Get away (Gemma)

[Jack Lexington]

OOC: The traces of our existence will gradually disappear from this place...I love the way you write. It's really a pleasure rping with you.

She's right. After a while when the pills kick in hopping becomes a little less excruciating. They must have some effect on my fever as well because my chills seem to go away for a while. Maybe Nee has actually given me a fighting chance. Maybe we can make it back alive. Maybe just maybe I'm not doomed to die somewhere far beyond the fence.
It's still a struggle to keep my balance on the uneven floor of the forest with its moss, sticks, leaves and uneven ground. Somehow I manage not to slip and fall every few meters. A snail could have passed us though.
Nee patience is really admirable but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't put up with me if I hadn't stepped into the fight to help her.
What is it my friend back home always calls me? Knight in shining armor...those knights must all have a screw loose-the one for self protection.

"What are we going to do WHEN we make it to your district?
Are we going to say I'm your long lost cousin?"
It's a good question and I'll keep working on it to keep my mind occupied.

I'm thankful for the silence because it helps me focus and I wouldn't have a clue what to tell her or how not to moan and groan if I open my mouth. For what seems an internity we make our way through dense woods before the forest opens up and walking becomes a little easier and the chance of a sudden attack by a predator is slimmer.

Grimmacing I sit down on a fallen tree to rest for a moment and take in my surroundings. The trees are no longer mostly fir and pine but there's many maples and other leafy trees.
Occasionally I hear the sounds of birds like wood peckers or eagles high above our head in the trees. No mocking jays though.
And then there's another sound. It's like a low, steady murmur, which makes me listen up. Indicating that I've heard something with my finger in the air I listen closely. "Is that water? Somewhere under ground?"

[gemmawolf]

(OOC: Aw, thank you! I guess I’m using this site as description practice for my English exam that’s coming up, ha ha! And you’ve got way better ideas than me. Good team, hey?)

"What are we going to do WHEN we make it to your district? Are we going to say I'm your long lost cousin?" I smile at the thought. Would anyone believe it? I don’t think so. Worth a shot if we run into trouble at least. But I’m hoping to enter the district at night while the workers are at home and the Peacekeepers are drowsy. I look over my shoulder to see how he’s doing. The tablets must be working; even if they aren’t actually improving his health, he can manage to travel now. It’s only been an hour or so of walking – and hopping – and I estimate that we’ve covered a mile. Fifteen hours a day, going at one mile an hour, for thirty miles... two days.

The plant life is changing as we travel, turning into oaks, maples and birches. It’s much more familiar to me; although the lumberyard focuses mainly on evergreen trees, the natural woodland surrounding the district are similar to this. Jack settles down on a log and I stand patiently by his side, listening out for signs of animals, either to eat or to fend off. I’m about to tell him my prediction for our journey when he asks, "Is that water? Somewhere underground?" I listen carefully, and catch a faint rumbling sound. I drop to the forest floor to get a better reception of the noise, and sure enough, it appears to be coming through the ground.

“There’s a river not too far from here,” I say, standing up and wiping my muddy hands on my leggings, “there must be feeder tunnels underneath us. We should keep going; the ground could be unstable.” But then another thought hits me; water. I chew my lip. We could fill up while we’re here. How would we get to it? We’ve got knives, ropes, candles and matches. But there’s no way that we could get through the ground from here.

We have six bottles between us, and half of them are already empty. It’s valuable, but dangerous. I personally don’t want to be splashing through caves, but Jack couldn’t if he wanted to. And water meant life; we need some more food if he’s going to keep his strength up.

I turn back to him. “Any ideas how we could get to it? It’s a good water source, and who knows how long it will take to get to the next one. There’s a shallow river not far from the fence, but it isn’t very clean. But like I said, it might be unstable here. Your choice.”

