Sacrifice

Chapter Five

The gunshot echoed throughout the room as Malik screamed for Rowan. Then, he felt a hand on his face and a thick, wet, liquid rub all over his face.

"Malik, don't make a noise," Rowan was continuing to rub blood over his face until he could pass for dead. "I couldn't let them kill you. Just act dead and we'll be okay."

Malik nodded and closed his eyes, keeping his breathing to a minimum while Rowan untied him. He threw Malik's body over his shoulder like one would a sack of potatoes and stepped over Dax's still corpse. He was rapid in his movements and unlocked the door quickly in order to sneak past the guards to take Malik outside. He passed several soldiers who simply nodded as it was common for them to dispose of corpses in this manner.

He took a sharp turn at the next corner and headed outside. He was careful not to act suspiciously as he carried Malik across the fence and into the small forest that was outside their base camp. Once they were passed the trees, Rowan put Malik down gently, and he simply stood over him, afraid to take off his blindfold.

He wasn't ugly; he was a decent looking guy, 6"3 with dark eyes and a delicate smile made up of white teeth. He was built of abs and could bench twice his weight. But never had he really shown someone who he truly was and that was his greatest fear of all. Perhaps, the boy would simply kill him once given the chance and return to his people, Rowan becoming nothing but another soul robbed of their youth among the battlefields.

"Rowan?" He jumped at his name for he had lost himself in his own mind, and looked back to Malik's tanned face covered in dark blood that wasn't his. At that moment, Rowan wanted to run away from his thoughts and escape his feelings no matter the cost, but before he could, Malik spoke. "Thank you, for saving my life."

Rowan smiled, his worries slipping away, "You're welcome, Malik."

Then, Rowan finally pulled off the blindfold from Malik's eyes and was greeted by pearls the color of the ocean staring back at him. His thick eyelashes jumped at the sudden brightness and Malik extended his hand in order to block the sun from his eyes. 

"You're so young," Malik stated while taking a closer look at Rowan's boyish features that were still developing, "How old are you?"

"I turned eighteen a few months ago."

Malik was horrified, "Why would you want to come here?"

"I didn't have a choice. Our government obliges any men and women that are physically fit and healthy to fight off to war once they're eighteen and finished school."

Malik nodded, he understood yet he still found it terrible. He looked up at Rowan and studied him for a lengthy moment for there were only months apart and from totally different part of the world, yet they both ended up in war.

"Rowan, what do we do now?"

"We run."