//Together We Will | Fall | As One// (Thundy!)
Oct 23, 2010 18:51:46 GMT -5
Post by sadniss everdeen on Oct 23, 2010 18:51:46 GMT -5
[/i]Ceannlaidir Neach-Tàrrsainn
~ Rebellion without thought is pointless, much as leadership without direction is doomed. ~
and it's time to say our goodbyes
that have long been broadcasted on the winds of time
but have just now reached your innocent ears
because those tears are wasted
on someone like me
that have long been broadcasted on the winds of time
but have just now reached your innocent ears
because those tears are wasted
on someone like me
Long have the whisperings of another rebellion swept through the streets of the Districts. It came as merely a rumor from a half crazed resident of Twelve, swearing he saw people on several different occassions making their way down towards the lost ocean; a vast body of water that is still trying to recover from the pollution the forebearers of Panem subjected it to. People at first rejected his ravings as the ranting of a madman, swearing that nobody would be foolish enough to stand up to the Capitol and all its glory. For precaution's sake extra guards were deployed to erase the seeds that would potentially be planted within the mind of many a citizen. A dark time, filled with pain and hunger. They struggled, as they always do, but once again the mighty city obliterated whatever weak resistance these rumors stirred. Eventually, all thoughts of rebellion, chance and hope simply... faded away.
Years pass. Residents forget what it is to be free and whole, content with living in their lives always in the shadow of the Capitol. The wretched Hunger Games drag on, once again dragging innocents and not so innocents to their deaths each year under the guise of entertainment. Really, it's a poorly veiled threat almost everybody understands. Deny us, and we will destroy you. Yet, once again the streets murmur of an Uprising; a small band of nobodies that will bond together to become the catalyst that will rock the nation. People willing to risk all that they are, all that they have, in the name of peace. The beginnings of something special are starting to take place, still in the fragile stages of development but certainly something real.
Together we will bring the Capitol to its knees. But we need people. Specialists. Those that will abandon all that they have known with no guarantee for victory, but maybe just to instill a mere sliver of hope into the next generation, and perhaps the generation after that. The Uprising beckons. Will you heed the call?
Cemetary Gates, 1:00 am sharp. Tomorrow. Don't be late.
---
The message remains blinking, shimmering ominously on the screen as I take another sip of rum. Feet kicked up carelessly on the large oaken desk and ice clinking against the glass I again study the words, wondering if I missed something the first time. It's impossible, of course, but one can't help but wonder. Of course I've heard mutterings of the Rebellion's rebirth; a ragtag group of strangers uniting to orchestrate the fall of the Capitol. People all over know only vague details, none even sure if they're true or simply overblown rumors recycled from an age long ago. The very ideal is laughable, yet...
I hesitate with the mouse hovering over the bright red X. It would just be so easy to eradicate it forever, and go about my life as if nothing ever happened. But the one downside of having a photographic memory is that you can never forget. They stay with you, sharper than reality, until the day you die.
---
"What the hell is this?" A question rings heavy throughout the air, drawing the attention of all three brutes. Various faces swing my way; all scarred and marked with a tough life and age, but lined with the definite hard edges of cruelty. My surroundings lie in ruins, papers scattered across the ornate oaken floor and drawers tipped over to spill their hidden treasures in disorganized heaps. Chairs have been ripped apart and windows smashed, yet not a single alarm screeches to interrupt the fragile stillness of the night. A glance to the keypad shows that it is ready but not armed; disabled. Darren always keeps it on this late.
Moonlight is overwritten by the harsh glow that seeps in from the broken bulbs overhead, sparking and hissing with heat. One touch could send this whole house up in flames. Stuffing from the ripped cushions would act as tinder, it wouldn't take long for the blaze to consume all the precious work he's accumilated over the years. Still, that isn't the most pressing of my problems. Adrenaline doesn't even begin to make its appearance as I stare up at the hulking figures, heart thrumming steadily in my chest. Though they appear just as lackeys, there is the undeniable gleam of intelligence somewhere deep, masked by the ever-present hardness that paints their features in the most taunting light. It shows that they simply aren't thugs for hire, no. Somebody sent them with a specific purpose. Judging by the current rummaging and, is that blood?, they haven't found it yet.
Teeth gleam sticky bright in the lowlight as they turn their full attention onto me, weapons brandished but lowered. After my opponents pass six foot three I can't accurately guess how tall they are due to the craning of my neck and the odd angle, but I'd say the biggest is six seven. In short, massive. Muscles ripple just under the skin, walking trolls with little to no aspect of pain. For a moment it looks like they're about to ignore the little girl who doesn't even reach their shoulders, but a gleam of recognition sparks within the eyes of the smallest one. Damn it.
