"Are you sure the others are alright, Charlie? I can't see them." Lawrence whispers in a low voice, flinching as a bird chirps overhead. Even with the radio, he's been jumpy. I can't blame him. It feels like we could get caught at any minute, advantage or not.

"That's because they're keeping hidden," She replies plainly. There's obviously condescension in the bit she tacks on. "You know, to avoid all the Burn soldiers who are combing the countryside for you."

He frowns, irked. "But it's not much use keeping them hidden from us, is it? Not if we're supposed to be regrouping."

"You're almost there. There's just one patrol I need you to get past and-quick! Duck behind the cowshed for a minute!"

I'm doing so almost instantly, dragging Lawrence with me as synchronized footfalls and hushed voices reach my ears.

"Taking Quadrant Delta-9," A soldier says, although I don't understand any of it.  I swallow harshly, my throat burning as I hold my breath and wait for the Burn soldiers to pass. They don't even notice us, which is a relief, but also puzzling.

How have we been able to dodge them so easily? They are excellent at keeping on our tails and yet they can't seem to find us when they get close.

An odd feeling settles in my stomach, one that tells me something is not right, even though I am not quick to believe it. Could be paranoia, seeing how things have been the last few days. I do remember a soldier mentioning an electronic baffler, which could have been what made everything all weird two nights ago.

Although if they have that kind of technology, it's again a mystery how they haven't been able to find us so far, especially when Lawrence and I have been running around like garbage assassins. We've managed to slip right under their noses despite their tech and speed, which speaks more towards their incompetence than our skill, considering everything that's gone wrong since this all started.

Not to mention how out of our depth we all are.

Once the soldiers are gone, Lawrence and I peak out from behind the cowshed, following Charlie's instructions as she tells us to go around the other side. Crouched down, waiting for us, are the others, who tense up for a moment but then relax when they realize it's just us.

"Lawrence, Walker," Paul sighs, a soft smile on his face. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Stanton nods, not smiling but not having that disapproving frown she usually has when she looks at Lawrence. She hands me one of our rifles, and I strap it to myself. "Good work, you two. You've got the radio?"

Lawrence nods, holding up said radio. "At considerable risk to life and limb. Mostly Walker's limbs, if I'm honest. She was the one who knocked out that soldier. Very efficient, if I might add."

He looks at me with a certain fondness, and my cheeks grow hot. I look down as a smile pulls at my lips, but the attention is taken off from me fairly quickly and placed back onto the thing I stole.

"Have you heard anything important?" Emma asks timidly, and he just shrugs.

"Just that they're really, awfully determined to catch us."

"I'm not going to let that happen." Charlie's voice is stiff and determined. "Keep moving and keep listening. I'll find you a way out of here."

She's right that we need to keep moving. Being together again means we no longer have to worry about each other, but it also means that we're a bigger group and therefore easier to spot. Standing still will do nothing but make us easier to catch.

Not to mention the longer we stick around, the more time we're giving the Burn to find the woman I knocked out. Lawrence and I did manage to drag her out of sight, but that will only give us a bit more time. Once they know we've stolen their radio, they'll cut off communications and we'll be back in the dark about where they're going.

We keep moving as per Charlie's instructions. There's a lot of turning and moving around. There are too many soldiers for it to be a straight shot through. It's inconvenient, but it's better to take the long way around than risk getting caught.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the piece of paper I found on the Burn soldier when I took her radio.

"The Gerkan's aren't amenable. She says she's going to make one final go on them and if not, just use them for testing."

I don't know what they could mean for testing, nor do I know who 'she' is. A 'she' was mentioned in that audio clip I found in Harshem House. She killed that group of people, whoever they were. The man who was speaking said she saw them all as playthings.

But for all I know it could have been just someone recording to scare us, even though I haven't brought it up to the others. A solider said they had electronic bafflers to make us confused, scared and tired. Maybe they planted a scene to worsen that fear...

But this was supposed to be a safe house. How were they able to place electronic bafflers around? How did they even know we would come here?

They did something to the satellite imaging, which makes sense how Charlie didn't see anything, and it makes sense as to why her signal was scrambled two nights ago, but it still doesn't explain how they Burn knew we were coming here in the first place.

I don't like this.

"Is it just me, or are we going around in circles?" Lawrence asks.

