Lost and Confused (Open to anyone on the railway)

Day One: I couldn’t take it anymore. Don’t know when i will be back. Don’t know why i left; don’t know what I’m looking for. Perhaps one day i will. But now escape is the only thing on my mind. Lost and confused with no idea where i am.

Day Two: So here i am still lost and confused only now I’m wondering whether the decision to leave was a good idea or not. "I’m certain that it was" I wonder how my family is coping without me now that i have taken off into a virtually unknown place.

Day Three: I have remained here alone, no sign that anyone knows that I’m here. Could be a good thing as if no is looking for me, i might be able to survive for a while and then who knows what will happen after that? Are peacekeepers hunting me as we speak? Wanderers aren’t considered criminals or are they? Time has no meaning here, hours pass and yet i remain as alone as ever.

Day Four: Still here. Surviving. No one has walked this way and knows that I’m here. Does anyone even know my name around here? Am i a non-entity? Does anyone even care that i have disappeared? Have i slept? Probably not. Can’t shut my mind off long enough to sleep. i have been walking for four days now looking for a decent place to stay.

Day Five: After four days of walking i come across a cave that looks safe enough. “I guess this is where i shall call home for the days to come." "Home" a word used to describe somewhere safe, a place where one is protected. This cave is the furtherest one could imagine from that definition "But it will have to do in the meantime".

Day Six: At least in the cave i am safe from predators and therefore i can live in peace and hunt when i need to in order to survive. My heart aches as i think of my family, what are they doing? are they even still alive? The things i knew for sure when i left seem so irrelevant now. Leaving is the best thing i could do. They are safe now.

Day Seven: Today i hunt. Bringing down three deer and a few birds. It’s not much but at least i can eat now. A change from the last six days i have been out here. "Ah well i guess i should sleep now" Lying back on a hard log Spectra closes his eyes letting out a low quiet muffled noise as he descends into sleep for the first time in a while.

Spectra wakes after several hours a few months later seeing a fire in the distance alerting him to the fact that there are people nearby.

Taryn put out the last remains of the fire. She and Melody had put it up the night before and instead of slowly going out overnight, it grew larger. Luckily, not completely out of control. Cursing fluently under her breath and occasionally apologizing the the younger girl, the fire was out, but smoke still clung to the air. "We need to move - quickly. Even if I'm being overcautious, people have been known to get picked up in the woods by the Capitol before by some sort of aircraft. It could all be a myth, but I don't really want to take my chances."

Taryn had been traveling with the youngest member of the railway for almost a week now in the woods. This wasn't the most common job the railway members had, but once a month they sent out a small group of volunteers to scavenge the woods for a period of two week's time. Though in Taryn's case, she was volunteered, rather than her going by choice. She was actually skating on thin ice recently. She was prone to be quite irritable and she had snuck off to Districts more than once in search of her father. The search was now in vain. He had been missing for almost a year and no one had found his body. According to a "reliable source" there were even scouts in every District. Maybe something bad was going on that the Capitol was covering up - or maybe they weren't. On the railway, there were no televisions. The scouts in every District kept the railway members up to date - some way or another.

Her little sojourn in the woods was supposed to be a punishment maybe? They probably only sent her there so they didn't have to keep an eye on her 24/7. However, opposed to what everyone would assume, she didn't mind being out here. It was calm, peaceful, and it reminded her of her childhood with her father. She was allowed places to hunt whenever she felt like it, and... maybe she'd find her father out here too.

Taryn tried the walkie talkie. She wrang once, twice, no signal. She still had three days of notes to send back. The signal was getting worse and worse... maybe the train was just getting farther and farther away. Taryn kept having this nagging feeling to turn around, but she didn't want to frighten the younger girl... Plus, the portion of the map was almost complete. After they finished this portion, there were only assumed to be two more. But alas, they hadn't yet ventured up high enough and they didn't know how far away the northern oceans were. And one more thing held her to this spot... where were the ruins of 13? It had to be somewhere close! What mysteries would it enfold? Taryn pictured a high tech building with high tech alarms and Peacekeepers everywhere. She would crack it. She would get to the bottom of it.

Then, she heard a rustle nearby. Putting her fingers to her lips, she inched closer and un-slung her bow. Either, she had just found dinner or there was actually something out there. Out of habit, she whistled a tune. To a human, it would be obvious another human was there, but it wouldn't startle an animal that could, in fact, be their food source for their last week in isolation before returning to the railway.

