The Book Of Life

Chapter Thirty- Five

There's things I hate in life more than wet socks. But when you have to walk with them for most of the day it quickly becomes annoying.

"It's your fault." Tori chuckled, "The water was higher I told you!"

"Shut up. Before I push you into the next creek." I grumbled as I pushed her towards the creek.

"Girls! Stop messing about and chuck your bags over." Arron called.

"Wait! I just thought of something. We're coming back two days early- we'd be able to sleep over at Alyx and Arron's for another day." Tori ponders out loud as she hurls her back over to Arron.

He grunted as he caught it, taking one step back on the rocky shore.

"Hold on, yeah your right!" I cried.

"It's a full moon tonight. We decided to get you guys back today before tomorrow when your all worn out." Zoya explained as she picked up a rope end.

With a leap she jumped over the creek and tied it to the tree branch lower than her knot of this side.

"Clip the bags on and push them over gently, they'll fall on they're own with gravity but they might get stuck." Nikolai grabbed a bag and strapped it to his back before grabbing two more and jumped across.

The green and yellowing leaves swayed in the gentle zephyrs of the wind as birds chirped on the tree branches. The only sound other than nature that could be heard was our footsteps and our labored breaths. Zoya and Nikolai took the lead as Jasper assumed the back incase anyone of the kids lagged behind when they got tired. I didn't mind having to occasionally pick up Sam and carry her or her pack as she played with the other kids and her siblings as we hiked back. She'd always come to me with something in her hands, eager to show me the new flower or leaf she'd found.

"God! What I would give to be an eight year old again." I sighed as I heaved another leg up the basalt rocks.

This hill had taken us around twenty minutes to descend a few days ago; half an hour to climb today. And my legs were angry with me for choosing to hike up it.

"OK! I think we can stop for lunch." Nikolai says as he drops is backpack to the round.

at his announcement I flop to the ground, sighing and earning quite a few chuckles of laughter from everyone.

"We're not that far, Katlyn." Aly giggles, offering me a hand up.

I take it, using her hand to help pull myself into a sitting position as the others sit around us.

"If it helps you's two, me or Alyx- or someone else- could take your extra bags. You guys have been hiking with the most gear." Arron offers as he passes me a ham and cheese sandwich.

My favourite. Well, I'm getting quite sick of them being in my lunch box 24/7. Mum won't even let me pack my own lunch so I can't change anything in there.

I mumble in agreement, chewing on the bite of my sandwich I just took. Out here nature can just be nature- besides a few Werewolves who camp out here once or twice a year. The thousands of species of birds fly past in their flocks formations, looking like a bunch of fighter jets or squawk from the trees. There is a never ending valley of trees with their leaves turning colours from green to yellow and brown, although they might thin out in areas it's still all natural. everything up here is free. The air is clean and fresh, free of all the city's pollution. The nature is free of all of our pollution and deforestation. I feel free up here.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" Tori mumbles around a bite of her sandwich, nudging me. "You like the view?"

I nod. "Freedom."

Tori snorts. Then freezes. "It really does feel like freedom up here, hey. No expectations, no controlling figures."

She sighs, content.

"I wish we could just live out here. No one would bother us." Arron spoke.

"Also no one would know about us. But there's a reason dad kept us in the urban area. If people did find out about us and or Werewolves don't you  think it would be easier for them to just kill us instead of having us trying to fit in to modern society?" Alyx countered her sibling.

"A society that already judges the one's who created it."

"KATLYN! I swear to god! Stop coming up with these quotes; that's like, your tenth." Tori cried.

"Hey! I can't help it most of the time. Sometimes they come to mind but most of the time I'm just spewing utter nonsense that turn out to actually makes sense!"

"But Kat's right. Why can't the world just get along?" Alyx sighed, defeatedly.

"That's the question isn't it. Why? Why can't people just get along with each other. Why can't Humans and other species live in peace?"

"Because with life there's peace and there's the people who don't want peace because it's not what they believe is right." Tori says.

"Tor, kneel so I can hand you the quote crown." I state.

she chuckles, "No!"

"Okay. You lot, don't muck up now that you've regained your energy. We still have six kilometers to the cars, then another sixty till we get home. It should take us only another two hours or so to reach the cars if we keep on track." Zoya announced to the group.

We began to hike again. Traversing through the thick foliage, streams, creeks and valleys of he Great Dividing Range. After hiking up another mountain we hoped across a stream and marched into the camping grounds we'd left from a few days ago. From there it was another grueling walk to the card that took an hour. From there the Everett siblings would switch between each other while they drove the sixty kilometers back to their home.

I swear Tori went to sleep because she was muttering to herself but her eyelids were closed and she wouldn't respond to me calling her name. Alyx stopped at the service station- the same one Arron stopped at- to refill the car with fuel and I woke Tori up so she could stretch her legs.