Alone in the Rain (Standalone)

Post by heartwood on Sept 5, 2012 12:15:39 GMT -5

Jasper sat in his well-made bed, his head leaning lightly against the headboard; his face angled toward the ceiling. His left arm stretched forward all the way through his finger tips, a pendant that hung loosely from his fingers connected to a gold medal; the one Jasper had claimed at the first ever Panem Olympics. Jasper brought his right hand to his face and clasped his palms over his eyes, spreading his fingers every few seconds to look at his prize through a slightly obstructed view. He laughed, dropping the gold medal onto his lap, and began to slink deeper into the bed until his body was completely parallel to the floor. A smile crossed his face as he thought about the times coming.

Jade and the man they called father were out collecting things for her to take to training at Julian Embryze’s academy. Jasper and Jade had both collected gold medals at the Olympics, and their father urged them to try and be mentored by the last victor of District Two. Like always, Jade was looking for a way to get better; but Jasper wanted nothing more than to give up Career training. But what was he going to do? A boy of his type would never be accepted anywhere. He couldn’t bake, he was too frail to work in the mines; shooting a bow was the only thing he had ever been good at. The results were in for the Embryze Academy, and of course, Jade had made it; Jasper had not.

Their father and Jade had both taken it as a measure of disrespect; after all, Jasper was named the best archer in Panem, why wasn’t he considered good enough? But they all knew why. Jasper was sick, and no amount of money that Papa Aarden spent would be enough to cover that up. Jittery Jasper was more than just a nickname. It was a persona earned by years of paranoia and sudden bursts of outrage. At best, Jasper would outlast the bloodbath, at worst, he would be the first one dead.

Gold medals weren’t going to change that. The Olympics were games, not The Games. There was no life-or-death situation; no man-made horrors to put your life on the line against; and even then,
Jasper couldn’t control himself. Most of the people in the Career districts dubbed it a fluke; three lucky shots to win him the gold. But Jasper heard the whispers; he wasn’t the best killer, or the most athletic boy in Panem, but archery was something they wouldn’t take away from him.

“Stay in the house.”

The words of his sister echoed through his mind as he used his hands to turn his body and lift himself off the mattress.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

The words of his father bounced through his brain far more angrily. Filled with such poison and hate, Jasper tossed on a pair of shorts and a jacket, and made his way through the hallways of his family’s mansion. He trotted his way to the armory, to grab his bow, and as he made he way to the front door, thunder boomed throughout the district. Rain began to fall from the sky slowly, but Jasper had decided he needed to get out; needed to keep himself busy. The mud began to stick between his toes; he looked down and laughed.

“I forgot shoes.”

He marched forward, weaving between the trees into a clearing in which both he and his sister used often for private training. A clearing that would certainly be less frequented when Jade had finally transitioned into the Julian’s gym. This spot was going to be his, and his alone. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver, the rain was weighing it down, but it had no effect on his shot.

Bullseye. He turned to another target and fired. Bullseye. Bullseye. Bullseye. Jasper smiled, nodding to himself. He didn’t need a bunch of Careers to train with, he didn’t need his father’s money; he didn’t even need Jade. He loved his sister, but he would only keep her from moving on. He wasn’t going to be deadweight. All Jasper wanted, all Jasper needed, was to be alone in the rain.