The Hammer Burns [Torka One-shot]

"Hey sir, I need you to come quick. There's someone in the square who's been set on fire. I need your help."

Confused staring from the peacekeeper, but he runs past me toward the square. I don't know if I will ever see this place again. Not while I am breathing. My family. Always getting the attention. My brother Mason went into the games with overwhelming odds to win. Dead at tenth place. What a failure. Orion who my parents love the most volunteered for the games. Somehow the fool is still alive. Has not killed a single person. Odysseus. Tall. A mutant. The oldest in the family still alive. Gets more love or attention than myself. Everyone always forgetting my name. The peacekeeper thinks he's running toward a crime. Thing is the crime hasn't been committed yet. A box of matches is buried in my pocket. Lighter fluid hidden in the pocket inside my hoodie.

I will make sure my name is remembered. I think to myself as a wicked grin twists across my face. I fear being forgotten. Everyone in my family appear to be making a name for themselves and for what? I'm the one who has what it takes to kill. To win the games. My foolish brothers both went in and I do not expect Orion to come home. Not alive anyway. Mason is already five feet under a pile of dirt. Odysseus is a few weeks away from the same fate. This peacekeeper does not know that his time is up. I will douse him in fluid and set him on fire. What better way for people to fear me? Set a peacekeepr on fire in front of everyone. I'll be more than okay with the consequences. Not like the Hammerfells are cursed or anything. One dead. Another about to be. A third may as well already be coming home in a box.

It's then I see him as the crowd gathers around. My entire mind racing. My body screams for this moment. This is my time to shine. To show the world that I am not afraid. That I am the one who should always be remembered. Not Mason, Orion, or Odysseus. Reaching inside my hoody pocket, I remove the can of lighter fluid. Just a simple tool in a massacre waiting to happen. My eyes focus on the masked man in front of me. My heart pounds echoing through my ears, and right now it's just me and him. Me and this stupid, foolish peacekeeper. It is time. Quickly, and quietly, I take of the lid of the lighter fluid, and I squeeze every single bit of in on the peacekeeper. He has just enough time to turn around to face me. The bottle flies from my hands, and I reach inside my pant pocket removing the matches. I strike a match and the flame grows, and I throw it on the peacekeeper. His entire body erupts into flames, yet it doesn't stop me. I do it one, two, three, four, five more times until all the matches in the match box are gone. The fun has only begun.

A human inferno stands before me. His screams for help fly through the air but land on deaf ears. Not a single person moves towards him. As the flame grows larger, I remove another container of lighter fluid. The evil grin spreading larger and large across my face. It's not about killing a peacekeeper. It's about making a name for myself. I want every single person here to fear me. Snapping off the lid, I squirt more on him allowing the flames to grow larger and larger. The heat is almost unbearable, but I don't stop until every bit of fluid is gone. His screams fill the air. Over and over. People gasp around as they stare at what they just witnessed. The scent of burning flesh fills my nostrils. The corners of my lips turn back baring my teeth like a wild rabid animal. Soon the screaming ends as the lifeless body collapses towards the ground. It's then I speak for the first time over the popping and cracking of the fire."My name is Torka Hammerfell! Don't you ever forget it!"