Somewhere deep under District Fourteen
Five months prior to the Games
Darrah has always wanted to see the world. She's always wanted to know what lies beyond the borders of Panem. There has to be something, right? It's not like she'd just fall off the edge of the world the moment she stepped over the border. No, if there was one reason why she had been kept alive, it was to discover what was out there. As good as her imagination was, it could only fill in so much. She had to know for sure.
She always wanted to see the world beyond Seven. Then, it happened, she was reaped. She endured the horrors of the arena, and then when she thought she was rescued, she was imprisoned and experimented on.
Her companions always wonder about her happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic nature… well she has to be like that because when she overthinks her life so far… she falls into despair. What her friends don't see is her fist clenching now and again, because after she was captured and experimented on like a lab rat, she found that seeing the world had become her second mission. Her first was simple, it's exactly what Kate and The Order had been doing for the last five and a half years: assassinate every last one of those puppeteers that pulled the strings… the inner table. Kate's organization had become exceedingly good at it as well, but one had evaded them ever since the 95th Games - The Elder. The same man that had her experimented on… the phantom in the shadows. She still sees the wrinkled hooded figure in her dreams. If Darrah and Kate were going to do one thing together, it was to put a bullet in that man's heart.
The only problem was: Darrah has never killed anyone herself, she'd always believed in talking things out and leaving the killing to people like Kate. Still, perhaps the only way her anger will subside is if she kills that man. Then, maybe she'll feel whole again.
(Or will she feel worse? Only time will tell.)
Since their eventful escape into the ancient underground tunnel, Conrad, Tatiana, and Grey had been carefully following Darrah through this ever-expansive labyrinth of tunnels.
The gang has only been stopping every couple of hours to rest their legs and grab a quick bite to eat so their legs have become exhausted. However, before anyone could complain that they might be going around in circles, the tunnel suddenly becomes narrower, edging inwards on either side of them and finally coming to a dead end.
"Well…great," Grey mumbles, collapsing down into a debilitated heap against the wall.
Conrad and Tatiana glance around in defeat, tiredly rubbing their faces.
"Not so fast," Darrah murmurs, shooting her hand up. She begins studying her map rigorously, flipping it and turning it whilst squinting her eyes.
She moves towards the center of the new room that they've found themselves in, towards a large, stone, hexagonal structure, lined with strange glowing symbols. "We… need to go further down," she mutters, mostly to herself.
"Darrah…" Tatiana groans, kicking her feet impatiently. But Darrah pays no attention and taps four of the symbols in a specific order.
Suddenly, the entire structure beams with blue lights… something activates inside of it. Next, the entire hexagon lifts up, revealing a descending narrow shoot that runs diagonally down further into the depths.
"See… I know what I'm doing," Darrah winks.
Grey perks up with interest and joins the others by the edge of the shoot. "Now what?" He questions.
But just as the words leave his mouth, Darrah has already lept over the edge! She begins sliding through the shoot, down into the darkness.
A rush of adrenaline fills her veins and she throws her arms out. "Weeeeeeee!" She exclaims.
The shoot transforms, becoming more and more horizontal until it finally ejects her out. She rolls and rolls for a few meters before coming to a halt! Moments later, the other three come sliding down after her and crash down in a heap on top of each other, groaning.
"A little heads up maybe next time would be appreciated, Darrah, " Grey grumbles, pushing himself up and dusting off his clothes.
"Sorry… it was on the instructions," Darrah replies. She points her finger at her map and gives the group an excited smile.
They begin to observe their new surroundings… They are further underground still, but this time they've landed on the ancient rail tracks. The tracks travel up through another dark tunnel…
They're right where they need to be. So, they continue following Darah through the darkness, across the abandoned, underground train track. It's hard to make out exactly where they're going but the blue flashing lights offer just enough guidance. Finally, a long metal object comes into view across the track. It appears pitch black on the inside… long forsaken and deserted. But, Darrah knows that the four of them won't give up, they need to get this thing running after all, otherwise, they're walking to their rendezvous point: District Six.
Tatiana and Grey are the first to enter and they stumble to the back of the train, trying to use their radios to get ahold of their rebel allies.
Meanwhile, Darrah and Conrad proceed to the front of the train to try to get it running. Darrah nudges Conrad's arm as they teeter on through the dark, hollow carriages. "Conrad," she mutters. "Do you think you can get this thing started? Mr. Mechanic?"
