The Fiction Games

Chapter Four - Gateways

Gamemakers prowled the competition like predators in their balcony. Below, tributes rotate stations, acquiring expertise needed for the Games. Little did they know of the thin force field shielding the balcony from the training center, or the low hum of the generator safely concealed. 

Katniss winced at the hum, the 75th Quarter Quell invading her thoughts. 

"They have forcefields too," Katniss said. "Beetee showed me how to notice the signs."

Peeta glanced at the balcony and noticed the generator hanging off the ceiling with the Gamemakers inside. If he threw a lance at the invisible wall, it would obliterate in pieces. "They've copied the procession, the training center, now force fields. The Capitol has to be behind this."

She stopped meddling with the knot she was tying. "Peeta, the Capitol was destroyed. Anyone who survived joined the revolution."

No matter how many times she said it, she couldn't convince herself. Katniss dropped the rope and moved on to another booth, an archery range. Although there was another occupant, she picked up a bow and tested its power.

Peeta wouldn't drop the argument. "Explain how they've perfectly detailed this building, our gear, food, costumes like the Capitolians."

"They were watching Panem, Peeta," is all she said before she released an arrow, penetrating the target's bullseye. Katniss blew a sigh of relief. "That's all there is to it."

Peeta bit the end of his lip, defeated. He stood back while Katniss shot a few arrows.

"Looks like you have a contender," he whispered. Katniss knew who he was talking about. The girl. Her dark hair just reaching her waist, unlike Katniss's signature braid. She claimed an arrow off a quiver, drew it to her ear, and released in a single breath. The boy, a little taller than her, stood with a sword twirling in his fingers as he wiped the sweat off his blonde hair.

"We can make an ally today," Peeta said. 

Katniss didn't respond, so he pressed forward, "We thought Finnick and Mags were no good in the beginning too."

She knew allies were good for the Games, but could she trust them like Finnick and Mags? She couldn't be sure, and also didn't know how to confront them. Peeta didn't wait for Katniss's answer. He took a bow and freed an arrow. Not only did it miss the target, the arrow collided with the bullet-proof wall, and exploded in a shower of sparks.

The two tributes stared at Peeta, their smiles quickly suppressed.

"Sorry to intervene," Peeta laughed, "but can I ask for some help? My partner is a bit stubborn."

Katniss rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure an instructor will be more than willing to help you," she said kindly. Her accent was foreign, like a Capitolian. The boy, tightening his grip on the hilt, whispered something in her ear.

"Of course she can," the boy said in a similar accent. "Why, she's the best archer in all the land."

Katniss hid her scoff. The girl reluctantly taught Peeta the basics, such as breathing, aim, and concentration. During the amateur lesson, a tutorial Katniss could've instructed a child to perform, Peeta introduced Katniss and himself. 

The boy shook hands with Peeta. "High King Peter," he pronounced. "This is Queen Susan, my sister."

Katniss didn't move. These people who mimic aspects of the Capitol captured members of a royal family. Was she supposed to bow or curtsy?

"King and Queen of...?" Peeta asked.

Peter sighed, "What used to be this place." His eyes drooped, as though finding something more interesting on the ground. 

"What is this place?" Katniss asked.

Susan and Peter stared at her, and she began to feel like she should already know the answer. "This is Narnia, of course!"

Narnia. These race of people who mock Capitolians and took twenty-four people to a world known as Narnia. Stricken with disbelief, Katniss lowered her bow to give her some support. None of this made sense. Blinking away floods of questions, Peeta settled for one. "You guys aren't from Panem?"

Susan was transfixed. "What is Panem?"

"Panem is our home. This game we're playing was copied from our Capitol games," Katniss explained. "Every detail was taken from our world. Even the citizens from the procession look oddly familiar to us." 

The siblings exchanged heavy looks. "That's the thing," High King Peter said, a scowl morphing on his face. "They aren't Narnians."

Katniss froze. "Where did they come from?"

"Like Telmarines, and yourselves, we live in different dimensions. Gateways from other worlds to this world appear at random, and can bring anyone from any dimension here," said Peter. "They must've found a gateway that brought them here."

"How could they have found a gateway?" asked Peeta, who was fairly intrigued with this concept of different worlds.

"Gateways could be anything," Susan added. "We found one in a wardrobe, a train station. Just a few years ago Edmund and Lucy found a gateway through a portrait." 

"Does this mean, the Capitolians could've found a gateway?" Peeta said to Katniss.

Katniss lost reality in thoughts. If they are Capitolians, they know Katniss's defiance with the berries, or   breaking past the force field. She knows one thing is for certain. They'll make sure she's the first one killed before she ruins the tournament.