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[justoutrunyou]

Who: Sandy and anyone interested in her.
What: Spying on others, trying to stay out of trouble and hopefully finding Pruna.
Where: Starting at The Platform Station
when: week two
Warnings/notes: Since Sandy will be using the TVs in the Platform Station, feel free to pop in with a little bit about what she might see you doing wherever you are on the island.

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As far as partners go, Sandy was pretty sure she must be the worst one to have.

As soon as the game had begun she was off like a shot, gathering up supplies and trying to vanish into the forest. Her size was her advantage as once she dove for cover under some bushes more then a few larger tributes had trampled past her not noticing her as she heaved to catch her breath and protect her goodies.

Once things had calmed down, Sandy lay still in her bush for what felt like hours. She wanted to be absolutely sure that everyone was gone. This was rewarded when she heard a few stragglers come back to pick over the area for anything left behind.

Finally, when she was sure the area was clear she rose up out of the leaves and vines, and went over what she had managed to grab in her frantic flight from the starting position. An impressive haul to say the least. Much better then last time.

Slinking along the edge of the clearing she was alert, listening for any signs of trouble. It was in this slow and methodical fashion she traveled until she found the door.

It was on the south side of the platform where the Cornucopia had been. A rusted door that looked like it had been forgotten in the madness that accompanied every arena opening.

Scurrying through the grass Sandy's glances darted all around for other tributes, as well as frequently to the grass to make sure she wasn't about to step into a trap. Just the thought was enough to make Sandy's leg throb with memories of her mangling from the last arena.

It took some effort, alot of effort actually but the pain in her fingers and shoulders from wrestling with the door would be forgotten as she slipped inside and discovered what secrets this station held.

Televisions! So many and they were functional! She could see all around the arena with these things. Nothing behind the scenes but one by one she picked out faces she knew before the screens could flick to another view.

Was this supposed to be here? Had she stumbled across some forgotten gamemaker station on accident?

 

No...she couldn't possibly be so lucky.

Still she was alone and with all these screens she was likely to see attackers coming before they found her. Time to crack open a can of tuna and see what was on TV.
***************************************

That was a full week ago. Her food supplies dwindling Sandy knows she can't stay here forever. She needs to use the bow and arrows that she won in the cornucopia and try to hunt down some more food.

...or other tributes.

Guilt gnawed at her guts as she scanned the TVs again. Pruna had been hurt...badly. And she hadn't been able to leave to go after her because...much to Sandy's conflicted feelings, the door appeared to lock tight every so often. By the time it was open again Sandy had lost sight of Pruna on the cameras.

And so here she sat, desperate for a plan that didn't involve losing her very easy to defend hiding place but also allowed for her to get food, water, and Pruna. There was no doubt about it. She was going to have to leave soon.
 

Comments

[justoutrunyou]

"You did?" Sandy was surprised, and a little worried. She'd seen Pruna with bandages on her face but she didn't know what had caused it. That must be what Mindy was talking about.

"Where did this happen? How long ago?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Yeah," she said. "Now that I think about it, I even met that girl Katniss. I guess I was just into my thoughts at the time. But she seems capable enough."

She thought a moment. "Cornucopia run."

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy frowned at that "A while ago." She acknowledged "well, if I get lucky she''ll swing back this way. I know she's looking for me." Pruna was loyal like that. Said what she meant and meant what she said.

"Most people around here are just like us. But there are some jerks who love this game. And sometimes they'll trick the normal people into fighting. This one guy? They drugged him and he got crazy aggressive."

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy nodded. "Girlfriend. Man, and you're pretty young, in a game where you have to kill each other. How does that even happen?"

She shrugged. "That's bound to happen. You live in normal society, its expected not to murder and maim, because that's against the law. You get punished. But you put them here and tell 'em that you can do it with no punishment? Watch people turn into exactly what they are: animals. Actually, not even animals. Animals don't kill for the fun of it. Humans are the fucked up ones that fetishize people's suffering and pain. They get off on it. Then for some people, like me, I like making those kind of people suffer, because in the end its one less shithead making life miserable for someone else."

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy starred at that explanation mouth agape.

"How old are you?" She questioned, feeling a wave of comfort to have found another girl who looked as young as she did but was smart enough to make observations like that.

Back home she'd been the only one.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy shrugged. "Does it matter? Old enough. Twelve, if you really wanna get technical. But like you, I weigh age on experience. Might as well be a fucking teenager now."

Minus all those annoying hormones.

[justoutrunyou]

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't like...100 years old and trapped in a little body." She joked dryly.

"I'm not used to people my age being this...aware. I mean god I lived in a messed up world back home but none of the kids my age really looked at it. They just kept living in their own little bubble." She rolled her eyes.

"Figures I'd be the one dragged here."

[hit_girl_mindy]

"I'm kind of ahead of the curve there," Mindy said, knowing full well that she was behind it on some other ways, but n typical preteen fashion, chose to ignore that. "There are plenty of kids in my world who live in their bubble and are still cruel little shits. Hell, I am too, I just decide to showcase that elsewhere."

By being a hero and punishing criminals with no mercy. Like that.

"But not all of us are here because we're suited for it."

[justoutrunyou]

"Understatement of the century." Sandy groaned and let her head roll back with frustration.

