Falls of the Heroes

We were never ready. They weren't ready. This is the result.

   The screen crackles to life, sparks scattering to reveal a distressed girl, aged around seventeen, hair in braids and scars littering her face.
    "I can't take it anymore," she whispers, staring into the camera. "The pressure, the cameras, the physical toll." She inhales a shuddering breath, touching a new wound lightly with her fingers. Her nails are crusted with blood, along with her teeth. "No one understands. They think it's so goddamned easy."
    She shoves a cigarette in her mouth, taking a while to light it with shaking fingers. The flames laugh around the end of the stick, mocking her for breaking her promise. "I don't even smoke," she whines, fresh tears sprouting in her eyes. She blows out the smoke, choking along the way. "I hate it. I'm supposed to be clean and fresh all of the time."
    She flexes her fingers, and the water from her tears moves along with them, a continuous flow of liquid. "I wish I never even discovered what I have. What's in my blood. Everyone wants this. To them, I say take it. I don't want it anymore. I'm done."
   She knocks something over off screen, and with a curse, the screen dies again, fading to black.

~

     The screen bursts again, with more light. The footage is dark, though, as if the boy in it was filming underground. He, too, is smoking a cigarette, but with much more maturity. He has a small frame and terrible posture, but the rugged face and toned arms indicate years of hard labor.
    "I do not care what ze ozzers zink," he gruffs in a heavy French accent. "I am not ze 'hero' of zis little gang. I never claimed to be. I was always ze anti-'ero, or 'owever you say it."
    He snorts, as if thinking of a past joke. He fingers a piece of crystal that hangs on a necklace around his neck. The crystal bends and smashes where his fingers graze it, then leaps back to its original form when he leaves it alone.  His hair is dirty and uncombed. In fact, his entire body is unkempt and needs a bath. He seems unconcerned with this, just continues speaking.
  "I was unhappy in my life, okay?" a long drag on his cancer stick. "My maman was a total beetch, even the f*****g neighborhood w***e knew that. When I found out I
'ad thees gift, or whatever, I was thrilled. I could get away from those a*s licking cocksuckers that plagued my home."
  His lip curls into a frown. "But no, now ze s**t eaters followed me everywhere. With cameras and film. Calling me rude and unnatural. I thought zey wanted me to save ze day and all of zat sheet. I never wanted to, by ze way. I just wanted to escape from my 'ome. What a stupid little s**t I was."
   He furrows his eyebrows, and turns off the camera.
   The screen dies once again.

~

   As the screen jumps again, a pair of blue eyes take up most of the small space. The girl is in the middle of it, with startling white hair and easygoing smile on her face.
  "Despite what my brethren have been clucking about, we are happy." her face brightens. Wind smashes against her face, and the location of where she is located is unknown, due to her body taking up most of the space. "We are the only ones of our kind, so I am unsure what everyone else is complaining about. We are strong, and young, as well as free." She speaks loud, but the wind still drowns out her voice. With an annoyed glance, she sticks her palm up, waves her fingers, and the wind is still.
  "They just do not like attention. I love the eyes on me, the applause for when I save the day." Her eyes twinkle, and her seashell pink lips upturn. "Why wouldn't I be happy?"
  Her weight shifts, and the smile fades momentarily. "But disregard the statements that I am the weakest one, yes? They're lies." her breathing quickens. "Air isn't weak, okay? It hurts. And-and-"
The screen sparks out.

~

  The screen is subtle this time, unaware of it being on until the acid words are spat out by another boy.
  "I was perfectly fine before it all happened. I was rich, and I had friends."
  He rubs his temples, black hair covering most of his eyes. "I don't know what I want anymore. I'm popular, sure. But everyone expects me to be the brash unforgiving one. Kids are scared of me, goddammit." 
  Flames burst from his palm, and he watches it with steady eyes. The room that he's in is pitch black, and the fire only illuminated his cold hard features. "I may look the part of the evil one, but I'm not. I'm the nicest one of the four. Air might think she's just the greatest, but f**k that."
He sighs, the fire shrinking back until it's the size of a penny in his hand. He shushes it out, making eye contact with the camera. "It's been a doomed project before it even began. It will never work." his fist tightens, mouth forming a hard line. "What's the point of saving the world if no one can trust me?"
  A long pause. The flame is back, and the boy stares at it, unsure of what to say next.
  Finally, he speaks in a whisper.
  "What's the point of being a hero when it would be so much easier to be the villain?"


