Number 1. [ Dictated ]

[patching_up]

... nngh... w-what...

[There is a dull crackling of static from the journal, and the low sound of shuffling can be heard in the background.]

What... huh? Where am... I-I-- ... N-Nine? Seven...? I--

I... my body, I-I'm back in my body, I'm-- alive-- I'm alive! But where--

[A distinct pause, as he examines his surroundings.]

Am I dreaming? N-no, that's not true, it can't be. Everything feels... real. It's so bright, and I-I remember what--

[He gasps, and the words that come next are fraught with distress and panic.]

Oh, n-no, no-- I can't be dead, they can't... be...

[A long moment of silence.]

Why is it... just me? Why? Nine, please, say something, please be there! If I'm alive, then you're here too, right...?

... Right?

Somebody... somebody has to be here...

...

Anybody...

Comments

[waterproofed]

Wait, wait, calm down, man. [is he calling out numbers or--]

Hey! Do you know Six? Little dude who draws stuff all the time?

[patching_up]

S... S-Six? Six is here?!

[He sounds positively ecstatic, a tone of relief washing over his voice.]

Where is he?

[waterproofed]

No, he's not. Sorry, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. He was just a really good friend of mine while he was here.

[patching_up]

... oh.

But you know him...? He was here...

Where-- where did he go?

[whichwayyoulean]

...Numbers for names, ok.

Anyway, you're not dead. Probably.

[patching_up]

B-but I...

[He sure remembers dying. It's... kind of hard to forget something like that.]

How? I-I-- my--

[The trauma of the memory is making it a bit difficult for him to talk about what happened, admittedly.]

[whichwayyoulean]

Congratulations, you've been kidnapped by a magical castle and possibly revived in the process.

[patching_up]

W... what...?

Castles kidnap people? Percy said... that this place was a castle, h-how could it do that? It's a building...

Dictated

[the_effect_she_has]

Breath.

Calm down.

[Katniss's voice is firm.] What do you remember last?

Dictated

[patching_up]

I w-was... pulled out of my body.

[Nope, nope, nope, this is not something he wants to think about.]

Nine. He saved me, saved all of us, but h-he couldn't...

[He goes quiet for a moment, and when he speaks again his voice is absolutely dismal.]

He couldn't put me back. I-it went dark... after that.

Re: Dictated

[the_effect_she_has]

[There is silence on the line for a long moment, before Katniss exhales, and the words start again.]

Well, you're safe ... from your world. Not from this one, sad to say.

Re: Dictated

[patching_up]

I'm safe here? There aren't any beasts, or machines?

[He seems to ignore the second part of her statement for the time being. It wasn't so much that he didn't hear it and more that he doesn't want to acknowledge it right now if he doesn't have to. He has enough to wrap his little head around.]

[majestic_leader]

Whoa there, might be a little easier if you finish one thought before you start another.

I take it you're new here?

[patching_up]

Y... yes. I just woke up in this place, I...

I'm confused. I-I think somebody else said it was called Paradisa, but how... did I get here? Can you tell me?

[majestic_leader]

Well, no one's got any exact answers, but I figure it's something like a ... slip-space bubble or ... something. Alternate universe. Basically the castle drags us in for its own amusement.

I'm Paul DeMarco, who're you?

[patching_up]

Another universe?

[Whoa, now there's a heavy concept. He goes silent for a minute, mulling it over, and when he speaks up again his voice is hushed.]

And the castle really does kidnap people... you're the second person who's told me that. M-maybe it really is true.

[He seems to snap out of his thoughts at the introduction, stammering over his words.]

Oh! E-er... I'm Five.

Dictated

[cyan_maid]

[Oh, no...this person didn't - they didn't die before they came here, did they?]

Are you okay?

Re: Dictated

[patching_up]

I...

I don't know.

[He hesitates briefly before saying anything else, because he really doesn't know, nor is he sure entirely what to say.]

I think... I will be.

Dictated

[cyan_maid]

You should be, so long as you try to stay calm. [At least she thinks so.]

You must be new. What's your name? I'm Jane.

[nihilo]

How big does the number get?

[patching_up]

Huh...?

Um, our numbers only go up to Nine. Is that what you're asking?

[nihilo]

Does that make you feel special?

[kalinda]

Do you need help?

[patching_up]

I--

I might.

[He's unsure, to be fair, and he's already been offered help by several people... but at this stage he's not one to turn down the potential company and aid when he's still pretty lost.]

[kalinda]

Is there a way you can describe where you are, or... [She knows it's definitely a jarring experience, turning up from out of nowhere, but-- at least she has experience on hand.]