The Life of the Campbells'

The Life of the Campbells'- Part2

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday but something personal happened in my family and I couldn't make it to the computer. But it's here now! (: Enjoy~

-Lisa-

Lisa felt as if her lungs were going to explode. Buster was out picking berries and found a big bush. He went and got her; showing her the berries, they started to pick them. They made one mistake: the bush was right outside a coyote's den. Buster was too loud and woke the coyotes. Lisa and Buster were running for their lives, literally. Lisa saw a cliff with a waterfall and made the same decision Molly did: jump.

"Buster! Jump!" Lisa cried. Buster saw the cliff and looked at his tired mother. He trusted her so he nodded. They reached the cliff, grabbed hands, and jumped into the unknown.

-Molly-

Molly was starting to miss her mother and brother. Sure, climbing hills, eating raccoons over an open fire, sleeping in trees, and having her life being jeopardized 24/7 was fun and all, but she wanted to see them.

"John, can we please get a move on? I need to get out of this forest, at least!" Molly yelled desperately at John. He was picking up nuts and some blackberries for "on the go".

"Hold on, I'm almost done. If you want out of the forest, just go right. You will be on a road headed for Bakersville in a few yards." Just then, John popped a few berries in his mouth. Molly looked over and could see dirt instead of green. She looked back at John and sighed.

"All right, see ya. If you wanna come, come on!" Molly yelled. She made her point; now she headed for the road. John put all his findings in a bag and ran after her.

"Geez, Ms. Bossy..." John whispered under his breath as he caught up.

"No, just trying to get to where I need to go. You are just slowing me down," Molly responded the moment before John tripped over a log, "Exhibit A."

John scoffed and picked himself back up.

They were entering Bakersville and could see people moving around on the streets. A wagon was coming up behind them so Molly moved one way, while John moved the other.

"Hello, you two. Do you need a ride into town?" said a young woman with cherry red hair and freckles.

"Sure, thanks," Molly answered, "you comin' Mr. Lovestruck?" John was frozen and staring at the girl; mouth open, eyes wide. He was drooling a little bit, too. John just nodded and climbed onto the wagon. Molly motioned that he had drool and John wiped it off immediately. He changed his expression from love shock to charmer.

"Well hello there..." he waited for a name.

"Jane."

"Ah, Jane. I'm John. I live in the woods." He winked and smiled smugly. Jane stared and burst out laughing.

"Well, 'John from the woods', I'm married," Jane held up her hand and a golden band shined in the sun, "for five months now."

Blush spread across John's face like wildfire and he looked at the small town, "Well, we better get going." Jane and Molly just laughed and they headed to town.

-Lisa-

"Wake up, Buster. We got to go. It's dawn." Lisa shook Buster lightly and his eyes cracked open a little bit.

"Do we have 'ta?" Buster asked sleepily.

"Come on, baby." Lisa lifted Buster up. Since he was only five years old, he weighed about sixty pounds, "I will carry you and you can sleep, okay?"

"Okay..." Buster fell back asleep instantly. She slid him onto her left side and he laid his head her shoulder. Lisa headed out and tried to think of where Molly would go. She is full of adventure; known to make quick, unexpected decisions. How was she going to find Molly if she didn't know where she was going? Lisa sighed and just went in a random direction. About a mile later, her arms felt like they were about to fall off her body and Buster was still asleep. She kept walking until her arms couldn't do it anymore. That's when Lisa spotted a small log cabin in between two trees.

"Thank you, God..." Lisa whispered as she opened the door. She spotted a bed and laid Buster on it and tucked him in. she found a table with fruit in a bowl. Lisa quietly walked over and picked up an apple. As she bit into it, she closed her eyes; happy to eat something besides oats or bread. She glanced over at Buster and looked around the cabin. The fireplace still had some flammable wood in it, the bed, table, boxes, and a small bag. Lisa made her way to the little bag and flipped the top over to look inside. It was Molly's drawing tools. Lisa gasped and sat on the floor. She noticed there were a lot of drawings in the notepad next to the bag. As she pulled them out, she saw drawings of Buster, trees, flowers, hay bales, sunsets, herself, and a few abstract chalk pictures of multiple shades of colors. Buster rustled around in the bed and he saw Lisa sitting on the floor.

"Mama?" Buster asked dreamily.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I'm hungry."

"All right. Hold on." Lisa put everything back the way it was and stood up. She spotted a box on the counter and opened it. She saw a few cans of assorted vegetables and a box or two of corn flakes. She asked which one he preferred and handed the corn flakes to him. Buster grabbed a handful and tossed it all into his mouth. Even though he wasn't done chewing, he went for another handful.

"Buster, don't eat so fast."

"But we got to find Shishy." Buster mumbled through the crumbs.

"We will find her, don't worry. Just eat, okay?" Lisa asked as she wiped a hair out of Buster's face. Buster nodded and picked up less flakes. He finished chewing his food before he started eating his next handful.

-Molly-

"So, if we give you a loaf of bread, you will give us your first-aid kit?" John asked the elderly man.

"Ye-yesss." The elder responded. His missing teeth gave his words a hiss. John thought about it, tossing the bread from hand to hand. Meanwhile, Molly was in the restroom washing mud off her clothes from the wagon that drove by splashing the mud on her.

"What's in the kit?" John asked. The man opened up the kit to reveal bandages, stitching materials, gauze, and a few other knick-knacks. John knew this was a deal. He handed over the loaf and took the kit. They nodded goodbye and walked separate ways.

"What did you just do?" It was Molly. John turned to his left and looked at her, "I traded with someone. It was a great deal."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"What is that?"

"My result from the trade. A first aid kit."

"For what?"

"A loaf of bread."

She paused and started walking slowly toward him with the "look" in her eyes, "You did what? With my bread?"

"Uh... oh..."

"Yeah, you bet, uh oh! That bread was handmade by my mother! I was saving that!"

"You're overreacting. It's only bread." He whispered. She glared at him and he regretted what he said instantly. She walked over to him and took his compass off of his belt.

"Hey! Give that back!" John yelled as Molly started waving it in the air.

"Compass for trade! Who needs a compass?" Molly ran into a Trading Route store and went to the counter, "What can I get for this?" a young man looked at her and looked at the compass.

"All kinds of things. I will check with my father." He walked into the back and John barged in.

"What do you think you're doing??" John demanded. He stomped over to Molly and snatched the compass from her hands.

"I was going to trade it like you did with my stuff. How does it feel?" Molly went to get it again but John was faster and yanked it back and put it in his back pocket.

'Molly, this compass was given to me by my father. This is all I have of him. He died last year. Why else would I hide in a forest all alone?" Molly felt terrible for taking it now. Molly still had her mom and she got mad over bread.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was overreacting." Molly took a step forward and thought for a minute. She was never good at soft topics. Making up her mind, she hugged him.

"John, let's go before that guy comes back to a very awkward scene in his store."

"Yeah. Sure." John cleared his throat and walked out. Molly followed as she thought of her mother.