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Oh nice! I liked it!
I think it would have been cool to have some inner dialogue about how the dad felt about stealing the bus! I haven’t connected with him as a character yet, and I thin some inner dialogue would really help. I like that it seems like Ev’s dad is going to get redemption! Idk where you’re taking it, but I think it’s really important to show that Ev’s dad has (I believe a heavier, if he’s caused the problem) responsibility to fix the relationship. Ev can try, and if he’s a part of the problem, he should. I have experienced in my life there’s some people who are in your life whether you want them to be there or not, and if they don’t care enough about you, there’s a point where you’re effort becomes useless, and it’s time to stop trying and not exuast yourself. I know you aren’t in the point where there is development from that, but if Ev makes an effort, I think he is only obligated to if his dad is wanting to change and mend things.
Just a thought! Obviously, I have no idea what you’ve got planned, and maybe you already thought of that!
Thanks for the good read! 😀
Also, Ev and Ami are so cute together. 😁
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Thanks for the feedback!!
I think I want to keep the POVs as just Ev and Ami, so I’ll have to work on making sure that everyone’s feelings are shown, without using inner dialogue. Thanks for pointing that out. I didn’t notice it before.🙂👍
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Ah yeah! I wright from every pov and I forget that other people don’t do that 😂
oops lol.
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
@lightoverdarkness6 @mineralizedwritings @godlyfantasy12 @felicity
It’s been a few days, and here are the next chapters!
Chapter 15
Everton sat in silence as the bus rumbled down the road. He stared out the window and couldn’t stop thinking about his parents. Why did they have to find him? He left for a reason. He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering a memory from his childhood…
Everton giggles as his father picks him up and spins him in the air. He places
him on the ground. Little Ev begs for more. His father shakes his head and
says, “No, buddy. I’m tired.” He sits down on the sofa, overdramatizing his
tiredness. Ev jumps on top of his father and starts to wrestle. His father gently
pushes him off of his lap. His mother walks into the room holding a piece of
paper in her hand. She looks at Ev’s father. He rises and looks at the paper,
his brow furrowing. Walking into the kitchen, he calls Asher’s name. Ev
listens from around the corner. “Asher, why did you get a D on your report
card?” his father says. Asher mumbles an excuse. Ev hears his father
sigh. “Do better. You have no excuse.”
Everton sighed, remembering how things used to be. Sometimes, happy moments would take a quick turn because someone had done one thing wrong. When Ev was young, Malyk would be stern, but not as rough as he was now. He had grown cold and distant.
Tears came to Ev’s eyes. Why couldn’t his life just be like Ami’s? Perfect in almost every way… He brushed away his tears. Why grumble and groan over what could have been? Things were different now. Despite that, he couldn’t convince himself to stop thinking about it. He only wished he could simply be loved by his parents…
He sighed again, catching Ami’s attention. She cocked her head. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he turned and smiled softly. She pressed her lips together. Ev raised an eyebrow, “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Ami shook her head with a smile. Ev just laughed, not wanting to say anymore. She didn’t need to be burdened with his troubles.
That day, they traveled until noon. They found a safe place to stop and rested for the rest of the day, hanging out in and outside of the bus.
“You know what?” Fynn said. “We need to name our bus.”
Skyler stood by him and nodded. “You’re right… How about Brandon?”
“Naw,” Destry said. “Let’s do Enrique.”
Ruben chuckled. “Or we don’t have to name it.”
“No!” Skyler said. “It needs a name.”
Adalynn spoke up, “Oliver.”
Ev stared at the bus as the others tried to figure out a name. “Geoffrey,” he said.
“Yes!” Fynn cried. “It is now officially named Geoffrey.” He walked up to the bus and slapped its side. “What’s up ol’ Geoff?”
That night they slept in the bus. Ev woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep. He sat up quietly and peeked out at the dark night. A figure stood a little ways away from Geoffrey. His heart picked up its pace. Who was there?
