The Avox (ON HOLD)

Chapter 7- The Escape

I wake up to the sound of the small metal door opening in the corner. My food and water are shoved in and I rush over to it, rubbing my eyes. Muffins and water. This is insane. I grab my food and walk over to my cushion. As I stuff a muffin in my mouth and sit down, I see that Peeta has woken up and started for his food. He grabs his food and heads back for his cushion. He looks up and sees me, smiling. I wave at him. When we both finish our food, I walk over to the glass and put my hand up. Peeta comes over to it too and does the same. It seems a bit cliché so I laugh and take my hand down. Peeta looks at me, puzzled. Then I remember. Peeta taught me most of the letters of the alphabet in sign language. I close my eyes and try to remember how to say, “Let’s make a plan.” I sign the letters I know, and the for the ones I don’t, I breath on the glass and draw the letter with my finger. Peeta smiles at me and signs, “I’ve never been more happy to teach someone sign language. Yes, a plan.” “So Snow is probably watching us right now on a camera, wondering what in the world we are doing. We have to find those cameras and disable them.” I sign back. He nods and then looks around his room. Then, he squints and his face lights up. He looks at me and points to one of his walls. I squint too and then see why he got excited. On the wall there is a small dark circle, about the size of a quarter, and I know that it is a camera. Why did they make the camera so visible?

I wonder.

Peeta and I finish making our plan and we get to work. I fold my cushion multiple times and step on it so I can reach higher. Then, I take the cup that was given to me for breakfast and smashed the camera lens. I see Peeta has done the same, and when we are done, I go back to the glass wall, satisfied. Then, a strange look crosses Peeta’s face. He signs to me, “Katniss, Snow is not stupid. The peacekeepers will notice that the camera connection to our rooms is gone, and they will notify him. It won’t be long until he comes barging into our rooms, demanding to know what happened, and replace the cameras. It’s no use.” I think about it and decide that he is right. Snow is not a dumb man…now. As my thoughts about this dilemma deepen, the door to my room swings open. I turn around, expecting to see Snow and his peacekeepers, but instead, I see Haymitch.

“Haymitch!” I yell, running over to him and embracing him in a hug, “ How did you get here?” “I grew wings and flew here.” he says sarcastically. I roll my eyes. “No, I mean, how did you find out we were here? And how did you find the secret barrier?” I ask. “What secret barrier? What are you talking about, Katniss. We don’t have time for this. The peacekeepers are only knocked out. They can wake up any second now. Let’s get Peeta and get out of here.” I nod my head in agreement and we both rush to Peeta’s room. As we open the door, Peeta smiles and asks Haymitch, “So, you finally turned sober enough to read my note?” Haymitch chuckles. “What note?” I ask, confused. “We’ll tell you as soon as we are not trapped in a damn prison! Now come on!” he says, and heads off into a confusing white hallway. “Do you know where you’re going?” I ask. “Not a clue. But I don’t know if they brain-washed you two yet, so I’m leading the way.” he replies.

As we make our way to the end of the hallway, Haymitch turns left. We are greeted by a peacekeeper. Haymitch punches him square in the jaw, and then in the gut. He falls to the floor, blood forming by his face. Well, I guess he’s not a robot, I think. Satisfied, Haymitch grabs the peacekeepers gun and heads off further into the white hallway, weapon ready. We turn the corner once more and see a door that says, “EXIT,” in big, red letters. “Do you think it’s a trap?” Peeta asks. “No, I saw a peacekeeper open that door earlier, and I saw grass through the opening.” Haymitch replied. We make our way towards the door and open it, quietly. The smell of fresh air and grass fills my nose. We made it.

“Ok, now, we run.” Haymitch says, and sprints towards the woods. As I run behind Peeta, I look back for a second. And what I see surprises me. I see…absolutely nothing. Just trees and grass going on forever. “Guys! Look!” I yell as I stop running. Peeta and Haymitch stop too and walk over to me. “So I guess they aren’t in a bubble. The building itself is invisible.” Peeta says, panting. “Yeah, ok, great.” Haymitch says, “Now let’s go before we end up in the invisible prison again.” We head off into the woods again.

