“There’s nothing that builds trust and friendship faster than fighting together in a life-or-death situation.”

- Latifah Creshi, second-in-command of the White Tiger Syndicate

There was half an hour of tense silence as every child aboard the caravan braced themselves for wherever they’re heading. The silence was occasionally punctured by terrified screams, but there was no further conversation. It was half an hour of a very fast and bumpy ride.

Nia fervently prayed that the horses were leading them toward the exit and not deeper into the Caverns of Labyrinth. It would be too cruel if the horses were to deposit the newly-freed children right back at the doors of another black market hub, and all their hard effort up until that point would be for nothing.

They were all tired and hungry, too weak to fight off any more captors, and Nia doubted that even Khiran had any more tricks up his repertoire if that situation were to occur. 

Torches flashed by like shooting stars. The tunnel turned one way, then another, and the caravan nearly overturned every time they rounded a sharp bend.

Several times, there would be a fork in the tunnel they were traveling through, but before anyone could choose which direction to travel in, the horses would pick the path and continue on their way without even slowing down.

Nia had pulled her hood up not long after they escaped the black market hub, but the wind easily knocked it off her head again. It also whipped her hair into her face, so like most others, it was also half an hour of spitting out hair and pushing it out of their faces while tightly hanging onto the caravan for dear life.

If it weren’t for the fear of uncertainty, Nia was sure she would have enjoyed the ride. It was exhilarating and fun. Her heart rate spiked at every bend in the tunnel. She had never experienced anything like it before. The closest she ever came to it was the time she rode a mattress down the stairs, much to her servants’ distress. It might have ruined the mattress, but it was well worth it. 

But to ride in a caravan pulled by two horses at top speed? It felt like flying. Nia made a promise to herself to experience that again after she took care of Russek.

Half an hour had never felt so long nor so short. Eventually, the Zahdian boy shouted out.

“I see the end of the tunnel!”

Immediately, everyone craned their neck to look at what was ahead of them. Everyone that is, except for the two youngest passengers who still haven’t recovered from the sleeping drug.

Sure enough, it was the end of the tunnel. It was not a dead end as everyone feared, but the exit to outside. 

As the caravan approached the exit, everyone could see the dark sky with glittering stars scattered across it. The stone path under them gradually turned to gravel and sand.

“We’re free!” Someone cried out in relief as they passed through. Everyone cheered at those words. They were still exhausted from their ordeal, but they were free and that’s all that mattered to them right now.

“Where are we?” a girl asked. It was the same girl who was afraid of fighting back against the slavers. “Where are we going next?”

Nia turned to Khiran expectantly, an action that surprised herself. It was as if Khiran had become the de facto leader of the small band of former captives.

Khiran pondered the question for a moment. “We don’t know where we are, or how far we have traveled from our homes. We need to locate the nearest oasis or village depending and ask for direction and help. They shouldn’t have any problems with that unless food is scarce. We need to be careful though—villages so close to the Caverns of Labyrinth are not to be trusted.”

Nia, as always, was impressed by his careful analysis of the situation. They wouldn’t have made it very far without him.

One of the boys, who was still wearing the slaver’s clothes from posing as a guard earlier, chimed in, “The horses also need a rest.”

It was true, the horses had already begun to slow down, their bodies slick with sweat. Perhaps the horses hadn’t fully recovered from their trip into the slave market earlier. They do seem a little disgruntled from being put to work again so soon.

The Zahdian boy nodded in agreement as he slowed the horses to a trot. There was no danger that they needed to be running from at the moment anyway.

“We should introduce ourselves.” A girl with shoulder-length dark hair proposed. “I need to know who I just risked my life with. I’m Dikara.”

“I’m Lilia.” said the girl who was against retaliating back at the slavers. “I’m twelve years old. My family and I live near the capital of Saraja.”

Nia was surprised to hear that Lilia was from the same place as her. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise since they all arrived in the same caravan.

