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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Feb 10, 2020 14:01:59 GMT -5
(okay I’m kind of writing this as if the tracker thing never happened and Burton ends up coming home? Idk I just wanted to write this)
It’s time for me to have another chance to talk to Holly. This is the first time I’ve spoken to her since the connection cut off last time when I was talking to her about the note. Diana and Alistair have finally given me another chance to talk with her.
So I stand in front of the little device that they gave me before I left, and within moments Holly is standing in front of me. Well, a hologram, anyway.
“Hey,” I greet with a small smile “I’m sorry the connection cut off before. We didn’t get to talk enough.”
“I know,” is all she says
I can tell by how quiet she is that she knows that we’re going to talk more about the note. She probably doesn’t want to, but I’m not going to give her any choice in the matter.
“Listen,” I begin “about the note...”
“Do we have to talk about this?” she asks, and I can hear the begging note in her voice. She wants me to let this go.
“It wasn’t fair of Alistair and Diana to put so much on you, to expect you to trust them,” I say “you couldn’t have known about their plans. This isn’t your fault.”
“It is!” Holly says, angrily “it is my fault. Halina is dead, Ari is hurt. Everest and Amadrya suffered torture in the Capitol. That’s all because I didn’t follow the one instruction they gave me. Sure, it was kind of shitty, but shitty things get put on me all the time. It isn’t an excuse for me to be selfish.”
“Holly-“ I begin
I want her to see that she shouldn’t blame herself. That she wasn’t being selfish, that none of this was her fault. I want her to stop thinking about herself like she was disposable or like her life was somehow less valuable than the lives of any of the others. It makes me angry to see her think of herself like that, because to me she isn’t disposable. She’s irreplaceable. And I would be dead without her, that much I know for a fact. But I think she’s prone to forgetting that little detail.
I reach out to touch her, but instead only touch empty air. I let out a sad, bitter kind of chuckle, and lift the hand I’d reached out with to the back of my neck.
“Right,” I say “I forgot about that. These things are so realistic.”
———————
It’s maybe a couple of weeks after my last conversation with Holly. I’m standing in a room when the door opens and I see Holly enter. Diana and Alistair have sent her, told her I’m calling from the Capitol.
“Hey, Acton,” she greets with a smile when she sees me.
But when she stands in front of me, I reach out to grab her hand. And I see the stunned expression on her face when she touches solid skin, when she realises I’m not just a hologram, that I’m really standing in front of her.
Now, Holly doesn’t smile often. Correction, she doesn’t do a genuine smile often. But I get one now, and then she does something even more unexpected. She hugs me, so tightly I almost feel like I can’t breathe. But I’ve never felt happier.
“You’re back,” she says, her voice coming out like a whisper
“Do we have to hug?” I joke, throwing Holly’s words back at her from when I left, but then I smile and hug her back
“Yeah, I’m back,” I say
“How?” Holly questions as she releases me, taking a step back
“Lea tried to stow away on a hovercraft headed to the Capitol,” I explain “she wanted to help me or something, I don’t know. When Diana and Alistair found out they decided they had to bring me home.”
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Holly replies, and takes a step towards the door “come on, we should go tell the others.”
But I catch her wrist when she moves to leave.
“Wait,” I say “I know this is probably a bad idea, and if it isn’t what you want then we can pretend it never happened. But there’s something I wanted to do before I left, but I didn’t. I wasn’t going to do it, but now I think I just have to know.”
And that’s when I kiss her
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Feb 12, 2020 0:09:45 GMT -5
(Sorry for not formatting this, but short character snippets for the song, Boy in the Bubble.)
It was 6:48, I was walking home
Stepped through the gate, and I'm all alone
I had chicken on the plate, but the food was cold
Then I covered up my face so that no one knows
I didn't want trouble, I'm the boy in the bubble
But then came trouble
Carlo
It was 6:48pm when I got home. And to be honest, I was in pain, but not the physical kind.
No, I may have been very confident in how I acted, but I didn’t like people to see me weak. And so I hid on the doorsteps to my house, feeling ridiculous for crying over something so normal and routine.
And now, it wasn’t something someone said, per se, even if people did say things because I was gay. It was because of how people avoided me. Some people, nice as can be, who would visibly deflate in my presence. And it got to me, as much as I hate to admit it. And I knew my mom and dad would flip out if I told them. It wasn’t their fault, it wasn’t anyone’s, not even mine. I knew mom would be worried, because dinner was getting cold waiting for me, and because I was done with work 30 minutes ago and it’s just about a quarter mile from the house.
I could hear her words in my head as I muffled sobs into my hands. I just wanted to be a normal kid in a normal world. Wasn’t it bad enough kids had to die each year? And boys avoided me like the plague, for fear of me liking them in a ‘disgusting way’ as they put it.
Yet, through my ugly soft tears, I realized I had it a bit better than some. Inside, I could hear our Television blaring the hunger games, mandatory to watch, and I heard a scream come from it, and a cannon.
Yes.
At least I wasn’t in the hunger games.
Yet.
When my mom walked into the living room
She said, "Boy, you gotta tell me what they did to you"
I said, "You don't wanna know the things I had to do"
She said, "Son, you gotta tell me why you're black and blue"
I said I didn't want trouble, I'm the boy in the bubble
But then came trouble
Alessandro
I didn’t mean to barge in the house, slamming the door behind me, and scaring my poor mother out of her skin, but I was livid. And when I got mad, I tended to lash out.
“Arlo! You know better than to enter this house causing such a ruckus-!” She exclaimed, and I heard her from the kitchen, and she got closer, turning at the last syllable of her angry tirade before she fell silent, taking me in.
I knew I had a black eye, and a cut on my lip. A fight, with one of the boys at the academy. They were right about one thing, I was a mama’s boy, and people don’t insult my mother.
”Such a slut,” one whispered, thinking he couldn’t hear, “But she couldn’t keep a man, figures.”
I didn’t really remember much, other than punching that grin right off the asshat’s face. But my mom looked stern and upset, obviously concerned.
“What did they do to you?” She questioned me, eyes downcast as she walked over to help me.
“You don’t wanna know, ma,” I began, wincing in regret, “I reacted harshly, I’m sorry.”
“I asked what they did, Arlo. I understand perfectly well what you did.”
She was like that, always confident and could see through anyone. She knew I lied when I said that I reacted harshly when one called me weak, but she didn’t comment on it. Mom was like that, I could talk to her without words.
“I’m sorry, mom,” I couldn’t help but say.
“I know.”
And my heart was pumping, chest was screaming
Mind was running, air was freezing
Put my hands up, put my hands up
I told this kid I'm ready for a fight
Robin
Fear was an emotion I could relate to. And if it’s not an emotion, it’s at least a natural feeling. That rush of adrenaline, the pumping of my heart, the pain and pressure in my chest, the race my mind was winningm the air freezing like ice in my lungs.
Fear is a strong emotion, that can force you into strong actions, some you may regret, some you don’t.
It’s said people have two, maybe three, responses to fear. Flight, to run away. Freeze, to remain still and shocked. Or fight, which doesn’t really need an explanation.
I have a bit of a mix, but fight is what dominates when I’m in the arena. Fighting for my life, rather than falling into my grave like the other young kids did. I do a lot of running too, and some freezing, but usually that’s at night, and I’m literally shivering.
So when I hear the brandishing of a knife behind me, I turn, raising my hands up in a defensive way.
