Page 24 of Shattered Home

But the thing that sent a wave of dread through me was the familiar radio sitting in the middle of the fire. I had spent days staring at that radio while Murphy messed with it. My heart started beating faster as the urge to sprint out of here coursed through me. It was like they were toying with us. Wanting us to know that they were watching. That they knew where we were and our idealistic bliss in the woods wouldn’t be lasting much longer.

Chapter Fifteen

We moved through the night, Rainer at the helm and guiding us through the dark woods. None of us felt the need to stop, wanting to put as much distance between us and the camp as we could.

Lucas and Stephanie couldn’t keep up with the strenuous hike and Emmanuel tossed Stephanie into his arms, Murphy holding Lucas on his back. Sasha, Mina, and I had taken the supplies the two were carrying to help with the load. Murphy had handed his gun off to Sasha, who assured him she knew how to handle the weapon.

The further we walked, the more my heart sunk. I knew that the camps in town weren’t something I ever wanted to experience, but the deeper we snuck into the woods, the more any chance at figuring things out slipped away. We couldn’t easily get into town anymore, not without a one to two-day hike.

And my heart also broke because that small clearing had started to feel like home. Not necessarily because of the stellar accommodations, but because of the people there. And because of the person I had become amidst those trees. We were leaving the false safety behind, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for what this next endeavor would bring.

The sky started turning pink, a new day approaching, when Rainer finally stopped. This clearing was smaller than the last, but there was enough room to create a firepit and for all of us to sleep at night.

My ears strained to hear any sort of running water, knowing that was a necessity, but either I was too tired to focus or there was none nearby. I hoped for the former. Emmanuel and Murphy laid the twins on the ground, the two of them cuddling into each other as Elizabeth rushed to sit beside her children.

The rest of us dropped all our belongings and I knew we needed to start prepping the area before any of us could sleep. We had never made dinner and most of us were probably starving. We also need to boil some water to refill the few bottles we had for drinking.

Without speaking, we all fell into the familiar roles. Murphy and Rainer walked into the outskirts of the clearing, both of their guns drawn, checking the perimeter for whoever had been at the last camp.

Mina started unloading the food while Sasha and I started collecting firewood. Once we had enough, we worked in tandem to get a spark going and the flames blazing. Next, we boiled the water, splitting it into the bottles evenly.

Emmanuel informed us he was going to try to find a water source and Elizabeth left the sleeping twins to help us prepare the fish to cook.

Rainer and Murphy eventually came back, assuring us that there was no one in the vicinity. Emmanuel was back a few hours later and he came bearing the information that there was a small creek about an hour hike away.

All in all, the entirety of setting up a new camp took half the day, and by the time the sun was blazing directly overhead, my eyes were straining to stay open. Glancing at the others, I noticed they felt the exact same. We all needed sleep, and fast.

Gulping down the fish and some water, we all finished eating and then Sasha extinguished the flames. For a moment, all of us stared at each other through the smoke, unsure of what to do next. It was clear that we weren’t safe out here. Someone, somewhere, knew we were out here. But I didn’t know what we could do about it.

“From now on, someone needs to be on guard every night. We can’t risk someone sneaking up on us while we sleep.” Rainer looked each one of us in the eye, his command clear. No one dared to disagree with the authority in his voice or because none of us were stupid enough to think it was a bad plan.

“I’ll stay on guard for now. Everyone else should get some sleep,” Murphy said, reaching for the gun holstered in his waistband.

Again, no one disagreed. Murphy may not have the intimidating glare Rainer possessed, but his leadership was clear as day. And also because everyone was utterly exhausted.

There wasn’t much room around the fire but we all managed to find a place to lie our heads. Mina and Sasha were on my right, Rainer on my left, and the family across the fire. My head had barely touched the ground when I drifted into unconsciousness.

***

The stars were out and bright when I blinked my eyes open. My mind was wide awake, but my body still felt tired. Unfortunately, I wasn’t used to sleeping for more than a few hours and even on the brink of utter exhaustion, it seemed I couldn’t change that.

Sitting up, I wiped the sleep from my eyes, noticing everyone else was still out. Glancing around, I searched for Murphy and saw him slumped against the trunk of a tree. Apparently, the exhaustion had gotten the best of him. Not that I could blame him, I wouldn’t have been able to stay up.

Standing up, I began making my way toward him, knowing someone else should take over his post, but I didn’t make it more than a few feet when an arm grabbed me from behind. Not fucking again.

The strength of my attacker matched Rainer’s and I strained against the hold they had on both of my arms. But then I remembered what Rainer had taught me. I couldn’t pull away, they were too strong.

Because of the grip on both of my arms, I assumed the attacker didn’t have a weapon pointed at me, and I used that to my advantage. I wasn’t going to be taken without a fight. And I was tired of someone else having to come to my rescue.

Relaxing my arms so they assumed I wasn’t fighting back, I reached up my leg, aiming as high as I could and kicking out. My foot met its intended target and I heard a muffled curse come from behind me as the grip on my arms loosened.

Slipping out, I went to run, when suddenly another set of arms were around me. Staring up, I came face to face with a scowl. Whipping my head around, I watched as at least six shadows fell into the camp. We were outnumbered this time.

Fear mixed with confusion as they avoided nearly everyone except for the twins yet again. With lithe movements, the figures reached hands out, holding something I couldn’t place, and then lifted the kids off the ground. Elizabeth stirred beside them, but their movements were too discreet.

I tried to scream, to yell for someone, but a hand was clamped over my mouth, muffling any noise I tried to make. I reached my foot up once again, hoping this would work a second time, but I never got the chance. The person trapping me swept my legs out from underneath my body, holding me up with just my arms.

The position had my joints aching, my arms stretched at an odd angle, and I continued to try to scream through the muffle on my mouth. Unfortunately, my efforts were futile. The people who had grabbed the twins made their way over to us, their limp bodies slung over strong shoulders. Ignoring everything Rainer had taught me, I flung my body around to no avail, wanting, no needing, to save them.

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