We'd spent a little more time in comfortable silence before Eli had been called away and a sly-looking Charlotte had taken his place.

"He definitely liked seeing you like that," Charlotte teased, I groaned.

"Please don't," 

Charlotte chuckled, taking Tyler on another lap of the deck.

"You know what it's like for men seeing a gal with a baby in their arms. Get's them all excited," She teased.

"You'd be surprised what the outside world would have to say about that," I chuckled.

Charlotte shrugged, "I haven't been out there for almost five years," She did her best to laugh it off but she trailed off and sighed instead. There was a certain wistfulness on her face and behind her eyes; pain and a lot of sadness. A backstory, possibly?

"Tell me about it," I nudged her gently, Josh was dozing off in my arms and the snow had subsided to a few flakes at a time. "How did you get here?"

It was a love story, I could discern. Charlotte's mouth twisted with a certain ruefulness to it. "I grew up mostly in the community here. My family moved back and forth a lot so I never truly had a solid home. But the last few years of my high school life, we lived here. Like all the other kids, I attended the local school and I, I fell in love. The kind of Romeo and Juliet love that every high school student convinces themselves will last forever. His name was..." She struggles to say it. Flicking her hair away from her face, she takes in a deep breath and focuses, "His name was Charlie, and we were dead set certain that the two of us were going to last forever,"

My stomach churns. Behind Charlotte's usually mothering and cheery face was a world of pain and unhealed hurt.

"But I couldn't marry a man who wasn't a part of the community, so Charlie had to join to be considered worthy. We went through the training together and I-I didn't see it. I should've though, it was clear as day to anyone else," Charlotte pauses, deep in thought.

"What happened next?" I asked, already dreading the question.

"He-he tried to leave," My heart skips a beat and I do my best not to react suddenly. "He just couldn't after a while. He broke into the Communications room and tried to send a callout to the local station but he was caught and-,"

"And what?" I almost didn't want to ask but the question slipped out before I could stop it.

"And he had to die," Charlotte began to sob. Tyler squirmed in her arms, beginning to whine. Slowly, I reach out, pressing a comforting hand to her shoulder. Internally, I wrestle. Should I? Maybe not... But maybe?...

"Where's the Communications room?" I ask softly, as if not to disturb the ear that may be listening.

She sniffles, "A little further along the training ridge, just tucked around up there," Charlotte nodded past the shooting range to where the hanging valley curved into a sharp, cliff ledge. The Communications room must've been slightly further. My stomach dropped. We weren't allowed past the shooting range when people were firing, a natural barrier, but perhaps if we had some free time or so, I'd be able to inconspicuously sneak my way around the corner.

My opportunity didn't come until the following day. Lady Hayley had called for the girls not to leave their designated child. There'd be a few grumblings as some of the Novices had to take up the actual responsibility of being a mother. Luckily for me, that meant a lot of the Novices were just wandering around during the free time of that day and no one was at the firing range.

It couldn't have been a more perfect setup.

"You're going to be my secret agent today," I whispered to Angel, "no crying until we get out today, okay? And when in doubt, you'll be my alibi," Angel gave no reply, simply staring back at me with her large, blue eyes.

I threw her into my forward facing sling. A bottle in hand, I wandered throughout the open field. I had probably twenty minutes before the bell rung for our Afternoon Challenge. I decided to start looping and making laps of the shooting range and open field. Charlotte was tending to Tyler but after a little while, the cold got to the two of them and she disappeared inside.

Perfect. I did my best to not pick up in my pace. Routine bored people. Routine made people complacent and if I could exploit that then perhaps I could escape. Another few steps then I would be there, a few more and then...

I slipped around the corner. It was barely more than a solid outcropping. A portable housing unit hung on the edge of the rocky outcrop. Thick leads, fortified for the cold ran down the side of the cliff face above and into the unit. 

So there was internet here. The young, tech-savvy part of me sung with glee.

There was no, freshly overturned snow. It seemed as if someone had walked here maybe an hour before, but that was back to the site. I moved forwards, stealing a look through the barred windows. I couldn't see anyone inside.

The snow was almost icy as I moved forwards, sinking up to may ankles. My toes were already freezing through my boots. Snow obviously wasn't my natural terrain but I was aware of every step that I left. Aware that it could be used to incriminate me later on.

What's inside? I wondered, softly knocking on the door. I didn't have an alibi but hopefully years of play acting in the roles of characters on paper would help me come up with a quick answer.