[Jack Lexington]

Nobody knows how deep the tunnels underground would be but if I can hear the water like that it can't be far. Since we don't have anything to dig and she could be right and the tunnels unstable I agree to keep moving. We scan the area for possible water holes though.
Unfortunately we aren't lucky and have to keep moving.
The next hour we seem to get ahead just fine but as soon as the sun is higher in the sky and the weather warm I sweat like a horse and get even slower if that's possible at all. So for two hours I more or less drag my butt behind Nee and watch how she carefully observes every leaf that falls anywhere nearby. Her axe is a constant companion.

Around noon we reach a meadow where we take a rest from our strenuous journey. The gras here is soft and lined with small purple and yellow flowers. It would be an ideal place to have a snooze if there was any shade. The sweatbeads running down the side of my face are dripping off my nose so I decide to strip off all unnecessary clothes. I wind up in a dirty wife beater and am trying to roll up the bottom of my pants and notice that something is seeping through it. 'At least it's not blood' I think. Whatever it might be I'm too scared to check so I focus on something else.

"Do we have any food or water left?"
Before Nee can answer a large bird flies across the meadow and when I have a closer look I can see something dangling out of his mouth.
Pointing up I exclaim. "Fish, he's caught a fish." And where there's fish must be water.
This means we won't be starving- at least not today. Anybody can catch a fish and make drinkable water from a creek or stream.
The thought gives my tired body a rush and new energy.
Little do I know what lies beyond the meadow.

OOC: Do you have a pic of your girl outdoors?

[gemmawolf]

(OOC: No, sorry. Her FC is a model and there’s only a handful of pictures out there.)

We move on, but it’s so much harder to travel in the heat that we get slower. I try to re-think my schedule, but give up trying to estimate a journey time. When we get there, we get there, I decide. I’m dying for some water, but I want to reserve what we have for emergencies. But I hope that I can fight off any emergencies with my axe instead; I am on full alert for approaching danger.

We reach a meadow in the middle of the day. I don’t remember it, which means a wrong turn. But I say nothing. We could only be slightly off track, as I saw similar purple flowers on my way back to Jack after fetching supplies. Maybe we’re only a few hundred metres north of my path. Water is bound to cross us at some point, which will lead us back round to where we should be.

The sun is directly overhead and we lose the unnecessary layers of clothing. I shake off my coat and remove all but one pair of socks from my feet. There isn’t much else for me to take off, but it’s an improvement. As I stuff my clothes into one of our bags, wondering how long it will be before I have to burn them, Jack asks, “Do we have any food or water left?"

I open my mouth to answer, but a heron swoops over, carrying a fish. My face explodes into a smile. "Fish, he's caught a fish." I swing the bags back over my shoulders and jog in the direction that the bird came from. Then I remember that Jack is using crutches, so I stop and wait for him. I wouldn’t have been able to keep going that quickly anyway.

We slowly cross the meadow, breathing in the sweet pollen. My mouth is dry, but I can hear water. We’re getting closer. Ahead of us the ground abruptly stops at the edge of a gurgling river. This time I leave Jack to his own devices and run straight for it, throwing the bags aside and washing my face and hands, desperate to cool off. I look across to the other side. The ground is higher over there, and with the depth of the water we won’t be able to cross. I turn my head to the right and see a willow tree, its limbs dipping into the water lazily. When Jack catches up I say, “We can shelter there once you’ve sorted yourself out. This river should head round to the ledge that I climbed, so we’re going the right way at least.”

[Jack Lexington]

Her excitement is contagious. As quickly as I can I follow her to the banks of the river. It's almost like reaching the promised land when you're as dehydrated and hot as we are.
Just like Nee I drop down in the grass on its side and reach into it. Right now I really don't care about bacteria in the water. It's running and looks clean so I scoop it into my mouth with my hand as quickly as I can soaking my shirt in the process.
When I've had a few good gulps I scoop a handful of water over my head to wet my hair. The cool liquid feels so good on my hot skin.

Even from here I can see some trout swimming against the current and dissapear under the overhanging grass and willow.

