My deep blue eyes dart around the room. Where am I? How long has it been since we were escaping? I recognize a shape to the building; a lob cabin I think. It seems like it is built as a fort or something. It is decorated with old sheets and blankets and the floors are rotting. There is a mini-fridge in the corner slightly ajar. Suddenly, my mind refocuses on the situation, as I see a young man in the corner. I think not to ask about him, but to find out where my sister is. The last thing I remember is trying to cover our tracks around the leaves, and how doubtful Emiline was. Emiline! Where is she?


"Emiline are you here? Emiline? Answer me!


"Shh! Your going to wake her up! After we hit you, she was very sick. So, Sanders has been nursing her back to health, and she finally went to sleep about an hour ago." He points over to the couch in the corner, or more like the torn cushions and blankets piled in a square. There Emiline lay; peacefully sleeping.


The voice is from the guy in the corner. Who is it? It's not Emiline. Maybe he escaped after us, and brought us here.


"Who's talking? I whisper as fear clenches my stomach into a knot.


"It's Andre. I brought you and your sister I'm guessing here when you tried to escape. The Japanese were hot on your trail, so me and my friend Sanders knocked you out and pulled you to safety on the outside of the wall. If you're wondering, I don't usually hit people. But I thought the situation called for it."


Relief embraces me like a warm hug. We are actually safe, for the first time in a year.


"So, we are out?" I question. It's a miracle. I think I finally escaped the invaders. Maybe I could help the whole state!


"Well yes," whispers Andre, "but here's where it gets a bit sticky. They think that nobody is close to the wall on the outside, but we are in a cabin on the hill. The only way to get to help is to go through the valley, and it's swarming with those stupid Japanese beetles." A slight chuckle surfaces, but is held back by the direness of the situation. "We could climb the cliff down the back-way, but it's so treacherous, we might as well run though the valley."


"We could just stay here. I want to rescue the state, but it might get us killed." I say. I could feel my opinion changing. At the wall, I had wanted to save the state, but now I fear is taking over.


"That was the plan. Sanders and I had it all figured out, until we realized the food problem. We only have enough food to last another week, and with you and Emiline, that time is cut in half. Something has to be done soon, otherwise we will starve to death.

"Looks like we are going to have to form a plan of escape, again."

Adventures are not my thing, but there seems to be a lot of them barreling towards me.
〰〰〰

We stuff the bags with all the food left. Emiline makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the corner, now that she is awake from being sick. Sanders and I are folding extra clothes into small bundles so they can fit into our bags. The stiffening silence breaks suddenly as Andre talks.


"We need to leave in about fifteen minutes. It will just be getting dark, so it will make it harder for them to see us, but it'll still be fairly easy to see our path. Although, since we are going through the valley, it may be a little difficult to see all the holes in the ground."


We decide to go through the valley. Everyone thinks that we will have a better chance going through them rather than down the cliffs. We have a one hundred percent chance of dying when going to the cliffs, but only a ninety nine percent chance when running through the Japanese. I think I would like to take that one percent to my advantage.


"I am almost done packing the clothes. Emiline if you hurry up with the sandwiches we can be out of here sooner."


"I'm almost done. Just one more piece. There! I'm done!


"Well, maybe we can leave sooner than expected. Everyone has finished! Let's do this!" The sound of excitement in his voice concerns me. Why could anyone be excited about near death? But then again, maybe it's because he thinks we can actually succeed. I need to learn from his mentality.


"Everyone ready? Let's go get help for our state! Hands in on three, and say victory!" That is about the most corny thing I have ever said, but nobody seems to mind. Any sense of hope is acceptable at this point.


All the hands connect in the center of our little square. What is this feeling? One that I haven't felt in so long. I can barely describe it. I feel as if it's so off in the distance, but yet so tangible right here. I think that it's unity. Yes! That's it! We all made a decision together! What a wonderful feeling!

"Victory!" It rings through the stuffy cabin air. We all step out one by one, not what the future will hold, or if it will be our last time seeing the cabin. One by one, we quietly walk down the hill, nearing the valley where the Japanese are. With no weapons, barely any food, and no real idea of what we are going to do if they see us, doubt creeps in once again. I stop thinking for a moment, at the sound of foreign language. My heart almost jumps out of my chest. Have they found us? Then, just before I have a heart attack, I realize that it's just one of the Japanese commanders shouting down in the valley. The closer we get, the more frightening the situation feels. As night begins to fall, the figures in the valley begin to fade, and so do the footprints we leave in the warm, damp soil. There are about ten steps before we get to the perimeter of their camp in the valley. We huddle up, as the sun disappears. It is a good night for creeping through the valley; it's a new moon.


"Let's just go inch by inch, as quietly as possible. They shouldn't be able to see us, but we just can't make any noise." I suggest this idea, realizing that nobody else has a better one.


"Who wants to go first?" Sanders interjects. He probably says this hoping that because he asked the question he won't have to lead the group.


"I want to!" Emiline says. "I think-"


"No. You can't lead, your not old enough. I will. You follow behind." I say with a commanding tone. I can feel everyone's eyes on me. Perhaps I should have said it a bit more lovingly. None of them have heard me talk this way until now. I just can't let her go first. What if something happens to her?


