Devon was awakened by a knock on the door. Taking a look out the open window, he saw Ella and Reuben waiting for him. Reuben had a small flame coming from his palm, illuminating the still dark morning.
Quickly, Devon got dressed, retrieved his bag, and some morning snacks his mother had prepared from the left overs the night before, and headed out the door.
"Y'all got here early today," Devon said, joining his friends.
"Don't pretend you aren't as excited as we are!" Ella proclaimed. "I could barely sleep last night."
"It's not that exciting, I slept just fine," Reuben replied. "It's just a project leading us to graduation."
"Hey, a trip out of the city is always a reason to be a little excited," Devon started. " I don't mind the work, and I'm ready to explore somewhere other than here."
No one ever really left San Antoni, not because they couldn't, but because all they needed was there. The other cities were considerable distances away, so trips were rare, and communications between cities were left to the runners.
The group arrived at school early. Reuben made a small fire in the yard, and Devon shared his snacks with his friends. Slowly the other classmates showed up with their bags, and by 8:30 everyone had arrived.
Shortly after Mrs. Helen arrived with four stron looking men pulling a wooden cart each. While mostly wood, the carts had rubber mold shocks, and thin unprocessed rubber tires. It seemed the trip would be somewhat comfortable.
Reuben put out his fire, and the group gathered up their belongings, heading towards the carts with the rest of the class. The three of them put their items in the last cart and we're about to take a seat, when Mrs. Helen approached.
"Good morning. I was wondering if you'd be willing to have one more person join you for the trip," Mrs. Helen started. "We were supposed to have an extra person join to even out the teams, but that person can't make it due to a sudden illness, so two teams will need to take on an extra person. Is that ok with you?"
The three looked at each other. "We don't mind one more pair of hands," Devon replied. "Who did you want to join us?"
"Well seeing as he doesn't have a partner, and two of you also have abilities, how about you take on James?" Mrs. Helen replied. James suddenly appeared behind her, with an irritated smile on his face, which Mrs. Helen couldn't see.
"I'd be glad to join your team," James said, adjusting his face as he moves toward the group. "I'm sure we can all get along."
Ella stuck up her nose, but as it was her teacher's request, she didn't refuse. Devon was also sore about the change, and his feet suddenly felt cold. Of course, it was his imagination, but he remembered the sensation, and didn't wish to have a repeat.
"Let's just put the past in the past, and try to get along for the trip, alright guys?" Reuben intervened, breaking the tense atmosphere. "If there's a problem, we can wait until after the research project to deal with it."
"Sounds great," James replied, that smile crossing his smug face again. "That said, I think I'll sit in a different cart until we get there."
With that, James walked to the cart ahead of theirs and got in, making himself comfortable. Ella let out a sigh. "It's going to be a long weekend. Let's just get it over with." Her excitement has turned sour, and remembering the way James had treated her just made it worse.
"Don't stress it," Devon told her. "We will have plenty of time to ourselves outside of our research."
Ella sighed again, and showed a little smile. "You are right, I'll try not to let this ruin the trip."
With that, the three friends settled into their cart. As it turned out, with James in another cart, and each cart holding up to six people, only mrs. Helen ended up sitting in the same cart as them, so they could converse freely along the trip.
A few minutes later, all the carts were loaded and bags pack away, and the cart pullers placed the cart harnesses on their shoulders. They began to move forward, slowly at first, giving the riders a chance to adapt to the pace as they sped up. They went at a light pace until they reached the outskirts of the city, then worked up to a sprint, and soon the city was far behind them. The students were amazed at the strength and speed of these four, especially since they had never met anyone with dual abilities before.
As the journey commenced, everyone was looking around, pointing out the various changes in the outside world. Many areas were barren, and remnants of small craters could be seen for much of the travel.
However, there were also overgrown woods sporadically placed, and the team couldn't help but be amazed at the vast amounts of animals they could see. Deer were everywhere in those woods, some coming out into the open. Many kinds of birds floated through the sky, almost dancing above the treetops. Rabbits ran as they passed through these areas, trying to get away from the carts. On occasion, they would see packs of coyotes out hunting, and even some lone Timberwolves on the prowl. With the rotation of the Earth, species began to thrive in different areas, and these wolves were no exception.
As the carts continued moving, the trees thinned out, and a barren land spread before them. They were entering an area that had been hit harder three hundred years ago, and nature hadn't begun to return, even now. Craters were everywhere, and the sizes were getting larger. While the previous overgrown areas had craters between five to fifteen feet deep on average, these were getting deep enough to form lakes. Some of the larger ones began to look like mountains and valleys, and before they knew it, the carts were pulling upward toward the top of one said mountain. A narrow path wound it's way to the top, then halfway down the other side. The cart pullers slowed down the a light jog, and came to a stop at the end of the path.
The group looked up and saw several caves carved out of the rock face.
"Welcome to the Crater of the Fall. These caves will be your home for the weekend," Mrs. Helen announced to the class. "Please gather your things, get into your groups, and be ready to find your residence."