Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Hames Trilogy.
Prologue
Ever since I was young, I loved to read. Books were an escape, an illusion to drift away from the chaos of what all of us know as life.
"The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream."
I wasn't around when The Second Great Purge occurred, and I am grateful I wasn't. Thousands upon thousands of people were slaughtered.
"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?"
"What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?"
"Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us."
Lord of the Flies.
The Second Great Purge carried on for years, with deaths always increasing.
"It kills me sometimes, how people die."
War broke out between neighboring regions, and the world seemed to be falling apart.
"A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me."
Cities were demolished and those who survived were placed into separate districts. There was mass propaganda and censorship, and under the new government the people were oppressed.
"Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die."
"Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction."
"My heart is so tired."
"I am haunted by humans."
The Book Thief.
However, during The Second Great Purge someone rescued a few books. These books, old, scorched, and worn down, have been ultimately rescued from their great demise. Currently, they are in my care, and are to be kept secret from the Capitol.
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
Other books and possessions that people owned were destroyed, and they were eventually inculcated with the thought that this new country, Panem, was perfect and that this new government was, in fact, good. Soon, there was tranquility, but only for a little while.
"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."
When the Rebellion occurred, this new government, known as The Capitol passed a new set of laws.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
"From the Treaty of the Treason:
"You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat. Try fightin' with your head for a change."
In penance for their uprising, each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public 'Reaping.'
"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."
These Tributes shall be delivered to the custody of The Capitol,
"We're paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple."
And then transferred to a public arena where they will Fight to the Death,
"There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible."
Until a lone victor remains.
"They've done it before and they'll do it again and when they do it - seems that only the children weep. Good night."
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games."
"To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."
For 67 years, The Hunger Games have been plaguing the lives of innocent people.
"One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live."
This sick play on human life has become an entertainment to the people who live in the Capitol. They live for the blood, the gore, the excitement. However, there is to be one rule that should always be followed:
"In the beginning there was faith - which is childish; trust - which is vain; and illusion - which is dangerous."
"It is the duty of all civilians to honor the Capitol. Report unruly behavior of fellow district citizens to your nearest peacekeepers. Resistance will be treated accordingly."
"Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow."
Night.
Rebellion will not be tolerated again.
"Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other."
Of Mice and Men.
What the Capitol doesn't know is that rebellion has already began. Perhaps not with me, no, I'm just a girl from District Four who likes to read illegal books. But I am, in fact, lethal. All of us are lethal.
"I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes."
The Glass Castle.
Rebellion is in the air; it always has been. All you have to do is wait.
"All I kept thinking about, over and over, was 'You can't live forever; you can't live forever."
The Great Gatsby.
After all, life is just a play full of love, hate, war, peace, and we are the fools who star in it. All there really is to it, is to live.
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
Macbeth.
Because in the end, there are no winners; only survivors.
Author's Note: I think it's about to that I came back to writing stories, isn't it? I deeply apologize to those who have been waiting for my other stories. I would give petty excuses, but it's been more than a year, so why even try? I've been lazy, and although I still continued to read fanfiction, I haven't written one in a long time. So maybe this is the one that will bring my writing mojo back. Hopefully I actually finish this one, and I promise I'll go back to my other stories eventually. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about them.
Anyway, yeah, Hunger Games, Finnick Odair. Yeeep. I'm not going to lie, I haven't read the books, I've only seen the movies and fell in love with them. However, worry not, friends, I will get to the books… eventually ^-^ So if you recognize the quote about the Treaty of Treason, I got it from the movie (but it seems like something that would directly be from the book, so I'm going to just say it's from there). And the part about The Second Great Purge is something I made up (the first one, however, was very real - Russia, guys.)
And yeah, I know, the way this is written is a bit weird, but I love all of these books and my English class has really inspired me this year to appreciate reading, so yeah, the main character will be a big reader and if you need a visual as to what the OC looks like, think of Astrid Berges-Frisbey. If you recognize her, it's probably because she was the mermaid Syrena from Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, and guess who else was there… that's right, Sam Claflin, who also plays Finnick Odair. It's lovely how things turn out, right?
Anyway, enough chit chatting. I'll try to bring out the next chapter as soon as possible. Warning, the format for that will also be weird as there will be a lot of jumps and difference scenes out of order, but eventually it'll go back to a regular format. Until then, I have to vamoose :P