Alice

Me, Dan, and the others helped load materials on the back of one of the dog sleds. The canines that would be used as the means of moving the sleds, sat in the snow and lolled their tongues happily. It must have been nice to not know what was happening.

They just thought they were going for another run, not leaving their frozen home behind. We got the last of the supplies loaded on the sled, and made sure the ropes were tied tightly. We didn't want anything to fall off, especially if it were something that we might need.

I noticed up at the dogs, Feliciana was shuffling through the snow and throwing them some dried meat. She had seemed lost since last night, and I knew it had something to do with that confrontation she had with Shun. He had brought up Christina and asked Feliciana if they had ever known each other.

That was when Feliciana asked how we knew her sister. I thought the two of them looked familiar. The similarities were mainly in their eyes. She knelt down and rubbed the ears of one of the dogs, telling it that they were going on a little trip. The dog looked at her and just kept panting.

"Alice, you need to get something to eat with the rest of us," said Runo, who had snuck up behind me and startled me out of my thoughts. She was pointing over to a large crowd of people; several of the Tribe members were handing out dried meat like the kind that had been given to the sled dogs.

I followed Runo over there to get a little bite of food before we all left. Who knows when we'd be able to take a break and eat, or how much food we'd have by the end of the day? It was safer to get something in our stomachs now, rather than not have anything at all.

Two pieces of the dried meat were handed to me, just like everyone else. I didn't know what kind of animal it had been, but I wasn't about to ask and ruin my appetite by finding out what it was. I held the food in my hand, then spotted Shun leaning against the pile of supplies on one of the sleds.

The two of us had been too busy trying to warm up once we escaped the snow storm, that we had hardly talked to anybody, much less each other. The land surrounding us had changed drastically from last night. The sky was no longer pitch black, but a light blue color with thick, fluffy clouds drifting through the air.

No snow was falling to the ground, and everything was still and silent. It really wasn't all that bad here, when it wasn't storming. I sat down beside Shun, carefully leaning against the sled because I feared that I would knock something off.

He smiled and said, "Hey." I smiled and told him hey back. Shun held out one of the pieces of dried meat to me and asked, "You want it? I'm not all that hungry." I shook my head and told him, "No, you need to keep it in case you get hungry later." He shrugged and said, "Good point."

Then he tucked the dried food away in his pocket. I found my eyes drifting over towards the people that we had brought with us from the lake. From what I had been told, we had lost more of them during the night; the majority of the deaths from freezing, regardless if they were in an igloo with a fire and blankets to warm them.

It looked like we had about a fourth of the people we brought with us, and I was sure that it would be like this by the time we reached our next stop. Thoughts raced through my mind about what we would encounter along the way this time. "I talked with Feliciana last night."

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to face Shun. He had his head tilted back, his face looking upwards at the sky and its clouds. "It was while everyone was asleep," he added. Wondering what he was seeing in the sky, I started to look up as well. All I saw was blue and white.

I had to admit, the light blue sky and the white of the clouds and snow on the ground, was a beautiful sight to look at it. Maybe even more than the lake that we had spent a couple of days at. I asked Shun, "What did you two talk about?" To my left, two kids from the lake were running around and playing in the snow.

Val, who was standing nearby, told them to knock it off. Why's he in such a bad mood today? Shun told me, "Mainly about Christina. I found out that she was from here, and why she left. That's about it since Feliciana didn't seem to want to go into anymore details." I could see why.

She hadn't seen or heard from her sister since she left. Now, Feliciana knew where Christina went, and that she had been alive. For the time being. "Did you tell Feliciana what happened to her sister?" I asked. Shun sighed and nodded, not taking his eyes from the sky.

"Yeah. She asked and I told her. That was when she ended the conversation and left." I continued to stare up as the sky as well, still unable to figure out what Shun was looking at. Then, I had a good idea what it was. He was looking off beyond what was in front of him, to a place where things were normal, and we didn't have to sacrifice lives in order to get to safety.

He was looking for a paradise that we all wished existed right now. Maybe that paradise would be beyond those mountains and at the end of our journey. But we had several more stops along the way before we found out. Somebody let out a shrill whistle, gaining the attention of everyone within earshot.

I turned and saw Feliciana standing in the center of all the people that were going to accompany us shortly. "Alright! Let's get moving!" she shouted and stepped on the back of one of the dog sleds. Since Murucho was still honorary map keeper, he was riding on the sled with her in order to give her directions.

Not all of us were going to be on sleds; we were only taking about six with us. The people who were riding the sleds, weren't going to go that fast; only a smidge faster than we could walk. Once the sled riders were strapped in, they whistled and their dogs started to run.

