Rune Propert ♟District 5 WIP

All of a sudden there was a bright light- my lungs burnt like fire but I could not breath for the first few moments; I could feel something tangling tighter and tighter round my neck. A coldness rushed over my body, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on their ends in the cold air; as the pressure around my neck was released. Terrified and confused- my lungs expanded as they sucked in air before expelling it in an almighty cry.

As I wailed, a bellowing voice filled my ears "It's a boy".

"Let me hold him.." spoke a soft gentle voice - which cracked with tiredness

I opened my eyes, to see the roof move over me as I was passed onto someones else's arms. A woman's arms, that felt as soft as silk and though they were gentle in holding me, I felt entirely safe in them. A pair of large brown eyes stared down at me, a curtain of mousse blonde hair cascaded over me as I looked up at the woman.

"Rune..." she whispered as her eyes slowly closed and her head rolled backwards and I found myself slipping out her arms.

"Katilyn?!" a voice cried out "KATILYN?!"

It is odd that my first moments of this world, moments that only come to me in dreams in the night, moments that I do not even know are true or have been fabricated by my brain, are the only moments I have of my mother Katilyn. She died 18 years ago, due to complications during my birth, leaving my father a widow and myself motherless. Despite this, my early years of childhood were fairly normal- I went to school and made friends, I was well fed due to my fathers job as head of an oil production company; everything was almost normal but good things always come to an end- in my case my good life came to an end shortly after my 9th birthday.

A cold winter had gripped the district, snow trickled from the sky and swirled around me as I walked home from school. The days were short, and the air was growing colder as the sun sunk lower in the sky- casting reaching shadows across the ground. I let out a long shallow breath, my nose tingling in the winter air as my footsteps crunched against the fresh snow; the imprints slowly covered over by more white dust. The street was quiet, no one else was out this evening over than a stray dog- the bag of bones was rummaging through discarded rubbish.

The street lights began to flicker to life as I reached the corner of my street. Unlike the rest of my walk home, a huge group of people hand congregated in my street; right outside my house. I knew something was wrong before anything else had crossed my mind- it felt as if dread had wrapped its arms round me and was now holding me tight; restricting my chest movement. I gasped for breath as I ran through the cold wind- the chattered voices getting louder and more distinguishable as I got closer and closer to home.

"Poor man..."

"Such a shock, he was fairly young.."

"Didn't he have a kid?"

I shoved my way through the front of the crowd, not bothering with being polite in my effort to reach the door to see what had happened; my stomach dropped and nausea filled me as I reached the front of the group. Two men dressed in black wheeled a gurney out the front door- the wheels squeaked and rattled loudly as they pushed it- a black body bag was strapped to the top. My father was dead.

Though my fathers death was almost a decade ago, it feels like it happened yesterday; the sight still haunts my thoughts every time I pause to really think about my life. That moment where his body was wheeled from my house was when everything began to fall apart; the building bricks of my life came crashing down around me and I couldn't do anything about it- I had to watch helplessly as I was cast onto the street, poor and parentless. I am surprised I managed to last almost 6 years on my own- the first 3 years were harder than the last 3; I rummaged through bins in an attempt to feed myself. I drunk rain water that pooled in buckets that had been abandoned on the street- it often made me throw up, making me more hungry. From age 12 to 14, I managed to live much easier due to the fact I was entitled to terasae; it still wasn't enough.

"HEY!" the baker shouted as I tried to conceal the bread roll I had just taken a bite out of.

I dropped the food and bounced along the ground as I broke into a run, angry shouts and heavy footsteps hot on my tail. My mind was terrified of what would happen if I were caught, I kept on thinking of where to go and where I could hide; I was distracted so I the Peacekeeper come out the alleyway too late to dodge his baton. I felt the hard wood crack against my skull before the pain shot through me and I crumbled to the floor. Before I could managed to regain my senses, two Peacekeepers had tugged me to my feet and had begun to drag me along the street back towards the District square. They shouted my prosecution at me, but I couldn't really make sense of it through the splitting head ache I now had; but I managed to make out the words "Lashing" and "50".

I was shoved to my knees again, my knees painfully smacked against the hard cobbled street as my arms were forced viscously in front of me and bounded to a pole so I could not move. I heard a crowd beginning to form around me as the Peacekeepers removed my shirt in preparation to my lashing. The first lash caused me to enhale deeply- the pain so agonizing that I could not even muster a scream before the second came down. One after another the whip came down on my back- each time I began to slip further and further into unconsciousness- blood trickling down my back. I do not remember anything from the 13th lash onward- the pain had become to unbearable for me; I just switched off.

