Hi everyone! Welcome back, and sorry for the long wait. Alright; it's time to start picking up the majority of Nessa's tribute allies' loved ones, starting with Sonia's! But will this turn out to be an easy task? Oh, who am I kidding…of course it won't. I will say this though: quite a surprise will be waiting for you at some point in this chapter. I probably shouldn't even describe it; it's that good, at least in my opinion. I hope you'll like it :)

Phase Two, Mission One

It was a long flight from the outskirts of the Capitol to District 8, and not just because Geolo had to sit at the wheel for two straight hours before spotting an area of civilization that could only belong to Sonia's home district. Like all residents of District 3 (aside from Wiress and Beetee of course, since they'd each been there before thanks to their Victory Tours), he had never once been to that part of Panem, let alone any of the other districts. However, fortunately for him and his teammates, Sonia had talked a bit about her life back home to pass the time while he'd been fixing the hovercraft, and he found himself having an easy time remembering one particular detail she'd mentioned: while Sonia hadn't worded it this way because there was no way she could have known this part, District 8 actually sounded quite similar to District 3.

It contained a lot of factories, the oxygen there wasn't exactly the best (a fact that Geolo, Tally, Sonia, and the latter's district partner had never realized until they started breathing in the Capitol's noticeably pleasant outdoor air), and while the poverty its residents lived in was undeniable, it wasn't nearly as bad as the Elevens and Twelves had it. The only difference between Districts 3 and 8 that one would instantly notice upon entry was that unlike those who lived in the former, the citizens within the latter were able to look almost as spontaneous as the Capitol's residents alone could because they were the city in charge of producing their clothing. Though it was still obvious that the Capitolites looked more fancy, because District 1 was the district in charge of accessories, wigs, and maybe even makeup.

Now that Geolo thought about it, picking up Sonia's loved ones first was probably a good thing. If the Capitol's Peacekeepers had contacted the districts' troops in case the rebels they were after happened to pass by them before leaving Panem (which was a possibility, since Sonia had also mentioned that District 8 was noticeably close to the ocean), he and his allies would need to make sure that if they had to leave the hovercraft while searching for everyone they were there to gather up, they would do it in disguise. Except they didn't actually have any clothes they could use as disguises aside from the clothes everyone present was already wearing, and…Geolo chose not to even think about the rest of that thought. It was a risky move, but the tribute from 3 decided that, since they were going to Panem's textile district, they might as well borrow a few outfits from the factories there while searching for Sonia's parents.

Sonia's parents! Oh no…while the girl had done a great job at describing her district and home life, the one thing she hadn't told her allies was…well, everything they needed to know about her parents aside from the fact that they worked in one of District 8's 43 textile factories (which was a lot more than twelve, the number of tech factories in District 3)! Their appearances, their names, which factory they worked in exactly…she hadn't even mentioned her own last name! They would definitely have to ask around her district and see if anyone knew her family, or at least remembered her last name being announced when her escort had read it upon reading the reaping slip with her name on it. If nobody could help them in that department, it could take them all day to track down those two specific adults. Time they didn't have at all.

Anyways, the journey there was not only long; it also felt that way for everyone inside the hovercraft. Geolo was feeling restless as he tried to piece together how they were ever going to find Sonia's parents and acquire those disguises without the Peacekeepers catching them, and everyone else was wrapped up in immense thoughts of their own. Clove, of course, knew that she had to make sure Thresh was out of the picture once they arrived in District 8, and that nobody saw her luring him into a trap. If she could, she also needed to make sure the rest of her "allies" stayed in that town for as long as possible, so that the Capitol would have an easier time using her tracker to get to them. But depending on how much time she had to get rid of Thresh, that last part might have to wait until they got to their next intended stop.

Rue and her present siblings, meanwhile, were unable to stop worrying about their missing sisters, and what their parents might think when they heard the two of them had been captured by the Capitol. Rue herself was also caught up in another thought, as was Nessa, though not to as big of an extent as their hopes that Iris, Daisy, Lili, and Matt would be okay. At some point after they'd left the space around the 74th Hunger Games arena, in an attempt to cheer up everyone at least a little bit, Fern told Rue about how Matt, Yuri, and Lili had technically snuck into Panem for an extra reason. Apparently, Lili's mother was none other than Juniper Berryharvest, the latter of whom the 6-year-old had discovered had a sister named Posey and a twelve-year-old nephew or niece that still lived in Panem.

"For all we know, Lili's cousin could be one of our classmates or something," Astilbo then commented. "I mean, whoever it is is as old as you Rue…so yeah! Just think about it! All this time, two people related to Juniper Berryharvest could have walked right past us!"

"Yeah!" Nessa added, smiling excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait 'til we get to District 11. I really wanna meet Lili's cousin and Aunt Posey!"

Toolip giggled. "You sound like she's your aunt!"

"Well, I live with Lili, so in a way I guess she could be," admitted Nessa.