They can try, but I won’t go down without a fight.
Punch my face, do it 'cause I like the pain
Every time you curse my name
I know you want the satisfaction, it's not gonna happen
Mallory
I’m in pain, so much pain when I fall. I know I’m at the knick of my life, that my thread of life is about to be severed by the tiniest of actions. But when I fall, it’s not some fatal wound that’s burning, that’s causing the white noise I hear.
It’s my eye, or, at least, what used to be my eye. But now all I feel is a giant gaping fash where it’s supposed to be, and I can’t see anything past the blood and the pain and the tears.
I’m scared for my brother, I feel bad for Lucas, because I just let him die and we were supposed to be partners. I feel bad for dragging Elias and Jensyn into my fight, into this fight with Kora and Felix. And I’m going to get them killed.
I’m surprised when Elias and Jensyn fight off the Careers. I’m surprised that a kid the age of my brother is such an able fighter, that the girl I mistook for weak was as strong as she was. I was shocked, but in pain.
But Kora never got the satisfaction from my kill.
And I never got satisfaction when I saw them all did, when I killed them.
Knock me out, kick me when I'm on the ground
It's only gonna let you down
Come the lightning and the thunder
You're the one who'll suffer, suffer
Holly
I know of about 10 different spots on my body that are bleeding, and I know another will come. I know another after that, and another after that, until her lingshi is completed, and I’m made up of the art of 1000 cuts.
It still doesn’t stop me from trying to escape. Because the pain, and my heartbeat which I know will stop soon anyways, and my mind running, are all driving me mad. So I force myself into a crawling position when Macaria stands to talk to Alessandro. And I start crawling, but then a cut on the palm of my hand, deep and blood, pressed into a piece of jagged rubble and peels the skin away, and I don’t even cry out, I just fall, shaking slightly as my nerves catch on fire.
I don’t hear her approach, I just feel the breaking of my ribs as she kicks my side, and I curl, trying to protect myself. But that stupid cackle she gives haunts me. So I bite my tongue, and I taste blood, but I don’t cry out again.
Because I know, if she wins, she’ll never escape what she’s done, and in the end, I’m not the one who will suffer.
She’ll suffer, and she’ll never escape it.
And my heart was pumping, chest was screaming
Mind was running, nose was bleeding
Put my hands up, put my hands up
I told this kid I'm ready for a fight
Kindle
I don’t really know what exactly caused me to take the mental downslope I did. I grew up happy, for most of my childhood, but neither of my parents were ever home, and my older brother and sister tended to push me around as a kid. My family was made of pessimistic humor. None of us shared the same mom, just the same dad, and our current mother wasn’t even any of our real moms, just another fling he had going on.
And he didn’t exactly have an issue with abusing us or being alcoholic. Sometimes he took a swing at us, but he never really got too much into it.
He just neglected us, we all raised ourselves. I’m sure it’s because Jennifer’s mom, his first wife, died at childbirth. Jennifer said so, and she was the one that fed me, so I tended to trust my oldest sister. But she was foul tempered, and constantly belittled me in front of her friends. She tended to say I was naive and soft spoken, so I tried not to be. But she was the only one who loved me.
Asher, on the other hand, was basically a morphing. He too ignored the family, tended to spend his night with his friends, or was somewhere random. I didn’t really know, and I never really cared. He didn’t care for me,
Everything I guess, went downhill the day Jennifer died.
Well, there's no excuse for the things he did
But there's a lot at home that he's dealing with
Because his dad's been drunk since he was a kid
And I hope one day that he'll say to him
"Put down those bubbles and that belt buckle
In this broken bubble"
Felix
Living with your drunken father and not having a mother there to help protect you is a sad situation to many, but that’s just routine to me. I don’t like home because of it, because every time I go home, I feel pain, and I spend much of my nights picking broken glass out of my skin.
Now, my past isn’t some excuse for who I am, I’m a jerk, through and through, but I never pretend to be a good guy in public like my dad does. I own up to who I am, and I’m more honest than him, because that’s what mom would want.
And honestly, it’s surprising to think that I used to love the man. When mom was alive, he was kinder, happier, and afterwards he turned towards alcohol to drown out his sorrows. And I was the receiving end of that pent up anger.
Every issue he faced was placed on me, and at first, that blame was suffocating.
Now, it was just routine.
And some days I want to fix him, to tell him that he can change, that he can open up to me, and we can find comfort in each other, that he can put down that bottle, put down the paddles, and mend the things between us. I want to see him change, so we can both be whole again.
But I never got the chance.
Punch my face, do it 'cause I like the pain
Every time you curse my name
I know you want the satisfaction, it's not gonna happen
Knock me out, kick me when I'm on the ground
It's only gonna let you down
Come the lightning and the thunder
You're the one who'll suffer, suffer
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Feb 12, 2020 2:24:46 GMT -5
It’s a little later than normal when I get back from the factory - I must have been walking slow. I always did hate the walk home, through the streets of District 8. A dry, old city where the streets are filled with acrid smoke from the factories. Nobody doesn’t have a cough in District 8, doesn’t matter how rich you are. The air here is inescapable.
I finally push open the door to our home, to see my father in the living room with Lea. The Hunger Games are on, which means I’ll have to be a good citizen and join them to watch the child murder in a minute. They like it when everybody watches.
But my mother is in the kitchen with Twylla, cooking the meal while my little sister basically gets in her way. Like Lea, she is still in her school uniform.
“Hey, mom,” I greet tiredly “they paid me today.”
I put a pile of money on the kitchen counter, for food. But not all of it; I pass a handful over to Twylla.
“Here, Lala,” I say “you need new shoes, those are falling apart.”
The girl is so thrilled, she lets out an excited little squeal and wraps me in a hug.
“Oh,” I add, speaking to my mother over Twylla’s head “and I signed up for tesserae again this year.”
My mother freezes in place, but doesn’t even look at me. Twylla hugs me tighter, tensing up.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to do that again, son,” my mom says, struggling to keep her voice calm and even.
“I have to!” I say “what if the factory does what they did last month again and is late paying us, but for the whole month this time and not just two weeks? We’d starve without the tesserae.”
“Lea and I could take jobs,” Twylla suggests, looking at me imploringly
“No you damn well couldn’t, Twylla,” I say firmly “you two are staying in school, neither of you are setting foot in one of those factories.”
“How many times?” my mother asks quietly
“What?” I question, playing dumb even though I know exactly what she means.
“How many times is your name in for next year, Burton?” she elaborates
“Thirty-six,” I mumble
It was thirty this year. It’ll be forty-two the year after next.
My mother looks crestfallen, lets out a sigh. So I try my best to find something comforting or encouraging to say.
“Mom, next year I’ll be seventeen. Only one year after that, and then I won’t be eligible for the Games anymore.”
I won’t be chosen. Even with my name in so many times, the odds are small. As long as my sisters don’t get chosen it doesn’t matter to me anyway. This is the best option for our family. We can’t rely on the factory pay like that. Tesserae is risky, but it’s a risk I have to take if I’m going to guarantee we don’t starve.
“I know,” my mother murmurs
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 15, 2020 12:35:31 GMT -5
(Okay I’m possibly gonna actually get some writing up today)
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 15, 2020 12:56:05 GMT -5
(Exciting!)
(I’m the big sad. All my stuff is getting canceled because of the stupid plague.)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 15, 2020 12:57:14 GMT -5
Oh my gosh same it sucks)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 15, 2020 13:53:40 GMT -5
"Do you know why I've kept you alive this long?"
