Winter Has Come | ✔ #1 Winter Series

Chapter 58

Faint murmuring awakes me, as does the booming bass of some sort of pop blasting through speakers. It takes me a while to realise what exactly is going on.

Something in my brain clicks. Of course. The campfire party.

I told myself I wouldn't get involved in that rubbish but something draws me out of my tiny tent and pulls me in the direction of the fence. There's an enormous mound of wood, flames licking greedily at the sky, bright orange. People are sat around it and I hear the occasional bark of laughter in the chatting.

It looks like a party, a celebration. For a second, I wonder what they're celebrating.

I scan the circle for the others and, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't want to see them. Not really. I don't want to see their faces filled with happiness and their voices filled with laughter when I'm forced to sit here like an outcast.

But before I can pull away, I see them. Yup, they certainly look happy. Angie is already sweating from the heat but she's grinning so widely it's no wonder her teeth haven't fallen out.

Something draws me to Josh, however. His eyes keep darting back at forth, towards the fence where I am, like he's searching for something. I don't know what.

There's a thud as two of the strongest guards—male and female alike—throw another log into the fire. A cheering ripples through the crowd like a tide. My eyes slide back to Josh again.

Then he sees me.

He sits back in relief when he sees me, as though I'm the one he's been searching for all along. Maybe I am, I don't know, but there's no time to think about any of that, since his mouth opens and he's trying to say something.

From this distance, I can't hear or see what it is.

He tries again, tries to mouth something but I can't make out the words. A pair of men trudging along with another log between them blocks my view. I wait as they move and then Josh tries another approach.

With one finger, he beckons me towards him. It's obvious what that means. He wants me to come to him, maybe he wants to tell me something.

I glance at the gates. They're open. No guard in sight. They must all be helping out with the fire.

I know I'm risking a big thing—getting caught— but Josh looked desperate and I can't let him down now. Not after last time. Not after the time when I betrayed the others to the police.

I shake that memory from my mind, not wanting it to resurface again. I need to focus on getting into that party without being discovered that I'm not one of them.

As I creep my way to the gate, I think. Why a fire? Aren't these guys meant to be icy people? Well, I don't know, but everyone sitting around the fire seems to be enjoying it. Maybe they want to warm up after constantly feeling like they're in a freezer their whole life.

No guards. No voices telling me to stop or to turn round. Nothing. A few more steps and I'll be in.

I pass the gate. No one sees me. They're all crowded round the fire, cheering loudly as yet another log is thrown into the wild flames. It's a lot louder in here, with all the people, the chatting, the laughter, the sweat, heat, fire.

All of it's beginning to give me a bit of a headache.

But I can't let that distract me now. I've got to find Josh and see what he wants, listen to what he desperately needs to tell me.

I head in their direction, brushing past people I don't know and I don't really want to know. I have to fit in, look like I know what I'm doing, that I've got the Power. No one looks any different when they get the Power, which is a lucky wildcard for me, I guess.

There. I see Josh. He's looking round, trying to find me. I can't go to him through the front and lead him away—that would look suspicious. So, I'll sneak round the back, in the shadows and lead him away to somewhere more private.

Brushing past more people. Sweat forming on my neck, sticking my hair to the back of it in the most unpleasant way.

I can see the back of his head, his shoulders.

I reach him and tap his shoulder gently. He stiffens but then relaxes when he realises it's only me. I pull him back slightly, hoping he gets the message that we should go somewhere else. He turns to Zach and whispers something, who's beside him and Zach takes one look at me, and nods.

Josh gets up. He stretches, making it look normal. I turn my heel and begin walking away into the darkness, not really knowing where I'm going.

"Amelia," comes Josh's whisper. The sound of footsteps and he's running towards me, catching me up until we're side by side.

The campfire is fading away behind us. I pull us to a stop, feeling that it's finally safe.

"What did you want to tell me?" I murmur. The noise of the party is fainter but still audible.

He looks down at me and, in this light, I can't see his eyes that well. I can't see the chocolate brown that flows and melts.

Then he reaches into the pocket of his jeans, scrabbling around trying to find something. He pulls something the shape of a square out and I see that it's a folded piece of paper. I came all this way so Josh could show me a folded piece of paper? How interesting.

"I found this in Sarah's tent," he says and he begins unfolding it and smooths the creases down. "Look."

I peer at it as he positions it more towards the light of the fire. Thank goodness there was a fire tonight because otherwise I would not be able to see a damn thing.

The piece of paper reads yesterday's date along with the words: Truck Number 3: and then a list of names, none of which I recognise when I scan down the page. Then there's the same thing for Truck Number 4 and 5 and 6 has today's date on it and so on, all the way to twenty.

"What is it?" I murmur.

"I think I know. It's the trucks you saw coming out, full of people. They have a set number of specific people named who are going on each truck."

I look down at it again, trying to find some names I recognise. Then, in that scrawled handwriting, I see the name Joshua Middleton.

"There," I say, pointing at where his name is written. "You're tomorrow, apparently. Truck Number 8."

I find the others. Angie and Zach are the day after, Truck Number 11. Mum and Dad are the day after that, Truck Number 14.

"What does it mean?" I ask Josh, looking back at him. In response, he turns back to the paper and flips the whole thing around so we can look at the other side.

"Look," he says. Then again, louder. "Look."

I look. And what I see is something I don't think I'll ever forget.

Written on the paper are the words: Execution dates same day as departure dates.

I reel back, biting my lip. "Execution dates?"

Josh nods quickly. "Now we know where they're actually taking them on the trucks."

I know too. "They're not going to some lovely new Camp extension— they're taking them to be killed."

Josh nods, looking frightened. "Yeah," he says. "And they're planning to kill me tomorrow."

DUN DUN DUUUUNNN!!!! Well.... what did you guys think?

Update will be coming shortly! xx