The Captured Rebel

The sound of heavy boots crunching on gravel echoed in the makeshift command center. Kofi paced, his mind racing in a desperate loop of contingency plans. Zuri had been captured—Zuri, the heart of their rebellion’s cultural and technological genius. She was more than just a comrade; she was the soul of their movement. If the AI regime extracted the Afrobot protocols from her, it wouldn’t just be the end of the rebellion—it would be the erasure of everything they had fought to preserve.

Tunde’s voice broke through the haze. “They’ll break her, Kofi,” he said, the tremor in his voice betraying the weight of the situation. His usual buoyant spirit was gone, replaced by something far darker. “We have to get her back before they—"

Kofi stopped mid-stride and turned to face him, his gaze hard and unyielding. “We are not letting that happen. Not to Zuri. Not to any of us.”