Then sun blazed down as I finally regain consciousness again- sweat dripped from my forehead and my mouth was dry- craving water; my back burnt in pain as the lashes festered in the heat of the summer sun. I became aware that I had been unbound from the pole and was lying on my side- the cold cobble stones pressed hard against my cheek; I let out a whimper as I felt two gentle hands roll me over onto my back. My breath was taken away by the sight in front of me- large blue eyes looked down at me, the sun creating a halo behind her carrot red hair; a gentle frown graced her forehead.

"It's alright..." the girl spoke "I'm here..."

That was when I met Cera, a girl just a month or so older than myself, with starling red hair and eyes as blue as the sky on a spring day. She was a healer in training- an orphan like me she was raised by the healers of 6; but was transferred during the out break of a disease a few years prior to us meeting. She took me in and helped me get back on my feet along with the other sisters- she's kind, gentle and shy; I fell in love with her from the moment we met. I wanted to give her my heart, but she was afraid to give her to me.

"Cera?" I knocked on her door, the apartment block was silent and curfew had begun over an hour ago "Cera?"

I waited for a moment before I heard the pins move and click within the locks before the door opened partly- two blue eyes stared at me through the gap; I could just about make out her smile before she unchained the door and opened it fully. She were wrapped in her dressing gown, her hair messily fell across her shoulders as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Rune, what are you doing here? You know you are not allowed here, let alone after curfew"

I chuckled lightly as I stepped in and the door was closed behind me "Can't I come and see you on your birthday?"

"It isn't until tomorow" she stated

It was a rare occasion that I got to see Cera; she was so passionate about caring for people who needed her help that I think sometimes she forgot to let loose once and a while. I smiled at her as she crossed the room to the kitchenette and lit a candle; lighting the room in an orange haze. She stood there for a long moment, staring at the flickering wick of the candle stick- her eyes glistened in the orange hue of light; she let out a long sigh and slowly turned to me. Her eyes were full of a deep sadness, it made my heart cease up as if someone had it clenched in their fist.

"You know we can't see each other"

"Why not..." I asked with a pained voice

"I have my work here with the sisters, it isn't customary for sisters to date someone...our work is our pride of place and we should not let " she sighed "I'd be too busy to see you, and I'd feel bad because of that..."

"I wouldn't mind, honestly" I smiled lightly taking hold of her dainty hands "Just as long as I knew you cared about me..."

"I do care about you Rune, I do- it is just..." her voice trailed off, her gaze moving to the floor

"Just what?" I said softly placing my hand against her rosy cheeks

"I'm afraid that I'll do something wrong, that I'll hurt you or that I will not be good enough for you and you will leave me for someone who is a lot prettier and brighter than I"

"I'm afraid you are mistaken Miss Cera, there is no one I know who is brighter than you and I am pretty darn sure that there is no one on the planet- may it be in Panem or in the lands beyond- as beautiful as you"

And with that I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers- her lifts were soft and gentle; as was her personality. She was not at all surprised, but my fears were released when she slowly kissed back; letting out a relaxing sigh as we kissed for the first time. It was like I had finally found meaning, I felt full of joy; I was on the precipice of eternal happiness.

Since our first kiss not that long ago- just over 2 years- we have been inseparable. She manages both our relationship and her work; of which she is almost at the level of head nurse. She is happy and so am I; and one day I hope to die beside her, when our hair is silver.

It is hard to know in life what you are like, what are your flaws and what are your perks; you cannot simply judge yourself, the outcome will always be bias. Luckily you are often informed of your flaws and perks by the people you interact with- interaction means they notice things, your biggest flaw being the most notable and so the rest of your character is based on that singular flaw.

The vexatious noise of the ceiling fan was continous- the white blades spun in a never ending circle against the white ceiling. I do not know how many hours I had been staring at the fan, a few hours perhaps but there was not much else I could do; everytime I tried to move my head, my back burned intently from the lashings. I didn't even know where I was, the last thing I remembered was being outside; now I was inside.

All of a sudden the door opened "You're awake"

I tried to turn my head but moving sent a stabbing pain across my body causing me gasp; but I didn't have to wait long to see it was the same girl who had stood over me. She was wearing a turtle neck dress that like the rest of the room, was a clinical white colour. It made her vivid red hair stand out even more, now that I had chance to look closer, I saw her pale skin was speckled with tiny brown freckles; her eye brows were thick and dark and framed her round face.

She glanced at me and smiled some "So what's your name?"

I didn't reply, I began to feel the nauseous feeling deep in my stomach; the air in my chest seemed to be expelled. I averted eye contact with the girl I focuses on another point on the ceiling as the girl read my notes or something. The only sound that broke the silence was that god awful fan; the blades still spun round and round in a never ending motion.

She placed her clipboard down on the table taking my wrist "Why were you being punished? Did you do something wrong or were those peace keepers just in a foul mood?"

Again, I didn't reply, I just watched the ceiling;

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