Theon Aspen
Age 17
District Seven Male
They took him from his home, and ripped him away from his little sister, his only family left.
They told him that he was to be transported to the Capitol, that he would be locked in the arena and expected to fight to the death with twenty-three other kids his age.
Theon didn't understand why. He had supported the Capitol, and fought for them during the war. He betrayed everyone he had known in District Seven, he had killed his own family, and burned his own home to the ground, only to be discarded like trash, like the rest of the traitors, in the aftermath.
They had left Theon to be hated, despised, and called a coward to everyone. Even his sister would barely look at him. Theon had tried to enroll in the Peacekeepers, but he was too young. He had tried to get something to compensate for everything but was just told to be grateful he wasn't executed as a traitor himself, as if his service to the Capitol in the last year in the war meant nothing.
Then, to rub salt in the wound, when the mayor drew names from that rusty box, they drew his.
Theon Aspen, Capitol Loyalist and District Traitor was being sent to die in some spectacle that no one quite understood.
They took him to the Capitol in a dirty cattle car and they were dragged off to the Capitol Colosseum the moment they arrived.
Theon was shocked to find an audience in the stadium. The stands were hardly full, but there was enough to generate the thunderous roar of a crowd hungry for blood, overpowering those who merely looked on curiously.
He knew he was supposed to stand on his mark until the bell rang, and when it did, he was to run for the weapons pile, but not much else. Theon was listening to the Peacekeepers as they explained it, but he could barely process it.
Why him? Why did he of all people have to die for the sins of his people?
He was still thinking of that when the buzzer sounded.
And no one moved.
Theon looked around, expecting someone to make a move, someone to rush for the pile, but no one did. Some stood still defiantly. Others were frozen in terror. The bloodthirsty onlookers began to boo. The curious ones started to leave.
For a moment, Theon wondered what would happen if no one moved. Would the Capitol just call the whole thing off? Send everyone home? Or would they just shoot them all and be done with it?
It didn't take long for Theon to get his answer. The crowd was silenced by a single gunshot. It echoed through the coliseum, causing Theon's ears to ring.
A girl nearby, the girl whose name was pulled from that rusty box alongside him, collapsed. Theon's eyes went wide as he saw the blood staining her back and the floor around her, the color draining from her face as she clawed at the ground, then her eyes turning to glass.
The boy next to her, from One, Theon guessed, screamed in terror. "No! No! You can't-"
Another gun was fired, and that boy was gone too.
Theon felt his heart sink when it dawned on him what he had to do. The Peacekeepers were going to gun them down one by one until there was either one left, or until they fought.
Theon could have waited to be the lucky one, but there were twenty-four of them, twenty-two now, and given how things had been going for him lately, Theon knew he couldn't be that lucky.
Not to mention, if no one fought, there was no guarantee any of them would get to live.
Someone had to survive this.
Theon decided that it would be him. He would show the Capitol that he was loyal and would fight like they commanded.
Surely, that would prove to them that he was not just some lowlife from the districts. The people in the stands, he fought for them, he sacrificed for them.
It was time he reminded them of that.
Theon took a deep breath and charged for the center of the weapons pile, where an axe lay, ready to be used.
Ready to be stained with blood.
Theon's run seemed to wake up everyone else who still lived, as they began to either panic, run away, or follow Theon's lead.
The crowd cheered as Theon grabbed the axe and swung it at the neck of the nearest girl.
He liked to think they were cheering for him when she crumbled to the ground, clawing at the gash that went down to the bone.
Theon allowed himself to slip back into the mindset he had during the war, during the battle in District Seven: kill or be killed, him or them.
Order or destruction.
When the dust settled, Theon would be surrounded by corpses with more blood on his hands, but he would be the last one standing. He would see his little sister again. He would finally get the respect he deserved.
He refused to have it any other way.
Sooo... I needed to expel a plot bunny...and well, I did a thing. For the record, this is a project that I will be updating very slowly, as I have the inspiration to do so. Like, very very slowly. I'm still working on A Single Moment, don't worry! I have two POVs left, and then we can be like Nemo and get on the train! Updates will be slow this month since I'm moving soon, but I figured I give something to tide y'all over!
This is a project I've been considering doing for a while. The character who would become Theon was originally thought up right around the time I started Cursebreaker. When I thought of who to crown my first Victor, I decided to go against the grain and make him from District Seven. I also made him a loyalist, because there was no way in hell Petty Dr. Gaul would allow a rebel to win. Loyalists were put into the first Hunger Games so that one of them could win and show who the superior side was, even though I guarantee the loyalist kids in that arena do NOT see it that way.
Rest assured, Theon will finally get the respect he wants...but it will take a good ten years for him to get it.
