Rayla ran until she reached District 11's first border, unable to stop. Pills clattered against their confinement in her satchel, coaxing her faster through the darkened fields in fear of being heard. Recurrently, she tried to remember the stranger's hands on hers, showing her how to apply the right amount of twisting tension in order to get the cap off of the bottle. (If worse came to worse, though, she could simply break the bottle to retrieve the pills.)

And yet her mind kept drifting back to that moment. Something about it reinforced her breathing and upheaved her heart, giving her enough adrenaline to continue pushing on.

Most of the sustenance that she had packed was gone when she crossed into District 11. Conserving the energy that she wouldn't receive from food became her top priority. She needed to rest. Even if rest meant spending the night in unfamiliar territory and managing the threat of Peacekeepers that lurked above her consciousness.

So Rayla constructed a dismal lean-to and fell into sleep quickly beneath it. Broken bones and green eyes and sore legs haunted her dreams. All were bad.

At least, she tried to remind herself of this.

Streaks of light warmed Rayla when she came to consciousness. She hadn't woken before dawn like she'd planned, but she was more so confused rather than upset. It had been weeks - possibly months - since she'd slept past sunrise. Stress had always roused her hours before the sun took shape in the sky. Nonetheless, time was on her side while she packed her meager supplies into her satchel and took off for her district.

In spite of her searing muscles, Rayla was energetic and alive, taking just over half a day to cover District 11's territory. She kept to the outskirts of the woods when she made her way back to her Kins' camp. Once she was far enough away, Rayla took out the bottle of pills and called back to muscle memory, squeezing the cap and opening the bottle of antibiotics. After emptying a majority of the pills onto a flat piece of bark, the girl drew one of her swords and positioned her grip at the top of her weapon's handle. Grimacing, Rayla pounded the handle of her blade against the pills until they turned to powder.

Kin did not get the rare luxury of vaccines and pills like some of District Twelve's people. Which was fine with everyone, really. Runaan often said that pills were "unnatural" and that he preferred intrinsic embodiments of medicine. So he and his Kin sought out remedies in the leaves of plants and the bones of animals.

Rayla poured the powder back into the bottle and emptied the rest of the pills in her pockets before scouring the forest floor for wild lettuce. The matter that bled from its stem acted as a fine pain relief substitute and she had to come back with something.

While she made her way back to camp, Rayla wondered if anyone else in her Kin had met someone from a district outside of Twelve. Not that it was something she would ever ask to find out. A slim barrier seemed to wedge itself between her and her Kin from that point on. One that would only grow more prominent with time.

Ki'somma greeted her with a familiar smile when she strolled into camp. In spite of her own world seeming to collapse in on itself, Rayla's Kin looked the same. They hailed her with quick smiles and kind words. Rayla didn't know what she'd been expecting, but nothing had changed inside the camp.

She carried her newfound belongings into her tent and spotted Runaan sleeping on the far side of his and Tide's bed. Quietly, she prepared some tea and stirred some of the antibiotic powder in it, waking Runaan by lifting his head and ordering him to drink.

"I've already had my tea today, Rayla. It made me more jaded than I had anticipated." He looked up at her and smiled tiredly. "I'm glad you've come home. You've been missed."

Rayla couldn't help but return his smile, tilting her head. "Well this tea will no' help me," she insisted through a chuckle, bringing the cup up to his lips. "It's already cooled down some. Just drink. That's all I ask, ye hear?"

So Runaan had drunk gratefully. When Tide came home some hours later, the three spent the rest of the evening together like the family they used to be. Two days went by before Rayla returned to her duties.

Runaan proved to get better within the week that passed. Meanwhile, Rayla's positions within Dhara's Kin were fulfilled once again, and somehow she still stood firm on her early morning and late night, miles-long runs. Nor did she stop sparring with those who would take her, or insisting on building up her strength by adjusting her diet to be a majority of any large portions of protein she could find.

Another week passed.

The antibiotics must have started to wear off at that point, because Runaan's energy began to drain. Slowly, he returned to his old self: sick and despondent and dependent.

When she saw that not even the cure-all of medication could save him, Rayla made up her mind.

