The Seed is Strong (Hunger Games Fanfic)

Starting Again

Over the next few months, Ela and Glen made their way through the forest, with Tammy in tow.
They'd walk for several hours, before stopping and making a new part of the wood their home. A few weeks later, they would walk a little further, before stopping and settling down again.
They always made sure not to stray too far from the stream, because they needed water to survive.
Over time Ela and Glen became excellent hunters, never letting any prey escape their clutches. They moved as one, always having each others backs.
Although they missed their parents greatly, they were thankful that for the first time in their lives, they were free to do as they pleased.
There were no rules or regulations that they had to follow, and no one to tell them what to do.

Eventually they came across a broken fence, with a sign on, revealing that they were now in district 13.
At first they saw nothing but rubble and ruins, so were prepared to head back into the forest.
But suddenly a group of soldiers in identical uniforms carrying loaded guns, surrounded them.
Ela held Tammy to chest, while Glen stood in front of her protectively, holding a knife in each hand.
Terrified that the Capital had managed to find them, Ela was too scared to even speak, as she knew that they were all going to be killed.

"Drop the weapons!" Ordered one of the soldiers in front of them.
Glen looked to Ela, who nodded her head, signalling for him to drop the knives.
"Good. Now, who are you and what are you doing here?" Questioned the soldier.
Ela frowned, as she had assumed the soldiers knew who she was.
"Well" he asked again.
"My name is Glen Mittle. This is my girlfriend Ela Drizelle and our daughter Tammy" answered Glen.
The soldier seemed to recognise Ela's name, and lowered his weapon slightly.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We've run away from district 12. We faked our deaths and left our families behind, because we didn't want our daughter to grow up in such a terrible place where her name was likely to get called out at a reaping in the future" admitted Ela.
"Why did you come here?" Quizzed the soldier.
"We were looking for a place to call home, so we headed in this direction, hoping that we would be able to live in the ruins of district 13"
"I see"
"We've answered your questions, so are you going to tell us who you guys are, and what you're doing here".

"We are all soldiers from district 13" announced the soldier.
"But district 13 is gone, it was destroyed like 70 years ago" replied Ela.
"The surface was bombed heavily, it's true, but we were survivers, so we leaned how to live underground. Now, you had better come with me" he instructed.
"We're not going anywhere with you" informed Glen.
"Really? So you'd prefer to stay out here in the cold?" Questioned Glen.
"He's right Glen, maybe we should go with him" Ela suggested.
"Are you sure about this?" Asked Glen.
"No, but we don't really have a choice" reminded Ela, gesturing to the guns that were still being pointed at them by the rest of the soldiers.

Glen agreed with Ela, and allowed the soldier to lead them towards district 13's secret underground city.
The second Ela stepped inside, her jaw dropped.
She had expected some sort of crumbling city, not an advanced thriving civilisation.
But she didn't have time to stop and admire its beauty, as the solider was leading them on, very quickly.
Eventually they arrived at some sort of office, and the guards on duty outside the door gave her and Glen strange looks.

The soldier entered first explaining the situation to his superiors, before heading back out to bring Ela and Glen in.
As they entered, Ela saw several men crowded around a middle aged woman with long grey hair.
Ela could tell by the way they looked at the woman, that she was the one in charge.
"Welcome to district 13. I am President Alma Coin" introduced the woman.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ela and this is Glen" Ela replied politely.
"Yes, I know who you are. Though I must admit that I'm surprised to see you alive, as I definitely saw you die in the arena many months ago"
"I managed to escape the hunger games by playing dead after my friend Tomas cut the tracker out of my arm"
"That's extraordinary"
"Thank you. I didn't really have anything to do with it, because no one told me the plan, until it was already happening".

"It is incredible that their plan succeeded, and it is even more amazing that you made it here alive, with a child in tow" admitted Coin.
The way Coin looked at Tammy made Ela think that she had children of her own.
However, Coin had a sad look about her, that Ela thought was because she had lost someone close to her. And she looked almost envious of Ela and her daughter.
"I'm so glad that you have found your way here. And I would be happy to offer you a home here in district 13" continued Coin.

"Really? We can stay here?" Questioned Ela.
"Of course. We don't turn people away, who come looking for a new life" answered Coin.
"But you're O.K to watch while the rest of Panem suffers. You do know how bad it is out there, don't you. I mean you must watch the hunger games, if you know who Ela is. So why haven't you tried to help the districts?" Asked Glen.
"We're in no position to help anyone, especially right now" admitted Coin.
"Why right now?" Quizzed Ela.

Coin sighed, "You haven't come at the best of times. We're currently suffering through a pox epidemic".
Ela clutched Tammy tighter to her.
"Why didn't you tell us before we walked in here?" Demanded Ela.
"We didn't want to scare you away, when we've actually nearly beaten the illness. You don't need to worry, because we will keep you quarantined in your own quarters, like the rest of the population, until the epidemic is over" replied Coin.
"What if we don't want to stay in this infected city?" Questioned Glen.
"What other options do you have? You can't live in the forest forever. Down here we have schools, medicine, and plently of food. You will all be safe down here" reassured Coin.
"If we survive the pox you mean" mumbled Glen.

Ela weighed up the options in her head, before turning to face Glen.
"Maybe we should stay here. This place can give Tammy a life that we never thought possible. A life where she can have friends and an education, without being scared of the Capital. If we turn this down now, I doubt they'll ever let us back in. This is our only chance to choose a better life. If we say no, we might never get to talk to another human ever again. You admitted yourself that you're starting to go a bit crazy with only me to talk to. Here there is running water, and food that doesn't need catching every day. We will have the chance to be people again, and not just hunters or crazy people who live in a forest... I think that staying here is the right thing to do" admitted Ela.
Glen sighed, "We all know that I'm no good at saying no to you. I'm not sure that this is the best idea ever though... But lets do it".

Coin smiled, "Good, I will have you taken to your new quarters. Once you've settled in I will have food brought to you. I will then send someone to explain to you more about district 13, and how things normally work around here when we aren't in quarantine".
"Thank you for your kindness" replied Ela.
"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy your new home. And once this crisis is over, I look forward to integrating you into our society" admitted Coin.
Ela and Glen were then escourted from the room, and taken to the place that would be their new home.