The conversation then steered in a different but pleasant direction as Nessa wondered aloud how much like Lili the latter's aunt and cousin would turn out to be, both on the inside and outside. Rue, Fern, and Astilbo were quick to start describing some of the people they knew back in District 11 to give her an idea, and Nessa's excited responses to each description soon did what the latter had secretly assumed was impossible: getting a smile out of Thresh. It was a small one that was too fast for most of his companions to notice, but everyone who saw it (albeit discreetly, fearing he'd get annoyed with them for saying something about it) took a moment to acknowledge it.

Foxface, however, was focused on an entirely different subject. It was probably a strange one to consider, especially at a time like this, but she simply couldn't bring her attention away from it. It was the fact that despite Lili apparently always being the first soul to come to mind whenever she thought about her life back in America, Nessa had romantic feelings for—and had even kissed, though not in the confirming-a-relationship kind of way—Golias.

It was just…one intriguing scenario. He had an attachment to Yuri that almost seemed like an obsession, and based on a few of the things she'd said during their encounter with the mutts at the Cornucopia, it was possible that she valued Lili in the exact same way. And yet Nessa was still able to find room in her heart for a love interest; one that possibly even had the same feelings for her—why else would someone as selfless and overly fond of his best friend as Golias have giggled in a suave fashion after someone who was his friend-but-not-best-friend KISSED him?

Foxface was almost relieved that Rue had apparently been in the cargo bay when Nessa had kissed him and therefore hadn't witnessed it. She would have started up the playful teasing that she'd done with her and Sonia back in the arena all over again, she was sure of it. It wasn't anything personal; the fox-like tribute, despite never having had any love interests herself or spoken with anyone who had about that topic, or even knowing much about how that whole thing worked, just felt like romantic feelings were a private matter that only had the right to be discussed and even thought about by the lover and the love interest. Not by anyone else…at least not before a wedding proposal. So she felt awkward thinking about it.

Yet she knew she had no choice. If the arena's cameras hadn't told the Capitol that Nessa had a crush on Golias, then Glimmer might. Since she had been trapped on the ground by the very people having the "fluttering hearts" conversation, she'd heard the whole thing loud and clear. And if the Capitol knew she had not only stayed out of Nessa's rebellion plans but also attempted to stop them from succeeding, and had (according to the mentors who were helping Golias and Effie) decided to technically crown her this year's Games' victor, well…there was a chance that they'd ask Glimmer if she knew of any weaknesses Nessa might have. Which meant there was also a chance that the authorities could deliberately go after Golias for the sole purpose of using him as a pawn to bring the optimistic rebel down. He was already in danger as it was because of his weaknesses having been exposed, so such a scene was not hard to imagine. And then there was the fact that Lili, whom Nessa was also particularly fond of, had already been captured by the Peacekeepers…

I have to take action then, Foxface told herself. If the mutts managed to scare Nessa enough for her determination to be overshadowed, which I know for sure was filmed by the cameras, then the Capitol will have a very easy time overwhelming her with a hostage situation involving her best friend and possibly her love interest as well. If I do not prepare her for the worst, she will crack under the pressure again. I know she will…and that could lead to our ultimate downfall.

Though it wasn't like she could do just that right then and there—not with Geolo, Rue, three of her siblings, and Thresh here as well and ESPECIALLY not with Clove here. None of them (well maybe Rue's siblings and Clove had; they hadn't been in the arena at all, so they might have seen it on television at one point, but either way she didn't feel comfortable) had witnessed what'd happened with them specifically and the mutts, but they had witnessed her becoming so overwhelmed that she'd exposed her own escape plan to the arena's cameras. They all knew Nessa could have a hard time accepting that her platonic love for Lili and romantic love for Golias would surely cause a problem later on when the fox-like tribute told her this. She could even get emotional about it, and if she did so in front of the rest of the team, they (or at the very least, Thresh) could doubt that she had enough stamina to continue in their journey. They were already ready to take any chance they got to boot Clove off the team—would they do the same to Nessa if they saw how emotionally fragile she truly was? Even if she was the reason why they were all still alive? You could never be too careful…

No. If Foxface was going to tell Nessa about her thoughts so the former giraffe could stay calm once the Peacekeepers decided to try to unnerve her, she had to do it without anyone else watching. Maybe she wouldn't get booted off for her mental vulnerability, but the tribute from 5 knew better than to trust that that would be the case. Anything was possible in a world of cruelty and distrust, and no one knew that better than she did. And whether anyone liked it or not, they needed Nessa with them. They…they just needed her. She was the reason why they were here, and without her, everyone's hopes of escaping the twisted era of Panem could crumble at the hands of who knew who.

