My legs are sore, my butt is numb, and my shoulders are stiff. My arms are tired and are wrapped around Aiden, clinging on for dear life. The rest of my body has given up the fight and is relaxed, pressed against Aiden's back, my head resting on his shoulder.

The rumbling of the quads and the gusty wind are all I hear as we ride through city after city. We left Albuquerque an hour or two ago, it's hard to know for sure.

Last night, I tossed and turned all night, afraid I'd wake up to an empty house alone and forgotten. I got up bright and early this morning, making sure they didn't leave me behind. Aiden was already awake, strapping our packed bags onto the back of one of the quads.

"Morning," he said, voice gravelly.

"Morning."

"Best to get an early start." He stood, stretching his arms above him, yawning.

I nodded in agreement, watching as his stomach began to peek out from the bottom of his shirt. "Where's Alex?" I asked, pulling my attention back to his face.

He gave me a knowing smirk, "Still sleeping. I was just gonna come in and wake you guys."

"Oh, okay. I can go inside and get something together for us to eat before we go." My voice was a little shaky, and I hoped he didn't notice.

"Perfect. I'll go wake her now."

Aiden had already packed a bag of food and water to take with us, so we had to eat from what was left, more of the prickly pear we'd picked the day before and a can of peas. Not quite appetizing, but it did the job.

Aiden had insisted that I ride with him, saying something about Alex being able to handle the steady load of our bags better than another person riding on back. I didn't argue, they were taking me with them and that's all I really cared about. Had I taken into account how up close and personal I'd be with Aiden and for how long I'd be clutched onto the back of him, I might have protested.

As awkward as I might have felt at first, and as uncomfortable as my aching body feels now, I can't deny how cool the ride has been. I haven't spent much time in a vehicle other than the hours I spent on the train the night I left, but even then it was dark out and I could hardly see anything but some city lights every so often.

My dad is a city patroller, which means he had his own vehicle for work, but I wasn't allowed to ride in it with him. My mom works at the elementary school close to home and my schools have always been walking distance from our house too, so we didn't have the need for a personal car. No one is allowed outside the city unless it's by a patrolled work bus with a direct route to its destination or if you work for the government of course, so anyone having a car is pretty rare in itself. Being on the quad has been a new experience, watching the scenery rush by us, my hair whipping around in the wind, it's exciting and fun.

Travis once promised me the first ride in his dad's car as soon as he got it running. I loved watching him work on the Chevelle. He was always so focused on the task at hand that it gave me the perfect opportunity to study him. It never got old. The way he moved, how strong he was, his determined expression, and always with the biting of that lip. He'd look up at me every once and a while and smile or wink at me. I lived for those moments.

Mostly, we'd work in a comfortable silence, him on the car, and me rushing through my homework so I could sit and stare at him some more.

I started helping him work on the Chevelle about a year before I left. One day he'd just looked up at me and said, "Get your ass over here Mad-dog, and bring that wrench with you," pointing at his pile of tools. "I'm gonna teach you a thing or two about cars."

I narrowed my eyes at him but quickly obliged, plopping my books onto the ground, grabbing the wrench, and making my way towards him. "You could have asked a little nicer, but sure. Show me your ways, oh wise one," I joked as I nudged him with my shoulder.

Helping him turned out to be so much better than watching him. Working that close to him, his hands on mine as he guided me in what to do, breathing in his scent, our faces only inches apart, it all gave me butterflies. It was glorious. And he actually did manage to teach me a thing or two about cars.

I miss that.

The simplicity of hanging out with my best friend.

I just miss him, terribly.

I wonder what he's doing right now.

I notice the quad start to slow and I lift my head, taking a look around. I don't see Alex anywhere. Crap... I was supposed to be keeping lookout. My panic is short lived though as the dust settles and I see her only a little ways back. I tap Aiden and point behind us. He turns us around and speeds back to her. He circles around her, and we come to a stop right beside her quad. The engine quiets, and I take the opportunity to hop up and stretch out. I stretch my arms, my legs, my back, my shoulders, my neck, my ankles, my everything. It feels so good to be standing and moving my body.

"I'm out of gas." Alex tells Aiden.

"Shit," he groans. "Let's get this stuff untied. You guys can wear your backpacks, and we'll tie the rest of the stuff to the back of our quad. One of you guys can ride behind me and one of you up front on the bars. Hopefully we can make it into the next town before we run out of gas too."

My eyes widen. "Ride up front?" fear is clear in my voice.

Alex laughs, "I'll take the front."

"Thank God," I mumble.

Aiden snorts, "Are you actually afraid of sitting up front or is it the thought of not being able to continue squeezing the life out of my hot man bod?"

