Chapter Eighteen
Iwoke with a start, momentarily forgetting where I was. My eyes opened, expecting to see the star dotted sky, but instead I saw the tan canvas of the tent. The slippery nylon of the sleeping bag wrapped around my shoulders so different from the rough dirt I was used to.
Sitting up quietly to not wake the twins who had rolled away from me during their sleep, I crawled toward the flaps of the tent. Peeking through them, silence met me. The sky was dark, only a few lights shining outside the fences.
Turning back toward Lucas and Stephanie, I debated whether it was safe to leave them or not. The people in charge of this camp didn’t have our best interests at heart, and I had no idea who else resided in the tents beside ours. But that was also the reason we needed to find a way out. And I couldn’t do that during the day with too many watchful eyes.
Promising myself I wouldn’t be gone for longer than an hour, I climbed out of the tent. Checking my surroundings, I determined exactly where we were so I could make it back without getting lost. The large building was in front of us, a fence at our back. To the left, I counted four rows of tents. To the right, there were too many to count, but that didn’t matter.
The clock above the building read a little past eleven at night, and the bright red numbers would make it easy for me to keep to a schedule and not leave the twins for too long. Tiptoeing past a few of the tents in front of me, my gaze scanned the area.
Everyone seemed to be inside their tents, asleep for the night. Or at least hiding out from the guards that still roamed. A few chuckles echoed around the area, and I frowned at the noise. How dare someone find humor when all these people were suffering?
Deciding it would be best if the guards didn’t spot me, I tried to keep low, ducking behind tents whenever I heard footsteps. As I walked, my stomach grumbled, but I ignored the ache. We had missed dinner and I doubted anyone would be willing to find me a snack.
I reached the far left side of the tents, staying hidden behind them, as I scoped out the fence. The fence itself was a few feet taller than me. I knew that I could attempt to climb it, but the twins definitely couldn’t. And obviously, that wasn’t the best idea, considering I’m sure plenty of people would have tried it already if it were an option.
No, the armed men and women walking the perimeter were the biggest deterrent. They could easily spot someone climbing before they even managed to get a leg over the top. Trailing down gaps in between tents, I finally spotted a gate similar to the one we had walked through this morning.
Three bodies stood at the gate, their imposing weapons apparent under the light streaming above them. If I had to guess, there were people stationed outside every gate. But I knew that the gates were our only option for escaping. If we could slip through without detection, it’d be our way out. I just had absolutely no clue how we would do that.
Sighing, realizing I had hit a dead end for the night, I glanced back toward the clock. I had been gone for twenty minutes so far. Part of me wanted to get back to the tent, where I could at least pretend we were safe. But that was the part of me that had sat on my ass for three months. And I didn’t want to be that woman anymore.
With a new plan in mind, I jogged toward the building, trying to keep my steps light and my movements in the shadows. Thankfully, it seemed most of the guards were outside the fence or chatting together somewhere else inside the camp.
Finally, I reached the rows of tents surrounding the building, and I slowed my steps. The laughs and chatter grew louder, and I realized there was a large group sitting in front of the building.
Drinks and food were passed around the half circle they formed and I wondered if this was the atmosphere at the dinner we had missed. If I had to guess, I would say it was highly unlikely.
Wondering why the guards weren’t inside, I stepped closer until I was hiding behind a tent nearest to the building. A snore shocked me out of my focus, my balance faltering, but I caught myself before I could fall.
Thankfully, the guards” loud voices muted the sound of my shuffling feet. Regaining my composure, I strained my eyes to see the building, looking for any sort of clues. Nothing seemed out of place, in fact, it seemed like a regular building. But the large padlock sitting on the door told me otherwise. They didn’t want anyone inside of there and suddenly, I wanted to know why.
My curiosity burned, but when I saw that I had now been gone for forty minutes, I knew I needed to get back to the twins. If they woke up while I was gone, I didn’t want them to be scared or sneak out of the tent.
Sighing, I took one last look at the building, before turning my back and making my way back through the camp. I took less caution as I passed the occupied tents, the fear of being caught sneaking around no longer there.
Instead, I strolled across the grounds, devising a plan for tomorrow. First things first, we needed to make sure we were up for breakfast. If the pain in my stomach was any indication, the kids would be starving and we needed sustenance.
