"I sleep with one eye open at all times, looking to see if my mistakes will come back to haunt me."

Dawn Maconson, 18, District Ten Female

September 16, Year 77

District 10 Residential Area

"Fucking hell, Maconson! Are you out of your…hey, are you okay?"

The executioner's hood sat heavily on Dawn Maconson's head as her hand hovered over the lever, ready to pull it when Head Peacekeeper Richard Hoffman gave the word. Her heart pounded, her palms were drenched in sweat, and she had to fight to keep from losing her breakfast.

She kept her gaze forward, thankful for the anonymity the hood provided. The three people standing on the rickety wooden gallows with necklaces of rope around their necks would never know that it was her. The couple standing shaken yet stoic, the young girl sobbing and pleading for her life and her parents' lives would never know.

Her grandmother couldn't tell it was her standing at the ready. It was the only small comfort Dawn could take from all of this.

"These three terrorists before you plotted against the noble peacekeepers that protect and serve you!" Hoffman declared. "They plotted against you, the hardworking people of District Ten, to bring down our very way of life! This treason will not be tolerated within our home. Let this serve as an example of what happens to those who would see us burn!"

Hoffman gave Dawn a stern nod. The girl's terrified wails grew louder. Dawn choked back a sob and pulled the heavy lever. The floor dropped.

The sound of three necks breaking on the ropes would haunt Dawn for the rest of her life.

An old woman at the back of the crowd wailed. A peacekeeper went to arrest her, but Hoffman placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Take her home, Lucius. She is harmless." The peacekeeper nodded and approached her before guiding her away.

"Area's clear. We need a medic here. We have several wounded here."

Dawn felt her heart drop into her stomach with relief. Thank goodness Hoffman was feeling sympathetic. Mourning for the executed was a crime punishable by death. Dawn didn't want to have to hang anyone else.

She stood there, trying to contain her shaking as the citizens were forced to walk past the bodies before returning to their homes or work or wherever they were supposed to be.

When the square was empty, Hoffman approached Dawn and helped her remove her hood. "You did well, Maconson," he said. "I understand how difficult that must have been, but I hope you understand why I had you be the one to pull that lever."

"I do," Dawn said shakily. "They were traitors."

Hoffman stared at her for a long moment. If he caught that lie at the end, he didn't say anything. "I will ensure that your grandmother is taken care of for the day. Feel free to use the peacekeeper barracks and change into your work clothes. Return to your daytime duties and be prepared for your next assignment tonight. Dismissed."

Dawn saluted. "Yes, sir," she said firmly. Then, she turned away and began to walk towards the barracks.

"And Dawn?"

"Maconson, can you hear me?"

Dawn turned back towards Hoffman and her blood ran cold. It wasn't Hoffman but her grandmother who stood with heartbreak and hatred in her eyes. "I know what you did. You treacherous bitch! I hope you can live with yourself, Dawn!"

~ASM~

"Dawn!"

Dawn awoke with a jolt. A harsh, dull pain throbbed in the back of her head. "Fuck…" she groaned. She was lying on her back in a pool of blood. A man was lying a few feet away from her, a deep gash in his neck, as was her bloodied machete.

Hoffman was kneeling over her. His face was stoic, but Dawn could see the concern in his eyes. "Are you alright, Maconson?" he asked firmly.

Dawn blinked, and her gaze flickered over her body as she checked herself for injuries. Aside from the pain in her head, she was relatively unharmed. The blood thankfully wasn't hers. "Yes, sir," she replied.

Dawn could have sworn Hoffman gave a small sigh of relief as he helped Dawn sit up. Some of her hair fell into her face, the hit she took having knocked it out of the bun it had been secured in. "Good to hear," Hoffman said. "The area is clear. The place just needs to be cleaned up now, the bodies displayed."