I'm not going to dignify that with a response. "Smartass." It slipped, oh well.

Alex agrees with me, "You are a smartass." and she cracks up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thankfully, we do make it into the next town, just over a hundred miles north of Albuquerque. It's small, only an old abandoned gas station sits off the highway and a few houses are placed every half mile or so. It's still pretty early in the day, but we decide to find a place to stay anyway. We covered more ground today than we could have in a few days of walking, and who knows how far the next town is from here.

We choose a small house a mile off the highway. It's old and run down, the white paint faded and peeling away in most spots. The wooden porch wraps around the entire house, the railing almost nonexistent as it's broken in more spots than not. Half of the windows are shattered. We definitely didn't choose it for its homey feel, we chose it because you can see anything coming from a mile away in any direction.

The inside isn't much nicer. The flowery wallpaper is falling away from nearly every corner of the house. There are two bedrooms, only one of which has a bed, a bathroom that I won't dare go in again, a kitchen full of dusty knickknacks, and a living room with only a couch and wooden coffee table occupying it's space.

Aiden is outside somewhere hunting for food, and Alex is searching the garage for anything useful, while I'in here, in the house, looking for something to wipe down the dirty coffee table with. I find a few towels in the hall closet, grab one, and get to work. The dust is caked on in so many layers that I finally give up and lay the towel down across the top of the table. I grab another towel from the closet and smooth it over the couch, lying down on top of it when I'm done.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Everything around me is still and quiet. And somewhere in the middle of that thought I drift off, dreaming of green eyes and greased hands reaching for me, of smiles and dimples, and lush lips grazing mine.

I'm startled awake by a loud thud and a cackling Alex. I must have been asleep awhile, it's dark except for a small flickering light coming from the kitchen.

"Oh my God dude! Are you okay?" she howls, managing only a few words at a time between her fits of giggles.

"Oh shut it," Aiden grumbles. "You need to watch where you're going."

"I didn't see you standing there! I'm sorry." She doesn't seem the least bit sincere, seeing as how she's still doubled over in laughter as I enter the kitchen.

She comes up for air and sees me. "Oh! You're awake."

"I don't see how anyone could sleep through that." He points at her with his arm, doing a circular motion in her direction, then he lunges at her and wraps an arm around her neck, messing up her hair with his other hand. "Now say sorry like you mean it!"

"Knock it off dickwad!" she yells, trying to free herself but failing miserably.

I can't help but laugh. They remind me of Travis and Grace.

One time Grace and I had the brilliant idea of pouring ice cold water down Travis's back while he was working on the car, and boy did that backfire. He jumped up in surprise and when he saw us giggling, his face shifted into one of mischief and excitement. "Oh, you two are gonna get it!" And he'd immediately charged toward us. I remember shrieking and turning to run, but he was fast, and I was tackled to the ground as I watched Grace run into the house and up the stairs.

"Grace! Help me!" I yelled for her in vain. She'd ditched me.

"No one is gonna help you now. What do you have to say for yourself Ryan?" He was lying on top of me, the side of my face squished into the ground. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest against my back.

"It was Grace's idea!" I threw her under the bus. My heart was racing, and he started shaking with laughter.

He tucked my hair behind my ear, leaned down, and quietly said, "Oh no you don't. You two were in on this together, and you'll both be punished... when you least expect it." And in the next instant his body was off of mine.

I turned and looked up to find him standing, reaching his hand out to help me up.

"I don't trust you." I pushed myself up off the ground, watching him the entire time. He was amused, excited at the prospect of holding this over my head until he made his move.

Payback came later that night. He'd dumped an entire bucket of water on us when we were sleeping, shocking us awake.

I smile, enjoying the memory.

Alex snaps her fingers in my face, "Hello, earth to Maddie."

"Sorry," I reply. "You guys remind me of my friends back home." I couldn't hide the sadness in my tone.

"It's okay. You were asleep awhile. Dinner's ready, grilled cactus and snake. Yum." She says the last part sarcastically, her face twisting in disgust.

"Cool, thanks."

I eat in silence, listening to the two of them banter back and forth. I watch them playfully nudge each other and laugh hysterically in the middle of conversation, eyes glistening with humor. I think to myself, how strong they are. After everything they've been through, to be able to find some lightness and fun, must take so much courage.

I envy them.

While I may have had slivers of time where I wasn't weighed down by the pain of missing my family, I'm not delusional enough to believe that I'll ever get to that point.

Aiden and Alex have helped me ease a tiny bit of that pain, if only by keeping my mind off of it, but they have also made it a little bit harder to deal with. Seeing them together reminds me of home, and they make me miss it so much more.