We all started walking behind them, not really comprehending that we were leaving another place, and taking more people away from their homes and towards and unknown future. But we couldn't afford to stay around and get blindsided by the Officials once again.

No One

Mass hysteria is all he could describe it as. One of the Officials, Clay, leaned against the window of the headquarters for him and all his partners. He stared out at the City, wondering what had become of the place. Charred skeletons remained where buildings and houses once stood.

Smoke still rose up into the air from them. This mass exodus that had fallen upon the City, wasn't anything he, or his fellow Officials, knew about. They discovered what the higher Officials intentions were. All Clay thought they were doing, was looking for the Outcast and the people who were hiding him.

He never would have thought that they were going to be killing hundreds of people without any logical reason. But he couldn't walk up to his superior and deny their motives. He would have surely ended up dead if he did that. As Clay stayed back in the crumbling City, the other Officials were out in the Wastelands, hunting the Outcast and his friends.

Why it mattered if the Officials went after them, Clay didn't know. He would have just suggested they let the runaways die out in the Wastelands. But, as usual, the higher Officials worked in strange ways, and held strange motives.

His superior, Xavier, was in the room next door, going over plans. Clay had been called to the office for some reason that was unknown to him, and that made him nervous. Had he done something wrong? Clay hadn't as far as he knew. The Official sighed, and continued to stare down at what was once his home, along with so many other people's.

There was no way the acceptance of what was happening in front of him, was morally right or sound. But he was an Official. This was what he was told to do by his leader, and it confused him. Since day one, Clay idolized the Officials and all they stood for; safety, protection, and honor.

Now, it was like he didn't know them anymore, and he was ashamed of himself for being a part of them. He wasn't the only one though. There was tons of talk about how what they were doing was wrong while they were 'cleansing' the City from deadweight.

If Clay ever had the chance to leave the Officials, he would have taken it. But then, he would be nothing more than another civilian at their mercy. Xavier could decide to kill him then. Heck, his leader was probably planning that right now. He didn't know what was going on anymore.

I see why they left this place, Clay thought to himself silently, thinking about how the runaways had vanished from the City without a trace. Only when a patrolling Official saw one of them out in the Wastelands where the Outcasts lived, did they find out where they had gone.

But when Clay and some other Officials went out there and demolished the home of the Outcasts, they could find no evidence of them ever being there. The only thing that made sense, was that the runaways had vanished again. That was when the hunt for them began.

Reports had come in that they were spotted at some lake about a day's journey from the City. They, along with half of the natives of the lake, had left under the cover of night while some stayed behind to hold the Officials back. After that, the trail went cold, but Clay knew it wouldn't take long for them to pop up again.

All he wished to know, was what was so important about these kids. Surely they couldn't last that long out in the Wastelands, regardless to whether they found shelter or not. The door to his leader's office opened, and Xavier stepped out, along with several other Officials.

Xavier motioned for Clay to come into his office, and the Official did as his superior asked. Xavier locked the door behind them, which sent an anxious chill up Clay's back. Since he was called to his leader's office, he had a bad feeling about what it could bring.

Xavier told him to sit, and he did; Clay was the perfect, obedient Official. Xavier tapped his fingers on his desk, and Clay saw a map spread out. It looked like the Wastelands, and had several spots circled. He then remembered, that it was taken from the Outcast when they had him imprisoned.

"There's some talk going around the Officials that you and a couple of others don't like what we're doing. Is that true?" Xavier said neutrally. Clay gulped, scared to know what would happen if he answered. If he told the truth, he would certainly be in trouble. And lying didn't seem to be smart either, because he had a feeling Xavier knew the truth already.

When Clay didn't speak, Xavier shook his head. "I'm ashamed, Clay. You, of all my Officials, have been ruined by these questionable thoughts. It's not your job to think, but rather to act." Clay heard the movement of people outside of the office.

So, he quickly asked, "Why are you doing this? Why are you killing these people? Why are you after those kids that ran away?" The door swung open, and two Officials hooked Clay under his arms, restraining him with sheer strength.

Xavier walked to the restrained Clay and said, "I'm doing this, because it's right. Years ago it was said that this would happen, and I'm only carrying out my word. And those kids running off, weren't part of the job description. Now, take him away."

Clay's eyes widened, and he started to struggle against his human handcuffs. The two Officials dragged him away, the last thing he saw was Xavier closing the door to his office.

would have been done sooner, but i got distracted. o.o my bad. again, i won't upload friday. check out my profile for a very important poll if you haven't. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~