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"Ambitious and fiercely original. Sondi Warner is the exciting new voice we've all been wai...
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September 10 | Late Noon
"He wants us to hide the first aid kit," Aurie announced, marching into the cabin.
I looked up from the map I was studying. On the off chance it was left to me to get us to safety, I wanted to know the roads. Outside, I saw Tegan and Zyr engaged in a heated conversation, and I zeroed in on Aurie's simmering anger as I refolded the map. "Everything okay?" I touched her arm.
She waved me off with a smile. "I'm fine. Let's get this over with," she replied. We checked the kit to make sure it was adequately stocked. I stuck my cellphone and battery inside for good measure as Aurie filled a beach bag with a blanket. At my quizzical look, she waggled her eyebrows. "Zyr's gonna meet us in the woods."
"Nice, but you were bothered by the prospect of getting busy in a truck?" I laughed.
"Ha-ha," she deadpanned in amusement. "Apparently he has something to tell us. This might be our last shot at privacy while Tegan is here."
Loaded down with supplies, we cut through the tree line behind the cabin, headed in the direction of the main road. There was no path; however, the deeper we went, the less foliage was underfoot. It was easy to keep a brisk pace with the help of a compass. We made our way over a carpet of pine needles, and the canopy of trees overhead blunted the sun.
I looked up after we had trekked what felt like close to an hour. Perspiration beaded my forehead. "RIP my inner outdoorsman," I huffed.
"At least you're an avid dancer. Yeah, the living Aurie would be a crawling river of sweat by now," my companion shamelessly acknowledged. "Perks of being a dead girl."
"That was a mile, right? I think this is far enough. Take note of the landmarks." I annotated the location on the map. Pointing out a decomposing tree stump, I suggested we hide the supplies inside.
"Tegan will have to park somewhere near here. She's not half bad, by the way," Aurie stated.
"If you say so. I've never met anyone quite so obsessed." I covered our stash with dead leaves and debris, and Aurie spread the blanket for whatever romantic rendezvous she had planned.
She stood up and dusted her hands on her jeans, confronting me with a shy smile. "Eh, you'll see worse in the comment section of any BTS video. Anyway, Zyr wants us to play nice, and I don't think that's such a bad idea. You need friends when we're gone."
"Now you sound like Kittie Cad," I moaned pleasantly as she stepped into my arms and kissed me. "I don't need people, Yokai. They just clutter up my headspace...My mom used to say people will only love you if it's convenient for them."
Aurie's eyebrows knit in dismay. "Harsh."
"No, honest. Think about it. Even grade school kids don't want to be friends with someone they consider unlucky. Researchers did a study once, and it turns out people gravitate to those who have it easy. Hence, the popular kids are usually the prettiest, the smartest, the richest. Well, I've never been that person."
