"Clove?"
"Hi" She says shyly "Mind putting that away" She motions to my knife that I'm pointing accusingly at her.
"Sorry. Clove, what are you doing here?" I say putting the knife in my belt
"Well, ever since the bombing started to happen I had been pressuring my family to find somewhere safe to go, but they never listened. Then when I heard that they were targeting peacekeepers families I knew you would be in trouble. I tried to warn you, I was just too scared to leave the house because of all the bombers. Then I saw you running away with Calam and Catri and I thought maybe if I followed you I could escape to somewhere safe" She says looking down at her feet and fiddling with her fingers.
"I have to say Clove, I am truly glad that you are here, it would be horrible without my best friend with me" This makes her smile, I really am great with women "But I hate to break it to you, but we are still in danger, the capitol will be sending people to search for us, and kill us"
"I know, I just had to get away from there" She sighs
"Do you want to go back to camp, we'll need our rest for tomorrow" I say already walking
"Fine, but don't pull anything on me while I'm sleeping" She jokes. Although the is some truth to what's she's saying. When I was 16 I had started to have a crush on Clove. I didn't tell her, but one night while we were having a sleepover I did something worse. She had just fell asleep when I decided that I should kiss her! That earned me a beautiful black eye! Ever since then there has never been anything romantic between us.
We get back to the camp soon and Catri and Calam are wrapped up in the clothes I brought. They are delighted to see Clove, which isn't a surprise. We talk for a bit and Calam and Catri go to sleep. Eventually so does Clove. She uses one of my big jackets and lays it out on the ground to act as a blanket. Then she finds one of Mother's old sweaters and puts it on, as well as socks that she uses as mittens. I was supposed to wake her up for watch, but she seemed tired and looked so peaceful when she slept. It's not like I needed the sleep though, so it all works out.
When Clove wakes I tell her I'm going to look for some food and I set off into the woods. I find a thicket of wild strawberries, so I pick a bunch and stuff them in my pockets. I manage to kill a rabbit, and 2 squirrels. I make my way back to camp, which doesn't take too long. Catri and Calam are now up and are sitting on the sleeping bag watching Clove build a fire. While I cook the meat Catri and Calam eat a third of the strawberries, as Clove packs up everything.
"We need to get as far away from 2 as we can so I say we eat while we walk" I say as I poke a stick through a squirrel. I stamp out the fire and we begin to hike through the forest. Me and Clove each have a squirrel too ourselves and the kids share the rabbit.
We walk for a few hours until I notice that the sun is at it's highest.
"I think it's about noon. We should take a break" I say
"I agree, we can eat a little more of those strawberries and some of the lizard Cato caught" Clove says, obviously tired. I take off my boots, my feet are killing me! Then I begin to massage them. We conveniently are about yards away from a small creek. Catri and Calam go to play in it while Clove cooks and I talk.
"They have no idea" I say looking at Calam and Catri playing in the creek.
"Would they understand...? If, um...we told them that there are people out somewhere in the world who want to kill us"She stutters on her words
"Well, of course they would under stand, bur I don't think it's a good idea. I mean they're so young" I wish my brother and sister didn't have to go through this. They're so innocent, Catri even cried when I killed the lizard! She reminds me a lot of Clove. They're both quiet, but they always have an opinion something. Once you get to know them they get bossier and more annoying. With new people they avoid eye contact and rarely ever talk.
Clove announces the food is ready and the kids come hurrying from the creek to eat.
"Hey Cato" Clove says as I pop a strawberry in my mouth.
"You know how the reporter's on TV are talking about how people from other districts are escaping, do you think we might actually bump into someone?" She asks. I begin to chuckle, then by her facial expression I realize she wasn't joking.
"I'll bet you every penny on my body that we'll meet up with somebody else"
"But you haven't got a single cent"
"Exactly" I say as I toss another strawberry into my mouth. We drop conversation for a while and continue walking until nightfall. I refill the canteen 4 times (Thank You Calam.) Stopped to go to the bathroom 7 times (Again Calam.!) I killed 1 groosling and 3 annoying birds that wouldn't stop singing! When reach we the thicker part of the forest we decide to make camp under a huge hollowed out tree. It's still standing and is very wide, Clove can lay on the ground completely stretched out and still have room.
We decide not to make a fire and go right to sleep. Everyone can sleep tonight since we are covered by many other trees and bushes. I wake up to the sound of Calam talking nonsense. I rub my eyes and step out of the tree. Clove has started a small fire and is cooking one of the small birds while Calam is talking to her.
"'Morning" I grumble as I sit down between Clove and Calam.
