Outkast

We walked for abougt twenty minutes before we arrived at Dakotas' hideout. It was a large strand of trees that surrounded a small clearing that could hold thirty two people in it. What made it secluded was the fact it was over run with brush and bushes. In order to get into the clearing you had to crawl through a small tunnel in the brush.

Jordan went in first, then Dakota and me, the rest followed once we were inside. It was peaceful and secure inside. Everywhere you looked was a large oak standing proud and tall, spreading their leafy limbs as if to protect us from prying eyes. The brush that we had crawled through, now looked like a wall, and not as menacing. There were spots in the brush you could look out, that I hadnt noticed before. There was also a small stream that flowed throgh the small area. Dakota explained that it started in this area and that it flowed through the brush towards another stream.

I splashed my face with the cold, pure water, relishing the feel. Jake walked over towards me with Taria and sat her down. He dipped his hand in the water and splashed some water on her face.

She flinched slighlty, her eyes fluttering open and close. "Come on, Taria, " Jake whispered, splashing more water on her face.

"Jake," Taria whispered, as she opened her eyes, and looked at him.

Jake sighed in relief, and helped her sit up, "You had me worried for a second,"

Taria gave him a weak smile and apologized.

"We should go get a deer," Dakota said, getting up.

"I'll come with you," Jordan said, following Dakota out of the safe place. I sighed, rolling my eyes, wishing that they'd just get along.

"Hey, Keri," One of the guys said, coming to sit next to me.

"Hey," I whispered back, wrapping my arms aound my good leg. We sat there in silence as we watched everyone settle down. "How do you guys know my name?" I finally asked.

"You're our leader," the boy replied.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. "How can I be your guys' leader, if I'm not even apart of your gang? Hell, I've never even held a gun before,"

"You were taken from us," the boy explained, looking towards me. "We looked for you everyday, sometimes skipping school if we found a big enough clue...then you came back, but Bloodlust followed you. They got to you through Jordan,"

"How did they do that" I asked intrigued.

"You're his girlfriend,"

"Oh," I said in quiet voice, looking towards the ground, contemplating.

"What's your name?" I asked, looking towards him.

"Nathan," he replied.

"That's a nice name,"

'Thanks," Nathan replied. We stared off into the distance until Dakota and Jordan came back hauling a doe in behind them. I smiled as I saw them working together to gut and prepare the deer.

About half an hour later we were all eating the meat that the doe had given us. We all had satisfied looks on our faces once we had fed our growling stomachs.

"Feeling okay, Keri?" Dakota asked, glancing over at me.

"I think so," I replied, holding a hand over my mouth, waiting for the nauscious feeling to pass.

"I don't htink you are," Dakota laughed, making me glare at him. "Do you want me to help?"

"No,"I whined, covering my face with my hands.

"Okay," Dakota laughed, "I'll stop,"

I peeked through my fingers to see he was tellng the truth. I slowly lowered my hands, then got up quickly and went to a corner of the hideout and puked. "Fuck you, Dakota," I gasped when I was done.

He ended up lauging his head off, as I rejoined everyone else. "Feeling better?" he asked putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Much," I grumbeled, leaning my head against his chest and closing my eyes. A few minutes later I was asleep.

I woke with a start when I thought I had heard something. I rested my head on my arms, after I assured myself that it was nothing. Sighing, I felt arms wrapped loosly around me, making me start with fright. I truned to face the person. I gasped seeing Jordans sleeping form next to mine.

I began to gently remove his arms from around me. Standing up, I looked around. Searching for Dakota. After looking for a couple of minutes,I walked over to a far wall and lay down with a sigh.

Laying on my back, I put an arm under my head, and an arm over my stomach. I gazed up at the leafy boughs above me, feeling contentment wash over me as I saw the stars attempt to shine through the leafy folige.

I began to hum a lullaby , as I began to doze off, a few feet away from me I heard some one stirring awake. I listened to them as they began to murmer quietly...they misssed their family.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," I began singing quietly, as one of the Outkasts started to thrash in their sleep. "Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird," I started for a second, when I heard a sharp outcry of pain. Silently sitting up, I looked over our small camp, to see some of the Outkasts were awake. I could see the dying embers, from our fire, reflected in their eyes.

I felt their eyes on me after I got up. Picking up the long stick we were using as a poker, I brought the flames back to life. I looked over the camp once more, my eyes resting on Dakota when I finally found him. Sitting down, I leaned up against him, curling up into a ball.

"Hey Keri," Dakota mumbled sleepily, turning so he was laying on his back. "What's up?"

"Im hungry," I mumbled, laying down so I was using his stomach as a pillow.

Dakota began to pet my hair, as he laughed a little, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Dakota," I whined, making him laugh a little.

"I'll see what Ican do," he replied, we both looked over towards Jordan when he started to thrash in his sleep.

"Keri?...no! I-I won't let you!...leave her alone!" Jordan mumbled, before he sat bolt upright, breathing hard. He looked around the camp frantically, until he saw me. I felt so bad for him, I even felt bad for myself for not remembering him if I indeed was his girlfriend.

Standing up, I began to walk towards Jordan. I smiled as I saw the confusion on his face. Sitting down next to him, I brought him into a hug. "everything's going to be fine," I whispered, petting his hair.

He wrapped his arms around me trying to bring me closer to him. Breathing in deeply, he closed his eyes, basking in my prescence. I closed my eyes, and tried to remember anything I could about him. I tried to think back to my childhood trying to remember anything I could.