~

  The girl with the braids is back again, lifting water in and out of a cup without even touching it. Her hands are small, her fingers nimble. Blood is still caked everywhere, and she doesn't bother to clean or heal it.
  "My name isn't Water," she murmurs, still focused on the h2o in her grasp. "It's June. No one calls me that, though. I can't stand my new nickname. I am more than my power."
  She's crying again, completely ignoring the camera. "I don't know why we're filming ourselves. It's like a diary that no one deserves to see. We're not even letting each other see it."
  She exhales through her nostrils, sniffling up. "I don't want anyone to see me in my weak spot."
  It fades out on her, before crackling back to nothing.
 
~
  The screen shakes awake.
  He's juggling with the dirt. The rocks barely even reach his hands, let alone brush the skin. The cigarette dangles from his mouth. "I am ze strongest out of ze four. Zey all say zat Fire is, but 'e is too much of a coward to do s**t."
  He crushes the rocks in his palm, and the minerals crumble and fall. "I do not understand why we need to do zis. Zis personal diary or whatever. You know what? I am going to destroy this when I am done. I do not appreciate being 'andled like a prissy little girl who cannot keep eet together."
  He frowns, blowing smoke out of his nose. "Sometimes, I want to be dead, so then I do not 'ave to escape anyone anymore." he sighs, smashing the cigarette out. "I am so tired."
  The screen just flashes off.

~

    The screen hums, shaking and unfocused. Then, the white haired girl is back, face red with anger.
   "My skill is immaculate, but no one knows." she huffs, brushing a loose hair out of her eyes. "I am a pacifist, that doesn't mean my finesse is any less impressive." she crosses her arms, eyes dark. "Earth claims I'm weak. Well, he's barbaric! All of them are."
  She looks off into the distance, deep in thought. "I wonder..."
  Her words bubble in her throat, but she tries to say them again. "I wonder, if I were to die, would I be missed? Does the world really need a hero?"
  The screen dims slowly.

~

  
   The screen blazes with ferocity, revealing the stone eyes of the fire boy. His flames are weak, though, and he tosses it casually in between hands.
   "I don't know what I want." The burns on his face are more prominent now, scattered on his skin. But they are old, from times long forgotten. "I hate the expectations. I have to be what they want me to be."
   He grits his teeth in anger, tossing it behind him. Everything is black, but he still speaks.
  "Where is the end when you need it?"

~

  It shifts quickly, showing the water girl.
  She has a gun.
  "I'm done." Water surrounds her, swishing around and enveloping her.
  There's a bang, and the water runs red.
  The camera beeps, and the screen lingers before blacking out.

~

    Flashes on, showing a very tired boy.
    He's holding a cigarette and a gun.
    "I am not a coward," he tells the camera. "I am not goeeng to run anymore. Ze constant struggle. I just want to be free."
    He encases himself in the rubble, and shoots with no regret.
   The cigarette falls to the floor, ashes falling into the earth.
   Screen snaps off.
 
~

    The screen takes a few moments before showing the girl. She's holding nothing in her hands, but extending her fingers.
    "I'm doing it. Showing the world how brave I am."
   She uses her skill to take all of the air from her body, eyes glowing for the brief seconds before she collapses to the ground, a lifeless form.
   The screen shivers, then clicks off.

~

   Finally, it simply turns on.
   The fire in the boy's palm is brighter and stronger than ever.
   His eyes give away years of contradictions, such confusion.
  The gun is no surprise. "I am just that, nothing more," he mutters, more to himself than anyone.
   His eyes flicker back to the camera, holding the gun up to his forehead.
  "This really says everything, doesn't it?" he says darkly, and with a pop, the blood covers most of the screen.
  The fire dies out.
 And the screen is no more.


  BLACK.

  

Author's Note

I'm trying a new method of developing and showing character traits. Mostly it's using actions instead of thoughts, and implying with statements. Does it work? Because usually I use thoughts.

This was more of an experiment to see how I could manage this style, and I'm honestly not sure how I did.

Reviews

[Darksummerswind]

I find that the method you are using works. That's all I'm going to say.