Ben looked around the room. The moon shone bright in the sky. Ben heard the peaceful breathing of the boys in the room. He felt scared. He missed Teddy. He went over to the window and peered out. He looked over at the forest and wondered whether he could go there. He turned back and looked at the lifeless, colourless room. Ben slid back into bed and closed his eyes. He heard someone tap on his shoulder, it was Jonathan. Ben opened his eyes dreamily. Jonathan shook him and Ben sprang up. He heard other boys behind him tell him to be quiet.
"Ben... Do you want you want to get out of here?" asked Jonathan quietly. Ben looked around, behind him stood 5 older boys including Alastor.
"Jon! We've been planning for this for so long, we can't let him come." whispered furiously one boy.
"Yes we can, he's only a kid." Jonathan said.
"That's the problem, he's only a kid." A tall boy with blond hair hissed.
"We can't leave him. He doesn't fit in here. I'll ask him if he wants to come." Jonathan turned to Ben, "Do you want to come with us? Leave this place? Forever?" Ben looked at Jonathan and then the boys.
"Yes yes I do." He said firmly. The other boys groaned.
"Well then Ben, listen carefully, you will listen to all of us and obey us. We have been planning this escape for weeks, only the boys who wanted to come are coming, so, me, you, Theo, Marlon, Alex and Timon. Understand?" asked Jonathan, "Alastor is only here to we'll see us off but he doesn't want to leave. He's got to take care of the other kids. You must be quiet and follow our lead." Ben nodded vigorously. All the boys were dressed in their daily clothes and Ben quickly slipped his on.

"How about my suitcase?" he asked shyly.
"Your suitcase is Mr Tillett's and you can't change that anymore. Now come. We're running out of time." breathed a boy with glasses.
"Ok Marlon, let's go." Jonathan sighed. Marlon, the boy with glasses nodded and they headed for the door. Alastor opened it for them quietly then pressed some cheese into Jonathan's palm.
"Good luck Jon. Take care Alex. Have a good life Theo. Take care of them Timon." Alastor said nodding, his grim eyes looking over them.
"Nice meeting you Ben." Alastor saluted. Ben smiled and nodded. They then slipped out of the room and into the corridor. Stinge sat slumped on a chair in the hallway. Ben almost jumped in fright but Timon, the tallest boy with light brown hair covered his mouth and lead him away. The boys, wordlessly slipped past Stinge and towards the bathroom. They didn't turn on the lights in the bathroom. Jonathan pulled Ben inside and Timon and Theo stayed outside guarding the entrance. Marlon slipped into one bathroom and Jonathan into another. Ben waited outside with Alex. Jonathan emerged with a knife in hand and Marlon came back with a small sack with food.
"We've been stocking up for this day." explained Jonathan. Marlon glared at him and he closed his mouth quickly. The 4 boys tiptoed out of the bathroom and joined Theo and Timon. They nodded silently at each other and carried on going further down the corridor. They snuck around a corner, silence pierced the air. Ben was pumped with adrenaline. They slunk past paintings and doors and suddenly, Timon, who was leading, stopped. He put his hand out, asking them to wait then moved forward. Ben watched his shadow as he crawled on the ground and peered into an open door. The boys held their breaths as Timon looked in then crawled past the door. After the door, there was a staircase. Timon edged towards the staircase and gave a thumbs up.
"Tillett room." breathed Jonathan. Ben cringed and closed his eyes. Next Theo creeped past the door, then Marlon, followed by Alex. Jonathan nodded at Ben to go next. Ben pulled himself across the floor and as he past the door, he saw the outline of a bed in the room. The bed was big, bigger than the Kennedys and Ben stopped to stare it for a moment but Timon pulled him towards the stairs. Theo, Alex and Marlon then took Ben by the arm and led him down a few stairs. The stairs creaked softly and they quickly froze. They waited for a while before Alex continued walking down to check the area. Meanwhile, Ben could still see Jonathan slithering on the floor. Timon stood next to the door watching Jonathan. Suddenly, Jonathan kicked the door by accident as he reached Timon. Ben's eyes widened in fear and he felt Theo tugging him down the stairs. He followed Theo and Marlon down the stairs and turned around in time to see Jonathan getting up and he and Timon rushing towards them. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ben heard a loud noise upstairs. He looked around in terror and Alex pulled him into a small hole behind the stairs. He felt eh breath of the other boys as they waited for the last 2 boys under the stairs. Ben waited desperately for Jonathan then heard their footsteps running down the stairs. He was relieved until he heard shouting.
"Kids! Get back here! STINGE! COWELL!" Mr Tilletts voice rung out around the house. He then heard him running above them. Suddenly Timon appeared and Ben rolled out of their way as Jonathan and Timon dodged and slithered under the stairs with them. Ben smiled at Jonathan and Jonathan squeezed his hand warmly. They boys kept quiet. They heard pounding on the stairs and Mr Tillett appeared followed by Stinge and a thin man with a long whip in his hand. Ben shivered at the sight. Timon put his finger to his mouth.
"Go to the kitchen get Herbert, make sure they didn't steal anything Stinge. I'm going outside. Cowell you patrol around here. Use the whip and bring them to my office if you find them. I want to punish them myself." ordered Mr Tillett before charging off outside. Cowell prowled the hall and stairs making it dangerous for the boys to escape. They kept quiet. After what seemed like hours, they heard a commotion coming from upstairs.
"Cowell!!!! We need you! Get here!" yelled Mr Tillett. Cowell darted up the stairs and Timon quickly pulled the others out. They ran for a small door at the end of the hallway and into a courtyard. Ben followed the boys into a barn. The barn was dark and old. It smelled of hay and horse dung. Jonathan hid behind one of the big hay bales and the others followed him.

