CHAPTER ONE:
The sun was just rising over the horizon when Adam pulled himself out of bed and into his combat trousers, behind him laid Rose a girl who had been a tribute for the 73rd hunger games. Adam had served in the Panem Guards; an elite branch of Panem's military and had been responsible for her escape. As he stood in the cabin he had rebuilt in the far Canadian north, Rose lay curled in the sheet as she did every morning, Adam knew she was watching him; military training had made him observant and he saw the whites of her eyes flicker open.
He started every morning the same way, a five kilometer run carrying a ten-kilo Bergen; the same as he had done in training. This morning though, he had a different plan; twenty meters from the cabin there was a rock pool that was ice cold at this time and his mischievous side had kicked in. Slowly he moved over to Rose's side of the bed, knelt down and laid a light kiss on her lips which she returned; proving his theory about her being awake. Reaching his arms around her back Adam braced his abs and in one swift motion lifted her over his shoulder, ran out of the room and crashed through the front door. As soon as Rose saw the rock pool she knew exactly what he was planning on doing.
"Put me down!" she squealed, giggling. Adam kept running down the hill "PUT ME DOWN STONE YOU BASTARD!" she yelled, laughing at the same time as Adam crashed into the water and laughed evilly.
"Ok" he grinned and dropped to his knee dunking Rose into the freezing water. She wriggled free of his grip and stood up and gasped in the cold morning air.
"I really hate you!" she said smiling and clearing her brunette hair from her face. Getting up from the water Adam made his way over to her and kissed her again, this time she pulled him towards her. The cold of the morning soon began to sting, so they both ran back to the hut and sat in front of the ancient wood-burning stove. Adam threw the final chunk of wood onto the fire and lay back on the threadbare rug that had their duvet on it for warmth. Rose cuddled into him and rested her head on his chest. Adam opened his mouth to tell her how much he loved her but Rose cut him off.
"Adam I think" she stopped and waited for him to speak. He turned to look at her and wait for her to say some. "No you go first" she said.
"I was just about to say how much I love you" Adam replied, turning and smiling back Rose gave him a kiss. "What were you saying?" asked Adam. Rose turned and smiled cheekily.
"I was about to tell you to get your ass up and chop more firewood." She said as Adam got up and pulled a fresh long sleeve T-shirt on and jeans.
"And there I was thinking you were about to tell me you loved me as well" He laughed.
"That's what you get for throwing me in that rock pool." She said faking a scowl, which quickly turned into her beautiful smile once more.
Adam swung his axe at the tree and took a deep chunk out of it; he was strong for his size and could fell a reasonable tree in just under an hour. With one final swing the tree creaked and began to tumble; Adam sprinted in the opposite direction as the pine crashed to the ground with an almighty thud. Using the axe was personal preference for cutting down the tree to keep fit; he had a chainsaw and had converted it to run on ethanol he brewed from the corn they grew.
Firing up the chainsaw he set set to work striping the largest branches off of the tree before dragging them to the side and setting about dividing the trunk. This tree would provide all of the heating for the cabin and fuel for making ethanol so it was essential that he was quick in getting it cut up and kept dry.
The trunk was about fifteen centimeters in diameter and ten meters high so Adam divided it into five two meters sections and then rolled them down the hill at the foot of which their cabin stood. After that he tied the branches together and hoisted them onto his back and lumbered down the hill and to the cabin where he dropped them on the porch. After an hour of carrying and chopping Adam had a stack of firewood that would keep Rose and himself warm through the rest of the winter.
Walking back around to the front of the cabin Adam recalled how he had found it; they had been trekking through the wilderness for a week after a brief incursion into district twelve to get some supplies and to let Rose see her family for the last time until Adam could return and bring them to District thirteen to live with Rose and himself. They had only intended on staying a few days until he was able to move again after a wild dog had bit him before he could shoot it. He remembered Roses' annoyance at the fact that despite the injury Adam insisted on carrying the meat inside his Bergen to help her. When they had reached the cabin Adam was nearly dead from exhaustion and as soon as he closed his eyes had fallen asleep for two whole days. Rose had nursed him back to health and he still had bite marks on his left forearm.
