Autumn's Fall

IV. What Became of the Children

"Angus! My feet hurt!"

For not the last time that night, Angus rolled his eyes. "We can't carry you, Sophia! You knew what you were getting into when you said you were coming! You've got to keep going!"

Sophia's tear-streaked face could barely be seen in the darkness, the soft light of the full moon illuminating their path. Fortunately, it was light enough that, once their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they could make their way forward on the road without flashlights.

They had been making their way along the road for what seemed like ages. All of the children avoided looking at their watches to see how long it really had been. For when one keeps track of time, it is almost unvaryingly shorter than thought and the journey twice as long for one's trouble. They had no set time they needed to be anywhere anyway so they had all decided to not keep track of it.

Even so, both of the older children realized that Sophia couldn't go on forever. But both also were in silent agreement that they had not made it as far from the hotel as they would have liked.

Their exit had taken place just as they had planned. And though their nerves were worse for wear, they'd made it through the lobby, out past the parking lot, and into the wild without being discovered. They had ditched their wet things, and after a thorough drying off with all their nabbed towels, they'd changed into their hiking clothes and were off on their adventure to reach their home.

What awaited them, none of them knew, although the older two were decidedly more excited about whatever awaited them than their little sister. Poor Sophia was already starting to regret demanding to come along. She promised herself that the next time they wanted to go off on an adventure, no matter how glorious or exciting it sounded at the time, she was going to skip it.

It was a long night for them all, and the moon was starting to descend when Angus finally called for a stop. All could hear the sound of water trickling through the woods ahead of them and finally saw the first landmark on their map: a small stream with a bridge passing over it. This is where they had hoped to stop the first night and all were very glad when they saw they had reached it. Going to the stream they walked down its edge a little ways until they found a place to the side that fit their fancy.

Cecilia lowered her pack and untied a small pop tent from the side. She and Angus set about putting it up as quickly as they could, using the smallest flashlight they had to keep the light dim. Even from this far off the road, they wanted to take as few chances of being spotted as possible. Sophia set to work untying and rolling out their bedding. Thankfully the nights were still warm enough but the early morning hours would be quite chilly.

With the tent in place, they huddled inside their cramped quarters and zipped the tent shut. All made sure to drink a little water to tide them over till morning. They dared not open the food packets for fear of attracting any unwanted company, then settled down to sleep.

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A/N Okay, this one was a little slow, but it's gonna pick up!

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