Aiden tells us to go ahead and take the bed, that he will stay out here and sleep on the couch. We grab a few more towels on our way to the bedroom and lay them down on the mattress, settling in on top of them when we're done. I'm hardly tired after my long nap, so I just stare up at the dark ceiling wondering if Alex has fallen asleep yet.

She rolls towards me, her head resting on her arm, "Maddie?"

"Yeah?" I answer, turning my face to look over at her.

"You ever wonder what would have happened if you stayed?"

I hesitate a moment. "Yes... and no. I try not to think about it. It's too late now."

"I know. I just wonder if it's really as bad as we imagine. Being breeders I mean."

"I think it is. At least I have to believe it is, or leaving everyone behind would have been for nothing."

"Yeah, I get that.... Will you tell me more about them?"

"Who?"

"Your family, your friends. Tell me what they're like."

I don't know if I can do that, I don't think I want to.

"It could help you know, to talk about them," she adds.

"I don't know..." Maybe she's right. Maybe telling her about them will help. I'm just not ready.

"That's alright. Another time, when you're ready," she says, reading my mind. "Why don't we change the subject? Something fun... like boys!"

"Boys?"

"Yeah, like ex boyfriends? Dating disasters? Cute boys back home?"

"Oh gosh! I've never had a boyfriend... or dated, like at all." As far as cute boys... one brooding, tattooed, green eyed man immediately comes to mind.

"What?! You're joking! Surely you've at least messed around, right?"

"Um, no..."

"How is that even possible? You're beautiful, you can't tell me a guy has never been interested."

I smile. "Thank you, but no. Sometimes I would think a guy was interested, but it never went any further than some flirting or walking me to a few classes..." and then nothing. Not one of them ever asked me out. "I think they were intimidated by Travis."

"What do you mean?"

"Well like... Some days Travis would surprise me and be waiting after school to walk me home, and every time a guy I thought was interested would walk me out and meet Travis, the next day they would barely acknowledge me. Avoid me even."

"Huh." I can see her wheels turning.

"Yeah. I don't know... it was weird."

"Ohh," the single word long and drawn out as recognition dawns on her. "My guess is he was totally into you and scared them off with a 'stay the hell away from my girl' death stare."

"No way..." I wish.

"Oh, I'd put money on it."

"Believe me, he never tried anything with me. If he did, he would have known how badly I'd wanted him to. Besides, he used to date all the time." It was torture. Watching him get dressed up for other girls sucked. He looked so good too, his hair gelled in a messy, sexy do, dressed dark from top to bottom in a nice dress shirt, dark jeans, and black laced up boots. I'd lie in bed those nights, stewing in anger and jealousy, wondering what he was doing with those girls. Was he kissing them, touching them, in ways I'd dreamed he would kiss and touch me?

"Oh. My. God. You were into him too? Well isn't that fucked up!"

"Yeah..."

"He's was an idiot not to make a move."

I can't say that I agree. If he did have feelings for me, can I really blame him for not taking that step when I was too afraid to do it myself?

A few minutes pass before she quietly comments, "I think my brother likes you."

"What?!" I feel my cheeks warm. Thankfully it's dark and she can't see my embarrassment.

"Yep. He's always flirty, but he's like... weird around you. Well, more weird than usual."

"That's crazy, he hardly knows me and besides-"

"I know, I know. Your heart's somewhere else. Maybe someday though. You deserve to be happy, even if it's a long time from now." She yawns.

"Yeah, I don't know. It's hard to even think that far. I'm more worried about surviving, not being caught by the Hunters before we get to where we're going, ya know?"

"Hmm," she hums in agreement, closing her eyes.

I stare back up at the ceiling, thinking about what she's said. It does seem like Travis purposely scared those guys away, and why would he do that if he didn't like me? But he never said or did anything to take our friendship further than that. Why? Probably for a lot of reasons, our age difference and not wanting to ruin our friendship, to name a few. He could have been as unsure about my feelings for him as I was of his feelings for me. I can't decide what's more depressing, the fact that we more than likely both wanted something more with each other but were too afraid to act on our feelings, or the fact that I am only now realizing it and there's nothing I can ever do about it.

I dwell on it for too long, feeling sick to my stomach, before sleep finally pulls me under.

***Author's Note***

What's your take on Travis and Maddie?

**Thank you so much for taking the time to read Chapter 7. We would love your feedback, so please feel free to comment. If you've enjoyed this chapter you can vote for it by clicking the star. Also, please add Breeder Nation to your library if you'd like to continue this journey with us. We truly appreciate your support. <333 Kara Michelle **

(This version of Breeder Nation is in its most raw and unedited form.)