Dawn nodded and her gaze turned to the corpse. The sight of it brought her a sick sense of satisfaction as what had been an adrenaline-induced blur started to become clear. Dawn had been assigned to infiltrate a ring of underground drug dealers who were suspected of being part of the larger crime ring that Dawn's family had been a part of. Once Dawn got the names and locations, she turned them in, and Hoffman had her participate in the raid. The rain of bullets had taken out all but one of the targets, the ringleader. He had thought he had grown close to Dawn. He thought that she was his friend until she had brought the Peacekeepers down on top of him. "You treacherous bitch!" he had shouted at Dawn as he fought back. He managed to wound several Peacekeepers before his gun jammed and he pulled his knife. He then charged towards Hoffman when he was distracted by a downed Peacekeeper.

He would have put it right in Hoffman's back had Dawn not jumped on his. That was the last thing she clearly remembered.

"You slit his throat with your machete," Hoffman explained. "Unfortunately, the scum's last act was to slam you into that wall." A softer look passed across Hoffman's face. "You saved my life, Dawn, and the lives of these brave men and women here. None of here will ever forget that."

"I was just doing my job."

Hoffman sighed. "Can you stand?"

Dawn nodded. "Yep," she replied before Hoffman helped her to her feet.

Her legs wobbled a bit (from the hit or from that dream), but she instantly found her footing. Still, Hoffman was sure to keep a steadying hand on her shoulder as he led her away from the scene and towards the waiting medics. "Take care of her," Hoffman said as the medics took her. "She's a hero."

A hero. Dawn wanted to laugh. A hero for killing someone who thought she was a friend. More blood on her hands.

Dawn forced those thoughts back and shoved them into a locked room in the back of her mind, placing them with all the rest. She did the right thing. She did her duty. It was every person for themselves out there. Dawn had saved Hoffman's life because while she cared about him (despite his stern gruffness and how hard he was on her, he had become somewhat of a father figure to her), she knew that he needed to stay alive. If he died, the next Peacekeeper may not be so accepting of a district girl in their ranks, honorary or not. She needed to keep serving, if not to protect her home, but at least to make up for her mistakes and ensure that it wasn't all for nothing.

And that was something Dawn couldn't allow.

"Well, at least mom and pa will finally have me out their hair once I'm gone."

Hoover Galloway, 14, District Ten Male

March 1, Year 78

Galloway Pastures

"My mom yelled at me to get out of the way, that I wasn't supposed to be in the barn, but I was just curious, you know?"

Skye didn't answer, instead continuing to enjoy her lunch.

"Though I guess she has a point. The barn floor's pretty uneven. One wrong step and I have a broken ankle, which would suck considering my arm's already broken. Still, I wish there was something I could do to help out more, take some of the pressure off Dally. Does that make sense?"

Skye again, didn't answer. At least, not with words. Instead, she let out a long mooing noise before bending her head down to continue eating.

Hoover Galloway sighed. "I know, you're eating. I hope your lunch is good at least. You've earned it." He had learned a long time ago not to expect a real answer from Skye, but the nice thing about cows, especially Skye, was that they were excellent listeners and secret keepers. You couldn't run your mouth if your vocal cords were incapable of producing words. Not to mention that she understood him more than any human ever could. She knew what it was like not to be as useful as her peers, at least where it counted in his parents' eyes.

Skye was more than useful in Hoover's book. She provided a sort of companionship that no one else really could, and Hoover was more than grateful that that companionship was what helped keep her around in her old age, even if he knew his parents felt that hanging out with Skye kept him out of the way.

His parents cared about him, Hoover knew that, but he also knew that all the trouble he had caused them over the years had started to grate on them. His mother was very stern with him, and his father barely even looked at him anymore unless it was to tend to yet another injury.

"Hey, Hoover!"

Hoover looked up towards the fence to see his sister Dally standing on the bottom bar and holding the top, grinning and waving to him. His neighbor and friend, Billy, stood nearby, an equally big grin on his face. Hoover waved back with his good arm. "Hey!" he called back. "Is everything okay?"

Dally waved him over. Hoover carefully rose to his feet and limped towards the fence. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"One of my pa's cows is about to give birth

Hoover gasped with excitement. He knew that cow had been expecting for a while. He had been hoping with all his heart that it would be a girl. The girls were usually sold to the Galloways to be used as dairy cows, and it had been a long time since a calf had been able to call the pasture home.

"I'll be right there!" Hoover said. He reached up to scale the fence, but Dally quickly raised her hands to stop him.

