I’m raring to go, but the doctor tells me I have to wait a week until I can go on any missions at all. My body was so badly damaged from the time I spent in the desert, I will need to give it time to recuperate. I spend the days in the hospital with my friends, sharing memories of those we lost along the way. I know none of them want me to leave, to do what I have to do, but they know better than to argue with me. If I die on this mission, it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Finally, the day comes when I am to leave. Dad has been in communication with the other compound in Massachusetts in order to coordinate our efforts. The time is now. Today is the day the world will be reborn.

I stand in the meeting room deep beneath the compound, the walls lined with blueprints and strategic maps. For the first time, I am wearing my US Marine Corps uniform. I feel a surge of pride to be standing before my dad in this uniform. Though he doesn’t show it on his face, I know he is proud of me too.

“There’s no need for you to take weapons,” Dad says. “Anything you take will be stolen by the slaverunners as soon as you’re captured. It’s better for them not to get their hands on any weaponry. But I want you to have this, just in case you run into any crazies along the way.”

He holds out a knife. It is the same one I used back on Catskills Mountain, the one that helped keep me and Bree alive and fed for four long years. It was taken from me back in Arena 1. I hadn’t realized how much symbolic value I’d placed on that knife until now, as I hold its replica in my hands.

I stash the knife away and swallow down the emotion in my throat.

“This is your GPS chip,” Dad says, placing a small device securely in my pocket. “Once you’re inside the vicinity of the arena, activate it. It will be our signal to launch the bombs and the tracker inside will guide them to the right spot. Then you’ll have five minutes to get out. So as soon as it’s activated you need to get the hell out of there. Do you understand me, Brooke? No matter what happens, don’t let them take you into the arena to fight.”