Mission 'Don't get killed'

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

I jerk awake and I'm disoriented at first, partly because of the hard feeling of a floor I'm laying on and the fact that I can't see anything at first because my eyes are squinting against the bright light that's illuminating the room I'm in. Slowly, my eyes adjust and I see Sara and Zac, both asleep laying next to me. Immediately I start to panic. How could I have fallen asleep? I should have been keeping watch. I remember telling Sara and Zac that they should get some sleep and that I would stay awake and keep alert. Obviously I failed. So many things could have gone wrong. I shake my head. We could have been killed because of me. We managed to escape and got so far and it could all have ended because I wasn't paying attention. How could I have been so stupid? Then I tell myself to stop. We're alive, everything seems to be in order, at least for now, and I'm feeling quite good. I tell myself that I'm of more use now that I've had some sleep than I would have been if I had forced myself to stay awake. I debate whether I should wake the others yet and decide it's best if we get moving as soon as possible. It's already light outside, meaning my father has been home for a long time already and he's probably already searching for me, though his search will be more difficult now that there are more people on the streets and it's harder to just take me when I'm surrounded by other humans.

I wake Sara and Zac up and within a matter of minutes we're moving again. We're getting closer and closer to Matt's building and I feel better with every meter that we walk. There are already a lot of people on the streets, going to work and whatnot and usually they don't even seem to notice us or they just avoid us, thinking we're homeless.

'Excuse me.' A voice behind us suddenly says and I jump when I hear it. O god, this is not good. It's probably someone send by my father, who's here to discreetly take us back. I turn around and see that an older woman has tried to get our attention. This makes me relax a little, she's not part of my father's staff.

'Um hi.' I say. Even though I now know that she doesn't pose a threat, I want to get moving again as soon as possible. 'Can I help you?'

'Shouldn't you be in school?' She casts us a strict look, studying our faces.

'Um, yes.' I'm caught off-guard by her question. 'We're heading there now, actually. So, yeah.' I hope she gets the hint. She doesn't.

'You're already late.' She continues to reprimand us. 'Do your parents know that you're just roaming the streets?' She looks disapproving.

'Yes.' I say. 'They are actually the reason we're late. They wanted to have a talk with us.' I continue.

The woman narrows her eyes at us. 'They just told us they're going to divorce.' I improvise. This seems to work, the woman's features relax a little.

'Well, you better get there quickly.' She says, her sour expression back on her face.

'We will.' I'm already pulling Zac with me and Sara is doing the same. The woman casts an enstranged look at Zac's hands, which are held by both me and Sara. He beams a smile at the lady.

'Bye bye lady!' He calls after her and Sara silences him while I smile apogetically at the old lady. She probably thinks Zac is retarded.

'She scared the hell out of me.' Sara says annoyed. 'I thought someone was onto us.'

'Yeah, me too.' I agree. We continue walking and we're getting closer and closer to Matt's building when someone else suddenly blocks our path. It's a middle-aged man, who looks like he spends all his free time in the gym. His army-like appearance alarms me immediately.

'May I ask what you're doing here?' He asks us and he looks at us intently.

'We're going to school.' I just hope that there is a school somewhere in this area. Or at least in this direction.