“We’ll be making rounds hourly, so expect another officer here soon,” he says in a more sensitive voice.
“That’s fine, the house will look the same,” Leo says in a light voice.
“I know it’s annoying for people like you who would never bring in prisoners, but it’s routine,” he adds sympathetically.
“Like I said, I understand. Take it easy,” Leo says and I hear the door creek open and click shut again. The house falls back into being silent, and then Mio bursts through our bedroom door.
“Up,” he hisses to us. “Don’t speak and don’t turn on any lights. We’re leaving. Now.” He turns and pushes through the door into the other girls’ room. I get out of bed skipping every other step on the ladder.
I throw my boots on and lace them up, and everyone else is doing the same. Zavy helps Molly and her friends get up, their small bodies shaking with fear. I sling my backpack over my shoulder, place my sword back at my hip, and file out into the hallway.
The guys are coming out of their rooms and making their way down the hallway. I fall in step with Alexander and feel him take my hand in his. We both look at each other and know, without speaking, that we aren’t losing the other again. I notice his bag and sword have been returned to him since Leo freed him this afternoon.
Everyone walks and huddles in the center of the living room where we came up when we arrived. I look around the room and count to make sure everyone is here. Zavy is at my side with Toby tightly holding her hand, tears rolling down his cheeks. His eyes are wide with fear. I turn and see the other girls from the tunnel have made it out of their room and are huddled together. Molly locks her eyes with mine and I try to calm down and show her I’m not scared, but I’m not very good at it. Our heavy breathing fills the room, but we don’t dare say a word.
Mio surfaces in the center of the group and says, “We’re sailing out tonight. It’s too dangerous for us to stay here now that they have the word out of our arrival.”
“Kimberly and Cinder are packing up the boats now,” Leo says, joining Mio in the center. “We’re going to file through the back door and onto the docks. Leave the flashlights off and stay silent.”
Mio and Leo push through the group and slide open the glass doors I’d looked through earlier. The cool night air rushes in and sends a chill creeping up my neck. We fall into line behind Mio and Leo and follow them down the deck and onto the soft sand, but when we hit the sand we are completely exposed in the moonlight. Mio and Leo break out into a sprint to the dock and we all quickly follow. When we hit the wooden dock we stop running, partially hidden under the canopy and posts around us. I take in deep breaths of the salty air from the sea and count to make sure all of my group made it here too. I won’t lose anyone. I can’t, not when we are this close.
“Everything’s ready to go,” Kimberly says as she comes out of the boat to my left, and then Cinder climbs out of the boat to my right.
“Everything’s set over here too,” Cinder adds. I look down at the boats and see that they aren’t much. Each has an upper level on the backs of the boat where a tall black sail is flipping in the wind. The rest of the boat is a simple wooden frame, and I can make out something that resembles a propeller and motor at the rear of the boat. Wooden benches line the edge of the boat with the food being stored inside them.
Mio turns to us and says, “Cinder and I will each run a boat. I want Cooper, Adaline, Alexander, Zavy, Toby, Molly, Lilly, and Sam on my boat. Cassandra, Essie, Sarah, James, Bren, Albert, Andy, May, and April on Cinder’s boat.”
We all start to file into our assigned boats when Mio steps in front of Alexander and stops him. “Have you been on a boat before? With the castle’s army?” Mio asks.
“Yeah, I’ve helped with boats like these before,” he says.
“So you know what I mean when I say I need you to get us out of here by manipulating the motor to be as quiet as possible so we don’t draw attention to ourselves. I can’t do it because I need to get some papers straight now that we are leaving earlier than planned.”
“Yes, I can manipulate this type of motor to get us far enough away from shore without it making much noise,” Alexander responds, and hints of an officer shine through. He was trained to take orders. I watch him climb to the upper level on the rear of the boat and take a seat in front of a small control panel. There’s not much on there. A button or two and a small switch.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Mio says, approaching Leo and Kimberly.
“We’re sure,” Leo says strongly to Mio.
The two stare at each other for a long while until Mio finally turns away, coming onto our boat, and saying, “Then let’s get going.” Mio and Cinder both undock the boats and we start to float deeper into the dark depths of the ocean. Mio sits toward the front of the boat. I try to see
