Runaway (ira11)

Irene Bradley
It was still dark as I hurried out of my house and down the path. Glancing back at my home, I felt a pang of worry for my younger siblings.
Don't worry, they'll be fine, Mum's better now, she can look after them. Besides, once you find out if there's a district 13, I can come back. I will come back I told myself, even though I knew that leaving meant no coming back. Turning my back on my home, I walked forwards again.
If anyone had seen me that night, they'd have probably thought I was just an ordinary person, not someone about to break the rules and possibly get themselves killed whilst doing so. I was wearing simple clothes- jeans, a vest-top, trainers and a hoddie. The only weapons I had were my throwing knives, I'd left all my other supplies by a river, somewhere I doubted anyone else would be but I could replenish my water supplies before heading off, the water was perfectly drinkable, I'd already checked that.
It took me longer than expected to find the stream, the sun had just started to rise, Mariah would be up now, she'd see my note and hopefully not raise the alarm for at least an hour, not as much time as I'd hoped.
A gentle splash in the stream caused me to spin around from the bush I'd buried my supplies under, my hand grabbing my favorite throwing knife as I turned. But I didn't fire, because it was a boy.
A noise, probably when I'd turned around, seemed to have alerted the boy to my presence. As he glanced up, I hastily slipped my knife back up my sleeve, making sure I could get it if necessary. The last thing I wanted was for the boy to take me out as a threat.
"Runaway?" The question made me hesitated in confusion, not completely sure what he meant. Though it was pretty obvious that I was running away, either that or doing very early hunting practice. But did that mean that the boy was running away as well? Or was he some type of mini-peacekeeper. Either way, I could see his weapon and he couldn't see mine, that gave me a slight advantage, hopefully.
"Yeah, you?" I winced at the defensiveness of my voice as I bent down and quickly grabbed my bag from the bush, I pulled my braid back into a bun before sliding it over my shoulders, ready to run if need be.

I raised my eyebrows slightly as the boy says that he’s actually considering running away, of course it could just be an act, a way of getting me to reveal any information I might have about district 13. Which is zilch.
Looking up at the sky, I had to agree with his next statement, it was a nice day. Cloudless and sunny, the only disadvantage was that it’d be easier to locate me this way. He’d have the same problem if he was actually running away.
As the boy started to list his supplies, I winced slightly; the only food I’d brought was twelve dried deer strips, enough to last about five days if I monitored it carefully. But how was I meant to know how far safety would be? Besides, I could just hunt more food later. While he didn’t list any supplies other than food, weapons, matches and a sleeping bag, I was pretty sure that he’d got some other stuff, probably in the second bag I could see. At a guess I’d say a canteen of water, some extra clothes and then more weapons. Because no-one says the actual amount of weapons they’ve got to a stranger. It’s stupid.
He started to talk about his family, his mother reminded me of mine a bit; a bit over protective but lovely all the same, his father sounded quite nice as well, although his last comment about the district saving his father’s life seemed a bit extreme and confusing.
Probably noticing my blank expression, he explained what he meant, I winced sympathetically as he explained about his mother, poor woman. Of course, she’d probably be devastated that her son had left her. Not that I could hold that against him, my mum was probably crying her eyes out right now.
I glanced up at the sky briefly before cursing under my breath, it was getting late now, even if Mariah hadn’t told anyone I was missing yet, she would eventually. But I’d have to assume that she had told someone, which meant I had to move fast.
“Forrest Cliuck” Looking back up at the boy, I realized I’d completely forgotten him for a moment, judging by his outstretched hand, he’d just introduced himself.
"Ira" I replied, shaking his hand. I dropped the surname and my full first name, if he was a peacekeeper then he'd have a harder time trying to find my family if he didn't have my full name. I didn't actually think he was though, it's just better safe than sorry.
“So...any plans as to where you’re heading?” I hesitated before I spoke, Mariah would call the peacekeepers before midday, while we could have ages, it was doubtful. That meant that we had to leave soon. Not necessarily together, in some ways it’d be easier to split up and go separately, but going together also had loads of benefits.

Too fast. That was my first thought. It's all happening too fast.. I took another look at the man, trying to figure out if I should accept his offer. Truthfully, I'd been intending to ask him the same question but then use his reaction to work out whether to run off or not.
His route was pretty similar to mine, better in some ways, and he had more food than me, so logically it'd make sense to hang around with him, at least for a while.
And, honestly I liked him. He had weapons, food, clearly knew what he was doing, and he was likeable.
The quiet ping of his knife being removed from the tree caused me to move my head back up to look at him. He pulled the knife out, hopped some rocks and walked off. And I hadn't made my mind up yet.
"I'm coming!" Yes, I probably sounded desperate but suddenly the thought of being alone in the forest frightened me, while I normally loved the forest, this was different, it was darker and dangerous.
With a final look at my old home, District Nine, I spun around and raced after him.
OC: Are we continuing in this thread or making a new one somewhere else?