One liter of water weighed about a kilogram.

It was incredible the amount of information which his brain stored and that most people would have considered useless, yet he knew it not to be. For instance, with that bit of knowledge, he could say that the bucket of water he was currently carrying weighed approximately 7kg. It was probably going to be closer to 6 and a half by the time he got it to where it needed to be, as he had been unable to fill it up to brim and he was likely to spill some whilst transporting it.

He contemplated the water in the stream. Of course, having such an immense amount of knowledge also meant that he knew how risky drinking this water was. Sure, they were close-ish to the source here but that didn't prevent it from potentially containing bacteria or some other unpleasant micro-organism. Oh, how he longed for the time when he didn't know where their food or water came from; it prevented him from worrying about it.

He turned to look at his companions, the one nearest to him was a young girl she had already filled two buckets and was carrying one in each hand. A little older than him, she was a grand total of two inches taller, her short pink hair came down to her neck. Her blue eyes turned to look at him and offered him a faint smile.

"Sure I can't help you there Chip?" She asked him seeing how difficult he seemed to be finding it to carry the bucket
"No! I'm fine." He muttered trying to mask his struggling

He was smaller than his sister. Life had gifted him with great brains but sadly not much in the way of physical strength. Of course, he was still young. He hadn't even celebrated his twelfth birthday yet and was being asked to carry around ridiculous weights. It didn't seem to bother his sister however who could easily manage a bucket in each hand. He let out a sigh, running a hand through his longish blonde hair before deciding to risk pulling a muscle and picked up the bucket.

"Come on guys." An older voice told them "This is yellow territory; we do not want to be caught out here with our pants down."
"Right." Chip agreed beginning to walk.

The two pre-teens followed their older friend. Friend maybe didn't quite qualify here but it was as close a word to describe their relationship as Chip could think of.

The older teen was 15 years old since last month. He had neck length shaggy dark hair and vaguely Asian features. He was already tall, he was now only a few inches smaller than Chip's mother. He had been doing this heavy work for longer than them as such possessed a strong lean build. He could have easily powered ahead of them but chose not to for reasons only known by himself; probably some sort of care. His dark eyes made sure that neither of the two kids fell behind.

Chip wouldn't have minded being as strong as him; using a carrying pole he succeeded in carrying two much larger 10L buckets up the hill. Even being as strong as his sister and carrying two smaller buckets would have been nice. Instead he struggled to carry just one which wasn't even completely full. He had been gifted with brains not brawn and at times like this; it was the latter which was more important.

That wasn't to say that his sister or their older friend were stupid strongmen; far from that. Marie was very bright, more than was typical for a thirteen year old. She could solve complicated algorithms in half the time it would have taken a capable adult. Although he was nothing special in that respect, the older teen was clever although perhaps not in such an obvious way. He's intelligence lay more in his knowledge of this forest and how to survive. If you needed help with math, science or computer theory you asked Chip or his sister; if you wanted to survive in the wilds then you needed the dark haired teen or his father.

Chip stumbled almost spilling the water from his bucket. He only just managed to catch himself. Pausing for a moment, he took the chance to take a couple of deep breaths. Looking up, he contemplated the steep hill ahead of him. Why? Oh, why did they have to live so high up? He knew of course, they needed the shelter of the caves up there. Still, it didn't make the water trips any easier.

"That's too heavy for you isn't it Chris?" The older teen asked looking back
"I'm fine." He declared struggling to carry it a few inches further
"Fine… Yeah. That about covers it." Marie cast a skeptical glance over her little brother
"I'm telling you I can handle it."
"Instead of saying you can handle it when you obviously can't, let someone else do it who can."

Chip felt a slight chill down his spine as he noticed the imposing figure behind him. Timidly, he turned around and looked up into the brown eyes of the man standing behind him. His stern expression told the boy that he wasn't in the mood to joke; then again, anyone who knew him also knew that he never wore a smile. He was a tall man with a lean build and neck long brown hair. He had a little bit of stubble around his chin, which he apparently hadn't been able to shave off in a few days.

Bending down, he picked up the young boy's bucket and added it to his pole. Despite his intellect, Chip didn't know just how he managed to carry that much water in buckets using his pole without spilling it. He powered ahead of the teens without saying another word. The trip back up the hill certainly was a lot easier without having to carry the buckets but he would happily have passed on the guilt factor. He felt bad not helping as he watched his friends carry buckets and playing a part…

They reached the top of the hill two minutes later. The man was waiting for them. They put their buckets down and took a couple of deep breaths under his watchful gaze. With the exception of the Asian boy who kept his distance from them, who preferred to look out over the forest and the mountains it covered. There was snow at the top of a lot of them that never melted. It would have been considered beautiful were it not for the dangerously cold temperatures during winter.

