20.
All of them had been told stories about the wilderness, what was left of humanity outside of Panem's walls. That it was a wasteland filled with savages, completely uninhabitable. None of them had seen it, but were all content with the idea that none of them ever would. After all, life was hard enough inside the wall, why waste time daydreaming about what lay beyond.
But all her life that was exactly what Latia's parents did. Behind closed doors her parents tried to fill her head as much as they could with fantasies of a life outside of the Capitol's control. Latia still remembered the secret radio that they kept in the back of the closet that they only told Latia about when she was old enough to know that when your parents warned you 'don't tell anyone or something very bad will happen' that they meant it. And by then Latia had seen enough to know to trust them. She'd seen too many arrests, too many people that she never saw again dragged off to their executions. Almost a week ago she was so sure that she would become one of them.
But right now, as Latia closed her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling drained, she thought about the radio and how her parents would let her play with it.
"Say something Latty," her mother encouraged with excitement, a smear of grease still on her forehead from earlier when she was hard at work trying to fix whatever was wrong with the radio.
Latia would suddenly be filled with stage fright and unsure of what to say. She had tried asking her parents for suggestions. She would ask who was on the other line, because that would definitely help her to figure out what to say. Were they a little girl like her? A mommy or daddy? Someone who lived in the woods hunting animals for survival? But her parents never knew who was on the other end. They were waiting for someone to reach out. No one ever did. That is, until one day, when they heard a man's voice.
"Hello?" he asked.
Her mother's eyes went wide. She told Latia to go get her father as she tried to keep the man they couldn't see on the line. Latia couldn't remember a time that she'd seen her mother look so thrilled. By the time Latia and her father came back, her mother's face had fallen. They'd lost the signal.
That was the one and only time that Latia could remember anyone being on the other line of that radio. After Latia left, all the man said to her mother was, "Who is this?"
Over the years that man's voice faded from her memory. He could have been long dead now for all Latia knew. But from time to time she liked to make up stories about who he was. Maybe he grew up in Panem and escaped into the wild. Maybe he'd been born there all his life. Maybe he was a savage who was having a rare moment of lucidity when he happened along his radio? Latia had reluctantly accepted that she would never know.
What she wouldn't accept not knowing is where she and all of these other tributes were going. And would this truce, or coalition, or whatever it was continue once they got there?
Hours went by. Some, like Nona and Marrow tried to stay awake, or were just unable to sleep no matter how much they tried. Everyone else nodded off, the only other thing to do in here was worry, or fight. Patch still hadn't woken up.
At one point, Nona bowed her head and closed her eyes, deciding to pray.
"What are you doing?" Marrow asked, looking over at her curiously, causing her to jump slightly.
"I was—" she struggled to get the words out, feeling very put on the spot. "I was just thinking."
"Oh," Marrow said simply, momentarily accepting her answer. "I thought you'd fallen asleep standing up. I thought if you did then I should take your sword from you. Just in case you fell on it."
Nona gave him a questioning look, but quickly realized that his concern was genuine. This guy was actually pretty sweet. He had sweet eyes. She'd thought that when she first met him. It didn't surprise her. She'd known lots of guys like him back in Two, her father and grandfather included, who were big and strong and yet never knew a stranger. But still, there was something not quite right about him. She'd thought that even before he'd had to kill someone to protect the kid. Speaking of which—
"How is he?" she asked, gesturing to Patch. "Is he still breathing?"
"As much as he can," Marrow sighed, clutching Patch closer to him protectively.
"You guys really bonded, huh?" She smiled, finding the whole situation tender. Marrow suddenly looked small and vulnerable as he slowly nodded at her.
"What about your other Careers?" he asked. "Did you bond with them, too? In the time you had together?"
Nona paused, really thinking about it. "Yes. As much as we could. But I was still closer to Servius than anyone. We had a history."
Marrow nodded in understanding. "A real friend."
Nona felt her chest tighten, but fought back the tears that were threatening to get the best of her. "Yeah. Very real."
Marrow nodded in understanding. "That must have been nice. Having a real friend in there to get you through all of this."
