creature fear | erastus & amadeus interrogation

umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars]
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creature fear | erastus & amadeus interrogation Jul 30, 2015 1:23:30 GMT -5

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Post by umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars] on Jul 30, 2015 1:23:30 GMT -5

. ERASTUS .
i'm like a rubber band
until you push too hard

I am falling no flying no sailing no sinking. I have my arms lifted into the air as I was and the wind beneath them feels amazing but something about today is off and I don't know what just yet but I know there is something different I just know it.

Maybe it's the weather because the clouds sure are turning everything an odd shade of gray like everything is becoming dull while I just want it to be brighter and cheerful. Maybe the way the wind courses through my messy hair is what does it or maybe it's not the weather maybe it's something different something w o r s e!

Maybe it is because the birds won't sing even though I have been trying to get them to by whistling and humming and sometimes just singing aloud so they can hear me and no it isn't so scary out here and it is okay for them to sing because I am. I guess they are hiding away because it looks like it'll storm soon but why wait? The storm isn't here yet and the rain and the wind and the sadness and the wet is all coming but it's not here yet so why not enjoy things while they are here because what is to come might not be as goo-

He looks different. In a bad way, like he is angry at the world, no not the world just me only me he's looking at me and he is a peacekeeper ohnowhathaveIdone? I try not to pay him any mind but I can see in his eyes and they aren't happy with me, or maybe with himself I can't tell I can't tell anything other than he is staring right at me and he is angry at something. The white of his uniform looks dirty, or not as bright. Probably because it's dark outside and humid and murky and I know that can't be good for white clothes can it? I always make a mess of myself regardless of the color I wear. I have stains and holes and rips and stretches and mom always complains about having to fix them but secretly I don't think she minds because she just sort of rolls her eyes and tells me to leave it on the desk and then asks me about my day.

Maybe he is mad because his uniform looks dirty or because he is like the birds and he can't sing and maybe he isn't mad at me maybe he is just listening to me and watching me like the birds. Maybe he is just confused and wants to follow my example and be happy, after all I certainly haven't done anything bad have I? I don't think I have ever done anything bad enough to get punished at school, so surely a peacekeeper won't be needing me OH I know maybe he is confusing me for someone else? I can try and help him figure out who it is he is looking for!

I am breathing so fast and it doesn't make sense because I still can't seem to get any oxygen to my lungs and I am scared and I don't know what to do and I am trying to be strong and blink, blink, blink away the tears but they keep coming and I can't even wipe them away because my hands are chained to the floor. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. A light hangs loosely from the ceiling and it isn't doing a very good job of helping me see and what if it falls it'll break and then I'll be all alone in the dark miles from home and I'll be trapped and I am so scared and I just wish Cody were still here because at least then things would be okay. At least then he could talk to me and make me feel safe and loved and I want Andromeda too and Mom, please, Mom! And I want Duncan and I want everyone and I need them here with me because I am all alone and I am scared.

And he walks in quietly and I think he might be a monster disguised as a human. I see the way he looks at me, like he doesn't believe my stories, like none of them have. But they are all true, I can't lie Mom says she can see it in my face when I lie "You blink and look down at your feet every time," she says and I didn't even blink when I was answering even to keep the tears out just so they knew I was telling the truth and now he is back and I don't know what he wants from me. "Can I go home now, sir? I would really like to go home now, if that is okay." I say and oh no I sound broken and what if I am always gonig to be like this? What if I am stuck in this place forever until I tell them what they want -- the scary creatures.

I am scared of monsters. I didn't ever look under my bed or in my closet because they would have gotten me and now they've all been waiting in the darkness for years and years and they are tired of being ignored and now here I am. "Please." I say and then I start to sob, or maybe have a panic attack or maybe I am just hyper ventilating I don't know are those two the same thing? Can he at least fix the light? I don't think I have told him yet so I do, I tell him so he'll know and he'll try and meet me halfway.

"I'm scared of the dark. I am sca-- My house isn't ever dark. I want to go home, please."

^{I AM A GARDEN OF BLACK AND RED AGONIES}

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creature fear | erastus & amadeus interrogation Aug 1, 2015 1:22:02 GMT -5

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Post by Python on Aug 1, 2015 1:22:02 GMT -5

IN THIS DISTORTED WORLD, I AM GRADUALLY

AMADEUS

GROWING TRANSPARENT AND VANISHING.

