The Soldiers: Part 2

It sounded sincere and even a bit kind but Jimin was too scared to believe it. He turned around and crawled backwards, away from the man and away from the group. He thought about the last time he had to deal with this kind of situation. At this point, he asked himself if there was any hope left. Will they really let him go if he cooperated? He was getting more worried by the second but then he heard another voice saying: "I'll do it!"

And that's when everything changed.

A young woman stepped forward from her hiding place between the rocks and walked into their line of sight. She was wearing a black jacket over a white shirt and she was carrying a bow and arrows on her back. Her long hair fell messily and she looked quite different from the others.

She looked at Jimin and smiled. He didn't understand why or what to make of it but didn't look like anyone important to him so maybe there was a good reason to trust her.

Before she could speak another person spoke up. “Why are you risking your own life for us?" He seemed a bit angry but also slightly confused.

"This is my choice," she told him. "I can take care of myself." The man looked unsure of what to make of her. After a few seconds, he nodded slightly, acknowledging her decision and turning back to Jimin. She took one step back and stood beside the other archer. Then she put an arrow on her bowstring.

Her hands were steady and confident. Jimin could feel her presence close to him and yet she still had her gaze fixed straight ahead. He knew that she was ready. This was her battle. She was the hunter. And Jimin was just the deer, a piece of meat, for her prey.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, unable to tear his eyes away from her. "They're going to kill you..."

"Yes," she responded calmly. "But I'll protect you."

And just like that, without saying anything else, she turned on her heels and walked back into the fray. With each step she took, she seemed stronger and bigger. And the moment she vanished from view.

***

The fight went on for days now. Jimin and his companions had spent most of those days in hiding. There was no sun and they were all soaked in rainwater. The soldiers didn't seem to mind, though. They didn't appear to have many supplies left either, especially weapons. They had to use the ones they had left from the dead soldiers that they could find. Most of the time it made things easier, although it sometimes made things harder.

Jimin sat on a pile of corpses next to a small pond near a village. He stared at the water, watching how the waves rolled back and forth, splashing water over the sides of the pond. He wondered what the river must have looked like in the days of peace. Had there been fish in it? Or perhaps not fish but frogs swimming alongside the water. He missed the sounds of the river and the feeling of cool water flowing gently through his fingers as he played around with the ripples.

The sky was grey with clouds covering most of it, preventing him from seeing outside. He guessed it was around noon because loud noises were coming from the direction of the village. Some sort of commotion was happening. He stood up and looked around. Nobody was looking at him as he approached the closest tree trunk where a rope ladder hung down.

To be continued…