The fire engulfed your face in warmth. Snuggling up closer into the blanket, you curled onto the couch. Lazy walked over and gave you a mug of steaming hot cocoa and gave you a smile. Sitting next to you, he handed you a book called "The Lord of the Flies" while he took "The Origins of Species" by Adam Smith for himself. In silence you sat for what seemed like a few minutes when a sudden booming on the door radiated from the outside.

"Peacekeepers, open the door!" shouted a gruff voice. Lazy jumped up with a speed that he's never demonstrated before. Grabbing you arm, he pushed you down into the basement and through the cellar door. It was pitch black, yet Lazy continued to force you into the darkness. From the distance you could hear splintering wood and some gun shots.

"Keep going, Juliet!" whispered Lazy urgently. You groped your way through the tunnel until you came upon a small crevice. Lazy pushed past you and pushed a knob on the end point and a hinge swung open to reveal a dense forest. Pulling you through, he shut the door behind you, showing that you had come out of a cave. Grabbing your hand, Lazy looked you square in the eyes. As you looked in his dense eyes, you were aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"What's going on?" you asked, your voice in a bare whisper. Lazy smiled sadly and unwrapped "The Lord of the Flies" from his jacket. Handing it to you, he wrapped you in a hug.

"Run…run as far away from here as possible and don't look back," he said, letting you go. You shook your head, feeling the tears begin to cloud in your eyes.

"No…please…don't leave," you spluttered. Lazy smiled one last time and turned away. You heard banging from the other side, causing you to turn and flee. You fled as fast as you could, ignoring the stinging cuts from the branches, and the ripped pants from the brambles. From behind you could hear shouts and gun shots, but you continued forward. You hugged the novel to your chest and flew through the density of the forest.

A few miles later, you found yourself in the heart of the trees, not a person to be seen or heard. With haggard breathing you leaned against a tree and slid to the ground in a crumple of exhaustion and sorrow. Looking up you heard a huge blast from the distance. A wave of dust and leaves blew through your face and hair. Standing up quickly you felt your knees quaver and shake. "NO!" you screamed, knowing in your heart that Lazy was gone…

"NO!" you shouted, sitting up suddenly.

Flashes and dots filled your visions as your knees and elbows quaked. Groaning, reality hit you smack in the face before you realized where you were. Your senses came back to you, and you slowly stood up and leaned against a charred tree next to you. Blinking back tears, you looked around and took stock of your surroundings.

Everything was burnt. The trees were bent and broken to the side. You stumbled a few feet forward and saw Cid laying on his side with blood dripping down his face. Falling to your knees, you shook him slightly and heard him groan. With a sharp intake of breath, you gently rolled him onto his back and examined his body for any fatal injuries. There was nothing too serious, but he did have a pretty nasty gash across his face that needed to be sealed. Helping him sit up, you gently pushed back his bright blonde hair. He slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his head. "Unh…what happened?" he asked, his voice soft. You smiled, relieved that he was alright.

"We're still in the clearing, but it looks like the others have been scattered…I think a bomb went off somewhere…," you said, looking around. Cid slipped back to unconsciousness, but you kept him propped up against a tree. One down two to go.

Walking a few yard West, you found Demitri already awake, propping his leg up with a crutch. Almost laughing with relief, you ran over to him and helped him to stand. "Oh thank God you're alright," he muttered as soon as he saw you. "What the hell happened?" he demanded hypothetically. You shrugged your shoulders in response, but you knew the answer to his question. District 12 had just been blown up. Using you as a prop, Demitri pushed himself into a standing position and hobbled over to where Cid was laying unconscious.

"Is he alright?" he asked, nodding to the blonde kid. You nodded your head and helped him sit down next to the tree.

"Have you seen Frank?" you asked, standing right back up. Demitri shook his head sadly and looked down at his feet. Putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, you headed back into the dead forest. Searching through every nook and cranny you finally found the funny red-head behind a large willow tree, stuck between two rocks. Crawling over the hill, you pushed the rocks away and gently dragged Frank away from the wreckage. His eyes were closed, but the rest of his face was pretty torn up. Grimacing, you moved down to his already-wounded leg and nearly threw up with disgust. The whole leg was skinless with the muscle showing. By the look of things, Frank wouldn't last the night if you didn't cover it.

