Chapter 12 - PRISON BREAK

When the boy regained consciousness, he felt his body flopping on what seems to be a strong shoulder. It looked like he was being carried somewhere and he couldn't see anything as a sack was worn over his head.

Soon, he heard the sound of irons clanging against each other and a door loudly creaking open. The sack covering his head was removed and he was thrown into a room, landing with a soft thud.

When the door slammed shut behind him, plunging the momentarily lit room into darkness, the boy's heart pounded in his chest. He stumbled forward, the dim light from a high, barred window offering scant illumination. As his eyes adjusted to his surrounding, he saw shadows moving and heard murmurs rising and falling in the stifling air. Other captives. He wasn't alone.

Slowly pressing his back against the cold stone wall, he tried to steady his trembling legs. His stomach groaned loudly this time, sending a sharp pain through his body that made him bend, biting his lips very hard. He was hungry, more so than he had ever been in his twelve years. The gnawing in his stomach was a constant reminder of his misfortune. When they told him there was a work he could do to earn a little bit more money, he had waited hours for the men who promised him work. He had persevered, thinking he would work hard and his luck would turn. Instead, it had been a cruel twist, leading him here—wherever here was.

Hours passed in a slow, agonizing crawl and the boy watched the others, noting how they all seemed down casted. They seem to know what was going on and it's looking like it's something bad.

He noticed a girl, perhaps a year or two older than himself, with keen eyes that missed nothing, observing him. As she looked at him, she bit her lips, her eyes flicking with indecision for a moment before sighing. She moved carefully, avoiding the rougher captives, keeping to herself. Compared to others, she seemed less despairing, more determined, as if the situation was a puzzle she intended to solve.

As she slipped through the shadows towards him, he watched helplessly, still doubling up while sweating from the pangs of hunger he was feeling. She arrived beside him without a word, producing a small piece of bread from the folds of her skirt. She pressed it into his hands and melted back into the darkness before he could thank her. The bread was stale, but to him, it was manna from heaven. He ate slowly, savoring each dry crumb, grateful beyond words.

The next day dawned with harsh light and barking orders. The boy and the other captives were herded into a wagon while blindfolded, the girl from the night before ending up next to him. They were jostled together with the guards keeping a close watch. When they got in and the blindfold was taken off, the boy tried to catch her eye, to offer his thanks, but she avoided his gaze, her focus elsewhere. The long journey continued, filled with the creak of wooden wheels and the murmurs of frightened captives.

By nightfall, they reached what the guards referred to as "the base." It was a dismal place, surrounded by a thick forest. The captives were blindfolded again and split into groups, confined to different parts of the building. The boy ended up with the girl again, though she still kept her distance.

The guards watched them closely, but the girl seemed unperturbed. She bided her time, her sharp eyes always searching, calculating. It was clear she had a plan. When the guards' attention waned, she finally approached the boy.

"Stay close to me," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "We're getting out of here tonight."

The boy nodded in turn, trusting her completely. As the night grew darker, the guards grew more lax, confident in the captivity of their charges. The girl made her move.

Feigning distress, she clutched her stomach, her face twisted in pain. She called out to the guards, her voice laced with urgency. "Please, I need help! I've... I've started my period unexpectedly. I need to clean up, it's a mess."

One of the guards, a grizzled man with a scar across his cheek, approached, irritation clear on his face. The girl showed him the bloodstains on her clothes, carefully avoiding his eyes, while the boy watched, his heart pounding, as the guard's expression shifted from annoyance to reluctant understanding.

"Fine," the guard grumbled, opening the iron gate. When he saw the boy following her, the guard proceeded to stop him but the girl was quick, "He's my brother and he helps me with it. It's faster when he helps." she said.

The guard looked at them suspiciously before grumbling again, "Make it quick."

The girl sighed inwardly, while nodding gratefully to the guard before following the guard to a secluded area near the back gate. As they reached the spot, she stumbled, clutching at the guard's arm for support. In that brief moment, her hand darted to his belt, slipping the keys free. She concealed them in her fist, her movements smooth and practiced. Unexpectedly, the guard hit her with disgust as he raised his arms and clothes that had been stained with her blood. "Brat!" he spat. "better be fast before I get back!" He barked.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her eyelashes sweeping over the lone tear that threatened to drop, concealing the defiance that was beginning pool in her eyes. 'I'm about to escape anyway, so there's no need for further drama,' She reasoned, turning to clean herself with water from a bucket. As the guard left, the boy spoke up in a whisper "Are we leaving now?"

In response, the girl surveyed the thick door. "No. Not now anymore. We'll have to wait."

That night, as the guards dozed, she moved silently through the sleeping captives, waking the boy with a gentle shake. "Now," she whispered. "Follow me."

The boy scrambled to his feet, heart racing as the girl led him to the back gate, moving with cat-like stealth. She inserted the stolen key into the lock, turning it slowly to avoid noise. The gate swung open, revealing the dense forest beyond.

They slipped through, closing the gate behind them. The cool night air filled their lungs, a stark contrast to the stale air in the stifling confines of their prison. Then they ran, the forest swallowing them in its dark embrace. Branches whipped against their skin and the ground was uneven beneath their feet, but neither slowed down. They could hear shouts and growls behind them as their escape was discovered, but they didn't look back.

Hours seemed to pass in a blur of fear and they finally paused in a small clearing, both gasping for breath. The girl examined their surroundings, her quick mind assessing their next move. To her delight, she sighted a lake! She didn't bother to ask if the boy could swim and just jumped in, dragging him along. Luckily, the boy knew how to swim.

"We have to keep moving," she said, her voice breathless as she took huge gasps before diving back into the water, swimming. "Although the water will erase our scent and shake them off our trail, we're not totally safe yet until we're out of this water."

With that, they swam faster, the fear of what would happen if caught again, spurring them onward. As they swam out on the other end, they dared not stop running. They didn't know what lay ahead, but they had escaped the immediate danger. For now, that was enough.