Sleep eluded her. Being tied to a pillar by a makeshift rope with a guard sat outside felt like the journey in the van, except there would be no happy ending here. Kira contemplated an escape but was unsure how she would do it. Back in the van, back before the training she had received, she had been stubborn, pig-headed. If the resistance had taught her anything, they had taught her restraint, and that restraint meant she needed to talk herself out of situations rather than use violence. Currently, she used all her restraint not to scream and shout, pull as hard as she could, try to break the rope and run free. Every time that thought crossed her mind she considered her mother. A failed escape would surely mean injury, or even death. Once more it came down to being alive; without her, there would be no hope for her mother.

Kira closed her eyes once more, willing herself to sleep. Her legs flicked left and right, unable to get comfortable. She felt hot despite the dying embers of the fire. The mustiness of the small shack and smell of lingering smoke annoyed her, it had not before, but lack of sleep affected her senses. She was so close to giving up, she could resist the temptation to run no longer. Her eyes opened, but as she was about to raise herself she heard a noise, voices coming from the entrance to the building. There were two, a male who she could not place, and a female she was sure was the person who had marched her in at arrow point. Their voices appeared to be only slightly louder than a whisper, they spoke in a language Kira did not understand. Why they had not used this language before she did not know. She could tell from their tone that there was a minor disagreement.

Silence filled the air for what seemed like a few minutes but was in fact barely seconds. The male uttered a word, then the door to the house flew open. Kira automatically closed her eyes, screwing them tight as if that would convince the intruder she was asleep. Though she tried to keep calm, her heart pounded once more. She worried that the rhythmic sounds would give away the fact she was awake. Kira listened to the footsteps as they plodded over to her, she felt a mass above her, the woman's breath warming her cheek.

"I know you are awake," the woman whispered. Kira's eyes shot open and, despite the gloom, she stared straight into her captors eyes. Those eyes told her to be silent, not to utter a word; but to make sure she would stay her lips, the woman said, "be quiet, not a sound, I am here to set you free."

She moved to the pillar and fiddled with the knot, an unenviable task given the lack of light. The duration of untying gave Kira time to think. Her brain told her she could not trust this person, that she had marched Kira here and therefore had no right to tell her what to do. All the work by the resistance was undone in a matter of seconds. Kira shouted, "why should I..."

Another shout interrupted her, "how dare you speak to me."

Before Kira could reply, a light flashed across the scene. It came from the doorway, followed by the male's voice, "is everything OK here?"

"Fine, she's just getting above her status."

The light settled on the archer, still at the pillar, still playing with the rope. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"She's been pulling on the ropes," the woman replied, exuding confidence, "just checking they are still tight."

"Oh, OK." He paused, but was satisfied so left the building.

They waited, eyes adjusting to the darkness once more. When they were certain the guard had returned to his post, and no longer listened in, the archer whispered, "that was close, now no funny business. You do want to be free?"

Kira nodded, the limited moonlight that creeped through the smoke hole in the roof was enough for the woman to observe Kira's reaction. A few seconds later Kira felt the rope loosen. The archer moved closer and worked on the knots around her wrists. Kira knew better than to run, if the plan was to help her escape, she needed someone who knew the layout of the village.

"Here is what is going to happen," the ropes loosened but Kira's hands were not yet free. The woman would finish her speech before finishing her job. Kira felt the archer tense, waiting for her captive to strike out now her lashing were unbound, "I will go to the door and talk to Edgar, leaving the door open whilst I do. You need to follow me and sneak around the side of the building before I close the door. I will meet you there after my conversation."

Kira nodded once more, seeing the archer step back in one elaborate movement that released her arms and gave distance between them. The woman then bent down to gather something from the floor and made for the exit. The room cast little shadows, but Kira became one, trailing closely behind the woman. She did not wait for the conversation to start, as soon as the door opened she moved. Kira was around the side of the building, back to the wall and holding her breath whilst trying to calm the beating of her heart. Every sound out here seemed to be amplified. The two talked in that strange language once more, they seemed to drop in and out of it as if one language flowed into the other. Kira spoke both English and Afrikaans but needed time to think before starting in either.

