Only You Can Save Me (SkyDoesMinecraft Fanfic) <Watty Award's 2014>

Chapter 18 {Almost Home}

We've been walking for several days, almost two weeks, actually. All of us are obviously exhausted, because we don't want to stop, so we haven't slept for a few days. At the beginning we ran to make better time; the sooner in the safe haven, the sooner we get warm and have proper food. We've crossed through Oregon and are in Nevada, almost to Arizona. We've been running low on food lately, depending only on a box of Balance bars we found in an abandoned gas station a few days ago. We haven't run into any trouble, so the gun has been left unused. The guys explained they had kept us tied up in case they saw another group, so they could appear dangerous so they'd be left alone. Really, they were all college students, in their twenties, real nice ones, too. They were just trying to get back home to family in Arizona. Right now we're about five miles from the Arizona border.

I nibble a bit off the end of my bar, a "Cookie Dough" one, as we walk. My eyes feel heavy, and my steps are sluggish. I take heavy breaths and take a drink of the melted snow in my water bottle. We can't stop moving, not when we're this close. Everyone else is struggling along, just as tired as me, and I feel Xander's weight on my shoulder. I have more energy than him currently, so I've been helping him along. Anyways, I'm more used to less sleep than everyone else. We manage to keep pace, but I can see easily how much they are all struggling. We stand in almost the middle of the road, as no more cars ever pass through here. There aren't many cars left, let alone are they useable. The snow here is knee length, as we left the deep snow behind a long time ago. According to Xander it is now February 8th, because he has been keeping track. No one is keeping track anymore. It's one of the least important things at the moment. What is important is food and shelter, which we can only get in Arizona.

One thing about the date pounds at the back of my head and makes my heart heavy. It's been a whole month since I last saw Adam, and my sisters. I miss their laughs, their smiling faces, their comforting words, and their bold actions. The only thing keeping me sane is Xander. My crush, the one I travel with, my best friend. It's reasonable that he doesn't notice how I stare at him and how I worry about him, considering the circumstances, but I wish I could have the knowledge if he likes me back, or if he cares about me as much as I do about him. Sometimes it hurts knowing he's right next to me, leaning on my shoulder, and he doesn't even know how I feel. Literally, his safety is on my shoulders. I help him get through to our home, and home isn't a house and where your belongings are, it's where your family is.

Now we are almost home. Only a few miles and we will be safe, and I'll be able to hug Adam again, and laugh with Gwen and Joyce. I hear him coughing and I pat his back and mutter some comforting words in his ear. "Almost to the border, don't worry." I whisper. My lips are chapped, so my voice comes out sort of raspy. My skin is icy cold, like all of us, and my skin is almost a pale blue. Tiny icicles hang from my hair and nose. We begin to speed up a bit, trying to make better time. I want to see Adam again. I want to see my family again. We cover about four miles when I hear a sound that makes my heart stop. The engine of a car. I turn around and see a big van heading towards us. We all stop and begin waving our hands at the driver. "STOP! PLEASE, HELP US!" Zach yells at the top of his lungs. The car slows down to a stop when it reached us and the window goes down. "You need a lift?" The woman inside asks. We all nod vigorously. "Just to the Arizona border, please." George says.

The woman smiles. "Alright, just one mile, that's it, get in the back. I already have another seven back there I've been traveling with. You can talk to the for a few minutes until we get there." We all smile tiredly. "Thank you so much!" Caiden says. We go over to the back and open the doors, seeing a few other people huddled together. They look up as we get in and smile lightly. "Hello." One of them says. "Hi, don't worry, we'll only be in here for a few minutes, just until the Arizona border." Zach says. They guy nods and we all sit down as the car starts moving again. I lit next to Xander huddle up against him for warmth. I look up at him and stare since he isn't looking at me. He's so perfect, cute, kind, and funny. If you didn't know him, you would expect him to be one of the populars, not a gamer.

I look away when he looks back at me. and my eyes drift to the other people on the van. They all look about in their twenties to fifties, probably family members, with two girl and five boys. I smile at one of the younger girls who looks to be in her early twenties. After a few minutes the car stops. "We're here." The woman says and a grin spreads across my face. We all get to our face and get out of the car. I see a small hut like the ones you see going into amusement parks, and a man is sitting outside it. The road is cleared, probably the first one I've seen in a long time. We run over towards the hut, and the guy stands up and counts us. "Alright, you have the needed party count, you can enter. First you need these in order to get into towns and we have some snowshoes for you." My face lightens. Snowshoes. That will make it so much easier to walk.

He hands us each a slip of laminated paper with a zip-chord kind of like the ones you use at Ski Resorts. I attach it to my coat zipper and smile as he brings me a pair of snowshoes. I slip them onto my feet and do the buckles. "Thank you so much." I say gratefully. He nods, handing a pair to Xander. He pulls them on and we look to the others. "Goodbye guys, thanks for letting us travel with you." Xander says. They smile at us. "No problem guys. Maybe one day we'll see you again. We smile and start to walk. I turn my head and wave to them as we walk into Arizona. It's hard to believe there's so much snow even here, about four feet, which is still a lot. Now we are mere miles from my family. I've walked almost thousand miles for then, and I'm not giving up just yet.

-~-

Yay, another chapter!

Who's happy? Cause I'm happy!

See ya gems later! *fwoop*