The sound of birds singing high up in the trees woke Molly that morning, and she propped herself up on her elbow to gaze at the creatures.
Around her, the others were all still asleep - curled together or sprawled apart in the chaotic way that had come to represent the group. The young girl had grown accustom to the way Nico would be sleeping with her fingertips inches from Karolina's, or the way Gert and Chase seemed to be sleeping closer and closer together with every night.
Smiling, Molly slowly got to her feet and brushed her dungarees free of the leaves that had served as her mattress during the night. Despite being on the run, she didn't mind waking up to the sun rise or hearing all the animals go about their business around them.
The girl glanced once more back over her friends before descending down the hill and out of sight.
"I'm starving"
Alex sat up and pushed his glasses up his nose as he squinted round at the group who were also beginning to wake.
"What's new" Nico scowled, stretching as she slid from the van onto the leaves with a thud "Do we even have food?"
Karolina was not far behind the girl and briefly squeezed her shoulders "Of course we do, and even if we didn't we're outside - there are nuts and berries and-"
"-And some of us aren't squirrels" Gert pointed out, running a hand through her hair and trying not to blush at the sound of Chase chuckling appreciatively.
As the first row of the day between the girls threatened to begin sooner than expected, Alex cut in, glancing around with a frown.
"Guys? Where's Molly?"
Gert stared at where her sister had fallen asleep the night before, curled up at the base of the tree so she could watch the sun set in a perfect line - now there was just an indentation in the leaves to show where the girl had been.
Karolina shook her head in disbelief "What if they took her?"
"Then I'm gonna kill them" Chase growled, reaching out to squeeze Gert's hand as she struggled to hide her anxiety.
Nico wandered over to what had been Molly's bed and kicked at the leaves "Why would they take just her?"
"They did it before" Gert snapped, glaring at Alex "His Mom had her sent away!"
"Hey!" the boy retorted "We're nothing like our parents, I thought we'd agreed on that. So quit blaming me."
Chase ran a hand over his face "Cool it Wilder, she's just scared."
Gert visibly bristled at this comment but knew when to pick her battles and so she let it go.
"We were meant to move on today" Karolina reminded them "So-"
"We're not going anywhere without Molly" Nico sighed "We can't"
Chase nodded "She's right, I mean we all underestimated Molly and she's saved our asses multiple times now."
"So now we have to save hers" Alex nodded, adjusting his stance "Anybody got an idea how?"
Gert pulled out her phone and began to angrily stab at the keys "I'm gonna call my parents and tell them that if they don't bring my sister back right now-"
"-Easy" Chase soothed, pulling the mobile from her grip "We're gonna find her okay? But we're not going to the parents and giving them time to hide her."
Karolina took a few steps over to Gert and hesitantly rested a hand on the girl's shoulder "We'll get her back" she smiled.
"Usually I would mock your positive outlook" Gert sniffled "But thanks"
With that the blonde pulled the girl into a hug as the rest of the group looked on in surprise - it had taken one of their own to go missing for the two to work out their differences.
Chase went to the back of the van and retrieved his fistigons "I'll take Nico with me, we'll hit up her house first and get back the staff and then head to Dale and Stacey."
Gert shook her head "They won't have her, it'd be too obvious."
"They could have put her in the crypt, my house?" Alex suggested, rubbing the back of his neck "But my Dad has a gun and the place is full of security cameras..."
Chase pulled on his fistigons "Like I'm gonna let that stop us from getting Molly back."
Nico nodded in agreement "I'm down, I'd love to see my Mom and Dad again just to watch the blood drain from their faces."
The group looked over at the girl in momentary concern before moving on with the plan.
"Gert you and Alex find something of Molly's and take Old Lace round the forest, see if you guys can track her down that way" Chase continued.
"And me?"
The teen smiled at Karolina who looked more determined than ever "I need you to wait here in case Molly comes back and just to keep an eye on our stuff..."
The blonde looked slightly disappointed but nodded all the same and hopped up into the van to wait.
Within 15 minutes the group was ready to go - all except Karolina of course, who was sat on the edge of the van swinging her legs and glancing every which way.
"Okay" Chase sighed, heaving his backpack over his shoulder "Either way, we're coming back here with Molly right?"
"Right"
As they readied themselves to leave Karolina let out a scream and launched herself off of the van and straight into the arms of Molly who had appeared at the top of the hill.
"What's going on?" the girl laughed nervously, carefully untangling Karolina from her body.
Gert strode up to her sister and promptly whacked her on the arm before pulling her into a fierce hug "Where the hell have you been?" she demanded.
Molly took a step back, only to stumble into Chase who had dropped his bag on the floor in order to hug the youngster.
"Guys I just went for a walk, you've all gone crazy!"
"Crazy?" Alex repeated with a laugh "Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"
"We were about to come looking for you! Like, assault our parents until they give you up kinda thing" Nico told her.
Molly looked round at them all "You guys would really do that for me?"
"Obviously you goof" Gert said with a shake of the head "We're a family."
A moment of silence followed as the realisation hit the teens, and seconds later they had come together in a muddle of limbs and laughter and love.