“Tammin!”
I heard Mama’s voice ring out, loud and clear; but from which direction I was not sure. I scanned the crowd of angry men and women, my heart dropping to my feet and my stomach filling with the fluttering wings of a thousand screeching bats. My palms were sweaty and my legs quivered. Where was my mother and father?
If I didn't find them, I wouldn't get away in time and the police would find me, bringing me back to the wretched, grimy cell that I reluctantly called home. No matter how much I begged and pleaded and said I was someone other than who I was and who they thought I was, there was no denying the truth.
I just hoped Mina had gotten away. I couldn't have anything happen to my little sister.
“Tammin!”
This time the cry came from my father, and I quickly spotted him inside an alley between the pub and the cobbler. My head swam with relief as I picked up the hem of my dress and ran to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his thin waist. He hugged me back briefly, but quickly let go, leading me to a carriage parked on the other side of the alley.
My mother was on the front of the carriage, and sighed gratefully when she saw me, taking my hand in hers. I quickly climbed into the side of the carriage, seeing Mina inside there already, safe and sound.
The carriage was quite dull, with white walls and a simple wooden flooring. It was cramped, but we needed no more than this. We needed to blend in as much as possible.
Mina hugged me tightly. “Where did you go, Tam?” she asked curiously. I sighed, not sure how to answer. I could hear the slow rumble and the horse’s pounding hooves in response to my father’s pull of the reigns. This was it. We were finally escaping. I smiled at Mina, wrapping my cold arms around her slight shoulders. I leaned my mouth close to her ear and whispered softly, “I got the stone.”
Her eyes got as big as saucers and she looked at me in that Tammin-how-could-you-now-we’re-all-in-even-more-danger-than-before sort of way. Her skin was as cold as ice.
“But Tammin-”
I shushed her.
“What are you girls whispering about back there?”
My mother had turned at the front of the carriage and was looking at us through the small opening that connected the back of the carriage to the front. They were probably discussing plans for escape while father led us out of town. He was an elephant when it came to directions. He remembered everything.
“Nothing, Mother. We just don't want to be too loud.”
She nodded, still looking suspicious as she turned away. She should be suspicious. In my pocket, I possessed one of the most valuable things in the world.
I peered out at both of my parents. They wore dark as pitch clothing and large hats to hide their faces. We couldn't afford to be recognized while abandoning town. Everyone knew our faces in town, we were almost like celebrities. Except not in a pleasant way.
Father thought this would be a good time to escape, with all of those irate people holding a rally at town square. The mayor had good intentions, it’s just that no one believed he did.
As my thoughts took me over, letting me escape from this horrible reality, I noticed something out of my peripheral vision. Mina was opening the back window of the carriage.
“No, Mina!” I exclaimed through clenched teeth. However, it was too late.
A woman was walking across the dirt path, carrying a woven basket of apples. She turned her head for just a moment, ever so slightly. That was when chaos erupted, spewing all over us.
