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Post by Seryna on Aug 19, 2012 18:45:08 GMT -5
Rachel silently fell in step behind Jace, leaving Lallek to bring up the rear. The girl kept a watchful eye on her surroundings, including Lallek in a paranoid glance more than once. It was when the camp site came into view that a sudden alarm arose in the three tributes. The camp site was occupied - and by who. Abigail - sweet, small Abigail - sat on a log, twisting two flowering weeds into a necklace. Her appearance was terrible - her hair was matted, her pale skin was flecked with blood - and her eyes were terrifying. They had a light blue cast to them, giving them an inhuman appearance.
"Hello, Jace." She replies without looking up, startling Rachel who took a quick step back. "I wanted to thank you for all of that help you gave me during the game. It really meant a lot... all those songs comforted me while the birds were pecking out my brains."
There was a girlish, eery giggle as she lifted her head.
"Who am I kidding? I'm just here to claw your eyes out."
The girl was on her feet in an instant.
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 10:00:24 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u]
Jesus.
What did they do?
Abigail. Little Abigail, who'd died the first day. Her eyes weren't normal. She was dead. The cannon had sounded. He'd heard it. Had seen the announcements that night overhead. Had felt terrible. These Games were monstrous... ...And this was beyond anything that the Capitol had ever done to anyone. It was bad enough that they were forced to kill and scrape and watch their families die on live broadcast. But now... ..Now her mother would have to watch it all over again, because he wasn't going to die. Not to something like this. One scythe--the new scythe--was in his hand. He knew what those cloudy blue eyes meant. Had seen it in those who'd gone too long without food. Who'd laid down someplace in the heat and had never woken up. She was dead. But she was walking. And she looked like she was going to attack.
That wasn't Abigail anymore, and he swallowed. Told himself that over and over again. That it wasn't Abigail anymore. That they'd done this to her, and she didn't deserve this. That she should be allowed to rest in peace.
If I die, burn me.
It would be the first thing he said to Lallek and Rachel after this was over. If I die, make sure they have nothing to bring back.
This was cruel. Beyond cruel. And he felt hate spark. It was ugly and viscous and horrible, but he felt it. Hate. For all they'd done to everyone. For what they were doing to them now. For this.
He swallowed again.
"I'm sorry they did this to you." Her soul was trapped. It couldn't move on. It couldn't go someplace better. It couldn't rest, and then be born again. Not when they'd trapped it in a rotting corpse. "Just like I'm sorry for what I'm going to do."
She was here to claw his eyes out? He would put her to rest.
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 12:06:44 GMT -5
"You're sorry." Those sweet little girl lips twisted, showing teeth flecked with dried blood. "Like you were sorry for leaving me to die? Sorry you chose him over your own home?" There is genuine anger in Avenged Abigail's voice. The tone is a warning as Abigail's finger jabs towards Lallek.
The little dead girl races forward- and not towards Jace. She streaks towards Lallek, her face contorted into an expression of rage you had never seen on her countenance in life. Avenged Abigail rolled 5 dice to "Attacking Lallek" 8,6,7,3,3 (1 successes)
Her undead fingers lashed for Lallek's face, scoring a bloody gash down Lallek's cheek. She screams angrily, readying an arm for another blow.
"Lallek!" Rachel shouts, jumping onto Avenged Abigail's back. Rachel was nearly two feet taller than little Abigail, yet the little Avenged Abigail supported Rachel's weight without bowing. Alarm sparked in Rachel's eyes as the dead girl reached over her shoulder, seizing Rachel's hair. Rachel shrieked as Avenged Abigail threw her over her shoulder onto the log she had been sitting on. The log splintered from the blow and Rachel gasped as the air was knocked out of her.
