All the love and gratitude go to my co-author and dearest Sister-in-Christ, CoffeeRanger, without whom this story would be in complete shambles. This chapter and the next are 100% hers - products of her unparalleled talent, hard work, and beautiful heart. Know that I am eternally grateful and are always praying for you and yours, my friend, and would be completely lost without your guidance and friendship.

The egregiously long wait is courtesy of Yours Truly, and for that I sincerely apologize. Life has just been... funny... in a humorless way lately, and I'm still sunken deep in some dark lake. But don't you fret, CoffeeRanger's got ya covered with the next chapter at the ready - I'm thinking of putting it up in a few days or so. And I swear, even though it doesn't seem like it, I'm doing some writing in my head more often than is humanly possible for someone so.. down.

Thank you so much to each and everyone who still read and review! You guys bless me and soothe some of the pain. You can't begin to understand how much I love and appreciate you all! And I believe I speak for my co-author in this regard as well.

All right. You've waited long enough, so...

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Strangers in the Wood

I look around, my eyes scanning our surroundings, barely breathing as if the slightest whisper would do us in. Lucy and I are sitting in an area that doesn't provide any cover or hiding spots. The nearest trees are 50 feet away to our right.

The crashing gets even closer.

I stand up – Lucy following. Gently, I push her towards the trees. "When I tell you, run as hard as you can for the trees."

Lucy grips my arm, "What about you?"

A wave of memories crashes over me at her tone. Edmund used it all the time when he thought he was getting more of something than he should, or when he thought I wasn't taking care of myself as I ought.

What about you, Pete? Aren't you hungry?

What about you, Peter? I'm not tired. I'll take care of the dishes.

Even worse was how he had been during the past year.

Peter? I know you don't want to talk to me, and that's all right. But what about you? You're still recovering. I'll take care of this. You go to bed. You need your sleep.

Guilt wells in me once again. I won't fail Lucy like I failed Edmund.

I squeeze her arm. "I'll be fine. You just worry about you, all right? Once it's safe, you head back, understood? Stay close to home. Do what you normally do. But only when it's safe. Ready?" I duck, grabbing her weapons from where they lay on the ground next to us. Not giving her time to argue, I push them into her hands. "Go." I give her a slight but firm push in the direction she should run.

The crashing in front of us is getting closer and closer. I spare one second to ensure that Lucy is continuing into the trees. Then I take off as well. Only I don't run towards the trees she is heading towards. I run toward the people coming toward us.

I will keep Lucy safe. I won't fail this time.

Every second I keep expecting to see Peacekeepers surrounding me. But none come. Instead, as I charge through another bunch of bushes, I see a flash of colour. I try to stop so quickly I'm thrown into whatever it is. Screams fill my ears as we collide, tumbling to the ground.

"Please, no!"

My momentum carries me away from whatever the thing is. I tuck into a ball, using the momentum to push myself onto my feet. I whirl to find… the form of a young girl curled on the ground. Her head is tucked close to her knees and her arms cover the top of it. She is shaking violently.

Before I can move to see if she's okay, another shout echoes through the forest.

"Leave her alone!"

I turn to face the new person only to be knocked to the ground once more. Fists begin hitting my chest and arms. They don't hurt, most annoy thanks to my coat, but the fact that this whole situation has happened at all is enough to make me freeze for longer than I normally would. Finally, my brain kicks back into gear.

The next time the fists come down to hit me, I grab them. "Whoa! Stop! I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down."

The other person pulls against me a few times before settling down. Now that they are not trying to beat me, I can tell that my assailant is a girl. She's not old – maybe Susan's age or a year younger. I wait a few more seconds then slowly release her hands.

"Who-who are you?" she gasps, stumbling back a few steps.

"My name is Peter. What are you doing out here?" Now, granted, I don't know everyone who lives in District 12. But I'm pretty sure I've never seen either girl anywhere in town.

She ignores me, instead kneeling to check on the first person I had run into.

"Lynn? Lynn, are you okay?"

The second girl is much younger than the first. Even younger than Lucy. She straightens a bit, but quickly buries herself in the older girl's side.

"Please, don't hurt us! Please!" She cries. She is shaking so hard I can barely hear her.

"Hey," I say softly. I kneel to be less threatening. "I'm not going to hurt you – either one of you. What are you guys doing out here?"

The older girl glares at me, "Stop lying! Just take us in. It's not nice to draw it out."

I frown. "I'm not taking you anywhere. I'm not a Peacekeeper. I'm just like you two."

The younger girl – Lynn – turns to stare at me. "You're running too?" Her face is smeared with dirt and tears and other smudges of things I can't identify. The coat she is wrapped in is threadbare, especially around the elbows and is stained so much I can't tell the original colour.

