Caught in the act [CLOSED]
Apr 5, 2012 18:55:04 GMT -5
Post by rumiel on Apr 5, 2012 18:55:04 GMT -5
This was it. The moment had finally arrived.
The sky was pitch-black, clouds hiding the stars that would give away our hiding place; for once, things were in our favour.
We’d planned this attack for weeks, the gang and I, that is. This particular Peacekeeper had arrived in the District only a couple of months ago, and he was the definition of hell. He’d pick on random workers at the mines, laughing in their faces as he hit them with the golden cane he always carried. Dry blood stains could still be seen if you looked carefully.
I shivered. The memory of him beating one of my classmates up for sheer enjoyment went through me, the crushing of his bones only slightly muffled by the cackle that emanated from his throat, his black moustache quivering ever so slightly. We all knew that what he was doing was wrong, more than normal. The odd beating wasn’t unheard of in the District, but they were due to reasons: someone dropping a cargo of rocks, breaking a pickaxe that cost the government dearly, even looking funnily at one of the Peacekeepers. But this, this was impossible to evade; there was no way of hiding from him.
Run down the hills, break in through the stained-glass window and destroy everything in sight. A plan couldn’t be any simpler, yet we still took the upmost precaution; the consequences if we were caught would cost us our lives, literally.
There were half a dozen of us; we were part of a group called ‘Anti-Peace’; our leader found it very amusing to be called something so ironic, considering we tried to cause mayhem. But then again, ‘Peacekeepers’ weren’t exactly keen to do their duties either. I guess that in the long run, we did manage peace, but peace wasn’t achieved by standing still while holding some posters up… Not anymore at least.
‘Good luck guys; let this son of a b**ch learn that he doesn’t mess with District 2!’ – Our leader whispered to us, his face looking straight ahead towards the greatly-lit mansion of the Peacekeeper. He wasn’t the best at giving out speeches, but his actions were worth a thousand words.
That was the moment we jumped out of our hiding spots; the boulders on the hills opposite the villa were great for spying, but now they were our attacking spots. We ran down as fast as we could, I nearly face-planted the yellowing grass as I tripped over a stone, but I managed to balance myself before it was too late. Within a few seconds we were on smooth ground, the dirt street leading to different Peacekeeper villas, all of them looking exactly the same, it was amusing thinking about how even Peacekeepers were like us District citizens, part of a whole, the exact same, mere copies of each other.
A sudden ‘crash’ was heard from the Peacekeeper’s villa; our muscle-man Toro had thrown a rock towards the window, the coloured glass shattering into hundreds of pieces, leaving sharp edges all around as if it were a final plea of vengeance, cutting anyone who dared pass. Toro smiled cunningly, he was full of himself, I had to admit, but he got the job done which is what we needed these days. His name was very well suited to him, we got it from a text book a few months ago, and it used to mean ‘Bull’ in Spanish; though no-one had heard of such language anymore of course. Nothing was heard of from the outside world… There might not even be one. The name stuck, he was after all, like a bull: dominant, strong and he preferred to tackle rather than to think.
Nina, our stealth-specialist, jumped through the window, careful not to touch the sharp pieces of glass. A ‘beeping’ could be heard, certainly coming from the alarm box. Luckily, we had planned for this event, and in no time the beeping had stopped. It was amazing what the Peacekeeper’s servants would tell you for a few coins; she hadn’t lied when she told us the code to the box, thank God.
I and our leader then proceeded to enter the villa; leaving the other three members outside, to make sure that no-one heard the noise and came out investigating. The destruction began. With the baseball bat I had in my hand, I started to smash every object I came in contact with, thinking about the thousands of coins each priceless item must have cost, all the money that could have been used for a safer way of working, a better life for the citizens. My blank mask hid my crunched-up face. I was angry, very angry. I kept on swinging the baseball bat and jumped at the sudden hand placed on my shoulder, the bat stopping by mere inches from my leader’s face.
‘They know about it… Don’t ask me how I know, I can just tell. Now get the hell out of here!’
My face, thankfully hidden by the mask, was showing sheer terror. I couldn’t get caught, not like this! I still had too much to live for, I had to escape this forsaken District, I wasn’t ready to give myself in, not yet. I ran towards the window and jumped out, landing heavily on the dirt path. I looked up, expecting to see my friends stretching out a hand, but instead, I saw the face I dreaded the most: the Peacekeeper's.
‘Caught in the act, my friend’ – he said. In that moment, two other Peacekeepers, who seemed to be lower ranked than him, grabbed hold of my arms and lifted me up.
‘I bet you’re aghast. Why am I here? Wasn’t I meant to be on a business trip? Well, yes, I was. But it’s amazing what you find out if you give out a few coins out here and there… Isn’t that right?’
The Peacekeeper then turned his head, staring directly at one of my companions; Ron. His face turned red in mere seconds, it was the colour of guilt. I felt betrayed, I couldn’t believe this! Betrayed for just a few coins, and now we were all going to die… Maybe even him, after all, bribery was a crime, and the Peacekeeper would want any evidence of his treachery out of the picture.
‘So, let’s find out who this mask belongs to, huh?’ – The peacekeeper then proceeded to grab hold of my mask; it was over. I’d be discovered, and I’d be executed the next day. It had happened many times before, but I always thought that I’d be the lucky one: the rebel who always escaped. Rumiel the unstoppable…
I guess it was all a dream.