"So now that you're up to speed...more or less, what are you gonna do?" Sandy wondered. She was sure Mindy would have more questions, and it wasn't like they were gonna fight. Sandy wasn't entirely sure she trusted the girl as an ally yet but there was potential to be sure.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Yeah, I know," Mindy replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Cannon fodder, I guess. Can't have a decent show without them. Hell, can't even have a decent horror movie without them, now that I think about it."

Good question. Shit.

"Not die, for now," she said. "Better I don't, you know, start going after people for the fun of it. NOt realy my style anyway."

[justoutrunyou]

"So basically stay out of everyone's way and try to survive? Yeah that's pretty much the plan. Never works but that's what I usually go for." At least she didn't have to worry about Mindy hunting her down...yet.

"Oh! Don't eat any of the plants. I've been watching the TVs. They're all pretty poisonous." She added in case Mindy didn't already know.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"No, what are you, nuts? That's how you get your ass handed to you. Look, stick this out, and when we get back to that dump I'll show you how to defend yourself. You don't wanna go searching for people to slaughter, fine, but you really wanna get killed by someone who gets their rocks off taking you down? Doubt it. If you're gonna be stuck here, don't let them catch you off guard."

Mindy hated people who didn't HAVE to be innocent bystanders.

"Trust me, I found out. So did the ground in my former spot."

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy frowned and felt her walls come up some. The accusatory tone from someone she just met tugged at her irritation.

"Hey! It's not like I don't do whatever I can to stay alive! I'm just...not a fighter. The best I managed was to last like five minutes against a crazy undead zombie woman while my leg was mangled. "

"It's not like I'm suicidal." Which suddenly struck her. That was what really set her off. It wasn't Mindy's fault. How could she have known what Sandy had considered.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"What I'm saying is, how long do you want to not be a fighter? Think about it, how many times have you done this? After awhile, people are gonna know that you won't kill, that you can't. So they'll know to expect that every time. Some people will try to kill you quickly, be merciful. But some just like to see the life drain out of you, how you lose your breath in the last precious fucking moments you have. So you tell me: even if you have the best intentions, how easily do you trust the people here to let you go nicely?"

There was suicide, and then there was this.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy fell silent. She really couldn't argue with that. She'd been learning just a little from Pruna about combat but it had mostly been in defense. Could she really go on the offensive?

Could she kill someone out of self defense?

What would her father say?

Her gaze cast down feeling ashamed despite knowing that her morals were flying in the face of logic and reason.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy watched the girl a moment.

"You never have, have you?"

[justoutrunyou]

No. And for the first time in her life Sandy felt somewhat ashamed of that fact.

"My dad used to tell me this joke before they took him away. He would say "These two campers were enjoying their night, when a bear came into camp. They both started running and the bear went after them. The first camper starts laughing and says "I just realized something. I don't need to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you."

She shrugged.

"That's kind of how I've lived my life till now. Now even though I know better I keep running towards danger instead of away from it. I keep trying to help Pruna even if it puts me in danger."

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy sighed. "I don't know if we're speaking the same language. I'm not saying you should go run away like a pussy. If anything, now that you have a girlfriend you ought to be showing her exactly what you are now. I AM saying that to back that up, you need some fighting chops. Do you WANT to be that person that constantly outruns everyone to live another day?"

[justoutrunyou]

"Well no..." She pouted feeling like a child once more. It was funny how every time she started to feel more mature she'd meet someone who reminded her of her real age.

"I just, don't want to go down the path dad did. He wouldn't have wanted that for me. He was a bad man before I was born. A super villain you know? And that's why they took him away from me later."

"I don't want to kill..." She groaned and hid her face in her knees knowing what an impossible option that was here. "God I'm stupid."

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Killing people doesn't make you a supervillian," Mindy said. "You become a villain by intent. Before you ever even kill someone, you make a decision: how far you're going to go, what you're going to do and where it all ends. The truth no one tells you is that you decide that shit long before it happens."

She shrugged. "The choice has been staring you in the face anyway. That won't go away."

[justoutrunyou]

Mindy's words were tempting. It was like she was holding out a bottle of hope and Sandy's stomach was growling for a taste. Just one mouthful of that sweet hope sauce.

But a nagging voice in her head reminded her She's new. Give it time. She'll learn.

"What got you started?" She deflected having to give Mindy an answer by aiming more for Mindy's backstory. That would buy her some time.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Revenge," she said, clasping her hands together. "Granted, I don't mind killing a bunch of evil motherfuckers anyway, but me and dad had a vendetta. Crooked cops imprisoned dad for not kowtowing, mom took her life after. So dad vowed we would never be used like that again, and we'd punish the people who made it happen. He took on the alter ego Big Daddy, and I became Hit Girl."

She shrugged. "But if I have to do this, I'm gonna stick to my scruples. I don't kill indiscriminately. That's not how I work. That doesn't mean I won't kill to survive."

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy looked taken aback by the story. Suddenly an extra level of respect in her expression and tone of voice. This girl really was like the superheroes her dad told her about...well one in particular.

"So you're like the Punisher. You actually kill the bad guys instead of arresting them and making them stand trail." That's what the best heroes did. That's what spider-man did.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy grinned. See, now this girl was actually speaking her language. What was more, it was the smallest glimmer of something familiar from home.

"Yeah, which is much better. Do you really want to take the chance that some bastard winds up destroying more people just because there's no justice anymore? So we show them justice the way its best executed."

By execution, of course.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy didn't look totally won over though.

"If Spider-man did that my Dad would have died before he could get his act together and become my dad." She reasoned suddenly having a better understanding of why her father had told her all the stories he did.