I awake with a jolt as I hear a scream. Not of anyone here in our hideout but someone a bit older. I run to grab a large stick and look at Paxton. He nods almost as if he knows what I am about to do and he follows my lead. We run out of the clearing. My breath is heavy after I have not run or worked out for a while. My heart hammers fast along as my legs ache but we see what it is. Two men in black.
It's the Riots.
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I stumble as I see who it is. They are holding a black bag that is moving. It squirms and turns and I see one man knock the person out as they did me. I keep running though determined. Whoever it is can't be alone. I never thought that the Riots would regroup so fast. As we approach I jump on one smaller man and hit the side of his head with the stick I carry. Paxton finishes him just as the bag falls and I hear a thump. As I tend the bag person he hits the other man and makes sure they are knocked out before. We grab the bag and run back into the woods. I leave the stick in the the smaller man's hand so when he comes to he will think he was hunting or...something. The bag is heavy and tiring. I want to give up and fall. I keep running and keep in the pace of Paxton who runs so quick and athletically I feel small and weak. He has to go slow so I can run too.
When we reach the clearing we set the bag down and slow as possible.
"I was wondering where you guys were. I mean we all were. One minute...the next..." Maya trails off as she speaks. I smile, then frown as I see the bag.
"This person was captured. Like us taken and that person was about to be in the same situation as we were...once," I say sympathetically. I kneel on the ground and untie the bag carefully.
"Oh hurry up the anticipation is killing me!" Teresa yells. Though she is just kidding. When I open the large opening I see dirty blonde amazingly curly hair. I grab her arms and pull her out. She lays unconscious on the ground. I shake her and she stiffs silently.
"Hello?" I ask softly. "Hello?" I ask again more serious this time. She wakes and her blue eyes gaze up at me.
"What?" She asks then she opens her mouth to scream but we cover it and it's muffled by my hand. She moves back.
"Who are you?" She asks.
"Here to save you." I explain what happened and what she would become. How she probably would never escape and she might die. She gives me a tight squeeze and they all surround us.
"Thank you!" She says thankfully her eyes dancing. "My name is Sara," she continues.
"Nice to meet you Sara. My name is Emerson. She is Teresa. She is Maya. She is Kira. And he is Paxton," I breathe out. I said everyone with no breath.
"Nice to meet you guys," she says. "I'm hungry!" She says suddenly. My mind turns to my stomach and I hear it growl.
"I gotcha covered." I move over to a tree in the forest and pull off some walnuts. Then I take them back to our camp and lay them down. I heave rocks and make a circle with them. A small circle so I could step in it. Everyone looks at me weirdly as I do it. Then I look at Paxton.
"Got a knife?" He starts to shake his head but covers it up with a nod and hands it to me. I rub the knife with a stick and grab some lint from my pockets and rub them together. A fire starts suddenly and I stumble back astonished at what I did. Purposefully, though I didn't think it would work.
"How did you..." I just shake my head as Maya tries to figure out how I did it. I crack each walnut and warm up the insides. Then I look at Kira.
"Hey could find a stream or creek or something. We might want some water with this?" I point to the walnuts. She nods happily and runs faster than anyone I know. Faster than Paxton to find some. I tell the rest of the people to tend to to the fire. Sara just stays close, maybe she doesn't trust all of us yet. I pull thick leaves from plants and wave little bowl cups about two and set them far away from the fire so they aren't set ablaze. When Kira comes back to tell me about the small river she found I grab more leaves and weave a large bowl as she tells me all about it. When she is done I am just finishing the lid.
"Let's go," I say. She nods and I follow her with the large bowl in my hands the lid on loosely. The forest brings new sounds and chills but Kira probably doesn't care. When we do me to the river Rapids flow over rocks and crash in to a small pool. I smile awkwardly. I open the bowl and stuff the lid in Kira's hand. Then I lean over the Rapids dangerously and fill the bowl to the rim. No leaks good. Then I strap the lid on tightly and we walk back silently. A wind sends a chill through me giving me goosebumps. Winter is a arriving and I am happy we are going home soon.
I arrive at camp and everyone groans.
"Hunger!" Teresa says rubbing her stomach. Paxton has been oddly quiet and I am worried. I set two sticks in the ground though one on the right one on the left on the fire. And I place the bowl on them. As the water boils I set the walnuts insides on the rocks and let them heat up. Then I wave some more cup bowls but Paxton drags me away as I finish the last one for all of us. I stare at him.
"Why in such a mood?" I ask. He just shakes his head.
"We're gonna go home soon and I don't want to leave you!" He exclaims. I forgot he lives in another town. I nod. There it is again. The I don't want to leave you. I love you! I don't know how to respond so I move back to camp and take the walnuts off and hand everyone some of it. Then I take off the lid of the water and pour some into the bowl cups, cup bowls I don't know and we eat and sip.
"Thanks. I didn't mean for you to go through all that trouble." Sara says.
"No problem. Hey you can sleep in my hut. Ok?" She nods and I set out the fire but leave the water and cups out just in case they want some more. Though I set out the rules not a lot! And we all retreat to bed.
"Thanks again," Sara says. I nod and face the wall while she falls asleep. I'm glad I made mine bigger than the others or else I would sleep outside. Not that she's weird or anything but it would be kinda weird. I think about Paxton and him not wanting to leave me as I fall asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Fearless
Action"We'll keep you safe." Emerson doesn't know what happening until it happens. She's forced into the Riots army base against her will to train for hijacks and attacks. And when she realizes she's not the only one who was captured like her everything c...