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 15:48:12 GMT -5
JaceHe doesn't yell anything. Jace just takes off at her, watching the other girl get thrown like a rag-doll onto the log. It was thoughtless, going after what had once been a friend of his sister's. That frightening undead thing that just wore Abby's face. Lallek was at stake. There was no thought. You're my brother. And family is the most important thing in the world to us.It's a gutteral cry. Wordless rage. The sort of thing that would send chills down the backs of anyone watching this battle. She might hear him, but there was no stopping that scythe. The sort of wound this would leave... ...He'd never be able to work in the fields ever again. He already knew that, in his heart of hearts. Abigail was dead. This was just putting her to rest. Everyone would know that. Everyone would understand. Jace could only hope. 2012-08-29 22:43:39 Jace Colton rolled 14 dice to "Weaponry (5) + Strength (3) + Specialty (Hand Scythe) (1) + Hand Scythe (5)" 3,7,10,4,4,7,9,8,9,9,3,5,8,5,3 (6 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 15:53:04 GMT -5
"No, no, no." Avenged Abigail chided Rachel. "You have to wait your turn." Rachel moves to her hands and knees, attempting to bring herself up for this fight. Avenged Abigail is smirking at her efforts, turning only slightly at Jace's cry. Jace's well placed blow slices into her abdomen. Something terrible spills out, something that needs to stay on the inside for one to live. The dead girl stares down as the slimey, bloody rope coils at her feet, hot and moist against the mossy floor.
Avenged Abigail made a clucking noise with her tongue, disaproving. "Jace, didn't you mind Rachel's lesson? I'm making a point here. Its rude to interupt me when I'm talking. Now you'll have to be punished."
Avenged Abigail makes a quick movement towards Lallek, so terribly swift. Her hand comes away stained red with blood. Avenged Abigail is clutching something in her hand that hadn't been there before. What could she have grasped and torn from Lallek? Lallek stands with his back to Jace, making an assessment difficult. Lallek is starting to wobble on shaky legs, tilting foward. The tribute from district four crashes down onto the mossy forrest floor, face first. His eyes are blinking slowly.
"Hm." The little girl inspected the gory treasure in her small, gore splattered hand. "I thought it would be more... impressive, somehow."
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 16:13:54 GMT -5
Jace Colton
Lallek fell. He wasn't... ...Lallek fell.
She'd done something to him. Had ripped something from him. He felt himself shaking. Felt his vision go red.
There were only a handful of times when time slowed down this way. Everything that had happened weighed on him. Crushed him. Ripped through him.
Called to him. Told him that perhaps it was now time to lose it. He just saw his brother fall. Saw him lay so very, very still...
It was said in District 9 that Jace Colton couldn't hate anyone. He was the one who just shrugged things off.
Forgave. Forgot.
Today, 'everyone' was proven wrong, and for the first time in his life he went into a very, very dark place. Let himself get lost in it. Let himself channel the hate and the hurt and the pain.
No one deserved this.
It didn't matter what had been done in the Dark Days.
No one. No one deserved this.
Jace never felt the tears. Didn't acknowledge the watery way the world shifted when he brought that scythe down again. And again. And again.
As many times as he was able. As many times as it took.
It was too busy staring at what it was that was in it's hand, and Jace wasn't going to give that thing the chance to gloat anymore. To hurt anyone else.
He was going to kill it. He was going to put Abby to rest. It was just the way things were going to go.
From his thoughts, to God's ears.
23:07:07 Jace Colton rolled 16 dice to "All Out Attack (14-3+2+ Willpower))" 9,7,9,5,7,1,4,9,1,3,6,2,2,2,1,6 (3 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 16:20:22 GMT -5
"Ow." Abigail - what used to be her- surveys her wound with annoyance. She flicks the bloody flap of skin from her shoulder from a particularly nasty cut that Jace delivered. As the scythe slices off a finger, she makes an annoyed gesture at Jace. "This body has been through enough, thank you. The birds hacked through my neck." She turns her head, exposing a nasty, bloody open gash. As she moves, something swings into sight beneath Abigail's shirt. Her little wooden wheat district token, lashed with leather to her belt. "It took forever to die. He's seeming to go too quickly." Avenged Abigail surveyed Lallek with distaste. She's still standing, still talking with ease as though her internal organs aren't spilled on the ground in front of her. Closer