𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐷 𝐼𝑁 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑀

𝑆𝐼𝑋𝑇𝐸𝐸𝑁~ 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔

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My stomach dropped. I covered my mouth, forcing myself not to cry out. We all crouched lower, to the ground, wanting to disappear completely. Beside me I could see Callum's face was nearly purple, from a mixture of embarrassment and fear, I presumed.

My heart pounded. It seemed as though the truck would never pass us, as if it was now moving at the speed of a snail. I realised my hand from over my mouth and began grinding my fist into the dirt impulsively. Arlo reached over and grabbed my fisted-hand gently. I stopped digging and placed my hand in his. My muscles relaxed slightly. To our luck, it seemed like the truck driver had not spotted us behind the bush, as she continued on her way, passing our hiding spot.

I could still hear the 'chuf chuf chuf' of the helicopter's rotors overhead. "Stay down," I whispered to my friends, who obliged.

I could not believe what had just happened. Something told me that the truck and helicopter were not in In-Between on a supply run. No, they were here looking for the escapees. They were looking for us.

And to think, we had thought that it was people from Sarosa, that we had made it to freedom at last. How could we have been so clueless? Arlo was not clueless. He knew, and he tried to tell us. Why didn't I listen to him in the first place? I was just so overwhelmed with excitement and hope.

As my fear slowly faded, it began to sink in that we were not in freedom. Maybe not even close to it. And no one was going to come to save us. We had to get there on our own. Once the helicopter could no longer be heard, we all sat up and looked at one another.

"I'm so sorry," Callum said, ashamed, "I'm so stupid. So incredibly stupid." He covered his face with his hands.

Sariah patted him on the back kindly. "You're not stupid," she reassured him, "you were the one that heard the engine, remember? No one else could hear it that quickly. You helped save us." Callum looked up and smiled slightly at her.

Sariah was right. If Callum had not notified us of the sound, we probably would not have heard it until it was too late.

"Yeah," Arlo agreed, his hand still holding mine, "it's alright Cal."

"Was that truck from Mada?" asked Nola, who had been quiet for some time.

"Yes, it was. So was the helicopter," I told her, "but it's okay, they didn't see us."

"Are you sure?" Arlo asked, looking through the trees at the sky.

I nodded, "Yes, but we'll have to be extra careful moving forward."

"Should we keep going today?" asked Sariah, "we know they are searching now, what if there are more vehicles coming?"

"No," said a voice behind us, "I would stay here for the remainder of the day, just in case." The voice belonged to Dugal. We turned away from the berry bush and faced the hologram.

"Dug!" Callum exclaimed, "where have you been?"

Dugal looked towards the ground in guilt, "I'm sorry, friends. I did not know that Mada had discovered you were all still alive. I am only aware of the predetermined challenges, and that is all I can warn you of."

"So how did you know to come now, then?" Arlo asked him.

"Well-" Dugal said, his eyes once again on the ground, "I can't say too much, but I was just coming to check in on you before-"

"Before what?" Nola asked suspiciously.

"In due time, young lass," replied Dugal, using an expression he had said to us before in order to not give away too much information. "Anyhow," he continued, "when I saw the helicopter and truck approaching, I quickly sought you out and made sure you were hidden. Once I knew you were alright, I decided to keep my distance until the coast was clear."

"Dug, Leanne told them we were all dead," I told him, "how did they know we were alive?"

Dugal shrugged, "I suppose it's possible that the Madians came searching for Leanne and Amos, as they told the Commander they'd be back to The Wall soon-"

"-And when they found them, they knew we were still alive." Arlo finished, putting two and two together.

"So they know we are still out here?" Callum asked.

"Yes, Callum," I replied exasperatedly, "seeing as they've sent a search party of trucks and helicopters out, that's the conclusion that we've come to."

Callum seemed to understand now, nodding at my harsh remark.

"Again, my apologies for not warning you they were coming," Dugal told us, " I will try to be more helpful in the future."

"No Dug," Sariah reassured him, "you're doing a great job. I mean, you've gotten us this far. We couldn't have done it without you."

Dugal smiled at us. "Thank you for your forgiveness," he said, "this has just proven to me that you are more than capable of making it to Sarosa. You really are an extraordinary bunch."

"Thank you," we replied. His kind words were encouraging, especially coming from someone who had made it out of In-Between.

Dugal clapped his hands together, "Well, until next time, children." We bid him goodbye and his hologram disappeared.

As Dug suggested, we decided to remain in hiding for the remainder of the day, just to be safe. We discovered a thick, dark area of the forest, with minimal gaps between trees. We cleared the forest floor, and conversed in hushed voices, still on alert for any strange noises. As the day faded into night, the air became cooler, so we huddled around each other, not daring to build a fire; the smoke would most definitely reveal our hiding spot.

As we were laying down to sleep that night, I knew that sleep wouldn't come to me. I wasn't tired, I was alert, my mind racing as always. For the first time in In-Between, I had felt a true sense of hope that we were being rescued from this dreadful place, that good people were trying to help us.

But of course, that wasn't the case. Mada was trying to steal us back, to punish us for escaping. For getting past their wall, disobeying every rule Mada stood for. For escaping the trap that Leanne and Amos had nearly put us in, most likely sending them to their deaths. For still being here in In-Between, and for being alive.

I knew the government would enforce the rules even further now, and have to add extra reinforcements to The Wall, in order to prevent any more escapees. I couldn't imagine the punishments that were given to the guards of the gate, how could they allow this to happen? We had outwitted the most vial city, and where did that get us? In-Between. A place just as full of death, sorrow, and pain.

I wondered what was to come. Were we close to freedom, or getting further away? Would all our struggle be worth it, or would we be taken back to Mada? We'd escaped them this time, but would we have the same luck next time? The fears continued to swirl around in my mind until I finally drifted off into a light slumber.

Despite everything we had faced thus far, including our near discovery that day, none of it could prepare me for what I would face in the hours to come.