They heard five more gunshots coming directly from the forest before them. Tim thought the best thing would be to get into the car and continue the journey to Zack, so he turned to hurry back to the car.

However, Judith didn't move; she started walking towards the gunshots and disappeared among the trees, leaving Tim unable to see what was happening. Tim was trying to decide whether to follow his boss, worried about getting involved in something dangerous. When you hear gunshots in a forest, two things come to mind. Either hunters are shooting, and it's best to avoid wandering among the trees to prevent being mistaken for an animal, or there's some dirty business going on, like a showdown or something similar, and it's also not good to sneak around in the bushes in that case.

These thoughts crossed Tim's mind as he stood next to the car, sometimes taking a step as if he should see what was happening, then changing his mind.

Then he heard rustling from the forest and was relieved to think that Judith had returned, but to his surprise, a girl of about twelve came running out, looking terrified. When she saw Tim and the car, she stopped and stared at Tim with big brown eyes while Tim waited expectantly, watching for Judith to appear.

She did come, and as she ran, she grabbed the girl and continued running to the car, where she opened the back door and shoved her in. Then she quickly turned around and stood next to Tim. Before doing so, she signaled to the girl to crouch down.

Tim was catching his breath. "Not a word about the girl!" Judith whispered.

Tim didn't have long to ponder what had just happened when five men in suits and sunglasses emerged from the forest, clearly searching for someone and looking around frantically.

When they saw the odd pair, they aimed their weapons at them, but Judith seemed prepared for this. She raised her hand, showing her badge.

"She ran across the road that way," Judith pointed to the forest beyond. "But she was swift; we almost hit her."

One of the suited men came closer and inspected the badge, then looked at Judith's ear and shoulder, which were covered in blood. "Undercover? That is why you are not in uniform?" he asked, then signaled to the others to continue searching for the girl.

Tim tried to position himself to obscure the child hiding in the back seat with his shoulders, not fully understanding his urgency. He only knew he would be in trouble if they discovered they hid the girl. He was protecting his skin.

"Yes, we recovered something for Zack. But you guys are chasing a child?" Judith asked.

"Orders are orders. You know that," the man said, lighting a cigarette and offering one to Judith. "We had to finish off the entire family. Parents, child. Just because the father screwed up, really badly."

Judith nodded as if she grasped the issue. Then, the suited man took a deep drag from his cigarette, flicked it away, and waved at them in farewell before heading into the forest across the road.

They waited a bit longer until he disappeared, then got into the car.

Tim didn't say a word while Judith turned around and handed a water bottle to the sniffing child. "Stay down; everything will be alright!" she reassured.

"You've completely lost your mind!" Tim burst out.

"I know, but I couldn't do anything else. There are limits, after all! A child? That's too much!"

"You completely confuse me. You talk about rules all the time, and now you break them like it's nothing. And how long do you think it will take them to realize the girl is with us? They won't find her anywhere! We were right there with the car!" Tim shouted.

"They won't suspect us. That's why I mentioned Zack, to let them know we are trusted. Trusted people wouldn't do something this crazy!"

Tim fumed; his boss's explanation didn't convince him. "If you again start with your destiny... That's why you did it? You think it was all fate?"

Judith explained much more calmly. "Think it through, okay? Let's think it through. Why did we stop? Because of the chip bag. And do you know why I bought it? Because it was my favorite kind when I was a kid. My brother and I always fought over it, and I would hide to eat it without him seeing."

"You drive me nuts, seriously! It is all a coincidence! Got it? There was just that kind of chip; you wanted it, took it with you, and threw it out the window because you're a jerk!" Tim didn't care that he was talking to his boss and using such language; he was angry. "Then we stopped, and this happened right there."

"So, you're saying it was just a coincidence that I threw the bag out when a kid was in such trouble? Isn't it fate that we helped her?" Judith argued.

"And you took the chips because fate knew you'd throw them out? Admit it, this explanation is flimsy. It's a huge sequence of events, coincidences following each other."

"If we weren't there, this kid would be dead, Tim; you know that too!"

"No way; what if she was quick enough to escape them? She could have hidden well enough not to be found."

"And then? What would have happened to her? On an island where, even though there are no cameras, the authorities are everywhere and control everything. It would only be a matter of time before they found her!"

Tim didn't like the explanation; he was more concerned about what would happen next. "The authorities control everything, yet the resistance is here. All your explanation is beyond me. I can't follow..."

"You're right; let me rephrase. The authority tries to control everything. The resistance came because of the invention; if they get the teleportation devices and market them, everyone could teleport wherever they want, without any restrictions..." Judith replied.

"And what now? What do we do with her? Take her to our place? How do we get her off the island?" Tim bombarded her with questions as if he had already resigned himself to the fact that he was now an accomplice. He tried to think of a solution because he felt it was impossible to convince Judith that this wasn't all fate.

"I thought of someone who might be able to help us. Because we need fake papers as quickly as possible."

Tim suddenly stopped resisting because another problem occurred to him: Mara. This incident might solve her case, too.

The child had stopped sniffling in the back seat and was quietly observing, too scared to move. Judith occasionally glanced back to check if she was alright.

"So, that's the plan?" Tim resumed the conversation. "You know someone who can get fake papers?"

"Yeah, but we need to go further, into the mountains, where the Labs are. You know, the secret experiments, where they developed the little teleportation device."

