So I saw Catching Fire the other night and spent the whole movie looking for a scene to make into an RotG AU. As soon as the jabberjay part started I knew what I was going to do. I'm sure you can guess what's coming. A bit of BlackIce if you squint because I can. But I really did pay attention to the movie and it was fantastic; one of the best movie adaptations of a book I've ever seen.
Slight Catching Fire spoilers ahead.
They're safe. For the moment at least, though, in the arena, the entire concept of "safe" is just a falsehood.
Jack takes a deep breath and collapses into the sand, digging in his fingers until he's squeezing damp clumps with his fists. This habitual anchoring is the only thing that keeps him grounded in this insane world.
Once he feels like he has a handle on his wildly scattered mind, he sits up and looks around at his fellow tributes. They're more than just that now, certainly not friends, yet definitely allies. Right now he needs them alive, but when it comes down to it he will kill them to survive.
He wonders if he could have been friends with them in a different place, a different time. They all seem friendly enough, if not a bit caustic, though that's caused by the harshness of the Games. Tooth's bubbly exterior hides a deep darkness, which he saw when she lashed out during her interview, cursing the Capitol, the Games, the Districts, everything and everyone. Even the ever-stoic Aster—who hasn't shown emotion even now, in the arena—looked surprised at her outburst, though he did silently nod in approval. North is like a mix of both of them, hardly ever slipping out of his boisterous behavior. Pitch is the only one Jack really can't fathom. At first, he seems to be just as stoic as Aster, but it's quickly apparent it's an act. While Aster is just naturally pathetic, Pitch has put up walls to keep people out.
However, when Jack looks closely enough, he can see emotions and assessments flickering behind Pitch's eyes. Now he just has to figure out how to read them. Pitch is currently sitting away from the other three, who are huddled together, probably coming up with a plan. With half the Career pack still out there, things are dangerous. It's the perfect opportunity for him to approach Pitch and attempt to figure him out.
Jack stands, his legs still feeling a bit shaky, and takes a step toward Pitch.
"Jack!"
That voice. He knows that voice. It shouldn't be here. It can't be here. Everything he's done has been to ensure that voice will never call out in pain or fear, like it's doing right now. He forgets about Pitch, about his other allies, about the Careers. The only thing that matters is his sister because she's here, in the arena, the one place Jack swore he would never allow her to end up.
He plunges into the jungle. Other voices call his name, call for him to come back, but the only voice that matters is Emma's voice begging to him, begging for him to save her.
"Jack, please help me! I'm scared!"
"Emma!" he screams, wildly searching the treetops as he brandishes his staff. Her voice is coming from up there, but he can't see her. There are only birds flitting about and how can they be so peaceful at a time like this! "Where are you!"
"Help me!" she screeches, sending him into a frenzy. They're hurting her, they're hurting her and he's not there to protect her, to stop them, to sacrifice himself—
"Jack!" It's a different voice this time, unfamiliar and Jack whirls around, his staff at the ready.
It's Pitch.
"Woah, woah, easy," he says.
Ally, Jack forces himself to think. He lowers his staff, but immediately tenses as his sister calls his name again. It's deeper in the jungle this time. She's getting farther away.
"Emma!" He turns away from Pitch and chases after her.
"Jack, no! Come back," Pitch calls. Jack can hear him following, but it doesn't matter. Pitch can help him save her, help him rip apart those sons of bitches who took her. Jack crashes through a wall of bushes, uncaring of the whipping stings of branches against his face, but there's only a cliff face on the other side.
"Please, Jack! Make them stop!"
Emma's voice is coming from the top of the cliff and the sheerness of it means nothing to Jack as he throws down his staff and beings to climb. He doesn't get very far before long arms wrap around his waist and tear him off the rocks.
"No! Let me go, let me go! I have to get to her!" Jack screams, lashing out, trying to reach the wall again.
"Jack, calm down, it's just—"
"Daddy!"
The sudden drop to the ground is jarring, but Jack quickly pushes himself to his knees and grabs his staff. He looks up at Pitch, ready to demand an explanation for being dropped, but swallows his words when he sees Pitch's face, drained of all color with his eyes wide and darting and playing an emotion Jack still can't read.
"Seraphina," he whispers between shallow gasps.
"Daddy, where are you!"
"Seraphina!" With a louder shout, Pitch takes off, running parallel to the cliff face, in the direction of this new voice. Seraphina must be Pitch's daughter, someone who is just as important to Pitch as Emma is to Jack.
"Jack!" Emma's voice comes from the same direction, leaving Jack with no choice but to follow. His rage at the Capitol grows as he stands and sprints after Pitch. They've already done enough, taking away their freedom and their lives, and now they've taken their loved ones and tortured them.
The voices continue, growing in volume and coming from all directions now, but that's impossible, how can Emma be in that bush to his right and at the top of the cliff and in the tree up ahead?
Blinded by his panic and anger, Jack doesn't notice that Pitch has stopped and slams right into his back. It hardly jolts Pitch, who is staring intently up at the tree tops. Following his gaze, Jack sees a swarm of birds black as night.
"It's just jabberjays," Pitch says calmly, though it's clearly forced.
Jack barely heard him over the cacophony, but it made sense. Jabberjays can copy human speech, so that means Emma and Seraphina aren't in the arena, but . . .
"We shouldn't listen to them." Pitch looks down at him, his expression neutral, but Jack can read a completely different story in his eyes. It tells of desperation. "It's not actually them."
"They had to have copied them from somewhere!" Jack counters. "They made those sounds, they—"
"JACK!"
"DADDY!"
The screams intensify, as if angry at being ignored. There's practically a whole flock now, and Emma's voice is all around him, swooping by his left ear, begging in the tree branches, screeching from the sky. Jack presses his hands over his ears and screams himself, but it doesn't block anything out.
"I'm so scared, Jack."
"Daddy, I don't like the dark."
Pitch's hand wraps around his upper arm and tugs him back in the direction they came. Jack stumbles, but quickly gets his feet under him. They need to get out of here, out of this section of the clock and they'll be free from this torture.
"Jack, don't leave me!"
It sounds so real and it's so hard to keep walking, to leave her behind. Telling himself that it's not her isn't enough and it's killing him.
"Why aren't you helping me, Daddy!?"
Pitch makes a pained sound and his grip tightens. "We're almost there . . . we're almost there."
Jack looks up and sees his other three allies near the edge of the jungle. They're clearly shouting something, but he can't make out what it is and he doesn't get why they're not coming to help them.
The jabberjays begin to swoop down on them, beaks and claws digging into flesh and pulling. Pitch finally lets go of Jack's arm to swat them away, but they keep coming and there's too many and they're still screaming. Pitch's large scythe isn't effective against such small targets and Jack's too disoriented to aim properly with his staff.
Aster is only a few feet away, but he's not closing those last few steps to meet them. He's pounding his fist against the air and Jack doesn't understand why until he runs into an invisible barrier.
Jack gasps and shudders, sinking to his knees. He can see every detail of the panic etched onto Aster's face and it terrifies Jack that he's wearing an emotion so plainly.
Aster calls his name and it sounds like it's coming from miles away underwater. Jack now knows it's the barrier blocking sounds from the other side, but the screams of his sister and Pitch's daughter are so persistent and close that they could be overwhelming everything else. Jack slams his fists against the barrier, but there's no way it's going to give. It's an invention from the Capitol, probably tested against the strongest mutts.
He sinks down to the ground and curls up into a shaking ball. He only has to survive an hour of this, just an hour, only an hour. He can do this, he can do this, he can—he can do—he—
"Jaaaaaaaaaaack!"