The captives were squirming in pain as the next in line stepped forward. Her trembling hands clutched a dull, old knife with which she sought vengeance for her kin. Her old age and lack of strength grew evident as her thrusts failed to penetrate the skin. Nonetheless, aunt Lauria, now kneeling on the ground due to her bad knees, kept thrusting with all she had as tears filled her eyes.

Visions of her daughter started appearing; she envisioned her night-black hair shining in the sun as she ran across the field, and then she started reliving the dreadful day. As memories kept pouring out, she felt her grief anew as images of her daughter's violated and mutilated corpse flashed in her mind. When she came to, the bandit had passed out again due to shock; her serrated, rusty knife was lunged deep into his thigh.

As she was helped back on her feet and began to walk away, her mind wasn't focused on the acts she had committed or her still shaking hands. She closed her eyes and tried to summon the image of her daughter in her mind once more. She squeezed her eyes, trying to hold on to the image of her haughty, playful, and somewhat stubborn daughter for even a second longer. How she yearned to meet her once more and brush her coal-black hair. But alas, who the earth has coveted shall never return; and so, she kept on dreaming into the night.

The bandit was forcefully awakened, he gasped for air as the stream of water was still pouring at his face.

Looking around, startled, he quickly remembered his situation when he saw his final companion slumped aside, the foul smell of his mouth filling the air; he had succumbed to his wounds.

In the face of death, his previous pride and ruthlessness disappeared as he groveled and cried, begging them to spare his life, but this fell on deaf ears.

For the first time in their lives, the oppressed were not on the receiving end of the torture, which filled them with a sense of authority and power.

Even Joshua's attempt to persuade them to use him as bait was quickly rejected without even allowing him room to speak.

It was clear on their faces that they wouldn't be satisfied with an easy death as a sense of hysteria took over. It seemed mob justice would be served that day.

This was alarming, Joshua needed to ensure Reynard's safe treatment, and staying in this village when a full-scale battle could break out at any moment was suicidal.

Sai: "I think it's about time we leave this place," commented Sai, as if he read his mind. He continued, "These people… they’ve lost it. You see what they’re doing?"

Joshua: "You can't deny that this is their right, what did you expect after what they’ve been through? If we were in their place, we’d be doing the same.."

Sai reflected silently for a while before responding, "Maybe, but they have thrown caution to the wind. Their easy victory was all thanks to your plan, but I think it has gone to their heads."

Joshua sighs: "Can you blame them? Don't forget what the residents had to go through to make them let their guard down. They risked their lives on the word of a kid and survived. Who wouldn't be cocky?"

"I think you're too accommodating of others. Don't forget how they shunned you earlier when you argued for the release of one of the captives."

"...."

"The real threat has yet to pass you see them boasting and celebrating? Being cocky gets you killed, and they have thrown caution to the wind. Why should we continue to help these people?"

"I think you are mistaken about something, brother. Everyone's luck will run out eventually, as long as it hasn't they can still be useful ."

"So what are we to do moving forward? We can't stay here and wait for the bandits to come and slaughter us."

"There's nothing we can do. The few guards and villagers won't be enough to put up a fight, and we are too inexperienced to fight a large-scale battle of this kind. I won't risk my and my siblings' lives on such a fool's errand."

The duo stopped in front of the house where they were staying. Joshua put his hand on Sai's shoulder and said, "Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we'll talk to Jaylar and try to convince him to leave." After that, they both went inside to rest after the hectic day they had been through.

Up until now, their survival was due to the training they had and the experience of a stranded life as orphans, most of them endured before joining the orphanage, but their bodies were not fully developed, a fact proven by their accumulated wounds and injuries.

The next morning, everyone was gathered in Reynard's room as he woke up from his coma.

"Hey, don't sleep on top of my leg! It still hurts," said Reynard as he pulled her hair. "Jasmine, get off!"

"Reynard, you're really awake!" said Loretta as she burst into the room.

"Yeah, I a—" he was interrupted as she jumped in to hug him.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I'm really sorry, it's all my fault," she said while tearing up. "I wish I could take it all back."

He wrapped his healthy arm around her and consoled her: "You did your best. I know that you did, so it's okay."

Everyone was feeling conscious of their roles in the incident, and a grim mood took over the room.

