Hi everyone,

Sooooo it has been a while. What can I say, life has been crazy. But I am finally able to write again! I wanted to thank you all for the kind messages while I was inactive. It means a lot that you all care about my stories and how they end. I have been working on finally finishing a sequel to "The Dawn's End" so stay tuned for that. As for this story, I promise it will be finished, so look forward to that!

Without further ado, here is chapter 4 of "Pure as the Driven Snow!"

Snow remembers barely being able to breathe, he remembers the muffled shouting voices of the attackers as his own heartbeat started to drown out everything else. He remembers how his chest had burned, his attackers crushing his lungs with no mercy. It was the first time in over a year that he felt incapable, weak, and honestly…terrified.

Is he dead? He can feel hands reaching down towards him. He is not sure if they were trying to help him or hurt him more. Just like Teff had said, he is in a place where no one could hear him. He can barely hear himself think. His eyes are squeezed tightly together, afraid of what might be there when he opens them. He hears birds in the distance–no, not just birds. Mockingjays. No! He can't be dead! There is no way that Hell would give him the punishment of listening to Mockingjays for the rest of eternity. Not even the afterlife could be so cruel. He swore that if he ever saw a mockingjay again, he would shoot it down. He opens his eyes quickly gasping for air, reaching for the nearest weapon to kill that stupid bird. His eyes adjust to see a cloth ceiling of a tent, the sun shining so brightly through the cracks that it nearly burns his retinas. His breathing increases to a nervous panic. Where is he? As if on cue, a tall woman walks in with a look of surprise and urgency covering her face. "It's okay. Calm down. My name is Nurse Johnson and I just want to help you. You were beaten pretty badly from the looks of it, but one of our local girls brought you in just in time to stitch you back up. I know this is a lot to take in. How are you feeling?"

Coriolanus realizes he doesn't know what to think, or feel for that matter. He was saved? But why would any district community save him? Why would they save someone from the Capitol? He looks down and realizes that he isn't wearing any Capitol gear. It must have all been ripped off during the fight. Snow smirks. He could use this as an advantage. If these people didn't know that he was from the Capitol, maybe he could get help from them. They may even pity him for that matter. "How stupid kind people can be," he thinks to himself. Looking up at the nurse, he responds:

"I'm feeling okay, I just have a bit of a headache. You said I was found by someone in this community. Where exactly am I?"

"You are in a camp outside of the districts. We have escaped from the districts and hope to maintain a life in nature. We are always looking for new members. Especially people who try to escape the districts, which I assume you did based on your appearance. What happened to you? Were you caught and beaten by a Capitol soldier?"

Snow takes a quick breath in, acting a little weaker than before. "Yes, they found me." He says putting his hands up to his head to appear saddened. "I had tried to escape but they found me and beat me to death–well almost to death. They probably thought I was dead and discarded my body out here. Oh, but I do hope I can find a way back. I have family waiting for me back home, and running away was a mistake."

"You want to go back? After everything they did to you?" She asks, skeptical of his behavior.

"Yes, I need to see my family again. I hope you can understand that."

Nurse Johnson sighs and looks down at her clipboard. "I suppose we could fix up that old transport and take you back. I would have to talk about it with our leader, Ms. Kiera. Until then, why don't you go around and make yourself comfortable. I am prescribing you some fresh air to calm your headache."

Coriolanus is not sure how much he could trust this "nurse's" advice. Clearly the medical care here is not even close to the level of the Capitol, or even the districts for that matter. Still he puts on a smile, a fake as it may be, and says "Thank you Nurse Johnson for everything. I will take your advice and go outside right now."

He doesn't wait for her response and quickly leaves the tent. He enters the outside to find that there are in fact many tents. The camp is filled with people, at least a couple hundred. He could see children playing, families laughing, and mockingjays soaring in the blue skies all around them. How he hates mockingjays. He looks up again, and spots one mockingjay perched up on a tree. And before Snow can stop it, the Mockingjay opens its mouth to sing. It sings the tune of a song he has heard before.

A song that was written about him!

His breathing gets heavy as he starts to lose consciousness. He runs as quickly as he can away from the birds, away from all the happy people. The world starts to get dark around him, but he refuses to pass out. What is happening to him? Is he having a panic attack? No he can't be. Just because her song was sung, doesn't mean she is here. She is dead. She is gone. And he likes that. He doesn't MISS her. He doesn't NEED her. SHE IS DEAD!

Gasp. His breathing slows and he calms down. She isn't here. He is fine. He just needs to go back to the tent and see what they could do about giving him a transport. Everything is fi–

He hears the tune again. But this time it is followed by a guitar. It isn't sung by the mockingjay, but by a girl. The hums of a girl he remembers all too vividly. He notices for the first time how far he strayed away from the camp, and how deep in the forest he was. He takes a deep breath and turns towards the sound of the music. He stops. He loses all feeling in his body. In front of him is the same dark curly hair blowing in the breeze, a brightly colored skirt flowing with it.

He knows who found him in the woods.

He knows who saved his life.

And he is standing right behind her.

Will Snow and Lucy finally talk? Stay tuned...

See you all next time!
-23LucyGrace