A tap on my shoulder pulls me out of a deep sleep.

"Wake up, sleepy head." I recognize the soft voice. For a moment I think its Hailer, but then I remember what happened back at District 8. My eyes flutter open, and I see that I'm still on the train. A white Capitol mask is staring down at me. I almost scream, but then I remember that I'm supposed to be one of them. I notice that it's light outside, which means I slept through the whole night. "We're in district 10. Scan the square for possible rebellion." He orders.

"How long have I been out?" I ask as I get up from the seat and step out to the aisle.

"All night," He follows me to the front of the train, "Good thing to, because it's going to be a rough day." That voice…

"If I spot possible rebellion, what should I do?" After I ask it, I realize it sounds stupid. I'm supposed to act like I know what I'm doing.

He just chuckles though, which surprises me. "I guess you slept through the orders."

I nod my head. "I guess I did."

"If you spot possible rebellion, bring them to the train station. Load them in the back door with the other avox's. It's the same basic procedure we used for District 8, although I expect district 10 will be more behaved."

"Okay," I say. "Thanks."

We step off the train and before we go our separate ways he says, "No problem."

I start walking toward the front of the train station when a thought occurs to me. Why did we skip District 9? Did I sleep through it? No. I couldn't have. They would have woken me up…

When I open the station doors, I instantly feel the warm breeze. My blond hair is hidden inside of the mask, but I try to picture it flowing with the wind. I wish I could take this Uniform off. It's so hot here in District 10, humid even. The smell of different animals is thick and sit's heavy in the air. I can tell by the odor, that District 10 handles livestock. I've never been to any other District but my own, so my surroundings are unfamiliar. The dirt roads are surrounded by endless miles of white gates, which hold various animals within them. There are a few huge red barns in the distance, but I don't see the square anywhere.

"Lost?" asks a muffled voice. That same deep, velvety voice… It must be the boy who woke me up on the train. He is still wearing the capitol uniform, and to my relief, the mask.

"I don't know where the square is." I admitted.

"You must be a newbie." He folds his arms across his chest. "Is it your first time in District 10?"

I don't know if I should lie or tell the truth. Something inside of me wants to trust this boy. He seems nice enough. No, I tell myself. That would be bad. I hear Hailers voice echoing through my head. Suddenly I remember the day he told me about the Capitol and their cruel intentions. The sun was beating down on my back while we made our way down a path our father had made for us before he died. We used it often so it wouldn't disappear. I was only 14, when Hailer had told me everything my parents would never be able to.

"The Capitol is very manipulative, Freya." He said while we walked loudly through the woods, twigs snapping and breaking with each step. "No matter what they say or do to you, don't ever trust a peacekeeper or any Capitol official. Got it?"

About a minute passes before I realize the boy in the uniform asked me a question. Under his mask, he's probably staring at me like I'm a crazy person. "Yes." I say truthfully, "It's my first time in District 10."

"Well, what do you think?"

"I think it smells funny."

He laughed softly. It probably would have been a louder laugh if the mask he has on wasn't blocking the sound. I wonder what he looks like under that mask…

"The square is behind that barn." He points to the closet one.

"It looks like a 20 minute walk from here." I say, analyzing the area.

"I'll walk with you so you won't get lost again." Even though I can't see his face, I feel him grin behind that mask.

"Okay."

As we walk along the side of the dirt road, I wonder if I'm fitting in okay. I glance over at the boy quickly and wonder if he suspects anything. If he suspected anything, you would be in the back of that train, with all of the other people they captured, I tell myself. Not the most comforting of thoughts….

I block it from my mind and focus more on the boy. He walks swiftly, and confidently, like he's in charge of the place. For some reason, that upsets me a little. He does seem like a nice guy, so why is he with the Capitol?

Hailer's voice echo's through my head once more. Yeah, I get it. No person involved with the Capitol is a nice person.

