Narrator.
"So basically, this farm can be divided into two parts: the farmland and the living area." Samuel continued explaining the plan to André.
The boy with his coal-black hair, which turned smoky on its ends and could have become like that due to stress, listened carefully so as not to miss a single detail.
"We are going to set the two on fire one after the other."
"And the appetiser will be the living area, which will be followed by the farmland." Samuel finished.
"But why burn the buildings first? "Why not burn the farm and then follow it with the buildings?" Andre questioned.
"to create a commotion." Samuel answered.
"The commotion will be made either way."
"Yes, it will. but the greater commotion will come from my plan."
"And how is that, Samuel?"
"Just imagine yourself sleeping soundly and comfortably in your house, and then your body starts sweating and the air starts getting hotter and hotter."
"So you wake up confused. "You hurry out of your room and boom!" Samuel claps his hands in order to create a "boom".
"Fire and flames engulf you!" he said with utmost enthusiasm.
"You run outside as fast as you can, but you find out that the outside is even worse, and despair takes hold of you firmly as you are awaiting your inevitable death." Samuel ended it in a poetic tone while looking André in the eye, expecting his response.
"What the hell is wrong with you? "Are you a psychopath?" Andre blurted it out.
He was clearly terrified by the description.
"I was just kidding." Samuel let out a laugh.
He continued laughing and slapped his thigh while laughing.
Andre was getting furious.
"I can't understand how you thought this was the reason." Samuel said sarcastically:
"Just say it, bitch." Andre slurred.
"Woah, those are some big words, little kid. I don't want to hear them again, or I will make you swallow them." Samuel sardonically threatened
"swallow what?." Andre failed miserably at being threatened.
"Oh, I am sure you know what I will make you swallow." Samuel spoke confidently.
Andre quivering upon hearing that seemed to understand it in a way that Samuel didn't intend to.
He looked at Samuel's pants as he swallowed his saliva.
"Anyways, the real reason is that the guards mostly won't leave their posts if the famous plot goes up in flames, but it will be another case if their homes go ablaze." Samuel reasoned.
Andre, although still thinking about what happened a moment ago, nodded in response.
Samuel stood up.
He was skinny, and he wasn't tall or short; if you saw him, you would swear that he would fall dead due to inanition.
He looked at Andre, who was still sitting on the ground.
The threads of the rising sun covered half his face, making him look trustworthy.
"Well, break a leg and go get things ready; the operation is going to begin in two days' time."
"Samuel, how do you expect me to know how or where I am going to start a flame?" Andre
blurted mockingly, erasing the hopeful mood.
Samuel kicked his butt off the ground in annoyance.
***
Andre.
Starting a fire is quite easy, but not on stone.
The buildings that the man, Samuel, told me to target first were the administrative ones.
I heard that word "administrative" first from Samuel's mouth two days prior.
Those buildings' walls were made of stone, but the interior was wooden.
The theory is that since stone won't burn, it will limit the fire's reach instead, and because of that, heat will build up inside, making it as hot as an oven.
But therein lies the problem.
How am I going to burn the inside?
There were three buildings that I was told to burn before the fields: the soldier's dorms, the main management building, and the silo.
The silo won't be that problematic. It is normal for a slave to wander around it for some time before curfew.
The main management building may prove hard, but if there is commotion, it will be possible to throw a torch inside one of the windows, and it will become a human oven.
As for the warden's dorms, they should be the hardest to burn, but if I leave them for last, enough wardens will go to the buildings that caught fire, and in that window of time, I will have thrown the torches inside successfully.
During my contemplation, 15 minutes passed.
dammit.
I must stop doing that.
I got moving and plodded my way towards the silo.
Before long, I stood in front of the long, cylindrical red silo.
The grain on this farm gets sold at a high rate, so there isn't much to store.
In fact, the silo is more like a decoration at this point, but a farm needs at least one to be called a farm.
After admiring the sight of it, I continued plodding until I reached the bushes beyond it.
I went through the bushes, which kept poking at my skeletal body, till I found what I came here for.
Three torch sticks and two stones lay there, awaiting my arrival.
I grabbed the torch sticks and flung them out of the bushes; they hit the ground one after the other, causing a resounding thud on landing.
"Damn good thing I made sure no one was nearby." I muttered as I grasped the rocks.
The two rocks were actually unrefined iron ore.
I scrubbed them against each other as hard as I could.
once.
twice.
thrice.
Sparks began forming between the stones.
After two more fast scrubs, some of the sparks landed on the bushes.
I blew gently on them, but no flame came out.
dammit.
The sun seemed to set faster than before, and I began slamming.
click!.
click!.
click!.
Sparks came out, but they didn't suffice.
I had to think about another way.
wait.
If a small amount of leaves burned, it would create enough heat to burn the bushes.
How clever of me!
A smirk formed on my face, and my dark yellow teeth, which were almost brown, were exposed.
I quickly flailed my hands around and pushed some dirt that contained leaves near me.
I picked at the leaves and mounded them in front of me.
Now that the tinder is ready, I can begin forming the fire.
click!.
click!.
click!.
click!.
the sparks formed in-between the iron ores, I continued slamming them with all my might.
Four more clicks, and the sparks landed on the mound.
hands covering the small smoulder, preventing air from putting it out, I began blowing gently.
The smoulder glowed and emitted a golden red hue, which made my beaten-up face turn scarlet.
When I felt that the tinder wasn't enough to sustain the newly born flame, I grabbed one of the twigs from the bushes.
It was thorny, and it hurt me to hold onto it, but I had no other choice.
The twig rested on the tinder and burned in a second.
The flame matured, and its light became more and more glistening.
I took hold of some twigs and laid them down on the ground near the flame, and the flame engulfed them.
