"You can spit on a rose, but it's still a rose."
― Marty Rubin

"403 step forward," demanded the warden. He walked down the line of the Skaikru's children all dressed in grey tunics. The sea of grey contrasted the warden's crimson tunic, with a grey collar to mark his place as warden of the children.

403 stepped forward, pressing her fingers into the side of her thighs in order to focus on the pressure, rather than the situation at hand. She could feel the rough material of her badly sewn tunic, as the children were given the oldest clothing from the early days of Skaikru. She pressed harder as the warden drew close, her eyes remained forward staring at the wall of the children's courtyard. She was nearing 17, which meant that she was tall enough now to nearly see fully over the wall, into the rest of camp going about their daily duties. Her warden- 104- had been on her back since she was small and there had been plenty of times she would have to stare at this wall. It was nice to finally find some entertainment out of it as she would be able to dream about her days when she was an adult, able to be on the other side of the wall.

The warden became very close to her face as she was now digging her nails into the tunic, trying to hide her fear of the warden's stare. He paused for a moment before announcing to the rest of the children- "403 here has committed a most terrible crime. She has committed an act so terrible that she will have to make up for. Shall you tell the rest of the bunch 403, or shall I?" 403 kept quiet, her eyes fixated, her mind fixated, on the world over the wall. "403, girls and boys, thinks that she is better than me. She thinks that it is alright to steal, to give to those who already have enough-"

"They don't have enough," 403 interrupted, only to receive a sharp slap across her face.

"HOW DARE YOU!" the warden bellowed, 'Stand up straight now and never interrupt me again!"

403 bit her tongue, she could feel the skin beneath her tunic begin to bleed as she continued to apply pressure on her thighs. It was her own fault for trying.

"403 decided to give extra food to the younger campmates, and therefore there will be only 1 meal a day for the next 2 months instead of your usual 2, as there has to be time to make up for the food that has been taken." There was a murmur from the other end of the line, as the younger children who were already so hungry from their rationing realised their fate. The other end of the line, where 403 stood, kept quiet, but she could feel their stares as they continuously tell her to stop helping the little ones, as she will be caught. All she could hear was their thoughts; "I told you so…", "If you had listened to me…"

The children at the Skaikru camp were aged 3-17, when they were 18, they were to be given a job and small room to live in. They would have to contribute and help to the rest of the camp, just as the adults had done for them as children. But the children were just as neglected as many of the adults in camp, given small rations as the Skaikru's food was limited from their bad hunting techniques, and dangers of the forest outside. But 403 had seen the elders at camp with full feasts and plenty of drink when she used to escape at night, when the old warden would go to sleep. She couldn't get away with that with the new warden. Warden 104 was old and used to the ways of rebels at camp, 403 was old news to him and he was tired of her constant disobedience.

"Next time any of you take advantage of all the things that the rest of the camp, or I, do for you, there will be worse repercussions. Now fuck off all of you, get to bed. And that's right… the meal ban starts tonight." The warden walked down the line and out of the children's quarter.

It was only small and held around 80 beds, the number count at the camp was nearly at 500. Each child was given a number when they were born in order to keep count, names were no longer relevant, everyone was here to survive, there was no time to name each other; to form connections. 403 slept in a bunk bed, probably made when the Skaikru arrived that had carvings all over and beams that could break any night. She slept under 395, he was a tall boy nearing his 17th and a half birthday. He would soon be gone and 403 didn't know what she would do without him. The two of them, along with their other friend, 420, a boy who slept a few bunks down, were the ones to realise that the camp was not as fair as the warden made out.

She stared up at the bed above her, always making sure all the scratchings were there from the day before- they always were. A big 222 was etched in the middle and there were love hearts around other different numbers, of romances of the child quarters' past. The one 403 loved the most was a small 002 and 097 with a love heart around, as it meant that the second person on earth or the person in love with the second person on earth used to sleep where she slept. The numbers were also written in such a cursive style that it looked like the writing of some of the books that the Skaikru had saved from the arc, which only made the romance dreamier. She thought sometimes about writing a small 395 and 403 together but didn't want 420 to see that there was a stronger bond in the three of them that didn't include him.