"They should be here soon." whispered Timon. Ben didn't know what he was talking about but the others nodded. Soon, someone opened the door and came in.
"It's us Timon. Are you here?" whispered a girl's voice.
"Behind the bales'" Timon replied. A few people tiptoed to wards them and appeared behind the hay bales, 4 girls wearing their daily clothes.
"Hey guys. We had some trouble running out, Stonge woke up so Persephone made a quick distraction for us. She's going to be in deep trouble." The oldest girl said somberly, she had long dark black hair and looked about 14 like Timon, her name was Mara. The second tallest was a girl named Autumn, she had light ginger hair and dark auburn eyes. Another girl, with light brown, short hair was named Ivy and the last, youngest girl, about 12 was called Sofia.

"Oh no." Timon made a face.

"We need to get going." pressed Marlon worriedly.
"Yes we do. No time to talk. Let's go." Mara looked at Ben, "Someone made a last minute change of mind to come?" ben turned to Jonathan who placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"No Mara. He's the new kid." explained Jonathan. She nodded and waved for them to follow her. Mara lead the group towards the forest and Timon took the rear. They entered the forest.

Crickets chirped and howls hooted. The moon lit up a faint path for them. The trekked across the forest and towards a stream. Soon they reached the stream and followed the stream downstream. They trekked in a line till dawn. As the sun started to rise, everyone was exhausted. Ben shivered in the cool air and Jonathan wrapped an arm around him. Ben's feet were numb and he shivered in the cold. Dew dripped from the leaves from the trees. The group stopped under a large tree and Autumn volunteered to climb to check where they were. Ben collapsed on the ground and took deep breaths. The others leaned on the tree and closed their eyes. Timon and Mara stood together and talked in hushed tones. Ben listened to the rustling of the leaves and the birds chirping merrily. Jonathan shuffled over and lay beside him.
"It's beautiful isn't it? It's my first time since years I've been out in nature. Enjoying it." Signed Jonathan.

