Page 28 of Shattered Home

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.

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.

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