He was at the fight with Tanis. Usually runs around in these dopey coveralls, hair like a mop.
[Thank god for memshare, though she's realize she didn't get to see Effie and it makes her a bit sad. Since the TV's a bust, she heads to try the door, the one they came in through. Why is this gym locked???]
[She is not super confident that that's gonna work, but she's not about to stop him, since they might be right and truly fucked. Instead, BACK TO THE SCREENS while Haymitch makes a mess.
She's gonna stand there a moment and listen to this voice. What are your fitnessing instructions, Daryl?]
[Haymitch hits the door with the dumbbell, and it bounces right back like a bouncy ball! If he doesn't move fast, it's going to smack him... Rest in pepperoni, Haymitch.
Since Katy is inspecting the screen near the door, all she'll see is Daryl giving the same sexercise advice in a loop. His voice is faintly static-ladened.]
[Thank god he has good reflexes. That didn't work, but that doesn't mean brute force is off the table. Glancing around, he then heads over to the equipment. Almost curiously, he climbs up on a treadmill, poking at a few buttons. Who knows what might or might not work?]
[Unlike the door, the dumbbell wrecks the shit out of the screen! The display breaks, spiderweb fractures spreading across the screen as the colors distort. The audio glitches, and the instructor's voice gets stuck in a loop.]
Something changes as Haymitch climbs up on a treadmill. It doesn't start up right away, but he will feel something slimy and cold wrap itself around his wrists. If he tries to move away from the treadmill, he will find himself locked into place. All across the room, the instructors displayed on each screen will stop their lessons. The lights will dim as the room goes eerily silent. When Haymitch and Katy glance at the screens once again, they will find that none of the instructors have a face.
Furthermore... They're all staring at Katy, following her movements around the room with their heads.
She will be overcome with a sensation not unlike panic. Irrationally, Katy will become convinced that she will die if she doesn't pick a section right away. Any section, except the treadmills.]
[WELP this is highly unsettling, but Katy's not about to pause to consider her options. To the (spins roulette) punching bags and stuff. Bam, she has won musical chairs.]
Katy selects the section with the training dummies and punching bags, and finds that her feet are now locked into place. The screens across the room will go black, though it doesn't seem like they've been switched off. White text will appear on the screens by the treadmills and the training dummies, while something else appears on the rest of the screens.]
WORKOUT ROUTINE SELECTED. YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL BE WITH YOU IN 30 SECONDS. 30... 29... 28... 27...
[... Remember the faceless instructors from earlier? As the countdown begins, two of them will crawl out of the screens next to Katy and Haymitch.. They are horribly pale and moist, a stench like rotting fresh inundating the room as they shamble towards them. It doesn't look like they intend to kill or attack them, but... Well.
More text will appear on the screen after the instructors come to a stop next to them.]
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WARM UP? CONFIRM WITH YOUR INSTRUCTORS.
[Haymitch's wrists will still be locked in, and Katy will be unable to move her feet. So... What now?]
[He looks sickishly pale right now, his eyes locked on those figures. Mutts, or something like them, and sure, they're docile now, but that won't last. He keeps tugging at his wrists, but no give.]
Yeah. We would.
[It's low, and he nods to Katy: it'll be okay.]
Just do what they want for now. It attacks you, you strangle it. Understand?
[Oh, she should've brought a knife. She should have let the door stay locked. She shouldn't have suggested they start monkeying around with shit because this is far beyond what should be within the realm of possibility. It's a dumb thing to be hung up on when you're a month into this shit, but it's all she can think as she tries to unstick herself. How the fuck...?]
I'm stuck. Shit, I'm stuck. I can't move.
[It's panicked, but she's not screaming, not about to make an ass of herself over this. She looks to Haymitch and his advice should help, and it does, but it's not a good sign that he's telling her to go with it.
As cocky as she was over the trick with the explosives, she's absolutely going to defer to him now, though. She trusts him. He'll get them through this.]
Y-yeah, got it. Strangle it. I can do that.
[Does it even need to breathe? She's shaking as it stops next to her, and god, she wants to pull away but she can't fucking move. She's not taking her eyes off of it for a second.]
[Does it breathe? No, not really. Since Katy is focusing on her trainer, she will easily notice that its chest does not rise and fall. It is eerily still, its head turned in her direction.
As they've accepted a warm-up, a line of text will appear on their screens:]
WORKOUT INTENSITY LOWERED FOR WARM UP SESSION.
