Orphaned

Chapter 11

"Let's get this show on the road, people!" Anna says, her arms dangling lazily by her sides and her back hunched over due to the large bag she's carrying. She doesn't look very thrilled, to be completely honest. But who would blame her? That bag on her back is almost as big as she is.

"Almost finished," says Caleb as he ties the last bag closed. "Hold your horses." He picks the bag up and slings it onto his back, ignoring the straps and instead holding it in place with his fingers through a loop.

Luke walks over to me and hands me the bag of tin plates and cookware, smirking ever so slightly with his eyes when our hands touch during the exchange. "Don't drop it," he says as I put my arms through the straps. "If you do, Anna might bite your head off. I don't suppose she's that happy with you to be begin with, so don't do anything stupid. Not that it would be your fault, but just try to steer clear of her until she gets used to you."

"Why does she hate me so much? I haven't said one thing to her since I've showed up and yet she acts like I insulted her family or something." I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand and look up at Luke questioningly.

"Well, her and I used to . . . be a thing, I guess. At least that's how she saw it. I always thought she was snooty. All she ever wanted to do was kiss or make out. I'm not like that, though. Last night really isn't a good example, but I'm not always like that. I enjoy the little things, like the way you blush every time I complement you."

I smile at the grass and begin walking, Luke a few paces behind, Caleb and Quinn a few paces ahead, and Anna in the lead. Luke picks up his pace to catch up to me and trips in the process. He catches himself in time and laughs.

"Too fast for ya, huh?" I ask, trying my hardest to not burst out laughing.

"I guess so," he sighs. "I'm not very quick on my feet."

"I've had practice." I slide my hand into his as casually as possible, which startles him, but he doesn't object and wraps his fingers around my hand. "Who's blushing now?" I tease, laughing. "Is the romantic, great Luke blushing?"

He half laughs and rubs his cheeks with his free hand. "I guess I am," he whispers. "Wait, hold up. Did you just call me romantic?"

I really don't know why that word escaped from my mouth, but it must be true if it did. "Well," I start. "You did sing that song to me. That was very romantic. We can't just forget about that."

He smooths his hair down with his hand, like he was hoping I would've forgotten about that night. How could I? "Oh, right." He blushes again. "I'm pretty different, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but in a good way. And honestly, I thought that song was beautiful."

We continue walking in silence, our hands intermingled and the occasional swipe of the thumb over my knuckles, for another twenty minutes or so until Luke stops me.

"Hey, look at this!" he whispers excitedly. "Do you know what this is?!" I shake my head as he picks up a hollow stick covered in hairs off of the ground. "This right here is a feather from a bird called a seagull."

I look at him, confused. "What's so great about a stinky old feather?"

"I haven't seen a seagull since I was little. These things are supposed to be extremely rare, almost extinct."

I take the feather from his hand and examine it, twirling it between my index finger and my thumb. "It's very unusual, isn't it?"

"You can keep it if you want. Now when you look at it you'll remember me." He smiles cheekily. "It's not every day you find a feather from a seagull. And," he adds, smirking. "It's not every day you meet someone like me."

I push him playfully and put the feather in the pocket of my dress, careful not to break it. As we begin to walk again to catch up to the others, I can't help but feel like someone is watching me. I look behind me and examine every rock or tree, trying to see if anything moves. Nothing does, but as I turn back around, I see an arrow pierce Anna right in the shoulder.

She screams, and soon it's complete pandemonium. I go to shout to Luke, but someone grabs my head and covers my mouth with their huge hand, meanwhile putting a sack over my head as I struggle against their tight grip. I may not be able to see anything, but I can still hear everything.

"Anna!" someone yells. I think it's Caleb, because the voice is too deep for Quinn or Luke. Then from another direction I hear Luke calling my name.

"Molly!" he screams. I bite the hand around my face and attempt to call him in the direction I think he's at. "Lu-!" is all I can get out before the hand comes back to my mouth, even tighter this time.

"Molly!" I hear him yell again. "Molly, fight back! Don't give in! Run!"

I go to stand up as quickly as possible but am kicked in the back of the knee, my legs buckling under my weight, and I fall flat on my face, dirt filling my mouth. I am roughly grabbed at the arm and shoved onto my knees in a kneeling position, my arms now tied tightly behind my back.

I flinch when a voice speaks to me right by my ear. "When I take this off your head, you will not scream. You will not make any noise. Nobody will hear you anyway, but it makes it easier for all of us if you just shut up. You understand?"

I nod, terrified out of my mind. The sack comes off my head, the sun temporarily blinding me. Through the strands of hair flying in my face stuck to the tears on my cheeks, I see Caleb and Luke on my right and Quinn and Anna on my left, all of them kneeling identical to me. It takes a minute for my mind to process what is happening, but when I finally do, I scream as loud as I can into the open area all around us, my voice echoing back to us.

"I told you not to scream," someone says from behind me, and I feel a sharp pain in my head and everything goes dark.

DUH DUH DUHHH. The group is now in serious trouble with some terrible people. But don't let me spoil it for you; keep reading to find out what happens next!

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