avienna.
chapter two

Punch.

Punch.

The sewed dummy in front of her was baring the wrath of Avienna Claire. She kept her hands high to protect her face, her punches hard and precise with every move and block. Sweat beaded down her body, her hair now tied back with a messy ponytail, but strands still remained, framing her face and drenched in sweat.

Didn't they have enough soldiers? They took recruits from each year, surely they would have enough by now. Avienna had a choice to make, fake it and be stuck here, or be herself and make it to the Government trails. She didn't know of anyone who had made it through the trials and lived, but she knew that the Government trails were even worse than the ones at camp. She had to brace herself for the hard work.

She didn't want to stay here but she could leave the children. Who would give them the extra rations to keep them going? Who would make sure that they were above in their training and education? Avienna had taken most of them under her wing, for all, she had wished that someone had been there for her when she was younger, a role model, someone to go to when the world was collapsing around her.

The fresh air cooled her radiating body and her smoking brain. She could barely hear the chatter of the loud Caf room. She needed the distance. If she didn't get out of there, she would've punched every person in there to make them shut up so she could just think. As the acting leader for her year, she had the responsibility for her people and the young. What was she going to do?

With her mouth slightly parted, her punches retaliating as she breathed through every swing; using her whole body to force the most power into her hit. Footwork was important too. She practised moving her feet around, shifting and shuffling her position around the stationary dummy. Her body begged her to stop, to go to sleep and heal. But every time Avienna closed her eyes, it was a stab to the chest. Her eyes would flash with the grey colours of the nightmare; about the war; the people that she had hurt.

She held the dummy in place, her eyes watering as she sniffled her nose to stop it running. Her chest was aching, her hands trembling as her legs felt like fallen twigs on the verge of snapping. Her hands loosely leant against the post, her head falling into her arms as she breathed heavily, her chest constricting, thick with guilt and hatred. She hated this place, the government. She hated them all.

They hadn't taken everything from her, her freedom, her life and her will. She was tired, exhausted, she just wanted to be free of the deadly ties that had bound her to this hell upon Earth. But how could she leave this all behind, for what, to be controlled by the same people from where she came from? At least here she was looked upon highly.

Her eyes shot to the dummy before she regained her posture. She couldn't let it get to her, the pain. She was told that someone could die of heartbreak from losing their loved one, most people go insane. She didn't want to turn out like them; to be weak. She recoiled her emotions, placing them back into the glass jar and screwing the lid on tight. There was no room for emotion in this line of work.

The corners of her mouth snickered up with a sinister grin. Pieces of hair stuck to her face as she ran at the dummy and kicked it directly in the chest, sending it flying back until it hit the tree. It stuck against the trunk of bark for a moment, before crashing down and hitting the ground.

"Hey," a voice called out, making her turn around. "What did that dummy ever do to you?" Lucas joked, leaning up against the tree with his arms crossed. His muscles were contracting from the pressure against the tree. Avienna had to avert her eyes from staring at such a pleasant sight.

She let out a laugh, it wasn't her genuine laugh. It was breathless and filled with the pure joy of the night air against her hot body. She felt the ties of her emotions undoing from the knot that they had formed in her chest. She had to pretend that she was alright with this whole situation.

"Nothin... I was imaging that it was Commander Zane." She chuckled, walking ahead to retrieve the fallen dummy.

There she was. The Avienna that Lucas knew. The sarcastic, bad ass and kind girl that he had been in love with for seven years. He would just hope that she would return the same feelings.

Lucas only cocked his head to the side with the amusement, "Fair enough."

He headed her way, following her tracks before jumping ahead and lifting up the dummy above his head. Lucas loved to show off, he threw her a cocky grin over his shoulder, he loved the effect he had on her. Avienna raised her eyebrows, watching as he walked back towards the tree.

"I could've done it myself, you know?"

"I know." He exhaled as he put the heavily made dummy back into its rightful spot.

She stood there, all hot and sweaty. He looked back at her, his eyes focusing on hers. She only tilted her head and gave him a dimpled smile. The moonlight was reflecting off her skin, the stars being a reflection of her eyes.

Lucas outreached his hand towards her, "Let's get out of here."