The question from Louden spurs me instantly into response. I'm determined not to let myself get worn down at this point. I'm exhausted, and in pain, and I want to give up. I don't see a way out of this situation right now. But if I give up it gives Louden the satisfaction of seeing me break. If I give up, Holly would be disappointed. She would tell me to keep going, to keep doing whatever I could to make sure Louden goes down.
So I've taken to trying to irritate Louden as much as possible, since it's the only recourse I've been left with. I need to show him I'm not afraid of him, and I said myself in my interview that I think laughter is the best way to fight fear. The rebels don't know I'm alive right now, but maybe if I stay alive they'll figure it out. Surely Holly wouldn't just see that footage and assume I was dead and that was that? If I know Holly, she won't accept that for an answer.
Or maybe it's just less painful for me to believe that Holly doesn't think she's lost another person she loves.
But anyway, I turn my gaze to Louden and respond to him cheerfully.
"Oh, um, don't tell me," I say, "...because you're a sadist?"
Louden doesn't respond, but instead just looks at me with mild exasperation.
"Because I'm just too much fun to kill?" I venture
Evidently Louden has given up with letting my try and answer his clearly rhetorical question, and chooses that moment to jump in.
"Because I want to teach you a certain harsh truth."
"Do tell," I say with a sigh, leaning back against the wall of the cell I sit in and crossing my arms
"Haven't you noticed that you're the only one of the surviving tributes who managed to win over the Capitol genuinely, without having to create a persona? Rune, the confident, strong Career. Stonewell, the same. Slayte, the flirty airhead. Flynn, confident, a little mischievous, but a capable Career. Darrow, the tough warrior. Alandria was her usual self, but I think we can all agree that she's not exactly known for her charm. Not to mention that the relationships the others had went a long way to winning them sponsors."
"What's your point?" I question
"That you're a genuinely nice person. But the others know that, and take advantage of that. It's why you're here, it's why they don't trust you to be on the front lines, why your friends underestimate you. Why the rebels underestimate you. Why do you let the Helios siblings treat you the way they do?"
"I'm not doing this for them," I insist, anger tinging my voice
I'm not. Diana lied to us about the trackers, and I'll never forgive her for that. How can she claim to be better than the Capitol when she does that? They treat me like a little kid, to boot. Granted, I proved by my failure of this mission that I'm not as capable as I'd like to think but that's not the point.
No, I'm doing it for Holly, and my friends.
But I know where this conversation with Louden is going, and so I meet his gaze
"You might be right about the way the rebels behave, but I am never going to side with you," I say firmly "you're worse than they are, ruling with fear and violence and causing so much pain. I stand with anyone who sides against you."
"That might be so," Louden smirks "but the rebels think you're dead, and your life is all you have left to lose. But, Burton, you have so much you could gain. Let's make a deal."
[Okay this isn't very good but honestly I just wanted to get something up and I'm just exploring some fun possibilities]
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 15, 2020 14:12:03 GMT -5
(Oh my goodness.
I love it.)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 15, 2020 14:14:59 GMT -5
[I'm glad you like it!
I just considered what it'd be like for Burton to be tempted by a deal from Louden at this point. Because let's face it, Burton is definitely going to be pretty mad at Diana for this whole thing with the trackers. And yes, he's doing all this for Holly and his family, but they think he's dead.]
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 18, 2020 9:43:03 GMT -5
"Honey, I don't think-"
That was the first time I'd used that term of endearment genuinely, with no hatred or sarcasm behind it. I look into the eyes of the dying girl as she speaks. My knife, which has caused pain to so many of my friends, it about to end her life.
"Please try. I believed in you. Believe in you too"
Halina's last words to me echo in my mind, as they have so often since she died. Why did she have such faith in me? Why, out of everyone, was I the person she wanted by her side in those moments? I bring little comfort, can speak few kind and gentle words to a dying person.
Why did she look up to me?
Even Holly, though she and I don't see eye to eye, shows kindness to me sometimes. Me, the one who tried to torture her and kill her. Holly might not forgive, but she is not hateful to me, which is more than I deserve.
I know that when you make mistakes, you have to pay for them. I've accepted that. And I know that what I've done is more than just a few mistakes, that no matter what I do for the rest of my life, my past cannot be eclipsed. I've done good things since becoming a rebel, but I know that nobody can (or should) forget who I used to be. It would be an insult to the memory of Carlo, of the people I've hurt and killed, if that happened. And I've come to accept as my reality the simple fact that I will feel guilty for the rest of my life.
I might have joined the rebels, fought alongside them, risked my life to save Holly, but nothing I do will ever quiet the voices in my head or stop the nightmares. I will torture myself unendingly.
Anyone I open up to dies, that much is becoming clearer and clearer to me every day. My mother, my sister. Alessandro. Halina, who was like a little sister to me. Even my name itself has a sick, twisted irony, meaning 'blessed' when I am cursed. It's the name, my mother told me, of an ancient goddess of death.
But there is another Macaria in myth, one who makes my path clear to me. A daughter of Heracles who, like me, lost both her parents. Eurystheus threatened war against Athens unless Heracles' children were surrendered, and an oracle predicted the city's fall unless a noble maiden were sacrificed. Macaria, being the only girl amongst her siblings and seeing that she faced either death at the hands of Eurystheus or death as a sacrifice, refusing a lottery that would put other girls at risk, volunteered.
Like my namesake, I see no way out anymore. If I live through this rebellion, I can't see a happy life for me. I'll never be rid of my guilt, and I don't really fit in among my friends. I'll always be the person who tried to kill them, I'll always pop up in their worst nightmares. Alessandro loved me, but he is gone. What happiness could possibly be found in a future like that?
Besides, I'm more politically minded than the others might think. The rebels need their leaders, their heroes, their poster children. People like Amadrya and Everest, people like Holly, people like Burton, people like Ari. Leaders, good people. How can they make me into that? I'm not a leader, or a noble soldier. I'm not kind, and charismatic, and funny. I'm a murderer, a bad omen, and no amount of work on my image is going to change that. I might be strong, but even I can see the truth that's in front of me. I don't belong here.
That's why I know what I have to do. I can't let any more of my friends die. If it comes down to it, if I get the opportunity, I will sacrifice myself to protect them. It has to be me, it has to. I've known it from the beginning, really. I don't see it as suicide, I don't see it as a punishment I have to give myself for everything I've done. I see it as me fulfilling a duty that logic tells me I have. No matter how you look at it, I'm the one with the least to lose and I'm the one the rebellion could manage without. Holly has Burton, Amadrya and Everest have one another, Ari has his family.
It's time for me to step up and do what I know is right
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 20, 2020 16:18:59 GMT -5
I have to admit one thing I wasn’t expecting during my period of imprisonment in the Capitol was Louden bringing a chess set into my cell and setting up a game for the two of us. I didn’t say a word, just joined him in the game. It’s only a few moments since we started the game, so I finally speak up.
“Is this a new form of torture you’re testing out?” I question with a raised eyebrow as I move a piece “because it isn’t working.”
Louden just ignores my question, looking in intense focus for a few moments before he moves a piece in response.
“Do you know what the secret of statecraft is?” Louden asks me after a moment
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” I respond, moving another piece as I speak.
“Chess,” Louden says
“Chess?” I repeat
Louden just smiles, moving a piece before meeting my eyes again.