The cabin had been a wreck but a couple months of work had made it livable and after six it felt like home; they visited District thirteen sometimes and traded large quantities of food for supplies. They also had brief contact with the army of the Republic of Europe who had given them a thick Swiss duvet in return for a wild boar.
Adam climbed the steps to the cabin and noticed Rose standing completely frozen in the middle of the room, immediately Adam rushed forward to see what was wrong but stopped and ducked when he saw two outlaws with thick beards and sawn off shotguns. Adam rushed around the back of the cabin to the woodshed and opened a small metal trunk. The smell of gun oil hit Adam 's nostrils as he pulled out the AK-47 assault rifle he kept for protection and hunting. One of the last of the type ever made, the rifle was ancient technology but in his mind was still the best in the world. He clipped the distinctive banana magazine in and pulled back to bolt. The army had taught Adam to keep his weapon in good working order and the mechanism on the rifle worked better now than the day it came out of the factory.
Round-chambered Adam pushed the gun into his shoulder and crept towards the cabin keeping his center of gravity low and his rifle at the ready. His finger curled around the trigger and his senses heighted when he reached the steps to the cabin porch and began to creep up them slowly, avoiding the creaking middle step. When he reached the door he clicked off the safety and took one last peak into the room identifying his two targets. He had no intention of shouting a warning, these two bastards had put the girl he loved in danger and now they were going to die for it. With a final breath Adam twisted the door handle and charged forward.
Life went into slow motion as Adam went for the one on the left first, putting the mans chest in his sights and using a technique called double-tapping were two shots are fired in quick succession. Before the bullets had even hit the first man he had turned to the second, thankfully Rose had ducked the second he had burst in and he had a clear shot on the outlaw who was raising his shotgun. Before it had even gotten half way up Adam had doubled-tapped again sending the outlaw backwards with the force of the round hitting him.
Ears ringing from the noise of the rifle and the acrid stench of cordite burning his throat Adam made his way over to Rose "Are there anymore?" he yelled. Before she could answer a third man burst from their bedroom carrying some of their possessions. The man's eyes widened in terror as Adam snapped around and shot him in the center of the chest. "Was he the last one?" Adam asked rifle still raised, Rose nodded slowly and Adam slung it over his back. Adam dragged the first intruder out by his feet, then the second, but as he took the third the intruder began to groan in pain. Rose sat there stunned as Adam dragged the man outside and a shot echoed through the valley.
As he entered once more he rested the AK against the wall and looked at her face and saw she was crying. As soon as wrapped her in his arms her legs gave way and he half carried and half dragged her to the couch and set her down. Pushing her hair out of her face he inspected her making sure she was ok. She had a small cut on her forehead, which Adam wiped clean with his thumb. "I'm so sorry" he said feeling that he had failed somehow. It was his job to protect her and he'd failed miserably. Rose sniffed loudly and then began.
"I've never seen you like that" she said before a fresh wave of tears began to fall.
"How do you mean?" Adam asked softly clearing her hair from her face again.
"You were so. Angry" she said "In the past you've always shouted a warning but this time. This time you just shot" there wasn't any anger in her voice just confusion.
"They made me angry Rose, they had you and I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt, I love you and keeping you, to me, was worth taking their lives" he said, it wasn't romantic, in fact it was pretty brutal, but it was exactly how he felt. It wasn't the first time she had seen him kill somebody, but she was right about shouting a warning. Unless he had been fired at first Adam had always shouted a warning before shooting.
"I love you too.," she whispered before pushing her head into his shoulder. Adam went to dispose of the bodies outside and decided to throw them down the hill into the valley. He came back in and kissed Rose unleashing a fresh wave of tears. Adam sat there comforting her, never asking her to stop or to try to calm down; just letting her get it all out. They must have sat there for an hour, him just stroking her hair and whispering to her. Finally the tears stopped and she looked up at him with bloodshot eyes "Adam?" she whispered her voice hoarse from crying.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"What's your first memory of me?" she asked. It was an odd question but one that he could answer easily.
