My finger found a small knob. Carefully, I pushed it, and it slid onto its side with a soft click. Letting out a near-silent breath of relief, I turned my face skyward to contain my unshed tears. My lips curled upward as terrified hysteria swept over me.

The muffled voice had steadily been growing louder, although they occasionally fell silent. Suddenly, they were much clearer. They must have rounded the corner. If we were going to be discovered, it would be within the next few seconds.

Sure enough, someone violently rattled the closet knob mere moments after. Instinctively, I clamped a hand on Charlie's mouth. He flinched but otherwise remained still and silent.

The policeman, mere inches away from us now, released the handle. My throat was constricted by the frantic beating of my heart. A single tear rolled down my cheek. The last time I had been this scared, this adrenaline-fueled...I realized that it had been during the last police raid years ago.

But this fear was different. It was thick, constricting. Most of it stemmed from the fact that I could do absolutely nothing to protect the people I loved. All I could do was cower in this dark closet and try to steady my own breathing.

The voices grew fainter and fainter until I could no longer hear them. None of us moved.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there, barely daring to breathe. So long that Charlie began to shift. So long that my fear began to ebb. And yet we remained still. There was no way of knowing what was happening beyond the closet door.

Finally, we heard a faint, desperate call: "Nik? Nik! Claire, Charlie!" It was Sarah, and it sounded as though she was in our apartment.

Nik reached for the door's lock but I grabbed his wrist. "What if it's not Sarah?" I hissed as quietly as possible. "They could be using voice modifiers. Or holding her hostage."

"What do you suggest we do, then? Hide in this closet forever?"

After a second of deliberation, I sighed and released his wrist. I tensed as he opened the door, but relaxed when I saw that the hallway outside was empty.

Nik glanced over his shoulder, raising his eyebrow as if to say see?, and I shoved him slightly. He chuckled and strode down the hallway to our apartment.

The door was hanging open. I made sure to be the last one inside so it wasn't closed. Just in case, we had an escape route.

"Sarah?" Nik called, glancing around for his girlfriend.

She rushed out of the bedroom and flung herself into Nik's arms, burying her face in his chest. "I was so worried," she said tearfully, her words muffled.

Nik stroked her hair soothingly. "We're fine, we're all fine," he promised her.

Sarah broke from his embrace to give Charlie and me tight hugs in turn. She knelt to face my little brother.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Charlie nodded.

"Oh, of course you are, you're so brave!" she exclaimed, impulsively hugging him once more. I smiled. Sarah was really good with little kids and they all adored her, especially Charlie.

"We're having a meeting. To assess the damage," Sarah told Nik and me, standing.

I nodded, putting the exhausting residue of my terror to the side temporarily. "Let's go."

*

The number of teenagers and children gathered around the dormant firepit was dismal, to say the least. Heart sinking, I performed a rough head count.

There were around thirty kids. Forty at most.

Many people were crying. One boy was sitting with his head tucked between his knees, holding scarily still. Nobody seemed inclined to step forward or say anything.

I glanced around at all of the familiar faces, all the people I had grown up with for the past seven years, and without my consent, my brain began mustering up images of other children - others who weren't standing around the firepit.

Before my thoughts could grow too dark, I forced myself to speak. "Is there anyone else who escaped and isn't here?"

Many teenagers glanced around, a few knowingly biting their lips but unwilling to yet speak. Finally, one girl stepped forward. "My sister's...resting."

It was as if a dam had burst. Kid after kid stepped forward, the clamor growing as name after name was shouted out. When the commotion died down, I frowned. It still only left us numbered at around sixty, if I had heard correctly.

"Did they take the food?" Nik called out, his words holding a slightly reserved tone, as if he truly dreaded the answer.

Several kids nodded slowly and I groaned. This was too much.

A boy stepped forward, looking to be only a couple years older than me. He was gripping the hand of a ten or eleven-year-old girl.

"The police saw us," he said loudly, his voice wavering only slightly. "They saw me and my sister. They asked how old I was, and I told them I was eighteen, and...they didn't take us." There was a note of wonder in his voice at his own luck. "They said since I was a legal adult, they couldn't lawfully take my sister from me."

"So you think they were just rounding up minors?" Sarah asked. The boy shrugged.

"I don't know, but that's what it seemed like."

"Maybe we should leave," one girl called out in a thin, shaky voice. As mutterings broke out, she raised her voice. "I mean, Rooftop's been compromised. What if they come back?"

The mutterings grew. I heard several peope agreeing with the girl, but the majority of them were adamantly arguing against the idea, to my relief. I couldn't lose another home. It would break me.

"No." The speaker's voice was firm and unwavering, quite the opposite of what everyone else was feeling.

A boy stepped forward and I recognized him with a jolt - he was Mark, one of the accidental founders of Rooftop. He and his girlfriend had moved here and slowly taken in orphan after orphan, somehow managing to retain both a powerful sense of community and an "each to their own" mindset. Although I had never met Mark or his girlfriend, Amber, personally, I had great respect for them both.

"We must hold our ground," Mark called out. "I know we usually live apart, but we need to come together now. Help each other. We'll  arrange a precautionary system in case the police return. If you're old enough, pretend you're an adult and take a few children under your wing. Go on extra raids. Help rebuild Rooftop."

Cheers, whoops, and claps arose from the crowd. I grinned, offering a wordless, joyful cry myself.