Trista awakened in the moonlight.

The night was crisp and cool, with a slight wind rocking the tops of the trees, leaves clapping together like applause. The crickets also played a sweet serenade, reminding Trista of home and sleep.

She breathed in and out, trying to match the wind's rhythm, and peering above the trees to the starry expanse beyond.

It was almost peaceful, with the matching sounds of her parents' breathing, but she could feel her heart still beating frantically, reminding her that, in fact, she was not safe and was still in great danger.

The embers of the fire flickered in and out, in and out, in a warm and hypnotic way, and Trista had almost fallen asleep again when she heard the rustling sound of someone getting up. Trista froze and closed her eyes. She was curious and didn't want the person, whoever they were, to know she was awake. Trista cracked open an eye and saw Nick standing a few feet away, talking into some sort of device. She listened.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nick looked uncertainly at the bodies lying around the glowing embers, and willed them not to stir.

He took out a phone from his pocket and pressed the speed-dial. It rang once, then picked up. A sullen, dull voice came from the other end. "Report status."

Nick swallowed nervously. It was getting harder and harder to keep this secret. "Report status." The voice said grumpily.

"Well, we have stopped in the woods for the night, and the others are sleeping."

"Are Neo and Laura still present?"

"Yes, they are here."

"Are any of the subjects injured?"

"Y-Yes," Nick said, looking back nervously. "One of them has sprained and possibly broken their ankle."

Trista tensed and closed her eyes, cradling her twisted ankle with her left foot.

"Excellent." The voice said coolly. "That will slow them down greatly. I shall inform Mr. Black and men will move in soon. Which subject has broken their ankle?"

"Trista, Neo and Laura's daughter."

"Good. Now, tell me which direction your course is set so the squadron may be properly positioned." The voice commanded.

"Uh . . ." Nick glanced toward the east, where the sky had long been covered by a dark, velvet blanket spattered with stars. When they had entered the forest, they had gone east, and every day since then, they followed the sun when it rose. Should he tell them?

Nick remembered sudden confusion, the desperate movement and screams of pain at the wedding, when they had ripped him away from his beloved, forcing him to his knees behind a truck and aiming a pistol at his head as Christie screamed for him. Then, a phone was pressed into his palm, and he was commanded to follow Neo and Laura.

In the chaos, he had found his niece, Evelyn, curled in a ball and hiding, so he had taken her with him. She wouldn't have lasted a day in those prisons.

He recalled that day, almost a year ago, when they had given him the chip and the assignment to meet Christie. Every week, he would ask her to coffee and they would talk for hours.

Though Nick was told to act, as he got to know her, he started to like her, and then gradually began to love her. This sweet, innocent girl, upon which so many had inflicted wounds, was the kindest, most forgiving person he had ever met, and he wanted to protect that.

It was so painful to lie about his true life, but he knew that every time he could complain, Mr. Black's thoughts would drift farther and farther away from favor and more towards Erasing him.

And then, when he said "I do," . . . He had a faint, fluttering hope that they wouldn't come. That they would take the others away and leave her alone. But they had taken Christie. And they would take him.

"West." Nick cleared his throat softly. "We're moving west."

"We shall follow the location of your device, and troops will move in tomorrow." said the voice stiffly. "We appreciate your compliance."

The line went dead.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Trista watched, eyes half-open, as Nick shoved the phone in his pocket, scooped up his tuxedo jacket from the heap of dead leaves where he had slept, and crept over to Evelyn, her head cradled in the crook of Laura's arm, and slipped something into her hand. After lingering long enough to kiss Evelyn's forehead and whisper goodbye, he shifted a log onto the embers, turned, and resolutely strode into the forest, snapping his tuxedo over his shoulders.

Trista lay frozen, mulling over what she just heard. Surely he was a traitor! But . . . he had lied to them. Why? And then he had gone off, evidently with no intention of return. She could still see him dimly, making his way deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Trista shakily rose to her feet and quietly edged around her father, taking long, slow steps towards Nick's disappearing figure. She had gotten behind a tree and was close enough to see Nicks anxious face give one last glance over his shoulder when suddenly a thick tiredness fell over her. Her legs faltered and she fell on her hands and knees. She looked at her hands. No matter how much she wanted them to, they would not move. It was as if heavy weights had been strapped to her arms. Trista's eyelids drooped, and the rest of her body fell. She lay paralyzed for a moment, and the last bit of her urgency to pursue Nick slipped away as her eyelids closed, plunging her into sleep.

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Hello! I am so tired, but I hope you like this chapter. I'm sorry that I took awhile, but I will keep trying. Have an awesome day! <3 Also, some shoutouts to people for doing something awesome! dvr99174 KalStormblessed CoArac Book_Anon booklover241014 PheonixxReads Thanks, guys!

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