Deck of Cards

Day 31- Jen

Queen of Hearts- clothes making for 4hrs

Jen's POV

Freedom tasted better than anything I could have imagined, better than any food or drink. As I woke facing my new sisters rather than a damp, dark wall I felt the tears escaping my eyes and roll down my cheeks, embedding themselves in the grass where I lay. I had to pinch myself and rub my eyes before I realised that it wasn't a dream. It was in front of me.

We had ran far, I felt the burning fire in my calves. My smoker's lungs had been stretched to the full as we sprinted to a secluded place of safety as we planned our next attack. We couldn't decide whether keeping on the down low or going straight to the police with no real evidence. We decided it was better if we got to a populated area and then decide what we would do.

I was the first to wake up but I didn't want to walk around and stretch in case I revealed our location. Fortunately, the other girls eyes opened around five minutes later and they all gave me sleepy, lopsided smiles which gave them all an angelic glow. Freedom had already changed us.

Standing up Ava, reached into her pocket and pulled out an old friend- the pack of cards. Gasping we all circled her, and looked at the past which would haunt us.

"Why do you have them? They could have tracking devices in them!" Sally screeched and Ava gave her a smirk.

"They don't, trust me. I was thinking we could leave them around as decoys. You know make them do a wild goose chase," she said it with a manic look on her face, she wasn't in the right mind.

"Ava is that the best idea?" Scarlett asked wearily, nobody wanted to upset her after her great victory.

"Yes! Yes of course it is! It's like a massive middle finger to them!" she spoke so fast and so animatedly, I couldn't help but smile at her as the others did. We couldn't deny her the satisfaction of having the upper hand on the monster of her father. Nodding we all tried to forget about the flaws in her plan.

"So what's on the, wait for it, cards today?! Did you get my pun?" Hannah had been waiting to say that for the whole time and by the look on her face she was very pleased with herself. Giving her a slow and quiet clap, she bowed and sat down again waiting for someone to actually suggest something.

"Ava you know this place better than any of us, what's your thinking?" Sally looked lost as Ava was staring into the middle distance trying to decide.

"We should go to the police but they'll be expecting that and will be waiting for us there. The next town with a police station is the other way but it means going back the way we came, well in that direction," Ava bit her lip as our options became limited. We couldn't risk going to the easier option, it was a unanimous decision to go to the other town despite having to pass the house of horrors again.

Collecting ourselves together, we made a battle plan using Ava's surprisingly short extent of knowledge. She hadn't been allowed out into the woods as a young girl and she could only base the route on car journeys and a few hikes. We were to walk back the way we came but instead of going through the field we would walk in the safety of the wood. If we saw or heard anyone we would split up and run to the destination in hopes of getting to the police before anything happened. It would be a two day trek but Ava promised that we wouldn't set up camp anywhere near the house.

Walking with dampened spirits, we stayed quiet and our mouthes were zipped shut. Any attention was bad attention. Ava was at the front and I could tell this annoyed Hannah, she didn't like the fact that Ava was always in control. Personally, I didn't have any feelings on the matter, if it meant safety then I would bite my tongue and be bossed around. Ok maybe I did have some feelings on the matter but I wasn't going to voice these. If I was safe, I was content. Every step forward was closer to my baby boy.

When we got to the house by midday I could feel a shift in the atmosphere. We moved deeper in the forest just in case cameras picked us up but I could still see the tall building stick above the trees. Ava looked away from it, it was almost as if it was too horrible to look at. Every second I expected an alarm to go off and the five minute walk past it felt like hours, each second painfully ticking by.

The minute we got past, I felt my shoulders relax and I saw the other girls faces light up; Ava however still looked scared. I could never figure out what scared her more, the game or the real world, a place that had been partially hidden from her as a child. Reality had been distorted and she was left questioning everything. You could hate her all you wanted, there was no denying that she had been through a lot more than most.

After a long day of walking with no disruption we settled down again, miles away from the house. Darkness had already fallen but Ava wanted to be sure that we were nowhere in sight of the house or maybe the house was nowhere in our sight. Despite the fatigue that ached in my legs and chest I was not tired but drastically awake. My stomach grumbled and my eyes twitched, my body wasn't ready for sleep. By the looks of the other girls, I wasn't the only one.

"What should we do to pass the time?" asked one of the girls, maybe Hannah. The darkness had consumed our 'camp' and faces were unrecognizable.

"Maybe a little game," some replied.

"Sounds good," I added my bit but I couldn't help feeling like something horror movie would happen. It was dark, we were in a wood and had no protection.

"Maybe we should make a fire, does anybody know how to?"

Finally I had a use, after years of girl scouts and watching survival programmes I knew how to make a fire from nothing but sticks. Picking two dry ones up that were the right size I began to do my part- finally I was contributing. For the first time I felt like I had helped the team; before I had felt like nothing but a mass of weight that just took and never gave back. The girls tried to deny it but they were all horrible liars.

As the sparks appeared like magic everyone gasped and went around like madwomen collecting sticks and making a pile in the middle of our uneven circle. As the fire rose I could see everyone's smiling faces, we didn't care if it brought attention to us now. We were strong, I knew that with these girls I could succeed at whatever.

After three rounds of 'Never Have I Ever' and 'Who Am I?" we called it a night. Despite my fears, I slept like a baby and dreamt ,for the first time, of nice things.