Conrad chuckles. "Sorry… I think I must have skipped the class on underground railways of ancient civilizations," he quips back, sarcastically. In his youth, Conrad used to put together junkers from old car parts, vehicles that he used to race through the streets of District Six.
They pause at the front of the train in the control room. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out… we're smart, right?" Conrad muses and Darrah chuckles back.
Just then they are interrupted by a mechanical-sounding voice. "Oh! Hello!" It greets. The pair shoot around, startled, and find themselves staring at a machine with an orange metal body, two claws for arms, and one glowing, blue light for an eye.
Conrad raises his assault rifle instantly, but Darrah just stands there, wide-eyed and mesmerised. "A robot… cool!" She exclaims.
Conrad looks less excited, with his face flushed red and his hands clenched tight around his gun.
"My name is Querty-5379… I'm the conductor of this train… It's been a long time since I've had any customers," the robot greets.
"I'm Darrah and this is my friend… Conrad." She gently lowers Conrad's gun, smiling awkwardly and shooting Conrad a slightly irritated glance. "Sorry about him… he can be a little jumpy," she explains.
In Darrah's opinion, there's nothing a gun can solve, that a simple conversation can't.
The robot moves past them toward the controls, humming gently out loud. "Hmmm…hmm…hmmm."
"District Six, please," Darrah says to their new friend. Then she takes Conrad to the side. "You need to learn to trust," she whispers but then her eyes move to the scars on his face and she remembers that he has good reason not to.
A deep buzzing sound echoes through the entire train and suddenly it lights up in retro blue lights. Querty must have got it started because it begins slowly moving off through the tunnel.
Suddenly, Tatiana and Grey come crashing through into the front of the train, panting heavily. "Thank God you got it started! We gotta problem," Grey breathes.
"What?" Conrad questions.
Grey points out of the window to two shadowy figures, dressed all in black armour with swords strapped to their backs. Great! Darrah had been the first person to discover this place, but the Capitol must have followed them through that shoot, and now their advantage of the secret underground rail network was gone.
The two figures fall to a halt, only just failing to grab onto the moving train and a sigh of relief flows collectively through everyone's lungs.
"What are they?" Darrah stutters. Conrad steps over to the window and peers out.
"Assassins. The best. They're going to try to kill us," he answers, plainly.
Grey then lets out a gasp, staring at the conductor at the front of the train. "And what the hell is that?" he exclaims, pointing his finger.
"A robot!" Darrah smiles.
"Potentially dangerous… may try to kill us," Conrad adds. Darrah then shifts to Conrad.
"See… you can be an optimist," she teases playfully, which brings a slight smile out of him.
Cineredge City - Centre of District Six
24 hours later
In the center of the slums of District Six, steam clogs up the air all around the bustling, indoor marketplace, choking desperate citizens as they clamber to get served their lunch. Most of the people are dressed in dull, plain clothes, so the Peacekeepers stick out like sore thumbs in their white uniforms.
In the corner of the crowded market, a drain slides open and Conrad emerges first, followed closely by Darrah, Tatiana, and Grey. They are wearing beanies to cover their head, and sunglasses to cover their eyes, with hoods and thick clothing to do the rest.
Another District ticked off on Darrah's mental checklist. One closer to escaping…
Darrah notices grey fidgeting nervously and his eyes darting all over their new noisy surroundings.
"We look ridiculous, this was a terrible idea, we're gonna be caught in minutes…" he stutters as people bump into him.
"Don't panic sir. This is the rendezvous point. IQ and the others are waiting somewhere…"
But, as the minutes go by, the Four of them desperately hunt around the stampedes of people, distracted by the various scents of foods travelling into their nostrils in the form of steam…
"They'll be here," Darrah keeps repeating… but she soon realizes it is fruitless.
She also can't ignore the attention they begin to attract from the Peacekeepers. Conrad in particular, with his tall frame. For the first time, Darrah is glad that she's the smallest of the group.
The Peacekeeper presence here is… intense to say the least. Darrah can't look in a single direction without seeing one.
"They aren't here. Of course, they're not… it looks like the least conspicuous place in the entire District," Grey groans, exhaustion filling his voice.
It is then that Conrad draws everyone in closer, and they soon find themselves squashed together in the crowd. "I know somewhere we can lay low," he whispers. "There's a metro station just outside the market which will take us there… my old neighborhood," he gulps.
"You don't sound very excited," Grey observes. Conrad lowers his gaze and begins rubbing the back of his neck, sheepishly.
