𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 | liam stewart [1]

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In the camps, we were segregated by colour. Blues, greens, golds. But no reds and no oranges. No purples either. Apart from Pandora. After being told that our gifts were being finally brought into the light, Pandora had to bury hers. 

It had been 6 years since Pandora had escaped her father and found out that she could shapeshift. 6 years of the same routine. 6 years of being told the same lie. Pandora walked with the line of Greens with a neutral face, resisting the urge to itch her healing scars. Pandora had built herself a slight reputation in the building. After she promised herself she would never fear people again, she spat out snarky replies to any officer who told her what to do. They weren't allowed to be killed unless enciting a riot or harming an officer, meaning that she was just beaten up after practically every shift. The officers were used to her, they watched her become more restistant to the pain; earn her 3 scars which littered her bitter face; learn when it was best to keep her mouth shut. She'd become the only Green in the sector brave enough to stand up for herself and be able to survive the beatings. She'd become the only one they were scared of. 

Pandora yawned, continuously looking up at the clock in hopes that her shift would get closer to ending. She was polishing army boots and lacing them up, shoe polish sticking to the under of her fingernails. The room was silent apart from the Captain's boots which sounded across the hall. They stopped pacing behind the station Pandora was working at. He stepped closer, the girl scrubbing her boots with more power. "Laces go over the nickles, not under," He growled in her ear. She refused to look at him, only fearlessly unstringing the laces and starting over. She knew the Captain got a kick out of kicking the living shit out of her so she decided to piss about a bit. "Decided to keep your mouth shut today, Dora?" He asked. That was what they all called her. Most officers didn't care to know the kid's names but at this point, Pandora Drakes was a household name. "Want me to give you another scar? Maybe we can match this one," He trailed a gloved hand over the scar which ran down her eye. "Would you be a darl? I've always had a knack for symmetry," She smirked, not being able to help herself. 

Nobody dared look at her as the Captain brought his gloved fist down on her cheekbone. Her body swung sideways, the polish falling onto the floor. Pandora held her cheek, trying to supress a smile. She silently picked up the polish and continued scrubbing the pair of shoes. Guards were stationed near the Captain, just in case she decided to swing back - which they already knew she wouldn't. The Captain would have too much fun in killing her and she was yet to keep her promise to her father. If her father was a monster, the Captain was just a mouse. He had nothing on her, not like the history her father brought up. She hadn't been called a murderer for 6 years and was thankful for it. 

"Okay, you done being chatty?" The Captain asked, looking with satisfaction at the cut which bled down her jawline. She cracked her neck whilst relacing the shoes properly, her face neutral. "Hmm?" The Captain stepped into her personal space, getting all up close and trying to rile her up. "To be honest," She hummed, the Captain cocking his head as he waited for her to finish the sentence, "I thought I'd get a goodbye kiss." Pandora didn't even get to give him a sarcastic pout before she was on the floor, biting her lip to prevent her from crying out. The girl next to her, a shy one with an afro, flinched as she heard the boot connect with Pandora's ribs time after time. "Stop! What has she ever done to you?" A blonde called out, people's ears pricking up but not looking her way. "I'm sorry, birdie?" The Captain asked, stilling his foot before his boot connected with Pandora's stomach. "I asked what she'd ever done to you?" The girl stood her ground. "Stop," Pandora gasped, her blood splattered on the floor. "Shut up," The Captain told her, kicking her in the chest to keep her quiet. "Well you're quite smart aren't you," He turned to the blonde who scoffed. "Well yeah, that's the whole point of us Greens, dumb fuck," She told him. The afro-haired girl flinched again as the blonde was dragged away kicking and screaming, Pandora's punishment continuing in front of everyone. 

...

Blues, Greens and Golds all stared as Pandora was dragged along the courtyard. The two guards holding her up kept in line with the Green's from her bunker, her feet trailing along the floor. Her nose was broken for the 15th time, bruises littered her arms and legs and blood was speckled all over her uniform. A couple boys stared at her as they passed, a smirk making its way onto her face. She looked demonic, smiling as blood pooled around her teeth amd mixed with her saliva. As she spit out the blood, a high-pitched white noise sounded across the courtyard. Every child collapsed, covering their ears and moaning in agony. Pandora watched as the girl with the afro's eyes rolled back, her body collapsing on the floor. In that moment, Pandora knew that she wasn't a Green either. Dora flung her body down dramatically, covering the girls body so that he frequency wouldn't show on the test. Pandora's eyes shone green, her shapeshifting abilities perfected since she was 8. She had taught herself how to keep her eye colour green for up to an hour at once and how to change the colour of her hair or skin. She did all of it at night, under the covers in her bunk. 

She covered her ears and screamed out in pain, the white noise scratching inside her head. The nosie stopped, everyone getting up apart from the girl with the afro and Pandora. The guards grasped her arms, pulling her away from the collapsed girl, two officers collecting her too. Pandora let herself be dragged into the infirmary and roughly handcuffed to the bed next to the unconcious girl.