After the kids had caught their breath, they carried their load of water a little further. Slowly, a small encampment came into view.

It was primitive in every sense. The huts - or what passed for them - were made out of odd pieces of wood and looked as if they might fall down at the slightest gust of wind. They were humid and in some places the wood was rotting through. The recent rains had caused the path the turn to mood. A fire burnt in the center of the small encampment, over which roasted several animals. Not farm animals though, they were a luxury that they hadn't known in quite some time, no these were forest creatures which had been slayed and now would act as some form of limited nourishment.

They passed several groups of people, all busy doing one thing or another. Some were busy trying to sow together bits of fabric, they were all too aware of the harsh winter coming. Others tried desperately to repair their shelters, whilst some carried large piles of branches and sticks which they would use to burn. Few tended to the injured or sick. Nobody did nothing; that was a rule here no matter how young you were, everybody contributed to surviving.

Right now, he knew that there were patrols surrounding their camp and guarding them. There were groups of hunters and foragers running through the forest desperately trying to find the next meal. The only time things ever slowed down was at night, even then; the guards took turns in keeping watch.

They dumped the water in a large silo near the fire to ensure that it didn't freeze over during the night. Each bucket was passed to the men with shaggy hair who emptied it in. A woman with pink hair and green eyes took note of the volume, it was almost full. She turned to look at them with a wide and kind smile.

"That's great you guys!" She declared "One more load ought to do it."
"Christopher can't keep up yet." The man declared looking down at the blonde child "We need to find him something else to do."
"Well, work's not something we're short of here." She replied still not losing her smile
"How about you Marie? Can you keep up?" The tall man asked
"Yes, one more shouldn't be a problem." She assured him
"Good. Now, I want my daughter back. Kai, you keep an eye on her."
"Okay Aelita." The tall teenager agreed earning a glare from Marie
"I'll find something for Chip to do." She promised

The man nodded before picking his buckets back up and slinging his pole over his shoulder. He headed off with his two accompaniers in toe. Chip turned to look at his mother slightly ashamed that he had been unable to help more. He knew that she had better things to do than look after him, especially when winter was so close. Still, she gave him a warm smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's see if we can find you a job to do."

She eventually found one which involved preparing the meat from various animals for the meal. There was zero waste: feathers could be used for pillows or isolation, fur could become potentially frostbite preventing gloves, the insides were always good for a soup, even bones could be turned into arrowheads or something else potentially useful. Waste had become an unknown word for the inhabitants here. They simply couldn't afford to turn their noses up at the food anymore.

Chip spent a good two hours plucking and gutting. It was far from a pleasant job but it was one he had become accustomed to since he had become old enough to be reasonably asked to work. At least, he was of some use he told himself. If Kai and Marie helped and participated then he had to as well. He let out a deep sigh, carrying a small rabbit over to Maria; Maria was one of two Italians at the camp, a warm bubbly person who always saw the lighter side of things, she was one of his mother's best friends, even if her French was a little shaky.

He found his mother along with his sister and Kai later that evening. They were waiting patiently for him along with the tall man with brown hair. The sun was dimming which meant it was nearing time for bed. An hour before sunset was dinner time, everyone lined up ready to get their share of whatever was on the menu. Usually it was a bit of a pushing and shoving frenzy as everyone rushed to the front hoping somehow to get more or better food. In practice, it made little difference.

"Come on Chip, we've got to get in line." Marie told him joining the queue
"You shouldn't wait for me." He muttered quietly "If you're at the back, the food's cold."
"If we didn't wait for you; you'd be at the back and you know they don't save any." The man told him
"Besides, we couldn't have our meal without a chip now could we?" Aelita laughed ruffling her son's hair "We need at least some carbohydrates."
"I really wouldn't bet on that tonight Aelita." Kai told him
"What? No five course buffet? Kai, you're getting lazier by the day."
"I shot down three pigeons this morning!" The teen declared proudly "Not that I imagine there's much of them left by now."
"What did you pigeons do to you anyhow?" Marie asked him
"They looked tasty…" He replied with a toothy grin.

That night's meal didn't amount to much. It seldom did. I was always the same; tough, old boot meat from something which somebody had managed to shoot down with an arrow. Usually, there would be some vegetables of some kind; those that they grew rarely sufficed to feed everyone so wild ones were often added. They were allowed each one potato which they grew and stored in limited numbers. It went without saying that their meals were hardly nutritious.

They carried their meals back to the little cabin which they called home. It was cramped with five of them living there at the same time. As they entered it, the man reached up and lit a small lantern before closing the door. They ate sitting down and using old, mismatched pieces of cutlery. Twenty years ago, they would have refused to eat it; now they didn't even contemplate chucking it out. Food was vital for survival; they couldn't afford to waste any of it.

