Tranquility Ceased {Marr}

[kap]

The woods were very tranquil with not a single noise to break the silence, until the rustle of leaves and crunch of sticks under strong footsteps could be heard. A man in ragged attire meandered through the trees and foliage, his breathing rapid and raspy. He’d been dashing away from his pursuer until he was out of their range, and slowed to a walking pace, his heart still beating violently as if it were going to burst out of his chest. Stopping for a moment, he glanced around to be sure that he could no longer be seen, and put his hands on his knees, pausing to catch his breath. His blood still pumping profusely with the adrenaline of the chase, the man straightened himself back up and proceeded to lean against a tall birch tree, his arm out to support his weight.

Maintaining the awareness he had of his surroundings, he was sure to keep an eye out for whomever may approach him. After all, his presence in the woods was not welcome. Any individual who ventured outside of the District’s boundaries and was caught by the Capitol officials known as Peacekeepers, would likely be executed or turned into one of the Capitol’s tongueless servants known as avoxes. The wandering man had known others that this had happened to, but in his fifty-seven years of living in the woods so far, he and his family had managed to remain unharmed. This, he was severely grateful for.

Finally coming to the conclusion that he’d evaded capture for another day, the gray-haired man started to venture through the woods once more. Rarely ever remaining in one place for too long while he was awake, he liked to stay on the move. His feet which resided in tattered shoes began causing the sound of crunching leaves that he found so calming once again as he made his way through a small opening in the midst of several significantly tall trees. The trees of many different types; mahogany, birch, oak and many others, rose up much past his head, despite the somewhat significant height that he possessed himself. After he had crossed through the clearing and continued to move deeper into the forest, he stopped for a moment upon hearing a foreign sound. Usually when he heard a rustling sound like this, it had been caused by an animal that called the open forest its home, but it was a different sound this time. It was much too loud to have been coming from the movement of an animal, except for perhaps a large deer, but the man doubted that was what it was. Besides, most animals avoided the wise man, as they often became his next meal after he hunted them down with his makeshift weapons that he had crafted from supplies obtained in his current environment.

Turning slowly in the direction of the disturbance, the man’s sharp vision was ready to spot whatever may be interfering with his now rather blissful walk that had commenced after preventing himself from being detained by the not so friendly Peacekeeper who’d been hunting him down. He didn’t speak, simply watching for any more movement and remaining as silent as possible, only his breathing to be heard. Heartbeats quickening once more, he stood at the ready, the spear he’d created for himself leveled just right for him to jab it into an attacker. Though he’d never actually killed another human being, he knew that if it were in self-defense, he was ready to do so should the time come that such action was needed. He would rather kill than be killed, even though he had no desire to tear the life away from another living, breathing person. Then, emerging from the spot he was surveying so carefully, was another man, clearly younger than the gray-haired man. Snapping out an inquiry towards the newfound acquaintance, he narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you, and what do you want?”

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657 words