inspection reveals that wound from her amputated finger isn't bleeding as it should. This scythe isn't damaging her as it should, it isn't killing her. "Lallek?" Rachel rolls forward, placing a hand on Lallek's back. She overturns her nieghbor with both hands. As he rolls onto his back, a fresh spray of blood washes over Rachel's chest and neck. She shrieks and recoils, staring aghast at the bloody hole on the right side of Lallek's chest. Lallek's chest is deflating slowly, mirrored by his lengthening blinks. The silent boy is fading off into unconsciousness. Rachel shrieks a wordless cry as she places a hand over Lallek's chest. There's fear and disbelief shining in her eyes as she stares down at Lallek. "What do we do?" She whispers, barely audible. "I don't know what to do." "Do? There's nothing to do. You just came here to die." Avenged Abigail states flatly, cruel. "All of you. Did you think our poor little districts were going to win?" She smiles that terrible smile. "The odds aren't looking good for you." "Jace!" Micha's voice rolls out from the trees. "Jace! Lallek! They're coming!"The words are barely processed before the crashing intensifies, signalling that Micha isn't alone. Micha is alive - or is she? Is this another Avenged zombie coming for Jace? Seconds are all Jace has to process as Micha crashes into the scene. The girl has a bloody scratch on her cheek that drips blood down onto her shirt. Theres a deeper, more serious claw mark on her shoulder, mirrored by a claw mark to her pack that looks full of gear. The crashing behind her announces that something - maybe more than one - is in route. Avenged Abigail makes an annoyed noise. "Where the hell did you come from? Avenged Abigail's head snaps to the side as Rachel's sword hilt smashes into her jaw. "Shut up!" Rachel shrieks. "Shut up!" Tears are welling in the corner of Rachel's eyes. Is it genuine grief for Lallek or for her own mortality? Rachel rolled 9 dice to "Attacking Avenged Abigail (wp)" 9,10,7,10,2,7,2,2,2,6,6 (3 successes) Micha rolled 9 dice to "Footchase" 2,7,8,6,8,9,5,1,1 (3 successes) Elena rolled 8 dice to "Footchase" 4,6,2,10,7,4,7,5,2 (1 successes) Linwood rolled 6 dice to "Footchase" 1,1,2,10,6,2,7 (1 successes) Joel rolled 4 dice to "Footchase" 2,5,2,8 (1 successes)
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 17:09:51 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u]
He didn't know what to do. Crashing through the trees... ...Lallek had traps set. He could pray that while he killed this thing, whoever was following Micha would fall in one of those pits and break something. Something vital.
But It wasn't dying. It wasn't bleeding.
He needed fire. Badly. He had none. Burn me, so they can't do that to me.
"That thing isn't Abigail." Is all he says to Micha. "It's something else."
..They needed to turn Micha's pursuers on it. "Rachel, get the h-ell up. He's dying. It does him no good if you die too."
Three against...at least three coming through the woods. Three.
I just want to go home.
But that wasn't in the cards anymore.
He couldn't leave Lallek. And he made a promise.
This was a choice that no one should ever have to make, but... ...He'd promised.
Jace knelt beside his friend, grabbing up Lallek's District Feast Pack. It would do either of them no good. None. For Lallek, it was over, but he would at least say goodbye. He would at least communicate that much. How much Lallek's friendship had meant to him.
"For awhile and in this horrible place, we were brothers. I promised you something. That I would do my best and die trying. I also said it was me and you or nothing.
"You've lived your whole life alone. "I won't let you die that way."
He had one hand on Lallek's face. His forehead against his friend's. He had no illusions.
Jace knew that he'd die here. That this Arena would be where he lost his life and his soul. There was a peace in that. Knowing that it was over, and that things would get bad, and then they'd get good... ....He would wait for Jan, and then they'd go to a better place. They'd find a better world. A better life.
Maybe in that place, someday, he'd meet another boy's eyes, shake another boy's hand, and they'd recognize each other. Something in them would click, and they would have longer to know each other. There wouldn't be an Arena waiting to kill them.
Things would be better.
"Tomorrow Will Be Kinder It's True I've Seen It Before A Brighter Day Is Comin' Our Way Yes Tomorrow Will Be Kinder"
It's whispered. Sung.
He stands up. Presses Lallek's bag and his dragonfly pin--the 'district item'--his mother had given to him what seemed like forever ago--into Micha's hand.
"Go. Run. You and Rachel. Find Pearl. Find Bracelets. Go Home.." He was oddly calm now. Strangely.... ...Ready.
Oddly... ...Full of joy.
"Go."
