The second удар came harder.
Wood splintered inward with a deafening crack.
Someone inside the wagon screamed.
Adam flinched violently, his entire body locking up as the door shook again—then burst open under a third strike.
Light flooded in.
Blinding.
For a split second, Adam saw nothing but white.
Then shapes formed.
Figures.
Men.
Not guards.
Different.
Rough leather armor. Mismatched pieces. Faces smeared with dirt and blood. Weapons in their hands—axes, swords, crude spears.
Bandits.
"Found 'em!" one of them barked, grinning wide enough to show missing teeth. "Whole cart of fresh stock!"
Laughter followed.
Cold.
Excited.
Adam's stomach dropped.
His body refused to move.
One of the slaves closest to the door scrambled backward, shaking violently. "P-please! Don't—!"
The bandit didn't hesitate.
His blade rose—
And fell.
The sound—
Wet.
Heavy.
Too real.
Adam's vision snapped away, but it didn't matter. His mind filled in the rest. The smell hit him a second later—fresh blood mixing with everything else.
"Ugh—!"
He doubled over, gagging violently. His stomach convulsed, forcing out bitter fluid that burned his throat.
"I— I can't—"
A hand grabbed his arm hard.
"Shut up!" Rian hissed, pulling him down. "You want to die first?!"
Adam bit his lip so hard he tasted blood again, forcing the sound back down. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Outside, chaos exploded.
Steel clashed.
Men shouted.
Horses screamed.
"Kill the guards!" someone roared. "Take what you can—move!"
Another bandit climbed into the wagon, stepping over bodies like they were nothing.
His eyes swept across the slaves.
Calculating.
Choosing.
"You," he pointed lazily at a girl near the back. "Alive."
Then at another.
"Maybe."
The rest—
He didn't even bother pointing.
"Waste."
Adam's heart slammed against his ribs.
No…
The bandit stepped deeper into the wagon.
Closer.
Closer.
Adam's breathing grew shallow, rapid, his vision blurring again.
Move.
His body didn't respond.
Too weak.
Too scared.
Too slow.
"Adam."
Rian's voice cut through the noise again.
Sharp.
Focused.
"Look at me."
Adam forced his head up.
Rian's eyes were locked onto him—clear, intense.
"If you stay here, you die."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Adam swallowed.
"I… I can't fight…"
"Then don't," Rian said immediately. "We run."
Run.
Adam's legs felt like they would collapse just thinking about it.
"I can't even stand—"
"Then crawl. Just don't freeze!"
The bandit turned slightly—
Noticing movement.
"Oi."
Adam's blood ran cold.
Rian moved first.
He kicked hard at the weakened side of the wagon.
Once.
The wood cracked.
Twice.
Louder.
"Help me!" Rian snapped.
Adam moved.
Not because he was ready.
Because something deeper than fear forced him.
Survival.
He slammed his shoulder into the wood.
Pain exploded through his body, nearly dropping him.
"Again!"
Another hit.
The crack widened.
Behind them—
Footsteps.
Closer.
"Trying to escape, huh?" the bandit chuckled.
Adam's breath hitched.
Faster—
He threw everything he had into one last strike.
The plank shattered.
Cold air rushed in.
"Go!" Rian shoved him forward.
Adam tumbled out of the wagon—
—and hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through his already battered body. His vision spun violently, nausea surging again.
"Get up!" Rian dropped beside him, grabbing his arm.
"I— I can't—"
"You can!"
A shout rang out behind them.
"There! Two of them!"
Adam's heart nearly stopped.
Rian didn't hesitate.
He dragged Adam up.
"Run!"
They stumbled forward.
Not fast.
Not clean.
But moving.
That was enough.
For now.
The road was chaos.
Bodies everywhere—guards, drivers, even a few bandits. Blood soaked into the dirt, turning it dark and slick. Broken crates spilled their contents across the ground.
Adam nearly slipped on something—
Looked down—
And instantly wished he hadn't.
A body.
Face barely recognizable.
He gagged again, turning away.
