The Nem Panem

Chapter 10

*Fay

Oh God. No. Were supposed to be safe in the forest. They knew we were coming. They said it themselves. What're we going to do?

When Mom said to go I waited a second to take off but should I have waited longer? What if they need us? What if they don't come back. I took off with Joshua and ran as fast as I can. I'm still running. But oh my god the guy behind us is fast. I'm running as fast as I can. It's in this moment where you start to panic. What if I don't make it out? What if I never see my parents again? What if I don't see my friends? What if I don't get to say goodbye to Joshua or mom and dad or Alexander? These moments suck. I'm running faster than I ever have. Joshua is in front of me running even faster. He's always been good at running. I wish I had been better at running. Oh my god. Every sharp turn I feel an ache in my side. But once the guy behind us sees Joshua turn he speeds up even more. I can't outrun him I can't. But Joshua can. I have to protect Joshua. I have to. My mind is racing and my heart is beating so fast. And right as I feel like all my adrenaline is about to give out a knife goes whizzing past my head so fast. If I had turned my head a little to the right I would've been stabbed in the face. It cut off some of my hair too. I gasp. Great. I have to protect Joshua I do the only thing I can think of.

"Split up!" I yell to Joshua. As Joshua turns right I turn left. Yes. The hooded man knows I'm slow he chooses to follow me but right now I need to be clever. Very clever I sprint to a log with a small opening that touches the ground -almost like a little hole-and slide in.

I sit there for a moment waiting to see where the hooded man is and what he'll do. I take out my bow and I just have enough room to lift my elbow back and arch it. I wait. At least he followed me. I'm so glad he followed me. Joshua will run far enough and fast enough for the man to never find him. I feel relief wash over me. I can do this. I take a deep breath and think again I can do this.

Finally I see his cargo boots running over to a clearing in front of me. He spins around looking. He doesn't see me thank god he doesn't see me. He keeps moving and keeps looking. Should I shoot him? Or should I let him run off in a direction that might not be Joshua and I. I don't want to kill anyone. If I shoot him will it kill him? If he finds me he'll kill me too. I have to choose. He turns in the direction he came and I know I have to shoot him. He'll go after Joshua. I'm shaking like crazy. My body is buzzing with electricity. With the arrow still arched. I shoot him in the ankle he let's out a cry of pain and falls to the ground. He lays there for a moment. Should I stay hidden in here until they come and find me? No I need to get out of this hole. He's not even 10 feet away from me.

I step out carefully. He's lying kind of sideways in the middle of a clearing in the forest. I can hear him silently moaning. As he lay motionless on the ground. He's not dead. Is he unconscious? I quickly run past him thinking that's what happened. As I run past him it turns out the mans awake. He grabs my ankle and starts pulling me toward him. I scream and scream again and struggle to hold onto the ground so he won't get me. I grab twigs and fallen orange leaves from the season but he's still pulling me towards him. Then suddenly I feel something hard and solid under my fingers. I've got a rock. He finally gets me all the way towards him andI'm lying under him. I see his measly looking face and am disgusted. He smiles with some teeth missing. He has hair that sticks out in every direction and he wreaks of blood and roses.He starts to talk probably about snow again but I hit him in the head with my rock before he can finish his sentence. He falls to the ground. Obviously unconscious. Please don't be dead. I think nervously. I stand there shocked for a second. Then I run into the opposite direction of the man further away from Joshua. Maybe I should've ran towards him. When the man wakes up he'll see the tracks and know I went this way. Better to keep him away from Joshua. I run far enough that I think he won't be able to find me for a while. Then I climb a large tree big enough to not see me from certain angles and stay there. Shaking, panting, and worrying. I hope everyone's okay.