After that, the three of us would walk around the camp. Maybe we could find someone that looked trustworthy and wanted to escape as well. Or maybe I’d get lucky and find my family. I tried to not focus on the second hope too much, knowing that I couldn’t handle the heartbreak if they weren’t here.
I was nearly at our tent when there was a prick on the back of my neck, as if someone was watching me. Tilting my head slightly, I looked side to side, but didn’t see anyone. Realizing it was probably just someone stretching from the cramped confines of their tent, I shook off the feeling, finishing my walk until I was outside our tent.
I glanced behind me once more before I climbed inside and my body froze when I noticed a tall figure at the end of the rows, leaning against the fence. It was too dark to make out their features, but I knew without a doubt that they were staring at me.
A shiver ran up my spine, and I quickly climbed into the tent. Thankfully, Lucas and Stephanie were still sound asleep. Crawling back into my sleeping bag, I closed my eyes, trying to find sleep once again, but the figure near the fence ran through my mind, preventing me from resting.
I didn’t know much about the situation we had found ourselves in, but I knew that having anyone’s focus on us was inherently bad.
***
The sun was barely above the horizon when I woke the twins. I had no clue when breakfast was or even where it was, but we weren’t about to miss it. They were both groggy as they got out of the sleeping bag, the energy I was used to seeing in them washed away by the absence of their parents.
“Are you guys hungry?” I asked as the three of us exited the tent.
“Very hungry,” Stephanie responded, slipping her small hand into mine.
Lucas grabbed my other hand, and I let out a sigh of relief. I may feel wholly unprepared to watch over them, but I was grateful they trusted me. Thoughts from last night plagued me, but I tried to push them away for now, not wanting to bring the kids into this. For now, they needed to feel like everything would be okay.
“How about after breakfast we walk around and try to find some flowers to pick?” I had seen them do that plenty of times with Elizabeth and they always had smiles on their faces when they returned with bundles in their hands.
“Yeah! And then we can save them to show Mom and Dad.” Stephanie’s face was lit up in a smile for the first time since we arrived and I tried to return it with my own.
But my heart broke, knowing I couldn’t guarantee that they would see their mom and dad again.
“Does that sound fun to you, Lucas?” The little boy hadn’t spoken more than a word or two, and I was beginning to worry. He seemed to be taking this much harder than his sister.
“Are we going to see Mom and Dad again?”
Well shit. I didn’t have an answer for that, or at least one that wouldn’t break the kid”s heart. Scrambling for a response, my eyes darted anywhere but at his solemn face. And then an answer never came because the sight before me took all my attention.
We were nearing the main building, uniformed men and women still milling about as they were last night. But a few civilians were in the mix and one in particular stopped me in my tracks.
Curly black hair identical to mine was the first thing to catch my attention. And then there were his clothes, clothes I had seen on him plenty of times. His favorite light blue band tee was a stark contrast to the grime covering it. He wore a pair of jeans, his tennis shoes finishing off the look.
He looked up in the next moment, twin green eyes flashing under the early morning sun. And although there was a nasty looking bruise dotting his cheek, I’d recognize that face anywhere.
“Aiden?” I barely whispered, too stunned to say more.
But then I realized who truly was standing in front of me and my voice grew. “Aiden!”
His head popped up at the sound, his gaze finding me. Shock registered first, his brows lifting. And then I saw the relief, his lips splitting into a grin before it disappeared almost immediately. He began shaking his head, but I was too far gone with happiness to decipher what it meant.
Squeezing the twins” hands tightly in mine, I raced the three of us forward, ignoring the curious looks from those around us. When we were within reach, I dropped their hands, flinging my arms around my own twin.
His posture hesitated for a moment before those familiar arms wrapped around me and for the first time in what felt like forever, there was peace. Leaning slightly back, I took in his face, still worried that this wasn’t real. How long had I wished to see my family again?
“Alessia, you shouldn’t be here,” he croaked out, his voice scratchy as if it was overworked.
Shaking my head, I couldn’t determine what he meant, but when he stared at me with sadness in his eyes, I finally noticed the silence around us. Glancing around, I realized that nearly everyone in the area was staring at the two of us. Some with curiosity and others with a spark of delight. Again, I didn’t know what any of it meant, but I wondered how big of a problem my presence here was about to be.