"Where is tally?" David asked.
"Well, we thought she had flown ahead" Zane said.
"No, she hasn't arrived yet; I thought she would arrive with you?" David said.
"Well, we never found her or her friend peris for that matter" fausto said.
"We should wait. They did jump out last after all" Zane said.
David nodded
"fine let me call croy to take you to a safer camping spot" David said.
"Croy?" I asked.
"He is another smokie I bought him with me just in case" David said getting up.
He took a safety sparkler and lit it then threw it down to the ground.
I watched it fall to the ground.
A few minutes later a figure crawled up the side of the tower slowly.
Then he came through the entrance.
"Hey" the new boy asked.
"Croy?" I asked.
His name rung a bell in my head.
"Yes?" he asked.
It was dark I couldn't see his face.
"Flashlight?" I asked.
Someone handed me a heavy metal object.
I switched the flashlight on and shone it around.
It hit the new figures face.
I dropped the flashlight.
Croy and I had been best friends since littlies and he had gone missing a week before his operation and a month before mine.
"CROY!" I shouted hugging him.
"MEGAN?" he asked.
"YES!" I shouted back.
"It's so good to see you!" croy said hugging me tightly.
"You too! I thought you were never coming back" I said.
"This is nice and all but how do you guys know each other?" Zane asked.
"Remember that girl I told you about? The one who always use to throw soccer balls at me during recess when I was a littlie?" croy asked.
"Ya it was funny" Zane said.
"Well this is the girl, we became best friends later" croy said.
"Oh the girl you use to ditch us for all the time" Zane said laughing.
I heard fausto shift uneasily.
"Oh croy this is my boyfriend fausto" I said smiling and letting him go.
Croy laughed
"someone dating this tom-boy? Good to know you won't be alone forever" croy said.
"Shut up" I replied.
"Nice to meet you croy" fausto's voice came from behind me.
His hand slid onto my arm.
I took his hand.
"Okay, tally hasn't shown up yet nor has peris so I want you to take them to the camping spot and hide their till morning. Come check with me if I'm not back by sundown" David said.
"Okay man, come on guys get your gear and boards" croy said.
I stepped onto my board and we all glided down the ruin one by one in a line.
Fausto behind me and croy leading.
I was second in line.
We flew for an hour before stopping.
"Okay guys come on let's make camp" croy said tossing his stuff down.
"So we should like start a fire or something, kind of bogus being in the dark" fausto said putting his stuff down.
"No" croy said.
"Why?" fausto asked.
"To close to the city for that, wardens are bound to be on the lookout" croy said.
"Then what do we do?" fausto asked.
"We eat self heated meals in the dark and then get into our sleeping bags and crash? Did you bring that stuff?" croy asked.
"Yes we all did" I said quickly.
Fausto snorted and sat down.
"Okay?" croy said.
We all sat in a group in the dark and the pings of our meals rang out every few moments or so.
I sat between croy and fausto.
Zane was sitting on the other side of fausto digging into some padthai.
I opened my own can of eggsal.
"This is good" I said taking some with a plastic spoon.
"Here this is better" croy said holding his plastic fork out
. I opened my mouth and a warm forkful of marinara and meat came into my mouth.
"That's good" I said chewing.
"Its spagbol, but tally hates it" croy said with humor in his voice.
"Here Megan try this to" fausto said.
I turned and a point hit me in the cheek.
"Ow fausto not bubbly" I said wiping padthai off my face.
"Sorry" he said.
"It's okay" I said laughing.
I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
I heard a thud and something slimy was going down my leg.
"EW croy! Stop being so bogus" I said.
"Sorry" he said.
"Its okay" I said patting him on the shoulder.
"Well I'm done and I'm crashing" Zane said putting his half eaten maccheese down.
"Me to" I said putting my barely eaten eggsal down.
I yanked my sleeping bag out of my sack and I rolled it out in a soft spot.
Fausto pulled his out and laid it next to me.
Croy went and laid his by my head.
"Hey its cold want to cuddle up into one bag?" fausto asked.
"Sure, your right we should all try to pair up" I said.
"Okay guys let's try to sleep in pairs, it's going to be cold tonight" I shouted.
Everyone laughed and paired up.
"Um I'm alone" croy said.
