Ré's Sacrifice

Chapter 14 friendship is stronger than fear

I was halfway through the forest before stopping dead in my tracks. What was I thinking? Running away from my best friend? Just yesterday I promised to keep him safe, and now I was doing the same thing to him as my Parents did to me? We have come this far together, no need to abandon each other. I sat against a tree and sobbed. What was I to do? go back or continue my search? After a while I had to go back. I went back the way I came. I had spent almost two hours in the woods.

"Ré! Ré! Where were you! I was worried about you!" I collapsed in his arms and cried. "What's wrong Ré? What happened?" He asked. "I tried to run away from you! I'm so sorry! I wanted to find our friends and I wasn't thinking properly! I'm so sorry Charlié" I sobbed. "Ré, you must stay with us! I'd hate for something bad to happen to you!" Charlié insisted. I have heard the exact thing coming from Ebony many years ago before. I nodded. "I promise to stay with you, for a very long time!, but Charlié, when will we search for them?"
"Ré, They could be miles away by now, how could we possibly find them?"
I thought and thought, all through dinner and through the night. By the next day I had finally come up with an answer.

A few years ago, Ebony told me of an underground shed somewhere deep in the forest. She told me that she used to hide in it when her Father was going to hit her. She stayed there for hours and sometimes even days. She had a secret food stash so she didn't go hungry. Why didn't I think of that before? It was the middle of the night when I thought about it. I didn't want to wake Charlié, but if we wanted to find them then we would have to leave as early as we could. I turned to face Charlié, who was fast asleep. Jaden was there too. For a moment, I wished I could stay in that moment forever but then I reminded myself that my friends lives were more important than a comfy warm bed. I slightly shook Charlié to wake him up. He didn't even stir. I shook him harder and he woke with a jump. He looked at me worriedly. "Ré? What happened?". Jaden was stirring too. "Charlié, I just thought of something to help us find Ebony and Evan" I said. "Well, tell me in the morning, I'm tired" He said before rolling over. I turned him back over. "Charlié, this cannot wait, I am serious, I think I know where they are". "Oh Ré..You were dreaming" Charlié said crossly.  "Oh right so you don't believe me" I retorted. Charlié sat up in bed and looked at me. I could just see the outline of his face in the moonlight. "You really know where they are?" He asked. "I swear to God, Mary, The Pope and Jesus I know where they might be, you have to trust me Charlie". I took his hand. "I trust you" He said gently.
I smiled. "We have to leave now before it gets light" I told him and he nodded. "How are we going to get out without being caught?" Charlié asked.
"We run"
"What about Jaden?"
"Charlié!"
"You two go ahead without worrying about me, I've lived alone for years after my Father died, I'll be fine" Jaden told us and for the first time, I felt really sorry for him.
"Are you sure you don't wanna come with us Jaden?" I asked. Jaden shook his head. "I'll be fine with my oatmeal" he said and my eyes filled with tears. I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you so much" I whispered. He awkwardly held me for a moment and then I let go. "It's time for us to head off now" Charlié said, taking my hand.
I nodded. "Thank you for letting us stay" Charlié said to Jaden. Jaden smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the rifle" He replied.

Charlié and I left Jaden's hut at 1 am and set off for the woods. We ran all the way so we weren't caught by the soldiers. I had a memory of Ebony telling me the hut was in the forest. North from the town. It was deep into the forest so her Father wouldn't find her.

We were almost halfway into the forest when the first rays of sunlight shone through the trees. It hurt our eyes but we covered them. We ate some berries and fruit we found for breakfast and drank from the pond to quench our thirst. After an hour of walking, the sun was high up in the sky.

"Can we rest yet?" Charlié asked. "We rested two minutes ago" I said. "We  also passed that same tree two minutes ago, are you sure you're going the right way? We seem to be going around in circles" Charlié told me. I looked around. He was right, we were going around in circles. "Yes lets rest" I said.

We sat by an oak tree and I started to cry "We will never find them" I cried. Charlié put his arms around me and held me. "Yes we will, We need to wait" He comforted. That was when I got defensive. "I have waited 5 years for my Parents to return, I have waited months to see Ebony and Evan, I HAVE WAITED AND WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE AND NOBODY IS COMING  FOR ME ANYMORE"
I took a deep breath in. I hadn't meant to shout at him. "sorry" I said. "Its okay Ré, I-" Charlié cut himself off.

"Whats the matter?" I asked.

"Ré..I can hear voices..."