“You see, in chess every piece has their place, a role to play. The queen is the most powerful and important piece, and the entire game rests upon her. The pawns are inconsequential. Occasionally, one must be sacrificed in order to protect the queen. That is much like our society, Mr Acton. The Hunger Games are our way of sacrificing a few pawns for the good of the nation as a whole. And, of course, the districts have to be kept in their place; for what would happen if we didn’t have pawns?”
I scoff, rolling my eyes before moving one of my pieces
“Easy to say when you’re the queen,” I point out
“Perhaps,” Louden concedes as he examines the board “but you know that the Games are a tradition dating back almost a hundred years.”
He moves his piece and we both sit in silence for a few moments, as I examine the board and prepare to make my move.
“Only the rich have the privilege of looking to the past,” I reply “all the rest of us have is the present.”
I move my piece and sit back, waiting for Louden to move one of his pieces in return.
“The past is our present,” Louden chuckles as he moves a piece “and our future. Everything we have and everything we are is built upon our history. And as the war taught us, as our history has shown us, the slightest lack of unity, the smallest flaw in the system, could be the end of our nation.”
“If it’s so weak,” I chuckle “then perhaps it’s time Panem crumbled. But I think you and I both know the people of Panem are stronger than that.”
The others assume I’m not as intelligent, because I mess around. Because I seem innocent or naive or not as streetwise and mature as them. But I’m smart, and capable of taking care of myself too. And I think Louden has underestimated me too.
I make a final move, with my queen, and fix Louden with a smirk, folding my arms.
“Checkmate.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 22, 2020 19:37:43 GMT -5
(I may possibly get some more writing up tomorrow too)
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 22, 2020 19:49:26 GMT -5
(I look forward to it!)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 23, 2020 8:16:43 GMT -5
I remember the first time I met Alessandro, at the parade. He had looked amazing in his outfit, strong and intimidating and a worthy opponent in the Arena. An excellent fighter to have by my side. And just arrogant and flirtatious enough to make him the perfect mark for my plan to destroy the Career pack.
“Hi,” I’d said, “I’m Macaria, but you already know that,”
And he had held up his hand to silence me, looking me over for a moment.
“I know who you are, Macaria,” he had responded “I should know my pack.”
“And you’re Alessandro, right?” I’d questioned
Upon receiving his confirmation nod, I flash him another charming smile.
“You’re the son of a victor, yes?” I’d said in an effort to flatter him “I must admit I’m looking forward to seeing you in action in the Arena. You certainly look the part of a victor.”
“I am, my mother won her games.” He had responded curtly
I knew my flattery was working because he straightened up, stood taller. It was going to be all to easy. I only met this boy thirty seconds ago and he was already wrapped around my little finger.
“Thanks, you too,” he had said in response to my compliment, his voice turning soft
“You do look like a very fitting victor, Macaria.”
And those words gave me a strange rush.
————
Our flirtations continued, and I continued to fall deeper in love with him. I’d find my gaze wandering in the training rooms, searching for him without me even realising. He would make my heart pound, my breath catch. I kept denying it, telling myself that me feelings for him are nothing more than a role I was playing. Something to make the sponsors like me, something to help my on my strategy to win the Games.
This was about life and death, about glory and victory, not about some boy.
But once we were in the Arena, it became harder and harder to deny it. When Amadrya broke his ankle like that, it made me want to kill her. But the panic I felt when I thought she was going to kill him, that was far too real. The concern I felt for him in the injury far too strong.
This wasn’t a game anymore. It felt like when you are watching something fall, and you know it’s going to break but you aren’t going to get there in time to catch it. I could see what was happening to me, could see how my feelings for him were causing me to make dangerous decisions.
If I had half a brain I would have killed him in his sleep that night, because he was only going to hold us back with an injury. That’d mean killing Sapphire too, of course, because I’d have signalled to her that I was a threat if I killed Alessandro. But destroying the career pack, loading up on supplies and striking out on my own would have been the smartest choice. Yes, Holly hated me and her group would target me if that happened, but they wouldn’t know Alessandro had been killed until at least the next night when they showed the faces of the dead in the sky. Not to mention the fact that their group was too big for just the three of us to take on anyway. I had a better chance if I went solo, where it would be easier to hide.
But no, like an idiot, I was playing nurse and protecting Alessandro. I was effectively ensuring my death, and I knew my mentor was getting angry with me. I hadn’t gotten any parachutes since I truly started falling for Alessandro. But I didn’t care. The way he made me feel was worth it in my eyes, the rush of being with him. The way he saw me for who I am, and appreciated me. The way he made me feel like I could be more.
It was worth whatever price I was going to pay for it.
—————
I never thought about the price he might pay for loving me. Losing him was a more painful thing than I’ve ever admitted to my fellow rebels. But I don’t need to; they know. I know Holly does, she knows loss better than any of us. I know she can see the haunted look I get in my eyes when I remember seeing him hanging like a limp doll.
And I know Holly also sees that I’ve changed somewhat in my behaviour. She can tell that I’m thinking of self-sacrifice if it comes to it for the sake of the group. That I’m weighing their lives as being worth more than mine because they’ve got more to lose. And it’s her who corners me when I’m having food one day, sitting down opposite me when I’ve only just started my meal so she knows I can’t make an excuse and leave.
“I know what you’re doing,” she says simply
“And I suppose you think you can stop me?” I question, raising my eyebrow in a slightly amused way
“On the contrary,” Holly says “if you want to sacrifice yourself, I can’t stop you. You want to die doing something good for once in your life, then I say do it.”
A bit harsh, but fine.
“So what are you here for, then?” I ask
“To tell you that you’re making a rash decision. What, you can’t stand being weak and hurting for a while? Nobody can be strong all the time Macaria, and you of all people should know that. You’re trained to exploit the weaknesses of others.”
“Holly, I’ve got less to lose than anyone else,” I say “and what kind of future is waiting for me? Either I die in this rebellion, or I survive and live a life alone and riddled with guilt because everyone around me seems to get hurt. Good people are dying. Halina is gone, Alessandro is gone.”
“What, you think I grew up envisioning a future that was all sunshine and rainbows?” Holly snorts “you get on with it, Macaria, because as long as you’ve got a breath in you and something to say, you can’t just give up. If you’ve got something to prove, then you don’t stop until you do. And you’re seeing this rebellion through like the rest of us, because you’ve got something to prove; that you’re not a complete and total bitch.”
“Holly, why are you doing this?” I say tiredly “I’m sick of fighting now, I’m sick of guilt, I’m sick of hurting, I’m sick of causing pain.”
“For god’s sakes, girl, you’re stronger than this,” Holly snaps “you’re a career. If you give up right now you’re giving Louden what he wants. He controlled your entire life through the academy, you’ve been his puppet your whole life. And if you give up now that’s all you’re going to be. He wants to break you. If you’ve got an ounce of defiance in you you need to keep living and prove him wrong. Don’t sacrifice yourself, not yet. You and Everest are the last careers standing, and it’s time to show Louden what that’s worth. That he doesn’t own you.
“That there is still a career in this Game, and the pack will hunt him down.”
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 23, 2020 13:52:36 GMT -5
(Thanks for breaking my heart.
I needed that.)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 23, 2020 13:53:15 GMT -5
Hahahahaha I’m sorry XD
Hi though! Hope you’re doing good)
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 23, 2020 14:01:42 GMT -5
(I have horrible lungs, but I’m doing fine.
corona time)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 23, 2020 14:03:23 GMT -5
(Oh gosh stay safe I hope you’re okay!
