Sharpshooter Down {CC, Cam}

A chill swept through the room, raising goosebumps on a certain Ashleigh Tanner's arms and legs. The sheets, damp with sweat, were tangled at the young girl's feet, a sure sign of bad dreams. Of what nature, however, was a complete mystery to her, since the moment she woke up, all memory of the dream fled her head, leaving her roused and confused.

At first glance, you would think the girl's head was lying dormant at the moment. Her body lay still and unmoving on the white bedspread, her face was serene as the night sky, and no moans of agony or pain escaped her parted lips. In fact, no sound would come from that mouth, due to the colossal amount of slobber built on her tongue. But, if you knew this fine young lady, much as I do, you could read the evident signs of unrest.

A. The lips twitching at the corners, about every ten seconds or so.
B. The squeezing of the eyes, seen as a regular sleeping motion, for others, was yet another sign for this particular young woman.
C. Muscle spasms in her right palm, as if she were trying to grab something.

It seems as if the scene will never unfold. As if she were going to lay there the whole night, dreaming terrible things in her petite head. But, alas, this was not the case. After a few long minutes, the girl flung herself up, breath coming in short pants, and her pulse quickly moving on. Noticing the tangled cloth, she yanks her feet free, and curls up, her knees brushing the very edge of her angular chin, rocking gently back and forth. Back and forth. Thoughts pour into her head, making here even more jumpy. She can't count the number of times she envisions herself dying, in most creative ways. She imagines the deaths she herself had caused. How the people must have felt when their lives came to a close. When death came to devour their exposed souls.

Disturbing thoughts brought small whimpers from her shaking body. She couldn't take it anymore. All but flinging herself off the bed, she hurriedly dressed and prepared herself for the morning. No, not morning. Night, retard. She made as to exit the room, but stopped herself short. A gleam of metal catching her eye, she turned on her heel, and squinted through the darkness, trying to make out the dark object on her cluttered nightstand. What in the wo- oh. A knife. As a matter of fact, this appeared to be the same knife she had used on her last few kills. How motivating.

The knife was yanked off the surface, and flung out of the window, and that was the end of that.

Ashleigh knew she would come to regret the move. The weapon had been one of her great-grandfather's, although he hadn't exactly used it as a murder weapon. It had been a valuable item, at least in her heart, and she felt strange without it.

Gravel crunched under foot, and the sound seemed to calm the girl, if only a tiny bit. Her heart beat slowed, and her breathing returned to normal. No real destination in mind, she set out North, or in the general direction, anyway. Feeling quite desperate, she would settle for anywhere, really. Just as long as it wasn't dark and...

The gate loomed overhead, and the girl still plowed on, as if not registering she had reached the edge of the district. She stops a few inches away, and listens intently.
The buzz that generally meant the fence was working was absent. Even with her ear pressed against the metal rungs, the night was still dead silent. Not fully comprehending what she was doing, Ashleigh placed her foot in a rung and hoisted herself up. The thing wasn't that tall, and a branch loomed overhead, so maybe, just maybe, if she could get a good grip on the thorny surface, she could get over with no major injuries.

A few minuted passed, with the girl climbing the metal monstrosity, paying no attention to the thoughts swirling around in her head, and instead focusing on her work. She refused to think of the punishment she would receive if she were caught trespassing in the forests. How she could be withheld from her duties. Or worse.

Making it down the tree, with only minimal scratches, Ashleigh decided the woods had looked a lot safer from afar. She was already shaking in her boots (figuratively) and seriously considering going back the way she came (non-figuratively). And yet, she moved on. Her feet felt like lead, true, but she forced them to take another step. And then another. And another. Another.

The girl had been so absorbed in moving forward, she had not heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. Tuning everything else out, she was busy moving her legs, while whatever was behind her was busy tracking her down. Great.

Another step. Come on, another. Yes, that's it girl. That's how you do it. And then, upon stubbing her on an uprooted tree limb, the world around her came into focus. In fact, such bright focus, she had to stop walking and blink a couple times to make sure she was seeing correctly.
The district gate was no longer in her view, and the place seemed to have become even darker than before. She began to get a little anxious. She hadn't meant to travel far. What if she found she was unable to return to District Ten? That would be far worse than being caught, wouldn't it?

And then, there were the footfalls. Heavy ones, at that. She immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was being followed by a group of armed Peacekeepers. She took a step back, and opened her mouth to speak. "Please, I-I have no idea where I'm at. I don't even know how I got here. Damned sleepwalking takes me to some pretty strange places, you know. Don't arrest me, pl-pl-please," she maundered unintelligibly. But, when the source of the footsteps stepped into the light, she realized that was no Peacekeeper. It wasn't a human being at all. It was a bear. Two of them.

OOC-Ugh, I phail so much! Dx