RUN

Escape

      I carried myself back to my barracks as did the others. The soldiers were thankfully letting us sleep earlier tonight because of tomorrow. Usually, I would work in the fields from now until dusk. When I reached my barrack, I opened the door and peered in. Sometimes they have a soldier posted inside. I slowly stepped inside to find no one posted. I then quietly tiptoed over to my spot and laid down.

The barracks were wooden structures similar to small barns. There was no windows and a cold cement floor. I slept on the floor cause all the wooden bunks were taken. The bunks were everywhere going all the way to the ceiling. There were only narrow walkways through each row. I slept underneath so I wasn't stepped on. About seventy boys slept in this barrack made for forty. But right now, there were only about twenty in the Barack. The ones who weren't participating in the trials were still out working.  For a while, I just lay there letting my thoughts wander. Was I about to enter a death trap? If so, How would I spend my last days? I've spent my whole life running and hiding from the inevitable is that how I want to end it?

Sometime during the night, I must've fallen asleep. Cause when I awoke, the barrack was full. I could immediately tell because the bunk above me was crushing me. It sagged down when someone was laying on it. I shifted my position so I could breathe a little easier. I turned on my side. Next to me, slept the only person I could dare call a friend. His name was Jean and he was only six. During the cold winter, we would sleep close to each other so we didn't get frostbite like the others that slept on the floor. He groggily woke and saw me watching him.

"Are you afraid?" He whispered gently.

"Yes," I whispered back.

"Just run very fast and you can win the game." He said.

"It's a little more complicated than that," I said softly.

But Jean had drifted back asleep. They always told the younger kids how the trials were just a game. In hindsight, they weren't telling lies. It really was just a game to them. Our lives merely pawns of entertainment. 

For a few more hours, I lay awake. Drifting through my thoughts. Am I afraid of death? He has chased me for so long and I've merely escaped his grasps countless times. 

     My thoughts must've lured me back to sleep because sometime in the night, I heard a large thump and loud whispers. Suddenly a strong hand pulled me from under the bunk.

"Do you want to come?" A tall boy asked.

I was quite confused about what he meant. My eyes hadn't adjusted to the dim light so he remained a dark silhouette, but I think he understood my confusion.

"We are escaping so we don't have to run the trials." He said, helping me to my feet.

I stood there, shocked. Don't they know the consequences of being caught? There was an electric fence around the camp they couldn't get over. The idea was insane. 

"No, you shouldn't try. You'll die or die tomorrow with six hours deducted." I said, trying to help him.

He just shoved me off and hurried over to the door. Where a group of nine more silhouettes were huddled waiting for him. They anxiously stood by the open door. There was a muffled gunshot outside.

"The signal!" one of them called.

Without hesitation, they ran out the door and into the night. I dashed over to the door and carefully peered out as the boys ran across the camp. They weren't the only ones either, groups of boys came out of their barracks and ran towards the trees that bordered the fence. A drunken soldier tiredly walked past doing his nightly rounds and they all froze. My heart stopped. But, he didn't even notice them. They kept going. Most of them eventually made it to the tree line. I began to think of going. I could get away and not have to face the trials. Just maybe I could slip through deaths grasp once more like I had done so many times. The sad, beautiful thought of hope and "what if ?" came back. Just as I was about to step out of the door, I heard a strangely familiar, sad song of a bird. A gunshot went off and I fell backwards with shock. The boys came bursting back from the trees. But, a group of soldiers were in their path. They ran everywhere. The floodlights came on along with deafening sirens. I felt something cling to my leg. I looked down to see Jean.

"What's happening?!" He yelled over the sirens, covering his ears. 

Before I could answer, a bullet ripped through the wall beside us. Jean screamed and ran out of the cabin covering his head.

"Jean!" I screamed, but he couldn't hear me.

I ran after him as soldiers fired their guns through the air. There were kids everywhere. Some would fall limply to the ground in front of me. Jean ran into the trees. I found him hiding in a bush crying.

"Jean we have to get back to the cabin. It's safe there" I reassured him while trying to reassure myself. 

Terrified boys began to run past as bright flashlights cut through the trees. The sound of barking dogs grew towards us. I picked up Jean and we bolted out of the woods. We made it halfway through the courtyard when large trucks pulled in behind us. I glanced back to see soldiers jumping out of the backs and the began firing shots at random. Left and right boys went down. The dogs made it into the courtyard and began tackling the slower kids. I shoved Jean into the cabin and shut the door.

Inside, everyone was awake and scared. A few that had been shot tried to muffle their screams. Only three of the group of nine made it back from what I could tell. I led Jean to our spot and calmed him down. The door burst open and the general with the scarlet sash came with his gun drawn. All the boys scurried to their spot. The sirens continued to blare as did the chorus of gunshots and screams. 

"Who here tried to escape tonight?" He demanded.

No one replied. This only made the Fischer more furious. He took out his flashlight and shone it across the bunks. He grinned one of his rare, evil grins when he found one of the boys with a gunshot wound in his leg.

"Now how did this get here if you weren't outside?" the general asked mockingly.

Without a moment of hesitation, he grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out the door. Before leaving the cabin he gave us all one last glare, and once again his cold eyes fell upon me.

"Get to sleep!" He barked.

Jean and I laid down at our spot and both tried to block out the gunshots that continued to echo across the camp. Death might just get what he's always wanted. 

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