EIGHTEEN
VALKASH
Gemma woke up with a start. Artificial light streamed in through the windows. She had lost track of how many days she had been living this nightmare. It seemed like a month had passed when in reality it had been a little over a week. She rolled off the bed, wondering what the time was, which was ridiculous. Who cares what time it is? It’s not like I have to be anywhere. Which technically was not true. She needed to be at a meeting. An escape meeting. Gemma padded downstairs in clean clothing, not quite the right fit nor colour. But it would do. Call it prison clothing, she had thought to herself a few days before when she had opened the wardrobe in her bedroom, the doors not quite closing properly.
Twenty minutes later, she was striding towards the village hall, her boo
