A/N: Thank you sooooooooooo much to elledreamer and spinkle22 for your great reviews and helpful comments. I really appreciate it and you have inspired me to write more. A new chapter should be up fairly soon. Please review this new chapter and give me any more helpful advice.
Li was desperate. Everywhere she looked, thick, grey smoke surrounded her. She couldn't breath and was coughing constantly. Stumbling along the corridor, she heard a loud bang, then a triumphant cry. It sounded like, 'We're saved'. Li shook her head, and tried to clear her mind, but it was no use. She had to get out. Now.
Staggering along the hall, Li kept one hand firming against the wall, so she didn't loose her way and end up even deeper into the heart of the building. For what seemed like ages, she walked automatically, coughing every now and then in an attempt to clear her lungs of the foul smoke.
She almost missed the door. Li's hand skimmed over air, as the door wasn't level with the wall. Her confused brain had trouble processing the new information, and she continued walking until her hand touched the wall again. After a few more steps, Li seemed to realise that there was a piece of wall missing and she retraced her steps. Leaning towards the "hole", Li discovered that it was door. It was made of metal and cold under her hand.
Li pushed her hand over the door, searching for a handle. Come on! Where are you? Her hand hit a small bar and she pressed it down triumphantly. Aha! Got you! Li flung open the door and stumbled through, noticing the ebony black sky with small white flecks scattered across it. Stars, Li thought without making the connection. She heaved in great lung fulls of air and then stopped. She looked up again and saw the twinkling lights far in the distance. Stars. Stars mean night sky and night sky means... She gave a whoop of delight, but her celebration was cut short by a fit of coughing. Her chest ached after a minute or so of continuous coughing, and she felt light-headed. With a groan, Li sank to the ground. Another fit of coughing hit her and her throat felt as though she had swallowed sandpaper. Gasping for breath, Li felt her vision swim. Black shadows edged across her eyes and she collapsed.
Hex gave a whoop of joy and pulled Amber closer to the cupboard. She stared at the door and the attached piece of paper for a few minutes, then shook her head.
'What's so exciting about a piece of paper?' she asked. Hex sighed and rolled his eyes.
'It's not that.' He pushed her head gently towards the paper. 'It's what's on it.'
Amber stared at the page with wonder. All she could she through the smoke was some lines and a couple of black smudges. She shook her head again. Hex was getting exasperated.
'It's a bloody fire evacuation map!' He waved a hand in front of the paper to try and clear some of the smoke and Amber finally saw what the paper contained.
It was a large, white sheet of cardboard, laminated and stuck to the cupboard with drawing pins. In the centre of the map was a huge, red dot with the words "you are here" printed in big, bold text. Around this was a simple map of the building, with a dotted line leading them to the back door. By looking at the map, Hex had just about confirmed his theory of their cell being at the back of the building. They were so intent on studying the map and making sure that they knew their way to the back door, they didn't see the figure loom out of the smoke towards them. By the time they realised, it was too late.
Paulo and Alex had been wandering around for hours. Instead of going back to their hotel, they had booked new accommodation at their destination. Just in case Li, Amber or Hex did escape if they were being held captive, they wanted to be near to aid them in any way they could.
It was getting very late and the two boys were about to head back to their hotel room and try to get some sleep, when they saw smoke. It was billowing upwards but couldn't have been there very long, as they hadn't noticed it on their walks around the streets.
On reflex, they both broke into a run, pounding down the street towards the smoke. The building was opposite the railway station and several people were running from there to help. A few of the people from the building had gotten out, and they were sitting or standing, coughing loudly. Alex pushed his way through the crowd towards a young woman lying on the ground. Her face was deathly pale and she was breathing shallowly. Alex was a few metres away, when he stopped. The man who he had seen from his hotel window just a few nights ago, was kneeling down by the woman's head and talking to her quietly. Paulo had followed Alex over and was now whispering in Alex's ear.
'What is it?' Alex turned around so he was facing his friend, his face clouded with fury.
'That's the guy I saw buying the baby. He was the one who hired Li. I bet he has something to do with her, Amber and Hex's disappearances.' Paulo glared at him and clenched his hands into fists. He moved forward, but Alex moved in front of him. He shook his head and was about to try and calm his friend down, when a piercing scream cut through the night. They looked at each other, then ran round the side of the flaming building, dreading what they might find.
The man had grabbed Amber around the waist and held a gun to her temple. He flicked his head to the side, then looked pointedly at Hex. He got the message. Move or she gets it. He hurried out of the room and almost collided with another man. He was huge, towering above Hex and was almost as wide as he was tall. The man grinned at Hex, then beckoned to him. Amber was still being held by the first man, who had also emerged from the room and was standing behind Hex. With a frustrated sigh, Hex followed the giant down the passage.
