Chapter 39: Sound of Silence

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Katniss' POV

The world seems to have come to a complete standstill. I don't know if it's because the entire arena is slowly coming apart around us or that we just witnessed a battle of epic and supernatural proportions, but everything has suddenly become silent to the point where it is ringing in my ears. All I can hear is my own heartbeat and breathing.

My mind is completely scrambled and racing to find explanations. If I take a moment and reflect, I realize that my life has taken the most bizarre turn that anyone could imagine, or fully comprehend. Aside from the fact I've been battling for my life in a reality show, I have now allied myself with people... aliens...beings from another planet, all of whom have their own sets of powers and their own agenda to start a war with the Capitol and another alien race. My brain seems to press against my skull to try and find any logic for it all. It hurts so badly that I just want to collapse to the ground and never get up. Unfortunately, my body is betraying this desire and is still flowing with intense adrenaline to keep me upright. None of this should make any sense! NONE! There are no such things as aliens... there is no life out on other planets and they certainly don't have abilities that make them like super-beings or something. To top it all off, they are already involved in their own intergalactic war and want us to join them in their battles. They've asked me to be their ally, they already treat me as one, and they want me to help them. What the hell could I do? I don't have superpowers, nor am I a soldier. Please just let this be a dream...

I don't want to be here. I should be at home with Prim, my mom, Gale; hunting and doing what I can to get by... what is normal to me and what kept me sane. Life was far from perfect but at least it made sense.

If only this silence meant that time had come to a standstill, which could maybe give me some time to think, but I doubt it.

I don't know what just happened but I was told to avert my eyes as John unleashed some sort of power, one that would have blinded us permanently if we didn't look away. I held Rue against me and stood near Peeta before and shielding both of us from the intense beams of blue light. Even though my eyes were closed, I could tell that the intensity of this... legacy, I think is what they called them, was a force to be reckoned with. It was blue in colouring and created such intense heat that I swore my face would be melted off. I wouldn't be surprised if I was completely red in the face, like a sunburn. I'd often get those when hunting in the nearby fields in the heat of the summer. Gale would get them too and I'd tease him about looking like a cherry. While my skin would usually tan, too much sunlight would cause my cheeks, nose, and neck to sting and radiate heat. Fortunately, whenever I got home, Prim or my mother would go and fetch a jar of homemade aloe vera and help me smear it on my skin. It provided instant relief and I'd be ordered to stay inside for the next few days and drink cool liquids. However, both of my "nurses" knew that I would disobey this because we needed the game in order to put food on the table.

However, once the light vanishes, the heat also goes away and is replaced with a strong cold breeze. With a lot of caution, I open one of my eyes to see that darkness has enveloped us, except for the occasional flashes of sparks raining down from above.

I turn my gaze upwards to see stars... real stars. I gasp, never thinking that I would ever see them again. The tiny lights that you could see on a clear night were there, silhouetting the massive and crumbling dome that had kept us captive. In the dark, I can also see steel beams, wires, and other torn pieces of the dome that was once the arena. Whichever of the aliens had unleashed that earthquake, the Capitol's technology didn't stand a chance. It's kind of funny to me; the Gamemakers put so much time, money, technology, and effort into controlling us and the environment of the literal "theatre", only for it all to be completely obliterated by a rather unnatural force of nature. I felt a slight bit of satisfaction to see the Games literally be destroyed in front of millions of viewers.

Rue finally untangles herself from my arms and looks up at the sky as well. I can almost see the diamonds reflected in her eyes. She expresses wonder and awe, equally taken aback by seeing the real sky again.

Someone stands up behind me and I see Peeta's blonde hair enter my line of sight. He too is entranced by the massive hole in the stadium.

"Never thought I'd see those again," he mutters quietly.

"Everyone all right?" a voice calls out.

We turn to see John Smith coming towards us with his hand lit up with the same blue light that he unleashed earlier, except this time, they are two simple beams radiating from his palms. Behind him are three other humanoid shapes, no doubt one of them is the girl who created the storm... Six I think her name was.

Peeta leans in close to me and grabs my shoulder. I can feel the tension in his body. I realize that he's a little freaked out by the powers as he's just been exposed to them. It's strange to think that I was knowledgeable and already used to the weird displays of legacies.

I smirk to myself. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

His blue eyes look at me and his face flushes pink, clearly embarrassed by showing fear, even if it was a natural response to the unknown, like these aliens.

Christina and the girl who healed Peeta's leg, Marina, race towards the approaching shapes. The Marina girl goes and wraps her arms around one of them, obviously close to that specific person. I squint in to see the shapes more clearly in the dim glow of John's lights and I notice that it is a boy with curly hair and very tanned skin. The two then lock lips.

"Ew..." Rue snickers, amused by the disgusting

"I know, do they have to do that in public," Dani jokes, coming to stand next to us as well.

"Lighten up guys," Christina says. "They haven't seen each other in a while."

"Speaking of lights, what the hell was that massive glare that could have blinded us?" Dani remarks.

"My Lumen," John answers. "Likely my Lumen at full power."

"Which was amazing by the way," the curly-haired boy adds.

"If that didn't send a message to Ra, I don't know what will," the blonde-haired girl who I think is called Six says.

"But the question is... now what?" Dani asks.

"Dani is right John," Adam says, having returned from unleashing the earthquake. "We're not all together yet."

However, before he can answer there's a tremendous and ear-splitting shriek that shatters the relative silence surrounding us and making everyone jump in fear. We gaze upwards to see some sort of winged creature fly through one of the openings of the arena.

It's unlike any creature that I've seen before, its large leathery wings enveloping the surrounding sky. It has the head of a horse, long talon-like appendages, and a long, thick tail, curled beneath its body. Was it some kind Muttation that the Gamemakers had intended on sending into the arena, but never got the chance to? Had the earthquake somehow freed it and let it go rogue? It wouldn't be the first time that had happened, just look at the Mockingjays.

My heart pounds in fear and I step closer to Peeta as if on some kind of instinct. All of us go on guard as the creature shrieks again and swooping down closer to us. I frantically fumble with my bow to fit an arrow in, but for some reason, my fingers are frozen, unable to let the arrow fly. Rue slips behind me and Peeta searches for some kind of weapon to use as well.

"What the hell is that?!" Dani shouts, completely shell shocked and confused.

None of us are able to answer as the creature's wings give off a strong flapping noise as if it wants to whip the air down at us. It screeches once more, leaving me wanting that silence once again.

Then it dives, all of us helpless to fend off the coming attack.

A/N: Sorry if it's been years since I've updated. I've just had so many other stories on the go, it's hard to go back to some if I'm not feeling inspired. Here is a new chapter and sorry if it's short.

Also, I saw this recently and I wanted to thank whoever made a page for my book on Tv Tropes wiki. Check it out

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⏰ Last updated: May 11, 2023 ⏰

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