Kamille Ali considered herself lucky for being able to find a second family in a world that constantly stole from her. She found a second mother, she found a girl who she loved dearly, and she had finally learnt the truth about survival. She was liv...
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The concept of time was hard to keep track of when there were no calendars or clocks, but Kamille would have guessed it had been a few months since she'd last seen the Clarks and Strand.
In that time, her broken leg had healed and thanks to Oliver and Mía, she'd built her strength back up and was walking without crutches. Between training with the siblings and basic survival, Kamille accompanied Oliver and Mía in searching for everyone. They'd spend days – packing Oliver's car with petrol, food and a tent – searching all the areas Kamille deemed worthy of searching on the map she had. Anywhere she thought they could have gone to, she checked.
But they always returned with nothing new.
It wasn't practical for them to waste supplies searching for people who they had no clue of their whereabouts, Kamille knew that, but she refused to give up. They deserved better than that, Alicia deserved better than that.
So, Kamille focused all her energy into getting better, getting fitter, being the best she could be so she could find them. That happened to include going on hikes around the reserve with Oliver and Mía.
"Mate, aren't you supposed to be the healthiest?!" Kamille called behind her to Oliver, a grin on her lips.
They were hiking up a hill and Kamille and Mía were up front, waiting for Oliver to catch up with them. They were laughing as he gave them the finger before continuing his trek.
"He's gonna mention his soccer injury from five years ago when he reaches us, just watch," Mía told Kamille with an amused smile.
Kamille laughed, watching Oliver finally reach them, catching his breath.
"You alright, Ollie?" Mía asked with a raised eyebrow, hiding her smile.
He calmed his breathing as he dropped his backpack to the floor, grabbing his water bottle. After taking a sip, he looked between them both knowingly.
"I hurt my ankle in soccer practice a couple of years back," he explained. "It holds me back sometimes."
Kamille laughed alongside Mía as Oliver furrowed his brows with confusion.
