Hope Keeps the Heart from Breaking [open]

~Crucis Greenlaw

For a while, things had been quiet along my stretch of beach. I hadn't run into any other people or even sea gulls, which was a welcome change to such a mellow morning. As the wind blew through my brown hair, and failed to cut through my black coat, I was able to enjoy it further without the annoyance of chilly weather. All there was for me was the chirping of birds, the lapping of ocean, the beige sand, and the taste of salt on the breeze that I loved more with every day.

There came a thought of my father working on a fishing ship, and being surrounded by what I loved more than anything. The delicate little vessel rocking atop the waves, but the balanced men working on through. With calloused hands they would stretch out their rope nets and carry each end to opposite sides of the boat. Then on the count of three they would toss it into the water with a splash. Little buoys atop the nets would keep tit floating, and the men would prepare a crane to be lifting it back up in their harvest of the sea. I imagined him, tan and strong face with a salty beard and the proudest look on his face as they brought in the biggest catch of the day for a second time. How great it must be...

My daydreaming was soon interrupted, however, as I realized that I wasn't quite alone here.

I heard her before I saw her; she made crunching sounds with her sneakers as she stepped down the shore. She'd covered distance much more quickly than I'd been as I strode leisurely in the sand. When she spoke, I paused, and turned to face her. I threw on what was supposed to be a friendly smile to greet this new person that I'd encountered.

"Hi... I guess?" I replied, a tad confused, "I s'pose the weather's alright. A tad chilly with the breeze coming off of the water... windy."

I fell quiet for a moment as I attempted to evaluate the person in front of me. She didn't seem that malicious, and that was probably the furthest from the truth. It was far too strong of a word to describe this nervous girl in front of me. If anything... maybe friendly? No. Just awkward and polite. Or she was just putting up some sort of act to fool me and in turn make me make a fool of myself. Ok now I'm thinking too hard... or not?

I hadn't realized the long pause that I'd taken until then, and I spoke faster as if to make up for it, "I was just taking a little but of a walk, y'know." I release a nervous chuckle. "Usually don't see much more than careers or gulls down here. But I guess they're pretty much the same thing, right?"

There, a joke! She couldn't think that I'm a complete idiot since I made a joke. Or it was a bad one and she was going to laugh at me and push me into the ocean. Oh, elementary school memories, stay out of this!

Ghost had been sitting on the beach making his makeshift spear. The shaft was made out of a plant that looked similar to bamboo and had a similar flexibility to bamboo, yet wasn't bamboo. He had made a strong rope over the last few days that he had stayed near the district out of the local flora found in the forest and was currently lashing his partially serrated knife to one end of the shaft. He pulled tight as he finished the last wrap and tied it off before standing up and walking into the water, his shirt and jacket farther up on the beach with his towel leaving him barefoot with no shirt and black pants.

He waded into the water and stood there, watching the fish beneath him just swim around his legs. With a lightning fast reflex, his arm jerked forwards, sending the knife into the water and through a considerably large fish. Unfortunately for him, the fish was stronger than he thought and he had missed anything vital, pissing it off. It swam off, pulling him off of his feet and under the water, dragging him under the water for a few minutes before he was able to get the knife out of the injured fish. He looked around the water and found that he was still in some shallow water, though he was still just barely submerged standing up on the bottom.

Ghost turned himself horizontal and began to swim to shallower water before he stood up out of the water. He shook his rust brown hair, sending water out in all directions while he held onto his makeshift spear. The water felt good...it just wasn't what he needed right now. He needed to feed two mouths tonight like every night. It was just then that he sensed the presence of some other people and looked to the shore which wasn't that far from him.

There were two kids, not much older than when he had decided to take up arms against the capitol. He looked at the boy and girl with his bright green eyes, one shadowed by a scar on his right jaw. On his left arm was a tribal patterned tattoo made of black ink made from natural ingredients in the forest. He was very muscular and intimidating at six foot one. He rested the spear on his shoulder and held out his left hand in greeting.

"Hello there!" He called out to them. "Nice day for a walk, isn't it?"

He Does,He Says,He Hears,He Thinks


~Crucis Greenlaw

I guess Irene wasn't nearly as willing to be welcoming of this new person as I was, not that I could blame her. He was pretty intimidating, and even I could feel a sense of guardedness around this older male. I could barely defend myself against guys my own age, so how am I supposed to defend against this huge guy here? I scratched the back of my head nervously, and gave a soft chuckle when I heard my new companion's next words.

"So..what was your name again? I'd just like to know in case I survive the next five minutes and you don't I'll have something to tell the authorities." she asked, and I could practically smell the fear on her like it was sweat.

"Crucis Greenlaw, but know that if either of us are leaving with their skin, it's probably me," I replied with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

It really didn't take long for him to close the distance between us in order to talk. He didn't seem to approach with any bad intentions, which at least made me a little more comfortable in front of him. Beside me was Nervous Nelly, and I couldn't help but feel like she was overreacting at least a little bit. Who knows. Maybe I'm the strange one who talks to strangers. Isn't that something that adults tell us not to do when we're little? Meh. They also told us not to swear, but that doesn't stop us.

When the stranger finally arrived he offered his hand to me, and spoke, "The name's Kurt, but everyone calls me Ghost."

Having accepted this stranger's hand, I then nodded, and felt a little less anxious around him. Polite enough it seemed, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to continue the conversation, "Ghost, huh? Well I'm Crucis... and this is... Irene, right? We actually just ran into each other on the beach ourselves. You don't look like you're from around here, though."

I fidgeted a little as I was able to get a better look at him, and he really didn't look like he was from these parts. He looked too strong to be from District 4. People here were strong, but their strength was formed out of desire for it. Looking at him, he seemed to have developed it more out of necessity. Muscle from living a hard life, and not a life in a gym or running in the sand. But the universe loves to prove me wrong sometimes.

Ghost looked at them both. They were so...innocent. They weren't like him who had the blood of multiple peacekeepers and spies on his hands. Compared to them...he was a monster. But to survive in the world of freedom...you had to become a monster or else you would be snatched up and either killed or turned into an Avox. To live, you had to fight back. Never back down and protect the morals of the old country. The only one that he knew was freedom and that was enough to fight for for him. He wanted to be free and for the other citizens to be free.

He looked up at the boy who had just begun to speak. "Ghost, huh? Well I'm Crucis... and this is... Irene, right? We actually just ran into each other on the beach ourselves. You don't look like you're from around here, though," The boy said to him. He shrugged a bit and looked at him and then the girl spoke up.

"N-nice to meet you g-ghost. I'm Irene."

Ghost sighed and looked at her. "Everyone acts like this around me. For once I would like someone to actually not freak out. But I guess that's what I get for being a fighter and not a talker." He couldn't be healed with just simple words, he had always been one to take action. He had so much blood on his hands and he knew that it would affect him one day. But that wouldn't be today. Maybe when there was no fighting to be done and his goal was achieved, he would try to settle down somewhere and if he didn't find Dwyn, he would settle down with someone else. He immediately pushed those thoughts away.

"Anyways...to answer your question Crucis...I am not from the district. No, I am not a serial killer, but I do get into scuffles with deer every once in a while...and the occasional...umm...peacekeeper? But I haven't in two years." There. He had said it. The blood was on his hands. "But you would probably feel that way towards them if they just came one night when you were young, held them in front of you, and slit my parents throats, spilling their blood onto me when I was only thirteen and leaving them to die while I tried to wake up my parents who were never coming back."