[And then the screen will flicker, before switching to an informative video. Haymitch's will, of course, explain how to get the most out of your treadmill... before segueing into information about how treadmills were once used as torture devices, and stories about deaths that came as a result of it. At the same time, his treadmill will activate itself. It is, thankfully, in the lowest of settings. The video explains that those who survive must be strong enough to remain steady, never missing a single step.
Katy's video will explain how to get the most out of your training dummy... It seems innocent at first, lacking the backstory presented by Haymitch — but the video shouldn't be Katy's greatest concern. One of the training dummies will animate on its own, shambling towards her and assuming a defensive position once its reached her. Katy will find that her feet are no longer stuck, but there's a catch. A shimmering barrier will surround the section she's currently in, trapping her inside. The video will wrap up by explaining that those who die are those who allow their enemies to knock them off their feet.
As Katy's video wraps up, the training dummy lunges at her. Luckily, the movement is sloppy enough that she may be able to spot a number of openings.
[Shit. Shit, okay, well, that's sure fucked up, isn't it? They should've switched, he could handle some mutant dummy, but her--
But there's nothing for it now. He can run, sure. He'll make himself run, because like hell he's lived through his Games and a rebellion just to die on a stupid treadmill. But he's keeping an eye on Katy, the tension in his body thrumming.]
Keep your body tight, keep moving around, circle it-- try to either hit him square in the face or knock him off his feet.
[It's called out sharply, barked out instructions meant to cut through the terror.]
It's just a Mutt, Katy. Nothing more than an animal, that's it.
[Probably. Maybe. His feet hit the treadmill evenly, a slow pace that he can keep up for a while. He hopes. God.]
[There's a flood of relief as she comes unstuck, but that's quashed again as soon as the training dummy starts to move. Shit. This is not what she was hoping for when she mentioned wanting a proper fight the other day, but that irony does occur to her.
Here's the thing about Katy: She does know, in theory, how to fight. Haymitch made sure of that their first week here, but her brother is the toughest guy in Letterkenny. He's broken guys' noses for disrespecting her or trying to take advantage, and he made sure she knew how to do the same. You don't have a brother like Wayne without learning how to defend yourself.
What's unfortunate is that she's out of practice. It's not like she scraps all that often, and these stakes are awfully high for her first foray back into the ring.
She manages to dodge when the dummy charges her, at least. That's something. She listens to Haymitch, settling into a defensive stance of her own and circling around to the other side of it, keeping her eyes trained on it at all times.]
It's not an animal, it's a thing.
[And she's not about to get outsmarted by a thing literally called a dummy. She swings at it with a solid punch, aiming for its face—there's as much strength behind it as she can muster.]
[The warm ups, at least, seem to be relatively easy. Haymitch won't have any trouble keeping up with the treadmill's current speed. A timer starts counting drown from 60 as he starts to run, and the treadmill will come to a stop once the timer hits zero. Similarly, even if Katy is a little bit rusty — she won't have any trouble knocking the dummy down on its ass. Her punch connects with its face, sending it down to the ground. It stays there, its body convulsing. Just as Haymitch's timer hits zero, the dummy stills and turns into ash.]
WARM-UP SESSION CONCLUDED.
[It is at this point that the instructors will move again. The one standing near Haymitch will move to occupy the treadmill next to him. The one standing near Katy will move, taking a defensive position in front of her. Suddenly, Haymitch and Katy will get something of an... epiphany, so to speak. Haymitch will understand his goal is to outlast his instructor for three consecutive minutes. He will receive a penalty each time he stumbles. Katy will understand that her goal is to knock her instructor down twice within a period of three minutes. She will receive a penalty for each time she is knocked down.
FOR THIS FIRST ROUND... RNG says the treadmills will be set to 9 with an incline. RNG also says the instructor will lunge at Katy first. Unlike the training dummy, the instructor is far more nimble on their feet.]
[Three minutes isn't too long, not for running. He can do three minutes. Or, rather: he will do three minutes, because there's no other option. And he almost makes it, too; he keeps up a steady pace, footfalls even-- and though he hates the creature next to him, he keeps his eyes locked on Katy, because she's more important right now.]
[Right, okay, go figure that the training dummy thing wouldn't last. At least the instructor is the girl from The Ring and not some beefy dude, which means Katy might actually be able to do this.
Later, she'll realize it was easier than it should've been to get in a zone here, but that's survival mode for you. Whatever this thing is, it's horrifying, but it's also standing between her and a way out of here, so it may as well just be those bitches trying to sell cigarettes to kids back home. It may as well be Tanis, or Monika, or whoever, some faceless thing, it doesn't matter—she can be scared of it later.