The boy sighs heavily and, although he can't see it, I give him a questioning look. Sometimes I forget I even have the mask on despite the fact that it's itchy.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly.

"It's so hot here." He looks around carefully, and then motions with his hand for me to come closer to him. Warning bells start going off in the back of my head. Hesitantly, I inch closer to him. "I need to get a drink. There is a nice little river in there." He points toward the woods. "Come with me."

Warning alarms are pounding in my head fiercely now, and I can feel my heart rate climbing. Do NOT go into the woods alone with him, I warn myself. My head starts to hurt as I think of all the possible things that could happen. He secretly could know who I am, and take me deep into the woods and kill me. Or he could drown me… Or he could just be really thirsty and want some company, as he searches for water.

With that last thought in mind, I nod slowly, and tell myself that it will be fine. Nothing bad will happen.

He wasn't lying about the river. I'm glad too, because I am really thirsty myself. The river is quiet, and peaceful. It slowly moves downhill and if you look closely you can see fish swimming around. Trees and flowers surround the scenic bank. I think of my father, and how he would have loved it if there was something in our woods like this. The sound of the water moving gives me a sense of comfort. Nothing bad could happen in this place, it's too beautiful.

I watch as he lifts his mask up only far enough to reveal thin pink lips. His creamy pale skin looks look's so smooth. I wish I could see the rest of his face. Obviously he doesn't trust me…Why would he? I don't trust him. I take a step closer to the river, as he crouches down and scoops some water into his hands.

He makes a slurping noise as he drinks, and when he's finished he sighs. "You know you can have some too if you want."

"Okay." I nod my head and crouch beside him. I lift up my mask to just under my nose, like he did, and scoop up some water. I lift my hands to my mouth quickly, but all the water leaks through tiny spaces between my fingers.

"I guess you really are a newbie." The boy laughs softly. His hands feel rough as he places them under my soft hands and submerges them into the water. When I bring my hands to my mouth I see that the water didn't leak. He drops his hands as I slurp the cool water.

I smile shyly, feeling refreshed. I realize he can still see my lips when he grins back at me, showing a set of perfect white teeth.

"What's your name?" He asks softly. I know I shouldn't tell him. I should make up a name…

I gaze at him and my mind goes blank. I can't think of a fake name. After a minute I realize I still hadn't answered his question. "Um—

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"My name is Freya."

"It's nice to meet you, Freya." He smiles.

Was he going to tell me his name? I waited for a couple of minutes. He didn't say anything.

"What's your name?" I finally ask.

"It's a secret." He say's and pulls his mask back over his face.

"What?" I protest. "I told you my name!"

He just laughs again. "My name's Jaden."

I give him a satisfied smile. Don't trust him Freya, he's from the Capitol! Are you crazy?!! I scold myself. I sigh and pull my mask down.

"We should get going before they wonder where we are." He stands up.

We follow a path back to the edge of the woods. Jaden looks around to make sure we aren't being watched. When nobody is there we step out on to the dirt road and head for the square.

We walk silently for ten about minutes, on opposite sides of the road.

"So this is district 10." I finally say, breaking the silence.

He nods his head. "Exciting, isn't it?"

"Very." I say sarcastically.

I can feel him gazing at me through his mask. I wonder what he's thinking.

When we reach the square there isn't really much to see. A few shops here and there, but most o f them look like they are closed. I absorb other surroundings, like the hunger game's banner with the Victors faces on it, which is so big it hangs over 3 shops. The square is practically empty, with only a few peacekeepers walking around. Jaden was right; there aren't that much rebellious people here in district 10. Most of the people are probably either working, or decided to stay home and avoid the Capitol. The smell of animals is still in the air, but it's not as strong as it was by the train station.

Jaden walks to the center of the square, toward a statue of a horse. I follow him and examine the horse carefully. The bronze statue looks really old, and it's cold when I reach out to touch it.

"It's a beautiful statue." Jaden says as he runs his hand down the horses back, like he's petting it.