On the upside at least self-isolation gives us more time for chatting and stuff)
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 23, 2020 14:48:43 GMT -5
(Yes.
This is true.)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 23, 2020 14:51:12 GMT -5
(Talking of which I’m happy to take suggestions and ideas for writing if you have any!)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 24, 2020 17:35:11 GMT -5
It was the first day Ari, who was slowly regaining his strength, had been allowed out of his hospital bed. He was still too weak to really walk far, so he was in a wheelchair, but he was able to accompany the rest of the group outside They were now following Amadrya, who was leading the group through the areas surrounding the rebel base. They weren’t allowed to go too far, but that was fine. With Halina dead and Burton in the Capitol, the group needed to do something together. Something to help them heal.
“Do you mind, y’know, telling us where we’re going before leading us in an ominous silence through the middle of nowhere?”
That voice was Holly, who was grumbling at the back of the group. She wasn’t really a fan of group activities, that much was clearly evident.
“Why can’t you just enjoy a surprise?” Macaria replied over her shoulder
“Why can’t you shut up, Macaria?” Holly shot back “let me live.”
“Alternatively, you can both shut up,” I reply “since we’re here now anyway.”
I put down the bag I’d been carrying. We’re all standing on a craggy hilltop, looking over a valley far below us. We can see for miles around; woodland fills the valley with lush green, and a river winds lazily into the distance. We can see the sunlight glinting off it’s water from here. I’ve seen forest before, of course, but even the views in District 7 didn’t compare to this, and the others around me were stunned. None of their districts had this.
“Woah,” Everest breathed “it’s like we’re on top of the world.”
He stands beside me, and I notice that he even puts his arm around me. I shoot him a smile.
“It gets better,”
Break away from him but beckon him and the others to follow me over to a nearby tree. At the base of it, I turn to Ari.
“I’m sorry, Ari, but you can’t follow us. But we need someone to keep an eye on us to make sure we’re all safe and nobody falls. Can you do that?”
“Sure!” Ari says with a nod, though I don’t miss the slight disappointment in his eyes. I feel bad that he can’t join us, and I know he misses treeclimbing.
But I turn back to the tree, grab a branch and start to climb. There’s a moment of silence, and Holly is the first to follow. She might not be used to climbing trees but I know that she’s an excellent climber, very confident. After a few seconds I look back at Macaria and Everest, who are both hesitant.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” I call down
“You guys can both climb, I know you can!” Holly adds from a few branches down
“Yeah,” Macaria responds “but there’s usually, y’know, a rope involved.”
“Ooh, look at the posh District 2 kids with their fancy ropes!” Holly laughs “check your privilege and get up here. I bet I can get up there faster than you.”
Unable to resist teasing from Holly, or any kind of competition, Macaria immediately starts to climb. Everest isn’t far behind.
Ari laughs at us from below, chuckling as taunts are exchanged between Macaria and Holly and even adding fuel to the fire himself by telling Holly that Macaria’s catching up or telling Macaria that Holly’s going to beat her. There are also a couple of times where Macaria gets nervous, which Ari finds no end of amusement from. I guess it is quite funny to see that the people you were terrified of once have things they’re scared of too. Macaria and the other careers were scary for all of us in the Arena, even me despite being in the group.
Holly wins the bet of course, but it’s not long before we’re at a decent height up the tree. Holly, a little lighter than the rest of us, gets a few branches higher. Macaria can get a little higher than me, but Everest can’t get as high as I do. But we all sit on a branch and take in the breathtaking view. We can see even further here, the limits of the forest visible and even a lake in the far distance. It’s beautiful, especially because the whole scene is bathed in a golden sunset.
“When did you find this place?” Holly asks me
“The morning after they brought us back from...” I trail off, unable to say ‘the Capitol’
But Holly understands what I mean, so I continue.
“I needed to get moving again, to take my mind off everything. So I took a walk and I found this place, and I climbed the tree because I needed to do something to remind me of home. Ground me again.”
I’d felt like I was splitting apart, about to shatter into a million pieces. This place helped me feel whole again. That and my friends.
There’s a long time where we just sit in silence, but soon we climb down from the tree. I open the bag I brought to reveal a picnic blanket and some food. And our entire group spends a while out here having a picnic. The rebels know where we are, so they won’t panic. We can forget about everything for a while. Put our fear and pain and grief for Halina to one side for just a little while. Even Macaria, who had been in so much pain with Halina and Alessandro, seemed to brighten up out here. And Holly, who we could all tell missed Burton sorely. Ari, who was hurting and injured, was laughing and joking along with us.
We sat out there until the purple of dusk turned darker, and the starts began to bathe the waters of the river and lake in silvery light.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 25, 2020 17:35:21 GMT -5
(I have a piece of writing planned but it probably won’t be here until tomorrow)
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 26, 2020 18:47:26 GMT -5
I was thirteen years old; I’d lost my father only a few years before, and I was only just starting to get used to life with my cousins and my uncle. It was different to when it had just been me and my dad.
Every year, not long before the reaping, there was always a festival in District 7. The Games was usually how we marked a year of work, and so the festival was our celebration of a new year. It was all about new beginnings. The working new year didn’t officially start until after the Games, mainly because we didn’t want to start off a working year with that, but we had the festival before because it felt insensitive to celebrate when families would be mourning.
This year, the atmosphere felt different, and even I noticed it. Linden and Firth were acting strangely, and I could sense Ackley’s concern about it. A strange tension seemed to fill the entire district. No amount of pretty glowing lanterns strung along tree branches or the festive music playing at the festival could change that.
It wasn’t long after I arrived at the festival that it started. There was shouting and yelling, and suddenly peacekeepers stormed into view. There were always a few keeping an eye on the festival but this was a lot more than that. I couldn’t see my cousins in the chaos as the angry yelling turned into screaming, and the first gunshot split the air.
I knew what I had to do, I had to run, the crowd was too think for me to get very far, I didn’t think it was a good idea to try running home. I needed a place to hide.
So I turned and pushed through the crowd, my head pounding. I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t find my cousins, and I could hear the screaming and crying. Saw people dropping at the front of the crowd as I looked over my shoulder.
When I turned back to face the way I was going that’s when I saw him. A boy a couple years younger than me, with curly dark hair and brown eyes. I recognised him; his sister hung around with my cousins quite a lot. Plus, they gave out allowances to orphaned children and their guardians. My uncle’s payment for taking me in. I always saw this boy in the line when I went to collect that money. An orphan too, like me. I thought his name was Ari. Ari Casas.
He looked as lost and confused as I was, and he was younger than me so I did the first thing I could think of and grabbed his wrist as I went past and told him to come with me. I pulled him along with me as I finally managed to break out of the crowd, dodging bullets as we went, and found a place to hide; an alleyway between a couple of buildings. We’d be screwed if they caught us here since we’d have nowhere to run but they seemed preoccupied enough with the crowd. Besides, as brutal as the peacekeepers could be I had to hope they wouldn’t shoot a couple of kids.
“Ari, isn’t it?” I asked
“Yeah,” he replied, still in as much shock as me “Amadrya?”
I nodded, before tilting my head in question.
“You here with your sister?” I asked
“Yeah,”
“Where is she?”
In response, Ari only pointed to the crowd.
