Nightlock

Morning dew

I wake from the light tap my dad gives my shoulder.

"Hey Kat, do you want to come with me? We're going to go somewhere very special".

I pretend that I didn't hear their conversation last night and lace up my hole covered boots.

"I made you this a while ago, I've hidden it from mum, but I knew we would need it, it's a bow Katniss, you can hunt animals in the trees with it for dinner. I have my own hidden out in the woods.. if it's still there, I'll show you what to do".

We silently move through the dark houses of the seam, passing past the Hawthornes house, past the victors village where a sole light is on, that is Mr Abernathy lives, all I know is he is an angry man who only leaves his house to go and get alcohol from Ripper in the market, my mum sometimes goes at the same time as him when she goes to get the spirits she uses in out apothecary, he smells bad and I always try to stay out of his way.

I feel the morning dew from the grass between my toes, the holes in my boots don't protect me much but they do stop stones and glass from hurting my feet, they were my mums and are still a little bit too big, but better than the socks I used to wear.

We duck under a wire fence, my dad throws a stick against it first.

"sometimes it's turned on, not often but you don't want to risk getting electrocuted, always check and listen for the hum". My dad explains that if I touch it when it's on, the shock to my body would be deadly, I'll never forget that.

We carry on against the side of the fence until there is a small opening in the bush, we keep down as the peace keepers who patrol this side of the village.

Through the bush the land opens up, there is a beautiful meadow to the left of me and dense forest to the right, my dad gestures to the left.

"Hey look that way, one day I'll take you over the meadow, we can go swimming in the lake and have a picnic".

We descend into the woods, bow slung over my shoulder as we go.

That is where I shoot my first meal, a wild turkey.

We carefully stuff the dead turkeys into my dads bag and head back towards home, I'll never forget that first tea of wild killed meat, my mum cried as she ate, knowing that one small bird has possibly saved not only her life but Prim's as well.