Chapter Two.
Prologue, Part Two.
In Twelve, bitterness clogged the air.
Brother and sister looked down at the gravestone, a mere pebble with untidy scrawlings chiselled into the rock. People ambled around them, visiting lost ones with the worst kind of human emotion across their faces.
Twelve had the living corpses amongst their society, and those allowed eternal rest: the dead corpses. But this – his fate, no, no it wasn't right. She laid a hand on his shoulder, sensing his rising temper, placating it with a single touch.
"Don't, it's not worth it. Not after everything."
The funeral yesterday had been the most depressing affair he'd ever been too, and he lived in Twelve, where depression roamed the air and scorched the minds. He scoffed, loudly, uncaring to who could hear it. He was angry. Livid. The Capitol had taken his younger brother when it could have been him – should have been him.
But at nineteen, all he could do was watch, wait and wonder how it would happen. Because it wasn't a case of it not happening, it was a case of when. His brother died early on, a small comfort to what some of the other tributes faced later on, but he'd still died.
The Careers were the reason. His anger wasn't just directed at the central cause of the Games themselves, but at those who supported them, offering up their young like ritualistic sacrifices. He hated them, he wanted them dead, and the only small comfort came from the fact that this year they did all die.
A girl from Five had won. It hadn't been his brother, but it hadn't been one of those Careers. It meant something, at least. It meant karma still existed, as evil as it could be on other days.
"They'll want to know where we are."
"Let them," he spoke quietly, yet the tone offered up his clear view on how he felt towards his parents. They didn't even show up to the funeral. Didn't say goodbye. Didn't hold the two of them like parents should do as they laid to rest their brother.
They lost a son and acted like the world had simply continued on, like the Capitol and the rest of the Districts would. But not them. They should have shown something.
"People react differently when they lose someone they love."
"People?" He laughed, the same bitterness thick and familiar in his throat. "People mourn when someone they care about dies. They don't... move on... not that quickly. They didn't even come."
His knees gave way then, and down he fell, to the small heap of dirt with one dead flower to mark their brother's grave.
"They deserved it."
"Who?"
He pictured them all: regal, vicious, dignified... horrible. Then, lastly, the girl from Two. His murderer. At least she was dead. He hoped she was in the worst kind of place wherever they went after death. Burning for eternity for what she did.
"Everyone. They took our... brother." He realised he was crying. He hardly cried, not because he cared what people thought, but because crying lost its impact when everything they lived with warranted such a response.
Crying over breakfast, crying over dinner, crying at bedtime. A cycle, over and over, absorbed with despair.
His lungs hurt, the tears poured from his eyes, and he sobbed into the grave, clinging to the stone as if it were his brother... his poor, baby brother.
"You know the worst part?" He interrupted his sister as she opened her mouth to say something, anything to appease him. She knew him better than anyone. Twins after all, twins who both mourned the loss of their sweet little brother. She knew he'd never let this down, that after everything they'd been through, this one tragic circumstance would fracture the boy she envied for his strength.
She couldn't let that happen. But what could she do but let it?
"Next year... next year it happens again. It goes on and on and on. More of them will volunteer and more of us will die because of it. I hate it." He threw the dead rose far away, over his shoulder, casting it off. His brother deserved more than a stupid flower.
"I want him back." He choked on his words as he turned to stand up, whimpering at his sister. They embraced. He cried into her shoulder and she whispered everything she could in his ear – everything that might work, but she knew wouldn't.
"They do care. They do. We have to be strong for them, for ourselves. We've all lost someone, we can't lose anyone else."
He said nothing at that. But she knew, later on, when they all sat down and tried to act like the normal family when everything was the complete opposite of normal, that he'd make promises he would break tomorrow.
I'll try. I'll work hard. I'll do this, I'll do that. I won't have let him die in vain. This family will survive.
All those promises would die quickly, the second he said them. Because in Twelve, promises really meant nothing, they were as futile as the tributes that were reaped and offered up to the Capitol.
She held him tight, letting a single tear slip down her nose and land on his shoulder. She mourned the loss of one brother, and today, she mourned the loss of the one she cradled in her arms.
Twelve would go on, lost in their ways, dragging their lifeless bodies around because they were too afraid to just drop down and die.
She wanted something better, he wanted something better. Anything that didn't mean another family next year, another two families from Twelve, and another however many from around Panem would have to go through what they were going through right now.
But nothing would change.
It never did.
"We have to go," she said, taking his hand, turning away from the grave.
He was dead. They were alive.
She wanted him to come back. And she wanted to go down there, buried, lost... gone.
Which fate was the better one? Dead or alive. It didn't matter.
They had no place in this world.
Before the list, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who submitted. I didn't expect to receive the amount of tributes that I ended up with. But given the fact I received nearly 70, cutting down to 24 was really difficult. I've had to reject a lot of tributes I did really like, and I am really sorry to everyone that didn't get in. The main reason is literally just the amount I had, there was no way of taking in every tribute I wanted to. But, think of it in a good way, if there's another SYOT around or one that comes up, you have a form already written up ;P
Congrats though to everyone that did get in. Just to make sure everyone is aware I'll be sending out PMs to those that did get in, but won't be to those that didn't, just because of the amount and because the only reason they weren't accepted is really just because I had to cut out nearly 50 submissions. But I am pleased with those that I've selected, so yeah, below is the tribute list and once more, thanks for submitting!
Tribute List
District One:
Male- Vance Seymour (TitanMaddix)
Female- Saira Carinne (Cashmere67)
District Two:
Male- Henry Eris (Hoprocker)
Female- Rayah Ausbern (Acereader55)
District Three:
Male- Lucian St. Laurent (FoalyWinsForever)
Female- Arial Bold (felicitea)
District Four:
Male- Tristian Fortier (Sovereign2)
Female- Rhaella Cresswell (Remus98)
District Five:
Male- Chip Flexan (President Snowflake)
Female- Adley Proctor (District11-Olive)
District Six:
Male- Blaine Carrigan (bobothebear)
Female- Holly Branwell (nevergone4ever)
District Seven:
Male- Ramon Decker (Munamana)
Female- Sherina Harney (DA Member Hogwarts)
District Eight:
Male- Tymas Romain (Chaos In Her Wake)
Female- Eliasi Vallis (addicted-to-my-reflection)
District Nine:
Male- Casimar Kaveli (LokiThisIsMadness)
Female- Noelani Lenoire (Sunlight Comes Creeping In)
District Ten:
Male- Lazaro Aden (Aspect of One)
Female- Clarette Aamira (mikitty bast)
District Eleven:
Male- Jasper Ness (Atashi Desu)
Female- Therese Chaney (SomeDays)
District Twelve:
Male- Chase Whittaker (Burning Stars)
Female- Lexine Videl (The Knife Throwing Expert)
The blog is up on my profile. If the link hasn't appeared just yet, go onto my blogger profile by accessing one of my other blogs and a link should be there. Also new Victors have been added to my Victors blog, so check those out as well!
Favourites from the blog and why?
Least favourites from the blog and why?
Anyway, there you have it, the tributes for Flesh and Blood!
I'm sorry I cut the deadline by a week, but after the amount I got within two, risking going on to around 90-100 tributes would have been insane, so I wanted to get it up now.
Up next we'll start with the reapings. I haven't fully worked out what my chapter format will be, but I do know I want to try to update weekly, so expect something out next weekend. Just because I know people are busy around Christmas, that'll probably be the only update until after the 25th, then I'll get back to schedule.
Again, sorry to those that didn't get in, it was tough, but I somehow managed to do it!
See you with the next chapter.