Hunter jerked awake, his heart hammering in his chest as the smell of burning leaves invaded his senses. Tendrils of smoke drifted skyward, and through the thicket’s leafy gaps, he glimpsed orange flames licking hungrily at the forest floor. The fire’s crackle grew louder, and a sudden gust sent a shower of sparks spiraling dangerously close.
Hunter sprang from his bedding of leaves, pushing through thorny brambles. Behind him, another figure emerged—Simon, wild-eyed and clutching a crudely sharpened spear. There was an urgency in Simon's movements, and without warning, he lunged after Hunter, the spearpoint glinting in the firelight. "Stop running! You can't hide from me!"
Hunter dove into the tangle, breath ragged, his body pressed to the earth. Sweat mingled with ash on his skin as he listened for Simon’s footsteps, the heat building until it was almost impossible to breathe. Flames danced at the edge of the thicket, their advance indifferent to the terror they provoked. The world grew smaller, suffocating, and Hunter knew he had to move.
Hunter burst from the burning jungle, his legs trembling, lungs aching from smoke and fear. He stumbled, then fell hard onto the hot, pale sand, the sudden quiet almost as shocking as the chaos behind him. The air tasted of salt and soot, and the vast blue ocean stretched before him—freedom, but also emptiness.
A tall British naval officer stood just beyond the waterline, cap gleaming in the sun, eyes shadowed with concern. He looked down at Hunter, his voice measured but not unkind. "We saw the smoke—my ship is anchored just offshore. Are you all right? Is anyone else with you?"
Simon[/@ch_2] staggers out of the jungle, his face streaked with ash and tears, the spear forgotten in the sand.]
Simon collapsed beside Hunter, and for a moment, neither boy spoke. Their sobs mingled, the weight of everything they had endured pressing down upon them. Tears carved clean tracks through the grime on their faces, not just for the ordeal, but for the innocence lost and the darkness they had both witnessed.
