Charybdis Kincaid- District Two female (18)
Why was I standing on… nothing, really? I was standing upright but there wasn't really anything underneath me. There wasn't exactly nothing around me. The air had a substance to it and sort of sparkled.
Wasn't I just in a car? I couldn't make sense of anything that was going on. Then a possible solution came to me.
"Oh my gosh am I dead? Did I crash and die?" I asked aloud.
The air around me started to take shape and solidify. The impression of a human face, though it wasn't corporeal and didn't exactly look fully human but more like para-human, looked back at me with kind eyes.
"You're not dead, child," an ageless voice came. "Just closer to me than you ever will be until then."
"So I did crash and I'm like almost dead?" I asked.
Yes. And while you're here, let me tell you something, the face said.
"Wait, so that would make you…" I couldn't even say the word. Talking about things like that was a huge no-no in Panem and we were all taught religion was nothing but primitive ignorance. Even talking about it was beyond me. Thinking it was actually real was… unthinkable.
Whatever you want to call me, the being said. The good ones, anyway. This is the good outcome, just to set your mind at rest. So God was not only real but had a sense of humor.
"What did you want to tell me?" I asked. Once it's been established you're dead and everything you knew about metaphysics was wrong the only thing to do is roll with it.
Your purpose, the entity said. Would you like to know?
"I mean, I kind of feel like you know best about whether to tell me," I said. I could sense the humor emanating from the entity's answer.
Very well. Charybdis, what will fulfill you is to enter the Games. But also you must win. And upon winning you must use your position to build reform in Panem. Make this nation into something I can smile on again. Can you do that?
"Uh… that's kind of a lot. But I can try," I said. Yikes. You couldn't have just said 'be happy and treat others nicely?' I thought.
Do that too, the entity said. And if you don't do all this I will still love you.
"Thanks," I said. "I didn't really know you before now but…"
I understand, the entity said.
There was a sudden, blinding pain in my throat. I hadn't noticed before that that I hadn't felt anything until that point. I clutched my throat and looked at the face in confusion just as it winked out of existence. The peace and ethereality of a minute ago was replaced by a cacophony of beeping machines, sudden claustrophobia as I comprehended the tube down my throat, and a spacey confusion at my dulled senses trying to categorize my surroundings.
Wow. God has a sense of humor but no chill at all.
Flint Kenyte- District Two male (18)
It was great in the moments I could be who I was. There were a lot of things my gang would probably laugh at if they knew, but they accepted me anyway. It was great to be able to just lie around and be close to someone else. Some guys were so uptight about not being "sissy" and I for one was glad that had mostly died out by my generation. Humans are a social species. We're supposed to interact and touch each other and be able to support each other. Aston and I weren't even an item, even though some of my gangmates were convinced that was the case. We just really valued each other. Humans aren't made to go through life alone and I refused to let anyone tell me that was true.
So far it had been a quiet couple of weeks. To say I was a bodyguard made my job sound so dramatic. Aston and I were in a gang and he was the leader but it wasn't always as chaotic as people thought. For the last few weeks, for example, everyone had been preoccupied with the Reapings and the gang warfare had been silent. I would protect Aston with my life if I had to, but that was as much because I cared about him as because of any job. Really "consigliere" might be a more accurate title if I wanted to get all classy about it.
"What you thinking about?" I asked Aston.
"I dunno, gang leader stuff, I guess," he said. "What about you? Makeup stuff?"
"I mean, yeah, but not only makeup stuff. Also bodyguard stuff," I said. We lay sort of draped over each other on the floor half-watching some Capitol show on Aston's beat-up old television we stole from a delivery truck. Those were the moments I would look back on and treasure. I could hold my own in a fight or help broker a peace deal between gangs both looking for revenge for fallen members. And I could be a normal kid doing normal kid stuff.
"It hardly matters anyway. That's one nice thing about living in Two," Aston said.
"I dunno. What if literally every Academy student dies or something?" I asked.
"All at once?" Aston asked.
"Yeah. I heard one talking about this thing that happens if you train to hard. Rabbymyolis or something like that. What if they all get rabbymyolis?" I asked.
"OMG what if I get Reaped then?" Aston joked along.
"Guess I'd have to volunteer for you," I said. "A bodyguard's work is never done."
There was supposed to be more to Charybdis' intro but I ran out of room so I'll put it in future chapters
Charybdis: Charybdis is 5'10. She's muscular and tanned. Dark blonde hair, pulled into tight corkscrew curls around her face. Her eyes are a dark gray. She does a lot of aimless gazing outwards, and looks almost untethered from life. Faint scars litter her body, especially on her lip and forehead. Her nails are a bloody, chipped mess. Just in general she's attractive at a glance, but when examined closely she starts to look unsettling.
Flint: He's 6'2" and white with black hair he keeps shoulder-length. He has a pretty broad chest (tbh he's kinda built like a boxer, the dog breed not the profession). He has some scarring, but he often hides it with a bit of makeup. He keeps his hair in a ponytail for the most part. He has brown eyes and big man hands. He likes to shave his legs because so many women do and he thinks it's dumb men aren't supposed to. He also keeps a clean-shaven face.