The Changes

Part 8

We found Amber and Leyna back at camp, tending the fire. They looked miserable and I thought I saw a tear run down Leyna's cheek.
  "Are you guys okay?" I asked.
  "We're fine. But Marissa's gone," said Amber.
  "If these guys keep taking Marissa's stuff, she's gonna be naked soon," Barry thought out loud.
  We all stared at Barry.
  "Look, they left us a map. We have to find Marissa," I continued.
  Just then, Ethan started to stir. "Wha- what? What happened?"
  "Barry fried you," I said with a smug smile.
  Ethan sighed and continued to rest his head on the ground.
  "We have to get going now," Leyna had a deadly look of determination in her eyes. "We can't lose Marissa again."
  "You're right, but why if it's a trap?" I pondered.
  "We have no choice! Marissa's out there and she's going to die if we don't save her!" exclaimed Ethan. Then he sat down and took a deep breath and placed his head in his hands.
  We all stared. "Okay, but judging from this map, by walking, it's going to take a few days." Amber informed us.
  "Okay, and in those days, we can train, in case it's a trap and we have to fight for our lives." I agreed.
  And that's what we decided. Every night for 3 days, we moved our temporary campsite. As we got closer to our destination, more monsters appeared, trying to take our lives. But we fought them off. They were good practice.
  One night, Amber estimated that we'd get to our destination if we walked 4 hours the day after.
  "Rest well, you guys," said Leyna finishing her cheese sandwich. "You're going to need it."
  We'd been getting our food and supplies from local convenience stores. Usually, we'd send two people and the rest would watch over the camp.
  "You too, Leyna," I yawned, placing my head on a pile of leaves. "All I want right now is my warm comfy bed."
  Everyone murmured in agreement and we all laid down to rest. That night, I slept like a rock. But I had a dream.
  I was about to go skiing with my cousins and my old friend, Amy. As we got in line to get in the lift to the slope where we'd be skiing, fear bubbled in my chest. What if I broke my leg while skiing? What if I passed out from exhaustion? My aunt reminded me to keep my feet in a wedge formation and to stay calm when we got on the lift. Once it was time to get off, I started to ski. I felt the wind in my face, blowing my black hair behind me. Suddenly, my skis hit each other and I fell. I stood up again, trying to regain my balance but every time I got up, I would slip and fall again. Once, I started to tumble down the hill then I sat up, my legs bent in a weird direction. I stood up and tried again.
  I got to the bottom of the slope, but I wanted to try again. I didn't want to do worse that my little sister, Lacey.
  This time, I was worse. Right when we disembarked the lift, I tripped. The snowboard guy sitting next to me on the lift jumped over me to avoid nailing me in the face with his snowboard. I hastily apologized. Then I went down the slope. Though I fell less this time, it hurt more. I rolled down the hill, once hitting my legs with the skis. I cried out in pain. After that, I cried and my mom took me inside.
 
  I woke up in tears. Was this dream telling me I was going to fail today? Since I  woke up before everybody else, I packed my bag. I made sure I had enough food and water for 4 hours. I found a nice metal rod nearby and decided I was gonna bring it with me. If I needed to engage in combat as a human, maybe a weapon was what I needed.
  Then, I went to a nearby lake to skip stones while waiting for everybody else to wake up. Once we were all up and ready, we base good luck to one another.
  "If we don't make it, I just wanted to let you know that I'm really thankful for you guys. Without you, I don't know what I'd do." I said. We all shook hands and headed onwards on our dangerous and risky journey.