"Uhhh... what happened? I had a terrible nightmare."

I yawned and woke up. I had a terrible dream in which my father was killed and I was captured.

No, this was reality. My mother had fallen asleep holding me. We were being guarded by 4 bandits. I was stuck in a giant humvee with no way of exiting, being constantly watched.

I looked out the windows and saw we were travelling in a small group. None of the surrounding plains was recognizable. I didn't even know where we going.

Though I guessed that we were going to their hideout.

"Here kid, take some food."

A bandit suddenly offered me food. I'm going to call him Bandit 1.

I angrily glared at him. At first, I was going to reject the food because I didn't want to receive food from those who murdered my father.

*Rumble*

But my stomach betrayed my thought process. I was starving. I hadn't eaten since yesterday.

I accepted the food and greedily devoured it. Bandit 1 also gave me some water, which I drank as well.

I didn't understand why he was being so kind, but I accepted his goodwill. If this was an attempt to get in my good books, they shouldn't even bother. But I wasn't going to tell them that.

The other bandits were mostly quiet, except for the occasional chatter. I thought bandits were supposed to be rowdy and uncontrollable. Especially after a successful raid.

I decide to spend my time looking out the window. We seem to be moving extremely fast, travelling on a road. On either side of the road, there was a forest.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Most of the plants in the forest were not ones that I had ever seen on Earth. There were trees with purple leaves, a plant that looked like a bear trap, and others that I cannot begin to describe.

There were a variety of animals as well, such as horned rabbits, gold deers with horns crackling with electricity, and giant mantises. All terrifying creatures I definitely would not want to face.

Some did try to attack us but were cut down easily by the bandits.

'This ain't their first rodeo. They are experienced.'

That's why they did not let their guards down until they got back to camp.

***

It took a couple of days to get from our village to get the bandit hideout. During the trip, I and my mother were treated much differently than the other prisoners.

While everyone was stuck in the humvees all day, only being let out for bathroom breaks, we had more freedom and got better food than anyone else. Though were watched 24/7, we were not being treated as slaves.

Despite their nice treatment, we both never trusted a word they said and we both held intense hatred. Every time I saw their leader, I wanted to tear him apart limb from limb.

Every time he noticed my hostile gaze, all he did was smile and wave back. He didn't even consider us to be a threat. We couldn't run away. We were trapped and helpless.

This reminded me of the terrorist attack that ended my previous life. The situation was just as helpless and I was too weak to do anything.

Though a guillotine wasn't being hung over my head like last time, I knew it was a matter of time before something terrible occurred. I held no hope of getting out of this situation or being saved.

The bandit hideout was located in what looked like an abandoned warehouse district. The forest was overgrown, encroaching on the warehouses.

It must have not been in use for decades until the bandits took it as their home base. I could see one warehouse being filled with prison cells, where my townspeople were being sent to.

We were not that far from a big city, only about 80km away.

As soon as we arrived, I was separated from my mother. The strongest of the 4 bandits who I named Bandit 2, dragged me away.

"NOOO! My baby, don't take me away from my baby. JULES!"

She was desperate. Her face was dishevelled and she was sobbing loudly. She was a mess. Her attempts to shove the other 3 bandits away were pitiful.

I was also crying now and I wanted to reassure her. But I knew anything I said would make her feel worse.

Bandit 2 dragged me to another warehouse that was fancier and cleaner than the rest. I shouted and screamed for help, but nobody arrived. He threw me in and locked the door.

"Wait here kid, Leader Carl wants to see you."

He stood outside the cell waiting for Leader Carl to come. I attempted to break the metal bars, but I was too weak. I slumped down and waited for the leader to grace me.