The bullet grazed the top of Kit's ear. He flinched away, slamming the back of the car shut. Kit glanced over his shoulder and raised the gun, firing blindly in the direction of the shot. Whether he hit anyone, he wasn't sure, but that didn't matter.

"Get in the car!" he yelled at Emily, jumping over the door rather than opening it. Emily followed him, ducking her head from the shots that flew past their heads. "Take this. I need to focus on getting us out of here."

"Just do it quickly."

Emily accepted the gun. She kept her head ducked low and fired another shot behind them whilst Kit focused on starting the engine. He turned it on, put the car in reverse, and backed up as fast as he could without looking over his shoulder to see how close they were. Several more shots rang out from whoever was chasing them.

"Stop right there!"

Kit ignored them and backed the car away from the hotel. He spun the steering wheel and pressed down on the accelerator. The Royce shot forward, gunshots still echoing around them and bullets hitting the back of the car. He could only hope they didn't get the petrol cans in the back. Emily peered over her seat with the gun raised. She fired another shot and ducked back down.

"I don't think they're following us," she said.

"Let's just put as much distance between us and them as possible. I'll pull over when I think we're safe."

She nodded. Despite them being certain they weren't being followed — the road behind them was silent except for birds flying overhead — she glanced over her seat just to be careful. Kit's hands shook against the leather steering wheel, but his body hummed with the familiar excitement of having escaped yet another close call. His left ear stung where the bullet grazed him, and his heart thumped against his ribcage, but he didn't care.

They drove until the town disappeared into the bright sunlight. After no sign of them being followed for at least an hour, Kit found a safe place to pull over. He parked the car and slumped back in his seat. His heart still beat against his ribs, the excitement still hummed in his veins, and he was grateful for it.

He looked at Emily, who met his eyes. The moment their eyes met, they burst out laughing. Kit laughed without knowing what he was laughing at, the sound filling the empty air around them. It travelled on the wind, joined the sound of birds flying overhead, and filled the air with the sweet sound of freedom from two people who had longed for it.

Kit and Emily laughed until their ribs hurt, until the sound coming out of them was just gasping breaths, and until tears streamed down their faces. When they finally stopped, though unable to look at each other without laughing again, they enjoyed the silence. Kit listened to the birds, grateful for the lack of noise that usually filled the city.

"You're hurt," Emily said, her fingers lightly grazing over the top of Kit's left ear where the bullet had grazed him.

"I'm fine. It's just a graze."

"We should clean it. I managed to get some medical supplies."

"What else did you get?" Kit turned to look at Emily, who dropped her hand to her lap where the gun lay.

"Food. Some of it's in tins and jars, so it should last us. The medical supplies, a couple of blankets, and I thought we could do with these." She reached into her pocket and pulled out some bullets. "We might need them after that."

"Good call. There were some extra ones in your father's Royce, but, like everything, they got left behind."

"Do you think they'll try to find us?"

Kit sighed. "I don't know. They didn't follow us, so maybe not, but if word gets out about us from London, they'll probably contact the police. We should get a move on."

"I picked up a map so we can play a route."

"You do that and direct me. We might end up spending the night in the car, but I don't want to be anywhere near that place."

Emily nodded. She reached into the backseat and grabbed a paper map that would finally be able to help them plan their escape route to the coast. With every obstacle they had faced, it put them on a different path from the one they were supposed to be taking. They needed to find a new way to get to the coast, and Emily's quick thinking had given that to them.

With more bullets, a map, food, the petrol, and some blankets, they were in a much better position to make it to the coast than they had been since they left Matthew's house the day before. If they didn't run into any more problems, they could make it to the coast within a matter of days and leave the city far behind them.

Yet Kit knew it wasn't going to be that easy. They'd planned before, been careful with their documents and the licence plates, but missed one small detail. Kit knew from a lifetime of running with Rob and the others that plans could fall through at the drop of a hat. It didn't take much for things to go wrong. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

"I could get used to this," Emily said, running her hands over the creased map in her lap.

"Get used to what? Being fired at?"

"Driving around the country like this. The open road in front of us, nothing but the sky above our heads, and the clean air. It's relaxing, far more relaxing than being in London ever was."

"I thought you wanted to go to the coast?" Kit turned to look at her. "That was the plan."

"I know, and we can still go, but maybe we don't have to stay there. Maybe we can just drift around. Father will be less likely to find us if we keep moving."

"True, but it'll be harder to get supplies."

"We can do what we did just now! Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."

Kit couldn't lie to her, not when their near escape had been one of the most thrilling things he'd ever faced. "I did."

"Then let's do it! It'll be fine."

He thought for a moment, staring out at the blue sky in the distance and the few wisps of white clouds that drifted by. "Alright, let's do it."

~~~

First Published - February 11th, 2024