30 minutes after the lift.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Shane asked.

"Yes, thanks," Hannah replied having only half listened to his question.

"Hey, are you okay? You've been quiet all the way home, like somethings on your mind?"

Hannah looked at Shane, his face searching hers, full of concern. Could she tell him, should she tell him? She thought back to Zeke, the man in the lift and shuddered.

"No, I'm fine, just tired. Think I'm coming down with a cold." Hannah just couldn't tell him. She had no idea if she was being watched or not and the fear of 'what if' was enough for her to feign illness and head off to bed and hide.

"So I'll come round just after midday then. Mum has me running errands for her first thing". Shane leaned forward and kissed Hannah tenderly. Pulling away slightly, he looked down into her eyes. "I love you, you know that don't you?"

Hannah's eyes began to fill up. It was the first time he had ever said it. She tried to swallow the lump which had formed in her throat. If Zeke was right, she would soon be forced to move away from Shane. Would they let her see him still? She already knew the answer to that.

She grabbed for him and hugged him hard and whispered, "I love you too." The front door opened behind her.

"Hey kids, sorry to interrupt but you do realise it's nearly curfew?" Hannah's mother interrupted.

"It's okay, Mrs Green, I was just leaving. See you tomorrow Hannah." Shane lent forward, gave her a peck on the cheek and ran off home.

Her mother went back inside and Hannah stood at the doorway watching Shane disappear into the distance. The power was out again and the moon was hidden by thick, dark clouds. The night felt darker, more ominous than it ever had before. Whether it was just the dark or paranoia, she increasingly felt as if somebody's eyes were on her. Someone hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting. She backed away moving into the hall, closed the door and turned the key in the lock. She turned around and looked at her home. To the right was the sitting room, down the hall was the kitchen and bathroom, and upstairs, there were two bedrooms. She wondered where the bugs were, if there were any, that is.

"Hannah, come and drink your tea before it gets cold," her Mother called out. Quickly she removed her coat and she made her way to the kitchen.

"Hey, there's my girl," her father said. "Young lady you look tired! How was your day?"

Mindful of someone listening in, she walked forward and landed a kiss his forehead. "Not bad Dad, I got finished pretty quick tonight. Got paid too!" She handed him a brown paper envelope.

"Hannah, we talked about this. These are your wages, your Mum and I don't want them."

Every time Hannah was paid they had the same argument. She offered, he refused, she then insisted mentioning new expenses that the family had incurred that week, and finally he relented.

"Dad, take the money. I've taken a small amount to spend; the rest should go towards getting the boiler fixed. Mum shouldn't have to wash our clothes in cold water."

Her father lowered his head, embarrassed he had to rely on his teenage daughter to make ends meet. "Thank you, sweetheart. This won't be forever I promise," and he took the envelope and put it in his shirt pocket.

Hannah felt his words cut right through her. He had no idea that forever was right around the corner. Drawing on what little strength she had left she turned to her Mum.

"I'm not feeling too good tonight, Mum. Think I'll head to bed and get an early night."

Her mother placed a hand on Hannah's forehead. "You do feel rather hot."

"Honestly, I'm fine, nothing that a good night's sleep won't fix." She kissed both her parents and hugged them for slightly longer than she would normally. "Night."

"Night, love."

Hannah picked up the small oil lamp her father had just lit for her and she shuffled out of the kitchen. If her time with her parents was limited then she should really be enjoying every minute of their company, but at that moment Hannah wanted nothing more than to be alone. Double-checking the lock on the front door she started upstairs. The house although never normally warm, felt icy cold and she longed to get in her bed and get warm. She dragged herself to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and reluctantly washed her face, the water was bitterly cold, chilling her further. She changed into pyjamas and went into her bedroom- a small single room with just a bed, side table and a wardrobe. She placed the lamp upon the table and rotated the little lever on the side smothering the flame and drowning her room in darkness. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she looked out of the window to the street below. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the absence of light and she scanned the area looking for anything out of place, but found nothing. Again doubts crept into her thoughts and she questioned the events of the evening. How on earth could she be a hundred? Ok, so she had hidden her academic and artistic abilities at school, but surely, she or anyone else would have noticed if her SPR had been that significantly higher?

Exhausted and unable to process her thoughts anymore what, she took a last look out at the night sky. The dark clouds were parting and the silvery moon, barely a thin crescent, shone weakly through her window and down onto the street below. She had always loved looking at the moon as a child. She remembered her mother once saying, that for every inequality in their world, both the Flawed and the non-Flawed had equal claim over the sun and the moon. The clouds parted a little more and the light reflected off a car windscreen. She stared a little harder at the car that she didn't recognise and thought she saw movement inside. She took a step backwards, so to make sure she couldn't be seen and watched again. Just then a small orange flame lit up a face of a person sitting in the front seat. The flame was quickly extinguished, but she could still make out the glowing end of a cigarette. Someone was in the car. She knew in her gut that the person in the car, whoever it was, was watching her. If she hadn't felt so scared she might have felt relief that she wasn't going mad. But then reality hit home and she realised that this was real. She fell onto her bed and cried quietly into her pillow.

