Blurb:
Valerie Parker is just like every other teenager in the Sector. Dark hair and green eyes with pale skin classifies her as a person from Quadrant Three. She is nothing special. Then she discovers an injured creature unlike anything she has seen before. Valerie's act of compassion towards the animal ends up with her being hunted down by the government and running for her life.

Alone and frightened with nothing but a wounded creature, Valerie despairs. Then a face appears in the undergrowth and everything changes once more.

Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, ordinary Valerie Parker must fight for an extraordinary world.

Chapter One- Grey

Somewhere, the sun was shining brightly on happy, smiling people, laughing children playing in parks, dogs chasing their tails... but not here. The single grey street is empty except for an old cardboard box. The squat grey buildings look forlornly onto the road, their tiny windows covered by grey shutters. There is no greenery to be found, not even a yellow weed in the cracks of the pavement. Even the sky is grey.

Valerie Parker was sitting at her family's regulation brown table, paper covering the old wooden surface. She pushed a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear and, with a sigh, continued with her Quadratic Formula homework. The air suffocates the fifteen year old, no sound interrupting her concentration. Half an hour later, she scraped the regulation wooden stool backwards and stretched. Free from the constraint of homework, the girl walked upstairs and entered her room. The room was small and grey, like every other room in the building. In one corner, a single bed took up most of the room. A regulation wooden cupboard was squeezed into the opposite corner. Walking over to her bed, Valerie flopped into its comforting depths, blocking out the world around her.

Her peace was short-lived however as her mother's voice rang out, calling her for dinner. With a groan, Valerie regretfully left her bed- the only thing that wasn't grey- and went downstairs to find her mother standing at the door, grey jacket over her regulation clothes.
"Get your jacket, one of the Watchers is here."
Valerie nodded and fetched the jacket from her closet. Together, she and her mother left the house and headed for the only building with personality- the Hall.

*Valerie's P.O.V*

The Hall was bustling as everyone from all four Quadrants made their way through the oak doors towards the Eating Chamber. I noted the different hair colours of those around me. Blond with brown eyes meant Quadrant One. Black with blue was Quadrant Two. I was from Quadrant Three, the brown hair green eyed combo. People from Quadrant Four had grey eyes and reddish hair. The shortest people were Four, tallest was Three, darkest skin was One and anyone with freckles or birthmarks was Two. An eight year old from Four bumped into me, his carrot hair rumpled and messy. For his sake, I thought, don't let the Watcher or his men see him. Mother impatiently gestured for me to follow her, her long chocolate hair bouncing slightly as she moved. My mother was beautiful with intense bright green eyes and soft dark coffee hair. She walked gracefully, poised and elegant. She even wore the regulation clothing with style. I scurried after her, pushing through the crowd. A teenager from One elbowed me in the stomach and some old man from Two almost knocked me to the ground. Irritated and in a moderate amount of pain, I took a seat next to Mother and waited.

The Watcher was dressed in a silk-colored suit- a nicer way of saying grey. His blond hair looked like a wave, way too much gel holding it in place. He strode confidently, his gold watch ticking loudly and wearing a fake smile on his pudgy face. Flanking him were four men, each dressed identically. The Watcher climbed onto the small wooden stage that had been hastily constructed. Clearing his voice, he spoke.
"I am Barney Worthington, the Third Watcher of Sector Eight. Today, I will dine with you all. Over the next week or so, there will be checks starting with Quadrant One. Until the checks are complete, no one may leave their Sector."
With those words, several doors opened and people bearing all kinds of food appeared and began to serve. I was disgusted by the Watcher's words, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Those who had tried were long gone. A steaming plate of some kind of meat was placed in front of me, the meat drowning in a thick sauce. I greedily grabbed my fork and tucked in. It wasn't often I ate hot food.

About half way through dinner there was an interruption. One of the Guards was holding a teenage boy by the arm. The boy's raven hair and mutinous ocean eyes instantly showed him to be a member of Two. He was marched onto the stage where he was quickly joined by the Watcher. Barney Worthington muttered something to the Guard before raising his voice for everyone to hear.
"This child, Markkus Romansonn of Quadrant Two, has committed treason to the High Order by wearing this badge."
The Watcher paused and lifted his hand, showing the terrified audience the badge. Though I couldn't see it, I had a pretty good idea of what it was.
"The ownership of this symbol is directly breaking the law and must be punished. Markkus Romansonn will be taken to the Capitol and dealt with accordingly."
The moment he had finished speaking, two Guards escorted Markkus from the room and three members of Two- the boy's family- hurried after them. I swallowed thickly and returned to my food though my appetite was gone.

The night over, my mother and I returned home. We didn't speak about that Markkus kid, just went upstairs, changed our clothes and went to bed. As I lay there and stared at the roof, I thought over the evening.
That's what happens when you wear a Sun Rider pin.
Closing my olive eyes, I drifted off to sleep.

In a small patch of forest outside Sector Eight, a small shape hurtled through the undergrowth, long scratches across its pelt, blooding staining the ground and vegetation around it. It had only one thought, to get away from Them as fast as possible. It knew it was the last one, the only one who was still alive. And it planned to stay that way. It ran through the forest, away from the bloodstained battlefield and towards a new home and new life.

Chapter 2

*Valerie's P.O.V*

As Mrs. Hilson droned on about Capitol politics, I turned my attention to my classmates. Each Sector had one Hall and one School, meaning people who looked different made up the class. Jonas sat to my left, his floppy brown hair falling into his eyes. To my right, Leona was taking notes attentively, blonde hair tied back. I looked past Erid's shaggy red hair to find Mrs. Hilson had started to check everyone's work. I looked down at my blank paper and frowned. This isn't good. I raised my hand and waited for Mrs. Hilson to notice.
"My I please go to the restroom?" I asked politely.
She nodded distractedly, trying to read Bronwyn's handwriting. I silently thanked the black- haired girl as I left.

The school's grey hallway was empty, allowing me to reach the bathroom uninterrupted. Once there, I stood in front off the mirror, looking at my reflection. She stared right back at me with dark green eyes. Her shoulder- length bark brown hair framed her face. I smiled goofily, the reflection grinning back. I splashed my face with cold water and dried my hands. My watch read 11:53- seven minutes until freedom. I sighed and went into one of the stalls to wait it out.

That was as far as I got...