Chapter Seventeen
My head was pounding, my eyes felt like sandpaper, and my body jostled around. Trying to blink past the pain splitting through my eyes, I tried to recall what had happened last night. Intruders had invaded our camp once again. They had injected me with something. They had taken the twins.
At the thought of the kids, my eyes snapped open and I realized the jostling of my body was caused by the bed of the truck I was sitting in. A weight lifted off my shoulders when I saw the limp bodies of the twins across from me, leaning against each other. They were unconscious still, but I could tell by the rise of their chests that they were at least alive.
Taking in my surroundings, I vaguely recognized the town we were driving through. I didn’t know if I had been here before everything happened or if it was the town Rainer, Sasha, and I had explored in the dark.
There was no one in the back of the truck with us and we weren’t moving very fast, more of a leisurely stroll through the streets than a full out drive. I hesitated, wondering how bad it would hurt if I jumped out of the side. I knew I would survive, but could I make it back into the woods?
The twins caught my attention once more, their faces innocent in sleep, and I erased the idea from my head. It didn’t matter if I could make it back into the woods on my own, they wouldn’t be able to. And I wasn’t going to leave them. I owed it to them, as well as Emmanuel and Elizabeth, to make sure nothing happened to any of us.
The truck began slowing down further and I peeked around the edge of the truck to see the lines of tents before us. Immediately, I knew this was the camp we had seen. But they had changed it since we were last here. Armed guards still littered the perimeter, but the entire area was now covered in a fence. If I thought they were trying to keep everyone in before, it was nothing compared to the realization now. I thought maybe we would have a chance to escape once inside, but the likelihood of that seemed to have exponentially dropped.
The truck came to a stop and I heard the sound of doors opening and closing. Reaching over to the twins, I shook their shoulders, hoping to wake them. This would be much easier if I could keep them by my side. Thankfully, they both roused from what I assumed was a medicated slumber.
Their wide eyes blinked around, trying to discern where they were. Immediately, when they realized their parents were nowhere to be found and they were in an unfamiliar place, tears sprung to Stephanie’s eyes.
“Shh, you’re okay. But do not leave my side.” I glanced at Lucas, making sure he was listening as well. “Do you understand?”
Both of them nodded, their lips trembling with fear. I wanted to tell them that I understood their fear. That tears pressed against my own eyes, begging to give in to the terror coursing through my body, but I couldn’t. They needed someone to be strong for the both of them and right now, all they had was me.
Three uniformed men and one uniformed woman rounded the bed of the truck, opening the tailgate. Two of the men went to reach for the twins, but I grabbed their hands, keeping them at my side. Splitting up would be the worst thing that could happen to us.
“They’re staying with me,” I stated, trying to keep my voice strong, but I could hear the falter in my words.
To my surprise, the men didn’t seem to mind, sighing in exasperation before gesturing for us to step down. Keeping a firm grip on Lucas and Stephanie, I lowered them to the ground before following after them.
“Let’s go.” The woman led the way, the three men positioned at our backs.
As we walked to the gate, questions burned at the tip of my tongue and I couldn’t hold them back.
“Where are we?” I sort of knew the answer, but I wanted something concrete. However, no one responded.
“Why did you bring us here?” Again, no answer.
Frustration bled through me, but I shut my mouth, figuring it was better to watch for now. I could find answers to my questions later. And then I could make a plan for us to escape and get the twins back to their parents.
The armed guards at the gates nodded at our attackers, opening a latch and letting us in. My eyes took in our surroundings and the horror from weeks ago came rushing back, this time stronger than before.
We hadn’t been close enough, or the sky light enough, to truly see what was going on inside of the camp. But it was worse than I imagined. Men, women, and children milled around the area. All of their faces looked sunken in, as if they hadn’t eaten in days. There was no energy in their movements, as if they were zombies forced to walk through the aisles the tents created.
Armed men and women patrolled the tents, people ducking out of the way and scurrying off whenever they spotted them. The reaction itself told me that they weren’t afraid to use the weapons in their hands.
With a sudden realization, I started scanning the area more frantically, looking for dark hair that mirrored mine. I had been so caught up in the safety of the twins, I forgot the possibility that my family could be here.
Unfortunately, I only had a moment to search before we were led into a large tent. The material was thick, I would guess weatherproof, and much larger than the other tents dotting the ground. Inside, there were more people at a desk with a few computers set up.
The sight shocked me, given that the internet and cell reception had gone months ago, but it seemed they had access that normal civilians didn’t. This seemed to be some sort of headquarters set up and I wondered why it wasn’t in the large building I had spotted in the middle of the camp.
“Sit down,” a stern woman behind the desk instructed, not bothering to glance up at us.