After about ten minutes of running for our lives, we stop to rest. Panting, I sit down in the grass and look up at the sky. I close my eyes trying to calm down from the past day’s nerve-wracking events, and breath in the strong aroma of pine trees. “Besides the fact that there is a mad-man living in these woods, and that we came close to death here, it’s almost…nice, here.” Peeta says, as he sits down next to me. I guess he’s right. I mean, we did come close to death in this arena, multiple times. Plus, Snow set up camp here. But other than that, these woods were quite nice. I guess I never paid attention to that the last time I was here. But let’s have a reality check. The last time I was here, I was fighting to certain death. So I guess enjoying the scenery around me at that time, wouldn’t exactly be the perfect battle plan.

“Ok, enough rest. Let’s go.” Haymitch orders. I get up again and we set off through the trees. “Katniss, I feel light-headed.” Peeta says in-between breaths. “It’s probably because we have been running for half and hour now, and we haven’t had any water.” I answer, also while panting and gasping for air. He nods and we continue running, until he crumples to the ground. “Peeta!” I scream. I rush over to him and Haymitch does the same. “Dehydration. I’m sure of it.” Haymitch says. He picks up Peeta and slings him over his shoulder. “Come on. We have to keep moving. At least another 3 miles. Then we can stop,” he says. We start running again. I watch ahead of me, how Peeta’s limp head bobs up and down as Haymitch runs. I try to focus on that instead of running, and soon it becomes easier.

“Alright, I think this is good enough.” Haymitch says, coming to a stop. He lays Peeta down on the ground by a tree. I stop, panting, and sit by him, my back leaning against the tree trunk. I look around and memories come flooding back. I have been here before. “Haymitch,” I say, “We are not far from water. I remember this place. I was here when I got burned by the fire. There is a small stream not far from here. I’ll go get some water, and you stay here with Peeta.” “Ok. Here, take this gun.” he says, and hands me the gun. “Where will I put the water?” I ask. “Here.” he says, taking off a backpack that I never noticed he had on. He hands me two water bottles and I head off into the woods.

As I fill the bottles up with water, I survey the area and make sure that there is no one near me. I finish up and head back to camp. The water in the stream was cold, and as I walk, I take a refreshing sip of it. When I reach Haymitch, Peeta has already woken up. “He woke up, but he still needs water. He says he feels dizzy and his head hurts.” Haymitch says. I hand Peeta a water bottle and sit down in the grass. I look up and notice that the sun has already begun to set. “I didn’t bring much to eat, so it will only last us tonight. You will have to go hunting in the morning.” Haymitch tells me. “But I don’t have my bow.”  I say. “Use the gun. It’s the same thing.” he replies, taking out food from his backpack. “I brought a little bit of meat, some cheese, carrots, and a loaf of bread. That better be enough for us to gain some energy tonight,” he says. We eat, and after a while, I see that Peeta’s face has started to lighten up. He must have just needed food and water. By the time we are done eating, the sun has set all the way and the stars have come out. I lie down in the grass and stare up at the night sky.

“It’s so beautiful.” Peeta says. He lies down next to me and I put my head on his arm. I notice that Haymitch is already asleep and ask, “Peeta, what note were you talking about?” He sighs and says, “When I went back to the house to get some supplies, I wrote Haymitch a note. I told him about everything and where we were headed, and that if we weren’t back in three days, that he should come and help us. I didn’t know what would happen to us, Katniss. I needed to make sure that we were safe.” “Well, it’s a good thing that you did. Thank you.” I say, and give him a kiss on the cheek. I look up at the sky again and I finally feel relaxed. I shut my eyes and slowly fall asleep.

*I'LL TRY UPDATING EVERY DAY NOW UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS. I HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF FREE TIME LATELY, BUT I'LL TRY MY BEST! PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! THANKS!*