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"As okay as I can be." •••
JUNO COULDN'T REMEMBER what the world before the Flare looked like. A part of her almost wished to see the world — not in the chaos it was before most departed, but the way it looked before the Armageddon. Did the sun still shine this bright? Was the world really a better place before nature took out the humans? Or was it the humans who took themselves out? What truly caused the virus? Where did it come from? Juno longed for her answers. She wished to know about her family, and if they still lived. She wished to find herself; the real her. She wanted to know her real name, she wanted to know where she was from, she wanted to know what that place looked like. She wondered what she spent her time doing before the sickness that had consumed the world arrived. Did she have any siblings? Or cousins, or aunts and uncles? Juno wanted to know where her place in this world once was.
The endless hours of walking had given Juno too much time to overthink all this. The sun beat down on their bodies harshly, forcing them to wear blankets or scarves to cover their heads. Although it offered some protection from the sun, and they should be grateful for it, Minho complained it's made him feel like he was going to suffocate.
Another long hour of walking meant almost nothing to Juno anymore. She barely registered anything as they walked; she almost couldn't even remember where they were headed. She was exhausted, and happy to oblige when Jorge told them to stop.
Glancing over Frypan's shoulder, she spots small piles of burnt earth and woof laying across the small path. Someone had been there.
Jorge kneels down and feels the ashes. "It's cold." He shakes his head. "It's been a little while."
"But they were still here." Leanne huffs, swearing under her breath. "We don't want to run into them."
"Well we can't backtrack, that'll loose us another hour and waste the one we just spend walking." Juno sighs, kicking a pile of dirt beneath her feet. She wouldn't turn back around, even if they did. She didn't want to walk for longer than necessary.
Jorge looks over his shoulder to the path ahead of them, then back to the group. "But what if we did catch up." Jorge says after a moment of silence. "We could maybe convince them to work with us."
"Work with us?" Minho exclaims. "Now you're sounding even more crazy than usual."
Teresa steps forward. "But think about it. If we do, we could probably convince them by saying we could take them to the Right Arm." Juno had to admit, that wasn't a horrible idea. They could use a little extra help.
"Sounds like a plan!" Jorge smiles, getting ready to move again.
"Woah, woah, woah! A half-cocked plan!" Leanne frowns. "What if they don't believe us. What do we do then?"
