“There
is no sadder sight than a young pessimist” - Mark Twain
“Sometimes
I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then
you'd never complete your life, would you? You'd never wholly know
you.” - Marilyn Monroe
Ezra
was still recovering from the shock of waking up to Kendrick's death
when Coale appeared in front of him. Coale tilted his head in
curiosity as Ezra remained stoic and watched the stream flow by.
“Just
kill me,” Ezra spoke softly. “I'm so tired of this. Just do it.”
Coale
didn't say anything as he continued to study Ezra.
“I'm
not killing someone who won't even put up a fight. Unlike others in
here, I have standards.”
Ezra
finally looked up at Coale, and Coale was slightly startled by the
darkness in his eyes.
“I
want you to do it,” Ezra growled.
“Which
is why I won't,” Coale shrugged. “You don't deserve to die a
pathetic death. You're not escaping this hell hole without a fight.
Come on, let's go find some tributes who will actually fight back.”
Ezra
had no plans to follow Coale, but Coale didn't plan on leaving him
behind. Coale's superior strength pulled Ezra to his feet, and the
empty boy obediently followed behind.
XX
Jocelin
had never spoken to Ahnette, and that made the kill easier than the
others. Jocelin's mind hadn't calmed down. She still had horrible
thoughts running through her mind, and she knew this must be what it
felt like to go crazy. So far gone was Jocelin that she had given up
all hope of being a decent person. Ahnette didn't fight back very
hard, but even still, Jocelin was amazed at how easy it was for her
to overpower the other girl. There was blood. More blood than any of
Jocelin's other kills had resulted in. She couldn't separate herself
from the act as she looked down at the blood covering her body.
Jocelin
held her face in her hands, even as she could feel the blood smearing
everywhere. She fumbled with her canteen for a moment before dropping
it onto the ground. She didn't deserve to be clean. She couldn't rid
herself of what she had done, so she shouldn't remove the evidence of
it either.
Jocelin
curled herself up into a ball as she fell asleep under the slight
shade that the forest provided.
XX
Coale
didn't have to look far for a tribute willing to put up a fight.
Gerald had ambushed the two other boys just a couple of hours after
Coale and Ezra had made their alliance. The fact that he was
outnumbered didn't seem to stop Gerald. He was past the point of
caring what happened to him, but he had to do something. Fighting
seemed like the obvious answer, even if it shortened his life.
Ezra
wasn't much help, but what little the boy did to help Coale was
enough to give Coale the advantage.
Regardless
of his seemingly tough nature, Coale hadn't killed yet, and as good
as he was a leader, he didn't like the idea of being a murderer. He
didn't like the idea of dying so young either though, so he couldn't
stop himself from plunging his knife into Gerald's chest when he
finally found an opening. After all, it was Gerald's own stupidity
for attacking not one but two tributes on his own. He was clearly
asking for death.
It
was an oddly calming act for Coale. The regret he expected to feel
didn't come. Ezra, who had done relatively nothing in comparison,
seemed far more shaken. He may not have delivered the final blow, but
he had helped. The boy who had always tried to help every creature to
the tiniest of birds to other humans had helped kill. He could hear
Coale calling him, but Ezra ignored him as he sank to knees and
cried.
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