The end is in sight..

This time next week, it will be December. Writing month will be officially over and the story of The Forgotten Children will be finished. I must admit, I'm still not entirely sure how it will all work itself out. I have a general idea, but it changes daily. Sometimes paragraphs seem to write themselves and I am pleasantly surprised by what the characters have decided to make happen! So I guess I will have to leave it up to them! Here are their next 438 words... :-)
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The children all huddled together. Some were frightened and crying; others looked angry. Two of the younger children just looked around them in a dazed sort of way, as if they expected to wake from their dream any minute. The youngest of them all, Clara, shyly pulled on the sleeve of Charlotte’s dress. Charlotte looked down at her and tried to smile.
“Hello, Clara,” she said. “Are you all right?”
Clara nodded, but snuggled closer to the older girl and laid her head on Charlotte’s shoulder. “I want to go home,” she said.
Charlotte patted the top of Clara’s head. “I know you do,” she whispered. “So do I.”
“When will we go home?”
Charlotte looked across at Troy, helplessly. “Soon,” she said. “Soon.” But as she spoke the words, she found herself thinking, Will we really go home? Will I ever see my mother again?

“It will be all right,” said Troy to the group of children around him. “We will get out of here.” They looked around warily, but both the stranger and the owl seemed to have disappeared. Even so, the children whispered.

“How will we get out?” asked Charlotte. “What if the stranger spoke the truth? What if our families have forgotten us?”
“Don’t be silly,” said Troy. “We haven’t been gone for that long. They would have noticed as soon as they awoke. By now, I am sure they will be working on a plan to come and rescue us.”

“Are you really sure?” said Charlotte. “What if it is as the stranger said? He was right about my mother refusing to believe me when I told her about the owl and the curse. If he was right about that, maybe he is right about us being the Forgotten Children too.”

Troy shook his head. “That is what he wants you to think,” he said.
“What do you mean?” asked Charlotte.
“Think about it,” said Troy. “Everything the stranger has done so far, he has been able to do because he has controlled our thoughts. He sent the owl and charmed us with his voice. Then he used his pipe to make us follow him. Now he is trying to control us again, by making us think that we have been forgotten. We can’t believe him. That’s what makes him so powerful.”
Charlotte nodded. “I suppose you are right,” she said.

A sudden noise behind them made them jump. A furry object raced towards Charlotte and landed squarely in her lap. Charlotte stifled a scream. She looked down and gasped with joy.
“Sixpence!” she said. “How on earth did you find us?