"Let's just say I still have a few unpaid debts to settle," he murmurs. Grey simply rolls his eyes.
"Great."
Darrah and the others stick close to Conrad, following him out of the market. Once they are clear of the narrow alleyways of the slums, they find themselves underneath expansive high rises on concrete roads. Darrah peers around every alleyway, taken back by the urban forest. Her imagination could never have conjured something like this up back in the actual forests of District Seven.
Freezing rain starts pouring, soaking their clothes. Darrah shivers to her bones. Meanwhile, loud club music blares all around. They appear to be wandering through party street. Drunken youths spill out of the doorways with Peacekeepers aggressively shoving them along.
Tatiana and Grey are in deep conversation. So, Darrah is alone and when Darrah starts to feel alone, her mind travels back to her home, with a warm drink in her hand and her family around her, laughing and joking. It's been over five years since she's seen them, she misses their hugs, smiles, and comforting talks. They are out there somewhere, and one day she'll be able to see them again.
With Tatiana and Grey chatting behind her, she jogs to catch up with Conrad, who is distancing himself at the front, as usual.
"Fond memories?" She asks him, glimpsing down a street alley.
"Not exactly," he responds, monotone, and keeps his eyes dead ahead. Gosh, Darrah has spent years on missions with this guy yet, sometimes, she feels like she hardly knows him. His family died when he was very young, she knows that and she knows he was homeless for a time. It does make sense why he wouldn't want to talk about it. This guy's a puzzle that she'd love to put together.
The evening draws in, the rain begins to pick up, and neon lights now line the high rises and the roads, illuminating the vast city. They freeze momentarily as their faces are staring back at them, displayed on the various giant screens lining the buildings, with handsome rewards offered for them dead or alive.
Well… mug-shots are the best way that Darrah would describe it.
"Why do they always use that picture of me?" Conrad sighs.
Under the freezing rain, stinging their skin, something encroaches around the group. It's slow at first, but it sends an icy shiver down Darrah's spine. Shadows of people creep in and out of the streets. They are being followed. It was only a matter of time. A sixteen million bounty on their heads, in the most populated District.
Panic begins to set in, and Darrah feels her breathing and pace increasing along with her companion's. Finally, the reflections of the multi-colored city lights on the puddles reveal the entrance to the metro! They hurry down, pushing past several citizens… or potential assassins.
Darrah is still shivering from the rain but she scurries after Conrad, as fast as her feet can take her, as he navigates their way to the correct tube. Once there, they pause briefly together to catch their breath whilst awaiting their train. Have they made another narrow escape?
A screeching sound claws at Darrah's ears and lights glare from their train ahead, dazzling her.
It's here… however, at the same time, two men in business suits calmly stroll toward them. Darrah's heart suddenly jolts in her chest, as the closest one slips a silenced gun into his hand. She's frozen, but luckily Tatiana isn't. The former career unleashes a knife at the assassin's throat! He growls in agony while his blood ejects out in a stream! His body falls in front of the others, blocking his view and Tati uses this opportunity to tackle the second assassin to the floor! She draws a second knife, using one hand to brutally stab him to death and the other to cover his mouth. She plunges the blade into his chest, again and again.
Once the two assassins are nothing but bodies in a pool of blood, Tatiana's head shoots up! Her eyes are wild like an animal with killer rage and her teeth are gritted. Darrah rarely sees this side of her but when she does, butterflies fill her stomach. Still, she is grateful for this side of Tati otherwise, she would be dead.
"Come on!" Conrad whispers sharply, and they practically dive onto the train after him!
That's it! They have two bodies lying in the station. Surely this is it? Their cover is blown!
The tube is packed with people, they could be bystanders… or not. There was no way of knowing but either way they wouldn't stop shooting glances at Tatiana's bloodied face and clothes. The four of them felt ever more exposed and at the same time claustrophobic. Together, they instinctively slip back through the congested carriage… right to the back of the tube, in an attempt to keep every last person in their vision.
With each stop, the train squeaks, and lights glare against Darrah's eyes. Each time more passengers get off, two hooded figures, clad in black, edge closer to them through the carriage, their eyes continuously darting up to the group. This repeats until they are one stop from Conrad's old neighbourhood and the hooded figures are only a meter from them. By this time, all four of them know exactly what's about to go down.