Still holding the twins” hands, I led Lucas to one of the seats, sitting myself in the other with Stephanie on my lap. The four guards that had brought us in left the tent, leaving us alone with people who looked to be more receptionists than gunmen. But when one of the men behind the desk turned, I saw the bulge in his waistband, and I knew that was silly of me to assume we were safer here than out there.
“Names and familial relation,” the woman said again, still tapping away on the computer.
Lucas and Stephanie were shocked still, neither of them opening their mouths, and I was thankful. I didn’t know much about what was happening, but I knew for a fact they weren’t about to get the truth out of me.
“Lauren Califorie.” The name came to me easily, Lauren had been the nurse I worked closest with and Califorie, I had learned, was Murphy’s last name. “These are my little siblings, Beth and Emmett.”
Stephanie curled tighter into my embrace, and Lucas looked at me with wide eyes. I didn’t dare look at them, but hoped they understood to not say anything different. I wasn’t sure how much the two eight-year-olds knew about everything going on and although I hated the position we were in, I hoped the fear of the situation kept them quiet.
Finally, the woman looked up; her features even more sharp straight on. Her nose was long, her eyes squinted and lips pursed. When she looked at me, I could have sworn I saw a moment of disbelief, but it was gone when she glanced at the screen before her once more.
Looking up again, she narrowed her eyes at me, as if she could smell the lies pouring from my lips. “And where are you from?”
“Wisconsin. We were here on a family vacation.”
I wanted to pat myself on the back for how quickly the made-up story was coming to me, but I kept my face blank as she continued to stare at me with scrutiny.
“And where are your parents?”
“Gone.” When my eyes welled with tears, it wasn’t for her benefit. My parents truly were gone and the fact still ripped me up inside.
“We have all your information. Find an empty tent. Dinner is served in the main area at six pm.”
“And where is the main area?” I asked, but she was already back to clicking away, paying us no mind.
One thing was for sure, these people were absolutely no help. And how was I supposed to know when it was six pm?
Setting Stephanie back on her feet, I led the twins out of the tent and into the shuffle of people outside. Looking toward the building in the middle, I wondered if that was the main area. Of course, simply staring at it didn’t give me an answer, but I did get another one. A large digital clock read the date and time in bright red numbers.
The sight was slightly startling. It had been four months since I knew what day it was, let alone the time. We had been living by the sun and moon for so long now.
According to the clock, it was July 22nd and 2:06 pm. Realizing we had four hours to find where they were serving dinner and a place to sleep for the night, I pushed away any thoughts of finding my family. Lucas and Stephanie were my priority right now, my mom and brothers would have to wait. If they were even here.
“Come on, let’s go find an empty tent.”
Neither of them had said a word still, and they followed me silently. Most people we passed ignored us, too engrossed in their own misery to pay attention to those around them. I lifted the flaps of individual tents, finding bags of clothes in nearly every single one of them.
Finally, toward the back of the rows, I found a tent that seemed empty. There were sleeping bags inside, but no other supplies that would insinuate someone was sleeping inside. I figured if someone was, they could kick us out, but for now, we were claiming it.
Shuffling the twins inside, I lowered the flap, knowing I needed to talk to them in privacy. They must be so scared and confused. Glancing outside one more time, I made sure no one was around before turning to the two small faces before me.
“Do you guys know what happened?”
I figured that was a good place to start. I wasn’t sure if they remembered anything from last night or if they were completely lost.
Lucas shook his head and Stephanie whimpered, “Where’s my mommy?”
This time, I couldn’t hold back the tears that sprung to my eyes. They were terrified and I was not the right woman for the job. I could barely take care of myself, let alone two other people.
“Some men came to our camp and took us away. That’s why we’re here. I’m going to try to get us back to your mommy and daddy.”
Lucas and Stephanie nodded, following along, as tears dripped down all our cheeks.
“Did you hear how I told them different names?” Again, both of them nodded. “Okay, well, we’re going to pretend that’s who we are. Can you guys do that for me?”
When they both responded with a yes, I decided that dinner could wait. If we couldn’t eat until breakfast, we’d be okay. For now, they needed to be comforted.
Pulling back the sleeping bags, I tucked them both inside one, shuffling my body into the other. The two of them curled around each other, taking in the comfort of the other’s presence. Slowly, they shifted until they were both pressed against my side and when I knew they had to be asleep, I finally let the tears consume me.
I wasn’t strong enough for this. I needed someone here to help. I needed Emmanuel with his gruff words and fatherly aura. Or Elizabeth to coddle her children and make sure they were okay. I needed Sasha and Mina to be sitting in the corner of the tent, bringing me peace with their presence. I needed Murphy to make me smile so I wouldn’t feel so alone. Hell, I even needed Rainer, because then at least I knew we’d be protected.
Closing my eyes, the tears continued to stream down my cheeks and I realized I wasn’t just trying to get the twins back to their family; I was trying to get back to mine as well.