His fingers clenched around the two scythes. He made a gesture toward where he figured the camera was. Kissed the tips of his fingers where they were bloody and dirty and wrapped around his scythe, and gave the District 9 Salute one last time.
"Until we're One again, Jan." He swallowed, and thought nothing of turning toward the incoming group. Didn't look to Rachel or Micha again, but spoke.
"Get out of here. "I'll keep them busy."
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 17:28:09 GMT -5
As Jace finishes the final chorus, he looks down and sees that Lallek's eyes have drifted shut. The last words he had ever heard were of his alliance mate, of the soothing song to sing him to sleep. Micha accepts the pin and bag, looking down at them, aghast. She doesn't want this responsibility. She doesn't want to know that Jace isn't coming with them.
At Jace's words about Abigail, Micha turns to look and makes a small cry at seeing Abigail. Micha had been there at Abigail's death and to see her again shook Micha to the core.
"Jace." Micha shakes her head. She's crying, small trails running down her face. "I don't want to leave you. Not with her." There's a stubborn streak now as she insists.
"We can run. All of us. We'll make it." Yet you've seen Micha optimistic and this is far from it. Micha knows there is no running from this, and she's lying to herself.
"That's sweet." Avenged Abigail doesn't move from her position over Lallek's body. She's regarding the unfolding drama with curiosity.
There's a sudden movement behind Micha and Jace's heart drops. Rachel has slugged Micha right in the back of the head and the girl goes down like a lump of coal. Just as Rachel had done to Pearl. Yet Rachel leans down and picks up Jace's dragonfly pin from Micha's open hand, dropping it into Micha's bag. She grabs the pack Jace had given Micha and secures it, lowering herself with her legs.
She grabs Micha around the middle and hefts her up in a firemans carry, lifting the unconscious girl from the ground.
"As long as I can. "She says without looking at Jace. " 'Cause he ran with her, too." A nod to Lallek.
Rachel trundles off with Micha over her shoulder, dissapearing into the trees. The noises are getting louder. The other danger is coming. So close now.
Avenged Abigail cocks her head, staring at Jace. She seems so expectant. There's no immediate threat of violence from her, but she still holds a handful of Lallek in one hand.
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 17:39:22 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u]
He swallowed, nodding to Rachel. "Thank you." He doesn't watch which direction she goes. If they saw him looking, they might follow his eyes to where she was trudging with Micha over one shoulder.
And then all of this would be for nothing. That wasn't acceptable.
And then the look at It.
It's hard, to look at that thing with it's hand wrapped around what was a piece of his friend. Hard to look it in it's dead eyes.
"I left you. "Micha didn't. She was kind to you. Tried to save you.
"Help me buy them both some time." It's not so much a plea as it is a request. It's a compromise. He was going to die, and that thing knew it. It was already dead... ...But Micha wasn't.
Neither was Pearl. Neither was Rachel.
He looks toward the group coming at him through the trees, unknowingly losing one quarry, but maybe finding another. Finding another who had absolutely nothing to lose. Who was already dead.
I just have this one last thing to do.
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 17:42:48 GMT -5
"She did try," Avenged Abigail admitted slowly. There was a churning in those eyes as she considered Jace's words. Had the Gamemakers given her the ability to reason? She seemed to have sort of personality left, even if it was cruel and mocking. "- is it kinder to buy her more time?" Avenged Abigail countered.
"These people are coming to kill you. I could be kinder and kill you before you ever see their faces. Yet you want...what?" Avenged Abigail looked up at Jace, her expression nearly blank. Those eerie eyes were searching him, seeming to pry into his very soul.
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 17:46:48 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u]
"You can never go home again. Not really." It was the first time he'd said it aloud. "We know it. We all do. Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing will ever look the same. "I'm already dead. It doesn't matter how I go at this point. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.
"But Micha still has a chance. If I buy her some time. "If you help me, it'll buy her even more.
"And if we manage to kill all of them and I'm still standing....?" He swallows. "Then I'll let you be as 'Kind' as you want."