I step forward into the valley of darkness. One step, then two. I haven't ruined anything yet. Maybe this will actually work. We might be able to escape! The valley is about two miles long. Moving at this pace will take too long; it will be morning before we get there, and then they will see us! I start to pick up the pace just a little, but I hear Emiline behind me, tripping.


"Shh! They are going to hear us," I whisper in the quietest possible voice.


"I'm sorry! Your going too fast and it's hard to see!"

I lower the speed of the group right before I hit my toe on something hard. Most of the time I can deal with small pain, but this was sickening. Expressing my pain though my mouth, I poured out strained grunts of desperation, like a freight train pouring out smoke. The whole group stops behind me. Not sure of what to do, Emiline kneels down beside me. I hear her comforting voice whisper in my ear.


"Calm down. We are gonna be okay. Take a deep breath."


Normally, I would get mad at her for talking to me like that. But in this moment, I realize it is just out of care.


"I know. I know. I am just so scared. I don't mean to put all my fear on your shoulders but, I don't know what else to do."


I continue walking as something crunches under my feet. A huge crack follows as I freeze. My stomach turns upside down as I hear Japanese voice coming our way. I have just blown our cover. I must have stepped on a branch or something. Of all the things that could happen, a branch ruins our escape. The voices get louder and closer before I finally decide what to do. Run! Quick thinking is not my strong suit I guess you could say.

Yanking Emiline's arm, I pull her behind me as I run as fast as I can. "Come on they won't catch us if we run fast enough!"


"Shhhh! They're gonna hear us running. You keep shuffling your feet. Pick up your knees so they can't hear," Sanders says from the back of the group.


Rolling my eyes, I do what he says. "Someone else lead before I make more noises I guess."


"I will lead," says Andre. After a quick switch, we keep on running through the valley. The voices seem to fade; as does the speed of our running. We slow to a walk. Just as soon as all seems safe, a light blinks three times in the distance.

"Did anybody else see that?" I ask.


"I did! Should we go towards it?" Andre says. "Maybe its somebody from the state. I don't think the Japanese would shine a light to get our attention."


"I don't know. What if it is a trick?" Sanders adds.


"I think we should go see what it is." Everyone follows as Andre leads us toward the direction where the light blinked. As we get closer, the light blinks again. The nearer we get, the more it blinks. We are about three feet from it when a voice speaks out of the darkness.


"Follow me. It's okay now. Your safe. We are from the national guard. The plan was going to be to penetrate the Japanese camp in the valley tomorrow, but it looks like you guys are ahead of the program." I feel a nudge on my left side from Emiline, as if to say "how can we trust them?" I give her a nudge implying that we would be okay.


"I can't believe we made it! But how did you guys see us?" Andre asks, stating all of our thoughts for us.


"We have night vision goggles back in the truck. And my name is Joseph just so you know. My partner's name is Angela. Anyhow, every night for the last couple months we have come to the edge of the valley to find information about the Japanese. We think they invaded because of the nuclear weapon production the Sate has had. Tonight we saw you guys running towards our stake out. We didn't know how to signal you, so we tried the flashlight."


"Well now can we stay with you guys? I want to see the night vision goggles!" Emiline asks. She always lightens the mood no matter what.


"I guess so. We can finish the stake out for the night and then take you all to the station in Maryland. By the way, how did you guys manage to escape? We have not seen one other person come out!"



We relay the whole story to Joseph; each of us adding details that nobody else knew about. His expression was priceless. He seemed to be in awe of the fact that a couple of teenagers could escape the Japanese.


I lose my focus on the situation at hand and start day dreaming. I look over the valley to see nothing but pitch-black. I can hear the voices of the Japanese faintly as if conversing over the days events. They seem completely normal, not as if they had just taken over a state or anything. Then I glance back to our group. Sanders, Andre, Emiline, Joseph, and Angela. It seems like I have known them forever. I only met Sanders and Andre a short time ago, and Joseph and Angela a few minutes ago. I draw my attention back to the group while the mystery of future surrounds the air.


"Well, I think we should head back to the station. We can get you guys some actual food and interview you in the lobby. There is a big conference room we can all sit in and I will get my boss to ask you guys some questions. I'm sure we have a big reward for teens who escape Japanese invaders! Well done guys!" Joseph says with admiration.


"I think this will last a long time," Sanders says abruptly. What was he talking about? The interview and the admiration from Joseph? "This, I mean." He points in a circular motion to the group of four. "We have gotten to know each other in such a short time. That never happens! Plus, we make a cool group."


He must have read my mind. Excited "yeah!" noises fill the air in agreement. When we get in the car, I finally close my eyes. Relief is the only emotion I can describe right now. As I doze off, I start to dream of the wonderful future. We run the Japanese out of the state. Unity returns to our state. Unity. That's what it is about this group. We unite, make a difference, escape, and we will fight back against the Japanese together. The unity amongst us is the best feeling. I cannot imagine what it will be like when the Japanese are gone. They will fade away, but our friendship will not because of one thing. Unity.

The End