A/N: Really happy to know this has found some fans ... :) Thanks for reviewing!

It wouldn't come out as nicely without a lovely beta-reader, though. So once more thanks to Awilliamsbbc.98 for taking the time to have a look at it before it's posted!

Cheerio!

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Chapter 6: A Midnight Surprise

The evening passed by slowly. About an hour after Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann had joined Dinah in her prison the door was unlocked again and one of the men came in and gave them a few scraps of food and water. But it was clear that their kidnappers expected them to share between four what was really a scrawny portion for only one person.

Soon after they had devoured all but the last crumb they decided it was time to get some rest. The boys sprawled out on rugs on the floor, and so did Dinah, while Lucy-Ann occupied the one narrow bed there was in the room. Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann fell asleep quickly, for they were tired out from their walk around the lake and the strenuous ascend towards Tilda's and Rory's house.

But Dinah lay awake for a long while. At one time she was about to doze off when next to her Jack rolled over in his sleep and unknowingly shoved his arm into her face, while squashing her up against the wall with the rest of his body. Of course she was wide awake after that! Angrily, she dug her elbow into his ribs, but he merely grunted something and rolled back over to the other side. Having some room for herself once more, she tried to get comfortable again, but sleep just wouldn't come.

On Jack's other side Philip gave low snores that told Dinah that he was very deeply asleep indeed. Although they were really very faint, the noise of his snores sounded unbelievingly loud in the silence of the night. Dinah wondered how Jack had managed to put up with it over all the years they had constantly shared a room – at school and at home too!

When it became clear that she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, Dinah finally struggled up – first into a sitting position, and then to her feet. Carefully as not to wake them, she climbed over the sleeping boys and tiptoed to the door. She didn't know really what made her try the knob – for certainly they were still locked in – but when she did, the door gave way!

Her heart beating fast Dinah opened it a little bit and listened. There were no noises to be heard at all. Were the men asleep? Or had they left the house already? And who had unlocked the door? Had it even been locked in the first place after they had been given their skimpy meal some hours ago?

Whatever the case – Dinah wasn't going to risk their chance to escape by wasting time on trying to figure out why the door wasn't locked! As quietly as she could she slipped back into the room and first woke up Lucy-Ann before they both shook the boys from their sleep. Jack was soon wide awake – he was a light sleeper – but it took a while with Philip, who kept rolling over and falling back to sleep. Finally Dinah gave him a hearty pinch on the arm, making him sit up straight a second later.

'Blow you, Dinah – whatever are you –' he began to rant, but his sister quickly put a hand over his mouth.

'Shhhhh!' she said, seeing in what little light the moon shone in past the planks at the window that Philip was quite ready to protest very strongly against be woken in the middle of the night. And in such a way too! 'The door – it's unlocked,' she explained in a whisper. 'All we'll have to do is walk out.'

'And then what? We're in the middle of nowhere,' replied Philip, his voice now as low as Dinah's. He was grumpy, and it didn't help that he could still feel the spot on his arm where she had pinched him.

Dinah gave him a very impatient look. 'So?' she asked. 'Would you prefer to stay here?'

Equally impatient, Philip shook his head. 'No, of course not. But should we really go in the middle of the night? And if so, oughtn't we to take at least some food supplies with us?'

'Surely, you're not planning to search the house in the middle of the night, Philip,' said Lucy-Ann. 'After all, we don't know if the men are still here.'

'I haven't heard a sound for hours,' whispered Dinah, 'and I was awake most of the time. I suppose they might have gone already to dig up their theft and disappear for good! Maybe they buried it all somewhere where they can only safely dig it up at night.'

'But we can't say for sure,' said Lucy-Ann. 'They might be fast asleep in the next room'

'I say we shall go now while we still have a chance,' Jack decided. 'We can stick around somewhere near the house for a bit – find a hiding place in the woods and wait there till morning. We'd just break our legs trying to escape through the woods in the dark. If by morning time we see that the men are still around we'll just make a run for it before they catch us again – but if they're gone we'll have a look see if they've left any supplies behind. – Golly, I'm hungry again already.'

'Well, you'll have to wait until morning. But we'll do it the way you said,' announced Philip and the girls agreed.

Secretly, Dinah wasn't keen on spending the night out in the woods with beetles and spiders crawling all around in the dark, but she knew if the men had left the door unlocked by mistake, their time frame for making an escape was small. As quietly as they could, the four of them tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. The steps creaked a little under their weight, and Lucy-Ann felt as if the whole world should be able to hear her heart beating at the sound of it. But nothing happened! They made it safely out of the front door and into the shadows of the forest while the house lay behind them, calm and quiet.

As Jack had expected it was very difficult to walk through the forest at night. Even if the sky was clear the trees shaded them from what little light the moon supplied and several times they stumbled over boughs that lay about or tree roots that protruded from the ground. Dinah once fell and only just managed to catch herself with her hands to avoid landing flat on her face. After that incident Jack insisted they stopped and hid in the bushes until morning, even though they hadn't come far yet.

Lucy-Ann and Dinah huddled up together in a thick bush while the boys just sat down on the soft, mossy ground and agreed on taking turns in watching out for the men. It was decided that Jack should take the first watch and soon he was the only one awake. To keep himself warm and avoid falling asleep he began to bounce his leg up and down, but he was careful not to wake Philip who had curled up right next to him.

Several times Jack thought he heard a squawk coming from somewhere in the darkness and every time he would listen with his heart beating fast, wondering if Kiki was somewhere about. But if she was, she hadn't noticed her beloved Jack being so close, for she didn't come to him.

