❝ never trust a survivor
until you find out
what they did
to stay alive ❞
―Kurt Vonnegut, Bluebeard
[ the maze runner × the hunger games ]
No one was ever happy in District 12. They were the poorest among the distric...
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THE DARK-HAIRED GIRL was seen walking out of her house, out of the merchant's section of the district, and through the electric fence that was meant to keep out the residents. Looking around, she failed to notice the pair of eyes following her as she entered the forest outside the town fences.
It was reaping day. Rosalind thought her chances of getting spotted sneaking into the forest were pretty low, since hardly anyone ever woke up early now that they got the chance to sleep in. But oh, was she wrong.
She trekked through the thick, dense forest, not bothering to mask her footsteps and presence as she wasn't hunting. She just wanted to be alone, to find some peace for the time being. In just a few hours time, she would have to venture down through the district to the square, where she would join the throng of nervous people as they anticipated the dreaded moment of the reaping.
The animals scattered away from her as she continued tromping through the greenery. The rabbits hopped away skittishly as birds squawked and took flight into the cloudless sky. Finally, Rosalind arrived at the top of the hill and plopped down, gazing down at the forest spreading out before her.
A twig behind her snapped and her hand immediately flew to the scabbard that was strapped to her thigh―she whirled around and nearly sliced open her brother's throat.
"Peter!" She exclaimed, withdrawing her knife before she could decapitate him. "You scared me!"
He smirked, the corner of his pale lips tugging up. "That would totally be a first. Thanks for nearly killing me."
"You were the one who snuck up on me." Rosalind rolled her eyes. "You know how on edge I get on reaping days."
"I'm gonna have to blame Katniss and Gale on that one." Peter chuckled, sitting down next to her on the soft bed of grass. "I mean, ever since training with them you've been more alert. It's weird, seeing you grow out of your former quiet self like this."
"So you've mentioned about a thousand times." Rosalind muttered. She couldn't deny it though―a few years ago, she was just a quiet girl who stayed in the background, always trying her best not to draw attention to herself. But now, people started taking notice of her; started taking notice of her dark hair, which contrasted against her family's blond ones. Started taking notice of her dark hazel eyes which stood out among her family's bright blue ones.
"I saw them, by the way," Peter said, gazing out over the horizon. "Katniss and Gale. I think they wanted to come out here into the forest and have some peace and quiet as well."
"We'll go say hi to them later. For now though, I just... I just wanna take my mind of the stupid reaping. Anything to put it off, even for a few moments."
