Double Occupancy {Open - Games related}

[*]

I can't stop watching the games. The horrible, horrible game that is forced upon us every year. The killind and deaths that occur. It's barbaric, but such is life. There's an underlying cause of my watching them though. I survived my own games against this guy named Marcus. I did battle and lost a part of me but I'm still breathing. On the screen, it shows me what I want to see. That some of these people, despite the bad that happens, can come back and survive just one more day. One more day to breath. One more day to walk. One more day to make up for the last.

"Come on... don't let them win." I whisper out as I watch the screen of this tiny girl whose killed one career already. With the effects that the capitol has, the scene in front of me is enough to see what's about to happen. The two that fought that monster are fixing to come together again. They are going to fight each other this time. Anything around me is silenced as I stare into the moving pictures.

Just like that, the girl tries to take the first hit and misses the other tribute completely. The other guy, Asa, is a trained career and relentless for some reason and actually attacks her back. What happens though, sends my body into a deep, vibrating chill.

"NO!" I scream out within the quiet house. My hands are already fishing around in the dark for the crutches just as my little sister comes into the living room. Her tired, sleepy eyes being rubbed by her hand.

"Seth? What's wrong.. what happened?" She asks me, concern filling her voice.

"Nothing... nothings wrong.. go back to bed." I tell her and wait to hear from the room down the hallway if my yell woke them up as well. Roselyn just looks at me, completely dumbstruck as she shakes her head. "Who died?"

I can't tell her what happened. I can't tell her that I've not seen the outcome. I've only just watched that career tear into that little girl. Her leg... her leg... Without waiting, I settle my hands into the crutches and go straight for the door only to hear her yell out after me.

"Seth. Don't go. It's dark out. You'll get lost. Seth! SETH!" Her tiny voice cries out after me, but I don't really care. The sun will be up in an hour or so and then I can go back home. I just have to get out of the house. I can't watch what happens to her because she might not have the chance I did. I was lucky... there was medical supplies and help. There was someone who found me and saved me. The little girl... what does she have?

"Please live..." The words escape my mouth before I realize it and I find myself stumbling over everything in my path. There's nothing to tell me the direction that I've gone. I only can see pure darkness and the outlines of the trees from the three-quarters moon's light. Only when I feel myself drained of energy from walking do I collaspe under the start of the lightening sky. Slowly, I let the breath go into my lungs and slowly push it out as the memories envelope me when I had been attacked. I grimace and throw one of my crutches against the nearest tree and find myself welling up with tears. "If I can live... you can too, Esme. Live..."

[uwu]

This year, I didn't really care for the games. Again. Which games are they on, anyways? The 68th? 69th? Something like that. Why should I? My sister will never be in it, she's too old. And if I'm in it, well, I'll be fine. I'll win it. Even though the Capitol forces us to watch it, that doesn't mean I'll actually pay attention to it. Yes, I find kids around my age killing each other for the survival of their own lives fun, but after 14 years of watching it over, and over, and over again, you get bored of it. I tune it out whenever my family watches it. I almost never watch it on my own free will.

This morning, I woke up early to the sound of my dad and sister watching the games. "Hey, guys. Could you turn it down a little, please?" I say, "It's kinda loud."  I hear an "Okay" from Anna and less screaming and fighting from the screen. How many tributes are dead, now? 14? I can't wait for it to be over.

I go back to my bed and lay down for a couple minutes. I try falling back to bed, but it doesn't seem to work. Great job, guys. Woke me up for nothing. I take a shower, get dressed, and head out. My dad offers a spot next to him before I go, but I declined. I don't care for watching it.

I walk outside, and I am glad that I remembered to put on a jacket before I left. It was mildly chilly this morning, and the sun hasn't come out yet, so the only warmth I got was from the jacket. But I can't see that well. That's the only problem at the moment. I can make out the silhouettes of the trees and the buildings I pass by, but I can't see any of the detail on it. It feels nice, to be alone in the dark in the almost deafening silence. I wonder if the tributes ever get a chance like these in the games?

I hear a little rustling in the woods to the left of me. I ignore it, but then I hear something hit a tree. If it wouldn't have been for that thump, I would have thought it was an animal and left it alone. But I know it's a thump. I have never heard an animal make that sound. Ever. I walk towards the sound. I don't say anything because I'm still a little tired, but I am able to hear someone say something. I don't catch it, but it sounds like he or she is about to cry.

I walk a little further, and see a weird shape against a tree. What is that? Or who is that would be a better question. As I walk closer, I accidentally trip over a large stick of some sort. I'm not able to identify what it looks like, but the sun is rising, so I can see a little better, now. There is a person at the bottom of the tree, and from the looks of it, his leg seems kind of funny. Who do I know who has a messed up leg? My sister? Well, it's more of her back, and she's still at home, last time I checked. Seth? Maybe, it's possible it could be him. There are others who are out there who have messed up legs. It could be any of them. I really hope it isn't Seth. I don't want to deal with anything this early in the morning.

After a minutes or so of indecision, I decide to leave. I don't want little to no human interaction as I can get this morning. Unfortunately for me, I tripped over another large stick, possibly the same one as before, and am unable to regain my balance this time. "Dammit!" I yell as I fall forwards. I put my arms out in front of me for protecting, waiting for the pain to come.

[*]

I hear nothing but my own sorrow filling my head. Words and imagines of my own attack when Marcus used that blade to rip through my leg. When Marcus walked off and left me laying there to die. I hate you... The words seem to play in my head but they weren't for Marcus this time. It was for that tribute that cut her leg off. The boy that attacked someone younger and smaller than himself. What a coward. What a waste. If I was there, I would have stepped in front of her and taken the damage instead. She was perfect. She was simply a girl with a bright future and now...

