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‘Me too,’ said Alisha.

‘No chance,’ I said, a smile in my voice, ‘it would take a lot more than David.’

I reached forward again for the knife and stood up. It was beautiful, a curved blade honed to a point, with an ornate mother-of-pearl handle. The girls and I stared at it, and then I shuddered, pushed it closed and tossed it into the bramble thicket. There was a groan behind me and David stirred slightly, eyes still closed. He would be ok, but in no shape to chase us. I turned so the sun was at my back, took the girls hands, and stepped forwards, the rays of light highlighting the trunks of the trees ahead of us.

Chapter 23: Community

We walked through the trees with the sun at our backs, until the track met the chain link fence. The girls were silent, stumbling with tiredness, gripping my hands tightly. They had been up all night, waiting to escape, and the flight through the woods and fight with David seemed to have rendered them mute. We worked our way along the fence, detouring around thickets, until we found the streambed. The bike tracks were clear in the soil so we pushed our way through the gap and followed them to the edge of the wood. We stepped out into the open, the low sun streaming across our faces and I stood, deliberating, with the girls waiting trustingly beside me. Which way? From my left I heard a faint noise, growing louder. A bicycle shot out between the hedges of the lane, flew past, and then stopped abruptly. The rider turned around. It was Alex.

‘Don’t you check your phone?’ he said brightly.

I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, and there, listed on the screen, were three text messages and a missed phone call.

‘We’ve been looking for you guys,’ he said smiling.

The road was wet with morning dew but I didn’t care as I sank to the ground with relief, the girls crowding against my back. ‘Are you ok?’ said Alex, most of his casual insouciance disappearing from his voice.

‘Yes’ I said, speaking for the three of us, ‘just so relieved, did everyone else get back okay?’

‘Uh huh,’ he said, ‘they were tired, and upset that you three hadn’t made it back. Mark was all for returning himself but we could see he was worn out. He eventually agreed that Leila, Taz, and I should come out and look for you.’

‘Where are they?’ I asked.

‘Hold on, I’ll just call them,’ he replied.

He gave the news that we had been found to Taz, and then to Leila, then phoned Liam so he could let the others know.

‘Taz is up by the landfill site, Leila down by South Mimms,’ he said, ‘they’re both getting worried about being seen now it’s morning.’

‘We need to cross the M25 to get back,’ I said, ‘perhaps we should wait until this evening?’

‘Yeah.’ he picked up his phone and called Leila explaining the problem. ‘Leila says there are empty houses in South Mimms,’ he said, ‘should we wait there?’

I looked around; it was full light and I could see for miles across the fields. It would be better to get out of sight. The soldiers might do patrols, especially if they were looking for more recruits; we were right on the edge of London and people crossing out would be easy targets. South Mimms was too close to Potters Bar to be totally safe, but it would have to do.

‘Okay,’ I said, wearily dragging myself up and taking the girls hands again when they reached up, silent still.

Alex phoned Taz to let her know and then we began walking south back down the lane. He chatted away about the journey up from Carpenders Park, and then about getting some plants from Robert. I saw him looking sideways at me and the girls, but I was much too tired to respond, and kept plodding along. He had moved on to something about the community hall when, from behind us, the ring of a bell sounded. We turned; it was Taz on her bike. She slowed to a halt and  looked at us, concern showing in her face.

‘Are you ok?’

I nodded in reply and the girls let go of my hands and stepped forwards.

‘Zoe fought with David,’ said Jasmine.

‘And won,’ said Alisha.

‘He had a knife and she knocked it out of his hand, just like that,’ added Jasmine, miming the move I had made.

‘It was cool,’ said Alisha jumping around and chopping at Jasmine, suddenly alive again.

Taz looked at me, ‘And David?’ she asked as the two girls began to play-fight.

‘I don’t think he will be following us any time soon,’ I said.

‘Can you teach us?’ said Jasmine, turning to me, serious again.

‘Maybe,’ I said, ‘if you promise not to fight each other.’

‘How about fighting Alex?’ said Alisha as they turned together towards him.

Taz smiled, ‘I’ll go meet Leila’ she said, as she scooted ahead on her bike.

We arrived in South Mimms a couple of minutes later, and found them waiting. Leila looked at me appalled and then guided us into a house.

I’m hungry,’ said Alisha.

‘Is there any food?’ asked Jasmine walking into the kitchen. Taz followed them, and Leila turned to the stairs.

‘There are clothes in the closet,’ she said, as she led me upstairs, ‘and I’ve boiled a kettle, so you have hot water to wash with.’

I walked into the bedroom and then stopped as my reflection stared back at me from a full-length mirror. I was covered in blood and dirt. No wonder they all seemed concerned.

‘It’s really not that bad,’ I said, ‘just some scratches and I fell out of a tree.’

‘You what?’ said Leila.

‘I’ll explain later,’ I replied, desperate for the bed that looked so clean and comfortable.

I cleaned up as best I could, and borrowed some jogging bottoms and a fleece from whoever had lived in the house. Then I lay down and seconds later was asleep.

Whilst I slept, they found bikes for us, and when I woke, mid-afternoon, gave me some food and sent me back to bed. I checked in briefly with Alisha and Jasmine but they were both sleeping. It felt good to be looked after for a change, and I accepted their help gratefully. I lay there in the peaceful quiet, thinking about David and the way he had slashed at me with the knife. I replayed those few seconds when I thought I had killed him. Somehow, that was even worse; David had a crazy streak but he was just a symptom of the corrupt system.

I thought back to the escape, the hostel, and the mystery guard, Peter. We hadn’t really needed his help but the fact he had given it was encouraging. It was clear that, even inside the army, there were people who didn’t fully support the new regime. Maybe that was why David was so fanatical, it sounded like the new government still had teething troubles. I turned over and snuggled into the soft pillow, it wasn’t my problem, we had escaped, and soon we would be home.

When I woke the second time, it was dark outside and my clothes were folded up neatly on the chest at the foot of the bed. I changed and made my way downstairs and stood at the kitchen door. Around the kitchen table, playing cards, were Alex, Leila, Taz, Alisha and Jasmine. It looked like Alex had just been caught cheating and the teasing and laughter was something to see, after the silence and joylessness of the settlement camp. I could never have stayed there, knowing the truth about their lives.

I stepped into the room smiling, and they sprang out of their seats in welcome. We ate a quick snack and left. I felt refreshed and was eager to get home.

We rode down the A1, retracing our route, and arriving home uneventfully in little more than an hour, but instead of heading for my bungalow, Alex directed us to the community hall. He pulled up in the car park and the others got off their bikes and leaned them against the wall.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

‘We just need to make a stop here first,’ said Alex mysteriously. Leila opened the door and ushered me in. I walked forward along the hallway and into the main room; there was a cacophony of sound, everyone yelling ‘surprise’. Looking round I saw that everyone was there, even Nina, carrying William, and Matty carrying Rachel. Both children looked wide awake and were clapping excitedly. I stopped, staring; the improvement was unbelievable. Then I did a double take, ‘Matty,’ I said, ‘you finally woke up!’