The soldiers are marching again, with the heavy sound of drums quick to follow.
Everyone in the town who knows what is coming stays silent and tries to hide, praying that they won't stop here, in Woodson.
And it's every week now that they pick a new...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Camillo coerces me awake in the late afternoon, right before the sun sets again.
I slept for more than a regular night, which caused us to lose some traveling time. He tells me that while he was with me yesterday, Kade and Andres found signs of a marketplace nearby where we could finally ask for some directions. They told Camillo about it early this morning when I was sleeping, but didn't want to wake me.
I'm sort of glad they left me alone.
Still groggy, I yawn and wipe the sleep out of my eyes while standing up on my feet.
I look to Camillo, a little disoriented since I don't know where I'd run off to yesterday in a panic. But he just smiles at me and grabs my hand, leading the way. I lean my head on his arm, and he holds me close to his tall, built body.
"Tired, are we?" He says, as he helps me climb over a fallen branch.
Even though he just woke up himself, he still looks dashing. His camouflage uniform is slightly rumpled, and so is his unruly hair.
"You have no idea."
He chuckles, and for a minute the sound of it is all I can think about.
It was so kind of him yesterday to sit by me, to console me when all I could think about was the downward spiral my life was on until now.
Can a person change so late in their life?
I ask myself this question, but I am unsure. In the comfortable silence, I think about how much I want things to change.
How afraid I am to admit it.
But before I can come to a conclusion, Camillo and I end up walking for about fifteen minutes, so that we meet up with Kade and Andres back at our campsite.
"Good morning " Camillo says to the boys, but all I can think about is the town that they found.
Perhaps being back within civilization will set my mind right.
"Well?" I say hopefully, ready to start walking. "What did you find?"
"Be patient," Says Andres, an eyebrow raised. "We've found a marketplace where people are trading and buying all sorts of goods. It can only mean we are near some town."
I nod, and Kade tells us that he'll lead the way. The noise of our boots trudging through the leaves on the ground gets louder and louder as the brush gets denser and denser. Eventually. we reach an area that is so thickly surrounded by so many trees even I have to duck my head to avoid getting twigs in my hair.