He took a closer look, and his heart beat slowed. It was only his father. He was on the phone though. Everton watched him pace the ground. Weird. He spied on him until Malyk came back into the bus, barely making a sound.
Ev quickly lay back down, pretending to be asleep. His father had been acting odd. For one, there was no way, under normal circumstances, that he would quickly agree to joining them on their quest. And why in the world would he be on the phone in the middle of the night? Questions filled Ev’s mind as he fell back into a restless sleep.
They traveled for a long time the next day. They were running out of food and supplies and planned to stop by a store. As they neared the next district, Ruben said, “A few of us will go in to grab the things we need. We can’t bring the bus—”
“Geoffrey!” Fynn quickly corrected.
“We can’t bring Geoffrey,” Ruben continued, “into the city. We’ll quickly be found out. We can park right over…” His voice trailed off and he slowed down the vehicle. “Oh no,” he breathed.
Everyone exchanged confused glances. Adalynn turned around from the passenger seat. “Pray.”
Ev looked around worriedly. What or who was out there? He tried to look out the window. His question was soon answered by a banging on the door. Ruben opened it with a grave face. Ev heard the rough laugh of a man. “We’ll get a raise for this,” he said. The man peeked in the bus. Ev’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized the uniform of a guard.
He lifted his rifle. “Everyone, out. Hands in the air. Don’t try anything funny.”
Ev’s face hardened as he passed the guard. It took everything in him and a warning look from Ami to not tackle him. But he was glad for that decision, for when he stepped outside, he saw more than ten guards.
A guard apprehended each person. One guard yanked Artemis by his collar. Artemis growled and jumped back, his hair standing on end. His eyed the guards, warning them with his snarl. Ruben clicked his tongue and held out his hand. Artemis reluctantly let the guard seize him.
The guard who had first found them smiled wryly. “You all are coming to the station with us. And if you get what you deserve, you’ll be locked up. Little did you know that you are wanted by the government.” He motioned towards the guards to begin leading the group towards the entrance of the district. “After all, you are insiders… we don’t like them. Plus, you stole a bus! If you’re lucky you’ll be let off the hook and taken to the Center.”
Ev raised an eyebrow. The Center? Something about it sounded wrong… The guards led them to the prison in silence. Ev tried to avoid his father’s piercing gaze. No… it was not his fault. Ruben had forgiven him…
They finally reached the prison and were left in a waiting room. Eventually, after a few agonizing minutes of waiting, a man came out. He smiled. “So… you’re that group who stole the bus and caused a scene at the airport,” the man sat down. “Just answer my questions in the right way and you should be fine.” He motioned towards a row of seats. “Please… have a seat.”
Chapter 16
Amidala swallowed and sat next to her father. He turned and gave her a smile. Enough to get her to smile too. He was always there for her. She knew that if he was there, she would be safe. When Ami was younger, she used to think her dad was a superhero and that he could protect her from everything. But now, it didn’t look like that.
The man sat in his chair, watching the group find a place to sit. There weren’t enough seats for everyone, so Everton, Destry, and Asher stood. The man introduced himself, “I am General Derek…” he hesitated before saying his last name, “Len.”
Ami perked up. Len… He had to be related to Bayron Len. Now that she looked closer, she could see the similarities. A pale face, dark hair, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes. She glanced around and noticed both Everton and Asher avoiding eye contact with the general. Malyk shifted in his seat.
Len continued, “This group,” he motioned to them with his hands. “Has become quite the talk of folk all over the province of Gristiad. You see, you all are insiders. We don’t really like them… But,” he held up a finger. “You can be accepted. We have a place called the Center. There you will be taught important principles that all of us out here accept and even embrace.”
Derek Len smiled. “I just need you to answer a few questions. First, we heard about a small uproar at an airport a few districts away. Which one of you caused it?”
Ami looked at Ev from the corner of her eye. He shifted uncomfortably and stepped forward. “Me, sir.”
