Survival of the fittest

Ch.17

Ben POV:
It was early morning and sounds of things being packed downstairs woke me up.
I headed down to find every packing up stuff.
" morning sleeping beauty" John said.
Jewel laughed a bit.
" good morning to you too" I said.
I looked out the window seeing the sun not even up yet.
" whatcha doing up so early" I asked.
" well by the time we get to the border gates the sun will just start to rise, giving us as much time to get started on our Journey to make it to the middle of Canada and then we set up camp there" Jewel said.
The middle of Canada was between Manitoba and Ontario.
That's about 78 miles outside of Winnipeg.
(Ps I don't actually know the distance, just guessing) - wolfgurl.
" you sure we can make it there today" I asked.
" if we get an early start" she replied.
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We finally finished packing.
" hey let's say our goodbyes before we go" Jewel said.
We all sat down.
" goodbye our homeland, farewell for now" she said.
We each said something to say goodbye, then started walking to the border gates.
Jewel waved goodbye at her house, I could only imagine how hard it is for her to say goodbye.
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After we got to the border gates the sun started to rise as Jewel predicted.
" good timing" John said.
Jewel smiled, " let's continue" she said.
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We were walking for what felt like hours, the sun was now directly above us.
My skin was hot and my body sweaty.
Jewel looked back at us, her leading the group.
Then down at Lexi, she was panting as she pulled the wooden cart along.
" let's take a quick break"she said.
We all nodded a sat down.
She handed out food items and a few water containers.
She also grabbed out her home made sunscreen, which I was very thankful for me being white with no protection.
After about an hour and a half we continued walking on the highway.
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After a few hours of more walking we reached our destination.
My feet swelled up and hurt.
Jewel looked at the sky, then at the sign that read, THE MIDDLE OF CANADA.
" looks like we got here a bit earlier than expected, well gives us more time to rest" she said.
Those words were like gold, I took off my shoes and laid on the road.
John and paisley did the same, as Jewel rested on the sign post.
Lexi laying beside her.
The sun was only about an hour away from setting, but the cool winds started coming.
It felt so nice.
Jewel got up and started picking up and placing rocks in a circle.
She then walked over to the pile of bags and backpacks everyone had to carry, she started digging through hers.
She pulled out newspaper, pieces of wood and a box of matches.
She packed bags of each to make fires along the way.
She placed the paper and wood inside the circle but didn't start the fire, she wanted to wait for the sun to fully set.
" hey you might wanna make up your beds for tonight" she said.
We nodded pulling out our sleeping bags and getting them ready for tonight.
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After an hour of laying around and resting the sun was fully gone and Jewel started the fire.
I watched the flames twist and flicker as I laid on my sleeping bag.
I looked over at Lexi, she was attached to the sign post next to our stuff.
She was attached with her leash so she wouldn't run away or attack a walker.
She would warn us if a walker got to close by barking.
I looked around at everyone else.
John and paisley were already asleep, Jewel was staring up at the sky, everyone's sleeping bags were around the fire.
Jewel was by the sign next to Lexi and our stuff.
Her crossbow and two swords laid in front of the pile of bags, so she could grab them if needed.
" looking at the stars" I asked.
" yep, they just look so nice out here" she said.
" they'll probably look nicer out in Ontario" I said.
She nodded her head.
" I can't wait til we're there" she said.
I nodded.
" goodnight Ben" she said flipping over to her side.
" goodnight" I replied.
My eyes started to close as I continued to stare at the flames.

Thx for reading next part soon!