Sanctuary of {in}sanity {Xylan & Rayon}

Time stood still leaving the sixteen year old trapped within his own mind as the world caved in around him. Xylan was sure he wouldn't escape the detention center unharmed this time. The first time he was lucky, but watching the way his cell mate returned to the cell after they dragged him away multiple times left a scar hidden deep within his mind especially since he's back now. Tears fell down his face flooding the ground around him. No amount of crying would save him. In all honesty it would make him look weak when new prisoners travelled through the hall. His face pressed firm against the ground reminding himself he was alive despite the pain lurking deep inside his body. He didn't belong here last time, but this time he did. He tried getting people to help him storm the Capitol, and he was caught carrying the papers as he jumped the fence running as fast as he could, but the only thing slowing him down was his own stupidity.

Wiping the tears away from his eyes, Xylan moved towards the furthest corner away from the door. A puddle remained on the ground where the tears watered the floor. Life shouldn't never leave a person trapped, yet here he was a second time trapped away from the outside world. Fear crept through his veins as he watched black boots pass in front of his cell many times. Last time he watched that happen for days until the boots stopped in front of the door dragging that guy away leaving the kid alone as tears continued pouring down his face. That's when he hears the familiar sound of keys jingling in the distance. Fear fled his veins leaving his pain a ghostly pale color. He listened as the boots grew closer and closer. Xylan wanted to run away the moment they opened his door, but that would definitely get him killed. The shirt on his shoulders shook in sync with the quivering of his muscles.

The black boots stopped in front of his cell. Tears fell from his face as he curled up in a ball begging them to leave him alone. He didn't want them to see him. His entire body shook as the key unlocked the door. If he could talk, he would be screaming pleads of shame right now. The torture of knowing physical pain was coming was more than he could stand. The door swung open at a rapid pace, and Xylan almost collapsed on the ground until he saw another kid being shoved inside, yet he couldn't hide the fear living inside him. It wasn't until the door shut, he was able to pull himself together enough to think. He looked at the boy wondering what crime he committed to deserve the torture waiting behind closed doors.

"Hi, I'm Rayon."

What kind of name is that? He thought to himself wishing he could tell him his name in return, but for many years his world has been silent. Xylan nodded his head before shaking it and holding a finger to his mouth hoping Rayon realized he couldn't speak. "Where ...are you from?" His eyes turned towards the ground trying to figure out a way to communicate. Nothing mattered anymore because he knew nothing would change the outcome.

Xylan out his hands in front of him holding up one finger on one hand and two fingers on his other hand. Hopefully he saw it as twelve and not as three.

For a moment Xylan stood there staring at the kid. He wasn't sure how old he was, but he knew he was in his teenage years. Shifting his gaze his eyes shot to the ground. His mother always said it was rude to stare, but the thought of this kid, Rayon, staring at him made him feel uncomfortable. His entire body was numb from the pain lurking inside his veins. All emotions fled his face as the blood returned to his cheeks. Knowing someone else was here made the whole situation easier. He wouldn't have to wait for his fate alone, yet he couldn't imagine what would come. Deep inside the teenage boy hoped this visit would be like his last one without any pain or anything, but he knew this time wouldn't be a walk in the park like last time. Monsters waited for him outside the walls; all they needed was the command and the beasts would pounce turning his life into the hell he deserved.

A small grin spread across his face when his new cell mate understood the district he was from, but when he mentioned Avox his life sprung back to his last visit when the guy asked if he was one. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes, but he refused to cry. Most of the time he spent here was on the floor sobbing like a toddler, yet that was done. The loneliness of the silence wasn't surrounded him anymore, so he shrugged his shoulders wiping the weight away completely. The kid was from eight. Meeting someone from outside the district was a treat, and his was the once circumstance he wished it wouldn't have happened. What happened when the lion prances at the prey with its teeth bared prepared to kill? Finally the kid sat down on one of the metal shelves made for beds.

Apparently he was a thief and they caught him in the act. Denying everything was what most had done, but Xylan knew what he had done was wrong. Threatening to march to the Capitol was am act of rebellion, but he didn't just threaten, the teenage boy planned to act on it the moment more people came around. Was it stupid to ask for others to help? Sure people wanted an escape from the district, but asking them was going too far. Death was prepared for those who threatened the life of the authorities, but it didn't matter. The damage was done, and he wouldn't take back a thing. No regret filled his body. Dying wouldn't bother him because he wanted to die anyway. The silence was broke again when the kid spoke, but what he said completely caught Xylan off guard.