Anyways, despite the tensions within everyone, Rue, her present siblings, and Nessa were able to make the first few moments of the trip fly by pretty quickly with their cheerful conversation about what the newly-revealed relatives Lili apparently had were like. Yet eventually, they reached an agreement that if Aunt Posey and her son/daughter weren't "feisty" (for the sake of her first ally staying mentally oriented, Foxface doubted this was a good time to let anyone else on their team know that Nessa seemed to be a victim of off-and-on best friend abuse) like Lili, they were undoubtedly as kind and wise as Nessa had learned Juniper Berryharvest was. And that, of course, brought their chatter to a halt…well, that is until Nessa decided to break the awkward silence by starting to sing a song about travelling.

"Oh flying we will go, oh flying we will go! We're gonna save your friends and families 'cause flying we will go!"

This was the song's only line, which was repeated again and again for two minutes, with Rue and Toolip deciding to sing along as well on the fifth verse. They eventually stopped singing though, mainly because despite knowing she had to try her hardest to be and stay on good terms with her companions, Clove reached a point where, despite her efforts, her annoyance towards the singing was too strong to be concealed from her face.

By the time Geolo finally announced that they'd arrived in District 8, Clove managed to hide it, but she felt like she was going to explode. For their entire flight, she'd had to put up with her replacement and her childish time-passers! Whenever it wasn't singing she was doing, it was an annoying game she and her friends from home had invented. One of those games had even been played eight times: a game where she hid one of her boots somewhere in the hovercraft, and then everyone had to look for it so they could win the useless prize of becoming "King/Queen/Princess Of The Hovercraft People." It was sort of like a game Nessa's friend Yuri had invented called "King Of The Monkeys," she'd said, except it had to have a different name because the object they had to find was different and they couldn't play it in the jungle because no one with Big Big Friend powers was present.

If she'd replaced Cato in the arena instead of me, he'd have snapped her neck way before the second note of her first song could have been sung, the sadistic girl angrily thought as she and everyone else in the cargo bay made their way to the pilot's cabin to join Geolo. Although as that thought made its way through her head, she succeeded in keeping it from showing on her face.

Once the entire team arrived at the windshield, Nessa gasped in excitement. "Wow…District 8 looks so big! Look at all the factories!"

"Yeah," Geolo gulped. "And that's not even all of them. Sonia said there were 43…which could make looking for her parents kind of hard. I mean, we don't know which of those clothing factories they work in, where they live…"

"Should've been specific," muttered Thresh, the weariness in his voice obvious to everyone.

"Hey, she didn't know she wouldn't make it to this phase of the journey," Rue gently said. "None of us could have known."

There was a moment of silence as the majority of the still-camouflaged hovercraft's passengers took a bit to wallow in sadness, the realization that only Sonia's safe relatives, and not Sonia herself, would be participating in the nation evacuation finally truly sinking in with all of those who deeply cared about her. Then Geolo took a deep breath, and mentally told himself to get it together; his friend from this district might be gone, but if he spent too much time mourning for her, then many other people he was close to could join her.

And at last, he explained to his teammates what had been on his mind for all but the first four minutes of their journey to District 8: the large but in a way risky advantage stopping in Panem's textile district gave them and the fact that, because of their limited knowledge, two, three, or four of them would have to temporarily leave the hovercraft and ask the citizens below for information on Sonia's parents' whereabouts.

"And well," Geolo awkwardly concluded, "in case the Peacekeepers from here catch us before we can go undercover, we'll…we'll need as much fighters down there as possible."

Thresh simply nodded, stoically. He didn't really mind the tribute from 3's decision, mainly because he didn't under any circumstances want to leave Clove with anyone on the team without his own supervision. Clove herself, meanwhile, agreed with the decision with a stoic expression too, but on the inside, she was smiling brightly. This was perfect. All she had to do now was wait and see who else would be leaving the hovercraft, and then come up with a plan…

"So who else is going down there?" Nessa inquired.

"Not me," Geolo reluctantly replied. "I have to stay at the wheel until at least one of you can learn how to drive this thing…which I'm sorry I was too deep in thought to do on the way here."

"Teach me," Foxface decided.

Geolo stared at her in surprise. "You? Even with a bad ankle?"

"It is mostly just buttons, levers, and switches. I will barely even need my legs," the fox-like tribute analyzed. She kept her tone and expression stoic, but Geolo noticed a brilliant spark of curiosity within her eyes and realized she wasn't just electing herself for the sake of the mission. She wasn't about to admit it, but she was genuinely intrigued by the thought of learning how to drive such a complex vehicle.

"Okay," confirmed Geolo. He rose from his seat and stood next to it, and then glanced at Nessa, who was once again transporting the tribute from 5 on her back. The former giraffe understood the message, and she turned so she could slowly and gently lower Foxface into the chair in his place.

"Can I go?" Fern asked. "I have always wondered what it's like in the other districts…"

"Only if I get to go with you," compromised Rue. However, when Nessa sighed in disappointment as soon as she said that, the youngest tribute thoughtfully observed those of their outdoor surroundings visible through the windshield and admitted, "Okay…you can come too, Nessa."

"Oh goodie!" Nessa cheered. "I've never seen a clothes factory before!"