Len walked up to him. “Why? I heard it was unprovoked.”
“It was not unprovoked. He clearly insulted me and my brothers.”
“I don’t think that is a reason to do what you did. We all want to be peaceful here.” He smiled again. Ami grimaced. He leaned closer to Ev. “That went on your record, Everton Barlowe. And believe me… you don’t want any more offenses, unless we will have no choice but to send you to the Center.”
The Center… Something about the way he said it gave her goosebumps on her skin. Derek took a few steps back and looked over the group. “And all of you stole a bus.” He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t understand it. The man who owned it said that you simply stole it in the middle of the night.”
Remembering that night, Ami felt the pain of her concussion return. All the excitement had made her forget about it. She gently rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the pain.
Len seemed to notice. He squinted at her for a moment, then said, “Stealing… that is enough to put you in jail. Why did you steal the bus?”
Ruben spoke up. “We paid for it, but the man left and with him, our money. So, we had to take what was rightfully ours.”
“Hm,” Len said, folding his hands. “Interesting… I will give you an option. You can either be peacefully taken to the Center, or we can take you to the prison.”
Ev raised his eyebrows. “We haven’t even had a trial!” He sputtered.
Len held up a hand. “Shush… We want things to be peaceful. If you have a trial, it will only cause more strife between people. You understand… You will.” He mumbled the last part silently. Ami didn’t like the way he said the word ‘peaceful.’ He cleared his throat. “So what will it be? The Center or prison?”
Ruben stood up. “What’s the Center?”
“You’ll be there for a few months if you cooperate. But after being there, you’ll be accepted back into society.”
Ruben licked his lips and looked at Adalynn. He glanced over at Malyk and Harlin who stared back with stone faces. He turned back to Len. “Prison.”
Len sighed. “Very well.” He clapped his hands and a group of guards came in. Ami shot up out of her seat as Everton flinched. Ruben placed a hand on her shoulder. She cast him a desperate look, but he whispered, “It’s okay.” Then Ruben leaned closer and said even quieter, “To go, always step on the gas pedal.”
Confused and worried at the same time, Ami let herself be handcuffed, wondering what her father meant by that last part. She wanted to cry out as the guards roughly apprehended her family, but that wouldn’t do any good. Ev looked like he wanted to as well, but thankfully he controlled himself. But Ami didn’t like that. He didn’t even flinch when the guard handcuffed him. Maybe Len had done something to his vigor.
The group was led out of the station and towards another large building. Ami stared at her feet as they kept walking through the building. She saw Ev out of the corner of her eye. His head was held high. Maybe Len didn’t actually take away all his fire. After all, that little didn’t get Ev down.
Ami sighed as they finally stopped in a long hallway. On either side were many metal doors. She was placed in one alone. The inside wasn’t as terrible as she had expected. The floors were linoleum and there was a simple bed, sink, and a mirror. The door slammed behind her and she plopped on the bed.
Tears came to her eyes and she let them fall. Was it the end already? Sure, her father seemed confident in his decision about letting them stay in prison, but would the Center be better? She shook the idea out of her head. There was no way it could be better than where they were now… it scared her…
Ami put her head in her hands. Why would God let this happen? Wasn’t he a good God? Her faith was shaken… after all, she had followed his commands, done what he required of her. Wasn’t everything supposed to just fall into place?
Ami lay down on the bed and the springs squeaked. But so did something else. A rat scittered out from under the bed. She stood up on the bed and sucked in a breath, trying to calm herself. Just a rat. It stood in the middle of the floor and groomed its whiskers.
Then Ami cocked her head. Where did it come from? The whole room was metal except for the floor. How did it get into the room? She slowly got off the bed, eyeing the rat the whole time. She then crouched by the bed and peeked under it. Ami squinted through the darkness. There was a hole just big enough for the rat to fit through. Odd. That wasn’t created by just any old rat.
