While I walked through the woods to the camp, my heart beat was so fast and irregular like I had a heart palpitation. I was consumed with fear. I couldn't believe the place I tried escaping from was the same place I decided to go back into. At some point, I stopped on the road to reconsider my actions. Was I really going back there? Was I really sacrificing everything, my academics, my future, my life for a fifteen year old boy and a three year old girl? Was I destroying the future I had planned for myself with my own hands? Was I letting go of everything? These were the thoughts that clouded my head. I stood still on that spot weeping silently. I could see my life fade away in front of me. I didn't want to loose all of that. I wanted to get married, give birth to beautiful kids and be a perfect mother to them. How would everything fade in just minutes? I was so devastated that I fell on the floor weeping bitterly. I knew I had a responsibility to take care of these children but I also knew I had a life to live. I didn't want to die, I wanted to live..... After sometime in my depression, I found Hope. I may have wanted a lot from life, but I wasn't going to turn my backs on those children. I stood up, wiped the tears off my face and continued my journey. When I got very close to the camp, I began to see armed men move up and down. I ran quickly and hid behind a tree. All of sudden, I heard the men shouting and shooting their guns to the air. I didn't know what was happening so I bent to check but my view wasn't clear enough. I slowly moved to another tree closer to the camp to get a clearer view. I moved from trees to trees until I got to the particular tree that I had a clear view. I saw one of the men dragging the boy that helped us escape. He was bruised everywhere. As the man dragged him, I could see that he looked to weak to walk. As I saw this, tears gushed out from my eyes. I couldn't believe that he decided to go through all of that for us. Another man walked to where they were holding a heavy stick. He hit the boy so hard that he fell on the floor and screamed. He spat out blood from his mouth. The man held him up by his dress and slapped him. He used the stick on the boy several times until he passed out. The man then ordered another man to take his body to the room I and the children were formally held captive. As he said that, he dropped the stick on the floor and walked away.... I waited behind the tree till the coast was clear for me to come out.
I tip toed pass the tents to the room. When I got closer, I saw one of the men guarding it. I quickly hid behind a big stone. I stayed there thinking of a way to get in and then I remembered the stick the other man dropped on the floor. I walked back gently to the place he dropped it. Fortunately, it was still there. I took it and walked back to the room. It was dark so no one could see me. I moved closer to the man guarding the door without him knowing and hit him in a way that he passed out immediately. When I did that I felt really strange, I had not done anything like that before. I looked at him for a while breathing heavily, then realised the stick was still with me. I quickly threw it away and cleaned my hands thoroughly. I moved closer to the man to check if he was really out. When I saw he was, I brought out the keys to the door from his pocket and opened the door. When I entered I saw the boy laying on the floor struggling to breathe. I could tell that he had been through worst than I saw earlier. I carried the small lantern towards my face for him to know I was the one there. '' Grace what are you doing here?'' He asked. I could tell that talking made him more weak, so I put my hand in his mouth to avoid him from talking further. '' Don't talk. You have been through a lot, you need to rest, we will talk better when you have'' I replied. I sat there for a while as I watched him sleep. There were some intervals when I wanted to doze-off but I knew I needed to stay strong. Sleeping was never an option.
'' Are you this stubborn Grace'' he said. I quickly turned and saw him struggling to sit up then I stood from where I was and helped him. '' It depends on the issue on ground'' I replied. He looked at me and gave a smile. That was the first time I saw him smile. '' What's funny'' I asked him. ''Sincerely I don't know. Maybe it's because you left your life to die again. Dying isn't fun. At least you have seen some people go through that, you should know'' he said. I got angry at his statement. What was funny and why would he think I wanted to risk my life on purpose. '' Do you think this is a joke'' I asked him. '' Is it?'' He replied. '' Thanks to you we all couldn't escape. They came and killed some of the children, only few could escape. What happened I asked him'' I asked him. He gave a sad expression on his face and told me he was sorry. That his plan didn't work they way he intended it to. He told me that he knew when they ran after us but before he could anything, they had already spotted him out. He asked me why I came back and I told him that the men took two children back when they ambushed us. '' You couldn't go without them?'' He asked. '' No I couldn't. I promised I wasn't going to leave anyone behind'' I replied. He asked me where the other children where. I told him that I drove the car to a very save place, where no one could see us and I told them to wait for the children I was coming to rescue. '' What about you, do you plan on leaving here alive?'' He asked. '' That's the point, I don't have any intention on leaving. It's a sacrifice am willing to pay'' I replied. He looked at me for a while without saying anything and then told me to help him up. ''Do you know where they kept the children'' I asked him. '' I have my suspicion. Don't worry this time we will make it right but first we have to get out of this room'' he said. I wanted to assist him to walk but he told me not to. I left him and stood still as I watched him stagger as he walked. He told me that he was going to be fine, and that assisting him to walk was the list of our problems.
