Save ourselves- One Direction

Avery

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I had been run over. I had spent the whole night in the tree. To avoid falling from the tree, I had used my belt as a rope to tie myself down. But now my back, which had been leaning against the trunk all night, was aching and all my limbs felt stiff and ice-cold. My hair was damp from the morning dew and although I had just woken up, I felt incredibly tired. I stretched a few times, although the bruises on my body still hurt. I shifted slowly back and forth on the fork of the branch and looked down. Apparently everyone was still asleep. At least I couldn't see anyone down below. I ran my hand through my long, straggly hair and looked through the branches at the water. Calmly and peacefully, the waves lapped at the shore.

What I wouldn't have given right now to step briefly into the water and simply become one with the sea for a few minutes. But I couldn't afford that luxury at the moment.

I glanced at my watch. It was 7:20 in the morning. Soon the morning round would begin.

I wondered if Hempton would now start torturing other people from the camp because we had given him the slip. Hopefully not. No one deserved to be tortured because of us. Especially not by a man as despicable as Hempton.

As if it were a mental transference, I heard a few voices and saw some youths walking across the meadow in the distance. Presumably they were also going to the morning round.

And then I heard footsteps very close to my tree. I quickly ducked behind the covering branches again, careful not to make a sound.

"Avery?" someone whispered rather loudly.

I glanced cautiously between the branches.

Ed.

"Yeah?", I whispered back.

"Come down a little. I can't throw that far."

Although my whole body still felt like one big bruise, I somehow managed to climb down a few rows of branches unscathed.

"Okay, that's enough."

Ed threw a rope over a tree branch fork and began pulling a basket up it. Once the basket was close enough, I retrieved it and untied it from the rope. In the basket, were a long jacket, a T-shirt and leggings, some food and a water bottle. On top was a note.

"Tonight, be ready. Wait for my signal."

I looked down at him.

"What signal?"

"You'll see it then. If everything goes according to plan, I'll be here at six tonight. And you have to do exactly what I tell you then and you have to be damn careful. Can you do that?"

I nodded. What other choice did I have?

"Okay, I'll come by tonight then. My colleague is going to pick up a carpet and I'll help him move it. I'll make sure he's distracted for a moment, then you come, I'll wrap you up in the carpet and then lay you on the back of his truck. There you'll unwrap yourself and when we stop for a moment, you'll jump off and hide until I come for you."

"And if it doesn't go according to plan?"

"Then we both lose."

With that he pulled the rope from the tree and I climbed back up and waited.

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Have you ever had that time and yet at the same time it goes as slow and tenacious as chewing gum? You're waiting for something and time seems to pass creeping slowly. You're afraid of something that's coming up and then suddenly time just flies by. For me it was both. Nevertheless, I tried to pass the time as best I could.