Falling Through Portals

Death Games

Chapter 13

Percy was frozen. He could barely even hear anything over his heart beat banging in his chest.

Twenty-four kids stood on pedestals in the middle of the clearing. They were all facing the huge cornucopia that was a good twenty yards away from them. Unfortunately, the cornucopia was only a few yards to the right of Percy. That meant all 24 murderous teenagers would be running towards him.

Just the sort of thing to get a guy's blood pumping in the morning.

Percy knelt behind some foliage, peering through the leaves to watch the tributes. There was about to be a blood bath, and the only thing between him and certain death were a bunch of leaves. That was really encouraging.

He had watched the Hunger Games movie after Annabeth had read the books. And what was more terrifying than witnessing almost exactly what he had watched was the fact that he was powerless to stop it. People were going to die, and he could do nothing. Even if he jumped out and tried to save some of their lives, the most he would do is delay their death and probably get himself killed in the process.

Sweat was already forming on his arms and back from his thick winter clothes. But he remembered that it was going to be a cold night ahead. Since Percy had a feeling that he would be running for his life soon, he didn't bother taking it off at all. All he needed to do was lie low for the next two days and try not to attract attention. Then the portal could get him out of there.

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Claudius Templesmith.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"

The countdown began.

Percy was shaking.

He had not tried using the mist in any of these dimensions. But if he was going to live through the next ten minutes of his life, it better be working.

Focusing, Percy willed all the mortal cameras and people not to see him. Instantly he felt the mist cloud around him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Now at least he had a chance.

The sixty seconds were running out on the big holographic clock in the sky. He had to decide where to go. Percy had two things going for him. He wasn't actually supposed to be there, so he might make it out alive. And he knew what was supposed to happen. And if Percy remembered right, Thresh spent almost the whole movie alive in the tall grass. He was one of the few who made it pretty far along. Unless Percy wanted to hang with the soon to be dead tributes, being near Thresh was best shot at staying on the down low.

Ten seconds left.

Percy would wait until everything died down so that he could follow thresh easily. He cringed at his own wording. "Died down."

The gong rang.

Percy couldn't look. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and hid his head in the crook of his arm. He heard the tributes running to the cornucopia. Seconds passed and he heard the screams of the dying and blades getting lodged into people's backs. He clamped his hands down on his ears.

He felt like he was betraying them. Percy had to keep telling himself there was nothing he could do. But he wanted to save them.

After a few moments he was jerked out of his thoughts when tripped over his outstretched foot. He opened his eyes to see Katniss Everdeen sprawled in front of him. She scrambled to her feet and looked back to where Percy sat. He pulled the mist tightly around himself. She looked right through him. Then without another thought, she continued running with her orange back-pack.