It had been the end of the tributes parade. Adam was stood in his white linen pants and tunic with black leather bands around the shoulder pads and around the white beret, on the humid evening he felt like he slowly melting away. The chariots pulled in to the training center and Adam immediately identified District 12's, He hated the games but couldn't help sizing both of them up. The boy was skinny and malnourished with sunken in cheeks and ribs protruding through his skin. She had been sprayed black and was completely naked apart from some lumps of mock coal to cover her.
On the walk to the lift she had looked increasingly uncomfortable as more and more photographs were taken until finally resorted to cover her chest with her hands. To Effie Trinket's disgust Adam had removed his white tunic and wrapped it around her. That was the first time he'd seen her smile and it had lit up his world like nothing else ever had or has since.
Once they had reached the apartment she removed the tunic before heading into her room for a shower.
On parade the next morning the duty sergeant had found black stains all over the inside and outside of his uniform, when he explained that he had given one of the tributes it to cover herself he was immediately marched to the brig1 and kept there for five days for communicating with a tribute without permission, vandalizing military equipment and insubordination.
When he was finally sent back to the training center it was two nights before the games. Whilst patrolling a series of crashes and the sound of breaking china echoed through the corridor. When he made his way into the room he found the girl sitting on her bed crying with blood pouring from her hands. She looked up at him and spat every filthy word she knew, Adam just stood there until she collapsed into a heap on the bed and began sobbing again. He picked up a flannel and a pair of tweezers from the bathroom and sat down next to her on the bed.
Gently he took her hand and began to pull the small fragments of broken plate from her hands, meticulously checking to make sure none was left. He wiped her hands clean and told her to keep the towel pressed hard between them as he went around the room picking up all of the smashed plates and chunks of food and tipping them down the chute. He took another towel and wiped the make up from her face and checked her hands had stopped bleeding.
She climbed into bed and Adam tucked her sheets in.
"You've done all this" Rose said holding her bandaged hands up "and I still don't know your name" she said tucking her hands back under the sheets.
"My names Adam , Adam Stone" he replied.
"I'm Rose, Rose Silvers. Can you do one more thing for me Adam?" she asked looking straight into his eyes.
Adam nodded; compared to her even his life had been easy.
"Sing, sing a song that you listen to when you're upset."
He nodded and thought for a second. There was a one song that he always sang, a pop song from a long time ago. Knowing he couldn't sing he took a breath and started softly.
"Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles, coming up tails
Heads on a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh, take me back to the start."
Before he could start the next verse she had kissed him, unable to think he kissed her back. Something like this would incur a death sentence and adrenaline was pulsing through his veins. As they pulled away he felt numb, he liked her a lot but he had known her for two days. In a matter of days she would be dead,
'For the love of god you're a soldier, pull your shit together Adam ' he muttered under his breath.
Rose had fallen asleep, the events of the day and the breakdown had left her drained and Adam crept out of the room and back onto duty hoping that no one had noticed that he had disappeared for over an hour.
"I remember that night" Rose said softly, Adam could have gazed into her eyes for hours on end. The way the burrowed into his soul made him feel like they'd had a full conversation when really they'd only spoken a few words.
The events of they day had drained Adam and he yawned loudly. Rose stood up and put her hands on her hips and tilted her head slightly.
"What?" Adam asked.
That was the look she gave him when he'd forgotten to do something. "Any plans for dinner?" she asked casually.
"Shit" Adam mumbled "I'm so sorry, it was just all today and I forgot."
Rose laughed as she leaned in to kiss him. "It's fine," she said soothingly "I'm not hungry I might just sleep" she said looking turning away and walking towards the bedroom.
Adam stood up and stretched, realizing his rifle was still in the corner he picked it up and took it to the shed. Adam released the clip from the rifle and removed the round from the chamber before neatly placing the rifle and magazine neatly in the trunk and locking it. On his way back in he grabbed a few lumps of firewood and threw them onto the wood-burner and setting it to low.
Walking into the bedroom he saw Rose lying there her hair spread all over the pillow, leaning against the door frame he watched her breath for a minute.
