I followed blindly and silently prayed everything would work out. I feared only one thing at this point though; somebody else I loved getting hurt or worse. I couldn't care less about what happened to me at this point.

A kick to the back of my heel signaled me to walk fast. I took the hint and sped up. I felt the cool wind outside, meaning we were close.

"Identification please."

I squinted to see a large man. I knew I had seen him before, but I wasn't sure where. It might have been the man that led Essence and me to our injections. Jeremy!

I heard shuffling and mumbling as all of the guards handed Jeremy their identification. I knew there wouldn't be any trouble with that because they were all real guards. The only thing I was a bit worried about is how they were going to explain why they were taking us outside. If that other female guard had said something to elder Ryann we were done for.

"Everything looks good," Jeremy said, "Now, where are you taking these kids and why?"

"Why do you need to know?" snapped Rhett.

"Jeez man, it's just for the sign-out chart. I really don't care, but as per Elder Ryann, I need to keep track of everyone that comes in and out. Apparently, some guards have been trying to escape with prisoners. Elder Ryann is not happy out it, dude."

My heart began to race at Jeremy's words. Elder Ryann knew about the escapes. Did that mean she also knew we were trying to escape right this minute, right under her nose? Did Alistair come up with a good enough lie to keep her attention on him? What would happen if we got caught?

"Fine," Rhett said, "I'm taking them outside for command training. Direct orders from Elder Ryann."

I could tell he was trying to be as vague as possible. That seemed smart, there was no reason to add detail and get caught in a lie.

A few moments passed before Jeremy spoke, "Alright, you guys are all set. Just make sure to keep a close eye on the prisoners. Also, if you see anything suspicious let me know. Okay?"

"Okay," Rhett said gruffly.

As soon as I felt the terrain change to a spongier material under my sneakers my eyes shot open. I looked to Cade and I could practically feel his anxiety. He was just as skeptical about this as I was. I shot him a quick, small smile and turned my head to face forward. We still needed to look like we were under command.

Rhett led us to a large wall. It was one of the exits of The Town Walls. This exit didn't seem to have nearly as much security as the other ones though. I figured it must be because of the sheer amount of guards in this place. They figured the prisoner wouldn't get this far in the first place.

Rhett motioned us to come in close. We obeyed.

"This is the moment of truth," he said, "This exit leads to countless other communities. I know none have you have seen outside of our community, but these other communities are different and perhaps better. Run to the first community you see. It should have big pink walls. Tell the guards that Rhett sent you."

I nodded despite all of the questions running through my head.

"You're not coming?" Essence asked.

"No, and don't worry about us. Once I open this door, I expect you guys to run and not stop until you reach where I told you to go. Got it?"

"Yes," we all voiced.

A loud bang from inside earned our attention. I saw Elder Ryann and a bunch of guards pouring out of the doors. Alistair followed looking like a zombie.

"Go!" Rhett shouted.

With that, I began to sprint out of the open doors. I did feel bad leaving everybody I did behind, but at this point, there was nothing I could have done. I needed to take this chance I was giving.

I ran faster than I ever had before. I was only a little bit behind Cade and Essence. I could hear the pounding of feet behind me but did not waste a moment to look back. I wasn't about to trip because I was stupid enough to not look where I was going.

When breathing began to get hard and my leg started to hurt I tried to push myself even harder. There was no way I was dying today. I kept my eyes on Cade's back as his arms pumped. We were going to make it out of this together.

I yelped as I felt my shirt get grabbed by a guard. How had they gotten so close? I sent an elbow to their face and sped up even more. Now I was being grabbed at left and right. I was beginning to lose hope when I spotted my heaven; big, ugly, pink walls. I almost sighed in relief as I ran faster. My hair was yanked back and I hit the person's hand.

The walls were getting closer and I could see Essence shouting to us from just outside. Cade grabbed my hand and yanked me to him. He broke out in an all-out sprint dragging me behind him. When another guard made contact with my shirt he grabbed me out of their hold.

I could see the doors of the pinks walls open and barely skidded in before they were slammed shut. I huffed and puffed, trying to get oxygen back in my system. How in the world did Essence look fine? Was she a freaking goddess?

A large bang on the large door startled me.

"You're fine," a woman said, "those doors are indestructible. Also, this young woman said Rhett sent you? What is going on over there? We've had at least twenty other people come here saying Rhett or other know guards from The Town have sent them."

The woman was rather tall with long blonde hair. She was definitely an off-brand of beautiful. She looked to be at least forty and well-built.

"A lot of crazy shit," Cade said, "There was a massacre and know they are trying to build an army of people to take over other communities like yourself. There were some for the prisoners they were trying to control with an injection. But Eve and I here were not injected, meaning we are not susceptible to their every command."

The woman's mouth gaped open much like fish.

"Now I will totally be up for explaining more later, but for now can we all take a much-needed rest?"

Essence and I looked at each other with evident embarrassment. Cade had been super blunt and I was never the type to outright demand things.

"Of course!" the woman exclaimed, "Let me show you to a guest house where you all can freshen up. We will then have a community dinner meeting where we will address this issue together."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said politely, "I don't think we can ever repay you for this."

"Nonsense. I heard how people are treated over there. You will find we are much better here."

The woman smiled and led us to a beautiful burgundy colored house. Despite the color bringing back terrible memories, the house was beautiful.

"Woah, this is amazing!" Essence ogled.

