"No, absolutely not." Carter's voice was cool as cut glass.

After the insufferable, raw anguish Sia had put her through, Maddy and the other four had gathered in the car again to discuss the odds of them visiting Logan's cottage in Lancashire.

"Why not?" pleaded Sia. "We can't just wander around with no money or food."

"She's right, man," interfered Logan. "I have money there, cash. And I went there a week ago on my own without telling my parents, so all the cupboards and the fridge are full. We'll have food and clean clothes, and we can sleep on a proper bed."

"You think your parents haven't already told the police about your cottage?" snapped Carter, losing his patience. "If we go to Lancashire, it will be as good as walking straight into a mousetrap."

"Look, I don't think they have thought about it. We haven't been to our family cabin in Lancashire in years. Ever since my father passed it to me my parents haven't stepped foot there. I bet they don't even remember it exists. Besides, do you really think the police or FROST would travel two hundred miles because of five teenagers? I say we go. It's mine, I'm the only one who goes there for years now."

"Yeah, I bet you never go alone," grumbled Sia underneath her breath, her voice so low that Maddy wondered whether she was the only one who heard her.

"Yeah, I think we should go, too. I could use a shower." Mia flipped her glossy ponytail.

"No. It's too risky. We might get caught." Carter shook his head categorically.

Maddy was silent beside him in the front passenger's seat, listening to the conversation without talking or picking sides. Listening to them arguing over whether they would get caught or not felt so... surreal, like having one of those nightmares that get you paralysed, unable to move a single muscle, unable to run or scream.

She felt the need to pinch her skin, hoping to wake up and forget all about that terrible nightmare in seconds. She squeezed her arm between her long fingers, releasing a heavy breath. Nothing happened. Because that was not a nightmare. It was real.

The realization shook her like a wave crashing on solid rocks by the shore - a wave? A whole god damn tsunami. Just a few hours ago, she was in class, attending a fatally boring lesson and casually chit chatting with Clarke. And now... now she was running from the police and some creepy association called FROST, and she could get arrested any second, get locked inside some daunting cell behind steel bars and have a green liquid that could even kill her injected into her organism with a stingy syringe.

Her whole life had turned upside down in the blink of an eye. She was supposed to be studying for school now, keep on getting excellent grades and eating vanilla ice cream, go to university and live up the college life, go to parties and have fun while being the antisocial introvert she always used to be. She wasn't supposed to be running from the cops and FROST.

Was that her life now? A life of constantly darting cautious glances over her shoulder and startling even at the sound of her own footsteps?

Her sulky thoughts seemed to consume her, and they were too terrible to contemplate anyway, so she just pushed them away, shaking her head right and left.

"We won't get caught. Come on, Carter. We need money and supplies, and you know it." Sia looked desperate.

Carter didn't back up, not a single step; it was seen in his dark eyes.

"Let's vote," suggested Logan. "I say we go."

"Me too," agreed Sia with no second thoughts.

"Me too," repeated Mia.

"I say no," said Carter, but the coolness of his voice was gone. They'd go to Lancashire whether he wanted it or not, because that was what the majority of them wanted, and he knew it.

"You, Maddy?" asked Logan.

She twitched at the sound of her name. "I..." She hesitated. It didn't really matter what she thought, since three of them had already voted for going, but she wasn't so sure what to say either way. The line between right and wrong looked so blurry all of a sudden.

She thought of a cozy comfortable bed and a warm tasty dinner, of a hot shower and a clean change of clothes. But those thoughts were overshadowed by her fear. This was all too convenient. It felt too good to be true, too easy, too perfect. She didn't feel safe to go there.

You don't feel safe anyway, meddled her subconscious, which clearly didn't know when to shut up.

"I don't think it's a good idea..." she began. "But..." She sucked in a breath of the glacial night air. "I guess we can stay for a night. Only one night."

"Then it's decided!" Sia clapped her hands cheerfully, a smile of victory appearing on her lips. "Who's driving?"

