Trust Me (2)

A strong arm pulled me up, just before the whip snaked out for my throat, and began dragging me along, the red-faced driver falling behind us. I tried to move my legs, but they were too weak with fear and exhaustion. So I gave up trying to move or even see who was pulling me behind him, and focused on using the precious time to regain strength. Breathe. I closed my eyes again, shutting out the sight of gleaming eyes in the trees. My unknown rescuer slung me up over his shoulder as the line of refugees crawled steadily across the jungle. Eventually I passed out, the heat and hunger too much. Drifting in and out of consciousness, I strayed through dream after dream. The endless trees slipped past, one just the same as any other. As night came I woke from my numb slumber, my abdomen aching from bumping against the man’s shoulder.

  Wondering feverishly where I was and where Matt had disappeared to, I struggled a moment before remembering. The memory of the whip and the angry driver made me shiver, though the night was so hot that steam rose from the ground. Behind me I could see the glowing torches of the drivers trailing far into the thick forest. They twinkled like cruel stars in a sky of black. The man behind me stumbled along weakly, his thin frame wreaked with sweat. He looked at me with envy, and a twinge of guilt shot through my heart. I was light. After years of near starvation my lean body weighed barely a hundred pounds, but it might as well have been a thousand to carry trekking over such course land in this heat. Rested, I knew I should tell my bearer to put me down, but the thought made me feel sick again. We were slowing now and I glanced over my shoulder to see why. Through the trees ahead I could see the gates of a prison camp.