*Le gasp* I'm publishing two chapters in one day!? What is this!? Well, technically, chapter 5 was published yesterday, so... Anyways, I finished the fic (FIRST FIC I'VE EVER COMPLETELY FINISHED!) so this is a celebratory chapter. Wahoo!

'Here!' Abby called. Ben had already climbed to the top of the bus and was waiting for her to toss up the two blankets they had borrowed from Anne. She waited until he had turned towards her to toss up the rolled-up blankets. Ben caught them and placed them behind him on the walled-in rack on top of the med-bus.

'Ready?' he called down to Abby.

'Yeah,' she sighed backing up a few feet. She took a deep breath and ran towards the bus, reaching up to grab onto Ben's hands. He caught her as she slammed into the side of the bus with a crash, eliciting surprised shouts from the occupants. With some difficulty due to the awkward position, Ben pulled Abby the rest of the way up. She helped as much as she could, her feet scrabbling for purchase against the smooth side of the bus. Ben moved one hand from her wrist to her bicep as she reached the top and pulled her the rest of the way into the basket, sending the two of them tumbling backwards in a tangle of arms and legs.

'Everyone okay up there?' Tom called from below them, sounding like he was withholding laughter.

'We're fine, Dad,' Ben called back, slightly winded by the fact that Abby was laying on his chest.

'Sorry,' Abby whispered, lifting herself off of Ben.

'You're fine,' he laughed as they disentangled themselves. 'Hal and Dallon found it very amusing.'

Abby laughed. 'That was one of my least graceful moments since I was spiked. And I bet it was funny.'

'Yeah,' Ben grinned. 'Here,' he added, handing her one of the blankets.

'Thanks,' Abby smiled gratefully, wrapping it around her shoulders. 'It feels even colder than it was this morning.'

'Maybe it is,' Ben shrugged. 'It feels kind of like there's a storm coming in.'

Abby looked around. 'There is,' she nodded. 'Or rain, at least.'

'How do you know?'

'Look at the leaves,' she said, pointing at the trees around them. 'See how the wind is flipping them upside down? That means it's going to rain. It's something my grandma always said.'

'I don't understand how the leaves turning over means it's going to rain,' Ben said.

'It's something with the way the wind blows when the rain is coming in,' Abby shrugged. 'I don't know why exactly, I just know it mean rain.'

Ben nodded. 'I guess we'll find out,' he said, sounding skeptical.

'It'll rain,' Abby replied, confidant. 'I don't know when, how hard, or how long, but it's going to rain. I hope it waits until we get to camp. I don't want to get stuck up here in the rain.'

'I told you it was going to rain,' Abby said sourly. She and Ben were huddled together under the damp blankets on top of the med-bus.

'Yeah, you win,' he replied.

'We're probably going to get sick now,' she said.

'Just be glad we're not on the motorcycles anymore,' he assured her. 'Trust me, that is not fun in a downpour like this.'

'I hope we're near that clearing your dad mentioned,' Abby sighed, shivering as a drop of water seeped through the blankets and trickled down her spine.

'I think so,' Ben said, peering out from under the blankets. 'The rain may have slowed us down, but I do think we're close. We were supposed to reach the clearing a few hours after lunch, I think, and it's been almost five.'

'That's some interesting logic,' Abby teased.

'No, I think they said three or four hours at lunch,' Ben shook his head. 'The rain hasn't slowed us down too much, so it shouldn't be too much further.'

'I really hope not,' Abby shivered.

'I told you we weren't far,' Ben said triumphantly as the med-bus trundled into the clearing.

'I feel like we've been playing "I told you so" since we got up here,' Abby sighed.

Ben winced, shifting the blankets over the two. 'Do you hear that?'

'What?' Abby replied. 'Oh. Skitter radio? Yeah, I just tuned in.'

'That means there's a lot of them, and they're close,' Ben said grimly. 'We can't stay here.

