"I think we're lost."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"Leave her alone Sam."
It's dark and it's muggy, two things I do not like very much. We've been walking for hours now, five maybe seven, I don't know I've lost track of time at this point.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Her voice is alert but her movements are sluggish as she walks a few steps ahead of me. Ahead of us I hear Sam grunt in annoyance. He's been more agitated than usual and is not trying to hide it at all.
"No Myla I don't know where we are, you know that." I tell her softly, quickening my pace so that I can walk beside her. "I know I just wanted to speak to someone." she says in a voice thats even softer than mine. Looking down at her I realize how tired she must be, sleep seems to be tugging at her eyes.
"We should stop." I call out, my voice isn't loud but I know he hears me. Every sound we make is amplified in the quiet of the woods.
He stops for a moment and makes his way towards the nearest tree. It's dark but I can clearly see him sit down very ungracefully. I perch down next to Myla, I feel my bones settle down as I do so and realize how tired I actually am.
"I'll take first watch." I turn to look at Sam and raise a brow at him. He's never this eager to take first watch but I gladly accept his offer.
I look down at Myla who's head is now resting on my lap. Her breathing is soft but I know she's not asleep yet. I gently stroke her hair in attempt to comfort and after a few minutes she drifts off to sleep. She looks so small laying down like this but it only makes sense. The girl is small she's only eight years old. I swear she's the toughest out of us all because if I was in this situation at her age I would have lost it by now.
I yawn and look over at Sam who's sitting with his eyes closed. "I thought you were taking first watch?" I croak.
"I am, I'm listening to our surroundings and you're interrupting the process." His voice is blank but I can't help but wonder if he's messing with me.
I'm exhausted my body is begging for sleep, I can feel it but my mind has other plans. My thoughts poke and pry at me every time I've tried to get some rest lately and tonight is no different.
"So what's the plan?" I ask knowing good and well that we don't have one.
"I don't know but I think just living through another day would be a good place to start."
I look up at the sky. There's a full moon tonight, it looks brighter than usual. It feels strange being able to see the moon and stars like this. I'm used to seeing a blanket of smog when I look up at the sky.
"We should go north." I say still looking up at the sky.
"Why north?"
"Because I know people up there, I'm a northerner remember." I shift my attention back to him waiting for a response. His eyes are still closed but his blank expression has been replaced with a frown.
"I think we should go west." He says the words as if he is speaking to himself.
"Why the west is filled with nothing but sand, drought and extreme heat."
"And the north is filled with nothing but ice snow and extreme cold." He retorts. "I've heard stories of people that have escaped to the west, they say there's a safe haven there. They take in people like us." His eyes drift to his inner wrist looking at the tattoo that we all wear, a thick black horizontal line. It's funny how something so small can mean so much.
"We have all heard these stories Sam and that's the thing, they're just stories. We have no idea what truly lies out west. I know the north has its problem but at least Myla and I are familiar with it. Going north would be the safest option."
"They know you guys are from the north, they'll be expecting you to go there."
"Well then I guess we'll have to be extra careful."
We both go quite from there and let the silence fill in the space between us. The air feels heavy with humidity yet it's cooler than it's been lately. The season will be changing soon, I can feel it.
I let the heavy air weigh me down, closing my eyes, I can feel myself drifting off when I hear it .
The unmistakable sound of a branch breaking.
My eyes jolt open, for a moment I try to convince myself that it's all in my head but when I turn to Sam for reassurance I see that he looks even more startled that I do.
He's staring at something. I follow his gaze and when I see it my heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I'm struck by the realization that if we don't die from this we might just end up wishing we were dead.