"Are you going to get in or what?" Rose asked suddenly causing Adam to jump with fright "you know watching people in their sleep is really creepy right?" she continued as she sat up right, her hair falling messily across her beautiful features.
Adam pulled off his long sleeve T-shirt and threw it into the washing pile before hanging his combat pants up." Rose shifted over so he could get in before cuddling into him and resting her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry about today." Adam said staring into the ceiling. Rose lifted her head and smiled and him reassuringly "It wasn't your fault." She said.
"I never even saw them coming," Adam said shaking his head.
"It's fine, really it is" She lay her head back down and sighed.
He always blamed himself she thought. Carrying burdens that weren't his.
"I'm sorry too" she said circling her finger over the scar on his chest.
Adam laughed slightly "What are you sorry for?" he said.
"I'm sorry I could never pay you back for getting me away from the games" she said sadly.
Adam sat up and looked her in the eye "I love you Rose, I loved you from the minute I saw you. That moment when you arrived in the chariot I knew I could never let anything happen to you. You've given me everything I could ask for and more. We're free, we don't have to worry." Adam said kissing her and lying back down and closing his eyes…
The helicopter shook violently in the artic wind. The cargo bay was lit an eerie green by a single light. Huddled in the cargo bay were eight of Panem's finest soldiers.
Suddenly the helicopter lurched and sirens and alarms began to wail from the cockpit. The world went black as the helicopter collided with the hard packed snow. The smell of aviation fuel invaded Adam 's nostrils burning the back of his throat. He lay on the cold metal floor of the cargo bay. It was pitch black inside the helicopter, he undid the straps of his kit and stood up.
Things went black again and suddenly Adam found himself lying in the snow, tracers were coming from all directions and hitting the helicopter 'THE FUEL TANKS' Adam thought, he pulled himself from the ground and sprinted towards the helicopter just as it exploded. The sound of Titus's screams filled his mind as he woke gasping for breath.
"TITUS!" he screamed sobbing and thrashing as Rose desperately tried to light a candle.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Titus!" Adam screamed again as the room lit up with candlelight and Rose placed her hand on his forehead.
"It's ok," she said softly, "it was just a dream, it's ok" she finished soothingly stroking the side of Adam 's face with her hand.
The nightmares were back, not as bad as before but still there. Things like that never go away.
"Your ok, it's me Rose" she whispered.
The sound of Rose's voice calmed Adam and his breathing began to slow. Adam opened his eyes again and looked into Rose's, this was the only time he was vulnerable she thought. He kept himself in control during the day but once he was asleep his guard was down and that's when the memories came rushing in.
'The torture his mind must put him through everyday' she thought as she rolled onto her side so that Adam could cuddle her. He wiped his face and cursed himself; he hated her having to see him at his lowest.
Turning over and holding her tightly Adam closed his eyes and pressed his head into the back of her shoulder letting her smell intoxicate and comfort him at the same time, she had no idea how much she meant to him, he tried to tell her everyday but could never find words strong enough.
The thought of sleep used to scare him, he would try and stay awake as long as possible hoping exhaustion would let him sleep undisturbed. He didn't mind going to sleep now because he knew no matter what plagued him in his sleep, no matter what horror awaited him, he would wake up eventually and see Rose and he would be safe.
Adam closed his eyes and his mind began to wonder, the dream about the helicopter was more metaphorical than true to the actual event.
His unit had been assigned a strike mission, Adam 's first ever with the Panem guards, their objective was to destroy a communications center run by the Union of Pacific islands known by soldiers as the UPI's, army. Panem and the UPI had been fighting for Antarctica's reserves for almost a year now and the war was at a stalemate due to winter falling stopping any chance of movement.
Using this Adam 's unit was to attack the station to cut off communications in the build up to a surprise attack. The attack was poorly planned and the helicopter should never have been allowed to fly but in typical Panem fashion the mission was approved. As the skimmed the snow covered landscape it was a total whiteout and the wind shook the helicopter mercilessly.
Inside Adam sat with his CR21 rifle clung to his chest trying to calm himself, after almost an hour alarms began to sound and an orange streak could be seen through the snow, Adam had ducked as the anti-air missile tore the tail section of the helicopter off and threw it into a spin.