"You know, if you try really hard, this actually tastes like a burger." Kai declared looking at a piece of slightly burnt meat on the end of his fork.
"Really?" Marie who had already finished asked
"Yeah…" Kai replied.

Aelita sighed; she knew what he was doing and honestly appreciated it but it didn't make watching her children go hungry any easier. The food they had in their stomachs wasn't nearly enough to fill two growing pre-teens. It was even worse for Kai, although he never let it show. It hurt her to have to see her two kids suffer as they did; from hunger, from the cold, from fear… Still, their bravery never ceased to amaze her.

There was a few moments pause. She noticed Kai reaching forwards with his plate, ready to give the rest of his meal to his younger friends. Aelita raised a hand stopping him. He needed the food if he was going to keep on growing and stay healthy. She however could perhaps afford a little more to donate some of her food to her children. She said nothing as she gave a portion of her meal to her daughter. She looked over to the side to see that the man had done the same for Chip.

"You kids need to stand up for yourselves." He declared getting to his feet "They're not giving you the right portions."

With that, he got up took their empty plates and glasses and left the hut. Aelita stayed starring at the door for a few moments, deep in thought. He was right of course but then those in charge of handing out the food being mean weren't the only source of their problem. As she was being increasingly reminded, winter was coming and that was never a good thing here. It was cold enough already at their relatively high altitude and it wasn't going to get warmer for a good few months yet…

Shaking her head, she tried to get those depressing thoughts out of her mind. She walked over to a small wooden crate stored in a corner of the room and opened it. Inside, she found an old, tattered book. She smiled and got it out before showing it to her delighted children.

"Who wants a story?"

Half an hour later, the sun had gone down completely. Aelita sat in between her two children, reading Peter Pan to them. The children listened intently to the story. She had been reading it to them for about a week now. They would snuggle together for half an hour every night as she read it to them under the light from their lantern. In his own little corner, Kai read a separate book. Outside, everything was silent as the camp slept.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Aelita told them marking the page and closing the book
"Aw come on mom…" Chip began to beg
"No." She said firmly "You need to rest for tomorrow."
"But just a page more would only take a minute." Marie argued
"Well, that's a minute more you could be sleeping." The pink haired mother replied getting up, she was quite used to their arguments "We'll continue tomorrow, I promise."

Getting a couple of blankets, she carefully tucked her two children in. They were always tired at this time of night, as was she. Their days just seemed to drain all their strength. She knew that within a few moments of her leaving, they would both be fast asleep. They slept on the floor, propped up slightly by some rags to keep them at least slightly away from the damp. She knelt down next to them and gave them both a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight." She whispered before noticing that Chip was already asleep
"What about me?" Kai asked
"You've already listened to the story, isn't that enough for you?" She asked him raising an eyebrow
"I was reading my book." He replied showing it to her
"Don't pretend. I can see that you're still on page 152!" She told him laughing slightly
"Okay fine. I eavesdrop!" He admitted before noticing that she was about to leave the cabin "You're going after him again?"
"Someone's got to keep an eye on him." She muttered grimly "Can you keep an eye on them for me?"
"I won't let them out of my sight." He promised before yawning "Until I fall asleep that is…"
"Goodnight Kai." She replied after a slight chuckle
"Goodnight…"

With that Aelita left the hut. Outside was now completely black. There were no lights or fires lit after the sun had set, not outside, they would give away their position. Of course, that made it virtually impossible to make your way around. She was lucky that tonight there was a moon. Then, again with the possible exception of those on watch duty nobody was out at this time. They all slept, few maintained the strength required to work all day and then to be out late at night. She knew one person however who was an exception to that rule.

Walking over to their stables, she found one of the night watchers. It was a middle aged woman called Amandine. Everyone knew everyone else at the camp, considering that there was only about fifty of them it wasn't a difficult achievement. Amandine gave her a tired smile as she saw her approaching.

"Going after him again?" She asked
"Yes." Aelita replied glancing around "Someone has to."
"I guess." The guard replied letting out a sigh

Aelita headed into a larger hut and contemplated the horses within it. They owned a grand total of eight horses, in the day they grazed on the grass on the hill and at night they were brought here to ensure they weren't attacked by predators. They had managed to gather bridles and saddles for all of them. They were used as a quick method for getting around but last year a couple had been eaten when things got seriously rough.

She only counted seven; it figured that he would have taken one… He always did. Picking up a saddle and bridle, Aelita prepared a gray mare which she suspected would have been happier sleeping. She had learnt amazingly quickly how to ride and prepare a horse. With her horse ready, she went outside and got into the saddle. Amandine gave her a concerned look before eventually letting out.

"He's a broken man. You should know that more than most."
"I know…"

With that she spurred her horse on to go and catch up with her old friend.