Hey everyone!
So so sorry for not updating earlier, I've been battling a stomach bug (oh joy!), so today is the first day that I've felt well enough to do anything really.
Gigantic thanks to VioletDream13 & the anonymous Guest for your reviews, and to judeling21 & Dizaster for following, and everyone who's reading this lil old story. You guys make me feel better than ginger ale and peppermint tea ever could.
:-D
EPOV
"I need everyone to empty their packs," I say as I walk back to the rest of our group. I'm aware of how rude I sound but I really don't care right now.
New Edward doesn't ask, he tells.
"Why?" Alice asks. Typical. She's been quiet for hours yet the she miraculously finds her voice the minute her privacy is threatened.
"Because we have to pool all our resources," I explain. Everyone begins emptying the contents of their bags onto the road as Alice stands with her hands n her hips challenging me.
"But why?" she asks again. I get the distinct feeling that she's deliberately asking just to irritate me.
"Look," I sigh. "Nobody is expecting us back for at least another five or six hours and by then it's going to be too late to organise a search party. Plus no-one knows where the heck we are anyway, not even we know. So even if we do start walking now, there is a good chance that we won't reach the nearest town or even the nearest house before tomorrow. We need to see what supplies we have left to last the night. Understand?"
She nods her head solemnly and slowly opens her bag.
"Right, so we need to separate everything into piles. Medical supplies in one, food and water in another. Any equipment like tents, sleeping bags and mats can go over there," I say, pointing to different areas.
"Where do I put my clothes and make-up?" Jessica asks.
"Put the make-up with the medical supplies for now. You can keep your clothes," I answer, wondering why she would need to bring so many clothes on what was only an overnight trip.
"Why?" she asks. Not this again. What is wrong with these girls?
"Just do what I'm telling you and stop asking me stupid questions," I snap, frustrated that some people can't just do what they're told.
"Jesus, Cullen. Just chill the fuck out man," Mike says. Ordinarily this is where I would apologise, but New Edward doesn't do that either.
That doesn't mean I don't feel bad about being rude.
I look up from my pack in time to see Jasper pull another bag from his pack. I can't for the life of me understand why he would carry such a large bag inside his pack or what he could possibly have in it. That is until he opens it and empties the contents on the ground.
Apparently while I've been carrying our tent and trangia, Jasper's been carrying an entire supermarket.
There are literally dozens of sachets of soups, drinks and even coffee and powdered milk, as well as packets of instant noodles and pasta, granola bars and cereals, and small tins of tuna and other meats. I'm shocked. It looks like he's packed for two months not two days.
"It was my mom," he admits sheepishly when he catches everyone staring at the mountain of food. "She didn't want me to go hungry."
"Where did she think you were going?" Eric laughs. "I'm pretty sure astronauts don't pack that much food when they go to the moon, dude."
I want to point out that astronauts don't go to the moon anymore but I don't think it will alleviate Jasper's embarrassment. I feel sorry for him, his mom is always doing things like this. Ever since his father died in a freak farming accident when he was little, Jasper's mother has obsessively coddled him. If this excursion hadn't been compulsory, I'm sure that his mother would never have allowed him to go. So the fact that she packed so much food for him isn't really that surprising.
"Well thanks to Jasper we won't have to worry about starving," Alice offers kindly. Jasper smiles warmly at her in return. If he wants to discourage her attention, he's going the wrong way about it.
Now that I know that food won't be a problem, I take stock of our other supplies. Between my first-aid kit and the one that Mr Molina gave me, we have more than enough medical supplies to be able to handle any minor injury. I also take the tweezers, nail clippers, file and a few brushes from Jessica's make-up bag just in case they can be of any use.
"Okay, we're going to divide everything we need between four packs and we'll each take turns carrying them," I say, though I mentally exclude the girls from that task. Not because I think that they're weak, it just seems like the gentlemanly thing for us guys to do. "Everything else will be left behind."
I load all the food and extra water into Jasper's pack. Mine will hold the first-aid kits, a folding shovel, two trangias and extra fuel, lighters, and an assortment of utensils, cups and utility knives. The three tents and half the remaining sleeping bags and mats are divided between the other two packs.
"Are we going to share sleeping bags?" Bella asks shyly.
"What?" Is she asking if her and I are sharing? Is that what she wants? I've never had any girl be so forward with me before, let alone Bella.
But that was the old Edward.
Apparently New Edward makes her act differently.
"Uh...I mean, the sleeping bags are too small for two people, so I was just wondering how we're all going to share them?" she stammers, blushing furiously.
"Oh...well we can just unzip them and use them as quilts. They'll cover more people that way," I say, trying hard to hide my disappointment. Maybe she just needs some time to get used to New Edward first before she's ready to be sleeping bag buddies.
Or maybe New Edward needs to stop referring to himself in the third person.
With another hopelessly awkward moment with Bella over, we stash the remaining packs with our non-essential items behind a marked tree and set off in what I'm certain is the direction of home.
I'm thinking of writing the next chapter from a different characters point of view, so who would you like to hear from? Maybe the traitors on Team Emmett? Or would you like to hear what Bella thinks of Edward 2.0?
Any and all feedback is truly appreciated!