Break of Dawn [DiDi]

It was early morning and mist was still hanging over the meadows that surrounded District Eight. The sun had just crept over the horizon, flooding everything in the dim light of a new day. It was still cold outside and Athena pulled her jacket closer to herself to keep the cold air from creeping through the thin layer of fabric as she left her parents house. It looked like it was going to be a nice day.

Athena wanted to meet up with Artemis to go to the woods and it was always easier to escape into the woods when it was still misty and almost dark outside. Less peacekeepers were on patrol and they were less likely to see them. They were lucky that the woods were still part of District Eight and not outside the big electric fence that surrounded the District and kept it’s citizens locked up like prisoners. The fence wasn’t electrified the whole time but it still scared Athena to climb over it to leave District Eight. Athena had left District Eight a couple of times when she was younger. She thought it was a big adventure to run through the woods and never thought about the consequences. But one day, she came back to the fence, ready to go back into the safety of District Eight and the fence was electrified. She had to spend a whole night outside the fence, huddled up in a tree before the electricity was turned off again and she could go home. Athena had never dared to cross the fence again afterwards so she was happy that they had at least a little bit of forest inside the surroundings of District Eight. She knew they couldn’t shoot anything big here, since the bigger animals were kept outside of the District by the fence, but maybe they would get lucky and spot a few squirrels or birds.

Of course everything she and Artemis wanted to do today was strictly forbidden. Entering the woods, even though they were still part of District Eight was forbidden. Picking up their self made bows from their hiding place inside the hollow tree was strictly forbidden, since weapons were strictly forbidden and hunting was above all things they would be doing today forbidden. They would have to be careful not to get caught. Usually one of them would stand guard while the other hunted. It was not easy and it was dangerous, because the punishment was big, but what could they do with all the hunger among the kids of District Eight. For sure, District Eight was better off than the lower districts, but there were still a lot of families, that didn’t have enough food to prevent their kids from being hungry. Athena couldn’t stand seeing these hungry kids in school. So when she met Artemis, who was already a good bow hunter, she asked her to show her how to use a bow and hunt. That was how the friendship between the girls had started and it had grown ever since.

Athena crossed the meadow that was still covered in mist. She could see less than a few yards, but that was a good thing since the peacekeepers weren’t likely to see her like that. She sped up her steps as she got closer to the woods and stopped only after the thick bushes that grew on the edge of the forest concealed her. The young girl held her breath and listened if there were steps from somebody that had followed her into the forest. Once she was sure that nobody had followed her, she allowed herself to breathe again and started to walk through the forest towards the place where she would meet up with Artemis. They always entered the forest separately. It was safer that way. When she reached the little clearing in the woods, she leaned against one of the trees and waited for her friend to arrive. As the sun rose, it was slowly getting brighter and she hoped Artemis would be here soon.