Prologue -- Part 1: The End
Soundtrack: The Whispering Caves
Friday, October 13, 2417 NO, 6:06 am.
The sun had risen over Panem, but none could see, nor cared to see what its light revealed, because for the citizens of the thirteen districts, the night had not yet ended.
Nearly four years had passed since the first rebels had struck back at the oppressors, and now it would seem, it had all been in vain. The attack on the Capitol had been an abject failure. The mountains which surrounded the city had been torturous to climb. Immense, rocky, and freezing cold, the environment of the jagged cliff face had afforded the rebels no protection from above, and they had been easy pickings for the surrounding hovercrafts.
One by one, the districts had fallen, succumbing to the might of the Capitol. First had been District 8, its textile factories an easy target for the Hovercrafts. District 1 surrendered almost immediately after in an attempt to ensure its survival, its close proximity to the Capitol making it an easy target. The blockade and subsequent destruction of the fishing ports off the coast of District 4 saw the fishing district fold. Next to fall had been 7, 9, and 10, their expansiveness turning against them as the Capitol cut off their communication with the rest of the districts. With the hacking of District 3′s mainframe, the Capitol had taken down Districts 3, 5, and 6 in quick succession.
The orchards of District 11 had long been torched, the remainder of its citizens hanging on by sheer determination, clustering at the border between their district and District 12.
And now... for three days straight, the Capitol had commenced with a non-stop barrage on the remaining rebel districts. The east coast of the country became a never-ending sea of flames. Thick, choking black smoke pervaded the air.
And in District 11, the last of the rebel army huddled in a storage cooler beneath a warehouse. Wooden pallets stood stacked here and there, covered in too-ripe, almost-rotten fruit.
They were scarcely a mile from the District 12, but they’d heard nothing since their last correspondence from Commander Paul Keezheekoni two and a half days ago. No one spoke. The tension hung thick in the air, and the soldiers looked at each other with both terror and determination in their eyes.
LINCOLN CAPTURED STOP JERICHO IS DOWN STOP WILL CROSS 11 12 TONIGHT STAND BY FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTION STOP KEEZH STOP
Commander Wallace Mered studied his squad carefully, knowing that at any moment, fate could step in and take any of them from him. He was lean and dark, with thin black eyes and a wide nose. In his dark rebel forces uniform, he almost seemed to fade into the darkness of the warehouse.
At only 31 years old, Wallace was the youngest of the rebel squad leaders, but he’d already learned the harsh reality of battle. He’d had to -- although he’d only been a fruit carter in District 11, he’d joined the rebels as soon as he’d heard about the uprising in District 13. His first mission with a squad was only a week later. It had been a simple transport op, but by the time they reached their destination, it was clear that their plans had been discovered, and they had been forced to turn back. He’d lost two men in that mission, one of them Douglass Loquat, his best friend since childhood.
Now he gazed upon the scant few who remained, the last four of a squad that had originally been a team of fifteen. These four had followed him into battle time and time again: Sumayyah Bulgur, the shy grain sifter from District 9, who had joined after the death of her son, Ammar. She had revealed herself to be a resourceful and deadly spy, and more than once Wallace had been thankful for her quick wit. From District 3, Esias Adtran, the systems analyst turned hacker, who had barely ecaped with his life after the Capitol unleashed a hoard of tracker jackers through the ventilation system of their base. Chadwick d’Arc, a security guard from District 13. And 14-year-old Somersett Loquat, his sole companion from his home District of Eleven, and the son of his best friend, Douglass, who had been killed in battle.
Chadwick opened his mouth and whispered a question that Wallace couldn’t quite hear. His eyebrows arched quizzically, but before he could ask Chadwick to repeat himself, a faint knock at the door startled them all into silence.
At last the deep tones of a familiar voice muffled their way through the door. “Mered! Open up. Keezhee here.”
Wallace’s chin shot up, and he grinned as he hurried to let the man in.
“Keezh! Man, I thought you were gone for sure. When the bombs started falling, and we didn’t hear from you...”
“Yeah, I know. I almost was. Quisling sold out on us. Fuckin’ squawker. You didn’t get my message, then?”
Wallace’s smile disappeared at once. Ice flooded his chest. “He what? No, we haven’t heard anything since your message about Lincoln. What happened to her?”
Keezheekoni sank to the ground, his back against the wall, his head in his hands. “The Caps got her. Project Jericho was a disaster. From what I hear, she didn’t even make it to the Nut.”
“No, she’s still alive, far as I can tell. God knows what they’re gonna do to her... I’d almost rather she hadn’t been taken... I just hope, whatever they do, it’s quick...”
Wallace nodded, his chest constricting as Keezhee continued.
“And Quisling... I sent the message, he was supposed to stand by and let me know as soon as we got your reply, and then... boom. I don’t know what happened. We were all set to leave when the bombs started dropping. Some sort of toxic gas. Most of us got out, but Skinner and Quail got a good whiff of it and were gone before we even knew what hit us. Looked up, and there’s Quisling, in a Capitol Hov, pointing down at us. Wasn’t anywhere to turn. Lost most of my squad just trying to get away... Last thing I saw ” He looked up wearily, then took a breath, “ And Chad... I don’t really know how to make this easier, but Thirteen’s gone.”
Wallace looked at Chadwick, whose face had gone blank with shock. Fearing that he’d lose his composure, Wallace reached out a hand to steady him. The man’s entire body seemed to ripple as he struggled to breathe, and then he collapsed.
Wallace immediately moved to the floor beside him. He shook him, gently at first, then more roughly when he didn’t respond. He reached down to check for the man’s pulse. There was none. His fingertips brushed the tip of a thin, hard needle protruding from Chadwick’s neck.
“Chad... Chadwick! Chad, listen to me, man. Don’t do this to me... C’mon... You’re gonna be alright... You just gotta-”
Suddenly, the reinforced door to the bunker exploded open with the force of a gunshot, and within seconds the warehouse was swarming with peacekeepers. Wallace hadn’t even a chance to raise his weapon when he was tackled and shoved roughly to the floor. His head slammed against the cold concrete and all went black.
The last squad of the Districts’ Rebellion had been captured.
The war was over. The Capitol had won.
Photo Credit: Sony Pictures, via Space.com
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