While Nee tries to catch us a fish I drag myself over to the shady willow, which I lean against.
The past few days have taken everything out of me and left me with little to work with on our trip. I could fall asleep right away if my legs weren't shaking so much.
Closing my eyes I try to regain some strength but can't go to sleep.

The waters grugling almost sounds like murmur. It's very pleasant sound. I let my thoughts drift thinking about my family, who hasn't seen me in days. By now they've probably figured out that I'm not just staying over at the farm and I think about Tallulah, my closest friend right now, maybe even more. I know she'll be worried sick by now. But where should she come looking for me? Hopefully she does stay put and not go venture across the fence herself.

Suddenly an idea hits me. "Where does this river flow to? Do you know? Is it going anywhere near your district? Maybe we could built a raft?"
I straighten up eager to see her reaction.

[gemmawolf]

I set to work catching some fish. The only problem is, I have no experience in that field! With nothing but my bare hands I stand almost knee deep in the strong current, putting more effort into planning a makeshift net than the task at hand. At least the open air has relieved some of the pressures. I can tell that Jack is exhausted by how he leans against the willow in the shade, as if he could just give in to a full day of sleep. I feel the same, but at least I can actually walk. I guess being able to see the blue sky makes you feel more alive...

I’m calming myself very quickly now, prepared to stay here for another few hours if necessary to build our strength. I have my eye on a big, fat, tasty-looking fish that is meandering slowly towards my ankles. If I’m careful enough... "Where does this river flow to? Do you know? Is it going anywhere near your district? Maybe we could build a raft?" Damn, the fish is gone in a flash. I sigh and straighten myself up, rubbing my back.

A raft? It’s a good idea, but it immediately throws up questions: how will we stop? Will it go past Seven? How do you make one? Wood is no problem because of my skill in the industry, but tying it all together, making sure it floats... So much work, and would it be worth it? The longer we stay out here, the harder it’s going to be.

“I have no idea. It crosses the correct path, I know that much. I don’t think it’s worth building a raft for such a short distance. But,” I try and look where the water leads, but the trees swallow it up at the edge of the meadow. “If you want to risk it. There’s several rivers near District Seven. If this one doesn’t pass right by then it probably merges downstream and joins one that does. Your call, Jack.” I’m tired of making the wrong choices; every time I decide I end up hurting him.

[Jack Lexington]

The possibility of not having to walk all the way but only part of it makes me more alert immediately. I'd do just about anything stay off my legs. "I'd even swim if I don't have to walk.
Why don't we try to tie two or thee logs together and use a long branch to direct the raft."
The excitement about the river actually flowing into the right direction is hard to hide.

While Nee is still in the water I watch the current. It's fast but should be manageble.
Reaching for the last half bottle of water I take a long drink and notice how much my fingers are shaking. "If the raft carries us we'll probably get to district 7 faster." I mutter more to myself than her. I might HAVE to take this opportunity because when my gaze falls onto my leg I notice the wet spot on the fabric again. The thought of what might cause it gives me the creeps but I know I have to check. So I open my belt and shove down my pants as much as I can. The bandage around my leg has all kinds of colours from red to brown and yellowish, which worries me the most. With shaking fingers I unwrap the tight bandage totally focussed on my leg. If Nee got swept away by the current right now I wouldn't even notice.

What I see underneath is worse than what I expected. The cut isn't bleeding too much any more but it's swollen and pussy. The smell makes me gag. It hits me full force: I will loose my leg if the infection doesn't kill e before. The red streak running up to my groin doesn't mean anything good.
I don't want to see this any longer so I fumble around in the backpack shakily. It takes everything I have not to scream, cry or try to run away.
I toss everything I find around me in the grass because I'm about to loose it until I finally find another clean bandage.

[gemmawolf]

"I'd even swim if I don't have to walk. Why don't we try to tie two or three logs together and use a long branch to direct the raft?” I can tell he’s excited by the prospect, and I have to admit that it’s a good idea. But we could be swept in the complete opposite direction to where we need to be. He takes a drink, then mutters something that I can’t hear over the rush of water, so I just shrug and go back to my fruitless hunting.