"Who's our person? Some scientist?"

"More like a guard."

"Seriously, we're getting fake papers from an official? I thought you knew some underworld figure..." Tim said incredulously.

"I don't know what you imagine, Tim. Do you think the world is just black and white?" Judith asked.

"I hoped it was that simple, but everything is much more complicated. And what's your plan? We go there and ask for papers. Then what? How do you get her out? There aren't any teleporters anymore!"

Judith thought for a moment. "The person owes me, so I think he'll help. There's no teleportation to the island, but you saw if you have enough money, you can move freely as a tourist."

"I hate this double standard," Tim burst out. "If you have money, the rules don't apply to you... And you said you love rules, but we keep ending up with your acquaintances being informers or selling fake papers..."

"What's your point, Tim?"

"My point is that while you act like the model agent for the authorities, you follow your path and only the rules that suit you."

"That's quite a hasty statement, especially since you are in this situation just for a few days," Judith countered.

They entered the small fishing village where they had stayed but only stopped at the small gas station. Judith first went to the restroom to clean herself up, washing her ears, neck, and hands not to alarm the attendant. But it was futile, as the lady still stared at her.

"I fell," Judith explained and bought a T-shirt decorated with little pink palm trees and coconuts. She changed into the shirt right there, tossing the bloody one away. She also bought some sandwiches and water, and to be kind to the girl, she got a bar of chocolate.

They continued into the mountains, and after a sharp right turn, the sea disappeared from view, replaced by winding roads between huge rocks.

They stopped at one point, after driving for hours, to eat. The girl eyed them suspiciously but accepted the sandwich and chocolate. She sat on the ground to eat while the other two leaned against the car. Dawn was breaking, the dark sky giving way to light blue.

"What's your name?" Judith asked the child. The girl swallowed her bite and indicated her throat, showing she couldn't speak.

"Oh, alright. I'll get some paper to write me your name and your parents. I'll need them for the documents to get the ID card so we can get you out of here. Do you have any relatives somewhere?"

The girl nodded and continued eating.

"Is it good to mention her parents' names in the documents? And involving her relatives would be a big mistake. I have no idea what you plan to do with her..." Tim shook his head.

Judith didn't reply, lost in thought.

"I have some contacts, and I know where I'll send her, where she'll be safe. I'm more worried that we should have delivered the bag to Zack by morning. We need to come up with a good excuse for our delay."

In the mountains, the air was much more relaxed. They felt that their t-shirts weren't keeping them warm enough. The girl had fallen asleep in the back seat, and they could hear her steady breathing. Tim was glad because he couldn't imagine the horrors the child had endured. Watching her parents die and then driving off with two strangers to who knows where. Poor kid!

"Your ear looks pretty bad; shouldn't you disinfect it?" Tim worried.

"I forgot all about it!" Judith touched her ear. "When I went to the restroom at the gas station, I washed it a bit, but only superficially."

Tim felt it might be the right moment to talk about Mara. "I need to tell you something... because I did something..."

Judith watched him with interest, but the girl sat up and started gagging at that moment. She covered her mouth with her hand but couldn't hold it back, and Tim, startled, braked. The sudden motion caused the girl to slide forward and throw up between the two front seats.

"I have to change my clothes for the second time today!" Judith looked at the stain on her shirt as they exited the car. Tim looked just as splendid while the girl's clothes remained clean, but she had other issues: she was still leaning over the ditch and vomiting.

Judith's maternal instincts kicked in, and she approached the girl, holding her head and forehead while soothing her. Tim found a water bottle to bring to the girl and looked at the seat, wondering how they would clean up the mess.

"She doesn't look well," Judith shook her head. Now feeling better, the girl stood between them and began to cry. Tim didn't know what to do, so he handed her the water bottle, which Judith took, unscrewed the cap, kneeled in front of the girl, and comforted her. The girl suddenly hugged Judith's neck and sobbed.

Tim felt a bit useless, so he cleaned up the vomit, thinking he could only do it with his shirt since he had no other tools.

Tim, now shirtless, and the two girls in the back seat, leaning against each other, drove the final kilometers to the lab with the windows rolled down.

"Can your guy lend us some clothes? It's pretty cold around here," Tim grumbled. Judith directed him where to go, as they weren't heading to the main entrance but along a small dirt road towards Jim's little house. From a distance, they could see the white box-like buildings of the lab, surrounded by high wire fences.

After a while, the dirt road became so bumpy that they decided to walk. Tim couldn't believe his eyes when he realized the small forest they were walking through was full of walnut trees.

"What's the connection between walnut trees and teleporters? Or is it just a coincidence that there are so many walnut trees here?" he asked.

"Now that you mention it... I never noticed before. But you might know that Professor Walnut, the inventor of the teleportation system, had one of his forgotten experiments further developed here by Bernardt. Maybe they planted the trees in his honor. Who knows. But you might be right; it could be a coincidence," Judith softened as they arrived at a tinny house.

"How well do you know this, Jim? Will he be happy we drop by?" Tim asked, but there wasn't time to think about it as the small cabin door burst open, and a grumpy man appeared with a shotgun, wearing a loose robe and slippers. His grayish-blue robe flapped around him as he suddenly appeared, showing he had rushed out, not minding that the uninvited guests could see his funny avocado-printed underwear.