External (Book 1&2)

10|Sleepless Night

We started walking with the direction of our compasses when the sun was still in the sky. We talked and joked for the first few hours, but now with the sun set, we walk in silence. Everyone retreating to their own heads, consumed by their own sore legs and hungry stomachs.

William decided that we would eat two meals per day. It was a ration that was necessary, but easily left our stomachs hungry. We are all so used to how much we had been eating this past week, three large meals a day. Now our two meals a day are a prepackaged 'just add water' oatmeal for breakfast and freeze dried chicken with potatoes for dinner. William is worried we won't be able to find food out here.

Originally we had two weeks worth of food each, but with the rationing it was turned into three weeks worth. We all quickly agreed that it was what made the most sense.

When the sun set, it was strange to me how much colder it got. Under the sun, it was hot, but without it I had to put on my jacket to keep warm. It isn't frigid or anything, but it is chilly with the air that occasionally blew at us.

"There's nothing around here." Jacob whispers next to me. I'm not even sure if he's talking to me, but I answer anyways.

"Yeah, just trees." All of the trees look the same and as we walk, I feel like we are just walking in circles. If we didn't have our compasses, I would be sure we are. The darkness doesn't help any and the only person with a light is William, who is at the front. I realized fairly quickly that he got a lot of extra little things, like a flashlight and matches. I guess they are rare (why would you need either of those things in the facility?) since we didn't get either.

A yelp and the sound of someone falling is heard in front of me suddenly. I can tell it is Sabrina by the shape of her silhouette falling in the dark.

"We should stop." I say loudly, so that William would hear me. "It's too dark and we need sleep."

"Okay. You alright Sabrina?" He asks and turns his flashlight around to shine at the fallen girl.

"Yeah, tripped over the stupid tree root." She answers and I can see the flashlight looking around.

"We can stop here and rest. We need to take shifts on watch. I'll go first and Marcus you're next."

"Yeah okay." Marcus says as he sits on the ground. I follow his lead and sit as well. We don't have anything to lay on, since we didn't have room to bring blankets or pillow. So, instead I just lay my head on my backpack and pull the jacket tighter around me. This is definitely going to be the worst sleep I'd ever gotten in my life.

And it was.

When the moon was still high in the sky, the sound of something walking could be heard in the distance. My heart raced and at first I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, praying that it was just Marcus or someone walking around.

It wasn't until I heard a scream that my eyes flew all the way open.

My hands rush to my backpack blindly. I move leaves and twigs out of my way until my fingertips reach the familiar backpack material. I pull it over to me and search for the zipper, pulling it open and grabbing the machete. I cant see anything, so I don't just swing around, but I hold it close to me. Listening, I can hear the sounds of gasping breath, like someone is having a panic attack, but the noise is too loud. It's way too loud.

The sound headed closer towards us and I can hear William cussing near me. I can't tell what he is doing, but the line of flashlight light is moving erratically around. He must be trying to find the source of the sound. My heart beats so loud that even the nasally breathing is muffled. My hands fidget with the machete as I follow the light of the flashlight.