Journey Through the wasteland

Chapter 1

Almost thirteen year old Eddie had just arrived back from scavenging for food. He laid down the empty sack (which was meant to hold food) and sat down on the dusty floor of the burnt house he was sheltering in. Eddie recalled the moments yesterday when he woke up in his school playground with ashes coating the ground and no-one to be seen. He had searched and searched for a sign that somebody else was still alive but so far there was nothing. Another problem was that there was no food so he would constantly be hungry. Sighing as he stood up, Eddie prepared himself for another long, tiresome hunt which a few days ago he would not even had thought about having to do.

Eddie had spent and hour looking for something to eat with no luck.  Then he stumbled down a new street which looked exactly the same to all the others - burnt. From behind, he felt eyes watching him as a bone freezing chill crawled up his spine. He turned around, pivoting on his heel. Two figures stood before him and shockingly, they were smiling at him.
"Hi I'm Hunter. Me and my friend Darnell here have been searching for other survivors," spoke a 12 year old boy who had dark brown hair and light skin. His eyes were ocean blue with flecks of green, mimicking the image of seaweed.
"I'm Eddie," he stuttered.
The boy who was supposedly called Darnell grinned and told Eddie that he could come back to where them and the others were sheltering from the scorching heat of the sun.
Hunter told him, "There are still more people that you need to meet."
He and Darnell led Eddie to a part of the town which was new.
Eddie could hear a quiet murmur of voices from the inside of a house along the street. In his excitement, his walk turned into a jog which turned into a run. A moment before he entered the burned building, another boy emergered. His hair was chestnut brown, flaked with ashes and dust. Once his deep brown eyes fell upon Eddie they sparkled with joy at a new survivor found.
"This is Jack," Hunter told Eddie, "and Jack this is Eddie."

That night, the survivors had gathered around a glowing fire, discussing what they knew about what had happened. Staying in this house had also been two girls named Ella and Ophelia, who Eddie had briefly spoken to.
"All we know is that something has destroyed probably the whole of England and that could include the whole world. Whatever this thing is, it doesn't seem to want any adults around to help as all of us here are thirteen or younger. Why pick us, who are just children and don't know much about the world?" explained Darnell.
"Do you know anything else, Eddie?" asked Ophelia, who was tying up her long fair hair into a ponytail.
He answered plainly, "No."
"Tomorrow we are going to try and head for the coast. The sea probably won't have dried up and perhaps we will find more people too," said Jack.

That night Eddie slept better than before, knowing that his new found friends would protect and help him. He was awoken by Darnell, who was telling him that it was time to get up. Eddie entered the room that they had talked in last night and he saw ragged sacks, almost full, lying against the wall.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was prepared to journey into the unknown. They could easily get lost with every street looking identical to one another so Hunter had a compass to know roughly which direction to travel in. The group would stick together at all times to keep each other safe. Each person carried a sack, which held items varying from half eaten food to broken clocks which scarcely worked any longer.

As they set off, everybody suddenly realised how hard this would be as the sun heated them to an extent where they were unable to travel anymore. Soon after they had begun, they all agreed that instead they would travel at night when it would hopefully be cooler. Ella pointed out a place that seemed suitable for the team to stay in for the rest of the day.

Eddie laid down his bag and peeked inside for something to drink, sighing from exhaustion. He went to the entrance to see if Jack was there. He wasn't but the sunset distracted Eddie as he looked in awe at how beautiful mother nature still was. The sound of footsteps echoing from down the empty street interrupted his thoughts. A silhouette stood at the end of the road. The mysterious person was sprinting. As the figure came closer and closer, Eddie called for the others to come outside, weapons at the ready just in case.
"Who are you?" shouted Jack.
The girl didn't reply until she was standing directly in front of them. "I am Harper," she answered in an angelic voice which seemed as if it could hypnotize someone.
Her brunette hair was in one loose braid, hanging over one shoulder. As each of them introduced themselves, Harper told them that she was actually seatching for them.
"And how would you know about us......?" asked Hunter, a confused expression on his face.
She replied, "I have my ways of doing things."
Her magnificent green eyes showed them to her nervous feelings inside which she couldn't fully conceal.
Harper didn't seem much of a threat to them so they let her stay, although she was almost never left alone. In the hour they had before they were to leave, they all rested. Eddie awoke to someone tapping his arm. It was Jack telling him that they were to leave  in a few minutes.
However, instead of leaving he sat down beside Eddie.
"Do you ever think about what could be going on and what happened to everyone we knew?"  queried Jack.
"That's all I ever think about. My friends and family and the fact that they are all probably dead." His voice wavered.
There was a moment of silence but then Jack spoke. "I wonder what has caused this. Why we survive. If you had to pick heroes of the world you wouldn't choose young vulnerable children. Why not tough adults who could actually be able to make a difference. We are just children - we can't change the world."
Or so he thought.