Away from the North

Chapter 4

"I'm out of water," Jul says from beside me. I look over at him and see him holding his water bottle upside down over the dirt road. He sighs and caps it before attaching it back to his back pack. I see the next city in front of us and I point it out to him.
He nods and we walk faster towards it. We really need to replenish our food and water, and perhaps get more cloth if we can find any. We make it to the edge of the city and walk into it, watching for any guards that are around. I point out a store in the other side of the empty street.
We run across the street and walk calmly into the store. The person at the cash holder is asleep and is leaning on the counter. The bell chiming when we walked in luckily didn't wake them up. We walk through the aisles, grabbing food off the shelves and shoving them in our bags.
I grab a lot of dried fruit, jerky, nuts and crackers while Jul grabs some cheese, matches, and soap. I also grab some bread and hamburger meat and shove that in a separate bag in my backpack. It should be a nice change from all the dry stuff that we've been eating. 
We grab mostly expensive stuff, knowing that it will last us a lot longer and that there's more of it. Hamburger is usually only for really special occasions but since we aren't paying for anything I figured I should get it.
I walk over to the water spout and refill my water bottle. Jul comes over and fills up his too before we start walking out. As we walk out the door the bell chimes and the person at the cash holder wakes up and looks around frantically.
They spot us and jump over the counter as we run out of the store. They chase us down the streets screaming and yelling and luckily no one comes out to figure out what's going on. I see a guard from the corner of my eye and I turn a corner, grabbing Jul and pulling him with me.
We jump into a dumpster and close the lid quietly, listening to the guard talk to the store clerk. I always hate having to steal from these places but we don't have the money to buy anything and I really don't want to starve.
We listen as the footsteps get closer to where we are hiding. The clerk sounds exasperated, saying that we were right in front of them. The guard sighs and we hear him walk around the street that the dumpster is on. Finally the footsteps come back and stop.
"I don't see any kids. Also, you just left the store unattended. You better go back," the guard tells the clerk. I hear a sigh and then two pairs of footsteps walking away. We wait a while after they recede before getting out of the dumpster.
We walk through the town and to the other side. I stop at a cloth store and walk around to the back where the trash cans are. Me and Jul dig through them and manage to find three shirts, a dress, two pairs of shorts and a skirt. two
We shove them in our bags and keep walking through the city. We make it to the other side and walk down another dirt road, this time with heavier backpacks and more water.
The sun starts to come up and we walk into the trees beside us. They aren't very dense but they'll hide us from anyone passing by. I set my backpack down on the ground and then walk around the area, grabbing sticks to make a campfire.
I set stones in a circle and arrange the sticks in the middle into a triangular shape. Jul takes out a match and sets the sticks on fire. He sits back and goes to take out some food from his backpack but I stop him. I slide my backpack over to us and open it.
I pull out the hamburger and bread and hold it up like it's some kind of offering. Jul stares at me in shock and I just shrug. I grab a piece of metal from my bag and balance it over the fire on two logs shoves into the ground.
I take a handful of hamburger meat and flatten it before putting it on the metal. I make eight hamburgers, four for each of us. I'll cook the leftover meat and store it in a container for tomorrow. The sun finally rises and light shines over our campsite.
I look through the trees again, making sure that no one can see us from where we're sitting. When I'm confident that they can't, I sit back and relax as our hamburgers cook. 
I flip the hamburgers over with a piece of wood so the other side can cook too. I see Jul staring at them and I hit him lightly on the leg, snapping him out of it. He smiles at me sheepishly and turns away from the food. I can smell the hamburger in the air and that's when I know it's done.
I open the bag of bread and put two pieces by each burger. I take a burger off the hot metal and set it on a piece of bread. I put another piece on top of the hamburger and then take a bite.
I nod at Jul and he starts eating his too. I have to say, this is pretty good for being cooked out in the wilderness. I finish my first one and put my other three on a piece of wood. I then put the rest of the hamburger meat on the metal to let that cook.
By the time we're finished eating the rest of the hamburger is almost done cooking. I wait another five minutes to be sure before sliding it off the metal and into a container. I close the container and put it in my backpack, saving it for later.
I push the metal off the logs with a piece of wood and leave it on the ground to cool off. I take out my blanket and use my backpack as my pillow as I lay down.
"Thanks for the hamburgers Yuku, they were really good," Jul says from beside me. I nod sleepily and close my eyes, full and content.