Screams had become background static, like the noise of a glitching television. The barren walls of the Detention Center bled suffering and tragedy. The golden child of the Vaux family felt like a shade of grey, having blended with the rest of the employee population in a dull, repetitive existence. He was more of a drone here than he had ever been in any other District, and his loyalty to the Capitol felt estranged. There was no endpoint to his goals, no bigger picture. Just day after day of interrogations and unorthodox punishments. Was this making the Districts a better place to live? They were producing slaves and drawing scars. Very rarely did any of it feel like justice.

Sunlight was scarce; only during breaks could he venture outside to breathe in District Two’s familiar atmosphere, yet it brought little comfort. His supervisors enjoyed his tolerant demeanor and ruthless capabilities, and had put in the order to keep him for as long as possible. Several months of a similar routine nibbled at his conscience until he had finally requested a temporary leave for reassignment. He had craved a change of pace and some fresh air. Two months, they granted him, then he would return.

His first month had been spent in the Capitol, capturing runaway Avoxes for execution. He was allowed one family visit per weekend, and only took advantage of two. Awkward family dinners had grown tiresome over the years. His “golden boy” image hadn’t faded in their minds, despite knowing nothing about how gruesome his job description was. As long as he was an authority figure and “role model,” he was a star in his parents’ minds. He would rather keep them in the dark about how he truly felt about his work in the Detention Center. Let them cheer and slap him on the back. He could pretend, just for two nights.

The second month he spent in District Three. The usual pack of drug dealers was rounded up in a series of arrests. Waiting in the Justice Building for the train, he couldn’t help but predict each of their future paths. Now that he had been exposed to the Detention Center’s inner workings – having become one of the greasy gears himself – he knew what would happen to most of them, as if their fates were already written in the creases of their angry faces. He would likely meet them again once his vacation days were over. Before his train arrived, he made sure to pay a long visit to the bookstore. A new taste of literature would keep him sane.

Upon his return, he was welcomed with a batch of assigned interrogations. He reviewed them in the confines of his old quarters, breathing stale air and familiarizing himself with the faint echo of shouts. He could usually tell if it was the voice of a prisoner or a Peacekeeper. It could become an endless guessing game if he didn’t monitor himself, so he tuned it out as background noise and focused on the task at hand. The list of names was short – likely a courtesy – but he knew better than to expect his invested time to run short. Interrogations could devour time like a starving dumpster dog, especially when the prisoners refused to cooperate.

For their own sakes, he hoped they decided to talk.

Erastus Fox’s cell was nestled in one of the older corridors, long overdue for renovation. Chains anchored him to the floor, slightly rusted from age. The lamp dangling from the ceiling cast a dim light across the floor, forcing him to squint at the document on hand. He had been arrested for “probable cause” of starting a rebellion, but the complete lack of recorded evidence left him with a vague image of the event. It was frustrating when lazy Peacekeepers couldn’t do their jobs.

Pleading was another variation of background noise. Whether he wanted to go home, or felt afraid of the dark, there was nothing Amadeus could do to ease his anxiety. All he had was truth. ”Honesty will grant you freedom,” he drawled, whether that freedom be a release from prison as an avox, or by execution. Or maybe he would be another Teddy Seraphim. He dragged a chair in front of the prisoner and sat down, withdrawing is baton to tap it over his own knee as a warning. It was protocol to use intimidation techniques. ”Tell me exactly what happened at the time of your arrest. If you tell the truth, your sentence may be reduced.”

Or worsened.

umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars]
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creature fear | erastus & amadeus interrogation Aug 26, 2015 19:11:40 GMT -5

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Post by umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars] on Aug 26, 2015 19:11:40 GMT -5

{e r a s t u s
i'm a ruin }

Truth truth he wants the truth? Well here we are, me and you. You and me and neither knows and now I'm punished for what? (forwhatforwhatforwhat?) I can feel my bones begin to shake and I try my very hardest to keep my lips still as they quiver in fear of him because he is so tall and he looks so angry and bitter and I bet a man like him would never be afraid of the dark like me. He is too strong to hold fear in his heart but then again do people like him even have hearts? Of course they do what would keep them alive if they didn't have hearts thumping in their chests?

