The Hunger Games : The Songbird's Legacy

Chapter XII

     For the next month or so, everyone in 13 works hard. Some of the women weave fabric while some of the men try to salvage things from the wreckage. We manage to get a large area cleared, as Evanna instructed, but without much information as to why. When we finally get it cleared, she speaks quietly. "There's a bunker underground, from the missiles. It should be okay still." The words make many people excited. There was safety, shelter, something that almost everyone had at least had in the districts. Most of the citizens go over to help dig, me included. The older and frailer people continue their weaving. Their fabrics and blankets were very needed to rebuild, especially for Maude Ivory. With the better amount of food, she was shooting up like a poplar tree, and most of her clothes were too small. I had to admit, everyone here looked better fed than anyone in 12, thanks to Jessamine and the few other people she has been training to help her hunt and gather food. 

After countless more weeks of digging, I finally hear someone call out, "I hit something!" Excitedly, everyone scrambles over the rugged ground. Evanna peers down into our pit and begins scrambling down a rope ladder with shocking speed for someone her age. My first instinct would be to help her, but she was very steady as she sat down on the ground and swiped dirt off of whatever someone hit. It was shiny and perfectly smooth. Undeniably steel. With renewed energy, everyone continues digging, scraping off dirt with their bare hands. People work through the night, and in only a week we've uncovered enough of the bunker to find a trapdoor. There's pushing and shoving as everyone tries to climb down, but Evanna takes charge. "Stop! Let Lucy Gray go first, she's the one who got us to start cleaning up in the first place." Evanna was our unofficial leader, so everyone stepped back. No one seemed opposed to letting me go first, so I lift the heavy trapdoor and lower myself down. I'm ready to jump down the rest of the way when my feet feel something sturdy. I kick in that direction again and feel a strong ladder. Carefully, I place my hands on the top rung and begin climbing down. The bunker was in better condition than I ever would have guessed. There wasn't even a speck of dust, except for the mud I had brought down on my boots. I kick them off and pad barefoot against the dark bunker. "Does anyone have light?" I call out. A hand reaches down after a few moments with a large branch of oak, the end lit carefully. I take it, making sure not to burn myself. The torch throws light around the entire bunker, and it is bigger than I imagined, probably bigger than my entire house back in 12. There are lanterns hanging around, which I light with the torch. The orange glow gives it an almost homey feel.

In the next few days, makeshift tents made out of the woven fabrics have been set up, tall enough to stand in and wide enough to lay in. Small and humble, but enough for every person to sleep comfortably, and to close themselves off from the others. The air starts cooling, and due to Maude Ivory's suggestion, Jessamine starts hunting more and drying some of the extra meat into jerky, a rare snack in 12. That way, when food starts to become scarce in the wintertime no matter how harsh things become, we'll have extra food. The canteens I took from the Peacekeepers were very useful. There were large crates in the bunker, as clean as a whistle, but empty. Nixie and Maude Ivory would go to the lake a few times every day and fill ever canteen and then dump them into the crates. Whenever someone was thirsty, they could take the pitcher, get some water, and drink as much as they needed. A luxury no one had in District 12. The reason we're better off here, even in the wilderness with barely any supplies, it's because we're free from the Capitol. We can work for each other and work to survive instead of working for the Capitol while we slowly die.