*Hi, all. Sorry about the long delay. I have been learning about the law. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. Now I present to you the next chapter.*

Chapter Seven: Rainbow Days

The next morning, Severus woke up and went to find Abbie. She was in the kitchen area pumping the water she had carried the previous day. "Morning, Severus, want some breakfast?" She gestured toward a pot of oatmeal.

Severus ate his fill and then they headed further into the forest to explore. Abbie was excitedly chattering about the people she had been talking to (whom he really didn't care about) and the theory of anarcho-communism (which she seemed to have developed more in her sleep). This girl never ceased her endless barrage of words. Luckily, Severus wasn't much of a talker.

"Let me show you something," Severus was pulled out of his reverie as Abbie attempted to grab his arm. He pulled back suddenly and the girl made no sign of noticing. "You like books, right?"

"I don't know if 'like'... " he began, but she was already bustling onto another path.

Severus reluctantly followed her and was amazed when he cleared a corner and saw a small camp with makeshift shelves full of books. "This is the library. I found it this morning."

Severus cautiously made his way over to the shelf. A woman boiling water looked over at him. "Read whatever you like. Some of the books can be taken, but others are for here only. Their marked."

"Their just here for anybody?" Severus asked, dumbly. How could someone trust their books to others? He thought remorsefully of his books in the castle. What had been done with them? Storage? The trash? Severus shuddered to think of his precious notes being dissolved with a flick of a wand.

"Yeah, do you want some tea?" The lady offered, Severus pulled out his bowl. Tea and books? Was this Heaven?

The next several days, Severus and Abbie would do some chores before Abbie rushed off to explore and Severus retired to the library. He had become fascinated with muggle chemistry and their barbaric medicine. The lady that "ran" the library, Gracie, was a worthy debater. They were in an ongoing discussion about the goodness of mankind.

Abbie and Severus would meet for dinner at their camp before doing the dishes and watching the fire. Severus was just as soon pass up watching the fire, but Abbie loved to be there and there was nothing to do in the tent in the dark. They had received a tent from someone who had to leave for family business. It wasn't a fancy one, but it kept the wind out.

Severus was beginning to feel more relaxed than he had in his whole life. The gentle routine and seeming lack of ulterior motives was refreshing.

One evening, Abbie came back to dinner stumbling a bit. Her eyes were glowing orbs in the distant firelight.

"What have you gotten into?" He asked, disgusted.

"Eye drops full of madness," Was the reply he got. Her mouth was grinning ear to ear and a laugh was constantly on her lips.

"Eye drops?"

"Worked for them. So minty."

"Lets get you back to the tent."

"Nooo," she stamped her foot, "Dinner."

This kid could not finish a sentence. They ate in silence and Severus was relieved when she didn't want to linger at the campfire. Back in the tent he helped her get her boots off. "It's okay, Sevrus. Just let gooo."

"Let go of what?" He snapped.

"Everything. Why'd you flinch? The other day. I won't hurt you. You can tell..." and she fell back onto her sleeping back. "The path. It is twisty."

"That's nice."

"Dizzy!" He helped her outside where she threw up. "The grass moves." She said, whimsically. Severus gave her some water and she went back into the tent to fall asleep.

It was not long after that incident when they met Alan. He was creative enough, but not much foresight. The boy was always building something, or telling some tall tale. One area of his life that was important to him was his dog, Binder. He loved the goofy mutt. The dog never went hungry or cold. Alan gave as good as he had to the dog and was a hard worker. Always gathering something or other for the camp.

To Severus's distaste, Abbie started spending a lot of time with the boy. They would swap tales that had no more truth to them than a goblin had generosity. Abbie and Alan would traipse off further into the gathering, schlepping whatever supplies someone needed help with. Severus tried not to pay attention to the two kids.

One day, Binder wouldn't eat. He started drooling badly and couldn't drink any water. A few people diagnosed the dog with parvo and scolded Alan, saying it would spread to all the other dogs. Alan seemed to become withdrawn. He distanced himself from his dog. "It's not that Alan is mean," Abbie had explained one time, "He just doesn't know what to do."

One night, Binder was sitting around the pit looking forlorn. Abbie and Severus took up their usual spots. The dog walked over to Severus and tried to put his head in his lap. Severus tried to shoo the drooling beast away, but the dog persisted.

The creature was getting thin and was shivering. Feeling sick, Severus relented and allowed the dog to lay with him. He had done a lot of awful things because he had to, but letting this dog die alone seemed so much worse. He subconsciously started to pet the dirty head and softly scratch the dog behind the ears. A tail thumped the ground nearby.

Someone started playing an upbeat drum rhythm and others started dancing, ignoring the dog on deaths door. Severus kept looking down expecting to discover the dog had passed, but met glittering eyes looking up at him. Abbie leaned next to him and whispered, "A utopia isn't a better place, it just ignores all the bad stuff."

Severus felt sick. Watching the party unfold and feeling the drool pool in his lap felt so surreal. Eventually he retired to his tent.

The next morning, by chance a vet came by and performed a cursory exam on Binder. "This dog doesn't have parvo," he announced, chuckling sadly, "Hi jaw is broken." Abbie managed to shove some wet dog food into his mouth and the dog looked like he was feeling much better. That day Alan and Binder hitched into town with vet money collected from the camp and were never seen again.

Abbie seemed a little downtrodden after Alan left. She was getting nauseous. Severus wasn't sure how much longer they could stay in woods with Abbie's health. One morning, when Severus was holding her hair while she threw up, they heard a call of "Six up". The calls grew louder and alternated with "Guns in the Church".

Severus had heard these calls before. Cops had crossed the imaginary line between Rainbowland and Babylon. Abbie cleaned herself up and they headed toward the kitchens to see if there was any breakfast left.

At the kitchen, a cop was smugly passing out flyers. With as many flyers as these guys passed out, they must have chopped down a whole other forest. So why were they fighting over this one?

"You got a fire back there?" A cop asked.

"Go check for yourself," Severus snapped back.

"Your girl looks intoxicated," another pointed out. Abbie was tottering. Severus grabbed her arm to steady her.

"She is fine. Don't you have some donuts to eat?"

"We got a comedian?" a third officer joined the group.

"Don't mess with me or you will see just how funny can be."

"Pal, I think I just heard a threat on an officer." the second one said

"I'm not our pal."

"And if we add that to the refusal to cooperate..." the first one calculated. "and illegal camping."

Severus clamped his mouth shut and by the time they had left he had three summons in his hand.

The Rainbows were being tried together. Severus hitched down to the courthouse. Abbie was sleeping in the tent. She had been getting rather ill. He arrived early and joined a group of others who had been busted for illegal camping. They had to wait in the hot sun. A few people managed to gather under the minimal shade of a fence and a dead tree. The rest crouched in the dried grass as the sun beat down.

Severus had heard storied of the hearings being postponed and people going for hours without water. He hoped they were just Rainbow myths. He could handle the heat and thirst, but some of the group looked rather old. Some of the campers discussed why they had been singled out.

Finally, the courtroom was opened. They were ordered to leave metal items and backpacks on a table and went inside. The hearing was long and drawn out. Severus's charges were widdled down to about $50 and he was ordered out of the forest. He wasn't to sad about that. He could have stayed like some of the others and just hide further into the forest, but he felt it was time to move on. Camping was beginning to take it's toll on Abbie.