"I didn't do it! I swear!" A young crisp voice screamed into the summer air. His coal black Seam hair was sticking to his face. His grey eyes seeking justice, his body fighting back the two peacekeepers holding him down. "You did it, admit it." The man in uniform said harshly, shoving him to the ground. The young man's face skidded through the concrete ground like butter, making a harsh gash in his face. He resisted the urge to cry, or show an emotion at all. "Your death has been sentenced, tonight at sundown." The other peacekeeper said emotionlessly, picking the boy up by the collar of his shirt. "Tonight, over there." The peacekeeper pointed at the big oak tree deep in the forest, where nobody dared to go near. Tears flooded the boy's eyes, but he forced himself to hold them.
The whole crowd gasped, but one sole young woman was silently sobbing into her hands. "No!" she cried, helplessly screeching from the crowd. Ignored by the peacekeepers, they ushered the young man through the crowd. "Ve…Verity!" the young man screeched, clawing towards the woman. Their hands clasped together as one, both of them looking at each other intently. "I didn't do it… I swear! You know that," he whispered, looking at the girl's face. She gave a small nod and started sobbing again. "Run… Run… away!" he said, locking an eternal gaze with her. "D-don't get yourself… into a mess like… this…" he mutters, while getting pulled away from his girl. He screams some sort of an obscenity, but he is ignored. "You will be sent to a holding room, where you'll reflect."
The man marched into a solitary room, where he'll be held until his sentence is up. Burying his face into his hands, the doors opened to show his lover. "C-Carter…" the young woman stuttered, firing herself into his arms. "Did you… do it?" she asked shakily, her grey eyes looking at him for an answer. "I don't know… I didn't! You know it, right?" he screamed. She nodded shakily, sobbing more each second. "I don't want to lose you…" Verity, being her name, looked up to her lover with a saddened face. "I just don't know what to do…" Verity said.
"Let's run." Carter said, cupping her face in his olive skinned hands. "Come with me. No one will know. The both of us won't suffer." He said. "Where will we go?" Verity asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Off into the forest. We might have a chance." He said, determination in his grey eyes. Their hands locked again in union. "Let's go then. I'll come with you."
Exiting from the building was tough enough, considering going through the peacekeepers and any witnesses wishing to prosecute them. But they managed to cut through. They almost got caught, but they managed to swiftly make a getaway. They managed to get into the meadow even, trying their best to get away.
In the middle of jogging slowly, Verity stopped and froze in her spot. "What's wrong, Verity?" Carter asked, seeking an answer from his girl. "It doesn't feel right. It just doesn't feel right to go away from home." She said, making her lover puzzled. "I want the both of us not to get hurt, yes, but-"she said, but got cut off by a kiss from Carter. "Let's get going then-" Carter said, but then was cut off. Footsteps began to dribble into the area, as they picked up their conversation. Both of them managed to let out a gasp and said, "run".
Trying to make an escape, they'd been twisting and turning through a bizarre maze of branches, trees and grass. Peacekeepers poured out of everywhere, but they managed to get past them.
Making a getaway, they ran hand in hand deeper into the forest, branches cutting their fresh, pained faces, and leaves rustling in their track. A quick turn of their heads and the peacekeepers are skidding right behind them. Trying to run faster, their feet caught up in the forest floor, almost making them trip. The young man's foot caught up in a stray patch of land that tripped him.
"Get up!" Verity cried helplessly. Peacekeepers flooded into the area. "There they are!" one shouted, darting towards the young couple.
Only Carter didn't try to get up. "Verity it's going to be useless." He said, looking towards his girl. "I'm sorry, this was a stupid plan. Run. Save yourself." He commanded, as the peacekeepers took him into their clutches. Tears flooded Verity's eyes as she began to run off." Meet me back here again…" Carter's lips moved one last time to his girlfriend.
Verity had gotten away from the peacekeepers, her ebony hair messy and her skin scratched. One sole worry clouded her mind. Her lover Carter. They must've hung him by now, she thought, tightening her fists. "What have I done?" she muttered to herself, tears flowing down her face. "I must go back," she ordered herself, picking up her shattered self and warily moved through the woods.
The wind rustled and howled. The night covered her surroundings but she refused to stop.
i Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where they strung up a man,
They say murdered three
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight,
In the hanging tree.
Are you are you, coming to the tree,
Where the dead man called out, for his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be,
If we met up at midnight,
In the hanging tree. /i
And there it was, his almost lifeless body hanging from the tree branch tied with rope. Verity couldn't help but let tears flood her sorrowful grey eyes. He was breathing silently, though it was easily known that he would not last fifteen minutes.
"…Why did I leave you?" asked Verity, taking in the scene. His skin was a dull shade of olive now, his eyes half closed, with the threat of never opening again. The wind somehow seemed to whistle his name out loud, shouting it with a voice so full of scorn.
"Why did you tell me to run away?" she exclaimed, taking his dull hand in her clutches. His hands were stone cold, not beholding the warmth they did before.
iAre you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight,
In the hanging tree. /i
"Death… would be…. A better option…" Verity sobbed between her tears, her grey eyes like waterfalls. Carter's fingers somehow cringed, a bit of life in his fingertips. "Where's… your… rope?" he said, choking more as the cruel necklace seemed to tighten around his neck more. Verity held out something she had found on the forest floor, which was the closest to rope she could find. "You could… hang with.. me…Death… is… a better option…" he said, looking down at his weeping girl. "Than losing you… it would feel like… I was free… both of us, free… if you lived… I…love…you…" he choked out his final words, the rope getting the best of him.
"No…" Verity said shakily, shaking her head. "NO!" she said, thrashing her frail arms in the air. The life was sucked out of her lover faster than the blowing wind.
i Are you, are you,
Coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side
With me
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be.
If we met up at midnight,
In the Hanging Tree. /i
The wind howled loudly, pushing Verity to the side. She made a quick noose with her nimble fingers, fumbling and getting a small case of rope burn. Her fingers throbbed and bled, but she refused to stop making the noose. She looked back up at her lover, the life sucked out of his body. One thing she wanted to do. Get to a better place, than her stupid, starving district. A better place than the horrid Panem they reside in, where they could die any day. Maybe a place filled with food, happiness, joy and laughter. Maybe the place some people call 'Heaven'. Maybe that would be ideal.
The noose was ready, nice and tight. Enough to support her weight. A tear slid down Verity's face as she tried to tie it onto the tree. The knot almost tied itself, gripping the branch like a vice. One more time, she held her lover's hand solemnly. His pale olive skin is drained of life but she felt that she would talk to him. "I'm sorry, but life won't be the same without you, Carter. Tomorrow, I promise we are going to be together. You'll be alive and me too. Sleep soundly, and let's get through this together." She whispered, slipping her neck into the noose. The feeling instantaneously made her choke, pulling and tugging on her neck. Her body screamed for her to let go, but she still went through it. Life slowly drained out of her body. Her hand was still clutching his hand. "You know…" she said, dying slowly, coughing out blood. "I still went back to the tree… the hanging tree…" and with that, she died, hand in hand with her lover, both sleeping forever and never opening their eyes again. In the Hanging Tree.
i I did come, to the Hanging Tree /i