"There is me" Zane said shrugging.
"Um you're a guy" croy said.
"So? We could freeze to death" Zane said putting his sleeping bag down.
"I'm good" croy said.
"What ever man" Zane said.
We all fell asleep soon and the next morning I woke up to fausto and croy eating breakfast with Zane. Fausto and croy where glaring at each other and Zane was looking at them with confusion and slight fear.
"What's wrong with you two?" I asked.
"Him" they both said.
"Stop being stupid both of you, fausto are my boyfriend and croy is my best friend. It's not changing with either of you so quit it!" I said.
They both looked down.
"Sorry" fausto was the first to say.
"Sorry" croy said.
"I guess I'm just not use to the idea of having to share you with another" croy said.
"I wished I had met you before the pretty operation so that's why I'm jealous" fausto said.
"Well then! Isn't we a happy bubbly family now?" Zane said.
We laughed and ate breakfast.
At noon the boys went to the river to bathe.
I sat in camp poking sticks around.
Fausto promised to bring some water back in a crude handmade bucket so I could go off in the woods and give myself a sponge bath.
I sighed as I looked up.
I saw some bushes move.
I got up and threw the stick I was breaking into pieces down.
I slowly walked to the bushes and pulled them back.
There a pathetic little kitten was mewing.
"Your out mighty far, how bogus" I said to myself.
I looked around the camp and on the edges of it and found no signs of its mother.
I walked a few feet into the woods then farther in.
I stopped only when I nearly lost view of camp.
I walked back rechecking the places I had looked.
I went back to the bushes and the kitten was sitting up looking at me.
"I most likely shouldn't touch you, but if your mama is not back by the time you leave I'm taking you with me" I promised it.
The boys came back and I mentioned the kitten to croy.
"Show me" he said.
I bought him to the bushes.
The kitten was fast asleep.
"That's not a kitten" croy said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A bob cat" croy said.
"Are they dangerous?" I asked.
"when they are wild and full grown, something must have happened to the mother, it's rare for any type of feline to even let their cubs out of there sight" croy said.
"Is it safe to keep them?" I asked.
"I know what you're thinking Megan, it's a wild animal" croy said.
"Yes but it's a baby, and we intend on staying in the wild for some time, it can leave me when it wants" I said.
"No Megan" croy said.
"If the mom doesn't show up by the time we leave I'm bringing it with us" I said.
"No" croy said.
"If you go and hide it I'm not leaving until you bring it back" I added.
Then I walked away and went off to clean myself up.
An hour before we left I tossed some dehydrated food at it.
The cub sniffed it then meowed loudly.
"Try this" croy said handing me something slimy
. "EW is that a real fish?" I asked.
"Yes, chop it up and give it to the cub" croy said.
"EW" I said.
Croy showed me how to make it into a mush then I tried it.
The cub eagerly ate.
I fed it one more mashed fish then washed my hands.
The cub fell asleep in the bushes.
When it was time to leave I sighed and picked the cub up.
At first it tried to get away but then it calmed down once it got a good whiff of my hands.
They still smelled like fish.
The cub allowed me to put it in my knapsack where it cuddled up.
I put the knapsack on my chest instead of my back.
I held the bag to my chest.
"Are you sure you want to take it?" Zane asked.
"Yes" I replied.
"Okay but if it slows us down we leave it" Zane replied.
The other pretties in our group gave me odd looks as I boarded my hover board.
We zoomed off to the towers.
"She did not show up, nor did peris" David said.
"Well what we do?" croy asked.
"I suggest you take them and I wait here" David said.
"I will wait to" Zane said.
"No, you need to go get cured of the lesions" David said.
"I already am" Zane said. "How?" David asked.
"I split the cure with tally." Zane said.
"That is not good, go with them my mom will explain" David said his face growing with fear.
"But I want to wait for tally" Zane said.
"When she comes I will bring her now go!" David shouted.
Zane looked at David terrified.
He nodded finally and we left.
We traveled for hours and we soon got to an observatory.
The cub was fighting to get out of my knapsack.
I grabbed out and right as I did Zane collapsed.
I turned as he fell onto me.
"Zane?" I asked.
"Zane?" I asked again.
"ZANE!" I screamed shaking him.
People ran to help and a woman came.
This is when I first met maddie.