"You're not running around in circles," Charlie answers, using a speaker through the device to whisper to everyone.

Stanton frowns, a look I've grown used to seeing on her. "We don't appear to be any closer to breaking through that picket line, either."

She lowers her voice, waiting for noise, but there isn't any besides Charlie's tired sigh.

"No, it's just... there's so many of them. The instant I get you past one patrol, another one shows up."

Paul looks down at the radio in Lawrence's hand, his eyes going wide when he heard static crackle through it. "Hush! I think..."

"Yes. Looks like they came over this cliff at some point very recently," Adebayo states through the radio. "The button-I've seen that one before. Lawrence wore color buttons like this."

At that, Lawrence glances down at his shirt, cursing quietly when he sees a few on his jacket have come loose. He glances up at me, his eyes wide and apologetic. I can feel the glare Stanton is sending him, but I give him the most assuring smile I can manage.

It disappears when Adebayo speaks again.

"Ratley, any movement on your end?"

We all freeze, and Lawrence tries to hand off the radio to Emma, but she shakes her head.

"I don't know what the girl sounded like. How am I supposed to do an impression of her voice-"

She's cut off when I snatch the radio from Lawrence and speak into it, doing my best to copy Ratley's accent. "No. No movement."

"Oh." Adebayo sounds disappointed. "Good. Carry on."

"Sir." I let out a sigh of relief as I let my arm holding the radio drop to my side, raising a brow when I see the looks on everyone's faces. "What?"

"That was quick thinking," Lawrence says, and I shrug.

"I wasn't really thinking. Just knew someone had to answer or else he'd get suspicious. I'm surprised he bought it."

He nods. "That was a pretty good impression."

His compliment leaves a warm feeling in my chest. "Was it?"

I don't really remember ever trying to do a British accent before. I've never had a reason to. My American accent was a conversation starter when I was in uni. That is, when I actually found the time to talk to someone.

"It won't keep Adebayo satisfied forever," Stanton cuts in, ignoring Lawrence as he murmurs something about her always taking away people's joy. "We've got to keep moving. We'll just have to rely on the radio and good luck to get us through the perimeter."

"Yeah... uh, yeah," Charlie says, but she sounds unsure, nervous. "I guess you'll have to go for it. That radio's definitely a blessing."

I look down at it with a sigh through my nose. "This is the first time we've been ahead of the Burn since we've started walking."

Paul hums. "And Adebayo is definitely with the Burn, right? I thought you'd said he was your right-hand man, Elizabeth."

Stanton's face turns stony. "He's with New Tomorrow. Anything he said to me was a lie. People don't get second chances with me, I'm afraid."

"And New Tomorrow is working with the Burn?"

"Yes," Charlie responds. "The Burn is running the show, and New Tomorrow is doing what they're told."

Lawrence nods. "Like a militarized wing and an... even more militarized wing."

He gives a silly smile when he hears me laughing. Paul, however, still looks thoughtful before looking at Stanton with a raised brow.

"So, if we come across Adebayo, would you want to talk to him?"

"No!" She snarls, and Paul flinches back. "He's a traitor to Queen and Country. Given the opportunity, I'd kill him."

He blinks but doesn't say anything.

The radio crackles again, and a soldier speaks a second later. "Sir, we've had word coming from our allies."

"What's the message?" Adebayo asks.

"We're to prepare for orders from Marianne herself."

I feel the blood drain from my face. I listen, waiting for Charlie's response.

All she says is a soft, shocked, broken, "Oh."

Silence follows, and I gnaw on the inside of my lip as I try to think of the right words to say. The others look confused, probably wondering if that name is supposed to mean anything. The only person who doesn't look puzzled is Emma, her green eyes wide as she fidgets apprehensively.

Of course, Charlie told her. She knew Emma before she was called onto this mission. She told her about Marianne, at least in the sense that she was her sister.

My bottom lip is slightly swollen by the time I decided to stop chewing on it. She may not want to tell the others, but it will only be worse for her if she doesn't, given how she's already kept things from us before that ended up biting us in the ass. Plus, because Emma and I both know about it, the others will see this as a betrayal for keeping such vital information from them.

So I take in a deep breath before opening the can of worms. "Do you want to tell them, Charlie?"