With no one left in between them and the assassins, Tatiana pushes Darrah and Grey back with her hand. "You two, stay back," she mutters. They don't argue. In fact, they press themselves up against the back of the train… as far as they can. Then, Tatiana and Conrad step forward calmly to intercept the two assassins.
"You go left, I'll go right," she whispers to him. He replies with a subtle nod.
Fear clouds Darrah's senses almost entirely in a fog, she can't hear anything, other than the thumping of her heart, but she watches the two assassins draw handguns from their jackets.
Conrad darts forward!
BOOM
A shot! But it was too early! He missed! Darrah can only watch as Conrad assails the hooded assassin, and sweeps him off his feet with a judo move. Whilst one assassin is pinned beneath Conrad, the other exchanges punches and kicks with Tatiana. Tati is lighting fast. She catches the attacker's arm and then takes him down with her in a jiu-jitsu sacrifice throw. She lands on top of the assassin and begins hyperextending his arm, placing him in an armbar, while at the same time keeping his knife away from her neck.
Darrah's eyes flash back to Conrad, he has wrestled the gun out of the assassin's hand. Conrad doesn't hesitate to shove the gun right up against the assassin's head and blast three shots into his skull! Blood splashes up all over him.
Immediately, Conrad's attention goes to Tatiana, their moves are in sync - she trained him, after all. He slides the gun across the train floor to her, allowing her to hastily dispatch her opponent off with a shot to the head.
Silence fills the train carriage. Darrah can only hear the sound of her heart thumping and her lungs pulsating, staring at the carnage on the train. Until a robotic voice from the train echoes above. "You have arrived."
Conrad is just wiping the blood from his face when footsteps suddenly rattle the train! A third assassin appears almost from nowhere, moving her gun up at Conrad's head!
"Conrad!" Darrah gasps. Her eyes go to the gun that was kicked to her feet during the scuffle. Her hands go into autopilot and snatch it up. The next thing she knows she has pulled the trigger multiple times, and the assassin has several bullet holes in her chest! More blood burst out onto Conrad's face, replacing the old stains.
Darrah's grip goes numb, the gun slips from her hand and clatters to the train floor.
After the incident on the train, there had been an eerie silence amongst the group, especially with Darrah. She was usually the open, chatty one, always lightening the mood with her carefree, upbeat attitude. But after directly taking a life like that… maybe she's beginning to understand why Conrad is so distant all the time. He and Tati killed people in the arena and she's not sure how many they've killed on missions since… yet they seem so detached and cold about it.
Darrah always wanted to stay away from operations and fieldwork. Instead, she trained under Grey in the technology division. Together, they preferred to make a difference behind a computer screen with a hot drink by their side - designing gadgets and technology for the rebels to use. Although, Darrah felt like she needed to go on this mission… otherwise they would have never gotten out of District Fourteen. So, she allowed Kate to teach her how to fire a gun in case the situation arose, and as it turned out… it did.
For the last half an hour, Darrah phased out, simply following Conrad's lead through the street corners.
Now, she seems to have found herself sitting in a pie shop, on a metal stool, at the counter. She remembers Conrad mentioning that he used to like coming to this pie shop on the weekends before he was reaped. Conrad is devouring a pie next to her and Tati and Grey are doing the same, next to him. Darrah herself has found that she has no appetite.
Finally, Grey is the one to break the tension of the silence. "Wow… that sure got outta hand fast," he comments, shifting on his seat to face Conrad.
"Conrad… was that your idea of laying low?" He sighs.
"How was I supposed to know we'd get jumped like that?" Conrad shoots back under a mouthful of food.
Either way, Darrah knew, that they knew, that it was now hopeless. Peacekeepers would barge through the door at any moment and they would soon be back in jail… all of them this time.
The owner of the pie shop appears behind the counter again, eyeing up his four customers suspiciously. He is a short middle-aged man, bald and with tired eyes. In the end, he simply rolls his eyes. "Conrad… the game is up, I've alerted the Peacekeepers. I'm sorry."
After finishing his mouthful, Conrad unravels his disguise with a sigh. "Fair enough."
"My, my, Conrad… what have you got yourself into now?" The owner asks, shaking his head.
Conrad shrugs, vacantly. "Same old… sort of."
"Oh… before we get taken… there's a good dry cleaners next door, right?" Conrad asks, gesturing to his bloody clothes.
"Yeah… but not that good," the owner responds.
The owner turns and heads back out through the bar door, leaving the four of them alone again.
