Page 131 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

They wait until the men run up the main stairwell, and then she pulls Riley out, keeping to the shadows. She seems to know where she’s going and the one time she pauses, Riley points the way.

They’re working together.

He’s most terrified when they’re at the door because he feels certain that any second now, he’ll hear Troy’s voice and see blood spatter like at the dining table, and it’ll be hers. Céliane’s blood, family blood.

But she gets it open quickly and then they’re outside.

His beautiful long-lost outside world.

He’s missed it so much.

Night. Trees. Sky.

Sky, sky, sky, he wants to scream and wave and run right off the edge of the earth to fall into it, no walls, no doors. The cool air fills his lungs like water after days without. His legs yearn to stretch.

‘Come,’ she bids, starting to run. ‘Just through the trees and then—’

Gunfire shatters the air.

Six shots are fired.

One lands.

Céliane stumbles when hit and falls, dragging Riley to a halt. He bends over her, panting harshly. The crescent moon above shows the hole the bullet made in her shoulder, and even beneath such pale light, her blood is as red as her hair. Céliane grips her shoulder, grits her teeth, tries to stand.

‘Riley!’ Troy barks, voice echoing around the trees. ‘Get back here, boy!’

They won’t make it.

Riley touches her wound, cannot bear to see her hurt.

‘Go,’ he tells her, trying so hard to be brave. ‘Go th-that way, I’ll run and he’ll… f-follow me!’

Her eyes widen. ‘No, you belong with us.’

‘Come back for me,’ he begs, forcing himself to move away and then he turns and runs loudly in the other direction. ‘I’ll wait for you.’

Flashlights are slicing through the trees, seeking movement.

Riley runs as hard as he can and finds his body more capable than he ever dreamed. Dormant muscles stretch to life, his lungs expand, his senses combine to tell him who is chasing, who is yelling, who is closest and this world around him is suddenly so very big.

Riley runs until his bare feet hit concrete and the sudden impact of new terrain causes him to lose his balance and fall into a forward roll, but he corrects it, goes with the momentum and something smiles inside, awakening, eyes open in the dark, this is who we are.

He’s on a road, he realises.

Roads lead to people.

Céliane.

His brother.

He has a brother. He has a name. He has a mother.

Riley looks both ways, has to make a choice.

The flashlights are searching for him.

The yelling is getting closer.