Preserved Roses
Chapter Summary: While undergoing a series of typical, but painful experiments, Deor has a chance encounter with the newest addition to the Capitol Institute for Human Improvement. However, the young boy from District 3 refuses to accept the reality of this ability called Segen, which allows them to bend the laws of nature.
Notes: Just a temporary chapter again. More of a draft this time.
Chapter 1: Division of Wills
He could hear the light clink, clink of metal instruments and the rattle of the faulty light on the ceiling as it flickered madly. His eyes fluttered open in vain, seeing nothing except for the folds of the blindfold strapped across his face and the bright field of white from the lights above him. Seconds passed slowly and the muted voices around him shuffled across the room and flipped through papers and charts. The gentle hum of the air units filled the rest of the room.
A cold and sudden sensation in the crook of his arm startled him, though he had been expecting it this whole time. He didn't flinch, but his skin tingled as the scent of rubbing alcohol wafted up to his nose. He wriggled it and held his breath, holding in a sneeze.
Another light click and he shifted on the hard exam table, tugging at the straps holding his arms and legs down. He quickly exhaled and drew in another breath.
They used to tell him that it would only hurt for a second, like a normal shot from the doctor's office, but they were flat-out lying. The sharp prick of pain zipped up his arm and left his fingers tingling, but he clenched his teeth and eyes shut as he waited the them to push the liquid into his arm. That was when it really hurt.
He couldn't really feel the liquid entering his bloodstream, but he felt the familiar burning sensation within seconds.
He screamed. It felt like electricity was flaying him alive, like every layer of skin, muscle, and bone was peeling away from him bit by bit, like his insides were turning to mush in seconds.
His voice cracked as he screamed and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He screamed until his throat was on fire, until he ran out of air and had to stop to gasp for air.
Deor was never good at judging the passage of time. But those moments, he swore, did last forever. When the pain subsided to a dull ache, he wasn't even in the exam room anymore, but he could not remember the move. He was in a wide recovery room, but there was no one else there right now. When he peeled his eyes open and began to move his aching body bit by bit, he looked around and sighed. At least when there were others around, he had someone to talk to.
There was always the sound of movement behind closed doors, indiscernible voices and the hum of machinery. The little machines recording his vitals beeped every now and again as well.
Deor could hardly move. Everything in his body was leaden, like he was drowning in an ocean and no longer had the energy to swim. Not that he had ever seen the ocean before. There were a few older kids from Four who had told them about it, about how it was as blue as the sky but sparkled like a gem.
It sounded nice. They described what it was like to flounder in the sea as well, how the waves would cruelly drag the weak and the weary under the water and that the cold silence would become your tomb. Still, it sounded nice, different.
All Deor had ever known were these sharp edged walls of stone, the mountains that surrounded the Capitol, which gleamed like a diamond ring. There was a lake, but it was a bluish grey and it reflected the light of the buildings but never glimmered.
His thoughts swirled in his mind. They drifted from lakes and oceans to the odd tasting stew they ate last night, which the District 6 kids loved, and to the amber liquid that he had once seen them slip into his arm during one of these procedures. He wasn't supposed to see it, but he did and it was a lovely, hateful shade of dark gold, the rich dark amber of the sweet honey he sometimes ate with fruit at home.
It wasn't supposed to burn his insides. It still ached a bit in his belly, but he couldn't even move yet to try and soothe it. Sometimes rubbing it helped, or moving into a different position. Deor breathed unevenly and closed his eyes. Maybe he could sleep it off.
The sudden hiss of the doors opening caught his attention minutes later. He opened his eyes wearily, if only so that he wouldn't be caught off guard the next time they came to collect him.
Instead of seeing a tall adult in a white coat and wide goggles, he saw a short boy with tousled dark hair and clothes that came from the outside-outside, from the world behind the mountains.
Deor's eyes widened and he urged his body to move, but all he could do was twitch his fingers and move his head for now, even though the restraints were gone. The small, thin boy had a dirty, wild look to him. Deor had seen a few kids like that, like the kid from Eleven or the ones from Six.
The boy caught sight of him and panic instantly flickered across his face, but Deor greeted him with the most pleasant smile he could manage in his state. It must have looked a little funny, because the boy grimaced and glared at him before running towards him, snatching something off a countertop.
Deor wanted to call out to him, but his throat was dry and burned. He followed the boy's steps as he moved through the room.
When the boy turned to him, Deor blinked. He had dark, dusty hair that looked like a clump of hay, but his eyes were a deep green. Deor only saw them for a moment before the doors hissed open and the scientists came inside, immediately shouting at the boy who rolled in from the outside world.
He ran, taking off across the room for the other door.
Deor closed his eyes and wondered if they would end up in the same dormitory.
Deor's a funny name, it's pronounced "der" instead of "day-or". I didn't make it up, in case you were wondering.
Real chapters are longer and more detailed than this.