"Here" Clove hands me a piece of the bird and I begin to hungrily chew on it "I'll wake Catri"
"Alright" I reply as I finish off the bird. I consider taking another piece, but decide against it. We need to portion our food, and I can't be greedy. Clove and Catri come out and I hand Catri the last piece of bird.
"Yum!" She says as she grabs it. I go back inside the hollow tree to pack up our belongings, I stuff the sleeping bag and jacjets that we lined the floor with into the pack. I grab the lighter that Clove used to start the fire, and everyone takes off a layer of clothes so that it's easier to walk. Clove stamps out the fire and we begin to walk through the forest.
Katniss POV
After we got out of district 12 we walked for hours, until sunset. The kids were chattering ahead happily and skipping through the forest. Our mother's walked silently beside us, occasionally talking to each other. The only ones that stayed silent the whole time were me and Gale.
We had been walking for probably 6 hours through the forest when we realized with all of the noise everyone is making, we were never going to get any kills.
So, me and Gale decided to make camp near a small trickling water fall, then we left to go hunting. I noticed how much quieter it is without our families talking ad giggling. It's so peaceful, so quiet, almost...haunting. It reminds me of the old times when we used to go hunting, in the woods on the other side of district 12. I have never been here, niether has Gale by the way we're acting. At the smallest noise, a twig breaking, a bird flapping it's wings, an owl hooting, we spin around, expecting the worse. Although, we don't need to, no one knows that we left, most people saw us enter the mine, then the explosion. They'll think we're dead!
With such a large group, it would be close to impossible to stay hidden from the capitol. Besides, they have much worse things to wory about then two families from district 12, running away.
After some time we begin to relax and get some kills. We got some pretty good kills, for being out there for such a short amount of time. Me and Gale each shot a groosling, he shot 2 squirrels, I shot a rabbit. We decided that this was enough and headed back.
When we got back to camp, our Mother's had set up a canopy over our heads with a blanket and rolled out sleeping bags and blankets underneath it to make our beds. Rory and Prim are wading in the stream off of the waterfall and talking. While Vick and Posy are picking some wild raspberries from a nearby bush.
"Oh, good you're back, we were beginning to get worried" My mother says as she stands up to take our kills and clean them.
"You don't have to worry about us Mom, we have our weapons to protect us" I say as I walk over to the handmade tent.
"Besides, nobody knows where we are" Gale adds as he begins to dig a pit where he will most likely build a fire.
"Do you want me to grab some logs to build a fire?" I ask
"Sure, I think I saw some over there" He points to where we just came from.
I walk over and begin to search. I find one almost immediately, but it's rotting away and is wet. It wouldn't burn well. I continue walking further away from camp, my eyes peeled for potential fire wood. I say I'm a kilometer and a half away from the clearing now. I should have found something by now! I groan in frustration, just as I spot something ahead. It's getting really dark and it's making it hard to see, so I slowly walk up to it. It's a thick long branch that had fallen of a tree in a windstorm most likely.
It's not even damp! I try to lift up the branch, but it's too heavy for me. Maybe if I cut it into pieces I could carry it better! I take out my knife and begin to saw away. I cut it into 6 pieces. One piece is too skinny and is near the end of the branch, but I take the rest back. As I'm walking back, I accidently drop one of the logs.
"Uuugh. Gale's gonna kill me for being late, all I need is another delay!" I bend down to pick up the log, when I hear faint sound of voices and feet shuffling on the forest floor. I'm frozen in place, scared out of my wits. How did they find us? I pull myself together and stand up and begin to silently run back to camp, breathing harder than ever. I leave the log behind, it was slowing me down anyway.
When I reach the clearing Gale says "What took you so long? I was about to looking for you"
"I-I am sorry. Your directions were a bit misleading" I say dropping the logs in front Gale
"Katniss, what's wrong you're all sweaty and breathing heavily?" Hazelle points out
"I think there's some people in the forest, I heard voices" I say
"Are you sure? You weren't just imagining things?" Gale says
"No I am 100% sure" I reply, frustrated that they are doubting me.
"Prim, Rory come over here" Mother says as Hazelle grabs Posy and Vick
"We'll go look, stay here we don't want you getting hurt" Gale says as he grabs our bows and a knife for each of us.
We trudge through the forest, careful to be quiet.
"Katniss" Gale hisses "We haven't heard anything or seen anything, you were just imagining things-"
"Gale listen"
"My feet huuurt"
"Stop whining Catherine"
"I can't see 10 feet in front of me"
"I know Adriana, we'll stop soon and set up camp"
"I think I hear running water, we can set up camp there"
"Good idea Charlie"
What?! It's not peacekeepers, it's a family! Judging by how loud they are, I think there are others, who just aren't talking. Soon I can see them. It looks like there is 2 men, 2 women, a 15 or 14 year old girl, and a smaller girl around Prim's and Rory's age. There's also 3 other little kids, around Vick's age. We hide behind e tree, not sure of what to do.