Adam had blacked out and when he woke found that he was right next to the window, which had come loose, kicking out with both feet it had sprung free, and Adam climbed out. As soon as his feet touched the ground tracers exploded and set the fuel tanks alight throwing Adam twenty feet in the before he came crashing back to earth.
The metaphor of the dream was he felt guilty because he had crammed himself into a small nook inside the helicopter just as the missile had impacted so he wasn't thrown around, this meant his concussion wasn't as bad and he was able to escape, he had been the only survivor. Adam had lain in the snow, using his white camouflage to avoid detection, for two hours until the UPI troops were sure the crew was dead.
Scrambling frantically into the side of a ledge he used his hands to dig a snow cave and set off his emergency locator beacon.
After two days with no food or sleep and only condensation from the inside of the cave for water he had heard the thud of rotor blades in the distance. Pushing open the mouth of the cave that he had packed with snow he ran out onto the open snow plain. The sky was clear and blue as Adam ripped off his winter camouflage and fired his rifle in the air, finally losing his patience Adam had clicked rifle to fully automatic and emptied the magazine into the air.
The helicopter turned towards him and gave Adam a newfound energy, throwing his rifle down and waving his arms in the air. He knew there was a chance that it was an UPI helicopter that could capture him but he didn't care. He just wanted to leave and when the helicopter banked and he saw the crest of Panem's Air force he could hardly suppress his excitement.
The crew disarmed him as he was taken aboard, as soon as the helicopter took off Adam 's body gave out, letting himself plunge into darkness he felt himself slipping away to a better place. Two weeks later he woke in a military hospital. Panem wasn't ready to let their investment in him go to waste.
The memory made him uncomfortable and he tightened his grip on Rose, the warmth of her body against his made him feel safe again as he drifted away into sleep.
The sun rising woke Rose; outside the rhythmic thump of boots told her Adam was back from his morning run but this morning there was something more frantic about his foot steps. He burst into the room panting heavily, his hiking pack strapped to his back and the AK in hand.
He threw the sheets off of the bed and dragged a weary Rose up before unslinging the pack and quickly folding some of her warm clothes and her personal photographs into the pack.
"Rose hurry up we need to move!" He said hoisting the pack, now weighing around fifty kilo's, up onto his back.
In the distance the distinct high pitch whine of a hovercraft could be heard. Shivers went up Rose's spine. The capitol was after them. Adam checked the magazine and loaded his AK-47. They began to run towards the tree, in his left hand Adam grasped the mid section of the rifle and in his right he held onto Rose's hand. He knew one thing for certain, if the capitol wanted her, they'd have to get through him first.
Rose watched in astonishment as the burst through the tree line into the forest, the way Adam could cover ground astonished her; even with the weight of the pack he could easily outrun her. His legs pumped madly as they began to run uphill towards the rocky peak of the hill. Behind them the whine of the hovercraft's engines had evened out, it was unloading its payload. Deep down Adam hoped it was just peacekeepers, in a situation they would be easy pickings against his marksmanship. They were making good ground; they would reach the first boulder patch in a few minutes.
This was the end and he knew it, there was no way both of them could survive. The slope plateaued for around twenty-five meters before climbing again, at the base of the incline was the boulder patch. Slowing his gait he allowed Rose to catch her breath as well as taking in his surroundings, the hill curved around in both directions, on one side a cliff and the other an easy decent into thick shrubs and vines, someone as light and thin as Rose would slip through easily compared to the cumbersome armor and kit carried by the peacekeepers.
When they reached the boulder patch Adam stopped suddenly and turned to Rose, he rested the pack against a rock and readied himself. He had about a minute to say what he needed to say and get her moving.
"Rose." He started; she tried to cut him off tears forming in her eyes. Gently placing a finger on her soft lips he continued, "I love you Rose, you need to know that. They won't let either of us live. I want you to run, go to District thirteen it's a shit life but it's a life that you need to live."
