the sun don’t shine above the ground

[dividedgirlofmine]

Who| Susannah and Carlos (CLOSED)
What| Susannah is not taking Guy and Bunny's arrest very well.
Where| District Ten's floor
When| Just after Guy's expose MST party
Warnings/Notes| Susannah is hella PSTD. Night Vale bullshit?

When Susannah stumbles out of the elevator, she immediately sees Carlos (and his mighty fine hair) doing something... well, science-y, she must presume, on the kitchen table. In a way she's grateful, because the science equipment will hopefully serve as a visual reminder that she's not in D6, that she's... not safe, there's no place safe in the Tribute Tower, but there are places that are less unsafe.

Being here, for instance, is less unsafe than back in D6 where the Peacekeeper had dragged off one of her friends, presumably to where she'd never to see him again.

Susannah means to go to her room, to hold herself and just hope that something will make her think of something else, anywhere else, than her ordeal in that late July holding cell and her morbid conviction that she'll find Guy's or Bunny skeleton in a damn somewhere. So of course she ends up at the kitchen table instead.

Comments

[youbarium]

As she walks in, Carlos is completely absorbed in his work. He is writing down a string of very complicated notes in what looks like some dead, forgotten language full of arcane symbols and sigils of ill omen -- or maybe his handwriting's just bad. Either way, he doesn't look up from his tablet covered in chicken scratch until he hears the scrape of the chair against the floor.

....even then, it's a couple of seconds until he finishes his string of -- are they numbers? yes, numbers -- and glances briefly up at Susannah, his glasses halfway down his nose.

"Oh, hello."

He looks back down, about to continue his work, but then the look on her face registers. Carlos straightens up in his chair, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he does, and realizes that she's probably sitting down at the table to talk with him. Fortunately, none of his science is something that can't sit for a few minutes, so he looks at her with concern.

"...is something wrong?"

cw: racial slur

[dividedgirlofmine]

"Bunny..." Her voice is tight, strained. "Bunny might not be coming back," she says, her eyes fixed on the table. "There was a raid by the Peacekeepers at the party. They tried to take Guy away. Bunny got into a fight. They ended up taking them both. I... I don't know if they're coming back." She lets out a long shuddering breath. "I... really don't. Harley came back when they took her away, but she'd only been harassing me, nobody really cared what two niggers do to each other as long as nothing happens to any whites. And that's what we all are. We're all Negroes here in this tower, it doesn't matter our skin or even our species."

[youbarium]

Carlos's mouth opens, in surprise mostly (he's used to people being abducted by the government), but he lets her talk without interruption, until she's through.

He doesn't really know what to say. Carlos was never very good at navigating or articulating feelings, not without horrible amounts of awkwardness. There are words of comfort he might have offered, had they been somewhere else, but it wasn't safe to talk about organized subversive activity here.

So, instead, he reaches out and puts his hands on hers. It's a gesture of comfort -- completely chaste -- and of support.

"I'm sorry," he says, and means that he is sorry that it happened, sorry that she could do nothing about it, and sorry about their situation. "I know it isn't easy to hear, but you did the right thing, not getting involved. If you had, there just would have been three disappearances, instead of two. There's nothing any of us can do, when peacekeepers come for us." Carlos's tone is calm and a little sad; rational, but not coldly unaffected. "Do you know why they came for Guy?"

[dividedgirlofmine]

"I know," she says miserably. "Don't I know it! I kept Punchy from getting pulled off but that's all I could do. He'd insulted someone. She had a Chinese sounding name. I think it's that Penny woman. Eddie told me to keep clear of her."

She looks up at him. "I hate this," she says, a hysterical edge to her voice. "It's like being in Oxford Town, except at least in Oxford Town we knew that we'd get to go back North eventually, if we didn't end up dead in a dam somewhere like those poor boys. But there's no way home, there's nothing to do except smile for Capitol like we're good, happy tributes."

[youbarium]

Carlos's eyes are sad, as she talks -- he feels for her. Sometimes, other Tributes remind Carlos that just because he had gotten used to living under a terrifying and capricious government didn't mean everyone could live that way. Or that it was right. That was why he'd been willing to go rescue Ian, why he was willing to help Lonestar, why all the talk of accepting the Capitol and the Hunger Games was no more than an act.

