Hope

Chapter 11

By the time we were all ready, it was 5:30 AM. Excellent. We had 25 minutes to get to the guard station, which is more than enough time for Rose to hack into their mainframe and give us all high-level clearance to leave Hope, which so very few do. 

As dawn drew near, we drew nearer to the guard station. 
We walked around six miles or so, which I must say is far longer than I thought. We passed a few people, but none of them seemed to recognise Noah-thank God- but they all said a quick “Hello” to me and occasionally to Mace. We were almost there. Almost to the guard station, when Noah abruptly stopped beside me. 
“What? What is it, Noah?” I asked him urgently; we had come too far, we were almost there, this was no time to chicken out.
“That man. The one wearing the reversible jacket.”
“Yeah, I see him. What about him?” 
“He’s the one that hypnotised me.”
I was shocked. I never thought that Noah would remember the hypnotist, but nothing seems to be going to plan again.
“You sure,” I asked, glancing at him. He nodded vigorously.

  
Once Noah had mentioned and confirmed, I slightly increased my pace to tell the others what Noah had told me. I didn’t let Noah out of my sight for the remainder of the walk to the guard station. Not when he had to stop to catch his breath, not when he tripped over a stone and almost fell, not when he stopped to tie his shoelace. To anyone else I might have looked like a clingy girlfriend who wants to keep an eye on her boyfriend at all times, but I must get one thing straight: Noah and I are not together; we are not together in any romantic way nor have feelings for each other in that way, he’s just my best friend, and that is that.

It was 10 minutes to dawn when we finally reached the guard station. We found a sheltered area where Rose can hack into the mainframe; then, it should be easy to get out of Hope. Just walk and walk as if you belong; every step must be with confidence, or they will realise that you don’t belong. That shouldn’t be too hard for me, Mace tells me, because apparently, I strut like I own the place. Of course, I disagree, but I can’t help but think it's true. The way people respected me as I walked past, the respectful nods, someone even curtseyed at me, I think. Maybe I have a far more profound impact on people than I think. 

“Willow.” Noah’s voice was soft beside me, bringing me back to the present. I turned my head to follow his gaze; it was time as we looked up to see what was standing between us and our freedom and Noah’s safety. I turned to Ro, who was tapping furiously away at her favourite laptop, which she had gotten from Mace on her birthday a few years ago. 
“Ro,” I say quietly to her, although my voice came out more like a whisper than anything. She finally glanced up from her laptop after a while to say, “Wait, I’m almost done; I just need one more minute.” I simply just nod and let her get back to work because I know there is no use in telling her to hurry up since she will probably bite my head off.

Precisely a minute later, not a second before and after, Rose had finished hacking into their mainframe. Rose was quite disappointed how easy it was, so Bex told her not to worry and that they would make it harder for her next time-which I doubt- but I didn’t say a word.  

We were dressed in a soldier-like uniform, which Mace managed to borrow from home since her parents both work with the government and always have spare uniforms which we conveniently all the correct sizes for us. Although Mace might have made a few alterations, it fits us all like a glove,  but I don’t complain and just mentally thank Mace because I know it probably would have been hard for her to get the uniforms without raising suspicion. But then come to think of it, I doubt it was that hard considering her parents pay absolutely no attention to her what so ever only really acknowledging her if they can win them votes.

The entrance looped over us, from the stainless steel door, the slabbed widows but looked nothing like the ones in Binvale, these were brighter, prettier as if they had a life worth living for which I guess they do; to the capital, H embezzled in gold and light crystals. Everyone here walked with purpose; their steps did not waver, and they had an air of confidence we all admired but never dared to admit it.

So as we took steps closer to the entrance, we straightened our backs even more, placed an emotionless mask on our face, and we all knew once we entered, there was no going back.