Gifted

Chapter 18

Rita trekked along through the endlessly flat land. Since they had started, something had happened to Rita. Her senses were sharper, and her instincts were stronger. As she walked along, lugging her bag after her, she felt renewed strength pushing her on. She felt the wind every tie it stirred, the ground every time it hanged. She could see everything in unbelievable detail, even when they were miles away. It was like the bird instincts that had been forced into her, had been woken up. It was like seeing the world for the first time. She could feel every vibration on the ground, hear every heartbeat.

 It was amazing, wonderful, and just so… fantastic. Her wings folded against her back itched to unfold. To take flight, but something made her holdback, a nagging sensation in the back of her mind. So Rita reluctantly settled for unfurling them slightly to feel the wind dance through her light brown feathers.

 Soon the cracked, neglected dirt, turned into softer soil. Then there were patches of grass. Soon there was the very faint sound of rushing water. Almost indistinguishable from the sound of buzzing insects. They walked towards it, led by Cammi. There were scattered trees here and there and with every step they grew denser, until they were walking in a small forest, the sound of water grew louder. 

They stepped over lags plagued with moss and lichen. They walked carefully over the fallen leaves and pine straw. Light filtered through the leaves, casting shadows across the forest floor. The sound of water grew louder and louder until it dominated all other sounds. Then they saw the river, the water was clear in some part, but in others there was a swirling mass of red. 

“That’s all red clay,” Cammi said “Now hop in and let’s go.”

Everyone froze and stared at her.

“You expect us to get in there?” Cole asked in disbelief, voicing all of their concerns. “It’s filthy!”

Cammi paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts with an expressionless face.

“I do expect you to get it; the current will carry us to the nearest city.” She replied with authority in her voice. 

No one objected after that, she had a good reason that no one could argue against. 

“But we’ll get muddy, and we have stuff that shouldn’t get wet!” Seth argued.

“Relax.” Cammi said, rolling her eyes at their disobedience. “I have inflatable rafts.”

There was an exhale of relief from all of them. 

“Alright,” Rita said “Then let’s go.”

“Yeah!” Amber said happily, “Let’s go swim!”

Cammi pulled out a tiny square, pushed a button, and threw it in the pond.

“Let’s get going.” Cammi said, “We have to get farther away.”

“Yeah,” Amber began “Let’s-”

There was a howl that split the air. Cold and ruthless, it was soon joined by a chorus of others.

“Wolves,” Cammi said in disbelief “Wolves don’t live here. They must be trackers from the government.”

“I got this.” Said Amber proudly. “I know how wolves think, so I can throw them off.  You guys go, I’ll catch up.”

Cammi didn’t object although everyone else wanted to. They all climbed down to the shore, there was a whoosh, and the inflated raft popped up. They put their bags in it and climbed into the raft, Amber put her bags in and promised that she would catch up later. Then she ran back into the forest, disappearing from view almost immediately. There were barks coming from the shoreline, growing closer and closer with each passing second. Rita could hear Amber walking silently through the woods, treading carefully. Then she heard the soldiers, walking after the dogs, searching for them. She hears the almost inaudible rattle of the ammo in their guns. Rita climbed into the raft, it shook every time someone moved. So they all found a comfortable position and stayed where they were.