The Lost Ones

21 - Lela

So we race across the countryside, watching the greenery fly past the window. Everyone seems so much more relaxed around each other; people are laughing and chatting like normal. Drew seems to have commandeered the microphone and speakers - that, or Gemma's asleep and therefore can't see the mayhem that is unfolding before her - and is entertaining all of us with his natural humour. This is met with a mix of laughter and groans from his attentive audience.

It's a wonder we haven't been stopped on the road yet. Doesn't it look suspicious, five buses speeding across the country? Obviously not. Maybe it's not the first time this kind of thing has happened. Adrian's seemingly not worried about any of this, despite the fact that no one actually knows where we're going to go.

"Relax, Lela. We'll work something out eventually. We just need to get as far away as we can from you-know-who." He tries to reassure me. A part of me wants to believe him, but the other part won't stop worrying about where we're going to go. What if we're stuck like this forever, endlessly wandering?

The sun is falling far behind the clouds now, leaving an orange-pink trail where it used to be. We stop at the side of the road, which has been empty for a while now, and get out some blankets and various other things that Jane gave us. I peer over at Maisie as I'm handed a poncho; she's still sitting in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel.

"Maisie, are you still going to drive?" I ask her. Surely we aren't driving through the night?

She turns around to me and grins, holding a thermos in her left hand. "I've been drinking a hell of a lot of coffee."

"You should sleep." I say sternly. Maisie just laughs and pushes a strand of strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'm a year older than you, Lela. Respect your elders." She winks, then turns back to face the front.

Just then, Drew returns to the loudspeakers after a short break.

"Hey guys. We're just going to drive to a caravan park and stay there for the night, okay? 'Night!" He says cheerfully, then the intercom crackles and he's gone.

We pull into a trailer park and finally the bus comes to a halt. I wonder how I'll be able to get to sleep, but almost as soon as I close my eyes I feel my thoughts being swallowed by darkness and I fall straight asleep.

Another night of sleeplessness in the hospital. Adrian and I usually spent long nights just whispering to each other from the opposite ends of the room because we couldn't get to sleep, ever since we were little. We had to always be careful that the guards didn't hear us; woe betide us if they caught us talking in the middle of the night. But mostly it was comforting to just talk to someone else who didn't think of us as objects to test on.

My sleepy thoughts are interrupted by Adrian shaking me awake, frantically yelling my name. I open one eye slowly, unsure of what's going on.

"Adrian, it's the middle of the night. What's going on?" I mumble groggily, but he pulls me to my feet and shakes me. I notice everyone else running around and a few people are screaming.

"They're here. The hospital have caught up with us." He says, and I suddenly come to my senses, ready and alert. There are flashing lights outside and I spot several guards approaching the five buses.

"Oh, God. No. No, no, no." I seem incapable of saying anything even remotely helpful. I stand in the aisle, paralysed with fear.

"Guys, guys, GUYS! Calm down, everybody!" Drew yells from the speakers, trying to be heard over the commotion. There's a weird whooshing sound and a bit of bumping, then Gemma's strong voice returns to the intercom.