The Vigilante's Handbook (Misfits #1)

Eighteen: Just a Little Dangerous

Where Stitch was happy to follow orders, I had a different idea. One Miguel obviously shared because he was now tying his sneakers onto his feet. Neither of us had gotten fully ready with the others. That would have been suspicious if we got into full exploring mode when they thought we were going to be playing imaginary cards in a stinky motorhome all day.

"Stitch, where do you think you're going?"

"To sleep. Waking up early is not a genetic mutation I have."

"It's not even early anymore." I checked my wrist for the time only to remember that I no longer had my super watch. Apparently, the academy didn't consider that necessary for wilderness survival. They must not have thought food, adequate shelter, or water were important either.

Instead of reading the time, I made one up. "It's already seven thirty."

Stitch threw a blanket at me. "That's still early. Besides, we aren't doing anything today, so what's the point of being awake?"

"We are too doing something, just ask Miguel." It was sort of an underhanded slight at Miguel and their apparently conversational friendship, but both pretended not to notice. I gestured for Miguel to explain but he shook his head. So much for his six extra words last night. "We are going to do our own exploring."

Stitch tried to object, but I interrupted him. "We won't go far. Juli is not going to find our RV base. Even if he did they wouldn't do much more than poke around. There are no clues that we spent the night here. To them it will look like nothing more than a rusted piece of junk."

"And what do you propose we do if they come? Hide in the bushes until they leave?"

"Are there any other options? Do you want to fight them?"

That shut him up quick. Of course we weren't going to fight them. We weren't barbarians. These were our friends. Mona was there. Besides, we would get our butts kicked if we tried to start a scrap. Stitch took a deep breath that sounded a lot like giving into my plan. I loved it when people did that. "What exactly are we looking for? You're Pine and Oak Grocery Store?"

"I'm glad someone appreciated my joke. No one laughed before."

"Because it's not funny."

I looked to Miguel for back up. He only shrugged, so I threw my blanket at him, the one Stitch had thrown at me from our bunk. It was the closest thing to a weapon in the forest probably.

"Get up, sleepy pants. We have a lot of land to cover."

It turned out that that was a lie. We had very little land to cover before we found something interesting. A few hundred yards south of our makeshift camp we found a swift moving brook still full of spring runoff water. Being the practical thinker that I am, and impossibly thirsty after who knows how long without water, I bent to take a handful for myself. Miguel hit the cold water out of my hands before I could get it to my lips.

"What gives? I was trying to not die of dehydration."

He pointed at the water and mimed dying. I was beginning to understand what he meant last night when he said that talking was easier than not talking.

"Are you getting any of this, Stitch?" I asked after Miguel had dramatically fallen to the ground with fake convulsions.

"He thinks the water isn't safe to drink. You know, the whole don't drink water from strangers thing?"

"I don't think that's how it goes."

"That's how it goes where I'm from." He extended a hand to Miguel to help him up, using his fully healed leg as support. Miguel tried to brush the dirt and pine needles from his jumpsuit, but the result was smears of mud across his back and shoulders. So much for not letting Lucia know we left the RV. I would have to spin some elaborate lie to get him out of trouble.