"Why not? Don't you go out at that Tillett place?" asked Ben.
"That Tillett place is a sort of orphanage. But it's not a good one. Like for all the kids no one cares about." confessed Jonathan.
"Oh. Do you think the Kennedys miss me?" asked Ben.
"Well,.... Even if they do, it doesn't matter, we have each other."
"Oh ok. That's' true."
"Everybody! I can see Alfriston from up here. We should be able to get there in a few hours." declared Autumn. Everybody clapped. Then Timon asked everyone to sit in a circle. The all sat in a circle. Timon took the sac they had taken from the bathroom and opened it. He pulled out a wet and a bit moldy loaf of bread, which wasn't very big and a container of goop. He peeled a piece of bread off and passed the loaf to Alex, who was sitting next to him. Alex took a piece for himself and passed the loaf to Theo. After they had all had a share of bread, they kept it in the bag. Mara then took out her sac of her own and opened it, inside there was 2 carrots and a raw potato. She took the 2 carrots and took a bite of one. She passed them to Timon who then bit a little bit then passed it to Theo. They passed the carrot around then Jonathan showed them the cheese he had kept from Alastor. They shared it greedily before drinking from the stream.
"We can eat the porridge when we arrive and cook the potato later." announced Mara. After half an hour of rest, they set off again. The ground was hard and muddy but they continued to hike. Ben liked to watch his breath in the morning air. They took a break after 2 hours and cooked their potato and decided to finish the goop. After a few more hours of walking they finally saw their first house.
"We made it!" squealed Sofia. The others cheered and they walked down, out of the forest and onto a street. The house was charming and had a nice garden. They walked along the road until they reached more stoned walled houses. The walked around the village and passed few people. They soon found the shops where people were just opening and the early risers already buying food. They passed a dog wagging his tail at a butcher's shop. The butcher smiled and gave the dog some left overs. They walked to the town square where people were setting up their stalls for the market and shouting orders. There was a fountain in the middle and children playing around it.
"Good morning kids." called an old man fixing his tent.
"Good morning sir." answered Mara.
"Want to give me a hand here young lady? And you too young man?" he asked, looking at Timon and Mara. They nodded and helped him put up the tent and arrange his fruits. He thanked them and dropped a few coins in their hands.
"Wow, thank you sir." gasped Timon.
"It's ok kid. I see you're taking care of other kids. You'll need it. Be a good leader huh." The man said warmly. Timon nodded and they walked along another street, more stalls were being brought up and soon, people were coming to the market to buy things. Mara led them away from the market and to a quiet street where charming houses slept. They set on a bench and Mara started talking.
"We made it." she smiled, "But unfortunately, we can't just keep going on like this. We made a promise to keep together until we were out, now we are. Now, I think we can all go our separate ways. Me and Timon would be more than willing to help you find your way or something you'd like to do, but after, you will need to defend yourself." Autumn raised her hand.
"I saw a farm as we came into the village, there was a sign saying they needed a stable hand. I love horses. I think I'm going to try my luck." announced Autumn. Every cheered and congratulated her.
"Good Autumn. It was good knowing you. Remember, if anything. You will always find me, or us. If anything goes wrong, I'll be there for you." Mara said. Autumn thanked her and waved good bye, she then set off down the street.

"Me and Ivy, we saw a flower shop at one corner, we want to go check it out. We've always wanted to own one." declared Sofia.

"Yeah, that's true. Thank you so much Mara. For everything. At the orphanage and all." cried Ivy.
"Oh Ivy. It was my pleasure, now go fulfill your dreams." answered Mara, with tears in her eyes. Ivy and Sofia, set off, hand in hand.
"Well, I guess it leaves us. I'm going to find that man at the market, see if he's got any jobs for me. If anyone wants to join me? Feel free." Timon said sadly. Marlon raised his hand and Alex said he'd tag along until he could find something for himself.
"I was thinking I want to travel the world." Mara confessed. Theo perked up.
"Me too! We can go together." proposed Theo.
"Yes, that'd be great." enthused Mara. Timon smiled sadly he went over to Mara and they hugged.
"I'm gonna miss you. Here take this" he said between tears then he placed the coins the man had given him in her hand and he, Marlon and Alex turned and left.
"Thank you. I'm going to miss you. We will see each other again. Good bye Timon." whispered Mara. Ben wanted to go home. He wanted to see Teddy, even the Kennedys.
"If there is a train station, I want to take a train back to London, well the city." Ben said pleadingly.
"I'm sure there is." Mara said.
"I'm coming with you." Jonathan said firmly to Ben's relief.
"Good. Well then I guess it is good bye. Oh and here, take this. For the train." Mara said to them as she dropped the coins from the man into Jonathan's hand. Theo hugged Jonathan tightly and they said farewell. Ben and Jonathan set off to find a train station.