No reply.

Speaking a quick prayer, I tested the door, it swung inside with more ease than I expected. My heart thrummed in my ears. This was probably the most dangerous risk I'd taken since I arrived. Tiptoeing forwards, I was shocked at what I found.

Like something out of a movie, tens of screens lined every available wall. The thrum of electronics was loud and clear. A small space had been marked away for a toilet but aside from that there was nothing else. I moved forwards to the screens, doing the best I could to interpret what I was seeing.

Bots, was the only explanation that I had. Running social media profiles and replicating posts of all kinds. Flagging certain keywords. I struggled to swallow, there was something a lot bigger going on here than just me.

My eyes seized on an open Facebook account. An idea bloomed in my mind and I launched forwards, my fingers struggling to adapt to the oddities of a keyboard.

After sending my message, I took a step back. I wasn't ready to test my luck more than needed, I felt like I needed to get out right now.

Sparing one, final look at the complex and unusual setup, I made my way to the door in two strides. 

I need to get out, now.

There's someone coming. 

I couldn't explain it but I was ready in anticipation. I brushed the evidence of me off of the steps with the tail of my dress. Instead of opting for a straight route back, I decided to loop around the back and to the edge of the outcropping as if I was enjoying the tree line view.

"Excuse me? What are you doing here?" I whirled around at the voice. It was a male, dressed in the same outfitting as Eli. While he wasn't as muscular, he still had a stocky strength to him. His dark blonde hair was kept in a messy braid down his back. Glasses perched on his nose and he looked like he'd just passed forty.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know anyone was down here," I feigned surprised, rocking Angel as if I'd been lost in my thoughts.

"No, this is a restricted zone," The man replied in a slow and firm voice. I needed to negate his suspicion otherwise this would get very ugly, very quickly.

"I-I didn't know!" I summoned the inner Canadian within me. Now wasn't the time to stick to my guns and get stubborn. Playing the submissive was my best option for getting out of this situation, "I'm so sorry, I just had little one and there's not much space where you can sit and not get harassed by one of the other girls. So we decided to go exploring. I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I just wanted to get away,"

Angel, as if queued by the heavens above, began to whine. I threw a stressed look at the man and he shuffled.

"That's okay," He grunt, "you should probably go back though,"

"Of course. Thank you for understanding," I shuffled past, Angel calming down in my arms.

"I don't want to see you back here," The man spoke firmly. Chills ran up and down my spine. I turned back to the man.

"Of course, thank you," I spoke again before doing my best not to run.

...

"Today's afternoon challenge will be a survival challenge," Lady Hayley spoke cheerfully, a broad smile on her face, "you will have to look after your baby, build a shelter and survive for a night in the wilderness until we come and pick you up. Remember, there are predators out there. Failure is not an option. Quitting isn't an option either. You either survive or don't,"

Her words hit the semicircle of ten or so girls harshly. Out of the corner of my eye, Lou shifted uncomfortably. Charlotte held her head higher and Anjie's face paled.

"You'll be picked up at various times, Marian," I jerked, surprised that I'd be personally addressed, "come with me,"

My blood turned to ice. I managed a look towards Charlotte and Anjie whose faces suddenly paled.

They know! Every fibre of my being screamed. 

Flashes of being thrown under the water resurfaced. I stood and shakily made my way to the waiting room hallway. Once we were outside and the door closed behind us. My stomach churned and I awaited the rebuke.  

Lady Hayley turned to me. A very soft and proud look on her face.

"The elders have seen your work over the past week and are very please with your progress. As well as that, Angel will need to go back to her mother a little earlier than the rest as she's a bit young and we wouldn't want to place her in such dangerous conditions,"

I tried my best not to visibly sag with relief. Instead, I opted for a nod.

"Little girls are in short supply," I managed, the words sticking in my throat. Lady Hayley nodded, pleased.

"Unfortunately, yes. As a present, feel free to enjoy an early weekend at home. I'm sure Eli will be waiting outside in about ten minutes. Great work this week, we're very proud of your progress,"

I did my best to manage a smile. It was one that I couldn't hold for long. Her final words sent shards of ice stabbing through me. In the back of my mind, a chorus of paranoid 'she knows!' rung through my mind. I handed Angel over to her parents, giving an update on the amount of bottles she'd taken throughout the week and her relative sleeping patterns.

"We got to almost seven hours without a wakeup," I spoke proudly, the mother, Anne, looked aghast.

