Six (Countdown book 1)

Chapter 4

When I woke up, Scarlett was already making breakfast. Tony was still asleep, muttering to himself and tossing and turning. I realised that Scarlett had transferred her jacket back over to me at some point. I stood up and took it over to her. "Thanks." she muttered, taking it from me and putting it on. There was an awkward silence between us. 

"Um, about last night..." I began. 

"It's okay, Eli. Just forget about it." Scarlett said. She was cooking porridge over a small fire, staring intently into the flames. 

"Do you need me to do anything?" I asked.

"You could go wake Tony up, if you don't mind." she replied. I nodded and walked back over to the tent. Tony was still muttering to himself. 

"Hey, Idiot." I said, smiling. "Get up." Tony groaned reluctantly, and muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'Go away kid'.

"Come on, Scarlett's making breakfast." 

"Scarlett... breakfast..." Tony mumbled almost incoherently. He turned over and fell back asleep. 

"He's a really heavy sleeper!" I called out to Scarlett.

"I know." she said. "Just poke him with a stick or something." 

I did as I was told, and pocked Tony with a stick. He just groaned again and mumbled "Bad dead squirrel,". I flicked him in the head. 

"Come on, get up Idiot. Breakfast." I said. 

"Fine!" Tony grumbled. "I'm getting up. Just give me like five minutes." he rolled over and started snoring. 

"I give up." I said, walking back over to Scarlett. She poured the porridge into three bowls. 

"I'll get him up." she sighed. I sat down at started eating my breakfast and watched with amusement as Scarlett tried to coax Tony into getting up. Eventually, she just slapped him on the back of the head.

"Fine!" he said again, sitting up. "I'm up! Are you happy now?"

"Yes." Scarlett said, smiling. "Now hurry up and eat your breakfast. Wyatt and Ben are expecting us back by six." 

Tony came over and sat next to me, and began eating his porridge. His morning face really wasn't pretty. His hair was all over the place and he looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He put his sunglasses on and I wondered if he was going to fall asleep behind them. When we'd finished, me and Tony were sent to pack away the stuff, and dispose of all evidence that we'd been here. Scarlett cleaned out the saucepan, bowls and spoons and packed them away in her bag. 

"Ready?" she asked. We nodded and set off north. I wondered how the two of them knew the way without a map or compass or anything, but they never even hesitated, turning and changing direction with certainty. I guess after living in the woods for five and six years, you got used to it's layout. 

"Those guys chasing us on the train," I said suddenly. "Who were they?" 

"They're a small group of the government's best military service agency called Elemental Hunters. They call us the Elementals, because of our abilities with the six Elements, and we call them the Hunters, because that's what they are." Tony said. 

We continued hiking. Neither Tony nor Scarlett seemed to notice how hot it was. I supposed Scarlett was used to being that hot and Tony was cooling himself down without even thinking about it. That didn't help me. I could feel sweat patches forming through my school shirt, and my black leather shoes did no favours for my feet. 

I took the set of keys out of my pocket and studied them closely as I walked. I ran my finger across the jagged edge, back and forth in time with our footsteps. After half an hour or so, I had memorized the key's crooks, dips and peaks. After another half an hour or so, the metal got so hot that I thought it might start deforming, so I put it back in my pocket.