“My cousins too,” I replied nervously “I think we have to wait it out before we go look for them, it isn’t safe.”
I knew the riot brewing must have been getting intense because it was at that point I started hearing the whir of a hovercraft approaching. I looked up, and noticed Ari do the same.
“What’s happening?” he asked
“Reinforcements from District 2,” I explained “which means it’s about to get worse here”
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Ari said “why are they shooting? They haven’t hurt anyone.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion “it’s the Capitol.”
“But they’re not bad, they’re only there to keep everything under control and make sure everyone is safe.”
“Does that look like safe to you?” I countered, gesturing to the crowd “because it looks like people getting shot to me.”
There was a pause while Ari looked into the crowd, an unreadable expression on his face, but then he looked at me with sudden curiosity.
“How old are you?”
“Thirteen,” I replied “why?”
“It’s your second reaping this year?”
I nodded in confirmation, keeping my gaze on the crowd outside. I almost didn’t register their screams, their blood on the floor. The way every now and then a shape moved across the entrance to the alley and I had the urge to hold my breath.
“Do you take tesserae?” Ari asked
“I don’t need to,” I explained “my family makes enough money, and my uncle’s deal for taking me in was that I earn my keep. The money from the government is enough for that for now, and I also work to bring in extra money. So long as I pay for myself I don’t need tesserae. He has too many mouths to feed with my cousins to think about anyway.”
“What’s it like?” Ari asked “the reaping?”
I look at him, and give a little smirk. I know he’s eleven or so, it’ll be his first reaping next year. Or this year if he’s unlucky enough to be turning twelve soon.
“You want my advice?” I questioned “alright. Don’t take tesserae. And when you get to the reaping, try not to get too wrapped up in it. Just go, give your finger for them to take your blood, wait in line, stand where they tell you to, and hope you don’t get picked. Just go in and out, try not to think too much. Oh, and never volunteer.”
Those words sounded like they were from someone older than myself. And they were; my cousins gave me that advice last year, and had heard it themselves at their first reaping from my uncle.
And we hid there for a long time in the dark of that alleyway, waiting for the death and fear to be over.
——————
Now I’m sitting in Ari’s hospital room in the rebel base, on a chair beside his bed and talking. He needs someone to help him pass the time in here, keep his spirits up while he’s injured.
“Hey, it’s festival day today,” I comment as I catch sight of the date on the display on Ari’s wall.
Ari sees it too, and a small and slightly sad smile grows on his face.
“So it is,” he replies with some kind of chuckle
We both know that celebration won’t be happening in District 7 today. Or if it is, it’ll turn out much like the one where we met. They’re angry there, angrier than they were even back then. It could be another riot.
“I hope they fight again like they did that year,” Ari says out of nowhere
“Me too,” I reply “me too.”
“Only this time we’re fighting now too,” Ari replies, and I can hear the pride in his voice “not hiding in an alleyway.”
I nod, and smile, as a fire catches in my eyes
“And this time, we’ve got guns too.”
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Post by Sparky on Mar 26, 2020 19:00:56 GMT -5
[[ my goodness i love it. their past conversation fading into the present is fire!! ]]
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 26, 2020 19:17:24 GMT -5
I’m so glad you liked it  I need me more Ari) |
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 26, 2020 19:59:00 GMT -5
Bibbity boppity I’m about to go ham on the fic.)
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Post by Sparky on Mar 26, 2020 22:32:57 GMT -5
[ yesss i need this ]
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Mar 26, 2020 23:49:13 GMT -5
The Line Between
I was startled when the transmission went to black. It was so confusing, really. One moment, I’m talking to Holly, helping her ease her doubts, the next, she’s gone like a flash and the screen gets all static-like.
I turn it off with a sigh, the Capitol found them, perhaps it’s just a matter of precaution? I feel no amount of worrying will do me any good.
I glare at the ground then, spotting the note. Despite my assurances, part of me wanted to yell and scream at Diana and Alistair. They knowingly put her in harm, she was picked to be the lamb for slaughter and she was scared, and now she blamed herself for everything, eveyerone that died.
I was scared for her too, because granted, if things changed, if she did go along with that plan, it would have been easier to rescue her. No one would have been killed or hurt, but we don’t really know that for sure.
“You all good, Catullus?” I hear behind me, Olivia, my friend, our inside link.
I turn to her with a smile, as always, “Yeah, just some weird stuff going on.”
Little did I know.
—
Little did I know this was a bad situation and stupid idea. I knew we planned to move that night, and I knowingly decided that I wasn’t going to go along with that plan. I would go elsewhere, with little more than fear and vendetta fueling me.
Oh I was stupid indeed. I was surely going to get myself killed because of this. But I loved Burton, and some part of me is starting to understand why Amadrya did what she did. Siding with the Capitol like a lapdog, but I wasn’t like that. I always found ways to get out of those situations, I’d die for I gave Louden the chance.
That’s why I was in the forest, burnt trees around me, as I snuck off at night. Amadrya and Everest were kissing just outside the base. It was cute, honestly, but I’d never admit it out loud. Ari was still in bad condition, they were loading him up on the hovercraft first.
They didn’t know what Diana did yet. That she lied to us. That she was just as much to blame as anyone. Halina’s death was her fault! My fault? Was it my fault?
Wasn’t this all my fault?
Burton told me it wasn’t, but Burton was probably dying right now. If I had just followed orders, I would be dead, but they would be safe. It haunted me, that very feeling. But what else was I to do? Cry and whine about my past mistakes? Burton was right, I couldn’t have known. But I should have been honest.
It was then that I heard the rustling, and recognized the questioning voice that followed, “District 8?” Macaria asked, and I turned with a deadpan glare. I had no idea why she followed me, but she did, for some reason.
“I have a name, but yes?” I respond, fighting back the smirk I get from correcting her. I still don’t like her a ton, but I also love her to death. A sister. That’s kind of what she is. “Do you have a purpose in following me?” I add on. Because it’s odd, I thought I covered my tracks well. Then again, maybe Diana had kept the trackers in to track us, and the move backfired. So maybe Diana sent Macaria after me. But I doubted it. If Macaria knew that the trackers were in...she would never forgive them either. Because she and the others were most likely caught because of them. Because Halina died for that fatal mistake.
So no, I decided, Macaria wasn’t there on Diana’s account.
“Funny, Alandria,” she started, snarl on her face for a moment, “I don’t follow anyone but myself. But I have a feeling our goals are similar.”
I’m massively confused at this point. But I play along like I know, because I have to have control of the situation. “And what goals would those be?” I ponder, hoping she would explain further. I class my hands behind my back, hiding the little knife in my hands. It’s the only thing I could get on short notice.
“Bring down Louden.” The way she says it, with that dark look on her face, scared me a lot. I jump back, even, as it jobs my memory back to when I saw that bloodlust for another person. For me. When I was her enemy. When I was the hunted.
But her gaze softens slightly, “Look, it’s not the same as then. This isn’t about me winning anymore. He took Arlo away, he took Halina away, he has to-“ she begins, but I already feel myself shaking.
I’m so tired of being hunted. So I glare at her, my hair flying around as I take a step closer to her, glaring up, “He’s not the only reason they died, Macaria.” I begin, gripping that knife hard now. Who was I even scared for? Myself? Or was it for her?
