"Keagan, come on get up."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. It was Lina. I guess it was time; the light has risen from the ground.

"Lina—aaa, is it time?" I said in the middle of a yawn

"Yes, yes it is time."

I sprang from the ground as quick as I could. It wasn't as light as it was yesterday; it was grayish, and colder. Paisley was still sleeping snug in the shirts. I didn't want to wake her, so I just picked her up and rocked her back and fourth. She groaned slightly and dosed back into a deeper sleep.

The air was misty and damp, what was this?

"Ember refugees! We are to start our journey today!" yelled Doon

I heard many cheers that continued for several minutes. The ovation was the loudest I've ever heard. I continued to rock Paisley hoping she wouldn't wake.

"Baby, I'll take her." my mom offered

I handed little Paisley to my mother. I knew I had to speak to the people of Ember, so I walked over towards Lina and Doon. Lina and Doon stood perfectly together. I knew they were meant for each other.

"Lina, is Poppy doing any better?"

"No, I think she is getting worse." she frowned

"We better start walking towards the…things."

"Ember refugees, each and everyone of us must do our parts to help us find society. If you are hungry please take one piece of fruit. I believe they are pears, apples, oranges, cherries, and peaches. They do look different from the fruits we had back in Ember, but in Ember they were canned, these fruits are fresh. We will begin our journey in just a few minutes so eat something so you aren't hungry later." I said as nicely as I could

"Good job, Keagan." Lina and Doon said in harmony

"Thank you, I'm not much of a public speaker." I laughed

"Yes you are! You didn't stutter at all!" Lina smiled

"Aww you guys are the best!"

We got the group together, and walked. We led the group holding hands. Me, Lina, and Doon, we we're in separable. I am not in love with Doon anymore; we are nothing more than best friends. I guess that I just have to let destiny play its deck of cards.

The sky began to cry. I wasn't sure why water fell from the sky, but it was like taking a shower. Once the sky stopped crying, we were all soaking wet. We were walking towards these high pointy things in the distance, but they seemed to never get closer. The sky began to clear up and the grayish color faded into a beautiful blue, and an arch of colors was in the distance.

How that arch reminded me of Lina's drawings. Somehow I felt Lina's feelings; I could sense that she felt the same way. We are some how connected, but is that even possible?

"Lina, your drawings, the colors!"

"I know Keagan, I was thinking the same thing. It is just beautiful. Just perfect." Lina said in awe

"Yes, just perfect."

We were going to be great friends. The funny thing is, I was never really a friend of Lina's until we got out of Ember. I think that stupid dark place was holding her back. It wasn't just her who had changed though; everyone was a little bit nicer. I guess the blackouts really did get everyone extremely tense. I am just glad we're all safe.

The arch of colors disappeared after a little bit, but the picture was still flourishing in my head. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, they were so pretty in person. I wondered if it were possible to touch it. I yearned to touch it, to lay on it, to nap on it. My insides gleamed with happiness. I don't know where it came from, but I felt free and unstoppable.

"What are we going to do if we don't find a town?" Paisley asked as she ran from behind

She was bouncing.

"Aren't you happy, today?" I replied

"I asked a question and I am awaiting a reply."

"Maybe you aren't as happy as I thought." I said as I stuck my tongue out at her

"I'm waiting…"

She was so persistent. It was quite annoying. I knew I had to face the truth. I wanted to answer, but I didn't know how to say "I didn't know." I was always taught to have an answer for every problem in school, and it was so hard to say that I didn't know. I was trying to get away from that touchy subject, but Paisley wouldn't let me.

"Paisley, I—I just don't know." I stumbled out

"I thought you had this all planned out…don't you?"

"Some things are too hard to plan in advance. Just relax and let our fate pave a path in front of us."

"Keagan, since when did you become so laid back?"

"Since when did you become so pessimistic? You used to always find something positive in something negative. You've changed Paisley, and I'm not sure it's for the better." I blurted out

I said too much. I shouldn't put that on such a young child. Or is it time for her to face the facts? I know she understands what a pessimist is, so it wasn't like she didn't understand it. Maybe it's good for her, maybe.

"Why are you so mean to me, Keagan? I don't get what I did wrong…if I even did anything wrong." She said with tear filled eyes

"KEAGAN!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR SISTER?" I heard something coming from behind me

It was my mother. Her golden hair bounced crazily. She was furious or at least her faced looked it. I was a little scared, because I never usually get in trouble. I guess It was my time.

"I did no wrong mother. I simply told Paisley the truth about her. That she has been acting like a pessimist lately."

She hugged Paisley tightly and gave me a stern look. I guess no matter how mature she is she still had the emotions of a toddler.

"Momm!" I groaned

"Keagann!" my mother mocked

I stormed towards Lina and Doon who were still leading at the front. My mother obviously was to protective of Paisley, but I didn't want to make her feel bad about it. I was annoyed with Paisley for taking what I said so harshly like I was trying to intentionally hurt her. That was not my intention at all. I just let my mouth carry my thoughts out of my head. Like I said, I said too much.

"Keagan, I know you have the best intentions, you just don't know how to show them, quite yet." Lina suggested

"Lina, I don't need any excuses, my actions are my actions. Please can we just forget about it?" I replied

"Forget about what?" Lina said with a big smile

"I don't know" I smiled back

"Stop being all, I'm your best friend. We need to have some kind of plan you know." Doon said in disgust

"Plans, yes we need plans." Lina said

They're sounding like Paisley.

"What can we plan? We find people when we find them. No one can control it…" I said

"Well we can plan when we're going to have dinner and things like that. So when and what are we having for dinner?" Doon asked as if I were some stupid person

"We'll have the only thing we can have, fruit. We can have dinner when the light source sets below the ground. I think it's best if we have a snack now, people are getting cranky." I stated

"It's a plan!" cheered Lina and Doon

"Everyone! We would like your attention for a few moments. We're going to take a short break to have a snack. The more energy we have, the sooner we will be able to find somewhere to stay the night. As said before we have pears, apples, oranges, cherries, and peaches. I hope this will make everyone a little more cheery. You can just come grab a fruit and sit down somewhere close by. Please don't go into the woods. We would like to have everybody we started with when we reach a city." I yelled so everyone heard

"Don't take too long to eat your fruit; we must be on our way soon." Lina added

Everyone hurried up to grab a fruit. I took a pear. I watched as the famished refugees ate their fruit. They all look like pigs, whatever pigs looked like. It was always a fun expression even no one knew what a pig was.

TO BE CONTINUED

AN: I am sorry this took so long to update, but I was elaborating it. I didn't add a ton of detail, but more than I usually would. I would like to say I look forward to finishing the series which will be in the next one or two chapters. If you have any further comments please review! Thanks!