PART 4

Silent and frightened in the corner, Lia and the girls swarmed around Tim as soon as they noticed him, with Lia quickly taking his hand.

"Follow me!" Tim uttered, and as the little group ran back the way he had come, more girls emerged from their hiding places in different rooms, joining

them at the sound of fighting from the courtyard.

Several local women gathered to greet them when they arrived at the edge of the settlement, close to the forest. One girl broke down in tears.

"What is it, Eszti?" Lia placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and inquired.

"Ana isn't here!" Eszti cried bitterly. "Black, like me, but little shorter. I had believed she was with us..."

Tim glanced exhaustedly at the crying girl.

"I thought... I thought all along that she was with us!" When Eszti started crying, Tim turned to face the living quarters.

He answered resolutely, "I'll go back," and Lia rushed to him.

She declared, "We'll wait here!"... Taking Tim's face in both hands, she gave him a deep kiss, making him reluctant to go.

"This way, straight ahead, then left, there's a hiding spot. One of the ladies remarked, "A cave, I'll take you there, children," and the girls began

to move. Tim started to sprint in the direction of the living quarters.

Finding no one in the courtyard on his return, Tim hurried inside the building and discovered Ana asleep in the room he was checking for

the second time, the young girl gazing up at him in panic as he shook her awake.

"Don't be scared; my name is Tim. Come, I'll lead you to a secure location," he said softly and when Ana took his hand, they began to leave.

The young girl could hardly keep up with Tim as he ran like the wind. Hearing shouts behind him as they neared the settlement's edge, Tim

knew their pursuers had spotted him, but he took comfort in knowing these woods and every trail and hiding spot.

Reaching the spot where they had split from Lia, Tim paused to look at Ana.

"We must separate. Proceed directly, then turn left; the others and a few adults will be there! Run!" he said, pointing the path in the early

morning light. She started to run in the direction of the wooded areas.

With the troopers rushing and shouting after him, Tim ran into the forest, finally shaking them off after an hour of sprinting, climbing, and hiding.

After slipping back to the edge of the settlement, he headed toward the hiding spot, walking deep into the forest but unable to find where to

turn left, so he continued forward before turning left along an empty path. He pressed on in silence through the peaceful morning with its rising

sun, glistening dew on bush leaves, and chirping birds, not daring to call out with troopers still whooping in the forest.

At last, he came to a clearing, fatigued and desperate, where, as if by fate, he found a bunch of strangers.

"Hey, boy!" exclaimed one of them, a tall, red-haired man in his twenties. "What are you running from so much?"

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As he told them what had transpired in the settlement, Tim was panting and fighting back tears. The males paid empathetic attention.

The red-haired man turned to investigate. Tim remarked, "I've been looking for the villagers here for hours – they have a hiding place."

"Is there a hiding place in this forest?" Man asked Tim, surprised.

"Yes, they all went there: Lia, the girls, the women from the village," Tim replied.

"Gill," another stranger cut in, "I only know this hiding place." Now known as Gill, the red-haired man put a hand on Tim's shoulder.

"Don't worry, you're safe with us. We're running from the military too, like you," he said softly.

With all of his leg strength gone, Tim sat down. In addition to feeling secure, he was also concerned for the girls.

He muttered, "I'm very tired. Help me find the others!"

"Naturally, we'll assist. Little warrior, you go to sleep now!" Gill gave a nod.

One of the men pulled a blanket from his backpack, laying it out next to Tim, who fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

After a silent pause, the men started talking openly, assuming Tim was asleep.

One of them remarked, "Gill, we're running low on the food we stole last week."

"Time to raid again," another one added. "We can't go to the boy's home anymore because of the soldiers."

Gill let out a deep sigh.

"Boys, this is awful news." He turned to face Tim, who was listening with his eyes closed. "We're few, and now we have him too: another

hungry mouth."

Tim glanced around discreetly as Gill turned away. The men claimed to be refugees, but they were too well-armed for simple fugitives.

Furthermore, they weren't desperate or frightened like real refugees; instead, they discussed their plans with the confidence of experienced

outlaws.

Tim felt his heart tighten as the realization hit him: these weren't refugees at all, but bandits who preyed on nearby settlements. He had heard

stories about such groups before - Master Ledren had warned them about bandits who took advantage of the chaos caused by the Governor's

soldiers, using the confusion to raid vulnerable villages.

What could he do though? The troopers were waiting in his village, and he couldn't return. The thought of being forced into the army, of having

to fight in the Governor's wars, terrified him more than anything. Even if these bandits were criminals, they at least didn't want to enlist him.

Perhaps they even had some code of honor - they did offer to help find the others, after all.

Tim made the heartbreaking decision to remain with them for the time being. He would watch, and learn, and try to understand their ways. Maybe

he could even find a way to prevent them from raiding his old settlement. And perhaps, just perhaps, he might discover information about where

Lia and the others had fled.

While he lay there, his mind tortured by concerns about Master Ledren's fate and the others, he realized that his life had changed forever. He was

no longer just a student - he had become something between a refugee and an outlaw himself. In the darkness of the forest, a tear rolled down his

face. As he drifted off to sleep, Lia's face appeared before him - she was smiling, her brown hair blowing in the wind.

"My darling, find me! I will wait for you!"

THE END?