Survival Book 1

Chapter 2-The Tribes

I slung my bag over my shoulder and trudged onwards. As I found a tavern ahead where I was about to stop and eat, I saw a clearing with towering hills and lush forests. I knew I had to head there. If I could survive a broken apartment with no safety, I was sure I could survive out in the wild. I can be Katniss!! From the Hunger Games! I can just pretend I'm in the Arena as I live alone on the four hills (hopefully without the bloodsport).

By the time the sun was starting to set, sweat layered my forehead and my emergency pack felt like it was full of bricks. I wiped away the perspiration off the back of my neck.

Finally I reached the top of the hill. The hill was overflowing with trees, greenery, and small animals, but I hadn't seen anything else.

I heard panting through the trees and I jumped, cracking a twig. I froze, hearing my heartbeat like it was a drum. Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.

I took a deep, slow breath, and I headed towards the area where the sound was made.

I emerged from the trees into a small clearing with an overhang. There, a girl, about 14 or 15, sat under the protection of a shady tree. She had light brownish-blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. The girl was staring intently at me.

"Who are you?" she questioned cautiously. I noticed her hand was nonchalantly resting near a shard of glass. Her finger twitched. "I don't want a fight, but I will."

Fine, I thought. Two can play that game. My hand took out my shard of plate and a rock. I could take her.

My eyes rested on her shirt. A blood stain streaked across her chest. "Who gave that to you?" This place was more dangerous than I had imagined. I eyed the trees wearily. "Mountain lion?"

"My father," she replied. "I know how to fight."

I couldn't stop my eyes from filling with concern. "Your own father?"

I think my eyes softened, too, because she lowered her eyes and nodded. "Yes."

Suddenly, she didn't seem dangerous or enemy-like anymore. For a second, I saw a scared teenager with a ruined life.

I felt a chill run through me. She was exactly like me.

"This place is full of people who chose to run away," she said, looking me straight in the eyes. She put her shard down.

"What's your name?" I blurted out, startling her.

"Nicole. And yours?"

"Victoria." I smiled. "I have some game if you could start a fire?"

Nicole nodded. "Sure."

"Do you know about the tribes?" she asked, tipping her head to the side.

The tribes? There are tribes? My eyes skittered among the trees. I wasn't as alone as I thought I was. "No."

"People are there. They are without parents, like me, and maybe...you."

I ducked my head. Good job, I wanted to say. You win an award. I can't believe you didn't think a teenage girl would run to the woods with only a freaking plate shard! That's TOTAL everyday teenager behavior!

Nicole continued without a blink. "Most are miserable. You should see them. They're on that hill." She pointed to another hill across the valley. "If night comes before you're there, you can shelter in my old hut."

Why did she want to help me? I could just cut her any second and take her stuff. But a nagging feeling told me not to. It definitely wasn't a friendship. Or a truce. It was more like... acknowledging the other person's existence.