OVERPOPULAS

Chapter 29

"Don't forget to pack some extra water!" I heard Jesse yell from across the kitchen. "We'll need it."

"Will do!" I respond back as I pause my packing and head over into the kitchen with a thermos in my hands. Walking to the sink and unscrewing the cap as I put it under the faucet. I turned on the water and filled it to the brim.

"We don't want another incident to happen again." Jesse said.

"Yeah, still sorry about that." I said. "Should've known." I gave a little chuckle at the end.

"Don't sweat it. You act like we lost everything. It's still your fault though."

"Yeah yeah I know."

"I'm just a little tough on you sometimes. It's never a big deal."

I started to laugh quietly under my breath.

"What's so funny?" She inquired.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it."

"No, I want to know."

"It's just that, well, I didn't think I'd ever get to talk to you like this."

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"The first time I saw you, you were all mysterious and shit. Like just sitting in the corner and keeping to yourself. Now that you've tagged along and such, knowing that you're not that type of person anymore really amazes me. It's crazy how much something can change in just the span of months, hell days even. I would say that we've basically swapped personalities. I remember I was more outgoing than anyone else there, more naive. Not saying you are. You definitely have more experience with this world than I do."

"I'd say that's an understatement. I've driven everything I know from being in an orphanage for the majority of my life."

"Was it terrible?"

"It's more of a prison than an orphanage."

"Damn."

"Surprised you guys haven't left yet." William barged in our conversation. "You both do know you're supposed to return before it gets dark."

"We know." Jesse said. "Just having a little chat. Come on Lee, let's get going."

"Right." I said. I grabbed my filled thermos and walked back into the living room where I finished packing my backpacks with the essentials.

A gun, knife, some leftover pieces of sliced meat as a road snack, thermos, a map of the local area, and a journal with a black pen. We use the journal to mark down details of the surrounding forest. Important facts like what kind of animals are seen trotting along the trail. Any suspicious activity, like if there's any people seen out there or man made animal traps.

Neatly strapping everything together, me and Jesse said our goodbyes to everyone as we left the farm. I made sure to lock the gate before we both disappeared into the trail that led all the way back to the city.

"Now." Jesse said. "Back when I told you about the orphanage. It's actually a good thing Will cut me off back there, I almost revealed my secret."

"Oh yeah. That would be a catastrophe if they found out you were Runasi's daughter." I said.

"Don't say it out loud, we're barely away from the farm."

"Sorry." I lowered my tone.

We waited until the whole house was out of sight.

"Now, we can talk freely." Jesse said. "That orphanage was a hellhole."

"I can imagine." Lee said. "It's not like the schools were any better. Kids would be constantly picked on or abused, and it wasn't just by the other kids. Some teachers would whack some students into shape if you got the answer wrong. Pretty brutal. I remember this one kid was slammed into a locker and was forced to stay in there for the rest of the school day."