Chapter5. This is bad

We managed to somehow miraculously sneak out and now we were at the mountain and making our way down. It was terrifying having to run like this with our lives on the line. Whenever we heard rustling through the trees, it felt like we were being watched. We felt like prey running in circles trying to hopelessly escape from the predator.

It was a long run down the forest, and we have finally made it to the city.

'Well this was pretty smooth, we haven't really come across any hurdles yet', I thought to myself.

Getting to the city had given everyone hope that perhaps they could actually reach home this way but somewhere deep within my heart, I feared something was gonna happen, that it wouldn't be that easy.

We quietly made our way through the city trying to keep a low profile. It was way past midnight so there wasn't anyone out in the streets. It was a very big city indeed and very pretty too although it was hard to see fully in the darkness.

It seemed like an old city, it wasn't exactly a modern city, it was like the ones like you find in medieval movies. It felt strange being in such an old looking city although it didn't seem to be in poor conditions. It had a very refreshing vibe and I bet it's a pretty vibrant city by the day.

As we wake across the sleeping buildings at night, through the foreboding breeze, suddenly we hear footsteps, a lot of them. We quickly rush to hide in a narrow alleyway. Our heartbeats are rising, beating like they could explode any moment. Fear instantly engulfs us completely. We try to keep quiet, hoping no one finds us. All of us are panicking but I notice Eve losing it. I whisper in her ear, "Calm down! it's alright." she looks at me completely terrified of what the consequences of us escaping are gonna be. All of us are, but I guess Eve being the youngest one among us and being the bubbly and carefree girl that she always was, the events that were currently taking place were just utterly traumatizing. I had never imagined we would have to go through something like this, never imagined that I'd ever see my friends so terrified. It was heartbreaking!

We try to peek at the people who had just come by, a group of men, all dressed in black, fully armed with guns and swords. I guess they found out that some slaves ran away.

We hear them say, "Four of us search this way and four of us will search that way. make sure you find them. And bring them back alive!"

All of us looked at each other in complete fear, and we all knew they were searching for us. We eyed one another, asking what we were gonna do now.

After the men left, we talked to each other in whispers, "what now?! They know that we have escaped and are searching for us!!!!" Eve says all terrified. "Ray was right, we were reckless!"

"But they said they wanted us alive, I thought they would shoot us dead at the spot, not sure if that's a good thing. although we should be grateful we aren't gonna be killed too quickly but perhaps they wanna torture us and make an example out of us for the other slaves!" I said trying to point out the obvious.

"Oh my god! Ray! Could you shut up?! You're not helping. You're just terrifying us more!!" Jay yells at me in a whispered scream.

Eve looks at me teary eyed, horrified by what I had said. And I instantly realize 'Oops, perhaps I shouldn't have put it out like that".

"She's not wrong though. We should be fully aware of what's coming." the rest of the guys say.

"Alright but getting caught is not an option! We must escape no matter what. otherwise we all die. Literally!" Jay says and we all nod in agreement.

Now we continue our escape through the city, trying to be extra careful. Because there are people we need to avoid and not come across. We get out of the alley quietly making our way through the streets. And the first street we enter, we come across one of the men searching for us!

All of us freeze at the sight of him. But he isn't looking this way, he is walking forward with his back towards us, unaware that we are right behind his back. We eye each other and sign to quickly get out of here before he turns around and catches us all. We quickly get out of there and somehow manage to avoid him. But suddenly someone screams, "Found them! quickly, catch them!"

All of us were startled by the sight of a man standing on the roof pointing at us. We had not even considered being watched from the roof!

"Run!!!!!" Jay says to all of us. There was no way we could go quietly now, we have to make a run for it. We ran across the city, from alleys to streets and across some little bridges. It seemed like we were running in a maze with no exit because wherever we ran there was a terrorist waiting for us. We ran and ran with no end in sight. And then I heard a scream from behind. They had caught Liz. One of the boys ran towards him and tried to fight him off. He did succeed but we were practically surrounded. it didn't seem like we would manage to escape.

And sure enough, now they were looming upon us like vultures circling their prey. We tried to escape, out run them somehow but one of them shoots his gun and it hits Eve in the abdomen. She falls to the ground. Our panic levels rose through the roof, I quickly go to her, try to get her to stand up and I see all the blood gushing out, it was a terrible sight.

" It's alright! It's okay! You'll be alright!" I try to calm her down but my voice and tears threatening to fall off the edge of my eyes give away the fear that was hiding within. Eve looks at me with an expression I couldn't quite understand and then she looks at her wound and her hand as she pressed her wound in pain. I tried to press down her wound, trying to stop the bleeding with the shawl Eve had round her neck but in vain. The bleeding won't stop.

Eve calls my name, "Ray! it's alright", she says with tears streaming down that lovely face of hers. I never wanted to see the look of despair upon her face. "You guys need to go! I don't think I can be saved anymore." she says, her voice cracking.

"What do you mean? Are you stupid? If you're asking me to abandon you then keep your mouth shut!" I scream back at her.

"She's right! There is no way we are leaving without you, eve!" Jay says, trying to help her get up and carry her. "We are talking to you with us!"

But the bad guys caught us before we could even make another move.