"But you cannot sing," Foxface warned her. "And do not skip either. The clothing here may look spontaneous through the windshield, but that likely does not mean anyone who lives in District 8 is happy about living here."

"Yeah, that's a good point," realized Rue. "District 8 doesn't seem as…unfortunate…as my district, but Sonia said living there wasn't exactly easy for her or anyone she knew. If you get too excited, the Peacekeepers will know it's you right away."

"Oh," Nessa said, her smile disappearing. "So I…have to act sad the whole time?"

"Just look at the way we're walking and stuff and copy us," said Fern.

Nessa looked a little unsure at first, but then smiled. "Okey dokey!"

"Okay," said Geolo. "I'm just going to hide our hovercraft behind that factory over there so I can deactivate its camouflage setting without anyone seeing it. That way we can increase our chances of having more than one hovercraft driver among us and save time." He then did just that, and as this happened, Thresh, Clove, Fern, Rue, and Nessa approached the vehicle's exit. They wanted to be ready for the moment when it would open and the ladder would emerge into view…

Soon the hovercraft was safely behind the nearest clothing factory, and after a second, visible as well. As he operated the retractable ladder right after this, Geolo explained, "Once you're out of here I'll put this thing back in camouflage mode and bring it up into the sky again. That way, if anything happens, we'll be able to help with the advantage of not being seen."

"Okay," replied Nessa. The ladder then stopped about an inch away from the ground, and after Astilbo and Toolip nervously wished them well, one by one, she and everyone else who was leaving the hovercraft climbed down it. Once all of them were standing on the District 8 pavement, the ladder was pulled back into the hovercraft, which then disappeared into thin air.

A few seconds passed, and then Nessa asked, "What do we do first?"

"Disguises," Thresh immediately answered, eyeing the clothing factory before them in determination.

"Yes," added Clove, with a knowing tone, "except there's no way inside this factory from here, and the front doors are probably under some strong Peacekeeper security." The only thing she didn't say out loud was the obvious (and fortunate, at least for herself) only solution to this obstacle: having Thresh turn himself in, but not before putting up one heck of a fight against the Peacekeepers long enough for his teammates to sneak into the factory and get all the garments they needed. It was perfect! All her companions had to do was say—

"Unless those vents are a way in," Nessa said, pointing at something in particular that she'd just noticed. Her allies looked where her finger was aimed, and sure enough, sticking upward on the roof of the building, just barely visible from where they were standing, were two vertically-positioned vents with pipes that ran downward, off the roof, and into the wall the team was facing; right into the factory's top floor. The vents looked small and rusty, since the otherwise-perfectly-functional factory was old and came off as run down, but they still appeared to be quite strong. But what stood out most to the group were the vents' top areas. They each looked as though a larger dark-coloured square-shaped block was on top of their pipe, which, along with the pipes themselves, were just big enough for someone in their pre-teens to climb into. All they'd need to do was break part of one of the vents off of the rest of the structure, which only someone as strong as Thresh could help them do.

It took all Clove had not to grunt in frustration. How was it that no matter how hard she and her fellow Careers tried, Nessa somehow always found a way to prove that she was like a bad luck charm to them?!

Being as careful as possible, Thresh, Rue, and Fern placed their hands and feet onto the bricks that made up the factory's back wall and slowly "rock-climbed" up the building. Nessa tried to follow, but not having any experience with what they were doing, she could only jump up, grab a brick with each of her own hands and feet, and hold on for a millisecond before falling off the building. She then landed on the pavement with her rear end touching it first, but despite the sensation not being pleasant, she didn't dare make a sound. She didn't want her friends to get startled and fall down too…

"And that's why knives aren't just for hurting people," Clove said, matter-of-factly.

Nessa turned to face her, and saw the Career was just slinging her backpack back over her shoulders. Apparently, while everyone else had been busy climbing (or at least trying to climb), she'd unzipped her backpack and pulled out four knives, all of which had very sharp and strong-looking blades. Without any hesitation, she gave two of the knives to her replacement and instructed, "Just push the blades as deep into the wall as you can, one by one. If you aim for higher and higher spots as you go, you should get to the top in no time."

"Oh," Nessa smiled. "Thanks Clove!"

"Don't mention it," the sadistic girl replied. But as soon as Nessa was too occupied with trying and succeeding at her new climbing strategy, Clove gritted her teeth and muttered, "Really. Don't mention it, ever again. Especially not through song."

Eventually the entire group made it onto the factory's roof, where Thresh quickly bent down, clasped one of the vent covers with both hands, and strained with all his might. Within seconds he managed to yank the cover off the structure, revealing the inside of the vent's highest pipe. Next, Fern and Rue prudently clambered into the pipe, but fell to its bottom 10.3 centimetres below the roof—the part where it turned from vertical to horizontal as it arrived in front of the factory's highest floor—a second after they did.

