if we fight, we will win

waking i find myself trapped in a world that thinks nothing of me. i run through fields of golden wheat and ask questions of the universe: like what am i for, and who am i really? the universe answers with a sigh of wind; i think it may be a sign that i'm meant to be nothing. i'll prove them wrong. elizabeth lizzie evans. district 9. trainer. rebel heart.

[elizabcthevans]

FREEDOM // SELF-PARA

In her new cell, there was no sunlight. There were other people, all of them crammed together, and their bodies pressed against hers. Their breaths mixed with hers, their body heat elevating the temperature of the room until it was nearly unbearable. All of them breathing, all of them giving off heat: all of them, dead by morning.

She felt her pulse with her fingers, counted it, breathed. She pressed her back to the wall, which was made of concrete, the only cold thing here. She wondered if there was anyone to pray to. It was the first time in her life she’d ever had the urge.

She wondered what the order would be. How would they decide who died first? Would Abel be there? Would Poppy? Would Olive? Would anyone she cared about? Part of her wanted them to be there, if only to know she wasn’t alone in those final moments, while the other part didn’t want her friends and loved ones to have to see it. She had seen executions herself, several of them now, and they weren’t pretty.

It wasn’t how she’d like to be remembered.

She hoped Emme would never see footage or pictures of it. That she’d stay innocent and if at all possible, in the far reaches of her memory, she might be able to feel some of Liz’s presence. Know that she’d been loved by her. Even if Liz wouldn’t get to see her grow up.

The time continued to move, even though she couldn’t see it. Even though, in this place, dark and full, she couldn’t feel it at all.

It was night when they came. The rebels. When the guards were shot dead and the locks on the cages broken. When everyone poured out, Liz elbowing to be in the middle of the pack, the safest place, surrounded by others.

Do it for Emme. Stay safe for Emme.

She tumbled out of the jail and into the night, surrounded by rebels, gunfire, fighting. She breathed in the fresh air for only a moment before she was directed to a van, someone was cutting off her ankle monitor, and the van was barreling through the darkened streets of the Capitol.

Towards freedom. Towards a life with the rebels. She glanced back at the Tower just before it was obscured from view by the other skyscrapers.

Goodbye.

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

Abel didn’t say anything for a while. He knew she was right, but he hated that she was right. He took a long drag from the cigarette and leaned his head back against the wall. “What can I do to help then? If they take you back, what do I do?”

"Make sure we win,” she said, her voice low, serious. “If we win, everyone gets freed. They open the doors of all the jails all around the country. But you also — you also have to stay safe.” She wanted him to fight, yes, but not to get caught, not to die. But that was what was required to fight, the risk.

[elizabcthevans]

poppy-battenberg​:

“Plenty of evidence,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes. She was sure there was evidence for some rebels, but she doubted everyone who died had a paper trail behind them. Tensions were high; suspicion could be enough. “We gotta whip you into shape, or were you still able to train a little?”

.

“Not at all,” she said, her tone showing her frustration with it. “I just spent all my time in a cramped-ass cell, I did pushups and stretches every day but there really wasn’t that much else. I tried to do the yoga moves I remember but that’s never really been my thing.”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

“I know” Abel sighed. But she took risks, and yes, this whole thing was a risk, but he needed Liz to be careful, because he needed her. “Well I’ll speak to whoever, I’ll bribe them, pay them off, promise them whatever, they can’t take you back, you– you’re not going back”

“You have to be careful, though,” she told him, “I don’t want you risking anything for me. I’m technically in their control now, and I don’t want to drag you into that. Who knows, I think they’re being more intense here in the Capitol, they’ll probably just execute anyone who they want to.”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

“We can both do it without getting hurt, or caught” Abel frowned. Could they? It seemed like rebels were getting caught left right and centre, and it was dangerous, it wasn’t just a cause anymore, it was a war, and as much as Abel wanted it to succeed, he was scared. Scared for his family. “Why don’t you just stay here? You can work from here, there’s plenty to do”

“I didn’t mean to get caught,” she said, “it’s not something you can control.” There was an edge to her voice, but it came from worry for him. Worry that he would get hurt or caught or worse. Worry that whoever was in charge in the Capitol would shoot first, ask questions later. “I don’t know if I can stay, Abel, I mean, they might just take me back.” Her voice betrayed the worry she tried to hide.

[elizabcthevans]

poppy-battenberg​:

Poppy picked up one of the survival knives and started to turn it over in her hand. She paused, surprised to hear about the crowding. It made sense that they might be rounding people up more, but not that they were allowed to live. “They were executing people in Nine. Is that not happening here?” 