***

The car journey was excruciating, but five hours on the road passed by faster when Maddy concentrated on the sound of Logan's soft snoring, or on the passing scenery outside the window. The busy streets of London were now long replaced by rolling fields and Maddy couldn't help but feel a wave of loneliness. She was the only one who stayed wide awake, except for Mia, who was driving next to her. Which didn't better her mood either. At some point, she just closed her eyes and let herself fall in a trance, losing track of her surroundings. There was a moment when she felt the car stopping beneath her body, but, although she wasn't even barely sleeping, she refused to open her eyes. She heard doors opening and closing, but exhausted as she was, she didn't pay any attention to the clicking sound. The car started going again. She had almost nodded off, when Logan's raspy voice rang through her ears. She started at the sound, her eyes flashing open to meet the sight of him sitting next to her on the driver's seat, instead of Mia. They must've switched seats at some point.

"Guys, wake up. We're here." He glanced at Maddy with a boyish grin, then turned back to the others. "Welcome to my humble little cottage."

"Mmm, what time is it?" nagged a sleepy Sia.

Logan looked at his phone, and Maddy vaguely remembered that hers must have been dead by then. "1am. Let's go, get your asses up."

A rumble of discontent spread through the back of the car, but eventually they all got out. Maddy shut the panel door behind her weakly, too tired to put any force in it. Looking straight forward, she could view the dark, moonlit trees of the mountain in the distance, hear the faint rustle of the surrounding greenery which was tall trees and overgrown bushes protecting their counterpart miniatures: flowers and weeds. She could smell the invigorating scent of the quaint nature all around her, and almost taste the freshness of the crisp night air. All of her senses were activated. She took a last glimpse of the picturesque landscape in front of her, trying to memorise it, lock or seal it in her mind. Then she turned around nonchalantly.

And her jaw dropped to the concrete as her glistening eyes beheld the glory of Logan's "humble little cottage", an architectural miracle which rose majestically in front of her.

It's HUGE, she thought, mesmerized by the skyscraper towering above her.

That was not a cottage or a cabin, and it certainly wasn't a "humble little" one; Above her loomed a luxurious mansion nested in a mirth of grass, as if welcoming her with open arms and a comforting smile of happiness.

The fine, gable roof was sloping in complex patterns down the vintage stone walls of the cottage, fetching up to a high terrace to the left. Taking a peek through the windows, large enough to captivate your curiosity, yet small enough to keep prying eyes on a leash, Maddy felt her stomach giving a little jump of excitement.

They crossed the cobbled path leading to a sunset wooden staircase, which climbed up to a spacious decking and, of course, the entrance door of the cottage. The cherry floorboards of the decking were coated by a bunch of thick persian carpets that added an extra touch of cosiness to the cottage.

Although it was midst of spring, the virus had well brought back the cold of winter for the last few months since the outbreak, and the warmness coming off the house made Maddy feel like she had just swallowed a steaming sip of hot chocolate on a December night, the heat instantly warming her body.

Logan bent over and revealed a set of keys that remained hidden under one of the many carpets. "Here we go," he said as he unlocked the gigantic wooden door. Pushing it forward, he took a step back and gestured to the others to enter, like a true host welcoming his guests.

With her first step inside the entryway, Maddy's breath was blown away.

The whole space reeked of wealth.

The ceilings were extremely high-vaulted, and the maple floor across the way was shining as if it had just been polished. A rustic antique chandelier was hanging above her head, its shimmering crystals almost blinding her.

"Make yourselves at home," said Logan, closing the door behind him.

They walked into the lounge, and any logical thought was cut off Maddy's already dizzy mind when she found herself up against a massive, hundred-inch television. Two plushy sofas were placed vertically in front of it, their upholstery decorated with elegant, scarlet red flower designs. Maddy studied the expensive furniture in awe, unable to take in the amount of elegance attacking her from every direction.

Her eyes travelled to the left, where lied the kitchen, a space of cream-coloured walls and honey-golden floors which resembled a rustic bakery filled to the brim with butter cookies and lemon meringue and cinnamon rolls.

Then she turned to her right, facing a light wooden staircase climbing up to the second floor. Her feet itched to explore every single inch of that house she had found herself into. She inhaled deeply through the nose, and thought the air inside the house smelled peculiar.

It smelled like home.