They noted that the stream lead towards the more hilly, mountainous regions. Bray made a few mental notes as KC checked out the direction that they'd come from for any sign of being followed, although they were pretty sure they were not being followed. Now was not the time to take chances.
"I think this stream leads towards the mountain regions, the north sectors and such. Remember the road and footpath which led over the high ravine, this is the river which runs under it," said Bray, nodding along the direction of the stream, before turning and pointing along the main body of water "This river runs by the city, into the ocean"
"So we follow the main body then?" KC asked as they looked along both directions
"Now we stop and eat and consider our options" Bray replied "Want to find us a place to rest and try starting a fire"
"Place to rest no problem, starting a fire could be a problem" KC smiled and headed through the trees to find a safe place to settle down for a rest while Bray set about catching lunch.
KC wasn't adept in starting up camp fires, but he gathered together enough kindling to at least start a fire, Bray seemed to have the knack of starting a fire from sticks and perhaps a bit of luck. It wasn't long before Bray came through the trees, skewered fish in one hand once more, his trousers soaked from feet to knees from his efforts, jacket and shirt thrown over one shoulder and looking quite pleased with himself.
"That was quick" KC observed as Bray knelt down by the sticks and dry leaves he'd gathered "Where'd you learn to catch fish like that?"
"My dad used to take me and my brother camping when we were kids." Bray replied, setting up sticks and twigs in a fashion as he spoke "Just the three of us, he taught us how to catch fish, make fires, even make makeshift coverage should you have to shelter from heavy storms"
"Must have been fun," KC said as he watched Bray try to start the fire off
"Yeah it was, I'll show you some stuff sometime if you like" Bray said as he deftly worked two pieces of wood together
"Really? Thanks," replied KC with a smile, for the first time he thought about this whole experience. It was like camping trips he'd heard people had been on, much the same stories as Brays, where parents had taken their kids out for a few fun days out in the rough. KC had never had the privilege. He jumped slightly as Bray tossed a few pieces of wood at him.
"No time like the present" Bray grinned as KC caught the pieces as they bounced off him and glanced over at Bray with a raised brow "Here like this, set that piece down on the ground"
KC did so with a flat soft piece of wood Bray had been working with, a groove already wearing away on top.
"And that goes on there like that" said Bray placing the blunt point of the stick KC held in his hands into the groove "And you put your hands over it like that and rub them back and forth"
Bray positioned KC's hands flat around the stick, palms touching and put his hands over KC's, slowly rubbing them back and forth until KC got the right rhythm.
"Just practice for now, don't expect results first time round, it's all about getting the right angle and pressure to create the friction the wood needs to heat up. And you'll find your hands will blister if you go on too long with no results" said Bray sitting back and observing a moment, before picking up some other wood and starting at it himself.
KC didn't about results, he was enjoying the lesson, and it was fun in a strange way, doing a little work for no reason other than because he wanted to. No reaping a field, toiling soil, hitting hard rock until it broke. He was learning to start a fire so he could make a fire, for himself. It was almost liberating after three years of enslavement. He also watched Bray trying to absorb some silent tips. Bray worked quickly and efficiently and KC paused in his ministrations as he watched a tiny spire of smoke appear as Bray added a little dried moss to his wood, and suddenly a flame appeared as he blew a little on to it. KC marvelled to himself and set his sticks down, his hands were hurting already, and he could enjoy taking a break and not worry about being punished for it.
"Cool" KC grinned, lying down on his side as Bray set up sticks over the small fire and watched as the fire wrapped itself around them.
"Let me guess, your first time 'camping'?" grinned Bray, accenting the word 'camping' by inverting his fingers
"Yup" sighed KC, realising how happy he was and had been since the earlier morning when they'd been escaping for their lives, strange how a few hours could change his thinking "Never went camping as a kid, least I don't think I ever did. If we did, I can't remember doing any of this stuff"
"Guess it's handy to pass on the knowledge, now if you ever have to escape the bad guys again and find yourself wandering through woods at least you'll be warm on an evening"
"I'd prefer the scenario of if you ever go on another camping trip, to escaping another Techno camp" sighed KC
Bray sighed and placed the fish over the fire to cook
"Think we'll be sick of eating fish at the end of this?"
"Hell no" KC said "Anything beats rice"
As the fish cooked, conversation once more turned to where they were headed.
"I was thinking, we have two options now. We can stay by the main river and follow it straight to the city, or we can head along the stream towards the mountain area." Bray said as they lay under the cover of trees enjoying their rest "That's the Eco's territory, we may get lucky and locate them, I know it's a long shot, the Ecos move about a lot and won't be found unless they want to. But if there's a chance of finding them, it may be safer than heading into the city when we don't know what's there. If the Technos have full control just getting in will be a problem, and if we do that, I'm not sure what we'll find there"
KC took in the information and thought about it, before giving his own opinions.
"If we follow the stream, even if we don't find the Eco's were still back in territory we kinda know. We could even head to the farm if we don't have any luck finding the Eco's. It gives us shelter, we can try and scout out what's going on from there, even head into the city from that direction. May be a better idea, than walking straight back into Techno hands."
"So we follow the stream?"
"Sounds like the safest bet, guess the city can wait a few more days to see us again" KC replied with a shrug
"Hopefully the Eco's won't prove to be as stealthy as they used to be" Bray said turning the fish as they cooked. "This also leads us further away from the Technos should they still be searching for us, course it brings us closer to the road, but I'd take the risk, the road still covers a lot of ground the Technos don't use anymore, not since they moved us all anyway. We can avoid it easily, head up towards the hills before we hit the mountains."
"Sounds like a plan" KC said lying on his back and cupping his hands behind his head. He found he must have drifted off because Bray gave him a soft tap on the arm and held a fish close to his face as he opened his eyes
"Lunch?" Bray grinned to him, as KC sat up suddenly and ran a hand over his face before grinning and taking the fish from him.
"Don't mind if I do