She jumped, almost striking out, in her attempts to blend in with the background she had not heard the door close, or realised that the conversation had ended. "We need to move quickly," the archer said. Kira did not wait, and turned to go. A second later she had fallen to the ground, a loud thump echoing between the buildings. Before panic set in once more, the woman grunted loudly then added, in English now, "you can't see bloody anything in this dark." They heard a laugh from the guard. Just in case he rounded the building, the woman grabbed the item Kira had tripped over, grasped Kira's arm tightly and dragged her to the other side of the hut whilst Kira scrambled to her feet. "You need to be quieter," Kira did not need to see her face to know eyes bore into her.

As Kira looked down in embarrassment, an object was thrusted into her midriff, the object that had sent her flying, her bag. The strength almost sent her into the building once more, but this time Kira was ready, nimble, fleet of foot. "Follow closely," the archer whispered, disdain dancing across her voice.

How anyone could find their way through the maze of buildings was astonishing, let alone with it being nearly pitch black, but this woman was like an ancient mariner, using the stars to guide her way. Kira was sure they had not passed this many huts on the way to one she had been incarcerated in. Maybe this woman was doubling back on herself, confusing the scent of the trail, creating multiple footprints in the soft earth, anything that would put their trackers off should they discover their prisoner missing. There was little activity as they sneaked around, the village comfortable under the pretence that Princips would leave them alone. The cries of night hunting birds and scuffling of small mammals were the only sounds they heard. The earthy smells mixed with wafts of dying fires, Kira felt the closest to nature she had even been. In a way it was idyllic, under different circumstance she would have enjoyed being here. It cemented her hatred of Princips however; though not by name, this was just a glorified slum, yet still it appeared to be a world apart from what she had experienced growing up. It was safer, happier, more productive, far from the infighting and backstabbing she was used to.

They rounded a building and the area opened up into a dark plain, the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore joined nature's song. There was no stopping though, the archer sped up, continuing up a hill, attempting to get out of eyesight and ear shot. Kira stumbled behind on the uneven turf. Even at the top the woman did not stop, making sure the land blocked the few lights of the village before coming to a halt. The odd cow mooed as the new arrivals disturbed them. Kira felt wary of the beasts while the archer ignored their presence.

"Guernsey is back that way," she said, pointing toward the sea, appearing to want to move off quickly.

"But I need to go to Sector 45," Kira responded, surprised at the instructions she was being given.

For the first time since they had met, a softness appeared in the woman's voice, an edge of concern, "you don't want to go all the way to Africa, it will take you months to hike all the way there, you cannot avoid Princips for that time. Go back to Guernsey, if it really is the home of the revolution someone will help you there."

"They did help me, that's why I have this stuff."

"Well, it is up to you, but if you have to go avoid main roads. You are best heading down the coast for a couple of hours. Go inland past the village and you are likely to end up at Macronville."

Kira had nothing to say, the weight of her task bearing down on her. She became unable to shake the idea that it had been foolish to even start. Captured so early on and, if this woman was right, she might never arrive at her slum. All Kira managed was a low, "thank you."

"You are welcome," the archer turned away, starting back to the village.

Kira did not know why she asked, maybe it was just out of politeness, but she was about to say the most important thing she had for a while, "why did you let me go?"

The woman stopped and turned, it was too dark for Kira to see her so she could only hope that an answer was coming. "You don't strike me as Princips, and if what you say is true, then we have no right to hold you. I love it here, I really do, but sometimes I feel we should be doing more. We are surviving whilst so many others are suffering. Maybe I am fed up of making a deal with the devil, maybe this is my way of helping the resistance."

"You could come with me, help us defeat Princips."

The woman considered for a minute, tormented by the idea, "my place is at this village, they need me to protect them."

"And what happens when they find out you freed me?"

"How will they know?"

"You were the last one to enter the building, you were seen playing with the rope."

She let out a low laugh, Kira imagined a smile playing across her lips in the darkness, it appeared she had her there, but then it became clear that this woman did not even need convincing, "when you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

"I'm Kira, welcome to the resistance." Kira held out a hand, the moment spoiled by the fact the archer could not see it and therefore did not shake the proffered limb.

"I'm Louisa, but my friends call me Lulu, glad to be of service. Right, you wait here, I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?"

"To get some supplies before they notice you are missing. If I can't convince you to turn back, we are going to need them."