It was horrible knowing he had stolen someone's garbage. Patting a hand to his ears, Xylan looked at the kid in awe. Why would anyone steal garbage? Was he really that poor? But the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that's what he has done ever since he returned from the detention center the first time. He lived on the streets taking whatever he could, but he wasn't ever caught. His eyes turned towards the bit seated on the shelf, and he just stared unsure of what to do. No gesture would compare to the thoughts running through his mind. He shrugged his shoulders before shaking his head no, but he looked at him with his eyes asking why. Why would you do that? But being unable to speak ruined everything. He doubted the kid would ever understand.

Xylan didn't care though because nobody else cared.

At least that's what he thought.

Fire boiled through his veins with every step he took. Each passing second brought on a new fear as he questioned whether or not the peacekeepers were coming or not. All he could hear was the words of his cell mate bouncing off the walls as he spoke, and in a way Xylan felt bad for the kid. It had been over a year since they dragged him away from his home last time, and the fear remained in his body king after his release, yet it left questions on his mind constantly. Why did they torture the guy he was paired with last time, and leave him alone? It was a question he would never understand. No answer would ease his mind, and sometimes he wondered if that guy made it out alive. If he survived the horrible fate placed upon him by the Capitol, or if he was an Avox trapped in the Capitol now. None of those answers satisfied him.

That was over. He's trapped in a cell with a guy from district eight, a kid, someone who didn't deserve being here. Xylan knew what it was like to starve. He knew what it was like not knowing if he'd have a full stomach going to sleep, or if his stomach would roar like a lion begging for food. Shifting his gaze across the room, he realized this kid could've easily been him. Trapped in a district where not a single soul cared for him where people fought for what little bit of food was placed before them. Tears fell silently down his face little by little as the kid moved slightly. Blinking the tears away Xylan lowered his gaze until Rayon was standing near his bed asking if he could sit down. A small grin spread across his face as he nodded his head. It was nice having someone who was trapped in the same situation, and his suggestion to use his fingers to talk reminded him of the last time he was here when he wrote out words in that guy's hand.

Raising his hands into the air, Xylan looked at his fingers. He raised two in the air crossing them to form the letter 'X.' He then used his fingers making the rest of the letters, but making the 'Y' was a little more difficult than he expected, yet eventually he wrote out his entire name, Xylan. Not knowing what to do or anything was challenging, but it was a way to communicate. Back home there were easier ways like writing down on a sheet of paper, but here he didn't have anything. He was trapped within the walls of a prison. Nobody was safe here, yet for the time being he forced the thoughts away without any worry in the world. Sure they could march in at any given second and drag him away, but when he was sitting here with a kid who isn't any older than him, Xylan felt at ease. He started moving his hands again. He pointed to himself then held up all ten fingers followed by putting up six fingers showing he was sixteen.

Hopefully he understood.

For some reason, Xylan longed for his mother to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay, but he would be lying to himself. Right now nothing was going to be okay because the bars wrapped in front of him, and the screaming of those unlucky getting dragged away for more and more information. He didn't know what would happen. Would they take him from his new friend and throw him into the depths of hell? Would they remove his arms from his body making him a person nobody wanted to deal with? Would they make his life a living hell? Oh wait, they've already done that. They dragged him away before, and once he was set free his family wanted nothing to do with him, yet somehow he managed to survive. Was it his strong will or pure stupidity? Even Xylan wasn't sure.

This kid didn't deserve to be here. So many children and families throughout Panem starve every day, and he tried to do something about it. It still blew Xylan's mind away how desperate this kid was, but he knows where he was coming from. Food wasn't something he understood. Each day he struggled trying to provide for his family, but it all changed. A constant roar rumbled through his stomach little by little as his ribs became more noticeable with each passing day. Anything he could find to trade for food was more then he ever thought he'd have to do. Once he had a caring father who wanted nothing but the best for his family, yet it all changed. Xylan was an outsider because he couldn't talk. He couldn't speak from the time he was born, but a loving mother cared for him when nobody else would.

A large grin spread across his face as the kid sat down beside him. At least they had each other until the peacekeepers dragged one away without any second words or anything, but all the hair on his arms raised at the kid's next question. Thinking of how to respond wasn't easy. Xylan could lie and say nothing would happen, but he didn't want to give the kid any false hope. Swallowing heavily, he started moving his hands. First he held on hand up and made a fist before slamming his fist into the other hand. They best people. They torture them. They turn them into creatures nobody wants, but how could he explain? Then Xylan turned towards him holding his hand in a whipping motion like he watched down at the square. When he realized he wouldn't make out the simple meaning of what would happen he turned his hands making out one simple word.