Specially designed and cushioned shoes squeak on the floor as I plan my escape, eyes darting back and forth for the best route of interest. Things have been knocked over to become potentially hazardous, but I'm certain that I can run faster than them. I just have to ignore that dying moan I can hear from upstairs, a whistling rattle that sounds something like a bleeding animal and gravel being crunched underfoot. A moment's hesitation - that's all it was - and it cost me, the brute practically blurring to my side and snaring my arm in a surprisingly gentle grip. The ring he wears digs deep into my ghostflesh skin, even as I twist to get away. It's hopeless, though, and I know it. They've caught me. "Well, would you look at that." He sneers, eyes glittering dangerously. "She walks right into our hands. Perfect, hey boys?" They all laugh as expected, though shifting uncomfortably under their leader's gaze.
As the oversized golden band that sits pretty on his middle finger draws a small trickle of blood, my eyes flick over to the design. An ornate C with swooping lines and shadowed with black, it speaks of one who's been the Capitol's lapdog for a long time. Throughout the years I've seen in on Snow's finger during his many speeches designed to promote obedience and hard-work. Still, what would it be doing on somebody who's destroying the house of a Capitol resident?
Another voice breaks through the eerie stillness, the crevice that shadows much of the floor giving way for an elegant man dressed in all black. Within his hand he holds a cane with a snarling dragon perched on the handle, teeth bared to the world and arched to enter combat. His fingers wrap around its muzzle - silencing it - the exact ring grating a small flaw in the otherwise perfect finish. Eyes glisten like a predator sizing up the prey, and a smirk on full lips showcases just the barest hints of straight, white teeth. Shaking his head slightly to make slicked back hair fall just over his shoulders, he glances at the two that are standing with their heads slightly bowed. "Get him." The man's voice is like velvet; rough on one side, smooth on the other, dark, and deep enough to drown in.
The two charge upstairs, feet making ominous thumping noises on the polished wooden stairs. A heartbeat, almost. Perhaps this is what the people before Panem feared long ago, the heavy charging of boots as the country called Germany came to take them far away from here.
Again they come down, now dragging a battered form between them. Bloodied hair hangs limp over his eyes and toes drag against the floor, but I'd recognize that rumpled shirt and worn expression anywhere, twisted as it now currently is in agony. "Darren." I murmur, not letting the faint stirrings of emotion show in my voice. My foster father looks up and gives a pained smile, attempting in vain to stand up straighter. Instead he's thrown to the ground at my feet, but I make no move to go to him. That's what they want, after all.
"You've been hiding things from us, Ceannlaidir." Dragon-Man states, appraising me with those taunting eyes. My jaw sets and I refuse to answer, glaring at the wall across from me. From his pocket he pulls a small bag; unassuming and plain but holding something I so desperately need. "This is a reminder that you are ours." Darren opens his mouth - blood dribbles from his lips - in protest, but a swift kick makes his teeth snap shut with an audible click. Need to get out of her. My mind takes pictures of the wreckage, trying to form a solid plan without an inkling of real thought. Window? No, too far. Door? Obvious. Downstairs? I'd be trapped. Besides, Monkey-Man has my arm in what could be a death-grip, for all the strength I have. "I've done all that you asked."
He clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes up to the ceiling, like the answers would be embedded in the highrise beams. The paper in his hands crinkles as his thumb rubs the staples holding it together. "And perhaps a bit more, yes?" Refusing to back down, I carefully copy his face and voice into my memory, where it is shelved away to be brought out any time I'd wish it. Even if it'll take me years, he'll pay for this. Dragon-Man smiles, and brushes past me with more force than necessary. A loud crack, and my eyes flash a brilliant blue in the reflection from a window up ahead; until now I have refused to show weakness, but I can't help the low groan and flinch as a rib gives under the sharp bump. Darren attempts to scramble to my aid but I wave him off, sucking in shallow breaths through my nose to stem the pain.
"Seems you don't need these this month." The bag rips and various vials tumble out, full of colorful little soldiers that rattle in their orange casing. With a nod one of the large men comes over and smashes down with his heel, grinding the pills into dust. Unedible. I'm going to have to be careful for now.
Without so much as a farewell they all simultaneously walk out the door, figures fading into mist and leaving chaos in their wake.
---
Hours have passed as I finally withdraw from the memory, almost feeling my bones become more brittle at the thought of the medicine tumbling away. My sides aches still with the cold air and damp surroundings of October, but I refuse to ask for help. I can deal with in on my own. Taking another sip of rum I let my tongue trace over my teeth, piercing clinking with each pass. Nightfall has long taken over the streets for today, bathing the houses in a melancholy veil of moonglow that illuminates the sad homes with no warmth. This place is a dead-end alley, where people rot in rooms of sweet smoke and talk about conquests long passed. Nary a single window gleams with light; and as I sit in shadow, I'm struck with the thought that perhaps I want more than that.
It's 12: 30 now, and the graveyard is only twenty minutes away if I take the daily shortcuts. One last long look at the now dark computer screen and I rise carefully to shrug on my trusted leather jacket; tying up my shoes and stepping into the frigid autumn night.
[/blockquote]
Ceann, I don't... what... why the hell didn't you shut up? We didn't need all that!