"You start with a darkness to move through
but sometimes the darkness moves through you."
Dean Young


Ronan Traupelle, 17, Sector G


The cafeteria is crowded. I can tell even while I'm still following the line through the kitchen waiting for the bored looking workers to drop today's ration onto my tray. This is how it is for the people who don't make any money of their own, we get the sanctioned rations from the cafeteria that look like puke and smell even worse. That's what most people spend their days working to get away from. People with money can buy better food from the outside shops. It's too bad I am not and never have been a guy with money.

Even back in District Four my family never had the coins to do anything but live, and even that sometimes could be a struggle. My father was out of the picture, taken away when I was young and never to be seen again by any of us. My mother did her best but unfortunately that was what landed us here in the first place. If she could have just let Wyatt and I take the reins and handle the family funds we could have made it. We were building something out of what dad left behind. It wasn't much but it could have been, I know it could have.

I don't hate her for it. How could I? She wanted to be sure, that's how she always was. She wanted to know for absolute certain that her four kids weren't going to go to bed hungry or wake up without a breakfast to look forward to. The only way she could be sure was to earn money herself, and that's what got her and all of us except for Wyatt shipped out here on her charges.

I hate it here, but I don't hate her for putting me here. She couldn't have known it would end up like this. She would never have done even entered the brothel if she'd have known this would happen.

A lady with clean hands but who is otherwise coated in grease spoons what I think is half-mashed potatoes onto my tray. I quietly thank her, not bothering to hide my disgust at the runny, chunky shit that's beginning to make its way into my nose. When I first got here I thought the problem with the food was portion size, but I've come to realize that they often give us a bit more than we really want to eat. If the food was better it'd be another story, but since it's isn't I won't complain about wanting seconds.

I have gathered a thin slice of meat, a spoonful of various greyed vegetables, and a glass of watered down milk before I'm finally ready to leave the kitchen. I'm only half paying attention by this time, wondering if there will be anyone I know inside and also hoping that if there isn't that there will be a spare table for me to sit at alone. I don't have very many friends here besides the friends of my mother that happen to have kids my age. I'm not much of social butterfly, but she has always been.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't even see the boys making a beeline for me before it's already far too late to avoid them. The one at the front of the pack slams a hand down on my tray hard enough that it slips from my hands and clatters to the floor. A combination of runny potatoes and watery milk splatters on the floor as well as onto the bottom half of my pants, while loose vegetables roll underneath nearby tables. I watch this as if in slow motion as a good portion of the cafeteria turns to see what's happening. With all eyes on me I can feel my cheeks start to heat up.

"Hey, watch where you're going, scum," one of the boys in the middle of the group yells towards me. Great, now this is my fault. I can't think of anything clever to say, and when they see my hesitation they continue.

"What do you have to say for yourself, kid," the boy who had hit my tray sneers towards me, casting a knowing glance behind him at his friends. "You went and got your mess all over me and I don't even get an apology?"

Finally I manage to get a hold of myself. I was never much of an assertive guy back in District Four but I've adapted and I've had to learn, usually the hard way, that kindness doesn't get you anything but hurt in this place. Even knowing that, I'm certain it's not the old me that answers the guy.

"If you could keep your clumsy ass away from my tray we wouldn't have this problem now would we?"

Even though I can still feel warmth in my cheeks, a sly smile takes over. I can tell by the look on each of their faces that I am not going to get away with this, but that's just fine. It's how the little guys like me survive. Maybe they won't respect me or even vaguely like me, but guys like this hate being told off. I can almost guarantee that next time they'll pick a different target, I mean after they finish beating the hell out of me that is.

The one who hit my tray takes a step forward, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, scum. I could have you killed with one word to my boys, don't test me."

"If I don't test you, how would I ever know if you're telling the truth?"

Just before the boy can answer I feel someone coming up behind me. Out of the corner of my eye I am relieved to see Jeremy, the boy who lives in the room next door to us. He's the same age as me but he's been here much longer than me. He knows better than me how to survive in this place, but I've never been one to follow instruction well. Besides, he always ends up by my side to save my sorry ass.

"Alright fellas, my friend here didn't mean nothing by what he said," Jeremy says in the calm yet assertive tone he has had mastered since I've known him. "Why don't you just let him off with a warning and I'll get his pretty face away from you."

I can see that the boy is about to argue, but after a moment he seems to think better of it. Jeremy's reputation is well known around the barracks. He's that nice, friendly guy that won't take shit from anyone no matter who they think they are. As far as I know he's never beat anyone up, I don't think he has to. Some way or another he's earned their respect. I wish I could say the same for myself.