It looked as if it was cut by someone… on purpose. But why? It was so small. Nothing important could fit through there…
Ami squealed as the rat crawled right by her. She hopped back on the bed, her mind spinning. Maybe someone was on the other end of the hole… The idea of trying to get someone’s attention occurred to her, but something in the corner of the ceiling caught her eye. A security camera.
“Amidala Nadir… We thought you were one of the sane ones of the group,” Derek Len’s voice sounded from the camera.
Ami stared right at it as he continued by saying, “So what’s so interesting under that bed?”
She licked her lips, “Nothing…”
She heard him laugh from the other end, “You’re different Ami. Is it okay if I call you Ami?”
Amidala didn’t answer. Of course it wasn’t. He said, “We could use you. If you just give us some information, we’ll set you free. Not the rest of your group though… They seem dangerous. Especially Everton. He’s feisty, is he not?”
Ami sighed. The fact that he already seemed to know so much about them all worried her. “Ami… join us. We can give you a much better life. A more fulfilling life.”
She shook her head. “Never.”
“You sure? All we want is peace. Nothing more, nothing less.” He paused for a moment. “You’re smart… I can already see that. But you aren’t strong enough to resist us, Amidala. Believe me, you’ll want to join us by tomorrow afternoon. Just wait for the morning.”
Ami shuddered. What did he plan to do to her? And her family? And who were we?
He finished by saying, “Sleep well tonight. And remember… we’re always watching.”
She heard a click and his voice was gone. She rubbed her hands together, whispering a quick prayer. Before she finished though, the door was whipped open. Ami stood up and chuckled. Maybe she wouldn’t get a chance to see what Len was going to do to them after all.
In addition to anything else you all might have to say, I was wondering: what do you do when using pronouns referring to God? I was always taught to capitalize them, but I’ve seen it not capitalized in some books. What do you all think/do?
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Oh, and don’t mind the weird format on the memory portion. It kind of got messed up when I copied and pasted.
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Wow, if I wasn’t in before, I’m in hook, line and sinker now! Great job with the tension and that cliff hanger at the end.
I always capitalized pronouns referring to God because it seems respectful and reverent. It’s not just any he/him we’re talking about. It’s the ultimate He/Him!
He must increase, but I must decrease.
I’m so glad you’re hooked!! 😄 (I’m actually getting close to the end of what I have in my doc, so I guess I need to write more. 😅 😁)
I always capitalized pronouns referring to God because it seems respectful and reverent. It’s not just any he/him we’re talking about. It’s the ultimate He/Him!
Great way to put it!!
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
I’m so glad you’re hooked!! 😄 (I’m actually getting close to the end of what I have in my doc, so I guess I need to write more. 😅 😁)
😉 👍
He must increase, but I must decrease.
Oh! That was good!
I’m getting some mild stone-keeper (WFS) vibes from that guy who’s spying on Amidala (Can’t remember his name, but boy I don’t like him 😤)
Super curious about why they want them not in the prison… and what that other place is.
I really appreciate your recognition of abusive relationships being confusing. Everton remembering the good mixed into the bad, and how the good moments just confuse things on another level was really interesting and developed the dynamic a bit more.
I haven’t actually had to deal with the pronouns thing much, but I think capitalized is good. Kind of like how we type God instead of god, to signify we aren’t just talking about any god of any culture, but our God.
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
I’m glad you all are getting interested and curious! That means I’m doing something right! 😊
I haven’t actually had to deal with the pronouns thing much, but I think capitalized is good. Kind of like how we type God instead of god, to signify we aren’t just talking about any god of any culture, but our God.
Yeah! Thx 👍
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
@esther-c PLZ GIVE US THE NEXT CHAPTER!! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BOYS 😭
Also I always capitalize when speaking of God 😊
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI think Everton’s coming in the cell…what about you?
I mean, how can he not be ripping mad and ready to do something crazy? 😀
He must increase, but I must decrease.
@felicity yea, hopefully they’ll get the rest of the family too tho, right?
