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inbetweeners - d12, train
Jan 31, 2024 12:57:31 GMT -5
Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jan 31, 2024 12:57:31 GMT -5
X O V t h a o
Seconds after Xov’s parents were ushered out of the room, the Peacekeepers were leading her to the train. They didn’t waste time rounding these kids up, that was certain. Their grip on both her biceps as she was led out of the room was courteous enough to be even more unnecessary, because she followed without argument. To think about the death that might await her on the other side felt like a curse in itself, so instead she thought about how she had never been on a train before.
Once she was on the train, she was free to roam, or as free as she could be under the circumstances. Another in-between place, not really a place, though at least it smelled better than the Justice Building. Her steps felt uncertain on the patterned carpet as she traversed the narrow hallways, looking for the room where she was supposed to meet her “team.”
When she found it, the compartment door slid open at the slightest touch, causing her to jump. Xov entered cautiously and took a seat near the window. She was the first one there, and hoped she hadn’t somehow picked the wrong place.
This was another world from the rustic cottage along the river where she’d grown up. One of those high-speed trains that probably went a hundred miles an hour, although Xov couldn’t even begin to picture how fast that was. Her closest reference was… a bicycle, maybe? She and her siblings had always biked or walked everywhere.
Brakes screeching as they lifted, the train rolled into motion. As she saw it all pass by in a blur, Xov considered how strange it was that her whole life had taken place within such a small piece of the earth. It had never occurred to her to seek out the rest of it, almost like Twelve was the whole world for the Thaos.
Niam said their ancestors, nomads, had settled in Twelve because it had everything—the mountains, rivers, rich soil, and plentiful fish. Back then, over a hundred years ago, it was a place to build a family—a place they had chosen. Now, well. Not so much. She wondered if her great-great-grandparents had wept when the first Hunger Games was announced. If they were weeping now for their most unfortunate grandchild.
”Don’t cry for me, grandmother, grandfather, lest your tears drown me before the others kill me.” she muttered, breaking the silence. She had learned from her mother to speak succinctly to the dead.
If Xov won, she could see all of Panem. Maybe she could even see the place where her people had supposedly come out of the ocean all those years ago. She wasn’t sure what her chances were, but she refused to believe she was the worst-off of the lot. They were all survivors in Twelve. Had to be.
Almost as if she’d summoned him with the thought, her fellow survivor had arrived at the compartment door, which slid open with an airy hiss. She craned her neck to look at Juno, who easily had five inches on her. Remembering the troubled look on his face when his name had been called, Xov suddenly felt the urge to comfort him, even though she knew any friendship under these circumstances would be complicated at best. Still, she had promised her parents she would find friends, and this seemed like the safest place to start. Close to home. Loneliness is a call for evil, she had been warned.
”Careful not to stand in a doorway,” she cautioned him. ”Your soul might forget whether you were going in or out, and it might choose the wrong direction.” It was something her father used to say. Then she smiled hopefully and patted the seat across from her. ”I’m Xov. It’s nice to meet you.”
Seconds after Xov’s parents were ushered out of the room, the Peacekeepers were leading her to the train. They didn’t waste time rounding these kids up, that was certain. Their grip on both her biceps as she was led out of the room was courteous enough to be even more unnecessary, because she followed without argument. To think about the death that might await her on the other side felt like a curse in itself, so instead she thought about how she had never been on a train before.
Once she was on the train, she was free to roam, or as free as she could be under the circumstances. Another in-between place, not really a place, though at least it smelled better than the Justice Building. Her steps felt uncertain on the patterned carpet as she traversed the narrow hallways, looking for the room where she was supposed to meet her “team.”
When she found it, the compartment door slid open at the slightest touch, causing her to jump. Xov entered cautiously and took a seat near the window. She was the first one there, and hoped she hadn’t somehow picked the wrong place.
This was another world from the rustic cottage along the river where she’d grown up. One of those high-speed trains that probably went a hundred miles an hour, although Xov couldn’t even begin to picture how fast that was. Her closest reference was… a bicycle, maybe? She and her siblings had always biked or walked everywhere.
Brakes screeching as they lifted, the train rolled into motion. As she saw it all pass by in a blur, Xov considered how strange it was that her whole life had taken place within such a small piece of the earth. It had never occurred to her to seek out the rest of it, almost like Twelve was the whole world for the Thaos.
Niam said their ancestors, nomads, had settled in Twelve because it had everything—the mountains, rivers, rich soil, and plentiful fish. Back then, over a hundred years ago, it was a place to build a family—a place they had chosen. Now, well. Not so much. She wondered if her great-great-grandparents had wept when the first Hunger Games was announced. If they were weeping now for their most unfortunate grandchild.
”Don’t cry for me, grandmother, grandfather, lest your tears drown me before the others kill me.” she muttered, breaking the silence. She had learned from her mother to speak succinctly to the dead.
If Xov won, she could see all of Panem. Maybe she could even see the place where her people had supposedly come out of the ocean all those years ago. She wasn’t sure what her chances were, but she refused to believe she was the worst-off of the lot. They were all survivors in Twelve. Had to be.
Almost as if she’d summoned him with the thought, her fellow survivor had arrived at the compartment door, which slid open with an airy hiss. She craned her neck to look at Juno, who easily had five inches on her. Remembering the troubled look on his face when his name had been called, Xov suddenly felt the urge to comfort him, even though she knew any friendship under these circumstances would be complicated at best. Still, she had promised her parents she would find friends, and this seemed like the safest place to start. Close to home. Loneliness is a call for evil, she had been warned.
”Careful not to stand in a doorway,” she cautioned him. ”Your soul might forget whether you were going in or out, and it might choose the wrong direction.” It was something her father used to say. Then she smiled hopefully and patted the seat across from her. ”I’m Xov. It’s nice to meet you.”