"You can say that again," Cade joked.

"I don't think I've ever seen a house this big," I said smiling.

The woman smiled, "The meeting will be at seven o'clock. I hope you can relax until then."

Essence laughed, "In this house, I'm pretty sure I could relax during a nuclear bombing."

"Well, we are not far from that being a possibility," I said sarcastically.

The woman didn't follow us as we walked into the house. I sighed and sunk into the big couch in the room to the right of the entrance.

"Yes! They have a giant bathtub! I'm so using this," Essence shouted.

Cade and I laughed as he sat down next to me. I snuggled into him and he laughed.

"Awfully needy today aren't we?"

"Hey!" I whined, "We just ran away from the awful town we've been trapped in our whole lives. We didn't even know whether other places existed, but they are still planning on killing us. I think I deserve some hugs."

Cade pulled me tighter to him, "You do."

"I can't believe we actually escaped," I said smiling into Cade's chest.

"It feels surreal doesn't it?"

I pulled apart and nodded. I played on the couch the long way putting my head into Cade's lap. He began to play with my hair.

"All I've ever wanted is a normal life. Maybe we can have it here."

"Maybe," he agreed, sounding distant.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know," he sighed, "I just don't like that we had to leave so many people behind."

I pursed my lips. I could understand where he was coming from, but where did this sudden sense of righteousness come from?

He seemed to notice my confusion, "A of the people in there were people from outside The Town. People I'd known since I was exiled. I just hate feeling like I failed them when they helped me so much."

"I get what you mean. But that woman did say there were somewhere around twenty others from The Town. Maybe some of the people you know did escape, and if not yet, maybe they are still coming."

He sighed again.

"I guess so. I think I'm going to take a shower and get ready for the meeting. You should too, it's almost time."

I looked at the clock to see Cade was right. It was six o'clock and the meeting was at seven.

Cade moved my head off oh his lap and stood up. Before leaving he placed a kiss on my forehead. I watched his retreating figure and then sat up. The woman hadn't given us any changes of clothes or anything.

I stood up and walked up the staircase to the second floor. I could hear a shower running behind one door. I walked past it to the room the furthest down the hallway. I walked in and it was painted a cream color. It had a light blue accent wall that tied into the curtains and bedspread. Everything was tidy. There was a white dresser and nightstand next to the equally white bed. The room had two doors attached, one being to the closet, and the other being to a bathroom.

I opened the closet to see a meager selection of women's and men's clothing. What surprised me was the patterns and colors they had. They weren't all one solid color like I was used to and I loved it. I never realized how much I loved color until I came here.

I picked up a floral patterned shirt and wrinkled my nose. Definitely not for me. The other shirt looked a little small, not to mention it was puke green. The last option was a dark blue dress that was slightly tight at the top and flowed out at the waist. The bottom was sheer and it looked to get a bit below my knees. Looking at the selection of blue itchy material for pants, I decided on the dress. I wasn't sure if it would fit, but it looked like it might. I think the number six on the back was probably supposed to tell me that, but I had no clue.

I grabbed the dree and some rather large looking undergarments and made my way to the bathroom. It had a walk-in shower with glass doors. I had never seen a shower like this before, it was lovely. The shower head was square and looked like it could pour buckets of water on me. I was so ready to get all of the dirt and grime off of me. I didn't even look at myself in the mirror before I stripped and started the shower.

I made sure to lock the door before I hopped in. Despite not really caring much about my looks I was still very body-conscious. I didn't need any unwanted visitors.

Luckily when I hopped in the shower, I noticed bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I also took notice of the razor and shaving cream. If I was going to wear a dress that was going to have to happen. I pushed my laziness aside and began to wash.

After what felt like forever I turned the water off and opened the steam-filled shower door. I gulped in a breath of fresh air as I grabbed two towels from the rack. I used one to hold up and dry my hair and the other to dry my body. After my body was dry I quickly threw on the undergarments. The underwear fit okay, but the bra was a bit big. I tightened it as tight as I could and just decided to deal with it.

I then took the dress and walked out of the bathroom into my room. This was the moment of truth; will the dress fit. I slipped it over my now towel-less head. My hair was a bit damp, but I didn't worry about it. The dress seemed to fit pretty good, but the zipper still needed to be dealt with.

"Hey girl," Essence said bursting through the door.

She wore a tight, off -white dress. It brought out her dark skin making her glow. She'd have everybody fawning over her tonight.

"Oh my goodness you look so beautiful," she said, "Oh, let me help you with that."

She came behind and zipped up my back. It was a perfect fit.

"You look amazing too," I said smiling at her.

"I can't believe we both found dresses that fit! That's so exciting. But I got to say, the lack of makeup around here is concerning. I know The Town was strict on that, but at least I could get a hold of some!"

I laughed, but couldn't relate as I rarely wore makeup.

"Can I brush your hair, please? I love styling straight hair, it's so easy."

"Sure," I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

Essence went into the bathroom and came back with a hairbrush, hair-dryer, and various other things.

"This is going to be so fun!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah," I said skeptically.

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Hey peeps! Imagine me writing some normal scene for once. I decided y'all needed a bit of an action break. (I mean there still was some action, but you get it!) Anyway, Eve and Cade were cute, weren't they?

I hope you guys are doing well. Be safe and please stay home! I love you all and would be so sad if something happened to you!

Okay, well that's it! Bye-bye peeps! :)