Hunger Games - District 0

**Chapter 1: The Forgotten District**

District 0 wasn't supposed to exist. The Capitol erased it from history, but Kael Mercer lived there. And tonight, he was about to break a rule that could get him killed.

The air in District 0 was always heavy, as if the weight of its secrets pressed down on every breath. It wasn't like the other districts—no factories, no mines, no sprawling fields of grain. Instead, it was a labyrinth of crumbling concrete buildings, their walls scarred with faded graffiti and the occasional bullet hole. The streets were narrow and winding, designed to confuse outsiders, and the few streetlights that still worked flickered like dying stars. District 0 wasn't just abandoned—it was erased. Officially, it had been bombed into dust after the rebellion. But in reality, the survivors still lived in its ruins, ghosts the Capitol refused to acknowledge.

Kael Mercer stood on the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse, his boots scuffing against the cracked asphalt. At seventeen, he was tall and lean, with sharp features that made him look older than he was. His dark hair was perpetually messy, and his gray eyes always seemed to be searching for something—answers, maybe, or just a way out. He adjusted the strap of his satchel, which was slung across his chest, and scanned the horizon. The Capitol's surveillance drones were out tonight, their red lights blinking like malevolent fireflies.

"Kael," a voice called from behind him. He turned to see his best friend, Lira, climbing up the rusted ladder. She was a year younger than him, with fiery red hair that she kept tied back in a braid and a temper to match. Her green eyes narrowed as she reached the rooftop. "You're late. Again."

"I had to make sure the coast was clear," Kael said, shrugging. "You know how it is."

"Yeah, I know how it is," Lira muttered, crossing her arms. "You're paranoid."

"And you're reckless," Kael shot back, though there was no real bite in his words. They'd had this argument a hundred times before. Lira was all passion and impulsiveness, while Kael was cautious to a fault. It was why they worked so well together—most of the time.

Lira sighed and walked over to the edge of the rooftop, her boots crunching against the gravel. She stared out at the district, her expression softening. "Do you ever wonder what it was like before? When this place wasn't just… ruins?"

Kael joined her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his worn jacket. "Sometimes. But it's hard to imagine. Everyone who remembers is gone."

District 0 had once been the heart of the rebellion, or so the stories went. It was where the first spark of resistance had been lit, where the earliest plans to overthrow the Capitol had been hatched. But the Capitol had crushed it, just like they crushed everything else. Now, District 0 was a shadow of its former self—a place where people survived, but barely. The factories had been destroyed, the leaders executed, and the district erased from official records. It didn't exist, not according to the Capitol. But the people who lived there knew better.

"Do you think it's true?" Lira asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "What they say about the rebellion? That it started here?"

Kael hesitated. He'd heard the stories his whole life—whispers of secret meetings, hidden weapons, and a plan to take down the Capitol. But they were just that: stories. No one knew for sure what had happened, and the few who did weren't talking. "I don't know," he said finally. "But if it is true, it didn't end well."

Lira didn't respond. She just stared out at the district, her jaw clenched. Kael knew that look—it was the same one she got whenever she was about to do something reckless. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a loud crash echoed from the street below.

They both froze. Kael's hand flew to the knife strapped to his belt, and Lira's grip tightened on her slingshot. Silence followed. But it wasn't the peaceful kind—it was the kind that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Then, footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Just for a second. Then gone.

Kael's pulse pounded. "That wasn't a stray dog."

Lira's eyes widened. "Peacekeepers?"

"Maybe." Kael peered over the edge of the rooftop, his heart racing. The street below was empty, but the feeling of unease lingered. "We should go. It's not safe out here."

Lira nodded, and they made their way back to the ladder. As they climbed down, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting to see a Capitol drone or a Peacekeeper's uniform, but there was nothing. Just the empty streets and the flickering streetlights.

---

The safe house was hidden beneath an old bakery, its entrance concealed behind a false wall. Kael and Lira slipped inside, their footsteps echoing in the narrow stairwell. The air was damp and smelled of mildew, but it was safer than being out in the open.

The room at the bottom of the stairs was small and dimly lit, with a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. A table stood in the center, covered in maps, blueprints, and scraps of paper. A handful of people were gathered around it, their voices low and urgent. They looked up as Kael and Lira entered.

"About time," said a man with a graying beard and a scar running down his cheek. His name was Garrick, and he was one of the few people in District 0 who had actually fought in the rebellion. He was also the closest thing Kael had to a mentor. "We were starting to think you'd gotten yourselves caught."

"Not yet," Kael said, forcing a smile. He set his satchel on the table and pulled out a stack of papers. "I got the blueprints. The Capitol's building a new facility on the outskirts of the district. Looks like some kind of research lab."

Garrick took the papers and studied them, his brow furrowed. "A research lab? What are they researching?"

"Don't know," Kael admitted. "But it's heavily guarded. Peacekeepers everywhere."

"We need to find out what they're doing," Lira said, her voice firm. "If it's something dangerous, we need to stop it."

Garrick sighed and rubbed his temples. "It's not that simple, Lira. We're not exactly equipped for a full-scale attack."

"Then we do it quietly," Kael said. "A small team, in and out. No one has to know we were there."

Garrick looked at him, his expression unreadable. "You're talking about a suicide mission."

"I'm talking about doing something," Kael shot back. "We can't just sit here and wait for the Capitol to destroy what's left of this district."

The room fell silent, the weight of Kael's words hanging in the air. Garrick stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Alright. We'll do it your way. But if this goes south, it's on you."

Kael nodded, his heart racing. He didn't know what they were walking into, but he knew one thing for sure: they couldn't afford to do nothing. Not anymore.

As the meeting broke up and the others began to file out, Lira stayed behind. She walked over to Kael and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You sure about this?" she asked, her voice soft.

Kael looked at her, his resolve hardening. "No," he admitted. "But we don't have a choice."

Lira nodded, her expression grim. "Then I'm with you. No matter what."

Kael told himself they had a plan. That they had a chance.

But deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Capitol already knew they were coming.

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