The next day go worse with every step. We were chained to the rear of the last wagon. We had to deal with more dust than anyone. The kids in the cages got dusty as well, but at least they could turn their backs to it. I found that staying really close to the wagon, squinting my eyes, and covering my nose and mouth with my unchained hand, and keeping my head down helped a little. Most of the time, me and Cole had to maintain a fast walking pace to keep up with the wagon. The mounted guards wouldn't let them hold onto the bars, but we stayed close enough to tough them. Up inclines the wagon went slower, and on declines it went faster. The land remain more or less level, with no major hills or valleys.
By the time the stopped for lunch, I had felt hungrier and thirstier than I ever had before, and I could tell Cole felt the same. My shirt and shorts had turned brown from the dust. My mouth tasted like it tried to eat the prairie.
The wagon formed a loose circle while they ate. Me and Cole sat together, not talking because of how dry our mouths were. I dusted of my shirt, the brown turning back to grey.
Most of the kids in the wagon avoided j contact with us. Nobody tried to toss us any food, because they didn't want to end up with us, chained to the wagon. I didn't blame them.
Dalton and Jenna were in the furthest wagons, I knew they would toss us food if they had been closer. I tried to smile when they would look at us, but I'm pretty sure it looked more like a grimace.
The wagon started rolling again, and my legs felt stiff and cramped. Maybe resting hadn't been the best idea.
When the wagon started moving, I didn't look at the guards. I didn't watch the kids in the cage. I didn't check the sun. I just kept my head down and trudged forward.
The afternoon grew warmer, and I was glad I got a tee shirt and shorts. Cole must have been roasting. He had pulled all the straw and arrows off his costume, but kept his hat because it kept the sun off of his face and neck.
At one point, Cole tripped and let the chain drag him for a while, but the guards yelled at him, so he had started walking again.
The manacle on my wrist hurt terribly, and I was sweating.
When the sun started to set, my head was pounding painfully, and my tongue felt swollen.
When the wagon stopped, Cole collapsed and passed out. I collapsed to the ground as well, but managed to stay awake. Ham gave me a small canteen of water, and a small roll of bread. The water was warm and metallic tasting, and the bread was stale, but it still tasted heavenly. Ham grabbed another canteen and started trickling water into Cole's mouth, followed by a little piece of bread.
"Learn your lesson yet?" Ham asked.
Cole nodded, clearly to exhausted to speak.
"What about you, princess?" I nodded, shoving small pieces of bread into my mouth.
"Want to join the rest of the slaves in the wagon?"
Cole nodded, and I said. "Yes please."
"Boss asked after you," said Ham. "Told him you probably wouldn't last another day on foot."
Me and Cole both nodded. He was probably right.
"Boss never goes easy on slaves. But you only tried. You never got away with nothin'. And you're his now. I expect he'll load you into a wagon."
Cole nodded feebly. "Hope so."
"You'll sleep here tonight. Try to get some shut-eye."
As Ham walked away, I whispered. "You okay?"
Cole looked at me, slightly smiling. "Never better." He said giving me a shaky thumbs up.
We laid down. The ground was lumpy. The camp was noisy. But falling asleep was no problem.
YOU ARE READING
The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC) BOOK 1
Fanfic12 year old, Kendal, from Mesa, Arizona, had a good life. She got good grades, had many friends, and a good family. But what happens when her and a group of kids from school go to a haunted house on Halloween and get brought to the Outskirts. There...