They arrested them all didn’t they? Including Lukas? (He’s my main concern…. Don’t judge me… XD)
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebyea, hopefully they’ll get the rest of the family too tho, right?
They better!!
They arrested them all didn’t they? Including Lukas? (He’s my main concern…. Don’t judge me… XD)
Yeah, Lukas is super special!
He must increase, but I must decrease.
@godlyfantasy12 @felicity @mineralizedwritings @lightoverdarkness6
You asked for it!! XD
Chapter 17
Everton delivered one more punch and moved to the door next to him. He shoved the key in the keyhole and whipped open the door. There stood Amidala. She laughed. “How in the world?”
Ev just smirked. “I’ll tell you later. Come on. We need to let the others out.”
Ami followed him out. Ev continued on to the next door. Destry came out as confused as Ami. She just shrugged at him. Ev was about to unlock the next door, but heard footsteps rapidly approaching. He whipped his head around and saw two guards crying out and running towards him.
Destry ushered Ami out and Ev ran quickly towards the door. He let Destry and Ami through. As soon as the guard got close enough, he slammed the door. He heard a thump and someone muttering unrepeatable words. Everton laughed cruelly.
Ami shook her head at him. He smirked again, starting to run in front of them. “We need to hurry.”
As they ran down hallways, Destry asked, “Do you even know where you’re going?”
“Not really,” Ev admitted.
Ami laughed. “Don’t ask questions.”
They continued running with the sound of guards behind them. Soon a piercing alarm rang throughout the air. Ev winced at the sound, but kept running. He heard Ami cry out and collapse. He whipped around and saw her sitting on the ground, holding her head. Destry lifted her up and urged her along. Ev bit his lip.
Destry and Ami were able to keep up at the same pace as him. They finally reached a door that led outside. “Hurry!” Ev cried, reaching for the door. But it was locked. He frantically rattled the handle, his panic quickly rising. Destry bumped into him. “Open it!” He yelled.
“I can’t,” Ev cried, his brow furrowed. He kicked at the door and only hurt his foot. The guards were almost to them. He saw a pile of tools in the corner and grabbed one. He smashed the glass, the pieces flying everywhere. He then grabbed Ami by the hand and led both her and Destry into a room to their right.
Ev closed the door softly and backed up into a corner of the room. He put a finger to his lips to signal to Des and Ami to be quiet. They already understood and hid behind a pile of crates. Ev joined them and tried to catch his breath. He heard the guards run past the room, yelling different things. “They left!” One said. “Find them. Release the dogs.”
Ev rested his head against the cold wall. That was too close. And they weren’t out of trouble yet. After a few minutes, things quieted down. He stood up and peeked out the small window on the door. Everybody was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Ami and Destry. “They’re gone. It’s safe… for now,” then he looked at Ami. “What happened back there?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “When the alarm went off, this pain just shot through my head. It was… terrible.”
Ev’s mouth twitched. “But it didn’t affect the rest of us… You think Len… knew?”
“Knew what?”
“Knew that you had a concussion… so he set off the alarm, maybe louder than usual.”
“How would he know?” Ami asked, confused.
“He may not have. It’s just, I noticed you rubbing your head earlier in the room and he seemed to also take notice.”
Ami nodded. Then she said, “The thing that I want to know is how in the world did you manage to get out of your cell?”
He laughed. “When the guard pushed me into the room, he took off my handcuffs… which was a mistake.” Ev smirked. “I grabbed him around the waist, pretending to tackle him, but I actually grabbed the keys and put them in my pocket.
“When I got out, there was only one guard, so I beat him up.”
Destry joined Ami by her side, “Beat him up?”
Ev shrugged. “Yeah.”
Destry let his forehead rest in his hand. “We’re never getting to Angularis.”
Ev took a step forward and pointed a finger at him. “At least we have a chance now. If I didn’t do that, we wouldn’t have gotten out. Now we can get the rest of the group.”
