City of Suits (not completed) By Reid H and Mira H

Chapter 21: Leo

My feet hurt again. That was pretty much the only thing I could think about while we kept walking to the Club’s border. We had been walking for what had seemed like forever, but looking up at the sun, we had probably gone for three hours.
        “Can we stop? Please!” Jamie asked us in a strained voice. He was pulling on his dad’s arm.
        “How about this?” He compromises. “You see that rock over there? Once we get there, we’ll stop.” he said as he pointed to a big boiler-looking rock. It took us about five minutes to get there, but once we arrived, we all slung our packs off shoulders.
        “Hey, umm- well actually, I was going to ask you something, but I now have another question. What should I call you?” I asked him, as I jumped off my train of thought.
        “Well, uhh, you can call me Louise, I guess,” He told me as we all sat down. I got out a canteen from my bag that I had filled up a while back at the stream. I let everyone have a quick drink as we all got to work silently. I went to gather some wood for a fire, while Georgia got out some dried meat we had. We had done this a lot, so we knew what to do.
        I had to walk only a few hundred feet to find a lot of good kindling and some wood. I noticed that there was a dead tree to my left. As I kept walking into the deep part of the forest, I saw more and more dead trees. Then I made it to the clearing, and saw a raging fire, destroying all the wildlife.
I sprinted back to the camp, trying to get there as fast as I could. As soon as I got back I shouted to them.
“Run!” I yelled at them.
Georgia and Mr. Louise stood up and looked allertingly. Jamie was still sitting on the ground playing in the dirt.
“What is it?” Georgia asked frantically.
“We need to go now! There’s a gigantic brushfire out that direction I came from!” I quickly told them.
“Dad, get Jamie and your stuff all packed up. Leo, go scout the area we’re heading to. I’ll get everything else packed up and ready to travel. Go now!” Georgia exclaimed briskly, going into full-blown boss mode. I started running as fast as possible towards the north. After about three minutes of speeding through the forest, I felt a searing pain on my skin, and I saw that there was a giant wall of fire twenty feet high. We’d have to go around it. I ran back to everyone, and they were almost all packed up. We all grab the last stuff and start running.
I told them about the big fire as we went, and then I directed them to the right so we don't go the same way I went. We ran all the way through the forest until we got out into an open dry savanna, but Georgia pointed out that there were mini fires everywhere, so we had to keep on running.
“Do we have to keep running?” Jamie asked begrudgingly. “My feet hurt, and I don't think I can take much more.” He pleaded.
        “Can I give you my pack? It doesn't have many things in it so it won't be too much extra weight.” I ask as I jog over to Georgia. She replied with a silent nod towards me.
        “Here, I’ll tell you what. Do you want to take a ride on my back for a little bit?” I ask him patiently.
“Yes please!” He exclaims quickly.
I lean down, making it easier for him to get on. He jumps up, wrapping his legs around my hips while gripping my shoulders tight with his small hands. I forgot how much children weigh, so I ended up almost toppling over, but I got used to it.
“You got him?” Mr. Louise asked me as I started running again.
“Yeah, I do,” I grunt to him as I heave Jamie up in a better position on my back.
We started to run full paced again for about another twenty minutes until we found a lush area with a small pond in it. I could see the wall, but it's still the Diamond’s territory, as I could see the faint white painted shape. We all sat down, and took a breath.
I was getting late, so we all decided to call it our rest spot for the night. I saw that our canteen was pretty much empty, so I decided to walk over to the lake and fill it up. We settled close to it, so it only took me barely a minute to get there. I got close to the shoreline and knelt down to get closer. That was when I looked into the reflective water.
I looked nothing like myself! My face was longer and less chubby. I was leaner, and a lot more muscular. It all was very weird. I didn’t feel any different, but I looked like a whole new person.
I quickly filled it back up and got back to camp. I saw that everyone was already in their sacks ready to sleep, so I got out my blanket and unfolded it, laying it gently on the ground. I got down and rolled myself up in it, and peacefully closed my eyes.