Nothing went as planned.
A siren shattered the silence. Then a scream.
A rebel soldier had woken up—and with him, chaos erupted.
Gunfire broke out.
Tailer, terrified but resolute, sprang into action.
His heart was pounding, but his voice remained firm.
It was as if something ancient inside him had awakened—an instinct to lead.
— "Run! This way! Follow the path by the hill! Don't stop!"
He shouted louder than the bullets, pointing the way, shielding the youngest with his own body.
Several children made it out.
But as he turned back to face the last wave of rebels…
A brutal impact.
The butt of a rifle struck his temple.
The ground swallowed him. The world spun.
Heavy footsteps approached.
The rebel leader stood over him.
— "Keep him alive. The others—hunt them down. Bring every child back."
In the shadow of the trees, someone had witnessed everything.
Jason.
He hadn't obeyed. He had followed Tailer in secret.
Because he couldn't bear the idea of leaving him alone.
And now, he watched helplessly as Tailer was dragged away like a captured animal, unconscious and bound.
Jason's chest tightened until he couldn't breathe.
But he didn't move. Not yet.
That night, Jason returned to the edge of the camp.
He crawled through an abandoned underground drain, covered in mud and fear.
His mind focused on one goal:
Free Tailer. Or die beside him.
But the rebels were ready.
Far more organized than he had expected.
The moment he stepped from the shadows, torches flared. Screams rang out.
— "There! Another one!"
He didn't have a chance.
Guns pointed at his chest. Hands grabbed him, slammed him down.
And then, amid the shouting and firelight, his eyes met Tailer's.
There was no fear in that gaze.
No anger.
Just a spark.
A silent bond.
A promise.
They were tied up, back to back, poles digging into their spines.
Soldiers laughed around them.
Blood trickled from Jason's forehead. Tailer's eyes were swollen, lips cracked.
But he leaned toward him, voice low.
— "When I say 'now', you run."
— "Don't look back."
— "No. We get out together or not at all."
Jason's voice trembled with rage, his eyes wet.
— "That's an order. You're my brother, Jason. You have to live. Save them."
With a swift movement, Tailer broke free one hand he'd secretly loosened.
He struck a nearby guard, made his rifle drop, kicked up dust into two others' eyes.
Chaos exploded.
Jason rolled, dodged a bayonet, sprang to his feet, and ran.
Shots rang out.
One grazed his thigh.
Another whizzed past his ear.
He didn't stop.
He didn't scream.
He ran like every life depended on it.
Behind him, Tailer was caught again.
Pinned. Beaten.
And then—
A voice. Cold. Deadly.
— "Don't touch him. That one's mine."
Everything froze.
A tall figure stepped out of the shadows.
His eyes… were empty of soul.
It was the man who had murdered Jason's parents.
Jason kept running. For hours. Maybe a whole day.
His legs were fire. His lungs burned. His heart threatened to explode.
But at last—he reached the village.
He was ready to bring hope. To warn them. To tell them that Tailer was alive.
That they could still escape.
But what he saw...
Destroyed him.
Black smoke.
Silence.
No laughter. No voices. Only the wind, carrying the scent of ashes and blood.
The houses—nothing but ruins.
The earth—still warm from the flames.
The air—choking with death.
— "No… no… no…"
He stumbled through the wreckage of his home. A collapsed beam.
And beneath it—hair he recognized.
His mother's.
He screamed.
Pulled her into his arms.
Her face was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
— "Mom… wake up. It's me, Jason… please..."
No answer.
Nothing.
Just silence.
Further on—
His father.
Lying on his back. A revolver clutched in his hand. Empty.
His eyes stared blankly at the sky.
Jason dropped to his knees.
But tears wouldn't come.
Nothing came.
Just emptiness.
A void.
They were gone. All of them.
And something inside him broke.
He stood slowly, his eyes blank.
He looked up at the sky.
— "If I had never followed them... if I had never met Tailer, or Leon…"
— "Maybe they'd still be alive. Maybe none of this would've happened."
The rage.
The pain.
The unbearable loneliness.
It all crushed him.
And then—
darkness.
His body gave out.
He collapsed.
Elsewhere, Leon and the last surviving children fled toward the north.
Toward the border.
Toward safety.
They walked in silence, hand in hand.
But in every step—they carried the weight of those they had lost.