Young Heroes

Eight Of Us

  The next few hours were tedious and filled with aching muscles, Joe's occasional grunts and groans of pain, and me and Sophia's panting.
  The barn had not looked far from where we had been standing before, but it was actually a fairly good distance away.
  Even disregarding Joseph's current state, me and Sophia were not in good condition. We were starved, and low on energy. Our feet were soaked in snow, and we were probably in the mild stage of frostbite in our toes and fingers. I couldn't feel my arms as they were still bare, and I was afraid of risking hypothermia, but I ignored it.
   By the time we actually reached the barn after the treacherous trek, we basically collapsed, before dragging Joseph inside and closing the door.
  Inside was still cold, but much warmer then it was outside. The place was in reasonable condition, but strange. It looked like someone tended it, yet it looked abandoned at the same time.
  I picked up Joe and set him on a pile of hay by the stables.
  "You know it's really bad for my masculinity just to KNOW that you can lift me." Joe said sarcastically. It was the first thing he'd said in hours and I was actually relieved, even if it was just a sarcastic comment.
  "What masculinity?" Sophia asked from the other end of the barn.
  He tried to lift his head and glare at her "Sophia, I can't even lift a finger right now, but can you guess which one I want to?" He asked condescendingly. He sounded weak still.
  "Joe tell me how your feeling. You need to keep telling me how you feel consistently, and tell me if ANYTHING feels wrong. It could be really important."
  "Ash, calm down I feel fine right now. You know besides the hole in my stomach." He joked. I looked at him sternly and he relented. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Try not to worry." He said a little more calming.
  But I had to worry. I'd already lost one friend. I didn't want to lose another.
  "Okay, I'm gonna need to go hunting soon." I said, taking my vest and zipping it back up. Even though the sleeves cut off at the end of my shoulders, I still felt a million times warmer.
  "Are you insane?" Sophia asked tiredly.
  "Sophia, we don't know how long it's gonna be until someone finds us. We don't know when we can get out of here or if anyone even knows where we are. We won't last that long without food, and it's Russia. There's probably deer everywhere. I've hunted before and I never miss a shot." I said tugging on the string of my bow on my back.
  She bit her lip, contemplating. "Okay. Let me come with you." She said.
  "No, no, no. Someone needs to watch him. I'll be fine." I said.
  Eventually, she relented, but refused to let me leave until i brought my body temperature back up. She ran outside, gathered a ton of branches, and came back in. She threw them in the middle of the barn floor and used her power to torch it, creating a giant bonfire so big, I jumped back in surprise when it went up in flames.
  I sat down in front of the fire and she sat next to me and rested her head on my shoulder.
  "You think they know we're here?" She asked, her voice soft.
  I hesitated and sighed, running a hand over my hair. "I honestly don't know...I hope so." I said dreamily.
  Five minutes later, I was already drifting to sleep a little, so I decided to go before I fell asleep.
  I grabbed my bow and quiver, and went out.
  I ran into the dense forest of trees, my adrenaline starting to kick in.

*Nathan's POV*

  "Nathan you suck." Carson said suddenly to me.
  I turned to him and gave him a look. "Have I ever mentioned what a great friend you are?" I said, rolling my eyes.
  "Have I ever mentioned what a big dirtbag you are?" He replied childishly. I ignored him.
  "Why haven't we gotten out of here yet?" Carson asked for the millionth time.
  Me and Carson were still in Chicago, and I was as desperate to leave a he was. And I'm sure it wasn't exactly normal to see two teenagers dressed like assassins, one carrying a sword, walking down the street. We were getting a lot of suspicious looks.
  "Carson, TRUST me. I'm as eager to get out of here as you are. I hate Chicago. Home of the Cubs..." I grumbled.
"Hey Nathan?"
"Hm?"
"You're a dirtbag."
I sighed irritably again. "I'm low on energy. I need to recover. Until then...I don't know what we do. Just wait for an update from Rianna and Alysa. Let's go eat actually." I suggested.
"Hell yeah. Maybe they have Ninja Sushi down the street." Carson said, grinning now.
"You know, there are other restaurants."
Carson shrugged and I shook my head as we walked down the street, the curious looks following us everywhere we went. How do you tell if the people giving you looks are just onlookers...or your worst enemy?