The Time Hopper

Finalizing Plans

We all breathed a sigh of relief when we made it back into the valley and realised that none of the adults were laying in wait for us. Lucas, Terrence and Took were waiting very close by, the others a little way into the woods and pretending to be picking berries in case anyone came to check on them. Apparently though, our distraction trio had done a good job of keeping the adults occupied, so hopefully our little excursion had gone entirely unnoticed. 

"Well, what did you find?" Lucas demanded as soon as he saw us. 

"Is everyone okay?" Terrence said at the same time, jumping up from where he had been lounging against a tree. 

"Were you seen?" Took questioned, craning his neck to look over our heads and see if anyone was following us. Because naturally, had we been spotted and followed, we would be walking along at our normal, unhurried pace. 

"Everyone is fine, we weren't seen, and we found a way out." I listed off, finally letting go of my notebook and letting it fall back to the bottom of my back. I sat back down, letting the adrenaline running through my system burn out as Eros recited everything we had learned. There was a solid plan forming in my mind now, just a seedling, and I stood up as soon as Eros was done reporting back. 

"When are we meant to be meeting back at the picnic spot?" I asked, knowing we had been out there for at least two hours. In truth, the only reason we turned back instead of staying out there and doing more recon was because none of us wore a watch and we realised we had been out there for a while. We didn't want everyone coming charging out to save us for no reason just because we'd lost track of time, that would have just been embarrassing. 

"Pretty much now. We should probably set off, or we'll send the others into a tizzy." Took said, checking his watch and gesturing for us to follow as he walked away. I found my nerves mounting as we set off, as I worried that the adults had somehow managed to know everything and Riley was in danger. We soon met up with the rest of the rescue team, Kat looking genuinely upset that she didn't get to run out and burn things to get us to safety. I could understand that. 

"Sadie, why are you power walking?" Lucas asked me, lazily strolling along at the back of our ragtag group. I turned around and walked backwards to answer him, only slowing down a notch. 

"Because outright running would make it seem like I'm panicking, and I'm not, I'm just worried-" I would have continued, but inevitably my foot hit a root and I fell over. Naturally, they all burst out laughing, aside from Alexi who came and offered me his hand. I clambered back to my feet with red cheeks and a wide grin. "I am the epitome of grace and beauty." I blurted out, turning to look where I was going. 

"Why are you worried? I thought you said you weren't seen?" Took asked me, checking over his shoulder and glaring at the empty woods behind us. 

"We weren't seen, she just doesn't like being away from her boyfriend." Eros said with a shit eating grin, trying to wind the both of us up, and honestly succeeding. Took's nostrils flared and he looked the other way, lips set in a thin line. 

"Oh shut up, Eros, he isn't my boyfriend and you damn well know it. And I'm worried because the recon went far too well, and I want to make sure that the distraction played off without a hitch as well." I explained, practically jogging now until Terrence grabbed my arm and forced me to slow down. 

"Easy there, Sadie. If you go bounding out with that look on your face and one of the adults sees you, it'll raise questions we might struggle to answer. I'm sure they're all fine." He muttered, keeping a hold on my elbow until we reached the picnic spot to stop me racing off, a technique Riley often employed. Luckily, he was already there, seeing me and letting out a visible sigh of relief. I crossed over and wrapped him in a fierce hug while the others got settled, Alice and Rosie arriving shortly after. Yet again, I let Eros regurgitate what we had found out, bringing everyone up to speed before we lapsed into silence.