"Lynn! Hush!"

I shake my head. "It's okay. I figured that you both weren't from around here. I'm not running. I'm out here finding food." I shift my quiver and bow so they're easier to see. "Where are you two from?"

The older girl swallows. "I'm Sunny. This is Lynn. We're from District 7."

"You two are a long way from home." I whistle. "Why did you run?"

"We –"

Sunny is interrupted by a shout from behind us. "You idiot!"

The girls shrink back, Lynn cowering against Sunny. I turn to see Lucy stalking towards me, her face red with anger.

"You said you'd be right behind me – not that you would throw yourself at the danger!"

"Lucy, calm down." I raise my hand. "I'm fine. Nothing happened."

"Yes, and you don't have yourself to thank for that!" she snaps back. Then she turns her attention to the girls behind me. As soon as she sees the terror on their faces, her own expression softens. She drops down next to me.

"Hello. I'm Lucy. Sorry if my shouting scared you. Sometimes it's the only thing this lummox will hear."

Sunny offers a tentative smile. "I-It's okay."

"Lucy, this is Sunny, and this is Lynn. They're from District 7."

"Oh! You two must be exhausted! How long have you been out here?"

"Three weeks," Sunny answers. "We couldn't – they were going to split us apart. We had to leave."

"Daddy died," Lynn whispers. "The mean lady said Sunny wasn't old enough, that she couldn't take care of both of us."

Sunny tightens her arms around Lynn. "I wasn't going to let them separate us. We're all we have left."

My heart breaks at the sorrow on their faces. "I'm glad you were able to get out."

"When was the last time you ate?" Lucy asks, her eyes and mouth pinched with sympathy.

"Two mornings ago." Sunny swallows. "We were able to find some nuts."

I shake my head. "That won't do. Come on. Lucy, will you get some things for them?"

"Of course. Here." She passes me her bow and the arrows from her quiver. "Do you have –"

"Yes, it's in my pack," I say, pulling out the flint and tinder box that Mr. Nicholas had given me a few years ago. "I'll meet you back at the lake."

"Is it okay?" Sunny asks as Lucy runs off. "Is it safe?"

"As safe as you get out here. The Peacekeepers never come out this far. Come on. Lucy and I will have food for you two started here shortly."

I guide them back to where Lucy and I had been sitting just a short time ago. They sit shoulder to shoulder. Sunny's gaze flits from place to place, never staying still for very long, always looking for danger, and Lynn stays tucked against her side, one hand clenching Sunny's coat tightly as if she's scared that at any moment she will be pulled away. I busy myself with building a fire for when Lucy returns.

"Lucy won't be very long," I reassure them. "She's really good at finding things to eat out here. Her mum's a healer so she knows her stuff."

Lynn gazes at the kindling I had gathered as the sparks I am making take. "Is – is it safe to have a fire?"

I nod. "We're all safe out here. The Peacekeepers never leave town. We don't have to worry."

"How can you be sure?" Sunny questions, eyes slanting in apprehension, her tone sharp.

Who can blame her? Three weeks on the run – with a younger sister to watch out for – is enough to drive anyone to paranoia. Add on top of that hunger – I don't doubt that she's been giving Lynn most of the food they've been able to find. I'm surprised she's still standing, honestly.

"I've been hunting out here for six years and have never seen one Peacekeeper. The Peacekeepers here are lazy. They don't like doing any work they don't absolutely have to. It's okay. You can relax. You're safe. Lucy and I won't let anything happen to you."

Slowly – oh, so slowly – I watch as the tension leaks out of Sunny as the moments pass. As that happens, Lynn becomes more and more relaxed as well. By the time I've got the fire nice and roaring, they are blinking their eyes more and more and leaning more heavily against each other. Lynn looks seconds from sleep. Sunny keeps forcing her eyes to stay open, opening them wide for a few seconds before gravity begins to win once more.

"It's okay," I whisper, not wanting to startle Lynn. "You can sleep if you want. I'll keep watch."

Lynn starts, using the hand not wrapped around Lynn to rub her eyes. "No. I'm okay. Thanks, though."

I frown, but don't argue. I can't blame Sunny for not trusting me. If I was in her position, I wouldn't trust anyone either.

Lucy comes back around fifteen minutes later. Her arms and quiver are full of wild asparagus, cattail heads and roots, dandelion greens, and several leeks. She's also grabbed the old pot that we store on the other side of the lake for days when hunting takes longer than normal. She dumps everything by the fire then smiles at Sunny.

"Everything might be a little bland, but these are all I could find. I'm sorry we don't have more to give, but if you eat enough, you'll fill right up, and there's more where this came from if we run out."