I jab my hand into the water. The fish shoots off once more, but I manage to bash my hand straight into a solid lump of rock. I bite my lip, determined not to scream. Instead I kick and thrash at the water to get rid of my frustration before wading back out of the current. Nothing’s broken, but it hurt! I look up at Jack to see him staring worryingly at his wound, then begin to franticly go through his backpack in search of something. Bandages, probably, I think, and head over to help him.

“How bad is it?” I ask, unsure if I want the answer. I can guess anyway. “If it’s as bad as your face says it is, we might as well risk the raft idea. It will work or it won’t, but I don’t think you’d be able to make it on foot now. The strain would probably kill you. Rest up today; I’ll catch some fish – I’m determined! Then we can build a raft tomorrow.” I hand him the rest of the medical supplies so that he can do what he feels he needs to. It’s a massive risk to just sail away into the unknown. But I suppose that if I was happy enough to venture thirty miles into the forest on my own I can float down a river and hope to come out at the other end.

After all, I think, if this doesn’t work, nothing will. You’ll have to leave him at some point, Nee. He can’t stay at your house even if he makes it that far. If? Does that mean that, deep down, I don’t think he will?

[Jack Lexington]

How bad is it? As bad as it gets...but thank goodness I don't have to put it in words on top of looking at the mess.
Barely noticing what Nee is telling me I'm trying my best not to freak out and simply ball my eyes out, scream at the damn forest or tell her to simply safe herself. I'm so incredibly scared right now I could cry.

What do I do with my wound now? Pour some more desinfectant over it, that didn't help much last time. Try to clean the puss out? The thought alone makes my hands shake so badly I can't even hold on to the bandage. Or wrap it up the way it is?
I remember that when I was a little boy I went hunting with my dad and my uncle, who some how managed to end up with an arrow in his hip rather than the moose they were hunting. They heated up a knife and burnt the wound out to sterilize it. It helped. Maybe that would help me as well but I'm almost sure it would make me pass out and therefore unable to move.

For a good five minutes I'm simply panicking before my heart rate finally slows down and I settle for the least painful version of simply wrapping it up.

Bathed in sweat I struggle to my feet and start looking for fallen trees.
"Nee, I can't wait until tomorrow." I simply state.

Shakily I hobble away from the water. "We only need logs. We can use my belt and the string of that backpack."
In front of me lies a long branch, that could become our paddle if we tie some fabric in between two twigs. My fading vision is forcing me to stop searching every couple of minutes but I push myself to the limit.

Somehow I manage to persuade Nee to help me and give up on the fish for now. Together we find branches that are large enough to carry our weight but small enough for Nee to hack them off with her axe. Only now do I notice that she's using her other hand and is protecting her right one. "Did you hurt your hand?" I'm an idiot I should pay more attention to her and her well-being. Not only is she becoming my savior but she also needs to make it back alive if both of us can't.

Just before the sun is ready to set our raft is ready to float.
"Is it a good idea to get started now? Can't be any worse than being eaten by a wolf, right?"
I'm really encouraging when I'm desperate.

[gemmawolf]

"Nee, I can't wait until tomorrow." He’s desperate, I realise. I haven’t seen the wound clearly, but if he can’t wait another twenty-four hours, then it must be bad. Horrific. Completely and utterly gross, I conclude. I watch him hobble to the water’s edge; I want to help but at the same time I don’t want to hurt his pride.

“We only need logs. We can use my belt and the string of that backpack." We collect some branches for use, me hacking them off the tree. I try first with my right hand, but it hurts too much to take the jarring impact of every hack, so I switch, making it awkward to cut off. "Did you hurt your hand?" I nod, but shrug as well. It’s not too bad; I’d be crying if it was broken, but it’s only sore.

