Camp Training

After a day of brooding because of the disheartening expectations of Liam's whereabouts, Lucas forced me to follow him all day long. He wouldn't let a second go to waste, so he showed me what all the Fighters do every day.

They train together in separate areas. Some of them train in swordsmanship, while the others are fighting bare hands. Then Lucas takes me to another training area, where some groups are training gun shooting.

Savannah trains a group of drooling-faced guys in swordsmanship, and I bet they don't even pay attention to the lesson. Savannah has the perfect body that every girl would be jealous of. I mean, look at that slender body in tight sweatpants and a sweaty tank top! That view will dispel those mashers' nerve centers.

Lucas and Mason, the only guys who are seemingly unbothered by Savannah's modelesque appeal, never glance at her if it's not necessary. BUT HOW?!

On the northern side of the camp, Mason is training teenage boys how to fight with bare hands, or what Lucas said was boxing. When we approach him, Mason doesn't even turn to look at us as he keeps hitting the punching bag that is attached to a tree.

Olivia is surprisingly very good at guns, and I can't even describe how dangerous she looks like with a gun in her hand. She's a petite redhead who people would mistake for her innocence, but with those weapons in her hands, she's like a completely different person. Her aims are so neat and precise.

Lucas only takes me to walk around and observe. Lucas himself doesn't train anyone anything, and I am still wondering what he does best in those fields.

"Do you know how to fight with swords?" Lucas asks when we stop on the running track once again.

I shake my head.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" he asks again.

I shake my head.

He clicks his tongue. "Do you know how to punch someone?"

"Well," I purse my lips. "Probably... not that I have ever tried," I say, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

He sighs in frustration, I can sense that.

"Do you know how to run?" he asks, pressing the last word like he's teaching a child how to talk.

I nod.

"Good," he says. "You'll start training today!"

Lucas walks away, and I catch his arm from behind.

"Wait," I say, pulling him to a stop. "Do you want me to run? Why?"

"Because every runaway here needs to do something, if you are not trained in any field, you better go back home!" he says, turning around to walk away.

"But I don't want to be a Fighter!" I guess my voice comes out a little bit too loud because some people are staring at me now.

"Then go back home to your mom, Ava!" he says without turning his back and keeps walking further away.

"What does running have to do with becoming a Fighter? Are we even going to talk about it before I start training?" I say, now shouting because I don't bother running after him. "Lucas, come back here!"

Ugh, the nerve of that man!

I walk grumpily towards the running track where everyone is still staring at me.

"What are you looking at, creeps?" as I snarl at them. Someone told me that I'm not very good at making friends, and I guess he was right.

I gather in one of the smallest groups and pretend that I am interested in running. I don't even run anymore since...when was the last time I even run? I'm not even wearing any running gear with me today.

I just sit there and listen to the guy who is probably 2 years older than me talking about how to sprint on a rocky path, how to raise your legs correctly, the breathing techniques, and stuff like that. My mind trails off to somewhere beyond this field, beyond this camp, beyond this world, and keep thinking where the hell is Liam right now?

When the day has finally over, my whole body is in so much pain. I had to run in my jeans, but thankfully, I was wearing my sneakers, and then I finished off in Mason's boxing class.

Lucas invited Savannah, Mason, and Olivia to have a meeting, and to my surprise, he includes me too. I guess now I'm already an official member of the Four Musketeers.

I'm not even ready to be a Fighter! I don't even know what this camp is for. Are we going to a war or something?

Lucas only told me to train harder. Mason said I was good at kicking someone's ass, but I know he was lying just because he doesn't want Lucas to start scolding him.

"I'm sure we can find something that you're good at anytime soon," Olivia says when I start protesting. "You're just going to have to play harder, that's all."

I am starting to question my ability. I've never really been good at any physical activities because I'm a professional couch potato.

I hope they're right. I hope I can keep up with everyone in this camp, and find something that I'm good at. I cannot become a burden, and I can't let myself hold them back because I have a lack of ability in self-defense.

If I want to protect myself, I have to stay here a little bit longer and practice. I mean, I don't exactly have a plan to go anywhere else, do I? If it isn't here, where else am I going to go?

I have never even been on a camping trip! So I decided that I will stay here, and who knows I might find Liam around here too.

A dream is just a dream, but if you don't stop dreaming about it, it becomes hope.

***

"Liam?" I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

I don't know how long I have been walking around this hiking trail. The sun was already setting, and my feet were tired. I didn't want to go home until I find him. I can't give up! What if Liam was hurt?

Liam always went on a hike whenever he had a rough day. After Lucas ran away four months ago, Liam changed.

He hardly had time for me anymore. Everyone at school wouldn't stop talking about it, and I knew at some point that Liam would be fed up with it.

Yesterday he got into a fight with a group of students at school, and it didn't end up pretty well. Liam has always been a sweet guy, but yesterday he was different.

It was the first time Liam ever hurt anybody. I was so shocked when Liam broke those kids' noses and cut their lips. But Liam seemed okay, and he got out of the fight without any scratches. The school sent him early yesterday, and when I visited him after school, he wasn't home.

I came over to his house again this morning because we were supposed to go to the theater, but his house was empty, and nobody opened the door when I knocked. I came over again after lunch, but nothing seemed to change. I thought maybe Liam went on a hike, and he somehow got hurt. So I ran here, and I have been walking around aimlessly for hours.

"Liam, where are you?" I screamed out once again. My voice started to sound so hoarse, and my tears have already dried on my cheeks.

Nobody answered.

The sun has been replaced by the moon by the time I decided to go back home.

I hated myself for giving up so early!

I started running, and I tripped over a rock. I couldn't process what happened next, but my body hit the ground, and I felt my chin hitting something hard. Then I felt my body rolling over the ravine down the gorge, and I felt a burning sensation on my chest. My ribs and my head crashed into a huge rock, making my body come to a stop. The big rock kept me from rolling deeper.

My whole body was aching, and I couldn't open my eyes.

I was struggling to keep my breathing steady, and I was almost swallowed by darkness when a voice came from somewhere near me.

"Ava?"

A cold hand touches my neck, checking for a pulse.

"I know you still can hear me," the voice said.

I recognized this voice so well because I'd been looking for him the whole day.

"I'm sorry," he hesitated. "But please, don't ever try to look for me!"

His voice trailed off, and I could hear him walking away from me.

I have to open my eyes!

I have to stop him before he's gone completely!

Liam, don't go!