That night, I fall asleep and wake up in the morning, sun rising into the cloudy sky. My eyes look in confusion at the light around me. Shouldn't it be dark? Shouldn't Angie be there, shaking my shoulder gently, so we can both spy on Josh again?

I look over at her body cocooned in the covers. She turns over, peering at me from the top of the warm blankets.

"What?" she mumbles defensively when she notices my stare.

"Did Josh...?" I trail off, asking the rest of the question with my eyes, in case he's outside potentially listening in on us.

Dejectedly, my friend shakes her head. My heart deflates. Disappointment flows through me.

"I was listening," Angie whispers, "but he didn't call tonight."

Oh well. I think to myself. I was getting worked up over nothing. It probably was only his girlfriend from back home.

And when I think that, there's something that leaves a bitter trail down my throat.

"Never mind," I mumble back. "It was probably nothing, right?"

Slowly, Angie nods into the fabric.

We pack our stuff and plod on and, when my legs are screaming and my lungs are also screaming and pretty much everything else is screaming, we see something that looks like a hint of civilisation.

Steadily, we're making our way into a small Scottish town. I didn't read the name of it properly but I think it was something like Hawick.

Dad stumbles into the nearest twenty-four-hour corner shop that has showers and toilets at the back. We all help ourselves to more baked beans and water since our stocks had been running low. Mum picks up a few bottles of shampoo and when we reach to pay, the shopkeeper eyes all our filthy clothes and hair. He jabs his thumb in the direction of the showers behind the counter and tells us to take as long as we need for all of that to come out, since he didn't want (and I quote this directly) any 'tramps roaming around' his shop.

Well, thanks anyway, shopkeeper.

When we're all done, we move on, letting our clothes dry in the afternoon sun. Then we set off, down a concrete road where's it's empty and quiet, still going up north.

Then, suddenly behind us there's the sound of something that sounds surprisingly like an engine. I turn round and spot a huge farm truck behind us. It slows down and a door opens. A stout man steps out, wearing a chequered jacket and baggy jeans.

"Y'all needa ride?" he asks in a thick Scottish accent, voice sounding too loud to come out of such a small man.

Dad seems shy. "Um... yes."

"And where y'all from? Da South?"

"London," says my mother.

The man blinks, glancing at Zach. "And where you need to go?"

"To the Highlands," answers my father, sounding surer of himself now. "You know, going on a long camping trip."

The man smiles and nods before looking down at the floor, towards Zach's feet, believing my Dad's lie. Then, after a few seconds, he says, "Any chance yer going to the Camp?"

My mother looks surprised. "Yes," she says nervously. "I mean how did you—"

"I can take yer," the man says, giving us a wide-eyed innocent look, eyes flicking back to Zach again. The boy starts frowning, probably wondering if this is a coincidence. "I ain't got nothing else ter do."

I look round at all the others. They seem thrilled because we've just been offered a ride. Well, except for Maisie. She's running her hands through her hair, mumbling an incoherent nursery rhyme. No difference there, then.

Josh is pouting like he's just tasted something sour. I guess there's something in this man that he doesn't like. Other than that, he looks like a really pleasant man.

When we all follow him to his truck, which has a Jeep trailer on the back, Josh grabs my shoulder and leans his mouth close to my ear. The proximity of him makes my heart skip a beat and the feel of his breath on my neck, his hand on my arm, his body just so close to mine... I could live that moment forever.

"See that way he was constantly looking at Zach?" he hisses. "He knows something."

I try to say something but my breath catches in my throat.

"Make sure your gun's ready. You have it on you, right?"

Slowly, I nod and he stays there for a split second too long, breath tickling my neck, as though deciding on something. Then, he pulls away and I glance at him. He looks flushed, like he's overwhelmed by something and it confuses me.

We walk to the truck and climb in after the others. Josh's warning rings in my ears. He wants me to have the gun at hand? Why? What's going to happen?

It's only when Josh has climbed onto the trailer behind me, that we hear the man's voice again.

"Okay, which one of you wants to die first?"

And when I look up, I'm staring straight into the barrel of his rifle.

Hey guys. What did you think of this chapter?

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