadcast had been live. Nels Four followed the sounds of the girl's cries until he had found her. The girl from District One had ran into the other girl. They must have lashed out at each other. One received an instantly fatal wound.
The girl from District Six had One's sword embedded into her stomach. She was in a fetal position crying out, "I don't want to die! Mommy! I don't want to die!"
Nels Four stepped over One's body. The girl from Six, sensing his presence, tried in vain to reach for her sword but the pain in her stomach made her convulse. Nels Four, holding a knife at the ready reached down, picked her sword up and threw it away to the sounds of her begging, "Please don't kill me!"
"I'm not going to kill you. You're not a cub. I don't kill innocent children," Nels Four answered. "I think your wound is fatal. though."
She started crying in earnest, then. Nels Four stood there for several seconds and then he pulled the small canteen out of his pocket and took off the lid. He didn't think that with her wound, she could attack him, but he wasn't taking chances so he stepped behind her
"No! No!," she cried out weakly. She was feeling the blood loss.
"Drink some water. It will make you feel better." Nels Four knelt next to her head, ever read to jump if she tried to pull the sword from her body to stab him. She turned her head and drank every drop.
He rose, went in front of her and sat next to a tree.
"Why are you being nice to me?" she asked weakly.
Nels Four didn't answer at first. As she started gasping he said. "After my city was destroyed by Panem, they took the survivors and put us in the Districts. We don't have families, so all of the children were put in a District orphanage. I assume they did that in the other Districts. I am old enough to find work, but a lot of my people have had trouble at the orphanage. The only ones who have shown kindness to my people have been the Baptists."
"Are you a Baptist?" the girl asked.
"No, but they are the kindest people I have ever met. I would rather imitate them than the monsters who run Panem. I know the Baptists would give you the water," Nels Four answered.
Suddenly the a voice from a public address system called out, "You must kill her. You can not let her die."
"I don't have to do anything. She will be dead, soon,'' Nels Four said.
"If you do not kill her, we will kill every child from the City of Domes in District Eight." the voice said.
"Yeah, even if you do that, I know that you will never take another Tribute from the City of Domes, from any District. I got six kills. Before they died, I am sure that Bertram and Arvid did the same. We ended your games too fast. You'll be afraid that another Sandman would do the same thing. You will never know if the Tribute was another Sandman." Nels Four replied as the canon went off. The girl from District Six was dead.
Unbeknownst to the station manager, Nels Four, President Snow or anyone else, there was an older woman in the control room. She had seen the original broadcast in its entirety. At the point where Nels Four assures the girl that he wouldn't kill her, the sound was cut. Due to a time delay, the control room had prevented Nels Four's assurances from being telecast. She was a widow, her two children having died. She was a perfectly respectable woman in Panem society. She had worked the control board at the Hunger Games for ten years. She had heard everything that Nels Four had said to the girl from District Six. Nels Four had been the most efficient Tribute, no the most efficient killer she had ever seen. To have him stop and show compassion to that girl quickened something inside her. For the first time, she felt guilty. Her shift had ended not long after Nels Four had been picked up. She didn't know how she managed to make it home before she broke into tears.
She spent the rest of the night crying. They WERE monsters. Nels Four was right. Since the nuclear war two hundred years before, Panem had become the power in North America She knew that other parts of the world were slowly recovering. They had regular radio communication with several new countries that formed since the Catastrophe. None of the others had the Hunger Games. Europe, Asia, Central America, Oceania and Africa, They had all accused Panem of being barbaric but they were too far away to do anything even if they wanted to. She knew that there were Baptists in Panem, but they were forced to meet in secret. They were not a part of the power structure at all.
What could she do?
The next night she sat at her control panel watching the events of the previous day. She heard the Program Manager tell Flickerman that they couldn't show the rest. Taking a deep breath, she entered a series of commands on her screen allowing the footage of what happened to the girl from District Six to be shown in the Districts only. What was happening on stage would only be seen by the people in the Capitol. She also closed down the communications to outside as best she could. She knew it would cost her, perhaps her life, but she just didn't care. His kindness had to be seen.
As the boom indicating the girl's death faded, the announcer laid into Nels Four. "You listen to me boy. Tomorrow, you will be interviewed on a national broadcast. If you so much as hint as to the threat you made against Capitol not daring to take another Tribute, we really will execute every child from the City of Domes that is District Eight and you will be forced to watch! You Sandmen think your some sort of law enforcement protectors? If you want to protect your people, you'll keep your mouth shut! Got it?"
