My Fanfic Bootcamp Entries

Round 4 - Peculiar

            My eyes fluttered close with pleasure as a cool gust of wind made my straight black hair fly behind me. It took mornings like this, so serene and peaceful, to calm my beating heart after another horrendous nightmare. Birds melodiously chirped away any bad thoughts from my troubled mind and the grass tickled my exposed legs as I slowly made my way around District 12.

        Taking a stroll every morning as Peeta and the kids still slept was a habit of mine I embraced with open arms. I know that the idea of loneliness may terrify people but I relished the calm and freedom that came with my lonely mornings.

       Too soon for my liking, it was clear that this was merely the calm before the storm as my eyes spotted a weird carving on a nearby tree. Wasting no time, I inspected it coming to the conclusion that it was still fresh. All my attention was now on the weird smiley face that was so out of place.

     " Boo." A voice breathed from behind me.

      With a jump, I quickly turned around and my hand instinctively went to grab an arrow but came back empty. Not wanting to disrupt the peace of my strolls and new life, my bow and arrows now lay securely under my bed. A decision I quickly came to regret as I faced the strange man in front of me.

       Wearing a purple trench coat with green hair and a bizarre painted face, the hair on the back of my neck rose as a satanic looking smile spread on his face. I turned back to the tree and managed to break a branch. I held the branch towards him threateningly only for him to smirk in amusement, completely unfazed.

      "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He grew serious.

      Fear stirred in my stomach at the look on his face. Suddenly, he laughed like a lunatic and his whole demeanor changed. Excitedly, he sat down on a stump right across from me and exclaimed, " Look, look!"

      He shoved a small screen in my face, making me catch it and drop my weapon of choice. Soon, my mouth dropped to the ground too as I stared at the petrified faces of my family. The screen displayed live footage of large men holding my family captive and on their knees with arrows pointed at their heads. The men were wearing masks and It took me a while to realize the masks were of my face.

       " I usually prefer bullets but I couldn't pass up the irony." His yellow teeth glowed against his blood red wide-smiling lips. His casual and relaxed behavior rubbed me up the wrong way.

       " What do you want?" My voice came out hoarse as I restrained myself from shouting and punching that creepy grin off his face. I would never do anything that would harm my family.

      His grin grew even bigger before he replied, "But where's the fun if I tell you?"

     Disgusted by both his yellow teeth and his answer, a snarky comment was about to leave my lips when he spoke again, " Actually, this has been much overdue so I'll just spill now..." He trailed off, perhaps waiting for a reaction ... or drum rolls. This guys was insane.

     " I want to talk." I raised an eyebrow at his response.

    " Talk?" I asked, my voice filled with doubt.

   " You see I have a little bat problem back at Gotham and I figured I should get inspired by a fellow hero to take one down."

     Confusion racked my mind as I searched his face for answers of questions I couldn't form. One thing stood out the most. From the way his eyes glinted with evil, I knew what his intentions were.

    " You want to kill them, don't you? " I accused with a hint of revolt.

    " Oh Don't act innocent, Kittycat." I scowled at his nickname. He got closer to me, he grabbed my hand and licked it. "You have blood on your hands too."

    With my eyes widely opened, I quickly rubbed my hand on my mustard summer dress and roughly said, " You don't know me."

     " On the contrary, girl on fire. I know everything about you." He watched gleefully as I gasped and grew stiff.

      Quickly, my face went back to a blank expression and I tried to come up with a reply, " I can tell it's not your first kill either. "

      He proudly smiled, making no attempt to deny. My anger only growing, " At least the only time I took away a soul, I was forced to!" My voice raising with every word.

     He tsked in disapproval and said, " Women, always so judgmental!"

     I scoffed then muttered under my breath, " Psychopath! "

     Apparently not as low as I thought because his face turned into a deep frown and all amusement was gone from his eyes. He abruptly stood up and started pacing.

    Just as abruptly, he stopped and inched extremely close to my face as if studying me. " For someone who's been through as much as you have, I didn't expect you to be so in denial of the truth."

    "What truth?" I inquired both confused and irritated.

    " The truth about chaos, how it's fair. " A huge grin tugged his lips again and only then did he back away from me.

     One glance at the small screen that was now leaning against the stump was enough to keep me seated and still. " There's nothing fair about taking someone's life."

     He smirked at my remark but didn't reply so I continued, " You should try peace for a change."

     " And what's fair about peace?" He challenged me.

     Even though I was lost for words at first, I wasn't backing down. " The way it heals your heart."

    " The only reason your heart needs healing is because you didn't take things into your own hands sooner, Kittycat."

    " Sometimes you try to but there's too many things to balance on two hands."

    " Then you balance them on your feet."

    "That's not how it works." I frowned.

     " Yes I know. That's not how peace works. Two seconds of peace makes everyone believe they're angels but chaos, chaos is honest. Only in moments of complete chaos one discovers who they truly are."

       He stared at me seriously before bursting out laughing creepily again. Leaving no room for a come back, he decided he had the last word. He turned around and left, leaving behind his small screen.

      Though confusion still pained my mind, I hurriedly grabbed the screen to check on my family. They were now untied and the men were making their way out. One stopped and waved at me before laughing and leaving.

      I slowly stood up, still shaken up by the whole ordeal. I turned to go back home but the small screen made a faint sound and made me turn back around. It exploded, leaving only cards with jokers on them behind.