I woke up with a start, finding a dark figure standing above my bed with my heart pounding and protective instincts kicking in. I tried to scream, but a palm covered my mouth; my eyes widened as I stared at the person above me.

“I’m sorry,” Amber cried softly, pressing her pointer finger to her lips. “I had to wake you. You need to come with me.”

I recognized the urgency in her voice and nodded quickly, tossing the covers off my body. Her hand left my mouth, and we stared at one another with our hearts pounding in our chests.

“This is our chance,” Amber managed to get out. “There are supplies coming in soon. Please, come with me. It could be our only chance.”

I didn’t ask how she got rid of the guard standing outside of my room, but it became obvious once I walked out into the hallway and saw a passed-out man on the ground. I stopped my gasp from leaving my lips then, in nothing but my nightie, grabbed Amber’s hand and ran alongside her, our steps soundless on the floor - one thing we’d learned as dancers.

“How did you do that?” I whispered to her, but she merely smiled in response and kept pulling me forward. We ran down a stairway I hadn’t used, my heart pounding loudly as we evaded the guards, and then we were outside, the free night air and the ground cold under my bare feet. I stared in wonder at the starry sky, but there was no time for that. Amber kept pulling me along until we rounded a corner of the house and saw a large black van with a man unloading things out of the open back door.

“That’s the last of them,” he told one of the maids, who was apparently accepting the delivery. “I’ll be back next week.”

She nodded silently, and the man started helping her carry the things inside.

“This is our chance,” Amber whispered. “We have to get in the back of that van!”

I felt an adrenaline rush going through my body as we raced towards the vehicle and climbed into the back. The interior was dark, and there wasn’t much inside apart from boxes and an old, stained tarp. I covered us both with it, and we shivered, holding each other’s hands under the smelly fabric. I was too afraid to make a sound, my body and mind still recovering from our miraculous exit. Moments later, I heard footsteps, and the doors closed with a slam. Then, the van switched on, and we felt the engine moving under us as the man drove away, clueless about us being in the back.

Amber and I stared at one another, but neither of us said a word. There were no windows in the back, so when I pulled the tarp off us to breathe, we saw nothing but darkness. We held hands like little girls as the van pulled away. I was terrified, more scared than I’d been in my entire life, yet I knew I needed to keep my voice down, to keep my panic for myself if I had any hope of escaping the nightmare I’d found myself in.

We drove for what felt like hours, the van moving from a dirt road to something smoother with sounds of other vehicles joining in as it started to get lighter in the back, a small sliver of light coming through from under the doors.

“When we pull up for gas,” I whispered to Amber. “We run. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered back, her eyes just as intent as mine.

And back to the quiet we went, our fingers trembling as the journey continued.

* * *

I jolted awake, realizing we’d stopped moving. I took a sharp intake of breath, remembering where we were and what we’d done. Amber was asleep on my shoulder, breathing softly.

“Amber,” I whispered, shaking her gently to wake her up. “It’s time to go.”

She stirred from her sleep, and I watched her go through the same reaction I’d just experienced. I moved to the doors of the van and prayed to find them unlocked. Slowly, I opened them, the sliver of light growing and growing before the light blinded me.

“Hurry!” I begged Amber, and we stumbled out of the van, picking up speed with gravel and asphalt digging into our feet as we ran off. I managed to slam the doors shut behind me, but I didn’t even manage to look around until we were already running away.

The land around us was flat and dry with no trees or hiding places in sight. All I saw were scattered buildings, and I followed Amber behind one of them, crying out when I tripped on a rock. I’d never felt adrenaline like this, coursing through my body, my mind deciding to do anything it took to get me the hell out of there. We crouched behind the building, and I stared around the wall and watched the van pull away. The man drove off, never even noticing we were there.

I turned back to face Amber, her eyes just as wide as mine. It seemed impossible to think we were truly free. Surely there would be another obstacle in our way, something else to make this harder.

“We need to call for help,” I said, my hands shaking as I stroked a tear off Amber’s cheek. “We need clothes, we need the police, we need someone to come get us.”

She nodded, and we stared at each other like lost little lambs.

Suddenly I was afraid, afraid of the responsibility I’d put on myself by taking Amber with me and afraid of the possible danger I’d put us both in by escaping Thorn. I felt a mix of guilt and fear so overwhelming I had to clutch the wall to help myself from falling over, but I knew I needed to be strong. I’d been praying for a chance like this, to run away and get out of the life I’d never asked for. Now it was finally here, and I needed to take advantage of it and run as fast as I could.

We held each other’s hands and walked towards the gas station. We were about to walk inside when I saw a car pull up, a car I’d seen parked in front of the Mansion. My heart hammered in my chest, and I pulled Amber back just in time, watching a man I recognized as one of the guards run into the building, shouting something at the cashier. The man shook his head, and the guard cursed, slamming his fist on the counter. Then he was gone.

“We can’t go in there,” I said to Amber. “They’re already looking for us.”

It was light outside now, almost noon, judging by the sun’s position in the sky. I desperately needed to pee, and I was exhausted from the uncomfortable journey in the van.

“Let’s find the bathrooms,” Amber suggested, and I quickly agreed.

We walked around, dodging behind walls to hide until we reached a small brick building. We used the bathrooms, and while I was waiting for Amber to finish, I saw that there was a shower section in the back for truckers. I snuck back there, praying to God no one would see me. Only one of the showers was running, a dingy polyurethane sheet separating me from the trucker inside. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw his belongings hanging outside.

I took them all. I felt no shame for stealing, but on second thought, I only grabbed the money from his wallet and left his documents intact. I took the clothes, too, a fresh change of jeans and a shirt he’d probably meant to change into after his shower.

I grabbed Amber on the way back and pulled her into the ladies’ room.

“Put this on,” I told her with my voice shaky as hell, passing her the shirt.

We got dressed in a hurry. I pulled on the much too big jeans, keeping my nightie on as a camisole, and Amber dressed in the plaid shirt, which looked like a dress on her. I heard the trucker cursing through the walls and blushed at what I’d done, but there was no time to think. We needed to keep moving. Digging through the man’s pockets, I almost cried at the sight of a phone. I hadn’t seen one in so long, and right then it seemed like our only chance.

“S-should I call the police?” I asked Amber, and she bit her bottom lip nervously.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I’m scared he has connections there. I’m scared we’ll be brought back.”

“I don’t even know where we are,” I said, trying to keep my shit together. “I don’t even know what number to call.”

“The studio,” Amber suddenly said. “You can call the studio. Do you remember the number?”

“Y-yes,” I whispered.

I only realized then how alone I was in the world. Yes, I had my father, but he stopped giving a shit about me a long time ago. Amber had never been close with her family, either.

“Put in the country code,” Amber urged me. “And call. Come on. It’s evening time there, right? Surely someone’s there.”

I typed in the number, and we held hands, feeling utterly lost as the phone rang and rang.

I almost gave up when I finally heard crackling static and a voice I’d almost forgotten came on the line.

“Oh my God,” I cried out on the verge of tears.

“Harlow?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes,” I replied. “Amber is with me, too. Please help us. Please. Please, you need to help us.”

There was a pause and more crackling of static. Then I heard the words I’d been praying to hear.

“I will help,” she said. “What do you need? Where are you? What’s going on?”

All I could do was cry.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you, Carina…”