She's just like... me?

The crutch gets flung away from me, hitting the nearest tree, making the 'thump' echoe through the forest. I barely hear it now as I wallow in self-pity, wondering if the girl is going to be okay or not. I just left when it happened. I have no clue if she's still fighting him or if he's... placed a blade down onto her head this time. I beg for her to live.. yet my mouth closes when I hear something yell out a curse and the hair on the back of my neck stands up suddenly.

Whose out here? Roselyn? Why is she following me out here? DAmnit... she's going to go tell mom.

"Roselyn, come on out. I know you're there. Don't go back home just yet." I call out for my sister, not realizing the tone wasn't female's at all. It all happened so quick, but the light that the new dawn is giving me, allows me to see where my crutch went. Using the other, I prop myself up, wipe furiously at my eyes that seem to be fresh with moisture and hobble over to where the other crutch lays and get it into my hand before seeing the figure that's fallen.

Ice.

Someone just poured ice water over my skin because I'm completely frozen seeing who it is.

"What do you want Marcus?"

[uwu]

The light seemed to get brighter as I fell down. How ironic that is, the world becoming brighter as I fall. My hands hit the ground fist, followed by my arms and the rest of my body. All would have been fine, except for two things: there happened to be a rock where I placed my hand, and I hear the voice I dreaded to hear.

"What do you want Marcus?"

Great. I run into him again. And now, I have a rock in my hand hand to add. I push myself back up, wincing as the rock pushed itself a little more into me. I pull out the rock and turn around to face him.

"I don't want anything," I say as I watch a small amount of blood pour out of my freshly cut hand, "I was minding my own business when I heard a sound come from the forest. I was hoping to find something actually useful, like some game. But instead, look who it is?"

I knew that was a lie, but what would I really tell him? That I was curious? That I might have wanted to help? That would have been stupid to say, especially to him. They good thing about seeing Seth is that it got me awake. I felt more alert. I think it was that I fell, and the pain helped jerk me awake. Would it be worth it to stay, though? Would it really be a good idea to be with him this early, and unarmed? Why should I trust him after every single other time we met I needed to protect myself?

"Don't get my hopes like that again, Seth. You're lucky that it's too early for me to give a shit right now."

For some reason, I snicker. It wasn't supposed to be funny, but it's a weird way my brain works. I have a weird sense of humor.

 "And why the hell are you here, may I ask?"

That might have sounded blunt, but who cares? It's Seth. Why should I care what he thinks?

[*]

I thought it was my sister. I thought it might have been her little head to poke out from behind a tree somewhere, but no. It's that damn yellow haired boy with his snarky appearance. This time, I catch on quickly to the blood pooling around the wound on his hand. I can't help but raise an eyebrow at him as a grin comes to my lips. He's feeling a bit of pain, I know it.

"I don't want anything. I was minding my own business when I heard a sound come from the forest. I was hoping to find something acutally useful, like some game. But instead, Look who it is?"

"Yeah, look who it is. An old foe who clearly has no reason to be out here. Hurts, don't it?" I nod my head in his direction toward his hand. I snicker and get myself to a standing position and look at him.

"Don't get my hopes up like that again, SEth. You're lucky that it's too early for me to give a shit right now." I shrug my shoulders to him and pass him off as nothing more than just an annoying insect. I don't care what his reason is right now, I just don't feel like dealing with him at the moment. "And why the hell are you here, may I ask?"

Again, I pass him off as I take a few steps away further from him. I want nothing more then silence and to deal with my problems by myself. Although, I'm sure Rozelyn won't be leaving me to my own devices and she'll have my father out here shortly looking for me, but I simply return the attitude. "What do you care? Not like you'd even show an ounce of compassion if I said anything. Say - why didn't you volunteer these games? I'd love to see you out there choppin off legs and severing heads. Can you do that next year? I'll be your biggest supporter."

I turn around from him, and with my crutches shove my way through the debris on the ground and start to head for a different area. "Do me a favor and can you not follow me for once?"

[uwu]

He seems to have said something as I watch my hand as a small trickle of blood comes of my hand. For a weird, strange reason, it memorizes me, the sight of my own blood.

"What do you care? Not like you'd even show an ounce of compassion if I said anything. Say - why didn't you volunteer these games? I'd love to see you out there choppin off legs and severing heads. Can you do that next year? I'll be your biggest supporter."

I stiffen slightly. He says I have no compassion, eh? Not towards him, anyways. I brush of the first part of that comment.

"That's actually a great idea. Why haven't I thought of that before? Oh, wait. I don't want to die yet. You should volunteer yourself, someday. Maybe the next one after I do."

I imagine myself in the most current games, inside the ominous caverns, having to try to find your way around in the pitch blackness. Now that I think about it, that would have been a fun games to be in. I most likely wouldn't have that great of a chance because of the lack of sponsors, but it would be fun regardless.

I hear the crackling of leaves in front of me as I snap back into reality. I see Seth pick up his crutches and start walking away.

"Do me a favor and can you not follow me for once?"

I freeze. Did he see me follow me last time? How could he? I climbed down a while after he left. He couldn't possibly have know. And that was only one time. Every encounter I've had with him always happens by accident. I never want to make plans with him. Unless he wants his ass whooped.

"Hey, I never followed you anywhere. Why would I want to? You're not that interesting in the first place, and I have better things to do than to stalk a nobody like you."