Again, it's Wayne's advice that comes in handy. She's watched her brother do this enough that she'll manage to hold her own in this first round, nearly going down once or twice but managing to keep her feet under her. Unless the faceless trainer pulls any tricks on her, she knocks it down for the second time just before the three minutes are up.]
[If by "tricks" you mean that the trainer is going to go absolutely aggro on her after the first time she knocks it down? Then, yes. It's going to pull some "tricks." The difficulty rises after the first time Katy knocks it down, and it will make certain to aim for vital body parts. RNG says it will focus on her eyes and throat. How well will Katy do to evade and turn this around on the trainer?
Eighty seconds left.
It is at this point that the speed on Haymitch's treadmill will change without warning. RNG says it will jump from 9 to 2, and the inclination will suddenly drop. How well will he adapt to the abrupt change?]
[It jerks suddenly, and Haymitch jerks right with it, shoes catching on the slowed tread, his knees buckling-- it's only his wrapped wrists that save him, forcing him to recover as quickly as possible. Within a few seconds he's back up again, his knee stinging badly, skin scraped-- but whatever, it's fine, it doesn't matter. Right?]
[Well, this sucks! Katy knows well enough to protect her eyes, but she's not expecting the sudden jump in difficulty, so the trainer will probably be able to grab at her throat.
On the flipside, Katy is very not above fighting dirty, so she'll grab the thing by the hair when it lunges for her. That should give her enough leverage to throw it to the ground again.]
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A friend of mine from home. Daryl.
[...]
He was at the fight with Tanis. Usually runs around in these dopey coveralls, hair like a mop.
[Thank god for memshare, though she's realize she didn't get to see Effie and it makes her a bit sad. Since the TV's a bust, she heads to try the door, the one they came in through. Why is this gym locked???]
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[He lingers at the tv for a few more moments, but then loops around, checking out the rest of the gym, trying to see if there's anything unusual.]
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Well, presumably. She jerks at the door again, though of course it doesn't budge.]
We've got a problem.
[She crosses the room to go try the other door too, but p sure that one is also locked.]
Considering we needed a bomb to get in here...
[trails off ominously.]
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The other door is 100% locked.]
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He grimaces, but doesn't panic, not yet. Just strides over, grabbing a dumbbell on the way over.]
Move back.
[He is going to break it down with help from fifteen pounds of hot pink fitness equipment.]
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She's gonna stand there a moment and listen to this voice. What are your fitnessing instructions, Daryl?]
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Since Katy is inspecting the screen near the door, all she'll see is Daryl giving the same sexercise advice in a loop. His voice is faintly static-ladened.]
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[She's at a loss, staring down sexy Daryl as he tells her about sexy yoga.
...
So she. grabs a dumbbell and whips it at the screen.]