And like out of nowhere, I got this burning desire to tell her the truth. Because she couldn’t go waste her life. Alessandro did everything so she could live. And I wasn’t going to let her waste that on vendetta. He wasted his life, and I couldn’t stand the though of him dying for no reason. Halina wanted Macaria to live. They both believed in her, and she wasn’t going to let that go down the drain.
“But he’s the main reason,” oh, little did she know, but her words continued, I watched her face change from shocked and angered, to a bit desperate and sad, “I know you want revenge too. For what he did to you. To us. He forced your hand-“
“He didn’t force me to do anything!” I interrupted, not yelling, but soft and quiet, with that teasing look on my face, “No one can control me. I’m not exactly some robot, who just follows some code. The choices I made were my own, and contrary to popular belief, I don’t regret all of them. Just, just one.” I know my face lost that teasing look by the aspect she held. But I refused to acknowledge it, like maggots, the lies were festering.
She took a step closer to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. She’s taller than me, but not super tall, like Arlo was. She’s like an oak tree, strong and firm. And I feel like a sad weeping willow, whose tendrils can only droop, who can never really escape. I cover everything in facades, but now everything has burned away. But it’s not just me, we’re all caught up in the middle. We’re sad, and lonely, and depressed. We’re just pathetic and we don’t deserve it.
No, they don’t deserve it. I’m trapped in the past.
I’m trapped in the ground, and my roots won’t let me go.
“And what’s that?” She questioned. She caught on to my phrasing, always such a pretty, but smarter than average girl. Too bad it was a waste.
I owe her the truth, for what I’m about to do. I really do.
“If it wasn’t for me, Alessandro and Halina would still be here. Maybe I wouldn’t be. But Burton wouldn’t be in trouble. Everest and Amadrya never would have been tortured. Ari wouldn’t be on his deathbed and you would actually be happy.” I start, before cracking a smile, “I’m almost as big as a screw up as you were,” I tack on, teasingly, but I can’t meet her eyes.
Not until her voice is terse and stern, forcing me to look up, “What?” Is simply one word, a question, but when it comes from her, it sounds like a threat.
I trail on, because some horrible part of me is starting to find humor in this situation like it does with everything, my eyes narrowed, grin back on in full force. Because I’m not really talking to a friend, I’m talking to a monster. “I had a note, Macaria, Diana wanted me to be the only one caught. But I was tired of being prey for selfish cowards, I was tired of being targeted when I didn’t do anything wrong.” I took a step closer to her, seeing this girl, once again, as the one who stood mercilessly over me, ready to elongate my death for her own amusement. “Freedom costs a price, make sure your the only one who has to pay it, is what it said, but I was tired of being pushed around and sacrificed for the sick game of others.”
For a moment, I saw a grin on her face, my blood on her cheeks as she drew another line into the canvas-I remembered the pain, and then the isolation, when every memory was pain. Blood dripping, Burton in pain, being hunted. Being hunted by everyone.
Her visage gave way to understanding, before it narrowed, “So if you would have just made sure it was only you?” She began, a somber, sad look overtaking her. Almost pitying for a moment, and I found myself angry, if just for a moment, but then I saw her as she really was, a changed person. Not a callous murderer...
Immediately I felt bad, sighing softly, “Alessandro would still be alive. I would have likely been killed publically, had it only been one, and a rebellion strong on the way. This never would have happened.”
I don’t know why I expected her to be like Burton. Because as soon as I pretty much said ’Oh, I killed Alessandro’ She downright slapped me.
I reeled back, glaring up at her, my cheek burning from the hit, but she looked proud of herself. I found myself glaring, “What was that for?”
Oh, Holly, what a stupid question!
“Payback.” She commented, and I was confounded for a moment, completely floored in confusion, I must have had a stupid look on my face. Actually, I knew I did, there was no way in hell that she just said the word payback, and was going to let it go.
“That’s it!?” My voice was such a high pitch, but the dark glare overcoming her face startled me.
“Louden’s still to blame. I did the same thing in the arena. But-“ Macaria was interrupted. I wasn’t done. No, no, no, she obviously didn’t understand. Couldn’t be. Macaria would have killed me, I’d have a reason for everything, I’d have someone to blame, and to justify when I acted. Or maybe, or maybe I just couldn’t really let someone close. Everyone close left.
“Did you not hear me? I killed him! I killed them!” I yelled, but she didn’t move.
No, instead she just sighed, she was acting mature, and I almost felt childish, as she looked up at me with sad, forlorn eyes, obviously remember him “Holly, don’t say that again, I-“
“I killed him!” I shouted. A reaction, I needed a reaction. Her anger was the only way I won, and I wasn’t letting it go.
“Please, it’s not your fault-“ That was when her face contorted, almost fresh tears ready to spill, a friend, she was my friend, but-wait no, friends just left, like Burton...
“It’s all my fault, without me-!” She’s staring at me, this pitiful pleading look on her face, and it’s the most vulnerable I have ever seen Macaria Slayte, and I downright start cackling for a moment. I though I knew her, she should have snapped, maybe then I could justify my actions. But she glared at me when I start the laughter, even if it’s dark and hollow laughter.
“You couldn’t have known!” Oh but I did...
And I should think before I speak, because at that moment, my snark comes out full blast, just as it always down, and I grin triumphantly at her “He wouldn’t have died! But you know what? It’s what you get for hunting people!”
Oh that set her off. I pretty much just said that he deserved it. I really didn’t mean that. I really didn’t.
But she was already walking towards me, roughly grabbed my wrist, and started dragging me after her.
“I told you to shut up.” She hissed. She’s not even looking at me, and I almost slump in defeat. Why can’t she just see it? Why is she fighting?
“Well I don’t listen to you!” I snapped, getting my bearings and pushing her away from me, she looked a bit shocked, but I didn’t care. She still wanted to work with me after all this. “I don’t know how you think I just forgot what you guys did to me,” I start, having the knife still in my hand, but it’s at my side, “But I didn’t! So, who are you, Macaria?” I questioned then, raising that hand up, waving the knife, “Are you just someone who kills to do it? For revenge? Vendetta? You need to stay here, I’m not giving you a choice.”
“Well, I’m sorry. But we’re going. I’m going, I don’t care what you choose,” she walked by me, ignoring the knife, her eyes narrowed, almost filled with angry tears. “I’m nothing with Halina and Alessandro, I don’t have a future, Holly. Everyone else does. You and I are just excuses now. Forgotten. At least I can make sure they didn’t die in vain.”
My heart breaks a tiny bit, they’re deaths are in vain if she does this, it’s a suicide mission, and she knows it. “They’ll have died in vain if you just leave!” I huff out, “Are you stupid or what? Maybe you hit your head last mission, but unless you go back, this whole crap fest has been a waste of time!” I wince at how immature my comments sometimes come out as, “You can’t just go buzzing around like a queen bee waiting to just sting into someone with no real purpose in mind, like ‘look at me, I’m dying for no reason’!” I mock her voice, and maybe this would have been hilarious in literally any other situation but-
“Just shut up, my freaking ears can’t take any more of this BS, Hal, just shut the everliving hell up.”
I stare at her for a moment, before snorting, “Yeah, the day I die.” But then I go silent.
“That’s horribly ironic that you just shut the hell up after saying you would do it the day you die,” Macaria pointed out, and I nervously laughed, shying away for a moment. She’s not really wrong, but I don’t really have a comment, the irony didn’t escape her.
That’s when I stop, and she turns to look at me, “Come on, Alandria, let’s go make him pay.” Her hand is held, placatingly towards me, like an invitation.