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 20:01:14 GMT -5
"A chance." There's that twisted smile. "She's with a twice - traitor. But she did run out on the Big Alliance before Elena's alliance began to track them. She has intuition, I'll give her that."The Avenged Abigail apparently had a birds eye view of the happenings of the arena. Did any of this make sense to Jace? "Yet your not being the arrogant person I assumed you were when she was dying with only poor, ineffectual Micha beside her. " She. The Abigail who had been alive and Avenged Abigail were differentiating between themselves, now. That was new, wasn't it? "I'll fight until it gets boring." Avenged Abigail decides. " I'm not promising I'll only attack Elena's alliance."Jace has only that much time before Elena crashes through the trees followed by an archer and a swordsman. "Wheres Micha?" Elena wondered. Rage colored her face. "Damn Joel! She got away!" Her eyes flicked between Jace and Abigail and a twisted, demented smile lit her face. "But we can still have fun."Knife in hand, she darts towards Jace. Behind her, the archer looses an arrow at Avenged Abigail. The swordsman charges towards Jace. Avenged Abigail stared down at the arrow in her arm and sighed. The archer loaded another but Avenged Abigail was upon him before her could draw the bow. The fit looking archer cried out as she backhanded him into a nearby tree. "Fun!" Avenged Abigail agreed. Defense: Avenged Abigail, Elena, Cain & Linwood - 4
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 29, 2012 20:25:43 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u] Elena came at him with a knife, and he stood between her and Lallek's body. He was going to die, and he knew it. It's called a Last Stand for a reason... Let's give them something to remember.He slashes with the scythe in his right hand. Moving for the kill. He'd stop them from killing anyone else, or he'd die trying. Because if what Abigail said was true? They were hunting other Tributes. Coldly, and not out of survival. They were treating it like it was fun. Cold-blooded murder was not self-defense. He might have been trying to survive, but he wasn't taking pleasure in the lives he took, and that was the difference. With that in mind, he slashed at Elena's throat. Sometimes the diseased wheat had to be threshed in order to save the entire harvest. And no one could deny that Jace could 'Harvest' with the best of them. 2012-08-30 03:20:05 Jace Colton rolled 7 dice to "Called Shot:: Slice Elena's Throat (14-4-3 (Called Shot) + 3 Willpower)" 4,9,5,8,2,10,5,1 (3 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Aug 29, 2012 22:02:00 GMT -5
Elena made a sharp, startled noise as the scythe sliced across her throat. She made a final slice towards Jace even as she began to lose her balance. Her arm swung wide and she overcompensated, falling onto the ground of the forrest. Her throat gushed blood and she made a weak movement to right herself. Elena, the girl from district 8, was dying today. The archer had righted himself and found his bow, sending an arrow at the tribute from district 9 - the living tribute, that is. The arrow grazed Jace's left hand. It stung, but was a shallow wound. The archer quickly had other problems as Avenged Abigail leaned over him, picking him up easily and tossing him into another tree. The forrest shuddered from the impact. Abigail had made such an impression that Jace had lost track of that first swordsman. He darted in and under Jace's arm, stabbing into Jace's side. It was startling how much the pain shook. It was every where. The world seemed to swim before Jace's eyes. He was still standing... Elena rolled 7 dice to "Attacking Jace Called shot - eye " 4,7,5,2,7,2,7 (0 successes) Cain rolled 11 dice to "Attacking Jace" 1,4,5,3,1,5,2,4,10,5,2,3 (1 successes) Linwood rolled 11 dice to "Stabbing Jace" 3,10,1,2,6,9,8,10,1,8,1,10,10,4,3 (7 successes)
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 30, 2012 5:03:46 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u] Dying hurt. It was really the only thought he had. He was going to die here, and he was going to die violently. In the end, he'd known how it would be. That he had very little chance. More than many, but it just hadn't been in the cards. The kid from District 9 with the pretty voice and the pretty eyes....none of those things saved him. The Capitol and the Games and the Fear was what were going to kill him. Like it had killed so many others. He was a fifteen year old boy who'd just wanted to grow up, have a family, and be happy. He was a fifteen year old boy who'd just wanted to go home to his mother. To his father. To his brothers and sisters. Like so many others. Just like so many murdered others. Tribute. Just a pretty name for a human sacrifice. Two children a year, and the Capitol wouldn't blow up your district like they did in District 13. His vision swam, but he kept himself up. Looked at the boy with the sword and focused. Do the same to him that he'd done to Elena. Slit his throat. Just the one last thing... ...This one. Last. Thing. 2012-08-30 12:01:45 Jace Colton rolled 10 dice to "Attacking (Called Shot to Neck)" 3,6,6,8,6,8,10,7,9,6,3 (4 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Aug 30, 2012 13:00:12 GMT -5
Fresh, hot blood spilled onto Jace's neck from his own handiwork with Linwood. Jace realizes that he is falling seconds before he hits the ground. He can't quite figure out why except for a warmth growing in his back. The pain seems far away - no, gone now. Isn't that the oddest thing. As he lays on the ground with warmth surrounding him, Linwood's corpse joins him on the bed of moss. Elena has already stilled, staring sightless at the sky.