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b̷̧̡̞̫̭̣͖̮͇̦̃̄͛́̂̒̕͝͠ḛ̴͘ǹ̴͔̻̼̑̇́̾̿̂̈̈́͌͑̔̐̽̚ḓ̵̨͎͍̘́͌͊̏̃̒-̴̡̢̡̝̭̭̦̼̙̮̝̦̭̺̊͛̑́͛̔̄́-̸̨̨̡̯̘͉̺̺̘̞̹͔̽̍̅́̉́̍̒ ̷̢̺͖̬̬͉͇̟͐͌̅̆́̀̉b̶̢͉͉̙̟̼̪́̊̾͗̊̓͗͋̽͐̐͘͘e̷̞̪͐͗̀̿͘n̵͙͙͓̍͊̇̀̈́͋̈́͝d̵̳͊̽͒̽͛͌̚-̸̡̺̪͆̎-̴̡̧̦͍̻̼̰͐ͅͅ ̴̮͎̪̘̞̉́̒̀̔̀̉̓͠͝b̵̡̹̺̦̍̆͊̄̄͒̄̑̋͠ẽ̶̛̪̄͆̑͂̌̀͂̒n̶̨̛̛̤͔̱͇̰̭͑́́͗̎̆̆̅́͛̚͝d̸̼͍̣̖̖̤̱̎̍̂̄̽͂́͑͂͂̀͐̎̕ͅ-̷̢̘̖̠̲̞͉͙̮̼͎͓̺̺͛͑̈͛̋̓̈͌͝-̸̺͙̲̻̹̙̠͔͇̬̩̼͗̐̆͜͜͝ ̵̤̰̞̯̪͉̘̅͐͂͑͛̊̋̈̐́͜͜ͅb̵̧̼̦̠̌̈͜͝Ĕ̶̛̩̦̺̘͐̽̒̓̂̐͝n̸̠͉͎̺̥̲̳̠̈̔̍͛͒͋̈́͂͑̉̽͝-̸̧̯̮͚̭̎̈́͒͋̄͊̐͝D̷̲̖͈͇͋̈́̉̑͗̽̋̚ͅͅ-̷͍̤͕̝̲͂̀̾̿͛͗͑̆͗̆̉-̵̢̨̨̱̦̹̬̳͍͚̔͌̄̒̉̿̊̔̂̔̇̑́͋͝ͅ ̶̙̞́͊ͅB̸̨͇̲̱̬̞̮̺̻͇̩̩̠̥͛̎̍̍͆͛͋̉͆͑͛̚E̷̢̨̬̫͇̰̘̜̩̥̭̮̒̐͒̇̔̽̈̒̄͂̕̚̕͠Ņ̷͖̩̖͖̦͍̗̤̩̩̦̯͖͌̀͌̉̉̐́͐̃͂̓͘͜D̵̡̧̰͗̎̈́̒͒̎̎̉̊̋-̸͓̻̭̯͙͈̭̘̖͙̤͔̻̿̿̋̋́̉͊͜-̷̢̹͚̜͎͇͉̘̟̱̟͊̋̓̔́̎̓͑̓͘ ̶̧̠̬͐̓͆͝͝B̷͖̹͈̙̝̜͚̖̓̌̈́́̈́E̸̯̙̦͗̀̐̉Ņ̶̧̢̭̣̠̻̮̘̥̲͕͍͇͚͑D̴͍͔̣̭͍̲̗͒̄̂̍̑̃̒̉͑̄̉̿͊-̷̢̖̘̦̹͖̘̻̺̤̥̦̈-̴̦̘̺̗͇̻͓̟̯̅̿̓͜͜͠ ̷̡̎̏̃͋̔̊͐͋̆́͆̍̿̿B̴̡̨̟͇̖̭̩̮̯̥͎̰̯͌Ẽ̷̟N̵̡̢̡͇̤̳̪͎̩̞͖͙̪͆̋͂͂̍͘̚͝D̶̨̨͔͇̖̝̖̕-̸̜͔̥͔̫͈͆̈́̃͌̑-̴̭͍̈͝-̸̨̬̹̮̭͔͓̞̩̹̭̀͛̀̐̔̔̚͜͜
[... So, you know, that's pleasant.
Something changes as Haymitch climbs up on a treadmill. It doesn't start up right away, but he will feel something slimy and cold wrap itself around his wrists. If he tries to move away from the treadmill, he will find himself locked into place. All across the room, the instructors displayed on each screen will stop their lessons. The lights will dim as the room goes eerily silent. When Haymitch and Katy glance at the screens once again, they will find that none of the instructors have a face.
Furthermore... They're all staring at Katy, following her movements around the room with their heads.
She will be overcome with a sensation not unlike panic. Irrationally, Katy will become convinced that she will die if she doesn't pick a section right away. Any section, except the treadmills.]
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[He hisses it as he jerks his arms, harder and harder, wrenching against the machine, trying to break free and get to her.]
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Katy selects the section with the training dummies and punching bags, and finds that her feet are now locked into place. The screens across the room will go black, though it doesn't seem like they've been switched off. White text will appear on the screens by the treadmills and the training dummies, while something else appears on the rest of the screens.]
WORKOUT ROUTINE SELECTED.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL BE WITH YOU IN 30 SECONDS.
30... 29... 28... 27...
[... Remember the faceless instructors from earlier? As the countdown begins, two of them will crawl out of the screens next to Katy and Haymitch.. They are horribly pale and moist, a stench like rotting fresh inundating the room as they shamble towards them. It doesn't look like they intend to kill or attack them, but... Well.
More text will appear on the screen after the instructors come to a stop next to them.]
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WARM UP?
CONFIRM WITH YOUR INSTRUCTORS.
[Haymitch's wrists will still be locked in, and Katy will be unable to move her feet. So... What now?]
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Yeah. We would.
[It's low, and he nods to Katy: it'll be okay.]
Just do what they want for now. It attacks you, you strangle it. Understand?
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I'm stuck. Shit, I'm stuck. I can't move.
[It's panicked, but she's not screaming, not about to make an ass of herself over this. She looks to Haymitch and his advice should help, and it does, but it's not a good sign that he's telling her to go with it.
As cocky as she was over the trick with the explosives, she's absolutely going to defer to him now, though. She trusts him. He'll get them through this.]
Y-yeah, got it. Strangle it. I can do that.
[Does it even need to breathe? She's shaking as it stops next to her, and god, she wants to pull away but she can't fucking move. She's not taking her eyes off of it for a second.]
