Trees [Tori, Geebs]

[sbeeg]

Donovan Crater

Cold. That was the only thought that penetrated my mind. The air bit at my face and I tried to block its assaults with the collar of my coat but my fight was futile. I soon gave up and hugged my arms around my middle, letting the wintry air feast on the flesh of my face. I couldn't feel my nose anyway, no use trying to win a battle already lost.

The frozen gravel that filled the road to town crutched under my boots giving my travel a gloomy soundtrack. Trees lined the path now, reaching over trying to grab one another's bare branches. I lifted my chin to examine the trees further. They reminded me of the landscape of one of the Games a few years back. Dead, cold, and filled with possible threats. As soon as the thought crosses my mind it rang in as a mistake. For the past ten years I've had moments just like this one. I'd be walking along, or just sitting in class, thinking. One thought would lead to another and before I knew it- it was too late. A train of thought would begin with something innocent, like trees, and end with how dying must feel. That's what scares me the most, dying- rather, the mystery of death.

Well sooner or later the pondering of trees ended like most episodes do, death. It went something like trees, to the Games, to the hidden Capitol weapons, to those weapons turning on me, to dying. The thoughts were so vivid, like most he had, it felt real. The "Capitol weapon" hidden in these trees was some sort of bird made of thin dead limbs that popped out and swung at my face, scratching and pecking until I was raw. My heart sped up and as I swatted away the attacker adrenaline trickled into my system and then my brain caught up. My fingers cramped up, bending painfully into odd angles. As my muscles worked against me I tried to calm myself down instead of fighting it but my body was already hyped and, instead, flustered my mind even more. My neck stiffened and there was a scene that flashed over my eyes briefly of my body completely imprisoned by itself that sent a fresh wave of fear that was enough to make my knees buckle.

I was going to pass out. Oh god, I'm going to be bound up, lying in the cold. I'm going to freeze- I am going to die. I felt my eyelids drag themselves down over my sight. Oh god. I don't remember hitting the ground, I completely blacked out before I had the chance to.

[Tori]

When Nilly Harrison open the door, she was not ready for the cold. A small jacket and a scarf was all Sabs manage to be able to find for her. The icyness in the air bit at her nose and ears as she shut the house door behind her. She shoved her cold hands into the pockets of the jacket, trying to keep warm. It was Sabrina's fault she was out here. Her irresponible older sister. The girl just had to forget to stop by the doctor's and pick up her medicine. Nilly had offered to go because didn't want Sabrina to get even sicker, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

Luckily, the ground wasn't covered in snow. But no doubt if began to rain, it would indeed turn into snow. It was more the wind than anything else that made it so cold. She should have taken the time to tie her mess of red hair into a ponytail before she left but she didn't want to do it now. The thought of reexposing her hands to the cold night's air made her shudder. She reluctantly pulled one hand out of her pocket long enough to pull the hood of the jacket onto her head.

The district was empty. Most of the lights outside were off. Nilly would have to go to the doctor's house for the medicine rather than the office since they were probably closed like everything else. Thank god it wasn't too far away. A thud while she was walking make her stop dead in her tracks. Nilly quickly looked around for the source of it. Her eyes found nothing. Why was it everything became five times scarier when she was walking alone in the streets at night. It was like everything suddenly became a target.

Images of her parent's kidnapping ran through her mind. Sabrina was convinced that they were dead, Nilly was convinced otherwise. She turned the corner, and let out a little gasp as she found the source of the thud. A boy was lying on the ground in front of her. Without really thinking, she rushed forward forgetting how cold it was. "Hello?" Her voice was quiet and unsure. "Hello?"

Nilly tried shaking the boy a little, but he was extremely cold and didn't move and when she did. Standing up, she looked for the nearest building. He would need to be some place warm. There was a building not 10 feet from her. It was the supple store for most of the district's animal food, but it was closed now. Nilly looked back at the boy, he was a lot bigger than she was. At 16 she was tall, yes, but certainly not built. She figured she'd have to try. After about 10 minutes, she managed to drag the boy over to the store, open the door (perhaps she actually had to pick the lock, but we'll forget the details), and pull him inside.

