Ava Barkley, 15, District 10 Female

I lay in bed, listening to the soft breathing of my brothers and sisters. They slumbered on, tired from the long day of work. Mom was gone on her night shift at the factory, working to cut the slaughtered cows of the district into viable pieces of beef, and Dad was still out in the fields, guiding the cattle herds that he helped care for through. They had all overlooked me as they went through their routines at night, not paying attention to what anyone else was doing. We didn't eat dinner together; that was only on special occasions, if I were lucky, I could eat at the same time as another sibling. Now, they were fast asleep, unaware of anyone but themselves and their normal, monotonous lives. They had forgotten about me again. And I was going to make the most of it.

I slipped out the door, taking care to keep the portraits that fell on a whim onto the floor on their hooks. I closed the door quietly, then counted to ten. When no sounds emerged from the house, I scurried off into the dark night, trying to find my way out of my small town. I found my way to the road that led to the Capital of District 10, the ribbon of concrete leading to bright lights in the dark night. I ran along the side of it, disappearing into one of the fields. I could very faintly see the glowsticks that my friends had carried in order to make sure that everyone could find each other. They were at the very edge of one of the fields, making sure that we could be as close to the edge of District 10 as we could get.

"You're here!" Fiona cried, carrying a pack of beer and waiting with Jaxon and Derrick. I grinned at the both of them and grabbed a bottle. "Why wouldn't I be? I couldn't miss a sight like Derrick, Fi."

With that, I kissed Derrick full on the lips, making him blush and Jaxon laugh. We all knew that Derrick was planning to stay a virgin until marriage. Derrick wiped his lips, taking a sip from his bottle. "Ava, if you weren't going steady with Anders, you'd be worse than Fi. That one's a worse flirt than Vivian, she is."

Fi slapped him on his arm jokingly, putting her bottle back in the box and burying it under the stump where we kept the stolen liquor. She stood up and pointed to one of the trees dotting the sides of the fields, grinning wildly. "Last one there's buying us the beer!"

We all yelled in excitement as we charged after Fi, who had made the most of her headstart to get ahead of the rest of us. I quickly caught up to her and raced ahead, scrambling up the tree to watch Jaxon and Derrick battle it out for last. Fi and I clapped sarcastically as they collapsed at the foot of the tree, declaring it a tie. I jumped back down and landed on my feet, laughing mercilessly at them. "You idiots, you're buying the best beer you can find. This is why you're made to herd cattle, not - what's that?"

We all looked at a strange lump near the field, nestled among the bushes that littered the border of District 10. It was just barely noticeable in the light, but we could all see that it was too smooth to be a rock.

I walked over towards it, pushing through the bushes to see what it was. The others followed nervously, looking back over their shoulders to see if anyone was there. Leaving District 10 was punishable by death.

I walked up to what seemed to be a large metal cylinder lying among the bushes, close to being buried in the soil. "What is this?"

Jaxon frowned, pushing up his glasses to look carefully at it. "It looks like a storage tank, like the ones on the peacekeeper vehicles for gas. Dad drives over to them every week to buy gas."

Derrick shook his head, tapping the metal. It rung hollow, leaving the echo of the tap to resonate throughout the object. "It's not a storage container. It's almost like it's from the -"

I kicked the object impatiently, frustrated of how boring it was. "Why couldn't it be something cool? Nothing interesting ever happens to District 10."

The object started to beep, causing us to all turn around from each other and stare curiously at it. Jaxon suddenly paled. "Oh my Panem, it's a freaking bomb from the Dark Days! Run, idiots! Go!"

We all sprinted away from the beeping bomb. It started to beep faster the further we sprinted, before turning into one high pitch.

Boom!

I was thrown off of my feet from the force of the explosion, crashing straight into the ground. Fi, Jaxon, and Derrick all were blown along with me, spitting out dirt as they struggled to get up. I shook my head, my ears ringing frantically from the blast. The bomb left behind a billowing cloud of smoke rising into the air, and small patches of fire started to burn in the bushes. I stood up uncertainly, looking at my friends. Derrick had a large cut on his arm from a branch, pebbles were lodged in Jaxon's arms, and Fi's hair was slightly singed from the blast. We all stared at each other, looking at our wounds. Then, we laughed, pointing at each other and laughing at the sheer absurdity of what had happened. We had almost died in that blast, yet I wouldn't have it any other way. As long as we all looked out for one another, we'd never die. We would always have each other.

Hey guys! It's been too long since I last updated this XD. Well, here's Ava! Thanks to IridescentEverdeen for her, and I hope to introduce a couple more characters pretty soon! Now that I'm done Shattered, I can focus more on Impossible, and that's great! What did you think of Ava? Did you think the bomb was believable? Leave a review! By the way, I just need an Eleven female, and I'll have a full cast! So if you can spare a bit to make me one, I'd deeply appreciate it :D What do you think of the chapter title? I think the friends feel a bit like Ed Sheeran's song, so there it is. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