Running Home

Survival of the Misfits

Author's Note:

Hey, guys. I needed to start writing something again, and it looks like I'm just gonna finish this version of the story before I rewrite the whole thing? I guess that's what's happening bc I can write this but nothing else apparently. I'm gonna take it day by day.

Updates in my life since I last wrote: sophomore year is wrapping up, I've done several things, written several songs, made several friends. I've missed wattpad a lot because I love interacting with readers and reading and replying to your comments! That's honestly one of the reasons I'm finishing- I just wanna talk to you guys more.

I'm sorry I haven't been very active, and I really do love you guys, but can I say something here? I don't mean to be rude, but some of you guys need to chill. I don't take lightly to being stalked or anything of that sort, and while I love getting emails, there are some limits to me as a human being. That's right, I'm a human being, and I really wish some of you would realize that.

Small rant done, time for the book!

-Owl

•

"Wren, where are we?"

God, she sounded so small and innocent. This was the girl who cut her own ear off, who was trained since birth to be a stone-cold killer. She still had baby fat in her cheeks, still would be in middle school if this was a different world. But it wasn't. It isn't.

"I think Tennessee? Maybe North Carolina? I don't really have a GPS on me," I replied. All I really knew was somewhere in the mountains. That's where we had been for the past three weeks, of course. Or was it two? Four? Time had a way of getting away from you when you were on the lam.

Ever since the hospital, we've been heading south. That doctor smuggled us out the back door with some pain meds for Jane and $40. She basically told us to go south because it would be safer and then disappeared. I'm not exactly sure what happened to her. I hope she didn't get fired. I guess that was the least of her worries, though.

Jess and Jane were fine. Tired, but fine. I was too, save my leg. When I broke my ankle back in the bunker- how long ago was that? Two months? Three? Five?- it didn't heal right, and then we ditched that hospital so quickly that even if they tried to reset my foot, it didn't help. That left me, however many months later, in the woods, sans crutches and with a limp. Needless to say, I slowed down our progress a lot. There was no way to walk quickly through the mountains for me, and we had to rest a lot more than usual because of our respective conditions.

The light seeping through the leaves was slowly fading, indicating it was probably time to set up camp for the night. We settled into our usual routine. I gave Jane her meds while Jess gets firewood. Any medication we had left was almost gone. We had enough to last us a month, but now there was only a dose or two left. Jess snuck one every time she was in too much pain to keep walking. I honestly didn't think much of it. She's the one doing most of our manual labor, so she's got extra pressure on her.

"Wren, I'm done," Jess spoke up, startling me. She motioned to a neat little pile of wood and kindling. I shifted to face her.

"Alright, thanks."

Starting a fire isn't as easy as you'd think, but with the combined power of friction and Leo's broken glasses, the pine straw and twigs eventually caught fire. The frame of his glasses was bent, and one of the arms was broken off, but it still worked, and it was Leo's. It was the only thing we had left of his other than dried blood.