The sounds begin to fade around him, but Avenged Abigail withdrew her hand from Jace's back where she had delivered that paralyzing blow. The cut from the sword that had severed vital back areas would now not cause Jace pain, although Jace was still on his way Home. As Jace's eyes began to flutter shut, something white bellowed down. A parachute. The wind catches it and blows it over the tributes from District four and nine, briefly setting them apart from the tributes from district 5 and 8.
"A victors bracelet?" Avenged Abigail plucks it from the parachute. "Cruel." Her eyes turn to Jace, whose blinking is already slowing. He is going into shock. Soon, he will perish.
Her eyes turn to Cain, the only living soul there. She tossed the Victors Bracelet over hand to him. The boy stares at her - slack jawed- before beating a hasty retreat. He doesn't even loot the corpses.
Avenged Abigail sat on the floor beside the dying Jace, adjusting the parachute so that it didn't cover Jace and Lallek's faces. The white parachute seemed to cover them in a solemn shroud.
"Maybe the bracelet will find its way towards Micha." Avenged Abigail hypothesized to Jace. She seems unperturbed at his death, merely keeping him company. She begins to weave a daisy chain, the slowly moving daisies becoming a large image in Jace's vision as he loses the ability to move his head...
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Post by QuinnTalon on Aug 30, 2012 14:06:25 GMT -5
Jace Colton[/u]
A victor's bracelet.
It didn't matter now. Whoever got the bracelet--it didn't matter now. Micha. Rory. Tank. Jasmine. Rachel....
...Any of them would do. The bracelet wasn't his anyway.
The pain was gone. She was sitting there. Daisies. Lallek was there, his eyes closed. The world was shifting. The world was going bright. Dark. Bright again.
There was no pain. Just peace.
Daisies.... Max loved Daisies. He would buy her one to put in her hair during the little festivals they had for Harvest. They had so little money, but....
...She loved daisies.
Bright. It was bright like sunshine this time. It stayed bright. Stayed lovely. The world faded, and he took a breath.
It was worth it.
...Somewhere, a cannon sounded.
Gold. He took a breath. Barley.
You'll remember me, when the west wind moves....
He sat up. Gold. Forever and ever and ever. Gold. District 9, on his jacket. He blinked. Took a breath and stood.
Nothing hurt.
...Among the fields of barley.
The sound of wind. Fingers, clean of blood, moved over the waist-high grain. He took another breath. Clean, fresh air. Pure air.
Freedom.
There was a sound he didn't know. A tang to the air. He touched his own face and found something. Salt? Sand? Coming from... ...The wind was blowing West.
It was bright. The Field of Barley ended at sand.
Blue. It was blue on blue, and it took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. He'd always wanted to see it.
It was louder than he thought it'd be.
Sounded like crashing. Violent and beautiful and it was so blue, The breath he took this time was shaking. Lallek hadn't been able to write what it sounded like. Hadn't been able to describe it to him.
It was... ...Golden.
It went on forever and a day.
It was Free.
"Took you long enough."
His eyes slide to the side. Taller than Jace, his jacket tied around his waist, stood Lallek. His voice was softer and a bit more musical than Jace would have imagined.
In this place... ...Jace swallowed. Lallek's hand landed on his shoulder, and for the first time Jace saw him smile.
Really smile.
"We can rest here. Wait a bit. "And then we can go."
He swallowed. Already, things were starting to get fuzzy."
"Go? Wait?"
As soon as he asked, it was clear. He knew what Lallek meant. They could wait here for others, and he answered his own question. They could go...
"...Someplace better."
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