She needed medicine. Real, personal medicine that would help Runaan. Someone who could show him how to walk again. She needed better shelter for her uncles. She needed quick access to food, especially food that couldn't be found in the forest. Runaan needed a better diet. Better housing and better care.

Not even money could help her now, though. She needed to move.

Move districts, move in the food chain, move Runaan to a facility where he would be taken care of twenty-four-seven until he could take care of himself again. She just needed to move.

So three weeks after her trek to District 9, she returned to the heart of her childhood town. Specifically, to the Justice Building of District 12.

Even though they were all part of the same district, people lifted their noses or sneered when Rayla passed them. But she paid them no mind. The children who dodged out of the dusty streets to stare at her with wide eyes always caught her attention, though. A girl no older than thirteen gazed at her with hope while a boy the same age gazed at her with fear. Long after they had disappeared from sight, they continued to push their presence into her mind. Especially the girl.

I'm protecting her, Rayla thought dully.

Momentarily, she hesitated before pushing the doors of the Justice Building open. By the time she strode into the building, though, her jaw was set and her eyes were blazing.

Peacekeepers located near the entrance immediately stormed towards her, grunting things that she could no longer hear.

The blood was rushing in her ears now. There was an epinephrine-fueled surge of foresight that pounded through her body. It steadied her, blocking out any more traces of fear and havering. Rayla's mind was set. Her decision was already made and her focus narrowed into what she knew she had to do.

I'm protecting them.

Visions of Runaan and Tide barreled into her, nearly knocking her off balance. Or maybe it was the Peacekeepers, she wasn't sure.

The doors behind her slammed shut at the same time that Peacekeepers clasped their iron grips around her biceps. They began to drag her in the direction of what she guessed to be a cell.

"Get off me," she ordered them. "I'm here to sign up for the Games."

There was a heartbeat of uncertainty that was quickly followed by the Peacekeepers steering her in a different direction. They marched her into a room with a single window, desk, and chair.

"Sit down and stay," one of the Peacekeepers instructed.

Rayla kept her head down so nobody would see her scowl. She took her place and looked up in time to see the Peacekeepers walking out and shutting the door behind them. The silence in the room was too loud, not allowing her thoughts to reach her, not allowing her emotions to catch up to her. It took a few seconds for Rayla to realize that she was panting and coated in a layer of cold sweat. She leaned back against her chair and exhaled, grinding her teeth together.

A familiar figure took shape behind the window in the room. But again, it took her a few seconds to realize this.

When she saw that it was Ki'somma, she simply stared. He looked horrified, already turning on his heel to run back to the camp and round up their Kin to fight for Rayla.

"No," she whispered.

Ki'somma blinked. Terror and confusion manifested in him. He tried to take a step closer to the window but retreated when a Peacekeeper shoved the door to the room open.

Rayla turned her head back and cursed inside her head. How hadn't she noticed that Ki'somma was following her? She was always able to sense when people were tracking her or even just looking at her. Runaan had taught her to see the signs. Subconsciously, she prayed that her senses weren't beginning to fail her. They couldn't now. Not at a time like this.

"Sign it."

A lengthy sheet of paper slid into her line of sight. Someone grabbed her forearm and forced a pen into her grasp.

She wasn't crying but her vision was blurry. Inked words ran together before her. The tips of her ears burned red.

You already know what you're agreeing to. Don't bother reading it.

"Just sign it."

With Ki'somma's eyes burning into her, Rayla signed her name on the line at the bottom of the paper, not allowing her hand to shake.

Once the agreement was final, a Peacekeeper snatched the paper and pen from Rayla before another grabbed her arm, lifting her out of the chair and governing her out of the room. At that point her vision was blurry with tears, yet she permitted none to fall. She knew that Ki'somma was still watching her. Part of her wondered what he would tell their Kin.

As the sound of helicopter blades began to whir outside, Rayla didn't fight back against the people who led her to the noise.

"I belong here," she told herself. Her voice was lost in the overwrought atmosphere and blaring machine. "I belong here, I do." A sob caught in her throat and she hated herself for it. "I do."

Although no-one could hear her, it sounded like she was begging herself to believe the words.