Wandering The Streets (Open to anyone)

I’m out for my afternoon run, building up endurance and stamina for when my time finally comes in the arena. I’m wearing a tank top and running shorts, both white of course, with some extremely comfortable white running shoes that my stylist picked out for me. She didn’t do too badly of a job.

As I turn the corner I bump into a girl, pretty tall, but I can’t see her face immediately. Her hair is blonde, but wild. She seems to be in a rush, but when she turns around, I can see the emotion all over her face; It’s anger.

I’ve always been a fan of anger; it’s so useful in training. People like to rely on tactics far too often, but when it’s kill or be killed, it’s all instinct and emotion.

“Oh sorry, how clumsy of me.” Of course, she should have been looking where she was walking.

“Getting ready for the games?” she asks.

I smile, showing the whites of my teeth. I lift one finger to my forehead to wipe a bead of sweat carefully to the ground. Casually, I look to the sun before I speak. I tend to look away when I first begin talking to girls, they tend to get bored if they think I’m interested, and well, I tend to get bored before that actually happens.

“Oh, yes.” I stretch my arm behind my head, pulling at the elbow. I show very little change in my face. I do the other arm in a similar manner, my armpits are clean-shaven; my stylist uses an ointment to remove hair, that way, I’m always smooth, all the time.

“I plan to win the next games, and if not that one, the one after.” I quickly look over the girl to see if she has the body of a career, and it seems that she does. I bring my eyes back to her, finally regarding her presence. I suppose I can do her the favor of talking to her for a little longer before I continue my run.

This time, I keep my eyes on her when she speaks, some of the other girls throw me a few glances, but I don’t feel the need to pay attention. The girl looks into the sun and states her name.

“Well, if you go in thinking you can lose, you already have.” I smile again, trying to get an overall read of this girl, “Our names are only one letter apart,” I mention casually, “I’m Apex.”

I extend my hand for her to shake, my palms relaxed and my fingers slightly curled, just the way I was taught.

Usually people don’t ask how old I am; I guess when you’re of reaping age, it tends to be the only thing that truly matters.

“I just had my sixteenth birthday not too long ago.”

Most people agree that I look older than I really am, a tactic my stylist has been using since I was eleven. My laugh lines around my lips probably don’t help much, but either way, I have to continue the conversation. Short conversations don’t often solicit useful information.

“And yourself?”

I smiled at the man who had just called Alex his daughter. He must not have been the talking type, but if it came down to it, I was ready for action.

“Well sir, I’m Apex White, son of Titan and Pearl White.” I waited a moment to see his reaction. I knew it probably meant nothing to the girl, but to older folks, Titan White was a name worth fearing. My father is very well known for his jewelry exportation company, but he’s also very well known for his wrath. Even the victors of former Games have recognized his violent nature.

Once, a man stole a single ruby from a truck that my father owned. When he was caught, the Peacekeepers tied him to a whipping post and whipped him in front of everybody. When they were done, my father insisted that he whip the man himself. And they let him.

“I was just on my morning run when I bumped into her, I was just making sure she wasn't injured.” My voice was calm and smooth, and I never took my eyes away from his.

The conversation had been slowly dissipating, but the rage I could see in her father's eyes truly interested me. I debated prodding him further, but I decided first to see how he responded.

As soon as the girl was slapped, I reacted. He was a big man, so I would need to target the joints, just as I was taught. I immediately kicked in the back of his knee, a maneuver that would force even the strongest men to kneel. Without a moment’s hesitation, I spun around 270 degrees and delivered a swift chop to his Adam’s apple. He grabbed his neck, giving me just enough time to deliver a final punch to his nose.

In case this wasn’t enough to keep him down for now, I gauged his eyes, and gave him a simple slap, degrading him in front of everybody else. I paused, and he seemed to be regaining himself just a little. The element of surprise gave me an advantage I wouldn’t have for long, so I gave him two quick jabs to each of his eyes. The whole fight took less than twenty seconds.

“I’m sorry sir, but hitting a woman for no reason is just…unacceptable.”

I gave one last kick to the chest to put him on his back. I knew my father would be able to buy my way out of any trouble I got myself into, after all I was defending someone from an abusive father. I have witnesses.

But the girl, I couldn’t be sure how safe she was. Hell, I had just sucker-punched her father, so I wasn’t even sure she wanted to continue speaking to me. In a rare moment of selflessness, I asked her a question, keeping my eyes on the man I had just put on the floor, after all, I’ve seen people get up after being punched in the face three times, kicked in the back of the knee, chopped in the neck, and kicked in the chest…I wasn’t about to be caught off-guard like he was.

“Are you safe with him?”

I sigh. I’m no defender of the innocent, but when somebody does something I don’t like, I handle it. The peacekeepers are coming, but that’s not my biggest worry. The people gathered around are looking at me, waiting for my next move. This is practice for the Games. If I win the public, I’ll win sponsors, and District 1 is full of sponsors.

I nod to myself, and extend my hand out to the girl to help her up. When she’s on her feet, the Peacekeepers are already close by. I hold out my ID to one of them. As he takes it and reads it, I flash a toothy smile and begin to speak.

”The man on the floor struck the girl, I believe he’s done it before, from the way she reacts to him. I simply made sure he didn’t hit the girl again. Not necessarily self-defense…but defense none-the-less.”

I look over at Alex, her face is still red from the slap. The Peacekeepers see this, and I can see they’re coming along to my story.

I look at the head of the Peacekeeper squad, and ask for my ID back. Before he extends his hand, I dig into my pocket, grabbing a good amount of cash. I pretend to shake his hand, slipping the cash into his palms as he slips the ID into mine.

“Titan White would greatly appreciate it if you made sure the father doesn’t continue his abusive behavior.”

He closes his fist and nods, covertly putting the cash back into his pocket. He speaks to the other Peacekeepers, and they take the father away for “questioning”, but I know he’ll be out within a couple of days.

I look around, people are still watching. I turn to Alex, “Are you okay?”