✿ 010
[the video opens up with a wide-angle shot of a large, flat dirt area with a huge golden cornucopia in the center of it, filled to the brim with supplies-- food, medicine, backpacks, clothing, and more; in the distance lies a cliff in one direction, a lake in another, and a forest of pine trees in yet another]
[twenty-four metal plates with a teenager standing on each (Rue, Katniss, and Peeta can be seen among them if one looks closely) slowly begin to rise out of the ground in a circle around the cornucopia, and a man's booming voice cries out:]
Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!
[then there's silence; dead silence]
[all of the tributes stand stock still, completely alert but not daring to move a muscle, most of them with their eyes focused on the cornucopia-- Katniss looks prepared to make a break for it herself, but Peeta catches her eye and gives her an almost imperceptible shake of the head]
[after a full minute goes by, a loud gong rings out, and nobody wastes any time diving towards the center, grabbing up supplies and food and weapons]
[the video cuts out soon after the gong officially starts the Games, but the brutality of the opening bloodbath is still evident-- tributes with knives in their backs and throats lie on the ground, while several more continue to fight, delivering rough and heavy blows to each other with whatever they can find]
[by this time, the camera has moved far enough away that individuals aren't recognizable-- it's impossible to tell whether Rue, Peeta, and Katniss are among those who fight, those who lie dead, or those who have already escaped into the woods]
[twenty-four metal plates with a teenager standing on each (Rue, Katniss, and Peeta can be seen among them if one looks closely) slowly begin to rise out of the ground in a circle around the cornucopia, and a man's booming voice cries out:]
Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!
[then there's silence; dead silence]
[all of the tributes stand stock still, completely alert but not daring to move a muscle, most of them with their eyes focused on the cornucopia-- Katniss looks prepared to make a break for it herself, but Peeta catches her eye and gives her an almost imperceptible shake of the head]
[after a full minute goes by, a loud gong rings out, and nobody wastes any time diving towards the center, grabbing up supplies and food and weapons]
[the video cuts out soon after the gong officially starts the Games, but the brutality of the opening bloodbath is still evident-- tributes with knives in their backs and throats lie on the ground, while several more continue to fight, delivering rough and heavy blows to each other with whatever they can find]
[by this time, the camera has moved far enough away that individuals aren't recognizable-- it's impossible to tell whether Rue, Peeta, and Katniss are among those who fight, those who lie dead, or those who have already escaped into the woods]