"Don't look!" Rian snapped.
Adam nodded weakly, forcing his eyes forward.
Focus.
Move.
Survive.
A metallic glint caught his eye.
Near one of the fallen guards.
A knife.
Small.
Simple.
But sharp.
Adam hesitated for half a second—
Then broke away from Rian just enough to grab it.
His hand shook violently as his fingers wrapped around the handle.
Cold.
Real.
A weapon.
"Move!" Rian pulled him again before he could think further.
They ran.
Behind them—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Closing in.
"Stop!" a bandit shouted. "Or I'll gut you where you stand!"
Adam's breathing became erratic.
His chest burned.
His legs screamed.
"I can't—!"
"You can!" Rian snapped. "Forest—now!"
They veered off the road, crashing into the treeline.
Branches tore at Adam's skin. Roots caught his feet. Every step felt like he was about to collapse.
A blade whistled past.
Too close.
It struck a tree with a sharp thunk.
Adam cried out, ducking instinctively.
"Keep moving!"
The sounds of pursuit followed them into the forest.
Not many.
One.
Maybe two.
Still enough to kill them.
Adam's vision blurred again.
His body was reaching its limit.
"I— I'm going to fall—"
"Don't you dare!" Rian shouted, dragging him forward.
Another step.
Another.
Then—
Adam tripped.
Hard.
He slammed into the ground, air knocked from his lungs.
"I can't—!" he choked, his body refusing to move. "I can't—!"
Footsteps behind them.
Closer.
Too close.
Rian turned.
For a split second—
Hesitation.
Then—
He grabbed Adam's collar.
"Then I'll drag you!"
Adam cried out as he was yanked forward, his body barely cooperating as Rian forced him to move.
The footsteps gained.
A shadow moved between the trees.
"Found you—!"
Rian's eyes darted around—
Then locked onto something ahead.
"…River."
Adam barely processed the word before they broke through the trees—
—and the ground dropped.
Water rushed below.
Fast.
Cold.
Violent.
Adam's heart stopped.
"No—"
"Jump!" Rian shouted.
"Are you insane?!"
"Do you want to die here?!"
The bandit burst from the trees behind them.
Too close.
Weapon raised.
No time.
No choice.
Rian didn't wait.
He shoved Adam forward—
And jumped with him.
The fall felt endless.
Then—
Impact.
The cold hit like a shockwave.
Adam's body seized instantly as the freezing water swallowed him whole. His breath vanished. His lungs burned.
The current dragged him down.
Spinning.
Pulling.
He couldn't tell up from down.
I'm going to die—
Panic exploded.
He thrashed weakly, his body already too exhausted to fight properly.
Then—
A hand grabbed him.
Rian.
Pulling.
Forcing him upward.
They broke the surface.
Adam gasped violently, choking on air and water at the same time.
The current carried them fast.
Too fast.
Branches rushed past. Rocks jutted from the water.
"Don't fight it!" Rian shouted over the roar. "Just stay up!"
Adam barely managed to keep his head above water. His limbs felt numb already, the cold biting deep.
The knife—
Still in his hand.
He held onto it instinctively.
The river bent sharply.
The current slowed—just slightly.
Rian grabbed onto a low-hanging branch, his arm straining.
"Grab—!"
Adam reached.
Missed.
Reached again—
Caught it.
Barely.
Together, they dragged themselves toward the edge, fighting the current until their feet finally hit something solid.
Mud.
They crawled out of the river, collapsing onto the bank.
Adam lay there, shaking violently, water dripping from his clothes, his entire body numb and burning at the same time.
His chest heaved as he tried to breathe.
"I… I can't feel… anything…"
"Good," Rian muttered between breaths. "Means you're not dead."
Adam let out a weak, broken laugh.
Then coughed.
Then lay still.
The forest was quiet.
No shouting.
No footsteps.
No pursuit.
They had escaped.
Somehow.
Adam tightened his grip on the small knife in his hand, staring at it through blurred vision.
Weak.
Cold.
Broken.
But alive.
For now.