Alexis POV

We slept in the clearing that night. Curled up in my green sleeping bag next to Cassie in her purple one, I was genuinely happy. It was cold out here and the ground was covered in sticks and rocks that dug into my back, but I would take this over a dog crate any day.

I fell asleep quickly and woke the next morning expecting to see the bright fluorescent lights above my head, smell the antiseptic scent in the air that made me shudder, and feel the stuffy air in my cramped dog crate.

What I found instead surprised me for a moment. The bright sun beaming down on me, the light, sweet smell of the forest around me, and the crisp, cool air of our clearing. I then remembered everything that had happened the past few days, and I grinned and sat up, stretching.

I glanced around and saw only Brendan awake. He was lying in his sleeping bag with his eyes staring thoughtfully into the bright blue cloudless sky. I clambered out of my sleeping bag and went to crouch next to Brendan, startling him.

"Morning," he said, smiling at me.

"Morning."

"Hey, Lexi... Do you think I'm annoying?"

The question surprised me. "Yes, very," I replied playfully.

He scowled at me. "No, really."

I blinked. "No. Of course not. I mean... sometimes you can get a bit... energetic... but I don't think you're annoying." I paused. "Why? Do you think you're annoying?"

He shook his head. "I guess not." He grinned. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, what's up? You excited about... everything?"

I nodded happily. "I wonder why Jeb wants us, though. It's not like we've got much experience with... well, anything."

He shrugged. "Who cares? The man saved us. I'd take a bullet for him if I had to." My eyes widened in alarm. "Not literally, of course," he added gently.

Just then Cassie sat up, and soon everyone was up. We each ate a few Poptarts to curb our hunger then set off. Nikki, whom Nico had officially titled "second-in-command," had helped Nico to figure out the map and now we knew which way to go. I hoped everything would go smoothly from here on out.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before something very un-smooth occurred.

We'd been trekking along for maybe an hour. Nico and Nikki were in the front, glancing at the map every now and then. Cassie was walking with Mitchel riding on her shoulders, and Brendan and I were in back, talking and laughing. I took a swig from my water bottle.

Suddenly a noise in the distance made us all stop and look up in alarm. It had sounded like... almost like a scream. But that couldn't be right. We were in the middle of nowhere. We hadn't seen a house at all since we'd left the town. So who could this be, out here in the middle of the woods? And why were they screaming?

"Probably just some campers or something, playing around," Nico said uncertainly. We continued along slowly.

No more than five minutes later, the noise came again, much closer this time, making our ears perk up. It was clear now - this was no camper. There was a person here that needed help.

We broke into a run, traveling in the direction we thought the noises had come from. Before long, we could hear heavy breathing and small cries of pain. Tell-tale signs of a fight. Nico stopped dead, and I ran into him. "What?" I said urgently.

"There." He pointed through the trees. I peered uncertainly in that direction. What I saw nearly made my heart stop.

There was a girl here. Blood ran down her cheek, she had no shoes, and her hair was a tangled mess. She was holding her own against six Erasers. Three more lay passed out at her feet.

And she didn't look like she could hold out much longer.