Jeremy doesn't wait for them to reply, instead he puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me towards the door. I'm still hungry and for a second I think about asking him to let me go back in for a replacement tray. One look behind me at the clenched fists of the other boys makes me think better of it.

"Thanks man," I say just as he's leading me through the double doors out of the cafeteria.

He doesn't even have a chance to answer before a pair of hands clamps down on each of our shoulders. Both of are spun around to see at least four people in black uniforms, each of them with various foreign weapons cinched to their waist. One of them scans my wrist, takes one look at the scanner, and slaps a pair of handcuffs onto my wrists. Before I can say a single word I am turned away from Jeremy and told to walk.

"Hey!" I hear Jeremy call from behind me, followed by an electric buzz and a loud thump as something hits the floor. I'm too stunned to even try to turn around to see what happened.


Shaera Hanslok, 18, Sector G


"They must have gotten the name wrong, Kylie," I insist, doing my best to keep my face neutral yet somewhat concerned. "There is no way I would have told anyone about Monty and Devin."

Kylie doesn't look to be buying a word of what I'm saying, facing me with her hands folded across her chest and a thin line where her lips should be. "Don't lie to me, Shaera. You're the only one that knows- well knew. Besides, Jule and Giana both told me they heard it from you."

"They must be lying to you," I shrug. In all honestly, Jule is lying to her. I only told Giana and a few other girls that I knew had connections with Monty or Devin. There was no point in telling Jule myself, shown by the fact that she probably heard from Giana within a couple hours.

"Shaera I trusted you," Kylie sighs and I can see tears forming in her eyes. I swallow thickly, I truthfully didn't expect Kylie to cry. She isn't the emotional type, or so I thought anyways. Mentally noted.

"Come on Ky, you're jumping to conclusions here." It's worth one more shot trying to reason with her. Kylie is one of my good friends and I'd hate to have her upset with me for very long, she's good company. "You have to have known that it was only a matter of time before they found out about each other. Crews talk, you know that."

She looks to be thinking about it, but I can tell by the expression on her face that she doesn't want to believe she caused this. The two main reasons that I decided to expose this little secret of hers were that it would cause a huge riff between the crews and it would be difficult for her to blame me for it. I guess I miscalculated a little bit on that second part.

For a second I think she is going to have another go at it, but instead she just sighs. "I just wanted the protection, neither of them ever should have found out about each other. I didn't even do anything wrong and now they're going after each other. I don't know how to stop it."

"I don't know either, Ky," I sigh, patting her shoulder sympathetically. "There really isn't anything you can do. Boys will be boys. It's probably best to just let them work it out themselves."

"They're going to kill each other," she whines, burying her face in her hands. Weird, I can't help but think to myself. I figured she didn't care about either of them to be so blatantly disloyal, staying at the different houses each night. So much for my perfect plan.

"They'll work it out I'm sure," I say and it's the last ounce of sympathy that I can force out of my lips. "I've got to go meet Teegan, but if you need to talk later you know where to find me."

Without waiting for a response I turn and walk towards the main barracks. Unlike me, Kylie doesn't have a permanent room in the building. She's illegitimate, a kid that was never registered by parents that left her on one of the shelves in the food stores. As far as the wardens are concerned, Kylie doesn't exist. That means no infraction system, no chance of being released at age twenty, and no boarding. She sleeps in the abandoned shops with the others and prays that she isn't caught by the Peacekeepers. If she were to be, well, I'd be beyond shocked if I ever saw her again.

I know that Teegan, my kid sister, won't be back from the mountain until late tonight so I decide to head up to our room to relax. We share a room with four other girls, three close to my age and the fourth a year older than Teegan. We used to have a family room, but that was taken away about a month after our mother went missing. After that long it could be assumed that she was never coming back, and almost four years later I kind of have to assume that as well.

I lift my wrist towards the guard that stands in front of the door and he waves his scanner over it. Normally it would have beeped three times and I would be let in, but this time I only hear a single low chime. The guard looks down at the screen, visibly just as confused as I am.

"It says for you to wait here," he says, pointing down to the screen. I furrow my brow, unsure of what to make of this situation. This has never happened before, I don't understand it.

He instructs me to stand to the side and wait while a couple more people enter the barracks. It has to have been a good five minutes or more before a woman comes out of the building, her full black attire nothing like the clothing that any of the people here would have.

It takes a moment to click, but the second it does instinct automatically takes over. I turn to run but before I can even take a step in the opposite direction the woman grabs my wrist and pulls me roughly towards her.

