Falling Through Portals

Thread of Courage

Chapter 14

Somehow Percy managed to get Thresh to sit with him in the brush quietly.

"So," Thresh stared him down, looking for something to give away his inhumanity, "You're an alien?"

Percy blinked, "No, of course not." Then it occurred to him that Percy was technically from a different world. "Well sort of."

The big guy's eyes widened and he leaned forward, "But you're not green . . .?"

Percy face palmed and leaned back in the grass. How kids from Hunger Games world got stories about little green people was beyond him.

"Not all aliens are green," Percy sighed, "Actually the people I have met all look like the people here, so you're not that special."

Thresh shook his head, "This doesn't make sense,"

"I have been saying that for years now," Percy nodded solemnly, "Now enough questions," Percy pointed at the sky, "They could be listening."

Thresh thought it over a moment before nodding and lying down in the grass a few feet away from him. Percy sighed and stared at the sky above. It was earlier than he had thought. The sun hadn't risen yet, and from the state of Thresh's shivering Percy was glad he had his winter clothes. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Percy tried not to think about what was going to happen to him. In the other dimensions there were obvious rules of survival. Don't get hit by the fire, befriend the evil sorcerous, and try not to get killed by various monsters. But this was the Hunger Games. Rules didn't apply.

***************

"Mr. Crane?"

Professor Jinx leaned into the Game maker's observatory. His lab coat hung loosely around his narrow shoulders. Jinx pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and hesitated. He needed to get the head Game Maker's attention, but what he really wanted to do was get back to the lab. The lab was safe, far away from all of these –these people.

Seneca Crane stood above the large projected diagram of the arena. The Head Game Maker was completely oblivious to Jinx, absorbed in the game below him.

Jinx wanted to walk back out of the room. He had tried to get his attention anyway. The head professor couldn't blame him for trying. But Jinx knew better, the head professor would kill him if he didn't follow through again.

"Mister Crane? Sir?" Jinx said a little louder.

Mercifully, one of the attendants at one of the hologram desks heard him and motioned to Seneca. The Head Game Maker saw him and nodded. Climbing down from his platform he walked out of the observing room with Prophesier Jinx following close behind him. Jinx had to hurry to keep up with the long legged man as they walked down the brightly lit hallway.

"Sir," Jinx handed him his holo-tablet and Seneca took it, "they sent an extraction team and retrieved the subject."

Seneca nodded and scrolled down on the holo, displaying all of the information they had so far on the subject, "And?"

Jinx swallowed hard, "W -we took blood samples and put him in the data base."

Seneca stopped short, startling Jinx who had to stumble to a stop.

"What do you mean, 'put him in the data base'?" Seneca demanded.

"Um," Jinx pursed his lips, "He wasn't in the data base . . . so we had to add him."

"That is not possible," Seneca examined the report more closely and continued walking. Jinx followed. Without looking away from the Holo, Seneca asked, "Is he still sedated?"