Kraygon Truus D10 {done}

For the first time in his entire life, Kraygon understood the meaning of helplessness. It started the night before the reaping when him and his cousin Esme ended up in a horrible fight. Thinking about it now it was completely stupid, but none of the words spoken were capable of being taken back. The sword sliced through the air cutting deeply into his cousin the moment he said 'I hate you.' Watching her storm out of the room crying her eyes out cut him worse than any sword was capable of, and he let her go. He didn't call for her to come back because he didn't feel like it. She deserved those words, but in all reality nobody deserved to hear those words. Guilt consumed him each eating away at his insides, but he was stubborn, and he refused to apologize. Anger ate at him boiling away his insides like he literally swallowed a match on fire.

Bitterness and hatred stayed within his veins burning him to the bone. He didn't even remember what she had said to make him so angry. All the anger, hatred, and bitterness was washed away by a tidal wave in a split second. Kraygon never thought two words could change his life forever, but they did. "Esme Truus!" Her name, out of everyone else in the district, was called out for the reaping. A fourteen year old kid who didn't even stand over five foot didn't stand a chance in the arena against a bunch of bloodthirsty animals. The moment the reaping was over, he ran from the square as fast as he could. He couldn't bare the thought of her being shipped away to her death. Silent tears slid down his cheeks as distanced himself from the crowd. Families cheered that their children were safe another year, but his family? They hid themselves in darkness.

The last words Esme would ever hear from him was those three unforgivable words. Kraygon wanted to apologize to her, but he couldn't find it within himself. Pride stood in his way more than he ever thought possible. As much as he tried to push it away, he couldn't. He didn't want to look her in the face and say goodbye because goodbye meant she was leaving forever. Words formed in his mind, but he couldn't make them make sense. He tried thinking of ways, but he couldn't make anything happen. Sorry wasn't a word on his mind, but deep inside he felt horrible. Even the stars dancing in the night sky on a cloudless night would change his mind. Stubborn wasn't something he ever imagined. The sound of his feet pounding against the ground was muted by the sound of the cows mooing in the distance, and one of those cows was Esme's cow, Cowie.

When he looked at that cow, all he could see was the face of himself staring back at him. Kraygon Truus was a coward, and nothing would ever change it. His shaggy blonde hair wasn't blonde enough to change him. He always enjoyed the color of his hair because everyone in the Truus family matched, but right now he hated it. No matter the relationship, the hair was always blonde. Most the Truus' had blonde hair blue eyes. One thing that set him apart from the rest of his family, was his eyes. He received his mother's brown eyes. The iris was the color of a cow patty that had just fell to the ground. Most wouldn't describe one's eyes that way, but it was the only way for anyone to understand. His skin was about as white as the white spots on the cow. Yeah, he spent a lot of time in the sun, but he struggled with getting a darker skin tone. Usually the sun turned him as red as a tomato, but that didn't stop him from doing what he enjoyed the most.

"Oh, Cowie." The words were quiet as his eyes started deceiving him. Tears fell at a rapid pace. "What have I done?" The entire world felt as though it stopped moving. His stomach twisted into knots as he rested his head against the cow's back, and he started remembering about the life he had before his family was torn apart forever. He would never forget the excitement he felt when Esme was brought into the world. The two of them were inseparable, and as they grew older together, they started working together. Kraygon was quickly developing his father's short temper, though, but he never let that get in the way of his relationship with his cousin. When there was a job needing done on the farm, both of them would work together to get it done. He'd never forget the time he left the fence open to the cows, and they got out. His only saving grace at that time was his father wasn't home. The both of them chased the cows down forever until every last one of them was rounded up and counted for.