"Well, most of it," she corrected him bitterly. "Maybe it was best you didn't join us. We both went off on our own and we're the only ones left. God, what Servius' parents must be going through right now. I can't even imagine. What my mother and grandfather are going through…"
"I can't relate," he said calmly, almost like he was so used to this fact that it didn't bother him anymore. "I don't have any family. I guess I have my old boss, but he can find help anywhere."
"Don't say that," Nona tried to comfort him. "That's a terrible thing to say. I'm sure you're missed."
Marrow shook his head. "No. I don't think so. They didn't want me. That's okay. I mean, it's not okay, but it's okay. I'm not mad at them. And, no offense, but I'm glad I didn't join you guys either. You guys just like the Games too much. It's scary."
"I liked Longwell's games," Nona said a little defensively. "I never wanted to kill anyone."
"Yeah." He suddenly looked very far away. "I didn't like it."
"Well don't feel bad about killing her. Honestly, wherever we're going now, I'm just glad she's not gonna be there. We're all safer without her breathing."
Marrow opened his mouth, seemingly to argue with her about it, but he closed his mouth. He couldn't disagree with her because it was true. The worst of them was now gone. But at the same time the worst might still be yet to come.
"I was praying," she said, so soft he almost didn't hear her.
He looked up at her curiously. She rolled her eyes, more to herself than at him. She'd never told anybody this for hers and her family's safety. But who was Marrow going to tell?
"Praying," she said again. "It's something people did when they didn't have the answer to a problem or know if anything was going to be okay. It didn't really do anything, but it's something I used to do with my grandfather back in Two. We were the only ones who did it, that I knew of. And now, well…" she shrugged.
Marrow looked intrigued. "How do you do it?"
"Well, you just sort of close your eyes and think about what's wrong and ask for help."
"Ask who for help?"
Nona shrugged. "Anyone who might be listening."
Marrow's eyes widened. "To your thoughts? You want that?"
"Not all of the time, obviously. But now, why not? What do we have left to lose?"
Marrow didn't hesitate. "Nothing at all. Okay. I'll try it. I don't know…well, to be blunt, I don't know how much good it'll do—"
"It's a lot like drinking, I'm told," Nona said with a smile. "You just kind of relax your mind and let the act take you away for peace of mind."
"So…it's not supposed to do anything?"
"Just close your eyes and pray."
He did as he was told. He still wasn't convinced he was doing it right, but he did it anyway, and he did feel better. Not because of the act itself, but because he had someone to do it with. That part was nice. He hadn't trusted Nona in the beginning because she was from District 2, but now, well, now with Patch's health more precarious than ever, he wasn't going to turn down any acts of friendship.
Finally, they stopped.
Everyone woke with a start, the light from the outside coming in through the windows. They all stood up tentatively and looked through them.
"Where are we?" Xandra asked.
"I think," Latia began, unsure if she was seeing what she was really seeing. "I think that we're…outside. Really outside."
And it wasn't a wasteland. It looked like a forest that went on for miles. Mountains, maybe a river.
"Do you think the air is toxic?" Nona asked.
Latia looked back at her with an expression of disbelief. "Panem isn't under a dome. If the air is toxic out here, it would be toxic back in the districts and the Capitol."
"Well," Nona tried not to get too annoyed at her tone. "It might not be safe."
"It's definitely not safe," Emmer said. "It's uncharted territory. But what choice do we have?"
None. That was why Nona decided to open the door, holding her breath as she did so. But when she looked around she saw everyone breathing easily, so she allowed herself to exhale. The air smelled so fresh. She caught a whiff of pine needles.
"Some wasteland, huh?"
They all jumped at the unfamiliar female voice. Well, unfamiliar to everyone but Alba. Mercedes Silk came around from the side of the train car and gave them all a small smile as they looked at her in shock, their jaws slack.
Mercedes shrugged somewhat shyly. "Hello. I'm Mercedes, for those of you who don't know me. Hi Alba."
She waved slightly at Alba, who, unsure of what else to do, awkwardly waved back.