hanging by a moment {Kraygon oneshot}

Tensions were high in the house as Maddy let the tiny cow go. Tears swam down the face of Ma and Pa. Sorrow filled the air lingering inside the house as another empty chair filled the table. Kraygon refused to let anyone remove Esme's, and he prayed Bailey's wouldn't stay empty, but he knew the games were hard. He knew people died. Yet he hoped Bailey was the one who survived.

"Kraygon, I told you to behave today!" Ma shouted from the other room as the tension rose higher and higher until it was almost impossible to slice through it with a sharp sword. "What were you thinking?"


"Did you not see what had happened? Do you not realize that Bailey was reaped?" He asked angrily. His blood boiled beneath his skin as he tried to push away the thoughts of the past lingering inside the shadows of his mind. "I didn't even do anything."

"You made a show. You were supposed to remain still and do anything. It could've waited until you got home."

"Ma, do you even care that Esme died? Do you even care that there's a huge chance Bailey could die? Do you realize that?"

"Kraygon, you will not talk to your mother like that!" Pa butted in pushing his way through the kitchen as the door closed behind him. "It is a bad for us all. I know that. But you will not stand here and take it out on her. She didn't do anything."

His heart dropped into the bottomless pit of his stomach as a heavy weight pressed firmly against his shoulders. Red spots danced in front of his eyes, and his cheeks were on fire as the blood pooled inside them. His body was warm, and he wanted to turn around and punch Pa in the face, but he stopped himself.

"None of you care. None of you even care."

Glass shattered against the ground as the cup fell from his mother's hands landing on the ground, and Kraygon knew his world was slowly crashing out of control. His words caught in the back of his throat hiding behind a lump. Downcast eyes bounced around the room only stopping when he met his Ma's eyes, and he froze glaring into them for only a moment -

"I scared."

Evelyn's sweet voice penetrated the silence, and the tension collapsed as Kraygon ran over to her wrapping his arms around her drawing her in tightly. Tears fell from her eyes soaking the shirt on his back. A stone heart burst beneath his chest shattering against the will of his own. His legs gave, and he fell on the ground taking his sister with him.

"Bailey die like Esme?"

A waterfall of tears swam down the side of his face as he pulled himself away from his sister for only a moment looking her straight in the eye pondering the right words to say. His gaze drifted for a moment locking on the eyes of Ma and Pa. Seeing the sorrow in them broke him more than he ever imagined. It was wrong of him saying they don't care because he knows they do care - it was the heat of the moment, and a raging bull. He sighed as he turned back towards Evelyn knowing he can't lie, yet he didn't want to bring a sense of false hope. His gaze dropped, and he closed his eyes only for a moment fighting against the weight of the world until finally he knew what to say.

"Bailey is a fighter, Evelyn. She's a fighter."