Trying to change the somber mood, Reynard said jokingly, "By the way, where are we? And what was that horrible screaming all night? I nearly thought someone was getting tortured, hahaha."

"....."

"Ha-ha-haa... Seriously? Who was getting tortured? And why?"

As he was being quickly told of the events that happened while he was unconscious, the doctor walked into the room and was instantly bombarded with questions from Reynard, asking when he could leave, still keeping his joking tone.

With a somber expression, the doctor began explaining his condition "Your broken arm should recover within three weeks. Thankfully, there was no damage from the sticking out bone. However, your Achilles tendon was torn because of the wolf bites. It's unlikely that you will regain motion in your left foot."

Puzzled, he raised an eyebrow as he looked over to his left foot and uncovered the sheets. Confusion spread across his face as he wiggled his right toe and then shifted his focus back to his left.

"I can't move any of my toes! Or raise my foot!"

"Yes, the nerve injuries were severe and are unlikely to recuperate. I wanted to amputate it at first, but they wouldn't let me," he said, pointing at Herbert and Arlan.

"Thanks for not letting him chop my leg off i guess, haha...." He then tried getting off the bed to take a few steps around, but he quickly got light-headed and was helped back down as Jaylar walked into the room. "I heard you were awake, so I came to visit. You lost a lot of blood, so you shouldn't move around too much." Most of them went outside to allow him more time to rest, Loretta was the only one who stayed behind.

As they stepped out into the courtyard, the foul smell and hanged corpses made it clear that the residents kept themselves busy throughout the night. Everyone felt their stomachs turning as they couldn't stop themselves from feeling disgusted by the excessive violence.

Jaylar wiped his mouth with a tissue Sai handed him and said: "Thanks, this makes me sick. I can't wait to get out of here."

Sai: "Well, now that you say that, we wanted to remind you of our arrangement."

Jaylar: "Don't worry, as soon as we deal with the bandits, you're all welcome to join us on our journey."

Pulling him aside, weary of sensitive ears, they tried to convince him to leave immediately, arguing that since they were deprived of their cavalry, the bandits wouldn't be able to give chase.

"But these people sheltered us in our hour of need. I can't just abandon them like that!" Jaylar scowled "How can you think of such heartless things at your age?"

"What good will come from pitying the doomed? Will it save your caravan or our lives? Are you going to condemn us all to perish just for your conscience?"

Jaylar paused looking down as Joshua continued

"How about your men? Are they willing to sacrifice their lives in what has now become a pointless fight?"

Jaylar exchanged glances with his head guard, he noticed his hesitation and frowning face, before saying, "I need to consult my people. I'll give you my answer later."

Sai approached and said, "Why must we rely on him? Why don't we just steal some horses and flee before the bandits get here?"

"Reynard is in no shape to ride a horse, that's why we a ride in his wagon. But we might not have a choice if Jaylar doesn't come around soon. How much time do we have?" replied Joshua.

"Three days, maybe less. Such groups are notorious for backstabbing and hunger for loot" noted Sai.

"I think it could be tomorrow at the earliest, most likely the day after if we're lucky." Altan remarked.

"We can't leave anything to chance, we need to set off before sundown to be on the safe side. We need to convince the merchants to leave. I'm sure they see no benefit in staying here any longer" advised Joshua.

Herbert chimed in: "The guards were sick over what happened last night. I doubt they'd want to risk their lives for this village. I'll talk to them and try convincing them to leave."

Sylvia: "Jasmine and I are helping the doctor tend to the wounded caravan members, and I think they took a liking to us. Should we try talking to them?"

"Try it, but don't waste time-we’re on borrowed hours." suggested Sai.

Joshua: "Listen up, everyone. I know some of you may feel sympathy for the villagers and see my choices as cold-hearted. But we can’t afford to join this struggle; our lives are on the line. This isn't our fight, and I won’t risk our safety for it. We need to push forward if we want to reach Dirrar in the capital before it’s too late." He paused to recover his breath before saying " It was a long and hard journey to get here, and we still have a long way to go. We can't afford to let it end here, for the sake of our future!"

The group then dispersed to try and convince the caravan members to leave, they planned to reconvene in the afternoon and discuss their progress.