"You deserve to know," Charlie replies, and I visible relax at how she isn't fighting it. "Some of you know already."

Lawrence frowns. "What is it?"

"Marianne... is... my sister." She practically forces the words out. "That's why I was assigned to this project, because I can think like her... sometimes. Sometimes I can work out what she's going to do faster than she can herself."

Paul's face twisting into a glower. "And they didn't think that you'd be a little... emotionally involved?"

She sighs. "I was supposed to have a minder, and other stuff. I was supposed to have a team, but then the Burn cut the coms. Lot of our network went down soon after and... now it's just me."

"And Marianne... your sister," Lawrence says disbelievingly. There's a detachment in his eyes, as if such a shock of family ties, even ones that aren't his own, have pulled him from reality.

Our attention turns to the radio when the voice of a Burn soldier comes through. "Message coming in now, sir."

"Read it, Sargent," Adebayo demands.

"Message from Marianne. 'We must retrieve the boxes that the walkers are carrying. This mission becomes more urgent the closer they get to Edinburgh. We must get those devices back from them. This is the number one priority. You're authorized to kill their companions, Stanton and Paul. Disposable. Dispose of them.'"

I stare at the radio in horror as Paul tsks. "Nice sister you have there."

•

I rub my face, letting out a slow breath. The paper in my hand crinkles. Emma found it a few minutes ago, looking distraught.

I understand why. It has our descriptions on it, so they know exactly who to look for.

Well, mostly.

"Stanton: Older, RAF dress, good posture, short hair, very dangerous.
Ella: kind of dippy, big green eyes, long hair.
Lawrence: see photos on file. *
Unknown Man: Shoulder injury, gunshot wound.
Walker: Brown hair, blonde tips, brown eyes, will shoot to kill."

There are pencil sketches of Paul, Stanton and Emma, although nothing on me or Lawrence. It's obvious this is an older note, seeing how they got Emma's codename wrong and don't know Paul's name here. I also don't like how I'm seen as someone who will shoot to kill. But after what happened at the manor house Paul was working at, how could they suspect otherwise?

A twinge of worry gnaws at my chest as I look at what it says about Lawrence. They know enough about him to have composed a file. He was captured by some of the Burn six days ago and managed to escape in the snowstorm, but he never mentioned them taking any pictures. Maybe he doesn't remember or think it relevant.

I grab at my necklace as a thought comes to mind. He is a university student. Universities have files and pictures of their students in their databases. Charlie managed to hack into one of the biggest banks in the world; if Marianne is half as smart as her, she could have easily hacked into Lawrence's uni to find pictures of him to create a file.

I swallow, glancing over at him worriedly. Marianne is just as Charlie suspected and is at a high position in the Burn. And from the message she gave to Adebayo, she is ruthless. What would she do to us if she caught us?

"...She says she's going to make one final go on them and if not, just use them for testing."

My own screams echo in my mind.

"Sir, we found Ratley," A soldier reports from the radio, and my gaze snaps to the device in my hand. "The walkers have knocked her out and dragged her into a pile of hay."

"I'm... sorry, sir," Ratley murmurs.

"And the equipment?" Adebayo asks.

"They've taken the portable receiver, sir."

Stanton curses under her breath. "I thought we'd have more time than this."

"All units, cease transmission," He orders. "Our coms have been compromised. Return to meeting point six for instructions. I'll deal with this myself."

Lawrence cocks his head to the side. "Meeting point six? Sounds like we might have time to get away."

Emma purses her lips. "Doesn't that depend on where meeting point six is?"

"Well... if there are at least six meeting points, and each one is at a different compass point-which makes sense-then we surely have a five out of six chance that they'll be heading away from us."

Paul gives the dark-haired man an odd look. "I'm not sure that really makes sense."

"I just can't believe Marianne would do this," Charlie murmurs, her voice hollow. She has told me what she thinks, but thinking it and having it confirmed are two very different things. Hearing from Marianne like this makes it more real.

"We've seen her kill people before," Stanton says, far too casual for my liking.

"I know! I know. I just-I thought... I don't know. I thought that perhaps she wasn't the one calling the shots. I hoped-I mean, we grew up in the same house! I just didn't think she would be capable of..."

I tsk. "All this just to retrieve some silly devices."

