They Are Not Human

Chapter 16

When we finally returned back to camp everyone was bustling with life. They all seemed to be in a better mood after a good night's rest. Ruth limps towards Arlo and I, and gives us a big smile. "I was wondering where you two were". She says in a teasing voice.

I suspected her words meant something else entirely, but I decided not to dwell on it. Arlo was my friend nothing more; I didn't understand why people had to make it out to be more than what it was. I glance over at Arlo, but he wasn't paying any attention to me. "We were just taking a little walk. Sometimes it's nice to stretch our legs, and to get away from everything." Arlo shrugs, lying coolly.

My face dropped by how easily he lied this time around to Ruth. I could feel a chuckle escape out of my mouth. Would you look at that, I guess there was more to Arlo than I had originally thought.

Ruth gives him another smile, but gives us no indication to what she was really thinking. "Ahh yes, the trees are quite lovely at this time of year. I hope you're not too tired from your walk though, because we are packing up and leaving. We are hoping to be out of here by tomorrow morning."

"Wait we are leaving?" I say shocked.

"Yes, unfortunately we have stayed in this spot for too long. It's time to get going, and find a new place to call our home."

Before I could respond, Arlo butts into the conversation. "Don't worry Ruth; I'll make sure all our stuff is ready to go by tomorrow morning." I was a little shocked by how assertively he said it. Sir yes sir I thought sarcastically.

Ruth gives us both a fair well nod, recognizing that was her cue to go, and retreats off to help another group who was playing around more so than packing.

Once I was sure she was out of earshot I turn my attention to Arlo. "So where are we going? Why do we have to leave?"

Arlo let's out a chuckle as he fiddles with some rope. He was trying to tie a bunch of weird knots in it, but he was failing miserably. "That's just what our group does Z. We move around a lot because it's too dangerous to stay in one spot for too long. You have to realize there are always people out here trying to flee the government, and they can be very dangerous and hostile to cross paths with. Some just want to lute you but others want more"

Arlo did have a point. I was lucky it was Jakove that picked me up that night in the woods, and not some menacing bandit. The situation could have turned bad quickly, and my life could have been on the line. I chuckled at the dark memory. If I was being honest I probably wouldn't have cared if I died back then. Once my dad left, I was convinced my life was over, but thanks to Jakove my perspective has changed. I now had hope and new goal in life. Not only did I want to rescue my dad now, but I also wanted to rescue a boy with a dark past. Call me cheesy but that was my story and I was sticking to it.

"Plus," Arlo adds, "We are trying to find new leads and clues to rescuing our families. We can't do that if we stay in one spot forever. As for where we are going, that I have no idea. Often times Darrel is the one who decides".

I didn't know a lot about Darrel, but what my impression of him was so far, was that he did have everyone's best interest at heart. Although I hated putting my future in someone else's hands, the best course of action for myself would probably be to trust his judgement and hope it lead me one step closer to my dad. Up until this point, my life had always felt like a game of hurrying up and waiting. My patience was growing thin though, and I hoped this journey was just about over. I missed my dad so damn much; I could barely stand it anymore.

After that the day went by pretty smoothly. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, and we all packed our stuff relatively quickly. That night we all sat around the campfire, and had one last dinner at our old home. We all told funny stories, and relived happier times in our lives. It was a perfect ending to the night, and we all settled into the cave for one last time.