Destry threw his hands out. “But if we cooperated, we may have had a more peaceful way out.”
“Peaceful? Now you’re starting to sound like Len! Sometimes you have to just take a chance.”
Ami placed a hand on Ev’s shoulder. “Hey… it’s okay. Don’t take it personally.”
“I can’t really help it. He meant it that way.”
“He’s just as stressed as any of us are,” Ami said, sighing. “So… what’s next?”
Ev sighed deeply, trying to control himself. He couldn’t help lashing out sometimes. Why did he have to be so difficult? “Well, we need to get our bus again… then we need to figure out a way to get them out.”
Ami nodded. She motioned towards the door. “Lead the way.”
Ev pushed open the door slowly and motioned for Destry and Ami to follow him. They did so quietly and carefully. He walked out the open door that they had tried to escape through earlier. He saw boot prints and paw prints in the mud. He gulped, not wanting to admit to himself that he was scared.
Ev creeped close to the building, keeping to the shadows as the sun set. He saw their bus sitting in an open field of grass. Multiple signs surrounded it, warning that it was contaminated and had yet to be disinfected. That was how they would get out. He could only hope that the keys were still there… but that was a lot to hope for. He turned around, pointing to the bus. Destry shook his head. But Everton smiled and nodded.
As soon as a group of guards ran past, Ev darted towards the bus, leaving no choice for Ami and Destry but to follow him. The guards cried out, but none dared to follow the trio into the bus. “Quick!” Ev said. “Look for the keys.”
Ami stood still for a moment once she made it in the bus, then snapped her fingers, darting towards the driver’s seat. She shoved her hand under the gas pedal and held up the keys, smiling. Ev raised an eyebrow, but Destry grabbed them and started the bus. Des said, “Hold on tight.” He pressed on the gas pedal and they went flying.
Ev gripped a seat, surprised a the speed they were going. Destry drove towards the gate that was quickly closing. Ev bit his lip and held his breath as the gate closed… and they weren’t stopping.
Chapter 18
Amidala gripped the armrests. She wanted to close her eyes but couldn’t tear her gaze away from what was in front of her. The gate slammed closed… but they didn’t stop moving. Des pressed on the gas pedal even harder and they rammed right into the gate.
The impact made Ami slide off her seat. She landed right next to Ev. Destry kept driving farther and farther away from the prison. As soon as Des started to slow down their speed, Ami closed her mouth. Her jaw had been hanging open the whole time.
She looked over at Ev. He burst out laughing. “That was awesome!” He said.
Ami was speechless. They had just escaped a prison… She slowly stood up and seated herself again, shaking her head. Ev stood up as well, still chuckling. “I’d do that all over again if I could.”
Ami raised an eyebrow and finally said something. “Okay… maybe that was kind of fun.”
Ev bowed. “This must be recorded. Everton Barlowe just made Amidala have fun doing something dangerous.”
“Ha ha ha,” Ami said, rolling her eyes at him as he sat down. Maybe God did have a plan after all. Sure, the rest of their families were still in the prison, but they had gotten out safely. She tucked her hair behind her ear. But how were they going to get the rest of them out?
As they drove down the road, Destry took his hands off the steering wheel and placed them behind his head. “I just did that,” he mumbled. He grabbed the steering wheel as Ami giggled. “What?” He asked.
“You just have never driven that fast before. You’re normally at the minimum speed limit,” Ami said.
Des sighed. “That’s because I was conserving fuel.”
Ami’s smile fell. Inside The Orb, they were rarely drove. And even if they did get their hands on a vehicle, the gas prices were ridiculously expensive. She sighed as well. She leaned back in her seat. Things were different now. Right?
The way the world ran outside of The Orb was something she wasn’t used to. Everybody walked with confidence in the freedom they had. But did they really have freedom? Ami thought back to what Derek Len had said about the Center. He said if they went there, they would be taught principles that the community accepted and embraced. Maybe the people out here didn’t really have true freedom… did they just follow the rules and were allowed to live freely?
