Chapter Text
It felt like waking up from a dream, except that Katniss couldn't remember anything from the dream. Actually, Katniss didn't remember anything pertaining to where she was and how she ended up there.
She could hear the sound of water flowing and the feeling of the mossy, wet ground beneath her body before she even had the strength to open her eyes.
She assumed that she was alone; why wouldn't she be? But the sound of movement close enough for her to know which direction it came from, made her realize that she wasn't actually alone. She turned while attempting to sit up, to see confused, green eyes wandering around their surroundings, only to land on her a few seconds later.
The two teens stared at each other in silence, taking in each other appearance. The boy looked young, and Katniss reckoned that he could be no older than seventeen, maybe even sixteen. But the more alarming discovery was that they were dressed in similar clothes and the boy's hand rested on a spear that laid on the ground beside him.
Katniss assessed herself and realized that she, unlike the boy, had no form of a weapon within her reach, which bothered her deeply. Her mind thought of multiple possible scenarios of what could happen next and how she could respond to them.
She hated being defenseless and here she was in the forest - with no recollection of how she got there - with a boy who had his hand near a spear.
Katniss kept her eyes glued on the boy, anxious about any sudden movement that he would make. However, the boy's eyes soon diverted from her and landed behind her. He spoke for the first time, nodded his head towards her side "Who's he?"
It took Katniss a few seconds to register what he asked and decide that she should take her eyes away from him to see who the mysterious 'he' was. Turning her eyes, towards her other side, she saw another boy - young, although his body was so bulky and developed, it made Katniss doubt if he was a boy at all.
He, unlike, the other boy and Katniss, had his eyes shut, and as far as she knew he was dead to the world.
"Is he dead?" The boy whispered, hoping that Katniss would give him an answer.
Katniss looked back around to see the boy's hand reached for the spear and used that as a cue to spring to her feet in defense. She had no idea why she should not trust him, but a second sense, a feeling she could not put a rational explanation to nagged her.
"Woah," The boy attested. "Calm down." He teased, peering up at her.
Katniss didn't dare to let down her guard, preparing to run at any second.
The boy slowly released the spear from his grip, although he made sure that it was still beside him before standing up. "Ok, no spear." He declared, holding his hands up.
Katniss looked down at the spear on the ground and then back up to the boy's face.
"You know, you really need to calm down." He recommended in a teasing tone. "I can't imagine how tiring it must be to assume that everyone is out to hurt you, after just meeting them."
"I just woke up with no recollection of how I got here, with you next to me, with a spear. What do you want me to assume?"
"That I am in the same position as you?" The boy answered. "And if that guy is alive?" He nodded to the boy who was still on the ground.
He shook his head before moving over to the boy on the ground. Stooping down, he moved his hand to the boy's neck.
"He has a pulse." The boy informed Katniss.
Katniss said nothing. Not knowing how to reply, after all, she just woke up in the forest with a boy who seemed way too trusting and a boy who was out cold, but still alive.
"What do you think happened?" Katniss asked, hesitantly.
The boy shrugged, "I know as much as you."
Katniss, reassessing her question, realized how stupid it was. He most likely was telling the truth about not being able to remember anything similar to her.
Katniss turned around. They were among trees, but there was also a small pond a few feet from them.
Katniss started to walk away, but the boy whose name she didn't know, shouted: "Where are you going?"
Katniss turned around. " I am going to see if I can find my way back."
"Back to where? We are in the middle of nowhere." He stood up.
"Well, if I don't try to find a way back we will be stuck here all night."
"But what about him?" He pointed to the unconscious boy.
Katniss shrugged. It was honestly not her problem. She had never seen the boy in front of her before, despite District 12 being small in population, Katniss never had the time or cared enough to talk to or make friends with many of the teens her age. Plus, she was from the Seam and the boy in front of her, judging from his physical health, his manners, and the way he spoke, she could tell that most likely he was one of those wells off teens whose parents owned a business in town.
"Look, I'm from the Seam." Katniss offered as an explanation. Despite not being a stranger to bad situations, the Seam was not a great place to wander around at night. "I need to get back before it gets dark."
"I don't really know what a Seam is, but ok?" He replied.
Was this boy so pampered and sheltered that he didn't even know the nickname for the less well-off section of District Twelve?
"That's interesting." The boy muttered to himself loudly. "You're from District Twelve. "
"Aren't you?"
He smirked, as if assuming he was from District 12 was some kind of joke, then shook his head.