Camp Driftwood

Chapter 16 - Endure

Chapter 16 - Endure

Kaylee grabbed her fifth cup of water, downing it as quickly as she had the others. The burning that affected her muscles had gotten drastically worse when she sat down, cramping to the point where walking was exhausting and painful. Now that she was briefly rested, the pain had slowly dulled to a mild throbbing that persisted deep in the core of her muscles. From her seat, she watched the other attendants scattered throughout the hall. They were separated into a myriad of groups, mostly divided by gender and age, and talked quietly among themselves.

Miss Grey walked through the rows of seats, watching the attendants suspiciously. When her eyes fell on Kaylee, she gave a thin smile and began to make her way over. Kaylee gave a thin smile back, if only to infuriate her. The slight furrowing of her brow was all the confirmation Kaylee needed, and Evan gave a small snicker out of the side of his face.

"Miss Grey!" Kaylee said with grin, "Fancy seeing you here! Small world, huh?"

"How are you feeling today?" the woman asked with mock concern, standing three feet away and not moving closer.

"Delightful," Kaylee replied, "I can't feel my limbs."

"Lovely. Well I'd suggest getting to your feet, you and Mr Harkness have unfinished work to complete, and Deacon wants it done by tonight. The new field you were breaking up is only half done."

"Deacon?" Kaylee said with a mock gasp, "You're on a first-name basis? How scandalous!"

Miss Grey gave a small growl, before turning on her heel. "You have five minutes to get into the field. Get it done."

"Evan, quick, I can't move my arm, wave goodbye to Miss Grey for me!"

Evan begrudgingly reached over, holding up Kaylee's arm and shaking it back and forth to wave to Miss Grey.

"Why do you have to antagonise her?" Evan asked with a smile, pushing himself painfully to his feet.

"It's fun," Kaylee said simply, "And I can't let her win."

"You're childish."

"I'm a child."

"Whatever." He stood up, gesturing to the door, "Come on, are we going or what?"

"Sure, just give me a second. I actually can't feel my arm, or my left leg."

---

Henry Buscador sat behind the wheel of a sedan, which he had stolen on the way out of DC. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel as traffic slowly started to move again. If he was lucky he should be able to get to south Massachusetts before this car was reported as stolen, and he'd have to swap again. While he usually detested stealing, the urgency of the situation had called for drastic action. He couldn't afford to get delayed by the police, and this task was far too important. He'd be sure to leave the car in a public place, where it would be found and hopefully returned to its proper owner.

Now that he was on his way, he needed a plan. If the people that had Kaylee were somewhere in the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, then he'd need a starting point. It was a lot of ground to cover. Locals might have heard of something, but Hale would definitely have his own people scattered among them to keep an eye out for trouble. If he realised that Henry was after him, it would all be over.

There weren't any roads that he was aware of either, only hiking trails that wound through the dense forest. Rough terrain would make covering ground difficult, but Henry had spent a great many years travelling in much harsher conditions in his youth. It would slow him down, but it wouldn't stop him.