"Are you okay?" the eldest sibling worriedly asked, once they landed on the pipe's horizontal part and Fern's screaming along with her own died down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Fern whispered, still trying to calm herself as she spoke. Within a few seconds though, she managed to regain her composure, and in a gentle but noticeably nervous manner, she then murmured, "Um…how are we gonna get the disguises we need in here…and up to all our allies?"

Rue peered upward, studying the harmless but still considerably far distance she and her sister had fallen. She wasn't worried about getting the disguises into the vent (in fact, she was actually looking forward to that part of her current mission due to her thirst for adventure), but she had to admit that Fern had a point. The roof was too high up for them to throw the garments they smuggled there without them falling back down before their teammates could catch them. Not to mention the vertical parts of the vent had no tiny cracks or anything that they could use to climb up, which not only jeopardized their chances of getting any disguises to their allies, but also their chances of getting out of the factory safely. Hmm…it was okay. Every problem had a solution. All she had to do was think, and—

BOOM! Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!

Both girls froze. Gunfires…and they were coming from the vent next to theirs! Rue's gaze fell upon the grate attached to the horizontal part of the vent, about three feet away from her and Fern, and by leaning forward as carefully and quietly as she could and squinting hard, she could just make out what seemed to be a large room (she could tell by how far the wall that the vent faced apparently was from her) with several white outfits suspended on the wall she could see. A room in the factory, presumably under the supervision of Peacekeepers. That wasn't surprising, given that Sonia had at one point mentioned that, according to a Peacekeeper that had once assaulted her mother for no apparent reason, District 8 was a town that the authorities were particularly concerned that rebellions would ignite in. Maybe that whole story had to do with the fact that all of the people who'd helped Juniper Berryharvest escape Panem happened to be from District 8, with one of those people being Sonia's uncle (there was a chance that that last part might have been the reason why her mother had been assaulted; just to remind Sonia's family of their rebellion-caused loss).

Anyways, based on everything that'd transpired just now, Rue had a strong hunch that the cruel soldiers who were opening fire had heard her and her sister screaming and landing in this part of the vent. It was the only explanation for what was happening now. But were the Peacekeepers targeting the other vent because they'd been too far away to tell which of the vents the suspicious noises had come from? Or were they planning to target both vents simultaneously and it was just taking the rest of the necessary amount of soldiers needed to do so longer to get to the right room? Rue desperately hoped the former was the case—but most importantly, that she and her sister would manage to make it to safety before their vent was shot at next. Although, considering the circumstances…was there any hope of that happening?

As he and his remaining companions waited on the roof in silence, with no choice but to trust that the screams they'd heard from Rue and Fern weren't instigated by danger, Thresh fiercely but discreetly eyed Two from what could hopefully be considered a safe distance. He'd had a feeling that girl had been hiding something ever since their encounter in the Capitol's hospital (which he would have been able to confirm sooner, and in that building, had he searched through the same pouch he'd looked in when he'd been about to remove Geolo's tracker), and his suspicions had been confirmed shortly after their rendezvous with Nessa's America friends, the Twelves' escort, and the mentors. She was keeping more than just weapons in her backpack, and he had to find a good time to search through it.

The problem was, he'd had the opportunity to do just that since this morning, and he had never been able to take it. He would have, but if he were to do so, it would also mean having to boot her off the team (and when Nessa wasn't there to see it, kill her) on the spot. Which he also really wanted to do, but couldn't. Because everyone who'd reluctantly voted to keep her on the team was right; she and him were the only true fighters left amongst Nessa's group, and because District 2 was apparently the Capitol's favourite district, there were smaller chances that the Peacekeepers would harm them as long as she was with them. Even if Two was planning to sabotage the team somehow, which he was almost certain was the case, because of the first two facts they had no choice but to keep her on it.

At this point, at least the majority of the evacuees' loved ones were the team's only hope. Since he couldn't make any of his current teammates into warriors (Three because of his physical feebleness, Five because of her ankle, Nessa because of her merciful nature, and Rue and her siblings mainly out of care and concern for their safety), he was just going to have to wait until their future teammates were picked up. Then he could mentor them, so that removing Two from their team wouldn't put himself or his other teammates in danger. He just had to make sure that finding Eight's parents took as little time as possible so whatever the Career had in mind wouldn't succeed before they—

Suddenly some alarming noises that sounded suspiciously like distant and muffled gunshots were heard from somewhere inside the vent he'd opened up, and he froze. He saw Two flinch, but her expression remained unreadable, as it had been ever since Rue and Fern had gone inside the vent, making it impossible to tell whether or not she was worried about the revelation that their two youngest companions were in trouble. As for Nessa, she also flinched—but unlike Two, the worry in her eyes was undeniable. "What's that sound?" she asked.

"Don't wanna know," Thresh curtly replied. He then turned towards Two, and before she could react, he grabbed her by the backpack and returned to the edge of the roof. He then started climbing back down the bricks, this time with only one of his hands available to accomplish the task, until he arrived in front of the window that he could only theorize led into the room where the shots were coming from.