'There's no way we're getting back out to the road with all that mud,' Abby replied. 'We should let your dad know and go check it out. With this rain we can't even tell if they were here already or not.'

'I know,' Ben said, squinting towards the ground. 'And with the vehicles coming in the ground has been so disturbed that we couldn't see the tracks anyways.'

The two lurched forward as the med-bus shrieked to a stop. 'Come on,' Ben said, standing up and flinging the blankets off of his shoulders. 'Can you jump down?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded, standing. The two walked to the edge of the basket and leapt towards the ground. Unfortunately, the rain had turned the ground into a mud slop, and they both landed with a squelch, their feet slipping out from beneath them, and crashed onto their backs with a loud splat.

'Ugh,' Abby groaned, sitting up. 'So disgusting.'

'It's just mud,' Ben shrugged, slipping to his feet and reaching down to pull Abby up. 'It'll wash off. For now, let's just deal with the skitters.'

'The radio chatter is fading,' Abby pointed out.

'Doesn't mean anything,' Ben shrugged. 'They could just be settling down for the night.'

'True,' Abby nodded. The two looked towards the med-bus and squinted as the door opened and light shone out from the interior.

'Oh my god, you two are not coming in here like that!' Anne exclaimed.

'Dad!' Ben called, trudging through the mud to the bus. 'There are skitters nearby,' he spluttered as the downpour increased. 'A lot of them. We can hear their radio waves, but we can't tell if it's the rebels or not.'

'Great,' Tom groaned. 'There's no way we'll be able to get back to the road with this mud.'

'Stay in the bus,' Ben said. 'Power down as much as possible. We're going to talk to Weaver, maybe grab Jimmy and Dallon and Harlem, then head out to scout the skitters.'

'Are you sure?' Tom asked. 'Maybe we can just hunker down here for the night.

'No,' Ben shook his head. 'We need to know now. We'll be fine, Dad.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded. 'Stay safe. Send Hal and Maggie over here if you see them.'

'Okay,' Ben agreed. He turned and joined Abby, and the two trucked through the mud in the direction of the head of the convoy.

'Colonel!' Ben called when they reached the truck. He could see Weaver standing outside of it in the gloom, talking to Jimmy, Hal, Maggie, Dallon, and Harlem.

'Ben, Abby,' Weaver nodded. 'We're staying in the vehicles tonight. We'll set up camp in the morning.'

'Sir, there's a group of skitters nearby,' Ben interrupted.

'Skitters?' Weaver repeated. 'Scouts cleared the area.'

'How do you know?'

'We picked up their radio chatter when we pulled into the clearing,' Ben replied.

'Harlem and I didn't hear anything,' Dallon said.

'We were on the other side of the clearing,' Abby replied. 'Maybe you guys weren't close enough. I can't hear it anymore.'

'She's right,' Ben agreed. 'Either way, we can't just ignore it. Let us go check it out.'

'We can at least determine if it's rebels or not,' Abby added.

'By "we" who do you mean?' Weaver asked.

'Me, Abby, Jimmy, Dallon, and Harlem,' Ben replied. 'We can move faster and quieter than anyone else, and more easily.'

Weaver nodded reluctantly. 'Fine. Report to me when you get back.'

'Yes, sir,' Ben nodded.

Weaver opened the door of the truck and climbed in. 'Hal, Maggie, Mom and Dad said you guys should go to the med-bus,' Ben added.

'Okay,' Hal nodded. 'Be careful.'

'Yeah,' Ben smiled. Hal and Maggie began to trudge towards the med-bus while the spiked kids remained near the truck.

'Do we at least have a plan?' Dallon asked crossly.

'We walk in, fan out when we get near, and get close enough to tell whether or not the skitters are rebels,' Ben replied.

Dallon shrugged. 'Better than nothing.' He sighed heavily. 'Which way?'

'That way,' Ben pointed, and the five set off in the direction he indicated.

'What do you think?' Abby whispered, squinting through the rain. 'I can't see enough from here.'

