"Gripp." She pushed on his shoulder. "Can we go now?"
"No." He shook his head. "Not yet. Give it a few more minutes."
She looked at him perplexed but didn't press him on the issue. They waited. He made them wait for a solid ten minutes until he saw a fourth guard walk out beneath the shadow of a tree.
“They had left someone behind just to see if we would come out of hiding.”
April's eyebrows went up, and she looked at him. He gave her a smile in return.
They watched the fourth person walk across the beach and scan the area. He stood there for a few moments before he walked off in the same direction as his comrades.
He had had them wait a little longer just to ensure they were all gone before he pulled the hatch open.
He shimmied down the tree first, checking the ground before he whistled her down. She landed lightly on her feet and adjusted her bag. She adjusted her hair and checked the area.
"We're clear to leave now?" she said, laughing slightly. "It almost seemed too easy."
He headed back toward the beach, then took a right. April stopped a distance away, confused. "That's not the direction we were headed yesterday."
She pointed her thumb to the left. "I thought you said there was a boat hidden on another island, and you said that we needed to get off this one. Why are you heading inthatdirection?"
That was what he had said last night. That was before he really got to thinking and started worrying about the kids. He had no idea if he was actually coming back to the island after he returned her to her father.
For all he knew, he was going back to his jail cell, and the kids were still going to be working until they dropped. He didn't want that. Those kids deserved to be rescued just like April.
They all had families and wanted to go home. They were afraid, and he knew they would haunt his dreams if he left them here.
He turned to her and gave her a grin. "We're rescuing some miners. Those kids were stolen from their homes and forced into service. I can't just leave them there."
He was just lengthening his time outside of jail. They said to bring the girl home. They never said he couldn't take his sweet time doing it. He was going to get those kids out, and then he would take her home.
She adjusted her bag, giving him a blank expression. "Why didn't we do that last night? I had said we should before we left."
He frowned. He knew she wanted to yesterday, but they couldn't. Getting her out was hard enough, let alone sneaking out all the kids.
"We didn't have the upper hand. They have god knows how many soldiers, and I couldn't get you and all of them out as quickly as I wanted." He ran his hand through his hair. He wasn't sure he could this time either, but he wanted to try.
"And I don't expect you to come with me. I know that going back isn't something you're gonna bounce on. You can hang out in the tree if you want. I'll be back."
She scoffed, shaking her head. "Hell, no. You can't have all the fun. I want to help those kids just as badly as you do."
He figured she would say something like that. So he nodded. "All right, but you can't bring everything. I'm not having you lose all your notes after you stapled someone in the head for them."
He nodded his head up toward the tree. "Hide your stuff there, so it’ll be safe if we get caught, and let's go. We have a lot of walking ahead of us."
April was more than eager to put her gear in the tower. He couldn't help but admire her. She was walking straight back into the camp that tortured her. Not a lot of people had the guts to do that, let alone with their heads held high.
She was stronger than he suspected, and he hoped this idea would work. He needed it to. Getting the kids free wasn't part of the original plan, but he couldn't do it any other way.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, wanting her to be a hundred percent sure about this. "You don't have to come."
"I'm coming." She hardened her eyes. "Let's get those kids."
NINE
APRIL
April had mixed feelings about going back to the mine. She was wary and terrified of what could happen. They could be caught and beaten to death. They could rape her and force her into working there.