"Well… this has been fun," Grey says, wiping his face with a cloth. "Thank you for coming to get me." His eyes move between his friends with an appreciative smile on his face.
Just then, the power seems to cut out and the entire building descends into darkness with a brief deathly silence. Flashing lights and shouting soon follow from outside.
"Don't move!"
"Stay where you are!"
Peacekeepers storm in, special-ops peacekeepers, in dark purple armour and armed with assault rifles. Darrah doesn't resist, nor does anyone else. Their heads are shoved into the table, while they are handcuffed and their disguises ripped off. They are then dragged outside into the night and thrown into the back of a truck.
As the truck starts to bump along, Darrah watches her friend's eyes sink down in defeat. They are four of the most important rebels. Kate needs them and Darrah needs Kate.
Darrah's first memories of Kate are extremely vivid. It was over five years ago after Darrah's assisted escape from the arena, but she was recaptured and locked up like an animal. She was only twelve and very alone and afraid in that cage, about to be experimented on by that wicked doctor. And then Kate appeared, bursting through that door. Her eyes burned with fury when she blasted a hole in the capitol doctor's head. When the shaking Darrah removed her hands from her eyes, she saw a girl standing above her, her savior… Kate Wakai. Light was shining behind Kate from the doorway, as she offered out her hand… she was so tall and mighty - well, that's how Darrah remembers it anyway.
Since that day, Kate has been the only hope of stability, freedom, and family she has had. That's the only fact that she knows to be true.
The truck screeches to a halt! Darrah is knocked out of her daydream! The truck carrying them has been stopped by the one in front. The front compartment, containing the drivers, suddenly fills with a kind of toxic gas, and the drivers pass out. Now there are only two Peacekeepers left in the truck with them…
In a split second, everything has changed. Escape… they can escape. Not all hope is lost. Then, the Peacekeeper on the left jams a taser into the one on the right. The peacekeeper jolts violently, screaming in agony before going unconscious. The doors to the back of the truck swing open! Two more 'Peacekeepers' are waiting. They are quite scrawny and don't appear to be very old.
Darrah, Tatiana, Conrad, and Grey are dragged out of their truck and rushed into the one in front by the three Peacekeepers. Once the doors are closed, the three Peacekeepers whip their helmets off, revealing themselves to be young rebels.
"IQ!" Darrah exclaims!
"Sorry we're late!" The two twins reply in unison.
Izalia Ezrah and Quincy Ezrah, the teenage rebel twins from six, but their names are conveniently shortened to IQ. They are generally known as the brains of the team (although, I slightly more). She was the one responsible for opening the doors in the prison.
"And this is Flux… The Chemist… a new recruit," I says, gesturing to the other teenager who rescued them. "He designed the gas that incapacitated those Spec Ops peacekeepers."
Flux says nothing but raises their hand to greet them with a slight smile.
Conrad hastily hops into the driver's seat, slamming his foot on the gas. Once they are clear of the special forces. Q takes over with his Peacekeeper helmet. Their only hope now is to try to sneak their way out of the District.
Quarantine Zone - The Far East of Panem
48 hours later
The last rebel stronghold is an underground hidden base in a radioactive zone - an area long thought to be uninhabited.
A stolen Peacekeeper truck screeches to a halt near some rubble after escaping District Six.
"We're out of fuel," Q announces, banging the steering wheel.
"Looks like we're walkin'," I mutters.
"Put on your hazmats," Flux says, beginning to hand protective suits around to everyone.
Darrah wrestles the suit over her body and mask over her face and she suddenly feels stifled, like she can't breathe.
Q rips the doors open from the outside, allowing everyone to hop out into the desolated world.
Everything is dead silent, a complete contrast to the bustling streets of Six. But this is not a good silence, there's no humming of birds or rustling of leaves in the forest that Darrah grew up with. No. This place is just a void. An empty void.
Darrah begins trekking her way across the wasteland, past the remains of buildings and brown, rusted cars from a civilization eons ago. She does her best to follow the others closely and not get too lost by her surroundings.
Conrad is next to her, staring down at a radiation-level detector. The device was gently clicking at first but the intensity of the clicks is steadily rising, as the air around them seems to become more cloudy and toxic.
When they pass through a rusted, ancient metal fence, a broken, robotic voice begins sounding from a speaker. "Warning: you are about to enter a radiation contamination zone," it repeats over and over, a broken record.