'Rebels,' Ben replied. 'Definitely. I see lots of spiked kids. I think I recognize a couple.'

A rustle sounded in the bushes to their left, and Jimmy and Harlem stepped through.

'Verdict?' Ben asked.

'Rebels,' Jimmy replied. 'We saw Samson.'

'As soon as Dallon gets back, we can head back to the clearing,' Ben said, looking back down on the skitter camp.

'I'm here,' Dallon said, stepping through the foliage to the right. 'They're rebels. And it looks like they're moving away from the clearing anyways.'

'Great,' Ben said. 'All agreed.'

'Let's go back,' Harlem shivered. 'It's wet. And cold. And did I mention wet?'

'Shut up,' Abby teased, whacking him in the shoulder. 'The rain's stopping anyways.'

The five teenagers set off in the direction of their clearing. The reached it faster than they had taken to get to the skitter camp, grateful for the slowing rain.

As they stepped into the clearing, the rain stopped. 'Seriously!?' Dallon exclaimed, flinging out his arms.

'Deal with it,' Jimmy retorted, jabbing him with the butt of his gun.

'Let's just report to Colonel Weaver,' Ben said. 'Then we can get back to the med-bus and find some dry clothes.'

'I like that plan,' Harlem grumbled.

'Me too,' Abby agreed.

The five teenagers trekked through the ankle-deep mud to the truck containing Colonel Weaver and Jeanne. When he saw them approach, he opened the door and climbed out, landing in the mud with a squelch. 'Well?' he called.

'They're rebels,' Ben replied. 'We think they're headed away from here, too.'

'Good,' Weaver nodded. 'You guys can check again in the morning, and if you still believe that, we'll set up camp.'

Ben nodded in agreement after looking at the others and receiving various shrugs and nods of conformation.

'Head back to the med-bus,' Weaver instructed. 'Get yourselves cleaned up and fed, and try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning.'

'Yes, sir,' Ben nodded. He and the others turned and started their trek for the med-bus, but Weaver stopped them with:

'If you need somewhere to sleep, you can bring a tarp and cover the truckbed,' Weaver called after them. 'That bus might be a little cramped.'

'Just a little,' Ben called back with a laugh. 'Thanks.'

As they
reapproached the med-bus, the door opened, revealing Anne standing with her arms crossed.

'You are not coming in here like that,' she said sternly. 'I will give you clothes, and you can change. I'll give you a blanket and you can hold it up for one another.'

The teens traded glances as Anne picked up two backpacks from the floor behind her and tossed them out. 'There are some clothes, and there's a blanket in one.'

Abby opened the bag she had caught. 'The clothes are just what I could find around here that looked like they would fit,' Anne added. 'Hurry up. It's late, and everyone needs sleep.'

The five made their way to the back of the bus. 'Abby, did you find anything you think will fit?' Jimmy asked. 'You're the smallest, so it'll be hardest for you.'

'Um, a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring, and a plaid button-up that looks kind of big,' she replied. 'There's another pair of sweats in here that might be the only thing that will fit Dallon since he's so tall and skinny.'

'Yeah,' Dallon sighed. 'Nothing in here will fit me,' he added, handing his bag to Jimmy.

'Here,' Abby said, handing her bag to Dallon sans the pants and shirt she had claimed.

'This is a big blanket,' Harlem said as he and Ben started to unfold it.

'Two of us can hold it along our backs so that it's sort of a "v" against the bus, and someone can stand in there and change,' Ben suggested.

'That'll work,' Jimmy agreed.

'Here,' said Dallon, handing the second bag to Jimmy. He held up a t-shirt and the sweatpants Abby had mentioned. 'This'll do.

'You can go first,' Ben said.

'Yeah, you're the tallest, so we need you to hold the blanket,' Abby laughed.

'You guys are so short I'm gonna have to double over to stay decent,' Dallon grumbled.

'Just go,' Abby sighed. 'I'm freezing in this wet stuff, and I think the mud is starting to harden.'

