Miles' POV
I ducked behind the pile of crates and held my breath when I heard the stick break. 'This is it. I'm gonna get taken away and be forced to do some creepy old guy's labour. I'll never see my family again. Will I be able to find Jacob? What if I'm too old and he decides to get rid of me?! I'm dead, I'm already dead!' All these thoughts were whizzing through my mind that I almost forgot what was happening. 'There's no point in hiding anymore. Might as well give up now!' I was tempted to jump out of my hiding spot, flail my arms and yell, 'Hey! We're over here!'

But then I remembered that I still had Cecil with me. This situation would've been much worse if I were alone. Plus, I can't risk his life along with mine! I heard his voice call out to me but I was too panic stricken to comprehend what he was saying.
"Miles!" he hissed, nudging my ribs with his elbow a little too hard. That got my attention. "Miles, look!"

I looked fixedly in his direction and I swear my jaw dropped so low, it was touching the ground. Gazing right back at us was the girl with the bloody knee. Her wide, surprised eyes bored into mine and I could imagine all the questions she was asking herself. Her name tag said E029 on it. The last thing I wanted was for her to draw attention to us so I instantly pressed my index finger to my lip, signalling her to stay quiet. She didn't move for a few moments but she eventually gave me a small nod and a timid smile. I moved my hand away from my lips.

"It's okay, she won't be any trouble. She's on our side." I gave her a silly grin and chuckled silently as she tried to suppress a laugh. As I looked at her more, my head became increasingly dizzy. It was as if the whole world was spinning around. A sudden flash blinded me and I winced, trying to look away. Everything was quiet. I slowly opened one eye, then the other.

Before I could react, a toddler ran passed me but she didn't seem to know I was there. She had bright paint all over her clothes and in her hair, and a protective mask over her face. When my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I realised that I was in someone's house - in their living room, to be precise. The walls were a warm shade of sunset orange, with dirty white sheets covering the furniture, which was scattered randomly around the room. The house smelled of fresh paint, slightly burning my nostrils.

I turned around and saw the little girl trip over and continue to crawl over to a young couple. I don't know how, but I instantly knew they were her parents, and that their names were Cathy and Lucas Day. They wore white overalls with paint splattered all over their clothes and the same masks on their faces.

'We love you, Astra!' the mother said, her soft laughter echoing in my head. She picked up the toddler and embraced her tightly, Lucas giving them both a big bear hug. I smiled and waved, hoping to get their attention, but they couldn't see me. I tried to speak but no words would come out.

Another blinding light flashed before my eyes and the next thing I knew, I was back in the present, as if I'd never left. "Astra. Her name is Astra," I whispered, unable to comprehend what just happened.
"How do you know that?" Cecil asked me.
"I don't know, I just do."

My mood suddenly darkened when I saw the children getting ready to leave.
"GET IN THE VAN! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HURRY UP!" the man bellowed. I wished someone would come to see where all the noise was coming from but unfortunately, no one else seemed to hear.

As I watched the kids huddle into the back of the vehicle, my heart started beating faster and I had a heavy feeling at the pit of my stomach. It was guilt. I couldn't just let them get taken away. I had to do something - and fast! Judging by the look on Cecil's face, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Do you still have your slingshot?" he asked me. I knew exactly what his plan was.

I had completely forgotten about the bag on my back but I was able to quietly get out my 'secret weapon'. Cecil had gotten me that slingshot for my last birthday; it wasn't much but it turns out, my aim was quite accurate. Sometimes we would take turns shooting rocks at a row of old cans to see how many we could knock down. The loser would have to buy the other person a bar of chocolate, so let's just say that I've eaten my fair share of chocolate this year.

I had to get Astra away from the man so I waited for the right moment to silently tell her to hide somewhere. I pointed at the exit and hoped that she understood what I meant. She quickly tiptoed passed the left-over crates and ran through the alleyway until I couldn't see her anymore. I watched as the man climbed into the front seat to start the engine.

"Alright, you'll have to tell me where to aim." I said in a hushed voice. I got out my emergency stash of rocks and pulled out the ones I had left. "Choose carefully. I've only got three shots."

After hastily sharpening the rocks as much as I could, I readied my slingshot and waited for Cecil's instructions. "Hurry, we don't have much time left," I urged. The kids were still getting into the van but there were only a few left.
"Okay, aim for the window, then get ready to run for those crates ahead of us," he replied, pointing to an area which was closer to the front of the van. I aimed. And shot.

The rock seemed to fly in slow motion as it sliced through the air. I ducked behind the boxes as I heard a crippling crack! The glass shattered to a thousand shards. The frightened children screamed and ran around in fear as the man yelled, "WHO'S THERE?!" He ran to the back of the vehicle to round up as many of the kids as he could. While this was happening, Cecil and I rushed to the other crates. I then saw him struggling to close the shutter.
"Hit him!" Cecil exclaimed. I flung the second pebble and hid again.

"OW!" the guy bellowed, massaging his back. "THAT'S IT, WE'RE LEAVING!" Two boys and an older girl slid out from under the shutter and managed to get away, but the man didn't have enough time to catch them. He closed the van and hurried to the driver's seat. His vehicle began to leave, the speed gradually increasing.
"Quick! Shoot one of the tyres! They can't get away," Cecil said, handing me the last stone. I had one chance to stop them.

Taking a deep breath in, I pulled the slingshot back as far as it could go, and closed one eye. My hands were shaking but I tried to focus one of the back tyres. I exhaled, letting go of the rock. It soared towards the van, edging nearer and nearer. 'Yes, yes...' The pebble punctured the right tyre. 'Come on...' The van wobbled and swerved recklessly to the left. 'Please...' But it didn't stop! "NO!" I cried out helplessly. Slumping down on one of the crates, I hunched forward and held my head in my hands. Cecil patted my back sympathetically and sat down beside me.

"It's okay, man. You did your best." he said.
"I failed. I failed those kids. Who knows what will happen to them now," I replied. "I should have packed more rocks."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. We saved four kids. That's more than we've ever saved before!"
"That's because we didn't have to save anyone."
"On the bright side, it's a new record. And soon, we'll beat that record by bringing everyone else back."

I was about to reply with another pessimistic retort but I was interrupted by a soft voice.
"Excuse me," said the voice. And even though I've never heard that voice before, I knew it was Astra.