I lay on a makeshift mattress made of two burlap sacks, my stomach stuffed with warm Linaberry cake and Eira's delicious stew. Above me was a breathtaking view of the night sky, filled with tiny, scintillating stars. I had never been so far from civilization before, and I was already in love with the peaceful feeling of being surrounded by the wilderness.

In the face of the majestic trees that rose up before me, the warm glow that emanated from Ervyn and Eira's hut, and the hum of thousands of insects flying through the air, it was so easy to pretend that I was on a camping trip back in the Program. Or perhaps, there was no Program, and no Lessaenes. Perhaps there was just Earth, and my overactive imagination...

What if all of this was just a long, scary dream?

If I went to sleep, would I wake up in my family's old apartment? No crazy alien queens, no WGO, no Code powers...just ordinary Claire?

The thought was ridiculous, but tantalizing nonetheless. Feeling surprisingly secure despite my identity and the fact that I was out in the open, I found it easy to drift off into a deep slumber.

But, my rest didn't last long. In the middle of my first pleasant dream in months, I was rapidly shaken awake. The exquisite colors of the sunset had faded from the sky and the soft chirping of crickets had given way to low, threatening noises from deep in the woods.

"What?" I yawned, turning my head to see who had woken me. I could barely make out the outline of Kelly's round face in the darkness.

"Someone's here," she whispered. "I couldn't sleep, and I heard them coming. I think they're in the trees."

"Don't be ridiculous," I sighed, looking up at the towering forest giants before us. "No one could climb those trees."

"They're aliens," Kelly insisted, her voice trembling with fear. "Who knows what they can do? We should wake the others. What if they just jump out and attack us?"

Deep down, I knew what she was suggesting was a possibility. If Thorel hadn't succeeded in disabling our trackers, the Icehearts had known our location for at least a few hours. But even they couldn't have sent agents here so quickly...something wasn't adding up.

A shiver ran down my spine and Kelly gasped, ducking behind my back, as the leaves nearest to us began to rustle. Soon, we began to hear the distinctive sound of footsteps, and I rose from my bed, prepared to flee at the slightest provocation. As the noise grew closer, it became evident that there was definitely more than one person.

"You'll get us caught, you idiot!" A female voice hissed. "What if it's not them?"

"Oh, it's them alright. When's the last time you saw Rhenans having a party? That's right. Never," replied a second voice, this one male.

"Maybe someone from their family survived the warmatches or got into college or something. There's thousands of other reasons they could've been celebrating!"

"But not like that," the second person sighed. "Didn't you see their faces? They had hope. That's something our planet hasn't seen in centuries."

Our planet. So they were Rhenan. But if they were Rhenan, why were they hunting us?

"Gotcha!" I squinted as a flashlight clicked on, shining directly in my face. The flickering beam revealed a dark skinned girl with brown hair and grayish-green eyes. Behind her was a boy with similar features.

"Get away from us!" I yelled, instinctively shooting a bolt of Aura at them. However, without my Gift, I was weak and uncoordinated. The blue ball missed its target by a wide margin, sailing into the trees.

"You..." the girl said reverently, lowering her flashlight and dropping to her knees in respect. "It's true."

"Told ya," the boy grinned, elbowing the girl in the shoulder. She stuck her tongue out, her eyes glistening playfully.

By this time, the commotion had woken several of the former of Glitches. They all watched me, Kelly, and the two strangers, their faces showing a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Greetings, Your Highness," the boy bent over in an elaborate bow. "I am Aron."

"And my name is Rory," the girl added.

"Welcome to the White Hot Flame."

THE END