By nightfall we have a small raft, about the shape and size of a door. He asks if we should get started, and I consider the outcomes. We won’t be able to see much if clouds appear and cover the moon, but the sooner we go the better. I shrug again, grab the makeshift paddle and enter the water. “Yeah, let’s go. No point wasting another night, I won’t be able to sleep while I’m worrying about you.” I grin.

I make sure that he can fit onto the raft properly, but there isn’t much room for me. I keep my legs in the water, giving some extra steering power; it’s cold but I can take it as long as it’s just my legs that are submerged. I push off and the current takes the raft along straight away. “I bet tributes don’t have this much trouble,” I mutter.

[Jack Lexington]

Glad that she's literally on board I breathe a sigh of relief and struggle onto the raft before Nee pushes it completely into the water. It slips under the surface for a moment and makes me wonder whether it's too small to carry our weight but the thing proofs me wrong and floats to the surface.

Building the wooden vessel has cost me so much energy that I'm glad to rest. Nee must feel the same but she doesn't show it.
"You're incredibly tough. You'd last to the end in the games." I admit with a bitter taste because my brother wasn't so fortunate.
"My brother wasn't so lucky. On day three a tribute from district 4 killed him."
I'm not sure why I tell her now. Probably because I usually don't tell anybody and I have to deal with it before it's too late.

For a while Nee struggles with the raft and has to push it away from the banks when it gets caught on overhanging trees or long roots but we are moving without great efforts.

Floating in the dark with only the moon above us is almost like flying. It's peaceful and quiet. It's reflection gets distorted by the ripples of the water.

"Here we're safe from animals, we only have to take turns at stearing the float. This will safe us a lot of time and efforts if we actually get close to your district."

With that thought I fall asleep for at least three or four hours. A faint streak of grey light on the horizon is introducing the new day.
The current has become stronger and the river wider. Sitting up I can only see the outline of passing trees but I'm worried.
Nee's asleep next to me, well actually almost on me because of the size of our raft.
"Wake up." I shove her. "The current is too fast."

[gemmawolf]

"You're incredibly tough. You'd last to the end in the games... My brother wasn't so lucky. On day three a tribute from district 4 killed him." Wow, that was unexpected. I dig around for an appropriate response, only to find that I don’t know one. I’ve never personally known anyone who was selected as a tribute, let alone a close family member. I can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like to lose them that way.

“Sorry,” I whisper, but I’m not sure if he heard me over the sound of water. I lay my head on my crossed arms, listening to the white noise, not realising that my eyes are closing.

"Here we're safe from animals; we only have to take turns at steering the float. This will safe us a lot of time and efforts if we actually get close to your district." I ‘mm-hm’ in reply, assuming that he’s going to start since he hasn’t asked me. I take in the sounds again, the moon hanging high in the sky, and fall into an exhausted sleep.

"...The current is too fast." I look up at Jack, then around at where we are; the raft has drifted into the centre of a wide river and is powering downstream. My lower half is numb from staying in the water all night, since even though the cool liquid was refreshing and heavenly at first I’m now shivering with a chill. I lean forward and grab the paddle.

“Let’s try and move towards the left bank,” I say hoarsely, “We need to go east.” I continue to cut through the current with the branch, but it’s exhausting work and we don’t seem to be getting very far. “What do we do, Jack? What do we-“

Suddenly I am cut off as my head is pulled under by the power of the water. I kick around in the murky soup before bursting back through the surface crying, “Jack! Help me! I’m slipping!” My fingers are digging into the slick bark of the tied branches, but I can’t hold on for long. And we need to get out of the current as soon as possible, because up ahead the river narrows considerably, surging past jagged rocks, ready to smash the delicate raft – and ourselves - to pieces.

(OOC: How’s that for action? )

[Jack Lexington]

Only now do I notice that Nee has fallen asleep, too, which means we've been drifting aimlessly. Her feet are still in the cold water and before I can react the current pulls her under. Instantly I'm wide awake and feel adrenalin rushing through my body. Jolting up I try to grab her arm but she slips from my fingers because she's soaking wet. "Nee!"
My head whirls around and I find the 'paddle', grab it and hold it out for her to reach for it.