Nessa hurried to the edge of the roof, the knives she'd used to climb up it still in her hands. "Wait for me!"

"No," ordered Thresh. "When it's quiet, go in."

"But—"

Not waiting to hear the rest of her sentence, Thresh used the hand he was using to hold Two and flung it (and as a result, her too, which Nessa didn't approve of, though he ignored what she said about it) into the window, shattering its glass. He then thrust her into the room it led into before carefully climbing in himself. Luckily, he heard the gunfires stop as soon as the Career flew into the room, which he took advantage of as he made his way through the window.

Unfortunately, as soon as he entered the factory and grabbed Two again, the Peacekeepers, who had already turned to face the Career by the time he came in, aimed their weapons—this time at him—and opened fire. He quickly threw himself to the floor just as the bullets came into view, and had just enough time to roll behind a pile of crates that were stacked overtop of each other in the left back corner of the room, which was able to shield him and Two from the bullets.

Only once he was safe, at least for now, did Thresh take a moment to examine the room he and Two were in. There were a lot of tables, so many that it took up all of the space except for an "aisle" in the middle of the room and the first metre of the room's front and back. Each of the tables had two identical and really elaborate-looking sewing machines placed on them. A few of the machines were inactive, as though whoever had been using them had just finished their current project by the time the Peacekeepers realized Rue and Fern were in one of the vents. However, most of the sewing machines still had some fabric within them; white fabric, the muscular tribute couldn't help noticing, that looked kind of like the outfits his Peacekeeper assailants were wearing. There were also several chairs in front of each of the tables, but they were empty and many of them were facing different directions. The garment makers of this part of the factory must have rushed out of the room at some point after the commotion started.

Was this a factory that produced Peacekeeper uniforms? Thresh would have pondered that question a little more, but then he heard the gunshots stop. Next, he heard the Peacekeepers charging toward the crate he and Two were behind, and thinking quickly, he snuck away from the crate and dragged her along, making sure he still stayed out of the Peacekeepers' sight as he did. Then the ruthless soldiers reached the crate, and as they lunged for the area he'd been in a second before they realized he was no longer there, Thresh straightened his posture and managed to escape into the nearest hallway before the Peacekeepers could start shooting at him again.

As he ran for his life, Two, whom he now noticed was covered in bloody cuts from her journey through the shattering window, grimaced, most likely from the pain of her new injuries. "You do realize that you just left your district partner and her little sister to die, right?"

Thresh could only shake off her comment, hoping and trusting that the Peacekeepers knew how narrow the vents were. Only Rue and anyone younger than her could possibly be able to fit through there, and in this kind of environment (at least, he hoped this was their way of thinking) he was a much harder target to capture. It would take all of the Peacekeepers in that room to truly catch him, and if they wanted to prevent him from getting away, they'd have to use every second that came their way to go after him. Even if it meant not using any of that time to finish dealing with whoever was in the vents.

When she could no longer hear any gunshots, Rue quietly crawled over to the grate and peered through it, this time up close. The Peacekeepers were nowhere to be seen or heard; in fact, with the exception of the furniture, clothing, a large crate, and many sewing machines, the room was deserted. Well, it was for about three seconds, because soon the twelve-year-old saw Nessa appear outside the room's window, which had been shattered, and carefully climb through it into the room, still with her climbing knives clenched in her hands.

Once her feet touched the floor, all the while avoiding the shards of glass that had gathered there, the former giraffe didn't waste a second. She quickly began walking around the room, worriedly calling, "Thresh? Clove? Rue? Fern? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"In here!" Rue loud-whispered. She then heard Fern quietly but fearfully yelp a little, and she quietly told her, "Don't worry. Nessa's the only one in there. The Peacekeepers left, and I don't see anyone who might work here."

"But how did she get in?" asked Fern.

Before her sister could reply, Nessa arrived in front of the grate and, because of how high up it was, stacked one chair on top of another chair and stood on the higher chair so she could face the duo. Once she saw them, she sighed with relief. "Oh there you are. Thresh, Clove, and I heard some bad airplane engine noises and we thought you were in trouble, so—"

"Airplane engines?" Fern asked, shocked. "Why would you think those were what—"

"Because they were," Rue quickly interrupted, stealing a secret glance at her sister to tell her to just roll with what Nessa thankfully thought had actually happened. "They were really small airplanes, but they still sounded really loud. They're not in here anymore though…and neither are the Peacekeepers who were using them…"

"It must be because Thresh and Clove came in here before I did," Nessa nervously guessed. "Thresh told me to wait on the roof until it got quieter…"

Once that fact was revealed, Rue was quick to realize the circumstances the duo were now in—along with how little time she, Fern, and Nessa probably had to get them out of those circumstances. Immediately she tried glancing around the room from behind the bars of the grate, hoping to find something amongst their surroundings that could help them save their allies somehow. Then, in just a few milliseconds, her gaze fell upon the wall the vent was facing; the one with all the white outfits suspended on it. Except now that she was closer to it and could see it more clearly…were those…? There was only one way to find out.

