PLAN

“They probably are keeping him in our chief’s house, with any other of our tribesmen that they found. It is the biggest house and I have heard that it has a small room underground, which the chief uses to store any extra crop that we farm or the hide of a particularly rare animal. It would be the perfect place to keep our friends,” I told my mother.

“Yes, but how are we going to free them? They are probably expecting us by now,” my mother said.

“Yes, but you forgot about the underground tunnels. We can break into the village square. The chief’s hut is close by. We can cause a distraction, distract everyone, carry extra weapons, and give them to our friends to fight. We just have to figure out what to use as a distraction,” I said.

“Silas?” my mother asked.

 “Yes, but you made me leave him in the forest. How are we supposed to find him? It has been almost a fortnight,” I said with some distaste in my voice.

My mother had thought that Silas might have given away our position and thus had told me to make him stay in the forest. I didn’t even know if he was still alive.

“Ok, I will find Silas, you find a strategic entrance to the tunnels,” I told my mother. She nodded in assent.

I trudged into the forest holding a long dagger that had belonged to my brother. Which belonged to my brother. Lately, he had been isolated, quickly eating his meals, sleeping, and then going back to his hideout for the rest of the day to scout out the positions of the guards and the activities in the village. He had become a shell of the man I used to know. He was no longer funny and easygoing. He had changed after his injury. I wondered if he would ever go back to the way he was.