Tell me, Where will I go from here? [Michie&Kay]

[ecstasy]

althea essex ll seventeen ll district six

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If they say that the world will end in fire, does this mean the world's starting to end?, Althea found herself asking this question.

Althea Essex walked rather vigorously through the halls of her home, from her room, through her family's rooms, their kitchen, the living room, finally she reached the doorway that leads outside. She grasped for the door knob and opened the door carelessly. She found herself running outside, as if her whole house was a minefield and was about to blow any second. Fresh air entered her nostrils and filled her lungs, it was probably as fresh air gets in District 6. The sun's radiant rays engulfed her with authentic warmth that made her very happy. Everything seemed well, but she knew this was far from the truth. Althea knew all was not well, and at this state it will probably never will be. Fire is ending the world, its doing what its made to do, destroy and erase what fool crosses its path.

The world is the biggest fool to cross fire. Althea is seeing fire manifest all around her, some so intimidating, so hot, so terrifying. Some, like the sun's rays, are warm, welcoming, and friendly. She even finds fire inside of her, it is the force that drives her to do what she does, and like every fire, the fire within her destroys. Althea had an argument with her brother, it wasn't like their old fights, this one seemed like something that will surely leave a mark, or worse something that will never be fixed. They had an argument about the games last nigh, after the final interviews. The games, the cursed games. She strongly despises the Hunger Games, and tries her hardest not to have anything to do with it, but her brother disagrees with her on that subject, of all the things her brother could disagree her with, it has to be her view of the games.

Althea's brother loved the games, he loved it. He said it was so "action filled" or "entertaining at its worst." Why would he think that? How could have he possibly think that? Does he not know that these tributes were kids, kids like her sister? Will he still think of the games like this if Althea were among the tributes? Althea loved her brother, she loved him too much that she started the argument like she did. She wanted him to see the games as it really was, a sad disgraceful act humans are capable of doing. Their argument started off with her saying, "The Games are not something to be excited about!" and somehow ended with him saying in a disappointed but furious voice, "Mother and father never wanted me, they wanted you, the perfect Althea Essex" and he walked out the door and never came back. She knew he got caught in her fire.

Their parents were at work when they had the fight. Althea slept alone that night, with dreadful dreams of her being in the games and her brother laughing as she was about to get killed. That's why she wanted to leave her house so much this morning. She had no school until the day after tomorrow, and this was one of her free times that she usually spends with her brother, but she clearly sees that wasn't an option. So she left in attempt to do something to get the fight with her brother off her head. She doesn't even know where she's going, she knew the district from the back of her head, but her feet took her to places she wasn't very familiar with. In no time she found herself lost. She walked for hours, it seemed, and luckily she caught a glimpse of a place she knew well, the train station.

The Train station was where Althea usually hangs out after school. She does her reflection and stuff here a lot. She had her most brilliant ideas in this place, and she knew this would be the perfect place to think of a way to deal with her 'brother problem'. She just sat on one of the benches there, in deep thought, the world running by fast around her.

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I look forward, to dying tonight, drinks till I'm myself,
life's harder every day

Locke did not like patrolling the train station. While he enjoyed doling out punishment, and there was plenty to go around with the train thrown into the mix, it was fast, loud and hot. The machine itself gave off all sorts of exhaust that marred his bone white Peacekeeper uniform, and it was impossible to anticipate what sort of day it would be. He could count on the luxury residential nearby to be peaceful, for instance, if he was feeling lazy. Or he could tour some of the alleyways and haul sorry asses off to the Detention Center for peddling morphling (and keep their stashes for himself, of course).

He was fresh off a big bust, and had plenty of supplies for at least two weeks. Thus, he didn't try to shirk his turn at the station, although he wanted to. Instead, he tucked an extra vial of the sweet drug into a small pouch sewn at the wrist of his uniform. It made him feel invincible, to have more than he needed, to be high besides. Each click of his polished black boots invigorated him, and even the prospect of spending the day monitoring the dusty train couldn't budge that half-cocked sneer from his features. His fingers strayed to his left wrist every so often, just to touch the hard glass beneath. It felt like hope, like promise, like how he would be spending his evening, if he could just get through his work for the day.