The flame finally reached the bushes, and the bushes went ablaze.
I quickly got out of the thorny bushes that glowed in a golden hue that lit the night.
The thorns poked at me even harder due to my speed, but I couldn't stop, even when my cheeks were being sliced open.
I got out, but I didn't see the silo in front of me; I saw normal trees.
wait what?.
fuck.
I went in the wrong direction.
I looked back at the barbed bushes as the flame that I started began spreading steadily throughout them.
My thin body stiffened up, and sweat showered my face.
I sprinted full speed ahead and tried to avoid the area where the flame danced as much as possible.
Bristly twigs and prickly leaves swept past me yet again, but I successfully got out before the flame reached where I was, although my body was in shambles.
My body was bloody, but all I thought about were the torches.
I swung my head left and right and found them to my right.
I galloped towards them, picked them up one after the other, and went to the flame.
The first torch entered darkness and came out blazing.
Well, the torches were just normal sticks, but they were broader, and that made them not burn fully instantly.
I really find it strange how Samuel was able to find such useful sticks, and he even found iron ores.
Well, the iron ores won't be that much of a problem since this farm contains a small mine that has some coal and iron in it, so he probably snuck in and snatched two pieces of iron, and then he—ahh fuck!
I did it again!
I lost my focus at an important moment again!
I've had this issue ever since I was born.
It really comes at unexpected times, and I may go days on end without losing it, but sometimes it happens.
I pulled away from the raging fire. One hand held the lit torch tightly while the other locked the other two in place under my armpit.
I sucked in a huge breath, straightened my shoulders and back, and made my way towards the silo.
The wooden silo stood tall, and without Samuel's preparation, I wouldn't have been able to ignite it.
Going to the back of it, I used the torch to light the way until I spotted the crack that Samuel made in the wood.
I squatted down and took one of the torches under my armpit and lit it using the one in my other hand, then I inserted the torch that was in my hand inside through the hole.
Well, with that done, I needed to hurry towards the main management building.
I continued circling the silo and went out towards the trees behind it.
I made sure to light everything I passed by on fire and moved swiftly towards the next area.
It took me around 5 minutes to reach the area beside the management building; the night sky was already turning red and the farm was heating up.
The silo shone brightly, and people swarmed towards it like moths to a flame.
Guards had already begun heading there, and people stopped whatever they were doing and gazed at the ominous scene.
I wasted no time and entered the trees and bushes behind the building and turned them aflame.
Samuel said that this would intrigue the wardens or scare them, but in either case, they would abandon their patrols to try and find some clues on the culprit.
It was terrifying looking at the bushes, grass, and trees turn to cinder, and I could do nothing but continue wreaking havoc, but knowing what was beyond the havoc made me excited.
I turned around after going some distance and continued moving parallel to the management building.
My breath was being sucked out of my lungs as I hurried, and after some distance, I turned towards the building again and zoomed towards it. After all, I had only one shot at this, and I better not let it go down the drain.
The wardens were already in front of the flames, and I heard shouts, some calling for helping hands and some calling for buckets of water. They didn't notice me.
Or at least that is what I thought until I heard, "Look here! "Something's coming out of the bushes. Go track it, boys!".
FUCK.
I screamed in my mind, and I doubled my pace.
I arrived at the right side of the management building, and one of the windows on the first floor was open.
I lit the other torch and threw the other one clumsily when I heard, "What is a slave like you think he is doing?" A young warden yelled
I couldn't even think for a second; I just ran in the direction I was told to go after burning the management building.
" hey! halt!.
"Come on guys, that little shit is the culprit. Circle him!"
Having only one torch in hand was definitely easier than having three, and thus my pace was even faster.
But no matter what, a 10-year-old boy won't outpace a young warden.
I had to improvise.
I went towards the farmland, where I needed to hide between the crops and 'strategically' get out of this situation.
I trotted as fast as I could, and my mind became light.
I felt like I needed to stop and take a breather, but a breather would mean losing my life.
I was around five metres away from the plot when a foot was shoved to the side of my face.
My brain shook inside my skull, and I bit my tongue.
As I hit the ground, a loud reverberating whistle muted every sound. My eyes saw in double, and everything went blurry. I suddenly felt as if I were underwater.
My limbs were heavier by threefold, and I was sent reeling.
Only one thing was clear in my mind: I had to reach the wardens' dorms and burn them down no matter what.
bam!.
I took another hit to the stomach. I would've puked if I had eaten anything today, but thankfully I didn't.
The kick brought me close to the torch. I stretched my hand and held it.
I heard him shout something out, but the whistle muted it all.
I moved with hardship, but I managed to lift myself up from the ground.
I was in a push-up position before the warden's shoe came from under me and I was sent flying.
But I took my chance and twisted my body and tried to slam the guy's face, but I fell down and slammed his reproductive organs.
My shoulder literally shouldered the fall, and I got up fast and ran into the plot.
His screams overwhelmed the whistle and reached my ears.
"Catch that kid! "After him, go!"
The cry was so loud that it muted the whistle.
I felt my body get lighter, but the pain reached me all at once. But the pain won't hinder me.
I flailed with the torch around, burning the crops, and soon the crops burned by themselves.
I could no longer speed up; my legs reached their limit a long time ago.
I wasn't burning energy in order to move; I was burning my will in order to move.
My will to move fueled my legs, and I kept on going.
Multiple booming sounds shocked my soul; it could be only one thing.
Guns!.
My will faltered, and I nearly tripped, but I continued running.
If I get hit, then it is fate, and if I survive, then it is also fate.
Fate conquers all, and only the foolish would try to reason with it or fight it.
I eventually found my way towards the warden's quarters.
I approached it with a hellish flame at my tail, and not to my surprise, I found them there.
the wardens that were following me.