Nessa noticed Rue's studious expression, and then saw the screws that were tightly bound to each corner of the grate. "Oh!" she remarked, thinking her teammate was trying to find a way to remove the grate so she and Fern could get out of the vent. "Don't worry, I'll help you!"

She then pressed one of the knives she'd used to climb the factory's wall from the outside into one of the bottom screws, and the other knife into another bottom screw. Next, she used both knives to twist the screws, as she'd seen Lili's dad do many times with his screwdriver when trying to fix stuff around their house, until the screws were able to twirl far enough away from the holes they were lodged in to tumble to the floor. Fern then crawled over to join her sister, and working together, both girls managed to push the grate upward, giving themselves the room they needed to leave the vent.

"Uh…now just jump out," Nessa gently instructed. "I'll catch you so you won't have to fall too far, okay?"

The sisters both nodded, and with an eager and courageous smile, Rue leapt out first. She easily landed against the former giraffe's chest, with the latter instantly wrapping her arms around her once that happened. However, caught off guard by the impact of her ally coming into contact with her, Nessa then fell backward, taking both of her chairs and Rue with her. A CRASH was heard as they landed on the floor together, and Fern gasped in horror as she watched the scene, unable to do anything other than ask if they were okay.

"We're fine!" Rue reassured her sister. She then looked in Nessa's direction, feeling a little silly for (sort of) speaking in her place. Luckily, her ally gave her a reassuring smile when their eyes met, indicating that she really was okay.

Nessa sat up and allowed the twelve-year-old to climb off of her, before getting to her feet to restack the chairs. The moment this task was completed, she got back onto the higher chair and cheerfully told Fern, "Your turn!"

"Alright," replied Fern. She shifted slightly so she could leap forward without hurting herself, and then grinned to show that she was ready. However, her smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, and without explaining why, she squinted, all the while seeming to become more and more nervous.

"What's wrong, Fern?" asked Nessa. She then noticed the girl was craning her neck a little, as though she was staring at something behind her and Rue. Wait a minute…was she staring at something behind her and Rue? Deciding to see if that was the case, the former giraffe turned around, making sure she was slow and careful so that she wouldn't fall down again. Once she was facing the back of the room, she looked in all directions, but didn't see anything scary. She did, however, see Rue hide behind the big pile of crates that was in the room with them and start peering at the closed door on the other side of the room. And then she herself saw it too—that door's doorknob. It was slowly but surely turning, so slowly that it wasn't making any noise. Which could only mean one thing: someone was about to come into the room and find them.

Now even more scared than Fern was, Nessa whirled back around. "Fern," she loud-whispered, "quick! You've gotta jump!"

"I can't!" Fern whispered back. "If you fall down again, the Peacekeepers behind that door are gonna catch us faster!"

"Wait," Rue cut in, although she too didn't dare let her voice rise above a whisper. "Why would a Peacekeeper take so long just to open a door?"

Fern stared at her in fear, but the surprise in her eyes was unmistakable. "They want us to feel bad for as long as possible before they really start to hurt us, don't they?!"

"Well yes…but usually when they're chasing someone that broke the rules, they don't want to let any second go to waste."

Nessa almost bit her lip, but remembered Foxface had told her not to back in the arena and stopped herself. "Yeah, but…there could still be a Peacekeeper behind the—"

Suddenly the doorknob stopped turning, and the door silently but quickly swung open. In stepped a young woman—in her thirties, maybe?—with light brown hair tied up into a bun and a professional but dusty-looking burgundy suit. She had a nervous and sneaky look on her face, as though she was about to do something she wasn't supposed to be doing, and kept her gaze glued to the hallway she was emerging from as she walked into the room. It wasn't until after she soundlessly closed the door that she looked away from it and realized that three more people were in the area as well.

Immediately the woman jumped, startled to see them, and Nessa froze in horror. "Are…are you here to take us to the Peacekeepers?"

Calming down remarkably quickly, the woman shook her head. "No, I'm not here to turn you in. I didn't even know you were in here…but even if I did, you're not at all the kind of people I would want to hurt."

"Oh," Nessa said. She sighed with relief, but Rue stayed silent and studious, not ready to let her guard down just yet. Fern, meanwhile, furrowed her brow in suspicion and asked, "What if the Peacekeepers promised you that your kids wouldn't get reaped if you helped them find us?"

The woman gave a small, sympathetic smile. "Such a promise could never turn me against you all…if you're also a member of Nessa's rebellion. Though judging by how much you resemble District 11's female tribute, I assume you are, thanks to circumstances I can only imagine."

Rue observed the woman, slightly reassured but still visibly hesitant to trusting her. "You're not even a little upset that we're planning to leave Panem?"

