What’s in a Name

“This is unacceptable!” A girl with flame-red hair, half covered by the hood of her cloak which hid most of her face from view, braced her feet and glared at the official standing in front of her.

“These are your rations. We do not have extra to pamper lazy urchins.”

The girl scoffed, pampering indeed, these rations were barely enough to survive.

Holding the official's gaze defiantly, she picked up the sack and spun on her heel, stalking off.

Dust plumed from her footsteps, and she fought back a cough. Any who lived on the outskirts of society, always at the mercy of the Enforcers, knew that showing weakness of any kind was signing your own death warrant. Anyone who showed even a hint of illness or injury in front of an Enforcer 'mysteriously' disappeared soon after.

“Pampering urchins,” she scoffed, “We are the ones who care for your children, clean your clothes and cook for you. When we are gone, where will you be?”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a black-cloaked figure sneaking up and slitting the edge of the official's cape with a gleaming dagger, tying it so he would trip when he tried to walk again.

"Nice work," the red-haired girl whispered.

"As always, Thirteen." A low, rough voice answered to her left.

The girl nodded in the direction the voice came from and continued on her way. As she reached a dilapidated row of homes, she pulled the hood of her ragged gray cloak up even further, hiding her memorable hair and eyes in shadow. She carefully pressed the doorbell: One long press, two short presses, and another long, her code so the occupants would know it was safe.

A careworn woman opened and stared at her with mistrust. "What are you doing here?" she questioned

The girl reached into the sack and pulled out one family's worth of rations, "Trust me, this is not a bribe or a trap." With that she handed the package to the still-skeptical woman and walked off.

The girl slowly scanned the area, if an Enforcer discovered her she would be killed and families would starve. When she ensured that it was safe, she continued to walk, dodging windows. Although she helped these families with food, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't turn her in for a reward. The girl turned a corner and froze as an Enforcer stalked past, she hid behind a large grey boulder, her cloak blending into its surface.

"No, please! I have children. Please let me stay with my children." The girl's eyes narrowed as she heard the panicked screams.

Slowly she crept toward the origin of the sound, keeping her eyes open for Enforcers. Hate and fury brewed in her green eyes as she watched a young mother being dragged away from her sobbing children. Such was the cruelty of the Hive; the rich wanted servants, and the poor had no choices. She watched as the mother was painfully restrained and the enforcers branded the children. The eldest desperately tried to shield his sisters but it was useless. The Enforcer easily shoved him out of the way and pressed the branding gun to their arms.

"Three children: 51, 29, 32. Take the pod." The Enforcer spoke without emotion, as taking mothers and hurting innocent children was just his everyday job.

She slipped her hand into the hidden pocket of the cloak and pulled out a minuscule dart coated in a poison that would make the Enforcer too ill to move for days. She smiled bitterly as it hit its mark perfectly. She had her own small acts of rebellion.

The red-haired girl held her breath as the Enforcerwinced and looked around for the source of the pain, but of course, he never saw her.

As soon as the Enforcer walked away, she made her way over the shell-shocked children. The eldest, a boy, was about ten, his little sister appeared to be seven, and the youngest a toddler.

As soon as he caught sight of her the eldest pulled his sister behind him and held the little one tighter, “Don’t come any closer.”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Scarlett showed them that she held no weapons.

The eldest scoffed, “That’s what they all say.”

“I’m not an Enforcer and I don’t work for the Capitol,” Scarlett said calmly.

The eldest boy glared at her, pulling his younger sisters even closer, "Who are you then?"

Instead of answering, she showed them her arm, a number thirteen was forever branded in her tan skin.

"One of us." The eldest slowly relaxed, "What's your name?"

The girl blinked, she rarely told anyone the name she forged for herself, but she felt compelled to tell this child, "Scarlett, my name is Scarlett."

"Why are you here?" The eldest asked suspiciously.

Scarlett suppressed a sigh, "I came to take you somewhere safe."

The eldest raised his eyebrows, "Safe?"

"I can't tell you where, all I can tell you is that many other children find safety there." Scarlett understood his caution.

The seven-year-old looked at her with tears in her frightened eyes, "I wanna be safe."

The boy hugged her close, "You will be, I will keep you safe." He looked back at Scarlett, "We will come with you, not because I trust you, but because I can't protect them on my own."

Scarlett nodded and stood, “Well then, we should leave now.”