She didn't consider how he might take her next reaction, but she needed to get him concious. The redhead ran to the back of the store to where the water was kept and took a jug. It was rather dark, and she tripped over a few things on the way back. She'd have to worry about finding a light switch later. Nilly uncapped the jug and poured a bit of the water onto the boy's face where she had propped him up.

[sbeeg]

Donovan Crater

Falling asleep all the time isn't really that bad when you think about it. I used to get away with sleeping through chores, school- pretty much everything. There is a negative side but we all know what those are and I don't care to much to dwell on them. Another positive is you get to dream. I think that is the best part of the whole ordeal, the dreams you get to experience. For example, after passing out cold with my face buried in the gravel I had a flying dream, one of the best if you ask me. I don't know where I was flying but the place was gorgeous. Tall trees poking into soft puffy clouds, circled by peaceful singing birds. I was glad that I'm not afraid of heights. While flying around, gazing at the brilliant landscape below, the clouds darkened. I missed the transition by blinking it was so fast. The cloud directly above me rumbled and I looked up at it, unafraid. It was dream, I'm not scared in dreams. It's reality that scares me.
With a deafening grumble the clouds let out a shower of rain. No, rain comes down in drops this was like a waterfall had sprung out of now where in the sky and poured itself entirely on me.

Waking with a start I realized that it might actually be a waterfall spilling on my face. Coughing up water, I sit up. It was a drastic change from my dream. Everything was dark, and the ground beneath me wasn't the frozen dirt of the road but the worn wood of a building. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness and finally deemed it safe to stand up. Yep it was a building of some sort, perhaps an abandoned store or a house. My eyes caught something, a blob in the darkness- no a figure.
"Hello?" I asked, as more and more of the figure became clearer to see, but still faded by the lighting.

[Tori]

A moment after the water hit the boy's face, he started coughing it back up. Nilly sprung to her feet and went of to search for a light switch since he was finally waking. Nilly's hand were being dragged against the walls as she frantically felt every surface she could reach. Her feet continued to trip over various items. Just as the boy called something out, she flippedup a switch and light filled half of the store.

She turned back to face the boy she had just poured water. It was quite a sight. The redhead had made a mess of items that she literally plowed through to find the water and the lightswitch. The floor, along with the boy's face and clothes, was now soaked. Maybe she shouldn't have poured the entire jug on him.

"Had you woken up sooner, I wouldn't have had to have gotten you all wet. And now look at this mess." Nilly sighed and shrugged off her jacket. Even inside, the air nipped at her now exposed arms as she passed her jacket to the boy. "Here. You need this more than I do right now, dry up."

Nilly leaned against the nearest wall by the door and watched him clean up with her jacket. She kept checking outside the door to make sure no one noticed a light on in the store when it wasn't supposed to be. "Now. How exactly did you end up passed out in the middle of the street?" She crossed her arms and stared at him.

[sbeeg]

Donovan Crater

Just as the word left my lips the figure must have turned on the light because it became so blinding that my hands slammed against my eyes trying to shield them. I blinked more times than I can count until the harsh light didn't seem so intense. My hands fell back to my sides where i noticed how wet I was. Completely drenched. I was about to complain when the figure spoke up. I had almost forgotten about them. It was a girl, around my age, with flaming red hair. I couldn't really take anything else in besides the color of her hair. She was talking but I only heard about half of the words. She took her jacket off and held it out to me. Here, you need this more than I do right now, dry up. I took the thin jacket from her, I wasn't sure how much good it would do seeing as it was small enough to fit on one of my arms- maybe. However I did the best I could, drying my face, a little bit of my hair. My clothes proved difficult, but seeing as most of the water seemed to soak my jacket, I took it off and laid it out. As I begun to lay out the girl's jacket next to mine she spoke up again. Now, how exactly did you end up passed out in the middle of the street?
Oh no. The dreaded explanation time. I cringed and gazed around the room, not wanting to look at the girl. The place was cluttered, objects lying on their sides, knocked over or just left there. I wished I could go and hide in the piles of supplies. I opened my mouth to begin my long drawn out tale when something occurred to me. It was the most brilliant idea I had ever thought of in this situation and I felt stupid for not thinking of it before.
"I was mugged."
I lied.