23.

Latia and Mercedes led the way as the group walked through the woods for three hours. Latia looked around, taking in as much of her surroundings as she could, for her parents, and herself. When she saw an elk in the distance, a perfectly healthy looking elk, Latia burst out crying at the sight.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?" Patch asked Marrow as he looked over at the creature too. Marrow had allowed Patch to ride on his back once the latter started coughing and struggled to keep up with the crowd.

Marrow marveled at it, his mouth hanging open. "No."

"It's amazing," Patch said with a smile, craning his head to get a better look. "Everything is so…green. God, all these colors. There's so many. It's like the Capitol only—"

"Not terrible," Marrow suggested.

"Yeah. How are you feeling? You've been surprisingly calm through all this."

"I don't know what I'm feeling to be honest. But all this fresh air, these animals, I feel like I can breathe easily for the first time in a long time. What about you?"

Patch shrugged. "I'm thirsty."

"I am too." Marrow called out to the group, "I think we should take a break."

"There's a river up ahead," Mercedes called back. "We're almost there."

After ten more minutes they stopped by the crystal clear blue river and sat their packs down.

"Hey, do you know what I just realized?" Wicker asked. "We all smell disgusting."

"No kidding," Emmer responded, kneeling by the water, taking handfuls of water and bringing it up to his face. "None of us have bathed in days. There was the river we rowed down back in the Arena, but that was about it."

"Yeah," Xandra took off her jacket and tied the arms around her waist. "And what was that anyway? Lake water, sea water—I honestly couldn't tell."

"It didn't feel or taste salty," Alba responded, taking out a small bag of walnuts from her pack and eating six.

"Hey," Xandra walked over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Unsure. Scared. Confused. Anxious."

"I actually meant about the pregnancy."

"I figured. But it also applies to our little trek." Alba gestured all around her. "I'm trying not to think about it too much."

"Great idea. Still, you have to admit," Xandra looked out at the water and the row of mountains right behind it. "It's a pretty nice view."

"Yeah," Alba breathed. For the first time in hours a small smile came across her face. "I definitely love not having to solve riddles to get from place to place. Although I'm not gonna lie, I would definitely love it if Emmer had some notes handy."

"Well, I think Latia's proven herself to be the expert here." Xandra pointed over at Latia, observing her as she took her shoes off and stuck her feet in the water. She tilted her head back, smiled and let out a deep breath. Xandra had never seen her look so at ease. Almost like she was in her element. Like this was where she belonged. And if everything she'd told them was true then she'd probably been getting prepared for this her whole life.

That was when Xandra got an idea. She tapped Alba on the shoulder with an excited smile. "Come on, let's join her. My feet could use a rest too "

With only slight hesitation Alba joined her in the water. Before long everyone was doing the same. Some just stood there. Others splashed and ran around, others stripped down and submerged their entire bodies.

"Would you stop that, please?" Mercedes insisted half heartedly.

"Oh come on," Emmer said, smiling. "I think we're far enough out that we can just relax. We definitely all need it." He gestured around the group.

Mercedes pressed her lips together and said, "Alright, fine. But just for a little bit. Then we need to think about making camp somewhere."

"I think anywhere along this river should be good," Latia suggested.

"What about here?" Nona asked, looking around. "Or maybe we walk down a little further." She turned to Latia, suddenly unsure. "Would that work?"

Latia nodded. "I think so."

"And I just had another thought. Maybe me, Alba and Marrow could go hunting. I mean, these rations aren't gonna last us forever, and Alba and I are the only ones with any real hunting experience and Marrow, I'm guessing, knows how to cut and cook meat."

"You assume just because I'm from District 10 that I know everything there is to know about butchering?" Marrow asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nona shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, I mean, do you know everything about masonry?"

"I know a lot. Wait, I'm confused, do you or do you not know how to butcher an animal?"

Marrow looked away from her. "Yes."

"Alright then. And Xandra, Latia and Emmer could gather berries since they probably know way more about what's toxic and what's not. And Mercedes, Patch and Wicker could set up a shelter. I'm guessing Patch would be particularly good at that."

"I would," Patch assured her, though he looked a little uncomfortable with being put on the spot like this.

"And we do have a tent," Mercedes chimed in. She looked only slightly annoyed that plans were being made around her. "A big one. Rainproof."

"Excellent," Nona nodded. "Alright, so…let's do this?"

A murmur of agreement and several hours later, the group had made camp down the river, found some berries nearby, but no meat, at least not yet. Latia had also made a fire with Wicker and Patch, the latter of which was very eager to learn. Afterwards they all sat around the campfire until one by one they all climbed inside the tent and crawled into their sleeping bags that Mercedes provided for them. The last ones to go to bed were Xandra, Latia and Nona.

Xandra let out a deep sigh. "So this is it. These are our lives now. We're…woods people. People who live in the woods. Struggling to survive. How are we gonna do that?"

"We're just going to do it," Latia said, sounding resigned. "We have to."

"I still can't believe she forced this on us," Nona grumbled.

"Oh grow up," Latia fired back, exasperated. "So that positive attitude from earlier is just gone now? The clock ran out on it? Come on. She's right, you know. Mercedes, just look at her. Do you think someone plans an escape like this if they're happy?"

Xandra let out a bitter laugh. "It's so stupid." Latia and Nona looked at her with slightly confused expressions. "Oh, uh, Mercedes' life, I wanted it growing up. Living in the Capitol. I wanted a job and an apartment there. I wanted out of the districts. It's funny, I got my wish. I'm way, way, way, way out." She shook her head. "Man, the stupid shit you dream up for yourself when you're a kid. The stuff you actually think is possible because you haven't been told all the rules yet."

Nona frowned and shook her head. "I just can't believe I'm never gonna see my family again. I'm trying to wrap my head around it but…" She rubbed her shoulders, almost as if in an attempt to comfort herself.

"Yeah, well, join the club," Latia looked away, her expression dark. "Your family is alive. Mine were executed for trying to do what we're doing. Look, I'm sorry, but…yeah, that's it, I'm sorry. I'm sorry but the way things are…I'm tired of having the same conversation over and over again. You have the same complaints, I have the same answers, and the situation hasn't changed. We just have to deal with this."

Nona opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it. "I don't know what to do. I had a dream, I had a plan for my life and now it's just…"

Xandra smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah. I think we all did. Then our names got called and then life happened and now we're here. Wherever 'here' is."

"Formerly Alberta," Latia clarified.

"Right. Well, either way. Tomorrow, onward. Wherever that is."

"Onward," the other girls mumbled in agreement.

…

And onward they went. For two days they walked, they camped, even eventually hunting and finding game (small game, but game) as well as more freshwater to drink. At certain points they thought they heard planes flying in the distance, but they hid, and thankfully were not discovered. After hiding for a couple hours, they walked again.

At one point they found themselves at the base of a mountain and set up camp there. Mercedes went over to look for some more firewood, then suddenly she felt the tip of a knife in her back and was being told not to move.

A few minutes later Alba called out for her, asking where she was. She'd been gone for so long. Then Mercedes came into view, and behind her, holding a knife to her throat, was a tall dark haired man with a thick beard who appeared to be in his late fifties. Alba called over to the others, causing them all to turn and freeze in shock.

The man, however, wasn't deterred by the fact that he was outnumbered, possibly because the group was made up of, at least from his point of view, children. He stared them all down and demanded in a deadly serious and calm voice, "Who the hell are you people? And please, you're gonna have to do a lot better than 'Panem'."