Chapter Two; On the Field
The predator stood on the edge of the field. He knew how important it was to familiarize oneself with the area of the hunt. It could mean the difference between a good hunt and a hunt that would end with a horrible bloody death. (Both were enjoyable, but he could only blow himself up once.) The forest was perfect; the flora was thick enough to make use of, but sparse enough that the predator would not have to worry about brushing against it, ruining his stealth. There was a lake, no, 'watering hole,' that would attract thirsty prey. From past footage the creature knew that thirst would drive tributes to the area. It was inevitable. The far side was an area of dense grass. It was not ideal for a hunter that could turn invisible, but it would present a new kind of hunting opportunity.
The tribute's platforms were mined, ensuring his prey would be prepared for the game. The large horn was somewhat negligible; it served the purposes of the capital and little else.
There was only one thing that bothered this creature; outside interference. The area was littered with cameras, permeated with control devices, plus it was completely surrounded by a force field. It would be a very foolish thing to enter this area without first taking control of it. The creature remembered one of his finest hunts. He and two of his brothers landed at the temple created for the hunt. The humans there made excellent incubators for the arthropod monsters. But then, without warning, one of the humans managed to turn the temple's mechanics against them, stranding this creature by itself.
And it was a long walk home.
He would not make the same mistake. After a quick check, it became obvious that it was run out of a hovercraft levitating above the field of battle. This hovercraft controlled everything; the force fields, the mines, even the cameras. If the creature could gain control of the hovercraft, it would control the games themselves.
The humans had finished preparing the field for his hunt, and were now headed towards the hovercraft, oblivious to what was about to happen.
A deep chuckle came up his lips.
Katniss rose into the blinking sun. Beside her, there were almost two dozen other tributes, terrified out of their minds. All but one would be dead in a matter of days.
Katniss swallowed hard. She took her minute of inaction to check out the area. Obviously, she would be going for the forest. She did not have the stamina to stay in the lake, and the high grass was so intimidating… There was no way she was staying in the open. Her life seemed to revolve around her ability to get to the forest. She paused, using her experienced eyes to check the area for prey. Her eyes, trained so hard for hunting, worked efficiently, telling her what plants she could eat, where there were signs of animals. Movement… in the distance; it was almost nothing, but her eyes detected something there. It looked like a shimmer.
There was only one way for her to win; she had to trust Peeta. It was a horrible situation. Why she had to trust someone who may as well be a total stranger was beyond her. She wondered, absently, whether Gale was now rambling about how unfair it was that this had happened to her. But what if he was telling the truth? Katniss did not want to go down that road, but he did seem to want her to survive, to win.
Of course, if the Capitol decided she had to lose, she would. That was the worst part, the thought that she was not in control. She had survived the wild, this was simply a simulation. They would sit back, relax, and kill her. Somewhere above her, in an unseen hovercraft, someone was relaxing and enjoying their coffee.
The hovercraft was in chaos. Screams erupted from everywhere. Seneca Crane idly wondered why blood was pouring down his chest. He had not angered President Snow. He did not anger anyone else in the Capital…
The invisible villain was slaughtering the well-armed crew. They were prepared to take down a single intruder, just in case one of the victors was only playing dead. But whatever this thing was, it was far more powerful than some tricky teenager.
The creature returned to the bridge, and overrode the computer, giving it complete control over the entire arena. Everyone was going to be slaughtered, there was not going to be a victor this year. He activated every system override he could. He may as well give those kids a fighting chance; it was his job as game keeper.
The creature admired this, but still slit Crane's throat.
The horn blew. Whatever it was in the forest was gone now. The second long delay had ruined her chance to claim the bow. Instead, she had to settle for a blood-stained backpack and a knife. Peeta was nowhere to be seen as she headed into the forest. Death and destruction called to her in siren song behind her, promising the Capitol's supplies, and a bloody death.
She headed into the woods where she will live dehydrated for the next couple of days.
Author's Notes; Alright, I'm going to start skipping stuff. Katniss goes into the woods and gets here stuff in trouble. To be truthful, you should know how this goes if you've read the books, which also happens to be the reason I am writing in third person. If you want to read this from inside her head, read the books.