*They don't seem harmful*
*They might be, you never know*
*Should we talk to them?*
*No! *
*Then what should we do? They're almost at the tree!*
*Just stay here they'll go away eventually*
*Gale! What if they are running away from the same thing we are!?*
*Alright, we can introduce ourselves*
I step out of our hiding spot and stand directly in their path. They are obviously scared, well the kids.
"Can I help you?"
"Are you a peacekeeper?" The girl who is around Prim's age asks rather boldly
"No. In fact I am running away from them" I reply
"Yeah, so am I" Gale steps out
"Then I guess we are on the same side" One of the men says. He steps more into view, now I can see him better. He looks young, about Gale's age, although a bit bigger.
"I guess we are" I confirm
"Where are you from?" One of the women asks, she looks a little older than the rest of the group
"District 12" Gale says
"We are from district 11" The other man says
"What are your names? I am Katniss Everdeen and this is my best friend Gale Hawthorne" I say relaxing a bit
"I am Charlie Timbin, this is my wife Caroline. And my children Rue, Leo, Catherine and Maggie" The man says
"My name is Morllia Devons. This is my son Thresh and daughter Adriana" The older women says
"We are also here with our families, would you care to follow us to our camp?" Gale says, politely!
"Yes, we very much appreciate it" The man-Charlie- says. We lead them back to our camp. Gale seems to enjoy having the company of other men here. He's joking around with Thresh and Charlie. I'm glad that he has someone to talk to besides me. We soon get back to camp and introduce our families to our new friends. Primrose, Rue, and Catherine seem to have a fun time playing and talking together. Vick and Rory are talking with Leo and all of the Mom's are cooking the food. Adriana begins to talk with me. She's very shy as well. Although I'm not shy, just not social or nice or friendly!
"So how long have you known Gale?" Adriana asks me
"Oh, well...4 years I guess" I reply, wondering what she's getting at
"He is cute" She coos, looking at him. I feel my face get red hot. There's nothing romantic between us, but I don't like her talking about my Gale like that. Wait! My Gale? Where did that come from?
"I guess..." I mumble looking at my hands
"Oh! Are you two...like, a thing?" She asks wide eyed
"Us? No, no and no. Just really good friends" I say
"Oh that's so great" She says. I roll my eyes. She is rather annoying!
"Yeah..." Just then Gale begins to walk towards us along with Charlie and Thresh. She even jumps a little bit when he begins talking.
"So Catnip, we were talking and we decided that we will stay here for all of tomorrow, then we will start making our way farther away the next day" He smiles as he sits down beside me at the fire. I get a glimpse of Adriana pouting because Gale didn't want to talk to her
"We also thought that, we should sleep in shifts" Thresh says
"Yes. We decided that 2 people would be on shift every time" Charlie adds
"Who is going to be doing the shifts?" I ask, I'm not pared with Adriana
"Me and Charlie would do the first shift then you and Thresh would take over" Gale says, warming his hands over the fire
"Alright" I say, sharpening the end of a stick, for no apparent reason.
"Why aren't I taking a shift?" Adriana says, frustrated
"Because, you're too young, and besides it's not like you have any experience with a weapon" Thresh argues
"Oh, and Katniss does?" She mocks
"In fact I do" I speak up
"Really, I'd like to see that" She huffs
"Okay" I get a grip on my knife I was using to carve things on the stick and chuck it at a tree
"Knives won't be able to kill someone" She says
"Adriana..." Thresh whines obvious that he wants her to shut up
"What about this?" I ask as I go and grab my bow and quiver. I walk back towards the fire, where everyone is sitting and load an arrow. I spot a small bird perched on a tree and aim my arrow at it. It shoots right through the eye, before it even knows what hit him. I prance towards the kill and bring it back to Adriana. I toss her the squirrel and she screams.
"You still want to do a shift?" I smirk
"Well, not with you"
"So Gale, are you ,like, a hunter? You're really talented with those weapons" She says flirtatiously, twirling her hair in her finger
"Yeah, me and Catnip are hunting partners, although she's better with the bow and arrow than I am. But I'm better with spears" He teases. How can he not see that she's flirting with him? I look at Thresh and he's holding his head in his hands.
"Oh, I'm sure you're so much better than her, you're just self conscious, that's all" She smiles sweetly
"Nah" Gale replies, poking the fire with the stick
"So Gale what kinds of animals do you usually kill?" She asks. I look at Gale and he's trying to register his thoughts.
