The footsteps stop only a few feet away from us, so the guard must have stopped for something. Does he know we’re behind here? Why is he just standing there? The suspense is killing me. Am I going to be shot any second or not?

Another minute goes by, and footsteps are heard walking off. I close my eyes in relief before reopening them. I peer out the right side of the stand and see the guard walking off in the distance. I can tell right away that if he were to have seen us, then we would definitely be dead. That guard is huge, even if he didn’t have a gun I think he could still kill us without breaking a sweat.

Just by looking at his back, I can see that the guard would be a force to be wrecked with. He has big arms and is very tall. He could probably knock me out just by flicking me. I am glad that he didn’t see Aiden or me here. If he had, we would not have been able to fight or run from him. That guy is built like a tank.

Aiden and I stay behind the booth for another minute just to make sure no one else is coming, then we cross to the next game booth. Aiden looks inside, but once again, no one is in there. This game is the last in the line of games, and Aiden looks out from behind the booth once more before motioning with his head to follow him.

He steps out from behind the game and leads us a few feet away to a tree. Once there, I see that there is an opening in the fence that is used as a doorway. Aiden walks up to it, cautiously looks at the other side, and then enters it. I follow him and try to stay as close as possible. He seems to know what he is doing, and I don’t want to get separated from him.

This is a smaller game area that is a little more secluded from the other part of the carnival, but I remember playing the games over here with Devin and our Dad. Aiden goes into the games like before to check if anyone is in them, but once again, they are all empty.

It’s disappointing to think that there is no one out here anymore. They have either been taken back to the tent or killed.

As Aiden moves through more booths and some smaller stands, I start silently wishing for him to find anyone, not just my father. The small group of people back in the trees outside the carnival, along with half the population the guards did not kill, can’t really be the only people left alive. There have to be others out here somewhere. We just have to find them.

As we are walking, I sometimes catch the sight of blood on the ground. I try to ignore it, but it’s hard. We turn a corner where more games are lined up against the draped fence, and I can see the rock wall in the distance. It’s tall, lit up and red, very red. I don’t know what happened there, but I am glad I didn’t have to witness it. The amount of blood dripping down from the top to the bottom is enough to make me want to throw up.

Who died here? Were they killed because they had a red light on their box or because they escaped the big show tent?

I don’t think I’ll ever know because, from the looks of it, the guards must be taking away the bodies as they kill them. In all the places there is blood, there are no bodies. Maybe people were shot and then got away, or perhaps the bullet was fatal.

We move through the game booths, clearing them to ensure no one is in them and then moving on to the next. These game booths are closer to the big tent where we had the show, and there are more guards over here than anywhere else we have been tonight. Aiden and I make sure to be extra careful to stay as far back from the light as we can.

We duck when we see guards coming our way, and we wait for them to pass before moving on. Some of the guards I see are just simply walking around casually as if they didn’t just kill the lives of innocent people. Others seem to be walking around holding papers as if they are someone important.

We pass the rock wall and get behind the last booth at the end. We don’t check to see if anyone is inside since there are too many guards moving around. There is a little bit of fabric hanging off the edge of the booth, so Aiden and I use it to hide ourselves better.

Across from us is the big tent where the horror of the night started. There seems to be no one going in or out of the tent, but there are about four guards standing at the entrance to it, each one holding a big gun.

The only time I had ever seen someone holding a gun that big was when we watched videos of the war. Each man in those videos always had a big gun that was able to fire off many shots at once, effectively shooting many people at once. It scares me to think that the government is treating this situation like a war against its own people.

“There are two small buildings by the tent. One of them must be the building that Vesper was talking about,” Aiden says in a quiet whisper.

I look over, and sure enough, there are two small square buildings in front of the tent. One is more to the right, and the other is more to the left of where we are, they don’t look like much, but then again, the government probably designed them that way so no one would take interest in them.

“We will first check the building on the left since it’s the closest one. The only problem we’ll have is getting past the guards.”

“Can we cause a distraction like you did earlier when the shooter was by me? They seem to be interested in finding the people who got out.” I tell Aiden.

Aiden seems to think about this for a moment. He looks around at all the guards and then at the games around him.

After a minute, he speaks again, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I am going to go a few booths over and turn on one or two games. That should be enough reason for some of the shooters to head my way. When they do, you are going to run into the left building and check to see if what we are looking for is in there. If there is, write it down, if there isn’t then check the other building.”

Aiden takes a small notepad and pen out of his back pocket and hands it to me.

“We will meet back up in the kitchen. Do you remember how to get there from here?”

“Yes, but Aiden, I don’t know what I really am supposed to be looking for. Why don’t you get the information, and I’ll turn the games on?” I really don’t want to write down meaningless information and overlook the important stuff.

Aiden puts a hand on my shoulder, “I can outrun the shooters, and I promised that guy back in those trees that I would get you back safely. This is the best plan if I want to keep that promise.”

I think about it for a moment. If Aiden sets off the games and the guards run in that direction, then I have a good chance of making it to the first room. The door is on the side facing us, not the guards by the main tent holding everyone in. If all goes well, then I get the information the Jumpers want, and then I meet Aiden in the kitchen.

“That guy is my brother.” I don’t know why I feel the need to make that clear, but for some reason, I do. “What information should I specifically be looking for?” I ask Aiden reluctantly.

He nods in approval, “Anything that looks important, but keep an eye out for anything that resembles a list of towns, maybe even a map if you can. If you have to steal the map, do it. The less time it takes you to get in and out, the better.”

“Okay,” I just have to find a list and any other possibly useful information if I can. It should be easy. Will it be easy? That is the real question.

“I am going to go now. You wait here until you see the shooters running towards the sound, then run.”

I nod in understanding, and then Aiden turns to check to see if there are any guards walking by, but I stop him.

“Aiden,” Aiden turns around and waits for me to speak. “Do you always keep your promises?”

“I try my best, why?”

“Can you promise me that you will be in the kitchen? I don’t want to wait for someone who might never show up, and I also don’t want to leave without you, so can you promise that you will be there?”

Aiden looks at me in the eyes, and with all seriousness, he says, “I promise to try my hardest to make it back to the room for you.”

“Thank you,” I really hope he is able to keep his promise because I am serious. I will not be leaving without him.

Aiden checks again to make sure the coast is clear before giving me one last glance, and then he leaves.

I watch as he moves around, hiding behind anything he can to ensure no guards see him. It’s not until I can no longer see Aiden that I look away and I focus on my goal.

I wait in the dark and watch as some guards walk by me. I know they can’t see me behind the booth, but it still makes me nervous to think that if I make one wrong move, then I could ruin the plan and possibly end up dead.

For the most part, the area is silent, but I can still hear the sound of people when they walk by. About five minutes go by, and I start to think that Aiden is in trouble because I hear nothing, and I start to panic.

What do I do if he doesn’t set the game off? If I stay here, I would most certainly be found by the morning, and they would kill me.

I close my eyes and tell myself to stop thinking like that. If I want to succeed, I have to think about the positives, not the negatives. So, instead, I count how many seconds pass in my head to distract myself.

…Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. Loud, fast music is heard in the distance, and I just know it’s from Aiden. I open my eyes and stand up straighter.

It’s time.

Chapter 15

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