I knew what happened to those who went beyond the fence.
Into the next districts.
With information.
I knew an Avox would be made.
I knew my tongue would be taken out, that I'd never be able to talk again. I knew I'd become property to the Capitol. I knew I'd lose everything.
But I also knew I'd be safe from the Games. And, really, I didn't have much to lose. I only had, like, five things that really mattered to me, and three of those things were either gone or dead. Humans had such short lives.
By leaving, there were only positives for me.
With a father AND mother victor, I knew I'd be in the Games. But I had imperfections, you see. My left leg didn't exist. I would die within two seconds… I can't walk fast with my crutch, let alone run with it. And if they didn't let me take in my crutch, I'd be doomed. I'd rather be alive and mute than dead and… do you talk when you're dead? I don't know… but I'd rather be alive than dead, is what I'm trying to say.
Anyways, I left a note telling where I was going, and what information I had. My parents would find it, and I would get caught before I was halfway to District Two.
I left at midnight, going through the hole below the fence I had spent months digging. My crutch left behind, I grabbed a nearby stick and used it instead. It was extremely uncomfortable. I do not recommend using a stick as a crutch.
I made it about ten feet before I hit the woods, my clothes damp from the dew on the ground near the hole I crawled through, and getting damper as I made my way through the trees' wet, low hanging leaves.
As I walked through the woods, I couldn't help but look at everything and really, really notice it. I won't lie, I don't like nature. It's a horrible kill or be killed world, (much like the Games,) but I will admit, the air here was nice. It seemed like a liquid, and if the air had color to it, it would be silver. It passed in and out of my lungs so smoothly, so unlike the humidity of the air at home.
The moon hung low in the sky, almost too pale against the navy blue background. I had never noticed how white it was. I always thought it was an ugly yellow color.
My footsteps were loud and heavy; yet the crutch made no noise at all against the leaves and ground. It made sense, the intruder stomping around and the resident making no noise at all. The stick and me. Silent and noisy.
I walked for three hours, listening to the sounds around me and my footsteps. I didn't think about anything, (or tried not to, it's really hard not to think,).
A little while later, I sat on a rock and covered my eyes with my hands. I saw a purple circle float around, but only if I didn't look right at it. It was weird… how do I know if I was looking at it if my eyes were closed and I couldn't see anything but it? My head started to hurt, so I opened my eyes. Then I noticed how silent it was.
The birds weren't even chirping, it was completely silent. Until I heard the quiet drone of a hovercraft.
I stood and looked up. There it was. I waited as a door on the bottom opened, a small wave of fear rushing thought me as a harpoonish net looking thing shot out. But it passed quickly.
The net fell on top of me, shoving me to the ground. I let out a gasp and tried to twist so I could face the sky, but I wasn't able to. Then I started to rise.
As I watched the ground get further away from me, and I smiled a little. Good-bye, Games.
