The Hunger Games: Sneezing Into Danger (F) (Part 2 Now Added)

[NoV]

I’m a big fan of The Hunger Games and have been meaning to write a sneezefic about Katniss for some time. And well – here it is. Enjoy!

The Hunger Games: Sneezing Into Danger (F)

Katniss ducked down into the thick shrubs that bordered the clearing, feeling the leaves rustle against her face, twigs poking her shoulders as she wriggled deeper into the thicket. She narrowed her eyes, trying to peer through the maze of vegetation to where the trees fell away to nothing and the grass shone glassily under the warm sun. Figures moved in the distance, the sound of voices barked harshly above the thin keening of the wind.

Behind them glittered the cornucopia, its bounty of weapons and supplies tantalisingly close. Katniss closed her hands tighter around the sharpened stick she held as a weapon, and felt her stomach rumble audibly at the sight of the food. It was so brutally unfair of the others to have teamed up, that it made her ache inside, an ache that she tried to channel into anger. Anger will let me survive, she told herself. Anger means you will fight against the hideous alternative. She thought of home, of Gale and thrill of hunting beyond the fence, and she felt the cold determination return. She was a survivor.

She watched as one of the figures detached itself from the small crowd around the cornucopia, a tall, brutish tribute, his shaven scalp glistening with sweat. Frozen to the spot, she dared not move lest the slightest rustle give her away. She tried to keep her breathing regular, her heart thumping insistently in her chest, not daring to blink as she judged her would-be opponent.

He was holding something most peculiar. It appeared to be some form of gun, but with a hugely broad barrel. More like a hand-held cannon than any sort of gun she had seen before. As she watched he slid a large projectile down the barrel with an audible click, a sly grin spreading across his features.

‘Time to flush out anyone who thinks it’s a good idea to sneak around,’ he said, loud enough so that his announcement echoed around the clearing.

Katniss wrinkled her forehead, confused. All at once there was a loud pop and an arc of smoke soared from the weapon, falling into the bushes some ten meters from where she crouched. As it hit, there was a muffled explosion and a pale cloud erupted into the dappled sunlight, drifting down towards Katniss in the breeze.

Was it some kind of gas? As the cloud enveloped her, she risked a slight sniff and could not quell the sudden gasp of horror. The peppery scent invaded her nostrils, sending intensely torturous tickles through her nose. It was some kind of concentrated pepper substrate, the sort she had seen used to disperse gatherings in the Districts.

‘hhaaaaaaa.....’ she hitched, already in the throes of a building sneeze. Her eyes got that far-away look, her nose trembling with the intensity of the itch it contained. She wanted to back away and run as fast as she could before the sneezes overtook her. She had never been any good at holding them back, and had many times infuriated Gale during their hunting trips by exploding in bouts of ill-timed sneezes at crucial moments. More than once they had gone home empty handed after one of Katniss’ forceful sneezes had sent their quarry scampering or flying into the distance.

More peppery projectiles were being launched into the woods around her. She heard their pop and hiss as they released their tickly cargo, all of which seemed to be finding its way up her overly sensitive nose. She pinched her nostrils shut with thumb and forefinger, which although did not lessen the building sneezes, at least stopped more irritant from being sucked up by her ever-increasing breaths.

‘hhaaaaaa.....haaaaaaaaaaa....’ Her hitching became more and more urgent. Letting go of her weapon, she brought up her other hand to cover her mouth, trying to create a seal that she knew was doomed to fail once her sneezing started in earnest. All she could do now was try to muffle the force of the sneezes, although she knew that once she started they would be ringing loud and clear across the entire clearing.

Katniss shuddered with another furious intake of breath, her build-up almost past the point of no return. The pepper swirled around her, the scent leaking through her fingers, only giving fuel to the explosion that was mere seconds away from bursting from her.

‘hHHaaaaaaa....hahhahaaaaaaaaa.....haaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAA...’

Suddenly a colossal sneeze rang out, so loud that Katniss would not have believed that someone could possibly sneeze so loudly. It rang through the air like a gunshot, unmistakably feminine yet forceful, and followed instantly by a second and then a third, each equally as huge.

‘EEEEETTTTTTTCCCHHHHOOOOO....EEEETTTTCCHOOOOOOO....EEEEHHH...EEEETTTTCCHHOOOO!!’

