Free Tent City by Kelly Van Hull

Bentley.
     
    “Hey there! I was just looking for you,” he says.
     
    “Oh yeah?” I ask, as I eye him suspiciously.
     
    “Yes, I was wondering if there was anything you needed or if you had any more questions?” He falters a bit, which I find strange, because of the usual confident and almost cocky manner he’s had the entire time I’ve known him, which I guess isn’t all that long.
     
    “Um, no, I’m good I think. Most of the other people around here have been very helpful. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d really like to get going. Maybe we could catch up later?”
     
    He hesitates for a bit, seeming to search for something to say. “Maybe I could come with you?” he asks.
     
    I’m not really sure what to tell him. This is something I do by myself. I don’t want to be rude to him. He’s the leader around here and I’m trying hard to make sure we fit in, if only for us not to get kicked out. I don’t have a plan B. I’m not sure where Kit, Brody and I would go if we weren’t able to stay here, especially with winter looming around the corner.
     
    “Well, you’re not really dressed for it,” I say, motioning to his combat boots, cargo pants and jacket. He’d be sweltering in minutes. “Plus, I’m not sure you can keep up.” At this, he smiles.
     
    “Keep up?” His grin gets even bigger.
     
    “You heard me. Not to brag or anything, but where I come from, I am the fastest kid around. Girl or guy.”
    With this, he seems even more interested than before. No chance of deterring him. I shouldn’t be surprised though. He’s seems like the type of guy who’s always up for competition.
     
    “Well, how about this. Give me a shot. If I can’t keep up, you can just keep going on your way and forget I was even there.”
     
    “Well, okay, but time’s a wasting. Do you need to change or anything?”
     
    “No, I’m good like this. Let’s take this trail back here behind the cabins. It goes past the stream we use for water. You’ll need to know that anyway for when it’s your water day.”
     
    I go to ask him what “water day” day is, but before I can get the words out he’s off. It doesn’t take long to see this is a well worn path. There are a few campers hauling buckets of water up as we first start our run.
     
    After a few minutes, it’s just the two of us. I’m a bit surprised with how fast he is, but I tell myself he’ll wear out soon. He can’t keep that pace for more than a couple of miles.
     
    As we keep moving, I actually find myself having trouble keeping up with him. I tell myself it’s because he knows the area more and if we were on flat ground I would have wasted him already. But I guess if he’s this wilderness boy that would explain why he’s in such great shape.
     
    It seems as if we have detoured to another less used area because I’m having trouble with my footing and I find myself having to slow down in order to not twist my ankle. I’ve lost some ground, but I bear down and keep moving, determined not to let him get the best of me.
     
    By my calculations, we have gone at least four miles now, which is getting to me because of the terrain and maybe the altitude. He doesn’t seem to have turned it down even a little. If anything, he seems to be picking up speed.
     
    Just as I’m about to announce he’s got me beat, he stops to listen for something.
     
    “Do you hear that?” he asks, with one hand raised as if to silence me.
     
    I strain to listen, but I hear nothing.
     
    Amazingly, he starts to climb a tree with nothing but his feet and his bare hands, appearing almost feral. He gets pretty high up and then slowly comes back down.
     
    “We need to clear out of this area,” he says in a whisper.
     
    “Why, what did you see?” I ask, expecting him to say he has spotted someone from The Council.
     
    He just shushes me, and then surprisingly takes me by the hand and leads me out of the wooded area we’re in and guides me to an