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Kitty

A chilling breeze blew along the Thames, whipping up the waters and whistling through the alcoves of the government buildings. Four silent black shadows moved through the back alleys of central London, stealing cover in the dark and treading noiselessly through the debris of dereliction. There was no one about. Curfew was in practise, and the four shadows kept well away from the main roads, where search spheres drifted.

It was about 3 o'clock in the morning when she, along with three others from the new resistance, arrived at the back of Mandrake's moonlit house. Her friends remained crouched behind the back wall whilst she picked her way through the small garden. Kitty then began to ascend the rear of the building.

There was no nexus, no patrolling demons, and no alarm; however one of her friends had detected magical presences within the house. She would have to be as stealthy as a fox if she had any hope of carrying out this plan smoothly. It was a miracle there was so little defences. But the absence made her terribly uneasy.

Not sure which floor to enter, she went with her instincts and chose the top one. Knowing Mandrake – he'd have wanted the child as far away from him as possible. A flush of anger shot through Kitty as she passed the second story window, using suckers, gripping shoes and a lot of muscle to heave her way up. Of course Mandrake would imprison her child at the top of the house like a servant not fit to be seen.

She reached the top window and peered inside. The moon cast barely enough light to see any of the interior, but she could just about make out a cot, a chest of draws and a rug close to the window. Looking back at her comrades and receiving an all-clear signal, she crouched on the narrow ledge and opened the window using a pry bar as quietly as she could.

Sliding the window pane upwards to allow enough room to slink inside, Kitty slid through the gap and stood in the room. She allowed a few moments for her eyes to adjust and sure enough, there, sleeping soundly in the cot, was her child.

Filled with an aching relief at seeing her child after over a week of separation, Kitty almost stepped forward on instinct. But, she remembered her training. There could be trip wires or demons nearby that she couldn't detect. Regaining her senses, she quickly surveyed the rest of the room from her position. She slipped her hand into her pocket, where a silver disk hid. Brandishing it, she silently did a circuit of the room, ready to pounce at any moment.

Strangely, there was nothing there awaiting her in the dark. Swallowing hard and wanting to leave as fast as she could, she went to the toddler and gently picked him up. As tenderly as she could, she fitted him into her back baby carrier. It was a snug fit, and it was a miracle he didn't wake up. He must have had a long day, Kitty thought.

With her son in the carrier on her back, she quickly advanced towards the window, sliding out with suckers ready on her palms.

Hardly breathing and scarcely believing there had been no attack or protection, Kitty lowered the window back down. Her black gloves stopped her finger prints from being recognised, a useful habit she had picked up from the old resistance. Balancing like an acrobat, she descended the wall.

Upon reaching the ground, she trod carefully through the garden towards her friends. Her son stirred in his sleep on her back. Just a few more meters...

Suddenly, a light turned on behind her, and the back door of the house swung open.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as she turned her head. John Mandrake stood at the door, dressed in nothing but boxers and slippers. One hand was holding a steaming mug of what looked like tea, and the other hand was on the door handle. A small lamp to the left of the door had been turned on, illuminating Mandrake and the garden where she stood with a soft wash of light.

He looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

He was taller, less lanky and his hair was much shorter. But other than that, it was the same pale faced, wide-eyed boy who she'd saved the life of all those years before.

His jaw hung a little slack, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Kitty knew it was time to leave.

Kitty only held his eyes for a second before she was at the back of the garden and over the brick wall. The encounter had only lasted a few seconds at most. But it was enough.

Breathing hard, with her heart in her throat, Kitty rejoined her team and headed south with urgency. Never looking back for fear of what might come after them.

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They had managed to clear central London by the time the sun had risen, moving swiftly and stealthily through a pre-planned route. Their strategy was to travel by foot and to avoid detection in order to safely escape London, unable to be tracked.

Kitty knew that there would be forces sent out to find her child, but the group including her, were prepared. Each member carried a bag filled to the brim with supplies. Inferno sticks, silver blades, elemental spheres, cubes of herbs and rare items such as amulets. They didn't know what might be sent after them, but at least with this they had a fighting chance.

The group were currently walking through some woodland near to a main road, sticking to single file and moving fast. Although her legs were aching Kitty forced herself to keep going. Her son had woken up about an hour ago and after being fed, was enjoying the ride on her back without complaint. Trudging along, Kitty had plenty of time to think about the future she was hastily moving towards.

After a week of intensive planning, Kitty had decided the best option for her and her child was to live abroad with Jacob in Prague until he was old enough to defend himself. Then, she would come back to Britain and help with establishing a commoner's government with the help of her son.

Out of the group, Kitty was the only one planning to escape the country. The rest were going to start new lives in remote villages the south coast, away from the danger until a later date. They were travelling together for safety, and had all previously known each other in the neo-resistance.

In front of her was a auburn haired young man named Matthew Grant. Known to all as, 'Matt', he had become actively involved in underground activity after night police arrested his parents on suspicion of being involved with artefact thefts a few years previous. They had been deported to the colonies when he was only 16. He was friendly and outgoing, but sometimes did seem a bit overzealous and irrational when angry. He planned to 'rally forces' in the south by looking for those with abilities, but Kitty was a little dubious about how he was going to carry it out. In some ways he reminded Kitty of the ex-resistance member, Nick Drew.

In front of Matt, leading her small group on the route was Laura Stoker. She was in her mid forties and had a long history of suffering under the magicians through family tragedies and unfortunate circumstances. Fiery and incredibly intelligent, she put in a lot of effort into the cause. Laura was short and stout, with a head of thick brown hair that reached half way down her back. She had become involved through meetings at the frog inn and wished to live near her relatives, safe in Dover.

Leading the way south, she had a map in her hands and although her legs were short, she was making quick work of the difficult terrain.

"You all ok back there?" she asked like the mother goose, pushing aside some shrubbery. Sounds of tired confirmation reached her ears. "Good work, keep it up!"

Lastly, tagging along behind her was Jess Young. She was in her late teens, only a little younger than Kitty herself. Jess had long blonde hair and a smattering of freckles on her delicate face; her body was thin and slight. Her fragile appearance was countered with an incredibly bossy nature and an iron determination that even Kitty had to admire. Her dedication to the cause meant that she was going with Matt to help hunt people with resilience or magic ability.

After a few hours of walking. The rag-tag team took a break by a small stream. The sun was still rising in the sky. Matt reckoned it was nearing 9 o'clock.

Kitty took her son out of the baby carrier so he could stretch his legs. He looked a little wary of the new people, but otherwise he looked fine.

"Is he hurt at all? We didn't have time to check before." Laura asked from the tree trunk she was perching on.

"I don't think so." Kitty responded as she checked him all over for any signs of injury or harm.

"It's a miracle they didn't harm him at all." Jess said, "We're lucky he's ok."

Matt grinned down at the toddler. "It's good to have you back, Alexander."

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The day progressed slowly. The crew walked virtually non-stop and had to be on constant guard for enemies or threats. Their food provisions kept their stomachs at bay, but the physical exhaustion was crippling. Alex hitched rides on all four of the members, and so was spared the exercise.

They were making good progress by the second day, and had made it as far as East Grinstead before they encountered any danger.

The rebels had entered a small village to stock up on supplies. Whilst Matt was in the shop haggling for cans of food, the rest were in an alley nearby, resting their sore feet and massaging their backs.

A single voice caused them to all turn simultaneously.

"Are you the members of the new resistance that escaped London yesterday?"

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Omg I'm literally writing three chapters a week I've gone crazy.
We finally found out the child's name! I chose Alexander because it means 'defender of people' :D