When it was time for Philip to go on watch Jack had a surprisingly easy time waking him. The soil beneath them was slightly moist despite the summer weather, and sleeping out in the open with just a thin shirt and shorts on was uncomfortable. Philip began his watch feeling very cold and stiff but he was glad to see that there was already a faint light glowing in the east, foreboding the upcoming dawn. Still, it would be uncomfortably long before the sun would be strong enough to chase away the morning chill.

Hugging himself against the coolness of the night Philip cautiously walked up and down a small path in the undergrowth he could only just make out in the dawning light. He was careful to keep his senses alert, listening closely for any noises coming from the nearby house.

And then there they were! It started with an angry yell, coming through an open window. 'they're gone! Hurry everyone, get up!'

Soon more voices could be heard, ranting and swearing. There was no time to be lost! Quickly Philip woke up Jack and the girls and they all came to very fast.

'They've already noticed we're gone,' Philip told the others. 'We'll have to make a run for it.'

'Blow,' said Jack. 'Now we can forget about raiding the house for food! I'm starving!'

'Which way should we go?' said Lucy-Ann, clutching at Dinah's shirt in fright.

It still wasn't very bright yet but at least by now they could see each others outlines – and watch where they were putting their feet. Jack took the lead. He had no idea which way they should go but there was no time to give it much thought. They would have find a place to hide themselves.

A sudden noise tore through early morning quietness. A gunshot! But whom or what were the men shooting at? Were they just trying to scare them or had the four been seen already?

'Hurry!' called out Philip who was last in the line. 'I say – that sounded awfully close, I'm not keen on catching a bullet!'

They ran through forest, passing bushes and trees, desperate to put space between them and their kidnappers. But it felt as if the men were catching up. Lucy-Ann would have started to cry if she hadn't been too out of breath from trying to keep up with her brother's pace. Then suddenly a slender figure appeared in their line of sight, rounding a thick bush in front of them.

'Isabel!' exclaimed Jack, skidding to a halt to avoid running into her. Dinah almost crashed into him from behind.

'Yes, it's me you stupid idiots,' said Isabel, who was panting a little. 'I thought you might be far away by now, instead of sleeping just outside the cabin and causing such a racket in the morning. Do you want to be caught again?'

She made a gesture that made it clear she wanted them all to follow. Jack looked around at the others wondering if he should trust Isabel, but the girls and Philip merely shrugged. They were all very confused with Isabel's behaviour. Whose side was she really on? And if they followed her, would they run right into the next trap?

On the other hand it was quite clear that if they remained standing where they were, they would be caught in any case. Jack decided that they had no other chance but to follow Isabel. At least, she was bound to know the woods well enough to find a hiding place in time before the men would catch up. With a nod he signaled his willingness to trust her – for now.

She led them in a criss crossing trail through the thick undergrowth until they reached a very wide, very old tree.

'Get inside,' she whispered.

Only then Jack saw that the trunk was hollow. Through a narrow opening one could get inside!

'It's a good hiding place,' Isabel explained, keeping her voice low. 'Klaus and the others will stop searching soon if they don't find us. They'll want to leave the country before tonight!'

It was a tight squeeze to get inside the tree trunk. Jack and Isabel went in first and they had to climb up a bit on the inside so that the others could crouch together on the ground. Now they waited. Lucy-Ann felt her heart thumb wildly in her chest and in her anxiety she clutched Dinah's hand tightly. Nothing happened at first but then Isabel whispered from above, 'shhh, very quiet now. Here comes Klaus. I do hope he doesn't know the tree is hollow.'

Peering over the edge of the hollow trunk Jack could see Klaus approaching with his gun held at the ready. He came nearer and nearer and Jack barely dared to breath. Klaus had almost reached the tree now. He would just have to look sideways a little and he would be able to spot Dinah's legs through the opening in the tree trunk.

But then an unexpected voice caught the man's attention. 'Polly, put the kettle on. And don't sniff! Where's your handkerchief?'

Klaus stopped for a moment and strained his ears. Who had spoken? The voice had sounded like that of the tall redhead. But would he be so stupid as to give up his cover for such silly things to say?

But it was Kiki, of course! She had imitated Jack's voice, talking to herself; something she often did when she was away from Jack and feeling lonely.

At hearing Kiki talk Jack's heart began to beat even faster than before. Where was she? He couldn't see her, but he thought he knew which direction her voice was coming from. He glanced at Isabel and she put her finger across her lips, rolling her eyes downward to where Klaus still stood with his gun in hand.

Just below the tree the man stood, gazing around himself. Then the voice came again. 'Can't you shut the door, idiot? How many times do I have to tell you?'

Klaus, who had completely forgotten about the encounter with Kiki the day before, felt very irritated now. Were their escaped hostages mocking him? He had shut the door and locked them well in but somehow they were free now. It wasn't his fault, though – they shouldn't be making fun of him!

'Na wartet, ihr kleinen Biester,' he drawled in his own language and made to go in the direction the voice had come from.

As soon as he was out of sight, Isabel climbed down inside the tree and slipped out past Dinah. She was away for about five minutes, then she returned. 'Quick now,' she said in a low voice. 'We need to get to my car. It's about three miles from here, parked on a field. Hurry up, everyone!'

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A/N: Just a little incidental remark: I do keep trying to stick with the books concerning everyone's description and characterisation. Sometimes, though, I do add things ... such as Philip's snoring for instance :) I know it's never mentioned in the books that he does snore, though it isn't mentioned that he doesn't, either. And for some reason or other he always seems to do in my fics :) (poor Jack has to put up with that)