Lawrence crosses his arms, his fingers tapping against his jacket. "Yeah. Hey, Charlie, are we the only ones carrying these devices now?"

"I... I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you that."

That seems to annoy him, but he pushes on. "But I mean... if we get captured, will everything be over? Will the bad guys have... won? Are the devices all different or all the same? You know," He sucks in a breath, as if debating if he should continue, "if only one of us gets through, would that be enough?"

She doesn't get the chance to answer him, because a second later the sound of an engine revving reaches our ears.

"Damn it," Stanton hisses. "Military transport. Quickly. Hide behind the hedge at the crest of the hill."

None of us argue, sprinting for the hedge and crouching behind it as the sound of the vehicle gets louder the closer it gets.

"Should be out of the line of sight here," Paul whispers, and we watch as the jeep pulls up. Stanton pulls a pistol from a holster she's got strapped to her, and I'd ask her where she got that if this were any other time. It wouldn't surprise me if she sneakily snagged it from a Burn soldier. I grab my rifle that's strapped to me.

The jeep rolls to a stop, and the door opens. My heart stops in my chest when Adebayo steps out. He's got a gun of his own, and he points it right at the hedge we're hiding behind.

"Drop your weapons."

I almost obey, but I stop when Stanton stands up straight, pointing her pistol right at him. I do the same. "Adebayo."

"Don't do it, Stanton. I've got the drop on you, and I've always been a better shot. Browning 9mm against a Heckler and Koch MP5? How many do you think I'd kill before you'd even wing me?" He points his gun at me. "She may have good aim, but if she fires, she'll end up as dead as me. And you need her alive. Throw the pistol on the ground, please."

"We outnumber him," Paul whispers. "We can-"

"He's right. Walker's a fine shot, but she's not faster than him. If she shoots, so will he, and there's a chance she might not kill him on the first try. I won't be responsible for your deaths." She nods at me before dropping her pistol, and, swallowing harshly, I slowly lower my rifle to the ground.

Adebayo gives a half-smile in satisfaction before walking forward and picking up the weapons. "Thank you. You should work on changing your tactics, Stanton. I knew you'd come this way. Never could resist the shelter of a hillside to wall you from the enemy. And I did say I'd deal with you myself." He keeps his gun raised. "Now start walking."

We have no choice but to obey. Adebayo says nothing as he trails behind us. When I look back at him over my shoulder, his face remains stony and emotionless. I couldn't read him if I tried.

But it's odd. He has permission to kill Stanton and Paul, but he hasn't. It makes little sense for him to just make us walk off and shoot them later when he could just kill them right now. It's not like anyone would find their bodies in this area. None that would care, anyway.

I shudder at just how morbid that thought is. Such thoughts have never crossed my mind until these last two weeks. Just how much have recent events changed me, broken me?

I repress the scoff bubbling in my throat. Can't break what's already broken.

Charlie's switched from the speaker mode on the device back to our earpieces, although she hasn't said much more than a few worried mutterings. I'm sure she's trying to work out a way to get us away from him that won't lead to any of us getting shot. We got lucky that Paul only got hit in the shoulder, and luckier that Stanton was able to cut away the infection that had set in without there being any more problems. It would be stupid to assume we'd get so lucky again.

"Keep walking," Adebayo growls when Lawrence stumbles, and I look at him over my shoulder with a scowl. He won't kill us. He can't, not while we have our devices. If we die, so do they, and Marianne says that getting the boxes are the number one priority as of now.

But even with that knowledge, I don't spout off at him as I desire to. This is mostly because I don't know what to say. As much as I wish I could be cunning or sarcastic or witty, my brain blanks from both fear and annoyance. I only knew him for a short period before his betrayal was made known, but it doesn't make me any less angry over what he's done.

Stanton looks positively furious. I'm unsure if such fury is directed at Adebayo or herself, or both. "I don't know where you're taking us, but know this: if you kill a member of Her Majesty's armed forces, they will come after you. You know that."

He laughs. "Have you forgotten you're AWOL, Wing Commander? You're hardly a priority."

She grimaces, her scowl deepening at his blow. Still, she says nothing to counter it, because she knows he's right.

"I think you can take him," Charlie murmurs softly. "He's favoring his left leg. I think he's hurt. Lawrence, Walker, tell Stanton somehow, if you can."