When he arrived, a train had just departed, and it was clear no one had gotten on or off. There were plenty of suppliers who used the train between Six and the Capitol, but certainly no one traveled for pleasure. So when his eyes landed on a girl sitting idly on a bench, he immediately assumed her to be a deviant. Locke took in a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and set his lips. He didn't look quite so handsome, but he definitely avoided looking like a softie. It was a fair trade, in his estimation. No one could mistake him for a pretty boy when he had his game face on.

The click-click of his shoes preceded his voice as he came within two yards of her. "Don't suppose you ought to be in school right now?" He asked, and though the words had the cadence of being fatherly, the way he said them, the way the words stuck in his mouth, made the question not at all innocent. She was clearly young enough to be in school, and it was one of his duties to enforce that law as well. He hated truants; they invariably grew up to be thorns in his side.

banner credit: bad nana rising
lyrics: adema giving in

[The Hypocrisy of Truth]

He'd been wondering aimlessly for quite a while now. James, with his arms hanging limply at his sides, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion of the emotional sort, and each of his steps almost dangerously imbalanced. Finally, he was there. It was on accident, but he was there nonetheless. There was still a stain on a part of the alley wall. Slumping against it in a combination of nearly complete denial and utter pain, James closed his eyes. The images of his brother's dead body bombarded his mind without his consent. They were brutal and torturous, but ever so present.

The tip of James' nose touched the inside of his palm before he was even conscious of his hand's movement. The other one came up to help cover his face, this time with his permission, and he let his knees give way as the first sob broke through his lips. He heard the sound come out of his mouth and briefly thought something or someone was dying before he realized it was himself making the wretched noise of agony.

Crouched there, with his back against the wall and his hands muffling his untamed noises of grief, James questioned life. He questioned it's purpose and if it was worth living. He even questioned how easy it would be to end it. It was easy enough for the man who murdered James brother, Jeremy. He had arrived just in time to helplessly watch his brother drown in his own blood. In that moment, he put the noises he was making now to shame. He cared not what others thought as he knelt there by his brother, beckoning him back into the land of the living. James was a man of few words, he asked for something once and when he did not get it that was the end. He certainly wouldn't consider himself one for begging. But the sound of his voice begging and pleading his brother to awaken as his crimson blood spread over the concrete shocked even him.

It had been a while since James had been to six. And he'd just gotten here the day before. He had a job to do. One that he couldn't clock out of for getting a little teary-eyed. So with what strength he was only strong enough to pretend to have, he heaved himself up and walked away without another glance. Not one. He would return later and mourn. Mourn in the rain so the drops coming down from the sky mercifully hid his grief from those who might be watching. James was a peacekeeper, after all. And therefore not allowed to feel.

Going through the motions of yet another day on the job, James' feet led him to the train station. He'd heard someone else would be watching it today, but he still had to check. Still had to make sure that there were people to find. People to love.

As a peacekeeper, James received the worst reputation and accusations from the District Citizens possible. Because in this uniform, in the sun menacingly poking at his searing flesh, in the free world where he wasn't free, he could only be who the Capitol ordered he become. Come sundown, was when the citizens of the District got to know him. When he showed up at the bedside to hold the hand of a woman giving birth to her still-born child, and mourning with her. When he pretended to shove a child against a wall only for them to turn around and find he'd put food in their hands. When he cradled the rape victim against his chest and whispered sweet nothings she wouldn't remember tomorrow. This was when they got to see who he really was.

"Don't suppose you ought to be in school right now?" The voice pulled him away from his thoughts and back into reality. Exactly where he didn't want to be. But despite his slight anger at the departure from his intriguing mind, both the unfamiliarity to the voice and the way he was addressing whoever he was talking to caught his attention and held it. He couldn't stop himself from saying something, but he couldn't let it break his cover. "Exactly what do you think you're doing? There's no school today, so I believe the girl can be wherever she wishes. I don't see her breaking any law that I know of." Perhaps it was a bit out of line, but he couldn't just let that go. It annoyed him too much to simply let it go.

