The Red-Handkerchief Commander
Renard's heart raced as the cage door screeched open, revealing a man with a red handkerchief tightly bound around his head, framing a bushy set of moustache and beard. The rough tone in his command cut through the air, demanding, "Step out of the cage, all of you."
The journey had been grueling, each day more taxing than the last. Renard's fear for himself and the other children intensified as he witnessed some of them wasting away, growing weaker and thinner with every passing moment.
A chilling routine unfolded as signs of sickness manifested among the captives. When a child displayed the slightest hint of illness, one of the men would open the cage, dragging the sickly soul away. The child never returned.
