Raindrops

Quicksilvre

Note: I don't own The O.C. I just...don't. SO STOP ASKING!! :) Also, I've jacked the rating from PG to PG-13, as Summer decides to loosen her lips just a little. Nothing horrible; nothing you wouldn't hear in a junior high school, at least.

-)-)-)-)

Summer breathed and pushed the weight onto her back. She didn't realize how little it took to load up a normal-sized backpack, so she switched it for a camper's pack, and god, they held a lot. It wasn't too totally packed, at least not yet, but she was starting to feel the weight build up. Groaning, she wished she hadn't have sat out so many gym periods. Blowing out her back, she had already decided, was probably a bad way to start the afterlife. She decided to settle down onto a bench before getting more stuff.

She sighed. C'mon, Sum, think about it...what'll you need to eat to stay upright? Fortunately, and for the first time since she had her ride on the cloud, she had plenty of company–others on their own journeys.

Plenty of them could tell clueless Californians what they would need on their own journeys, for example.

"Have plenty of clothes?" was one they always said. How much was a different matter–three days' worth, said one. Four or five, said another. A week's worth, said another–but that was a guy with crazy big muscles; there was no way she could carry that much.

Summer decided that wearing clothes two days in a row would quickly lose its ew-factor. She had a few changes of underwear, two pairs of jeans (one of which she was already wearing–she was grateful to at least get out of her uniform), some shorts, a few shirts (ditto), a baseball cap, and a sweatshirt, all folded and rolled as tightly as they could be and stuffed in. Nothing stylish; now wasn't the time for that.

She also picked up some other items that she saw that seemed pretty important–bandages, a mysterious spray can of "first aid," a Swiss Army knife, a hairbrush, a lighter, and a deck of playing cards.

The food section was up ahead. Summer had no idea how much she would need–or how she was going to prepare it. Cold Spaghetti-Os sent a chill up her spine that no dose of reality could reverse. She sighed and pushed her feet down, preparing to lift her pack back up.

This dying thing was hard.

-)-)-)-)

Summer knew she had changed, at least a little bit, when she got excited when she found mini-burners that hug from her pack.

She had gotten that for the road–that and some cans of random crap. Ravioli, a lot of it was–she picked up a lot when she realized how long it had been since she last had it. That, and some of the dreaded O's. Stuff that fit in a very small space–but all of her stuff was adding up.

Okay. That's clothes and food. What else do I need? Summer pondered if she could get anything else. Shelter was going to be far too heavy–even the lightest tents were going to be too much. She found a sleeping bag, the smallest that they had, that she could carry...still, anything beyond that was going to be backbreaking. She also remember the sign at the front of the (store? warehouse?) and picked up a few bracelets and necklaces. Nothing particularly special could be found, but she hoped it would be enough to trade for anything she needed. On top of that was a one-liter water bottle, pre-filled and frozen.

Food, shelter, clothes, water, stuff to trade. What else? Summer found herself in a mind-freeze. "Is...that it?" That's everything, isn't it? No one was around to tell her otherwise; everyone who had been a help seemed to have vanished. "Uh...time to go...I guess."

She looked around for the exit, and saw a sign–the same kind found at school, the kind with EXIT in red letters.

The familiarity comforted her, just a little.

-)-)-)-)

There were apparently very few exits out. Summer found herself behind fifty other people at the exit–but the line was moving fairly swiftly out.

She adjusted her backpack again. She hoped she didn't have to be out in the elements for long–the backpack alone was going to kill her. Besides, she had only about a week's worth of food, including some emergency supplies. The first place she needed to find was a boarding house.

A knot started to form in her stomach. She took a few more deep breaths. "You'll survive," she whispered to herself.

You have to survive. You can't leave things like this.

She looked ahead again–the door was coming very quickly. Two large men stood on either side of it. One checked each person's pack as the other checked their pass. The whole process took just a few seconds, but every once in a while, someone would be sent back. Everyone who was rejected went straight back into the store–to pick up something they had forgotten, Summer decided.

Okay. Got everything? Summer considered what she was carrying. All right, close enough–if I go back I go back. Just three people in front of her now. She was close enough to hear and see what went on with the line more clearly–the inspection, a bit of chatter, then, the traveler was given a map and the best of luck.

"Okay, Summer, deep, easy breaths. You'll be okay." She peeked out the door as one person stepped out. A lush-looking grassland awaited. "All right. Not so bad."

The guy in front of her stepped forward, took off his sack, and handed over his papers. All three spoke in English. "All right, I'm set."

"Okay." The first guard glanced at his papers, scribbled a signature, and returned the papers. The other one finished looking through his pack.

"You'll need this." The second guard finished his inspection, pulled a jacket from the pack, and zipped it up.

"Thanks." The man put on his jacket and his pack, accepted a map from the first guard, and went out the door, into a snowy, cloudy vista.

What? Wait...where....

"Miss?"

"Oh!" She took her sack off and slid it to the second guard. "Sorry." She handed her papers over.

"No problem." The guard checked her off. "Here." He handed over the next map on the pile. Summer took a look, and her mouth involuntarily went into a grimace.

It's blank! What the hell is THIS??

"All right, everything looks good." The second guard was zipping her pack back up. "Best of luck, miss."

She looked first at the first guard and then at the second. She looked back onto the map–suddenly, everything appeared.

Not a lot of options–just a road, but it was a start.

"Thanks." She kept her eyes on the map as she put her pack back on, then turned to the door. Her land was warm and dusty, with palm trees to either side of her. The was only one way to go–through the trees via a stamped trail.

She stepped out. After hearing the guards say "Next" for one last time, the door shut behind her.

Summer looked over her shoulder–everything was gone. The huge building she had been in had evaporated away, and the only thing left that she could see was the path winding back into thicker trees. It was the same in front of her–the path and thick trees.

She adjusted her pack one last time. "Okay. No time to fuck around any longer." She looked back down at her map. It seemed as though there was more of the same until the path went through a settlement, about ten or twelve miles away.

She folded up the map and put it in her pocket. Please, God, protect me. Protect me and everyone left in Newport. But don't let me screw up too badly. She looked forward, back again one last time, and started on her way.