In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall) novel Chapter 645

It had taken the four of us days to get here across the rugged terrain, scaling numerous peaks. It was a tremendous distance. Why would these policemen have made the same, if not more, perilous journey? Besides, weren’t they worried about appearing conspicuous?

“What’s wrong?” Troy asked doubtfully, noting our troubled faces with concern.

Out of consideration for Troy, we chorused in tandem, a little too brightly, “Nothing! It’s fine!”

Nora was the most street smart among us. She was closely guarded, refusing to trust others unless they’ve proven themselves. She now paused, then remarked wisely, “No matter what, let’s be careful. If it’s really impossible, we can continue to the city. We’ll definitely meet fellow countrymen there. If we’re indeed that close to the border, there’ll definitely be an embassy we can seek refuge at.”

Upon hearing Nora’s tempered reasoning, we nodded in agreement. Besides, it didn’t seem like there were any other alternatives.

Having made up our minds, we regretfully bade farewell to Troy and Yvette and hurriedly set off.

Before we could even step out of the door, however, we heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from outside, beyond it.

“What shall we do?” Laurel shrieked. She clung tightly to the hem of my shirt, petrified.

“Let’s wait and see,” I declared firmly, trying to keep my voice from quaking. Together, Nora and I watched the door in trepidation.

Troy’s house was rather cramped. There was absolutely nowhere to hide.

Besides, even if we managed to, we’d be leaving Troy and Yvette to fend for themselves. If these were indeed assailants coming for us, they might even torment Troy and Yvette for helping us.

We decided that we had to confront them head-on. As we peered out of the crack of the door, what greeted us was the sight of a few dark-skinned men attired in police uniforms. They stood haughtily in the yard with their chests puffed out.

“Venrian policemen!” Nora muttered; her brow furrowed. She squared her shoulders and walked out into the yard somewhat defiantly.

When the policemen saw us, looks of astonishment flitted briefly across their faces. Troy, who’d followed us out, began rattling off a string of explanations. Unable to follow the conversations, we fixed our gazes on Troy in complete trust.

After a brief exchange, the apparent leader of the policemen turned towards us and uttered a command. Naturally, we made no response and merely looked at him, mystified.

The policeman looked equally confused. His arrogance seemed to have taken a blow. He turned towards a sallow-looking man standing just behind him and gave another order.

His chosen interpreter stared at us with piercing eyes and asked, “Are you illegal Chanaean immigrants?”

Nora pursed her lips. “Good sirs, can we discuss this civilly? We weren’t trespassing. We were running for our lives!”