"No, don't! Mom and Dad would kill all three of us if you fell! We'll get the gate for you. Meet us over there."

Hoover sighed and nodded before beginning the long, exhausting walk towards the gate. As much as he wanted to attempt to climb over the fence the way he had seen so many others do before, he knew Dally was right. Even though Hoover had succeeded multiple times, he had failed a couple of times and hurt himself in the process. It was never easy with his limp, and his scoliosis made it even harder.

It just wasn't worth risking missing the birth.

Dally and Billy met Hoover at the gate. When he was close, she unlatched it and pushed it open. "Here, let me carry you," Billy suggested.

Hoover felt shame rise in him at the thought, but nodded, knowing it was the quickest way to get to the barn. He didn't want to slow everyone down and have everyone miss the birth because of him. Billy knelt, and let Billy lift him onto his back.

"Thanks," Hoover said quietly. Despite the embarrassment, he really did feel grateful. Dally and Billy didn't need to make the effort to include him, but they did anyway. They couldn't truly understand what he went through, but they tried their best to accommodate him, and that was what mattered.

His parents may have written him off due to brittle bone disease, but times like this reminded him that not everyone had.

"How are you doing up there?" Billy asked about halfway through the walk.

"The view could use some work," Hoover quipped in reply.

Billy laughed. "Okay, well next time, invest in the rooftop view. I say it's worth the money…and that sounded a lot better in my head."

This got a laugh out of both Dally and Hoover. The laughter subsided though when they passed by an older boy, Buford Callen. The boy had taken great delight in pushing Hoover around a few days ago, resulting in some nasty bruises that had his parents fuming. Rather than laugh and taunt Hoover as he expected, Buford simply looked away and kept walking. It was then that Hoover caught the death glare that Dally sent his way…and the black eye he was currently sporting. "Dally, you can't keep punching people," Hoover sighed once they were out of earshot.

"People can't keep messing with my big brother," Dally replied smugly. Hoover opened his mouth to retort, but his mouth clamped shut and curled upwards into a grin when the barn came into view.

"How long, do you think?" Hoover asked.

"Not long, I think," Billy replied. "Pa sent me for you two as soon as he felt she was getting close."

"Hoover here really hopes the calf is a girl," Dally said with a wry grin. "I'll bet my favorite boots it's because he wants to name her Sandy."

"Not true!" Hoover protested.

"Come on, we both know you have a thing for her."

"First of all, not true! Second of all, even if that was true, why would I name a cow after your best friend? That's just weird!"

Billy chuckled at this, which made Hoover blush even harder. "I don't have a thing for her! She'd never like me back anyway. Not with…all of me." Hoover's appearance had been altered dramatically by his illnesses. Years of injuries had resulted in frail, knobbing limbs, and a hunched-over stature. He knew he was far from handsome, and the idea of anyone loving him seemed like a far-off dream.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Dally retorted. "You just have to be more confident! Don't count yourself out."

Hoover sighed. He knew that Dally had his best interests at heart. Sometimes, he wondered who the older sibling was, and if his parents lied about the birth order.

Still, he knew she had a point. It was just so hard at times.

However, there were things to be happy about. He had a loving sister and a caring friend in Dally and Hoover. He had two parents who, while they sometimes looked at him with disdain, still put a roof over his head, food on the table, and paid for his medical expenses. He had his best friend, even if she was a cow. And he had his life and perhaps even a future if he could figure out where to find it.

As hard as it was, not being able to help out on the farm, Hoover tried to focus on the positive, and the baby girl that was delivered a short hour later was just that, a positive.

Thank you to Paradigm for Dawn (FC: Jessie Li Wang) and caffeinatedvirgo for Hoover (FC: Ellis Rubin)! Both were so much fun to write about! Dawn is very complicated and complex and we've only really scratched the surface of who she is as a person. As for Hoover, he's had to deal with a lot of adversity, but despite his reservations, he's otherwise relatively well-adjusted and is doing his best. Also, his bestie is a cow, which I found adorable!

Next week, we'll meet Tal and Florin from District Eleven! We're getting close to pre-Games!