The soldiers are marching again, with the heavy sound of drums quick to follow.
Everyone in the town who knows what is coming stays silent and tries to hide, praying that they won't stop here, in Woodson.
And it's every week now that they pick a new...
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Following the boy from Maulie, we walk in tense silence.
At first instinct, I wanted to blame someone. I mean, how on earth did we manage to get so lost? We were walking South, but moved a little bit too East. But then I figured that doing so would be childish, and so I resort to keeping my mouth shut before hyperventilating.
We are all walking in a straight line with Kade guarding the Maulie boy in the front and my brother bringing up the back. In the middle, Camillo is behind Kade, and I am behind Camillo. Today is pretty sunny out, and it is late in the afternoon already, the sun hanging lowly in the sky. The orangey-hue of the clouds reminds me of leaves changing in autumn.
"What is your name?" My brother asks to the strange boy from Maulie up front. The boy's head strains backwards to look at Andres walking behind me.
"Nathaniel." He replies, scratching the back of his head.
Our group is following Nathaniel in the hopes that we can arrive at a Nation camp, and then get directions back to our legion's current location. I don't believe the boy means any harm due to his Nation uniform that matches Kade, Camilo, and Andres' army suits, but you can never be too careful about whose side anyone is on.
Kade says something to Nathaniel in front of the group, but I am not paying very much attention anymore to their conversation. I have never been this far out of Woodson, so I can't help but gawk at the landscape around me, so vibrantly different from anything I knew. The scenery in the South is much prettier than in the North - gray skeleton birch trees being replaced by large greened redwoods and maples. There are deer running about, and squirrels chasing acorns that have fallen onto the ground. Woodson only has the seasons of winter and autumn, never summer.
How near are we to Addison Town? The thought passes through my mind quickly.
Kade and Camillo didn't have to stick with Andres and I this far out, it just sort of happened that way. Would they leave us if they could?
Would I leave them if I could?
For some reason, I feel freer outside the confines of Woodson. Here, nobody knows me. Not even Camillo and Kade. Is it possible to create a better life for myself outside of Woodson?
The thought has never even crossed my mind before. Where would I live, if I had free reign over my life? If I let go of my need for control?
Do I even want to go back home?
The thought strikes me hard, and I bite my lip. This trek through the woods with nothing else to do but think is starting to mess with my mind. Woodson is my home, where Andres and my father is. The only thing I've let myself imagine for my future is living in a cottage on the outskirts of town, once Andres has made a life with his own family. There, I would be alone, but free to roam the woods and gardens as I please. No expectations about who I should be, and no more burdens on me.
