Massive Movie Mash-up

4. The Hunger Games

When Rosemary Ellesmere wakes from unconsciousness, she is no longer in the Grand Palace in Pontiasin. She is lying on a cold, stone floor in a dark room. It appears to be a prison cell. Rosemary tries to get on her feet, but slumps down to the floor. Her legs aren’t strong enough to stand up yet. She feels exhausted too.

She peers into the dark and can distinguish a figure on the other side of the cell. She crawls over to it and discovers it is actually her brother Nicolas. She turns him over and tries to wake him.

“Nick!” she calls, but her voice is nothing more than a whisper. She can’t make much noise because her throat is as dry as a desert. She suddenly craves food and drink. It is as if she has been denied nutrition for over a month.

“Nick!” she calls again. This time she is louder thanks to her saliva production kicking in. Nicolas opens his eyes and is barely able to push himself up from the ground.

“Rose…” he chokes. His throat is also as dry as a sandbox.

Rosemary takes a good, long look at him and notices his ragged clothes. They are grey, paper-thin and have a paper-like texture. When Rosemary looks down, she sees she is wearing the same paper clothes.

Nicolas swallows hard and slowly articulates a sentence: “What happened?”

Rosemary just shrugs and tries to stand up again. She clings to the wall next to her and pulls herself up on a protruding brick. She nearly slumps back down, but catches herself on the brick.

Not a moment later, a hatch at the bottom of the cell door opens, casting a light beam into the cell. A plate with two buns of stale bread and a water pitcher are shoved through it. As soon as the food and drink are shoved through, the hatch closes again.

Nicolas gets on hands and knees and crawls to the plate and water pitcher. Wobbling like a newborn calf, Rosemary stumbles over to him clinging to the cell walls. They each grab one of the buns and sink their teeth into the stale bread. They chew slowly as not to burden their dry mouth. They wash the staleness away with the water from the pitcher.

After an hour or so, Rosemary and Nicolas have regained some of their strength and are able to stand. Whilst practising to get up, they discovered puncture wounds on their arms. Nicolas speculated that they had been kept in a coma and fed intravenously for a long time.

Then the cell door swings open, blinding the two Ellesmeres in the sudden brightness. Two heavily armed Orcs from The Lord of the Rings enter and place themselves against the wall opposite the door. Next, two well-protected stormtroopers from Star Wars guard either side of the door. Lastly, Mr. Edwards steps into the cell holding a scroll.

“Edwards!” Rosemary and Nicolas rejoice, but their joy quickly fades. Mr. Edwards’ face is a mask of dignity, but his eyes scream pity and fear. He halts five steps away from the royals and unravels the scroll.

“12 May 7836 – the planet Andros-9, in the solar system of Antanarivo, has been annexed by the cyborg overlords,” Edwards reads in a tone absent of emotion, “After a swift attack, the royal Ellesmeres were captured and the cyborg overlords appointed dr. Marcus Geelong as sovereign ruler…”

“Marcus Geelong? How is…” Nicolas is cut off by one of the Orcs, who kicks him in the back of the knees. Nicolas yelps and slumps to the floor.

“Quiet!” the Orc growls.

“My sincere apologies, Your Majesties,” Edwards intervenes nervously. “You are forbidden to speak while I read this ordinance.”

Rosemary lifts Nicolas up and nods for Edwards to continue. She pities him. If Andros-9 is indeed ruled by cyborgs, it was a blessing she and Nicolas were in a coma.