𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓵𝔂 - (𝓕.𝓞𝓭𝓪𝓲𝓻)

01.

vol i
☼ chapter one ☼

The shrill noise of the handmade alarm clock woke her. She groaned, stretching her limbs, and tiredly moved towards the window. A dismal day. No light seeped through the blanket of grey smoke. Normality for the district with sprawling acres of factories and drab concrete buildings.
Sunlight was a limited commodity, an explanation for the mostly ashen skin tone of the land's inhabitants.

Familiar sounds travelled upwards into the loft: the whir of a motor, the shudder of a lift, the clanging of tools. The music of nature had long been drowned out. Those living in the Manufacturing Settlement Area—over sixty percent of the population to be exact—were far more accustomed to the incessant roar of machines.

Today was far quieter than usual, for it was the day of the reaping.

It was not one eagerly awaited by a district that had been victorless for nineteen years. It prided itself on its intellect, but this was, more often than not, not enough to combat the brutality of the games.
For a tribute from the home of technology, the odds were most likely not in your favour.

She opened her wardrobe, examining the limited clothing, and pulled out a yellow sundress. It was the same one she had worn to previous reapings—a gift from her mother. Today it will be put on for the final time.
Having turned eighteen, it would be the last year she would be eligible for the draw. No longer would she feel the fear of having to participate in the Capitol's sick contest.

Turning to her crafted mirror, she began to brush her long chestnut hair, flattening flyaway strands. She added the earrings she had fashioned from scrap sheet metal, and her favourite piece—her pendant. It had been made by her father when she was just a baby—a light chain with an engraved firefly symbol.

Turning to the knock at her door, she called out, "Come in."

Andreas Marsden stood at the doorway, watching his daughter. A sad smile graced his features. "You look just like your mother." He paced towards her, pulling her gently into him. "Theia she would have been so proud of you." She wrapped her arms around her father tighter. They had lost her mother, Kharis, three years ago to an incurable disease. It had been agonising to know there was no way to save her.

"No hug for me?"
Theia turned her eyes to face her brother, who was wearing the same stupid grin on his face. Noticing the lack of reply and his sister's sombre face, it quickly dropped, "Hey T, you're going to be okay, you know? I made it out; you will too."

She nodded, forcing a small smile, and squeezed his hand, "Thanks Si." The two had a close relationship; she relied on him often.

"Are we ready to go? The people from the outer-lying areas will be arriving soon. We should try to avoid the crowds." The two siblings nodded at their father and followed him out the door.

~

The family lived far from the centre, in a semi-abandoned weapons factory that not many knew still stood. Andreas had acquired it from an old contact. He had converted the top floor into a loft, creating a living space for the family while keeping the old stations on the lower level. It was an ideal place for him to continue his designs, away from prying eyes, creating weapons never intended to fall into the hands of the Capitol. Silas soon joined him after graduation. The two knew that if their creations fell into the wrong hands, it would be devastating, and they would be publicly executed for inciting a rebellion.