Seven (Completed)

CHAPTER 12 ~ The lake

CHAPTER 12

The lake

From the moment Felicity stepped on the fresh, green grass her eyes started shining under the light. Their color had now turned bright green, exactly like the reflection of the first trees at the starting point of the forest. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with enough clean air to last her a lifetime. Nobody could under any circumstances compare that to the smothering smell of the dark smoke from the factories at New Earth. She cleared her throat but  realized that was not enough to relieve her dry throat. She took a few sips of the water that was left inside her bottle.

Everyone was feeling more awake now and they were all determined to continue their journey. As they approached the first few trees, Sonia softly touched the aching bark of an old tree, whose name was not familiar to her. 'Did we have these back home?' she asked but did not get an answer.

They all moved slowly, looking around them, capturing pictures of natural beauty. The sound of dry leaves crumbling and dead branches breaking as they walked on them was loud enough to cover their heavy breathing together with the angry growling of their stomachs. The few dried plums and raisins they had before they left the cave had not been enough to satisfy their hunger. The light was peeking through the leaves of the trees. The trees were packed close to one another so Lucas couldn't be sure the size of the forest was as small as it looked on the map.

As they strolled around the trees, earthy scents of wood, soil and grass brought back the memory of the crops at New Earth to their minds. Suddenly they heard it; a high pitched sound, a gentle squealing from far; the cry of a bird.

'You all heard that, right? I'm not just imagining things!' Sonia asked and looked around her, waiting for someone to answer.

'A bird,' Pierre said with a slight smile. 'An actual bird in the middle of nowhere,' His smile was now obvious and his eyes were shining. 'There's life out here!'

At New Earth the variety of animals was very limited. Breeding and house-kept animals were the most common. Birds were rare and the most common of them were chicken.

The children had not expected to meet animals outside the dome, at least not as soon as they did.

'Do you think we'll be able to see it?' Sonia asked.

'See it? I was kinda hoping we could eat it,' said Carlos.

The children started moving again, the bird's cry still hooked inside their minds. 'Look around for anything edible or any water source you can find,' Lucas advised them. And so they did.

It was easier for the girls to look for food under trees thanks to their smaller size. However, Victor decided to turn his height into an advantage for the team by searching high on the trees and looking for fruit and nuts. The rest of the boys slowly adopted his technique as well however none of their efforts had results.

'Does anyone have any water left? I think I'm gonna die,' Anne said and turned around to look at her friends. For a brief moment, none of them shifted, everyone waited for somebody else to offer their bottle. Both Sonia and Lucas approached her eventually, handing her both their bottles. She picked Sonia's and smiled at both of them, avoiding staring at anybody else.

***

It took the seven travellers about half an hour of slow walking and careful examining of every resource before they reached a grassy hillside. As they drew nearer to its edge, they immediately spotted a big, beautiful lake, surrounded by tall grass and a couple of small trees spreading under the hill. The idea of cold, clear water captivated their minds and so they did not hesitate before climbing down the slope and reaching the shallow waters of the lake.