'Fine,' Dallon groaned. He stepped against the back of the bus and waited until Ben and Harlem raised the blanket. 'You guys are so short,' he complained

'Deal with it,' Harlem growled.

'It's not our fault you're a seven-foot-tall giant,' Abby added.

'Hurry up,' Jimmy said, shifting his weight. 'We're all freezing.'

'Done,' said Dallon, stepping out from behind the blanket as he pulled on his shirt. 'Next.'

'Abby, go ahead,' said Harlem.

Abby nodded and stepped behind the blanket once Dallon had traded places with Harlem. She pulled her shirts of quickly, pausing as they got tangled in her long hair. 'Ow. I should cut my hair.'

'You have pretty hair,' Jimmy said absently as he found clothes that would fit him and handed the bags to Harlem.

'It's a pain,' Abby sighed, freeing her hair from the shirts. 'It gets dirty so quick, gets tangled in my clothes and branches when I'm in the woods, and ends up a knotty mess after a few days of living like this.'

'Then cut it,' Harlem replied.

'Thing is, it's taken me five years to get it this long,' Abby replied. 'My mom and sister didn't think I'd ever be able to keep it longer than my shoulders, so I swore I'd grow it out to my waist. It's not there yet, and it's almost like that's the last thing I have left of them.'

'Are you getting all sentimental about your hair?' Dallon groaned, shifting where he stood.

'Yep,' Abby replied.

'You're acting like a girl,' Dallon said, rolling his eyes.

'Maybe that's because I am a girl,' Abby shot back, stepping out.

Jimmy and Harlem burst out laughing when they saw her. 'Nice,' Harlem laughed. Ben and Dallon peered at her and smiled themselves.

Abby stood, dressed in much too large sweatpants that she had rolled up several times at the bottom and an oversized plaid button-up shirt with half of the sleeves ripped off. She glared at the boys. 'Shut it. Next.'

She switched places with Ben, making the blanket very uneven due to the almost two-foot height difference between her and Dallon as Jimmy stepped behind the blanket. He changed quickly into a green and white rugby shirt and sports warm-up pants and stepped out to take Abby's place.

Harlem changed almost as quickly as Jimmy had, emerging in jeans that looked too big for him and a Chincoteague Island hoodie. Ben ducked behind the blanket and emerged wearing jeans and another plaid-button up. 'I look like a hick,' he joked, stuffing his muddy clothes into one of the knapsacks while Dallon and Jimmy folded the blanket. The five trekked back to the door of the med-bus, where Anne was still waiting.

'Shoes come off and stay on the steps,' she said quietly, stepping back so the kids could enter. 'The girls are on the back couch. Hal and Maggie have two of the cots, and Matt and Colm are sharing the other. You guys get the floor. You know where the blankets are.'

Anne settled into the seat at the front of the bus as the kids filed in. 'Jimmy and I will both fit on the floor in the back, and probably Harlem too, but I think Dallon is too tall,' Abby whispered.

'Probably,' Dallon agreed, peering into the back.

'Then we'll sleep out here,' Ben said.

'Don't step on Tom,' Anne cautioned as Abby, Jimmy, and Harlem made their way towards the back of the bus. They stepped over Tom as they went, passing the cots silently. Anne had spread sleeping bags over the floor to pad it slightly for those sleeping on it.

'Abby!' Colm whispered.

'What, buddy?' Abby replied.

'Take me with you,' Colm said, sitting up and reaching his arms out for her to pick him up. She lifted him up and balanced him on her hip before continuing.

'Ben can sleep with me,' Matt said softly. Wordlessly, Ben complied, crawling onto the cot next to his brother and wrapping his arms around the younger boy to keep him from falling off. Dallon laid down on the floor near the door, curling up under a blanket that Harlem tossed him. Abby, Jimmy, Harlem, and Colm made their way to the back and curled up on the floor. Jimmy and Harlem laid down, curling up under blankets, but Abby merely sat on the floor with Colm on her lap.