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As they've accepted a warm-up, a line of text will appear on their screens:]
WORKOUT INTENSITY LOWERED FOR WARM UP SESSION.
[And then the screen will flicker, before switching to an informative video. Haymitch's will, of course, explain how to get the most out of your treadmill... before segueing into information about how treadmills were once used as torture devices, and stories about deaths that came as a result of it. At the same time, his treadmill will activate itself. It is, thankfully, in the lowest of settings. The video explains that those who survive must be strong enough to remain steady, never missing a single step.
Katy's video will explain how to get the most out of your training dummy... It seems innocent at first, lacking the backstory presented by Haymitch — but the video shouldn't be Katy's greatest concern. One of the training dummies will animate on its own, shambling towards her and assuming a defensive position once its reached her. Katy will find that her feet are no longer stuck, but there's a catch. A shimmering barrier will surround the section she's currently in, trapping her inside. The video will wrap up by explaining that those who die are those who allow their enemies to knock them off their feet.
As Katy's video wraps up, the training dummy lunges at her. Luckily, the movement is sloppy enough that she may be able to spot a number of openings.
What will they do?]
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But there's nothing for it now. He can run, sure. He'll make himself run, because like hell he's lived through his Games and a rebellion just to die on a stupid treadmill. But he's keeping an eye on Katy, the tension in his body thrumming.]
Keep your body tight, keep moving around, circle it-- try to either hit him square in the face or knock him off his feet.
[It's called out sharply, barked out instructions meant to cut through the terror.]
It's just a Mutt, Katy. Nothing more than an animal, that's it.
[Probably. Maybe. His feet hit the treadmill evenly, a slow pace that he can keep up for a while. He hopes. God.]
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Here's the thing about Katy: She does know, in theory, how to fight. Haymitch made sure of that their first week here, but her brother is the toughest guy in Letterkenny. He's broken guys' noses for disrespecting her or trying to take advantage, and he made sure she knew how to do the same. You don't have a brother like Wayne without learning how to defend yourself.
What's unfortunate is that she's out of practice. It's not like she scraps all that often, and these stakes are awfully high for her first foray back into the ring.
She manages to dodge when the dummy charges her, at least. That's something. She listens to Haymitch, settling into a defensive stance of her own and circling around to the other side of it, keeping her eyes trained on it at all times.]
It's not an animal, it's a thing.
[And she's not about to get outsmarted by a thing literally called a dummy. She swings at it with a solid punch, aiming for its face—there's as much strength behind it as she can muster.]
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WARM-UP SESSION CONCLUDED.
[It is at this point that the instructors will move again. The one standing near Haymitch will move to occupy the treadmill next to him. The one standing near Katy will move, taking a defensive position in front of her. Suddenly, Haymitch and Katy will get something of an... epiphany, so to speak. Haymitch will understand his goal is to outlast his instructor for three consecutive minutes. He will receive a penalty each time he stumbles. Katy will understand that her goal is to knock her instructor down twice within a period of three minutes. She will receive a penalty for each time she is knocked down.
FOR THIS FIRST ROUND... RNG says the treadmills will be set to 9 with an incline. RNG also says the instructor will lunge at Katy first. Unlike the training dummy, the instructor is far more nimble on their feet.]
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Later, she'll realize it was easier than it should've been to get in a zone here, but that's survival mode for you. Whatever this thing is, it's horrifying, but it's also standing between her and a way out of here, so it may as well just be those bitches trying to sell cigarettes to kids back home. It may as well be Tanis, or Monika, or whoever, some faceless thing, it doesn't matter—she can be scared of it later.
Again, it's Wayne's advice that comes in handy. She's watched her brother do this enough that she'll manage to hold her own in this first round, nearly going down once or twice but managing to keep her feet under her. Unless the faceless trainer pulls any tricks on her, she knocks it down for the second time just before the three minutes are up.]
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Eighty seconds left.
It is at this point that the speed on Haymitch's treadmill will change without warning. RNG says it will jump from 9 to 2, and the inclination will suddenly drop. How well will he adapt to the abrupt change?]
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[It jerks suddenly, and Haymitch jerks right with it, shoes catching on the slowed tread, his knees buckling-- it's only his wrapped wrists that save him, forcing him to recover as quickly as possible. Within a few seconds he's back up again, his knee stinging badly, skin scraped-- but whatever, it's fine, it doesn't matter. Right?]
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On the flipside, Katy is very not above fighting dirty, so she'll grab the thing by the hair when it lunges for her. That should give her enough leverage to throw it to the ground again.]
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