Lost Memories

Chapter 6 - Alice

Alice's POV

I woke with the flutter and chirping of the most colourful birds as they perched and flew in and out of the trees. They were different shades of greens, whites and reds as the sunlight shone through the deep green needles and leaves.

Rolling over I caught sight of Annabelle sleeping peacefully to my left. I stretched and rolled in the opposite direction, stretching, but then looked back over at Annie to see someone else was with us, just behind her. I scrambled to my feet, only to remember it was Onix, the cocky but mysterious boy we had met yesterday. He was also asleep as far as I could tell; looks like he couldn't stay up all night either. His light blonde hair hanging over his slim face and his hazel eyes, which were shut. I smiled to myself and then looked at Annabelle, no harm had come to her during the night, so I thought I could finally trust the stranger we had met just the day before. The fire was gone; all that was left was ashes and the bones of the meat we had eaten yesterday. I started to admire the scenery and the wood around us, wanting to see more, so I started to walk to the edge of the clearing to watch the birds when a voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Going somewhere?"

"No where in particular. I was just going to watch the birds. I was going to climb the tree so I could get a better view and watch out for guards at the same time. Join me?" I start to climb up one of the closest trees and he followed after me. When I think we are high enough, I sat on a thick branch that I thought would hold both our weights and slid across the bark to make room for him. I took a look at the view as he sat down. Feeling his eyes on me, I sighed and turned to face him.

"What?" I asked, giving him a questioning look.

"Nothing, it's just the way you look at everything, makes me wonder what was running through that head of yours when you first saw the outside world. The only place you have never known, just suddenly there. It must be so weird for you."

"Yeah, it kind of is. It's going to take a lot of getting used to not just seeing the four walls of that room." I said with a sigh. "But just being out here makes me forget I was ever rotting in that cell."

"I think we should wake Annie up. We need to get a move on if we're going to reach home before lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of hungry right now." He frowns, "I have no idea what I'm going to tell the rest of the guys. Instead of getting food, I got two girls; I think I'm going to need some help explaining, not all of them are going to like it, mind you."

We climbed down from the tree, he went first then I followed after. Once I was back on land I ran over to Annabelle and gently shook her awake.

"Hey Annie, it's time to wake up. Onix is going to take us to his camp so we can have some more food. Are you up for that?" I murmured letting her wake up slowly. Her eyes fluttered open and rested on me. She nodded then got up, stretching her arms and legs, her bones cracked in the process.

"Well then, let's get a move on." She said.

Onix led us through the trees and over a hill, we stopped by a river for a bit to bathe and wash the dirt and mud off of us from sleeping on the forest floor last night. Annie stuck close to Onix as we walked, asking him questions about all sorts, mostly personal questions, which he had always answered very vaguely. I had caught his eye once or twice as he had looked at me in sneak glances, but he always looked away once our eyes met. After about four hours or so of walking, mostly in silence on my part, Onix came to a stop in front of a cliff. There was a tunnel that led deep into the cliff-side that stood before us, like the opening tunnel to a rabbits burrow that we seen multiple times during the journey here. The sun was right above us now, it's heat radiated through the clearing around the cliff, causing sweat bead up on our foreheads.