DOOMSDAY || TREECH

"What were y'all talking about?" Treech questions, barely giving Laurel and chance to sit with her new stash of food.

"He just said he was sorry we're here." She replies unwrapping a sandwich filled with what looked to be meatloaf. Meatloaf was a rare delicacy back in District 7, sure there was plenty of game in the woods surrounding them but the chance of bringing a good amount home was slim with the peacekeepers patrolling its border. So, for Laurel's family, it was a rare treat, usually saved for birthdays, that they would portion for at least a week.

"Yeah right," Treech scoffs in response, "Is that good?"

The sandwich was good, still a bit warm like it was freshly made, "Yeah it's really good."

"Can I..." he pauses, "Can I have one?"

Laurel lets out a small laugh pushing three his way along with a plum, "I thought you said they were poisoned."

"I just had to see you eat one first." The boy jokes, ripping open his with decidedly less grace than Laurel.

There's a moment of silence between the two, "So, you're Laurel, not Calla."

Laurel chews through the bite she had just taken slowly, thinking for a moment before looking back up at him, "Are you going to tell anyone?"

"No, no." Treech reaches out and holds her forearm, "I'm just wondering what you're doing here... by choice."

"I..." Laurel takes another moment to place her sandwich in her lap, "Calla's my sister. My 13-year-old sister and I..." Her eyes sting, "I just thought it would never happen to our family, ya' know and I couldn't just let her go and it all happened so fast. I was walking up before she could and nobody said anything. I know they probably knew, back home, that I wasn't her, but nobody was going to stop me. It would just been cruel if they had."

Thinking back, Treech does remember a scuffle and a small girl screaming out from somewhere near the stage. A few more whispers than normal and a silence that acknowledged something deeper than a girl going off to fight to her death. Though, it quickly lost his attention when his own name was drawn.

He'd never seen Laurel before that day, but that wasn't shocking. He hadn't been to school in years and not many girls worked out in the forest, "How old are you?"

"I'm 17." She's quietly picking at the skin of her plum now, flicking it onto the ground, "You?"

"Me too."

She laughs quietly, "We probably went to school together then."

"Probably."

A beat or two passes before they both continue eating. The sun has begun to set now, and darkness is rapidly seeping into the sky.

Laurel tilts her head back against the rock behind them and sighs, "The sky here is awful."

Treech shoots her a look before directing his gaze upwards, "Its so cloudy."

"It's sad that I won't get to see the stars properly again before I die."

***

The night passed with little event. Treech had to remove one of his boots to squish a rat trying to get a nibble at the sandwiches Laurel had tucked up near the rock where they rested. Besides that, the night had been cold and Laurel's dress did little to shield her from the chill, resulting in a poor night's sleep.

The next morning Treech was abruptly shaken awake by his district partner, "Treech, come on the peacekeepers are here. You have to get up."

"Huh? What's happening?"