Avienna took two steps forward before she placed her small hand in his. Every time Lucas' named was mentioned, she got this tingly feeling in her stomach. She knew that she cared for him, but she didn't know if they would work, if they would click in that way. They had been best friends for ages, it was hard to imagine them as anything but.

Avienna's eyes travelled to his, "Where are we going?" She asked, following him.

Lucas smiled her way, "Where do you think?" Tightening the grip on her hand to pull her forward.

Avienna knew by that sentence that they were going to their place. It was a small tree at the top of the hill that panned along some rocks. It was a place that they went to think, that they went to forget about the duties of being an Insider.

They sat down, their backs against the rocks with the tree to the left of them. They could just see over the fence from where they were sitting, the night sky above them with the moon watching and illuminating them.

Lucas went quiet, "Why don't we leave?"

Avienna was taken back by his sentence, it was just another one of his crazy jokes.

"We wouldn't survive the night, Lu," she laughed, hoping that he wasn't serious. But she as turned to face him, his expression was completely calm, his eyes not the usual vibrant and alert, his lips not curled into a cheeky grin.

"You're serious?" She said, the words falling out of her dry mouth, she couldn't decide if it was from dehydration or the shock.

His hands shot out to grip her tightly, his thumbs lovingly rubbing the back of her hand, "I am. You know how to defend yourself, I can hunt better than anyone here. We could do it." He shuffled closer to her, "We could leave here and start our own."

Avienna and Lucas had always joked about sneaking out and never coming back. That they would pack their bags and go and defend themselves in the wild and live off the forest. But that's all it was for Avienna, a joke. She had never thought of it, could they do it?

Yes, a voice bubbled, deep inside her. She looked into his hopeful eyes, his tight grip on her hands. Do it. Accept his offer.

Avienna bit her lip, chewing on it slightly as anxiety passed through her stomach, making her feel slightly dizzy. They could die, but she wasn't afraid of dying. She was afraid of not being able to keep Lucas safe in all of the danger that they would be facing. With all her options being a yes, she had to be sensible and think about not her life, but Lucas' and the others at the camp.

"We cant," Her conscience kicked in.

Lucas' shoulders dropped at her two words, defeat kicking through his system, "The Starks, the Government, not to mention we would be a target by our own camp. You think they are just going to let us go peacefully?"

She had a point, she always had a point. He let out a reluctant sight, his grip loosening on her hands. She only gripped harder, her mind bursting with regret at his sadness. She just didn't want them to both die because they were being selfish, only thinking about themselves.

She lifted his defeated chin, "I know you care, Lucas. But we can't leave these people. We are their best shot at surviving."

He nodded, she was right. He had been selfish. He dropped the subject, going back to their usual talk and constant jokes with each other. The cool night air chilled their bare skin, just enjoying the quiet echoes of nature, the moonlit sky above them and each other's company. It was rare for them to be alone for long periods of time with both of them being tutors for younger students, so they cherished every second.

Lucas reached for her, pulling her down with him as they rested their backs against the soft bedding of grass. Avienna knew that if they were caught, there would be punishment, there is always consequences. Because all actions had consequences.

They made patterns with the stars to pass the time. Many dogs, boats and fish later, there was arguments against what they were seeing and what was actually there. He was only being an idiot to hear her melodic laugh.

Avienna's eyes felt heavy from the lack of sleep. As she moved closer, warmth covered her body and calmed her nerves. She felt safe in his arms, the worries drifted away like the dirt on her hands when she washed them in the running river water. She shuffled closer, her head resting on his beating chest, a comforting sound to her.

He reached down and kissed her forehead softly. She couldn't help but smile. He laid back down and watched as her eyes fluttered closed and her soft breaths exhaled from her perfectly plump lips. He was hoping to convince her to leave so that she didn't have to endure the worst. Seeing an attack on their people that Lucas had arranged. Guilt brewed in his throat, threatening to spill. He had already made the deal, but he didn't realise the effect of his deal with the Hunters and he could take back his offer.

Soon, their camp, their people and their lives, will be gone. All because Lucas loved a girl too much and couldn't bare the thought of her dying. He knew that when he made the deal, he would also be betraying her trust and loyalty, but it was a small price to pay when the world was at stake.