Lost But Not Forgotten (NaNoWriMo 2013)

11.

We stay there the whole day and rest, we were all worried because we had only packed enough food and supplies to last us a week and we knew we'd need them for more than a week; there was a very low chance anything would be left from the bombing.

I was still in shock after that, how did they find the village? And after six years? I thought they would have give up by now. None of us had lunch, we needed to preserve as much food as possible, the whole day everyone was silent, we were all grieving for our loved ones, I was sure there wouldn't have been any survivors, the attack came too suddenly.

That evening, Jesse finally broke the quietness by standing up and speaking. I was lying on Cameron, his warm cosy hands wrapped around my fragile body, his face was inches from mine but we were too tired and depressed to do anything.

"Okay, it's getting dark. I'm going to the town to check if anything is left. I want you all to stay here and make shelter" He stood up, rubbing his frozen hands together. Almost everyone was listening intently, we all just wanted something to happen, something to do so we can distract ourselves from death. I was about to object to Jesse going alone but I thought it was best I stay here because I'm the most experienced survivalist after Jesse, also, he could be left to grieve on his own, he was close to more people than any of us kids were.

As Jesse sets off towards the darkness, I untangle myself from Cameron's arms, he was snoring softly almost like a pur. I resisted waking him up, he deserved to have a rest after what's happened today. Several other kids were asleep but the majority of the older ones stood up to help me. We all yawned and stretched our tired muscles, it had been such an eventful day.

I started off with up the jobs. I was making a fire along with Andy, who was a sixteen year old with a lot of experience while Virginia prepared our dinner, carefully rationing it as much as she could and Jenny who was fourteen set to laying out our beds and things. Andy went to gather some twigs and stones while I fetched the lighter.

By the time I retrieved the matches, Andy had already found the perfect fire spot and layer out everything, the kid was fast. I decided that I should light it, I didn't want to risk him getting burnt, no offense towards him but he was kind of a wimp. I took out a match and lit it, carefully throwing it onto the twigs, luckily it caught fire and I successfully lit my three hundredth camp fire, it was that easy.

When the fire had been lit, I woke up the rest of the kids and Cameron, we all set to work and in half an hour we had all our sleeping bags lied out, the chicken was ready to cook and Cameron had fetched some logs for us to sit around the fire on. It had been forty five minutes since Jesse had left, it would be at least another hour before he returned, we all agreed to save a large amount of chicken for him as a reward.

The sky was almost completely dark now and the chilly wind stung any skin left in the open, this was the one thing I hated about Alaska, the icy winter nights, two years ago, some silly kid had gotten frost bite on his toes after refusing to wear shoes; he had to get both his feet amputated, after hearing that story, I've worn socks everywhere I go every since, even in the warm summer months.

The fire warmed our hands and fingers as we ate the freshly cooked chicken we had brought a long with us as a treat, I was going to save it for another day but I figured we could all use some cheering up. Cameron sat close to me and I felt the heat radiating off his face and onto mine, I edged in closer until I was almost sitting on top of him.

Fifteen minutes later our bellies were bursting and we were all full, I had managed to run to the lake and break the ice, grabbing a bucket full of water; I know we all would have preferred hot chocolate but it was the best we could do. Everyone was relaxed and had retreated to their sleeping bags but I sat there next to Cameron, tensed up, chewing my finger nails off one by one and eagerly waited for Jesse to return. Cameron knew how stressed I was and he massaged my shoulders and I instantly felt so much better.

Tiredly, I rested my heavy head on his shoulders and watched the fire dance and burn while thinking about the hard days to come.
I lifted my head up a bit and stared into my boyfriends big blue eyes, they were sparkling in the light from the fire so they had a bit of a red glow to them. I struggled a smile and I pecked him on the lips, I wasn't in the mood for anything more, not when I fully know that my brother was out there in the open and could be in grave danger.

"Do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?" I asked Cameron, I didn't want to feel lonely and he was one of the only people who made me feel loved when I was close to him. It was hard to think that such a loving person could have survived such an apocalypse.

"Yes, I'd love you to" He grinned and gave me another half hearted kiss. "Oh and only if you do not snore like a full grown horse" he joked and I couldn't hold in my giggles and laughed like a complete idiot. Everyone turned their heads to us and I whispered an apology to being so loud. I looked at Beth, cradling herself in Jesse's sleeping bag, how cute I thought. Most of the other kids were reading a few books that they were allowed to bring with them even though you could barely see in the warm glow of the fire, it was about 7:30 now.

We all fell silent and I dropped my head again and watched Cameron's magnificent eyes stare into mine.