Hunger Games- Dawn After Fire

Chapter 4 — Northbound

Maria stopped sleeping after Eli disappeared.

Every sound inside the house jolted her awake.

Floorboards creaking.

Wind scratching branches against the windows.

Passing train whistles in the distance.

Each time, part of her expected Eli to walk through the front door again carrying some ridiculous explanation.

But the days kept passing.

And he never came back.

Search teams found nothing.

No footprints.

No surveillance footage.

No witnesses.

Only rumors.

People whispered about strange aircraft seen above the northern mountains. Others claimed entire villages near former District 13 territory had gone dark overnight.

President Rowan increased military patrols across Panem, but the announcements sounded uncertain now.

Even frightened.

Maria hated that most of all.

One freezing evening, she sat alone on the roof outside her bedroom window watching snow drift slowly across District 12. Lanterns glowed warmly below while smoke curled from chimneys into the dark sky.

Everything looked peaceful.

Too peaceful.

A knock sounded against the roof beside her.

Maria nearly jumped.

Juniper Vale climbed through the window carrying two steaming cups.

Maria frowned.

“How did you even get up here?”

“Tree.” Juniper handed her one of the cups. “You leave your window unlocked. Terrible survival instincts.”

Maria stared at her.

Juniper had arrived in District 12 only two days earlier alongside a small group of volunteers from District 7 assisting northern relief efforts. She was loud, sarcastic, impossible to intimidate, and somehow already knew half the district.

“You climb into strangers’ windows often?” Maria asked.

“Only the emotionally unstable ones.”

Maria snorted softly despite herself.

Juniper sat beside her on the roof.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Juniper glanced sideways.

“You’re going after him, aren’t you?”

Maria tightened her grip around the cup.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t.” Juniper took a sip. “You’ve been asking way too many questions about northern transport routes.”

Maria looked away.

“I can’t just stay here.”

“And do what exactly? Wander into frozen military territory alone?”

“If I have to.”

Juniper studied her carefully.

“You really loved your brother.”

Maria’s expression hardened immediately.

“Loved?”

Juniper raised her hands slightly.

“Bad wording.”

Wind moved through the rooftops around them.

Far away, a train horn echoed through the valley.

Juniper eventually sighed.

“There’s a transport leaving north tomorrow night,” she admitted quietly. “Military supplies. Scouts. Engineers.”

Maria looked at her instantly.

“You know because…?”

“I’m on it.”

Maria blinked.

“You volunteered?”

Juniper shrugged.

“Somebody has to make sure the military doesn’t accidentally freeze itself to death.”

“You barely know what’s happening up there.”

“Exactly why I’m curious.”

Maria stared into the darkness.

A decision slowly settled into place inside her chest.

Cold.

Steady.

Dangerous.

“I’m coming,” she said.

Juniper looked at her for several long seconds.

Then she smiled slightly.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I figured.”

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The transport departed the following night beneath heavy snowfall.

Maria slipped aboard through a rear supply entrance moments before departure while soldiers loaded equipment farther down the platform.

Her pulse hammered violently the entire time.

If anyone recognized her, she would be removed immediately.

Probably arrested.

Instead, nobody noticed.

The train lurched forward.

District 12 slowly disappeared behind swirling snow.

Maria sat hidden between supply crates while the train thundered north through darkness.

For the first few hours, she barely moved.

The farther north they traveled, the colder the air became.

Frost slowly crept across the train windows.

Eventually footsteps approached.

Maria looked up sharply.

A tall boy with dark curls and tired eyes stood in the doorway holding a portable console.

He stared at her.

Maria stared back.

Neither spoke.

Finally he sighed.

“You’re terrible at hiding.”

Maria blinked.

“You’re not reporting me?”

“Depends.” He adjusted the console beneath one arm. “Are you planning on causing problems?”

“Probably.”

He considered that.

“Fair enough.”

Juniper appeared behind him moments later.

“Told you she made it onboard.”

“You also said she’d last six hours before getting caught.”

“I was being optimistic.”

The boy rolled his eyes.

“Cass Rhyne,” he introduced himself. “District 3.”

Maria climbed awkwardly out from behind the crates.

“Maria.”

“I know who you are.”

That surprised her.

Cass noticed immediately.

“Your family’s famous,” he explained.

Maria grimaced.

“Unfortunately.”

Another figure approached through the narrow train corridor.

Tomas Reed.

District 2.

Maria recognized him from Capitol broadcasts covering military coordination efforts after the Dominion reveal.

He looked older than the others.

More serious.

A thin scar crossed one side of his jaw.

Tomas glanced between them.

“So this is the runaway.”

“I’m not a runaway.”

“You snuck onto a military train heading into potential war territory.” Tomas crossed his arms. “That’s basically the definition.”

Maria lifted her chin.

“My brother was taken.”

Silence followed.

Juniper’s joking expression faded slightly.

Cass looked down.

Tomas studied Maria carefully.

Then he nodded once.

“Alright,” he said quietly. “Then you stay close and follow instructions.”

Maria frowned.

“That’s it?”

“What were you expecting?”

“I thought you’d try to send me back.”

Tomas glanced toward the frozen darkness outside.

“We’re too far north already.”

Nobody slept much that night.

The train pushed deeper into abandoned territory while snowstorms swallowed the mountains around them.

Somewhere ahead—

Something waited.

And all of them could feel it.

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