It took them only a few minutes to reach the back door. Hex felt frustrated and angry. They had been so close. Now, he and Amber were in danger again. As soon as they stepped outside, Hex took deep breath, feeling the clear night air flow down his parched throat and into his lungs. He felt a bit light headed but that soon passed. There were other things to worry about.
Amber didn't look very well. She had a grey tinge around her mouth and was looking very unstable on her feet. Hex didn't know whether Amber hadn't had her evening insulin dose yet, but he didn't dare say anything in case the guards heard and used it against her. She looked at Hex with huge, startled eyes and he felt a longing to go and comfort her. It'll be ok, he mouthed at her. Amber's brown eyes grew sad and she shook her head. They were interrupted by a loud scream, coming from the direction of a vehicle parked in the corner of the yard.
Li had lay on the ground for what seemed like hours. She had never felt so tired and drained of energy in her life. Normally she was bright, happy, energetic Li. Never shys away from a challenge, the more dangerous the better. But all she wanted to do now was to be safe. She wanted to be with her friends and family again. To be able to just relax and not worry about the flames blazing in the building behind her.
She coughed again and a surprised yell came from the corner of the yard. There was the sound of crunching gravel, then Li was jerked to her feet. There were two men, Chinese and dressed in sharp suits. They looked critically at Li, then the first man picked her up and took her across to a jeep-type vehicle just like the one the Scorpion had used to transport his child slaves. Li shuddered at the memory and suddenly it all came flashing back. The man turned into the Scorpion and she could see Hakim struggling in the sand and clutching his leg. Li screamed and tried to pull away. She hit the man with her fists, but she was so weak it did nothing. Sobbing with fear and desperation, Li gave up and let the men bundle her into the back of the jeep.
Alex was just in front of Paulo. He rounded the corner of the building and stopped dead. Paulo cannoned into his back and Alex gave a yell as he fell flat on his face. Paulo tripped over Alex and they ended up in a tangle of arms and legs on the gravel courtyard. There were angry shouts, then two men strode over and hauled the boys to their feet.
'Alex! Paulo!' They whipped their heads round in the direction of the shout. Hex was standing a few metres from Amber. Both were held by burly guards.
Paulo had been taken in front of Alex and reached the jeep first. The guard pulled back the cover and in the half light he saw a familiar, slight figure hunched up in the corner of the truck. Her black hair was covered in ash and soot and it hung like a screen in front of her face. Paulo was released by the guard and he hurried to her side.
'Li,' he said softly. Her head jerked up, eyes big with terror. When she saw it was Paulo, Li gave a sob and threw herself at him. Paulo caught her in his arms and hugged her tight. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed louder.
They were still like this a few moments later when Alex was thrown into the jeep, closely followed by Hex and Amber. Alex sat on the bench running along the left hand side of the truck, next to Li and Paulo, while Hex sat on the opposite bench. Amber was shaking and on the verge of tears. She took a step forward and stumbled. Hex steadied her and helped her sit on the bench next to him. Li and Paulo had pulled apart but were still sitting close to each other next to Alex and Paulo had his arm around Li's shoulders.
Amber looked at her friend's terrified faces and the situation suddenly seemed too much. She gave a groan and tears seeped out of her eyes and rolled down her face. Hex compulsively reached out and drew her close to him. She leaned against Hex and cried harder. Alex looked at Hex in surprise then quickly dropped his gaze when he saw his friend's expression.
After a few minutes, Amber sat back up. She hadn't been crying for a little while now but had stayed close to Hex for comfort. For some reason, she had felt safer as soon as he had pulled her closer to him. She had felt hopeful. That maybe they would get out and still help the babies. Amber smiled gently at Hex as she sat up.
'Sorry about that,' she said quietly. Hex smiled back and shook his head.
'S'ok.' He looked into her eyes and Amber felt her heart quicken. Whoa. Hold on a minute, she thought. Amber dropped her gaze and quickly fiddled wit her belt pouch, pulling out the chunky pen that contained a pre-set dose of insulin. Amber injected it into her leg, then put the pen away. By this time, she had calmed down and felt that she was able to look around the truck without giving anything away.
Paulo and Li were fast asleep, leaning up against each other, Paulo still with his arm around Li. Hex had shifted over to Alex and they were quietly discussing the past day. Amber gave a startled squeal as the truck moved. She gripped the bench tightly and shared a look of horror with Hex and Alex. They were moving. But where to? And what awaited them at their final destination?