The soldiers are marching again, with the heavy sound of drums quick to follow.
Everyone in the town who knows what is coming stays silent and tries to hide, praying that they won't stop here, in Woodson.
And it's every week now that they pick a new...
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I wait until Kade and Andres have finished building the fire before laying Adeline down.
Here is a cleared place for sleep - a blanket of grass and moss - hidden from the sunrise and light of the fading moon.
"What a brilliant sky," I comment, sitting down next to Adeline sleeping.
Kade and Andres sit next to me, also sort of resting. The trees are more spread out here, which makes it harder to hide, but we needed to stop running sooner or later. The rising sun filters in through the leaf canopy beautifully, but it only makes it easier to see the cuts and bruises littered over Adeline's honey colored complexion.
I sigh and sit down next to her, mindlessly toying with the grass near the edge of her hair. To be honest, I think we all forgot that Adeline was injured when we ran, and with no professional medical care, she wasn't ready to go so far. How did she make it more than ten miles like that?
I wince at the memory of seeing her splayed out on the ground of the questioning room. I don't know why they brought her in first and the rest of us later. But did it really make a difference anymore? Thanks to her and Kade, we got out of there safely, and I am forever in their debt.
"I can't believe we've been walking all night," Andres remarks, and I nod.
Like Kade, Andres has bags under his eyes, no doubt tired from walking. He looks at Adeline's head in my lap with a sad face.
When Andres and I were alone, separated from Adeline and Kade in the Other camp, he told me a bit about his life back home, and about his sister. I didn't know she likes classical music, and taking walks in their garden back in Woodson alone.
Does she have friends? Another man she sees back home?
The idea sort of bothers me, yet the uncovered details about her life make her appear less unapproachable. It's like, in the new light of the sunrise, she has replaced the scowl on her face with a gentler curve of the lips. Replaced the protective gear with just her clothes. Mundane things like that make someone more human. Why does she hide that, unlike her brother? What kind of household creates two oppositely different people?
Is it obvious to whoever is close to her how strong her character is, and how she will do everything in order to protect the people she loves?
It's strikingly obvious to me.
"Speaking of which, how exactly did you guys do it? How did you and Adeline escape?" Inquires Andres, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Interested in Kade's reply, I turn to him as he speaks, leaning back on my elbows.
"It was mostly her," he starts, gesturing to the sleeping girl in my arms. She's as still as death, which slightly concerns me. Kade dives into detail about their plan of escape, picking locks, and sneaking around the camp.