I glance at Lawrence, who's got his bottom lip trapped between his teeth as his gaze slides over to me. His brows knit together, a slightly hopeful look in his eyes as he waits for me to do something.

I wish I had an answer, but I don't know how I could tell Stanton anything that Adebayo wouldn't notice. Whispering is out of the question, and there are some basic things I know about Morse code and BSL, although I don't really know where I learned them. They come up frequently in my dreams of being Runner Five, but I believe I learned them at some point in the real world too. Probably a class or club while I was in undergrad.

But I don't really have any memories of undergrad, so any attempt at sign language or Morse code would be garbled. Not to mention Adebayo would recognize my attempts right away and probably shoot Stanton and Paul right then.

"We haven't done anythin'!" Emma pleads, looking back at Adebayo with wide eyes. "We don't know why people keep chasing us."

He doesn't give her a reply. "Stop. That's far enough. Now turn around."

We do so, and I notice Lawrence is shaking where he stands. "You're not gonna make us dig our own graves, are you?" He glances at Stanton and Paul. "Or like, their graves? I think that would be worse, in fact-digging someone else's grave. Oh no. Maybe digging your own grave would be worse. Wait, no. I-I don't know. I don't really know which one would be worse."

Adebayo is unamused by his ramblings. "I'm only going to say this once. You have a traitor among your ranks. One of you is a traitor."

My jaw drops. "Wait, what-"

"One of you has been telling us how to find you. I don't know who. I don't know how. But someone has." He pauses. "I joined New Tomorrow to make a better future for all of us. I believe in slowing down the pace of technological change, in taking the time to make sure that it's right. I've seen the terrible damage done by AI controlled weapons in battle. They have no soul, no hesitation. We can annihilate ourselves that way. And I believe in taking action, by force, if necessary, to stop that.

"But not like this. I didn't join New Tomorrow to become a killer. It's been different since we allied with the Burn. I... I'm not taking kill orders from anyone."

Stanton keeps her grim expression. "You're still a traitor."

"You might be too!" He sneers at her. "Any of you might. Now go." He points ahead and hands us our guns back. "Head towards that fence there. There's a pathway along the valley. It's riddled with caves, small passages. They'll find it hard to follow you. And for God's sake, find out who your traitor is."

"I..." Emma starts, but stops, blinks, and then speaks again. "Thank you. Thank you."

He nods. "Look, this never happened. Now run. Run as fast as you can."

•

"Come on. Fast as you can, Emma," Stanton barks at the blonde who's trailing behind the rest of us. "There's no telling if we can trust Adebayo."

Lawrence looks at her incredulously, his chest heaving as he runs. "Are-are you kidding? After he just let us go, and you think we can't trust him?"

"No, she's right," Charlie says over the device speakers. "It could be a trick. Marianne... she's like that."

"I can't see how it could be a trick," Paul states.

"Maybe they put somethin' in the radios to track us. Maybe they want us to talk more about the mission so they can listen in," Emma suggests, and Paul looks over at me, then at the radio in my hand.

"Walker, I think you should leave that here."

I frown, but nod. He's right. They've already stated that they've cut out communication from us, so we won't hear anything from their end. It's of no use to us anymore.

Just as I'm about to drop the radio, it crackles to life.

"What are you doing, soldier?" Adebayo asks. "I said keep those radios off! The walkers can hear what you're sayin'."

"New message from Marianne, sir," He replies. "She said to turn the radio back on, so the walkers can hear."

"Don't be a damn idiot-" He starts, playing his role extremely well, but he's interrupted.

"I'm sorry, sir. Orders. She said to turn the radio back on because she knows what you've done. And then to do this."

My heart clenches when Adebayo speaks.

"What are you-"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots come through the radio, but I can also hear them in the distance. Emma and Lawrence both gasp in shock, and Stanton's eyes widen, her mouth agape. Paul's gone white as a sheet.

My legs forget how to work, and my next racing step leads to me falling forward, using my arms to shield the radio as I slam into the ground. A hiss rips itself from my lips as pebbles tear at any exposed skin, dirty snow staining my clothing. Three pairs of hands are hauling me up, not bothering to ask if I'm alright as they drag me along.

"Message from Marianne to the walkers," The soldier says after a beat of silence. "We see you, and we're coming for you."

A/N: Here you go guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!