That was a great day as the relationship between the cousins grew closer with each every passing day. All the cows ended up back in the fence and the gate shut just as his father arrived home. He questioned why they both were out of breath, and Kraygon could only laugh. "Oh, we just thought we'd play a game of chase." He could tell by how his father looked at him that something wasn't right, but he went along with it. It was left at that. No questions were ever asked about the incident again, and it made him happy. His father's trust was growing stronger each and every day. The next day Kraygon was awarded with a goat of his own. The goat was so tiny like Esme was when she was first born. "Now, you know son, I'll help you take care of it, but she's your responsibility. You understand that?" He nodded his head in understand. An eight year old kid was starting his career of farming off to a good start. Every night, he'd carry a bale of hay from the supply barn to the stable where his goat was staying. His arms became buff from all the work, and it was perfect. He was strong on the outside, but right now he was falling apart. His cousin, his sister, his partner in crime was taken away, and the last thing he said was I hate you.

He remembered the moment he got his first pig. Kraygon was lucky compared to Esme in a way because his parents allowed him more animals at a younger age, and only a year ago, Esme received Cowie. By that time, they both enjoyed taking care of animals. Between the two of them, the animals lived an amazing life. So he did what he knew best. Kraygon ran through the fence herding the cattle. It wasn't the same without his cousin by his side, but it was something to distract himself, and in the blink of an eye, his family arrived. "Kraygon?" His heart dropped into his stomach melting in the stomach acid, and a horrible bile substance flew into his mouth. He half expected the voice of her, but he remembered she wouldn't return home tonight. He knew deep inside that she would never return home, but he refused to believe it. "Kraygon?" His head turned towards the voice only to find his mother standing near the fence. "Can you milk Cowie? Your aunt and uncle promised Esme they'd cook her favorite meal, and I thought it would be nice if we all ate together."

Cowie wasn't his cow, and the only time he milked her was when Esme was sick, but he owed it to her. Shortly after she arrived home the rest of the family arrived behind her. Aunt Vanessa was obviously in distress, and Uncle Stanley wasn't looking too good himself. So Kraygon did the one thing he could think of. "How 'bout we all share good memories of Esme? She ain't dead yet, but maybe we could end tonight in smiles. I think she'd like that." A small smile spread across his face because he wanted to ease the heartache, but no words can't describe anything right now. Surprisingly, they all agreed to it. He quickly milked the cow, and they all started cooking her favorite meal, and instead of eating at the kitchen table, Kraygon started a simple fire outside, and they all gathered around. "I think I'll go first. I got a lot of stories to share." Nobody declined his offer, but it wasn't that easy. The inside of him felt empty, hollow, like someone had just gutted him like he gutted those pigs. He took a deep breath, and slowly began speaking.

"One day, Esme and myself were outside having fun. We had just finished feeding the cows, pigs, and goats, and we decided we'd play around. So we got a rope out of the barn, and we tied it to one of the cows. I grabbed a hold of the rope, and Esme accidentally spooked the cow, and it took off running. I was dragged around behind it. I was screaming for her to help, but she couldn't keep up with the cow. She kept running after it, but the cow was too fast. My hand got tied in the rope, and I couldn't let go, and that cow dragged me through a pile of cow patties. It stunk like something horrible. When I finally got free from the cow, I went over and looked in a small water puddle in the barn. We both started laughing so hard 'cause I had cow patties smashed against my face. The brown mixed in with my hair. I'm prudy sure some of it was in my eyes 'cause they burnt, and that was all I could smell for days. 'Twas a funny experience." He busted out laughing as he finished talking, and the rest of the family joined in. It was nice for something like that to happen, especially now, and they kept talking until everyone had a full belly and smiles spread all around the family.

Kraygon grabbed his glass of water. He raised it high into the sky. "To Esme." And he drank it in honor of her. The rest of the family follow suit. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. He stood up next to his parents, and hugged them both tightly. "Don't worry, Kraygon. I know it seems like she doesn't stand a chance, but she does. We'll just have to wait and see." And that was what Kraygon has done. He was waiting and watching. Never once did he plan on leaving the town square not until he knew his sister's cousin's fate.

Forever - and ever
the scars will remain
I'm falling apart
Leave me here forever in the dark

Song: Give me a Sign - Breaking Benjamin
Cousin to Esme Truus
Word count: 1806
Codeword: oDair