Samuel MacLaren

Samuel 'Sam' MacLaren is the oldest of two children; he is originally from District 10, now serving in District 2 as a Cadet in the Peacekeeper Corps.

His application can be found here.

Samuel Ezekiel MacLaren

Background
District	2 (originally 10)
Age	21
Profession	Peacekeeper
Rank	CDT
Height/Weight	6'2"/170 lbs
Hair/Eyes	Blonde/Blue
Parents	Micah MacLaren (father) Evelyn MacLaren (mother)
Siblings	Abel MacLaren (13)
Weapons	Rifle (Peacekeepers) Pistol (Peacekeepers) Baton and riot shield (Peacekeepers)
Ship	N/a
played by Artemis

Peacekeeper Corps

Failure wasn't an option; only time in service would ensure Abel's safety. Sam struggled with military history and memorizing ranks as he had done with most academics in school. But he quickly discovered his niche in many of the hands-on evolutions, showing a particular proficiency for firearms marksmanship and his strength lending itself well to hand-to-hand combat. Though his written test scores reflected a pupil with below-average intellect, his physical tests told a completely different story; working the ranch had made Sam strong, the stakes made him driven to succeed, and his naivete made him unwaveringly obedient to his superiors.

With Evelyn and Abel still in District 10, Sam graduated alone.

Nowadays, Sam is still trying to find his niche within the Peacekeepers, unaccustomed to life in another district and on his own for the first time in his life. It's terrifying, but to keep Abel safe it's a labor of love.

Early Life

Life began hard for Sam.

But first and foremost, it began hard for his mother; Evelyn was only 17 years old when Sam was born in District 10, the spitting image of his daddy with his blond hair and bottle-brown eyes. It was apparent early on he was like his father in more ways than one; while he was out ranching from sunrise to sundown, Evelyn was outside tending to the crops with Sam toddling around her chasing bugs and the stray cats that lurked around the property. There were few things that made the sandy-haired little boy happier than being outside in the sunlight, and even well into his later years made no secret of his disdain for having to be inside.

When he was 6, Sam's younger brother Abel was born, and he took to the infant like a fish to water; Evelyn had little difficulty persuading her older son to look after his baby brother for minutes at a time. Sam was utterly inseparable from his brother, having taken to heart his father's advice that he'd be responsible for Abel being the older brother; it's a duty that he's taken seriously ever since.

Sam couldn't get onto the back of a horse soon enough, begging his father from the moment he could talk ('hawsey!') to be allowed to ride. At first, sitting tied to the saddlehorn on the back of an old nag while his father walked the horse around was enough; but by the time Sam was 7, he wanted something more exciting. While Micah's back was turned, Sam had hopped onto the back of his father's horse, spooking the animal and causing it to take off; while his father ran after it in a panic, Sam was absolutely delighted and irreparably addicted. Evelyn reluctantly allowed Micah to start showing Sam how to ride.

But, it would seem, it wasn't meant to last. Every day, Sam ran home from school to say hello to Abel and his momma and daddy, in that order. When he was 8, Sam came home one day, greeted his brother, and when he went to go find his mother found her sitting in the kitchen sobbing, his father nowhere to be found. None of the ranch hands would tell him where Micah had gone; Sam ran all over the ranch looking for him, unable to find him and refusing to come back inside even as the sun set, becoming steadily more distressed until he was too exhausted to search anymore, crying himself to sleep.

Evelyn eventually found him, curled up against his father's horse in its stable. Sam simply took her explanation at face value; that Micah was going away for a while. Sam asked when he would be back.

"Soon."

He asked the next day. And the day after that, and the day after that. Then he would only ask every few weeks, once a month, once a year until Sam finally came to realize that when his mother said 'soon', what she meant was 'never'. Young as he was, Sam rose to the occasion; with Evelyn now having to work to support her sons on her own, now more than ever he decided it was his duty to be the man of the house and take responsibility for his brother.

While Abel was young, it was easy; if he acted up, Sam simply had to tuck his brother under his arm and take him away from trouble. He scolded his brother if he didn't do his schoolwork, dirtied up his knees and fists when bigger kids thought pushing little Abel around might make for some sport, showed him to ride as Micah had shown him.

As he grew older, Sam's own social life dwindled to near nonexistence as he took up working around the ranch with the other hands, spending whatever time he wasn't fixing fences, roping cattle or riding horses to keep his eye on Abel. He was growing swiftly into a tall, strapping young man, but with three mouths to feed and little money available, Sam often went hungry to make sure Abel and Evelyn didn't, pretending he had eaten when they weren't around. Abel was becoming older and more independent, but it never stopped Sam from trying to be the example by which his brother followed.

The Academy

No such luck. Abel was an inherent troublemaker, and as Sam was approaching adulthood found himself digging his younger brother out of greater trouble than he'd ever been in before. Evelyn, in particular, looked devastated every time Sam brought his brother home from a conference at school or a talking-to from the local Peacekeepers.

It never occurred to him why.

Sam pleaded and begged and did favors for the officers, anything to keep them from laying down the law down on his brother any more than they already had; but their leniency wasn't indefinite. To this day, he still wasn't entirely sure what angered the Peacekeepers to the point that they literally chased Abel down to his front door; Sam didn't think, grabbing Abel and throwing himself over him to protect his brother.

He had offered himself up in Abel's place; they could do what they wanted to him, Abel was just a child and didn't know better. At the age of 19, Sam was too old to be taught a lesson by 'coincidentally' being drawn in the Reaping... but he wasn't too old to serve his country. Given only a day to get his affairs in order, Sam said his tearful goodbyes to his mother and brother, packed his meager belongings and reported to the Peacekeepers to be taken to District 2 and to the Academy.

Micah MacLaren

Sam wasn't at home when the Peacekeepers came; Micah MacLaren had for many years been printing and distributing anti-government propaganda, and for a while flew under the radar. However, when he married Evelyn --Sam being born shortly afterward--, he ceased production for a few years; he began again when Sam was 5, a year before his brother Abel was born.

When Sam was 8 years old, the Peacekeepers had caught onto Micah's propaganda printing and attempted to arrest him; in the ensuing struggle, Micah mortally wounded one of the arresting officers. Rather than kill him on the spot, a grimmer fate was dealt to Micah MacLaren; though his wife and sons never saw it, Micah was made an Avox and sent off to god-knows-where to do god-knows-what.

Evelyn, Sam and Abel do not know what happened to Micah, where he is, or even if he's still alive.

Trivia

• MacLaren naming dynamic is (loosely) Biblical/Hebrew
• Samuel is a Biblical name meaning 'name of God'
• Ezekiel is a Biblical name meaning 'God strengthens'
• MacLaren is a Scottish/North Irish surname meaning 'son of Labhrann'
• Sam is left-handed