The Cotton Fields were, to Brooke, the worst place in the whole of Panem. Though she was, officially, a member of District 8, she spent her time there... Halfway between 8 and 11.
The Cotton Field were, in a way, a District on their own. After the old Capitol was destroyed by the Second Great Rebellion, there had been a devastating shortage of resources throughout Panem. The remnants of 12 was forced to join 9 and 11 in the food industry, and 13 took over the coal duties.
District 8 was suddenly given the responsibility of harvesting the cotton as well as processing it, as 11 was too busy growing food for the hungry.
And that was the birth of the Cotton Fields. A vast collection of cracked dirt fields, surrounded by a town of run-down homes. The Fields were vaguely circular, and in the very centre was the Peace centre. From their tall white nest, the Peacemakers could look down onto everyone and everything.
In the sweltering heat, Brooke sighed. The history of the Fields was the only thing they ever taught her at school. She yearned to know about the rest of Panem.
In her head, she imagined it as a magical place, advanced and innovative. She had no way of knowing the reality... Panem was just as bad as it had been before the Rebellion.
She felt a slight throb in a finger. A blister. At her school, they always said that the Fields were one of the nicest places to live in the Underdistricts.
Brooke looked around at the dry dirt fields, the untidy rows of bright cotton, and the shimmering heatwaves dancing in the sky. In the distance, she could see the corpse of a worker who collapsed at noon the day before. Nobody had bothered to move his body.
If this is the best place in the Underdistricts, the rest must be horrible. Brooke mused as she picked the delicate cotton from the bushes. Why couldn't I have been born in 4, or 2, or even the Capitol?
Midday was approaching. The sun, at noon, was merciless. Heatstroke was the most common cause of death in the Fields. The second was suicide.
I'm not yet happy with this chapter, so I will come back in change it if I have time / can be bothered.