"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." - Marcus Aurelius
District 8 Reapings: Camo Titan (17) and Cedara Wilda Lindell (18)
Cedara Wilda Lindell tucks a cigarette between her thin lips. Her long, frizzy blonde hair is pulled back into an unkempt braid. Her small, beady eyes are focused on the boy in front of her. Her sharp nose twitches, a sign of her excitement.
"And all the kings horses and all the kings men," Cedara says, her voice gentle and affable. "Wont be able to put little Davey together again."
Cedara runs the knife across David's cheek. She applies just enough pressure to scrape the skin, but not draw blood.
"You're crazy! You can't do this…" the boy mutters. "You can't-"
"Be quiet," Cedara hisses. She digs the blade into the boy's temple, allowing a spurt of crimson liquid to gush all over her hand. David moans, a couple tears leaking from his eyes.
Cedara absolutely loves seeing the boy in so much pain, in so much distress. She has always found the boy's confidence, his competence, aggravating. She has long wished for the chance to see him cry, to turn him into a pathetic joke of a boy, to torture him until his throat is raw from his screams, to watch the life drift from his eyes, to kill him.
It's hard to blame David. Although he has never given her much attention, he has never disrespected her. Cedara just doesn't like people like David. Becauase people like David aren't ruined. And Cedara simply likes to ruin people. It is her favorite hobby.
"Please let me go," the boy pleads, his voice strained because of his tears. "I'll do anything."
"Okay. Lick your blood off my hand," she says. She is going to kill him anyway. She just wants to see how low he will stoop first.
David will be her first kill. She has tortured a couple other people, but she has never given into her want to kill. She knows murder, if not pulled off perfectly, could get her killed. And Cedara does not want to die. But she has recently figured out if she cuts David up into pieces no bigger than six inches each, she can stuff him in a garbage bag. The occupants of District 8 never go checking the dumpsters.
The door to Cedara's room bangs open.
"What the devil do you think you're doing?" Rowan, Cedara's sister, asks.
The cigarette drops from Cedara's lips. "What the devil does it look like I'm doing? I'm having a little chat with a friend, Rowan."
Even though Rowan is the older sibling, she has the softer backbone of the two. People are more likely to see Rowan following around Cedara than the other way around.
David starts blubbering in Rowan's direction. "Please…help…she's going to kill me…"
"Dad!" Rowan screams. "Cedara's trying to kill someone!"
Barker, or "Dad" as Rowan and Cedara refer to him, ambles into Cedara's room.
"What's going on?" his voice is tired, soft, dejected.
David's moans have turned into sobs. He tries to choke out coherent sentences, but does not accomplish such a feat.
Barker sighs heavily. He unties David's ankles and wrists.
"Take the boy home, Rowan," he says. Once David leaves with his eldest, Barker turns to look at Cedara. He says nothing. But Cedara can see the fear in his eyes.
He slides out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Cedara hears the man locking the door from the outside.
"Let me out!" she insists, slamming her hands on the door.
Barker doesn't respond. He is only protecting himself. When Cedara gets angry, no one is safe. The girl killed her own mother when she was only ten years old. She claims it was an accident. But even Barker is weary with her claim. The girl didn't seem the least bit upset when her mother died.
Camo Titan taps his fingertips against his thumb. The movement is constant, except for small two-second pauses. Some people never notice the manner in which Camo taps his fingers. Others never understand why he does it.
Only few have figured out that he is unconsciously counting the syllables in each conversation he partakes in or overhears. Even when he is alone, he counts the syllables of the thoughts that run through his mind. He is never completely still. This is on account of his OCD.
"Oh no, no, don't invite her over here," Camo insists. Camo and his twin sister, North, are already at District 8's main square. They always wait until the last moment before they split up for the reapings. Camo doesn't want to spend the last few minutes before the reapings with any of North's friends.
North rolls her eyes, ignoring her brother's plea. She waves over her friend Lena. North believes Camo doesn't really dislike her friends. He simply doesn't like it when North hangs out with other people. Because when she isn't with him, he is alone. Camo has just about no friends. Most people don't enjoy his sarcasm or his constant rude and snarky remarks.
"Oh, God," Camo says, watching Lena approach. "She looks even more horrible than I remember."
"No she doesn't," North argues. "Lena is absolutely beautiful."
"You girls always do that!" Camo scoffs.
"Do what?"
"Say your friend is really beautiful when in reality you know your friend looks like Katniss Everdeen's rotting corpse."
"Don't say that," North urges. Joking about anyone involved in the rebellion is the last thing one wants to do when a flood of peacekeepers are only feet away.
North is everything Camo is not. She is humble, gentle and kind. And Camo absolutely adores this (and everything else) about his sister. The two even look markedly different; Camo expresses the green eyes and auburn hair that belonged to his mother. North has the blonde hair and brown eyes of her father.
Lena hugs North once she reaches the twins.
"I keep forgetting that we have to split up for the reapings," she says, mostly just for the conversation.
"I've been wondering, Lena," Camo interrupts, smirking. "Do you ever get tired of being this retarded?"
"Just ignore him," North advises.
Lena opens her mouth, then closes it again. She never talks back to Camo. This isn't because she is afraid of him, nor is it because she's secretly fond of him. It's because she pities him.
After the twins' parents were murdered, they relied completely on each other. They were each others guardians. They spent every living moment of every day together. But recently North has started opening up to other people. Even Lena can tell Camo feels somewhat threatened by anyone that hangs around his sister.
For this reason, Lena just ignores Camo's words. She mumbles a, "See you later, North" and walks away.
"Why are you so rude?!" North asks her brother once Lena is out of earshot. "All you do is hurt people's feelings!"
"Sorry. I wasn't trying to be mean."
Sure, Camo wasn't putting much work into hurting Lena, though he certainly wasn't trying not to. Camo figures North is nice enough for the both of them, so he makes no effort in the "being nice" department.
Cedara's decision to volunteer occurs rather suddenly. She watches a girl from the section in front of her get reaped. Cedara feels a pang of jealousy. This girl is going to have the opportunity to fight, to torture, to kill. And Cedara will be stuck in District 8 for the rest of eternity, her sister always barging in on her when she's trying to enjoy a good torture session, her father locking her away whenever she has the thrill to kill.
Cedara figures her life in District 8 is no way to live.
So, the girl walks right up to stage.
"I'm volunteering," she announces, much to everyone's surprise. "My name is Cedara Wilda Lindell."
Her eyes skim over the sea of people in front of her. Some of those who catch her gaze look away, unsettled by a certain calmness in her bright, blue eyes.
Cedara turns to the man on her right. Abel Mays, the man who will act as Cedara's mentor, shares a look with her.
Cedara smiles.
Abel returns the gesture.
"And the male tribute is Camo Titan!" District 8's escort announces.
Camo is intercepted on his way to stage by North. He whispers something in her ear, it appears to be some sort of consolation. Though, North still has to be ushered back to her section by a couple peacekeepers.
Camo hardly looks concerned. His air is one of confidence, of nonchalance.
It has been two months. Alas, my updates twice a week will have to stop. I'm going to be away for a while, so don't expect the next chapter for at least two weeks.