When we got to a particular tent, he told me to wait outside. I wanted to ask him why but he told me not to argue with him. As he said, I cautioned my curiosity. He came out and brought a bomb that according to him, can wipe out the whole camp and more parts of the forest. When I saw it, I shifted back and asked why he carried it. He told me that it wasn't activated yet. He told me that we needed it. When I asked him why, he told me that when we rescue the children, it would be a happy ending for us but not for some other people that the men would still haunt. He told me that he needed to end their terror once and for all. I was so speechless, I didn't know how to reply to what he said. Though some part of what he said made sense, but the idea of taking lives made me
uncomfortable. We walked together to another tent. When we got inside, we saw the young boy and his sister tied to a chair. When they saw me, they wanted to shout, but the material used to tie their mouths prevented them. I quickly rushed to where they were and told them not to make a sound. I took the material from their mouth. They hugged me so tight and I did the same. As we were about to leave the tent, the men came and surrounded us.
Immediately I saw this, my heart skipped. '' Seriously, they are here'' I thought. The little girl with me began to cry. I carried her and told her everything was going to be fine even though I didn't know how. All I saw at that point was death. They dragged us outside, everywhere was already bright. As they did, the boy put something in my pocket. I knew because I could feel it but I didn't bother to check. They told us to kneel down. Their leader came towards us holding a cigarette in his hand.
'' When you try to play smart, it never works out well'' he said. He walked close to me and dragged me by the hair. '' Why are you doing this? Why are you killing all this innocent people?'' I asked him as he dragged me. He pushed me to the floor and didn't sat a word. He told his men to bring the boy to him. When they did, he looked at him and said '' why did you decide to betray your crew''. The boy looked at him, spat on his face and said '' this was never, is never and will never be my crew. I will never gain pleasure or satisfaction taking the lives of the innocent. I rather die for good than live for bad'' he said. ''So be it. Die for good'' the leader told the boy. He ordered one of his men to get a cutlass for him. '' No please don't do this. Just let us go free please'' I cried. The boy looked at me and smiled '' Grace don't cry, be strong. We make sacrifices and this is mine. And by the way my name is John. When you leave here tell my sister not to be a prostitute again'' He said. I asked him what he was talking about and he told me that when I had ran to a distance, I should press the button. I didn't understand what he was talking about but before I knew what was going on, he shot one of the men . He was able to cause commotion among the men and he told me to take the children and run fast. I carried the girl, held the boy and we began to run as fast as we could. Some of the men were shooting at us but we continued running. ''I will die, but not today'' I told myself.
When we had gone far, I stopped to breathe because we ran so fast. I tried to get what he meant by press the button. Then I realised he put something in my pocket. I dipped my hand into my pocket and brought out a little detonator. I remembered he was with a bomb the other time and everything began to make sense. I told the children to run as fast as they could because I knew if I turned on the bomb, the fire was going to spread really far. When I noticed they had run so far that I couldn't see them, I held the detonator and pressed the button. The shock wave of the bomb flew me so far that fell and dislocated a bone........
I felt hands touching me and immediately, I opened my eyes. I saw myself in the truck where the children were. Amina hugged me so tight with tears in her eyes. I was so weak to respond to anything. '' Grace we did it, we are out of here. We are going home'' the fifteen year old boy said as he drove the truck. I looked at the burning forest and took a DEEP BREATH......
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