As she rifled through the supplies, Lucy Gray felt beyond relieved to find the trip back to the lake hadn't been a waste. The guns were gone, but the supplies were still where she'd left them. She was bringing two bags, but she gathered the most essential things in one. She liked to be prepared, and in case of danger, she didn't want to waste time figuring out which bag to lose. She couldn't carry everything, but she was able to bring enough that she felt confident leaving. Lucy Gray dedicated the rest of the day to putting as much distance as possible between herself and District 12. She found a sturdy branch to use as a walking stick and set out.
As she walked through the forest, Lucy Gray recounted her time with Coriolanus, trying to make sense of it all. He had said things that felt off, that was for sure… especially today. He had been different than who she thought he was.
She thought Coriolanus loved her, but she knew Coriolanus loved the Capitol. It would always be his home. Tigris and his grandmother would always be his family. He always had and always would always view the districts as lesser. Could she have been happy with someone like that? Didn't he try to convince the world that she was Capitol, or close to it? And there was that conversation with Dean Highbottom, where he'd said he was glad she had survived Coriolanus. She hadn't fully understood what he'd meant then, but she sure as hell did now.
She didn't stop walking until sunset, having brought three bottles of clean water and some food to snack on. She stopped to make camp as the sun began to slip below the treeline. Sleeping alone in the woods was bad enough, but the trauma from the arena made it so much worse. She didn't even have a tent.
Fear threatened to consume her and she needed to scream, but the sound that rose in her throat came out as a choked sob. Tears came rushing out as she laid down her bedroll, and curled into a ball, trying to make herself as small as she felt. If she wasn't so terrified, she would have enjoyed the night. The woods were alive with the sounds of summer, and she would have sang with the crickets.
Lucy Gray didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have. It was pitch black, except for a faint glow to her left. She turned her head, and saw something she did not expect. Not even ten yards from her were three figures hunched over a small fire.