Chapter Nineteen
After my quick reunion with Aiden, he hurried us away from the grouping outside the building. I tried to open my mouth to ask questions, but he hushed me until we were in a secluded area of tents. Most of the people were gone already, and I briefly wondered if we were about to miss another meal. The three of us definitely couldn’t handle that.
Aiden’s head whipped around, assuring we were alone, before he finally began to speak. “Holy shit, Alessia. Where have you been? Why are you here? And who are these kids?”
Speaking of the kids, they both looked absolutely terrified. I shouldn’t have been surprised, their stranger danger was probably on high alert after everything they had gone through and I knew I needed to calm them down.
Dropping to my knees so I could look them in the eyes, I smiled comfortingly. “Want to know something cool? You know how you two are twins, well I’m a twin too. This is my brother, just like Lucas is your brother, Stephanie.”
Their eyes turned toward Aiden and I was thankful when he dropped to his knees as well, a playful smile taking over his face. I was happy to see the look, the reminder of the goofy brother I had grown up with.
“You guys are twins? That’s awesome. My name is Aiden.”
“Hi, Aiden,” Stephanie said, reaching her hand out to shake his.
Lucas simply nodded and I wouldn’t be shocked if he continued his silence for a while longer. Aiden and I stood back up to our full height and the twins grabbed my hands once more.
“Look, Alessia, we need to talk.” His gaze dropped to the kids at my side.
“I agree. But first, we need food.” Leaning in and dropping my voice so the twins wouldn’t hear, I said, “And not in front of them. They don’t need to be even more scared than they already are.”
Aiden sighed, scratching his forehead as if what he needed to say couldn’t wait, but finally he gave in. “Alright, let’s go get some food. Do you guys have a tent?”
Telling him we did, he led us back toward the center of the camp. Apparently, there was a large area behind the building where they doled out portions of food to those residing here. To no one’s surprise, the portion sizes were laughable, but it was better than nothing. And honestly, when I saw that it wasn’t deer meat or fish, my stomach rumbled.
Loading two plates with meager helpings of fruit, eggs, and a piece of bread, Aiden did the same. Hands full, I told the kids to stay by my side as we walked through several picnic tables. Nearly all the tables were filled, everyone else sitting on the ground as they ate, but Aiden didn’t stop walking.
“Let’s go back to your tent. We can talk while they eat.”
Nodding in agreement, the four of us made our way through the crowd until we reached the tent. Ushering Lucas and Stephanie inside, I scooped a little bit more fruit onto their plates from mine.
Aiden and I stepped a few feet away, making sure they wouldn’t hear us, before plopping onto the ground.
“Alright, talk. Why did it seem like you were mad when you saw me?”
“Hell, Lessy, I don’t even know where to start,” he said, closing his eyes in pain.
“How about with where Mom and Alex are? Why aren’t they here with you? And Dad?” The last words came out on a silent plea. I knew that any hope I had for my dad making it out alive was slim.
“You saw Dad get shot.” Aiden stared at me, and I knew he didn’t want to say the words aloud.
“Alex and Mom?” I asked again, but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. They wouldn’t have left Aiden if they had a choice, I knew that.
“Mom didn’t make it to the camps. They came for her right after Dad. Alex and I were taken here.” Taking a deep breath, Aiden looked away, not able to face me while he continued. “He tried to escape. They shot him.”
My heart shattered at the words. I had been telling myself for months that there was a slim chance I would see my family again, but there had always been a flicker of hope. Knowing that they were gone, that I would never get a chance to say goodbye, I struggled to hold myself up. I wanted to break, scream at the unfairness, but I held it in, only letting a strangled choke and a few tears slip down my cheeks.
“I can’t believe they’re gone,” I whispered and Aiden sat down his plate of food, wrapping me in a hug.
“I wish you weren’t here, but I sure am happy to see you. I thought you were dead.” I laughed at that, the sound watery, knowing I had thought the exact same about him.
“Where have you been?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been living in the woods?”
Aiden backed away, his eyes wide. He knew how much I hated the woods and how incompetent I was with outdoorsy things. Funnily enough, he’d get a kick out of the way Rainer had berated me for my lack of skills.
“Then why are you here? And seriously, why do you have two kids with you?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I responded as simply as I could. There were more pressing things than how I had survived before I was brought here. “I’m here because I didn’t have a choice. A bunch of men found us in the woods and took me and the kids. Their parents were out there with me.”
“Fuck. They’ve been bringing in more and more kids lately.” Aiden turned toward the front of the camp, as if expecting another group of children to be led through the gate.
“Why though? Do you know what’s happening? Why they shot Mom and Dad?”
Aiden shook his head, frowning. “I have an idea, but no concrete answers.”
“Well, stop messing around. What do you know? And why do you have a nasty bruise on your cheek?”
The shiner glinted under the sun, the purples and blues angry against his skin. Aiden glanced around before he spoke, probably checking we were still alone. Nodding toward the plate in front of me, he said, “Eat while I talk. I can see your bones.”
Rolling my eyes, I did as he said, mostly because I was absolutely starving. My brother knew he couldn’t boss me around.
“Alex tried to escape because he realized this wasn’t the helpful camp they had led us to believe it was. I mean, there were armed men and women around every corner and we were told we couldn’t leave. I was right behind him and I held up my hands after I saw him get shot. The guards brought me back to the administration tent and asked for my name.”
Letting out a humorless chuckle, he continued, “I should have lied. Should have known something was off when they killed our parents. But I’m a dumbass and told them my name was Aiden Accardi. Next thing I know, I’m being dragged inside that building.”
“What did they do to you?” I asked on a whisper, scared of the answer.
“They beat the shit out of me. And they continue to do so.”
“But why? Because you tried to escape? You can’t be the only one.”
Shaking his head, he agreed. “No, we weren’t the only ones. But that wasn’t why. They started asking questions about Dad, about his work at the college, about his colleagues. I had no clue what they were talking about, and I told them so. But they didn’t believe me, figured if they beat me up some I’d finally tell them what they wanted to hear.”
“Dad’s work at the college? Why would they care about that, he teaches students about space rocks.”
I knew he taught more than that, but it mostly went over my head. Our entire family was in the medical field except for Dad, and his scientific jargon often was met with confused stares whenever he talked about work.
“Fuck if I know. But they don’t care about that. Nearly every night, for two months, they’ve taken me into that building and beaten the shit out of me. I have a feeling it”s not going to end.” Swallowing roughly, Aiden finally met my stare. “And I’m worried that it’s now going to happen to you.”
This time, it was my turn to swallow roughly. I had given them a fake name. They had no idea who I was. But then I had been the dumbass and ran up to Aiden amid a group full of guards. It wouldn’t take a genius to piece the puzzle together, we looked too similar to be anything but related.
“Aiden, I don’t know anything.” I knew it didn’t matter based on what he said, but I was grasping on to straws. I wasn’t strong like my brother, I couldn’t handle months of abuse.
“I know you don’t, but they won’t care.”
My mind was reeling, trying to decipher how the happiness from this morning could vanish so quickly. In the span of a few minutes, I learned the rest of my family was dead, my brother was getting beat for information, and I may be next.
The thoughts were a hurricane in my mind, but only one thing mattered. This information only solidified my plan that we needed to escape. And sooner rather than later.
“We need to make a plan. To get out of here,” I hurriedly whispered, but Aiden was already shaking his head.
“You don’t think I’ve tried? That dozens of people have tried? There’s no way out.”
Refusing to believe this, I clenched my fists against my sides. “We’ll find a way.” My eyes darted toward the tent where two tiny humans were relying on me. “Whatever we have to do, we’re making it out of here.”