Seacrets

chapter 5

Solène and her friends crouch tightly behind the bus.

-The longer we are here, the bigger the danger is for these people, Sonia whispered.

Before they can make a move, two armed men had found them. A gun appeared near Solène's face. They are quickly encircled. The Dorsainvil character approaches.

-You give me headaches, Miss Solène, he said as he glared into her eyes.

She stood as stiff as she could but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

-The egg please, young lady.

-I don't know what you are talking about.

Dorsainvil glances at a device he was holding. A purple light pulsated from its screen.

-I believe you are lying to me.

-Why would I be going around with an egg in my pocket?

Adrien plunges for one of the guns. And so does Sonia. Dorsainvil simply stepped back and left the cluster to sort itself out. Shots are fired but Solène escapes into the woods. Sonia had suggested they make a run for the trees. They could hear the highway from their location.

She runs straight at first never looking back. When she sprints she could tell Sonia was lunging to, she wasn't so sure about Adrien though. The woods thicken as she progresses inward. The ground becomes uneven the further she ventured away from the road. Her boots got snagged on something and she lost control. Her ankle gives up and she slides into a small ditch. She crouched there and simply waited. Fast footsteps got closer to her location. She peaked only to find a panting Sonia making her way through. Together, they went to find a secure place to rest her twisted ankle. They settled in the crevasse of a giant, hollow tree. The night grew darker and colder.

The sound of leaves under the footsteps on the nearby got closer. Solène's entire body clenches as not to breathe heavily. Sonia grabbed a fallen branch and retreated further into the hollow tree trunk. Silence set upon them and the air got heavier. A shadowy male figure bent over to the opening. Adrien reflexively muffled the young women's screams. He came out of nowhere. Sonia's eyes bugged out of her head.

-You.

-Yes, me. Don't scream.

-How did you find us?

His eyes went straight to the glow emanating from Solène's chest.

-I thought one of you was using a flashlight. I saw it in the distance and followed.

Soléne reaches for the pendant on her necklace. It had begun to fluoresce, as the night got darker. She swung it back under her shirt.

-Are you okay? Did they leave? Solène worried ...

-We have a problem. I heard them say they are going to exchange your father for their egg.

Adrien waited for them to react but they sat, motionless.

-I had eggs for breakfast the morning I left Pichon...

-Oh my God, you ate it! ...

They laugh, bemused.

-Girls, this is serious.

-I saw the screen on their device. They are tracking one person, me.

-Which means if we separate, they can't follow all of us.

- I can go back to Pichon, that's where my father is and maybe he has their egg.

-And I can go find my stepfather ... Can you walk? Pichon is still a couple of hours away.

-My ankle is fine. It doesn't hurt anymore. I can go.

They walk together for a while and when they rejoin the road they go their separate ways. Sonia takes the road to Colper Town as they originally intended to and the other pair heads back to Pichon city.