Hunted

Chapter Six - Broken

Chapter Six

Broken

The day of the airfield attack was drawing nearer, setting our little family on edge. Everything from Bailey's bombs to our black clothing was ready to go, but our mental state was holding us back.

"Tomorrow at nightfall the two groups will leave the house," Bailey announced after we'd all gathered in the upstairs sitting room. "Karlo, Jamie and I will leave shortly after you and ready ourselves for takeoff."

He pulled out an old map of Merrill and showed us the best route to take to get there. We weren't to engage in any combat unless we were being fired at, but that was easier said than done. Clearly Nigel was on the same page as me, but just as he went to open his mouth Bailey held a shaky finger to his lips to cut him off.

"Keep very quiet," he whispered.

The group fell silent, staring at Bailey in horror. That was when the walls began to vibrate and the whole house began to shake.

"Quick, candles out and blinds closed," Bailey ordered.

The few candles that were sitting in the centre of the room were hurriedly blown out and I rushed to the large bay window at the front of the house to yank the blinds closed. The only reason they had been open was to keep watch, but now it seemed like a death sentence.

I'll never forget the moment I reached that window. Three black helicopters were scouring the bush with huge, bright spotlights. My heart went into overdrive as I reached for the blind string and pulled hard. The blind dropped down as quickly as I did and the beam hit the window only seconds later.

"STAY STILL!" Bailey yelled from behind a couch.

His words could barely be heard over the roar of the helicopter, but I was in no position to start moving anyway. The light continued to shine through the window, even though it was covered by flimsy wooden blinds. Finally the light disappeared, as well as the roar of the helicopters.

"Esther, its okay," Nigel's voice whispered from beside me. "It's gone. We're safe."

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the others all standing around the room staring at me. My body was still pressed against the floor and my face was wet with tears. I wasn't sure that I'd ever been as scared as I was in that moment in my entire life.

Nigel slowly pulled my feet and held me at arms length, staring straight into my eyes with worry. Once he was convinced I could stand on my own, he moved away from me and joined the others in the middle of the room.

"What does this mean?" asked Bella.

"It means they know where we are," said Rocky grimly. "The only reason they'd be sending helicopters up here is because they know that we're somewhere in the area. They would have found Jordy and that dead soldier by now and they're not stupid enough to think that she'd be alone. Not to mention, they'd have her on file from the Merrill Prison."

"The prison was destroyed," Brigid reminded him. "Bombed to bits, there wouldn't be anything left that was salvageable. They might have just thought she was someone who'd escaped the initial invasion, I'm sure they've seen plenty."

"The soldier was shot," Koby said bluntly. "The only weapon that they would have found was the soldiers own gun and they'll be able to tell that he didn't shoot himself. It doesn't matter if they have Jordy's file or not. They have enough proof we're here from the bullet in the soldier's chest."

"No one is to blame Koby," Karlo reassured him. "For all we know those helicopters could have been doing a routine search. They didn't mark the house or see anything to be concerned about so we're as safe as we can be."