Sunny shakes her head, tears in her eyes. "It's more than we expected. Thank you – both of you."

I smile. "It's our pleasure. We'll have this ready in just a bit."

Granted, it takes longer than "just a bit," but eventually Lucy and I have everything cooked and ready to be eaten. Sunny wakes Lynn up, and they tuck into the food hesitantly at first. A few mouthfuls later though, they are eating as if their lives depend on it. Which, for the last three weeks, they probably did.

Finally, they slow down until Lynn is just nibbling on a few cattail roots and Sunny has completely stopped.

"So," I begin looking at Sunny. She looks back at me, her gaze guarded. "Where are you going to?" I wince. That had come out a bit harsher than I intended. "I mean, you can't stay out here indefinitely. Are you planning on trying to sneak into one of the other districts?"

"We're going to District 13!" Lynn pipes up. She bounces a bit in her place next to Sunny, and her eyes light up in a way I haven't seen since we met.

District 13 – the words echo through my mind. Everyone in all the districts knows the story of 13. Everyone knows how they became almost too powerful. It had been our nuclear district – responsible for weapon production and radioactive substances. The people there had begun rebelling against the directives of the Capitol. They began forming their own laws and customs – ignoring the "thou shalts" from the leaders in the Capitol.

Of course, the Capitol hadn't liked that. And so, late one night in the middle of fall, they had struck. No one is entirely sure what happened that night, but everyone knows what the aftermath was. A new video showing the ruins of the District – the charred homes and smoking remains – is shown each year during the Games. It is to remind us, in addition to watching our children be slaughtered, what happens to those who dare act out against the Capitol.

"District 13?" Lucy says. "There's nothing there. We've all seen the videos. What are you hoping to find?"

Sunny bites her lip.

"Tell them!" Lynn encourages, nudging her sister.

"There are rumors," Sunny begins slowly after a minute. "Whispers all over District 7. They say that there are survivors in 13. That enough of a warning went out before the Capitol got there, that some people were able to make it into the bunkers. Now people say if you can reach 13, the survivors will take you in – hide you. People say it's become a stronghold against the Capitol."

My heart gives a leap at those words. A stronghold against the Capitol? If this is true… Oh, Aslan let it be true! If it is, if I can get there, maybe they can help me. I can't imagine they are good friends of the Capitol. If there are survivors, there couldn't be that many. And they all had to have lost friends and family in the attack all those years ago.

13 was our weapons creator district. Those there had enough pull that the Capitol became scared of them. Did any of those weapons survive? If there were people and weapons, there might be enough to at least start an uprising. They'd have to have ways to keep under the Capitol's radar.

I am pulled from my ruminations by Sunny shifting and a log in the fire breaking apart with a crack. I jump slightly and refocus on the girls sitting in front of me.

"Thank you for the fire," Sunny whispers. "And thank you for the food. But we need to get moving. There's still some daylight and we need to use it."

"Oh, but you can't!" Lucy exclaims.

"Why not?" Sunny snarls. The defensiveness and fear at the beginning of our meeting are back in her eyes.

"It's almost dusk. You won't get very far. And you are both worn down. You need a place to rest and regain your strength before you continue. As Peter has probably told you, the Peacekeepers here don't care what we do – not really, as long as we don't attract their notice. We have –" she swallows. "We have an empty bed at my house that you guys can use – at least for tonight. My mum won't mind having extra guests. She's a healer and never turns anyone away. You'd be warm and safe and could get a full meal."

"There's no danger," I reassure Sunny. "Lucy and I know how to get in and out without notice. You could stay as long as you wanted and then leave when you were ready. If you don't want to stay with Lucy, we have a bed at our house as well. My mum's not a healer, but she's a wonderful cook."

Lynn looks up at Sunny who is biting her lip. "Please, Sunny. It's been forever since we've slept in a bed."

"I don't know. Are you sure it's safe?"

"Perfectly safe. We both go hunting quite regularly," Lucy says with a smile.

We all sit in silence while Sunny thinks. She spends five minutes just looking at Lynn and chewing on her lip. Finally, she takes a deep breath.

"All right. We'll come with you. Thank you for your offer. I know how dangerous it is."

I shake my head. "We don't need thanks. We wouldn't leave you out here."

"Lots of people would," Sunny murmurs.

"But we aren't lots of people," Lucy answers, her smile widening. "It's just the two of us. Now, come on! We'll take you back home now. Maybe we can even get you two a bath."

That gets Sunny's eyes to sparkle.

We make quick work of dismantling the camp. We put out the fire and get rid of the rubbish from the food we have eaten. Then, Lucy and I shoulder our weapons, and we start heading back to town.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8