Forgotten Paths
Prologue
The little blond boy ran along the woods, panting from the heavy haul and feeling the damp weather caused by the mass of flora in the area. His cheeks were slightly flushed as he stopped by a tall tree where he could hide. He climbed it up until he reached a long and thick bough where he could sit.
"Peeta, come out already!" He could hear another voice coming from the opposite side from where he was going. "It's been twenty minutes! We must go or our parents will ground us like the other day!" She kept shouting out loud.
As she was passing by, she finally stood at the base of the tree where Peeta sat quietly. "Peeta, please just come out of wherever you're hiding. This isn't funny anymore. We must go. And we can't go any farther from here!"
The girl moved and Peeta could see the back of her head. Her brown hair and her blue outfit matched together along with her tiny figure. He smiled but covered it with his own hand as if it were a secret, even if his friend couldn't see him.
The girl walked downhill and just kept going until his vision lost her image with the dense sight of trees along the trail. He finally decided to go back down using his four limbs to help himself off the tree until he landed on the hard ground. It took him a few minutes to realize that his friend had gone deeper into the forest.
"Katniss! Come back, I'm right here!" He said loudly, but no response was returned.
His little prank on Katniss didn't really work out well. He sprinted to the direction where he thought she headed. After a few minutes, he was exhausted. He didn't find her.
What am I going to do now?! He thought, desperate to find his best friend. Luckily there were no ferocious animals nearby yet.
"Katniss! I'm sorry. PLEASE! I'M HERE! Can you hear m-" A blurred shadow seemed to be getting closer and closer within a few seconds of noticing it. The boy felt the rush of adrenaline roam his whole body at the speed of the blink of an eye. He knew that whatever that thing was wasn't amicable to begin with.
The distorted sight of the dark silhouette vanished when he turned on his heel and hid in the nearest bush by him. A bead of sweat formed on his temple, slipping down his cheek until it slid through his jaw line and fell to the ground.
"Where did they go? I saw them both together when they crossed the fence" The voice of a man was heard outside the stash of plants where Peeta laid. He could see bits of the man's body, and next to him the presence of another person. He knew the man wasn't talking to himself.
"You're seeing things, you idiot." Ah, that was it, the other person's voice. It was another man apparently, with a deeper voice than the other man. Both of them had a white suit and were holding a black baton, Peeta could finally see when he moved a tad to his left side to see them properly without making any noise. He peeked through the leaves and branches. He knew what they were; Peacekeepers.
"I'm not an idiot. You're simply rude to everyone. I'm telling you the whole truth. And the last time I saw them they were running right in this direct-"
Crack
"Did you hear that?" The cracking noise of a dried branch being stepped on woke the alarming senses of both Peacekeepers. The more dominant of both of them gripped his baton firmly.
Peeta's eyes widened in terror as the Peacekeepers got closer to him. The distance between them wasn't enough to keep his anonymity anymore. He had to run. He crouched and moved to his right until he got out of the mass of green leaves.
Crrrrack!
This time it wasn't a slight noise but a loud and crunchy one. Without thinking about it anymore, Peeta ran full speed to wherever the way took him. Both men chased after him. Their outfit slowed them just a bit, but not enough to let the blond boy flee.
"STOP RUNNING! YOU'RE MAKING IT HARDER FOR US!" Peeta didn't know which of them had said that and honestly he didn't even care at that moment. He didn't even know why they were looking for him.
Deeper into the woods, a blue and vast lake came into view. Mud mixed with pebbles adorned the edges of the lake as the water rippled lightly through the shards of rock.
"Katniss! Help me!" The desperation in the boy's voice was enough to let the other men that he was going to give up soon. Peeta's body was shaking; the dusk was getting closer and the temperature was lowering each minute.
He finally stood before the lake. It was a ride-or-die situation now. He had to cross the lake or he wouldn't make it.
With a splash, half of Peeta's body was already inside the water. His clothes were fully wet and there was no going back now. Unluckily, his pursuers weren't more than fifteen feet away.
"That won't help you, you brat." Another splash and the water flowed in all directions. The men's hands took Peeta from his arms and stopped him completely. The boy kicked in mid-air and really tried to free himself at all costs.
"Give him the drug now, asshole!" Peeta's cheeks were pushed inside until he opened his mouth unwillingly. One of them pulled something from his pocket and forced him to swallow a little pill that was shoved inside his mouth almost instantly. The bitter taste that the pill emanated as it disintegrated in his mouth made him frown and want to spit the tablet.
A really strong headache, trembling knees, and the cold sweat that Peeta felt were the last thing he knew about. He felt the world sink down and the sky fall upon him as he saw sheer darkness and nothing more.