The possibility of those outside of The Orb being enslaved to the government felt impossible. That was what the insiders had lived like… People escaped The Orb to start over and live a free life.
Ami’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Ev practically jumping out of his seat. “Ami!” He said. “I know how we can get the rest of them out.”
Ami followed his gaze out the window towards a billboard advertising a car race tomorrow night. The bus zipped past the billboard. Ami raised an eyebrow. “How is a car race going to help us?”
“I heard about it a few years back,” Ev explained. “Before The Orb was just over our district. It’s the biggest car race in the country. Hundreds of guards will be there.”
“I still don’t get it,” Ami said.
“If hundreds of guards will be there, that leaves not as many to guard the prison, seeing its the closest prison to the race. And if I can get even more to the car race, you and Destry can break in and rescue the rest of the group.” He crossed his arms. “Simple.”
“Not so simple,” she replied. “How are you planning to get all those guards there?”
“I’ll just drive… a little more recklessly.”
Ami straightened in her seat. “No.” she shook her head. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“You always say that. I’ll be fine. Ami, I just escaped a prison. I think I can handle a little car race.”
Ami furrowed her brow. “It’s not a little car race. You just said that it was the biggest in Themelios.”
Ev sighed. “It was just an idea.”
Ami looked away. Why did he have to be so stubborn and impulsive? But that was one of the things she liked about him… he was always confident about his decisions… And she gave in too easily. She sighed and turned towards Ev. “I think you should do it.”
Ev’s face lit up. Ami continued, “We don’t have much time anyway. Destry and I will wait by the prison for the guards to leave. You just focus on what you’re doing. Meet us at Geoffrey afterwards.”
Ev nodded with a smile. “Let’s do this.”
The next evening, Ami and Destry drove to a secluded spot and parked Geoffrey. Everton was already at the race and Ami was nervous. For all of them. Why did she always have to be so nervous? Trusting God was so hard…
She and Destry creeped towards the gate of the prison. They crouched in the shadows, waiting anxiously for more guards to leave. Soon, Ami heard what sounded like an explosion in the distance. She glanced at Des with fear in her eyes. He looked worried too, but all he did was put a hand on her shoulder. “Focus,” he said. Ami nodded.
Then, a softer alarm than what they had heard before went off and Len’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “All available guards report to the Carner Center. There’s been an explosion.”
Ami closed her eyes and whispered a prayer for Ev’s safety… and for theirs as well. Cars and motorcycles were driving out of the premises. Destry and Ami pressed their backs against the gate and slowly walked onto the prison grounds. The gate closed behind them as they reached the other side.
So far, so good. Destry gripped Ami’s hand and led her across the grounds, hiding them in the shadows. Ami relaxed when he held her hand. It made her feel secure. She knew that her older brother would always protect her.
They made their way to the building without any alarms going off. But that was what worried Ami. There had to be security cameras. Why had no one seen them yet? She decided to ignore it. After all, they were safe right now.
Destry led her to the door that Ev had broken. It was unlocked. Odd. Ami gave Destry a confused look. He just shrugged and crept into the dim, deserted hallway, looking in all directions. Destry walked to the cell that had been next to his. The keys were there hanging on the wall.
He grabbed them without making a sound and unlocked the cell. Adalynn walked out with a confused expression. Ami rushed over to her and wrapped her in a hug. “Ami,” Adalynn whispered. Tears came to Ami’s eyes. She had missed her mother.
Destry made his way down the row of cells. One by one, Fynn, Harlin, Skyler, Lukas, and Malyk walked out. Ami’s heart pounded against her chest. No one knew that they were doing this. Something was up. She frantically looked behind her. She had been told by Destry to watch the inside door while the others stayed by the door that led to the outside.
Right as Destry was unlocking Ruben’s cell, Ami heard a creaking sound behind her. Before she could turn around, a strong arm was wrapped around her neck and she heard a gun being cocked right beside her ear.
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
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