Flame was sitting up so straight that it looked as if he had a metal rod holding his back up instead of a spine. He was staring at the ground so intensely that Di and Scout were half convinced he was trying to burn a hole in the dirt with his mind. Di found his pose very amusing; for he would sit like that for hours and hours without moving an inch, like some kind of freaky robot.

Di scooted close to Flame. She put her elbows on her knees, and gave him a dreamy smile. Flame flicked his eyes over her uncomfortably, then continued to stare at the ground. Di stifled a giggle.

"Hey Scout," Di called over to him, "why don't you climb up a tree and go on a lookout?"

Scout gave her the dirtiest look he could manage.

"I almost broke my arm last time I tried to climb a tree,"

"Well it's a good thing your sister is a healer, right?" she smiled at him spitefully, "just do it. You never know. You could see something useful,"

Scout knew what his dumb sister was trying to do. But he also knew that if he refused to go, Di would go ahead and kiss Flame anyways. And he did not want to be there to witness it.

Scout grumbled as he stalked off to a safe-ish looking tree to climb. The tree didn't have pointed bark that was splitting off, and it kind of had branches he could grab. He stood on his tiptoes, struggling to grab the closest branch he could reach. Unlike Di, Scout did not inherit his father's tall genes. As he continued to struggle, he suddenly felt strong hands grab his waist. He was lifted into the air, and was almost thrown onto the branch. He looked down to see Flame, expressionless.

"One day, there will be an emergency where you will need to climb a tree. And we won't be there to help you. Keep that in mind," Flame said. He walked away.

Scout felt his face burn. Flame was so weird sometimes. He shook his head, and continued with much labor to climb the tree.

"Oh my, look, here we are, alone together at last," Di boldly leaned into Flame's chest.

Flame felt his body temperature skyrocket.

"What are you doing." He stood still as a statue, staring down at her like he had grown a bird out of his chest.

"What?" Di backed away, "I'm just taking advantage of the time we have together. Is that too bad?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that question,"

"What! Why are you always such a... what's that old word? A grouch I think. You're such a grouch. It can't hurt to lighten up a bit," she smiled at him.

Flame looked over at her. Di saw the faintest smile on his lips as he leaned in closer.

"Define 'lighten up'."

"All I mean is just let your guard down a little bit. Tell a joke. Something!" She giggled.

"If I let my guard down, who knows what you might do to me."

Di leaned into Flame's face.

"I think that's exactly what you want,"

With that, Di planted a kiss on Flame's burning mouth.

Scout was mortified. He had heard almost half of the conversation between Flame and Di. He climbed the tree with more rigor, because nothing was better motivation than escaping the playful flirtation between Flame and his sister. Sick.

His limbs burned and ached. He was used to running, but any other form of physical labor was done by Ree, Flame, Di or Chas. The rest of the group never had to undergo any of The Camp's intense physical military training, so they weren't as buff or street smart. Sweat trailed down his arms and face.

This, he panted, is not fun.

And as if a god was watching out for him, a few minutes later he saw the tip of the tree, highlighted by the sun. He grimaced as he pulled himself up to the last stable branches. He lifted his head, and the took in the view.

The sky was a pale blue, with no clouds in sight. The sun blazed across the trees and reflected off the ocean, which was a dark gray. He could see the desalination center, and the chaos surrounding it. He looked closer.

His vision zoomed in like binoculars, and slowly focused on a black pickup truck, crashing into the wall of the gigantic dome. He willed his eyes to look closer, and barely caught sight of Ree inside of it. Her body was thrown on the impact, and on instinct she phased through the truck and into the wall.

Whoa. Did she mean to do that?

Scout set his eyes back to the normal 30-20 vision he prefered. He bit his lip, concerned for Ree and the others. But he quickly assumed that they knew what they were doing, and decided to scan the forest, just in case.

He slowly blinked. Suddenly, all around him were blurs of blue, yellow, red, and green. He had set his eyesight to thermal vision.

Scout figured it was his best shot at spotting something worthwhile through the trees. He, regretfully, started at the bottom of the tree, then expanded his thermal vision outward.

His eyes almost immediately scanned over Di and Flame, two bodies who's colors were red hot (especially Flame's). He convulsed; the two were kissing like people who were fighting to get food out of each other's mouths. He made a face of disgust and made sure to pass over them as quickly as he could.

For about fifteen minutes, nothing had changed. He didn't spot any bodies, besides a deer that was carefully marching through the leaves. He almost jumped up and down with excitement when he spotted it, but he remembered that he was precariously balanced on a tree branch. He stood still, but he continued to smile. He couldn't wait to tell Ree.

Suddenly, there it was.

A human body, trudging through the forest.

He blinked slowly, and willed his brain to change back to normal. He zoomed in through the trees, and trained his sight on the intruder.

It was a girl.

She looked about 14 years old, and she had the same color skin as Flame's. Her short hair was pulled back in cornrows that had twigs, leaves, and mud clung to them. She was so thin, her arms looked like sticks in a uniform that was probably once her perfect fit. Scout saw that she looked malnourished, starved and most of all dehydrated. This girl was not a threat. She needed help, and Scout was sure that Ree and the others would agree.

It was strange, I was just watching TV and I kind of stood up and decided I would continue to write this. Kind of a spur of the moment type of thing.

Anywho, here it is, after a gazillion years of ignoring it. I will continue to update, and I'll try to not let you guys hanging.

Thanks for reviewing! :D