Sometimes 395 used to leave his hand dangling off the side of his bed for 403 to hold when she needed it. 403 would never call their relationship one of love, for she knew he would be gone soon, she would be left with the memories of him and that she didn't want that to hurt more than it had to. There was only a small amount of times in the day that she could see him alone; the warden usually made them do the washing up of the adults' meals and often 395 would 'accidently' throw soap at 403 and end up making out dripping wet, only to be found in a wet state by the warden and would end up confined for week. But they didn't care, it was worth it for that 20 minutes every now and again of something other than regime.

403 looked up to the heart of 002 and 097, she thought it would probably be more likely 097 who wrote it, she had never heard of or seen 002 but she knew 097 as a commander at the camp. She was blonde and blue eyed and knew that she worked in the hospital. She had once had a weird encounter with her when she had to go for a deep cut from a splinter that she accidently got whilst making a beam for a new bed in adult camp. 097 had tended to her wound, smiling and showing the most warmth that 403 had ever received. It was then that 103, the highest commander had come into the hospital with two other officers to take 097 away, she put up a fight, but they dragged her away; she looked back at 403 longingly and 403 later heard screams at the other side of the wall. It was the most confusing, exciting and frightening moment of 403's life.

That nights as usual, 395 threw his hand down the side of the bunk bed, and 403 took his warm hand in hers as she sat up to take it. She quickly withdrew when 420 came rushing to their bed side, his cheeks pulsing red and his breath heavy.

"You have to come quick, there's a hole in the outside wall from an accidental explosion in the adult camp, they'll fix it tomorrow and we will never again get a chance if we don't go now," he sputtered.

395 got down from the top bunk, "Are you kidding? Go? Go where?"

"Go to the forest, lets escape whilst we can!" he said giddily, holding his few possessions in his hand, the end of a candle, a small blanket-like scarf and a wooden screwdriver, of which he would usually use when the three of them were out in the adult camp at night up to mischief. 403 locked eyes with 395, could they really just leave like that? Should they? If they got caught, the rest of the camp would take the consequences.

"420, we can't just leave, what will the warden do to the small ones?" she asked

"The same as he always does, there will be no change for them if we leave, if anything they won't be subject to all our scrutinies" 420 encouraged. "We have to go now."

"I suppose this is our only chance…" 395 muttered. 403 thought for a moment before nodding her head, she could leave and one day return to free the rest of the camp. She had heard once about people who live outside the camp, maybe they would help them. Then she thought about what the people outside would do if they weren't to help them. She was willing to take the chance.

She grabbed her own small notebook she had stolen from adult camp and her pencil. She put it in the large pocket of her tunic and hurried 395 as the three of them ran, following 420 to the hole; it was only small they could barely fit through it.

"You're kidding," 403 exclaimed, "this is the hole you are on about?!"

420 shrugged and pushed her through the hole, as she army crawled through it. 403 looked down, they were standing on the top of a very steep hill, overlooking a forest like the ones she had seen in books; there were trees, plants, flowers of all different colours. Nothing was grey. Except for the three teenagers standing on top of the hill, not knowing what to do with themselves.

"Come on, we have to find somewhere to go, or the camp will come looking for us," led 395. A natural born leader thought 420. The three of them ran down the hill, smiles smacked upon their faces, trying to hold in their happiness and laughs to not wake the rest of camp, which was getting smaller and smaller, as they got faster and faster. None of them had ever felt this alive, they had never ran so quick, but were soon very tired. Energy levels were low from a lack of food and hard labour that the warden would usually put them through. Eventually, they came to a standstill and fell to the floor by a tree, their bellies pushing up and down at great speed, trying to make up for the all the energy they had just put into their run.

"What do we do now?" 403 asked.

"What do you mean what do we now? For once in our lives let's do nothing!" 395 laughed at 420's excitement. "We can do anything we want to do; we are not on the warden's schedule no more!"

403 gave in and let her body slumber against the tree, looking up to the branches above, and through the holes to the night sky. She took a deep breath in, she tasted the freedom she now had, and it tasted good.