COLTON COLLINS | Â 67TH HUNGER GAMES VICTOR | TAKEN
+ Compassionate, Selfless, NurturingÂ
- Depressive, Unstable, Suicidal
Colton Collins thought he was like every District Ten boy. He was raised on a ranch, with a poor family, had a sister that looked after him when his working, struggling parents couldnât, and learned to ride a horse before he learned to walk. Thatâs what he thought for a long time, but thatâs later on in his story. The handsome young boy grew up to be sort of a eye catch for all of the girls in his District. His charming, boyish smile never got old, but the problem with him was that his family was poorer than most, and his parents were illiterate and couldnât afford to have either one of their children go to school. While Colton had his looks on his side, he definitely didnât have any brains to pack with it. He had life experience, but he couldnât tell you how to write his name. If anyone asked him for a signature now, it would be just a weirdly squiggled line.
The chain of events that led him to where he is today didnât begin with his Reaping. It began when his mother died. It was very sudden, and no matter how many times people tried to explain it to him, he could never understand. Something about the brain, and stress, and a genetic deformity. He didnât understand what any of that meant. All he knew was that he was heartbroken, and he had to help his father run their ranch. Only â it wasnât as easy as it sounded. In order to keep from losing their home, they had to pay the Capitol with their livestock, and to keep that up, they had to pay for the food for them. They could only afford the food for the livestock rather than food for themselves. It resulted in his fatherâs sacrifice for Audrina and Colton by not eating in order to help his children. That cost him a few years later when Colton was thirteen. He died from malnutrition and organ failure. It left him and his older sister with no one but each other.
They struggled to keep each other alive. When they needed food, theyâd slaughter the oldest animal on the ranch to cut up into meat to preserve. It was all they could do. It didnât help that Colton was starting to feel differently than the other boys. While girls looked at him with interest despite his bad situation, he didnât quite just look at them. He was looking at boys too. He didnât tell Audrina in fear of what sheâd say. After all, District Ten wasnât fond of people who didnât fit the social norms no matter how rich or poor they were. Tessarae was also the option, but after Audrina aged out, it was up to Colton. By the time Colton was sixteen, his name had been in the Reaping bowl 64 times. It was only a matter of time, and his sister cried on a near nightly basis for it. When it came time for the Reaping, they both expected it, so when his name was drawn from the bowl, there was nothing Colton could do to soothe the woes of his wailing sister as he walked numbly to the stage. He didnât shake hands with his partner. He didnât do anything. He couldnât feel anything.
Colton had caught the attention of the world with, once again, his good looks. He was malnourished, but his time in the Capitol had built up his strength, and out came his natural strength that came with working with large animals. People looked to him in interest, but he tried his best to keep his head down. He had quickly become a fan favorite, but he didnât understand why. What also helped, however, was the fact that he had befriended the boy from District One â Corvus. It wasnât normal, either. He knew that. Colton befriended the seventeen year old, having him teach him a few things in an effort to help get him onto the career pack due to his strength. Colt didnât object. In fact, what turned out as just a minor mentorship with the Career turned into a little more than that. It was just days before their launch when Corvus admitted that he found Colt attractive, but he wasnât sure if he was like everyone else. Colt admitted that he wasnât, but he wasnât sure how to go about it. Corvus and Colt experimented that night and Colt confirmed what he thought â he was gay.
When he launched, he had come up in a prison. They were inside of a courtyard, and the intimidating stone walls and fences. The building was large enough that he wasnât sure what was inside of it, but he was going to find out. He grabbed the nearest pack and ran, not killing anyone in the arena. Thankfully, the nearest pack had a few things, which fortunately, included a pocket knife. He didnât know where Corvus had gone, but thankfully, he had come across the Career pack not that much later. He joined them immediately. The District Two Careers didnât like a low-district member there, but District One defended them, including the girl, Shine. Corvus and Shine befriended him and kept him close, and he only went to prove himself when the two from District Six tried to ambush them inside of a corridor in the prison, only for Colton to throw himself between him and Corvus, taking the boy against the wall and shoving the knife through his throat. The girl tried to grab at him, only for Corvus to break her neck in one swift motion.
