User blog:MeGa eXal/On the Run: A Loud House Story - Chapter 8,

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Lincoln, Clyde, Cristina, and Ronnie Anne had reeled in enough fish for the whole day as they continued their trek to Imperial Grove. They didn't know where they were, but they knew where they were going... if only because of the compass Cristina had brought with her.

"We're moving southeast," she said, reading the compass. "That's the way to Missouri, right?"

"We've been hiking for hours..." Ronnie Anne groaned. "No train in sight... no more cabins... nothing but wilderness..."

"It's still possible to gather fruit."

"Did I ask?"

"Well, I mean... we really should," said Clyde.

So they did. They searched through the forest for different kinds of berries, rinsing them with water buckets -- courtesy of Cristina, of course.

A couple hours later, the kids had sat down on a hill, with a perfect view of the golden sunset just ahead. They set up a fire to cook their fish and placed the chunks on paper plates with the berries.

Lincoln knew he had to ask Cristina. "So... why did you decide to come with us?"

She sighed. "Well, you see... my sister Cecille -- Cici for short -- goes to Imperial Grove University. I was at a slumber party the night before she left the house, and I wanted to tell her goodbye..." She shed a small tear as she went on. "But... I never got the chance..."

"Hey..." Clyde reassured her. "At least you have a sibling."

"Heh, yeah. I still have more siblings back home. George is a rocker, just like Lincoln's sister Luna..."

"Is he friends with Sam Sharp?" asked Lincoln.

"Oh yeah, her!" Cristina remembered. "Yeah, George performs with Sam. He's got a girlfriend named Ruth. ...so uh, then there's Chandler and Lyndsey..."

"Lyndsey Sweetwater?" Lincoln needed confirmation that he was thinking of the right one.

"That's her!"

"Woah... Lyndsey and Lola compete very often... our families are more connected than I thought they were!"

"Huh, I guess so!"

Ronnie Anne chuckled. "Just wait til Lola meets Carl... they'll be goin' cuckoo for each other."

All three of them laughed with each other, but Clyde just looked down at the ground, ashamed.

Lincoln gave him a pat on the back. "Hey man... don't feel left out. Remember when you told me I was like a brother to you?"

Clyde looked up at his best friend, who continued, "That was the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Clyde. I see you as a brother too."

He turned to all his friends. "You're all a family to me."

They all smiled at him, but Lincoln's own smile was slowly falling again.

"My sisters... they're probably still looking for me..."

"Oh yeah..." said Cristina. "Chandler must be real mad that I ran off with you guys."

"Eh, who cares about him?"

"Y'know, Chandler may be a jerk, but he does have a heart."

"Oh, sure..."

Clyde wasn't even paying attention to them. He was staring down the hill at something as the sun descended into the horizon.

"Uh... do you guys see that warehouse down there...?"

"You just now noticed that?" Ronnie Anne questioned him.

"Well, come on," Lincoln suggested. "Let's go check it out."

The kids carefully stepped down from the hill, looking around for anything suspicious. Ronnie Anne clenched her fists, ready to brawl if necessary. There was a small golf cart a short distance away from the warehouse, but no one was using it.

Cristina noticed a man riding a motorcycle into the warehouse from the other side. Then she saw more.

"Guys," she whispered. "I think this is Elijah's warehouse."

Ronnie Anne didn't seem to understand. "Who's Elijah?"

"The leader of that gang who's out to get me," Lincoln answered.

"In that case, we better be careful."

The four of them snuck inside from the back and kept an eye out for Elijah's goons. Lincoln looked around in case there was anything useful in the warehouse.

Sure enough, he found some more food to take with him. Sandwiches in cans... who does that?... potato chips, fruit that hadn't been picked straight off a bush... well, at least not right before eating it.

Lincoln silently, yet quickly grabbed the food and showed it to his friends.

"Jackpot!" said Clyde as he grabbed a bag of barbecue-flavored chips out of Lincoln's arms.

"HEY!" They heard someone yell. "Who took our food?!"

"We better get out of here!" Lincoln yelped.

A group of goons walked out the back door. "There they are! Get 'em!"

The kids started running as the goons chased after them. They quickly jumped into the golf cart and scrambled for the keys; after Ronnie Anne found them on the floor of the cart, she switched it on and hit the gas as hard as she could, driving with the other kids back into the forest.

"Hey, this seems like it could be an easier way to travel." Lincoln noticed.

"Hang on, lame-o!" Ronnie Anne yelled.

The motorcycle goon hopped on his bike and tried to turn it on, but it wouldn't budge. "Dang it... forgot I needed gas... We better call the boss man. He'll know what to do."