Chapter 2:
District Eight
Rhiannon Collier, 17
One Year Before
"At this time, we will now hear closing statements from both sides, starting with the prosecution."
Inja Bronimir, the woman who has haunted Rhiannon every night in her sleep over the days of this trial, steps forward, smug look on her face as she gets ready to address the judge. Only someone as cruel as that woman would find joy in trying to sentence Rhiannon to life in jail, all because she was trying to protect herself and her brothers. "Esteemed Judge Aina, I am here before you today asking for justice on behalf of a man who couldn't be here today. A man whose life was cut short by one of the very people he selflessly brought into his home. A man who was murdered in cold blood by Rhiannon Collier."
Rhiannon can feel her whole body tense up at her accusation, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. This trial has forced her to reopen every wound in her from that awful night over and over again, see the pictures of the crime scene again, ensuring that the bloody aftermath will forever be burned into her brain. Her lawyer Rochus puts a hand on her shoulder, silently giving her support and urging her to remain quiet. He'd coached her before all of this started, told her all about the ways that Inja would try to provoke her into an outrage to prove to the judge that she's a threat to District Eight.
"Sappho Glaucus was a man in his forties," Inja says as she paces in front of the judge, hands behind her back. "He had taken in many foster children over the years and had never had any issues. He was willing to take in all four of the Collier children so they would no longer be apart after eight years of being separated. He dedicated over a decade of his life to fostering children."
"The defense has claimed that there was willful neglect, yet why is there no documentation of this within the foster system?" Inja tells the judge, giving her an expectant look at her rhetorical question. "Because you can't report neglect that was non-existent. Instead, we should be questioning why these children have been in and out of numerous foster homes in the last eight years. Surely it is because of the children, not the foster parents. After all, what should we expect from the children of two religious fanatics that killed themselves in a suicide pact?"
"We would expect exactly what happened to Sappho Glaucus," Inja says sadly, pausing to put her head down in a moment of mourning. "Sappho Glaucus was attacked by the four Collier children one evening, unprovoked by them. The eldest boy tried to kill him first and when Sappho defended himself, Rhiannon and the others attacked too. The defense claims that Sappho attacked first, but why would a man who has gone out of his way to take in these four children attack them? A person acting in defense would stab someone once and then get to safety, if that," Inja says as she turns her gaze over to Rhiannon. "A murderer would stab an innocent man nineteen times."
"That is why I am asking you today for justice for Sappho, a man who is no longer with us," Inca turns her focus back to the judge. "I am asking for a life sentence for Rhiannon Collier for the murder of Sappho Glaucus."
Rhiannon wants to scream at Inja for the awful things she's said, scream about her neglecting the fact that her older brother Teo was murdered that night, all because he was trying to get food for their family after that awful man denied them food all day. What about her brother Levi who has to live the rest of his life blind from the gunshot wound to the head? Or little Otto who has seen more trauma in his less than ten years of life than most people see in their entire lifetime? She was protecting them. If she hadn't done something…Rhiannon is almost certain all three of them would have been dead along with Teo.
"Very well, we will now here from the defense."
Rhiannon gives Rochus a pleading look as he stands up, silently begging him to protect her and save her from life in prison. "Thank you Judge Aina for taking the time to hear Rhiannon's case," Rochus begins, giving another look back at Rhiannon. "For a moment, I would like you to imagine that you are eight years old and you come home from school one day, just to learn that both of your parents had committed suicide. From that point forward, you would constantly be moved from home to home, often separated from your brothers, the only family you had left. That is the life that Rhiannon has lived in her short sixteen years. The Collier family is one that has had a life of tragedy. When things finally started to look up for the children and they were reunited, it turned sour quickly."
"Only three of the four Collier children are here today," Rochus says, turning to look at Rhiannon and where her two brothers sit silently behind her. "Their eldest brother Theodore was murdered by Sappho while trying to get some food for his younger siblings. All the reports from the foster system stated how underweight the children were following this incident. How does that happen in a home with a man who was supposed to care for them? How does one child end up dead, one blinded, and one forced to take a life to save herself and brothers?"
"Rhiannon Collier was a brave girl who stood up to a man who she had just witnessed the murder of her brother," Rochus shakes his head and turns his head down as Rhiannon fights back her tears, so desperately wishing her older brother was still with her today. If she had just been a little faster in getting to the kitchen, or maybe if she had gone to get the food instead, this all could have been different… "She saved three lives that evening but must forever live with the trauma of what she had to do to save herself and brothers."
"I am asking for you to show some sympathy for a young girl who has been through more in her life than most people," Rochus tells the judge. "I am asking you to see that her act was done in self-defense and to preserve what little family she had left. Please don't tear apart a family that has already been broken enough."
