Chapter 37 Attempted Flight

Chapter 37 Attempted Flight
The convoy sped down the roads of the Hudson Valley at dawn. The tires were screaming against the asphalt, which was still wet from the night. Iris was sitting in the middle SUV. Her children were around her in a big mess of blankets and little bodies. They were all whispering and scared. Elias was sitting like a shield between the ones. He was ten years old but his face was very serious. Lila and Noah were holding each other their eyes were wide and red from crying. Theo had finally fallen asleep against Iriss side. The three newborn babies, Rose, Lily and Violet were strapped into a carrier between Iris and Claire. They were peaceful because Amara had given them some medicine to help them sleep.

Lucien was driving the vehicle. His hands were white on the steering wheel. He was hurt,. He did not want anyone else to drive. He kept looking in the rearview mirror watching the vehicle with Iris and the children. He was very angry. Wanted to keep them safe. Captain Reyes was sitting next to him with a rifle on her lap. She was pale. She was focused. "We are six miles away from where we need to be " she said. "Adams team is clearing the way. Sophia and Serena are watching from a place. We have not seen any drones for eight minutes."

It was very quiet for a moment. Iris was counting her children, ten of them. She was thinking about what Victor Lang had said, "One of them is already gone, replaced and you will never know which one until it is too late." She was looking at each of their faces trying to see if any of them were different. Was it Lila being quiet? Noah being calm? Hope staring off into space? Iris was getting very scared.

"Mommy " Lila said, in a voice. "Is Daddy going to be okay?"

Iris kissed Lilas head. "Yes baby he will be fine. He always comes back to us."

Then the SUV jerked very hard. There was a lot of gunfire. One of the vehicles behind them. The sky was filled with fire. Lucien turned the vehicle sharply taking them off the road and into the woods.

"We are under attack!" Reyes shouted. "There are bad people and they have a lot of guns!"

The children were screaming. Iris threw herself over them trying to protect them with her body. Lucien was driving fast and the vehicle was bouncing all over the place. Another explosion. Their rear vehicle flipped over. "Hold on!" Lucien yelled.

They came out of the woods onto a road. A helicopter was flying above them shining a light down. Victor Langs voice came through the radio laughing at them. "You can run, Graves,. You cannot hide forever. One of your children is already mine. You just do not know which one."

Iris was feeling very scared and sad. She looked at her babies all ten of them. Felt like she was going to break. Which one was not hers? Which little heart was not beating for her?

Lucien turned the vehicle sharply trying to get from the helicopter. They skidded close to the edge of a cliff but then Lucien got control of the vehicle again. "Get out!" he said. "Into the caves "

They all moved very quickly. Lucien carried Theo and Noah. Iris carried Lila and the newborn babies. They ran into the caves. It was very dark and quiet. The children were crying again. The newborn babies were wailing.

Lucien pulled Iris into a corner. They kissed. It was a kiss, born of fear and love. They held each other tightly trying to remember why they were fighting.

Then Adams voice came through the radio. "I am two minutes away with the key.. There is a problem. Victor has a plan. The twelfth child, Grace is not the one. There is a child, a boy and he is already with us. One of the children is a replacement."

Everyone was shocked. They looked at each other. Then at the children. Which one was not theirs? The doubt was like poison spreading through the group.

Lucien took out his gun and his hand was shaking. "We need to test them."

It was very hard to do. They asked the children questions took their blood and did some tests. Then Grace stepped forward. "It is me " she said. "I am the child. I was copied before I left Victor. The copy is with him now telling him everything. I am sorry."

Iris felt like her heart was breaking. They had been betrayed many times. Outside they could hear the helicopters coming. Victor Lang was attacking them again.

Lucien made a hard decision. "We need to split up. Iris, take the children we know are safe and the newborn babies and go through the tunnel to the river. I will take the others. Draw the bad people away. Adam will lead the attack on Victors place."

Iris grabbed Luciens arm. "No we cannot split up again. We need to stay."

Lucien pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "If we stay together they will kill us all. This way some of you might survive. I love you Iris. More than my life. Tell the children that Daddy loved them enough to die for them."

Their goodbye kiss was very slow and very sad. It was like they were saying goodbye forever. When they broke apart they were both crying.

The group split up with hearts. Iris took the children and the newborn babies and went through the eastern tunnel. Lucien took the children and went through the western passage.

As Iris ran through the tunnel with the sound of gunfire and explosions, behind her she felt like she was going to break. Ten children, eleven and a family built on love lies and a strong will to survive.