Forgotten

Chapter 27

          I PUSH THE TOP OF MY BOX UP AND STEP OUT, STRETCHING to relieve my muscles of the cramps they've developed from all that time spent crouched in a ball. I carefully climb out of the box, trying not to slip amid the clothes and blankets scattered over the floor where the guard carelessly flung them.

            I turn to help Hayley, who is having trouble getting out of her box. Once she's out, I reach down to hug her, holding her tight. "I'm so glad you're safe," I whisper, letting my mind linger for one awful moment on what might have happened to her if any of us had been caught.

            "That was so scary," she says, her voice strained with fear.

            "I know, I know," I soothe her, stroking her hair. "But it's over now."

            I lead her over to a corner of the truck, and we sit down together. Rowan crosses the floor to join us. "You okay?" he asks as he sits down beside me.

            "Fine," I say. "Just a little...shaken, that's all."

            "He was right near your box, wasn't he?" Rowan asks. His voice is tense, even though it's all over.     

            I nod. "Right in front of me. It's a miracle we weren't caught."

            Rowan takes my hand, squeezing it gently. "I knew it would be difficult, getting over the border. But we made it."

            I give him a weak smile. "Yeah, we did."

            He stares at me for a moment more, then reaches out and pulls me into a warm hug. No words are needed between us. I relax in his arms, knowing that right now, I need to feel safe, and Rowan is the only one who can give me that.

            When he finally releases me, he takes hold of my hand again, and this time, he doesn't let go. We sit like that for a few minutes, feeling the fear and strain from the encounter with the guard slowly ease as we breathe the free air of this new country.

            "I want to see outside," Hayley says finally. "Where are we?"

            "A new place. Not the Federation," I tell her. "I think you'll like it here. It's called Canada."

            "What does it look like?"

            "You'll see soon enough," Rowan replies amusedly. "Joel's dropping us off in Delta, and we're transferring vehicles there. We'll be riding in a car, instead of being shut up in the back of a truck."

            "A car?" I ask worriedly. "Won't we be seen easily in a car?"

            Rowan laughs—a carefree, exuberant sound that is music to my ears. "You don't need to worry about that anymore, princess. We're in Canada now. We can go wherever we want." He lets out a whoop that bounces of the walls and reverberates around the truck. "We're free!"

             And that's when I realize that Rowan's right, that we really are free for the first time in our lives. Everyone on the highway must have heard Rowan yell, but it doesn't matter because no one cares. No one's out to arrest us here. We can talk however we want to, we can go anywhere we please. It's as if a huge weight has been lifted of my shoulders. This is what freedom must feel like.

            It's only a short while before the truck comes to a stop, and I hear Joel open his door and climb outside. A few moments later, the door at the back of the truck slides open. I stand, shielding my eyes as the bright morning light streams in from outside and fresh air rushes into my face. It smells clean and sweet—a nice change from the stench of animals and farmland that I'd become used to back in Darrington.