In the distance voices could be heard and shrubbery crunched underfoot. The peacekeepers were close. Adam reached down and unclipped a small backpack he'd filled with food and supplies and held it out to Rose who stood paralyzed. When she didn't respond he gently put it over her shoulders and clicked the straps across her torso. Forcing back tears he pulled her in and kissed her, they stood in a moment he wished could last for eternity, he pulled away gently; Rose sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Please don't make me go." She begged, in her heart there was only emptiness. She was about to lose the one person who made her feel safe. Who had taken her and gave her a second chance at life, now he would give his own for her. She pulled him in again kissing him, this time there was a fiery passion behind it he returned it and they stood lips locked, a silent final good bye.
The crunching of boots broke them apart, Adam let her go feeling his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
"Go Rose! Go now!" He screamed taking up his position, wedging himself between two rocks. Rose hesitated, taking him in a final time. His short brown hair, pale skin and muscular chest, in his tattooed arms he gripped the rifle and stared intently ahead. Waiting and poised to do what he had trained his whole life to do. He turned and smiled, his face softening. The love in his eyes mixed with acceptance of his own death. Blowing her a final kiss he mouthed a single word: 'Run'
Unsure if she would be able to if she left it any longer Rose turned and began to sprint towards the shallow incline leading to the thick scrub, she heard a gently and composed click of Adam disengaging the rifles safety catch. The first gunshot rang out through the valley.
The peacekeepers went down like sacks of shit as Adam pulled the trigger over and over, seven rounds tore into the tightly packed group of peacekeepers. White hot fury driving him on, doing the thing he knew how to do best. Fight.
The peacekeepers went to ground; he figured there must be a company of them; around thirty men. Peacekeeper tactics revolved around large unit tactics, the Panem guards were taught to operate as an individual as well as a unit. The troops basic tactics may work against a regular army or a group of civilians in an up rising but against elite soldiers like Adam they had no chance.
Popping up he switched to fully automatic and let off a burst, allowing him to move to his left a few meters. This maneuver gave him a view of their leader, a lieutenant by the looks of his rank slide. Switching back to semi-automatic Adam double tapped, the rounds punched through the officers helmet snapping his head backwards violently.
Quickly the Capitol troops went into disarray, without their leader they had no direction. Two troops tried to take the initiative and advance on his position only to be picked off. Rounds began to buzz around Adam's head as all sense of order went out of the window; they were just spraying his position with ammunition in the hope that by some chance a round would hit him. In a matter of seconds the entire company needed to change magazines, taking this as an opportunity Adam sprung up and slotted three more peacekeepers before ducking and changing magazines on his rifle.
A light burst rushed past his head, looks like someone had been listening in training Adam thought rolling onto his stomach and sending another peacekeeper to the next life.
A last ditch attempt to get him began. The peacekeepers charged.
The tactic, although clandestine and outdated, would spell the end for him. Switching too fully automatic again he rolled onto his stomach and let rip, swaying the AK from side to side slightly. A hellish spray of rounds tore through the leading peacekeepers but the tail of the charge kept surging. Magazine empty Adam rolled back behind the rock and reached into his hip holster, drawing his pistol, a Panem manufactured P27 nine-millimeter pistol and checked the chamber. One final bullet, he'd used the rest rescuing Rose and had promised himself if worst came to worst the last bullet was for him. Pressing the cold metal to his temple Adam wrapped his finger around the trigger and began to apply pressure.
Life raced before his closed eyes and when he opened them a moment of serine calm washed over him. Staring into the sky with pollen dancing in the wind Adam decided this was defiantly a pleasant way to die. Taking a final breath he pulled the trigger.
A gunshot tore through the forest. Hot sticky blood splattered across his face. In the background a new sound had joined the fight. A light support weapon, the world was turning wavy and he felt sick. Boots rushed over him, but from the wrong direction. A medic knelt next to him and began to work frantically.
Fuck off; just let me die Adam thought as black began to invade the outer rim of his vision.
A small smile flickered across his face. In the sky Rose's face smiled back at him. Intense white light burned his eyes and he closed them. Feeling death warmly drawing him in he let the blackness envelop him.
1 Military prison
