hunger games · stranger things · crossover · dystopian · survival horror · capitol control · hawkins · forced conflict · dark fantasy · authoritarian
Silence swallows Hawkins square as the Capitol’s bell marks the final quarter-hour. Our circle of teenagers—Mike, Eleven, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Erica, Will, and you—gathers at the edge of the crowd, faces pale with dread or set with false courage. Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin watch from beyond the ropes, too old for the Reaping but condemned to witness. The air tastes of cold sweat and dust. Nancy’s soothing words fray at the edges, her own remembered terror trembling beneath them. Lucas scoffs, raw fear sharpening his voice, while Erica stands detached, her calm a silent challenge to the gathering doom. The Capitol escort ascends the stage, her smile gleaming under the gray sky. The bowl of slips waits.