Katniss was momentarily stunned, her own sneezes hanging in the balance, mouth half-open in preparation. She opened one eye, resisting the hurricane inside of her, and saw a slim, pretty girl leap from her own hiding place amongst the dense shrubs, and try to run, sneezing and stumbling, her hands desperately trying to contain the sneezes as they continued to burst from her. She had been closer to the peppery explosion and it had well and truly found its way up inside her petite nose.

‘There’s one!’ came a shout, and the tributes clustered around the cornucopia came charging through the grass, a look of grim victory on their faces, weapons held in unpractised hands. Katniss curled down, as small as she could go, trying to scoop a blanket of leaves about her in camouflage. She felt the ground tremble with the passing of their feet as the mob thundered after the fleeing girl, whose sneezes still rang through the forest as she ran.

For the longest of times, Katniss did not dare even to breathe. The sneezes inside of her were burning to be released, her lungs almost bursting with the need. She counted mentally to ten and then cautiously raised her head. In the distance, sneezes and shouts. She hoped the girl would stop sneezing and somehow manage to outrun her pursuers.

And then it was coming. Katniss’s eyes rolled back, her mouth opening and she began to sneeze, time and times again, her agile body snapping forwards with every release, and yet every release seemed only to fuel yet another.

‘HHAAATTTIIISSHHIIIIIII.....hHHHaaaa...HHAATTTIIISSSHHHIIII....HHAAAATTTIISSHHIIII...’

She felt the pepper and sneezes leaving her, her shoulders heaving, her nose turning pink with the irritation and force of her fit.

‘HHAAATTTTCCHHIIIIIII.....Haa.. HHAATTCCCHHHIIII...’

As her bout wound down, she managed to open her eyes, and suddenly, all sneeziness left her. For standing in front of her, the pepper-gas launcher held slackly in his hands, was the mountainous tribute who has fired the projectiles in the first place, obviously having stayed behind to guard the bounty of the cornucopia.

‘HAATTCCHHIIIIIIIII!!!’

A final sneeze contorted Katniss’ features. And in a flash, the sharpened stick was in her hands.

To be continued...

Edited April 1, 2015 by NoV

[Timberlane]

The suspense and danger in this story is very believable - matches the tone of the book so well I wouldn't have noticed a difference. Very entertaining read!

[HPG]

This is so awesome.

[SneezeloveronGirls]

Is this the Whole story or just the first part? Excellent Job either way.

[happycamper123]

Oh my God, this story is perfection! Please, please, please tell me you're going to continue

[NoV]

Is this the Whole story or just the first part? Excellent Job either way.

Oh my God, this story is perfection! Please, please, please tell me you're going to continue

Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed it. And in answer to both your questions, it is due to continue. Maybe not for a little while, but I will get there eventually

[Chanel_no5]

Huuuh?? I missed this, how??? Good thing I found it, then.

While I'm not familiar with The Hunger Games at all, your writing is delicious as always, and I certainly enjoyed this fic!!

[Sneeze999]

I too absolutly ADORE this story!! Despite not having seen the Hunger Games movies, I absolutly LOVE Jennifer Lawrence!! And imagining her in this situation is INCREDIBLE!! Would very VERY much love to see the continuation of this story

[riyona_ebooks]

I'm feelin' feels over here ^W^ This is beautiful!

[NoV]

Finally got around to finishing part 2 - enjoy

Time seemed to slow.

Katniss was dimly aware of the surge of adrenaline which course through her, the flush of energy as she leapt at her opponent, bringing the stick scything down towards his head. She watched, slow-motion, as the tribute brought his thick arm up to block the blow and the stick shattered into a halo of splinters against him. Her shoulder collided with his ribs, and she told herself that she had heard a satisfying crack and hoped for the best.

They tumbled backwards together, Katniss rolling as she tried to find her feet. She felt breathless from the sneezing, and tried to gasp in a lungful of air, scrambling up and running, aware that her chances if emerging victorious in a hand to hand fight with the sprawled tribute was weighed heavily against her. She headed towards where the trees grew thicker, hoping to lose any pursuit through athletic superiority.

Something whistled past her ear, and suddenly her head was enveloped in a white mist. Momentarily blinded, she stumbled, involuntarily taking in a panicked breath through her nose and mouth before she could think clearly. She knew instantly what had happened, the moment the tingly, tickly sensation wormed its way into her nostrils.