“My name is Takir.” It was the boy wearing the slaver’s clothes. He either didn’t notice that he was still wearing them or didn’t care at that moment. “I was kidnapped two weeks ago while going to work. I’ve been juggled between several people before ending up there.” 

“I’m Latifah.” A girl with long silky hair and bright eyes introduced herself. “I was orphaned at six and I was kidnapped by slavers not long after. Yesterday, my master sold me into slavery again after I caused him a bit of trouble. Smart move on his part, because I was getting ready to kill him.”

Nia was startled by the hatred in her voice. Latifah was a fierce girl despite her pretty doll-like face. Her delicate skin was marred with bruises that Nia was just noticing now. She also did not expect that one of the captives had already been enslaved for years.

“Did he beat you?” Lilia asked in a horrified whisper.

“Me and every other slave in his household. I was lucky. Others have it worse.” Latifah did not elaborate and no one was foolish enough to ask for an explanation. There was a long silence full of dread before the next person spoke up.

“Danif.” The Zahdian boy didn’t waste his breath on unnecessary words. “Kidnapped in the capital of Saraja when my parents went there for business.”

“I’m Khiran,” Khiran spoke up. He was also blunt and aloof with his words. “As you all already know, I’m half-demon. I’m also from the capital of Saraja.”

“How did you get kidnapped?” Nia asked. “You’re too smart and too strong to be kidnapped.” She recalled how Khiran easily knocked out a guard in a few seconds and took down many more with only a small crossbow.

“I was a member of a band of thieves,” Khiran spoke softly as if he was reminiscing on his past. “After my mother died, I wanted to leave, but they got angry at me and knocked me out. I supposed they’ve been planning to sell me for a long time. It’s just that my thieving brings in more money than what they can sell me for.”

Nia shuddered. It was a horrible way to end up in the hands of slavers—to have your friends betray you and stab you in the back. No wonder he was so angry when he woke up a few hours ago. And he lost his mother just before that. She started to feel a bit sympathetic toward him again, having lost her own family recently. No wonder he had such a harsh attitude toward everyone.

“My name is Nia.” Nia went last. “I’m… also an orphan. But I still have an older sister  who’s alive, and I need to get back to her.”

“I meant to say this earlier. Thank you for freeing all of us back there.” Dikara  smiled sincerely at her.

Nia shook her head. “I think Khiran deserved the credit for that. All I did was give him a hairpin so he could pick the lock.”

“But you stood up and fought for us when you could have just abandoned us. That’s probably what Khiran would have done if his lockpicks weren’t taken from him.” Latifah scoffed.

Khiran scoffed back at her. “Like I said, you would have slowed me down. But you’re welcome, by the way.”

Everyone turned to look at the two unconscious boys still sleeping peacefully despite the wild ride from earlier. They were the only two boys left.

“I guess we won’t know their names until tomorrow.” Takir laughed softly. “They look about six or seven, don’t you think?”

Someone responded, but Nia was too exhausted to listen. As the others chatted to one another about their family and experiences, Nia could feel sleep creeping up on her.

She let out a yawn that interrupted everyone.

“You should go to sleep,” Dikara advised. “You’ve been awake for longer than any of us.”

“I woke up only half an hour earlier than you people,” Nia mumbled, her eyelids drooping. “My sleep cycles must have been thrown off after my parents died.”

Dikara patted Nia’s knees sympathetically. “Go rest. We all know you need it.”

Nia nodded, grateful for their support. Despite knowing them for less than a day, everyone had already formed a special bond with one another. After all, there are some things that you can’t do with someone and not become friends with them in the process, and escaping an illegal trading hub is one of them.

They all shuffled away a little to make room for Nia to curl up in a more comfortable position. For a moment, her body was tense, filled with the irrational fear that she would get kidnapped again in her sleep, but with others’ presences by her side, especially Khiran, she finally allowed the soft rocking of the caravan to lull her to sleep.