Sleep, however would not come. She'd heard her parents come to bed several hours ago and had pretended to be asleep when her Father came in and checked on her, as he did every night. Another hour later she was still awake. How was she going to leave Shane, her parents, her life? It would break all their hearts. What if she just said no, refused to leave? Stupid girl, she berated herself, of course they would make her. They wanted something from her, just like Zeke and his organisation did too. She was the red flag tied round the centre of the rope in their tug of war battle. Everyone, it seemed, wanted something from her and yet what was she getting in return? She would lose her family, she would lose Shane and nothing they had to offer her would make up for that. Then an idea jumped into her head from out of nowhere. What if she wasn't there for them to promote? Surely then her parents would be safe. She could go somewhere new, far away from them, whoever they were and once settled she could contact her parents and let them know she was okay. Immediately she favoured this idea out of the several others she had been considering. I have to do it now, she said to herself.

Decision made, she quietly climbed off the bed and put on her jeans and a warm sweater. She grabbed her holdall from the wardrobe and packed with a couple of changes of clothes, a waterproof coat, a blanket and her small pot of savings. She opened her door and quietly crept downstairs and lit a candle. She didn't dare light the lamp in case it was too bright. From the kitchen drawer she took out a pen and piece of paper and began to write.

Mum, Dad

The house is bugged and being watched- please don't read this aloud!

I have had to go away. The less you know about everything the safer you will be. Just know that I had to leave. If I don't they will take me away anyway and none of us will be safe. I can't let them do that so I am going to disappear for a while. When they come looking for me tell them I went to Douron to find work. I will contact you as soon as I can. Please destroy this note as soon as you have read it.

Love you always

Hannah xx

Crying silent tears, she folded the note, kissed it twice and left it propped up against the sugar bowl. Knowing she couldn't go out the front door, she prayed that no one was watching out back. She quietly unlocked the back door and slipped out into the cold. Staying in the shadows and hugging the wall, she made her way down the passage way. Entering a yard three doors down, she threw the holdall over the low fence and jumped over it and then repeated the same manoeuvre a further three times until she reached Shane's house. She looked up at Shane's bedroom window and then tried to find a route up to it. First, she climbed on top of a low brick wall to the side of the house, then tugged on a drain pipe and tested it for strength. When it didn't come away from the wall, she began to awkwardly climb up using the mounts on the wall as hand and foot holds. Her arms ached from the exertion. Finally she reached Shane's window and tapped on it lightly. When he didn't come she tapped a little harder. Finally, the curtains pulled back and Shane's eyes went wide with the shock at seeing her.

"What the ...?" he began to exclaim, but Hannah placed a finger over her lips indicating he should be quiet.

"Come downstairs, don't say a word," she mouthed to him and although he looked utterly confused he nodded. Hannah gingerly made her way back down the drain pipe. The back door opened and rushed out to her.

"What on earth are you doing here Hannah? Do you have any idea how unsafe it is for you to be wandering around by yourself at night?"

Hannah nodded. "You have no idea of the trouble I am in?" she replied, wearily.

"Hannah what's going on? Tell me right now."

"'I'm running away."

"What?"

"Shh, Shane, they could be listening. If I don't go now, by the end of the week I will be moved to live with the Top-5 and I won't be allowed to see you or my parents ever again."

"Hannah, if this is a joke, then I gotta tell you, I'm not finding it very funny."

Quickly, she told Shane what had happened in the lift and about being watched. The look on his face said he too was having a hard time believing it.

"Hannah, are you sure this Zeke guy isn't just some weird stalker who thought it would be great to scare a young defenseless woman?" Shane asked, clearly freaked

"No, he knew too much about me and my family. He was right too about me being followed. I've seen them with my very eyes. This is real and it's happening to me Shane, and I am scared out of my mind."

"But what about your Mum and Dad, they'll go out of their minds with worry?"

"Shane, they are going to lose me anyway. Surely, it's better to do it on our own terms and then hope that we can be together again one day," Hannah sighed, the sound heavy with emotion that she was desperately trying to contain.

"Hannah, do you think this is what Bob found out, what caused him and Mary to run off into exile?" Shane had also filled Hannah in on the possible reasons for Mary's disappearance and how her parents knew their back story.

"I don't know. Zeke told me Mary and the kids are safe, but for all I know they could be dead somewhere. I don't know who to believe, but my gut tells me this Zeke was telling the truth."

Shane scoffed. "The truth! For seventeen years that man and his organisation or whatever they are have lied to you about who and what you are. They wouldn't know the first thing about the truth."

"What do you want me to do? Wait for them to come knocking, let them give me some bullshit story about a clerical error and then, hey presto, hello new life, bye-bye old life?"

"Hannah, you know that is not what I want. But do we have any other options?"

"No Shane, I have no other option. As soon as I get somewhere safe, I'll contact you, but right now, I have to leave."

"If you leave, then I leave too."

"No! I need you to stay here and look after my parents. It's safer for you all this way."

"I don't care about being safe. I won't let you go on your own. Wait here and I'll just grab a bag. Don't even think about running off, because if you do I will run down the street behind you shouting your name."

Hannah wanted to shout at him and tell him she didn't want him to come with her, but the truth was, she did. She didn't think she could do this without him."