Without hesitation, you searched for sap in the dead trees and spread it across the wound. You then stuck any leaves that you could find on the sap, fully covering the wound. You massaged the area, pumping the blood back into the leg and then gently shook Frank awake. He coughed and spluttered before rubbing his eyes tiredly. Groaning, he attempted to sit up, but he winced in pain. "Ugh…God my leg!" he cried softly. Grimacing sympathetically, you helped him sit up properly and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I know it hurts right now, but we have to get out of here. A bomb went off and pretty soon Peacekeepers will be here to sweep the area…plus…if we don't get your leg checked by an expert physician then it could get worse…," you added, helping him to his feet. He put an arm around your shoulders and hopped back to Cid and Demitri. Upon seeing his crewmates Frank busted out into a huge smile.

"Oh thank goodness you're alive!" he exclaimed, hobbling over to his friend. Demitri slowly got up and hugged him quickly. Putting a strong, reassuring hand on his torso, he helped his friend stand up straighter. You gripped Cid by the forearm and pulled him up onto his feet. Pushing Demitri and Frank forward, you steadied Cid.

"C'mon guys, we can't stay here. Peacekeepers will flood the area looking for any wreckage," you reminded them, pushing onward.

It was very slow going, but you pressed on. You HAD to get out of there as fast as possible; the last thing you needed was another raid on the area. By the time the sun had set, you were only 7 miles from the original area, but Frank couldn't go any further…and you weren't in any condition to argue. So, you lodged in a small cave that night, surrounded by rock and wildlife. After redressing Frank's wounds, you laid down and stared up at the stars. Cid took a spot next to you and sighed, his face scraped up from the explosion. His blonde hair messy and unkept, his eyes up and glowing from exhaustion. You felt so much guilt for how he was…

You were about 5 miles away from District 7, shivering in the woods alone. The fire was glowing at your feet, and you were huddled in a blanket and clutching "The Lord of the Flies" with all your might. You heard a twig snap behind you and you immediately turned and pulled out your make-shift bow and an arrow. Gritting your teeth, you focused your vision on a bush nearby. "Come into the light!" you shouted forcefully. By now you had grown accustomed to the hatred of the Peacekeepers, having fled from them since you left District 2. A sniffle came from nearby and the bush wiggled and let out a small boy with blazing blonde hair and incredibly blue eyes. His nose was bleeding, and he had a black eye. Feeling suspicious, you kept the bow up, but you lowered your defenses enough so that he walked a few feet forward. You didn't know who he was…but he had better be careful.

"Who are you?" you asked, your voice still hard and fierce. The boy sniffed again and shuffled his feet. You noticed how he clutched his arms in cold, and how his teeth chattered.

"Uh…Cid…," he said shyly. You squinted at him, checking for weapons, but deciding he wasn't a threat, you gestured for him to join you at the fire. Giving you a reluctant smile, the blonde boy walked forward and dropped right close to the fire and sucked in its warmth. You watched as he rubbed his hands together and made himself comfortable on the ground next to you. He had no defenses at all. He was perfectly comfortable and trusting of your presence. Feeling yourself smile slightly, you inched closer to him and pulled out a piece of jerky from the backpack you had stolen from a ruffian in District 5 and offered it to the poor boy. 'Cid' looked at you with wide eyes for a moment before taking the jerky and practically swallowing it down. After finishing his small meal, he shyly glanced up at you.

"What's your name?" he asked softly. You smiled and shook his hand in good faith.

"I'm Juliet," you answered…

"Hey Juliet, how much longer do we have to walk?"

You were jerked out of your revere by Cid's pleading voice. You pulled Frank's arm tighter around your shoulders and looked at the horizon. By now you had reached the edge of the forest and was making your way across the barren landscape that once was a flourishing District 13. "Almost there…maybe another hour…," you answered. Frank groaned, his eyes fighting to stay open. You slapped his face gently, attempting to keep him conscious. If he slipped into unconscious he might end up in a coma…and that would be very, very, very bad. Meanwhile, Demitri was fading just as fast, and Cid was becoming slower and slower as time progressed.

It was around the 10th mile when you heard the verring of hovercrafts. Looking up, you saw that several of District 13's officers had made an appearance and were holding very big guns and very big frowns. Ignoring the obvious distrust, you held up your badge. "Special Agent Matthews requesting assistance," you groaned, gesturing to Frank. The meat heads looked at each other before nodding confirmation and helping you drag Frank and Demitri onto the hovercraft. Cid followed you on board and you flew off back towards the home base.

As you flew you felt yourself drift in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of blood dripping from your cuts on your face. In what seemed like hours you were aware of arriving at the base of the underground District 13's entrance where doctors were awaiting the hovercraft. You felt hands lift you from the lift and place you gently on a gerny. Exhaustion and worry faded into your mind as you felt the safety of the underground hospital engulf you. You tried to sit up once, but you felt dizzy and ended up laying back down. Voices could be heard from a distance, but you ignored them and drifted off into a deep sleep…