A Sky Full of Stars (An Everlark Fanfiction) {On Hold}

Chapter 8: Into the Woods

I smile to myself as I slip my dad's brown leather jacket over me and head out to the car, the keys rattling in my fingertips. I throw my bag full of a few essentials and my lunch into the passengers seat then drive up and out of the parking garage. I swerve through campus and past the heavy traffic when I reach the city part of Richmond. Heading the opposite direction of the ocean, I drive for about 20 minutes until the buildings begin to thin and skyscrapers become small buildings, then homes, then no buidlings at all. I sigh as I tap on my steering wheel, nervous about what I'm going to do today.

  Looking back into my rear view mirror, a smile crosses my lips as my bow and a quiver of arrows sits proped up on the back seat. I take in a deep breath, and remind myself that I have done this so many times before. I adjust the GPS, glance at the date reading "October 2" and look over the directions for the 100th time.

The directions lead me out of city limits, and I come to a turn where I am forced to get off the freeway, and onto a two way highway. The cars suddenly seem to disperse, and its like I am in an entirely different world. Its just me, my car, the road, and the forest,

My lips let in a gasp when I come to a grove of trees. They are very big a prominent, spreading their branches wide; reaching to the sky. The leaves are what astonish me the most. They are all sorts of colors. Browns, yellows, and oranges. The sun catches them just right and shines through, casting a gold shadow on my car. I follow the windy road for a while, marveling at all the colors, takings a mental picture. My GPS lets out a "you have arrived" and I turn my blinker on and veer to the side of the road, turning into a small uninhabited campground.

It's the perfect place, peaceful and quite. There is a picnic table, worn from all the years of use. I hop out of the car and slip on my backpack, tighten my shoelaces, and pull my jacket close around me. At first, I absolutely hated the cold, here is one good thing that has come out of it. I realized something. I love fall. Everything about fall. The colors, the food, the smell; everything. Until I came to live in Virginia I never really experienced what fall was. I remember as a child making princess dresses for Halloween, my mother pinning our hair up in curls and giving us a tiara to tie off the outfit. I recall going out in the evening where it was slightly cooler than the heat of the day, but not by much. I recall going to visit farms, but that about sums of my fall experience. Autumn in Virginia is completely different. Its cold brisk days, and leaves changing colors, and Annie and I making hot cider in the evenings. It is everything I did not experience in my short lifetime, all wrapped up in one month.

I shake myself out of my trance and reach into the back of my car, hoisting out the bow and arrows. I slip it on my back, grab the GPS, and start heading up towards a well worn trail marked "NO HUNTING OFF SEASON." I follow the trail past trees, bushes, and stumps. I take a deep breath and inhale the sweet smell of pine. A small clearing appears, but the trail continues onward. I decide this would be a good place to start, and slow my steps. I eye the ground for animal droppings, but not spotting any, I decide to head more uphill.

I leave the trail completely and head up a small incline, staying as quite as possible. There are a few birds tweeting in the distance, but other than that all is quiet. To most people this would be so irritating, but to me it wakes me up. I can really think out here. I needed to get out of the city, too much business, everyone continually go, go, going. I just needed to stop. I will also admit that I was quite homesick. The forest has always been my home, ever since I was little.

My dad used to always hunt for sport, as long as I can remember. He would pick his bow off the garage wall and hop into his truck, giving me a big hug and kiss, then saying he would be back soon. I was always fascinated when he would bring game home, and would wait up past my bedtime for him to come home. My father took my out when I was about 12 hunting with him. We would hunt all kinds of things-birds, deer, elk. One of my most memorable birthdays was when my father gave me my very own bow for my 14th birthday. I remember my mother becoming livid, saying I was to young for a bow, but him just brushing her off and giving me the biggest smile ever. He always told me that he needed to get out of his office, and he could do that by going hunting.

When Prim turned 12 he tried to take her out with out, but it never caught on. She just complained about  how tired she was, and couldn't notch a bow to save her life. So it became my dad and I's special thing. He used to wake me up in the early hours of the morning so we could go hunting, and no matter how tired I was I would hop right out of bed and throw on my boots.

I am pulled out of my trance as I hear leaves crunching in the distance. My heart beat quickens and I jump, hiding behind a bush. I move some of the leaves out of the way, and peer through. A deer. It stands there poised perfectly, sniffing the air for danger, then not detecting any, continues on its way.I suck in some air, and slowly pull my bow off my back. I pull out a single arrow, and notch it on the bow. I get into a more comfortable position, and poise the arrow directly at its chest. It bends down at a stream to slurp up some water, and I count to three. You can do this, just release. 1, 2, 3. The deer falls directly to the ground, my arrow sticking out of it.

I blink to myself, then stare at the bow in my hands. I suppose I still got it, I think to myself. "Good job Katniss." I can hear my father's voice echoing through my mind. I smile to myself and go to retrieve the deer and my bow. Carefully putting it in my game bag, I wonder what I'll do with it, considering I'm at college now and I'm sure Annie would FREAK if I brought a deer into our apartment.

I look at my watch, and peering up at the sky, I realize I should probably get going. I pack up my stuff and head back out to my car, leaving as if I was never here. I throw my game in the back, and start up the car, hopping in. A buzz in my pocket signals I received a text, and I whip out my phone to check it. Are we still on for a movie tonight? I bought popcorn. ~ Annie. I slip the phone back in my pocket and pull out of the small campground. A small tear slips from my eye as I watch the forest disappear behind me, and I am reminded of the place that I always called my second home. I decide to myself that I will come back here again, but it could be awhile, and I fear I may never get that chance.

Author's Note: Pleease don't hate me!

I feel absolutely terrible. I have not updated for almost ONE MONTH! I am so sorry. Go ahead, call me a terrible human being. Life has just  been hectic right now, and I have had major writers block.

Do not fear however, I am back. And I have big plans for this story!

Please don't forget to comment and Vote

I love you all. Have a everlarky day. ;) I don't even know why I said that. <3

~talishapeople