"I got it," Nels Four answered, sullenly.
As the people in the Districts saw the broadcast of the girl dying, the chant Sandman Sandman was picked up. Left hands, with white colored time flowers were raised in the air for support. Baptists were singing. This happened in every District. When the threat to kill all of the children from the City of Domes was heard, the riot began immediately. In every District. Everywhere. Once some of the surviving Sandmen got their hands on Peacekeeper weapons, things got very unhealthy for the Peacekeepers.
Unaware of the events in the Districts, on stage, Flickerman, following direction from his ear piece,, said, "Nels, I have been authorized to answer one of your questions. I am going to tell you how we learned of the existence of your City of Domes. Bring them out please. Three men and one woman, all handcuffed, were brought on stage, each escorted by a Peacekeeper.
The crowd was interested.. What was about to happen?
"Francis Seven?" Nels said, surprise in his voice. Francis had taught a class when he had been in school. Francis stared, saying nothing. The woman had the most despairing look in her demeanour that Nels Four had ever seen.
"Let me finish the introductions, Nels Four, this is Logan Five, Jessica Six and Jeremy Eight. You already know Francis Seven. It is through them that we found your precious City of Domes."
"Is it true? Was the City destroyed? Almost everyone is dead? Did we cause it?" Jessica asked. Guilt was written over her face. She held a haunted look in her eyes that Nels hoped he never saw in the mirror.
"The City is gone. I don't know how many died, but a lot did. What makes you think that you caused it?" Nels asked.
"At one time, Logan here was a Sandman. He apparently decided that dying at Carousel was not to his liking, so he chose to run with the young lady. Your friend Francis and Jeremy here were sent to bring them back. Logan and Jessica ran right into District Eleven," Flickerman said, with a gloat in his voice. He finally had something to get unto this young man's skin, something to please the crowd.
Nels Four did not disappoint. "You were a Sandman and you did what?" The volume of his voice increased as Nels really warmed up."You mean those rumors about a Sandman running were TRUE?"
"Carousel was a lie!" Logan shouted.
"You think I haven't figured that out! You led them to the City!" Nels shouted back. He had never been so mad. He wanted to reach across and snap Logan's neck. He glanced over and saw Flickerman gloating, the crowd at the edge of their seat. Nels realized that they were hoping he would attack Logan. He wanted to, oh how he wanted to. He remembered the screams, the blood and the terror when the Domes imploded on the population. He wanted to!
The fourth Sandman, Jeremy surprised everyone when he said loudly, "It would have eventually happened, even if Logan and Jessica had not run. Brian Five predicted something like this a year ago when we came to that village near what used to be Washington D.C. When he saw those rifles that Logan destroyed, Brian predicted that, sooner or later, someone would come and want our resources and that Sandmen would have to become more of an army than a police force. I thought he was crazy. We all did." He looked around at the crowd. "I guess he was smarter than us all."
"Yet it was the four of you that drove right into District Eleven," Flickerman goaded. He was really getting scared. They were keeping their heads! President Snow looked furious.
Logan shouted to the crowd. "There is life beyond your Districts! We ran. You can do the same!" At that, the nearest Peacekeeper slammed the butt of his rifle into Logan's stomach. The crowd was on its feet going crazy. President Snow was saying something furious on a headset.
Nels Four was pleased. He had played the game and played it perfectly. He had deflected the question onto Bertram's response about why he had come. The original Boy Tribute had been from one of those Baptist families that had been kind to Nels Four. They had invited him to dinner, twice. That was all the contact that he had with them. Nels Four had never realized before he had met them what he and the others from the City of Domes had missed by not having parents. Nels Four was seventeen, an adult by City standards. There was no way that he was going to stand by and watch that family mourn the death of their small thirteen year old son. So he had volunteered.
The biggest thing that had made Nels Four nervous was discovering Bertram Nine had volunteered. Bertram was bigger, stronger and faster than he was. If Bertram had not been in the middle of the semicircle and instead been near the other end, Nels knew that the chances would have been high that they would have been the final two and Bertram Nine would be on stage right now instead of himself. No matter,
As he looked at the pandemonium in the crowd. Nels Four knew that there was a very good chance that he would die today. Either way, he knew that he had protected his people. No other Tribute would come from the City of Domes, at least not one of his generation. One other thing he knew as a Peacekeeper slammed him to the ground, no one in Panem would ever forget the word, Sandman.