ANDRE.
There lied the warden's dorms, and there lied the wardens.
My body was a broken toy that would make the stone-hearted cry, but that is if I wasn't a slave.
I was racing towards the dorms with a torch in hand while the crop field was blazing in the background.
I had no choice but to run straight ahead; otherwise, I would burn to a crisp, but the wardens blocked the path that led towards the dorms.
Facing them head-on would spell my death, and turning around would also spell it.
I naturally picked the less painful and more hopeful choice.
the wardens.
I reached the exit, and six figures came into view.
Guns in hand and ready to shoot, I hesitated at the sight and tried to stop, but I slipped forward on my bloodred foot.
My face landed square on the dust, and the gunshots missed me.
I wondered how I was this lucky for a split second before I held the torch and swung it upward.
The second volley of shots was ready, and before they shot, I went into the crops that were tall enough to hide my feeble form.
but alas, two shots hit me.
One penetrated my right forearm, and the other landed in my left calf, breaking my shin in the process.
My subconscious took over my body, and I continued running and stepping firmly on my legs, which further worsened the state of my calf.
I suddenly felt as though I couldn't think; I just moved while reality around me began churning. The bright golden glow mixed with the dark blue night sky; the colours mixed and faded.
and my consciousness faded.
***
"Woah eas," a voice echoed inside me, but I could only make out half of it.
" Andre!,!" I heard nothing but this word, and it immediately caused me to relax as if I were carrying a mountain on my back, and it suddenly disappeared.
If the figure I saw knew my name, it could only mean one thing.
that I reached Samuel.
***
SAMUEL.
The boy's irises exuded nothingness, but I noticed his body's heat and the abrupt movements done by his legs.
He still didn't kick the bucket.
I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder.
I reached out my hand to grab the bag that contained our survival kit and took a glance at the scene in front of me.
People ran in a multitude of directions, some transporting water buckets, some evacuating the grumund officials, and some coming towards us.
"Shit," I enunciated faintly as I took off as fast as my body could go.
They were just following the trail of blood Andre left while he was unconscious; if I can patch him up somewhere further, it will stop the blood flowing from his arm and calf, and they will lose track of us.
Running through the forest and trying my darnest not to break a single twig with a boy in one hand and a bag in the other has got to be the hardest thing I have done till now.
I couldn't avoid crunching maple leaves under my feet; they were too small to notice in the night, so I just didn't mind it and continued on my way.
Finally reaching somewhere where I can patch the kid up upped my mood a tad bit.
I dropped him down while he was having a seizure and then brought the bandages out, as well as an antibiotic I managed to grab from a guard's pocket.
"It's ok now, calm down, Andre".
"Wait, how is he going to hear me? "He is unconscious."
I facepalmed at my stupidity.
I tried to hold his calf, but he kept jerking his legs, so I started wrestling to put them on.
I hold the legs and get the bandages, and then suddenly he breaks free from my grasp.
I tried to stand atop his legs and then wrap the bandages, but his legs hit me right between the legs.
....
I just waited for him to stop spasming, and to pass the time, I attempted rubbing the track we made, but that wouldn't do much, would it?
Of course it won't.
They have dogs, flashlights, guns, and a whole lot of men.
What do I have?
a weak body, a half-dead burden, and a heavy bag to add to the list.
*sigh*
He must've finished his seizure; now let's just hope he is dead. Fingers crossed.
I don't want to carry him for the rest of the journey.
I came back and put my hand on his mouth to see if there was any airflow.
and there was...
.....fuck.
Anyway, everything doesn't have to go the way we want it to.
I fixed him up real quick and clawed the bullet out of his calf with my long nails.
antibiotic, bandage, and here we go, patched-up kid!
Now I carried him up on my shoulder, which causes blood to go to his wounded areas, but I made sure the bandages were tight enough to seal his wounds fully.
I took a breath, thought everything through, and then decided that we were going to the nearest river or civilization.
The rations we have won't be enough for more than three days, so we've got to hurry.
******
At noon the next day, I was basically crawling.
My body doesn't have that much energy in it, so I just dropped the kid and pulled him through the mud and earth.
I just got extremely tired, so I stopped my glorious escapade and settled down for a minute to wolf down some food.
I am especially excited to try this food because I don't get to eat it very often.
Meat!.
I put some slices on a loaf of bread and began munching.
15 MINUTES LATER
ANDRE.
Where the hell am I?
My bones felt rusty, and my brain felt dusty.
I just need some water right now.
" wat.."
I am too tired to speak.
" water"
" water"
I tried to sit up but accidentally weighed down on my forearm, which I just remembered that I had injured.
"AAAAHHH"
I shouted just like a baby out of his mother's womb.
"Hey, why are you tiring yourself out? You are already broken. Just sit down and relax."
" water"
"I can't hear you raise your voice!"
He shouted in my face.
"You know, I am just pitying your current state. I mean, it looks to me as if I should just leave you behind."
"I mean, you are already unable to do anything; you can't walk, and you can't talk."
He is pressing on my nerves.
"I mean, if I were in your place, I would have done all that and not even gotten injured; you are just too useless to let them shoot you like that."
"Fuck you"
"Sorry, I couldn't hear you raise your voice!" he shouted.
I just couldn't let him tell me all that crap after he made me do all this.
So I used every single piece of strength I had and yelled in his face.
"Fuck you, Samuel!"
"Ha, now that is more like it. "Now get up and give yourself some water; I am not your servant."
Unexpectedly, the shout made me wake up, and my mind was clearer, so I crawled and helped myself to the water.
I chugged as much as I could, and I was going to chug more, but he stopped me with a slap on the head.
"Don't waste it all now; we still have a long time ahead of us in here; we can't risk losing our only source of water." He explained thoroughly.
"Now get up and get ready, because we are going to walk all night long."
I stood up weakly, but I still had to use Samuel in order to stabilise myself.
He picked up the survival kit bag, and then we started on our way.