The Career pack dominated the 67th. Only toward the end, Corvus noticed that the District Two pair was starting to get antsy. It on the sixth day when it was eight tributes left did the two turn on Colt. Only, it didnât go as planned. Corvus and Shine caught wind of their betrayal and ended up in a mini civil war. Colt was told to hide by Corvus, only for him to hide behind the wall. When the girl broke loose to try and get to him, Colton defended himself in blind panic, bashing her skull hard against the wall, killing her almost instantly when she connected with a corner. It sent the District Two boy in a rage, and ended up killing Shine in the process. Together, Colt and Corvus attacked the boy and ended up pushing him off of the third floor railing and to his death on the ground. It was down to five.
Together, Corvus and Colt ventured through the prison. It was wearing on Coltâs mental state, and every time he thought it would get bad, Corvus would take his hand and tell him everything will be alright. But every time he said it, the longer he did, the more it sounded like defeat.
Corvus took out the next two, and they had to double team the last one â the girl from District 4. She was their toughest opponent, and had gone through the prison on her own. She had already gone crazy from the zombie mutts that hid along the halls, screaming from the cells and grabbing and killing anyone who got too close or were surprised by them. So when they murdered the girl from District Four, it was the two of them left. Colt looked up in fear, wondering if Corvus would turn on him. Only he didnât. Instead, the boy told him to sit down with him. Colt obliged, and Corvus told him that he had been expecting to win. He was the best back home, but he didnât want to be if it meant taking the life of someone he cared about. Coltâs eyes had filled with tears when he realized what was going to happen. Colt begged him to just do it, to kill him and end it. He didnât need to watch him die, only Corvus was slightly stronger, and told him to just hold him. It was then that the boy from District One slit his own throat and gagged and choked on blood. All Colton could do was scream and beg him as he took the boy in his arms and held him while the life bled from him. He won the Games that night, but he never really truly felt like a winner at all.
After the Games, Colt moved to Victorâs Village with his sister. They were wealthy, but Colt forever hid under the shadow of his Districtâs scrutiny. He had a thing with a man. That was unacceptable. He became a home body for a long time. His whole being was shattered and he couldnât deal with Corvusâs death. Colt attempted suicide several times over the course of twelve years. The Capitol constantly tried to get him to go back to the Capitol to mentor. After years and years of trying to recover, Colt still said no. He couldnât deal with the pressure. He spent twelve years hiding away from the phantoms of his past, getting better but his depression did cause a lot of issues. His sister had found him on the floor or attempting to kill himself several times.
To say the least, when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark changed the game, it changed his perspective of everything, but it didnât help with the anger toward even the rebels. He didnât understand why it couldnât have been done eight years sooner. Why it had to be Katniss and Peeta that inspired a nation to stop the Games. Why it couldnât have been him and Corvus. Corvus could still be alive if they had, but that didnât stop Colton from wanting to join the cause. When he did, he really thought that everything could change. That the nightmares would stop, he could get back to his normal life and there would be very little that would cause him strife.
He fought in the war with the other rebels in District Ten, finding a different side of him that he never thought he could bring out since the Games. He killed without remorse during that time and obeyed every command he was given. When it was over with the death of Katniss, he did feel that something was wrong with that. Katniss had led them all. The Mockingjay had freed them. Only she didnât. She was another victim of another game no one expected to play.
So when the Capitol children were killed in the first new Game, followed by the Second Victorâs Purge, Colt had a mental breakdown. Upon his name being drawn from the bowl to become Mentor, Colt couldnât handle sending everybody else from his District into the arena. He had attempted to kill himself again, only his own mentor had stopped him, asking him to just keep pushing forward no matter what happened. Colt didnât know if he could, but Audrina wouldnât let anything happen to him even if he tried. It was the sad fact of his life that there was a few too many people who cared if he lived or died.
Since then in the last three years, Colt had struggled beneath Coinâs rule. He was a rebel that fought for her and killed for her, and yet he was treated with disdain and hatred. Colt still didnât find any solace in the fact that his own people did treat him differently despite it all because of his sexuality. Because of that, Colt had lost all hope for any sort of rebellion. He had caved into the fact that evil was everywhere and there was no hope in anything. While he did have his sister, there hasnât been anybody in his life to give him that hope he once had. So he held onto Corvusâs memory and the blissful thought that in another life, there couldâve been a better world.
Face Claim: Scott Eastwood
