Three months of training for Leo was three months too long. The Government had gathered and was now ordering them Outside on pain of death. Louisa's looks portrayed her thoughts- send them Outside and there was a next to no chance of returning. No point of killing them if there wasn't anything to glean from it all.

They now stood by the giant gates that separated civilisation from the Outside. Their closest friends had been let through to say good bye. The girls were tearful, huddling around Louisa. The boys looked worried for Leo, giving him awkward hugs, even Nico.

"Trust it to be you, Leo." Frank smiled sadly.

"I know right?" Leo grinned, trying to ease the tension. Jason ruffled his hair.

"Be careful."

"Aw, didn't know you cared, Sparky." Jason scowled at him, but was smiling a second later.

A chorus of trumpets filled the air, drowning out any other sound. Leo hefted his rucksack onto his shoulders, noticing Louisa was doing the same. They had enough food each to last two weeks, maybe three if they ate rations. Leo knew for a fact that Louisa also had knives, a sword, her trusted bow and arrows and a retractable shield. Leo had a few knives and he could always borrow her sword. He wasn't trusted with weapons.

He also had a smaller bag of bits of junk, scrap and anything else he could use to make whatever he wanted. The legions had heard of his mechanical skill and had taught him how to make a few basic weapons- not that Leo didn't know that already…

They also had first aid kits, flashlights with a dozen spare packets of batteries each, a sleeping bag and something of Leo's own creation. There were only two pairs of sunglasses that Leo had made that could switch between X-ray, night-vision and thermal-vision while also scanning unknown objects to determine what they were- such as a plant and whether or not it was edible. They were also stylish. Obviously.

Legionaries moved in and closed order in front of the mass of civilians. They had their shields up while facing the great doors. A signal was sent up to the control/watch towers and the two men in them set to work opening the doors.

Leo glanced at Louisa. She had her head tilted back in defiance, but her eyes held a glimmer of nervousness as they watched the doors slowly open. Both of them were dressed in typical legionary uniform with the armour underneath- chest plates, greaves, gauntlets, etc.

When the doors were open wide enough for them to get through, the General curtly waved them through. Louisa was the first to move, Leo's ADHD wondering how the men in the towers got up there with no visible ladders. He had to stumble after Louisa- so much for a heroic exit.

He turned and gave a last wave before the doors thudded shut with an air of finality.

"Right, where are we going?" Louisa rummaged in one of her many pockets and withdrew a thick bit of folded paper.

She unfolded it, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. It was a map of what the legion had discovered about Outside. As far as Leo knew, they had to fill it in as much as possible before returning.

Louisa checked her other pockets before retrieving a compass. She waited for it to settle at North and then pointed West. Leo followed her dutifully, talking to ease the silence. Outside was dark- it was just before midday but a storm was rolling in. They had to find shelter within the next few hours or the storm would slow them down drastically.

"It's just us, Lou, you can talk now." Louisa glanced at him with sad eyes. "What's the matter?" Leo wondered if she was worried about somebody overhearing them on the mics or radios, but they weren't given any. They had to travel far and the radios' range wasn't that good.

Boldly, Leo took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance. "You can talk to me, chica." She gave a small grateful smile, but didn't speak, clambering over the rubble.

Leo had always imagined the Outside to seem… magical. But it didn't. It was desolate and lifeless. There were chunks of rubble, small mountains of various sizes everywhere. They had to climb over loads of these. They came across the rusted hulls of abandoned cars. Worryingly, some had massive claw marks slashed through the bonnets or tyres were littered about in tattered shreds. A thick fog that smelt faintly of rotten or rotting materials- meat?- limited their vision to a few feet. Both of them had drawn out their flashlights, but they cast shadows that unnerved Leo. They had found a few foundations of buildings and roads, but there wasn't much to speak of. There were even strange noises filling the air- howls, screeches, cries… none of them helped Leo maintain his optimism about this.

What did help him was the fact that Louisa didn't let go of his hand. Leo wasn't sure if she was doing that because she wanted to or she just wanted to know she wasn't alone out here. Either way, he liked it. It was as if her small hand fit in his calloused one, their fingers intertwined.

The first patters of rain caught Louisa's attention and she picked up the pace. Leo's legs, back and shoulders complained at the more movement- this rucksack was getting increasingly heavier. They had walked over uneven ground at a solid, quick pace for hours now. Louisa was more used to it than he was and he didn't want to let her down, but if felt like his muscles were on fire.

They found a big pile of rocks with a large slab on top, making a cave of sorts. It seemed very convenient, but Leo wasn't complaining. He dropped Louisa's hand reluctantly to shed his rucksack. Sighing in relief, he allowed his shoulders to relax. Louisa smiled at him, ditching her own pack.

"So, first night Outside. Marshmallows?"

"You bought marshmallows?"

"Of course." Leo smiled. She rolled her eyes, but her smile remained.

In a few minutes, they had a fire going and were sitting down, resting. Leo was using his pack as a pillow, Louisa stoking the fire next to him. She was frowning at the flames and muttering.

"You OK?" Leo asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Mm-hm." She replied monotonously, not looking around. Leo moved to kneel next to her.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. Her frown deepened as the fire curled upwards. "Why do you look like you want to kick ass then?" She didn't seem to realise his feeble attempt at humour, using the thick stick she held to move the rubbish and broken wood to entice the flames hotter and higher.

Lightning flashed, thunder cracked outside and it started to pour heavily. Louisa sat back on her heels, pulling her hair from the neat bun she had to have as part of the legion uniform rules. Leo had to stop himself from running his hands through its soft silkiness, so he simply enjoyed how the fire reflected off of its natural shine. A deep raven, the fire highlighting parts so that they seemed dark blue or purple, and curling at the ends, Leo loved her hair. It was waist-length and he wished she would keep it down as it softened her expression, but she simply fashioned it back into her classic ponytail.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Leo asked what food they had. Louisa smiled weakly at his request, moving to her pack.

"The fire still needs to get warmer before we can cook anything on it."

"Right." Leo mumbled, still watching her. "So… I spy?" She looked at him, bemused. "I'm ADHD and bored."

"D'ya really expect to see anythin' through that?" She nodded at the heavy downpour that laced with the fog. Lightning lit the sky briefly.

"No. OK, what am I thinking of?"

"Food." Leo mocked surprise.

"How did you know?" He asked breathlessly, smiling. Louisa rolled her eyes and turned back to the fire.

I'll leave it there 'cos I've run out of ideas… hopefully I can update again tomorrow.

I've also been working on Alvie's story today- don't worry, I won't kill him… or Crystal- but I will shock you all!