"Not so fast, Shaera," she chuckles, her strange accent making her words a bit more difficult to understand. Even my own name is nearly unrecognizable.


Everett Montclair, 15, Sector H


Even after over a year of my worst nightmare coming true, I still find it hard to believe that a person like me could ever be this alone.

Back in District One I had more friends than I could have ever needed. Everyone loved me, and who could blame them? I was the fun-loving, excitement-filled kid that everyone wanted to be around. Hell, if I wasn't me I would have wanted nothing more than to be my best friend. Life was amazing back then, full of all the adventure and drama that comes with living on the wild side. I won't say it was perfect, but it was close. The worst thing that ever happened to me was the day I was taken away from all of that, wrenched from my dream life and thrown into this disgusting excuse of a district.

This isn't a place for someone like me. I'm nothing like any of these people, I'm far superior. They should be fighting to even have the privilege of being in my presence. Instead they're doing what only one person in my life has ever had the gall to do to me. They're ignoring me.

I drop the plastic fork on the table, but it bounces off and heads down towards the floor. I groan and don't even bother to pick it up. There is no way that I will subject myself to eating with something that has touched the cafeteria floor. I'd much rather eat with my hands, at least they're somewhat sanitary.

As much as I try to ignore it, there is no way to block out the chattering that seems to come from every inch of the cafeteria except the corner that I am seated in. Mostly there are families, but there are groups of mainly boys that always sit together to eat- the crews as I have recently learned. Everyone else keeps a close watch on them out of the corner of their eye, just in case something happens and they have to get out fast to avoid getting caught up in a tussle.

I envy each and every one of them.

If I was back in District One there would be no possible way that I would be sitting by myself. I would be surrounded with friends, dozens and dozens of them. People would be watching me, not a bunch of lowlife criminals that would be shunned from any other society. I hate being ignored. I hate being segregated from everyone else. I hate being here in a place where I so clearly don't deserve to be.

"You're in my seat, scum," I look up sheepishly from my half-empty tray to see a rather small man with another four standing behind him. I don't know his name but I recognize him, one of the lower ranking crew boys that is still trying to prove his toughness in any way he can find.

Without saying a word I pick up my tray and stand up. I head over to the trash bins and drop all of my uneaten food in, steaming with held-in anger the entire time. If I was looking to get the hell beat out of me I might have protested, but I'm not. I've never been a fighter and I know that I wouldn't stand a chance against the twenty plus guys that would come after me if I picked a fight with their friend.

I clench my fists as I head towards the door. I hate that I'm scared of these guys. There should be no good reason for me to be, after all back in One no one ever dared talk to me the way they just did. I had respect there but here I am nothing but a friendless coward to these people. Any day they could decide to end me and I wouldn't have any say in the matter. No one would stop them. I hate the vulnerability, I hate it all.

Just as I get about halfway through the room, the doors burst open. I stop dead in my tracks, both confused and curious as to why someone is making such an entrance. No one here does anything to draw attention to themselves, it's the way of the district.

Everything begins to make sense when I see three men in complete black attire and several devices strapped to their belts. They walk into the filthy cafeteria and their clean uniforms make it so obvious that they don't belong in here. I can't imagine that I could break through the tension that settles in the room even if I had a gun.

"There!" One of them exclaims, a black-gloved finger pointing straight towards me. A knot ties itself in my stomach and I know that it's not even an option to try and move at this point. The men get closer and I do nothing but stare, fear freezing my feet in place.

The tallest of the men turns me around and another slaps a pair of cold handcuffs onto my wrists, the feeling far too familiar to give me any comfort. The room is dead silent by now and I finally become aware of the feeling of a hundred pairs of eyes set directly on me. One of the men turns me back around and begins to lead me out of the cafeteria. Just as he stops to open the door I turn around and smile. I don't even care where they're bringing me, in this moment the only thing that matters is that all eyes are on me.


Alanis Marcham, 14, Sector H


I don't think there has ever been a day in my life where I was more nervous that I am right now.

It's wrong, I know it's so so wrong to go and see Corin in the middle of the day, but the boy he sent to find me said that there would be no choice in the matter. That has to mean that it's urgent. Corin has never done this before. I mean, he's asked me to come earlier in the day but I've never been forced. He's always understood the reasons why I could only come during the night, when darkness could hide my face from anyone that might be looking.

