Just US

On the Move, Again

I awoke from the rising sun in the distance, glowing a beautiful shade of orange, bright enough to be seen across the galaxy. I shifted my head slightly and heard a voice above me whisper the word "morning". I looked up to see Ryder there, just sitting, looking gorgeous in the sparkle of the sunlight. "Morning" I smiled, not yet fully awake.

With his help, I stood up, still not wanting to start the day, especially since I didn't have fresh new clothes to change into. I really wish that I had brought some extra clothes with me, spending two days in the same outfit in the woods, running through the leaves and trees wasn't fun, especially when you also have to sleep on the ground. I felt filthy, but i guess we would just have to wait for the next time it rained.

"Do we have to start walking already?" I asked. "Yeah, we should, and if you're right about turning around, just getting here took a full day, so you'd better be ready for a good lot of walking" Ryder said. I groaned, great, just what I wanted to hear. But it was true, this would take at least two days, and that's if we don't run into too many flicks. The forest wasn't known for being flick-infested, but still, they were here, as we had found out.

After a few minutes of me blankly staring at the ground, zoning out into a wonderful world of almost-sleep, Ryder made it very clear that it was time to walk. By that, he repeatedly said "Thea it's time to go now, it's either your sister or sleep, which would you rather?" When that didn't work, he resided to dragging me in the direction that we came.

Why did this have to happen to me? Getting lost in the forest, no more food, no more water, and possibly no more sister. I know Ryder was trying to make me feel better, but it really wasn't working. He was just trying to be nice to me, but really at this point it was starting to get plain annoying.

"Ryder, thanks for trying to make me less worried about my sister, but stop, it's not helping alright" I snapped. "Whoa, sorry, I was jus-" He started. "No. Don't do that. You know, earlier, a few nights ago, you told me that life isn't that different now than it was before, you don't have family to worry about, but I do. So don't act like you understand me or anything that I'm going through right now". Whoa, why did I snap like that? I really just let my feelings get the best of me, I had been holding them up inside me ever since we met a few nights ago and I just couldn't hold them anymore. "Damn Thea" he smirked.

"What do you mean 'damn Thea'" I mocked angrily.

"I mean damn" he replied. "i get it, you're upset"

"Oh really you think" i snorted.

"Yeah I do".

A smile crept onto his face, he was clearly enjoying this.

"I just... ugh I don't know" I sighed.

I wanted to be happy, to just enjoy all of this, not have to worry about anything, just talk to him in a normal conversation, but at the same time, I needed to be angry. With Evelyn being so young and sensitive, I always had to be strong for her and make sure she was okay, I didn't matter. I was there to make sure she was safe and happy, no matter what that meant for myself. Bottling up my anger constantly, just so that she never had to see me upset and worry, but now that she's not here with me, I guess its alright.

"So" Ryder said slowly, "you wanna go now?"

My eyes widened with amusement, but scoffed, "not the time" I said. God he was cute but so dumb. He looked at me confused for a second, not understanding why it was "not the time". He really needed to read the room, and just use some common sense in general.

I took a few minutes to calm down, mostly just by standing against a tree, focusing on my breathing, and forcing Ryder not to say a word. It was probably quite hard for him, but I was fine quick enough, so we started moving.

The broken compass was still in my hand, the arrow dancing around pointing wherever it pleased. It was starting to frustrate me, I knew my house was almost at the farthest North point of the city, so if we could even be pointed in the right direction it would be insanely helpful, but that wasn't possible.

"Hey Ryder, where'd you get this?" I asked suddenly.

"My parents gave it to me a few years back" he replied, "I liked exploring, so they thought I might like it".

"Hm" I nodded.

It must've just broke when the explosion happened or something, the magnets got messed up, I didn't question farther though.

Lots of walking and pointless conversations later, the sky started to darken. The beautiful sun was starting to get covered by the trees, who were patiently waiting for the moons arrival.

We had made what felt like some good ground, but it might still be worth it to keep going. Ryder must have thought the same as he kept walking, though he would usually ask if we should pack up by now.

As the sun sank lower so did the temperature, and the air was crisp on my face. A gentle breeze filled the air, but it was cold enough to leave you shivering.

By now, the moon was fully up in the sky, towering over the forest. After almost a full day of walking, I was becoming extremely exhausted.

"You look tired" Ryder said.

"Good eye, I am"

"Well then, we should probably get some sleep now don't you think?" He asked.

Sleep sounded wonderful, but so did finding Evelyn. I thought for a moment, before I ended up yawning.

"I guess your answer is yes then" he stated and started to sit down. He patted to ground to make sure it was soft enough, and put his bag behind him for support. I did the same, freezing as I did so. Only now did I realize how cold he looked as well, possibly even more than me. His face was pink and his body shaking.

I peeled off my jacket from my arms and stretched it just enough to cover us both.

"Thea, it's alright, you don't need to do that I'll be fine" he whispered.

"And so will I, we can share" I whispered back.

Not having it fully on me was much cooler, but he deserved some warmth too, and I was the only out out here with any sort of jacket. With our bodies together and the jacket keeping in our warmth, I slowly felt the coldness leave, slowly, slowly, slowly.

I could feel the exhaust on my eyelids, heavy like boulders pushing them down, forcing me into sleep, and I let it happen.