Hey readers! Basically this will be a prelude to the Hunger Games, all about the rebellion that occurred in the districts even BEFORE the Hunger Games were held. I'll be using a George R.R. Martin style of writing, where I have a set of about 6 characters, and each chapter will be from the point of view from one certain character. Hope you enjoy!

The Brink of Night

Chapter 1: Nathaniel

The training grounds were teeming with life, people moving and fighting and training all at once. People in stark white uniforms threw strikes at each other, while others grappled and fought on the ground. Above it all, the sky flew gray and bleak, not a touch of sunlight in any point of the dark gray mass in the clouds. But on flag was seen fluttering on the pole that jut into the overcast morning sky. The golden sign of the Capitol flew on a background of blood red hue. Below the sigil of the Capitol, was written a small 13, signifying what district it stood for. As grunts and beats of flesh on flesh rang through the air, other life was teeming down in the caves and tunnels...the work 13 was known for itself.

"Evacuate! Everyone evacuate!" the loudspeaker blared in the dark room while the sirens and red lights shone in every corner. Men in yellow hazmat suits rang for the exit door, dodging tables covered in green chemicals and burning white machines. The flames licked up, and small explosions showed their fireworks, foreshadowing a bigger and more dangerous explosion to come.

But as every man in the room ran for the exit, Nathaniel sprinted back into the room, giving heaves of breath every step he took in the hazmat suit. Apparently a fellow worker had fallen under broken debris, and with what chemical the white machines held, the room could explode any second now. Nathaniel wrenched rock and metal from the pile, freeing the man form its grasp. With an arm around his waist, and an eye set straight for the exit, Nathaniel limped right to the exit, into the open arms of more faceless men in hazmat masks.

"Get them out of there!" one of the men yelled, and as Nathaniel and the injured man were lifted out of the room, the white machines exploded, coating the entire space in flame and smoke. Luckily, the 13 fire department was just arriving, and they looked like they had the job under control as they shot water from their hoses and tamed the fire with its worst enemy.

As men were put onto stretchers and rushed to the infirmary, Nathaniel lifted his hands to his helmet with a grunt, and lifted off the yellow mask with ease. He shook his head as long black hair fell into his brown and green hazel eyes. His face was dark and tan from days in the training ground, and a few scars were left on his face from the various hits and cuts opponents left him. But they only added to his rustic and matured look. For a boy of 16, he looked older then he really was.

"Nathan, thank goodness you were there," a round, red faced man exclaimed. "Darren would have been dead if it wasn't for you. Did you see that explosion? My goodness, thats the second this half of the year right? 13 really needs to get a better profession then nuclear weapons...why not cows like 10? I bet they don't combust..."

Nathan grinned at the round man with a wide smile, and lifted his hand up to his neck. "But they do bite, I'd remember that too." And with a slap on the back, Nathan left the man to return to the surface of 13. He had only been working with nuclear chemicals for a few months, but he felt like it was a profession by now. He had held down chemical fires before, sure, but never rescued a man from certain death. This was a day to remember, and it'd surely earn him a day off. Nathan chuckled and lifted his head to the ceiling of the bright white hall walls, mouthing a silent thank you. He'd be able to go back to the training grounds for at least a day, and do what he did best. Fight.

Nathaniel woke slowly instead of his usual fast pace on work days, and he went to look out his window...if he had one. The mayor, privileged, and most families had houses on the floor of the hard packed earth. He had to stay below ground, where he could be close to the work place. All 16 year olds obtained their own small apartment underground when the came of age, and his was no different then the rest. Maybe except for the pair of night black leather armor hanging on his wall, and the twin black steel swords that hung beside it. Nathan had been brought up a warrior, and he was meant to be a warrior...in due time. He was lucky to be brought up in 13, the center of all Capitol military sanctions and sections, but he was also slapped in the face by the rule that had been 13's since day one. All 16 year olds would have to serve time in the labs before they went out on the field of battle.

Not that there was a field of battle though, The districts were living relatively peaceful now, and he liked it that way. It meant he could serve, and maybe have time on the side for a woman...or two. Or more...Nathan hurried to slip on his leather armor, and he sheathed his twin swords into the slots on his back. As he jogged up stairs, and across hallways, he nodded at hazmat workers and smiled at children playing with their toy guns. When he came opened the heavy steel door that led to the ground, noise of steel and the smell of sweat made its way to him, and he relished it all.

After a few hours of training, one had to sit down for a break of water. As Nathan sat down on the cold metallic bench, he was approached by a man. But this was no ordinary trainer, or hazmat worker. He was dressed in a tie, and dark shades that his his eyes from every onlooker. Nathan looked at him with a queer eye, but the man didn't seem to notice his stare.

"Nathaniel Everdeen?"

"Yes, last I checked that was me. Why am I needed on my day off? Remember? i rescued the man, I earned my day off, blah blah blah-"

"I don't think you understand Mr. Everdeen. You need to come with me immediately."

Nathaniel groaned and stared at the sky while he got up, and reluctantly left his beloved training grounds for the dull underground tunnels again. They must be low on workers in the labs, or else he wouldn't be going back down here. But as they approached the hallway to the nuclear labs...the man in the shades passed by them with no further glance. Nathan began to panic, and even broke a sweat as they passed by the administrations office, and into the mayor's office himself. But as the man in the shades slowly wrenched the steel door open, the tall, balding mayor wasn't sitting in the broad leather chair in front of the oak desk. Instead, it was a broad shouldered man, with a gruff brown beard, and a shaggy nest of graying brown hair. His eyes were stern, yet kind as he locked them on Nathan's.

"Nathaniel Everdeen. It is especially nice to meet you. Where have my manners gone?" he said with a chuckle, and a loud bear's laugh escaped his lips as his head laid back against the leather. But as he looked down at Nathan again, his eyes became serious. Nathan felt the drop of sweat fall off his forehead and onto the bright white tile.

"My name would is Daniel Hawthorne. I'm with the rebellion."