"Truth," I ~~whimper~~ say aloud and my eyes meet his so he knows I am not a liar. (Momma always said liars couldn't look you in the eye.) "The truth is I don't..." I want to tell him the truth. The real truth, but I know he won't believe me. no one believes me not this man now, not Andromeda when we were little, no one. I am not trusted and I am a bad liar and it seems like if no one could trust me I would at least be good at lying right? But I guess I can't win, not in situations like this one.

"The truth is that I don't want to die, sir." ~~The truth is that I'm afraid.~~ "If I could just... know what I am being charged for... If I could just know what I did that was wrong, I can try and explain and maybe you'll... maybe you'll understand." Maybe you'll understand I am w e a k and I cannot do anything bad because I am scared of consequences like these I am scared of places like this and yet here I am anyway and I don't even get to know if it is daylight or dark outside. I just know the light on the ceiling that rocks back and forth and lets the shadows dance while I cannot, and they all are laughing at me I bet, laughing because they are free and I am all tied up and terrified. Yes, they are free to do what they want in a place like this. This is where they belong, not where I belong I do not belong here.

"This has to be a mistake, and I bet you hear that all of the time but... But I just- This has to be a mistake. Not your's, I'm sure. You seem... You seem like you are good at your job." And I bet he is good at his job the question is: what is his job? Is it really to protect Panem or is it to instill fear in it's citizens? I hope it's the first option because the second means I am an example and I will be what people fear. I will live the nightmares many like me have had many times.

I will be the darkness that keeps me awake at night.

And I can't handle that.

^{I AM A GARDEN OF BLACK AND RED AGONIES}

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creature fear | erastus & amadeus interrogation Sept 7, 2015 0:31:10 GMT -5

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Post by Python on Sept 7, 2015 0:31:10 GMT -5

IN THIS DISTORTED WORLD, I AM GRADUALLY

AMADEUS

GROWING TRANSPARENT AND VANISHING.

He was trained to sense fear. It could be a hindrance or a weapon, depending on whether or not the individual cracked under pressure. In The Detention Center, it was the norm, and it meant nothing to everybody. Amadeus could see fear in the prisoner’s eyes, hear it in his voice, taste it in the air as the words lingered. The only honesty he had spoken was his wish not to die, but unfortunately he was no genie. He ultimately didn’t decide the final sentencing; he could only contribute ink to paper, perhaps sway the superiors to one decision based on fact. So far, there was nothing written. “I don’t want to die,” was irrelevant information, and something he heard every day. It was constantly whispered into cracks and shouted across hallways.

Execution could not be stopped.

It seemed the prisoner had not been informed of his charge – unless it was a lie. Feigned ignorance was a common tactic to earn appeal. No such manipulation would have any effect on Amadeus, but in case this was in fact an honest statement, he would provide the necessary information. ”You have been charged with probable cause of starting a rebellion against The Capitol,” he said, nonchalant. It wasn’t an uncommon sentence, but it was often ruled a false positive. It was difficult to catch rebels red-handed, and many were arrested by suspected association. Many citizens have been locked away in these cells despite their innocence. Some have suffered through to the end, becoming Avoxes or corpses for a crime they may not have committed. He would rather avoid such injustices, and would strive for the most logical truth behind this supposed crime.

”You seem like you’re good at your job,” he said, an echo of the same statement repeated to him before. Normally it was other Peacekeepers praising him for his nearly-perfect track record. He had never been accused of misconduct or false arrests. As far as anyone was concerned, he was the most obedient Peacekeeper alive. So yes, he was good at his job, perhaps too good. An obedient dog chained to the worst type of masters.

”Now, tell me exactly what happened at the time of your arrest. Provide as many details as you can, and do not lie.” The liars could often be difficult to pinpoint, but if he could connect the arrest reports to the boy’s word – provided additional, sensible information – it would be easier to come to a conclusion. He didn’t just want the setting, that was simple enough. He needed to know what Erastus was physically doing when the Peacekeeper(s) arrived. Was he alone, or with a group of rebels? Did he try to flee? To fight back? Why had he been pursued? Could someone be framing him, or could he perhaps be the wrong target?

There were a number of possibilities. Amadeus was only interested in one.