My heart raced as I scurried about the cramped hut, trying to remain unseen while sweeping the floor. One wrong move around the soldiers, and it could mean a vicious beating...or worse.

As I moved past one man's leg, too close for his liking, a meaty hand shot out and grabbed my arm in an iron grip. I cried out, trembling as he yanked me around to glare down with cold, dark eyes.

"Stupid mage boy, watch where you're going!" He roared, tightening his hold until I whimpered. Something dangerous flashed in his gaze, and I knew this time would be different. No amount of my mother's pleading could save me from his wrath.

This was it. I was going to die here, helpless as a mouse in a trap.

Then - "Imran, run!" My mother's desperate scream cut through my panic, spurring me into sudden motion. With a strength born of pure terror, I wrenched free of the soldier's grasp and bolted.

I scrambled between legs and dodging kicks, not daring to look back at the enraged shouts and pounding footsteps chasing me. Somehow I found an opening, spotting the hole in the fence I'd noticed before.

Throwing myself into the tight space, I clawed and squeezed through the jagged edges, emerging into the dense forest beyond breathless and shaken. But the soldier's curses were growing louder - they weren't far behind.

Driven only by survival, I picked myself up and ran once more. Weaving between the dense trees as fast as my small legs could carry me, branches snatching at my clothes. Behind me, my mother's final chilling scream rent the air.

Tears blurred my vision but I didn't dare stop. Not until exhaustion finally claimed me, and I tumbled head over heels down a steep slope into cool shadows.

The rapid tumble through brush and trees was a terrifying blur. All I could do was curl into a ball and try to shield my body as best I could.
Eventually the rolling came to an abrupt stop as my back slammed against a thick trunk at the bottom.

For a moment I just lay there, too dazed to move. But slowly, painful sensations started to register. My clothes were in tatters, strips hanging off me from the branches that had ripped through the fabric. Deep scratches stung all over, welling with beads of blood.

Yet it was nothing compared to the anguish shredding my heart. Through the haze of tears, I thought of my mother - her final scream echoed endlessly in my mind. I knew with crushing certainty that she was gone now, sacrificed to buy my fleeting chance at escape.

A broken sob wracked my small frame. Curling in on myself, I wept uncontrollably for what felt like hours but may have only been minutes. All the terror, suffering and loss poured out of me until I had nothing left but emptiness.

Darkness was falling, the forest coming alive with strange sounds. But I no longer cared about the dangers - my will to live had fled with my mother. Alone and abandoned in this vast, uncaring wilderness, I wished only that the agony would end. That I may see her face, just once more, in whatever comes next.

But even in my despair, instincts of survival clung tenaciously within. So when exhaustion overwhelmed my grief, I allowed merciful sleep to drag me under at last.

My mind still swirled with ghosts as I staggered through the forest in a daze. Mother's face haunted me no matter where I turned, her final scream echoing endlessly.

Exhaustion and grief had drained my strength to the point of collapse. I was barely aware as my feet dragged me onwards aimlessly through the undergrowth.

A sudden grip like an iron clamp closed around my upper arm from behind. Too drained to even struggle, I tilted my head wearily to meet the scowling face of the soldier who had pursued me this far.

"Didn't think you'd run off so far, little mage," he sneered triumphantly. "But it's back to the village with you now."

As he began hauling me away with cruel intent, fresh terror sparked through my numb system and revived my fading will to survive. I thrashed with renewed vigor, kicking and scratching to no avail against his brute strength.

Then from up ahead came cries of alarmed voices, unfamiliar but filled with authority. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

Through watery eyes I glimpsed figures in worn uniforms approaching rapidly, rifles raised in warning. Three stars embroidered on their hats glinted red - the infamous symbol of Mpaja that I'd heard whispered of so many times.

Realizing he was outnumbered, the soldier abandoned his attempt to drag me off. But it was too late for escape. A shot rang out, and he crumpled to the forest floor with a wet gurgle.

My knees gave out as the adrenaline fled, but before I could hit the ground an pair of arms caught me instead. Looking up blearily, I met concerned brown eyes gazing down at a stubbled face.

"Shit, didn't think there was a kid with him," the man muttered under his breath in Malay. Without a word he lifted me gently against his chest, and I let merciful darkness overtake me at last in the arms of my rescuers. Mpaja had found me.