𝐦𝐞, 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞.

>> Chapter 14 <<

Scars - Papa Roach

Ember's P.O.V

A thick layer of sweat coated my dirty body as I continued to trek through the base of a mountain range. My face itched with newly forming pimples just beneath my skin. Sometimes I forgot I was still a teenager. I think everyone did to be honest.

"Crawford," I barked, "Take this and chop open a cactus." I handed her my canteen I had stolen from one of the guards. "Yes, Sergeant." Crawford silently did what I asked of her while I took a short rest on a tree. I watched her march back into the desert. We had just entered the mountain range and it was so much cooler but still a good 90 degrees. (that's hot :) ) I huffed and stood up. "Okay, after we pass this range, I say we get through in a couple days, we go until we find a town. Keep it on the low from there." I addressed the team and I got a chorus of ' Yes, Sergeant.' after me. Crawford handed me my canteen and I took a sip of the harsh liquid. I cringed ever time I tasted it but hell, it was a form of water. "Here, Private." I said and handed the canteen back to Crawford for her to take a swig. The canteen was passed around and then we started out hike up the slope.

I was a wiz at trigonometry so I could tell you the angle of declination from the sun to my fucking face right now. It's so damn hot and my face is already sore with sunburns and pimples. I wiped the sleeve of my army jacket that stated my name and rank across my forehead to get some off the sweat droplets that were falling.

Late in the evening, we had been hiking for about 8 hours, we stopped to set up a makeshift camp. I sighed as I slid down a tree. My legs were jello and I was starved. I had avoided 'dinner' yesterday night mainly because all we had managed to get a couple of bugs and a very small turtle. My team ate it, I let them eat it all. They need strength. They are my priority. They are my mission.

We had done a good 17 miles up the slope and the range didn't seem that vast so we should knock it out in a couple of days. "Who wants to hunt?" I asked and Hayes got up. "I'll bring us something good, seems like there should be a wolf or something in here." She said and walked out of sight, followed by Williamson.

It was a good 3 hours before they had come back. In that time Crawford andI had started a fire and laid out a thick pile of leaves for us to sleep on. I was weaving a long, thick type of grass that pulled at your skin when you touched it, into a 'blanket'. It was almost finished. My weaving skills were rusty seeing as it had been years since Julian had taught me. It was times like this where I missed Julian the most. He would always guide me and correct me between making a good or bad decision. Nowadays, it was getting harder and harder to tell them apart.

Hayes strolled into view with a large coyote slung across her shoulder and small animals in her hands. Williamson's face beamed with a wide smile. "Good job, Private." I said, addressing them both. "Took me a while to track down this lug." Hayes said and plopped the coyote down. "Time to gut him." She said and jammed her knife deep into the animals stomach. She practically ripped the knife down its flesh sense her knife was so dull.

Bloating animal carcass' are never a good thing to deal with. They always smell really bad and eventually their insides all turn into one big mushy combination while gases rise and they burst everywhere. I don't know if I would rather the little rodents, that were once in Bakers arms now in my lap, bloat as to me having to scrape their insides out onto the earthen floor and gut them. But then again, I would rather eat than starve so I did it without a word. By the time I was done gutting wild rabbits, Hayes had cooked some of the coyote and handed a piece to everyone. I ripped into the chewy flesh and enjoyed the taste of meat. It didn't taste too far off than the large eared fox we ate a week ago.

I sighed as I filled my stomach for the first time in about three weeks. "Preserve the rest of the coyote and the rabbits for tomorrow and the next. Were going to hiking from dawn to way past dusk." We cooked all the meat then and rolled it all up. I took two flat stones from the soil and smacked the meat in between them. "Hayes and I are up for watch first." I said as I continued to weave the rest of my grass blanket together. I finished and handed the blanket to Crawford and Williamson. They were happy to finally have something comforting around them while they slept. I picked more tall grass stems and set out to make a pack with it. It took my around 3 hours to make a bag with straps large enough to go around my body.

My fingers soon became raw around the first hour and now they were bleeding lightly. I grabbed the stones that held the meat and placed it into the bag. I prayed to god that the bottom would hold as I adjusted it around my body, testing the weight. I sighed in relief when the stones didn't break through the bottom. I laughed at my creation and decided I would call it my Greenpack. I took my greenpack off and set it near my sleeping team members. I poked awake Crawford and Williamson. They sat up and rubbed their eyes awake.

They got out of the 'bed' and Hayes and I took their spots. "Find water if you can." I murmured and pulled the greenblanket over me. I closed my eyes and sighed as I heard 'Yes, Sergeant."

God, I missed Julian so much, I thought as I drifted into a restless sleep.

~~~~~~<~~>~~~~~

Emily here !

This is about survival and character development. Ember is sad and traumatized. She only has 4 of her team members left.

(I completely forgot about Madison Hayes ' love interest' but Ill fix it)

10100 words

I CANNOT BELIEVE MYSELF , BAKER IS NOT A PERSON???? IVE BEEN SAYING BAKER INSTEAD OF HAYES !