Page 42 of Shattered Home

Warner stood up, slinking away into the crowd, leaving the four of us. Aiden opened his mouth to speak, and I knew he wanted to talk about what happened last night. Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of ever speaking of it.

Grabbing the twins' hands, I inflected happiness into my tone. “Come on. Why don’t we go find some more flowers for your parents? The other ones wilted already.”

“Will we be able to give these ones to Mommy?” Stephanie asked as we stood together, Lucas at my other side.

“I’m hoping we will.”

The four of us walked through the camp in silence, avoiding others. The weight of eyes was on me as we walked, no doubt the guards checking to see that I was indeed alive and ready for more torture tonight. I ignored the stares as much as I could, but I couldn’t help the shiver that ran up my spine each time I caught a guard's eye.

Once we reached the small area of flowers, I set Stephanie and Lucas on the lookout for the prettiest flowers they could find. My job was to find the perfect kindling for a fire, as well as sticks to create the initial spark.

Aiden and I wandered the area in silence, packing the sticks I needed into a bag so that they would be hidden from the watchful gazes that followed us. After I was finally content with the supplies we gathered, I called the twins over.

Both of them had bunches of flowers in their hand and I opened the bag for them to toss their finds inside. Then I sat them down, knowing we needed to have this conversation. So far, we hadn’t told them the plan for escaping. I didn’t think they would have told anyone, they barely spoke to us, but I also didn’t want to get their hopes up before everything was in motion.

“I need you both to listen very carefully.” Two sets of wide eyes stared up at me. “In a little bit, Aiden is going to take you to the back of the camp. There’s a fence there and the three of you are going to climb through it.”

“We’re leaving?” Lucas asked, his voice filled with so much hope it nearly broke my heart.

“We’re leaving. I’m going to get you back to your mom and dad.”

They shared a smile with each other, but I grabbed their attention once more. “This part is really important. No matter what happens, you do not leave Aiden’s side. You hold his hands as tightly as you can. You listen to everything he tells you to do. Can you do that?”

Two twin nods met me and I pulled both of them into a tight hug. “I’m going to keep you safe, okay?”

Stephanie pulled back, smiling so widely her cheeks stretched. “We know.”

She had so much faith in me. I only wished I had the same in myself.

***

It was time. Four fifty-two pm. In eight minutes, the guards would change spots. I had eight minutes to light this fire and distract all of them. Aiden and the twins were already waiting at the fence, ready to leave the second the coast was clear.

I had hugged the three of them fiercely before we parted, knowing it may well be my last chance. Aiden had refused to say goodbye, but I did so anyway. I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to the rest of my family; I wasn’t going to let that happen again.

Warner and I sat in the middle of a large cluster of tents, my hands fiddling with the kindling while he kept guard. We had double checked all the tents first, making sure there were no occupants inside. This was meant to be a distraction, and I didn’t want any innocent bystanders to get harmed.

Although, I knew plenty of people would be without a shelter tonight. That part of the plan had guilt mingling in my chest, but this wasn’t the place for that feeling. This was about surviving and you couldn’t think of others when that was on your mind.

“You know, I’m surprised you don’t know how to start a fire,” I said, making small talk as I set up the kindling in a teepee formation.

Warner seemed to be a man with many talents, although, the more I got to know the man, he didn’t have the same rugged personality as Rainer and Murphy.

“I can.” My eyes whipped up to him, wondering why I was doing this instead of him, when he smiled that sly grin. “With a lighter or matches.”

Shaking my head at him, I refocused on the task at hand. I was wasting time fiddling with the small sticks; I knew this. But I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to ignite this spark and the idea held me back.

The clock now read four fifty-eight. I had run out of time; it was now or never. Taking a deep breath, I set up the large piece of wood I had found, gripping a smaller piece in my hands. Pressing deep, I put as much pressure as I could, twisting the stick in my hands over and over again.

Smoke billowed around my face, but there was no spark. Focusing my attention, I pressed harder, feeling the familiar strain in my muscles and the excruciating fire in my upper arms. But I didn’t stop, knowing I needed to get this.

Everything seemed to fade away as I focused, my hands moving fast. Please spark. Please spark. Finally, the lightest spark lit, and relief spilled through me. I had done it.

Being careful not to disrupt the spark, I brought it toward my kindling, setting it in the middle and leaning down to blow gently, stoking the flames. Within seconds, the kindling caught on fire, blossoming before me. I had specifically set it up on the edge of a tent, the canvas material flammable, and I was pleasantly surprised when the first tent flickered with red flames, ashes dropping to the ground.

The tents were close enough together, all of them basically touching, that it wouldn’t be long before they were all engulfed. I knew we didn’t have time, but I took a moment to admire my handiwork, pride soaring through me.

“Fuck, you actually did it.” The awe in Warner’s voice should have bothered me, obviously he didn’t have any confidence in my abilities, but I was too happy that the plan was working to care.

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