Into Darkness :: Theft Gang

A hunter always knows to wait for the window. The moment when their pitiful prey falls into a veil of vulnerability. A well trained tracker knows to never initiate early, never to let the beast out before the bloodhound. Simply because someone catches the seductive scent of blood doesn't mean an obvious victory is inevitable. Often the same smell which steals your senses serves you upon a platter to an even deadlier danger. You must always wait for the window, construct your life around the concept. The Hunt is always more than just a two player game.

I'm on the roof of the abandoned building down Wiler Road when it happens. District Three, the Electric City, goes dark. I'm alone with only the embers at the end of my cigarette to keep me company. I don't panic as I stare out over a land I've never seen dark before. This shit is nothing compared to the darkness that Death draws. There are no screeching skeletons or crying corpses. Death does not descend from the throne of tragedy to harvest the heathens of Hell. No, this pathetic ploy by President Fuck Face doesn't scare me.

I draw in a deep drag of my cigarette and wince as the smoke sweetly sears the layers of my lunges. I possess the pain for as long as I can before letting a slip stream back out into the night. I've never been very good at letting things go. I wish I could stay here longer, spit stains from my mouth until the sunrise crests over the ridge of evening. However, the Crime Circuit is bound to be burgeoning and as a key player in the Game of Gangs I best be making my appearance.

The sidewalks are something like a scene out of war. Little illumination lingers behind the closed curtains of buildings and not a single other soul is in sight. South Street, besides being a main artery to the factories, is entirely empty under the calls of curfew. Mayor Spark is such a shame to stand down to the Capitol's rigid rules. Ripred forbid if even a single soul seems to have spine in Panem. 

Surely enough the sewer systems, also known as the criminal highways of District Three, are swarming with familiar faces. Everyone senses the instability sewn into existence by the blackout. Great gains can be garnered in times of trouble like these. I won't deny the plans already piecing themselves together inside of my mind as I make my way towards Theft territory. I can smell the blood blooming and a boy brought back from Death's door cannot innocently ignore its call.

The Factory Forum, one of the newer Safe Houses established by the Tragic Twins, is full by the time I arrive. Instantly among the aimless crowd my eyes angle to Olli, his blonde hair is beaming brilliantly beneath the moon like a silver sewn halo. I don't have long to talk, so instead I brush the back of my hand against his while I pass, a ritual of recognition. I catch a glimpse of his blush and I'm smiling. What a strange power that boy possess to make me smile even at the smallest sight of him. My softness stops there though, the cold child takes his place on the throne of his Father's ruins.

"I only have one question for you all," I shout serrating the room into sharp silence, "Are you afraid of the dark?"

A long pause pierces the air after my words, hanging, challenging them. I see some nods and an equal amount of empty expressions. I want more from them. I want them to be swarming with exhilaration. My hands furl into fists.

"The other gangs are going to go after businesses and transports. Safe targets. I see this as a chance to expand the Theft Territory!"

I can feel the room beginning to mold, alter as they await my next announcement.

"How are we going to do that? Weapons. The Serpent King has sent in his soldiers and has tried to put our District beneath him! But Three is ours!"

Drawing a switchblade from my pocket I slam it deep into the board of a table. Yet sitting on that table and now skewered by my knife, is the severed head of a snake.

"We are going to strike the PeaceKeepers' Weapons Depot and steal what we can! So let me ask you again, are you afraid of the dark?"