The sky was pitch-black, clouds hiding the stars that would give away our hiding place; for once, things were in our favour.
We’d planned this attack for weeks, the gang and I, that is. This particular Peacekeeper had arrived in the District only a couple of months ago, and he was the definition of hell. He’d pick on random workers at the mines, laughing in their faces as he hit them with the golden cane he always carried. Dry blood stains could still be seen if you looked carefully.
I shivered. The memory of him beating one of my classmates up for sheer enjoyment went through me, the crushing of his bones only slightly muffled by the cackle that emanated from his throat, his black moustache quivering ever so slightly. We all knew that what he was doing was wrong, more than normal. The odd beating wasn’t unheard of in the District, but they were due to reasons: someone dropping a cargo of rocks, breaking a pickaxe that cost the government dearly, even looking funnily at one of the Peacekeepers. But this, this was impossible to evade; there was no way of hiding from him.
Run down the hills, break in through the stained-glass window and destroy everything in sight. A plan couldn’t be any simpler, yet we still took the upmost precaution; the consequences if we were caught would cost us our lives, literally.
There were half a dozen of us; we were part of a group called ‘Anti-Peace’; our leader found it very amusing to be called something so ironic, considering we tried to cause mayhem. But then again, ‘Peacekeepers’ weren’t exactly keen to do their duties either. I guess that in the long run, we did manage peace, but peace wasn’t achieved by standing still while holding some posters up… Not anymore at least.
‘Good luck guys; let this son of a b**ch learn that he doesn’t mess with District 2!’ – Our leader whispered to us, his face looking straight ahead towards the greatly-lit mansion of the Peacekeeper. He wasn’t the best at giving out speeches, but his actions were worth a thousand words.
That was the moment we jumped out of our hiding spots; the boulders on the hills opposite the villa were great for spying, but now they were our attacking spots. We ran down as fast as we could, I nearly face-planted the yellowing grass as I tripped over a stone, but I managed to balance myself before it was too late. Within a few seconds we were on smooth ground, the dirt street leading to different Peacekeeper villas, all of them looking exactly the same, it was amusing thinking about how even Peacekeepers were like us District citizens, part of a whole, the exact same, mere copies of each other.
A sudden ‘crash’ was heard from the Peacekeeper’s villa; our muscle-man Toro had thrown a rock towards the window, the coloured glass shattering into hundreds of pieces, leaving sharp edges all around as if it were a final plea of vengeance, cutting anyone who dared pass. Toro smiled cunningly, he was full of himself, I had to admit, but he got the job done which is what we needed these days. His name was very well suited to him, we got it from a text book a few months ago, and it used to mean ‘Bull’ in Spanish; though no-one had heard of such language anymore of course. Nothing was heard of from the outside world… There might not even be one. The name stuck, he was after all, like a bull: dominant, strong and he preferred to tackle rather than to think.
Nina, our stealth-specialist, jumped through the window, careful not to touch the sharp pieces of glass. A ‘beeping’ could be heard, certainly coming from the alarm box. Luckily, we had planned for this event, and in no time the beeping had stopped. It was amazing what the Peacekeeper’s servants would tell you for a few coins; she hadn’t lied when she told us the code to the box, thank God.
I and our leader then proceeded to enter the villa; leaving the other three members outside, to make sure that no-one heard the noise and came out investigating. The destruction began. With the baseball bat I had in my hand, I started to smash every object I came in contact with, thinking about the thousands of coins each priceless item must have cost, all the money that could have been used for a safer way of working, a better life for the citizens. My blank mask hid my crunched-up face. I was angry, very angry. I kept on swinging the baseball bat and jumped at the sudden hand placed on my shoulder, the bat stopping by mere inches from my leader’s face.
‘They know about it… Don’t ask me how I know, I can just tell. Now get the hell out of here!’
My face, thankfully hidden by the mask, was showing sheer terror. I couldn’t get caught, not like this! I still had too much to live for, I had to escape this forsaken District, I wasn’t ready to give myself in, not yet. I ran towards the window and jumped out, landing heavily on the dirt path. I looked up, expecting to see my friends stretching out a hand, but instead, I saw the face I dreaded the most: the Peacekeeper's.
‘Caught in the act, my friend’ – he said. In that moment, two other Peacekeepers, who seemed to be lower ranked than him, grabbed hold of my arms and lifted me up.
‘I bet you’re aghast. Why am I here? Wasn’t I meant to be on a business trip? Well, yes, I was. But it’s amazing what you find out if you give out a few coins out here and there… Isn’t that right?’
The Peacekeeper then turned his head, staring directly at one of my companions; Ron. His face turned red in mere seconds, it was the colour of guilt. I felt betrayed, I couldn’t believe this! Betrayed for just a few coins, and now we were all going to die… Maybe even him, after all, bribery was a crime, and the Peacekeeper would want any evidence of his treachery out of the picture.
‘So, let’s find out who this mask belongs to, huh?’ – The peacekeeper then proceeded to grab hold of my mask; it was over. I’d be discovered, and I’d be executed the next day. It had happened many times before, but I always thought that I’d be the lucky one: the rebel who always escaped. Rumiel the unstoppable…
I guess it was all a dream.
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