Jethro PK {done}

Age ten

"What do you want to do with your life?" Mama asked.

Tiny blue eyes glistened towards her as many thoughts bounced through the mind of a ten year old boy. Not many children knew what they wanted to do when they grew up, but living in district one many answers were similar. Jethro watched kids his age step foot into the training center in order to prepare for a life spent becoming a bloodthirsty career. A puppet of the Capitol in order to fight for a chance to return with honor. And for the longest time he admired the teens who ran forward in hopes of winning a lifetime of power. Yet why throw a life away? Why destroy something as precious as an innocent soul? Even at a young age, Jethro knew that wasn't a life he wanted to live. But he had no answer for her as his tiny fingers wrapped around her leg pleading for help. All he needed was some guidance in life, and perhaps he would decide what he wanted.

"I wanna be superhero."

A genuine smile spread across his lips as he tucked his head on her chest. Hope swept through him, but it obviously wasn't what she wanted to hear. Downcast eyes pierced through his skin like bullets flying from a gun. Jethro thought of a superhero as many things. In his eyes, his parents were superheroes because they raised him. They taught him the ways of life. Being the mother she was, she focused her gaze on her son before embracing him in her caring arms.

"I'm sure you'll be an amazing superhero."

Age seventeen

"What do you want to with your life, Jethro?" Mama asked again.

Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to face her. The weight of the world pressed heavily on his shoulders. On one hand he wanted to make her proud and become the ruthless career she wanted him to become, but on the other hand, Jethro wanted to become a peacekeeper with a chance to bring justice to the world in the midst of turmoil. It was a weight his fragile shoulders couldn't handle much longer. Day in and day out the boy waltzed into the training center hoping for some clearance in life. Sitting in the corners, Jethro watched as people eagerly swung weapons around. Metal crashed against metal. Profanity spewed from angry lips as a match was lost. It didn't interest him.

All alone lifting weights forcing his muscles to become stronger and stronger until nothing remained. In his eyes pain was temporary, but pride lasted forever. Placing more weight on a bar to lift above his head, the trainer was warning him against the chances of the weight crashing down. "You might want to reconsider -"

"I will do what I want, and you, my friend, will spot me." He snapped as every single emotion wiped clean of his face. "I know what I'm capable of."

All he wanted in life was someone to support him. Someone to show him the truth in a world where evil existed. A stressful life of living with his parents was finally catching up to him. Many sleepless nights as he tossed and turned throwing covers around as nightmare crept through the sleeping mind. Terrors of having to kill someone in order to survive devoured his soul. Darkness stood in front of him, and many times he woke screaming drenched in sweat. Demons stood in front of him pointing down a dark, narrow path controlled by the wish of his mother. A path leading towards death and destruction.

"I'm going to become a peacekeeper." He stated calmly with his head held high. All he had to do was survive until he was free from the reaping. Yet once again he realized she wasn't proud of him. Only this time she didn't remain silent. "What is the point of training then? Why do you keep going? Jethro, you are meant to become a career in the hunger games. It's what we do here!"

"Did you participate in the games? Did you prove yourself as a career? No? I didn't think so." Immediately he regretted the words spoken to her. She was all he had, and all the boy wanted was a chance to live his life how he wanted to, but to smash his mother, to treat her with disrespect, was a terrible move on his part. "Mom, I just want to be a peacekeeper, and I hope you can find it in you to respect my decision."

Age twenty-one

"Mama, I wish you were hear." His voice cracked. Two years flew by since her passing, and his father wasn't anywhere to be seen. Roaming the streets, digging garbage from trash cans, Jethro found himself lost. A terrible weight pressed against his shoulders pushing him further and further - his life was slowly spiraling out of control. One bad thing after another. Nothing made sense. Left became right. Right became left. "I need your guidance mama." A river of tears swam down his face forming a lake beneath him. A broken man moved forward inch by inch searching for a way to live and a chance to survive, yet the efforts didn't prove worthy. Time ceased leaving him behind in a fast paced world making the young man question everything he worked for. Heavy winds swarmed through his life. Tearing everything away.

Alcohol swept down his lips burning his throat, and for the first time he realized how lucky he was to have a mother who never gave up on him. But now the entire world had given up, and his dreams of becoming a peacekeeper was smashed. All he worked for was gone. Locked away in a burning building. Memories scattered like ash caught in the wind. Until he had nowhere left to turn. Knocking on doors, Jethro begged anyone to take him in for a night. To just give him a chance to prove his life was worthwhile. But each attempt was met with a door slammed in his face. All hope was lost until he tried once more.

Finally someone wrapped his arms around him taking him from the street with a promise he wouldn't be alone ever again.

Age twenty-eight

A neatly pressed uniform set in the corner of his closet. Rugged hands wrapped around it removing it from the hanger. The corner of his lips twisted into a genuine smile. This was the moment he worked for his entire life, and now Jethro was living the dream he never thought possible. Making sure the citizens followed the laws with fear of death brought great joy to him. A soft chuckle escaped past his lips as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His mom would kill him if she saw him now. His short buzzed cut hair had been replaced with long, curly black hair falling just below his shoulders. And his clean shaved face was covered with scruffy facial hair. A goatee wrapped around his lips leading down from the scruffy sideburns, yet each time he stepped foot into uniform Jethro made sure his face was clean, and intimidating.

Growth spurt after growth spurt Jethro found himself standing a little over six foot tall. Sure he wasn't the tallest person in the world, but it never discouraged him because his weight made up for it. Weighing in at two hundred fifty pounds, Jethro showed off his muscles flexing in front of the mirror every single chance he had although he never showed off in front of the citizens. Outside the house his life was strictly business. Nothing mattered anymore except his loyalty to the Capitol. Forcing those to bow down in front of him, Jethro lived the life of a king doing what he could to place fear in the peasants, but no matter how much he tried, he always knew where his priorities lied - President Snow was in charge no matter what.

Pale skin, and blue eyes matched the face of his mother, but his nose and bony facial structure belonged to his father. His nose was large and crooked from being broken so many times growing up. Debilitating headaches caused by an accident threaten to keep the young man in bed, yet he finds his strength to push past it. Squinting his eyes to shield against the sun, Jethro preferred roaming the streets at night when most were asleep because it was more comfortable for him, but sometimes being a peacekeeper forced him to hobble into the daylight to catch the law breaking citizen to make an example out of him.

Speed was not on his side, but his endurance to keep moving was strong. Jethro always preferred running distances over running short sprints. His large frame body made sprinting challenging. Yet his ability to spear someone brought great momentum into his life. Each day he spent training and overcoming many challenges. The biggest challenge he ever faced, himself. Always complaining and coming up with excuses as to why something wasn't completed. Even though he learned to stop the nonsense, Jethro finds himself falling back to it. In his eyes it wasn't his fault. Something always stopped him, but sometimes even that gave him a drive to press forward to overcome the obstacles placed in front of him.

First impressions of Jethro could fool someone. A honest man who did his best to make sure everyone was taken care of was a different man on the inside. Jethro packed a punch, and his words were sometimes laced with malice in attempt to make people realize he meant business. Driven by his morals, loyalty, respect, honor, and integrity Jethro did his best to make sure everyone was treated equally. Respect him, and he would respect them in return. Yet has a job to do, and he'll keep his promise to Panem, however, at the end of the day one thing remained certain, Jethro was terrified of killing someone, but when push came to shove, he wouldn't hesitate because in his eyes anyone who breaks the law deserves the punishment they received no matter the age.