He frowns, perfect brow creasing, perfect lips pulling tight, and looks at her for a long moment, weighing his options. Carlos knows that sharing this information is dangerous, but he also feels that Susannah won't betray them to the Capitol. She has nothing to lose, he knows; at the very least, the knowledge that there are plans in motion might give her hope.

"Susannah," he says, very seriously. "I think you need some air. Will you come with me to the roof?"

[dividedgirlofmine]

She nods after a moment. "That's... probably a good idea."

She feels stifled, claustrophobic here, in D10. No roof, fresh air, if she can just keep from the urge to hurl herself off the side of the building... no, no, Roland needs her, Cuthbert needs her, Eddie needs her, she's not out of this yet, she needs to hang on, somehow.

So she follows Carlos up to the roof and sits next to him on a bench and says somehow what this is about, what this is really about, "About a year and a half ago, two years ago for me, these boys I knew if not well, boys who were down in Oxford Town with me signing up people to vote... they disappeared. Six weeks later--" Just before Roland grabbed her "--they were found dead in a dam. The police killed them."

[youbarium]

Carlos's brows knot together. He has hypothesized that Susannah is from Earth's past, and this information all but confirms it. He listens, quietly, to her story, and he feels for her.

"I won't say we aren't in danger," says Carlos. "We are. We all are in a very similar kind of danger to what you're describing, and it seems like there's no way out. But, Susannah..."

He draws in a breath, and when he speaks, his voice is hardly above a whisper; even someone standing just behind them would have trouble parsing Carlos's words.

"Before I go on, I need to know. Your other personality, the one that surfaces in the Arena. If I tell you a very dangerous secret, will she keep it?"

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah nods sharply. "Think so," she whispers. "If-- if you're implyin' what I think you're implyin', that it's somethin' about the Capitol... they're all practically honkies to her anyway, she wouldn't turn down a chance to, well, fuck 'em up, if you'll pardon my language, and if keepin' that secret will do it, she will."

[youbarium]

Carlos takes a breath, then lets it out: he's taking a chance, he knows, a very real one, but if this came back to bite him, well, she wouldn't know any other names. And nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? How are they supposed to get allies if they don't tell anyone?

"You didn't hear this from me," murmurs Carlos, barely above a whisper himself. "If someone finds out I told you, and I fall into Capitol hands, I could jeopardize both a Tribute operation and Lonestar's technology. I'm sure you've already guessed what this is about. There are people moving against the Capitol."

Here he pauses, to take in a breath and to get his thoughts in order.

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah nods. "Good," she whispers. "I-- I hoped there were. Not just for our sake, but for the districts too. Maybe some tributes resent 'em for being the reason we're here, but my man's from the districts and everything that's been done to us was done to them for decades."

[youbarium]

Carlos nodded. He felt the same.

"The districts might actually be our best hope," says Carlos, and his tone only gets more dramatic as he goes on. "In fact, one district in particular: District 13."

A pause, for the revelation to sink in.

"It's the seat of the rebellion. The Capitol says it was destroyed by nuclear weapons years ago, but that isn't true. The way I understand it, 13 was originally the center of nuclear arms production for Panem, but used their possession of those weapons to negotiate independence. They've been preparing for war ever since."

[dividedgirlofmine]

"Dear Lord," Susannah murmurs, her hand going to her mouth. "You-- you know this for sure? Did-- did that Cecil fellow tell you?"

The destroyed District, still around somehow... "That was one of the Eastern ones, wasn't it?"

[youbarium]

Carlos shakes his head. "No, it wasn't Cecil. I found out in the Arena. Someone here has the ability to communicate telepathically, and while I was exploring the museum, I discovered that the knowledge about 13 had been implanted directly into my brain. Naturally I went to the Capitol's libraries to confirm, and I found something interesting."

He leans in closer. "There have been numerous broadcasts about District 13, all claimed to have been filmed on-site. Every time we see 13 on tape, it looks like it's just been bombed. Piles of rubble, smoking wreckage, no grass or animals of any kind -- it's a wasteland. But," Carlos goes on, "if you look closely, you'll see a bird fly across the corner of the screen. It happens again and again, and always in the same place. That means that the footage isn't new. They're re-using old tapes, Susannah. Whatever District 13 looks like now, the Capitol doesn't want us to see it."

