“Well, if I remember correctly, then we are on the completely opposite side of the maze. We are now back over by the two rooms and the main tent, which means that we could try and go back the same way we got over here last time when we were trying to get into the rooms, or we could try going a different route,” Aiden says.

I remember how the one guard looked behind the games as Aiden and I were walking behind them, “I think the guards are starting to catch onto our method of moving behind the games. What’s the other route?”

“The other route we could take is one I have not gone before. In Tundris, we ran away from the tent just like you guys did, and now I am starting to wonder what is over there on the other side of it,” Aiden says, his voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. “Every time the guards have spotted us, it has been by games, so maybe we try something different and see if there is a way out over by the main tent where there are no games.”

I think about what Aiden is saying. Since we have been seen near the game booths before, the guards are probably going to check them more thoroughly, and we will most likely get caught. The main tent, on the other hand, is where we ran from and is guarded in the front and most likely on the side facing the Ferris wheel as well since that was where another entrance was, so maybe the guards won’t think to look for us behind it.

If there is a way out from behind the tent, we could get out of here and back to the group sooner since the main tent is closer to where we are than the maze.

“Okay, and if there is no way out from there, then we can go back to the game booths,” I tell Aiden. “And if there are a bunch of guards back there, then we will continue running around this place like mice getting chased by cats.”

“Exactly,” Aiden says, his voice filled with determination and a hint of eagerness.

“Great,” I say with not much enthusiasm.

Aiden gives me a little smile and then moves to stand up. I stand up as well, but I try to brush all the dirt, leaves, and bugs off of myself while I am doing it. I am really not much of a bug person, and I would like to get away from them as soon as possible.

We move to the edge of the rock wall, and I peer out from the side to look at our surroundings. It has definitely gotten darker, but I can still make out the Go Fishing game next to us, along with a little outline of the first building I went in off in the distance.

“The main tent should be straight ahead,” I tell Aiden.

I check to make sure no guards are coming before I move out from behind the wall and make my way to the fishing game. Once there, I quickly look around at the inside of the game. This is one of the games I won earlier today. We had to use little toy fishing poles with magnets on the ends to catch toy fish in the water. Whoever could catch the most fish within a minute won. I remember the game looking pretty since it had a painted background that showed the bright blue ocean. Now, the ocean looks dark and depressing. The contrast between the game's cheerful facade and the grim reality of our situation is stark, and it sends a chill down my spine.

I move behind the game, and Aiden joins me a few seconds later. Now, we are right back where we were earlier, trying to figure out how to get into the first room to find what Vesper saw. There are still guards walking around, but fewer than before. They must all be looking for Aiden and me elsewhere.

The lights outside the buildings are still on, and every few minutes, there are one or two guards going in and out of one of the buildings. I wonder what they are doing in there. The first room does not have as many people moving in and out of it. From what I remember, it just looked like some sort of break room where they used to sit down and relax when they got too tired or hungry. The other room is the opposite, that was the room with all the papers in it, there is a lot more activity going on in it now. Luckily, building two is on the far side away from us, and I think we can make it to the left side of building one without being seen if we move quickly enough.

Aiden and I look over the game booth and watch the guards who go in, out, and around the buildings. If there is some sort of pattern, then we should use that to our advantage. From what I can tell, a guard walks by the two buildings every minute or so, and they tend to come from the right and move toward our direction, but they don’t check the game booths over here. The unpredictability of the guards' movements adds to the challenge of getting out of here.

The guards going in and out of the first room are not very frequent—maybe every three or four minutes. The guards in the second room are definitely more active and move around more. There is a guard going in or out of the room every thirty seconds or so.

A guard walks by us, and fifteen seconds later, another guard comes out of the second room. Since a guard walked into the first room only about a minute ago, I figure this is our best time to move.

I grab Aiden’s hand, my pulse racing as we swiftly move to the side of building one. The area is brighter, forcing me to squint until my eyes adjust. By the time we reach the side of the building, my heart is pounding in my chest. I press myself against the wall, acutely aware that the main tent is only a few feet away, heavily guarded. I fix my gaze on the chain link fence wall covered in a red tarp, trying to push away the thoughts of getting caught.

I can’t bear the thought of letting Devin down.

We have been in here for probably about two hours at least. We were just supposed to get to the room, find the list of the towns, and look for my Dad along the way. That should only have taken about thirty minutes, an hour at most, but definitely not two or more hours. Every minute that passes, the risk of getting caught increases, and the urgency of our task to get out of here becomes more apparent.

Devin is probably worried about me, and I am starting to feel bad about leaving him out there alone. When the sun begins to come up, the Jumpers will leave with all the people from Treegrass who they got out, but I know that Devin won’t leave without me. If I’m not there, then he is not leaving, which means that I have to make it there.

I slowly move my head so that I can just see over the edge of the building to where the main tent is. There are still four guards standing out front like before, but I think we can get to the side of the tent by moving from tree to tree.

Some of the trees here are tall and have branches that start growing from about eight to ten feet high, like the maple and varnish trees. Others, like the yellow birch and the box elder maple tree, have branches that hang lower to the ground. These are the types of trees that would be the most ideal for us to hide behind since their leaves could help cover us.

The first tree is a maple, and its trunk is wide enough for one of us to be behind it at a time without being seen. The first tree is about four or five feet away, so I look to see where the guards at the front of the tent are looking. From here, it is hard to tell exactly where they are looking, but since their heads are facing straight forward, I assume their eyes are looking there as well.

When I feel confident enough, I make the short distance to the tree. Once there, I move my body to make sure the guards at the tent can’t see me. I look over to Aiden and see that he is standing in the same spot I was before. I can’t tell what he is thinking, but he does not seem scared or worried about what we are doing.

I look to make sure the guards haven’t seen me, and then I make my way to the second tree, which is only a few strides away. Once I make it there, I look over to Aiden to see that he is starting to move over to the first tree. When he makes it there, he leans his right shoulder against the tree trunk and faces me. He gives me a small nod to let me know that we’re good.

I turn my back to him and move to the third tree. Since there is not much distance between the trees here, I am less worried about being caught. I then move from behind one tree to the next, checking to make sure the guards are still looking straight ahead each time. I don’t have to look behind me to know that Aiden is following. I can hear his feet shuffling on the ground. It is quiet enough that no one outside a ten-foot radius could hear it.

I make the last few steps to the main tent and stay on the side of it so that none of the guards can see me. Aiden joins me a few seconds later, and once there, neither of us says anything for a minute.

Chapter 27

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