flawed

n i n t h

District_103
year 02 post great shock
•••

Emma POV

"Pack your stuff, Rattlers!" Vince roared, raising his voice so the whole gang could hear him. "We're moving out!"

I blinked, stopping mid-chew to gape at the boss.

I mean, it kinda made sense.
Ever since over half of our gang had been slaughtered or injured the Roaches had begun to act more and more suspicious each day, and it wouldn't be long before they swooped in to take our territory.
I wasn't going to lie to myself, that was a fight we wouldn't win.

Vince continued speaking.
"It's time to find better territory, maybe even somewhere that has better places to sleep, who knows." He said, a tad bit awkwardly.
I could tell he was trying to put everyone at ease, but obviously that wasn't his forte.

Dani rolled her eyes.
Ever since the fight she had seemed off, and at times I would catch her staring broodily into the firelight.
It concerned me, but not because I thought she was planning something horrifyingly bad, but because I knew how much she cared for Logan, and to what lengths she would go to kill whoever hurt him, even if it meant getting injured in the process.
Or worse.

Speaking of Logan.
A hand gripped my arm.
"You hear that, Em? We're mother trucking moving!" He whooped, grinning widely at me.

I laughed. "You sure you didn't get hit on the head, lil' bro?"
Logan scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not that much younger." He grumbled sulkily.
"Aha, but you still are. By a whole month," I reply with a grin, enjoying every second of his annoyance.

Vince had begun to walk around the camp, shouting orders and assisting others with packing up their stuff.
I quickly set to dismantling my rickety makeshift tent, rolling it up with my blanket.
Soon I had strapped all of my supplies to my back, checking to make sure my weapons were within reach.

Dani had already finished packing and was standing, hand on hip, by the exit of our shelter.
Logan was seated on a boulder next to her.
I took a seat next to him, fiddling with fraying corner of my shirt.
"Where you you think we'll be going?"

"To the coast, I hope. I've always wanted to visit District One." Logan admitted, his eyes sparkling a bit.
Dani snorted. "I rather hope we travel up the districts. I hear it's pretty wild, and that you can participate in street fights to win food."
"What about you?" Logan asked, turning to me with interest.

"Oh." I took a moment to think.
"I don't really care either way. I've only been to the beach once, but I have to admit the whole concept of actually winning food and not just stealing it is tempting."

"Well it's up to the boss in the end," Dani said with a shrug, watching Vince as he double-checked the campgrounds for anything that possibly could have been left behind.
We didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"We are heading towards the coast, Rattlers. Time to tap into some of that unclaimed land," Vince announced, clapping his hands for emphasis.
Logan made a sound of excitement that brought a smile to my face, but when I looked at Dani that smile vanished.
She was scowling.

"What is it?" I asked in confusion.
"I'm not going with you guys."
My eyebrows shot up. "What? Of course you are, Dan. You're one of us."
She turned, and suddenly her eyes were gazing into mine.
"My path leads in a different direction, Emma. Just like I always told you it would."
"But why? You can't hate the beach that much."
Dani's jaw clenched ever so slightly. "I'm not changing my mind."

I was about to argue further when Vince called for us to move out.
I turned to face Destiny, ignoring Logan's prodding looks.
She visibly swallowed. "I guess this is goodbye?"
I laughed.
Right in her face.
I was about to do something incredibly stupid.

"I'm coming with you."

•••
District_692
year 02 post great shock
•••

Amara POV

A fist collided with my cheek, snapping my head to the side.
The coppery taste of blood hit my tongue and I spat on the dusty ground, the glob of saliva crimson red.
But, as always, I brought my fists up, clearing the stars in my vision.
"You're going to regret that," I softly purred, resisting the urge to grin when I saw a spark of fear in my opponent's eyes.

Served him right.
I wouldn't let him get another hit in, if I hadn't been so distracted thinking about last night's dreams he wouldn't have even been able to get close to me.

My fists moved with speed achieved through many, many lessons with Peter.
The thuggish man before me must have been new to the neighborhood, because Shock was written over his face as I used my signature move- wrapping my arms around his muscular neck and swinging myself onto his back, than quickly jamming a finger into the soft flesh behind his ear, falling the giant of a man, unraveling my other arm from his neck quickly enough as to not be part of his fall.

There were various groans from the crowd, the disappointed groans of those who thought that this man might have a chance against me just because he was bigger, buffer, and had plenty of testosterone running through his bulging veins.
Their mistake.

I collected my winnings, swinging the food sack over my shoulder, wiping at my bleeding lip and beginning to sprint towards home, or what served as a home these days.

As I neared the hidden shelter the hair on the back of my neck began to raise, a sort of 6th sense showing itself.
Something was wrong.

I quickly hid the food sack, drawing a long machete from my belt and creeping towards the weathered door of my abode, adrenaline heightening my sentences.
A chemical stench filled my nostrils, causing my head to spin ever so slightly.
I held my breath, taking the plunge and throwing the door open, perhaps a bit too forcefully, as it fell off the hinges.

There wasn't a sound.

Oh high alert, I began to move down the staircase.
It felt like one of those nightmares when you know you're walking into a monster's liar but you just have to keep going.

I kicked down the last door, and skidded to a stop.
My heart was in my throat as I spun in slow circles.

"Jet? Farrah? Thomas? Alicia? Kaylee?!" I frantically called their names, but got no reply, just a eerie silence.

They had vanished.

•••

Haha I almost was lazy and didn't update, but I do have an excuse, even if it's a really bad one.
I finally decided to read "I Sold Myself to the Devil for Vinyls... Pitiful, I Know" and I'm hooked.
I only have 11 chapters leftttttttt.

Okay imma stop fangirling now before I write a whole essay on how Blake Eaton is the most adorable bean in the world lol.

I was also experiencing a bit of writer's block but I wrote through it, don't know if it's crap or not tho.
And yeah, I didn't read over this so if it is crap... sorry hehe.