The Outside (#wattys2016)

The Time

The sun was up, but we were both laying on the ground. I had just realized we had no change of clothes. "Come on." I said. "Maybe we can get there today." I suggested. "Mia, I..." He stopped. "What?" I asked but he wouldn't reply. "Nothing. It's okay, let's go." I got angry. "No. Tell me, now." He kissed me on the cheek. "Let's go." He said in a stern tone I never wanted to hear again. I quickly got up. "Ready?" I asked.

We had no stuff, except for a little backpack James was carrying. I had never really noticed it. He never really used anything in it, so I started to wonder what was in there. "James, what do you have in there?" I asked him. "Just a couple of things I managed to get out of the cave before it tumbled." I didn't ask again. We walked and talked, but I was existed and hungry. I felt like I hadn't eaten or slept in weeks, not just a day. "James, I'm hungry." I whined. My legs ached and wanted to sit. "Okay," he said. "go gather sticks for a fire." I wanted to thank him in whatever way I could, so I gathered fast and headed back to the campfire. When I got back, no one was there. "James?" I yelled. "I'm coming." He yelled back. He came back with a long stick carrying some meat. "How did you get that?" I asked. He showed me a gun and a knife he pulled out from his bag. "My dad gave them to me, and I didn't wanna lose them." He told me. We sat down around the fire, the meat cooking. "What animal?" I asked. "Wild chicken." He replied. "Just enough for the two of us." I swear I could have kissed him right there and then, and I knew after everything he had done for me, I loved him. "Thank you." I said. "It's about time." He joked. I pretended to gasp. We both laughed. We ate, and it tasted better than any meal I had ever had. Maybe it was because I was starving. Whatever it was, I was perfectly happy.

We finished eating, and we got ready to go. But then, all my fears about the Inside came back. "James, what if we get there, and the kill us?" I asked him as we were walking. After I told him a few more fears he gave up holding silent. "Mia, what happened to the girl I had seen at the beginning of this? What happened to the girl that wanted to make things right? I know this is dangerous and I thought you accepted that before we started. Look, I'm not asking you to be fearless, I'm just asking you to face your fears." He was right, but somehow I didn't want to admit it to him. Finally, "I'm sorry." I said. "I was wrong." He came up to me and hugged me. "It's okay." He whispered in my ear. Then he pulled away. Then he held me in his arms. "I'll always be there for you. Whatever you do, I'll be on your side." I kissed him. "Me too."

After that, I was tired and sleepy, but we traveled on. With a full stomach, I was fine walking since I had gotten my food. James and I talked, but what interrupted us was devastating. It was the sound of gunshots or cannons. I wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it was coming closer and closer. But then I figured it out. Bombs. It was the sound of bombs.