Author Games Compilation [Cycle 2]

Task 5 ▵ The Fall of the Martyrs [EEK]

It'd been a ruckus that'd drawn her to her front window, all fogged up from the warm air from their hearth striking the chilled glass. She kept rubbing a circle for her to see through with her elbow, so often that it hung from her arm soggy, wet. It was hardly a bother, though, no; the scene outside was much more pressing.

There was a cluster of children outside. They were rebel and loyalist kids alike - all of them were orphans, and they all wound up in the same place regardless of allegiance, y'see - and when they weren't yelling or tormenting one another, they were tormenting a much smaller, much furrier creature. One of the mountain lions must've given birth recently, because a cub managed to wander out of the mountains and into the center of their little quarry hub. It drifted back and forth on disoriented paws, cried out with little jowls full of little, insignificant teeth. A kid on the left stomped on its tail, and as it scuttled to the right for safety, another leg launched out and kicked it in the rear.

Eloise narrowed her eyes. They were being mean for no reason. They were all sick.

A creaking sounded behind her, but she didn't bother to look up, not even when a tall presence settled beside her at the window and drew a peephole of his own. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the armored, white pants, but the rest of him was dressed normally, no visor cupped over his brow, no gun strapped to his side or hand. Instead, a watch wound around his wrist, and in silence they stood, a steady tick, tick, tick between them. She watched the hands turn 'round the clock-face.

After a while, she stopped expecting him to say anything. "Aren't you gonna stop the rebels?" she asked, finally glancing up at him.

He was one of the younger Peacekeepers, fresh out of training. He had a slender jaw, a long face, kind eyes. Nikolas didn't mind Ellie's questions and conversations, either, which was why she liked him more than the rest who'd taken to nodding at her with disinterest until she left. "I think you misunderstand what we're here for. We take orders from the Capitol, yes, but we still sometimes need to pick and choose our battles. All these kids are lost. I don't think they should be punished for what the adults around them are doing. Brutality against children? Unnecessary. Not to mention, barbaric."

She considered his words for a moment - just a moment. Speeding into her own convictions was more appealing. She gestured, frustrated, at the window. "But they're hurting that animal! Can you scare them away at least?"

Nikolas sighed. "It's none of my business, Ellie. And you shouldn't make it yours, either." He turned to her, blue eyes striking with the morning light paling their faces, and smiled, albeit weak and tired. "I think your mother made breakfast. C'mon."

He nudged her shoulder, and she ducked her head, nearly listening - nearly. However, a much louder voice grabbed her attention. A rumbling panned out across the village, and with it, a sharp, wavering growl. The glass fogged and a dark blur came upon the cluster of children within three leaps. She and Nikolas both rubbed at the glass and peered through.

The children had scattered, screaming and flailing about. It was the exact thing Ellie was told not to do when encountering a mountain lion, but, granted, this particular one was occupied already, its teeth drawn through the flesh of the first child it'd come upon. The boy tried to wriggle out of the large, chomping jaws, but every time he slipped free the cougar would bite down again, but in a different place, wrecking more muscle and drawing more blood. It cared not whether the boy or his parents had rebelled against the Capitol or supported it. For the amount of time it took to watch him get torn to shreds, Eloise didn't either.

The village had cleared out. The boy was released from the lion's jaws, and he slumped to the ground beside the cub, twitching a little bit here or there as crimson spurted and pooled. She couldn't even see his face clearly, he was so coated in his own slick blood. There, he was left alone, left to die, as the mother stalked over to her own limp child. She nudged it with her nose, once, twice, thrice. No response. The whimpering was faint, but Eloise heard it loud and clear.