"That's incredible!" She gasped, "Peter and I only got five and a half hours at best!"

"Well, if you need someone, let me know," I grinned. Inwardly cursing after I'd realised what I'd just done. Years of networking in odd jobs had always left the words as a special 'go to' in my mind. Lady Hayley looked especially pleased at that. I wanted to fold into the ground.

A quick trip down the 'stairs of death' to retrieve my one and a half sets of clothing before I darted back up. I didn't see Charlotte or Anjie or the twins on the way back so I guess they'd just have to live with my final, dramatic look for most of the weekend.

Eli was waiting casually by the entrance of the Training Hall.

"You don't have to wait for me every week," I teased, shouldering my pack. "I know my way to your house,"

"Where's the fun in that?" He chuckled, greeting me with a tight hug. I appreciated the warmth and we continued to walk, hand-in-hand to the market. I updated him on the week; the talks that we had to endure, the pregnancy and childminding lectures as well as the cooking and knitting and other motherly things.

"Can you make me a scarf?" Eli asked excitedly, I laughed.

"Its gonna be a wacky scarf but sure," We entered into the marketplace. Today had a heavy scent of cinnamon and I had to convince Eli out of buying me one. It'd cost us at least two fresh salmon at best and I didn't want Eli to use any of his rarer commodities that he gathered from the outside.

"What are you looking for this week?" I opted for, pulling him along. Maybe he was looking for an excuse to get himself one.

"Well I was out this week just to pay some people back on a few things. Some wanted books, others paper and stuff that we haven't really found a way to mass produce in the community,"

"How far do you travel?" I asked curiously, dangerously aware that my words may undo the false sense of security I've given the elders.

"Well, we've got the town that all the kids go into for school, since we haven't fully built the facilities here to accomodate for that. That's a nice, smaller town, and if we need to get some rare stuff, there's a pretty big city about four hours away and so I darted down there for the week to grab some movies and other little things like that," He exchanged a book for two cups of steaming chowder. He passed one to me, the outside of it warming my fingertips.

"You guys watch movies?" I did my best not to sound surprised. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Of course, what do you think we are? Savages?" He tried to joke. I shrugged.

"I mean, four weeks here and I'm still not sure what to classify this as," I waved my hand about, gesturing to the community.

"Just think of it as a much quieter part of the world," Eli smiled, "there's a reason we're pitched as a retreat,"

"Among other things," I spoke slyly. Eli gave a small smirk.

Deep down, I knew there was another reason that they were giving me so much time off. Especially after that weekend. Eli must've been waiting anxiously all week as there was only one thing that was on his mind for the duration of those few days.

I tried to be happy for him. I tried to please him in the way that I knew he would appreciate. There was a little part of me that enjoyed it, stirring somewhere deep. I enjoyed the moments afterwards and the long nights talking in the dark where Eli would tell me stories of his life here. Every time we talked, I gained another valuable piece to the puzzle that I was slowly forming; my plan to escape.

Rough at the edges and outright risk-taking in others, it required both sheer bravery and a certain type of meekness.

"You should probably pick up some protection," I commented to him one night in the dark, "wouldn't want anything to happen,"

"Why not?" Was his soft reply and my stomach dropped. This was intentional. In that moment, I was incredibly grateful that we'd missed my previous cycle.

"I just don't know if I'm ready for the responsibility of being a mum," I whispered in the darkness. I couldn't particularly see Eli but I knew he was there, from the shape of his body and the way he breathed. Perhaps that's what it meant to know someone.

Eli was disappointed, I could tell by the way he did his best to breathe out evenly.

"We'll figure it out when we get there," I whispered, "I'm still trying to... adjust,"

"It'll be a busy week for you this week, I won't see you for a while," He whispered.

"How so?" I asked. Eli always seemed to know what was coming next. It was a little unfair.

"As soon as you've finished this week they'll throw you into the final test. It'll be hard but make sure you take this week slowly,"

"Do you know what's happening this week?" I asked curiously. Eli chuckled lightly.

"Maybe, I'm not allowed to tell you. It'll be fun though, stay level-headed and light hearted and you'll be fine,"

"I don't know," I whispered and sighed, "I feel like it's gonna be pretty hectic,"

"It will be," Eli affirmed. "There's a reason they've been pushing you hard over the past few weeks,"

I was silent, lost in thought. My mind focusing on what the next week held.