Chasing the Sky

Chapter 4- Welcome to Hooverville

He woke up with first one itch on his forearm, and once that itch was satisfied he began to notice one on his nose, then on his knee, and on his forehead. Perplexed, he raised his fists to his eyes and rubbed until the fatigue was washed away, and bolted upright with an electrical force.

He had forgotten the events of last night - or was it early this morning? His mind was too foggy, much like the morning he was slouching in the middle of. All that remained in Humphrey's memory was sneaking out of this house, and the rest was a dream, wasn't it?

Humphrey felt as if a magnet was pulling his body back to the soft dewy ground of the forest floor. He could hear a nest of baby birds above him yelping for their morning meal. Even through squinted eyelids, the sun shone bright and kissed Humphrey softly on the cheek. He strained to keep his eyes open to the temptation of falling back asleep. Yet he knew that it was better to get an early start than to have to work late, as Mr. Carter always told him in reference to their family farm.

Humphrey dragged his torso upright, his spine crackling like splintered wood. His eyes eventually focused on what was in front of him; Emily.
She was working away at a fire, the meat of a small critter suspended over it by a hair ribbon and a tree branch. Its skin was tossed to the side, and a platter of bread and cheese that Humphrey had packed from their house was arranged next to it.

"It's about time you're up," Her soft, angelic voice said in a tone that Humphrey was surprised by, "I made you some food. I've already had mine."

Humphrey only stared blankly, taking turns between the girl and the squirrel.

"How did you... kill it?" He gulped.

"Oh, just with some weapons I made."

She nodded in the direction of a pile of a bow and a dozen arrows made from sticks, one shiny with red at the tip.

Humphrey continued to gawk at his sister. He finally gave up trying to figure her out and happily filled his mouth with the food she had prepared.

The squirrel was surprisingly rich and tasteful, especially since he was famished. Emily watched him eat with that same smirk on her face.

"I say we head over to town at lunch and set up camp there. If we are on schedule, we can make it there by sundown and rest."

"Uh-uh." Humphrey managed between mouthfuls, shaking his head. "This was my plan. I get to be the leader."

Emily smiled slyly and slowly slipped Humphreys breakfast plate away from him and towards her. "Have it your way."

Humphrey understood the implicit message and heaved an exasperated sigh. "Okay."

By the time Humphrey and Emily had scavenged the rest of the squirrels, berries, nuts, and rabbits that they could capture, the sun dangled directly above their heads, indicating noon.

They packed up what was sprawled out on the pine floor - though there wasn't much - and placed their meals into a separate carrier that Emily had brought along. Humphrey was too embarrassed to say it, but he probably wouldn't have made it without her.

Emily led the way; she seemed to know where she was going. Humphrey dawdled around behind her, stepping inside of her imprinted footsteps that she left behind in the wet soggy mud, though he had to take long strides to keep up with her longer figure. His mind began to stray away, as he often found it did. For the first time since he left the house, he wondered about his family back at home. They would all certainly have been up for a good amount of time, especially Papa who worked the fields before dawn. Mama would probably have been the first to realize their absence, since she is the one to wake them all for school on Monday mornings.

Humphrey knew that Mrs. Carter would be worried sick by now, considering the overprotective nature that she possesses. Suddenly, he felt guilty for leaving her to worry, but he reminded himself that he was doing this for her.

He shook his mind of this negative thoughts and distracted himself by pretending he was a cowboy, traveling the Wild, Wild West to capture a bandit and save the day.

A clicking, chortling noise interrupted Humphrey's daydreaming. He looked up, and his eyes met a strange machine. It was long, and had a snout at the front like a hounds. It was rusty and busted and sat upon four flat wagon wheels. He wasn't sure how it was even in working condition, until he noticed that there were mules harnessed to the knob below the grill, and they were hauling it along with the sick looking man inside of it.

"Is that a - car?" Humphrey had never seen one before in person.

"I don't know." Emily replied.

The Hoover Wagon passed by, and behind it was a rural looking setting; cracked sidewalks, a building that looked half-collapsed, and most prominently, a row of homeless men, women, and children.

Gaunt, malnourished children peeked out from makeshift teepees made of sheets hung from clotheslines. A man presented his family with a bowl of Hoover Stew, and they stumbled over one another, fighting to scoop up the liquids with their dirty hands.

He scanned the streets, horrified to see that the same went for the other residents of the sidewalk. He looked up at Emily. Her expression was blank, her face was pale and she had been holding her breath without realizing it. Humphrey was thinking the same thing as she was. This was going to be their life from now on, at least for a while. They had given up the comfort of home to live on the streets, and it was too late to go back now.

Emily swallowed her regrets, and took a long, slow stride forward into their new home, and Humphrey followed.

It was strange how different it felt to belong in the streets rather than be a trespasser of the streets. But now they knew what it felt like to be stared at and mocked by commuters.