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[ecstasy]

althea essex ll seventeen ll district six

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Althea's face was shielded by her palms. She found herself wishing that time would run by fast, and her brother would come pick her up from the train station anytime soon. But instead she had to endure every second, every minute that she grieved for someone to comfort her, to ease her burden, the way her brother has always done. That was the consequence of fully giving your love and trust to one person, when that one person's gone, your love and trust is gone with that person. She could feel unwanted tears building up her eyes, tears that would soon break free from her tightly closed eyelid, she didn't want that. Why couldn't she be like other people, with friends, with people willing to lend you their shoulders for you to rest your head on. That moment she knew the eager tears would any second flood down her cheeks, but something stopped them so abruptly, no, someone.

A peacekeeper, with their usual white uniforms, stern looks, and damp auras that would make anyone feel negative right on the spot. Althea's palms instantly dropped from her face, she stood up quickly as if sitting down in front of a peacekeeper would land her a death penalty. Her tears retreated, as if they too feared the peacekeeper. She wasn't really familiar with any peacekeepers from her district, she thought they all blended in with one another. But this time she had no choice but to fully inspect the peacekeeper in front of her. The man looked robust and sturdy, she could only wish to out power him, but she was way too familiar to this case that she was very positive that morphling hid behind the man's strong features. She always thought you could see it through the people's eyes, addiction. She had a lot of patients like this when she had internships on some clinics, but the people she saw in clinics sought rehabilitation. This man, she thought, was in no time considering rehabilitating.

"Don't suppose you ought to be in school right now?", the man's voice pierced through Althea's ears. Fear overpowered her thoughts that it took her a long while to process the question. It was late afternoon, and she usually just has a half a day of school during these days, so she didn't know why she felt so guilty, as if she murdered someone. She couldn't seem to find her voice when she needed it most, and she knew the robust peacekeeper would think she was pathetic, and she was, she was never really the type to masquerade emotions, so if she was scared, she sure as hell looks scared. She thought she was just going to die on the spot when another man's voice entered her brain. Another peacekeeper, like she needed the company any more. But then she finally got a clear thought of what the man said and she knew she was liking the other peacekeeper than Mr. Robust over there.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing? There's no school today, so I believe the girl can be wherever she wishes. I don't see her breaking any law that I know of.", the other peacekeeper addressed Mr. Robust. Althea inspected him the way he did with Mr. Robust, and yes the man also looked strong, they both did, but the man also had something different, like Mr. Robust had the signs of a morphling addict, the other man had despair written amongst his face, namely his eyes. As if the man is grieving for something, or perhaps someone, there was no way to tell. She looked at these two pairs of man's eyes, so distinct, so unique from each other, she thought how ignorant and stupid she was to think they all blended in. They were all clearly unique to one another. That was when her fear retreated the way her tears did, and a new odd feeling developed. She felt the need to befriend these two man, was she going crazy, or was she just crazy desperate for friends that anyone would just cut it.

Finally Althea spoke. "Out of all due respect, gentlemen", she managed, her voice sounding soft but firm, she surprised herself, she thought her voice would be cracked and broken, but that wasn't the case. "I'm thoroughly confident about my schedule, which indicates that at this very moment, no, I'm not supposed to be in school, but I thank you for being concerned", she said as friendly as she could manage. "I don't intend to cause any conflict, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience I did cause", she assured both of them. "With that being said, mind me asking, would you two care for a snack? There's a pastry shop on the other end of the station, I think they sell coffee, or perhaps even alcohol", she directed the alcohol part to Mr. Robust. "Oh how rude of me, I'm Althea Essex, by the way, a pleasure to meet both of you.", she added. She felt stupid and awkward, asking them to get a snack, she had some money, but that surely wasn't enough for the three of them, probably she could just treat the two and not get something for herself. She over thought the conversation and felt herself blush. And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, Althea Essex will never have friends, she thought.