Torture.

Xylan wasn't much older than his roommate when he was placed there the first time, and the fear he had still rests deep inside his mind. No kid should have to go through with thus because of the pain and torture involved. It wasn't only physical torture; it was mental torture as well. Being locked in a cell not knowing what would happen, or when it would happen, or watching the roommate come back bloody and bruised and unsure what to think. No, he wouldn't ever forget what that guy looked like when he returned to the cell. Black eyes, bruised, barely moving. Shaking his head he turned towards the kid. This was much worse than being thrown into an arena with bloodthirsty kids who wanted to kill. At least there it was known the intent of others. Here nobody knows anything. Nobody knew what would happen only those monsters hiding behind the armor.

He tried listening as the kid spoke, but knowing he had a loving and caring family struck a nerve. That was what families should be like, but Xylan didn't have that. He didn't have that loving family. They threw him out of the house when he needed them the most. He was forced to live on his own surviving through the weather, the cold white rain that turned the ground a white color, the rain flooding everything, yet somehow he survived without them. And now he was in the same predicament again. Rayon was right on the dot talking about the bloody mess left behind after a public whipping. Innocent souls screaming as the life fled their bodies. Deep inside he hoped everyone who suffered for the sake of the Capitol was at peace now. The only people Xylan thought wouldn't be at peace was those who emerged from the games knowing that twenty-three souls had to die in order for them to survive. He couldn't imagine.

Before another word was spoke, he noticed the kid break out into tears, and Xylan's heart dropped in stomach. It wasn't right what the Capitol was doing. The kid was starving. He was trying to provide for his family by stealing garbage, and the Capitol said they love and care for the citizens, yet they watch as lives were claimed by starvation. He wrapped his arm around him like he did one of his sisters when they were sad and in need of comfort, but it wasn't much. No amount of comforting would help him. No amount of kind gestures would bring peace. But he had to try. Allowing the kid to cry Xylan watched and waited it out. I'm so sorry you're going through this, but I can promise you won't be alone. I'm here for you. I just wish I could tell you. He sighed silently wondering what would really happen to them.

For a long time he sat still with his arm wrapped around the kid as sobs burst through the air. It wasn't often Xylan met a cryer, but it was best to let whoever was crying cry it out. Many nights after arriving home tears steamed from his face as he wondered around the district hoping someone would take in a poor soul like himself. It was easy to count his ribs from the lack of food. His eyes sunk into his skull from the dehydration threatening to consume his body every single day. Muscles wasted away as the fire burning inside the walls of his body slowly burnt away. All hope was lost, and in the back of his mind all he could think of was dying. Each night he slept under a tree his stomach roared eating away from what little fat pinned itself to his body, but somehow he survived. The fire remained lit keeping him alive when deep inside he wasn't sure he wanted to.

The kid didn't move, but he left the room silent. Silence was always louder than any noise. Bees buzzed in his ears the quieter the room got. It grew louder and louder until the silence was broke. Rayon was asking a question, and Xylan knew the answer to it, but he couldn't figure out the easy way to explain. One way would work if he stood up from the metal shelf and acted it out, but that would leave his cellmate alone. Caring about someone in this place wasn't the best option, but it was impossible when this boy was the same age as one of his sisters. What was she doing? What lies had his father spread about him for his disappearance? Xylan saw her standing in the crowd next to his ex-family. Did she hate him like the bastard father did?

Shaking his head, he looked around the cell wondering if anyone would see them talking, see them getting along with each other. Eventually torture would come like he witnessed the last time he was trapped in the dreaded cell. That wasn't something he wanted to remember, but it scarred him far deeper than anyone could ever imagine. He held up his hand forming the letters holding them so Rayon could see them. It wasn't the easiest way to communicate, but it was working, and right now it was his only option. The letters eventually formed words as he kept moving slowly. Any letter missing might ruin the answer to the question, but it formed one big word. Maybe he would understand. Maybe he wouldn't. Not that it mattered anymore. All his rights were gone if he even had them to begin with. After the question was answered he dropped his hands placing one around the kid again.

'Attempting to rebel, and trespassing in the Capitol woods.'