I catch her eye for a moment, before gulping, “Diana kept the trackers in!” I was trying for it now, that angry response. That anger, because I needed some reason to do what I did next. And I couldn’t forgive myself unless she started it.
“What?” She questioned, eyes wide. Lowering her hand, finally, shocked she was, and angry too, “How long have you known? Why would she lie to us?” She seemed to be thinking fast too, mouth tapping open, “Is that-?”
“That’s how they found us and killed Halina,” I commented, before grinning a bit at the shitstorm coming my way, though anticipating the pain with wince, “I’ve known all along,” I lied, anything, anything to do this. “I’ve known, and I never told you.”
The response is immediate. With an angry cry, she lunged at me, but I sidestepped, rolling and grabbing a rock when I did so. But I didn’t foresee her grabbing a knife she had and stabbing at me. A small slice angled down side, eliciting a cry of pain from me. But I had to get up.
Before she could even attack again, I jumped behind her, before knocking the rock against her head. Like a log, she fell over, and I backed up. I checked for a pulse, and backed up afterwards with a sigh. But I frowned at her.
“Sorry buddy, but I can’t have you guys coming after me.” I commented. Rolling to the ground in exhaustion, I held my side, before glancing at the knife in my hand. It wasn’t much of a fight, not really even one at all.
Then I got to work on the next part.
Screams filled the air, and when I left, blood littered the ground around Macaria, I dragged her closer to the base, easy to find. Beside her body, laid a dormant, bloody piece of technology.
And then I left for the Capitol.
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“Burton!” Livia called as she ran into my room, a panicked look on her face, one of absolute horror and agony, “Burton you have to leave!”
I froze, looking over at her, raising a brow in her direction in speculation, in questioning, “Why?”
“Louden-he found the base,” she commented huffing out angry pants, “And he has a plan, he just-“
“What?” I commented, turning my eyes to the television, I had it muted, and not much was happening,
“No!” She exclaimed, grabbing my head roughly, turning my face her way, “I overheard it. He’s going to bomb the Capitol, stage it on the rebels-“
I didn’t understand, “Why?” I was flabbergasted, he was going to kill his own people? For what?
“Because-l she started, but suddenly it clicked. The timing of the attack on the rebel base, the public killings.
Louden needed a message, one to display his power, but he couldn’t have it look like the rebels were actually doing any good. He would kill countless innocent lives, his own people, just to turn the District’s back to his side. It was genius, but horrible. The rebels were just starting to win, turning the tide. This was the perfect way to set them back, to end it all.
Either that, or Louden was on a suicide mission, he was going down swinging, but I had a strong feeling he would be far away from whatever he was planning.
“He’s going to make the rebels look like the one side in the wrong.” I commended, before realizing something else.
“And he’s going to take us down with it.”
(We’re in the endgame now my dudes.) |
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Mar 27, 2020 2:28:32 GMT -5
Dude I love it!)
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Post by Sparky on Mar 27, 2020 15:43:44 GMT -5
Three minutes had passed. Dakota counted them himself.
That was the time allotment given to tributes within the Justice Building to spend with their families. Say their goodbyes. It had once been much longer, but the Capitol had its ways of leeching freedom away from the districts very subtly.
This time was not subtle.
Dakota narrowed his gaze, eyes focused on the large double doors in which his father should’ve walked through moments ago. But the moment had passed, and Dakota had immediately realized that this was yet another way for the Capitol to maintain its sense of control over rebellious tributes.
The doors opened. A singular peacekeeper. Dakota found that strange, but it was perhaps a little more intimidating than a team of them. As if to say that he alone could handle whatever unrest Dakota caused.
“Mr. Fulks,” The voice was female, which threw Dakota off slightly- she was well over six feet.
“Where’s my father?” He asked, not budging from the edge of his seat.
“We don’t have much time. Your father was not permitted to see you.” With those words she walked over to another side of the room, and began to unlock a small doorway that Dakota hadn’t previously seen.
Calum.
A wave of relief washed over him as the familiar figure scurried into the room. It wasn’t long before the pair were hugging, and Dakota felt his shoulder dampen.
“This is my fault,” Calum began before they pulled away slightly, still holding each other’s arms. His face was stricken with tears, but his voice was calm. Reality of their situation kicked in, and Dakota’s features melted into confusion.
Why was there a mysterious peacekeeper guarding the entrance… and how had Calum been allowed in…?
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you everything. The less you know, the better.”
“Know what?”
“Dakota, things are changing. My family has been a part of that change for a while now, and years ago the Capitol…” his voice trailed off. He was saying too much. “You’re not gonna be alone, all right? Just know that. You’ve got allies.”
“Calum, I have no idea-”
“Be safe out there. Protect Alex.” Calum pulled away from Dakota’s arms to reach into his coat pocket, then revealed a silver locket. “Your token. Wear it well.”
A moment of silence lingered between them, and Calum took the time to slide the locket around Dakota’s neck. “Under your shirt,” he murmured, “Remember, I’m not supposed to be here.”
A whirlwind of emotions had picked up Dakota’s mind now, leaving his body frozen in place, unsure of what to do or how to react. Anxiety plagued his greatest thoughts - that much he knew - and he began to voice it.
“Your family… you need to stay safe. If the Capitol finds out you were here-” A slight chuckle from Calum arose.
“Once a dipshit, always dipshit.” Calum muttered, sighing sarcastically.
“Hey!”
Calum raised his arms in defence, but he couldn’t help smiling.
“You’re about to be shipped off to a slaughterhouse, and you’re worried about me?” The sentence disturbed Dakota, but not because of his situation. For so long the Games had been a subject to be avoided at all costs, but now they were talking about them freely. It would’ve been a comforting kind of strange had past events occurred differently. Calum must’ve noticed a slight sense in energy, though, so he changed the subject. Just like old times. “Thank you...” he said, eyeing the large cut that marked Dakota’s face. “...for protecting my mother. Protecting me.”
Another silence. Dakota had almost forgotten that he had volunteered. It had seemed second nature, to prevent anything from happening to Calum. He couldn’t imagine a reality where he hadn’t reacted in that way.
“If only you knew how much I hated you right now though,” Calum continued. His voice broke slightly. “You and Alex both.” The boy was crying yet again, but his tears fell silently. They embraced each other, doing what only felt natural in that moment. “Promise me you’ll try to win.” It was a command, but surely Calum knew how useless such a promise would be.
“I promise,” the words were uttered without weight. How could he win? He would be up against tributes raised for this specific kind of hell. Tributes who could kill quickly in hand-to-hand combat. Tributes who were born and raised to compete in the very deathmatch that he was about to enter. “Cal-”
“Mr. Arlidge,” It was the peacekeeper that cut off Dakota that time, though he was beginning to think that maybe she wasn’t as dutiful to the Capitol as he initially thought. Her voice had been sharp, warning them of the waning time they had.
Commotion arose outside of the double doors, and the sound of aligned footsteps was all it took to know that a group of peacekeepers were drawing near.
“Sit back down,” Calum said in a hushed voice, breaking away and pushing him into his chair before slinking backwards towards the side entrance.
The double doors opened abruptly, but not before Calum and the mysterious peacekeeper had vanished from sight, leaving Dakota alone in the small waiting room. It was all so abrupt. He had only gotten a couple minutes when he needed hours, and there was so much more he wished to say.
“Follow,” the head of the pack said.
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I need me more Ari)