For maybe the twentieth time since I left the barracks I consider turning around, making a loop around the shops to get rid of any suspicion and just going back to my room like nothing ever happened. Corin would be furious with me if I disrespected him like that. He's already told me time and time again that his boys had a pretty bad opinion of me. I'm not a member of his crew and yet I come in most nights for hours at a time. They don't like the fact that I can come and go as I please while still staying in Corin's good graces.

I should never have agreed to meet at his office. Everything worked so much better when we met outside, a different place for each day of the week. I trust Corin and I know that he would never do anything that might get me caught, but I can't trust his crew. There are far too many of them, and it only takes one stupid move before my clean record is ripped away. At this point I am truly walking through a mine field and hoping not to blow myself to pieces.

I do my best to keep my gaze neutral as I pass a group of girls that look to be a few years older than I am. Crew whores no doubt, but that's none of my business. I smile as I look inside one of the old buildings with its window filled with sweets and breads, just like any other girl might do upon passing. I know the routine backwards and forwards. Anyone looking at me would never have any reason to suspect that I have anything to hide.

I notice a pair of white clad Peacekeepers a few shops down from where I am and consider for a brief moment turning and heading the other way. Of course I don't, that would look suspicious and they might think about stopping me. The key to not raising any alarms is to pretend like there is nothing wrong with what you're doing. If you feel suspicious you'll look suspicious, it's child's play really.

Corin's place isn't more than five minutes away. It would be three if I cut through the alleys, but that's where people go when they're doing illegal things. The alleys are filled with cameras and I'm almost certain to find a Peackeeper of two lurking around there. No way am I taking that kind of chance to shave a minute or two off my route.

I recognize the buildings that I am approaching even though none of them have signs on them. They're where the low key operations happen. The bars, the crew houses, and the shops where you can get things that you otherwise wouldn't be able to find. I pick up my pace just a little bit. Even being in this area is suspicious looking, though I'm sure if I was questioned I could come up with some sort of legal excuse to why I'm snooping around.

I don't even let myself look at the half open window at the base of the building as I pass it. Aldo lives there, one of Corin's most loyal customers and probably one of the creepiest men I have ever come across in my life. His window pops out completely if you push in on it, and he always leaves his payment in a sac just on the inside of it. It's one of the easiest customers I have to deal with because I hardly ever see him in person. I just slip the drugs inside the sac, remove the coins, and pop the window back into place. I've only been seen once when I was about nine or so, but I just explained to the lady that I had dropped my hair tie and was trying to find it.

"Hey, stop right there!"

I freeze when I hear footsteps behind me followed by a man's voice. My breath catches in my throat but I remind myself that he's probably talking to someone else and that turning around would look suspicious. I keep walking, focusing on keeping my pace steady and my eyes absently wandering.

"You! Stop!"

This time the man is noticeably closer and I decide that it's probably a good idea to turn around. As soon as I do I meet the man's eyes, which are looking straight at me. I freeze, unsure of what to do. I could run, though I've never been the most athletic and I probably wouldn't make it far. Besides, this could be some big misunderstanding and running will make it look like I did something wrong.

As the man gets closer I see that his uniform is almost identical to that of a Peacekeeper but instead of all white his is black. Behind him, the pair of Peacekeepers I passed are galloping to catch up. The man reaches me and points a small, black metal device right at me.

"Turn around. No sudden movements, I've been instructed to use force as necessary."

I slowly turn around, my entire body trembling so hard that I feel like I might not have the control necessary to stay on my feet. I feel something cold and hard slap against both wrists and I can't help but flinch. I want to ask what is going on, but it's as if my voice has been stopped by the lump in my throat. I know that any innocent person would protest, insist that they have the wrong person or something. I'm not sure it would do any good for me, though. This doesn't seem like any kind of misunderstanding, this man looks like knows exactly what he is doing.


A/N: And I am back, well for a bit. Life has been hectic once again and continues to be so, but I was recently reminded how much I really love this universe that I created after getting some late reviews. I do not want to quit this story and I hope that it never has to come to that. I love this story, these characters, and all of the arcs and plots that I have already planned.

A huge thank you to everyone that is still reading and an even bigger thank you to those that continue to review. Honestly, the reviews I recently got really helped to get me back into the story so there is a lot of value in reviews. Maybe even quicker updates?

Speaking of reviews, they would be great if you find the time!

Who are your favourites of these four?

Do you have any alliance predictions so far? Plot predictions?


I do have exams coming up very soon, so I can't promise an update will come for the next little while. As usual I will have to see how things go, but I will do my best. There is only one more introduction chapter and then we get to dive right into the interactions, the new Capitol chapters I've laid out, and the beginnings of major plots. Very exciting stuff, stay tuned!