"Well, rabbits and squirrels are most regular. Although, we do shoot a lot of birds. Sometimes Grooslings and if we're really lucky even a wild Turkey-" I begin before she cuts me off
"I didn't asks you!" She snaps at me, then looks at Gale expectantly
"Well, sometimes we catch deer or wild pigs, once we even shot a bear!" He says with a wide grin. She laughs so girly, even though he didn't say anything funny "We don't always go hunting, sometimes we just set snares or go fishing" Gale finishes off
"Oh, that's so cool" She breathing so heavily now
"Maybe you could teach me how to hunt. Then we could do shifts together" She says seductively
"Not if I have something to say about it" Thresh says, staring Gale down
"Don't be silly Thresh" She says "I'm cold" She looks at Gale with little puppy dog eyes. Uuugh I hate her, she's sooo annoying!
"Here" Gale wraps his arm around her and pulls her in up against his body. He looks up at me with a weird face, almost looks like his smirking face.
"Better?" He asks. I look at Charlie and Thresh, he looks as though he's about to murder Gale and Charlie has to put his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing. I assume that he finds Adriana flirting with Gale outrageously extremely humorous.
"Loads" She giggles. She nestles her head in his jacket and sighs
"Hawthorne, I'm warning you" Thresh says with a death stare.
"Aww, relax Thresh" Gale says putting his hands up in the air.
"Oh, I'm so tired" She says getting up "I'm going to bed, anyone want to come with? Gale?"
"We are good" I say. We watch her settle into the sleeping area, then the boys begin to talk. I tune out everything they are saying, for about an hour. Everyone else goes to be except for us four. I yawn and say goodnight to them. I walk over to the sleeping place and lie down on a blanket. Beside me is Rue, in front of me is Rory and Vick and then there is open space all around me. Maybe 10 minutes after I lay down Thresh comes and lays down where my head is. I fall asleep immediately after Thresh lays down, but it doesn't seem to last long. Gale is lightly shaking my shoulder and whispering "Katniss...Katniss wake up...it's your shift...Katniss"
I groggily open my eyes and look around everyone is asleep, besides Gale Charlie and Thresh.
"Thanks, oooh it's cold" I say rubbing my arms
"Here" He gives me his jacket and puts on my shoulders "Better now?"
"Loads" I imitate Adriana's voice
"Is something wrong?" He asks. I look up at him, and he's smiling! Why is he smiling? Oh, he probably thinks I'm jealous of him and Adriana, well then...I'm not going to give him satisfaction.
"Oh, I just wanted to see if you'd wrap your arm around me" I smile sweetly and use an annoying voice.
His smile fades and he *Hhumphs* in reply. I crawl out of the tent like bed and grab my weapons. Thresh is a few feet away from me and is sitting down near the fire. He's holding a rock in one hand and a knife in the other.
"Whatcha doing?" I ask girlishly, because I know (and can see) Gale sitting on top of a blanket, watching us
"Making a sharp rock, I guess" He chuckles. He looks up and we smile at each other for a moment. We both hear Gale grumbling from the tent and decide to ignore him.
"Sorry about Gale, he's...he's...I don't know what he is!" I laugh. I can hear him chuckling a bit too
"Yeah, sorry about Adriana flirting with your boyfriend" He says
"Oh it's fi-wait! Boyfriend? No, no, no, no! We're not dating, we're just really good friends" I say
Thresh looks at me with a knowing look and says "You're sure you're just friends?"
"YES! I couldn't care less about who Gale's snuggling up to, even if it's with a stupid girl who's 4 years younger than him and freaks at me if I speak!" I say pulling grass from the ground
"Uh-huh. So you used to have a boyfriend back in 12 though?"
"No, it would be too much work and no-one ever likes to talk to me. All of the girls make fun of me and the boys are always staring and whispering about me. And besides, no-one has ever appealed to me in that way before!" I say reassuringly
"Wow!" Thresh says
"What?"
"Nothing, just thinking about something" He smiles
"So what's it like in 11?" I ask, genuinely curious
"Well...: He goes on talking about the peacekeepers and public whippings and harvest time. Then I ask him how he knows Rue's family. He explains that story and some other ones, and I find myself really enjoying his company. At one point he announces that his rock sharp, thingy is finshed.
"Ooooh, oooh! Toss it here, I want to see it!" So he agrees and throws the rock in my direction. I try to catch it, but instead it just slices a cut in my hand.
"Well, it's sharp enough!" I say as I watch the blood pour out of my hand
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" He frets over the cut in my hand "Do you want a bandage or a cloth?"
"No it's fine, it's not that deep. The blood will stop soon enough" We spend the rest of the night in silence, until morning when everyone gets up.
So what do you guys think? Next chapter will begin with katniss and gale and all of them and then switch to the Odair's. I might put Gale's POV in the next chapter, would you like that? Revie