Leshawna Hans, 17, District 2
7 years earlier
Leshawna sat curled into a ball on her bed, a battered copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets propped open on her lap, deeply absorbed in her book. As she flips pages, a vivid scene is painted across her mind, colors and characters twisting together creating a masterpiece. A masterpiece that no one but her would ever be able to see.
She imagines herself there, next to Hermione, Harry and Ron, in the midst of their adventure, chasing after the big, black dog dragging the red-headed boy by the leg.
Her friends.
Even if some people thought her weird for having more fictional friends than those in real life, Leshawna didn't care. Leshawna could close the book on them at any point, and be back alone in peaceful solitude, something unique to book characters. Real people had no pause button on their life.
More importantly, her fictional characters were merely a figment of someone's imagination, brought to life by her own spark of creativity. They don't judge her like people do.
And finally, they had adventures that she could only dream of. The complex, dramatic and tragic backstories only existing in the pages of fiction. Life-shattering backstories that build the main character's personality, setting them up for their adventures. A life that she could only dream of living while she lived in Panem.
From first-hand experience, she knew that those adventures didn't exist in any of the districts, at least the ones she'd lived in. Maybe in the Capitol, but honestly, that was as much of an unattainable dream as any of her books.
Leshawna goes to turn another page when a loud bang interrupts her. She lowers her book, listening keenly.
Shouting. Loud, harsh voices that she can't make any words out of, let alone string together a sentence to explain. She's scared, plain and simple.
Banging, crashing, shouting.
But her parents are out there, Leshawna realizes, and she throws her book down, her legs carrying her as fast as she can into the living room.
She doesn't know what she can do, but she knows she'll do something to help them.
Bursting into the living room, she sees a struggle, chairs, and tables strewn haphazardly across the room, papers having been scattered around messily.
But when Leshawna sees her mum on her stomach, her arms twisted at unnatural angles, a Peacekeeper holding her down, tightening handcuffs around her wrists.
Her dad, writhing in a second peacekeeper's grasp, trying to escape his iron grip. Leshawna watches the Peacekeeper free a hand to reach for his gun, and she kicks into action instinctively.
She launches herself across the room, her hands tightening around the butt of the gun that the Peacekeeper was attempting to swing at her father's head.
Leshawna knocks the gun off-balance, her 10-year-old self not nearly strong enough to disarm a full-grown man. The Peacekeeper turns their attention on Leshawna, and relief at drawing attention away from her dad, lying on the ground, fills her body.
But it's short-lived as she feels an iron blow across the side of her head, sending her sprawling across the wall, making her head spin relentlessly, as she tries to regain her bearings with the dark spots drifting across her eyes.
"Leshawna, don't. Run!" her mum shouts at her, her voice shaking.
Leshawna stands shakily, her thoughts swimming and tangling themselves around each other.
Fuck. Leshawna growls herself mentally, anger coursing through her as she finally calms her mind down enough to find her father again, bracing herself for another attack at his assailant.
He's being dragged away, through the front door, and is thrown unceremoniously into the back of their truck, followed shortly by her mother. The dull thuds ring in her ears as she tries to force herself to run out of the house, towards the truck and her family. But the engine rumbles and they drive off, leaving her standing in the middle of the road, shouting obscenities after them, which only get carried away in the wind.
Hot, angry tears stream down her face, black spots still swimming in front of her eyes, but she tries to push away the foggy feeling in her head. She's still shouting and crying even long after the truck is out of sight, but she can't stop. Her words are all she has. Her words, her books and her parents. That's what she had before. Now she doesn't even have her family.
Leshawna isn't stupid. She knows why her parents were taken, and she knows what the Capitol does to rebels. They aren't getting a slap on the wrist and getting sent home with a gift basket. She knows that the only gift they'll get is a necklace of rope.
As Leshawna watches the spot where they disappeared, she sinks to the ground. She tried so hard to protect them, but in the end, she failed her parents. She failed them.
Maybe now she was the story character she wished so badly she could know.
-o0o-
And here's Leshawna! Thank you so much meepster202 for her, although I do believe that you deleted your account since subbing.
What do you think of Leshawna? How far do you think she'll go in the Games? And how do you think she'll cope with the Games?
I appreciate everyone who's reading, but especially those few of you have been reviewing so far! Next time we'll be in District 5 with Louis Ricter, and don't worry, I pinky promise it's not another Peacekeeper altercation.