"Yeah," I agree.

We just stand there for a few minutes, both of us not saying anything. That seems to be happening a lot. I wonder if he feels awkward about it. We barely know each other and I'm following him around like a puppy dog. I should go before I get on his nerves, I tell myself.

"Well… thanks for walking with me. If it weren't for you I would probably be lost somewhere." I say, and turn to walk the other way. I have no idea where I'm going, but it would be awkward if I just stood there.

"Wait..." Jaden says. I look over my shoulder to see him walking toward me. "You don't have to go. I enjoy your company."

A big smile spreads across my face. Even though nobody else can see it, I can feel heat rising to my cheeks. He wants me to stay with him? I almost giggle in excitement like I used to when I was a little girl, but then I remember who he is. My smile quickly fades when I remind myself that he isn't a good person. I try to think of Hailer, and how he would disapprove.

When I was 13 years old I came home crying one day because a guy from school was making fun of me. I had a crush on him for the longest time, but of course he never knew. I swore I would never tell him after that day. When I got to my house and opened the door, Hailer was sitting on the couch reading something. His head shot up when he heard me sobbing, and right away he was at my side.

"What's wrong, Freya?" He asked, concern filling his crystal blue eyes. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, and told him what had happened. The thing I love about Hailer is he actually listens to every word your saying. He doesn't just sit there and nod his head at the appropriate times. He actually cares.

When I finished the story, he was quiet for a moment. I gazed at him as he processed the information. A moment later a look of satisfaction crossed his face, and I knew that he had the right words to say to make the hurting go away. He always has the right words to say.

"All guys are jerks." He started.

My eyes grew wide. The puzzled expression on my face made him laugh. I was definitely not expecting him to say that. "But you're a guy…"

"Yes." He nods. "And I'm a jerk too."

I almost laugh at the words. Hailer's the farthest thing from a jerk. Would a jerk help his little sister with her boy problems? No. I don't think so.

"Anyway," He cleared his throat and continued, "You can't trust guys. Well… except for me and Dad. We're your family. But any other guy has only one thing on his mind."

He didn't have to mention what that 'one thing' was. We both knew what he meant. I might have had zero experience with guys, but I wasn't stupid. When I motioned for him to go on he did.

"Just… Don't open yourself up to a guy unless you know he's the one you want to be with forever. If he makes fun of you, get over him, because he's not even worth it." He paused and looked at me to see if I was absorbing his advice. When I nodded my head he continued. "You'll know you're in love when you look at him and the world stops turning. When you wake up in the morning, and the first thing you want to do his see his face. When you can't stop thinking of him no matter hard you try." He smiled softly, "When you experience that, Freya, your experiencing love."

"But how will I know I'm in love, Hailer? I don't understand."

"Trust me. You'll know." He sighed softly, and I knew he was thinking about Miranda, the girl who got away.

"I don't want to get hurt." I admitted.

"Love is about taking chances. You risk getting hurt when you fall in love. But it's all worth it, Freya."

I smile at the memory, and hope that Hailer is okay. I try not to picture him back by the factory in District 8, when he was calling my name. It's clear that this will haunt me until I find out if he's safe. I feel like my heart is about to break when I think about being alone in this cruel world. Somebody has always been there to take care of me. When my Mom died, my Dad took care of me. When my Dad died, Hailer took care of me. I have never felt completely alone, until now. I think about Jaden and agree to stay with him for a while. Even though I have only known him for a couple of hours, I feel like he distracts me from the loneliness I'm feeling.

"Okay, Jaden. I'll stay." I finally say. I can almost sense his smile.

Hey Guys! I hope you like this chapter. It's going to get really interesting. My Family and I took a vacation this weekend to Nashville Tennessee. Apparently we picked a really bad week for vacationing, because it's been raining so hard that all the roads are flooded. So I'm trapped in my hotel room, with plenty of time to write this lovely story. :) Please review and tell me what you think.