📘 CHAPTER 7 — The Map of Enemies
Hayley wakes before dawn, the cold biting at her fingertips. The fire has burned down to faint orange coals, and Jordan is still asleep, an arm draped over his pack like he’s guarding it in his dreams.
The sky above the arena is a washed-out gray, the kind that promises trouble.
She unrolls the map they stole from the Cornucopia—hand-drawn, probably by the Gamemakers, with thin red lines tracing elevation points and shaded symbols marking water sources. But overnight, something changed on it. Three new black circles have appeared on the northern side of the arena.
Jordan stirs awake.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIWYcSQtVa
“What are those?”
“I don’t know,” she says quietly. “But when the Gamemakers add something… it’s never good.”
He sits up beside her, shoulder brushing hers. “Then we don’t go north.”
Except they may not have a choice. Their water is running low. And the only unclaimed stream on their map sits right inside the northern zone.
She folds the map slowly.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtgiqkjKKX
“Jordan… we might have to.”
He doesn’t argue, which scares her more than if he had.
As they start packing up, a cannon booms in the distance—one shot, echoing across the dead trees. Another tribute gone.
Jordan squeezes her hand briefly.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP8xAE4e2F
“We just have to make sure we aren’t next.”
The two of them move north.
📘 CHAPTER 8 — The Black Zone
By midday the trees begin to thin. The air here feels wrong—warmer, heavier, like the area itself is breathing.
Birds don’t sing here.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj30ti6wGPB
Even the wind avoids it.
They move cautiously, Jordan holding his spear tight, Hayley scanning every shadow. A burnt smell hangs in the air.
Then they see it.
A crater. Massive. Scorched earth stretching out in a ragged circle—one of the black marks from the map.
Hayley kneels, brushing ash off the soil. It’s still warm.
Jordan swallows hard.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnHShSd2km
“Hayley… this is where tributes died.”
And from the looks of it, not cleanly.
A metallic hum vibrates faintly through the ground. A warning.
“We should go,” she whispers.
But as they turn to leave, the loudspeakers crackle overhead.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxRayhP8bt
A voice: cheerful, cruel.
“Tributes! Welcome to today’s entertainment… The Acid Rains.”
Hayley feels her stomach drop.
Jordan grabs her wrist. “Run!”
The sky splits open with a sizzling hiss.
📘 CHAPTER 9 — Acid Rain
They sprint through the charred clearing as droplets begin falling—tiny at first, then heavier, scorching holes into the ground with sharp hissing sounds.
A drop lands on Jordan’s shoulder. He yelps, ripping off his jacket as the fabric melts in seconds.
“Shelter!” Hayley shouts.
They spot a half-collapsed metal bunker ahead—maybe part of an old arena prop. Jordan reaches it first, slamming his shoulder into the bent door until it screeches open.
They dive inside.
The rain outside intensifies, pounding the metal walls like gunfire. The bunker smells like rust and old machinery. Hayley’s lungs burn as she gasps for air.
She looks at Jordan. His shoulder is blistered, angry red and raw.
“Oh no—Jordan, let me—”
He shakes his head, trying to stay tough, but his eyes show the pain.
She tears a strip from her shirt, pressing it gently over the burn.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uUpChfKqU
Jordan winces. “You’d make a good medic.”
Hayley gives a weak laugh. “Let’s just keep you alive.”
The rain outside slows… then stops entirely.
They wait several minutes before stepping out. The world around them smokes softly, the trees dripping with acid that sizzles as it hits the ground.
“We have to keep moving,” Hayley says.
Jordan nods but sways slightly.
She catches his arm.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsZ85g8CG8
“I’ve got you.”
And she does.
📘 CHAPTER 10 — A Plan for Rebellion
They find shelter that night inside a hollowed tree trunk near the northern ridge. Hayley wraps Jordan’s shoulder again, checking it carefully. His fever hasn’t started—but it could.
As she works, Jordan watches her. Quietly. Carefully.
“You’re good at this,” he murmurs.
“Well, you keep getting hurt,” she jokes gently.
He smiles weakly.
Then his expression turns serious.
“Hayley… there’s something you need to know. Something my brother told me before the Reaping.”
Her hands still.
“Go on.”
Jordan lowers his voice. “District rumors say the Capitol’s losing control. There’s talk of an uprising. Real one. My brother said some mentors are secretly helping plan things… using the Games as a distraction.”
Hayley stares. “You think it’s true?”
“I think the Capitol’s scared. And when they’re scared… they hit harder.” He gestures around them. “Acid rain. Traps. Mutts. They’re trying to keep us terrified.”
Hayley whispers, “What if… someone wins who isn’t afraid?”
Jordan meets her eyes.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmZBDkkfvp
“Then everything changes.”
Something between them shifts—quiet, warm, dangerous.
But the peace doesn’t last.
A twig snaps somewhere outside.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFj3qxtBIx
Not wind. Not rain.
Footsteps.
Hayley grabs Jordan’s hand.
“We’re not alone.”
📘 CHAPTER 11 — The Ambush
A shadow moves just beyond the fallen branches. Then another.
A girl steps into the clearing—tall, wiry, holding two knives. Her district number painted on her cheek in black ash: District 2.
Behind her are two boys, both armed.
A career pack.
Sweet Capitol-loving, tribute-killing nightmares.
Hayley’s heart hammers. Jordan tries to stand, but his injury slows him.
The girl smirks.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPI6WgzzRpy
“Well, well. The star-crossed lovers of District 11.”
Hayley tightens her grip on her spear. “If you wanted to talk, you wouldn’t be holding knives.”
“Oh, honey,” the girl purrs, “I didn’t come to talk.”
She lunges.
The fight is messy, chaotic, terrifying. Jordan manages to block one boy, using his good arm to hold him back. Hayley ducks under a knife swing, sweeping the girl’s legs with her spear.
They crash to the ground, rolling, fighting for control of the knife. Dirt fills Hayley’s mouth. Her lungs burn.
The girl snarls, “You’re weak.”
“No,” Hayley gasps, “I’m done being scared.”
She kicks hard, sending the knife flying.
Jordan’s shout echoes behind her. One of the boys charges him—
Hayley whirls, throwing her spear with every ounce of strength.
It hits.
The cannon fires.
The remaining two tributes retreat, dragging their injured teammate.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOzTnqFA3f
“We’ll finish this later!” the girl screams.
Hayley collapses to her knees, shaking.
Jordan stumbles to her side, breathing hard.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFnTpKy6ti
“Hayley… you saved my life.”
“No,” she whispers, gripping his hand tightly. “We saved each other.”
📘 CHAPTER 12 — The Night of Flames
That night, the Gamemakers put on a show.
The sky ignites in a ring of fire—an enormous circle of flames surrounding the center of the arena. A warning. A push.
They want tributes to converge.
They want blood.
Hayley and Jordan stand together on a ridge, watching the fire spread like a hungry creature.
Jordan’s voice is low.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GT5KJ9vcV
“They’re forcing us toward the final fights.”
Hayley swallows hard. “We’re not ready.”
“We’ll never be ready.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWzyRKwuMp
He looks at her. “But we’re still alive.”
She doesn’t know who moves first—him or her—but suddenly Jordan’s forehead touches hers, warm and steady.
In the glow of the flames, with death closing in, Hayley feels something fierce and fragile bloom inside her.
Not love.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggWDaZ3jYJ
Not yet.
But hope.
Jordan whispers, “For my brother. For our district. For us.”
Hayley nods.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0DtBiAxJh
“For all of them.”
The fire crackles louder, marching closer.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
Tomorrow, they fight not just to survive—
—but to defy.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.