Rochus returns to his seat and Rhiannon tries to smile at him, struggling with the trauma that keeps getting reopened in her. "Thank you," she whispers to him, silently hoping that everything he's done will be enough.
"Thank you both for your statements," Judge Aina tells them, bringing everyone's focus to her. She folds her hands in front of her as she looks at Rhiannon, who can feel a pit in her stomach forming before the judge has even spoken anything. She can just tell it will not be good… "Rhiannon Collier, you have undeniable been through a lot in your life. No child should have to witness their brother be killed by someone who offered to protect them and then have to defend themselves. However, you asked to be tried as an adult, and so I must treat you as such."
"You acted under legitimate and grounded fear for your lives, but I cannot deny that you took a man's life and went too far," Judge Aina continues and Rhiannon becomes frozen in place from the fear in her. "You are guilty of second degree murder as this was not a premeditated murder and you will be sentenced to thirty years in prison."
The bang of the gavel closing the case rings in Rhiannon's ears, joining the gunshots in haunting her, as her whole body starts to numb. She barely registers the sobs from her two brothers as the Peacekeepers come over to her and handcuff her. She lets them lead her away with no protest, no tears falling down her cheeks as she's put through the process of checking into prison. She doesn't let the tears fall, refusing to let herself shatter in the place where she is surrounded by people who have done much worse crimes than her killing to protect her family. If she doesn't cry or let herself feel anything…maybe she can keep herself from completely shattering apart. Once finally thrown into the cold harsh cell, Rhiannon curls up in the corner, holding her legs to her chest as she stares at the blank wall that will hold her for most of her life… Yet she feels nothing. She doesn't cry or scream or yell at how unfair this all is, just…emptiness.
Guilty. The word echoes in her head long into the night, reminding her over and over of everything she has just lost. And when the nightmares finally take over and push her into the first restless night of many, one thought echoes in her head.
Sappho might not have killed Rhiannon that night, but he certainly killed the girl she was.
Kazuyuki Ikeda, 14
Two Weeks Before
Despite the late hour pushing curfew, Kazu wasn't really worried walking home late. He's done this too many times to count, knows all the places to dodge any shifty people. Not like he isn't safe out in Eight, it's been improved ever since Clark's victory. Besides, what's life without a little bit of danger in it? He whistles to himself as he passes another alleyway, not even bothering to glance down it. But he soon realizes that was a mistake when a hand reaches out and pulls him in.
"What the fuck?!" Kazu yells as he tries to push the hands off of him but another boy grabs him as they shove him against the brick wall. One puts their arm on his neck, enough to make it a little difficult to breath as the leader puts her face up to Kazu's. "Let me go, Mariya!"
Mariya clicks her tongue at his statement and shakes her head as she looks down to pick at her nails with her pocket knife. Kazu stops struggling against their hold as he stares at the knife – he's reckless, but not dumb enough to fight against them when their leader has a knife. "Oh, Kazuyuki, did you really think you could keep running free?" Mariya looks up at him, the older teen giving him a sickeningly sweet smile as she plays with the black star pendent she wears, the symbol of her gang. "You've been gambling away and racking up a debt with my gang and it is collection day."
Kazu really doesn't believe she has what it takes to back herself up. Everyone knows their gang has withered away over the years, becoming a former shell of themselves. Where they once pulled off great heists over thirty years ago, they now are involved in petty crimes. Like gambling. "And what if I don't pay up?" he asks her, curious what threat she'll make that she won't follow through with.
Mariya tilts her head for a moment, contemplating just how she will threaten him, which just makes Kazu believe even more she can't back up what she's telling him. "We'll make sure those drugs your sister has been buying are laced with something else."
Kazu couldn't help but scoff at that. "You're delusional. You really expect me to believe that Yoshiko is doing drugs? Studious, stick up her ass Yoshiko? Yeah right."
"Either you pay up or you find out for yourself the hard way," Mariya shrugs at him, looking so casual, even when she suddenly moves and presses her knife against his cheek. Not enough to draw blood, but certainly enough for him to feel the sharpness of it. "You have one month to get me that money."
Kazu starts to nod his head, before realizing that would be a bad idea with a knife pressed to his cheek. "I can't get you the money if you have me in a hold like this so let me go."
Mariya moves her knife and gives the cheek a couple slaps before stepping back, avoiding Kazu trying to hit her hand away. Her boys let him go and Kazu rubs his neck, wondering if there will be a bruise there tomorrow. "Good chat, Kazuyuki. I'll see you soon, I'm sure."
Kazu watches them leave the alley and him behind, and he stands there for a few minutes as the adrenaline starts to fade away and he's left realizing just what happened.
Fuck.
Kazu enters the house quietly, knowing how late it was. Normally he doesn't give a damn about making noise and disrupting his family, but today… Well today he's realized he might have fucked up a little bit.
