ECHO'S POV
I stopped dead in my tracks, well aware of the ring on my finger that's shooting a ray of blue light into the sky.
"Um Echo, is that normal?", Jet asked, standing up from the rock she was sitting on.
I slowly shook my head without looking away from the ring, preparing for it to light up again. "Nope, that's a first for me", I said quietly.
Uncle Ricky walked over to me. "Where did you get that ring?", he asked, concern and confusion written all over his face.
I tore my gaze away from the ring and looked up at him. "Peyton gave it to me before we left", I said. "I've kept it on my finger ever since."
By now everyone was standing up, forming a circle around me and the ring.
"Do you... think it means something?", Jas asked, biting her lip.
I did. Deep down, I knew it meant something. Whether he was ok, whether he was gone, it had to mean something. But by now, I've learned to except the worst, and tears started to brim my eyelids.
"Of course it does", Uncle Ricky said, stepping forward. "It means to keep our heads held high, to never let our hopes down. It's our beacon of light when we're at our darkest point. It's our compass when we're all completely lost". A tear drop streamed down my cheek. "But most of all, it means to never loose hope. Because if that becomes lost, then nothing can show us the way."
I started to sob, unsure of which emotion to blame. I didn't know if I was sad or scared, happy or relieved. All I knew is that I had hope, and that's all needed at the moment.
I wiped away my tears and took a shaky breath. "You're right, Uncle Ricky. We can't expect to worse right now. We have to hope for the best."
"I second that", Jet says, giving me a hug from behind.
Everyone else followed in her steps, and soon we were all huddled together into one big emotional mess.
After a few moments, the hug broke up, and Uncle Ricky sighed. "Well, we should probably keep moving kids. Daylight is slipping away, and we still haven't found a home out here yet", he said.
"But which way will go now?", Brenne asked, putting the question everyone was about to ask out in the open.
I furrowed my eyebrow, hoping we could come to a decision, and my eyes lit up.
"Guys! Did anyone see which way the blue light was pointed?", I asked, excitement clear in my voice.
Everyone looked confused at first, but then realization started to dawn on them.
"That way, I'm pretty sure", Arianne said, pointing towards the first star in the sky.
"That's the North Star, isn't it?", I asked.
"I'm pretty sure it is", Jet said. "So that means the blue light was shining towards the north. Does that mean what I think it means?", she asked, her eyes widening.
I nodded. "Yes it does. We're going north. I think that's why the ring lit up in the first place. To show us the way", I said, smiling.
I grabbed a backpack and turned towards the North Star, placing one foot in front of the other.
"Hey, what do think we'll find going north?", Jas asked as they all started following behind me.
I smiled to myself, and without looking back spoke one word. "Hope."
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PEYTON'S POV
... "Hello?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Well, there's the end of 'Imagine'. I am so sorry I have not updated it until now, I kinda lost interest in writing it. But I'm back now, and I promise there will be a Part 2, and maybe even a Part 3. Thank you all for reading this story, it wouldn't have 1000 reads of it wasn't for you guys and gals.:)
~FreeFallingAgain
