Charlie Opasion District 8 | | FIN

    "What do you mean? Why aren't you coming with me Mommy?" "I'm sorry Charlie, Papa and I have got to go but just know we will always love you." Then they left me sitting there under the bridge. A seven year old me handed over to two men who I now know as Rick and Hanson, both lead gang members like my parents were. The only differences between that day and now is the fact I know my parents were killed that night by Peace Keepers. Also that I now am making my way up in the gang community. Speaking of the gang and my parents it really is a very interesting system. Of course we are highly secretive due to Peace Keepers constantly looking out for gangs and uprisings. Yet still we have found a way to make it work, in fact my parents created the system. Each week certain meet locations are picked but the deal is we only allow a certain amount of people in that one area to avoid attention. So far it works, even with people going to different locations on different days we just look like different groups all together. Now don't get us wrong, these spots aren't just out in the open they are highly secluded and whenever we catch wind of Peace Keepers catching on we dissolve a spot all together. Sure the system is rugged but it works. If the Peace Keepers knew the true amount of members in the gang we would be in serious trouble thanks to the fact that nearly 100 citizens in one organization would be killed on sight. However though we make it work with our numbers. We never go above 95 and we always have at least five heads to maximum efficiency. Also in all honesty we aren't a horrible gang. We don't talk about rebellion or shit, we simply steal now and then because we have to. None of us have anyone who cares about us, not to mention finding/maintaining jobs can be quite hard for many of us. We are the social outcasts and that's just the way we are. Also if you were wondering, yes we lose people all the time but its better than being without a family. Luckily I have been able to avoid detection simply because I choose to lie lower than some of the others, but hey when they are dead and I am alive I know I am right. 

    Everyone in the gang knows me as char standing for Charlie and charcoal since I am a pyromaniac. I have been setting fire ever since I was nine. The way they burn so brightly and how different each fire is from the last one I light is such an easy way to get lost from the world. To ignore the fact that my parents are dead and no one truly loves me. Its nice to just sit back and watch the flames dance as they burn away the thoughts of grief deep within the hollows of my mind. So I have just kept lighting fires after fires. Place after place. One method of lighting after another. All just to illuminate the darkness that hangs permanently over him.

    Sadly though I am not as vibrant socially as the flames in which I light all throughout the district. In fact I am quite the opposite. Its not that I am shy, I'm not at all since you really can't be in a gang community. If you are well then you are as good as dead. The thing when I am at school or in public is that I just prefer to keep to myself. I don't want to talk to anyone else. Maybe its the fact that I am afraid of growing too close to anyone ever again or maybe I just am afraid of letting people see who I really am. Either way I always end of being the boy in the corner of the rooms, always alone.

    However, for the few who do claim to know me better than most know that I actually really enjoy art. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, besides my fires of course. Yet I do really enjoy seeing all the bright and colorful things the world has to offer. Such as the amazing colored shipments of clothes I see being moved to go to the capitol every morning at the train yards. Sure I would never wear the clothes myself but I do love seeing all the amazing different styles.

    As for my personal style, well its rather limited due to my current occupation. As much as I would love to have a whole array of different outfits to choose from I simply don't. All I have are two identical black leather jackets which I am practically required to wear one at all times. Two identical black t-shirts, two blue jeans, and the same pair of dark grey running shoes. I know the style and variation isn't the best but it beats freezing any time which apparently runs rampant in other parts of Panem.

    Now as for the real me beneath the clothes. I have a sort of light brown bush of hair upon my head that I attempt to comb to the right every morning, attempt being the key word. My mother always complimented me on my gorgeous amber eyes but to me they simply look like rotting squash to match my oddly formed nose. I never was very attractive to myself and I would bet that the other boys agree. I'm also not very short since I am about 5'10 right now which suits my relatively defined muscles which I have gained slowly over my time with the gang.

    Currently I am the "leader" of the younger members of the gang, mostly due to the fact that my parents were past heads. Yet I don't dislike being in charge either. Just a month or so ago Rick and Hanson put me in charge of group of the younglings to go and rob a small store. Luckily the operation went smoothly and no one got hurt but I did have to burn one of the kids names Ashton. He was about to jeopardize the entire mission by setting of the alarm for Ripred knows what reason but I got to him in time. Needless to saw I wasn't very kind when I stabbed his arm with a match I lit. However, I'm not sure if I should be worried that my act of violence didn't even phase me.

    Other than school I never do anything else besides hide out with the gang. Some of my acquaintances at school always ask me where my friends and family are but I never tell them. I won't lie and say that they are simply not around. I'm not about that shit, honesty is important to me since its all I can carry on from my parents. Apparently they were the most honest people the gang ever knew. I guess I sort of hold myself to a higher standard because of them. For example when I was ten I should have gotten expelled from my first school since I told a teacher I wanted to stab her, luckily they can't really expel since there are hardly any schools in the district anyway. Yet I did get a pretty hefty detention sentence. But anyway back to the point, within all fairness I didn't stab her but she did ask if I wanted to hurt her and I was honest with her. Apparently I was a little too honest. Oh well I didn't need her anyway, just like my parents didn't need me, even if they were trying to protect me they could have at least told me so I wouldn't have stayed up for a mother straight waiting for them to come back for me; but oh well, parents suck so why would I even want them...