The team crosses over a large, overgrown derelict street. Even though it is misty, Darrah's imagination begins to go to work, fleetingly transforming the entire street back to a bustling, sunny world, full of people and life. It would have looked something like that… a better time, Darrah thinks.
When the sieverts on the radiation detectors have dropped enough, the team grabs a fast rest bite, in between some destroyed walls of what used to be a house.
Darrah sits on the outside now, whilst Grey recounts his experience in District Fourteen with the rest of the team. Darrah watches Q plonk down next to Conrad, excitedly.
"I've waited a long time to meet you," Q pipes up to Conrad, rubbing his hands. "Well… we met in the prison, I don't know if you remember. Well, you were busy… actually we both were but…" the boy's voice drones on, seemingly unable to stop. Conrad nods along, pretending to be interested.
By the time Q has stopped talking, he's pulled his sleeves up revealing two tattoos of Conrad on his arms with Angel wings. I plants her face in her hands with embarrassment. "Oh no, not the tattoos…" she squirms.
Conrad simply raises his eyebrows, awkwardly.
But Q continues to talk his head off. "Do you ever rewatch your games?" he asks. "No," Conrad replies, bluntly.
"I do," Q continues. "I love the bit where you hung Taliesin by the neck… we were all cheering for you back in Six."
That was the final straw. In an instant, Conrad pushes himself up and wanders off.
"Was… was it something I said?" Q questions, furrowing his eyebrows. His sister gives him a smack on the back of his head. "Ouch!"
Eventually, Darrah decides to wander off as well. She slips away while everyone is talking. She was sure she heard the sound of waves, not far from them. The ocean? She never misses a moment to see the ocean.
So, she clambers over a pile of rubble and there it is! The water is colorless and clearly contaminated. It keeps going, stretching for miles and miles, up to the horizon. There must be something beyond the horizon. Surely? People? Cities? Another civilization? Darrah will sail out there one day, and find out for herself.
She plonks down against a piece of rubble, producing a notepad from her bag at the same time. Next, she slips her mask off to get some air. It can't hurt for just a few minutes, she thinks.
She begins scribbling down the events of her journey across Panem over the last few days. From the icy prison of District Fourteen, to the crowded streets of Six, to this deserted ancient city.
The Greatest Journey - she calls it.
If she doesn't survive this war, she hopes someone will find her journal and be able to read about the adventures she's had.
Perhaps when her family is able to come out of hiding, she'll be able to share it with them. Her mum would love to hear about her adventures, as would her brother… he told her he'd always be there for her. This separation must be hurting him badly. She can't think about it for too long…
Footsteps crunch in the rubble above. It's Conrad. "There you are… the others were wondering where you had got to. We need to keep moving," he says.
"Just a minute," Darrah replies, continuing to write in her notepad.
Conrad crouches down next to her, staring off into the distance. "I-I never thanked you… for what you did back on the train," he says softly, also removing his mask.
The memory of firing that gun into the assassin's chest suddenly strikes her mind.
BOOM
"Oh… you don't have to thank me," she answers, shaking the memory from her mind. It was strange though, Conrad never comes and talks to her or… anyone much. Maybe he's finally taken her advice not to stay alone?
"Your first kill… it's never easy," he continues. "Does it ever get easier?" Darrah stutters. Conrad shakes his head, solemnly.
Darrah gently closes her notebook and takes a deep breath, staring out at the horizon. "Do you ever wonder if there's anything out there? Past the horizon? She asks, her voice inquisitive. Conrad pushes himself back up and refits the mask around his face.
"There's nothing out there," he answers, his voice devoid of emotion.
Conrad lost someone in the arena and a part of himself with it. Darrah knows this because she lost people too. El, Adelina… Harrison. The names have been building up over the last few years. Before she can see what's beyond the horizon, she has a score to settle. Her fist remains clenched. Now that she's taken a life, she hopes it will make it easier to take the lives of the people that deserve it.
Darrah sighs, placing her own mask back on, and together they return to their team. They continue through the ruined city together, until the secret door to their base becomes visible. Grey utters a codeword to a camera with a microphone, in order to open it.
Darrah has learned more than she expected on this journey. Not just about the world… but also about her friends. She has learned more about some of them in the last few days than in over five years.
Happy international womens day! Here's a pov from one of my favourite women – Darrah Arinori. Hope you enjoyed the gangs adventure through panem! Another long subplot chapter but the next is going to be shorter don't worry lol Also subs are still open with empty spaces!