‘haaaaaaaa.....’ Katniss felt the urge to sneeze blossom through her nose, even as she watched the pepper-filled projectile bounce across the ground in front of her, hissing with the release of its cargo if irritant.

The need to sneeze consumed her. She felt her whole body tensing for it, even as she continued to run, eyes fluttering with the insidious itch. Katniss knew that if she exploded into one of her trademark fits, escape would be almost impossible.

‘hhhHHHHAAAAAAAAA.... Haaaa... HHAAAAAAA.....’

The gasping from her exertions mingled desperately with her noses attempt to release the building sneeze. On the fringe of her imagination she thought she heard the thundering footfalls of the tribute in pursuit, flinching as if she already felt his rough hands seize her shoulders as a prelude to the end. The trees still seemed far, far away.

‘HHAAAATTTIIIIIIISSSHHHIIIIIIIII!!!!’

Despite her efforts, a sneeze tore its way out of her, her nostrils flaring, her dark eyes squeezing shut with the force of the release. She stumbled, shins catching on the long grass, arms flailing as she fought to maintain her balance. More than anything else she wanted to sneeze again, even more violently than the first in an effort to expel the irritating pepper grains but she dared not, for fear that another body-bending sneeze would send her sprawling with its force, and at the mercy of her pursuer.

Now she could definitely hear him. His breath laboured as he put every ounce of his strength into catching up with her. His weight had played against him at first, but once he had gathered momentum he was rapidly gaining on Katniss’ sprint. She realised blearily that the remains of the stick was still in her hands, and threw it over her shoulder, hoping vainly for a hit. The yelp it brought told her of a lucky hit, and all of a sudden she knew that she was strong enough to live through this. A renewed surge of adrenaline leapt through her limbs, and she hurdled some fallen branches, leaves fluttering in her wake.

The next two sneezes struck her suddenly.

Katniss managed to ball her hand in front of her nose and mouth, and sneezed forcefully into it.

‘HHAATTTCCHHIIIIIIIIIIII....HAATTCCHHIIIIIIIII!!!!’

They came upon her so violently that although prepared, she still struggled to maintain her balance. Brambles tore at her legs, sharp thorns shredding the fabric, slowing her and allowing her to hear furious snorts from the following tribute through the ringing in her ears from the force of her sneezes. The relative cover of the thick forest was now mere metres away.

Katniss looked around desperately for a weapon as she tried to build up lost speed. Nothing suitable was within reach. Scanning ahead, she saw a tree with low branches and angled towards it, suddenly sure that it she reached it and swung herself up she could out-climb the lumbering tribute, and maybe stand a chance at knocking him down should he dare follow her.

But then her fourth sneeze hit her...

‘HHHHHHAAAAAAAAA.....TTTTCCHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!’

It was by far the biggest sneeze she had released since being hit by the pepper. The force of its utterly unexpected explosion sent her reeling, feet sliding helplessly on the muddy ground. Her nose seemed determined to get rid of the pepper through delivering the most colossal sneeze Katniss could ever remember suffering.

To her horror, she felt herself fall, even as her eyes opened, her nose still flaring wildly. This was it. The tribute was almost on top of her, his victorious gasps ringing through the dying echoes of her sneeze.

The ground in front of her seemed to erupt, dried leaves scattering upwards. Something, or someone, had been hiding directly in her path. In what she felt was her last act, she ducked her head under the flailing arms of this new apparition, sensed rather than saw something whistle inches from her head and heard a vicious crack.

Katniss hit the ground hard. She skidded through the mud and grass, the cold wetness sliding through her fingers. The sneeze had utterly drained her, and she raised her head, expecting the worst.

‘Katniss!’ Her mouth dropped open, eyes growing wide with incredulous surprise. The apparition had become Peeta, leaves still dropping from him as he stood over the fallen tribute, a heavy log still held tightly in his trembling hands. He turned and looked at her, joy mingled with the magnitude of what he had just done.

‘How did you...?’ Katniss lifted herself on her elbows, ‘...how did you know it was me?’

Peeta did not reply. His mind was too busy replaying the sound of Katniss’ colossal sneezes on repeat.

The End

[Sneeze999]

LOVING THIS!!!!! Such a good set of stories!!!! Would absolutly LOVE to read more!!! Especially since it seems Peeta might like her sneezes lol :-)