For so long, he didn't care what consequences he faced. He skipped class without a care to go seek out thrills in the District. He stayed out late, way later than he should at his age, yet didn't care. Yet he might have finally pushed things too far, past a point where throwing a punch can get them to back off for now. These consequences might be something he can't necessarily get out of. Not without some money. And Kazu knows that he would never let himself live it down if he let his family get hurt because of his bullshit. Even if he does get this debt paid off, he's never going to forget about their threat. And he will make sure someday they pay for it.
Kazu did his best to keep his steps quiet as he went up the stairs – skipping the third step that always squeaks loudly – to make it to the second floor where both his parents' bedroom and his father's study are. But why is he even bothering to sneak around? What's it to him if they know where he's going? …It's not just him though. If they catch him and don't let him get this money…they'll all be in deep shit.
He takes a deep breath as he stops in front of the study door, waiting for a moment to verify his father's snoring from the room across the hall. Thank fuck his father has a consistent schedule and sticks to it, otherwise Kazu would never get away with this shit time and time again.
Kazu slowly enters the study and doesn't fully shut the door, worried about the sound of it latching. His father didn't even try to hide where he stashed away his savings, just sitting there on the shelf behind his desk. Does he really expect Kazu not to take it? Well, he did, because he still insists that someday, Kazu is going to wise up and actually care about school and he'll want money to go to university.
Education, gambling…Kazu knows which one is the more enjoyable way to spend his money.
Kazu holds back the chuckle to himself at how easy this is as he makes his way over to the box. His father could have at least made it a bit more challenging, more of a thrill as he hunted down the money. Oh well. But when Kazu opens up the box and stares inside it, he holds his breath as a shiver of fear runs down his spine.
Where did all the money go?!
"What are you doing?"
Kazu jumps at the voice and quickly puts the box behind his back as he turns to face his sister. "Fuck off, I'm not doing anything, what are you doing?"
Yoshiko gives him a knowing look and Kazu tries not to get annoyed that he was caught. "What are you doing in dad's money stash?"
"I'm not doing anything!" Kazu tells her, his voice raising a little in anger as he remembers the threat Mariya gave him. He points a finger at his sister in accusation and she raises her eyebrows in surprise. "You've been stealing his money too! And to…to buy drugs!"
Yoshiko shakes her head quickly at the accusation, but from the flush of her cheeks, he knows it's true. "I do no such thing!"
"Oh really?" Kazu crosses his arms at her. "Then why are you in dad's study while he's asleep?" Yoshiko sighs in defeat at this and Kazu knows he's in deep shit if he doesn't figure out a way to pay off his debt to Mariya. He can't sit back and knowingly let his older sister get hurt because of his recklessness. "Damn it, I wanted her to be wrong!"
"Who?" Yoshiko asks as she moves over to the box that Kazu is guarding.
"It's nearly empty," Kazu tells her quietly and he could see her face paling at the thought of not having money. Shit, how did he not notice this sooner? Because he was too busy getting into his own trouble. "If I don't pay back my debt to Mariya, she's going to make sure whatever drugs you get are laced with something that will hurt you. I really didn't believe her threat was actually true!"
His sister sits down on their father's desk, looking ashamed of herself. She put her head in her hands and shook it, refusing to look at Kazu. "I'm sorry, Kazu… I didn't mean to drag you into this."
"I didn't mean to drag you into it either," Kazu answers quietly as he sits next to her, feeling his anger towards her getting into drugs slip away and be replaced with deep concern for her. He has to get the money now, somehow…and then he is going to make Mariya pay for threatening him and his sister. "I'll get the money."
"How?" Yoshiko asks, picking up her head to look at him with tearstained eyes. "How did you even spend it in the first place?"
"Gambling with Mariya's gang," Kazu says with a grimace.
"You do love your card games," Yoshiko chuckles a little bit at that and Kazu gets a small smile, but it doesn't last very long. "Just please don't do anything reckless that will get yourself hurt just to get some money."
"I can make no promises there."
And we have District Eight! Big thank yous to TheMayflyProject and Yugi-Smallymcsmall for Rhiannon and Kazu respectively! I had fun with them and I'm looking forward to what they'll get up to!
Now that you've seen two of the intros, any new guesses on the order? If you know, you'll know, but it's okay if you don't lol XD It's a convoluted reason that makes sense only for me. But I'm having fun with the surprise of which District will be next! There's also a little easter egg in this chapter for people familiar with some of my other stories, I'm curious if people recognize it.
RQ #2: On a scale of 1 to 10, how emo are these two going to make Clark when he has to mentor them?
Alright, that's all I have to say! Hopefully I'll see you soon with the third District, but as of now, I don't have anything written so we'll see lol. Here's to hoping motivation strikes XD See ya!