Our raft is tipping sideways with my weight so unevenly distributed. Nevertheless I yell for her to hold on to the stick and pull her towards me until she can reach my hand. I can feel the wood slipping away under my grip so I reach further down and grab her hand. Tugging as hard as I can I help my friend back on the vessel. She's drenched and shaking.
"That was close!" I breathe before my eyes widen in shock. In front of us the river and trees suddenly seem to end. They just don't go on, which can only mean one thing. A drop. A waterfall. And we're drifting towards it incredibly fast.
"Get off, get off! Waterfall. We have to reach the banks."

For a moment I forget my injured legs and flop into the cold, fast traveling water.
The current takes me away faster than I can grab hold of the raft. Desperately I kick my legs ignoring the pain and use my arms to keep my head above the water, which proofs harder than I thought.

[gemmawolf]

I’m shaking uncontrollably; freezing, weary, terrified. "That was close!" If I had had the energy I would have said, don’t speak too soon! But I don’t, I just lie there, wheezing and gasping for breath. I inhaled some water, but not enough to kill me. For now, I just have to go on, to survive.

I search around for the bags, aiming to find some medicine, when Jack cried, "Get off, get off! Waterfall. We have to reach the banks." I only manage to find one of the rucksacks, and my axe has been clasped tightly in my hand since we started our journey down the river. I slide off the raft and begin to lurch towards the bank. I grab Jack by the collar, pulling him along. His legs might be useless for walking but it seems that the water has taken the pain out of movement.

That or the sheer horror. I can’t think of a waterfall near my home, but as I gaze up at the gigantic pine trees, I’m certain that anything can be concealed behind their curtain of needles. Perhaps my district is just a mile away! I’ll have to check the map – the map! I panic for a moment, stop moving my arms and sink below the surface, dragged a couple of metres downstream by the water. Oh please, please tell me that I’ve got the map in this bag!

I carry on swimming. My limbs are strong and muscled even if they are tired by my recent endeavours, but I have little swimming experience; it’s more of a natural instinct, to keep my head above the water and for the love of life keep moving. The trees don’t seem to be getting any closer, but I’m sure that they are. We’ve been fighting the current for what seems like a lifetime, but I fear that at this rate I’ll drown, then have my limp body thrown over the edge of the falls and broken on the jagged rocks below.

Fighting the flow is futile – anyone in Panem could tell you that. But in this case, I realise that we can go diagonally to the bank. “Jack!” I shout, not stopping for a moment. “We’ve got to go sideways, and let the water do the work. I can’t carry on fighting it! We need to drift diagonally to the edge; it’s a tight fit, but it’s our best chance.” I glance downstream at where the river narrows at the sides, forcing the water off the cliff. If I’m wrong, again, we’ll be swept clear of the bank and over the waterfall. If we miraculously survive the fall then we’ll be drowned in the impending rapids. I wait for his decision, as I can’t face making the wrong choice again.

[Jack Lexington]

Water, water, everywhere is water. My head gets pushed under it everytime I slow down a bit. The will to survive keeps me paddling and kicking my legs so I can catch a breath before the water splashes over my head again.
Somebody, I'm guessing Nee, grabs my collar and drags me with her, which doesn't make staying above the surface any easier. Somehow we manage not to drown in the cold water but every time I get a glimpse of the suspected drop it's closer.
I nodd at Nees suggestion. "Okay." and change my direction slightly.

The cold water is strong though and drags us along despite our struggle. I catch a glimpse of trees rushing by incredibly fast, we must be close...
I look over at Nee and get hit in the head by something hard, a treebranch. Pure instinct makes me reach up and grab whatever I can. Some smaller twigs break off but on holds. The water rips and tears at my clothes and I can hear a loud roar of the falling water behind me. Hopefully Nee is hanging on to my clothes now. I can't tell who or what is tearing my clothes off.