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so hard she thought her teeth were coming loose. It hurt to breathe, so she inhaled in short bursts in an effort to ease the pain in her chest.

It felt like she’d been hiding in the footwell of the car for days. She’d fallen asleep at one point, her body doing what it could to help her escape the confines of the cold car, but her dreams had been filled with monsters.

The night had turned to early morning, and still she hadn’t moved, not daring to even lift her head.

Danny had told her to hide. She presumed he would come looking for her when it was clear to run.

But so far, he hadn’t.

She wondered whether he was all right and had almost gone to get out of the car on at least four separate occasions, but she was too afraid. She knew what would happen if they found her now.

They would kill her. There was no doubt in her mind.

But she knew she couldn’t stay in the car much longer. As well as the gripping pain she felt, her whole body was going into cramp. She ached in places she didn’t even know she had, and her fingers had turned blue from the cold. Her tongue was swollen in her mouth, reminding her it had been hours since she’d last had a drink, but despite this her aching stomach told her she was desperate for the toilet.

Pushing the blanket off her head, she pulled herself round slightly so she could peer over the bottom lip to the window. Agony ripped through her side and she gasped loudly, then bit her bottom lip trying to silence herself.

Someone might hear.

Peeking out of the window, the compound appeared to be in complete silence. There was no one milling around, no sign of anything except the lonely rabbit that hopped across the grass to her right. Turning, she glanced out of the other side and realised there really was no one around.

Where is Danny? Why hasn’t he come?

She knew he wouldn’t betray her, if he was going to he would’ve told the woman where she was hiding, but Elvie wondered where he was. He hadn’t owed her anything, but he had helped her now on two occasions, and she trusted him.

Deciding she really couldn’t stay in the car any longer, Elvie reached for the door handle. The sound of the latch opening was as loud as a gunshot to her mind, and she paused, stricken with terror that someone might have heard.

But there were no shouts, no one came running.

She pushed the door open and climbed out of the car, her left arm holding her sore ribs as she leant into the sharpness. It seemed to help a little, and the searing pain eased to an ache that spread around her side.

Outside of the car was just as cold, and she felt her teeth start to chatter as she glanced around. Grabbing the blanket off the back seat, she wrapped it round herself. She had no idea which way to go, but instinctively drew back from the house and its large hedge and made her way down the garden to the fence at the rear.

The garden backed onto fields and trees, and it was all she could see, but she knew she’d have a better chance of getting away that way than through the house.

She wished she had something warmer on. Noni had told her that the UK was nothing like the Philippines for weather, but she hadn’t really believed anywhere could be quite so bitterly cold.

Climbing the fence, she glanced up at the stars, but they were different from how she’d been taught. Instead, hoping it was the right choice; she picked the brightest star and headed in that direction. She didn’t know it was north – one direction was as good as the next, but at least she could maintain a straight line if she went that way.

Dive Team HQ, South Shields – 5 November

‘Morning, campers. Hope your single rest day didn’t tire you out too much and that you’re all raring to go.’ Sharpie sat at the front of the briefing room and glanced around with a grin. Beside him sat Andy Chapman, the sergeant of Bravo Team. The two teams rarely worked together, and Marlo wondered what it was for.

Glancing at her own team, she noticed Doc looking a little green around the gills. He’d obviously had a good day off and was suffering now. Grinning, she turned her attention back to Sharpie.

‘…be a long set. The next five days will be filled with our favourite people.’ His smile was sarcastic. ‘Providing we don’t get called out we have six, yes six different groups coming through our doors for a chat and wander around this inspiring facility. Of these six groups, four are kids aged between eleven and sixteen, our absolute favourite age group. One is a writer wanting an inside look into the dive team, and the final group is the management team who are coming to see where they can shaft us financially. It’ll be fun-filled people, trust me, and no doubt by the end of just today we’ll all be longing for rest days. But crack on we shall. We will all be pitching in with the tours, no excuses. Doc, you’re handling the group today from Thornhill Comprehensive. The writer is due in at 2 p.m. and she’ll be with me.’

Marlo saw Doc drop his head to the desktop and groan loudly before mumbling, ‘Aw come on Sharpie, the little shits will eat me alive. I’m under the weather today, can’t Mac do it?’

She tried to hide her smirk as Mac thumped Doc on the arm, but she knew Sharpie had seen it: he was on top form today.

‘Marlo will give you a hand, Doc. There’s no way they’ll eat

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