"I'm not upset at all," affirmed the woman. "If anything…you've inspired me. I've never been fond of the way the Capitol treats District 8. My husband and the students I teach all share my feelings, but we've never truly been able to gather the courage needed to start a rebellion of our own. However, ma'am…" she turned to Nessa with gleaming eyes, "…when we saw you break into the arena, save the life of our female tribute and then lead her and the rest of your team out of the arena, something changed in my loved ones and myself. You inspired us and many others to create an uprising of our own."

Nessa looked at her in surprise. "Me? I…inspired you?"

"You did," the woman answered. "Although our actions…I suppose they have their differences compared to yours."

"Differences?" Fern inquired, perplexed.

A loud noise that sounded as though something had just exploded was suddenly heard from somewhere in the hallway, and the floor shook. Startled, Fern lost her balance and fell out of the vent, but luckily, Nessa leapt to the ground and caught her before she could descend too far.

"Gotcha!" Nessa announced, as soon the girl landed in her arms. She then set her down and asked her if she was okay, to which Fern responded with a yes.

"If you have any questions about my intentions, I'll be happy to answer them later," the woman told her companions. "Right now I need to ask you three some very important things. Firstly, how many other members of your team are in this factory?"

"It's just us, my district partner, and…" Rue paused and hesitated, before ultimately adding, "…and the girl from 2. She says she's changed, and I guess we'll just have to roll with it. Everyone else is in the hovercraft we stole."

The woman nodded. "And why did you come into District 8? We saw a live announcement from President Snow last night. So…we know Miss Woolweave's been detained in the Capitol."

"Who's Miss Woolweave?" Nessa asked her.

Puzzled, the woman replied, "You know, our female tribute. Sonia Woolweave?"

Rue gasped. "Her last name! It's Woolweave?"

"We never forget our tributes' names," the woman sighed, wistfully. "Even though they rarely win the Games, we can never help clinging onto that spark of hope…" She pushed that thought away. "Anyway, what brings you to District 8's Peacekeeper suit factory?"

"Well before Sonia got taken by the Peacekeepers," explained Nessa, "we told her we'd find her parents and bring them with us when we left Panem. But she didn't tell us much about them, so we um…we had to leave our hovercraft for a bit so we could ask people who live here if they know where they are."

"And we can't do that without the Peacekeepers catching us if we don't have any disguises, and this is the district that makes clothes, so we went into this factory fir…wait a minute," Fern said, glancing at the now-all-too-familiar white suits suspended on that particular wall (by hangers on a rack, she and Rue could now see) and smiling in excitement. "Did you say…this is a Peacekeeper suit factory?"

The woman happily nodded and started to say something, but was cut off as another explosion was heard, shaking the factory's foundations once more. Seeming to realize there wasn't much time left to stick around and chat, she rushed toward the Peacekeeper outfits suspended on the wall, grabbed two of them by their hangers, and tossed one of them to Nessa. "Here, put that one on," she instructed. "I'll disguise myself with this one. You two," she turned to Rue and Fern, "you'll have to pretend we're Peacekeepers who have captured you."

"Alright," Nessa said, stepping away from her companions for a moment so she could remove the boots she'd borrowed from Effie's wardrobe and then put the Peacekeeper outfit on over the remainder of the one she was already wearing.

"But what do we do after we find our allies?" Rue inquired. "The Peacekeepers aren't going to let us take matters into our own hands, whether or not we can fool them."

"They will if we use the right approach and keep our faces hidden," reassured the woman, slipping her shoes off her feet. "Which we'll be able to accomplish with the help of the contents of the helmet wing, just down the hall. My husband works there, so he can help us acquire what we need."

Unable to resist, Fern smiled, impressed. "Wow. You…you really know your stuff!" She then remembered one of the things the woman had said during their conversation and chuckled awkwardly. "Which actually sounds kind of funny, 'cause you're a teacher…"

The woman laughed a little, but then her gaze wandered back to the Peacekeeper uniform she was still holding, and her expression became serious again. She quickly started putting it on over her clothes, just as Nessa finished doing so with her own disguise, boots and all.

Deciding that fully trusting their new companion was the right choice, Rue stepped closer to her and asked, "Ma'am…since you're going to be helping us save our allies and get out of here, do you know where we can find Sonia's parents?"

"I don't have time to answer that now," admitted the woman. "However, if we make it out of here alive, I'll see what I can do to help you even further." Two seconds later she finished putting on the shirt and pants of her Peacekeeper outfit, and she swiftly put on a pair of white gloves, while simultaneously slipping her feet into the boots that went with the disguise.

"Great!" Nessa exclaimed in delight. "Thank you so much, um…uh…what's your name?"

"Twill," the woman replied, happily holding out her hand for the former giraffe to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

And…surprise! Looks like Sonia's parents (well, hopefully) aren't the only people from District 8 that'll be tagging along in this suspenseful adventure! Will Nessa and her teammates be able to reunite with Thresh and Clove before the former gets taken out of the picture by either the latter or the Peacekeepers? The next chapter will let us know :)