Two weeks of scouting in the woods may have been a punishment to some, but to Mel it was a welcome escape from the real world. She felt so much freer, out here in the woods, away from the constant danger of running into people who would question her and possibly turn her in. Of course, the fourteen year old was well aware that she and Taryn were still in plenty of danger of being caught, but at least out here she didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. No fake names, no lying about a life in a district she didn’t belong to. She could be herself; whoever the heck that was. Over the past six months or so, Mel had given up the last remnants of the energetic girl who’d grown up in District 11. That girl had been replaced by someone else, and Mel wasn’t quite sure who that person was yet or whether she liked her.

But that wasn’t something she was going to worry about right now. She was going to focus on how great it was to be away from the districts. Especially since the reapings would be starting any day now. Mel was perfectly glad to be as far away from them as possibly. It was nice, knowing for sure that she was safe from the Hunger Games, but not nearly as much of a relief as she’d once thought it would be; her thoughts kept drifting to her three other sisters in District 11, and all she could do was hope that their names didn’t get called.

But right, she was in the middle of the woods, and she was going to pretend none of that existed. All that mattered was that she followed Taryn around the woods, helping out with their scouting mission in whatever ways she could. Like staying the heck out of the way as the older girl tried to put out the fire. Mel was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to get that big, but she also knew saying so wouldn’t be helpful at all, so she remained quiet and allowed Taryn to take care of it however she saw fit – since Mel really had no idea how to help her at all. She let out a small sigh of relief once the fire was finally out, but the relief was short-lived. Yes, Mel knew all about capitol hovercraft (mostly thanks to her time on the railway), and she knew Taryn was absolutely right; the smoke from the fire was the equivalent of standing under a neon sign that said ‘REBELS HERE!’. So yeah, time to move. Mel nodded her agreement and followed Taryn, keeping quiet as the older girl messed with the walkie-talkie.

She didn’t know much about how the things worked, but Mel was willing to bet it wasn’t a good sign that the signal was getting continuously worse. As much as she wanted to turn back, though, Mel wasn’t going to suggest it. If Taryn thought they needed to go back, they’d go back. It was as simple as that. Taryn had been Mel’s first connection to the railway, had saved her from District 11 and shown her that people were still fighting the capitol, and Mel had come to trust and admire the older girl, despite the rumors she’d heard about her getting into sticky situations.

So, upon hearing a rustling noise, when Taryn put a finger to her lips Mel immediately feel silent. Her ears strained to hear the smallest of movements, and she followed closely behind the older girl as she unslung her bow. Mel didn’t have a weapon, nor did she want one, but she was certainly glad Taryn was armed. And then the older girl whistled, and all Mel could do was wait and wonder.

…Was it possible there was something besides an animal out here? No. Mel immediately shoved the thought from her head. It was just wishful thinking, surely. But that didn’t stop her from scanning the area with wide eyes for the sight of something, anything, that could give her a clue as to what they’d just heard.

So alone. Devoid of company. But Spectra was sure that he heard something or someone just outside the cave. Enemy? Friend? or something else with a motive that remains enshrouded in mystery. Upon hearing sounds of people moving around outside Spectra decided to send a message of his own and see what would happen.

Seeing that fire in the distance was it a warning or a invitation? was there a chance that some peacemakers had found their way to this virtually deserted barren piece of land? Impossible. Very few know of this place. A hidden area in a world of full of known places. And now people are hanging around looking for something or someone? Spectra's instincts were telling him to make his appearance known but he still wasnt sure if it was the right thing to do.

Glancing over at the bow and arrow lying aganist a cave wall he smirks knowing that this weapon could be his salvation. It was then that he made his choice, in this cave he was the predator and outside some possible prey awaited him. So it was in a moment of clarity that he made his presence known.

Pulling himself to his feet he grabbed the bow and arrow and made his way to the cave entrance catching a glimpse of people hovering around just outside. They still did not know that he was here. His identity remained unknown as they continued to ponder whether or not they were alone.

He paused breathing slowly listening for his own heart beat keeping it steady and calm as he would on a hunt. Approaching the cave entrance with his slow hunters tread he smirked once more completely in control of his own impulses. A few moments passed as Spectra breathed out slowly before exiting the cave and uttering a few words to give these people whoever they might be a clue that they are not alone.

His bow and arrow raised he glared at the two people standing just metres away from him walking in a slow circle like wolves about to tear into prey. It was then that he spoke in a slow measured tone.

"And who might you be?"

His eyes cold and blue pierced the individuals standing before him emitting an aura of pain, of misery and of agression. He gazed upon the newcomers with vague interest while keeping his bow loaded and aimed directly at the newcomers who could have been sent here by the peacekeepers to kill him.

"I said and who might you be?" with a note of agression clear in his voice throwing the newcomers off guard. Best to throw them off guard best way to ascertain who they are and what they want.

((did you forget Spectra's password? If so, I can help you get back on the account and we can continue this))