[dividedgirlofmine]

"Dear Lord," Susannah murmurs once again. She can believe in this telepath of his. She's seen strange enough things in her time and it wasn't as if she hadn't been part of something similar with her ka-tet once, if rather pre-verbal and subtle. "That changes things, doesn't it? If the Capitol's reach isn't all-powerful..."

She'll have to take her own look at that footage, she thinks.

[youbarium]

"We have to be careful, though," warns Carlos. "13 has its own agenda. Liberating us isn't their goal. We can't trust their motives -- for all we know, they just want to run Panem themselves. But it's the best chance we have," he admits. "There are Tributes moving, too, but we don't have 13's weapons or numbers." Carlos sighs. "All we can really do is plan."

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah nods. "I understand. And-- I wouldn't think our liberation should be their goal, not when the crimes against us are dwarfed by the enormity of everything that's been done to the Districts."

[youbarium]

"You're right. But we still have to watch our step," Carlos says. He agrees with Susannah: it makes complete sense that 13's purpose isn't to help them. But this fact is important to remember.

"About the Tributes," he goes on. "Even though we can't really do much right now, we're trying to reach out to people who would be willing to help when it's time. I understand if you don't want to be part of it. No one could blame you. I only told you this because I wanted you to know that things aren't as hopeless as they seem. But -- if you do," Carlos said, meeting her eyes, talking a little slower, "I can let them know."

[dividedgirlofmine]

She smiles at him, then, but it's a weary expression somehow and a sad one. "Oh no," she says, "I plan on helpin' however I can. Why else am I tryin' to be such a good tribute? If there's a way I can help and people who want me to do it, then it's my duty to anyway and I want to. For the Districts. For all of us."

She puts her hand on his, lightly. "Just get me a gun," she says, "and a whole lot of bullets when the time comes and I swear you won't regret it."

[youbarium]

Carlos didn't like the idea of guns. Most scientists didn't. Pacifism and resentment of military might came with the territory; Carlos hadn't even been able to bludgeon Kevin while fighting for his life. But he knew that this conflict, whether he liked it or not, would most likely involve bloodshed. He wishes there were another way, but while it isn't impossible, it's also not very likely. Initiate wants people with resolve like Susannah's. They need people like that.

He takes her hand.

"I'll make sure they know," he promises. Then, he looks around. "We can't stay up here too long," Carlos says, a little worried. "They might suspect something."

[dividedgirlofmine]

She squeezes his.

"Of course," she says. "And you've got your science waiting for you back in Dee Ten. Just-- thank you. Knowing this... it helped. More than you know."

[youbarium]

He smiles at her -- a little sadly, it's true, but the smile is genuine. Carlos doesn't know why he was chosen to receive the knowledge of District 13, but for basically as long as he's been here, he has known about a resistance against the Capitol. However, he can imagine what it would be like to be here without that hope.

"Come on," he says, and will help pull her up by her hand, if she wants it. Then, a little louder, "Just trust the Capitol, Susannah. Remember, they want to keep us alive, too."

[dividedgirlofmine]

"At least until we have to kill each other again," she agrees, matching his volume. "But I will. After all, who else is there to trust?"

[youbarium]

"The Initiate understands how it is," says Carlos, leading the way back towards the elevator. "He might be from an alien world, and also terrifying, but he knows how systems like this one work, and I've got to say, he's got some pretty good advice on how to keep your head down and your tongue intact."

Macabre? Yes. But part of Carlos's act is blithe acceptance of the Capitol's tyranny.

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah raises her eyebrows. "That fella? Wouldn't have thought it, considering... well, everything about him."

Not that she really knew all that much about the Initiate, mostly just what she'd heard from Cuthbert and his young man, not much of which was complimentary. And that he and Harley had the same idea of fun party activities, which was also not really a point in his favor.

But if he was some sort of covert rebellion ringleader like Carlos seemed to be implying... well, she'd have to actually meet him properly at some point. Maybe he wouldn't be all that bad as his reputation made him seem?

[youbarium]

Oh, he was bad all right. He was frightening, and confusing, and definitely dangerous. But the Initiate had reached out to Carlos, and Carlos would work with the Initiate and the people the Initiate had introduced him to.

"I know it's hard to believe," said Carlos, stepping into the elevator. "But it's true. Just be careful around him. Just because he's cooperating with the Capitol doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. He threatened to kill me when he found out I was a scientist."