Surviving the Tornado

Tell the Truth!

Charlie, Mia, and I sprint down the trail. My backpack bouncing up and down on my back while I run for my life. I can't hear Tanner or Alex behind us, so we're all good. Mia has already untied us, and we've been running for about........... 5 minutes.

"Get down!" Charlie commands to us girls. I squat down beside him, the river rushing behind us.

"What?" I whisper back.

"I think I hear them."

"WHO?" Mia asks, she still has no idea why we're running.

"Tanner and Alex." I reply

"And who exactly are Tanner and Alex?" she questions.

"We have no idea. All we know is they want to know where we live."

"And kill us." Charlie adds.

"OK." Mia replies. Charlie crawls over to the bank of the river.

"Alright people, get ready to get wet." he says to us. This takes a while for me to process.

"Oh no. I am not going in the river. No way." I respond.

"Oh yes you are." Charlie pulls me into the freezing water. The water starts to drag me down current. We both grab onto a root hanging off the side of the bank.

"I am going to get hypothermia!" I exclaim.

"What's that?" Charlie asks, dumbfounded. These two really need to keep in check what's in the real world these days.

"It's where you could die from being in cold water, dummy."

"Oh." he looks sort of....... hurt. But he bounces back. "Come on Mia!"

"OK." Mia jumps into the river, splashing water all over Charlie and I.

"HEY!" I protest. Then I remember something. "Hey Charlie, when I first came Mia said there was a guest room. But then when it was time for bed, you said there were no extra beds."

"Uhhhh....... I was just testing you! Ha ha ha!" That was the worst fake laugh I have ever heard. Mia and I both raise our eyebrows. "Uhhh....... Shhhh I think I hear something." All of us stop and listen. I hear some rustling and a pair of voices.

"Where are they? We need to find them!" says a male voice. Tanner.

"All we wanted was a place to stay." Alex says. Wait, then why did they try to kill us? They could have just told us! I still thing this is a trap. And basted on Charlie and Mia's faces, they think the same.

"Tell the truth." snarls Charlie from beside me. Oh come on! Now they are going to find us and kill us. And it's all because Charlie couldn't shut his mouth. Geez.

"Where are you?" Tanner called out. "We know you're out there!"

"It's very simple. Tell the truth." I elbow Charlie to signal to BE QUIET. But does he listen? No. "Just tell us." He demands.

"First tells us where you are."

"No, first you tell us if you actually wanted a place to stay." I was probably the most surprised those words came out of my mouth.

"What? You don't believe us?" Tanner sneers.

"No. We don't." They probably have figured out where we are. I hear footsteps walking straight toward us. In a panic, I let go of the root and float down stream, where the houses are. Charlie and Mia both stare at me in bewilderment. Mia follows and lets go of the root. But Charlie stays put, determined to get his answer. He is so thick-headed. "Charlie!" I whisper/yell. "Get over here!" But does he listen? No. In fact, he crawls onto shore.

"Tanner! Alex! Let's have a talk." Charlie calls out. What has he done this time?

+++++++

I watch Charlie stroll over to Tanner and Alex. He's going to get hurt. Or worse. Mia and both glide down the river, at least her life isn't in danger. I would never forgive myself if it was.

I stare directly at Tanner and Charlie, trying to tell what was going on over there. But soon Charlie disappears from my view. Tanner didn't look mad. Maybe Charlie has this under control.

I grab onto a root that was hanging of off the side of the bank. I pull myself onto shore, thinking. I need to see what is going on. "Mia!" I yell. When she reaches me, I grab her hand and pull her up.

"Are we-" she starts to ask. But I know exactly what she is thinking.

"Yep. You bet we are." I start running in the direction we had come. Mia and worked so hard, just to turn back.

After we run for about 4 more minutes, I hear voices. Charlie. I jog over. " Hey." I pant, still out of breath. "Did you two become friends? Are they going to live at the houses with us? And Charlie why didn't you come?" I question.

"No and Yes." Charlie answers. "The last one is: because they WERE telling the truth."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." he sounded so sure of himself. Were they telling the truth? I glare at Tanner. I still don't trust them.

Tanner puts his hands up. "Hey! We're all a team now. Trust me." Yeah right.

"Whatever." I sigh as I walked back to the houses.

When I got there I went inside my "room" and collapsed onto the bed. How could Charlie trust them? How could Mia trust them? I need to keep reminding myself that they have been doings this longer than me. I was a rookie at survival. We need all the help we can get to survive. I need to deal with them.

"Skyler," calls Mia from the other side of the door. "Give them a chance. They're really fun!"

"I'm coming." I groan. Now Mia probably thinks I'm stubborn. I drag myself out of bed and walk out the door. I see Tanner and Alex laughing with Charlie and Mia like old friends. "Hi. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Skyler-"

"Davis. Yeah we heard." Tanner interrupted.

"How?" I asked.

"Everyone's been talking about you in town. Your name made the front page."

"Really?" I can't believe my foster parents......... cared. I never liked them. I wanted REAL parents, like other kids my age. I wanted parents who went on trips with me. I wanted parents who would cancel work, just to be with me. I wanted parents who actually loved me. And I never got parents like that. All they cared about was their REAL children. Not me. Not Mia.

"Skyler? Are you OK? You look really pale."asked Charlie.

"Yeah. I think." I replied shakily. Now I'm really confused.

Tanner walks over to me and wraps his arm around my back. "It's okay. They won't find you." he reassures me.

"It's not that. I just-" I start.

"Need some rest, we all do." Mia finishes for me. I silently mouth thank you to her.

These guys might not be so bad after all.

I hope you guys like this chapter. FYI the next chapter will be 3 years later. Sorry if I haven't been updating lately but I just back from Europe. And I haven't gotten used to the time change.

Anyway........don't forget to vote and comment! :)