.

"It’s happening everywhere,” she said, “but honestly, Peacekeepers are cracking down on everything. At least where I was, the warden didn’t want to execute without proper evidence — or else I’d be dead. It’s not an issue, they have plenty of fucking evidence for plenty of people.” She picked up a sword, weighed it in her hands.

[gatlin-hazer]

It was late, and the last traces of light had faded from the sky. The only light that poured in through the windows of the ninth floor were artificial, and the stars were impossible to see from inside the city. A few of the other tributes had spent the day exhausting themselves over targets and simulators, while Lawrence had happily played memory at the edible food station and practiced sanitizing water. Those were the things that would come in handy for him when navigating the Arena. Still, it was getting late, and the hour was catching up to him. So, Lawrence pulled a tea bag from a steaming mug and took a seat on the couch. “Good day today, huh, Liz?” He asked the trainer with a smile.

@elizabcthevans​

[elizabcthevans]

Liz was happy enough with her tributes’ work for the day, but she was all-too-aware that it wasn’t enough. With only three days, it never could be enough. Whoever had decided to transfer her back to the Tower after prison had been right, this was torture. All of the hopeful tributes. All of them, soon to be dead. Many not even realizing that they were in their own type of prison, one that was worse than hers. “Yes,” she said, sipping from her bottle of beer, “it was, I think we know your strengths are survival skills, for sure. Maybe tomorrow we can work on weaponry.”

[elizabcthevans]

poppy-battenberg​:

Poppy couldn’t even try to imagine what Liz’s last few months were like, and then to be thrust back into society. “So…what’s, like…the situation? You’re here, but… what next?”

“I have no idea,” she admitted. “I don’t think even they know. The prisons are overcrowded everywhere, sounds like, but especially in places like Nine, Seven, Ten, Twelve... I think they were glad to make some room by putting me here for a few weeks. Plus, it’s supposed to be torture, right? Watching this shit.” It was torture, but she wouldn’t admit that. It’d be like giving in. The pros outweighed the cons, anyway, getting to see Abel and Poppy and her other friends.

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

Abel frowned momentarily before he took a cigarette out for himself and popped it between his lips, offering her the lighter first. “You didn’t blow it, we’ll get you out” he said then again, because really, there was no other way. “But when we do, you have to be more careful okay?” he warned. “I need you Liz, Emme needs you, do you hear me?”

“I am careful,” she said dismissively, though the ankle monitor proved that wasn’t true. “I mean I really am. But I want to help. For Emme, you even just said it! I want to do stuff and make a difference. I know I can.” And Emme didn’t rely on her. She was more expendable than Abel, though she wouldn’t say it.

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

He pulled a pack out of his jacket and handed it over, even though he didn’t particularly want to. Liz was a lot healthier than he was, he hoped this was just part of the act. “She is, but that means she needs a better world to grow up in” he shrugged. “So if I need to leave her with Rhi every now and again to do something, I will” he told Liz. “I guess you haven’t heard much?”

.

“No, nothing at all,” she said, pulling a cigarette from the pack, “but I’ve been pretty much under surveillance... for months. There’s no way for information to come in or out of that place, Abel, it’s fucking terrible.” For the first time, she felt like she’d known a bit more of what he’d gone through in his Arena. “I wish I did though, I feel so uninvolved. I feel like I blew it.”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

Abel snorted out a laugh. “You don’t smo–” but then he realised what she was doing, and tapped his pocket, nodding. He pulled himself up and headed towards the balcony, opening the door for Liz first. Once outside, he closed it quickly, so the robot couldn’t follow. Locked it for good measure. “I’ve been with Emme, so I couldn’t do much” he admitted then.

.

She cut her eyes at him as he started to nearly blow their cover, like the idiot brother he was — but fuck, she loved him, and she’d missed him so much. She stood and followed him out, and leaned against the railing, holding her hand out for a cigarette, assuming he had one. “I get it,” she said. “Emme’s priority one, always.”

[elizabcthevans]

poppy-battenberg​:

Poppy almost didn’t believe it, until Liz spoke. She’d lost so many people she looked up to in her life. Oftentimes when she saw them, it was just dreams and mirages and drunken hopes in the profiles of strangers. She wanted to rush forward and hug the woman, to make sure she was really, truly there. But she stayed put, figuring standing her ground was more admirable. 

“I made sure Billie got to the people with the biggest yard,” Poppy told her, and the mental list began to scroll of what she’d been dying to tell Liz. “He’s got a friend next door. The van’s running fine. I asked the mechanic to take it for a ride every few days. The kids are… safe. I know the volunteers. But they didn’t train.”

.

She was relieved to hear about Billie, and the van, eager to get back to them. If only she could just step out of this door onto the street. More than the relief, though, she felt gratitude. She was grateful that Poppy was there, that she cared enough to stay and make sure everything continued running. That was the idea, right? To have someone she trusted enough to take over in her absence. And she had trusted Poppy, but she had worried that it might be too much with everything going on, or that Poppy would get caught too.

“Good,” she said, “I mean, bad that they didn’t train, I... I haven’t talked to either of them yet, been getting my bearings around here. But I’m glad you were there, I’m glad you’ve been holding down the fort.”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

Abel just laughed, even though what she said, about the prison cell had made his stomach flip a little, he wanted her to be able to talk about it without him having a complete freak out. “I mean, I thought maybe he might be there for another reason, but he didn’t stay long, took the stupid sweater and left and I haven’t heard from him since, so maybe he really did just want the fucking sweater in the end”

.

“That’s a lot of effort to go to still,” she said, doubting that Abel was telling the entire story. Or that his perspective was correct. “But hey, I mean, other than hanging out with this guy Yuri, what have you been up to?” Meaning: had he been involved in any rebel operations? Her voice was quiet, the robot Peacekeeper standing across the room by the elevator doors, and yet — “Actually,” she said, standing suddenly, “do you want to step out on the balcony? We can have a smoke?”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

“You don’t want all the dirty details?” he asked with a smirk, knowing the answer to that already. “I don’t know, he said he came back for his blue sweater” Abel said, rolling his eyes then, collapsing on the couch in the lounge. “It was weird, but Emme fucking loves him, she cried for an hour when he left” he sighed. I also cried for an hour too.

.

“No, I’m better without the dirty details,” she said. “I didn’t come all this way from a prison cell to hear about your sex life, I’d rather go back.” The joke fell a little flat, but she plowed forward. “Surely he didn’t come back for just the sweater, Abel, you’re not that dumb. Right?”

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

“He’s a bit of a— he talks a lot” He laughed, how else could you describe Yuri really? “I had to introduce the quiet game that Rebecca used to play with us, otherwise I never would have co–” he stopped himself, reminded himself that Liz definitely didn’t want to hear about his sex life, or at least the dirty details. He finished the bottle off before he answered her next question. “He came to the house once, pretended he was delivering pizza” Abel rolled his eyes. “Remind me never to take your advice again” he said, but he was smiling, because she wasn’t really to blame here, even if she had told him to go for it.

.

“Oh, fuck, no,” she said, raising her hands up between them, “do not finish that sentence, Abel Evans, or I will vomit on your shoes.” She leaned back again though. “Pizza? Why...?” That sounded like someone who wanted an excuse to visit him.

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

Abel snorted out a laugh, because she was right, the stupid kid was pretty. And he was nice, and Abel had no idea why he couldn’t just have fun with him for a while like he might’ve been able to a while back. “Yuri” he said then, because he realised they’d see enough of each other soon enough anyway. “I’m just trying to move on, you know?”

.

“Right, yes,” she said, snapping her fingers in recognition. “Yeah, I know him, just started as a trainer.” But it sounded like he was more of a rebound than anything, maybe not someone to hype too hard. “How long’s it been since you talked to Elias?” she asked carefully. This, Abel’s love life (or lack thereof), was so much easier to discuss than the last three months for her.

[elizabcthevans]

abel-evans​:

“Auntie Lizzie” He said smugly, and if he could get Emme to do anything, he’d get her to call Liz Lizzie, he needed someone on his side with that one, everyone else was just a bit too intimidated. He peered over then, and plucked the phone out of her hand because shit, he’d forgotten he’d taken that picture. It was Yuri in his bed, he wouldn’t shut up, so Abel thought if he started snapping pictures it might get him to be quiet. It hadn’t worked. “It’s uh– It’s nobody” he took a pull from the bottle of beer.

.

“Auntie Lizzie?” she repeated, wrinkling her nose. She felt more normal than she had in months. Just shooting the shit with Abel, telling him off for calling him Lizzie — which she truly didn’t even mind, not now, not when it meant that she was finally back talking with someone who knew her, really knew her. She wasn’t just a cell number here. She was Liz, Lizzie. He knew her. “Well nobody photographs very well,” she said, pursing her lips a bit to show that she did not believe him.